Wrist Warmers

OMG! These tiny knitty things were a GIANT pain in the butt!
My friend Martha & I were in the local knitty shop picking out buttons for her mom's sweater, when she spied a set of these all knit up on display and pranced around the store with them on. She then bought me the yarn, which included the free pattern, to knit these for her. I thought they looked pretty simple. HA! Turns out I had to make peace with the dreaded DPNs (double-pointed needles) in order to even get the project off the ground. After getting used to using them (I hold my yarn weirdly when I knit, so DPNs are real trouble for me with the way I knit), I started the project. Three times to be exact, because every time I started, I realized that the pattern was totally unforgiving in terms of missing a stitch. And since they were on 4 DPNS, there is no logistic way to unravel back down to where you missed stitches! Argh! After the fourth attempt, I knit one up. Then I knit up the second one, and discovered that because I made the first one just a couple rows longer than the pattern called for, I didn't have ENOUGH YARN to do the second one!!!!! Back to the knitting store...Anyway, lots of lessons learned on this one. These are kinda cute, so now that I have mastered the pattern, maybe I can lighten up and knit my daughter a pair. The yarn is Tahki Savoy, which is a silk/wool blend. It's in a yummy shade of purple, and the yarn has the most wonderful sheen to it thanks to being 50% silk. Hmmm, what else could I knit in that?

Long Time No Bloggin'

Well, it's been quite a while since I posted something, I've been busy with knitting and getting my Etsy site together! (see tag at right, click on it & view the shop!). I have done a whole bunch of projects since the last summer sweater, some of which don't even have pix yet. I did a summer sweater in a soft bamboo yarn from Classic Elite in a twisted knit with 3/4 length sleeves, but was disappointed with the end result. I picked up too many stitches along the neck side and it came out way too droopy. I also knit a fabulously colorful sweater in Berroco Borealis, which is a VERY cool yarn, but while I like the sweater, it's a tad too short for me. I will need to knit a bottom band on it, which should fix the problem. In the meantime, I am knitting a nice cardigan-type sweater for my friend Martha's mom--Martha commissioned it from me. My payment (which I received already) is a marginally used refrigerator and a used-once stove!!! The sweater is a luscious lavender in Berroco Alpaca, and I will post the final product when finished. if you check the Etsy site, you'll see my new passion - hats, scarves and cowls. They are projects that you can finish quickly, and if you play your cards right, you don't need to spend a bloody fortune on yarn, either. Here are a couple samples.