Knit on All the Things, Buy All the Yarn

    This last couple of weeks, I've cast on another sweater (Shapely Boyfriend by Stefanie Japel) worked on my two in-progress sweaters (Hana Hou by Mel Ski and Julissa by Vanessa Smith) decided to frog my brothers birthday socks because his feet are enormous and wide, and sewed five project bags.

First off, the Shapely Boyfriend. I'm knitting this out of some In The Loop yarn that my mom got me. She bought around 15 "Made by Me" knitting kits at the dollar store for less than a dollar and they each came with 2-75g skeins of yarn. I don't know what the content is-I'm guessing acrylic- but it's really nice and soft. It's a heavy fingering weight, and the only way I know this is because I did a WPI measurement and got 14. More about the yarn later. I had to do a generous, and I mean generous, amount of math to get this yarn to work for the pattern. My gauge is 24 stitches by 32 rows = 4 inches, so even doing the largest size, It would still be to small. I cast on 78 stitches and increased to 270 before starting the neck shaping. I used this handy little site to help with gauge calculations, and I will say, it's pretty spot on. I've already split for the sleeves, it only took three days, and tried it on. It fits nicely and I can't wait to finish it.

   The Hana Hou is currently being sewn up. I decided to sew the body of the sweater up before I knit the bands and collar (which hopefully, I won't regret later) and get the seaming over with. I won't bother with a photo of that, because it's just a mess of sweater pieces and yarn  ends.

   The Julissa got a few inches knit on it. I just have a sleeve and a half and the collar left and I'm done. Why haven't I already finished it you ask? Well, because I'd rather cast on two more sweaters.

   My brothers socks.... How do I put this nicely... HE HAS SASQUATCH FEET! He has the same size feet as my mom, and I swear I had her try them on. They were supposed to be a surprise birthday gift, but I really needed to make sure they fit before I finished them and said "Happy Birthday." He tried them on and they were too short, and too narrow. I think the shortness came from the short row heel that I did, I hate doing short row heels by the way, and the narrowness came from only casting on fifty some stitches. Granted, the yarn is sport weight, but it's Peruvian wool and silk, so I guess it doesn't really want to give much.

   I'm sewing the project bags for my friend Grace, she hosts the Daisy Creations Designs podcast if you'd like to check her out. She sent me three different fabrics with three different linings and asked if I could make some bags for her. I really love the fabrics she chose, she has great taste!

 

All of the house bags have this orange polka dot lining that I LOVE!

 



   Last Wednesday, we went the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument in Fritch, and went hiking. It was a long two hour hike up hills and rocks and trying not to touch the cacti, get bit by a snake, or step on a lizard. Mostly, what we did was look at pieces of flint and boulders of limestone. It was probably more fun for those who enjoyed the hike, but me? It was hot, I was sweaty, and I really don't like to hike. The view was gorgeous though! And the rocks were pretty, we found a few with crystals, which I loved, but they said 'back then' the rocks with crystals wouldn't be valuable because the crystal was in the way of the flint.

  
  I have been crafting, I just have been sharing it. I haven't been blogging much in general, I know. But not because I don't want to, not even that I don't have the time. I  plan on blogging at least a few times a week, really I do! It's just that I need to set everything out to photograph, I need to set aside time to type everything up, think about what I want to say, etc, etc. I get three days a week off from work, so maybe I should just set down and write a post or two each morning with my coffee or at night with my tea. I'll post some book reviews later today, I finished two books yesterday and want to tell you what I think.

Sewing Sunday

Today, I  spent some time with my beloved Singer Simple. I made 2 Medium wedges, a large wedge, and a drawstring bag. The large wedge bag is for my brother, I just taught him to knit, and he's making blanket squares to sew up into a 'Enderman' blanket. (If you've played/seen Minecraft you know what an Enderman is. The other three I will probably keep!

Playing Catch Up

   So I haven't been writing much, hopefully that'll change. But I have been doing a lot lately! Knitting, Spinning, and even sewing! I worked on mainly a few projects for a while, but now I'm back to my normal self.

