I Can't Knit Socks!

2009-05-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

I am participating in the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup at Ravelry.www.ravelry.com/groups/hp-knitting-crochet-house-cup It is so much fun and full of awesome people! Here is my silly Mandrake, with my even sillier son. It is my completed assignment for Herbology. If you haven't joined the House Cup, come and check it out.

I am in love

2009-05-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

I am in love with this guy and his voice. It won't led me embed the video, so please follow the link. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1KHRf02ups

Unfortunate Pooling

2009-02-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

I was in a lecture yesterday and the woman speaking had on this beutiful knit sweater coat thingy. It came down to her knees. It was lovely except for one part (and I found myself distracted by it and wishing I had my cell phone to sneak a picture). It was done in a blue and brown variagted yarn and basicly made blue and brown striped throughout the garment . . . but, on the butt, it pooled in such a way that it looked like huge brown and blue verticle stripes. It was just on the butt. What was the maker thinking? It kind of look liked this: Not my best drawing, but you get the idea.

Snowy days

2009-02-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

I have several pics of knitting that I want to share, but for some reason, my computer is not recognizing my memory card. I am not at all computer savy, so it will probably be awhile before I can get someone over here to help me.

We have finally gotten enough snow here to have fun in. School has been closed for 3 days in a row and we have enjoyed sledding and building snow forts. I am keeping my fingers crossed for one more day off (I teach, so I get the days off too). I just wish we had more food in the house. The kids have been snacking like crazy. :)

Ron's Blanket Square Swap

2009-01-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

I'm participating in a square swap at Ravelry. Our goal is to make a blanket like Ron Weasley has in the Harry Potter series. The original due date has already past, but luckily, everyone agreen to extend it to the end of the month.
I have four squares made of this Noro Kureyon. Its a 1x1 rib on #7 circulars. 44 stitches across. For some reason, it has taken me forever to get these squares done.

I switched to Pattons Classic Wool Merino and a simple stockinette knit. I like the tweed because it reminds me of the Weasley Sweaters. These are 32 stitches across and I am able to get them done a lot quicker. I am completing my 5th one of these. Just one more to go and I am done (for a total of 10). Here they are pre blocking.

Blocking . . .

Post blocking. I really like how these are turning out. Simple, but pretty. I can't wait to see the squares that I will be swapping these with.

Christmas knits

2009-01-03T06:18:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! My pictures uploaded in the opposite order of how I wanted them to, so we will start out with a pic of my sweet boys. Rarely do they all sit still and look forward long enough for me to snap a picture!

On to Christmas knits. I started a new teaching job this year and work primarily with 3 other teachers. They received their first of many hand knitted items from me. Unfortunately, two of the scarves were gifted before I took a picture, but they were all just like this one, just different colors. I used Vanna's Choice yarn, with#8 circulars. The pattern is just a basic 2x2 rib.

Lastly is my sisters scarf. She asked for a "black scarf" with no other requirements. I didn't want to give her just a plain old back scarf, so I found this pattern on Ravelry and attempted cables for the first time! It wasn't hard at all and I enjoyed learning a new skill. The pattern is Irish Hiking Scarf . Again, I used Vanna's Choice yarn (money is tight this year) and#7 circulars and random kneedles, hair pins and even straws and cable kneedles.

She did ask for tassles, which is another thing that I had never tried. I followed instructions from my Charmed Knits book. They were not hard to do, but I think I put in too many. My sister liked it, so that is all that matter.

Sick, sick, sick :(

2008-12-20T13:53:00.000-08:00

The stomach bug has hit my house. All the boys have had it and I thought it was over. Well, one started again last night at dinner and then I started around 2 am this morning. I haven't even felt well enough to knit. Luckily, I am almost done with my gift knitting and will hopefully have some pics up soon.

Sock pal package received!

