Inspire Me!

I wanted a reason to be inspired to knit and finish projects.  I frequently have numerous wips on the go, and some end up going into hibernation for months, sometimes years (even though I'll have only been knitting four years this August).  I came up with a game plan: Every month, I can buy myself a pattern off my queue list.  I must knit that pattern before buying the next.  The goal is to have a project finished a month, ideally finishing 12 projects a year.  If I don't finish the project in that month, the next month's pattern will have to wait.  I also plan to design a few of my own patterns, once my shoulder is fully healed.

For June, my first pattern under this new plan, I decided to pick a pattern to make for N.
I chose the High Top Sneaker Slippers pattern, after he agreed to allow me to knit slippers and socks for him - I can't work on socks until my shoulder is completely back to normal, the needles are too small and put too much tension on my shoulder.

Last night, I cast on the first slipper.  It's a surprisingly fast knit, though worked in chunky yarn I find it a little difficult to maneuver the needles easily - my tiny girly hands find the size 10 needles a little bulky!

 

Over all, he was really rather pleased with the end result.  He asked me to make them a little shorter than the pattern calls for, and hopefully it will mean I won't have to buy another ball of Bernat Softee Chunky (the pattern calls for 100g, and that's all I have.) He's asked me to do a second design for the little logo on the other "shoe", hopefully I can pull it off!

I do plan to make myself a pair of these, but I'll be using smaller needles and thinner yarn.  And most likely in pink - cause everyone knows how much I love pink!

This past weekend was World Wide Knit in Public day/weekend.  I hadn't been feeling well over the weekend, but I still decided I had to make and finish a project for the event - even if I wasn't knitting in public.  I give you Petal:

I love how quick this one is to knit! I recommend it for any new knitters that want to try a basic lace pattern - it can be worked flat or in round (I did in the round), so it's pretty versatile when it comes to knitting preferences.

On the 10th I cast on for the Surry Hills knit along. I think the yarn I'm using is a little too bulky for the project, but it's still coming along alright.

 This one is not quite as quick of a knit.  I have a few repeats more to go before starting the sleeves.  Hopefully after the sleeves it will be a bit quicker and more fluid knit - I would really like to have a few sweaters to wear this autumn, but if I never cast off, it'll be rather unlikely.

Speaking of sweaters, I cast on yet another one... or two.
On the 14th I cast on Melia.  I love that the pattern is based on a faerytale, and the pattern is knit from the top down, no seaming required! I managed to finish half of the hood in a single sitting, though I have a few inches to go before starting the next section - everyone loves a good sized hood!

The second, was from the Spring/Summer Knitty edition - Icarus.  I love the pattern and had to cast on immediately.  On the 15th I cast on, and knit my way to the waist shaping. I'm going to work some more on this one tonight, I hope to have it finished within the next week!

There were a few days I had not been knitting... though I did need to do something crafty, so I broke out the Rainbow Loom.  After looking at a few patterns I decided to make this little guy:

I thought it was too cute to pass up! If you want to make you're own, you can watch the tutorial here.
I also made a feather stitch bracelet:

I wasn't using regular bands for this one, so it looks a little wonky.  I'll have to get more bands soon!

And in spinning news, I managed to get an antique spinning wheel on kijiji! I haven't picked it up yet, but once I do, there will definitely be pictures!

Off to go knit some Icarus!

Sunkist!

As mentioned in a previous post, I had a special date night with N this weekend.
I had the dress, the shoes, the makeup... But I didn't have a sweater to go with the dress in case I got cold!
Being a knitter, this of course isn't a problem! I cast on and knit my to my heart's content.  I realized, however, the day we were going on the date, that it was going to be far too warm to need a sweater, even inside, so I decided to put it aside, just needing the neckband finished, which I did after the date.
I give you Sunkist:

I changed the ribbing to eyelets, though with suck a thick yarn I didn't go down to the smaller size needle.

I've cut down a fair amount on my WIPs so hopefully I'll be able to get some new knits done without feeling guilty about my other projects being neglected. Of all the wips currently on needles, Patty Cake is the only one I really need to get on top of - I had wanted to make her for my grandma's birthday, which is next month! I kinda fell behind on that, so I think I shall go knit the next clue as I wait for N to come home.

Whipping out WIPs...

Gilet court d'été ... And turning them into FOs.
I've been looking through my Ravelry projects, and noticed quite a few wips... Not all active, and some I'm not sure I'll even finish - I may just frog them.
In the spirit of getting more finished projects and less lying around half finished on needles, I decided to work on some of my more recent projects.

