Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts

Sunday, August 29, 2010

A little bit of catch-up

Between work, work and what little personal life I have, this blog just kind of fell to the wayside. I want to update it but have a hard time finding the time to do it. I have time tonight so I figured it was a good time to play catch-up.

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Pattern: Rib and Cable Quartet: Double Cable Scarf

Source: One Skein by Leigh Radford

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in 6292 (no name but I’d call it golden brown)

Ravelry link: here

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Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath

Source: Knitty, Summer 2006

Yarn: Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Worsted in Carmine

Ravelry link: here

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Pattern: Medano Beach by Heidi Kirrmaier

Source: Free pattern on Ravlery.com

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-ease in Snow

Queensland Collection Bamboo Cotton in Black

Ravelry link: here

Ok, so it’s not a complete catch-up…more like a catch-up packet. More to come….

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Homespun Yarn Party

Spring has finally sprung here in Maryland and it was the PERFECT weekend! Today I went to the Homespun Yarn Party in Savage at historic Savage Mill. Not only did I get to fondle all the beautiful yarn from local vendors but there were also a bunch of unique little shops to check out as well.

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Parking was limited so I had to park on the street but I didn’t mind because I got to walk across this neat bridge.

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It was so refreshing to see flowers rather than huge, gray piles of snow!

I went straight into the great room where they were hosting the event and visited almost every booth. I found so many gorgeous yarns and walked away with several skeins. My first go round I didn’t even bother taking pictures because I was on a mission. I brought several patterns with me to find yarn for and I now have quite a few projects to tackle in the next few months. After taking a look at all the yarn I needed to step out because it was HOT in that room! So I checked out the stores in the rest of the mall (not a typical mall, but I can’t think of a better word).

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I’m not into the whole decorate for every holiday thing but this Easter tree caught my eye. I just like the bright colors.

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After my detour I wanted to go back so I could take pictures of all the gorgeous yarn. I was in serious sensory overload. Between the colors and the textures my mind was going a mile a minute trying to come up with a reason to buy everything I touched!

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This farm had pictures of the sheep where the yarn came from. Such a cute idea!

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I almost bought a skein of that gorgeous teal sock yarn in the upper left hand corner (I think it was called Riptide), but I was strong and put it back.

Besides, I already bought 4 skeins of sock yarn.

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I didn’t get anything from this vendor but again, it was hard not to because of all the delicious colors!

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There was a lot of roving to choose from but seeing as how I do not know how to spin I didn’t really spend much time looking at it. It was definitely tempting to learn though.

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I eyed a few things at this booth but ended up not getting anything. There was an abundance of sock yarn and I’ve never done socks before so I just bought what I needed for the two patterns I picked to start with. Perhaps next year I will indulge in sock yarn a bit more.

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This booth was just so colorful. I (again) almost bought a skein of sock yarn that was a yellow/white/gray colorway but I fought the urge and put it back.

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If you look in the top left shelf you can see all the yellows. You may be able to see the one I put back. Although I loved the colors in the skein I wasn’t sure it would knit up in a pattern I liked so I put it back.

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How can you not want to learn how to spin after seeing this?

After I finished I decided to grab a bite to eat before I headed home. There was a French patisserie that was calling my name so I had to go in.

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This is what was calling my name. And when something this delectable, this irresistible calls out to you, you just can’t say no. Oh.my.god it was good. Diet? What diet? Ha!

At least I did a lot of walking around. That counts for something, right?

So after it was all said and done, I came home with the following:

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~ This pattern booklet for three different sized carpet bags. I found this adorable little shop that was full of amazing felted purses. I CANNOT wait to make one!

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~ This DK weight superwash merino to make a hat with.

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~ This superwash merino/cashmere/nylon blend to make a neckwarmer (or several).

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~ This was an impulse buy. I don’t have any plans for this yarn yet. But it was so soft and pretty, I just couldn’t leave it there! It is 100% alpaca.

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~ This sock yarn which came from a lady whose colorways were all Harry Potter related! I had to buy something from her as I LOVE Harry Potter. Although there were colorways that I liked better than this one, I picked this one because of the name. Sirius Black. I have a thing for Sirius Black.

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~ This bulky weight yarn for a cowl. The colors aren’t showing up as I had hoped but they are yummy shades of green and gray. Can’t wait to see how this knits up.

