Independent Knitter!

I'm feeling quite accomplished these days!

My latest finished project:

I did it all on my own! I cabeled without having to franitically call Juli, although I did mess one up and it's going in the wrong direction, but I dare you to find it!

and I placed the thumb hole and did the thumb all by myself too, I did ask Val to help but we never got a chance for some knitting time, so I did it myself!

I've got skills I never knew about!

I haven't stared any socks yet. Juli heard about my new desire to knit socks and insisted she send me some sock yarn. How could I refuse!

I still have to get needles and I think I'll start them soon so that I have a nice small project I can bring with me when I go visit her, I don't think the Hemlock Ring Blanket would travel so well.....Two weeks till my trip!!!! (and so she can help me with it, I've only got a few skills!)

Oh, and here is a pic of my friend with the scarf I made her, she loves it so much!

she got teary eyed when I gave it to her and said noone had ever made anything for her, I guess she doesn't come from a crafty family!

I'm considering starting a sweater I got a kit for, but I think I can kinda put that off for a while, it really is a year-round sweater so it doesn't matter when I finish it.

Other than that, running, I'm up to 7 1/2 miles! a big accomplishment for me, the race is in May so I'm right on track.

I'm gonna try to do a run in March, it's a St.Patrick's day run but it's on the 22nd..... but it's the same course as the one I did on Thanksgiving, so I can compare time, that's pretty cool!

Confession

ok, so I have a confession to make.

I wasn't gonna say anything because I wanted to just do it, and surprise everyone with it. but here goes....

I'm really..... seriously..... considering knitting....socks.
that's right, you heard me, I'm really thinking about it. I think I've finally been bitten by the sock bug!

Alright Alright

So, I've gotten into my knitting groove!

On the Dashing, I cabeled for the first time and did it correctly! no frantic phone call to my sister. I have to figure out how to do the thumb, but I'm confident I can do it.

I'm working away on my lace scarf. it's moving along.

I finally figured out what the hell I'm doing on the Hemlock ring blanket, it's moving along too.

things are going quite well if I do say so myself!

I'm procrastinating a little on the baby blanket, I still have 7 months! I know, I know it will be here before I know it!

New Projects!

Well, it seems like its been a long time since I blogged...

not much new going on here, I have some new projects I'm working on, I'll put links on the side in my works in progress and finished projects. I find it kind of annoying to put pictures in the actual text of the blog, it always seems to mess everything up.... if anyone has some tips on an easy way to do it I'd love to know.

I haven't done any cabling yet. I think I'm gonna do the dashing pattern. After the fiasco that is gauge swatching I think I finally have the right size needle, just need to find the time now....
Little story about gauge swatching:
I decided to try on size 7 and 6 needles, but I went to the store and couldn't find any size 6, only size 7. So I get the 7, get home and start swatching, it's too big.... Then that weekend I was at the mall and there was a craft store in the area, and after driving up and down Woodhaven Blvd. I finally found the store, looked at the needles, and NO size 6, every other size but no 6. So I find size 5, bye them, get home and swatch... it's too small....
so I decided I'm just gonna cast on with the size 6 and see what happens, no more gauge swatches! (my mom and sister found the size 6 for me!)

I'm still working on my lace scarf. I messed up at one point and after a frantic phone call to my sister, ended up ripping out a few repeats and was able to save it!

I started a My So-called Scarf for one of my friends. it's coming out really well, I will be really sad to give it away. I bought 3 skeins of the yarn, and will probably only use 2, so I can still make something with it.

I started a Baby Blanket!
For who, you ask? My sister is pregnant!!!!
She's not due till September so I'll have plenty of time to work on it, I'm doing a garter and rib pattern, so it will look like a basket weave, I've always wanted to do that pattern.

And I joined the Hemlock ring Blanket Knit-a-long.
My sisters are also doing it so when I call Juli frantically she will actually know what I'm talking about! it's going good so far, I think I messed up the very beginning, but I don't feel like doing it over, so it will just add to the "hand made charm"!

That's about it as far as projects, I'm keeping myself busy!

I have a knitting in public story too!
So, I had a day off from work last week, I decide I'll go to the book store or Starbucks or something and get hot chocolate and knit, and see who I pick up..... so I go to Barnes and Noble and get myself all set up, and this girl comes and sits at the table next to me, and I can tell she's looking at me knitting, I soon realize that she is looking at knitting books. So I'm contemplating starting a conversation, not really who I wanted to meet, but Hey! if I can't find a man it might as well be another knitter. I soon realize again that she is copying patterns out of the book!!!!
I got very insulted by this and I'm not even a knitting designer...... so I decided to not strike up conversation because they didn't seem like the kind of knitters I wanted to meet anyway, I mean really, how hard is it to buy the book!

