Knitter in Progress

I have been bitten by the sewing bug again. Over the last two days I made five pillowcases. Two are going to my parents and three are going to my hockey player nephews. Here they all are: 5 pillowcases 22july11 , a photo by KnitterinProgress on Flickr. Here is a closeup of one of the blue ones and I didn't think about it when I decided to make them but they fit in perfectly with Project Spectrum's theme for July. I love the fabric in these(I am almost tempted to keep them): pillow cases blue 22july11 , a photo by KnitterinProgress on Flickr. Here is a closeup of one of the hockey pillow cases. I love the fabric and I am hoping the boys will too: pillow cases hockey 22july11 , a photo by KnitterinProgress on Flickr.

pillowcases 17June2011 , a photo by KnitterinProgress on Flickr. Diva, Rage, and I went on a shopping trip yesterday in order to find material for a Father's Day gift for their father and, of course, we left with enough for a gift for Rage and I too. We made pillowcases; using a pattern I got at Snappy Quilts (along with the fabric). The top one pictured is for their Dad, the second is Rage's(he loves all things orange), and the bottom one is for me. Diva made one in a class on Monday, so don't think she was left out ;) Happy Father's Day!

Diva's Noro socks Generic sock pattern This is the second time I have used Noro Sock yarn and I still do not like it but Diva picked it out so I soldiered through. If Noro would dye yarn using the base that Socks That Rock uses THEN I would be loving it. Gift blanket Part one of 5 This is the Cables and Tweed pattern from a Patons Canadiana afghan book. I am hoping to give this as a Christmas gift which is why I am starting it now :)

I made these for my friend's birthday. I loved the pattern and the yarn. Pattern: Show-Off Stranded Socks(Ravelry) Needles: 1.5 dpns Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight, Hard Rock This pattern uses up a bunch of yarn but I love the construction. I think that the basic construction of this sock would be perfect for a beginning sock knitter. The heel is made with increases and decreases instead of picking up stitches--which, from what I've noticed, seems to be the arch nemesis of new sock knitters.

I am working on a gift for someone--can't say who but I can say it will involve more of these: It's the Ballband pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting. It is such a fun pattern to work on.

I've been working on some baby knits for my friend Sam's upcoming arrival. We had her shower yesterday so now I can unveil the the socks and hats I knit for her little one. The pattern is a personal baby sock pattern and I used a few yarns: Dream in Color Smooshy, Pagewood Farms, ShiBui sock, and Socks that Rock. These are too cute and very quick knits. It is the Handle pattern by Larissa Brown; I found it on Ravelry. I used Jitterbug and Opal Harry Potter yarn. I also bought her a few other store bought gifties. Now we just need to wait for the little one to arrive!

Every year a few of the Knitting Crew get together for a trip to mountains for knitting, eating, and general merriment. This year we were all tasked to contribute something to the gift bags. I decided to make scissor fobs. For those who are unfamiliar a scissor fob is hooked onto one of the scissor handles and its length helps you find your scissors in a cluttered bag. I suppose you could also use them as a zipper pull or general decoration as well. Here's what I came up with: I just used a jumble of different glass beads. Each fob has two cupcakes, a piece of sushi(not everyone in the Crew likes sushi but I do), a knitting element(yarn, sweater, or sock), and a drink. They all have a charm on the bottom that says "Love Much, Laugh Often". I had fun making them and they were much easier than I thought. The tutorial can be found here .

February was really a roller coaster month here at Casa KiP. There were a lot of personal things--some good, some bad(which I'm not delving into here). All of which caused me to do a lot of reflecting on what I am thankful for in my life. First, my husband. I love this man and no matter what may go right or wrong in our lives I KNOW that we can get through anything together and I'm grateful for that everyday. I'm also thankful that I'm married to someone who sometimes really gets what will make my day: For example, the Terrible Towel and Incredibad CD he got me for Valentine's Day. Those things may not sound romantic but they really made me happy--the man "gets" me what can I say? Second, the kiddos. Diva and Rage. I have no idea how my life would be without them. Very, very empty I'm sure. They drive me nuts sometimes but they definitely make everyday better. Finally, the crew. It seems rare in life that you meet a group of people who can make you lau...

