yay! my turn. Thanks Kel!
The first three people to comment on this post will receive a gift from me, sometime within the next 365 days.
Last night I finally finished my first ever sock. And I even got the grafting right the first time. Impressive for 11:15pm LOL.
I can't wait to tell my grandma and show her the sock, she will be surprised that I actually got it finished, after my last attempt haha.
My ravelry link is here for anyone who is interested.
And the pattern link is here.
This was a very easy pattern to knit, it was just getting my head around what I had to do that was difficult at first. It's a very quick knit too, so great for a first pair of socks... I recommend it to anyone!
But if you're after pretty socks, this might not be the pattern for you lol. I really want to knit something pretty now. Well as pretty as possible with huge feet like mine....
A progress shot :)
I started a pair of these socks a few months ago and never really got into it... so it sat and sat and I finally said bugger it, and frogged the lot.
The lovely Bec talked me into a KAL with her and Donna, and I got inspired again, and picked a different yarn. We cast on together on msn (yes we are dorks) and they both charged ahead of me... I struggled along, and finally mastered the gusset.
Now nothing will stop me finishing this darn sock!
wish me luck lol.
Today I finished the second of these hats.
I am really pleased with how it turned out... despite the few setbacks along the way... including a massive yarn tangle and knitting in a stitch marker that needed to be cut out :P
I think it's really cute, but Caitlyn says that "it's iiiiiitchy!!" and then took it off. doh.
I am so glad that I can cross off another finished item. I have way too many UFOs at the moment. Though not as many as in one person's blog that I was reading... she had something like 45 unfinished objects. ho-ly!
I only have about 5 or 6... but that's way too many to me. I get anxious about finishing and then can't relax and knit anything else until I either finish it or hide it away in the cupboard and forget it exists haha!
This is my favourite photo. I love how the decreases make a spiral.
And despite my best efforts, I still have a bunch of this wool to use up. I'd guess about 30-50g.
What to make... what to make....
Here is the pattern that I designed for my kid's bath toys!
Bath Buddy Bag
This bag was invented out of a need to use up 25g of 4 ply baby yarn that I dyed as a test, and also out of frustration in tripping over bath toys all over the bathroom floor!
Yarn used, needle sizes and gauge are not very important for this project, use whatever your heart desires. But obviously, the finer the yarn used, and the bigger the needles, the more open the lace pattern will be.
I used 4ply (fingering) yarn, and 10mm needles.
note: there is no WS or RS for this project.
Loosely cast on odd number of stitches. (I used 39)
Knit 6 rows
Row 7: kfb, continue until last stitch, k1.(I now have 77 stitches: 38 x 2 + 1)
Begin mesh pattern.
Mesh Pattern.
Row 1: k2tog, yo until the last stitch, k1.
Row 2: k1. then k2tog, yo until end of row.
Repeat these 2 rows until your bag is the desired length. (mine is approx 10 inches (around 25cm) unstretched from top to bottom)
Note: Your mesh pattern should look like this when pulled tight:
All the diagonals are going the same way. If you find you have a row with the diagonals criss crossing over each other, then you need to go back and fix ;)
You will find that there is a different definite way in which the stitches sit on your needle (and the way in which they are knit together) for each of the 2 rows and you will learn to recognise how each row behaves as you knit it, and so should be able to pick up any errors quickly.
Now you will continue with a decrease row:
K2tog until last stitch, k1 (I now have 39 stitches again)
Knit 2 rows.
Bind off loosely. (as loose as possible will ensure that your bind off row has as much stretch as the rest of the bag)
Seaming:
Fold the bag in half from side to side, so that the 10 rows of knit are at the top.
Begin at the bottom, and seam the edges together, but stop just before you get to the knit rows at the top. I left these open, so that the opening of the bag wasn't too tight. Depending on what you are using the bag for, and how loose or tight your knitting is, you may want to seam all the way up the edge. I like the frill effect that it creates being open.
Here are photos of the bottom and the top of the bag, showing the open frill.
Creating the i cord: (if you don't know how to create an icord, search google here)
You may want to use smaller needles to create the icord, if you want a neater finish. I used the same 10mm needles that I used to create the bag, to make the icord and it looks fine.
Knit an icord of your desired length, and again, this will depend on what you want to use the bag for. Make sure that it is long enough to enable the bag opening to open right up. Mine is approx 30 inches (around 75cm) long.
Thread the icord through the top row of the mesh pattern. I threaded it through every second hole, to reinforce it a little. Pull it tight to close, like a drawstring. And you're done!
Please contact me if you have any questions, or if I've made a boo boo! :)
Last night I cast on Wisp, Ravelry link here.
I originally started with the suggested 5mm needles, but the yarn I am using is a bit thicker than the suggested, and after ratting up the pattern majorly on the first lace row, I frogged it and switched to 6mm needles.
I was using crappy steel lined plastic needles and I was having so much trouble, so I am using my KPs now and wish I had done in the first place.... they are so much easier to knit with. I would definitely recommend that you spend the money on them, they are worth every dollar!
I managed to stuff everything up a second time, so it seems like the third time might be lucky on this UFO. I have completed the first repeat and it looks passable. (note to self, close knitty page with perfect Wisp photos, as they don't inspire confidence in the mediocre version sitting infront of me.) The mohair does matt/felt/smoosh up a lot. I have a feeling this might resemble something flattened on the road by the time I'm finished with it, hence the name I gave this project.
This was inspired by my need to knit something lace-like. I have just queued up a bunch of different shawls, scarves and wraps.... I think I am developing a lace fetish. LOL.
Now I just need some really nice 2ply lace yarn and I will be set.
I settled for this Cleckheaton Studio Mohair that I found in the reduced pile at spotlight ($20 for 10 balls)... I seem to dig through those a lot lately. I have yarn withdrawals though. There is absolutely no where else to buy yarn in this town.... oh for a lovely LYS.....
When I was at spotlight during the 20% off sale, spending my voucher... I came across this bag of baby yarn (4ply) ... 18 balls of it
I thought well, I could experiment a bit with it, and if all else fails, just knit baby items for friends etc with it.
so I turned this...
into this today....
I wasn't sure if it would take the dye, or if it had been treated with something (and it was a really cheap brand after all, AFAIK...), it did say handwash, so I was hopeful lol
but yay, I am so stoked by how it turned out.
and the best part?
18 balls for.... a whole $8!
now what can I make with 25g of dyed wool? lol
Here's the first finished sun hat made for Caitlyn.
I made it with the same bamboo/cotton yarn that I have been working a lot with lately. I find it very hard to knit with because of the way that it splits, and how slippery it is. But it is really soft, and lovely to feel.
Who knows if she will actually wear it :P ... but it was a fun, easy knit, and I've started another one, using Monster Knits BFL... which is turning out nicely, and is much, much easier and faster to knit with. It will probably only take me half as long.
I think I buggered up a few of the decreases in this hat, but you can't really tell, and it's not like it matters lol. I also added a band of the contrasting yarn to the middle of the body of the hat, because I was trying to use up that pink/grey/brown yarn, and I didn't have enough to make a whole hat out of it. I think it looks pretty cool.
