2008 Projects

2008 Projects, originally uploaded by Ballatrina2008.

Here is a visual collage of all my knitted projects from 2008!

Is there such a thing...

...as a 'good' sick day? I would say yes! Unfortunately I've been bogged down with a minor throat infection for the last two days, so i've been home from work (i'm going back in later today though!) and i'm suprised at how much you can get done while you sick and have nothing to do while you stay in bed!

First things first, Monday was spent finishing my assignment! Hooray, its FINALLY done! I'm going to post it off later today. It went suprisingly quick in the end - I got most of the research done over the weekend, so Monday I just had to master my first ever perspective drawing, and wala! All done :) I'm SO pleased!!!

Of course, that means I now have time for knitting! I'm pleased to report that the two baby christmas presents are now blocked and hanging up outside to dry out, then they are ready to be wrapped. If you're a member, there are pics on my Ravery page if you want to have a look.

One month until Christmas! Did I scare you??

Yesterday's project was to finish off Coachella, which has been sitting around waiting for me to finish the presents. Its finally done too! My mods were to add a little length, and use 4.5mm needles for the whole thing rather than changing up a size. I also added some 3x1 ribbing around the bottom to make it a little more stretchy, and a did some crochet around the arm holes to strengthen them. I tried it on before blocking and it seemed to fit ok, so we'll see what blocking does to it (no, silly, of course I didn't swatch!).

As for my next project, after a quick look through my Rav queue, I decided to start on the Talia vest from Sweaterbabe.com. I give you permission to call me silly for starting a pure woolen vest just as summer is starting :) Unfortunately i didn't have the right size needles for either the ribbon x-back top or the coffee tunic, so I settled with the one I could start right away. Friday's trip to the yarn shop should help solve those problems, but I had itchy fingers so I just had to start something! I have no problems with the vest going into hibernation while I work on a couple of summery tops.

I'm also still working on the hooded scarf for Chastity, but because the pattern is so simple, i'm going to keep that as my travel/knit night project. I've found a cute pattern too for some mini-Christmas stockings, and I hope to do one a night of those, since they are only supposed to take 1 hour.

Happy knitting!

Update

Ok, i'm back to blogging! No, I still haven't finished my study, but i'm well on the way now to handing in my final assignment - just a few more days I think, then i'll be done :)

On the knitting front, I've been good, and i've only been knitting on the weekends just to feed my addiction (saving study for during the week) and on knit nights, but still my second baby Christmas present is almost complete! I think i'll be finished with that one tonight! Sadly though, I can't show any piccys because that will ruin the suprise, but if your lucky I might put some up on Ravelry so you can have a sneek peek. I'm suprised at how quickly I got through the second one - although i'm looking forward to getting out of the habit of knitting every pattern twice, which i've done for my last few projects!

Next on the list will be to finally finish Coachella, so I can wear that for summer, as well as carrying on with squares for my Casa Kiwi blankets (see previous post...) and a cute little x-back top out of that lovely ribbon yarn I scored a while ago, although i'm yet to decide on a colour - any suggestions? I've also managed to come across some cheap tweed to use for a Central Park Hoodie (Rav link), but that's a little way down the list I think. I've had my eye on the pattern for a while though, so i'll be glad when that's done! Also on my list is a Coffee Tunic (Rav link) using Taieri Plains 8ply yarn in a plain creamy colour from The Yarn Queen (a cool new online store in Wellington), a Talia vest by Sweaterbabe using Cascade 220 in blue heathers, and a Buttony Sweater using Gedifra Shanina in red. I think that will keep me out of mischief for a while! Although, don't hold me to that list, as something is bound to bump into the middle and take me off track! What did knitters do before Ravelry came along???

In non-knitting news, I took a day out on Saturday to come into town and get started on my Christmas shopping! I got most of it done too, I just need a few little bits and pieces then i'm done! AND to top that off, they are all wrapped and sitting in a box ready to be given out! I feel very proud of myself :)

That's it for now, happy knitting!