I made DH a pair of socks for Valentine's Day and I finished them on Valentine's Day which is a feat in itself. He loves them. They are worsted weight and very warm; perfect for padding around the house. Stats: Pattern: Flying Trapeze Socks, Interweave Holiday 2008 Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers Needles: size 5 dpns I'll show you what I got tomorrow.

I am in the process of working on some gifty knitting, so I can't put up pics of it yet but I will as soon as I'm finished and the recipient gets it :) Tonight I plan on planting my behind in front of the TV and knitting while I watch the beginning of the new round of The Biggest Loser. ******************************************* P90XLean: Day 9: Plyometrics Today, on the recommendation of my sister, I did Plyometrics instead of Cardio X. Much, much better and by that I mean harder. That is the kind of difficulty I'm talking about when it comes to a cardio workout. Lots of jumping, lots of feeling it in my legs, and lots and lots of sweating :) I love finishing a workout and wanting to collapse on the floor, crazy huh?

Stats: Pattern: Fabulous Felted Backpack from Bags: A Knitters Dozen. Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky in Victorian Pink I have actually had the knitting and felting done for a couple of weeks, but it took me forever to get around to sewing the strap to the bag. This is the second one of these I have made and a lesson that I have learned is that, at least for our washing machine, one felting is enough. Both of the backpacks I have made I felted twice and that seems to lose just enough definition. It is kind of a toss up because I think that one felting would keep stitch definition but two felting makes it sturdier. This will probably be my last project of the year--unless I finish Rage's hat in the next few days.

The last time I was in Disney World--10 years ago--the Disney pin trading thing was in its infancy. Well that is no more. Before we left we bought the kiddos each a lanyard and some starter pins(duplicates of the same pin so you have something to trade). I was excited for them because the Disney staff has to trade with you if they don't currently have your pin on their lanyard AND if you find a staff member with a green lanyard, they are only allowed to trade with children. Diva and Rage traded some pins and purchased a couple to remind them of some of their favorite things in Disney--and believe it or not Rage did have one or two things he liked that actually had pins. Their park ID cards also fit into the lanyard; it makes for a great piece of memorabilia definitely unique to every trip. Diva will probably keep her lanyard on her American Girl doll and Rage will be keeping his on one of his build a bear bears(along with his mouse ears). Now I had no intention of getting swept int...

After the Wee Tiny Sock swap I still had the urge to make some tiny knitted things and I loved the idea of such a quick swap, so imagine how pleased I was to find the Reducio Sock swap on Ravelry. I signed up, made not one but two socks, got some goodies, sent my package on its way, and waited patiently for mine to arrive. Which it did yesterday, and here's the loot: All this fun stuff was from Knitting Gnome who was not only my spoiler but also the host of the KAL--very cool! Go by her blog and check out her baby gnome--it's too cute :) My pal was a Hufflepuff. Jenny is blogless but she is on Ravelry . I sent her a casual sock as well as a dress sock. Plus I sent her some other goodies which in my mailing excitement I forgot to photograph. I had a great time and I'm hoping for a Harry Potter related mini swap of house sweaters, hats, or mittens in the near future.

I received my Wee Tiny Sock on Monday. It traveled here all the way from the Netherlands. Femke made me a sock out of Regia cotton--a very springy sock indeed. It made my day. Thanks, Femke, I love it! Still no word if my sock has finished its trek to the other side of the world, stay tuned :)

I finished not one but two Wee Tiny Socks. The first was a practice sock. Just to get the feel of the needles. Stats: Pattern: Wee Tiny Sock pattern modified to 24 stitches and using the pattern repeat from the Show Off socks(which I think are only available on Ravelry?) Needles: size 0 bamboo dpns--I NEED to find short, metal size 0's because those bamboo things are now warped beyond recognition. I'm thankful I didn't break any though--that is a small miracle. Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill/Louet Gems fingering in Caribou Creek I would have been happy to send to that sock off BUT once I did a little friendly spying on my pal, I realized that she is really into green. Now this presents a problem for me who really does not have much green going on in the stash. I searched and searched and found yarn to make this: Stats: Pattern: Wee Tiny Sock modified with an Eye of Partridge heel Needles: Again with the flimsy 0's Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Turquoise(which i...