2008-12-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

I have been anxiously awaiting the arival of my socks, which I expected last week but figured the owls were slowed down by the snowy weather. Well, today while hanging Christmas lights outside, I saw the package on the ground, on the other side of my porch. It was pretty soggy. I have no idea of how long it had been down there, but luckily everything inside was just fine. I love, love, love the socks! They are very comfortable and soft and simply perfect for this Gryffindor! I love everything included in the package, including a set of dpns with a special holder that says what size they are. I have never seen those and I was wondering how I was going to keep my needles organized. Thanks again for everything!

Here are the completed socks!

2008-12-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

I finally got one of the pictures loaded! Here are the completed socks! I didn't get a pic of the rest of the goodies before I sent them. I just hope that my partner loves them.

Trying to meet the deadline

2008-11-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

[URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/7038/053nz3.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I had been trying to meet the deadline for my first sock swap (and first pair of socks). Here is a picture of my almost completed second sock and I worked in the school pick up line last month.

ETA: I haven't been able to get my pictures to load since I had to switch to a lower speed internet, so I tried it with image shack and it obviously didn't work either. Any suggestions?

A pretty good first attempt

2008-09-02T16:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I completed my first sock . . . all but the grafting of the toe. For the most part, I think it turned out pretty good. Its definately wearable, but I think that I am not going to send this one and try again. My sister has said that she would love to have this sock (along with its mate :) )

The problems: I should have made the cuff a lot bigger. I don't think its even 1/2 an inch.
Then, I messed up some on the pattern. You can see it in the picture below in the yellow section. It forms a straight line for a few rows. I should have fixed it then, but I kept hoping it would blend in and I still have this aversion to ripping out with such small stitches. I never can get them back on the needles. Now that its done, I'm not happy with it at all.
Here is the heel . . . which isn't a problem at all. It is "Eye of Partridge". Its the first time I have tried this and I love how it turned out. Can you do this for the entire sock?

2008-08-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

I am participating in my first sock swap, which is a huge deal for someone who can't knit socks. Its Harry Potter themed and I just couldn't resist. I figure I will just have to bite the bullet, buckle down and learn to knit socks. I plan on knitting my little fingers off until I get it right and produce a pair of socks that my pal will be proud to wear.
I started shopping for yarn as soon as I got my pal, Gabrielle Lovegoods, and found out that she was a Ravenclaw and wanted socks that were HP themed and not in house colors. I chose some Lorna's Laces in the color way Starry Night. The colors are based on Monet's painting, Starry Night, but I felt like the colors and the name worked well with the HP theme. The yarn is beautiful and the colors remind me of something Dumbledore would wear. I hope Gabrielle likes them.
This is where I am as of tonight. This is after multiple attempts and casting on over and over again. Different problems snag me up each time and the stitches and needles are so small, that I have a hugely difficult time ripping back to the mistake and then moving on. I end up ripping it all out and starting over. Any suggestions?
Here is the detail work :) I am proud of myself for trying something other than basic stockinette. I know it probably doesn't look like a big deal to most, but to me its a lot. I love how it is turning out. The pattern is Dublin Bay Socks, which is a free patern that I found on Ravelry. I think it kind of looks like stars . . . maybe I'm reaching a little on that one.

Wish me luck with this project. I will try to keep you posted.

Vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC

2008-07-28T09:44:00.001-07:00

We spent a week at Myrtle Beach. It was the first time that my boys have seen the ocean. I couldn't have asked for a better vacation.

A baby sweater

2008-06-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

Remember the baby bootie I started for a friend whom I though was having a girl and turned out she was having a boy? Well, here is the replacement sweater. I'm happy with the finished product, for the most part, but I am still having trouble with seeming. The seams are too thick. Any suggestions for a flatter job? The pattern is pint size pullover from Total Baby Knits by Candi Jensen. Definately an easy pattern for a beginner. Knit in garter stitch the entire time. The yarn is Berocco Baby Softee Stripes. I think I used size 8 needles, which the yarn called for and I got guage, but I think it would have knit up better on a smaller needle. I would definately knit this pattern again. A great, quick knit.

Another Weasley Sweater

2008-06-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

I've cast on for another Weasley Sweater, but this time its for me! I'm hoping to have it done by November 21 - for the opening of the next Harry Potter movie, The Half Blood Prince!

