more knitting...sort of

I have so many knitting projects in my head. Have I made headway on any of them? No.

Scarf for Dad
He sprung this idea on me a few weeks ago, and I've been thinking about it a lot. I'm going to make him the campus scarf from Scarf style, but in a solid color, a la Splityarn. I picked out some 127 Print (I think that's the name?) but I think the random stripeyness would be lost on a "plaid" scarf like that. So it's onto some tweed, possibly from Rowan, probably from WEBS. Although I discovered Catnip Yarns today, and the prices seem unbelievably reasonable if you dye it yourself. And I've been dying to try dyeing! (har).

Elbac
No progress. BOOO

Shawl for Mom
No luck finding Rowan 38 online cheap or at my LYS. So River is out. I finally got the Vogue Shawls to go book from the library, but the Shetland Shawl pattern I liked seems lame now. I don't have a backup plan, except maybe Kiri or something free online.

A million things to sew- new purse, dress, apron, quilt...lacking fabric, motivation, and access to the iron. I think it is buried under the bed. sad.

elbac- help!

I started knitting Elbac from Knitty Winter 06 last week, and it is just not working. It's on size 7s, like the pattern calls for, with Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK. It's so narrow and it looks nothing like the picture. I am very disappointed, because I am liking the cables, though I am not liking the constant p1,k1 in the pattern. I tried it on 8s and it still doesn't look right. :(



It's about the width of my hand, so maybe 3-3.5"? It looks so wide in the Knitty pictures, and despite the wonders of blocking, mine doesn't look quite the same.

for 50 Projects on LJ

Project #5: washcloth from Mason Dixon Knitting. I didn't knit it as long as recommended, but it is on size 7 with kitchen cotton. White is Sugar and Cream, color is Gumdrop from Peaches and Cream. I love this color. It's like jelly beans or a carnival. With the white, it looks like my old easter basket. I do wish that I could find yarn with longer color repeats so each little block is a different color. I found that the white unraveled quickly, especially when I had to frog rows.

I think this pattern would be great for a kid's hat. Especially in the same candy colored yarn.



Close-up.


Project #6: I cleaned today and organized my bookcase. It's not a craft project per se, but I've been meaning to do it forever. It has an inbox, things to file, and recycle bins. My magazines are along the bottom, though I wish I had more file boxes that matched. I got the tall vase from a thrift store years ago. The mug is from a town named after my family in England, and the little glass vase is new from Target (as are the inboxes- $2.50 dollar spot). That blur is my dog :)



Also cleaned my bathroom and sink, but I will spare you photos!

Longest scarf in the world

It is about time! I started planning this scarf in October, knitting in November, and finished it Sunday. I wanted a reversible pattern, machine washable wool, and an elegant design with pockets. I finally settled on Berroco's Pure Merino in a raspberry colorway, and bought three balls. Over the next two months, I bought three more. The scarf started as the cabled scarf in Scarf style, but found that it didn't fold up well into pockets. Why pockets? My grandmother has arthritis in her hands and is not able to wear gloves. It's pretty cold in Indiana, so I wanted her to be able to stick her hands in the scarf to keep them warm, and still be able to hold onto her walker.

After scouring every knitting book in Borders one night, I settled on a seed stitch pattern from some purse book (I think it called the pattern "blossom."). Halfway through the first ball, I realized I knit the exact same pattern for my mom last year, and that it curled up on itself horribly. I'm an idiot. But, I was too far along and too time crunched to rip it out. Despite knitting feverishly up through Christmas Eve, I still couldn't finish it. The scarf had to be extra long in order to fold up into pockets, and the stitch was taking me forever. My grandma understood, and it is now on its way to her in time for her birthday. The color will hopefully match her new coat. I should have made her a fleecy Colts one, but who had that kind of forethought in December??



The longest scarf, ever:
Cast on 35 (I think) onto size 9 needles. Any odd number will do.
I did two rows of garter stitch after casting on to give it a bit of an edge.
Row 3: *k1, p1*, k1
Row 4: knit all.
Repeat rows 3 and 4 for an eternity, or until the scarf is about 7 feet long. This took me just shy of five balls of approximately 100 yards each, Pure Merino.
For the pockets, I folded each end up the length of my hand, and seamed the edges.

This is also for 50projects, and fits into the theme of finishing unfinished projects. I didn't get the InStitches-a-long finished in time, though. Whoops. Maybe February.

it's still january!

I moved into my house ten months ago, in late spring. Aside from four tulips, nine bushes and a cubic ton of weeds, there was no landscaping in my yard. So it's understandable that I went a little crazy last fall in the bulb buying department. I started out small- a few daffodils and crocuses here and there. I had a giftcard to Lowe's, so it's like they were free. Towards the end of the season, bulbs went on sale, so I bought more. Then clearance. The ground still hadn't frozen in November, so there I was at Thanksgiving, planting the rest of my bulbs. I lost count as to how many I planted. And what I planted. I saved all of the packaging, but I forget where exactly I planted everything.

This little guy started popping up last week. The grape hyacinths in the backyard sent shoots up in December, and there are several bulbs peeking up in the front yard. I just wish I could remember what all I planted. Hyacinth? Allium? Narcissus?



Someone should tell him it's still January, and spring is still far away.

Valentine's Wreath

Project #2 for 50projects: I had some free time last night so I whipped up this little door wreath. It's cardboard (two layers), scrapbook paper, some sticky letters, and those foamy hearts from the Target Dollar Spot. It matches the paper globes I made last week- the same pink polka dot paper from JoAnn's. Unfortunately, that isn't poor lighting in the photo. My kitchen really is that hideous butter color. Ick. On the upside, my hyacinth and kitchen table match the wreath!

project uno

Project #1 completed: those little ball ornaments from Martha's Holiday Issue. I've been dying to make them for months, and I finally got around to it. In time for Valentine's Day. Sorry for the bad pictures, but it's hard to focus on little bits of paper dangling from a chandelier.

A second view of the largest ball. For this one, I took "i love you" scrapbook paper, cut thin strips, then cut those in half. So each strip is a little under six inches long. I used an 1/8th inch hole punch and craft brads from JoAnn's. I liked using the 12x12 sheets of paper as opposed to a piece from a Mat Stack because you only have to cut the long skinny strips once, then cut them in half.



This is for the 50 Projects LiveJournal group. The goal is to do 50 craft projects in 2007. I'm just joining, so I'm a few weeks behind. January's theme is to finish unfinished projects. I've been searching for the right paper, brads, and hole punch for several weeks on these. My next unfinished project is my Grandmother's scarf, which should have been done 4 weeks ago for Christmas!!!

My other ideas for 50 projects:
-finishing a Christmas stocking.
-recycling yarn from thrifted sweaters
-dying said yarn with Kool-Aid, etc.
-knit socks
-Coin quilt for my bed