Knit Wits

Some Knitting Since Christmas

2011-02-23T15:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the projects I've finished since Christmas. Some of them I forgot to take pictures of before I mailed them off to their recipients!

First up, is this dress and hat that I made for my friend Megan. She is expecting her second child, a girl, within the next few weeks and I had to make sure she had something cute to wear this spring!

And a pair of baby sandals for her to wear right away!

And then, my brother Jordan's birthday was the beginning of January. But he didn't put in his "order" until around Christmas time, and I couldn't finish what he wanted in 2 weeks, so it's a little late, but hopefully he likes it!

He wanted a black cabled scarf

And some texting gloves.

Jayden's Monster T-Rex

2011-01-03T17:39:00.000-08:00

I will never make this dinosaur again .... unless Willow becomes dino obsessed and begs me to make one, then I might. It took forever and then there was so many pieces to have to sew together, and I really dislike doing tons of finishing work. I didn't even have it all sewn together when we left for Washington, so I finished it up after I got there just a couple days before Christmas. I had no idea it was going to be so huge! This thing took up a ton of room in the suitcase!

This pattern came from a free pattern from Patons that I found on Ravelry and I used a bunch of Comfort DK to make it with.

A Hat for Bronx

2011-01-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

I ran across this yarn while I was in Kelso visiting one of my favorite yarn stores, La Favorites. It immediately made me think of my friend Sabrina, who has a son, Bronx, for whom I've been searching for yarn to make him a funky little hat out of.

I didn't really have a pattern for this, something like CO 40, knit for 4 or so inches, then decrease around, on size 10's or something. I gave it to Sabrina today and she sent me this picture.

How cute is he?

Big Lacy Scarves

2010-12-07T07:53:00.000-08:00

I just finished up a couple more Christmas presents. These scarves came out of the More Last Minute Knitted Gifts book, and thanks to the big bulky yarn, each only took a few hours from start to finish.

Now, excuse me as I get back to finishing up a couple more knitted presents. :)

Willow's Doll

2010-12-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

This doll turned out so cute! It knit up really fast, and I wasn't so sure I was going to love it, until I searched about in my scrap yarn and found this yarn to make curly hair!

I made this out of the Knitted Toys book, which scrap Cashmerino yarn. I used the body of the Airy Fairy pattern and then knitted the dress from the Dress-Up Dolly pattern.

Cabled Fingerless Gloves

2010-12-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

I have a gift exchange coming up next week, so I quickly knit up this pair of cabled fingerless gloves. They took longer than I wanted because I screwed up the cables on both gloves and had to start over! Booo! I'm sure it was because I know how much knitting I have left to get done before Christmas and I didn't feel like I had time to start over. But I did start over and thanks to doing the cable pattern so many times, they went much faster the second time.

At first, I wasn't really liking these gloves because of how long the cuff is, but I've put them on a few times and I have to say it's growing on me, I just might have to knit myself a pair!

These were made out of the More Last Minute Knitted Gifts book.

Elf Hats

2010-11-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine was so kind and bought me a knitting book - More Last Minute Knitted Gifts! I love it!!! Lots of good patterns, I totally recommend it! The first thing I made was a few elf hats out of it. I didn't have quite enough blue to make Jayden's pointy, but he doesn't mind at all, he's been wearing his blue hat around everywhere!

Cabled Headband

2010-11-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

I found this pattern out of the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living. I picked up the magazine in hopes of finding some great ideas for Thanksgiving and turns out I liked the craft/knitting section the best - or maybe it was I never got past the craft/knitting section to see what else was in there!

Wooohooo! I Knit Something!

2010-10-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

Knit AND finished thank you very much!

For new baby girl and her big sister!

Pattern is SouleMama's Favorite Knit Hat. (Just used smaller needles to make baby size)
Flowers were crocheted.

Quick Beret

2010-10-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

This took two quick evenings to knit up. There is suppose to be a cute little crocheted flower on the brim, but seeing as how I can't crochet and I spent a good couple hours looking up how to do it and then not being able to create the flower I wanted, I gave up. :)

I made this for my friend Whitney's daughter, Surrey, but I have a feeling it's going to be too small, so I'll probably be making another one of these in the near future. Good thing they knit up in no time!

