a couple of works in progress...

I haven't finished anything this week, but I am excitedly knitting around the clock on two projects, one that travels well and one for home!

I told you about the tees and tanks knit along that I'm taking part in the other day. I decided to go with the Arlene, but I'm holding the huge sequins...It will just be more "me" without the bling. I wanted to get the yarn and get swatching for the project so Monday night I went on a yarn hunt with Honey with some success. I got a nice blueish bamboo silk yarn that will have the drape I want for this summertime top.

I decided that I would swatch for this project. Its not something that I actually enjoy doing (find me one person who likes to knit something, just to rip is out again)...but I've made a couple of things in the past that I didn't swatch for and now I don't wear those things...in fact, I've given them away to smaller people who will be able to wear them. So, I guess you could say, I've learned my lesson. I made two swatches for Arlene and seem to have my gauge correct. So, I started the knitting already.  This project is pretty easy, just a couple of rectangles with straps, so its a very portable project, meaning I can take it with me to work while the babies sleep. It will also be great for car knitting! The pattern is simple enough that I won't have to check for pattern changes after each row.

I'm also working on a toy project. I'm taking an online course at Craftsy. I've made crochet toys before, but I was intimidated to try knitting them too. Its those pesky double pointed needles (dpn's). I find that the first stitch when changing needles creates a little ladder, or gap in the knit fabric that looks like a ladder up the fabric. But, I decided that I won't eliminate ladders unless I practice a bit (LOT) more.

I've seen that Craftsy has a couple of toy classes taught by Susan B. Anderson. She's written a couple of books about knitting and I've had my eye on them for a while, but didn't want to shell out the money for an expensive online course (I think 60 bucks is a bit much, when you also have to run out and drop 30 on yarn and materials...). Then, Craftsy put the Not So Itty Bitty Giraffe class on sale for only 15 bucks! The sale is over now, but the class has since been reduced to $25.  I signed up right away and went out and purchased my project yarn. If you aren't into online instruction, you can buy Susan's book, with the Giraffe pattern as well as many other ones.

I'm liking the class a lot. Susan does a great job talking through the project. Sometimes I think she is covering some things that knitters probably already know...but in reading the class discussion board, I see that many students in the class are beginners and need all the help and description they can get. Here's my giraffe so far:

This is not an On The Go project. The pattern has different directions for each and every row. Plus those pesky dpn's tend to slide out if moved around too much. I'm working on this project at home, safely tucked into the couch. But, its coming along fairly quickly and I'm liking the results so far. Tonight I start the ears!

improvising...

Because we live in such a small place, I don't really have the space available to really spread out and access my crafty supplies and materials the way I'd like to. I also have a long list of dream items that I'd like to add to my collection, but where would I put a serger sewing machine, a swift, or a ball winder? I already have little and big stacks of gear all over the living room of our place, not to mention two sewing machines.

I recently bought some yarn to start a new project. I choose 3 hanks Cascade 220, which come like this:

I needed to wind them up into balls to be able to use them, but I can't hold the yarn and wind the yarn all by myself without a swift and/or a ball winder.  I looked around the apartment and decided to try my sewing machine cover as a make shift swift. The hanks fit perfectly around the cover and I just stood over it and wound up the balls of yarn as I went. 

It worked perfectly, but that doesn't mean that I don't still NEED a swift and ball winder. And here's a quick snap shot of the beginnings of my project using this yarn:

more scrappy crafts...

I have been crafting up a storm lately. We've been doing some road trips, so I've been making all sorts of smallish items in the car while Asa drives.  I've also been trying to use up scraps of yarn that I have taking up space in the yarn basket. 

booties

 

These little booties were made with leftover yarn from a baby blanket from last year.  I saw the pattern for these cuties on Ravelry and knew right away that I would be making them soon.  They were quite quick and are very cute. They don't require much yarn and many color combos are possible...and very likely! I still need to pick up some buttons to match the green or blue/purple yarn...once they have buttons, the tabs will cross over and fasten in a criss cross.

