Work in Progress Wednesday - Amazing Mitts

After finishing the Knitted Gifts convertible neckwarmer, I had 2 1/2 skeins of Amazing left over and cast on some mitts to go with it.  The pattern is Semplice, a freebie on Knitpicks.  In theory, it's a simple pattern, but it's a bit hard to follow.  The pattern is unclear on where to place the stitch markers to place the thumb increases.  I improvised by starting the thumb increases at the beginning of the rounds, but in retrospect the pattern probably intended the thumb increases to begin at the end of one round and continue into the start of the next.

Other than the thumb issue, the pattern is pretty clear and simple.  It is a twisted rib cuff, straight stockinette, a thumb, and then some more stockinette and twisted rib.  One nice thing about the pattern is that the two mitts are identical, so there is no shaping to reverse.  That makes it easier when you're a two-at-a-time-on-one-needle junkie like me.  Socks, sleeves, mittens, you name it, two at a time is the way to go.

Don't forget to visit the roundup of the other WIP Wednesdays.

Taming the Startitis - finished two projects!

It's another Finished Object Friday and I actually have two of them to share.  They were actually finished last week but life was too hectic to get them photographed and uploaded.  So without further delay...

The Vine Yoke Cardigan is finished - more or less blocked and complete with buttons:

The blocking was only "more or less" because I was not very aggressive with it, just sort of pulling the bottom into shape, and it ended up drying unevenly.  So looking from the front, the left side hangs a little lower than the right.  Buttons were an issue - I was anxious to get something on them and ended up going to JoAnn.   Have you ever tried finding 10 matching buttons at JoAnn?  Especially 10 large (1 1/8") buttons?  Choices were limited; I could only find 4 or 6 of any button I loved, and ended up with buttons I liked instead.

They are cute, and made from coconut shells.  They have grown on me and I think they may stay on the sweater, instead of being a temporary solution until I find the gray buttons I first envisioned.

This was definitely a fun knit, and was suprisingly quick.  If I had worked more diligently, it would have taken under three weeks to finish. 

And the other finished object is a gift for a family member - she really wanted the convertible neckwarmer from the Knitted Gifts book, and here it is:

The Lion Brand Amazing produced a nice, soft, warm fabric. 

The idea of the convertile neckwarmer is that it can be worn around the neck like a cowl, or the i-cord on top can be cinched up to make it more of a hat.  The warmer is really just a stockinette tube with ribbing at one end and an eyelet row at the other.  I was a little concerned about the sizing, since it seems like anything large enough to be a neck warmer would be too large to work as a hat.  But somehow this seemed just about right.  With longer hair like the recipient has, the ribbing on the bottom will just stay in place and look a little slouchy.

P.S. Say hi to one of the earliest homemade gifts I ever received - he's a handsome model, isn't he?

P.P.S. Check out some more fabulous finished objects over at Tami's Amis.

Another Work in Progress Wednesday

Well it's another Work in Progress Wednesday, and instead of actually making progress on something I was already working on, I started a new project.  Luckily, this new project is a gift and it is going pretty quickly.  Which is good, because I think I want another one for myself.  The project is a convertible neck warmer -turned - hat from the book Knitted Gifts:

The yarn is Lion Brand Amazing, and I really like it!

The yarn is 53% wool and 47% acrylic, and it is pretty soft.  It has a slight halo so the stitch definition is not completely clear.  But it seems both drapey and warm.  Plus, it's fun to see the colors change.

This is my second project from the book.  The first was a pair of hobby horses that I knit last Christmas.  There are a few nice projects in the book, but they largely not quick knits which makes them not my ideal gifts.  The neckwarmer, though, works up quickly, so it gets an A in my book.

Check out the other work in progress Wednesdays here.

More Works in Progress Wednesday

This week has been kind of crazy, but I've still made progress on a couple of projects.  First, the sweater I have been longing for for about a year, the Vine Yoke Cardigan, is almost done.  I just need to graft the underarms and then add some buttons, still TBD.

I also started what should be a quick crochet project if I ever take a couple hours to just sit down and work on it.  It is a striped owl, intended as a belated birthday gift for my baby girl (don't worry, she won't have any clue it's late).

So far it is only pink and brown, but I hope to add some fun accent colors.  I found some honest to goodness Red Heart wool at a garage sale over the summer and have been looking for something perfect to use it on, and this will hopefully be the project.

And because Little Miss had a birthday this week, I had the perfect excuse to test out the new Silhouette.  Using just the fonts already on my computer and the free shapes that came with the machine, and a little mod podge, I was able to make this box for the birthday girl.

Because the box is always more fun than the presents, right?

And a custom banner, which was a lot of fun to design.

So those are my works in progress this week.  I can't wait to see what everyone else is up to - here is the roundup of other Work in Progress Wednesday posts.

Holiday Countdown

It's funny how those holidays sneak up on you, right?  Valentine's day has come and gone.  New Years?  Pffsht..., that is so two months ago.  So before we lose track of things, here's a countdown in days to the next few up and coming events:

St. Patrick's Day                         15 days
Easter                                          53 days
American Independence Day     124 days

And, if you are really enthusiastic about taxes:
Tax Day                                       44 days

However, if you are looking for a reason to celebrate right now, it is National Pig Day!  Pig macaroni art, anyone?

Wrenna - my first Finished Object Friday

Whoever thought of knitting lace in bulky yarn was just genius.  Seriously.  I fell in love with the Wrenna cardigan from the book French Girl Knits after seein a few finished online.  A lot of knitters finished the sweater as quickly as only two days.  Mine took closer to two weeks for the actual knitting.  However, it took a lot longer to figure out how to fasten it - laced with leather, as the pattern calls for, isn't quite my style, so I just finished sewing on hooks and eyes.  Mine also took longer because I added sleeves, roughly 3/4 length in stockinette.  Here's the finished product.

Close up of the hooks and eyes:

And here is the lace:

AND.... I am so excited  - this week I bought a Silhouette craft cutter.

For years, I had considered getting a Cricut, but just could not justify buying lots of cartridges.  But the Silhouette does not take cartridges, it connects to the computer and cuts any true type font and any of the digital images you download from the Silhouetter online store or create in the software that comes with the machine.  Here's an action shot:

That's part of a birthday cake popping right off the sticky carrier sheet.  Can't wait to see what projects this new toy can handle!
P.S. Finished Object Friday roundup here.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled blog...

Yeah, that's not really what things have been like around here.  Without any sort of posting schedule, I just have not posted anything.  So, taking a key suggested in a group in one of my favorite places on the entire world wide web, Ravelry, I've decided to adopt some regular posting days.  Welcome to the first NJMA weekly Work in Progress Wednesday!

Here goes:

So what is in the works at this moment?  Well my little boy wants me to knit him a sweater.  A green one, specifically.  But since he is on a Where the Wild Things Are kick, I think he'll forgive me when he sees a cream wolf suit sweater.  The pattern is from Splendor Knitting.  Major mod I'm making is sticking it on my Bond USM knitting machine.  It's slow going at the bottom of the ribbing, since there's a lot of hand converting purl stitches to knit stitches for several rows, but it should go more smoothly once I get past the bottom couple inches and only need to convert a few garter rows at each end every other row.  (The Bond USM feeds yarn through a carriage across a bed of latch hooks.  As the hooks catch the yarn, it creates rows of stockinette stitch, which are purled side facing the knitter.  Any thing other than straight stockinette requires manipulation with spare latch hooks and needles).

So that's what's going on in these parts at the moment.  Hopefully I'll have something that actually looks like a sweater to show soon!

P.S. There is a WIP Wednesday roundup is here!