K'needles update 12

I took a long break from posting! Kept procrastinating. 

Firstly, I finished the blanket. It turned out really cute. 

Secondly, I've been knitting dishcloths and scrubbies for summer sales. We actually got down low on dishcloth inventory. Sadly, we haven't really been successful with the scrubbies but they are so great I'm sure they'll catch on soon. FYI - For the scrubbies I switched to the English method because it's nice not having to hold the yarn like one does in continental. It really rubs against the skin otherwise. 

I started a new shrug using this pattern: http://torirotsstitches.blogspot.com/2009/12/star-stitch-soulwarmer.html?m=1, but the star stitch is so rough on my wrists and hands! Really wears them out.

I got a bad farmer's tan line the weekend before a wedding. It didn't go away and my dress is sleeveless. So the day before the wedding I started a shrug that would match my dress out of comfy worsted cotton; and rushed the next day to complete it on the way to the wedding but I didn't finish in time. I did finish knitting it the day after but I'm saving the sewing up for later. It uses the same pattern I made for my grandma but I modified it for a short-sleeved version. 

K'needles update 11

This week I finished the hat from last week. I used the lace diamond chain panel. The yarn is warm and the ribbing covers the ears so it is suitable for winter even with the lace pattern. 

I started and finished another hat as well. 

It's a basic rib hat with a small section of trinity stitch.

The blanket has been coming along. Much bigger than initially planned. Also ran into a problem. I thought I had more pink pound of love but didn't bothering checking. Turns out I don't. So, instead of buying more I'm making do with what I have. So the blanket will now be a lovely two-tone of pink and cream. 

K'needles update 10

When going through my room looking for a book, I discovered an unfinished scarflette and a whole bunch of knitting projects that just need the ends sewn in. I don't particularly enjoy that step so I'm not surprised I clumped them together like that, but it is surprising I hid them in a box. I put them in my nice green container and placed them in the living room where they could openly nag me.

It's been a couple of weeks and I haven't touched them yet. Ha plan malfunction.

However, I did pick up the scarflette today so I could take a break from the pound of love blanket.  

K'needles update 9

I've been lazy at posting. Still not wanting to turn on the laptop. However, I did download the blogger app for my iPhone; I'm glad they finally made one. Saves some steps when it comes to photos because I take them on my iPhone anyway--and now I don't have to email, download, then upload. 

I'm still trying to use up all the yarn I have lying around. Every nook and cranny is crammed full with collections of yarn. My room is reminiscent of tribbles on the Enterprise. Easiest way to do that is blankets!

I had some pink worsted weight yarn so I knitted up a simple square blanket with stripes.

I like the color combos. Dark to draw the eye and light to give the eye a break. I really hope it can be a continual source of smiles for a little girl. 

I also had some orange yarn so I crocheted a granny square blanket.

I ran out of yarn so it ended up being much smaller than I was hoping. However, it will still be a nice accent in a crib. And despite the large holes, it's still warm--my main complaint about any granny square blanket. 

This past weekend we had a scrapbooking day at my grandma's old house. I didn't have anything ready so I just knitted. I worked on the purple shawl. Perfect time to work on it because I could focus on the lace pattern with ease and manage to stay awake. Didn't get that far (so it's not pictured) but it's sweet progress!

Lastly, I started on another blanket.

This time I'm using up one of the many Pound of Love I have, pink yet again. I started out with a lace pattern that was going to be the whole thing...but I got tired of doing it, so it's now just a border and the middle is reverse stockinette. I made the blanket so wide that it will probably use two skeins. 

K’needles update 8

I have been extremely bad lately at posting. I have not wanted to touch my laptop because my laptop is equated with work and study right now. Ish. I also took a “long” break from knitting because my carpal tunnel was acting up. I started a new project last week and have been working on it ever since here and there (It is a little girl’s blanket. I’ll try and sell it, but really I’m hoping its future home is charity). I really should have eased more into knitting as my PT would have said…but I of course knitted for long stints and now my wrist is horribly tight, which then starts bothering the elbows, and there you have it.

Anyway I’ll have to update you on two crochet projects I did a couple of weeks ago. I have all this yarn someone donated to me after her mother could no longer knit. She had quite the stash. Lots of odds and ends and very old. Most of it is unique yarn that I’ve never seen before so it’s been difficult to figure out what projects they suit. I crocheted a circular thing (a light rug to me, or a doily according to my mom) and a market bag (pattern). The rug/doily is largely made out of a linen-style yarn. The market bag is made out of a nylon-cotton blend yarn that’s perfect for a bag. It’s a strong yarn that doesn’t wear out as fast as other yarns.

Happy Knitting!

K’needles update 7

Happy Spring!

I sadly did not pass the exam for which I was studying. It was due to a large combination of reasons but I can retake it at the end of September. Many months to study and grow. It changes my plans for the future but not for the worst.

I’ve only done one noteworthy project since my last update. I’ve also experimented a little but just learned some lessons rather than ending up with a product. Otherwise, I have been knitting dishcloths and scrubbies. The dishcloths are very therapeutic for me because I get to just knit without much thinking. I simply love the act of knitting; it doesn’t matter what I’m working on, just as long as it isn’t too difficult. The scrubbies are crowd-pleasers. They work really well especially now that I’m knitting them instead of crochet. However, people aren’t willing to pay much for them and they are very brutal on my wrists and hands. Not worth the little profit that I make. I absolutely love the product but won’t be able to sustain making it—very sad.

The noteworthy project was one that popped up on my facebook newsfeed. A citrus slice dishcloth. It was pretty, involved multiple colors (which I’m currently teaching myself to do), and involved a method of construction I’ve never tried. It was a bit of a pain to make—so, not going to make a whole bunch of them, but I will probably make more in the future.

 

Soon I’ll be continuing work on the purple shawl and starting in on two new orders: socks and a lace beret. My sister-in-law doesn’t want me to knit for my niece right now so I have to cool it on that front. Meanwhile, I’m doing a lot of reading and catching up on shows. My DVR is overflowing—which means lots of knitting time :)

K’needles update 6

I’m gearing up for summer and wanted something easy and stress-relieving so I knitted nylon scrubbies and cotton dishcloths this week. I’m afraid this is what my production will look like for the next few weeks until my exams are finished. Once they’re finished I’m going to start knitting like crazy again! So excited.

The middle one is the first one I did before I decided how many rows I’m going to do. Now if I could just remember what that number was…