frogtastic

What once was this:

Now is this:
What happened? I wore it to church and while making brunch and it bagged out enough to look like this:

I was actually pretty proud of this tank, as I thought the design was nice (V in back or in front? You decide!) and I'd done a really good job of finishing it, so I decided it deserved a re-do. And there were definitely things that weren't perfect about the first version, so I'm almost happy to have a chance to get it right. It's also been kinda soothing to my currently overtaxed mind to frog it. (Just for the record, I did not make up the etymology of frog.) If only all of my mistakes were this easy to fix!

Happy (belated) Birthday, CH!

Yes We Can! Tam

This yarn is called "Audacity" and I felt filled with hope while knitting it.

Also, this tam was really fun and easy to knit! It's kind of cool to realize I'm at a knitting point where I still get to buy new needles, but also have some basic supplies. (Circular and dp size sixes and dp size 5s.) However, whoa, the rib with this yarn looks weird. And, also.....


I look kinda dumb in hats! Alas. I have decided what to do next with this happy making yarn though. Stayed tuned...

spring chick cowl

Well, at least when I started this, it was supposed to be for spring. But finals, graduation, moving, etc., etc., got in the way, so it's just now off the needles and blocked.
It's the Chickadee Cowl from Through the Loops! and is a simple, beautiful pattern. I'll definitely reknit it in the intended gauge when it gets chillier again. I'm sure that it would be a quick and fun knit. As it was, I had some Handmaiden Sea Silk that I was itching to use for a present for my grandma, so I modified the pattern for the much-thinner yarn (cast on 135 stitches on size 9s, and knit for about 20 inches to account for the highly drapey fabric). I started out using 6s, but that produced a much denser fabric than I wanted. It probably would have been pretty, and perhaps a little more functional, but I was hoping for it to feel a little lacy. Even though cowls aren't really season-appropriate, I think that my grandma will still be able to wear this one in frigid air conditioning, and in the early fall.
EW suggested, probably quite rightly, that I should stop knitting after about 12 inches. I ignored this advice, because I really, really wanted the finished cowl to be able to do this.

This yarn is pretty hard to photograph, but I think this close-up best shows the range. The color is called Dandelion, but it reminds me more of daffodils.

Here's the Ravelry project link, for those of you who'd like it.
Currently on the needles, I've got some more gorgeous Plucky yarn and am trying to design a tank top to show it off. I should be knitting other things, but the combination of small size and minimalistic design have made this a really good project for lulls in the BarBri lectures. I'm going into full study mode this month, so who knows when this one will be done.... I'd love to see what you all are working on in the summer heat!

Christmas in June

I've moved on to experimenting with changing colors, and making non-rectangles. You know you want to click read more...


Well, i picked up a big thing of maroon and green yarn. Christmas colors. the first thing i attempted to make was a decent length ripple scarf. by far the longest starting chain i have ever made. i was starting to get the ripple effect going but i think my starting chain or first row was a bit too tight because it ended up rippling into a rainbow rather than a straight line. if you tug on it, you can make it look sorta right, but i decided to abandon it and leave it as a rainbow.

so next, i decided to attempt the star baby blanket. well i got through a number of rows, but then i realized who really wants a star shaped baby blanket, so of course, i abandoned that project as well. although i do now have a star to tack on to a big christmas tree or at least a star shaped coaster.
i am now taking suggestions on the next thing i should attempt and then abandon. preferably things that are not humongous (like baby stuff). choose here.

What I've Been Up To

Greetings, southside bloggers!

I have been away from the blog for some time, but a fear that people were holding their breath while waiting for me to post brought me back!

I haven't done much knitting since January, but here's the scoop on what I have done:

I finished the cable scarf with icord edging only 6 months late, but it was still a very appreciated birthday gift. And, since this winter in Chicago was especially horrible, it has already been put to good use. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of it before parting with it, so you'll just have to imagine what it looks like. I trust you all have good imaginations.

When I finished the scarf, I made my first felted wool bowl. It was actually my first felted project of any kind and I have to confess that I owe my love of the felted wool bowl to HEB who has made many in her knitting career. She gave me my first over a year ago and I have put it to good use. I have actually put it to such good use that it is often overflowing and in desperate need of a companion to also hold my random assortment of things. In the picture, the bowl that HEB knit is on the left and the bowl that I knit is on the right.

For both bowls, the pattern is from One Skein. There are patterns for 2 sizes, I knit the larger of the two. It knits very fast. I knit mine at the airport and on a flight. For my bowl, the yarn is Manos, the washing machine for felting was my parents', and the tennis balls in the washing machine for felting were their dog's.

As you can see, I can probably benefit from more felted wool bowls. Who couldn't? I mean, what can't you put in a felted wool bowl? Fortunately, I have another skein of the Manos (in a different color) to make one.

Felted wool bowl aside, I most recently knit baby hats for twins (one boy, one girl). The pattern is the umbilical cord hat from Stitch 'n Bitch, and the yarn is Manos (yes, again, but this time a very soft cotton).

The umbilical cord hat is also a fast and easy knit and I hear (from people who have babies) that the hat is a great fit for newborns. Apparently finding a store-bought hat that actually fits a new baby is quite difficult. Never fear, knitted gifts for baby!

Onward, knitters!

small steps

i went through my first skein of yarn and have since been crocheting little swatches to learn different types of stitches, practice using patterns, etc... here's some of the results. the original plan was to put all these blue and orange swatches together to make some sort of thing in the Mets colors but since i don't quite have mastery over making rectangles, that plan is scratched.

the first skein of yarn scarf like thing. it's folded over, i didn't finish it off, but it's close.
here are the patterns i worked on in order of when they were made. picture is against a red lampshade if you were wondering.
this turned out to be more parallelogram than rectangle.



and then i progressed from rectangles to circles

Pinkin' it Up

I'm really quite fond of fingerless mittens. They are so quick and easy and good for easily chilled hands.

I decided that I needed something cheerful and bright and soft, and happily turned to my Debbie Bliss Silk DK.

My first attempt involved the "Pretty Lace Handwarmers" by PurlBee. I was less than impressed. My yarn may not have been ideal for the pattern, but it was weird and not all that lacey.

So, ripped it out! Wheee.

Then I searched through ravelry one day until I found the Dragonscale Gauntlets. Amusing name, pretty pattern, done and done. There are actually a
couple of "dragonscale" variations that I thought looked interesting, but I didn't want to risk any kind of lace effect, so I avoided the ones that looked like they used yo and settled on the Gauntlets.

I didn't want them to go to my elbows as the pattern calls for, so I simply made the decreases two iterations of the pattern in a row and then jumped into the thumb section and that gave me a nice middle length. I also found that I needed to tighten my normal knitting gauge a bit to really have nicely patterned and fitting mittens.

But oh my, I do love these.