Friday, October 31, 2008

Andrew's Longies



So inspired by Jill, I decided to cast on for Andrew's longies. I'm not making them for diapering purposes instead only because I think they are adorable. I am making the Knitty pattern Cargo. They are super cute. So far I have about 3 inches done on the first leg (as you see). The only modification I have made is to not sew the cuff up under the leg. I decided that was too hard & that I would just leave the little purl row as a detail for the cuff instead. I will try my best to keep you posted on my progress.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

My First Sock



It has been a while since I posted anything and that is due to my endeavors at sock making! I have been so anxious to try it, and the perfect excuse came to me in the form of my mother. She wanted my sister to buy socks for the grandkids as a stocking stuffer for Christmas. My loverly sister suggested we might make them instead. Yes!!! A wonderful opportunity to spend moolah!! Out I went and bought yarn and needles and I was off!! Oh, except I had the hardest time thereafter finding a pattern. Everything I looked at suggested a certain yarn and certain needle size for the baby sock, but then just said to go up a few sizes in needle for the toddler sock. Well, I had already bought the smaller sized needles, and was not about to go out and buy some more! Again, my wonderful sister saves the day by recommending I go to a blog that features pattern calculators. Here is the link to the website.

The calculator was a great help, but it took knitting my first sock to see that the toe recommendations might not be ideal for an infant's or toddler's sock. Aso, I completely butchered the Kitchener stitch, which you can see below. That probably was the part that took me the longest to get the hang of. By my third sock I had finally managed to make it look halfway decent.


So, my first sock was a complete failure in one sense, but at least I learned how to make them.

Emmaline's Sweater


I just wanted to post an update on my progress with Emmaline's sweater. This project has been a labour of love. I haven't been too overly excited about this project, which I believe is mainly caused by the fact that I am knitting it very tightly. I wish it would have occurred to me to just go down a needle size. Blast my flakiness!!

Well, I have finished the two sleeves, and have gotten about as far as I can go on the back before knitting up the hoodie. Now I am knitting up the front 'til it is the same length of the back. I am soooo close to being done with this project, and I shall be soooo glad when I am, as it has been a burden on my shoulders.

So far the yarn has held up really well, but I have noticed that some of the fibers tend to come off and stick to my hands. I think that is mainly caused, though, by how tightly I am having to hold the yarn.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Hand Towel



I decided to make this hand towel that was included in the Mason Dixon knitting book. I just love the chevron stripes pattern. Decided to make this with my Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Naturals yarn. Turned out great! I can't wait to make more!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Ball Band Dishcloth


Jill & I were contemplating making this rag yesterday but decided on another pattern because we couldn't figure this one out. I don't know what mode my brain was in yesterday but when I looked at the pattern today, I felt silly that yesterday I couldn't figure it out.

I just love the way this dishcloth came out. My only complaint with it is that the sides aren't perfectly straight. I think next time I knit this, I'll add a border on the ends to keep this from happening. It's just going to sit in the kitchen so I'm not sure what difference it makes to others, but it matters to me!

I used Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Natural yarn, which is 100% cotton & size 8 needles. This pattern can be found here. Great pattern for a really cute, super scrubby washrag. I was able to complete this in a few hours today.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Washcloths for Maggie



Jill & I decided to cast on for some washcloths together. I finished mine earlier today & decided these would make really good housewarming gifts for a friend of mine who recently relocated. I don't know any woman that couldn't use new dishcloths! (Now I have to cast on for some for myself!) I hope Maggie & Curtis will get many years of use out of these.

These were made with Sugar 'N Cream yarn on size 7 needles. I used my nickle plated knit picks needles for this cloth. I like them a lot but I'm such a loose knitter that it was hard to keep my stitches on there if I wasn't really careful. The pattern is called DW Knitted Dishcloth. It was super simple to make & took less than one full skein of yarn! You better believe I'll be making more of these for my own kitchen stash!