Weebies!

My cousin is having a weebie (read: baby) in Feb! I am a little upset that I won't be able to see the new baby on Passover this April because my break is during March, and it's a little ridiculous to try to get out to NJ for one night. Anyway, I thought I would knit something for the weebie. I went to Michael's to look for soft yarn. I was very disappointed in the selection, all ugly blues and pinks and whites. I really wanted a nice yellow or sage green. Finally, I found an OK yellow yarn, Lion Brand Pound of Love in pastel yellow. Luckily, the tag had a pattern for a hooded blanket. OK, I'll admit it, the picture of the baby on the tag is what sold me on the pattern and the yarn. That baby is so darn cute!

Anyway, here is the blanket thus far. It's super soft, and looks pretty nice! My only complaint is that the picture is of the crochet pattern for the blanket. I was unprepared for the difference in the pattern for knitting.

Anyway, if anyone of my friends decides to have a baby, I'd happily make you something. I decided that this is the nicest kind of knitting. I am making something easy and adorable and I don't have to keep it! I get so sick of knitting things for myself and I don't have time for an exciting knitting project for myself while I'm teaching. Therefore, little easy projects for others are much easier. Yay weebies!

Venezia Inspiration

So I enjoyed knitting with wire so much that I decided to make some jewlery with the rest of the beads and wire that I bought. I searched the internet for something equally as beautiful and I ran across Venezia Redux! It is a bracelet pattern written by the same knitter! The idea is essentially the same, but the knitted wire is wrapped around plastic tubing to keep its shape. Genius. I have successfully knitted 3 thus far.





I like the green/crystal better than the red/crystal because there is more of a contrast with the different greens and crystals. The larger beads are also bigger than the large beads on the red bracelet. Also, I ran out of small crystal beads and the local Michaels had no more, so I bought larger green and crystal beads after making the red bracelet.



My only fear is that they will not fit my cousin's. They didn't fit over my hands with the knitted wire, but I figure my 13 yr old cousin and 15 yr old cousin will have much smaller hands than me. I also have huge hands.

99.9% FO!

I have knit my 18th (and last) napkin ring!

I re-knit all of my red/crystal napkin holders because the difference between 32 gague and 30 gague are incredible. 32 was much easier to knit with, but the finished products bend easily and were very small (see old posts). I began the green/crystal and the green/black/crystal on 30. This size wire is a little more difficult to knit, but the final product is much more sturdy and the large beads look better against the larger wire.

All of my Christmas presents are finished. I bought wrapping paper, boxes, and notecards this week and now I can wrap up this knitting project! (Both literally, and figuratively.)

Info: Venezia

I used size 6, bamboo circular kneedles and 30 gague wire (24 gague was WAY too difficult to knit with and 32, which I tried first, made them too small and easily bendable). Each napking ring took about 45 minutes from start to finish (a little longer if I was watching something interesting). That means, with a little math, it took me 13.5 hours to finish them all.

Also, I got two new cameras today! Yay for Black Friday. I bought a pretty Canon G9 and a Canon Digital Elp SD1000. Craig is selling one of his lenses on Ebay, so the hurt won't be as much. But now I can take pretty pictures of Salt Lake City, my classroom, my students, and my knitting!

oops

I've been really doing well with these knitted napkin rings, but i broke my camera two weeks ago and have not been able to take pictures of them. (Note: tea + camera = very broken.) I finished the red set and bought new wire in 30 gague and they look much better. I have three done of a second set and two done of a third. If only I had pictures.....

It's working...kind of

So I think that the wire recommended by Knitty was a typo. I couldn't even find 34 gague wire, so I had to settle for 32 (which is thicker). It works, but it does not look like the pictures from the directions. And the napkin holders are thin and tiny. I understand that my big beads may be larger than the ones used, but even the seed beads compared to the wire looks wrong. I figure I'll just make one set out of this gague and buy 24 gague wire and make some more. Luckily they knit up pretty quickly. It takes longer to sew it up than it does to knit it.

Thinking About Xmas Presents

I've been super busy with teaching and have been feeling really not creative lately. But today I realized that I need to think about Christmas presents for my family. Every year my mom, brothers and I have thought of and created presents for the whole family with a specific crafty theme. Here is a list of the presents of years past and the years that I remember...

1995: Salt-dough basket and napkin rings and decorated napkins (remember that paint that you made raised dots with that created a pattern? We used that).
1996: Quilting
1997: Latch Hook Rugs
1998: Fimo decorated items (pens, pins, earrings, butterflies, etc)
1999: Decorated Candles and Homemade Beeswax Candles
2000: Picture Frames
2001:
2002:
2003: Mosaics
2004: Decorated Christmas ornaments
2005: Knit hats, scarves, and backpacks
2006: Homemade Calendars and pj pants

this year, I decided to pick up a knitting pattern that I had seen last year but hadn't convinced my mother to use: Vanezia.

I can even make some to make for Craig's parents!

