I Think It's Time For An Update

Sorry for the lack of updates lately; the past couple months have had my mind all over the place. Since my last post I was busting out the yellow jacket and had everything made except one of the arms when I ran out of yarn. I didn't get the rest of the yarn until a couple days  ago (long story) so I'll finally be able to get back to it. I also bought yarn for my next project, a pink, short-sleeve shrug. It's high-end yarn $$$ I'm afraid of like it too much.
Here's a couple pics:

Summing Up the Rest

I suppose I should sum up the rest of my knitting creations to date so I can get this blog fully caught up. After knitting the alien looking teddy bear I made another bear, but this bear was a Pooh Bear. Elias Andra of Julien-K/Dead By Sunrise has a little baby boy named Jake who adores Winnie the Pooh, so I thought it appropriate to knit Jake a Pooh Bear.

This time I followed the pattern exactly nmaking the bear turn out a bit less alien. Since I had no pattern for the red shirt I had to make my own. Making my own pattern for the shirt was a small, but proud, moment for me. I felt quite victorious in creating the shirt without following a pattern.

Caron Simply Soft
#9945 Sunshine
Bernat Satin
#04705 Crimson
Caron Simply Soft Eco
#0034 Black
["nursery knits - 25 easy-knit designs for clothes, toys and decorations" by Zoe Mellor pg 60-63]

The face is the one thing that makes him look funny, but I'm a knitter, not a stitcher...

After that I made a scarf for my mom because I decided I should do something for her. As an only child I mostly "get" rather than "give" lol. I used my own pattern when making this ribbed scarf:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends
#93203 Aqua

Finally, I made two sets of baby booties and scratch mittens to donate to the Children's Hospital.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Caron Simply Soft
#9945 Sunshine

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Caron Simply Soft
#9912 Pink
[For both sets I used "easy baby knits - clothes & accessories for 0-3 year-olds" by Claire Montgomerie pg 62-63]

Well, now I have you all caught up on my knitting. :)

Frustrations, etc.

I apologize for my lack of posts, I was quite distracted with the project I've been working on for a number of months. I was attempting to make my first major project. I've always wanted to be able to make my own clothes, but I suck at sewing. This is what I was attempting to make:

Vogue Knitting Fall 2009 #22
design by Kristin Omdahl

Things were going pretty well. or so I thought, until I got to the last part of the project. I only had to make the arms when I realized something had terribly gone wrong....The neck hole was way too small. I have no idea how it happened and I was was so devastated. I spent all that time to then realize there was nothing I could do with what I had created. The unfortunate part of knitting is that fixing things that are already bound off is typically impossible. It's not like fabric which you can cut, add in, and resew together. If I were to cut it, even at the seams, it would most likely destroy it. I was so upset that I had screwed up so badly. I know it's part of learning, but that doesn't make it less frustrating.

The only thing I did that deviated from the pattern was my choice of yarn. The pattern calls for Be Sweet Bamboo (bamboo) in #622 sage which is $10 per ball...and you need 9 of them...which equals $90. No thank you. So I chose Naturally Caron SPA (bamboo blend) #0005 ocean spray. I was certain that I had chosen a yarn that would match the gauge. I don't know if that was my problem or if it was something else.

I'm holding out a little hope that I can figure out something to do with it.

In other news, I'm awaiting the delivery of the yarn for my next project:

Knit.1 Summer 2006 #34

design by Vladimir Teriokhin

I will be using the yarn the pattern calls for this time! Thankfully its much more affordable. The yarn needed for this jacket is Lion Brand Homespun in #388 Lemonade and Lion Brand Fun Fur #157 Soft Yellow.

Bit by the Baby Knits Bug

Shortly before I knit the baby hat, I had bought a couple of baby knitting books. My neighbor/landlord was about to have a baby so I thought it would be nice to knit a couple things for her. Deciding to keep trying new things, I decided to make a couple stuffed animals. First I made a little pink rabbit. It was very different for me, because I had to knit a bunch of separate pieces and sew them all together. I also got to buy and use stuffing for the first time.

After I finished I wasn't sure if I was pleased or bummed. As a perfectionist I never think anything is good enough. i had to remind myself that it was my very first time making a stuffed animal and that I should be very proud of myself.

