Showing posts with label fingerless mittens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fingerless mittens. Show all posts

Monday, January 27, 2014

WOOT It's 2014! Wait... WHAT?!?!

where did the time go? it's been 2014 for almost a month?!

oops! ack!

as you can guess i've been knitting up a storm since my last post sooo...

quick 2013 wrap up / catch up to 2014...  annnnnd... GO!

  • i tried to design a neckwarmer - i wanted to try something knew so i cast on a bunch of stitches, took my favourite rib pattern and started knitting in-the-round... i thought it was looking pretty good until i realized (after i was done...doh!) that i was following a "knit-flat" pattern and knitting in-the-round without modifying it for circular knitting. i really love how it ended up but it was not what i was expecting. so i call it "My Beautiful Mistake" neckwarmer ;)

  • i finished my Elegant Travels Fingerless Mitts - And I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! They're so pretty.
Elegant Travels Mitts
  • i finished my first cable project... Rainbow Twist by Thao Nguyen - this is one of my favourite neckwarmers. the yarn i used was not as thick as the pattern wanted but it came out perfect for me. it's basically like wearing a cozy thick turtleneck. i had never tried cables before and i probably should have started with something a little less chunky, but i'm so happy with how it turned out!
Rainbow Twist
  • something for the family gift exchange - i was told that the gift had to be under $10 and gender neutral. so i made this. no pattern just 2 chunky yarns held together and knit in a 1x1 rib. i can post it now because Christmas is over and hopefully it found a good home :)
Gift Exchange Neckwarmer
  • *sigh* Christmas REALLY took it's toll on our family - the plan was to spend Christmas up-island. and it was a pretty exciting plan... except that our family was not well. you know how when you're sick... you stay home. we were away from home and it was just not as pleasant as it could have been. there was stress all around especially with my little boy. he was not himself at all. it will probably go down in history as the most memorable holiday we've ever had. but it's also totally blurred. i can't remember a whole lot... oh wait! there was a surprise wedding... but for the most part i can only remember what i was feeling... *sigh*
  • i FINALLY knit up an Arbutus cowl - Jane Richmond's designs make the most wonderful knits! i have been itching to try and knit up the Arbutus since her book (ISLAND) came out last year but i was nervous about all the complexity of the pattern. what are"short rows?" erm..."wrap & turn?" so i put it aside for a while. then just after Christmas i realized i wasn't knitting anything *GASP* :D i saw on instagram that a couple of people i was following were having a "jane-along" (a knit-along using patterns designed by Jane Richmond) so i decided that it was the perfect time to start the Arbutus. it was an open group so i joined... and guess what! here it is!
Arbutus 
  • crochet (or knit) mood blanket 2014 - i saw on instagram an idea that a crocheter had started and it boomed in popularity over instagram and facebook. it's quite simple. you can make one square a day for 365 days or one square a week for 52 weeks. it started out awesome! the first couple of weeks were so exciting... i seamed them together and saw that it was looking not too bad for a strip of knit squares :) then i started thinking about other projects and well... i'm kinda falling behind now... but i know i'll pick it up again... why? because i am tenacious when it comes to my knitting... some might even say i'm TOO tenacious! :D
Colours for my Knit Mood Blanket 2014
  • i'm designing something new - bu-u-ut that is for another time! ~.^
there! all caught up! woot!


Monday, December 16, 2013

Knit Project: Travels Fingerless Mitts... PLUS, I WON!!! ~.^

Life is crazy! Tis the season :D

Between knitting, sewing, getting food organized for Christmas and trying to clean around the house... Life has been a non-stop whirlwind.

Since finishing my pair of Rathtrevor by Jane Richmond, my newest obsession has been on fingerless mittens. 

Let's start with a couple of new ideas...

Cozy Travels Fingerless Mitts
I found a ball of bulky yarn in my stash and looked up a bunch of different patterns in The Knitting Book that I got for Christmas last year...(Someone obviously knew me ~.^)and came up with these. They are so warm and cozy... They are a bit big for me but it's a cool first try! They turned out better than I had expected...


But then...

I wanted something a bit more elegant and pretty. So I used the same pattern, chose a finer yarn and adjusted the number of stitches and came up with...

Elegant Travels Fingerless Mitts 
I found a ball of Martha Stewart Crafts 100% merino (colour: Buttermilk) in my stash and thought "I just have the one ball so why not try it out." I have to admit it took me a couple of tries but I think I've got the pattern almost perfected. I finished one piece. I seamed it up and tried it on. The fit is comfortably snug. But I like the look of it. Because of the stretch it looks almost lacy... The width of my palm is about 9cm. I will play with the number of stitches so see the different fits I get.




PLUS!!!! 

I WON an ebook copy of Journey from reading Melissa's MisoCraftyKnits blog and entering the giveaway. Journey is a NEW book of knitting patterns by Jane Richmond and Shannon Cook.  All three of these fantastic ladies are incredibly talented crafters from Vancouver Island, BC. This TOTALLY made my Christmas! I am so excited to start on these patterns. Squeee! ^.^ 





Monday, December 2, 2013

Knitting: Rathtrevor Fingerless Mitts... DONE!

Aaaand they're DONE!
I am so in love with these mittens! They are cute and cosy and I loved making them!

I made a couple of modifications to Jane Richmond's Rathtrevor pattern to my liking. For instance, I didn't make the forearm as long as the pattern instructed. I just wanted them just passed the wrist.

Also, the pattern instructed the "hand/palm" in a stockinette stitch then bind off but I decided to do the stockinette stitch until the last four rows and then ended with the same rib as the wrist. I think it ties it all nicely together. :)

Soooo... What next?

~.^

Friday, November 29, 2013

Hey There! Long Time No See!

Hello all! Long time no see! :)

I took the hiatus from knitting for what seemed like an eternity and did other things with my time...
Such as:
  • Seeing my little boy fall absolutely in love with Kindergarten!
  • Getting the opportunity to work on my voice over work. 
  • Watching my darling husband take on the challenge of a new job... as well as biking and swimming three times a week...
  • Working at honing my beginner sewing skills because... well... I NEED to craft! :)
I remember looking in the closet in the spare bedroom last week and happened to stumble upon my fabric stash. I remembered that I wanted to try a cowl pattern  I found on line. It didn't quite work out the way I liked so I started playing with the fabric a bit, found what worked and then got totally hooked. I sewed together some cowls out of my a few different types of fabrics: fleece, flannel, some coordinating "fat quarters" and some funky fabric called "missoni." I totally got addicted to making them... so er... now I've got a TON! A few went to my sister in-law's craft booth at the Christmas craft fair last weekend. And the others are just waiting around for Christmas... ~.^

Here's a few styles I tried with different fabrics...
top left: Three coordinating fat quarters
top right: Missoni fabric
bottom left: solid fleece and brushed cotton in plaid print
bottom right: Three coordinating fat quarters and solid flannel

But now...

I'm sooo super happy to be knitting again... However, I have learned my lesson and I'm taking it slowly and carefully this time! I decided to start with a project just for me...

The cooler weather is taking it's toll on my hands so I've started a fingerless mitten pattern by Jane Richmond Designs called Rathtrevor from her Island collection.

Here's the first one so far. Please pardon the double pointed needles. I'm just getting the hang of using them and wanted to see how the wrist fit.  :D


Wish me luck!