Mini-Clap Cowl

Toby says, "Yarn?!?"

(Actually, Toby says "Ball?!?" but this isn't about my fetching kitty)

I'm finding myself in a bit of a knitting slump these days. I have plenty to knit (do not get me wrong. I have a-plenty to knit), I just don't know what. Nothing has really been really catching my attention. I have a pair of Garden Gate socks that needs finishing, but the colorwork is keeping me from casting on the second sock and I believe when I counted the other day, I had enough sock yarn (i.e. whole, complete skeins -- forget about all the scraps a moment) to knit seven or eight pairs of socks!

So the question is, "What to knit?" or "What to knit until my motivation for colorwork comes back?"

A mini-Clapotis!
(And yes, a mini Clapotis is the length of a regular sized ironing board)

If anyone has followed and/or read this blog for long enough, you will note that the Clapotis was my first "big" project back when I re-started knitting. It took me a lot of time and a crap-ton of yarn. But I was so proud of it and I've worn it every bitterly cold day since I knit it back in 2006.

My mini-version, however, was just something for me to knit in order to use up a couple of (absolutely beautiful) skeins of Manos Silk blend. I bought the yarn a couple years ago at City Knitting during a sale of some sort. Since I only had 2 skeins, it really wasn't enough for anything super substantial and the variegated colorway made it difficult for me to decide on a decent pattern.
(As a side-note, I hate using variegated yarns with weird color patterns and a tendency to pool unless it's plain, patternless socks)
In the end, there was only one thing I wanted to use this yarn for, and that was the Clapotis. Except, problem, the Clapotis inhales yarn. One second you have a skein of yarn, the next you look down and there's just a little tail left (and no, it's not from Toby running off with the rest of it).

Searching Ravelry, I came upon the Rule of Fifths. Essentially, you weigh your yarn and you put aside 2/5 for each end (1/5 per end) and 3/5 for the middle. Foolproof!
Afraid of running out of yarn, I didn't make the middle section quite as long as I could have. In the end, I was left with more leftover yarn than I thought I would have but no big deal. I'm happy with it and unlike my first Clapotis, this one only took me about three days.

Of course, once again I'm stuck without anything to knit...

Half A Rainbow (Finished!)

Is there anything more satisfying than finishing an entire sweater? No. I don't think so.
A job well done, I say!

It was a frustrating journey, but I think I have to say that this turned out pretty much exactly how I imagined it. Isn't it great when that happens?

After all of my problems and issues with simply casting on for the v-neck, I decided that I wasn't going to fiddle with trying to make an absolutely perfect v-neck. Instead, I simply picked up stitches around the entire collar and did it in the round (K2P2 ribbing). I guess you'd call this more of a "scoop neck". No matter!

And have I mentioned how much I hate sleeves?!? So many of my sweaters have half-sleeves because I absolutely hate making sleeves that go all the way down to my wrists -- or hands, as I like my sweaters to cover about half of my hand. Unfortunately, the sleeves on this sweater are just a teeny bit too short and a little too wide around. Humbug. Can't have everything be perfect, can we?

If anyone is interested in sweater specs, let me know. I'm still unsure as to whether or not I want to write up a pattern for it to sell or if I'll just give people what I can from my notes.

***

Now that the sweater is done, I'm already onto the next project -- a mini Clapotis! Maybe I'll cast on for a second pair of knee socks while I'm at it.

Although I can already feel the pull of another -- who knows which -- sweater trying to call me in...any sweater suggestions?

Post-Christmas Round Up

Wellity, wellity, wellity. Seems that the holidays are drawing to a close and now it's time for me to really put my nose to the grindstone and figure out what the new year has in store for me. Hopefully I'll find something to do that provides me with some income. Hopefully my time at the gym will pay off. Hopefully I'll find an engagement ring that I like.

Wait...what?

Oh, right. I'm engaged! Never thought I'd see the day. Since it was so impromptu (Jordon wanted to buy a ring before asking me. Psssshhh), I'm wearing my favorite pearl ring as a "stand in" until I find something that I really like. That will hopefully cost less than $500.

But this blog isn't about me.

Wait. Yes it is.

But knitting is more important!

Maybe not really...

I did more Christmas knitting this year than I can ever remember doing in the past. Oh, the joys of giving to people who actually enjoy and appreciate the handknits!

For Jordon's mom, a pair of socks in her favorite color (pink):
(Fun note, those socks -- knit with KnitPicks Essential Multi -- are sitting on top of a homemade "Superman" plate/platter that Jordon made on our first date!)

For Jordon's dad, a Turn A Square hat (sadly, no image was taken, but it was basically a brown hat with dark blue stripes). He was very excited to have received said hat. I was kind of surprised, actually.

