WIPs No More

So updates:

Finished the Nyan Cat Scarf for Ms. J and bonus: I get to deliver it in person as work is bringing me back to Phoenix this week.

Finished my heather shrug; the lace work turned out beautifully! Pictures to follow soon.

On round 14 of the Kami hat, so progress there! :)

 

I would like to thank the 2009 miniseries of Emma for giving me something beautiful to watch while I knitted this weekend!

Moss Stitch Cowl

Decided to give my wrists a break last night and started this cowl.  After doing homework all afternoon, I took a break and knitted a hat for my lil sis's guy and finished the cowl.  The hat was knit in Lion Brand Thick & Quick in grey marble, simple pattern I just made up on the fly.  I add the purl round to keep the hat from curling due to the stockinette stitch.

Cast on 40 and join in the round, using US 13 circular needle, 16" long.
Round 1: Knit
Round 2: Purl
Knit every round until the hat covers the crown of your head
K6, K2tog, repeat to end of round
Knit to end of round
K5, SKP, repeat to end of round
Knit to end of round
K4, K2tog, repeat to end of round
Knit to end of round
Cut a long tail and thread yarn needle with tail
With hat still on the needles, thread tail through loops
Remove needle and pull tight
Weave in loose ends

This pattern took me about 2 hours.

Here's picture of the cowl:

Saturday in the library

Today is the perfect day for working on J's Nyan Cat scarf, but I have too much research and paper writing. I am on the last color for the ripple portion and then I will start on the poptart cat portion. I finished the Autumn in Eugene hat, and I will post photos soon! I am still trying to decide what to knit for my Parisian friend and for my lil sis's partner. I also need to finsh my other Ugg bootie and make my handwarmers.

Here's what the Autumn in Eugene ended up looking like after blocking!

Autumn in Eugene, Cont'd

I am now on Round 43 of 49 and the hat is coming along beautifully! 

In other knitting news, a friend and i have decided to participate in a knitting swap for Christmas this year.  She lives in Paris so I have to think of something warm and fashionable and fabulous! :)

Autumn in Eugene Hat

Yesterday I began work on a hat commissioned by my sister.  As I made a swatch to ensure my gauge/tension was right for the pattern, I realized I had purchased the wrong Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarn.  I bought the light, which is a sport weight, when I meant to just purchase the Ultra Alpaca, which is a worsted weight.  So back to the yarn store I went.  The ladies at the store helped me quickly and before I knew it was I swatching again.

Swatch made, gauge met, I began knitting.  I am currently on round 22 of 29 and have just switched from DPNs (double-pointed needles) to 16" fixed.  Here's my progress so far, and here's the pattern I'm using:

Weekends & Knitting

The past few days I have been baking, cleaning, gaming, and knitting. Less knitting than I would like though.  My slippers are coming along nicely.  The first slipper is finished based on the initial pattern, but I have some modifications to make.

First off, I don't know who measures a 8-9 shoe in the size for that pattern, but it is HUGE.  I mean, I can get both of my feet easily into the one slipper.  So the next time I make these Ugg Booties, they will be MUCH smaller.  Second, I stopped knitted back and forth on straight needles after all the decreasing and switched to knitting the round to avoiding having to sew up the seam.  I hate sewing the seams.  And my finally change was that I also shortened the slipper to only 6" of stockinette and then switch to contrasting color for about 1.5".  The penultimate row was purled to help reduce curling of the slipper.  I am quite satisfied with the slipper, over than the ginormousness of it.  Next up, I am going to be "tufting" the slippers to compensate for the extra-large-ness of them and to make them extra warm.

I also visited a new yarn store yesterday.  The hubby and I were supposed to go to Portland for some yarn shopping, but we decided to stay close to the house so that we could spend more time relaxing!  The Knit Shop is a great store. They have a large selections of yarn and the prices weren't too expensive, though I did see a skein of sock yarn that I wanted--it was $36...it will have to wait... While I was there, someone called for assistance with a pattern for a sweater and they were very helpful. 

Here's what I got for my $36:

1 skein of Flounce--color 20 and the clerk offer assistance if I need any using the yarn.  I will be knitting this with the yarn.

2 skeins of Happy Feet--color 10 and it is SUPER soft.  I'm posting two pictures as one is tiny and the other is not true to the vibrant colors in the yarn.

2 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light--color 4201. This yarn is for a hat I have been commissioned to make.

All in all, a good knitting weekend despite not actually knitting that much.

Knitted Ugg Booties...for me!

Today I started some fantabulous slippers for myself since the hubby confiscated my slippers (they were man slippers so it's ok).  Since Oregon equals cold feet, I decided I would make my own slippers instead of buying generic ones that anyone could have!

So here's what I have so far:

And here's the pattern I am using:
Size 10 needles
Lion Brand thick and quick yarn or similar to obtain gauge
I am using Oatmeal as the main color and Sequoia as the contrasting color for the top of the booties!
gauge: 12 sts and 20 rows = 4"

With main color co 44 sts. Knit one row.
ROW 1 (RS) K1, yo, K20, yo, K2, yo, K20, yo, K1
ROW 2 and all subsequent WS Rows: Knit all stitches, but knit the yarn over twisted, ie. into the back loop of the yo.
ROW 3 K2, yo, K20, yo, K2, yo, K2, yo, K20, yo, K2
ROW 5 K3, yo, K20, yo, K7, yo, K20, yo, K3
ROW 7 K4, yo, K20, yo, K5, yo, K4, yo, K20, yo, K4
ROW 9 K5, yo, K20, yo, K6, yo, K6, yo, K20, yo, K5
After row 10, continue in stockinette stitch for 8 more rows.

INSTEP
ROW 1 Knit 40, ssk, turn work (ignore remaining stitches on needle for now)
ROW 2 sl1, p14, p2tog, turn work again (again ignore remaining stitches)
ROW 3 sl1, K14, ssk, turn
ROW 4 sl1, p14, p2tog, turn
ROWS 5-12 Repeat Rows 3 and 4 four more times.
ROW 13 sl1, K14, knit to end of row, turn
ROW 14 purl to middle of row. there is a gap. purl2tog to close gap. (i neglected to count which number these two stitches are.. I will update on my next pair. it is very easy to see!!) purl to end of row.

Work 8-10" in stockinette stitch (if your tween likes low Uggs or high Uggs) and switch to contrasting color and work another 2" in contrasting color. BO Knitwise. Sew seam using mattress stitch. Give to teen and be met with squeals and giggles. To fit approx. size 8-9 foot. they will stretch a bit. Put some dots of puffy paint or what ever you like to put on your slippers to prevent them from being "slippers" and enjoy!