Caron Simply Soft

#9912 Pink
#9918 Plum Wine
White
["easy baby knits - clothes & accessories for 0-3 year-olds" by Claire Montgomerie pg 122-123]

After completeing the rabbit I felt confident enough to make a teddy bear. to save some money, I used a different yarn than what the pattern called for, so I had to compensate for it. Being my first time attempting this it didn't turn out like the pattern as much. The bear ended of being much larger and a little misshapen; I thought it looked a bit like an alien. However, it still turned out quite well considering.

I did my best to scribble out my adjustments as I went along so I could keep the pattern for future use. Someday, I want to try and translate my scribbles and drawings so that I can type it up. I wish myself good luck!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Caron Simply Soft
#9918 Plum Wine
#9912 Pink
White
[I used pages 60-63 of "nursery knits - 25 easy-knit designs for clothes, toys and decorations" by Zoe Mellor as a guide]

I went back and forth between being happy and dissapointed; my boyfriend had to repeatedly reassure me I did a good job. When I finally was able to bring the toys over to our neighbors, they were so happy and surprised. They loved the toys and thought it was so neat that I was able to make stuff like that. That made me feel better about it and I was ready to make some more.

Scarves Coming Out of My Ears!

For my next project I decided to make scarves for one of my favorite bands, Julien-K. They were finally playing in Milwaukee for the first time. I was stoked because I was getting tired of driving out of state everytime I wanted to see them. They are super sweet guys and fun to hang out with.

This meant that I had to knit 4 scarves in less than 2 months because I put it off for too long. It was late in the semester, into the summer, so I had to juggle knitting, classes, work, internship, moving, and social life. I began knitting almost everywhere. I knit on the bus, before classes, at the restaurant I worked at, at home, at my boyfriend's place, at our new place, and even at the bar we frequented daily. Needless to say, I had scarves coming out of my ears.

After knitting the scarves, which were very long I might add, I had to embroider the band logos on each end of the scarf. That was a whole other challenge for me. In the end, I think I made 4 cool scarves. The band loved them (at least they pretended to ;P ).

Caron Simply Soft Eco

#0034 Black
Caron Simply Soft?
White

Here is a picture of Brandon wearing his scarf:

A few days before the concert I decided I also wanted to make a baby hat for Elias' unborn son Jake. I had never made anything but scarves up until then. I busted the hat out; I was up until 6am working on it. After some sleep, I came back and finished it up. Here's the result:

TLC Baby Amoré

#9832 Lt. Blue (Dye Lot: 5176)

#9001 White (Dye Lot: 5190)
[I used the pattern on pages 56-57 of "easy baby knits - clothes & accessories for 0-3 year-olds" by Claire Montgomerie as a guide]

The rib along the middle of the hat was actually a mistake but I think it looks good anyway. I was very pleased with my first attempt at anything other than a scarf. Elias was very excited when I gave it to him.

After my knitting blowout I took a bit of a break (well deserved I thought). When i picked my needles back up a month or so later I had found that I was bit by the baby knits bug....

The Beginning

Yep, that's me a couple years ago on one of the days I'm least proud of. That day had been coming since the summer before 7th grade(1999) when I first plucked my eyebrows at summer camp. My OCD (then still undiagnosed) latched on to that and never let go. By high school my eyebrows were reduced to just a few hairs. During the following years my eyebrows were always extremely thin; I began to fill them in with a eyebrow pencil to make them more noticeable.

As you may notice in the picture I often had marks and scars on my skin. I would pluck to the point that I bled. I dug holes in my face just to get one hair out. I was mutilating myself. I would pluck everyday, multiple times a day. When I wasn't near a tweezers I would pull them out with my fingernails. I knew I had to do something so I went to my doctor. Around 6 months after being put on medication I plucked the rest of the hairs out.

After that day I got more serious about my knitting, which I had unsuccessfully started months prior. I now had my motivation. This was the result:

Red Heart Super Saver [Economy]
#786 Candy Print

My first attempt was a success. A warm, comfy scarf to wear when battling the Wisconsin winter weather. It's not perfect, but nothing I knit is perfect, but that's ok. It's homemade and unique.

Now you have an introduction to why I knit. I will follow with other things I've knit,  my knitting interests, and my knitting stuff. Hope you enjoy my knitting babble. :)