And for Jordon, another Turn A Square hat which he also seemed to be very pleased with:
(All yarn is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes)

And finally, I continue to work my way through my top-down v-neck striped raglan. I'm very pleased with my progress/accomplishments with it.
Still wish I hadn't started the round right smack dab in the middle but whatever. I think it looks really nice! Especially considering how much pain it gave me in the beginning. All I have to do now is knit a couple of sleeves and figure out how to make the v-neck look presentable. I can't wait to finish it and wear it! I think it looks super snazzy.

And aside from Christmas engagement excitement, I received a hefty box of fibery goodness from my mom. Sadly, our local LYS in Grand Rapids closed its doors, but much to my/our benefit, we reaped some fantastic deals! I now have close to 1.5 lbs. of spinning fiber to make sock yarn (hopefully) in the weeks and months to come.

Half A Rainbow (Part 2)

Finally got it!

(Pardon the crappy iMac photo)

Raglan = SUCCESS! V-neck = SUCCESS! Color stripes = more or less SUCCESS!

I only wish now that I'd started the round in the back or under the arms. Anywhere except for right smack in the middle of the sweater. Hopefully once I weave the color ends in, it won't look so...ladder-like.

Plus, a magic trick for anyone wanting to do stripes without jogging! Here!

Half A Rainbow (Part 1)

Knitters find inspiration in the strangest places. A while back, there was a cell phone commercial (and if I could find it, I would provide a link to it) where a family was sitting around and the youngest girl was wearing this white, v-neck, rainbow striped sweater. Kinda like this...but an actual sweater. Color me in love!

Ever since -- and who knows how long it's been, I've been wanting to knit the sweater forever -- I've been determined to make up a similar pattern and make a sweater for myself. Armed with KnitPicks superwash bare (in DK weight) and 4 colors (red, green, blue and a weird yellowy color) of KnitPicks superwash DK I've finally set out to knit this sweater!

Unfortunately, not everything can be so easy.

I like to think of myself as a fairly accomplished knitter. Unfortunately, I'm very bad at constructing patterns for myself. Great at following them; even modifying them if the modifications aren't too difficult. Not so good at bringing it to life. Failed math skills or something to that effect, I'm sure.

What to do? I love(d) this pattern and figured I'd follow that. Easy enough, except that pattern calls for worsted weight and doesn't give me the v-neck I want so badly. Oh well. I know my gauge and I've knit a raglan cardigan from the top down. How hard can it be?

4-5 cast-ons later, ask me that again.

I turn to the Ravelry techniques board after I realize my v-neck construction isn't working and a couple of lovely Ravelrers give me a couple more links to try out as well as construction techniques for a v-neck.

2 more cast-ons later...

This isn't working. I finally turn to the top-down raglan sweater generator and I get a good cast-on number and with the techniques given to me from friendly Ravelry users, I'm on my way!

We'll see how it goes from here. I still haven't connected the neckline yet and I'm ready to do so! I'm tired of knitting AND purling. The whole point of knitting a pullover (in my opinion) is to avoid the purling.

At least I think I'm on the right track now. Hopefully.

Scrappy Scarves

For quite a while, I've wanted a long, thin, multi-colored scarf. Easy enough to achieve with variegated yarn, but not quite what I wanted. I wanted it lengthwise! Columns of color! A couple months ago, I found it.

And I made it!

And it's everything that I could have hoped for.

I cast on 400 stitches on a 40" US 9 knitting needle and went at it.
Alternating columns of Fleece Artist Woolie Silk variegated yarn and various other "leftover" yarns (2 colors of Malabrigo, some handspun and some Lorna's Laces that I kind of wish I'd left out on account of an itchy halo), I think I made myself the perfect, colorful scarf.

Now Jordon wants one (probably in manlier colors). I don't know if I'm willing to sacrifice my poor little wrists to another. At least not yet. Maybe next time I'll knit it on larger needles.

Greetings from 2009!

Well, at the suggestion of Richard quite a while ago, I've finally decided to try and revive this little ol' blog of mine. We'll see how well this works out.

As of my last update, about a year and a half ago, I've done a lot of things. A lot of things.

***

In June of 2008, I left Michigan and moved to Chicago. Where I knit. A lot.

In July of 2008, I met a delightful young man and started working my first(!!) "real" full-time job in Chicago. I worked on Michigan Avenue and for those of you who may think, "Wow, that sounds so glamorous and posh!" it really wasn't.

I lived and worked in Chicago until September of 2009 and just those couple of months ago, I moved to Milwaukee, WI to live with aforementioned young man. ;)

***

Now that we're all caught up on my personal life, let's move on to knitted items, shall we? According to this post in February of 2008, I had some knitting goals set up for myself. I can say right now that all I actually made and finished on that list are: Hourglass Sweater and Endpaper Mitts. A couple of the items, I just haven't gotten around to knitting yet. Others...well, I guess I'd say they're not really worth my time.