Late, late last night I finished my Trekking is for Necking scarf. I love the colorway and I'm sure I'll really love the scarf once I've gotten past my "I really hate knitting scarves" after effects. The pattern is great: easy to memorize and perfect for knitting group/TV knitting. Stats: Yarn: Trekking XXL (109) Needles: size 4 Pattern: Trekking is for Necking from Nipperknits. Would I do it again? Probably because I think it is a great use for some sock yarn that you want to last longer than socks do. **And just an aside. Thank you very much, Marsha, for the bag. Stealth skulls, nice color, and just enough room for a small project and my wallet. Thanks so much!!

I'm hoping that all the good things that have happened this month are harbingers of even more good things to come. It was great to start the month in Hawaii and it is equally great to end the month with my birthday. I never really expect a lot on my birthday--most of the time I don't want to be reminded of how old I'm getting--and I'm always pleasantly surprised when I do end up getting gifts. This year was no exception. My husband, Diva, and Rage got me a new digital camera(which I still have to play around with before it becomes my primary camera). My parents sent me money which is always a great present in my book. I used it to get this: And the knitting crew (and blogless Genia) gave me a bounty of knitting goodness. Thank you, thank you--your friendships are what really mean the world to me, but the gifties are pretty cool too ;) Wanda picked out an awesome bag(it's actually home to my Trekking is for Necking scarf right now). And I broke with the t...

I finally finished something and it's knitting--can you believe it?! I made this blanket for my cousin's baby boy who is now a month old. I love, love, love this pattern. It's the Corner to Corner Blanket from Knit Baby Blankets by Gwen Steege. I used the LB Pound of Love yarn because they can only have acrylic(lots of allergies). It's great yarn, really. It washes up nice and soft and I only had 2 ends to weave in--you can't beat that. I don't know if I ever put the finished HP Pouch bag up, but here it is. Little Diva used it for Halloween and promptly lost interest so now it's mine(which I had sort of planned on all along--lol!) So the good news, for me, is that my stitching obligations for the remainder of the year are done and I've gotten the baby blanket monkey off my back SO now I can work on finishing Miss Stacey's Jaywalkers(they have moved up to priority one), my Jaywalkers, and whatever else I can squeeze in between now and January 1.

Remember when I started the Textured Blanket(ie. the Dexterity Blanket from Hell)? I wanted to make my cousin a blanket for her upcoming baby and I thought the Textured Blanket would be cool and it would be if it wasn't such a pain in the butt to knit. I'm thinking that when you are hating every single row you are knitting that is probably NOT the best gift to give a new baby since baby gifts should be given with love. SO I ripped it out and started anew with this: The Corner to Corner blanket from Knit Baby Blankets by Gwen Steege. Things are going much better and I'm already passed the halfway mark. I can honestly say that THIS version is knit with a whole bunch of love.

This is a bit late, but here are my Christmas gifts. I added to my pattern stash quite a bit. I think I did okay :) 1. Knitting: Victorian Lace Today(Parents) Domiknitrix(Me to Me) Fibertrends Patterns: Llamas/Alpacas, Sheep, Hedgehogs(Parents) 2. Stitching: Cats SPML HAED(Kids to Me) Cat Knot SPML HAED(Kids to Me) Victorian Blackwork Leon Conrad(Parents) Red Nine 1 & 2 A Mon Ami Pierre(Parents) 3. Tote Bags(my knitting buds will appreciate this): skulls 1(Santa) skulls 2(Santa) 4. Audio/Visual: iPod Shuffle(from DH) Big Love--Season 1(from DH) 5. Health/Wellness: Cathe 2007 Calendar(from Santa) Drill Max(from sister2)