knitting school dropout

in a few days off, i've accomplished quite a lot of knitting. i've knit half of a tilted duster, made a little more progress on some of the smaller projects i have going, and i knit a hat.

this one feels like cheating. combining big yarn, big needles and 2 hours of knitting , has given me a very warm hat. i love it and it was so ridiculously simple, i was actually able to write it down!

the yarn is twinkle soft chunky, a super bulky, soft wool. i used us15 (10mm) needles. the pattern is simply 1x1 rib, switched every 6 rows. i didn't include pom-pom making instructions in the pattern, because, even after several years as a knitter, i remain pom-challenged. luckily this yarn fluffs up nicely, and even my sad pom-pom looks kinda cute, i think.

ok, there you go. if you want it, you can download the pattern in pdf. format
HERE

OR

you can find it on ravelry, and download it from that page HERE

have a great sunday! -melissa

Posted by melissa at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)

only 20 days late, the girlfriend's 35th birthday socks are finally on her feet.

the details:
pattern: none. these are plain, 64 stitch, toe up socks with a short-row heel. i had to ask her to try them on constantly, because her feet are 3 sizes bigger than mine, and i was worried they wouldn't fit.
needles:us1, 2.25mm knitpicks circular for magic loop.
yarn: noro kureyon sock color 184
thoughts: well, the girlfriend likes them, and they fit her big feet perfectly, so overall i'm happy with the result. the yarn was good to work with for the most part. i've read many complaints about the roughness of the noro sock, but that's one of my favorite things about it. i love rough wool yarns. love them.
the yarn had some very thin parts, and in retrospect, i think i would have been better off using us0 needles. the yarn did plump up and soften a bit after washing, so they still look good. there was only 1 knot in the 3/4 of the skein i used, but it caused the pink and blue to repeat again and this kind of annoyed me. in the end, laziness won (it usually does), and i left it.
they're nice socks, and i'm a little jealous of them, but i probably won't be knitting another pair. there are too many great sock yarns i've yet to knit with.

i have the rest of the week off from work because i finally had my annoying, impacted, wisdom tooth removed this morning. for the last few weeks the left side of my face has been swelling up, so i'm glad to be done with it. i was an ass from the moment i woke up this morning, mostly because i was petrified of the anesthesia, but it's all good now. poor girlfriend.
i spent the whole day on the couch, knitting, eating gelato, and napping (sometimes in the middle of these activities). tomorrow won't be much different, i'm guessing.

Posted by melissa at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

first finished object of 2008:

pattern:anais by norah gaughan
yarn: berroco comfort dk , less than 4 balls in dusk
needles: us3 addi turbos
size knit: 38", but knitting it on the smaller than recommended needles worked out perfectly for my 36" bust
the story: this is my second anais. my first now lives with my friend who wears it all the time and is not allergic to alpaca. after telling my alpaca allergy story in the lovely forums of ravelry, norah contacted me. she offered to send me some yet to be released, alpaca -free yarn to knit another.
the comfort dk is super soft and has great stitch definition, but the biggest bonus is that i can actually wear this to work, get it dirty, and MACHINE WASH it. never happens.

i'm so happy to have a finished knit that i love to start off the new year. now i can focus my attention on the half finished knits that taunt me from the coffee table.

my norwegian snail mittens from the knitter's book of yarn. this picture is a few days old, i'm almost done with the first mitten now.

the girlfriend's 35th birthday socks. just plain stockinette socks in the new noro kureyon sock yarn. i finished the first and am halfway through the second. her birthday was 9 days ago, but she knows me well, and she hasn't been holding her breath or anything. :)

i'm also knitting ysolda's garter mitts. they're a quick little project and just perfect for this handspun i've had in my stash.

i'm itching to start a new sweater. i just purchased knitknit, so bridie, is definitely in the queue.

have a great week!

Posted by melissa at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBacks (0)