This is from the Baby Knits Head to Toe book.

Christmas Toys

2010-10-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

I've finished up a few toys for the kids for Christmas. I have a couple more I want to do, a T-Rex for Jayden and a dress up doll for Willow, but for right now I've managed to finish 2 snakes and a stegosaurus. The knitting on these have been done for quite some time, but I am so bad at finishing - putting on eyes and a face, stuffing the legs and sewing them on. I hate doing it, so I finish the knitting part and then they get put in a closet. :)

All of these guys came out of the Knitted Toys book.

Willow's Flat Teddy

2010-08-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Because I haven't had nearly enough to do around here (please note sarcasm), I finished up the first thing on my Christmas knitting list.

This is my stocking topping for Willow's stocking this year. I was going to needle felt some eyes for it and sew those on, but Jayden insisted the bear needed googly eyes, so googly eyes it got! Hopefully by Christmas Willow will be over tearing off googly eyes so she can put them in her mouth....

This pattern came out of Knitted Toys by Zoe Mellor and I used up some scrap baby cashmerino yarn I had left over from making Nicole's baby blanket!

Baby Shower Gift

2010-07-24T16:13:00.000-07:00

I got an invitation to a baby shower in the mail about a week ago for today. So, I quickly dropped the project I was working on (something for Willow for Christmas), and as fast as I could went to the yarn store and started casting on. 9 days later and this is what I was able to give Kim for her #2 baby boy!

A cute pumpkin hat and a pair of leapfrog pants!

Dress for Willow

2010-07-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

I knit up a dress for Willow, but the yarn I chose has some wool in it, so I knit it up a size smaller with the plans of it being worn more more as a tunic, as soon as the weather here cools off a bit, or maybe when we get to Washington! And I could hardly believe it when Willow let me actually put it on her. I think she knows which things I have actually made for her, because she refuses to wear most of them. :)

And now my pile of all the things I have started this summer are finished, so that means I can officially start knitting for Christmas!!! (already have my first project started!)

The pattern for this was from Berroco DK Baby.

Retro Rainbow Tie Anyone?

2010-07-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

I got bored and decided to knit up a tie. Why? Well, why not? :)

Twisty Baby Pants

2010-06-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

I. LOVE. THESE. PANTS! I have been looking for a knit pant pattern for while, but hadn't run across anything that I felt like I couldn't live without. That was until I ran across the Leap Frog pattern from Petite Purls. It helps that all the patterns on that website are free too. ;) I think one of my favorite things about the pattern is it knits in room for cloth diapers, so you knit in some short rows in the behind region to make the back of the pants taller than the front, so then there's plenty of room for a diaper, but you aren't all bunchy in the front. Love it!! And who doesn't love the really cute braided cable that runs down the legs?? I think I know how I'll be making my kid's Christmas jammies this year!

Robin Hood Jacket

2010-06-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

I finished this robin hood jacket up a couple weeks ago, but waited to post it because I know my friend Sabrina looks at Knit Wits every once in awhile, and her baby shower wasn't until today. The jacket took me a big longer than I thought it would, but I love it so much I'm thinking of starting some for both of my kids for Christmas. I love how all the cables turned out!

Nike+ Sensor Cozy

2010-05-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

My original Nike+ sensor finally died and since it was actually sewn inside the case, I just threw out my knit cozy with the sensor. I just got my replacement sensor about a week ago and decided today was the day to knit up a new cozy for it so I could attach it to my running shoes!

I just used a bit of scrap sock yarn I had and size 3 needles.
CO 16 stitches and divide it over 2 dpn.

Knit around until the cozy is as tall as the sensor when you fit it inside. (obviously in the below picture I still had a few more rows to do!)

Before you sew the sensor inside the cozy, use your cast on tail to sew the bottom seam together and then weave the end inside the case.
Fit the sensor right inside the cozy.
Use kitchener stitch to stitch the top closed.
Weave the tail inside the cozy.