Rainshine is now cast off and blocking, hopefully this weekend N and I can take some pictures of my more recent projects that are finished and need some nicer pictures taken.  I ended up doing the amazingly stretchy bind off for Rainshine, and though I would have loved to do the crochet bind off, I'm rather happy with this one as is.

The next project I finished, was the Gilet court d'été.

It's a short sleeve cardigan, and other than needing to find the perfect button, it's finished.  This is another I want to get a nicer picture of, then it can go off to it's recipient.

A while ago I mentioned I finished the Aestas hat, but I didn't have any nice pictures.  Today I broke out the Styrofoam head and snapped a few shots.

I have a few wips I'd still like to finish in the next few days, however, I have work this weekend and a celebration with N.  I may not have time to knit until next week, but I'm hoping to finish Regenerate and Patty Cake's Outfit.  I have a few projects I would like to start, namely the Mary Lennox Shawl (though I'm not sure the yarn I'll use), Surry Hills is another, and finally the extra project in Simply Knitting Spring 2014:

Knit and That

As mentioned in my previous post, I didn't think I would have much time for knitting over the weekend.
To my surprise, I did manage to work a bit on the Rainshine Shawl:

I finished the first lace section, and hope to work a bit on the beaded lace section tonight.

Sunday night after work, I went to see my mum for her birthday.  I made her some feathered earrings, one pair in light and dark turquoise, the other in purple and turquoise.  I forgot to take some pictures prior to making them, but I've made another pair in pink and purple I can photograph (and my mum said she'd send me pictures of the ones I made her).  N and I stayed for some tea, and when we were leaving we saw this little guy in the yard:

 He sat there and let us watch him, and didn't even move when we started the car.  My mum lives is a nicer part of the city, near the lake and a nice quasi forested area, so my parents see a lot of wildlife.  They have a resident chipmunk, and all sorts of birds.  Though their house is technically in the city, and isn't all that far from main roads, every time I go to their house I feel like I'm going to a little cottage on the outskirts of a small town.

We've been having some thunderstorms and rainy days, in amidst some super sunny breaks and the heat that comes along with it - Spring is definitely underway. I got myself a nice burn over the weekend - being as white as a ghost tends to make you burn easily - I'm going to have to knit some lovely summer shawls and lacey overshirts for when I go out this summer, at least to protect my shoulders.  I'd also like to knit a lace parasol, but I'm not sure I'll have the time.  Phoenix, however, has been loving the sun and heat:

I've done some Spring cleaning, and been donating things to the local thrift store.  I still have more to donate, but at least the apartment is getting de-cluttered, slowly but surely.  After taking over my last two packed boxes to donate, amidst our running around, I stopped by an army surplus store, and got myself a little jacket, I just need to change out the American patch for a Canadian one (I already have a patch) and maybe change the name patch.  At the thrift store, I found a cute little skirt, not my usual colours, but something I can at least wear while the weather warms up.  I also picked up a lace crop top by Divided (H&M), and one of the sparkle tutus from Hot Topic I didn't have.  I'll have to take some pictures in the next few days to upload.  Amongst my other finds were X2 (I needed it to complete my X-men series, I had it and it got lent out but never returned), Juno (for two dollars, I'd been wanting to see it recently), and three books:

Fake It.  An amusingly written book on taking shortcuts when you don't really feel up to doing stuff.  I skipped sections that I couldn't really relate to (anything to do with children or getting guys - I don't have any children, and N is all the guy I need - though I did read the section on "Not wanting to get married" and giggled the whole way through); even then I found the writing style to be easy to read and follow, and a great deal of it was comedic.

The second being the first complete serial of The Spiderwick Chronicles:

It has cute little uneven page edges, and illustrations throughout. I'm looking forward to curling up on a rainy day off (with the cats and some tea) and reading through it (likely in an afternoon).

The final, and maybe the one I am most excited about, is a collection of Charlotte and Emily Bronte.

I haven't read many of the classics, which I'm sure is a travesty.  I've read Pride Prejudice and Zombies, but never the original Pride and Prejudice.  This collection includes Jane Eyre, Shirley, Wuthering Heights, Villette, and The Professor. I'm sure this nice little dent will inspire me to source out more classics for cheap!

I just picked up the new Simply Knitting magazine (well, "new" being Spring Print, we don't get them in Canada until the month after), so I'm going to immerse myself for a while. 

Couple of Cast Ons

Since the last post there hasn't been much sunshine to take any pictures... until today, but its a bit too cold for me!

While I've been inside, however, I've cast on two projects..

The first being the Stitch Surfer Socks.  I haven't been able to knit anything on small needles since I injured my shoulder.  I figured I'd have a go after exploring Instagram and seeing all the lovely surfer socks.  I cast on yesterday in the wee hours of the morning before bed.  I must admit, my shoulder wasn't too happy with me afterwards, but I did finish the first surf and stop.