So, in no particular order, here are the things that I have knitted since February 2008. Ready?

• Jacques Cousteau -- 3. One of them was nibbled on by dear little Toby.
• Bridie (note: Amazon link. Pattern is in book) -- once I finished, it didn't fit. None of the ends are woven in and it's been sitting in a bin ever since.
• Jaywalkers -- 2. I love this pattern. Seriously.
• Baby bolero (note: Amazon link. Pattern is in book) -- 2. Almost 3.
• Mittens (no/personal pattern) -- 1 regular, 1 flip-top
• Herringbone mittens -- 1
• Socks (no/personal pattern) -- 5, though it honestly seems like more.
• Sheldon -- 1 1/2
• Superman tube scarf -- 1
• Reversible Cabled Brioche stitch scarf -- 1
• Vagina Shawl -- 1
• Mrs. Saucy Apple -- 1
• Cat Fish (personal pattern) -- 3? Toby kept trying to eat them and/or dismember them.
• Buttony -- 1. And I love this sweater so, so, so much, but Toby chewed a hole in the sleeve and the only repair option I had was to rip out the sleeve, so I haven't gotten around to it yet. Such a pretty sweater.
• Revontuli-huivi -- 1. My favorite scarf/shawl.
• Brewers Blanket (personal pattern) -- 1.
• Rogue -- 1.
• Monkey socks -- 1.
• Pinwheel baby blanket -- 1.
• Nutkins -- 1.
• Totally Autumn -- 1.
• Henley Perfected -- 1. The lace still needs to be blocked and I haven't actually worn it "out" yet.
• Koolhaas -- 1. And I doubt I'll ever make this hat again it's incredibly tedious.
• Sesame -- 1. Re-knit from this sweater.

And that pretty much brings me up to my current projects and I have a lot on the needles on account of the quickly-approaching holiday season.

Normally, I would post pictures of all of my work but (obviously) there is so much that has been listed above there's really no point in it.

***

As for current works in progress:

• Secret holiday gifts (teehee)
• Garden Gate socks -- I have one done and I'll start the second when I'm good and ready to. Probably after Christmas when I start knitting another sweater.
  
• Regular socks -- Again, I have one done. Second to be cast on is on hold until I'm finished with scarf (below) and holiday gifts (above).
  
• Scrappy Lengthwise Scarf -- Really cool pattern and I'm totally in love with the way it's turning out so far. I'm hoping to be done with it by next week.
  

Favorite Socks, Indeed!

I've had Favorite Socks for a while now. I really do love most of the patterns in it -- it's just I don't make socks all that often and so many of the patterns in the book look much better in the solid sock yarns and...well...this blog's name is "Unafraid of Color" -- if you catch my drift. ;)
(If you don't -- it's nearly impossible for me to work with a solid colored sock yarn.)

A while back though -- I believe it was New Years to be exact -- I bought this gorgeous Araucania yarn. To quote Tracy Jordan from "30 Rock", I loved this yarn so much I wanted to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant. I had no idea what it would look like knitted up, all that I knew was that if I didn't buy it, I would sorely regret it later on.

Within the month, I had cast on for the Embossed Leaves socks -- a pattern that I felt could hold up to the many color changes in the sock yarn...and it seemed like it would be simple enough. I wanted to knit up a "complicated" sock since all the socks I've knit in the past are pretty much you're straightforward stockinette from top to bottom with a 2x2 rib at the top.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me just say that I have never knit a sock (nay, a pair of socks!) as fast as I knit these babies up. I was done with the first sock in under a week, I was done with the pair no more than a week or so after that. The actual hours put into creating these beauties? Well...I don't keep track of hours but it wasn't long!

I have never been more proud of a pair of socks than I am of these (they even won a spot in my Facebook's photo album of "Things I've Made That I'm Ridiculously Proud Of"). Simply put: the are fabulous. Utterly, utterly fabulous. Whenever I wear them, I get compliments -- and believe me, I am a compliment whore.
Since finishing these, I have bought several more skeins of sock yarn and have spent hours perusing sock patterns in the books that I own and on Ravelry. Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll be able to create another pair that I love as much as these. They've won a very special place in my heart. When I inevitably wear holes in them? I will buy them sock blockers and I will hang them on my wall (or...maybe not...).

I can tell you all. When Interweave said "Favorite"? Yeah, they weren't lying.

What Am I Up To?

Things I Will Be Making in the Upcoming Weeks and Months
(No particular order)

Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
This was probably actually the first sweater that I really wanted to knit. I don't know why I didn't do this one first. It's knit in the round and from everything that I can tell so far, it seems like it would be really simple. I just bought the yarn for it this evening. Cheap KnitPicks yarn = awesome. A handknit sweater under $50? Sweeeeet.

Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang
I wanted to knit these last year, but the colorwork and my dwindling interest in knitting around the time of spring kept me from actually following through. And I needed something to bring my KnitPicks order up over $50 so I could qualify for free shipping. 2 skeins of Palette and I'm set.

Two-Toned Ribbed Shrug from Fitted Knits
I'm not actually sure if I'm going to knit this quite yet. I have a feeling that the ribbed collar might irritate my neck. Maybe if I can find some cheap yarn at City Knitting, I'll go for it. Maybe I'll keep looking for a better pattern...something like Knitty's Blackberry (without the bobbles, of course). I want something to cover up my arms so I've been wearing a lot of hoodies and cardigans at work. Unfortunately, I really just want the arm coverage -- not the whole body.

Super-Easy Legwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Because who doesn't want some super-easy legwarmers?!? And I could probably wear them to work...probably. I have some Lorna's that I've been meaning to use up for forever. This could be the right project for it.

Millicent Sock by Cookie A
I need to figure out what color yarn I want for this. Then I need to buy it. Still, those are some really awesome knee socks. I must have them for myself. *covets*

Moderne Log Cabin Blanket from Mason Dixon Knits
I've wanted to knit another blanket since I finished up my mitered square blanket. I'm thinking I'll probably use Cotton Ease for such a blanket. I need to figure out an appealing colorway though, then make it happen. I'm having a hard time finding that inspiration. Soon. Hopefully.

And things that I'm already in the process of knitting (because one can never have too many of those):
Felted Cloche -- though I'm tempted to just give up already. I hate knitting it.
Frida Lights -- not really a satisfying knit. I've done 4 or 5 of them so far and they haven't been felted. I was going to make a set for my living room and bedroom, but I think I'm just going to stick with the living room for now.

Le Sesame...C'est Fini!

Ladies and gentlemen...it is a happy, happy day. I, Auna, have finished my very first sweater. YAY ME!
I ambitiously started working on it back in October and it really was a fast knit, which was fabulous, really. I finished the back piece in no time at all and I was certain that I would be done with the entire thing by Christmas. If I weren't so easily distracted by other things I probably would have been, too.
Being the lazy person that I am (with a very limited attention span, no less), I would knit a piece and put it aside for a week, two or month. As it began to slowly come together, I realized that this sweater was maybe a little larger than I had bargained for. I had decided to knit the XL size to accommodate the size of my chest. Looking back, I probably should have knit the L size instead. The body of the sweater actually fits pretty well, albeit, it's not really quite shaping in the way that the pattern indicated but that's mostly due to the sleeves.
OH the sleeves...
I have quite a bone to pick with the sleeves of this sweater. For one, they are LONG. Long, long, LONG! I realize that the pattern has you fold over the cuffs, but I'm not a big fan of that idea and I said "nay" to that notion. Now I'm starting to re-think it.
The other problem with the sleeves was the damn shoulder. *shudder* I initially seamed one of the arm holes and then almost all of the other. There was a slight problem with the pattern (for me at least) where the top of the shoulder just did not match up. At all. I ended up taking the almost finished thing to City Knitting to ask them what to do and they ended up telling me to just rip out the brown at the top of the sleeve and CO with the pink. Done and done. Worked much better without trying to match up the colors. When I did, I ended up with a bit of a pointy shoulder. As it is, the shoulders are a little large. I didn't want to look like a complete linebacker, haha. Still, I really have to pull up the shoulders to make it look like I'm not a pink and brown shapeless monster. :)

Now that I've done all of this complaining, I'm sure that you're wondering what is actually good about this sweater! Or...something like that. I made my own little adjustments here and there (where I felt safe making them, at least). Instead of 24 rows at the bottom of the body piece, I did 36. I have a long torso, and I didn't want this sweater ending at my waist or higher (as was the case with my poor Isabella which was indefinitely put on hold never to be attempted again). And because I was afraid of running out of yarn (which was not the case at all), I decided that I would make the collar shorter. I probably should have made that longer too, but oh well, what am I going to do now? (No, I am NOT going to frog that part!) I don't think that the buttonhole band is quite as long as the pattern called for. I didn't really measure it, but I didn't want it to be too wide, because I was already concerned about the body being too loose. Good thing I stuck to my gut on that one.

Yes, overall, I am quite happy with the sweater. It fits and it doesn't look too bad! Right there, I avoided complete catastrophe! And c'mon, how many people can claim that they've made a sweater for themselves? (Okay, okay, a lot of people can, but I don't personally know anyone else who has made one!!) Next time though, I'll be a little more daring. I'll be a little nicer to myself and my mantra will be "yes, the smaller size will fit you!" (though I will inevitably have to add length to it...unless it's a tunic or something). I won't be afraid of the math involved to make something fit a little bit better and I will pore over the adjustments others have made and articles about how to make something you knit fit you in the best way possible.

