10. - status update

well, as i've said before i was taking a patterns knitting class at downtown yarns (which sadly ended last night and i did not end up making it). i've been completely enamored with making all kinds of new things now that i understand how to do them. here are 2 patterns i've been working on :

Lauren by Weaverknits :



here is where i'm at :



yarn : New England Highland in #41 High Sandalwood
needles : US 8 circular 29"

this is the first time i've cabled and its WAY easier than i thought. another trick i picked up in my knitting class (along with crocheting edges to finish) was learning to fix stitches in the middle of a row with a crochet hook! something that has come in very handy with this jacket battle i was having at the beggining. all is well now, i'm 10 rows away from measuring (knit from the top down).

another project i started because i got impatient with the knitting of the sweater is Elisa's Nest Tote published in The Purl Bee. It's a very easy knit, I like to work on it on the train or while i'm with friends. Here is a completed photo i found on Juliaemily (ravelry)'s flickr :



and here is where i'm at :





yarn : Frog Tree Pima Cotton in #652
needles : US 8 "way too long because they hit people on the train beside me"

anyway, thats all for now. i finally have a couple day's off at the end of the week. been working my butt off... makeup jobs and coffee shops.

i updated my website. a whole bunch of new stuff!

x
-granny.

9.

well well, i've got 2 patterns all finished up and woven together.

first, let me start with these wristlets... oh, wristlets. not only did i have to start over again 4 times, but i also had to cast off 3 times! the first time was a dumb mistake on my part... if i'm knitting these tiny things with size 7 needles and i cast off with a 7, they're going to be tiny... no brainer? that was cast off number 1. so, rip the stitches out and try for cast off number 2, with size 10 circular needles. to my surprise, this didn't work either. maybe i have fat hands? i though they were kind of small. anyway, i ripped out the stitches again and finally did the loosest cast off on size 10 needles i've ever done and alas, i could get my chubby hands in!

the yarn i used for them was merinoseta (which was impossible for me to find on ravlery). it was really nice and the finished product looks really pretty but, the yarn splits so easily! maybe i just need to work on my non-splitting technique. anyway, final product of those :






for the second week of my knitting class, i decided i wanted to make a hat. i was going to do the trinity stitch pattern that i posed a couple weeks ago but, i found this one on ravelry and i liked it better... though it was super easy to make. i was hoping for something more challenging but i guess nice and simple is nice sometimes. i used cotton fleece in wolverine blue. i am really happy with the way it turned out but, i am going to have to go out and get an elastic to run through the ribbing.




and so i still have 2 pattern making classes left at downtown yarns, i am going to try to make a sweater. The one i've chosen is Lauren by Weaverknits. i've decided to buy it for 3.00 on the interweb and print that little guy out. i might go buy the yarn for it today... we'll see how motivated i get.

that's all for now!

x
granny.

8.

so, i haven't updated in a little while because i've been working like a crazy woman. i much preffer working days at a coffee shop than working nights at a bar. no more drunk regulars telling me their life stories and such... now i get to hear them in the morning over a cup of coffee. much better.

i have been knitting like crazy, i taught myself a new lace stitch from this website which was easy as pie. so i used the yarn i ordered from eBay to knit this skinny scarf for my friend for her birthday :


this yarn is kind of weird to knit with... it might just be me not used to it but, its berooco softwist. its more rayon than wool so, maybe thats why it feels weird in my fingers. it's easy to split the yarn which wasn't very good for me learning a new stitch and attempting not to mess it up but, all is well. i used size 10 needles where as suggested size was 8 so i am just finishing my second skein and i think i'll use one more. good thing i have 6.

i've also been working on more and more kerchiefs. people keep asking me for them and i keep having left over yarn so i've been cranking them out like crazy. i've started playing around with yo's and different decreases and whatnot :


i have also started my patterns class at downtown yarns and yes ladies & gentlement, that is a thumb hole from my failed attempt at the little green wristlets from the 101 designer one-skein wonders book. these things have been haunting me for ages and with the help of my teacher, i was able to finally figure out what 'knit, working (p1,k1,p1,k1) into yo' meant. it all makes so much sense now. i have another class on thursday evening that i think i'll bring the trinity stitch hat pattern to.




i am pretty sure i am going to choose a cardigan sweater pattern to start. i have yet to attempt making a sweater but, i think that i can pull it off. if not, i can enroll in another pattern making class at downtown yarns but, i have much faith in my ability to potentially make a sweater. based on the opinion of the far more experienced knitters that may or maynot happen across my blog here, would you say a pullover or a cardigan is easier to start out with?

xo.
love, granny.

7.

the kercheifs have been going well, i can now make 2 in a work day if it's not busy. i've been trying different thing's with them, yarn over's to make them more "spring-y". i've got about 5 of them hanging over top of my bedroom door, i'll have to figure out what i'm going to do with them.

speaking of doing things with them though, i did sell one while my sister in law & i had a yard sale on a 'hip' street in brooklyn :


i start my patterns class next thursday, i am going to knit those handwarmers i messed up. persistence. maybe i'll bring in this pattern too. the hat is cute :



love, granny.
x