Finally! The dreamy blush cowl is finished and I had leftover super soft yarn so I decided to make some matching handwarmers. The yarn is SO soft and was pretty darn cheap, it still makes me wish there were more “baby yarns” in non-baby colors. I’d buy this yarn in EVERY color if they weren’t pastel purple, blue and green. It’s Patons Beehive Baby Chunky and the colorway Bigger Beige is what I used for this project. In the aisle of baby yarns it stood out as a classy, subtle, soft color and I’m very happy with it.

The cowl took 5 months to finish, but only because I put it down for a long time over the summer. Once I picked it back up I finished the second half in pretty much one weekend. The only mod I made was I CO 170 instead of 220 because of the chunkier yarn and US10 needle. I wish it were a little longer so if I were to do it over again I might CO 200 or so, but I can still double it up on my neck without choking myself so I’m thrilled.

For the handwarmers, I thought I was doing myself a big favor by using up the rest of the yarn so I wouldn’t have any leftovers to clutter my small apartment. Well, I miscalculated and ended up finishing 1.5 handwarmers before the yarn ran out. I was already determined to finish them so I had to go buy a new ball of yarn to finish. Now I have more leftovers. At least I love this yarn. Any suggestions on what I should make with the rest?

My boyfriend and I took a bike ride down to Seward Park for this little photo shoot and even though it was hot outside and I was wearing handwarmers and a cowl, it was a blast! I’m glad he goes along with my knitting photo adventures.

This is the first thing I have knitted for myself and I think it’s pretty dreamy.

Patterns:
Honey Cowl, by Madeline Tosh.
75 Yard Malabrigo Fingerless Mitts, by Jeanne Stevenson

Yarn: Patons Beehive Baby Chunky in Bigger Beige

Happy Knitting!

The weather is getting cooler (a little) and I’m ready to get back in the knitting game. I think I might have too many WIP. Not sure where to start!

1. Stripey Handwarmers. I love these (even though the thumbhole is too tight on the finished mitt) and will definitely finish them, but I got burnt out on them and had to put it down for a while. Time to get back in business so I can finish them as a christmas gift.

2. Plaid Friendship Bracelet for Boyfriend. He challenged me to make a plaid friendship bracelet and damnit I was going to show him I could do it! Obviously I know how to do it now so actually finishing it has become less important somehow. But I told him I would so I will and that is that. Then the true test will be whether or not he wears it

3. Endpaper Mitts. These poor neglected mitts. I was so excited to start them, and even spent a while researching to learn how to master the Italian tubular cast-on. I started over several times to get it just right. And then shoved the whole thing in a drawer. For like a year. They are very cute and I was inspired by all the projects on Ravelry so I know I will finish them eventually. Have you made these? Please talk me into finishing them soon!

4. Dreamy Blush Cowl. I am really in love with this cowl, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be too short. I cast on 170 instead of 220 because of the thicker yarn and larger gauge needle…but I think I way overdid it. It is likely going to be too short and a gift to a tiny friend. But them I will need to make another for myself because the yarn is to-die-for soft! Plus the color is pretty and I was looking forward to it complimenting my fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. Sometimes I like to have subdued or neutral accessories rather than bold and intensely colorful. They tend to be overpowering on a “pale face” like me.

5. Washcloths. Ha! This set of 3 washcloths as a housewarming gift to myself are only 33% and I’ve been in my apartment for 6 months now. I think part of the reason that I’m stalling on this is that I know, deep down, that it will be hard to actually use them once they are finished. I know myself, and I know that I will say “oh no, don’t use the pretty washcloth on your face! use this old one”. So with that thought/prediction in the back of my mind I have delayed washcloth #2 and 3 indefinitely.

That is a lot of WIP for me. I don’t have a lot of room for stuff in my apartment, especially not balls of yarn and unfinished projects so I really need to get going on these and get them out of here. Not sure which one I will finish first…perhaps the cowl. This has been a busy summer and I am a little sad, but not surprised, that I didn’t do much knitting. Crocheting was always a fall/winter-only hobby for me and knitting turns out to be the same. I am enjoying my summer here in Washington and would tell anyone who has never been to the Seattle area to visit if you get the chance. Especially if you like the outdoors and hiking, water, etc. This region of the country is so beautiful, green, and full of things to do all year! One of the highlights for me this year was visiting Mt. Rainier National Park with my mom and sister. Spectacular place.

