Tuesday, January 18, 2011

On the needles: Scarf


I have been working on this scarf all week. It is a frustrating process. I have ripped it out numerous times. Finally, I have gotten to the point where my knitting is better. I also learned how to tell if I left off on a knit row or a purl row. That was liberating! It makes knitting this scarf much easier. I can rip at will and not worry. I love the feel of the yarn but not the thickness. I think it's a combo of softness and thinness that makes it so hard for me to work with. This is supposed to be a 1 skein project. I'm not so sure. We will see. There is also a slit/hole in it so I get to do a yarnover and knit2together. I will post a pic when I get a bit farther along. The bottom and sides are curling badly. I also learned how to use a lifeline. It's a piece of waste yarn or floss that you slide in a row of stitches, then if you have to rip back, you only rip back to the life line. It save time and i love it. The dental floss works really well. I have a deadline of March 9th on this because I want to wear it to church for Lent.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Done!

The mitts are done. The skein was 6.0 oz and I weighed the yarn after and there was 3.4 oz left. So I used 2.6 oz in making these. I have enough to make another pair. I am glad these are done. I like them but want to get started on my scarf.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

One done


Well, one mitt is finished! it looks good. it's a bit long but I just followed the directions. Next time if I make a pair, I will only knit 5 inches long instead of 7 inches. I'm happy with it. Maybe I CAN knit! Here is the link for the pattern: http://store.tangleonline.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_231&products_id=989

Monday, January 10, 2011

UGH!

After fighting with the yarn and the needles and making so many mistakes, I decided to quit trying to make these mitts out of this yarn. I will make a nice scarf from the yarn instead. I decided to use larger (size 10 needles) and some homespun yarn I had and try a different pattern. I am just using the purl stitch and knitting until it fits around my hand. I want to use up this homespun yarn since I'm not to crazy about it. So far the knitting is going well and I don't see any mistakes that would make me rip it back. I just want to finish these! I will post a pic later.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Mitts progress


I have done around 10 rows so far. I have made a lot of mistakes but I decided to just keep knitting and see how it turns out. Working with soft yarn in this thickness is hard! I am starting to see the pattern emerge. I should have went with longer needles but I didn't expect to cast on 15 more stitches than the pattern said. Note to self: Always go with the longer needles. I started this on Monday.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Project #2

I decided I wanted to make myself some fingerless mitts. I found the pattern online and it looked really easy. The pattern says she used #5 needles. Wow, those are tiny, but even more so after using size 13 needles. I went to the yarn store in Brookfield and bought my first expensive yarn. It was $9.00 for a hank that needed to be made into a ball. It is made of alpaca and bamboo. I have no idea how they turn bamboo into yarn. I will have to Google that. This project is going to take a long time and it may not look good. I don't like using yarn that thin and I can't get good consistant tension. But I am being very careful, hoping I can do a good job. The pattern called to cast on 40 stitched but it was too small so I cast on 56. That's alot of stitches to knit every row when they are small and hard to knit. I really want to make socks but am afraid I won't be able to if I can't make these mitts.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

It's Done!



Yeah! My first project is done. It took a week. It is 69 inches long and used a little more than 1 skein of yarn. I used Loin Brand Thick and Quick in the Wheat color. I had to rip out parts of it due to mistakes but in the end I'm happy with it. I'm anxious to wear it. Next up are hand warmers. My huisband said he wants me to knit him a stole! Is he crazy?