All in all? Good first attempt. :)

SWEATER DETAILS:
Pattern: Sesame Sweater from MagKnits
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash 7 skeins total
Colorways: 819 and 838 (4 skeins Brown and 3 skeins Pink)
Needles: Oh goodness. US Size 6 (3 different pairs! The first broke, the second were borrowed, the third were finally mine and didn't break)

Mice Fit for a Kitty

Once upon a time, in a month called July, I got a kitten who I call Toby. The night before I set off on my adventure to pick up the little guy, I knit him a toy mouse.
Anyway, my young kitten loved his mouse more than all of his other toys. He would play with the mouse throughout the night (sometimes it had to be taken away from him because he made too much noise while people -- i.e. me -- were trying to sleep), and he even would run and fetch the mouse whenever I threw it to him.
As you can see by the picture though, it became incredibly worn incredibly fast. The tail started to unravel a bit and the stitches didn't quite look as pronounced anymore. But the mouse still served it's purpose very well and Toby continued to love (or hate? He did do awfully mean things to it...) the little mouse -- the first toy that he ever received from me.

Then I moved back into my parent's house and Toby met his new arch nemesis/best friend Cacao. Cacao loved the mouse too. Maybe not quite as much as Toby, but still. Toby claimed the mouse as his own, growling and hissing whenever Cacao got too close. Eventually though, Toby relinquished his possessive grip over the toy mouse and he decided it was best to share. However, sharing came with some consequences for poor little mousey.
The tail began to unravel at an alarming rate until one day the kitties appeared with the mouse and lo and behold! There was no tail left to be seen! Nevertheless, the cats did not treat the mouse any differently and they continued to play with the mouse just as they always had.
Until...
The mouse was torn apart. Yarn everywhere! Quickly unraveling! NO! NOOO!!! It was at this point, I decided that I needed to make a new one. After all, it wasn't a hard mouse to make -- quite simple in fact. Turned out in under an hour.
The new mouse was given whiskers, a slightly fatter body and a smaller tail. When given a choice between the old, torn apart mouse and the new, prettier mouse -- with whiskers! The choice was clear. The new mouse won. I set both of the mice in front of Toby (of course, after I had taken pictures) and let him choose. Straightaway, he went for the new one.
Who would blame him? :)






And now that I've told you this story, I am certain that you all are just dying to hear how to make one of these adorable little critters for your own kitty cats! Well! I will tell you!

Supplies:
1 skein of KnitPicks Andean Treasure (Fog)
Set of US 3 DPNs
Cotton batting, wool roving, anything you want to stuff it with
Needle
Waste yarn for optional eyes and whiskers

Cast on 8 stitches and divide them onto 4 dpns. Knit 1 round. Increase 1 stitch on each needle next round. Repeat these two steps until there are 10 stitches on each dpn – 40 stitches total.
Knit in the round until the mouse is your desired length.
Decrease 1 stitch on each needle. Knit 1 round. Repeat these two steps until there are only 4 stitches left. Place these 4 stitches on one needle and start knitting i-cord for the tail until the tail is the desired length.

After you’re done knitting, stuff it with whatever you’d like. My mouse is stuffed with some leftover scraps of yarn and bits and pieces of odd roving. Sew the cast-on end closed with a darning needle and some spare yarn. When you’re completely finished, you can embroider some eyes onto the mouse or leave it as is.

Really, you could make one of these with any waste yarn that you have. Toby tends to be a yarn snob and he goes absolutely crazy over any sort of yarn that is of a "high quality" (I can guarantee you, if it were made of acrylic, he wouldn't give it a second glance). That's why I stuffed it with scraps of wool roving/spinning scraps and it's made from baby alpaca. Yours can be out of anything you'd like. :)

Sesame Sweater (Post 2)

It's nearing the end!

This past week (week and a half), my tendonitis has come back with a vengeance. To give you an example of it's severity, it hasn't been this bad since last April when I was spending almost all of my time on the computer researching and typing up 20-30 page papers. I don't even know what's caused it this time around. Knitting? Piano? Light typing? Something at work? All the above?Friday though, I finally cracked. I was going to start knitting this sweater again, even if it did make my hands utterly useless. And it paid off! I'm almost done with the second sleeve now and I was able to seam both sides of the sweater to the back!
Now all that's left to do is finish up that second sleeve, block it, seam it. Then work on the buttonhole band and the collar. Then it will be finished! FINISHED!
I'm still a little paranoid about the sleeves being enormous and I do still think that I probably should have gone with the pattern for the large size instead of x-large, but hey. At least the body fits comfortably and the stripes (more or less) match up. It's all coming together. And thankfully it's coming together better than I originally thought it would.