We also recently hiked Bat Caves/Oyster Dome in Bellingham.

I’ve been out and about on some fun adventures, but still love my couch time at home. It is especially enjoyable thanks to this gorgeous view from my apartment…

What have you been up to this summer, knitting or otherwise? I hope to actually have a FO for you soon.

Boyfriend has challenged me to make a plaid friendship bracelet for him. He knows I won’t turn down a crafty challenge. I didn’t even know about plaid bracelets but now I’m about 1″ into it an it’s pretty cool. Will let you know how it turns out. Have you ever tried a plaid bracelet?

Oops, I have completely neglected this blog for the past couple of months. This has been a busy summer for me and knitting/blogging have unfortunately been low on my priority list. I suppose that is alright with me as I’m not striving to be the most popular blog of all time or anything – this is mainly just a journal of my knitting progress that I look forward to reading in a few years to see how I have grown. But as it turns out, your comments are dear to me and I very much appreciate them, and hope that you haven’t given up on me yet. Don’t count on me to be your daily entertainment and constant source of new information, but rather a now-and-then creative treat. This isn’t sustenance, it’s dessert. Since I haven’t been knitting lately, I will go off topic and share with you what I’ve been up to this summer.

My best purchase of the year was an ice cream maker. So far I’ve made birthday cake, peaches-n-cream, homemade cherry garcia, minneola-lime sorbet (!!!), and the hands-down favorite… blackberry cream cheese ice cream. It truly is a winner and I promise to share the recipe with you!

I’ve also been enjoying my plants a lot. I live in a small apartment with a balcony so I’m pretty limited, but I’ve grown several herbs, spearmint (makes GREAT tea!), lettuce, stevia, feverfew, a few succulents and chamomile. I’m growing the stevia from seed and have been successful so far. Everything I have read says that the success rate from seed is very low and not to even bother, but I have 5 healthy plants right now so I’m glad I tried anyway. In a month or two it will be ready to harvest.

My personal favorite is the chamomile plant. I get so excited to harvest every weekend and dry the precious little flowers knowing that one day they will provide me with delicious tea.

And finally, on the crafty side, in place of knitting I have dusted off my sewing machine and purchased a table for it so I can actually use it. Haven’t used it yet but I hope to get some fabric soon and find a simple pattern to learn with. I also just got on a friendship bracelet kick for some reason. I used to make tons of them as a little girl. I had a tackle-box thing filled with every color embroidery floss in the rainbow. Now I only have a few colors but since they are only $0.35 each I figure I can just go buy more colors if I want and it won’t really break the bank. It is probably my least expensive hobby! Did you make these as a child? Better yet, do you still make them? I would love to hear your favorite color combinations.

This yarn is so soft and dreamy! I think I will look for more baby yarns in non-baby colors to use for my projects. I hit the jackpot with softness for sure. I am also in love with this soft blush pink/beige color.

Don’t you just want to roll around in a bed of this yarn? Maybe I should knit a pillow case with it next… The pattern is also very simple and it’s a good one for knitting while having a conversation because you don’t need to focus or keep count very much.

I started this project along with a friend who is also knitting a chunky cowl. She’s using a different pattern but we’re still sort of in it together. It’s her first project and I found it really fun to teach her to purl and knit. I’m still pretty new to knitting but I think I’ve got the basics down pretty well so I just want to spread the love of knitting and teach everyone I know. Once they can knit and purl then it is up to them to grow their skills and challenge themselves to new and more difficult patterns. Which reminds me, I really need to try cables…any recommendations for good cabling patterns?

We moved 3 weeks ago and JUST got internet hooked up. I didn’t realize how much we depend on it until we had to go without. And of course that would explain the blackout in posting. Sorry!

