One By One

Catch Up

Thank you for all the pregnancy congratulations! It certainly made my day to see so many people happy and excited for us :)

I am getting a bit of my energy back, so there is no time like the present to give a bit of a crafty update.

My Christmas craft-giving list consisted of four projects, two of which I have photos of, two of which I do not because I forgot to take them before wrapping them up (I'm blaming my pregnancy brain on that!).

First up, jewelry! I made this set for my mom. The earrings are hairpin lace using a Stitchdiva pattern, silver wire, clear glass beads, and green and white freshwater pearls. The bracelet is five single crochet strands, three with the same pearls as the earrings and two without any, that are twisted together and attached to magnetic clasps. It turned out beautifully and my mom loved it:

Second, a scarf! Well, actually an ascot. I made the Huckleberry Ascot from IK Holiday 2007 (ravelry link) using yarn I picked up at Rhinebeck - Ellen's Half Pint Farm, 50/50 merino and silk, 220 yards. I used one skein, and had just a few yards left over. I did alter the pattern a bit by completing 5 repeats instead of 7. In the end I still ended up with an ascot that was slightly wider and longer than the finished dimensions of the pattern.

Third, another scarf! And one I forgot to take a picture of. It was a stockinette scarf with garter stitch edging made from Artyarns beaded silk. It turned out beautifully and was a great gift for my grandmother that lives in Palm Springs.

And finally, a crocheted cape. More specifically Chanson En Crochet from Wrap Style (ravelry link), which is also available for free from Knitting Daily. I'm pretty disappointed that I neglected to take a picture of it. I crocheted this for my MIL using Lion Brand Wool Ease in Mushroom. It took a little less than two skeins. I picked up a really pretty green button at Joann's as the closure. I made no changes to the pattern, except to change my crochet hook size to accomondate the change in yarn.

Believe it or not, that's it. Not a lot of craftiness over the last few months. I do have a couple of things currently on needles - DH's Tribal Sweater (I'm making my way through the first sleeve), a Lace-Edged Women's Hat (ravelry link) to be used as a chemo cap for my grandmother, and a sock that I've had sitting around for months.

I do have some sewing planned as well - I'm just itching to make these really cute burp cloths. I have the supplies and everything, it just that my sewing room is currently in transition. More on that later.

Catching Up

I finalized all the knitting and beading gifts a few days before Christmas Eve!

Falling Water Lace Scarf   

Pattern: Falling Water Lace Scarf, published by Bonnie Sennott. 

Yarn: Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere yarn. I have 13 grams left over.

Needles: Circular Crystal Palace US4s.

Alterations: None really. I knit it exactly as written except for the change in needle size. I knit on it until it was 80" long pre-blocking. That was about all I could take.

Finished Dimensions: 86" long x 4.5" wide.

Impressions: The yarn was a pleasure to knit with... it just doesn't get any better than cashmere! The pattern is straight-forward, and would probably make a good beginner lace project.

Tiny Bamboo Scarf

   

Pattern: "Tiny Bamboo" stitch pattern from Vogue's Stitchionary Volume 1, with slip-stitch edges and added fringe. 

Yarn: Elann's Peruvian Sierra Aran, in Chestnut. Used a total of 4 skeins.

Needles: Addi Turbos, US8s.

Alterations: None as I made up the pattern.

Finished Dimensions: 79" long with fringe, 72" long without fringe x 5.25" wide.

Impressions: I really liked the stitch pattern, it was easy to execute without being boring. The yarn was not as soft as I thought it would be with the 20% alpaca content, however I would consider it for outerwear projects and other scarves. 

Beading Fun

   

I also whipped up some elastic-corded beaded bracelets. These are fun to make, not to mention pretty quick to put together.

All in all I would say everyone loved their hand-knit and beaded gifts! I started in May, finished a few days before Christmas Eve, and ended up with nine handmade gifts to give. Now to decided what to make as gifts for next year :)

Another one blocking

The Falling Water Lace scarf is off the needles and on the blocking board:

And I know you want to see a close up of the stitch pattern:

She will get an official debut when dry!