Then CO 4 stitches and knit in garter stitch for about 2".
Sew the ends of this piece together to form a circle.
Sew this looped piece diagonally onto the back of your cozy, for your laces to run through.

Attach to your shoe and go for a run!

Watermelon Flower

2010-05-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine from StrollerFit asked if I would knit up a blanket for a baby girl that is going to be born in June. How could I say no???

I saw these colors and I totally thought of Watermelon which I thought was perfect for a summer baby!!!

I once again used Debbie Bliss' Striped Baby Blanket pattern.

And then, since there was a bunch of green yarn left over, I decided I'd make an upside down daisy hat to match the blanket!

For Teresa

2010-05-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

I just realized I never posted the rest of what I knit up for Teresa. I wanted to make sure she got her package before I put up pictures and I think she got it a couple weeks ago.... :)

So, besides the pom-pom bonnet that I already posted, I made her a baby blanket, a pointed baby hat, and I gave her the red booties I knit up.

Pom-Pom Bonnet

2010-04-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

This is one of the cutest hats I think I've ever made. I've made it for my dear friend Teresa who is set to have a bouncing baby boy this May! Yippee!! Since I have not been able to be with her her entire pregnancy and I'm going to miss the whole birth, newborn stage, and probably beyond that, I've been taking my angst out on my knitting needles and have made Teresa a whole slew of things. This is just one of them.

(please ignore the dirty soccer ball. my little model, Willow, was not going to cooperate with me)

I made it out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and out of the Itty Bitty Hats book.

Red Baby Booties

2010-03-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

I still need to get to the yarn store to start on a new bigger project, so I've been searching through my scraps to see if I have enough to put something together. Because you just can't sit and watch tv or a movie and not be knitting too, that would be like wasting time or something... :)

I managed to find enough of this red yarn to make up a pair of baby booties. Anybody know of any little baby feet that will need to be warm soon??? :)

(I made these from Zoe Mullor's book Nursery Knits, size 2 needles, with Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. They only took 3 evenings to do, I love baby booties!!)

New and Old Things

2010-03-07T11:10:00.000-08:00

I've finished up 3 different projects this week, so I'm just gonna put them all in one post!

Most importantly, I have finished up something for Krisy's #4 baby! For her #3 kid, I made her a moon and stars blanket.

So, instead of adding another blanket to her stash, I decided to make something to warm up the little tykes head. I love this hat, I think it looks like a present. :) Now all I have to do is get it in the mail.... :)

The second thing I finished was another swing set for Willow. I made one for her last summer and I liked it so much, I found some yarn in my stash and knit up another one just one size bigger. I love the ladybug buttons too!

And finally, the last thing I finished up required no knitting. I had finished this sweater like 2 years ago and all it was waiting on was for me to sew on the last 2 buttons. Somehow, I just never got around to it. Finishing work is not my strong suit. :) But, since I'm sending Kaylee a box full of baby stuff that we forgot to give to her when she was here last, I thought I could finish up this sweater and send it to her too!

Capitan Hat

2010-02-18T16:23:00.001-08:00

When my in-laws came to help take care of the kids last month, while I went and helped Kaylee move across the county again, my good friend Pam sent some yarn with them to give to me. Super soft, green, chunky, alpaca yarn to make a hat she had just done that she thought I would like. Turns out, I do! In between the baby projects I have been working on, I decided it was time to do something for me that would knit up real quick. So, I made the El Capitan hat in just 2 evenings watching the Olympics. It's so soft I kinda want to wear it all the time. Good thing we might be having another snow storm run through Wichita, so I should have plenty of time to wear it before it gets too warm out.

The pattern is on ravelry, here.

Thanks Pammy!!!!

For Nicole

2010-02-15T06:32:00.001-08:00

Thanks to all the babies my friends are growing these days, the only thing I've had on my needles are things for them!
This blanket took me waaaay longer than I thought. Seed stitch is so deceiving. I love how it looks, but it's so slow. Once I had the main part finished, I knit up the lace edges, which my darn needles kept screwing up too and I had to redo a couple times. Of course my edge pieces were like 4 inches longer than the main piece and there was no way I was redoing those, again. So, I blocked the darn thing into submission. Nothing a little hot steam, some easy stretching, and quick sewing couldn't fix! I love how it turned out and wish my friends were having more girls so I could do another one. :)

For Kaylee

2010-01-19T11:13:00.000-08:00

I just finished up a little something for my sweet sister's #3 baby. I was going to make this out of a much warmer yarn, but since she's up and moving to Phoenix, I decided cotton just might be the way to go.

