The Zimmermann Wagon

That's right. I hopped right onto that wagon. Here is my first Elizabeth Zimmermann piece. It's the almost seamless baby jacket from the Knitter's Almanac. It has a great lacey type pattern with a garter stitch yoke along with garter stitch trim. Check out the little bunny buttons (thanks SJ!) They're fantastic. I used Blue Sky Alpaca sportweight wool, and it fit a 3 month old perfectly!

That look again...

Not only do I incite that look in my pug, but apparently my knitting also puts the Look of Fear into infants. Here's the pumpkin hat I made for my "nephew" Jack. Isn't he CUTE?! And my hat too :)

Stitchionary

I whipped out the Stitchionary book I bought from Vogue Knitting to pick out a nice stitch for a scarf for a baby. I picked the Linen Ridge stitch. It looks nice enough, but it does make the scarf very dense and stiff, and it's curling.

Of course I mentioned the scarf to the recipient's mother and she said baby's choke themselves on them. Hm, maybe I'll just take it as a lesson in a stitch.

Oh, and I like the backside of the linen ridge stitch more than the frontside.

Monsieur Pussycat

Poor Monsieur Cat. I have been wanting to finish him up by sewing him up, stuffing him, adding his ears... but I've lost interest. I'm sorry Monsieur Cat. But all the finishing wore me out and now you're deaf. You're earless and can't even hear me when I apologize to you. I'll keep you around and maybe one day I'll be bored of knitting and want to continue sewing by putting your ears on. Not likely.

And the whole stuffing process is an art unto itself. Monsieur Cat is tres lopsided and lumpy.

It's a Bobbleful Life

I made my very first bobble last night. Thank you Vogue Knitting for walking me through the process so eloquently! The bobbles are part of a braid and bobble design from Stitchionary II. I was hoping to make a simple scarf since I picked out a bright magenta for the color. But it's going to be a bit more bobbleful than I had originally intended.

The Look of Fear

Look at my poor terrified puglet! First I attack her with the mean nasty sweater I knit her, and then I chase her around the apartment with the mean nasty camera. Poor little girl.

I wish I could get a better visual of the sweater, but really, my Pug is so much worthy of a photo! The sweater came out a little too short. So, it's fine, but not ideal. I'll give it another whirl when I get some spare yarn.

What a nice change

I just had to run out and buy Jenny Hart's Stitch-It Kit, and it's so lovely. As much as I love knitting and crocheting, this is a nice change. To work in a much more detailed manner is so very relaxing (except when you prick yourself), and the kit is just so darling.

So, I started a "doodle" sampler. Strawberries being my puggy's favorite treat, I just had to try that pattern first. And then, I just added some lettering to practice. I'll be practicing more soon since it looks more like someone took a machine gun to this tea towel instead of it being embroidered.



Oh yeah, and those are supposed to french knots for the dots in the "i"s in Brigitte's name. Ha.

STILL learning from my mistakes.

OK. I got it. I understand. I just have to keep knitting, build up experience and learn from my mistakes. I'm tired of learning. I just want one project to go smoothly. So, the doggie sweater - which I haven't even posted yet - was too small. Or I like to think that my puggy is too big. And then the crocheting mishap turn Mr. Yarn war... that was just ugly. But now, there's Monsieur Cat.

I had extra yarn leftover from that crazy bonnet, and when I flipped through my Lucinda Guy's Handknits for Kids book, there was a pattern that called for that yarn exactly! Just my luck! It was for a Monsieur Cat! How lovely - a cute little toy I could even keep for myself (but probably give away).

I just don't even know what the heck I'm doing.
1) The pattern wants me to CO in the middle to increase. Never done that before - just wing it.
2) Use different colors within the same row. Oh, ok - read that somewhere - stranding or intarsia. I guess this would just be stranding.

Hold on. Wait a second. Just stranding. Not so much. I stranded too tight and now Monsieur Cat looks like he went on a diet. F'ing fantastic.



