Finishitis

I've been very busy finishing stuff up. I finally got to the point where there were just too many unfinished things going on so I had a case of finishitis which is uncommon but definitely appreciated. I had started the Who? hat way back in June as I wanted to see if it would be a good car project. We drove to Lancaster, PA (in the beginning of July) and back so there was a good amount of knitting time there...well, it was a quick project and was done well before we even left... except for the button eyes!
which you can see, there are 10 owls (note for a long long time.... until I was actually sewing them on I thought there were 11... and so I had 11 sets of buttons which because they are so small was no easy feat to find!)

and, then ultimately after nixing one set of "repeats" I thought I was good to go with my 10, but you will see one owl sleeping... I am not sure I will be putting on the last set of buttons. We'll see. I am kind of liking the sleeping owl. That and the last set were actually beads and I had trouble getting my needle through them... but I coulda' kept that a secret and you'd be none the wiser... and, of course, you need the modeled shot.


Then, there's the needle roll I made for someone on Ravelry as a Random Act of Kindness (RAK). I have been practicing a bunch of stuff on my sewing machine. I had a great idea for a DPN needle roll, but felt I needed to do a "normal" one first, so this fit the bill!


it was a lot of fun to make and I think it was well-received by it's recipient.

Then.. there was the project that I have been working on for a long long time... a vest for Smush. See, I found the perfect pattern (but didn't look at yarn type) then, was at a LYS closing w/ Smush and let her pick out her favorite color to make it with... or maybe I had her pick out the yarn and looked for the pattern after... doesn't matter - the project called for fingering weight yarn and was for an infant. I figured oh, to make it fit Smush I will just use worsted and make the largest size on the pattern... well, I had bought 2 skeins of Cascade 220 Washable Wool for this. I figured, 5T = 2 skeins no problem... Luckily Ravelry has a function that enables you to look for a yarn that someone else might have bought and luckily someone posted the dye lot and luckily that someone was willing to sell it to me for this, because even though I made the piece with 3 skeins, well, lets just say it was a great experience with learning about gauge and swatching and sizing because this thing is big enough for her to wear probably when she's in high school - it fits me! And, it could be a little longer, but there was no way I was going looking for another skein!



But, wait, there's more... like I mentioned earlier I have been sewing a bit. Last night I finished this off - it was mostly done, just the buttonhole needed to be sewn, and the buttons sewn on. Well, I had a buttonhole lesson yesterday and last night... DONE!
voila! finished Phoebe bag! It came out a little smaller than I had anticipated so I have already got the next bag project lined up and sitting on my desk waiting to be cut and sewn. I had made this for a specific purpose but ultimately it's too small so I just get the chance to make a new bag... Not such a hardship since I am loving both this fabric as well as the fabric I got for the new one!

And, there are a couple more things getting finished, so stay tuned!

Knitting...

yeah. this is a knitting and crocheting blog... yeah... I haven't posted much stuff lately.... here is some eye candy for you...

love this hat - it's soft, it's colorful... and it matches a lot in my wardrobe - a quick crochet - really all the details are on Rav...


this is a knit/crochet project that I was really excited to be able to test for the pattern designer. The center is knit and can either be a kerchief/scarf size, or a shawl size - which is my plan - it is still in progress... I am a much slower knitter than I thought - plus if I was to start over again I would have used a much larger needle to get a much airier look in the center. It doesn't matter, though, because I love the way it is coming out. Too bad it's totally not my colors as it will now end up being a wonderful gift for a wonderful friend.

in this detail you can see the crochet border... love how this is turning out. Normally one would knit the entire body then crochet the entire border on, but since I was testing the pattern, I had a deadline and needed to just get it done, so I will now finish the ball of yarn on the center to increase the size of the shawl (and have already begun using a larger needle, so it will gradually get airier) and then I will go back and figure out how to best add on the crochet edge. Because the designer did such a great job writing it, I should have no trouble... again, this will be a gift, but it inspires me to think about the shawl I want to make for myself.... Multnomah which I will not be doing in greens, although I do love what the designer used, I have a handpainted yarn that was a gift that I think will look amazing...

my new hat!!!!!!

my first attempt at cabling has been completed...

only a small mistake in how I followed the pattern, but I will definitely make this again, and next time will follow the pattern (which was actually written a little wonky, so it wasn't really my fault...) but the yarn is so soft and delicious that it was a breeze to make, worked up quickly, and I will do it again! (with a different yarn, of course, so that I have 2 new hats to wear!)

sorry for the flash - not sure how to turn it off on this camera...