Blocking Scarf

Originally I really-really wanted to knit Grumperina's Shifting Sands scarf. After swatching with the yarn I had purchased from Elann (Peruvian Sierra Aran in Chestnut), the stitch pattern was getting terribly lost in the yarn. I think that this particular yarn, although it is really nice to work with, has too much of a heather variegation and too much alpaca fuzziness going on. I learned from a particular sweater that it is not worth the time and effort to work on a wonderful stitch pattern if it is going to get lost in the yarn.

Shifting Sands will have to be for another day, and a much smoother, solid colored yarn.

So, I still needed a scarf.... and I was on my own for a stitch pattern.

I pulled out Vogue's Stitchionary Volume One, and after much contemplation, decided on the "tiny bamboo" pattern. Worked up on US8 needles I had this one whipped up in less than a week (it's amazing how fast things knit up when you are monogamous to it!). It is currently blocking:

After the drying is complete, I will be attaching some fringe.... then it will get a proper debut.

While this one has been drying, I have been plugging away at the Falling Water Lace Scarf. I'm about four feet in. I'm estimating about another six hours of knitting for this one, and it will be done as well. Maybe I'll get it done over the weekend? I hope so... it is my last "official" knit-gift (I have some supplemental knit-gifts in the wings if I have the time, but by no means are they required), and it needs time to be blocked, dried and wrapped :)

All Right Answers!

I suppose the scarf was not all that mysterious as all the guesses to the contest were correct! I was working on the Vogue Holiday 2006 Weave Scarf... it is featured on the cover.

Anyway, I finished it up a few days ago:

Pattern: Weave Scarf, published in Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2006 issue. 

Yarn: Elann's Pure Alpaca in Garnet. I ended up using two whole skeins and about 75% of four skeins.

Needles: For garter stitch edges - KnitPicks DPNs, US2s. For cords, Brittany DPNs, 5" long, US5s.

Alterations: After reading about this pattern on Lauren's blog, I decided to take her alteration and knit each cord to 70" long instead of the specified 90". The finished scarf ended up a little bit short of that indicated in the pattern... but I'll take the 62" long and call it a day :)

Impressions: This scarf is not complicated. The juggling of the cords towards the end became a bit of a challenge, but the project was perfect for the Thanksgiving trip and as "under the weather" knitting. I messed up on weaving the cords not once, not twice, but three times. The fourth try was the winner! I guess I should not have been enjoying that glass of wine while attempting this task.

I really liked working with the Pure Alpaca yarn from Elann. It is pretty darn soft and lofty. The garnet color is rich and fantastic. I would be concerned about making a garment with this yarn though as it seems to have a tendency to stretch and distort. If I was to consider knitting a garment with this yarn, I would first research other's experiences prior to committing to it. I would not give it a second thought for scarves and shawls - this yarn is perfect for these projects.

THE CONTEST:

One of my cats plays fetch with paper balls... yes, she fetches like a dog. And when she really likes her toys she puts them in her water dish (we never said she was the smartest kitty on the block). So I figured the fairest way to determine the winner of the contest was to let Diony decide...

The investigation of all the paper balls - "what are these" she says:

"Oh my gosh... there are so many... it's hard to decide" :

"I think I like this one" :

After some batting around, she made a b-line toward the water dish:

And I couldn't catch it before she dropped it in!

So, the winner is (yes, it's wet!):

Kris! Congrats! Give me 'til after the Holidays to make your bag :)

Under the weather

I woke up with a cold on Friday morning, and have been under the weather ever since.

It's a good thing that I had a scarf well underway so that I could knit on it here and there as I mustered up bits of energy over the weekend:

I should probably have a contest to see who can figure out what scarf it is...

Oh, what the heck... why not!

So, leave me a comment with your guess in it. Those who guess correctly will be entered into a drawing and a winner will be chosen. The prize will be a small embroidered handbag. Kinda like these two. The winner will have to give me some leeway though... prize delivery will occur after the first of the year (you did see my goals list for December, right?).

Oh, and I'll give you a hint... The picture above is of the scarf's progress, it is snip-it shot and is not complete.

There are a couple of people out there who do know what scarf pattern it is because I've mentioned it to them. You guys can enter, but let's keep it interesting and email me your answer instead at marisadotonebyoneatgmaildotcom...