Photo time!

Ok, finally as promised, here are some piccies of what i've been working on:

Coachella

(Sorry for the wonkyness and bluriness - it turns out its quite hard to take photos of yourself backwards!)

Progress on this is coming along quite well, I haven't done any more since these photos were taken, so i'm still working on the length, then the ribbing, then the crochet around the armholes to strengthen them a bit, then it's done!

Christmas present

Ha! Sorry, you'll have to wait until after Christmas to see the finished product, I don't want to ruin it :) Progress on this is also coming along quite well, I think i'm only another good hour away from finishing the knitting, then to weave the ends, then I can start on the next one!

Ok, well that's it from me now, back to work!

Happy knitting :)

Back on track

Finally, my yarn arrived, so I can carry on with my christmas presents! I'm definately on the home straight now, just another few hours and it will be done, then I can start on the second one! (Now that I know what i'm doing...) I actually remembered to take a photo of it last night, before it was finished, but I can't put it up here because its a suprise :)

This means though that my Coachella has been taking a little holiday, but I've brought it to work with me so that will become my new lunchtime project. Its just straight stockinette stitch, so nice mindless work, and shouldn't take too long to finish off. I'm going to add some 3x1 ribbing to the bottom so it will fitt nicely. I tried it on the other night too, once i'd finished the armholes - the drape is still a little stiff, but I have a feeling it will soften up after a nice wash... (oh yes, go with intuition, who cares about actually swatching!) I also took a photo of this one last night too, but I stupidly forgot my camera, so you'll have to wait for piccys - maybe until tonight when i get home.

I'm starting crochet classes tonight too - much to the 'dismay' of my family (I'm sure they think this whole knitting thing is just a phase... little do they know!) but i'm really looking forward to it. I'm mainly doing it because i'd like to reinforce the arm holes in my Coachella with a crochet chain, so I need to learn how to do that, but I was looking at a friends' amigurimi (sp?) book the other day, and some of them were just SO cute, so i'd love to learn how to do that too! There is an ad on TV here about a new air freshener that doesn't need covering up, and it starts with a little old lady making crochet covers on her show 'Crochet Today' so the family think that's what i'm going to turn into! Oh well, I'm happy enjoying my new hobby, I can put up with the non-knitter jibes :)

Back to work now. Happy knitting!

A quick update

Knitting progress on the christmas presents has halted - I ran out of yarn! I have ordered some more, so hopefully it will arrive in the next couple of days. I'm so close to finishing too!

In the meantime, while i'm waiting for that to arrive, I couldn't wait to have another go at the Coachella, since my LYS finally unpacked their new stock - I went and picked it up yesterday and cast on last night! I'm up to working on the front section, and have seperated for the back. The yarn I'm using was a bit splitty to cast on with, but its ok now. The colour is lighter than what I expected too, but its still really nice. I opted to stick to the 4.5mm needles instead of going up a size for the body - the first few rounds are done in twisted stockinette so it makes a nice tight roll around the collar, but when I started on the body it loosened up quite a bit, so I thought I would leave it. Other people's comments have said that its best to do it a size smaller than you normally would as it stretches quite a bit, so I think it will be ok. Watch this space for photos!

Also - another blog layout update - as well as the new counter, i've added a list of the blogs that I frequent. Go and check them out! There are all kinds in there, but mostly knitting. The list is at the bottom of the panel on the right. Let me know if there are any others that you think are worth a visit :)

Happy knitting!

My UGH project...

Ok, as promised, here is a pic of the disasterous Coachella top!

Well, its hard to tell from this photo where it went wrong, because I was too ashamed to take a photo of me actually wearing it... but your arms go through the two holes you can see (duh!) and that means that the front hangs down in a cowl... only, because the yarn I was using was so thick, it kinda just sat there all bunched up, nothing cowl about it! Hopefully at the end of this week I can get some Patons Washed Haze Aran - since my LYS is just getting some new stock in, AND its pay day!! - and have another go - its a cotton/acrylic yarn so it should be nice for summer (I think i'm going with the reef colour... although how reef is blue, I don't know!)