I’ve had a lot going on in my life for the last few weeks so I haven’t done much knitting, but I did finish washcloth #1 in my set of 3. They are my housewarming gift to myself for our new apartment. It’s really lovely and the color is great – I’m afraid it’s so pretty that I’ll never want to use it and get it dirty with make-up. But I’d like to think I’m a more practical person than that so I’ll probably use it anyway. I can always make more if it somehow gets destroyed. How often do you get to wash your face at the end of the day with a beautiful handmade washcloth?

Although I should be working on washcloth #2, I decided to cast on a dreamy blush cowl. It’s made with baby yarn so it’s magnificently soft. Photos to come soon!

We’re just moved to a new apartment and I’ve decided to knit myself a little housewarming gift. It’s Three Easy Pieces by Elizabeth Carls – a collection of three different simple washcloths. The patterns are stockinette, box stitch and garter ridges. I’ve started with the box stitch because it looks the most interesting and different from patterns I’ve knitted before. Here’s a little preview…

I’m using Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Terracotta. Loving this color! I also got Maize and Taupe for the other two patterns so I’ll end up with a variety in color and texture. I’m hoping they are absorbent enough to be useful. Have you used Cotton Ease before?

This little thing is my pride and joy FO so far.

It was a very quick and simple knit. Very rewarding for not too much effort. The lace section was the toughest part only because you have to be very careful not to lose count. I had a screw up but it’s not terribly noticeable unless you’re looking for it. Some firsts for me were ssk and k2tog. There was also a lot of increasing. Although almost all of this was new to me I really didn’t find it that difficult. You just have to take it one step at a time and the pattern does all the hard work.

I searched high and low for the right color and finally found it at the JoAnn’s in Bellevue, WA. It’s Lion Brand Wool-Ease Paprika and it’s just the shade of rusty orange I was looking for. My next task was to find the right button. I stood in the aisle of buttons for what seemed like an hour. This white one is the best I found but I’m still not totally in love with it. For the closure I decided to go with a crocheted button loop instead of the tab that the pattern called for and I’m pretty happy with that decision.

Overall this little thing has really stolen my heart. It’ll be even better once there is a little munchkin to wear it!

Well hello there! Please sit and enjoy some fresh coffee and hot, butter-meltin’ waffles with me.

What a great way to start the day. I love weekends because that’s when I finally get a chance to relax, read, enjoy a nice breakfast and best of all…knit! I’ve finished the Abagail sweater except for the button closure, and so I’ve been thinking about what to do next. As much as I want to start a new project – maybe Purl Soho’s Cabled Baby Vest for a friend’s new little boy – I think it’s time to tie up a few loose ends, kinda literally (hehe).

Stripey handwarmers! I’m making progress on the second one. I’m so much less motivated on the second one – maybe I should stop doing pairs of things. It’s not so satisfying when I finish one and realize I have to start over and do it all again. These are pretty cute though and I learned a thing or two about increasing and conquered a thumb which I thought would be difficult but really wasn’t.

I hope to get these to my friend before it gets too warm – but this is Seattle after all, so I think we still have a little more cool weather. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend.

Wow. I apologize for being M.I.A. for a while. I’m beginning to learn that I’m just too busy to knit as much as I want to. I pretty much never get to knit during the week – only on weekends. I have made some progress recently on the Abagail sweater for my friend’s baby girl on the way. It’s pretty much all finished except for finding the perfect button and fashioning some sort of closure. The pattern calls for a button tab/flap but I’m not crazy about it. I’d rather have a button loop but I’m not sure how to attach it. There’s a little more research I need to do but I plan to get it completely finished and blocked this weekend. Here’s a photo of it in progress (inside out):

And a closer image of the lace pattern…

I did somehow screw up the lace part in one small section but I’m hoping its imperfections won’t be very noticeable once it’s being worn by a super cute little girl. For a first time working a lace pattern I think it went very well. It was pretty enjoyable as long as I could focus enough not to lose count.

My next task is to finish the stripey handwarmers that I started as a Christmas gift. I put that project on hold to work on Abagail. Time to get back on it after this weekend.