little black journal

I think I started this loop scarf in…2012?  Is that possible?  Anyhow, bottom line is, it took me dang near forever to get this one finished, but I bound off the last stitches last week and love how it turned out.  Soft, good drape, just the right amount of color.  And done in time for these last couple (or few?…ugh…) months of winter.

Pattern found here.

La Verne sent me a link to this pattern a couple of months ago with the message “wouldn’t this be the cutest on Jules?”.  Yes, La Verne, actually it would!

I had some chunky blue yarn I was going to use for a hat, but I opted for this instead – it knitted up super-fast and only required one quick YouTube refresher course to finish off the ears.  Shane thinks she looks like a Teletubby, but I don’t care – she’s wearing this thing for as long as I can get it over her head!

Pattern available for purchase on Ravelry.

Yep, I’m a knittin’ fiend these days!  I whipped these out in just over a week, which felt like some kind of record after spending nearly a year on my last project.  And I love them – soft, simple, super-cute.  Bring it, winter – I’m ready for you now.

Pattern is Camp Out Fingerless Mitts, found on Ravelry.  Yarn is Mal Abrigo merino wool, color Mariposa.

This project has been 8 months in the making – I got about 12 inches into it, then stuffed it in a box and lost my knitting mojo (this seems to happen every Spring/Summer).  Then the Giants made the play-offs and we were spending loads of time in front of the TV, and I needed something to keep my hands busy while I fretted over whether or not Zito truly was going to come through in a clutch.  I finished my last row a week ago and am glad to have another neck cozy, as the weather in Seattle has officially turned terrible.  The scarf is a little more drapy than I imagined (I may try it again with bulkier yarn), but it’s super-comfy and I’m loving the color.  Ta and da:

Pattern is Northern Loop, found on Ravelry.  Yarn is Lion Brand Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton.

It’s official – I’m back on the handcraft-wagon.  This was a fun project, easy but not too tedious, and a good re-introduction to knitting after a nearly two-year hiatus.  I was a little anxious about how it would all come together in the end, as it looked a bit strange on the needles (Shane kept asking me if I was knitting an octopus), but once I bound off that last stitch and slipped it over my head, I was (mostly) pleased with the finished piece.  I wish it had been a bit chunkier, and I’m not entirely sure about the color, but knitting season has just begun for me, so there’s plenty of time for round 2!

Pattern found here from kirsten johnstone.  I modified it slightly by adding an 8th loop and decreasing the amount of length variation between loops.

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve picked up my knitting needles and rummaged through my yarn bin for the perfect skein of wool or cotton, but as of late, I’m feeling inspired.  Maybe it’s the cold weather, or the store displays of chunky, textured cowls, or maybe it’s just the desire to keep my hands busy as I plow through my usual line-up of holiday movies, but I’m ready for a project.  I’m also feeling the need to justify the yarn-buying binge I found myself caught up in a couple of years ago…

I spent a couple of hours online yesterday prowling for ideas and could easily bust out a super-simple loop scarf  (think Anthro minus the high price tag), but Lord knows I’ve knitted my fair share of scarves, so perhaps I’ll try something new (maybe a variation on this necklace/scarf thingy?).  Whatever I pick, I can assure you that I’ll be spending Sunday afternoon with a pile of yarn in my lap and Little Women playing on the TV.  ‘Tis the season.

I’ve always loved the look of hand-knit stuffed animals, and decided to take a stab at a teddy bear pattern I found in this book.  Mr. Bear didn’t turn out quite how I’d hoped – one of his legs is a little longer than the other, his stomach is rather lumpy, and his stuffing is showing through in places – but he’s got lots of charm and is still soft and cuddly.  Plus, he’s bright pink.  Awesome.

I’ve been on a bit of a knitting hiatus lately, but a little bird told me that a little girl was hoping for a scarf from Aunt Kelly for Christmas, so I happily picked up a few skeins of soft, brightly colored yarn to whip up a couple of scarves for our nieces, Shanay and Hayden.  They are both rib-knit, one with alternating blocks of a chunky green and yellow yarn, one with a double-strand of two shades of purple.  Hayden wore her purple scarf around the house all afternoon after we exchanged gifts, which tells me it was a hit.  I like to think I’ll be doing my small part to keep these girls warm during the freezing cold winter to come…

I had been on a bit of a knitting hiatus lately, but with the onset of the slightly cooler weather, I was motivated to finally finish these two project which have been sitting in my knitting basket for months.

The scarf was knitted with a thick wool yarn, stranded with a sparkly thread-like ribbon.  Seed stitch, 13 stitches across, size 15 needles.

The cowl was knitted with a chunky silver-gray acrylic yarn.  Stockinette stitch, size 13 circular needles, cast on 60 stitches and knit round and round…

I haven’t been much into knitting lately – seems my focus is more on reading and studying these days, but still, I wanted to post a quick update on the projects I finished up last month.

This neckwarmer was a quick project, fun because it was a stitch pattern I’d never seen before.  I got the pattern from Ravelry and used a double strand of really soft alpaca blend yarn.  In retrospect, I wish I’d used a chunkier yarn so that the neckwarmer would stand up and hold its shape more (same problem I had with the cowl I made a few months ago), but then again, it does drape nicely this way.  I’ve been keeping my eyes out for cool big buttons so that I can crank out a couple more of these when I have more time – they’d make great gifts.  Or, if they happen to end up on my own scarf rack, so be it, because a girl can never have too many neckwarmers, right?