"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Since there are only two days left before Christmas, I thought I would post some of my thoughts from the past few days.

There have been several times in the past few weeks that I have yearned for things (tangible or otherwise) and I now realize that I have nothing that I truly need. I may want things, but I need nothing, and I should never overlook the things I have and the people in my life who love me. So now I encourage you, too, to take a moment and think about the things and people in your life that truly matter. The people you love and who love you back are the most important part of life. And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about. :)

And so, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year.

And happy knitting until next time, of course. :)

Thankful

It is Thanksgiving. I'm going to take this moment to reflect on all the things I'm thankful for.

I am thankful for:

• my family
• my friends
• the fact that both my parents still have their jobs, despite the economy
• the fact that I only have half a sock and a cell phone case left to complete until my Christmas knitting is finished

Frankly, I'm surprised that I'm nearly done with my Christmas knitting before Thanksgiving. I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone, so I'm not going to say what I've made, but trust me, it's a lot. At least, it's more than I've done for Christmas before. I've been working on things since the beginning of the summer, and I'm excited to be nearly done. :) I can't wait to give everyone their gifts! :D

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

Horses and Socks

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. I've been pretty busy with school. But I have found some time to knit, as all resourceful knitters do. :)  Right now, I'm working on a Horse Scarf for my younger brother's best friend who practically lives at our house. The yarn is Red Heart Kids in Orange and Caron Simply Soft in Black.

He will be getting that for Christmas. In addition to that, I'm also working on a pair of socks (Silver's Sock Class again-it's simple and makes for very good on-the-go knitting) for one of my friends. I'm using some recycled yarn from an old, store-bought sweater (it was actually very fun frogging it).

I also have several other things waiting to be cast on (most of them will end up being Christmas presents), but you'll have to wait a bit to see those. :)

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

Things I Have Learned This Summer

Today is my last day of summer vacation. Tomorrow, at 7am, I will begin the school year anew. So, today, I thought I'd give you a list of things I've learned this summer.

• Cotton is not the fiber to use when trying out the Daisy Stitch for the first time.
• Double-knitting is like doing two projects at once.
• Double-knitting requires the stamina and willpower of doing two projects at once.
• Double-knitting, because of the reasons above, takes more time to knit than I think it does.
• Hats take less time to knit than I think they do.
• Stranded knitting is not as hard as it looks. 
• Stranded knitting is harder than it looks if you do it wrong. (I think this applies to pretty much any type of knitting.)
• A sock-in-progress that is kept in my purse is both productive and will keep me sane during long waits.
• Gauge is very important. (I realize that I should have known this before the summer, but I guess I needed to be reminded.)
• I knit tightly and I should almost always go up a needle size from what the pattern calls for.
• Summer feels very long in June, and then feels very, very short at the end of August. (I knew this already, but the fact that school starts tomorrow has driven this home.)

And some people say that we teens don't learn anything during the summer. :)

Until next time, happy knitting!

Swing and Elope

I finished my Swing Sweater! :) (It's kinda difficult to take a picture of yourself wearing a sweater, but I don't think it turned out too badly.)

It's a bit loose, but I like my sweaters to be a bit looser anyway. :)

Here's a close-up of the neckline. I followed the pattern and did the K2, P1 ribbing, but I did it for about 4 inches instead of the 10 the pattern said. 4 inches was just about perfect.

I'm very happy with it, and I can't wait to wear it when it gets cold again! :)

Now I'm working on the Eloping wedding garter with Patons Lace yarn in Porcelain. A friend of mine is getting married soon, and I wanted to knit her something for her wedding. I'm using size 6 (US) needles, because I knit really tightly. I really like the yarn- it's very pretty. :)

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

Happy Birthday to Me...

We celebrated my birthday this past weekend. I had a blast. :) And guess what I got?

Yep! I got a swift and a ball winder. I immediately wound all of the skeins I had in my stash, and I wish that I had more to wind. :)

I also got the soundtrack to Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, and I've been listening to it ever since. I love it, though not as much as the original. But I still love it. :)

I'm still working on my sweater. I have the front and the back done, and I'm working on the left sleeve now. I'm trying to figure out a way to modify the neck, because I don't like turtlenecks.

Until next time, happy knitting!

In Sleep He Sang to Me...

It's done. Let me say that again: it's done. My Phantom of the Opera bag is done. I love it just as I knew I would, and I keep turning around to look at it, propped up in a corner of my room. It's been laying on my floor for the past two days, and now it's dry. Here, let me show it to you:

Isn't it marvelous? :) I'm very, very happy with it, though I was surprised at how fast it felted- a mere 15 minutes in the washing machine and I was a little afraid that I felted it too much. But it's good!

This is it before felting (and that purple thing next to it is a 12 inch ruler, for scale):

And this is the mask and rose after felting (one side felted better than the other. Oh well.):

And here is the bag after felting (the blue-green thing is another 12 inch ruler- I managed to misplace the other one in the two days that the bag was drying):

And now, to celebrate the completion of my Phantom of the Opera bag, I present to you the chart of the Phantom's mask!

