Finished: Felted Cat Bed

I just realized that I never gave my one and only Christmas knit a finished object post. This is the "Kitty Pi" bed from WendyKnits. I missed the boom of people making these by about 4 years I think, but oh well. I thought Maggie might enjoy it. (I was actually thinking that maybe she would at least be interested in it, not just sniff it once and then ignore it forever.)

Pre-felting:




Post felting (duh):




With cat:




She likes it! Sweet. It really is making me ridiculously happy that she is sleeping in it.

Pattern: Felted Cat Bed from WendyKnits (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Paton's Classic Wool Dark Gray and Leaf Green held together; About 1.5 balls of each.
Needles: size 11US dpns and size 15US 29" circulars

Those huge needles just about killed my hands. It's a good thing it was so fast to knit, I don't think I could have worked with them for much longer. I was very happy that the sides stood up on their own once the bed was dry since I've seen lots of photos of cat beds on Ravelry with droopy sides. But it doesn't matter in the end, since she mashes them down and makes more of a "cat mat" with it anyway.

Finished: Fake Isle Hat

Taking full advantage of my unexpected day off, I finished my fake isle hat this morning. It is a little large even though I made the smaller size; I think I was trying too hard to make sure I didn't strand the colors too tightly that everything ended up a little loose.

Even so, I'm happy with the finished hat. The top is a little pointy, something I noticed while browsing finished hats on Ravelry but then forgot to correct while knitting my own hat. It doesn't bother me enough to rip it out and redo.





If you are familiar with the pattern then you may notice that I reversed the main color and contrasting colors as called for in the pattern. The main color is supposed to be the variegated/striped yarn but I decided that I would rather have the main part of the hat solid colored and the design striped.

Pattern: Fake Isle Hat (pattern, or Ravelry)
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino Wool in Demin, Paton's SWS Natural Blue

Needles: Clover bamboo size 8 Circs
Date Started/Finished: Dec. 15, 2008/Dec. 19, 2008

Finished: Monkey Socks

I've named these my "better late than never" monkey socks, since I am at least a year behind the height of their popularity if not more. These were an easy knit, if a bit tedious. I've since come across a no-purl Monkey version on Raverly, but I do like the look of these even if the purls slowed me down a little.

This was my first time using Cherry Tree Hill's sock yarn and I really liked it. It is soft and springy, as well as being less "woolly" than Regia or Opal, the yarns I typically use. I think this has to do with the way it is spun. Whatever - I loved the feel of the yarn. I am slightly disappointed that it fuzzed up significantly after a gently wash and lost some of the stitch definition. (I'll have to get a photo to show you the difference.)



(this is a pre-wash photo)


Pattern: Monkey Socks by Cookie A. from Knitty. (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in English Garden
Needles: two circulars - size 0 US Addi Turbos
Date Started/Finished: Sept. 19, 2008/Dec. 11, 2008

I couldn't get the color quite true to life in any of my photos. I guess that's what you get when you knit with blue and purple yarn!

Finished: Mystery Beret

According to my notes I finished this on November 15th. It is Woolly Wormhead’s Mystery Beret from her Ravelry group. The pattern was posted in chunks without a photo of the finished beret. I love it! I’ve never made or purchased a beret before since I assumed I’d look stupid in them. But I think it is actually pretty cute and I look forward to making more.





Pattern: Woolly Wormhead’s Meret (link goes to Ravelry)
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Claret Heather, 2 balls
Needles: Clover bamboo needles, 16” circular, size 7US
Started/Finished: - Oct. 30th 2008 - Nov. 15th 2008 (clues released on Oct. 28, Nov. 6 and Nov. 13th)

Finished: Cottage Socks

I have wanted a pair of thick, tall socks to wear to bed for a few years now. I had this yarn (Wool-Ease Thick and Quick) with a pattern from Lion Brand on the label and decided it was time to whip up a pair.






I made the ribbing extra long, since I am tall and wanted them to come up over my knees. They are so warm and comfy - even more than I expected.

But yeah, knitting with super bulky yarn on size 11 dpns? Not fun. Quick, but not really fun. Especially trying to turn the heel!