3) And. My first time purling 2 together through the back of the loop. That's just stupid. To twist them, my Knitting for Dummies tells me. It's a stupid cat. Stupid stitches don't have to be twisted. My hand cramped up for goodness sake.

Oh, and I forgot that I need stuffing.

This little toy seemed sooooooooooo innocent.

I stand defeated

I started to crochet "Turkish Slippers" from Simple Crochet by Erika Knight. I thought they looked funny. Too elfish. So, I ripped it out and was either going to start again, or do something else with the yarn. Well, Mr. Yarn had a different idea all together. I think Mr. Yarn thought it would be better to play - How Long Will It Take the Dumb Human to Untangle the Yarn?

Well, the dumb human spent about two hours on untangling Mr. Yarn. I stand defeated. Mr. Yarn kicked my ass up and down sheep country.

Goodbye Mr. Yarn! I cannot fight you any longer! Until we meet again!

My first garment

I am embarking on my very first garment project. Maybe not my FIRST, but it's the first garment I'll be making where fit actually matters unlike booties and baby hats.

It's for my pug, Brigitte. It'll be a basic turtleneck sweater made of Blue Sky's Organic Cotton. And since she's a big shedder, I'll be using the same yarn I used for the pom-pom hat since it's her color. I have to alter the pattern I found since pugs are so "chesty". Keeping my fingers crossed (and knitting)!!

A caricature of a bonnet

This is the completed baby bonnet I mentioned earlier.

I thought it looked cute.

The longer I stare at it, the more I think it looks weird. Is it the pom-pom's? Is it the sherbety color combo? It almost looks like it's making fun of itself. Like it's the Saturday Night Live version of a baby bonnet. Like - hey... being a plain-old baby bonnet isn't cute enough - I have pom-pom's too! Oh dear, I made the cheerleading version of a baby bonnet, didn't I?

Or better yet, it's the costume version of a baby bonnet. If an old man were to dress up as a baby on halloween, this is the kind of bonnet he would wear.

Great.

Lazy hand towel turns to life as a...

mouse pad? That's right folks. A mouse pad. I "completed" my moss grid hand towel from the Mason-Dixon Knitting book, and while I'm proud I could go the 4 rows of moss grid pattern (and only make a handful of mistakes), instead of the 11 the pattern called-for, a hand towel it is not. It barely stays over the towel rack in the bathroom since it's too short. It keeps slithering down, and falling off.

And, I need a mouse pad. I've got an infrared mouse, on a white surface. Not too smooth. So, hey - why not? And it gives my sterile computing experience a bit of that homemade feel.

Mystakes.

I just started a "Moss Grid Washcloth" from the Mason-Dixon Knitting book. It's a wonderful book. All the praise it's gotten is well-deserved. The quirky style of the projects are not really my cup of tea, but it is nonetheless inspiring. The anecdotes and stories are the most interesting. And what I've been reminded of is to not be afraid - more specifically, to not be afraid to make a mistake.

I've always been a bit tentative when dealing with my creative side. Always questioning that creative voice. Never able to just let my creative side do whatever it wants to. Always careful not to start a project without careful deliberation and advising that creative side to "not get so crazy". My first foray into creativity started young where I've always enjoyed drawing. Painting not so much. I have never been that into color. Always appreciating the shades of gray my charcoal would bring to newsprint, as opposed to what those crazy yellow/green bottles of Crayola paints had in store for my canvas. My teacher would always look at my drawings and say gently, "Go ahead - don't be afraid. Every line has its place. Every mark is important."

So, in response to my own previous posting of learning how to fix mistakes... yes, of course. Fix them. But make them first!!

I've also just received a box from Jimmy Beans Wool - what great customer service. I can't think of anything better than receiving a box full of yarn and notions. What fun!!

I'm also starting another project for my cousin-once-removed(?). My cousin's daughter. Anyway, she's turning 1 next month, and I'm starting a bonnet for her. It's from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (again), and I think this is the first project I'm starting with the actual yarn that's being asked for. How exciting.