I am using Rowan Felted Tweed in the colorway "sigh". I bought this yarn on ebay specifically for this sweater after I read on Allison's blog http://allison.knitsmiths.us/ that this is the yarn that she used, but then when I got her book "Charmed Knits" www.amazon.com/dp/0470067, I found that the pattern was writted in a heavier weight yarn. I have never tried to adjust a pattern to use a smaller guage yarn, so I was very dissapointed that I was not going to be able to start the sweater.
Recently, I Allison on Ravelry and I wrote her with my dilema. She wrote me back :) (I have been following her blog for awhile now and I felt like I was writing to a celebrity). Anyway, she directed me to an older post on her blog where she had written the pattern in this very yarn! http://allison.knitsmiths.us/pattern_weasley.html Needles to say, I cast on to my size 5 needles right away!

ETA: My links above aren't working. If anyone reading this can tell what I am doing wrong, please let me know.

The sorting hat says . . .

2008-06-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

I'm a Gryffindor!

I'm a Gryffindor! Yeah!

Its not a sock . . .

2008-06-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Its a baby bootie! The pattern is from one of the recent knitting magazines (I am horrible, but I can't find it right now to tell you which one, but when I do, I will edit this post). I friend of mine is having a baby and I wanted to find something cute to knit and this was perfect. It took me three tries to get it just right. I didn't knit a gage swatch - the project itself was smaller than the gage swatch would be. The first time I made a mistake and used size 8 needles that the Cannon Simply Soft called for instead of the size 6 needles that the pattern called for. It turned out huge. Sorry, no picture of the first one.

The Second one I used the right sized needles, still with the Cannon Simply Soft yarn, got gage and still the thing was big. More like the right size for a toddler. The pattern didn't specify what size it would turn out to be, so I don't think that it was meant to be a baby bootie. I wasn't about to give up. I bought some "crochet yarn" from Walmart which is more of a fingering weight yarn and used size 5 needles and came of with the final project. I love it. Its really easy to knit but I would suggest doing it on circular needles. The straight needles stretch the stitches too much.

I wasn't able to crochet the strap like the pattern called for. I'm just learning to crochet and it wasn't looking good at all. I ended up just braiding it.

I was just about to cast on for the second bootie when I found out that she is having a boy. UGH! I still plan on knitting the second one and giving them as a gift to someone else. As for now, I am knitting a green and blue baby sweater :)

My first sweaters

2008-04-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

These are the first and only sweaters that I have made so far. They are the Weasley Sweater from Charmed Knits. They didn't turn out the way I had hoped, but my boys still wear them :) I definately learned the importance of swatching. These sweaters turned out way too big. I guess my boys will be able to wear them for years to come. Plus, when I was making them, I didn't really understand what drape meant. These sweaters are very stiff. They could practicly sit up on their own. I used Bernat Soft and Chunkee yarn. I am actually half way through my third one but don't have the heart to finish because I know it will be a disaster like these. I want to start over with the right gage and a better yarn. Maybe I will start with one for me.

My "first attempt" at socks

2008-04-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

Technically, this is my second attempt at knitting socks. My first attempt didn't get past the cast on. Those tiny dpns frustrated me so much. This time, I decided to try knitting two socks at a time on two circular needles, as explained in "Knitting Circles Around Socks."

I thought it might be a good idea to knit two different color socks . . . to try to save some confustion.

I didn't get very far before I frogged it. I tried several times.

Then, my dog got ahold of my ball of yarn while I was in the bathroom.

So, after rewinding the balls, I started again, on DPNS! Here is my sock so far. We'll see how far I make it.

Excuse the lack of . . . well, everything.

2008-03-18T18:02:00.001-07:00

I am so excited to be starting my own blog . . . to feel like part of the club. But, I can't find my usb cable for my camera, and blogging without pictures just won't do. So please, if anyone has stumbled across my pathetic blog, please don't give up on me and come back and visit soon. Hopefully I can get started soon.