Knitting
I cast the Wood Elves Gloves by Christelle Nihoul  on for the Ravellenic Games last month, but I'm still on the first glove. I'm Kind of worried that I won't have enough for the other glove. I'm knitting it in Claudia's Hand Painted Yarns Fingering "Peony" on size 1 needles, and size 2 for the fingers.

I'm also knitting on Buttony Sweater by Katie Marcus using Purl Essence Rainbow Classic "Bright Pink" on size 9 needles. I cast this on early last month. It's just a basic raglan, super simple sweater. It's all bunched up on the needle, but there's really not much to see, I'm just working on the sleeve increases.

I've also finished a few things since I last posted. These are just simple projects that I've knit up using my own mind patterns.

WIP Wednesday, and a Little More

   This week is the second week of the Ravellenics/Winter Olympics and I haven't worked on my projects very much at all. I got a custom order that needed to be done so the Ravellenic projects kind of got put on the back burner. But I do have some progress to show compared to last Wednesday.  First up are the Wood Elves Gloves by Christelle Nihoul in Claudia's Hand Painted Yarns Fingering weight "Peony" on size US 1(2.25mm) needles,  the fingers I'm doing on 2's just to make sure they'll fit right. Yes, I know my ball is falling apart, I'll re-ball it when I start glove number 2.

   This is the fiber I am spinning for the Ravellenics, it's Nurturing Fibres "Seashell" 100% Falkland. I've already finished 2 skeins, 93 yds and 82 yds, both Navajo Plied. All that is left is the small bit you see here, and hopefully, maybe, probably not, I will finish it by Sunday. We'll see, I really need to work on the custom order.

 
   You've heard me talk about it plenty now, this is the custom order. It's going to be a super long fingerless mitt, just as requested in RHSS "Bikini" to match a scarf. It's being knit on size 5 needles. The picture is kind of blurry because my camera didn't exactly know what to do with all of the colors together, but you can see it in the ball.

   This is a new sweater I cast on, Buttony Sweater by Katie Marcus knit in Purl Essence Rainbow Classics "Bright Pink" it's a little pinker in person, but it's not a bright pink like they say it is. It is a bulky weight though, so it's zoom zooming! It's being knit on size 9 needles. I really liked the photos on the pattern page and wanted one for myself, so what better to do with the yarn my brother gave me for Christmas than knit a sweater!

   Now for the "and a little more" part, I bought some fabric this past weekend and some coordinating thread to sew some project bags, which I will be selling! Let me know if you'd like one ;) One style will be Pink Zebra with a black bottom half and white interior, the other will be white zebra with a black bottom half and white interior. I will post a picture when I whip one up this weekend!

For more WIPW posts, check out Tami's Amis blog! (Link in sidebar)

Some Better Pictures of My Sewing

   So I have posted some pictures of my sewing, but not in the best lighting. So today, before it started raining, I went out and took some pictures! The drawstring bags aren't finished, I have to get some ribbon or drawstring to finish them up. And my first couple of projects are very "fringey." You know, beginner sewing, loose threads, frayed edges... etc. So the drawstring bags are really my best work! I will hopefully be getting a Hobby Lobby trip in sometime this weeked, it might have to be a walmart trip because their fat quarters are cheaper..

Where Has the Time Gone

   My goodness... I haven't posted since Wednesday?! How is that even possible? I've had so much to talk about and not a single blog post? Well, let's get one in! Fist of all, Tour de Fleece is going great! I finished the Shetland wool and I am now working on the Enchanted Knoll Farm "Queen Mermaid." I think I've spun about 1 oz. so far... I am going to spin 1 oz into singles, then spin another oz into singles, and ply them.

I'm So Happy!

   So, last night, guess what I got? A sewing machine! It's a Singer Simple 23 stitch 2263, and I love it! I played around with it some last night, wound bobbins with thread (1 black and 1 white), tried out stitches, and practiced straight lines. I sewed up some of the holes in my boyfriend's shirts while I was at it too. I can't wait until I get some zippers and interfacing, and probably some new fabric too, that way I can start making project bags! I have memorized how to make them by watching YouTube videos, and just want to make one already!

  For Tour de Fleece, I am almost done with the Shetland wool, and it will be plied soon! Next in line is "Queen Mermaid!" 

Episode 3 is up on my Podcast Blog! Go check it out!