My christmas present for Emily is coming along well, although the 80% completion you can see is a bit off, i'm just trying to make myself feel better because I think i've really still got a long way to go! My goal is to get it done by the end of September though, since I've still got another one to do, so I think that's pretty achievable. More updates later!

Also, because i'm super excited, I got a new iPod on Saturday! Not one of the flashy new touch screen ones though, they were a little out of my price range. But its got a colour screen and video capability, which is better than others i've seen, and its 80GB so there's plenty of room for all my music! I've already put 250 songs on there, but there are plenty more CDs to go! AND its got Solitaire! How cool is that!

Ok, excitement over, time to get back to work.

Happy knitting!

Long time no post!

Hello! Sorry I haven't written for a while, but things have been crazy at home - Dad and sis got back on Saturday morning, so we have been catching up with stories and photos and pressies :) I got a lovely pair of NY p-jammies and a Statue of Liberty foam crown (like in Centre Stage, which I wore around for most of the day), as well as some other pressies from NY, and some yummy-smelling french perfume from Dad. Talk about spoilt!

Also, I have added a picture in the post below of my Nan and Pop taken a wee while ago, this was one of my favourites, since Pop looks happy, and he and Nan are holding hands :)

As for knitting, I had a go at making a Coachella using the velvety yarn I got cheap at The Warehouse, but unfortunately it just didn't work well for that pattern - it was too thick to start with, and the drape was terrible, so it looked like a brown paper bag when I tried it on! **Photos to come - watch this space!** I've managed to find some other nice patterns to use the yarn with, and i'm waiting for some new yarn to come into the local Knit World so I can try Coachella again - this time the yarn is the right weight, and its cotton/acrylic so it should have a nice drape, and be cool in summer!

I'm also starting to work on Christmas presents for the new babies on Dads side (although, because a certain aunty reads my blog I can't put up many details, or it will give it away!) I'll try and put some mysterious photos up as soon as I can, and you can always keep an eye on my progress on the new pattern progress bars on the right :) (Sorry I keep harping on about that feature, I'm just so excited I finally got it to work!) I will tell you though, one is for baby Andrew, the other is for baby Emily - that's the one i'm working on at the moment - so i'm sure you can pick the appropriate colours. Now the rush is on to get them finished in time to take them back to Oz!

After some Ravel-stalking today of other people's projects, my queue is growing, so upcoming projects include a beret for a Christmas present, a Wisp shawl using Moda Vera Wisp, a Talia vest from SweaterBabe with Cascade 220 (i'm SUPER excited about using this yarn, i've heard lots of good comments about it!), and a ribbon x-back top using the ribbon yarn below that I won on TradeMe - so I should be busy for a while!

Happy knitting!

This is the ribbon yarn I was talking about - it looks just as gorgeous in person as in these photos! Now to decide which colour to use for the x-back top.... any suggestions?

Charity Knitting

The Ravelympics are officially over! I crossed the finish line with three projects for two different teams in two different events. My Sassy you've seen, so the last of the games was spent working on projects for Team Charity.

I got this little hat done:

...to go with these little booties that i'd made before:

...which meant that I got this new medal:

I also finished off one of the booties to go with the little moss stitch beanie i'd made before, but i've labelled that an UGH because it came out all wrong!!! As you can see, the length of the foot is huge, but the ankle is the right size...

After this I gave up and started on Coachella in a lovely suede-ish yarn - its like knitting with chocolate! Because the yarn is thicker than called for in the pattern, i'm knitting the xs size on smaller needles to hopefully get somewhere around the small size... if it doesn't work i'll frog it and try another approach, maybe with some new yarn.

Speaking of new yarn - I went stash shopping on Saturday, much to Mum's disgust!

Yeah, they are kinda the same colours, but they feel so different! Now to just find a project to use them for...

Happy knitting!