FO - Man Eating Beast

This was a lot easier than I had anticipated. The only problem I ran into was finding eyeballs for it. There are NONE in Toronto. I looked at Michael's, local knitting and sewing stores, Zellers, Walmart, and even a make your own teddy bear store. None of them had safety eyes. Luckily, a small business in Thunder Bay sells them. I feel good for supporting them, plus I got the eyeballs I needed!

FO - Hong's Hat

Finished. Finally. I hope it fits his big fat head. :P

Knitting Mama!

I decided to be a bit creative today and make some tshirts. It's been awhile since I designed something, so I figured that this was as good a time as any.



Took several hours of labour in Photoshop after scanning a rough sketch to make it look as polished as I did. I'm very happy with the results! Now Mama doesn't only cook... she knits, too!

FO - Nick's Pirate Sweater

I started this project on November 11th and finished today (December 5th). I spent many of these days actually not knitting... and probably did most of the work over the span of two weeks or so. The last couple of days have been spent knitting nothing other than this sweater, and the results are pleasing.

It's a bit big for Nick for now. You can't really tell in the picture, but it's almost like a little dress. Good to know that I actually made something for him that he'll end up growing into :)

almost FO - Nick's Stocking

All the knitting is done. The weaving, the trimming, the fixing, and the duplicate stitching. All I need to do is sew on some little bells and eyeballs for the Santas and it's all done.

As you can see, he's absolutely thrilled that it's as big as he is. He's been watching me knit it and was all giggles when I held it up next to him. Still have to make one for me, but it can wait. I'm not in desperate need of a stocking, anyway.

FO - Baby Kimono Gift

I knit this for my friends Mark and Nicole, who are having their second child sometime in November.



I also picked up a bunting bag for the newborn, to help keep her cozy in their house this winter. I usually find it a bit on the chilly side, so maybe this'll help keep the little one toasty. :)

Gift Update

So, I was finishing up the second sleeve of the Baby Kimono I am working on for Mark and Nicole's baby, and I just realized I won't have enough yarn to finish it. Piss. Looks like I'll have to grab another ball of Easter Basket from Michael's this weekend and sew everything up before the baby comes. That's okay though.

In the meantime, I've decided to start working on that Christmas stocking for Nick. I need to figure out which charts I'd like to include on the stocking and how large it's going to be. Obviously, I don't want to make it too big because I don't want to spend a zillion dollars every year on stockings... but it can't be too small, either.

More on this later. Thought, in any case, that it was time to make an update.

FO - Baby Kimono

I can't believe I didn't write about the construction of this sweater. It is SO easy to make! I only had to unravel small parts of the sleeve due to miscounting, never due to stupid mistakes. In fact, I made NO stupid mistakes while knitting this. It is soft, and it looks beautiful on him. He's just too adorable :)

Here are the finished object pictures:

Stash!

Picked up a bit more yarn today. Not anything too too yummy, but definitely some things that I am excited about.

Picked up 4 ginormous balls of acrylic yarn in red, green, white, and navy. Christmas stockings! I figured that for something like that, I wouldn't need anything fancy. Might as well buy in bulk so I can make as many as I can for as cheap as possible.

Secondly, I picked up 4 skeins of Stretch Socks by Patons. I got 20% off, so it was a smart move :> I'll be making my first real pair of socks with that stuff. I'll have to consult my new 2 at a time socks book for it, but that's all good.

I'm taking the baby dress and booties off my queue and replacing them with a simple and cozy baby kimono. Mark and Nicole's baby would be better off with a machine washable item instead of super delicate wash material that'll definitely get ruined by food or poopies. Thinkin' ahead! Anyway, I got some Baby Jacquards Easter Basket for that project. It'll essentially be the same thing I'm making for Nicholas, only smaller.

FO - Pretty Lace Thing

Two more pictures of the finished cardigan:

FO - Nick's Sweater

More pictures:

FO - Nick's Sweater

All done! I finally got off my lazy ass and sewed this all up, and added the buttons. I may still add a lining, just in case it's a little itchy... and I have a tag to sew in that says "Hand made for a special little boy". For all intents and purposes though, this sweater is finished and Nicholas can wear it.

FO - Pretty Lace Thing

I was so excited when the moment I was able to sew this up came around. I laced the icord through the sweater and held it up. Fucking gorgeous.