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~ And last but definitely not least, this sock yarn for a pair of socks called “My Vampire Boyfriend.” I admit it. I am addicted to Twilight. Shoot me. I didn’t want to be. At all. But I read the books and then I read them again. And again. And maybe one more time. I’ve lost count as to how many times I watched the first movie. And I need to drag my butt into Wal-Mart (I HATE Wal-Mart) to pick up the special copy of New Moon. So when I found this sock pattern I knew it was time to learn how to knit socks. I looked at several sock yarns today that were red but they weren’t the perfect shade of blood-red yarn. Until I found this yarn. One skein was just a little under what the pattern called for so I had to buy two. It was not cheap. But I have a feeling these will become my favorite pair of socks. I also had to stand in line for 15 minutes to pay for these suckers. The color was exactly what I had in mind so it was worth it.

All in all, a perfect day. Now I just need to figure out which bill is not getting paid due to my over indulgence in yarn today….

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Something just for me!

I love to knit but rarely do I make things for myself.  I found a pattern for a lovely cowl and just couldn’t resist.

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I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE this pattern!  It was so easy!  It was my first foray into cables and I couldn’t have picked a better pattern to learn from.  I also learned how to do a provisional cast on as well as the kitchener stitch to give it an invisible seam.  The casting on was no biggie but the kitchener stitch….not so much.  Actually, I think it turned out ok, I just got my stitches twisted.

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See?  Well, when I’m wearing it, you won’t see.  I’ll just make sure to keep the seam in back.

Pattern:  Burberry Inspired Cowl Neck Scarf

Source:  A free pattern found here.

Yarn:  Cascade 128 Superwash in Summer Sky 1910

Ravelry link:  here

Friday, January 29, 2010

Quick and easy mitts

I needed a quick and easy Christmas gift for my brother.  I’ve made him hats before so this year I made him some mitts.

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This knit up in just a few hours and he seemed to like them.  He’s not much of a talker so I’m not sure….

Pattern:  Those Mitts (I modified the thumb)

Source:  A friend to knit with

Yarn:  Paton’s Classic Wool in Taupe and I lost the other band but it’s a light gray, obviously  :0)

Ravelry link:  here

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Felted slippers

I stumbled across these little gems while reading Yarn Harlot. I thought they would make perfect gifts for my mom and my mother in law for Christmas. I had never felted before but thought that it couldn’t be that hard.

The slippers knit up fairly quickly and the felting wasn’t bad either but I think I took them out too soon because they ended up being too big. So the size 7s I made for my mother in law were given to my mom who wears a size 10. It’s ok though….my husband’s side of the family doesn’t really exchange gifts so it worked out.

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Pattern: French Press Felted Slippers

Source: French Press Knits blog

Yarn: Paton's Classic Wool - I lost the band but it's obviously a light gray

Ravelry Link: here

I do plan on making these again, for myself of course! I have some robin’s egg blue wool and some scarlet red alpaca blend that are begging to be knit. I just can’t decide which color to make….

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Secret Santa

We do Secret Santa every year at work and I always like to make something for my Secret Santa. I usually put some lotion or a candle in along with it but I personally like homemade gifts so of course, I enjoy giving them as well.

This is what my Secret Santa got this year:

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It took a lot of will power to give this away.

Pattern: Sideways Grande Hat from Interweave Knits~Accessories Special Issue 2009

Yarn: Jiffy by Lion Brand in 159 Dark Grey Heather

Monday, December 14, 2009

Gifts

A friend of mine (who I’ve never met or even spoken to but is dear to me nonetheless. I love the blogging world!) just had a sweet baby boy. Luckily, I was able to finish these little gems for her before he came.

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Pattern: Noggin, a free pattern found here.

Yarn: Classic Wool by Patons in Taupe

Spa by Naturallycaron.com in Naturally

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Pattern: Rub-a-dub-dub Bootees, from Beautiful Baby Knits (I found this book at a used book sale)

Yarn: Spa by Naturallycaron.com in Naturally

These are my first booties! I think they turned out perfect. I couldn’t get over how tiny they were!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Just added

It's amazing the things you will accomplish when you are in an environment that you want to be in. After rearranging the basement, I actually want to be down there. Who knew? I've finished a hat (well, the hat has been finished for awhile, I was just dragging my feet with making the flower) and a blanket. They are now in my etsy store.





And I'm getting internet back! Can you tell how excited I am! At home, I post using Windows Live and with that program you can add watermarks to your pictures and it's just much easier than Blogger is. The Verizon FIOS people are coming out next weekend to get us all hooked up....can't wait!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Just pictures

Ok...no time to post but here are some pictures (better late than never, right?) of some finished items. I have also finished a Boppy pillow cover and am almost done with a set of booties I made for a client. I will have pictures later this week.