Not one the same as the other...

 Like fingerprints, it seems my booties refuse to come out looking like a pair.  They're like paternal twins, similar but not the same.  I'm beginning to understand why homemade items are never promised to be the same.  I guess it's not just me.  But one booty always seems to stand up straight, flat on the surface, and the other always looks more like a thumb-warmer.

A Funny Little Thing

happened on the way to my knitting blog. HTML crossed my path and beat me up. Took my blog and ran. Cold-hearted.

And now it's holding my latest entry for ransom... it left some weird resemblance of what it used to look like.

UPDATE:

I just re-typed it and it looks fine. Maybe it's my Opera browser.

Next On My List... Fixing Mistakes.

Much much more to learn. I have a baby shower coming up, and thought I'll make baby booties! Well, the booties alone seemed a little lame-o, so then I thought, let's do the pouch on the cover of Last-Minute Knitting Gifts!

I did the pouch first. Used superwash wool for the pouch, and then a wool/silk mix for the cord. I'm using that same wool/silk yarn for the booties. But the texture differences are bothering me a little. The pouch is so country (but not like Britney), and the silky texture of the pink is so much more slick and luxurious. Seems wrong.

And then, a mistake. A huge glaringly weird, twisted, skipped, slipped, dropped thing happened. Don't know what I did. So, I tried to fix it. I think I made it worse. What was a hole is now a big puffy blemish. My pouch is embarrassed and doesn't want to be seen in public. I really have to practice fixing mistakes... although it would seem more industrious to just plain-old practice so there aren't mistakes, but that's unreasonable. And unlikely. I'm a klutz.

So, my next mission: Fixing Mistakes.

Which is good. I think I just f'ed up on the damn bootie.

Pom-Pom Patheticus

Oh dear. The pom-pom didn't come out quite right, now did it. But the hat is pretty darn cute. Started on circular needles, and moved over to the double-pointed needles. Used Blue Sky Alpaca's Organic Cotton for a knubby natural feeling. It was a little tough to work with. Like knitting with a pulled out cotton ball. But, the hat is so soft-feeling. I love it.

Used a pattern from "Last-Minute Knitted Gifts". Of course I had to buy it. The picture of that quaint little green knitted pouch on the cover is almost offering you money to buy it. The pattern is really for a little girl, and my hat's for a boy. So, I skipped the bow part, and added the pom-pom. I should get one of those pom-pom makers. This one's sad looking. I'm using it anyway.

A Lesson In Color

I wanted something to practice knitting in the round. I had been reading up on the different techniques, never knowing how people ever did that tubular thing. So, the circular needles, I understood. The double-pointed needles?! No way - pictures always looked like some weird Blair Witch tribute. So when I went onto www.knitty.com, and saw those kneat fingerless gloves and the instructions called for double-pointed needles, well... I had to give it a try. Going onto www.knittinghelp.com, I watched the video of setting it all up. All went well... except for a few things:

1) I realized I had twisted a cablearound, and so this one twist is raised.

2) What the !@#$%^&* is a picot bind-off? Read the instructions. No clue. Opened up Vogue Knitting. More confused. So, I did something, that isn't even close? Who knows.

3) And, was I serious when I thought this gray putty color would actually look good against my glow-in-the-dark skin? See Picture 1. Maybe if I get a tan, it won't be such a problem.

Starting to Crochet?

I don't know if you'd call this crocheting just yet, but mom showed me the basics of crochet over the weekend. So I'm excited, but my fingers are killing from trying it out last night. My left hand is far too uncoordinated. I started to get the hang of it around 1am. Note to self: stiffer yarn is easier. Still have no idea what I'm doing, but at least I can control the tension of the yarn better. Going to get a DVD for further instruction ASAP.

One month in...

I am completely obsessed with knitting.

I spent my entire two week vacation, learning to knit and knitting.

My hands ache.  My fingers are sore.

I close my eyes to sleep and I see stitches of knits and purls.

The best part is that I can't eat while I knit.