I hope you enjoy knitting this chart as much as I did. :)

Now I'm working on the Swing Sweater from the fall 2010 issue of KnitSimple magazine using Bernat Softee Chunky yarn in Terra Cotta Mist. I finished the back of the sweater today and started the front, so it shouldn't be too long before it's done. :)

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

It's Coming Along...

My Phantom bag is coming along. The rounds can feel a bit long, but I'm nearly there! I just have to do a few more rounds, and then the straps, and then a little bit of I-cord edging, and then I have to felt it! (I realize that this doesn't sound like I'm almost there, but I am. Trust me.)

Here's a close-up of the rose:

And a close-up of the mask  (that I designed myself!):

I'm working at it diligently, and I know I'll love the bag when I'm done. I just have to finish it first. :)

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

Totoro, Totoro

I finished my second mitten! It's just as awesome and warm as the first.

I almost can't wait for it to get cold so I can wear them. Almost. :) Since I finished these, I'm going to give my Phantom Bag another try.

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

Totoro

I finished one Totoro mitten! It's really thick and warm and soft. And Totoro is so cute!

Stranded knitting is really cool (and not as complicated as I thought it would be), and I'm really excited to start the other mitten!

Happy knitting!

Startitis

Startitis is a knitting affliction where the knitter has a powerful urge to start a new project (or six) even though they already have several projects going. Most people are struck with startitis in the spring, when the snow melts and the world becomes bright and green again. Apparently, I'm not one of those people. I have startits now. I've had it since school got out six weeks ago. The bag I'm knitting with Phantom of the Opera on it? There is nothing wrong with that bag; it's soft and very pretty and I designed the chart for the mask myself, and yet I don't want to knit it anymore. I'm not saying that I never want to finish it- I just don't want to finish it now. I'd rather be knitting something else, and I feel bad. However, I have come to a conclusion: There is no knitting police that will come and get me because I didn't finish the bag (and I still haven't re-started the vampire socks- but the knitting police still aren't coming). Knitting is supposed to be fun, and if doing yet another round of 264 stitches of double-knitting makes me want to tear my hair out unhappy, then I shouldn't do it, right? At least not now.
Here's what I've been obsessed with for the past few weeks: Norwegian Totoro Mittens. In case you're asking, "What's a Totoro?" the mittens are based on a Japanese animated movie called "My Neighbor Totoro" that was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Totoros are shy forest spirits. It's a very cute movie, so if you haven't seen it, I recommend that you do.
Since the knitting police still aren't knocking at the door, I'm going to go start those mittens.

Happy knitting!

Procrastination and Red

For my AP English class that starts in September, I have to read three books over the summer: Night by Elie Wiesel, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. I also have to do a "Major Works Data Sheet" on each of them (things about tone and style and foreshadowing and irony and all that- things that require lots of Post-Its sticking out of my books), and I have to write a literary analysis about one of them. At this point, I have read Night and Ethan Frome and have started the Data Sheet on both of them. Since I've been at it for a few hours now, I decided to take a break. (I'm procrastinating, but I still have plenty of time left.) During my break, I naturally turned to my knitting, and I discovered something interesting: All of the projects I'm working on right now contain red. As proof, I present my shawl, my socks (which I plan on restarting sometime soon), and the new bag I've started:

The bag is the Pirate Queen Booty Bag, but I'm not really fond of skulls and crossbones, so I'm using Kody May's Single Rose Chart around the bottom and a chart of the Phantom of the Opera's mask that I designed myself. The yarn is I Love This Wool in Terra Cotta and Black from my local Hobby Lobby.

All red. They're all red. I'm not entirely sure why I'm drawn to red right now, but it certainly is interesting. I think I'll go ponder this some more- while working on my red bag, of course.

Happy knitting!

Gauge (Or, It's My Own Fault)

Seen on every knitting pattern ever written: "TAKE TIME TO CHECK GAUGE." But did I listen?

About two days ago, I was working on the foot of my vampire socks, and I went to try it on (or, as much as you can try on a sock that's only half done). It was a little tight, but I thought, "Maybe that's just because of the cables. It'll be fine when it's done." However, a little voice in the back of my head nagged me that they were too small. So I checked my gauge. You should know that I didn't check gauge before I started. I thought, "Okay, the pattern calls for size 1 needles, so I'll use my size 2s because I knit tightly," and I began knitting. When measuring my gauge a few days ago, I discovered that instead of the 7 1/2 stitches per inch that I was supposed to get, I had about 8 1/4 stitches per inch. This is my sock now:

My mom was absolutely appalled when I showed her, and my younger brother had some protests of his own. But I would rather be sure that the socks fit beforehand (by checking my gauge like I should have!) than find out when I'm done that they don't fit. But, because I'm irritated with myself, I'll be working on my shawl (with isn't as picky about gauge) for a little while.
I'll say it again: It's my own fault.

Until next time, happy knitting!