After I'm finally done with this I think I'm moving onto socks. I have some gorgeous sock yarn that I'm going to use. And I haven't made socks in a really long time.

I'm Not A Hat Person

I have an abnormally large head. No, really, I do. And generally speaking, I really don't wear that many hats -- never have. For some reason though, I have been in a hat mood this winter. Maybe it's the impending move to Chicago and the knowledge that I will have day upon day of being stuck in frigid cold wind tunnels. Maybe it's just because I'm suddenly realizing that hats can be pretty darn stylish. In any case, I have been searching Ravelry for the cutest hat patterns that I can dig up.

This was when I found Le Slouch.
I wasn't really "taken" by the pattern until I saw some of the FOs that were featured on Ravelry. That's when I fell in love with it. I loved the seed stitch, I loved the way that it slouched down in that adorable way. I said to myself, "Self, this is the hat for you!" And so I went to City Knitting, picked up a couple skeins of Nashua Julia (in Geranium) and put myself to work!

First, I read the pattern wrong and I could not, for the life of me, figure out why it was decreasing in such a bizarre way. That was, until I realized that I had skipped over an entire paragraph of critical decreases. I was baffled as to why it wasn't "slouching" right. Well, of course it's not going to slouch right if you're forgetting to knit at least an inch of hat!
I actually did this twice -- the whole, missing that crucial paragraph. Which meant that I had to frog twice. *ribbit* Amazingly, I did not drop any stitches while doing this and once I finally realized what I was doing wrong, the thing actually looked similar to all of those other FOs that I had seen and admired so much on Ravelry! Hooray for Auna!

Ultimately, the hat took me about 4 days to knit. It would have only taken 2 had I not been stupid. I was thrilled that the hat actually fit my enormous cranium (without any alterations to the pattern!), and if anything, it was too big. Wait. It kind of was too big.
I wanted an "extra slouchy" hat, so I added a little bit of length onto it beyond the 6 (7+?)" that the pattern suggested. I kind of wish that I had stuck to what the pattern said in that regard because I can honestly stuff all of my hair into the thing and still have room for my cat (okay, maybe not, but there's still room for more cramming in there).
It's kind of heavy (it is two skeins worth of yarn), and as enormous as my head may be, the 2x2 rib really has a lot of give to it, and with one blow of those Chicago winds, Mr. Slouchers (yes, that's the hat's name) is going to go sailing off of my head.

Initially, I claimed that I would wear Mr. Slouchers all the time. It would never leave me. I would love it and care for it forever and ever. So far? It hasn't really gotten a whole lot of wear. My Clapotis teases it mercilessly (okay, not really).
Nevertheless, I really do like it. It looks pretty darn cute on me and it is nice and warm. That said, I'm already planning my next hat -- which hopefully, will get some better wear. I just bought some yarn (Lamb's Pride) for a felted cloche that I will be making in the not-too-distant-future (i.e. after my sweater sleeve is finished). Hopefully that one will fit. And hopefully, I won't have to worry about that flying off my head at the first big gust of wind that blows by.

Sesame Sweater (Post 1)

A while ago, I promised myself that I would finally knit a sweater. I started knitting a tank top last spring. Unfortunately, that kind of failed miserably. I finished the back piece and it was at least 3" too short (and that was after adding a couple extra inches anyway). After waiting it out a couple of months, I decided that I would start knitting a sweater. After all, there are a lot more sweater patterns out there to knit than there are things for summer wear, right?

After much browsing, I became very interested in MagKnits' Sesame Sweater. After getting a nice gift certificate to City Knitting for my birthday, I bought all the yarn that I would need to knit up the largest size of the sweater.

It's been a long work in progress. The pieces themselves are actually not too difficult to knit up. It didn't take me long at all to knit the back. It didn't take me long to knit up the sides. It's taken me about a day to knit up one of the sleeves. For whatever reason, it's just a bit difficult to actually work up the motivation to knit up each individual piece.
I just finished knitting one of the sleeves. I am very much afraid that this thing is going to be huge. Damn my large chest circumference. :P

Further updates to come. Hopefully I will be finishing all of it up in the next week or two.

Crazy Squares!

Finally! A knitting update!

