NaKniSweMo Day 30

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I spent the whole day cooking a feast for family and friends. My hands were so busy with desserts, that I didn't get the opportunity to knit all day.  

On Friday night, after a day of sleeping and dreaming of knitting, I was able to seam the sleeves, and start knitting the body in the round. 

The 3 needle bindoff made for a great seam. 

The first few rows of the body are here. 

Today, I completed about 2.5 inches of the stockinette body portion. 

There is no way that I will be able to complete this whole sweater by midnight.  So, I will gracefully bow out of this Nakniswemo challenge.  It's been fun.  

More Hat Progress

I made it to 2.5 inches in the ribbing.  I'm working my way up to 4 inches.  

Hat Progress

I have gotten to a point on my sweater where I can't travel with it.  My solution to that problem is to work on other projects while I am on the train.  

Here is the progress on my hat from earlier today. I'm almost ready for the increasing and cables. 

I will resume sweater knitting tonight.  

NaKniSweMo Day 23 - Sleeve Island

I am still stuck on sleeve island with my Japan Sleeves sweater.  I just completed knitting the width of the sleeve.  All that is left to do is to complete the shaping and seam the sleeve. Just a few more short rows. 

Hopefully, I can get to the body part of the sweater tomorrow.  

NaKniSweMo Day 22 - Sweater progress

I made some progress on the sleeves.  I completed the short rows, and have been knitting from end to end.  Once the sleeves are done, I can seam that and start the body. 

Here is a close up of the sleeve cuff.  

I have this much yarn left.  I also have a second skein of pink. 

A few hours late

I really meant to post this yesterday, but I have been busy with work, work, work. 

I have decided to rip out my hat and cast it on again, using a size 5 needle. My curly hair has won the battle. 

This is a picture of my pocketbook on my lap while I was unraveling on the train. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. Hahahaaaa. 

New Projects On the Horizon

A friend of mine sent me a request for these slippers. I think they are so cute!

Her favorite color is purple, so we decided on this yarn that has Nylon in it, to make is a bit more sturdy. 

So, my list of December knitting projects is growing, and very quickly too.  I want a pair for myself as well.  

Hmmmmmm...does this count as a submission for Operation Sock Drawer? 

Baby, its Cold Outside

It's 28 degrees outside, and I'm torn between knitting my sweater and making a hat.  

I wound up the yarn, and casted on for the hat anyway. 

The name of the hat is Sand Bank  by Justyna Lorkowska. It's a slouchy cabled hat, and I intend to add a huge Pom-Pom to it.  

I used a stretchy German Twisted Cast-On, but I'm wondering if I should go up another needle size. The hair on my head is quite curly and fluffy, and I need to make sure the hat will be able to fit around it properly.  Hmmmmmmmmm

Also, to get the cable needle needed for the hat, I had to remove one of the needles from my sweater. The good thing is, I was finally able to fix the twisted back.  Now it hangs just right.  

Taking a Sock Break

I have given my sweater a time out. So, I spent my knitting time on the train with my socks. I completed the yellow and pink stripe. I love how it is matching perfectly. Woohooo!!! 

NaKniSweMo Day 17 - All I can do is Laugh

There is no such thing as perfection in knitting.  No matter how hard we try to follow a pattern correctly, something will always go wrong.  

As I separated the sleeve stitches from the body, I found that I lost 1 stitch.  I decided that when I seam the sleeve, I will fix it somehow.  

As I started this serious stockinette portion, I increased a stitch and kept on knitting it for 5 rows.  I ended up catching it, and ripping that stitch, then redistributing the tension of the yarn to make up for it.  It's still kind of loose, but I can live with it.  

So, this morning, I started on the right front of the sweater.  I completed the section, and got to the point where I had to join the left and right fronts of the sweater.  At the same time, I noticed that I had to start getting dressed for work.  But of course, as a knitter, we say "just one more row".  So, with the yarn curled up in my lap, I casted on the neck stitches, then continued to knit and connect both sides. 

I decided to hang up my sweater, then I found out why my mommy and granny always say "haste makes waste". 

Look at the back of my sweater.