So I went to Michael's and bought a whole bunch of stuff (pictures coming, I left my camera in my classroom), but bought the wrong kind of wire. Note: bead stringing wire is MUCH different than beading wire. Now I have to go back out and buy some new stuff. Ah well, too bad I LOVE craft stores. :)

And the sweater is finished!

This will probably be the last thing that I knit for a while, I have a large move to make and no inspiration for my next project. I also sent almost all of my stash to South Jersey to wait for me until I get there next week. Ah well. At least this project is finished and Craig's b-day present is taken care of.

Have a good summer everyone.

Secrets are hard and some news

So, I officially graduated from college (again). I am now a master of education! And now I have another school hounding me for money....

And, we're moving to Salt Lake City on July 22. Goodbye Big Apple, hello Beehive State! So I have a month of bumming around until we leave. Maybe I'll knit something.

On another note, I have not finished my secret sweater for Craig. And now that he is back from the Appalachian Trail it's hard to knit without him knowing. Especially because he is unemployed and is home all the time. But I was able to finish one sleeve and work on another while he was at his parent's house getting cavities filled. I was not, however, able to take pictures. I will have to try and get him to leave the house so I can finish/take pictures. I do really like the way the sweater is coming out, the green is really nice and the yarn is so thick that it will be really warm for those cold Salt Lake City days. I used Kraemer Mauch Chunky in Pinenut for this sweater for those of you who don't know. The yarn is super thick and warm. I made my buttony sweater, sweater vest, and second skirt out of it. And I still have some leftovers of all the colors. Any suggestions on what to use it all in?

It's been a while and new FO's

So the past few months have been crazy. I finished the hardest semester of my life (thanks to a 178 page Social Studies Curriculum I had to write) as well as a 92 page thesis, spending 3 days a week effectively volunteering in a 3rd grade class as well as going to class and doing the rest of my work. Needless to say, I didn't get much knitting done through March, April, and the beginning of May. (Read much = none) But once my 8 day vacation began between semesters, I caught the knitting bug again. Having no class to go to, as well as not having my boyfriend in NYC made life pretty boring. I was still going to the 3rd grade, but I had weekends and evenings all to myself. Therefore, I whipped out my needles and yarn I had bought but never used and whipped up a few things:

1. Pink Vest

This taken from Knitty's pattern. I decided against doing stripes and went for a solid pink sweater vest. I was kind of flying by the seat of my pants trying to change the numbers to fit the needles and yarn I was using. All in all, it came out really well. I can't wait for winter to wear it.

(Details: Knit with Kraemer Yarns' Mauch Chunky in Apple on #8 and #9.5 needles)

This brings me to my other bit of news: I am moving to Salt Lake City at the end of July. Craig already has a job, and I am in the process of applying for a teaching job. It will be cold, and we will need warm weather clothing like no one's business!

2. Craig's hat

Craig has been asking me for a plain grey hat that has no ribbing or curling, just plain. This is not the easiest job, since you either have some ribbing or the end of the hat curls. Anyway, I had bought him a skein of grey of the same kind of yarn that I knit the buttony sweater and vest with. With no pattern, but the general idea of how to knit a plain hat (as I have knit a rediculous number of them in my life), this hat came out. The picture is dark, and it's huge on me (since Craig has a big head), but I think it came out nicely.

(Details: Made with Kraemer Yarns' Mauch Chunky in Shiitake and on #9.5 needles)

3. Caliometery

This is a present for a friend that I made a while ago (it took about 15 min to make) and have not sent off. Sorry Kristen. It looks cool. It was made with Patons Classic Wool Merino in Wedgewood on #8 needles. I am really happy that I finally got to use those crazy pink buttons I bought for a sweater I tried to make that came out horribly years ago.

4. Craig's sweater

I knit Craig a sweater for his b-day from a pattern that I had already used for a sweater years ago with good results. I used the same needles, yarn, everything. And somehow this sweater came out way too big, and not really nice. So I promised Craig I would knit him another, one that he could actually wear. I had such a nice and easy time with the buttony sweater, I set out to find a similar one, raglan, and knit from the top. I found it: the Vanille sweater. In one day I finished to the armpits (the picture seen), and in two more I have almost finished the body (more pictures to come) and I need to find more yarn. I had originally bought 4 skeins thinking that I would have enough. Silly me. I need at least 2 more, but probably 3. On the bright side, it's coming out exceptionally well and quickly. I will be done with what I can by the time Craig comes back from the Appalachian Trail (tomorrow) and I just need to find more of this yarn in the meantime. Luckily, it's damn hot outside (usually) and he won't need the sweater until well after we move to Utah.

(Details: Kraemer Yarns' Mauch Chunky in Pinenut and #9.5 needles)

The semester has started again, but hopefully it won't be too difficult for me to write and knit more in the upcomming weeks.

Love Not Dead

The buttony sweater is finished and 90% dry from blocking! I only blocked the neck area because it was a little loose and I wanted the edge to stay against my chest and back and not hang off of my body.


