Winter Knitting

2010-01-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

I'm still knitting over here! Anybody else???? :)

Here are a couple of things I finished in December.
I made two snowman hats, originally I started them for my kids, but Jayden is picky about the hats we will wear and Willow is hit or miss if she'll keep the hat on. So.....since I have been meaning to make some hats for my friend's two boys, I finished the hats up and sent them off to her, but I forgot to take pictures of them first! Ugh! They were super cute, so if she sends me pictures of her boys wearing them, I'll post it up.

I also made a couple extra stockings for the part of my family that was here for Christmas.

Willow's Stocking:Part2

2009-11-15T12:52:00.001-08:00

I have finished Willow's stocking again! This time, I used the right needles and it is the same size as the rest of ours. I couldn't bring myself to unravel the one I'd already done, so I hoped I had enough yarn left over from it to knit another one. I had to change the color scheme, but I think I like this one even better than the first one. Bring on Christmas!

I used Lamb's Pride Wool and the Diamonds in the Rough Argyle Stocking Christmas Stocking pattern from the Christmas Stockings book

Headbands

2009-10-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine showed up one morning wearing this sweet headband. It was wide at the top, so much that I thought she was wearing a hat at first, but come to find out it tapered down under her hair and buttoned. I thought it was super cute and decided I was going to try and make something like it. I've made a couple different versions, but this is my favorite so far.

I found the pattern online at ravelry, and you can get it here. It only took me a couple of hours to make, so you could whip one out really fast!

Lil' Pumpkins

2009-07-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

I got my pumpkin hats done for fall! Bring on October!!! :)

For Baby Chloe

2009-07-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I have something to post!!! Baby Chloe (daughter of a friend) was born just over a week ago, and I managed to knit up a pair of booties for her. I used a different pattern than I normally do, and I like how it turned out. It's a much quicker knit than may usual go-to pattern, so I know I'll use it again!

And since her mom has already publically posted pictures of her, I'm sure she won't mind if I show the darling face that is the recipient of this pair of booties.
Awwww, Baby Chloe!

Believe it or not I have a few other things on the needles right now. A half finished Wonderful Wallaby sweater (little size) and another pair of booties. One of the booties is done, so you get to see it now! :) Fall is coming people. I'm starting to feel the knitting "itch"!

Fuzzy!

Warm Hands and Feet

2009-07-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

It's never to early to start getting ready for winter! Ok, that's not what I was really doing. I just have been so uninspired when it has come to knitting lately (as it seems the rest of you have, not naming names...ahem..kaylee, krisy, joanna) So, I found some projects I had already bought stuff for and decided to work on those, hoping that it would stir up something creative. I mean, I figured I'd better start feeling creative soon because I usually start planning out and buying supplies for Christmas presents in August!

First I made these socks from a generic sock pattern I had. I decided to just make the top ribbed so they stayed snug on my feetsies. I've actually been wearing these a bit, since the AC is on in all the time trying to keep the upper level of the house cool, the basement is freezing by evening!

Then, I decided to finally make myself a pair of fingerless gloves. The same gloves I made for everybody (well the girls anyway) for Christmas last year. They knit up really fast and only take me a couple evenings to finish. I think I am going to love them this winter!!!

And my plan worked. I started getting ideas for things I wanted to make. So, today I stopped by the yarn store and picked this up! All cottons. It's too hot for me to starting having wool sitting in my lap. Wooo Hooo!!! Happy Knitting!