The whole thing is twisted.  I have a posterior möbius midriff.  Lol!  All I can do is laugh.  

Happy knitting everyone.  I'm going to fix it, and have a better progress report tomorrow.  I promise.  Haha!

Nakniswemo Day 16 Progress

Today, I completed the back upper sleeve portion. 

I also picked up stitches on the opposite side of the left sleeve.

This will become the left side of the front of the sweater.  

Does it look like a sweater yet?

One lesson that I have learned with this sweater is that having 2 sets of interchangeable needles comes in very handy.  I had to put stitches on hold.  The  back portion uses a pair of Knitpicks Interchangeables, while the front uses Chiaogoo's.  

NaKniSweMo Day 15 Progress

I spent my day knitting at the Cheerleading Competition.  

I made great progress today.  I am working on the back sleeve portion.

Once this is complete, I have to pick up stitches on the other side of the sleeve, knit it and seam the pieces together.  

NaKniSweMo Day 14 - Japan Sleeves Progress

I am so happy, I am starting to see this sweater look like something other than lace panels.

I completed the lace today.  

The pattern said to lightly block it, so I opted for the steam technique.  Here is a picture of one sleeve blocked vs. unblocked.

Here are both pieces blocked.

I had to pick up stitches along the edge and add "neck" stitches in between. 

After picking up stitches, I started knitting stripes with the Dirty Panther colorway. 

This is the back of the sweater.  I'm happy with my progress today. I am in stockinette city, so this should be moving along pretty fast, even though the yarn is in fingering weight. 

NaKniSweMo Day 13 - Japan Sleeve Progress

I finally have more progress on my NaKniSweMo sweater.  I finished 1 lace panel for the sleeves, and completed 4 pattern repeats on the second sleeve.  The end is near.  2 repeats and 12 rows to go.

I am so in love with this Pop Rocks color.  

Birthdays on Sleeve Island

Today is my mom's birthday.  We celebrated with breakfast at IHOP, a stroll through the mall, purchasing a few things, and an Italian dinner.  After our shopping trip, we were pooped.  We came home to finally relax with some wine and cupcakes.

She loves Tiramisu, and a few of these cupcakes just happen to be Tiramisu flavored.  So, she was very excited about it.

After winding down, I finally got time to start on my Japan Sleeves again.  I need to finish this, and get off of sleeve island ASAP.  This is just taking too long.  The good part is, once the sleeves are done, the rest of the sweater should be a breeze.  Right???

I hope so.

Happy knitting from fingering weight sleeve island, where the only inhabitants are crazy people who take on too many projects at one time.  

More of the Ombre Scarf

I knit this much on the train.  

I am almost finished with this skein of yarn.  Woohoo!!!  1 more to go.  

Ombré Scarf Progress

I have had a really long weekend, and ended up cooking for a surprise party on Saturday, and a Baby Shower on Sunday.  I didn't even get a stitch in.  How sad.

So, this morning I decided to pick up something quick and easy.  I added the 5th skein to the Ombre scarf, and knit through about half of it.  The scarf is currently at 60 inches.  The complete end of my tape measure.

I have 1 more skein to add to this.  This is turning out to be such a beautiful scarf.  The pattern is very easy, but the texture of the scarf looks much more sophisticated than an "easy scarf".

Here is how it looks all rolled up.

Happy Knitting!!!!  

I'm a Winner!

Eat Sleep Knit is quickly becoming one of my favorite yarn shops.  I received a Yarn Lotto ticket with my purchase.  At first, I didn't really make a big deal about it, because the last one I had wasn't a winner.  I let it sit overnight.  Then, this morning I scratched it off.

I WON !!!

$100 Store Credit.  Woohoooooo! 

So, I guess that's enough for a sweater's worth of yarn.  I'm on the hunt for another sweater now. 

Hmmmmm, maybe I should play the New York State Lotto now. 

Happy Knitting Everyone!

New Yarn Acquisition

Here is a lovely picture of new yarn I bought from Eat Sleep Knit.  

Malabrigo Chunky in Polyoriento.  I'm going to use it to make Slouché and a cowl.  The cowl pattern is to be determined. I am making it as a birthday gift for my friend Judepie88 on Ravelry.  