Pattern: Cottage Slipper Socks from Lion Brand (on Ravelry)
(You can find the pattern free on Lion Brand's website - but you need to register an account to see it.)
Yarn: Wool-Ease Thick and Quick Charcoal (less than two balls) and Natural (less than a half a ball)
Needles: Skacel size 11 US plastic dpns

A Little More Halloween.

This candy dish was a failed felted pumpkin from a few years ago (I don’t think I ever blogged about it). Instead of tossing it like most sane people would do, I stuffed it in the back of a closet and carried it through two moves without any idea what to do with it.

I came across it earlier in October and realized that with a little trimming and my fledgling needle felting skillz I could turn it into something for Halloween.





Not bad. I’m glad I kept it. =)

Finished: Pixie Flora Hat

I love this hat. It is one of Woolly Wormhead's sideways knit hats, from her extensive collection of free patterns. I was amazed to find that I was only the third person to enter this hat into Ravelry. Come on people; it's a great hat AND it's a free pattern!





I finished it in one night and used about a half a skein of Manos del Uruguay left over from my Must Have Cardigan. (Finished before I moved my blog to Wordpress...I still haven't been able to transfer 5 years of archives from Blogger over here. I need to figure something out so I don't lose all that history.)


If you read Woolly Wormhead's blog, you know that she has been having troubles with the printer of her self-published books. She is basically going to have to discontinue the full color hard copy of Going Straight for now. I have wanted to buy it for myself since it came out, but never managed to scrap up the money. I mentioned it to my mom and she told me they'd order it for me as a Christmas present. I need to check and make sure they order it before the October 25th cutoff!

Finished: Malabrigo Waffles Scarf

I loooove this scarf. It is so incredibly soft and comfy, plus long enough to wrap around my neck and wide enough cover my nose to keep out the cold. The pattern is a simple waffle stitch which I've written up below for your enjoyment. But first, outtakes from the finished-object photo shoot:





Oh look, a Tribble!




Um, hmmm.



I think I'm in trouble.


Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted or another worsted-weight yarn of your choice. I used approximately 1.5 skeins.
Needles: size 8US, or a size to obtain a gauge you like with your yarn
Gauge: not very important, as long as you like the fabric made with your yarn and needle choice
Finished Size: my scarf is approximately 7.5 inches wide and 65 inches long after a gentle steam blocking.


Cast on 30 stitches

Row 1: knit across
Row 2: purl across
Row 3: (k2,p2) across; end k2
Row 4: (p2, k2) across; end p2

Repeat until scarf is desired length and bind off.

Below, you can see that both sides of the scarf form a nice pattern. The front side is on the left, and the reverse on the left.





I'd love to see a photo if you make one.

Updated Jan 2010:
I neglected to mention in the original pattern how to minimize the curling of this scarf after knitting.

Blocking is the key here. I’ll explain my favorite way of blocking below, but your preferred method should work just as well.

To block, I use the “steam shot” button on my iron. Find a long heat and water resistant surface, like your bathroom floor covered in towels. Lay the scarf out and flatten as much as possible by hand. If you like, pin the edges out flat. Pass the iron slowing over the surface, hitting the steam shot button repeatedly as you go. Do not touch the iron directly to the scarf. I typically don’t pin the scarf down, but use my hand to flatten and smooth as I go. Be careful not to pull it so straight that you lose the waffle texture.
Allow the scarf to dry and cool before moving.

While it is impossible to completely prevent curling, this tames the curl to a manageable (and for me, comfortable) level while wearing.

Finished: Dublin Bay Socks

These are my mom’s new Dublin Bay socks (free pattern here; or on Ravelry), out of Trekking XXL #66. She picked out the yarn at Stitches Midwest ’07 and I finally got around to making the socks for her!

(Are you tired of that story yet? I feel like I have been repeating it for a while now. Oh well, it’s staying in!)

Also, my new cat-face sock blockers! Aren’t they cute? I was tired of trying to figure out the best way to photograph my socks and bought them for myself last month.

These were made quite differently than the pattern. I worked them toe up, at the same time from both ends of the ball. I used two separate sets of circular needles, since I just get a huge mess when I try to do two socks on one set. I did a star toe (increases evenly spaces around) and a short row heel.