I made these little flowers on our road trip up to NH for a wedding. I didn't have anything to wear in my hair so I made two crochet hair clips on the way. They came out very cute, and I got many compliments on them.  Asa was kind enough to wear one and show off my handy work for everyone to see.

flower clipped husband

newborn frogs ~ tadpoles?

These two newborn froggy hats aren't made entirely with scraps; I bought the soft green yarn special for this hat. But, their eyes are made using some scrap yarn.  This is the first knit character hat pattern that I've worked and I'm happy with how it turned out.  Grace saw me making them and she is really hoping I make one that will fit her head.

a couple of stragglers...

I have been feeling very crafty lately. I've been making so many cutie things but there are still a couple of items that are laying around the apartment that need finishing...and I've started a few more projects.  There was a sale on yarn with a cute free pattern just hanging above it! I couldn't resist that; would you have been able to?

Here's what I STILL need to finish since that first post about my "failure to finish":

poor orphan projects

What you see here is that purple afghan that got too big and hot to work on in the car. Well, its not particularly warm today, so I have no reason NOT to cuddle up with this one on the couch. Plus, I now have a plan for who will get this item...and a deadline!  There's that blue diagonal knit blanket...I just got excited about so many other projects and this one is slow going. Its super easy to work on, but after an hour of knitting, there's not much noticeable change... And then there are those booties. I haven't even picked them up, but I will!

Here's what I've started since then and haven't finished:

more new projects in the works

Well, what you see here is another pumpkin hat in the works. I made that other one, but it wasn't very soft and the color was a bit bright so I bought another skein of a softer (to the touch and on the eyes) yarn and I've been working away on it while the babies nap.  There's another blue hat that I recently started, but I haven't touched it much because I'm making it out of leftover yarn AND the knitting needles have a nick in them from something sharp so the yarn catches on it and it makes me mad.  I've tried filing it down...and I will do some more of that! And then there's the adorable crochet "pretty sundress." I was shopping for that softer orange yarn and I saw this yarn on sale for only $2.50 per skein and the free pattern above the yarn promised I'd only need 2 skeins.  SO- I had to get it. Christmas is coming and I know a few little girls...Its coming out really cute and its a pretty quick pattern!

paper or plastic?

And, I like to do other crafts too, so I've been saving these fun bags up to make a reusable shopping bag that I saw a plan for in a recycling craft book at the library.  I'll fuse these scraps together using an iron to make a thicker durable sheet of plastic and then use a sewing machine to make a shopping back. All of the scraps say "Thank You" and maybe some other positive message without telling everyone where I shop...unless people get take out from my local Thai place or Chinese place...

Here's my new promise: I WILL GET THESE THINGS DONE! By Christmas!

In other news, I've gotten a couple of orders for those HOOT hats! One is for a first birthday in January and another is for my sister.  That's pretty exciting! 

you have got to be kidding me...

I'm so close and still not finished!  I've been working on this multi-colored baby blanket this week because the evenings have been cool enough and its an easy, no counting project that I can work while watching tv. (The BPL only gives us one week to watch a whole season of Big Love, you know!)

Another trip to the craft store...

The pattern is worked diagonally and I'm at the decreasing stage.  Each row is getting one square smaller and its going to complete itself at the last corner of the blanket.  I have only a few more rows to go. But first, I need to go get another skein of yarn.  This is what I get for just doing a pattern that I learned many years ago (Thanks Memere!). It doesn't come with actual directions...so I had no idea how much yarn I really needed. And I'm finding that I always need way more yarn than I think I should. 

and I'm off...

Once I got all of that work spread out in my tiny living room, I have to admit I was a bit embarrassed!  I'm also a bit embarrassed to tell you that I forgot all about two other projects that I found balled up in the bottom of my yarn basket.

more projects approaching completion

I started to make a mesh market basket a long time ago as a gift for someone. It was a chain letter sort of deal. I have 1 year to make something homemade and send it to this person. Thank goodness I found it after only 8 months, I still have 4 months to finish it!  It uses a very thin yarn and hook, so its not ideal for car crocheting.  I put it aside and just forgot all about it...and it got buried under all of the heaps of new yarn I keep buying.  I'll have to get cracking on that one too.