I'll keep the comments open until 6PM on Wednesday, December 6th. Good luck!

Is no longer socks...

After a bit of contemplation I decided to rip out the Embossed Leaves sock. It had nothing to do with the pattern (which is lovely)... and had everything to do with my sock-knitting skills.

You see, these socks were slated as a gift to my SIL... who has a different size foot than my own. I was constantly questioning the knitting and the sizing and whether it would fit her or not. The last thing I wanted to do was give her a gift that did not fit! And this was, not so surprisingly, causing me a lot of stress.

And, honestly, I'm stressed enough with the quickly approaching Christmas deadline and my crazy- busy job (which may require working additional hours in the near future due to the recent release of a huge project).

So, after the contemplation, I ripped out the sock and started the Falling Water Lace Scarf. (pdf link). I am using the same loverly yarn (yes, the cashmere!), and the scarf is turning out beautifully thus far:

Here is just two repeats of the lace pattern. Using the scale and applying some math, I'm estimating that I will get a total of 36 repeats for a total length of about 76". I don't plan on aggressively blocking the scarf as I like how it is looking just as it is. The width is at about five and a half inches, so I may block it more width-wise than length-wise, and will probably end up with it being a bit shorter than the 76" estimate.

I'm much happier with the result of the scarf, and it is causing me no stress at all!

FO's and Re-Organization

THE GOOD...:

Finished Objects!!

Here are two Shackles before felting

And here is one that is completed!

I made this one for Erika... we exchanged gifts this last Sunday. I ended up embellishing it with the lurex shimmer in pewter and fresh water pearls from here. If you are ever in need of jewelry making supplies or beads, and are in the San Diego area, definitely check it out! The place is crazy big and the selection is amazing!

The the second Shackle is for my SIL Jenifer. I hope to have the time to embellish it tonight.

AND - here is the finished Stitch Diva Curlique Scarf:

And a different view...

This was definitely a fun knit... just kinda hard on the eyes with the mohair. Something to keep in mind for those interested in making this one - The last row and bind-off are 1272 stitches each! Knitting-ADD settled in quite quickly! But - it was well worth it, the scarf is beautiful.

THE BAD...:

My knitting schedule has been severely effected by everything that has been going on the last couple of weeks. So, needless to say, I am very far from reaching my Christmas Knit-List goals. I have done some shuffling around.... and with the things I made for the craft fair, I am still able to give some hand-knit gifts. So, the revised December goal list is:

1. Finish River. (I will get to this one in a second).

2. Block the Interlacements Fan and Feather Shawl.

3. Finish two one ArtFibers/Stitch Diva Scarves. (Done.) Look what I purchased to complete the second one:

Yep - size 50 needles! Oh well, there is always a future birthday or something!

4. Felt and embellish Shackle. (Done)

5. Start and finish second Shackle -OR- a Knecklace. (Just needs some embellishing)

6. Sew handbag.

7. Start and finish one Mary Ella.

8. Start and finish one Mary Ella -OR- Sew a handbag.

9. Seam Ash.

10. Complete back portion of Homme #77, start one of the front pieces.

We'll see how the rest of the month goes...

& THE UGLY:

I was plugging along on River last night... I was probably at the 40% complete stage when I noticed something horrible! I was so heart-broken, I could not even take a picture of it! I made a mistake... a big mistake... on the pattern... the yarn-overs were completely off about half way down! I totally missed it... you would think I was blind or something. Heart-broken, completely heart-broken. I really thought that if I worked on it every night I could get it done in time for the recipient for Christmas.... so not going to happen now!

Luckily, with A LOT of patience, tears, and taking my time, I ripped out the KSH and was able to salvage the yarn (thank goodness!). But now I'm at about 20% complete. Heart-broken, completely heart-broken. There's not enough time to finish it... I was pushing it at the 40% spot, but there is just no way now.

So, I'm off to the store tonight to purchase a gift instead of completing River. Bummer.

Have you ever wondered....

.... what 1272 stitches really looked like?

Well....

Holy cow - Now that's A LOT of stitches! :)