I'm still training for the half-marathon, it's in May so I still have a lot of time and I got up to 6 miles last week! I still run really slow but 6 miles is quite an accomplishment.
I also found out I've been "training" all wrong..... this stuff is complicated!
I just want to stay injury-free until race day.

New Years Resolutions

ok, so for my new years resolution I decided I'm gonna try to be a better person. But mostly I want to make sure that I show the people in my life who are important to me how much I appreciate them, like friends who go out their way to do things for me.
But it seems that I've already managed to get one one of my friends mad at me...... hopefully it will blow over but it seems like she's been a little weird with me since my birthday...

other than that I really need to find a man in my life (one who's not gay), I was told by one of the attending doctors at the hospital that it's now a matter "of national concern" that I find a boyfriend!! no pressure or anything!!

and this year I would like to stay catastrophe-free, I had too much happen in 2007 that I would really be ok with a completely uneventful 2008!
I'm trying to have a more positive outlook on life and not let little things stress me out so much, although that may require intesive therapy, I'm pretty sure I have some kind of anxiety disorder...

As for knitting goals:

• knit more lace
• learn to cable
• knit on public (this actually goes with my personal goal of find a man, one of my friends meets men all the time when she brings her knitting places, maybe it will work for me too!)

so Happy New Year, hope its a good one!

Christmas Knitting

Well, more things have been finished for Christmas:

First was my secret santa present, I don't think she actually realized that I MADE the things I gave her, because I few hours later she was asking me if I really made the necklace, but I think she appreciated it, the girl I had actually had me too, she got be serving platters...
because I entertain so much.....


But I finally get to reveal what Juli's present is!
I made her a clapotis!

I think it came out really well, the colors look good with the way they striped, and I really enjoyed making it, I learned some new things, I had to go to knittinghelp.com for tips, it was a great site!

It's not quite as long as I wanted it because I wanted to make it wide so I didn't have enough yarn to make it long, but Juli said she doesn't mind she doesn't like her scarfs that long anyway.

But while I was knitting I thought I could do another repeat, so I did the first row of the repeat, then decided I wouldn't have enough yarn to do another repeat, so I took that row out, but I don't really take out rows all that often and with all the twisted stitches, I thought I messed the whole thing up! but you can't tell where I messed up and it all worked out fine!

And Juli made me socks!

They are Monkey socks, I'm wearing them right now! they are so comfy!!!

but I can't say if it has at all inspired me to knit socks yet....

Val made us hand dyed yarn, I haven't downloaded the pictures of it yet, but it came out really good in purple and blue with a little bit of white, it sock weight yarn, but I don't know yet what I'm gonna make with it, I was thinking of making myself a Clapotis but I don't know if I'll have enough of it, I like long scarfs...

I just finished the ribbed hat I was making for my friend, it was my first hat and the decreasing part confused me a little bit so I improvised (it's got raisins in it, you like raisins) but it's not too bad. I really like the color and it's Debbie Bliss alpaca silk, how can you go wrong!

I gave the braided scarf to my friend, I was so sad to see it go, I told her it was coveted by many so she's very lucky to be getting it! but it really was made just for her, I saw the pattern and wanted to make it, then I picked up the yarns and the colors were just so her I had to make it for her. But now that I know it will come out good I can easily make another one (or five!).

She said she's been getting lots of compliments on it!

So now I can work on something for myself! I want to finish the lace scarf, and my friend got me some alpaca silk in a color that is very similar to the lace scarf that I'm making, so maybe I'll make myself fingerless gloves or a hat to go with it. I was given strict orders to make something for myself with the yarn she gave me!

I also got yarn from my mom for christmas from the Harrisville studio, and Juli got me some authentic Ohio wool! they are both a cream color, so I have to find something to do with those too! so much yarn now!

DONE!!!

Ok, I was gonna wait to post this till had both projects I wanted to finish for the weekend done, but I'm so excited I can't wait!!!

I finally finished the braided scarf!!

I think it came out good, I've been working on this thing since August!!!
I wish I had a big red DONE stamp, I can't wait to give it my friend I think she's really gonna like it!

Wow, I use alot of exclamation points, I'll have to cut back on that....