I'm trying to catch up on blog posts for FOs that I've posted to Ravelry. I guess I'm kind of working backwards with this one. Instead of posting about something I made, oh, 6 months ago, I'm posting about my most recent completion.
CRAZY SQUARES!
(Plus Toby)
I started this what feels like eons ago now. Back at the beginning of July. After feeling a little less despairing, I decided to knit a mitered square blanket. At least that way, if I felt really lazy and didn't want to knit again for a long while, at least it would be something that I could easily pick up again down the line.
It started out as a 3x3 square (of 4x4 little squares) blanket. It was going to be a little kitten blanket for Toby. Which, in retrospect, it's probably good that it didn't turn out to be that because Toby just sort of lays wherever he pleases and doesn't care what is specifically for "him". However, by the time that I set down my needles, took a step back and counted my squares, I had more than the 36(?) squares that I needed to make this little blanket.
Then I started to feel artistic with it all. I decided that it would become a 3x4 square blanket (which was quickly updated to 4x4). I knit a "center" square that would be composed of two solid variegated yarns and two of the standard striped squares and decided that I would knit one solid square for each of the 4 corners. Alas, with this plan in motion, I would have to make the blanket 5x5. I did the calculations and I had a whopping 64 more squares left to knit! (Shoot me now, right?!?)

So I knit, and I knit, and I knit some more. I decided at a couple of different times to lay down the knitting needles and pick up a couple of different projects (like my sweater to be posted at some point here...). I was also at a loss of anything except for towels to block the pieces on so the individual squares remained unblocked and unseamed for a long time as well.
I finally bought some "blocking boards" (toy foam puzzle pieces from Toys 'R Us!) and got to work with blocking all the pieces. Then I got into seaming and was having a great time seaming them all up. Once I had seamed up all the squares I had knit, I stopped again. The basket of squares went back in the closet and they remained untouched until probably November when I finally decided that I was going to finish the blanket once and for all!

Counted all of the squares, laid all of the squares out on the floor. I can't even count how many times I did just that. And the worst part about laying this thing out on the floor was that Toby went nuts for it and would roll around in the squares and drag them off in all sorts of different directions. Crazy feline.

Once I counted it out for the last time, I had something like 24 or 25 squares left to knit and I think that I breezed through those pretty fast, really. Then I blocked some more, then I seamed some more. Then I laid the squares out on the floor again and tried to figure out how I was going to pattern it. Really, I could have planned the patterning a lot better but...whatever. At that point, I just wanted it to be finished with and I really didn't care anymore. As long as there were no two same colors matching up together, I was happy.
(Unfortunately, there are maybe 2 or so spots that do match up with the same color...kind of a bummer, but oh well)

Seaming together the 4x4 squares went so fast, I was really surprised. It also kept me really warm as it stretched across my lap while I was sitting in my freezing cold bedroom! It probably only took me a couple of nights to get all 25 pieces together and believe me, when I was finished with all of those seams I just about threw myself a party.

...Nevermind that I still needed to weave in the ends and trim away some of the excess yarn that spilled out of the center of each mitered square.

So finally, this past weekend for the holidays, I took the blanket up to my grandparents' house with me so I could weave in all of those ends. I ended up tying a lot of knots (because good lord that was a lot of little loose ends!), but it looks good now. Though the front looks much better than the back. ;)


I'm still contemplating whether or not to add a back onto the blanket. I'd really like to add flannel or something back there. I realize that it would make it super warm (and even heavier than it already is!) but at least it would hide those icky knots and little bits of loose yarn.
I'll keep it as it is for now though. It's a great afghan. I absolutely adore it and I'm already in the process of planning what I'm going to make next...another blanket. Though the next one will be made from a machine washable cotton. Or maybe a superwash wool if I can find some for a relatively inexpensive price.
Now the boring stuff (or interesting if you're a knitter!)
Pattern: Mitered Square Blanket from the book Mason Dixon Knitting
(I found a free copy of the pattern at this website. I used the pattern for the smaller squares.)
Yarn: So many I lost count (not that I was keeping count to begin with). Most of it is Cascade 220 and Cascade Heathers. There is a teeny bit of Patons and Knit Picks dye your own. There's also a ball or so of a hand dyed wool yarn that my mom gave to me for Christmas one year that she colored herself. That is what the two center squares are knit of.
Needles: My trusty ol' Crystal Palace US Size 8s

*waves*

Hello Blogger land!

I haven't updated in forever. I realize that.

Since my last update, I have gotten promoted at the library -- I no longer shelve books, I work the desk at a little place away from Main.

I moved away from downtown, and brought my kitty in tow (he's so big now!). I'm currently hoping/planning on moving to Chicago in the next month or two. Good luck to me! I think the main obstacle will be finding a one bedroom apartment for under $800 a month in the neighborhoods that I like/want to live in.

And I've been knitting a lot! Most of my things are posted to Ravelry now that I have an account there, but I'm going to try and keep this updated more often once again with the things that I've created over the past few months!

So until then...I'll probably post my blanket since that's pretty successfully finished at this point.

Where Have I Been?!?

No list of loves update, just an update to introduce my kitten to my little blogging world.

This is Toby
He is my handsome, bluepoint Siamese kitten. :)
He's almost 4 months old and he is a randy little fellow.
I already have enough pictures of him to fill a photo album. I certainly won't post all of my pictures here in this post (actually the one above is the only one I'm going to post).
If anyone is interested in seeing more, there are plenty more to be found in my Flickr Album.