Trains and Vampires

I realize that trains and vampires don't usually have much to do with each other (unless you have a vampire on a train), but today they do, at least for me. I finished my little brother's double-knit train scarf:

And I've started the My Vampire Boyfriend socks using Patons Kroy Socks FX yarn in Copper Colors:

The cables look much more impressive in person. I've always had a thing for Dracula, but my favorite vamp has to be the movie version of Louis from "Interview with the Vampire."  :)

Happy knitting!

Catching Up

Yay, I figured out how to put my pictures up! Okay, this is the stethoscope cover I made back in the beginning of April:

 This is the lightbulb I made for my older brother's birthday:

This is the double knitted scarf I'm making for my younger brother:

 

It's much longer now, and it includes a tender and two (well, technically one and a half) passenger cars.

And this is the shawl I've been working on:

 

Happy knitting!

Random Tuesday

This is my last week of school, so I've been busy finishing worksheets and projects and review sheets. I heard my younger brother talking about what he's doing this week (all fun things- something about pizza and ice cream) and instantly became jealous. Oh well. I have my knitting to keep me company.

On that note, I've been knitting quite a bit recently. I was working on a shawl knitted with Sensations Boucle yarn (not exactly sure what colorway- it changes from bright red to a deep maroon), but realized that the weather has been far too hot for that. So I've been whipping up a few other things. For example:

*sigh* An image was going to go right here, but my blog is still doing that weird thing where my images come up as random HTML stuff. So I'll just tell you: I made my older brother a lightbulb for his birthday (quite appropriate, considering he's been able to make a circuit since the age of 7).

For my younger brother (also for his birthday, but it's not for a while), I've been making a double-knitted train scarf. I wish the pictures would post, because he picked out Caron Simply Soft in black and Red Heart Kids in Beach, which is a variegated yarn, so it looks really cool with the train in black on one side and in this blue-green mixture on the other.

Hopefully, I'll figure out the picture thing soon so you can see them. Until then, happy knitting! :)

Cozy

I know it's been a while since I posted anything. I'm on spring break now, and I'm expecting my ACT results in the mail any day now (keep your fingers crossed for me!). I've been knitting a lot. I've got my mom knitting her first pair of socks, and on DPNs, no less! :) I'm also posting a pattern for you. My mom is a nurse, and I wanted to make her something, so I came up with this:

Stethoscope Cozy

Materials:
- Worsted weight yarn
- size 6 DPNs
- button

Instructions:
CO 16 sts, distributing them on needles in 4-8-4.
K1, P1 ribbing for 4 rnds.
Knit plain until piece measures 17 1/2 inches from CO edge.

Rnd 1: k3, kfb, kfb, k6, kfb, kfb, k3
Rnd 2: knit
Rnd 3: k4, kfb, kfb, k8, kfb, kfb, k4
Rnd 4: knit
Rnd 5: k5, kfb, kfb, k10, kfb, kfb, k5
Rnd 6: knit
Rnd 7: k6, kfb, kfb, k12, kfb, kfb, k6
Rnd 8: knit
Rnd 9: k7, kfb, kfb, k14, kfb, kfb, k7

Knit 3 rnds.
Work in k1, p1 ribbing for 5 rnds.

BO in ribbing 14 sts, k8, BO remaining 14. Reattach yarn and continue k1, p1 ribbing back and forth for 2 1/4 inches.

Next row: k1, p1, k1, p1, yo, slip 1, p1, psso, p1, k1

Continue in k1, p1 ribbing for 4 more rows.
BO in ribbing.
Sew on button where ribbing begins (see pictures below for clarification).


I will post pictures when I make another one. Let me know if there are any errors and I will correct them.

*Edit*
Okay, I tried to post the pictures of the stethoscope cozy I finished today, but I ended up with a bunch of HTML jargon instead, so maybe I'll try again later.

Happy knitting! :)

My First Sweater

Here are the pictures I promised (by the way, it's really hard to take a picture of a sweater when you're wearing it):


































Happy knitting! :)

Finished!

As of about 10 minutes ago, my sweater is done. I had to stop knitting it last Saturday because of an error in the pattern (the shoulder instructions were missing). But today around 5pm, I got an email with the corrections, and I've been knitting my butt off ever since. I finished the actual knitting part earlier this evening (since I had just the shoulders of the front to finish), and then began the making up part of it. For those of you who are wondering, the time it took to sew together my first sweater was almost equal to the time it takes to go through the entire "Phantom of the Opera" soundtrack once. I will post pictures tomorrow. To those of you who are done as well, we did it. :)

Happy knitting! :)

Update and Olympics

First, updates:
1) I finished a baby blanket for a friend (her baby will be my goddaughter)

















2) I have started my first sweater (see below) using a pattern from Creative Knitting magazine.

Second, Olympics.
I am taking part in the Knitting Olympics hosted by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I finished the Spiral Cowl, which was the project I decided to do. I think I should have picked something a bit more challenging (I finished the Cowl in three days), and so now I am determined to finish my sweater before the torch goes out. I have a sleeve, the back, and half the front done so far.


















Happy knitting! :)