Mystery Shawl Update - Week 1

I am plugging away at this Mystery Shawl, and still finishing up the first clue.  The second clue was released on Thursday night, but I looked at it and got scared.  It's BRIOCHE!  Yikes.  I have never had positive results with brioche, but I will try again.  The good thing is, Stephen West has a very in depth video tutorial, which is very helpful.

Here is my progress so far.  I have a few more rows to go in order to complete this wedge.

Nakniswemo Sweater and Westknits Mystery Shawl Update - Day 6

I checked the NaKniSweMo group on Ravelry, and felt that I should really get a move on my sweater. I saw so many beautiful sweaters that have so much progress already.  So, here is where I am today.  I knitted a total of 4 pattern repeats.  I have about 2.5 more to go to complete this panel. Then, I have to start the second panel. 

Today is also the day that I should complete clue #1 of the WestKnits Mystery Shawl if I want to keep up.  I started wedge 6 today.  I completed about 2 more rows on the train.  The good thing is, the amount of stitches in each row become less and less as you progress.  

I am still loving my projects.  I am really eager to see what the next section looks like.  

NaKniSweMo Progress - WIP Wednesdays

Here is the sleeve of my Japan Sleeve sweater.  I only completed about 16 rows of the pattern repeat since the last time I posted.  I will say that as I am reading the written instructions, it is going much faster than reading the chart.  I thought about doing these two at a time, but I actually like how it feels on the DPNs, and I think that the circular needle cord might get tangled with 2 different working yarns coming from the same skein.  

More updates soon, I promise. I can't wait to see how this looks blocked. 

Mystery Manicure

Here is the progress that I made on the Westknits Mystery Shawl.  

I am really loving the direction that this Shawl is taking. 

The color scheme has inspired me to do a quick manicure.  Quick because, I wanted to keep on knitting.

The nail polish used is Essie's Bachelorette Bash and Butter London's The Dark Knight.  

Happy Nails means Happy Knitting!!!  Woohoo!!! 

Thinking of Socks

Knitting socks yesterday has made me think about my next pair of socks. 

I have this lovely Malbec color from Voolenvine yarns. I have decided to make the Owlie socks, so that meant a trip to Michael's for size 6 beads. 

This is what I found. 

 

I decided to use the bottom color. I love the duo chrome effect.  

And speaking of socks, here is a comparison of what I finished last night on DPNs, to what was already knit on the other sock, with the 9 inch circular needle. 

Happy knitting everyone. 

Knitting and Cheerleading.

Today, I went to Queens College to attend a Cheerleading Competition.  Of course, I thought about what project to bring with me.  

I had already started my Revolte socks, and completed the afterthought heel zip line (light grey yarn).  

So, I decided to rip out my ill-fitting sock that was made with a size 1.5 needle. I casted on again with size 1 Lantern Moon bamboo needles that I bought from Purl Soho last week.  I like these needles.  They are 6 inches, and very smooth.  

After a few hours of knitting, cheering, video-taping, and clapping, I made some great progress on my sock.

My little cousin's team also won great prizes.  They were so good.  Both of them were lifted in the stunts.  

I'm so proud of them.  They were full of energy, confident, and had full control during their routine. 

And, of course they were happy to hold the trophies. 

So, after all of the excitement, I decided to wind down by trying my hand at some Japanese lace.  Truthfully, it's not so relaxing. I am used to lace where the pattern is on the right side, and the wrong side is just a purl row.  NOT HERE!!!!  There are yarn overs and p2togs on the wrong side too!  OMG

This is the lace on the sleeve of the Japan Sleeves pattern.  

This is 1 lace repeat, which measures 3.75" tall.  I have to work each sleeve to 23 inches, so I am calculating that I will need to do 6 pattern repeats for each sleeve.  1 down 11 more to go!  Woohoooo!!!

Lastly, I made use of the extra hour that we had from resetting the clock,  by knitting on the Ombre scarf.  I have 2 more skeins to add, and it is currently at 56 inches.

I sent a picture to the recipient, and he is happy with it.  I'm trying to hurry, because NYC has gotten really cold.