Swing Set

2009-05-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

Man, this "knitting club" is becoming just like a real Knit Wits gatherings we used to have in Kaylee's livingroom. I am the only one actually doing any knitting and everybody else is sitting around drinking all the wine telling stories with their yarn and needles sitting in their lap. :)

I just finished up another summer garmet for Willow out of a bunch of stash yarn. Royal would be so proud of me. :) I love this little top. It's super easy and fast to make. It's basically just a front and a back held together by a button on each side, so it should be nice and cool for the hot weather we have coming around. I used Rowan Cotton and the Swing Set Pattern out of the Minnies book.

Summer Dress

2009-04-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last time I went to the yarn store, I was going for the sole purpose of getting a new pair of size 3 needles, Royal had broken one of my needles the night before, and I had baby booties to finish. But when I got there, I discovered so much of my favorite yarn on sale! Debbie Bliss' Cashmerino and then this other yarn I have found that is called BabyBoo. Babyboo is made out of nylon and bamboo and is the softest yarn ever and it's a little shiny, and has become some of my favorite stuff. So, needless to say, my one pair of needles became an extremely expensive pair of needles with lots of free yarn that came with it!

Last night, I finished this little summer dress for Willow out of the BabyBoo. The pattern is out of the book, Adorable Knits for Tots.

Hearts and Stars

2009-04-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

Finally finished up Willow's hearts and stars blanket that I made to match Jayden's. Hers is pink of course while Jayden is rocking the blues.

I also managed to knit Willow up some booties since I was on such a roll from the newborn booties.

Itty Bitty Baby Booties

2009-03-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

Hello??? Anybody out there, doing any knitting besides me? :)

A couple families on my street are having their first baby. One little boy, due any day now and another little girl due in July. So, I knit up some newborn sized booties to keep those little tootsies warm. :)

The booties are made from the Basic Bootie pattern from the book Too Cute! by Debby Ware. I've changed the pattern a bit to make the top of the bootie different so they stay on better, but other than that it's pretty much the little bootie in the book.

Bear Hats

2009-03-05T18:02:00.001-08:00

There is obviously a theme of hats going on here... This last weekend, I knit up a couple hats for a girl that I work out with's son, London. She said that they refer to London as their little bear and wanted to know if I could make a bear hat. Of course I can! I am the yarn whisperer after all. So, I gave her a couple options. One is knit up with bear ears made out of Baby Cashmerino by Debbie Bliss (some of my favorite yarn to use for kids stuff). And then, since it is starting to get a little warmer here in Wichita, I made a blue hat with a bear face knit into it out of cotton.

Oopsie Daisy

2009-02-25T11:19:00.001-08:00

I've been working on finishing Willow pink stars and hearts blanket to match the blue one I've already made Jayden, but I needed to do something quick that I could finish in a couple evenings after the kiddos were in bed. I'm all about instant gratification. :) Finished this up last night!

I got this pattern from the Itty Bitty Hats book that I LOVE! (just in case you need some inspiration from a book with some really great kid's hats in it)

A Little Hat

2009-02-10T16:22:00.000-08:00

Another project made out of this yarn. Remember that little "accident"? :)

I wish this were a success story, but sadly, this hat was intended for a 5 years olds head and it turns out it's only going to fit a 2 year old. But I gave it away, and I know it will be loved.
I guess it's still a success, just not the success I meant it to be. Oh well. Accidents can be a good thing! :)
Note to self: Don't forget to check your gauge!

Valentine Skirt

2009-02-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

Here is Willow's Valentine's Skirt! I knit this while on our road trip to Pennsylvania to see Kaylee and her family. We didn't even have a knitting night together...what is wrong with us???? This skirt took way longer than I thought it was going to, curse you seed stitch. Too bad seed stitch looks so fantastic. I didn't really have a pattern I followed, as skirts are pretty much nothing but a tube. I looked over a couple patterns I liked and then just casted on and started knitting. This is what came out. I decided it needed some knit hearts to give it a little flair!

Today, Willow also got to sport the purple snowflake hat I made!

Kaylee's Favorite Booties

2009-01-24T15:15:00.001-08:00

I have knit these booties more times than I can count. Everyone who has ever gotten a pair loves them. I've changed the pattern a tad and included an I-cord instead of a ribbon for the tie which I like a lot better. These booties are best for the simple purpose of keeping baby socks from falling off.
These crazy, colorful booties are going to Arizona to my friend,, Marie-elena and another pair for Ashley coming soon!