 

Being unable to continue with my sock (and being rather grumpy yesterday), a new project was in order to chase away the rainy day grumpies.  My bestie in the knitting world, Katie Kat, sent me a lovely purple yarn a while ago, and I had been saving it for a special project. 

Upon finding Rainshine, I told her this was the pattern I want to make with it, she sent me the pattern to do so! Day immediately brightened! So that night I cast on and knit the first section (main body) of the shawl:

I had planned on casting on a cardigan, however the original pattern I planned to knit doesn't release until Sunday, so that will be postponed.

A while back I cast on Regenerate, and then got caught up in a few other things, and this got put into a hibernation bag - which I forgot about until someone on Instagram mentioned it! I've finished up to the second repeat of the third chart - basically the part with Nupps - which I substituted with beads.

 I'm using Malabrigo Lace in Velvet Grapes.  Its such a delicate, yummy yarn to work with, but - being single ply- I tend to handle it rather delicately so I don't break it as I knit.  This means it's going to take much more time than a usual shawl to finish, but the fabric it creates is so lovely!

Unfortunately with work this weekend, my mum's birthday on Sunday, and N spending our "weekend" together (Sunday-Monday or Tuesday), I won't have much time to work on knitting for a while.  That and my apartment is in serious need of spring cleaning!

Little Bits of Knits

I've been able to do a bit of knitting recently.

For starters, I've finished my Colour Affection Shawl - which I affectionately call my colour affliction shawl:

I'll have to do a photoshoot soon to get some nice pictures of my knits, rather than my floor pictures.
This is knit using Koigu yarn, the same yarn I used for the Koigu monkey.

I finished Sauble Sunset using the remaining black Koigu from the colour affection shawl; the rest of the pattern was knit in the Dream In Colour yarn from the magic yarn swap.  Again, I'll have to get a better picture, but I wore it to work this past weekend:

I made a few minor changes to the pattern, one being a different colour for the bands, and the other being continuing the button band the rest of the way down the front. 

Sunday night, I cast on a simple little pattern, Gilet Court D'Ete.  I'm just about half way through the body, then I just have the sleeves to add.  This is going to be a gift for someone, and I'm already thinking I need to make one for myself!
Here's my "Summer Spectrum" so far:

This is knit in Bernat Mosaic, which I've just found out is discontinued.  Sadly, this was one of my favourite acrylic yarns!

Hopefully I can get some nice sunny days soon, and can get some nicer photos and maybe more finished projects!

It's been a while!

Sure enough, after the last post, everything I had planned on doing was derailed.
January 6th I slipped on black ice and hurt my arm.  I didn't think much about it, continued on my way to work and finished my work day as usual.  Though my shoulder and arm was still rather sore, I then continued to help out at a catering event.  By the time N picked me up and was driving me out to our little hide-away, I was in agony.  I played it off as over-use and babied it that night.  I didn't go to the hospital for a full week after, thinking I'd just strained the muscle.  Once there, I was put through a fast paced series of tests, and was told I had a very small, and minor, tear in my rotator cuff; and tendonitis.  Surgery wouldn't be required if I didn't use it for six weeks... which stretched into 9.  I wasn't able to knit, bead or do anything I'd normally be able to do.  Sadly, though it's healed now, I still have issues with it.  I can't knit on small needles just yet, the tension makes my shoulder ache after just a few rows.  Hopefully, as I build the strength back up in my shoulder, I'll be back to knitting anything and everything shortly.

Now that you know why I've not been writing, I can update with some more interesting things!

N: The knight in shining armor, that for once didn't end up an idiot in tinfoil.
The night of January 6th, N said he'd make up for me hurting my shoulder.  I thought maybe some shoulder rubs, but he surprised me with something greater: The Harness Dress.

UNIF had a dress that I longed for, but couldn't justify spending $50 in shipping on ONE item.  I gawked at it on multiple sites that carried some UNIF garments, and planned on buying it at the end of the month.
Upon getting to our hide-away, N suggested I hang up my coat in the closet.  I opened the doors and there it was - The Harness Dress.

Of course, the moment I saw it, I let out an inaudible gasp, and stared for a second, before dropping my coat and grabbing the hanger.  I ran into the bathroom in two quick steps and had to try it on.  It fit perfectly, and looks rather lovely.  The low cut back and sides show off my tattoo, and the sheer fabric makes it light and breezy - perfect for hot summer days.  Now, N insisted it was a late Christmas present, but I know he was just excited for me to have it.