picky knitting

October 3, 2014 by 5 Comments

Firstly, I have a problem:

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What’s up with those holes? That’s my Paulie cardi, which is coming along nicely — I finished the body and have cast on the arms, and what you’re seeing in the picture is the armpit part. How do I fix that? That’s been my first problem so far.

Problem two is actually that I hate using circular needles for the arm part. I thought it would be fine but I think it would really be a lot faster and less troublesome if I switched to DPNs. Problem three: I don’t have DPNs in the required size. Argh! I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks before I can get them, so that just puts off finishing my sweater even farther into winter. Boo.

Well, instead, I’ll work on my garter stitch blanket. That’ll be a nice change of pace from tiny sock-weight yarn.

Aaaaand I know I haven’t had much crochet stuff going on lately, but I am pleased to announce that I’ve got some supplies coming in the mail for a new crochet project! I plan on making quite a few of these items in different colors, etc., and I can’t wait to share with you! And there was a surprise with the pattern I’ll be using: it calls for a hook size that I DON’T HAVE. I couldn’t believe it — after 9-ish years of crochet, there’s a hook size I haven’t acquired. Well, that has been rectified, but unfortunately the only kind I could get was Boye, and I much prefer Susan Bates. The hook size is between a US B and a US C. I have a hook that was .05mm too big, but I want to be exact so I don’t run out of yarn.

Well, there’s been lots of complaining in this post, so I’ll just wait to post anything else until I’m in a better mood. All the lovely rain is cheering me up, but it’s still so hot outside. I’m such a negative Nancy sometimes.

I hope ya’ll are having a good week. And of course, as always, thanks for stopping by! We’ll have updates very soon, I hope!

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Giftie Slouchie Beanie #4

September 24, 2014 by 11 Comments

With a number 4, you can probably guess that this is a great knit hat to make. And with a name like Giftie Slouchie Beanie it’s pretty easy to infer that this particular hat is great for gifts.

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It’s great for gifts for a few reasons: it uses chunky yarn and bigger needles so you can make it quickly; it looks difficult even though it’s not that hard; it’s very stretchy so it can fit almost any adult head. In fact, all of my versions of this have been gifted to men I know for these reasons!

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This one in particular is going to my uncle. He’s starting chemo this week (in fact it could have already started by now), and he’ll be in the hospital for a few weeks at least. I’m worried about him of course, but he’s got such a great positive attitude and I know that that can make all the difference in the world! The doctors said he’d almost certainly lose his hair, though, and since hospitals are often very cold anyway and it’ll be late October-ish when he gets out, I figured a hat would be a nice gift that says that I care and am thinking about him. The great thing is, he doesn’t even know that I knit and crochet, so it’ll be a surprise! I’ll try to mail it within the next couple of days so that he’ll get it ASAP and can start using it! Hopefully he’ll like it!

Here’s a close-up of the stitches:

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For some reason it was hard to get the color of the hat right in the photos — it’s a slightly dark teal (and I almost forgot to mention it’s Berroco Vintage Chunky — a soft wool blend).

Well, that’s it for today. I’d paused on the Paulie cardi and the garter stitch blanket to work on this but updates on either one of those should be coming in the near future. Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Paulie the hibernating cardigan

September 19, 2014 by 8 Comments

I haven’t touched my Paulie cardigan in over a year. Here’s where I was in early 2013:

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The going was slow, as anyone who has tried to make a larger object with thin yarn knows, and a bit monotonous — knit a row, purl a row, knit a row, purl a row, etc. — but my desire for a sweater that I have knitted myself is still there, especially as we’re beginning to get into slightly cooler weather. So the Paulie cardigan was again picked up, and in just a couple of weeks I’ve gotten a good bit farther:

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The edges are curly but it should fit once it’s straightened out and the button band is added. I feel like once the body of the sweater is done, the rest will be a breeze; the sleeves should progress a lot faster since the rows will be so much shorter. Exciting!

In other news, I’ve been doing a bit of wedding planning. While overwhelming with all of the things I need to do, I have lots of support from both of our families. We’re working on securing the dates and locations for everything and have already got ideas for everything else.

Also, our dog Zero has been doing really well except for the night last week when we had a very loud and long thunderstorm (we usually get gentle rain that doesn’t last very long). She would not leave my lap and was shaking, poor thing.

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She’s back to her normal healthy and happy self and loves cuddles:

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Work has been going pretty well — I’ve made a good friend and am getting my work done on time. There’s a bit of burnout due to how busy we are, but I make sure to take a day off every once in a while to recharge.

That’s really about it for now — thanks for stopping by! I’ll try to continue diligently working on both the Paulie cardigan and also my garter stitch striped blanket. I’ve been looking for some things to crochet, too! Well, see you later!

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knit a blanket

August 31, 2014 by 10 Comments

Actually, don’t. Blankets take SOOOOOO long to knit! You guys warned me when I bought the yarn for my latest blanket, but did I listen? Noooo. Should I have? Yes! Here’s my slow progress:

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It looks very nice so far, very simple and cozy. But it’s so much slower than crochet! Part of that is undoubtably due to the fact that I’ve been lazy with the crafting lately — it’s hard to pick up the needles when you’re exhausted from work, trying to spend time with friends, and planning a wedding (not to mention it’s so hot here that it turns knitting into sauna time). Part of it is also that my hands get tired and I quit before I can finish a whole skein of yarn. I’m on skein 6 of 15, not counting any border I might want to do. Here are the colors I have left:

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These skeins of yarn are happily hibernating in my antique bread box that my parents got me in Arkansas:

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Both the yarn and the blanket fit nicely inside the box, which is sitting beside my armchair for easy access:

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Well, that’s unfortunately all of the yarny updates I have. I’m hoping to get motivated to pick up either of my 2 hibernating sweaters so that I’ll have something handmade to wear this winter, but we’ll see. As always, thanks for stopping by!

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sewing scissors acquisition

July 26, 2014 by 15 Comments

My parents and I went to one of my favorite antique malls yesterday up in Charlotte, NC. They got me a fantastic vintage 9″ pink Pyrex pie plate and also some [presumably] vintage sewing scissors!

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I don’t know exactly how old they are but they look awesome and they’re REALLY sharp.

Something about having pretty crochet/knitting tools just makes the whole process just a tad more indulgent (kind of like a really expensive and luxurious skein of yarn), don’t you think?

What are some of your special tools? Have any antique hooks or needles, or maybe a really cool measuring tape? Let me know in the comments, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

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