Found the original pattern in the book: I Can't Believe I'm Knitting

Willow's Stocking

2009-01-13T18:58:00.001-08:00

I finially finished Willow's stocking tonight! I didn't get it done before Christmas because I wanted to use the same yarn that I made the rest of ours out of and they didn't sell it in my local yarn store. I guess I could of ordered it online, but I prefer to support the locals stores that I want to stay in business. So, I knew Canvas Works in Olympia would have the yarn, so I waited until we flew home for Christmas and then one icy day, Joanna and I braved the roads and drove over to Olympia so I could get the yarn I needed. I found what I needed and I bought it and I started knitting the stocking right away. I worked on it the whole time I was in Washington (in all my free time...the free time that comes with a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 week old) and got it to the point where it was off the needles so it was easier to pack home. I have finally been able to knit the past couple of nights this week and tonight I got all the ends wove in, the seams sewed up, the I-cord hanger knit and sewed on. Then, I went to take a picture of it with the rest of our stockings to post on this blog. And that's when I discovered I had made a terrible mistake. I am going to have to rip the whole thing out and start over. Not good, not good. Willow's stocking is significantly smaller than the other 3. She would totally notice, maybe not this year, but soon enough. And really anybody who saw the stockings all hanging next to each other would probably wonder to themselves, 'what the heck did that poor girl do to get such a little stocking, compared to the others hanging up there....these parents obviously have favorites' And we just can't have that. So, rip it out I shall, but not tonight. Argyle is a pain in the rear to knit and I just don't have the energy to do it. But before next Christmas, Willow's lovely purple and pink stocking - created to look like a bright Christmas ornament - will be unraveled into little balls and recreated. But here is the finished project as it stands now... :( sniff sniff...I hate ripping stuff out....sniff sniff (don't cry shop girl, don't cry)

Snug It Up!

2009-01-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

Willow was rolling around town today in the snugs that I made her. No need for socks since they are lined with alpaca! Wish I had a pair, but we all know how my felted feet objects usually turn out. :)

The snugs were made from a kit from Pick Up Sticks, you can get your own here!

Fuzzy Legs

2008-12-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

I knit Willow up some leg warmers, because I was bored and wanted to do something that would be real quick.

Once the leg warmers were done, I figured she needed a matching headband.

Flash Dance anyone???

Merry Cables

2008-12-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

I just finished this cabled scarf this evening, my last Christmas present that I needed to finish! Wahooo!!!! Now, I can start on maybe some socks or something or maybe work on the blanket I was knitting for Willow before I decided to knit all my Christmas presents.

This pattern came from the Knit Noel book.

More Christmas Gifts!

2008-12-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

I've finished some more Christmas presents!

First we have some slippers for my dad. My track record for slippers for my dad is very bad. For some reason, I cannot knit slippers that will fit his feet. I have tried pattern after pattern, I've even created my own. I'm starting to think my dad has freaky shaped feet. Now let me clarify, this is actually pair #2 that I have knit up for him for this Christmas. I figured while he was living in my house, I would knit a pair of slippers for him so he could try them on every step of the way. The first pair was going along swimmingly until I got to the cuff. Dad likes them nice and tight around the ankle so they won't stretch out and fall off. Well, I made the cuff a little too small and he couldn't wedge his feet in them (wierd shaped feet, I tell you), so now I have a lovely pair of green slippers to keep my feet warm. But here are the ones he'll get for Christmas, hopefully this pair will work!

Next up, we have some wristlets for my favorite rocker in the family. These are so fast and easy to knit up, he may get a few more of them than what is in the picture, in his present!

Here's my super easy pattern:

Using sock yarn, or fingerling weight yarn and size 4 dpns

Cast on 42 sts

Divide over 3 needles and join into a round

K3, P3 around for 2" or however big you want it

Bind off in pattern

One more thing I finished up this morning was this hat for my father-in-law. Jayden decided he'd like to be my model, after he saw how much fun the balloon was having. :)

9 Months

2008-11-20T10:40:00.000-08:00

After inspiration from Rachel, I decided to start knitting 9 months ago. I learned from watching you tube. These where my very first creations: More have come and more to follow!