I also found a little hat I made with left over pink yarn. The hat itself is finished. The idea was to sew little ears and eyes and a snout on it to make it a piglet hat.  That has not happened yet.  I guess given these two omitted projects I should increase my promised amount of finished projects to four. That will be four completed projects before I start in on that red yarn. It is just screaming to become a Little Red Riding Hood!

a finished project : garter stitch green sweater

 But, I did FINISH something last night.  It was the green sweater.  It is not perfect, that's for sure.  But, it does look like the picture, except for the button holes.  The button holes are a bit rough on this thing... They do hold the cutest little owl buttons, but they are a bit sloppy.  I hope to improve my technique with future projects (or to just use tiny buttons that don't require special techniques to make holes for them).

projects projects everywhere

     I have a problem!  I like to buy yarn (especially if its on sale). I buy all this yarn, start a bunch of different projects and then start the process over again.  It sounds really normal, doesn't it? Lots of crafters buy materials and then start their projects.  The difference between the other crafters and me is that they finish their projects!  I currently have 6 projects in the works...all at varying stages of completion.

will I ever finish?

     I have some booties that I started for a friend who is having a baby girl. When I think of this friend, I don't really think 'pink' so I'm making the booties in a rich eggplant color. The first one came out as a lefty...even though it is supposed to be symmetrical.  I've lost a bit of confidence and don't really want to start over...but am not too excited to get cracking on that next bootie. I'm pretty sure this baby is not going to have two left feet!
 
     I have a multicolor baby blanket there too.  Its made from a sock yarn so it is very drapey and light weight.  I started it 3 years ago. That's right, the baby I started it for is now about three and a half.  It was taking me so much time and yarn ($), I decided that it is too precious to give away.  This little cuddler is for my future baby.  Whenever I work on it, I get lots of compliments for its bright colors and nice weight and texture.  However, it just won't be finished. Its at the point now that its kind of heavy to work on in the summer time. I don't pick it up unless the weather is cool. Then when I get in the groove to work on it, I run out of yarn. Once I'm at the store buying more yarn, I find a new yarn and get inspired for a new project- so this little beauty gets the back burner.

     I've recently taught myself to knit and that fluffy pink number is a future hooded terry blanket. Its going well and because its a thick fluffy yarn, its actually going rather quickly. I ran out of yarn for it last week so I put it on the back burner while I started that lighter weight blue blanket in the lower middle of the shot. I just went to the store and got some more fluffy pink- so its back to work on that one. This pattern is super simple so I can work on it in the car or while watching tv. A perfect project, in my book.

     The large purple blanket was a project that is actually coming out great. I even have enough yarn to finish it.  It just got too hot to work on an afghan...so its on hold until the fall, at least!

     I mentioned that I taught myself to knit...I still haven't really figured out the whole gauge thing!  That green sweater is supposed to be for an infant. I got the pattern in a little book that I bought for its crochet patterns.  This one was in there and the photo has it on the cutest baby ever.  I started it with this green yarn, thinking it would be good for any of the many friends I have who aren't finding out the sex of their babies.  But the yarn is too thick for the gauge so its coming out huge...like 12 month old huge!  I should just finish it...I'm really close. But, at this point I don't even know who to give a weirdo green sweater to...What was I thinking? All of the patterns in this book have really boxy sweaters that are super wide (at least they are when I make them).  So, I've got a huge weirdo green sweater with a strange boxy shape- any takers?

     I hereby promise to finish at least three of these projects before starting a new one! You may be wondering why I'm only promising to finish three...well, when I was buying that fluffy pink yarn last night I came across some chunky red yarn for only 97 cents a skein and I've got the cutest pattern for a "Little Red Riding Hood" that I want to make in time for Halloween. It will be perfect with the wolf hat I'm hoping to start soon with some cool gray wool I got... can't wait to see Grace and Jonah on Halloween!  I also got some adorable crinkly yarn on sale in neutral colors that will make a new baby very snuggly.

always planning

     Stay tuned for updates and finished photos of these projects!