After the heel, I worked a few rounds plain and then followed the lace pattern from Dublin Bay. I think it looks great, even though it is technically upside down since I was working from the bottom up instead of the top down as the pattern calls for.

I love how these turned out and might make a pair for myself some day.

Finished: Button Tab Hat

This was a total instant gratification project. I finished this hat in two days and I just love it.



still missing buttons!



The yarn is Creatively Dyed’s Soft Merino. It is so soft and the colors are beautiful. I love the little yellow/green flecks that show up every so often. You can find the free pattern here: Button-Tab Hat or on Ravelry. I only used about half the skein of yarn so I am going to make a little neck scarf thing with the leftovers.

Haven't been able to find matching buttons that I really love yet. At least I have a little time before it is cold enough to wear it!

Finished: Broadripple Socks #2

Ah, the infamous Stitches Midwest ‘07 sock yarn. This is one of two balls mom picked out for me to make her socks. I started the first sock almost immediately, and then put it down for other things. I picked it up again around October, finished the first sock, cast on the second sock, and put it down again to work on Christmas gifts. A few months ago I decided enough was enough and I HAD to finish at least one pair of her socks before Stitches 2008.

The pattern is a fingering weight version of the Broadripple Socks from Knitty. I can’t seem to find the pattern online anymore at Threadbear, but I suppose it wouldn’t be that hard to improvise from the original pattern. This is my second time making these socks and I still love the pattern. It's got enough to do that you don't get bored but easy enough to memorize and it looks great with striping yarns. I carried the leg pattern down the heel flap for this pair, and really love how it turned out:





Hmm, I should take a photo with the sock on, I think you will be able to see the heel more clearly.

I finished these with about two weeks to spare, and gave them to her at Stitches ‘08. The second pair from the second ball of yarn is halfway done now too. (I was smart enough not to ask her to pick out any new sock yarn this year.)

Finished: Something Red

Actually, I should call this "Something Slate".





I am very happy with this sweater, even though it took me forever to finish. I checked my notes and it was started way back on October 5 of last year! Sheesh. In my defense, I didn't work on it for a number of months while I was knitting Christmas, Mother's Day, and Father's Day gifts for people. Then I didn't knit it some more once the weather turned warm, since it is rather uncomfortable to have a pile of alpaca on your lap in the summer. But I got to the point where I just wanted it finished already and I'm happy I did - now it is ready to wear once fall is here.





Knit and Tonic's Something Red (Ravelry link)
Elsebeth Lavold's Classic AL yarn, 50% baby alpaca/50% merino wool, purchased from WEBS at Stitches Midwest last summer. (Check it out - they have it for $3.49 a ball!)
Knit Picks Options size US5 needles
Started: October 5, 2007
Finished: July 6, 2008




I have to admit that while this yarn feels very very soft, I could feel some little hairs poking me around the camisole I was wearing under it when these photos were taken. But that could also have been because I was trying to wear an alpaca and wool sweater in 90F weather. We'll see how it goes in a more appropriate environment.

(ETA: I am horrified by how chunky I look in these photos. Unfortunately I don't think it is just the photos either, as most of my summer clothes are snug. Blech.)

Finished: Utopia Hat

This is my Utopia Cabled Hat from SmarieK (on ravelry), made from leftover Cascade 220 Tweed. Do you recognize the yarn? It's from my Bluebell Boatneck sweater.

This only took me three days to finish. It would have been two, but I discovered an incorrectly crossed cable that I had to fix and then decided to made a few changes to the pattern. Still, a fast and satisfying knit.

(Incidentally, the main change I made was to the K6 after the last cable crossing going into the decrease section. I switched it to k2 p2 k2 to divide the ribs back into two and match the ribbing at the beginning. A small thing, but I think it looks much better.)

Finished: Long Cuff Gloves

These gloves started off life as socks, or sock legs at least. I decided to turn them into gloves after trying the leg part on my arm to see what the k3xp3 ribbing looked like stretched out.





I followed a basic pattern from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and tamped down my obsessive urge to make them match perfectly. I actually purposely made them not match. (Insert deep, cleansing breathe.) And I love them! Truthfully, I thought it would be too fiddly to match the colors up perfectly on the fingers of both hands. I figured completely not matching would be better than almost but not quite matching.