Merry Christmas! (sneak peak)

2008-11-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted anything that would make people think I am knitting. But, I AM! All the time, in all my free time, I am trying to get all my Christmas presents done before the baby comes. AND I can't really post what I've been working on, since the people I am giving things to read this blog. :) So, here's a little sneak peak for the girls presents, I finished the last one this morning!

Wait, this doesn't look right....

2008-11-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

The time has come for me to post my first blog. Kaylee and Rachel have been nagging me to start my own blog forever. They seem to think funny things happen to me all the time and that I should be writing them for the world to read. Now that I am apart of this online knit Wits club I figured it was time to make my debut and post my most infamous knitting disaster.

I had decided that I was going to knit Jon and myself Christmas stockings instead of buying a pair. I asked my sister Rachel, if she could come up with a pattern for me. Those of you who knit, know that patterns are written in what seems to be a totally different language and for someone who isn’t familiar with the lingo; it’s easy to make mistakes. Let me just say here, that I don’t have very much experience knitting. My projects are few and far between. I swear I forget how to cast on every time I start a new one and most of them never get finished. So in the beginning I was asking Rachel a million questions just to make sure that I didn’t make some huge mistake and have to rip the whole thing out. As I made my way through the pattern I became more and more confident and dare I say a little too sure of myself……big mistake.

The night of our knit wits group I was sitting next to Rachel and Jessie on the couch knitting and chatting like usual. On this particular night I was planning to finish stocking number one and I was beyond excited. I just wanted to get it done so could have the finished product. As I was nearing the end of the pattern I asked Rachel for help to finish the toe and I held up my stocking to show her where I was. As I held it I noticed that something was drastically wrong. I grabbed the pattern and started scanning it to figure out what had happened. I was just sure that Rachel had messed up the pattern and that was why my stocking looked funny. Then I found it. The step I had missed. In my haste to finish I skipped over the step that was the middle of the foot (40 rows). I had knit the heel and went straight into knitting the toe. My stocking now resembled a Chinese woman’s foot that had been bound. Rachel started laughing hysterically and held up my stocking to show Kaylee and Jessie what I had done. Of course everyone was crying they were laughing so hard and Kaylee thought it would be a great idea to take some pictures to capture my embarrassment forever.

This is what Chinese Foot Binding looks like.

Hat With Earflaps

2008-11-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know what all you other Knit Wits have been up to, but I've been knitting up a storm. Well, sort of. I'm still going, which I am pretty surprised about. I don't know why I haven't burned out yet? I haven't finished the other fingerless gloves, but on top of those I've started a pair of booties and get this! I'm doing them both at the same time. Genius, right Rach? I recently knit up a fabulous hat that was intended for someone else, and I did in fact give it to them, but I really wanted to keep it for myself. Super soft yarn was the key with this hat. I have knit up so many hats that no one would want to wear because they are too scratchy. What is scratchy yarn good for anyway? Felting maybe??

Here's the hat. The pattern came from a book or maybe it's a booklet? Reynolds Lopi: Vol. 22

I Am Loving Ravelry!

2008-11-12T06:42:00.000-08:00

Have you guys checked out Ravelry yet? I found a pattern online a couple weeks ago that I really wanted. It was free, but you had to get it through Ravelry....which I was not a part of. Having read many knitting blogs, I had heard of Ravelry, but didn't really know what it was. So without much research I jumped on the waiting list to join.
I just got my invitation yesterday and I've been checking it out. This was a genius idea! If you don't know what it is, basically it is an online community for knitters, crocheters and other fiber fans. There is a whole community that you can be a part of with forums and everyone sharing their projects and free patterns....just like a knitting club :) and kind of like face book....kind of.
Anyway, my favorite thing about it right now, is you can save, organize and store all your knitting information. You can fill out this cool chart and mark the needles you have including dpns and circular AND crochet hooks. And then you just click "print this card" and you can carry it around with you so that you don't accidently buy duplicates when your shopping for a new project!
You can input all the information about all the yarn you have...and you can order more, right online if you want. For example, I have 1.5 skeins of Reynolds Lopi. I input the information and it automatically calculates the grams and yards that I have...so I know if I have enough for a project. If I don't have enough, I can just order more...it will take me to a sight where I can order that specific yarn. It will even tell you where you can get it at a store near you. Also, there is a place to write notes about that yarn, so you can write down the washing instructions for that specific yarn so that when you misplace (which I always do) the label once you've begun a project, you know your stuff. It also automatically gives you the "weight" of the yarn. I always have trouble guessing, is this fingering weight? Worsted weight? etc... I can't tell you how much I wish I would have known about this place a long time ago. I have SO many balls of yarn that don't have their labels anymore. I have no idea what the brand is, how much I have or how to wash it. I'm telling you, this is a genius idea!
Anyway you should check it out!