In non-kitty news: I finally found a job!
Meet Auna, Library Page! Woohoo!

In other non-kitty news: Season 4 of The Office starts in a little over a month! I am going crazy in anticipation!!!

#19: Siamese Cats

So we've come to #19!
Except I'm not doing these in any particular order, so #19 means nothing!
In any case, #19 on Auna's List of Loves is Siamese cats.
Why am I doing Siamese cats today?
...You'll see.
This is a picture of my Willow kitty. Willow is no longer with us. She passed away a couple of months ago, just a week short of her 18th birthday. :(
I've had Willow since I was 4 years old. She was a Christmas present to my brother and I from my parents. I think at that age I wanted a tabby, I'm not positive. But Willow didn't look like all of the kitties that you see on TV. Little did I know, my Dad sucked me into the trap of never, ever wanting another breed of cat for as long as I live.

Siamese cats are a curious breed. I like to say that they are smarter than the average feline. They're extremely intelligent. They're independent like a cat, but loyal like a dog. They talk to you when you talk to them. All around, they are an awesome cat.

Willow was the greatest pet, ever. She slept with me at night when I was living at home (she'd usually hog the bed which is pretty impressive for a ~10 pound cat) and when you were sad or upset, she was there to cheer you up or cuddle with you when you were sick. And that's what I like about Siamese cats.

When Willow recently died, I was grief-stricken. I handled it a lot better than I ever thought that I would, but even now, if I think about her a lot, I cry. I really, really miss her.
But in any case, her death meant the opportunity for me to get a new cat. I was never able to actually bring myself to get a new cat while Willow was still alive because it felt a little like betrayal.
So what did I wish for my birthday?
A Siamese kitten.
What did I get for my birthday?
A Siamese kitten.
XD
And I just found him today. :D

I went out to Holland today to go see a Siamese breeder (who apparently has been breeding for 35 years) and has some of the most beautiful Siamese cats I've ever seen: Van Scholten Siamese
She had one blue point Siamese left that is ready for adoption, and I put down my deposit, and I will be picking him up this weekend.
So with any hope, I will have another Siamese companion until I'm 40. (Hey, Willow lived 'til I was 22! I have high hopes for my little boy!)

And I will be sure to post pictures of the little guy when he comes home. :)


UP NEXT! On Auna's List of Loves:
#4: Knitting

#16: Creme Brulee

I don't know how to make accent marks on the internet. So sad.
#16 on Auna's List of Loves is Creme Brulee
Now if that picture doesn't make your mouth water, I don't know what will.
I never even thought about adding a dessert to my list of loves, but when I had birthday creme brulee the other night, I couldn't resist adding it. After putting that first spoonful of sugary, creamy, crispy custard into my mouth...oh man.
I believe it was Amelie (or the narrator of the movie, at least) who first introduced me to the wonder that is creme brulee. One of Amelie's favorite things was cracking the hard sugar shell on top of the custard. I can say without hesitation that it is one of my favorite too. There's something so...satisfying about breaking through the hard outer shell and having your spoon sink through the custard underneath.
And the taste...OH the taste!
I should put up a warning right here: I have only had creme brulee TWICE in my life.
Creme brulee experience #1 = a famous bistro in Paris, France
Creme brulee experience #2 = a local Italian eatery in Grand Rapids, Michigan
I can say without hesitation that they rivaled each other quite a bit. I don't know which was better.

In any case, there's nothing that I love more than a good creme brulee. I'll have to go back to this restaurant that I ate at the other night and eat it more often. :D


And in very, very happy news...
I GET A KITTY!!!!!!!!
My landlords have agreed to allow John and I a kitty cat. I am ecstatic.
Now begins the long, arduous process of trying to find a Siamese kitty that suits my liking.
Which is also why the next post on Auna's List of Loves will be...
#19: Siamese Cats

#12: Ask.com's Commercial "Chick's With Swords"

#12 on Auna's List of Loves is the new Ask.com commercial "Chicks with Swords"



There aren't many commercials that are able to capture my heart.
This one? This one takes the cake. :)
I saw it at the beginning of June, I think. I first thought it was an eBay commercial (you know, the singing eBay commercials, where people sing about all of the crazy shit they've found for sale on eBay). As soon as I realized it was not an eBay commercial (or GAP, I like GAP commercials too), I scoffed it off. That was until...
...the "chicks with swords" search bar popped up.

Greatest commercial ever made? Quite possibly, yes.

Since, they've made at least one other commercial, but I don't think it's anywhere near as funny as this one. This is definitely my favorite. Almost makes me want to use Ask.com!
Almost.


Next up on Auna's List of Loves!
#16: Creme Brulee