I even dared to put on my wool winter coat in the middle of summer to see how they looked. The long cuff in going to be nice in the winter; the sleeves on the wool coat are a tad too short and I hate having cold air blow up them.

Having never made a glove before, I thought there was no way I'd get the fingers to be even remotely the same (size that is, not color!). Happily, things seemed to work out fine with little effort on my part.

Specs:
Opal 6-ply sock yarn, color #1127 (from the first batch of 6 ply released, around 2004 maybe?)
size US1 bamboo dpns
The Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd, Women's Medium, 7 stitches/inch

I probably could have gone with the small size, there is about an inch of extra fabric on the palm of both gloves. But the fingers to fit perfectly.

Finished: Trellis Scarf

Surprising even myself, I finished the Trellis Scarf in time for Mother’s Day. I can’t even begin to tell you how pleased I am with it. This is my first completed lace weight (although not lace knitting) project.





Pattern: Trellis Scarf by Evelyn A. Clark, Interweave Knits Spring 2006 (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Smoke, less than 1 skein
Needles: Addi Turbo Lace needles size US3, Purchased for this project.
Started: April 4, 2008
Completed: May 6, 2008

I think Mom loves it. I know I do!

Finished: Everlasting Bagstopper

Pattern: free from Knitty - Everlasting Bagstopper
Ravelry page: Everlasting Bagstopper
Yarn: Lion Cotton, 1.5 balls

While I did find this pattern a little boring to knit up, it went quickly and I am pleased with the finished product. The handles are two pieces of pink woven webbing from Hobby Lobby, which I attached with my sewing machine for extra strength.

I haven’t had a chance to field test my Bagstopper yet but I did throw a bunch of random thing from around my house in it for an in-use photo op:



(Random things include two remote controls, my keys, my work keys, a burnt out light bulb, an empty pickle jar from the recycling bin, and a ball of yarn.)

I am definitely going to be making more in the future so I can use them on regular grocery shopping trips, not only just-need-a-few-things trips.

Finished: (Much smaller) Chunky Cabled Hat

This is much better. I can actually wear it hat now!





The hat was re-knit (see previous post for "before" photo) to make it wearable by a human. This is the "Fat Hat" from Hip to Knit. I used Cascade Magnum which I am not sure is still in production which you can find on the Cascade website. I bought the yarn from Knit Picks back when they used to sell other people's yarn instead of just their private label. They used to have a special called "Try it, You'll Like it" where one color of a new yarn would be very deeply discounted. I think now I only have one more type (group? pile? what do you call multiple balls of the same yarn?) of yarn in my stash purchased from the original Knit Picks. (Not that I mind the new KP of course!)

It was finished just in time too, since we got another 5 inches of snow Monday and are predicted to have another 1-2 tomorrow night.

This winter has literally brought more snow than I have seen at once in my whole life. We have received over 50 inches so far according to one newspaper report. Some of has melted in a rainstorm and a few sunny days, but most of the banks and drifts are still higher than my car. Not to mention iced over and caked in car exhaust and other debris. Not very pretty. I only thought to take one photo and that was with my cellphone through my windshield so the quality is not great. This is in the parking lot at work where the snow had been plowed up into a pile. Compare the pile to the stop sign!





I am sooo ready for spring.

Finished: Mochimochi Land Hearts

Love these!!!

You can find the pattern here. They are so fast, I finished knitting the pieces for all six during a movie last Saturday night and got them sewn and stuffed the next morning.

I've sent this batch off to my Mom for a little Valentine's Day gift. Now I need to make another set for myself!

Finished: Brooklyn Hat

I finally found time (errr, maybe that should be remembered...) to felt my Brooklyn Hat.





Despite the expression on my face, I am very pleased with it. I haven't worn it yet - it is way to cold here (-20F with the wind chill) for this style hat even if it is wool!

The pattern is from the Summer '06 issue of Interweave Knits. I used the yarn called for in the pattern - Valley Yarns Berkshire. See the post below for links and further details!

So, hooray! I have my first FO for 2008 and it is still January!