Project Updates

Due to the fact that it has been pretty quite around the office, I have been cruising right along on my knitting projects lately. This morning I finished the back of my Central Park Hoodie…had to quickly check to make sure that I crossed all the cables the right way.

I have started up the leg of both Motherlode Socks with a simple 3×1 rib. This is taking awhile to knit, but it is brainless knitting and I can easily pick it up and put it down without getting lost. Great for when I am playing the Wii with my husband.

I have completed two full repeats on the Sweet Pea TEST Knit Shawl. I love this yarn and the pattern. It is so cool. If you haven’t already checked out some of Kristin’s other patterns you should definitely go there to see what other gorgeous ideas she has. You can also check her out on Ravelry.

Also, I am about ready to start a new pair of socks, that I have been swatching for over the last week or so. It is another one of my original designs and I hope to post the pattern for sale in the next few weeks. 

Chock-ful-of-knitting

I said there was going to be lots of knitting this weekend and there was. As I mentioned last week, I took Friday off and I started out the day by finishing my second pair of socks. I only had to do the kitchener stitch to finish them off so it didn’t take me very long.

 

Then for pretty much the rest of Friday I was experimenting with different stitches for the sock pattern I am working on for the Hill Country Sock Pattern contest. I started by graphing out a few different ideas and then I knit them up to see how I liked them. I think I finally found something I like and it is easily changed for different sizes.

On Saturday, I attended a crafting day with about 15 other ladies. Most everyone else was working on scrapbook pages or stamping cards, but of course I was knitting. After working on my third pair of socks with striped cables, I completed the assembly of the Roll The Dice Bag.

 

 

The bag still needs to be felted, which I hope to do tonight.

After finishing the Roll the Dice bag I got right to work on my French Market Bag, which was also near completion. I just had to complete the handles and graft them together. This bag is also completed except for felting.

 

One thing that I didn’t work on this weekend, but should have was the baby sweater I am making for a friend’s new baby. Since it is still in pieces I give you small little taste of it with the pattern. I will probably focus my attention on this for the remainder of the week in hopes that I can finish it up to give to her in two weeks.

It is a simple moss stitch, but it really turned out nice. I am even considering making myself a simple cardigan using this pattern and the same yarn, it is very light and would make a great spring or fall sweater.

The other projects that I also have on the needles but didn’t work on this weekend are the Brown Ribbed Sweater and the other felted bag that I knitted up on the sweater machine. I did work on the Brown Ribbed Sweater last week at knitting club, but the felted bag has been tucked away for quite some time. I started seaming up the bag a month or so ago, but haven’t like how it was coming out so I stopped. After seaming up, ripping out and seaming up the Roll the Dice bag 4 times this weekend I finally found a method that I like and I think I will also use it for this bag too. Which means there is going to be some ripping of the seam before I can make some more progress on this bag.

Needless to say I am well on my way to finishing up with my WIPs. Three down and four more to go. Okay, five if you count the pink sweater I started in January, but haven’t touch since. I have been thinking about just frogging it, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I will probably pick it up and work on it ever so often to finish it off, but who knows at this point. Or 6 if you count the socks, which I haven’t started for the pattern contest. Even so I have made some great progress this weekend, and I am feeling pretty good about it.

I even knit for most of the day on Sunday, but I don’t have much to show for it because it was all practice knitting, which we all need every once and awhile. I was working on the construction for my sock pattern. Having only done a short row heel once before I wanted to practice and determine exactly how I wanted it to look. Although I was able to complete a short row heel without a problem, I didn’t like how it was turning out so I kept trying different things until I got exactly what I was looking for. Then I had to write it out with enough detail so that anyone knitting the pattern would get the exact same result that I did. I took me at least 6 tries, but I am glad that I took the time to test it out. It was actually fun trying different things without feeling as if I was doing something wrong.

Hopefully there will be more knitting for me tonight. Steve and I have been saving up the episodes of Lost, Medium, 24, and Heroes so that we could watch the last few episodes of the seasons back to back. So this week will be jam packed with TV since some of the season finales are this week.

I must be stinkin’ CRAZY

I have entered the Hill Country Yarn "Sock Pattern Contest"! Am I nuts???? What was I thinking, I have never created my own pattern before, socks or otherwise. For that matter I have only completed one pair of socks and that was about 2 months ago, currently working on my second pair. I know I will love making socks and ever since becoming a part of the world of knitting, some 3 months ago, I have known I want to eventually create my own patterns, but nothing like jumping in with both feet. At least this way I am forced to give it a try, and hopefully my design and pattern will be great enough to win me some FREE yarn, or at least give me the courage to try again.

When I signed up for the contest almost a month ago I immediately started running ideas through my head, but every time I took my idea and made a knitted swatch it just didn’t come out the way I had envisioned. So each and every time I was sent back to the drawing board for an alteration. I finally came up with an idea that I liked and actually looked nice in a knitted fabric. Then I received my yarn. You see the contest is for three different sock yarns and each of them have a different gauge and needle size, and the company decides what yarn to send. Needless to say the pattern that I worked up just wouldn’t work with the gauge of the yarn I received, so it was back to the drawing board once again.

I have since come up with a design and I have been experimenting with different cast ons and cast offs, as well as heel shaping. This is a great opportunity for me to create a sock with all my favorite features. Wish me luck! I will also need a test knitter or two so if you are interested let me know.