Matching Socks

2008-11-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

I found these socks tonight as I was going through a drawer looking for a silk scarf I knit up last year. These are the socks I made from the sock yarn Kaylee and I got in our stockings the first Christmas after we started knitting. You can see from the post below that it took Kaylee 7 years to complete them. Mine didn't take quite as long to finish and I managed to make them the same size, which might have something to do with finishing one right after the other instead of years apart, just something you might want to think about if you are going to knit up socks. :) I still think they are real comfy-cozy.

-The Yarn Whisperer

The 7 Year Project...Revisited

2008-11-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

Many of you have probably already read my 7 Year Project post. If not, find it here. Long story short, it took me 7 years to finish one pair of socks.

Here's the finished product:
Again, if you read the story, you know that I would never be able to wear these colorful socks. I thought I would just store them and look at them every once in a while and be proud of actually finishing the darn things.

But I really need some yarn and I'm lacking in my personal stash. I packed the socks around with me for a couple days and then finally I did this...

I must admit that it was really hard for me to undo this project that has been hanging over my head for so long. However, once they were unraveled I was excited about the possibilities!

I have already made a pair of Mittenettes which I love. (Did you get that? A Pair! That's right, I finished both of them....) I am making another pair right now....just without that crazy rainbow yarn. Found millions of patterns online, but the one I used is here.

Voila! Something new from something old!

The Beginning

2008-11-08T06:45:00.000-08:00

Knit Wits began back in Shelton, WA on Monday nights, in Kaylee's living room, with the 3 sisters (Kaylee, Joanna, and me), Jessie, and anybody else we could convince that knitting really was all the rage. We finally got Joanna to move on past itty bitty hats that she intended to fit adults, to knitting a couple Christmas stockings for her and her husband. Kaylee, the master recruiter for the club, lent out a bunch of yarn and needles to newbies that came to learn and somehow never got most of them back. We taught Jessie how to knit, but she often times showed up without her needles (even though she only lived 2 minutes away) and sat around and told us funny stories about her life as a dental hygenist. That seemed to be how most "club meetings" ended up. Not much knitting got done.

Then sadly, life took over. Kaylee and her family moved to Phoenix, AZ. Joanna and I still got together on Monday nights, but it really wasn't the same, we didn't have Kaylee's living room. The next year, my family and I moved to Wichita, KS. That left Joanna. Not much left for a club. Joanna though, has recently started up more "meetings" in Shelton. Kaylee and I are extremely jealous because we want to be part of the club. So we started trying to come up with ideas on how we could be included. Kaylee and her family now live in Pennsylvania, so the 3 of us live in 3 different time zones. Even with our webcams, it's hard to figure out a time with there being a 3 hour difference between Washington and Pennsylvania. So, Kaylee came up with the idea for this blog - it's the new living room. Kaylee, Joanna, and I all consider ourselves blog-stalkers anyway, checking each others blogs multiple times a day, so that we can still feel like we are a part of each other's daily lives, even though we live so far apart. And now, we have a few more friends who love to knit as much as we do, and it's here we want to share all our creations, disasters, and all the fun we're having at any local Knit Wits meeting that we get to be a part of!

WELCOME TO THE CLUB!!!

Rachel - a.k.a The Yarn Whisperer. :)

The pattern for this lovely hair is from knitty.com