I got the pattern from Oh My Stars via Cast on a Cupcake. I used Kraemer's Mauch Chunky Yarn in Bing Cherry and size 10.5 kneedles. It went really quickly on such big needles, and I would have finished it a lot earlier had I bought enough yarn the first (and second) time I went yarn shopping.


I've been working on another skirt with the same kind of yarn in Mint Julep. Fun times!

finally!

I came home from class tonight ready to be sad about my almost finished sweater (it sits right next to the sofa in the livingroom, taunting me), but when I checked the mailbox I found the happiest thing!

Yarn! The yarn even came with samples of almost every other color of this kind of yarn. Super exciting!

Now I have a whole mess of colors to tempt and inspire me....

Anyway, now I have that last skein of yarn to finish this sweater. Here it is, right before I began knitting it again:

Isn't this the saddest thing? An almost finished sweater?

most annoying thing EVER

So, I thought I had enough yarn to finish this cardigan. But as I got closer to finishing the body, I realized that I would need another skein. Of course, I thought it would be only one more skein...I braved Wednesday's snow, sleet, and ice and bought an incredible amount of somewhat expensive yarn (the same stuff that I am using to make the sweater: Kraemer's Mauch Chunky) in various colors. I also bought thread and fabric to line the skirt I finished (which is now done, just awaiting shaved legs and a picture). I worked furiously over the weekend and only got a few inches down the second sleeve when I finished the skein I had bought. I ran out of my parent's Chinese New Year Party (Happy New Year, by the way...go year of the pig!) to make it down to the yarn store only to find that they had RUN OUT OF THE COLOR THAT I NEEDED! And of course there is no other place in NYC that sells this kind and color yarn. So I bought the last skein online (for MUCH more money) and am now waiting for it to come in the mail.

Talk about frustrating. I'll post a picture of the ALMOST finished sweater.

On the other hand, I started another skirt (one that fits a little better and is a little longer than the red one), but I have yet to figure out what kind of pattern to do at the bottom of it...suggestions? I am using "Mint Julep" from Kraemer's yarn and I also have "Apple." Any suggestions about how to incoporate the Apple into the Mint Julet body?

(Note: actual colors are a little lighter in real life...)

Quick and Easy Cardigan Time!!

I started this sweater on Sunday evening and have gotten quite far with this. It is super exciting to create something to substansive so quickly. The pattern is from katie knits and I had to figure out how to make it a little smaller since I do not have a 36-38" bust. The yarn is Kraemer Yarns' Mauch Chunky in Bing Cherry. Here is a close up of the decreases in the shoulder. It gives you a much better idea of the color. The flash kind of washed out the color in the first picture.


This sweater was knit from the top down, on circular needles. Awesome.

Because of how well this has turned out I went to PS Yarns where I bought this yarn and bought $75 more yarn. I bought some dark green to make a sweater for the boy as well as some "Apple" colored yarn and "Mint Julep" for another (better fitting) skirt and maybe a bag or something...who knows. Included in this is some remnant fabrics to line the skirt I just finished and matching thread. Fun fun!

Skirt!

So, I finished this skirt on Friday (more pictures to come when it is finished being blocked). It is very exciting to make something other than: a scarf, a hat, gloves, a sweater. I am so impressed by how professional it looks (especially the casing for the I-cord).














I wish I had more pictures of the process of the knitting. Alas, I will have to just add pictures of the finished product, once it is dry.

Now, onto the Buttony Sweater I have started. This time I will definitely include more "action" pictures.

Not knitting, but sewing

Well, now I'm two for two with non-kitting posts, but I got tons of compliments on this and wanted to share it.

I made a portfolio cover for Craig's portfolio out of this dark grey suede fabric. I had a bunch left over and made two belts (one still in the process of being completed). The first is simple, made to fit low on the waist, and has a nice pouch. Perfect to hold: an ID, Metro Card, credit card, and a few bucks in cash.

Because it was suede, I didn't need to hem the belt or flap of the bag. I did have snaps and a little gadget to put them in the fabric. The bag is removable and snaps shut. It is a simple design, a rectangle that is folded into thirds. I sewed the strap on the back before sewing up the sides. I then turned it right-side out, trimmed the edges of the flap so it looked nice and added the snaps.

It's great. And now I don't have to bring a purse with me when I go out.

First Post

This is my first post, and it is only to brag about what I did last night...

I went to Don Hill's for the Hedwig and the Angry Inch party. For those of you who don't know, this is the venue where the show was first put on. Well, there were tons of Drag Queens, one of which fell on me, as well as a appreciation show for Hedwig in which the Drag Queens performed some Hedwig songs.

And for the grand finale...John Cameron Mitchell performed two Hedwig songs! I was about 5 feet away from him. And then he body surfed the audience and I got to touch his butt. And not just through his pants, through underwear! I tried to get photos of him performing on my cellphone, but it freaked out and the camera would not work.

All in all, it was a very exciting night.