I tried it on, and it doesn't fit. It's too small. My ginormous tits make me fail again.

Looks like somebody is getting a really nice gift.

Here are the finished product pictures:

WIP - Pretty Lace Thing

...Almost finished!

WIP - Pretty Lace Thing

Here are a couple pictures of the progress I've made on the pretty lace thing.



I have just a few more inches of back to go, and then I can sew it up. Fun!

FO - Pacifier Clip

This is probably one of the easiest things I have ever knitted. Very cute, very fast, and I used leftover elann sonata yarn. Nicholas kept spitting his pacifier out, and it's always a pain in the arse to find, or it falls on the floor and gets dirty. Why use the store bought cheaper stuff when I can make something awesome? :)

SWAG!

I got 4 new books in the mail two days ago. I'm very excited about them, and have actually done one of the projects in one of them already (it will be in a different post)

The books are:

Itty Bitty Nursery
Knitting with Balls
World of Knitted Toys
Knit Christmas Stockings

Very exciting opportunities await my knitting career. Yes indeedy do!

WIP - Pretty Lace Thing

It's coming along very nicely. Now that the eyelet rows are done, I've been doing very well on the back and sides of the sweater. I actually knit about 5 or 6 inches of work yesterday.

I took some pics of the progress but have yet to upload them. Just go on my assurance that DAMN, this is a nice sweater.

WIP - Pretty Lace Thing

Progress.

WIP - Pretty Lace Thing

Looking pretty nifty so far.

I hate knitting.

I had to frog it again. To the last two rows, cos those aren't fucked up. Still though, it's getting very aggravating and tedious that I can't count worth shit.

I'm not giving up. I want this. I never make anything for myself, and I need a challenge. Still though, you'd think I'd stop being stupid.

Small Frustrations

So, I had to frog all of the Pretty Vest Thing I've been working on, except the first two rows. It turns out that I've been doing my ssk incorrectly. Entirely possible, considering I've been learning how to do everything out of a book, and I didn't see the picture correctly. I'm so glad I go to a SnB every two weeks. I love Linda. She's too awesome.

It also turns out that I was doing yok1 instead of just yo. Now I know better there, too.

Anyway, now that I've correctly done the ssk, the eyelets in my lace rows look amazing. I'm feeling a lot more confident over how it's turning out than I was before. I'd rather frog the entire thing than work the entire thing with the knowledge in the back of my head that I did it wrong. I'd never wear it. It's the OCD in me.

Anyway, I'm continuing on feeling so much better about the entire project.

WIP - Kat's Bag

You know, I figure I would get a good chunk of knitting done while at camp, but the exact opposite happened: I realized that I had been knitting the wrong way for about 5 inches, and had to frog it and start that part again.

Kat's bag is the new bane of my existence. Must finish at some point...


Also, Decided I want to make something for ME for a change. I've decided to use my beautiful Malabrigo yarn for this:

WIP - Nick's Sweater

I'm hoping to have it done at the end of this week. Just one more sleeve to go, some trim, blocking, and buttons. Buttons will have to be last. I want to make sure to get some that will fit the buttonholes I'll be making for the sweater. I'm hoping to pick up some wicked cute duck buttons from Linda's store.

Progress

Nick's sweater is coming along nicely. I'm finished the body of the sweater, and only have the arms left to do. Just have to relearn how to do the purl increase so the sleeves actually fit his little ham-hock arms.

I think I'll pick up a couple of balls of Bernat Baby Jacquards to make a little kimono sweater for him. It comes in a really nice blue and green blend called I'm A Big Boy. It's only $5 per ball, so the price is right. I got the pattern for free at the stitch 'n pitch.

FO - Green Fingerless Gloves

Fastest project I ever made. I knitted this with the green Perth I got at the Stitch 'n Pitch two days ago. Started it yesterday, finished it today. Took only about 6 hours total. The end result is wicked cozy :) It's definitely a pattern I'd consider using again in the future.

More WIPs

Started a sweater for Nicholas:


And am almost finished the hat for Hong:


Still working on Kat's purse.

Got some new yarn in my stash too! Got these yummies at the Stitch 'n Pitch:


I have plans for the sexy green yarn, but haven't decided what to do with the soft touch yarn. I also got 3 more skeins of that beautiful malabrigo merino wool. I'm going to use that to either make myself a shrug, or make myself a winter set. (hat, scarf, mitts)

What do you think I should make?