I'm baaaack!!!

It's been far too long... and I think I might have to break this down into separate posts, filled with completed knitted projects, wahoooo!!! So, since I stopped writing back in October, let's get started there....

Yarn: Briggs & Little Heritage

Colorway: Light Blue

Yup, I finished that scarf that showed way back then... in October, lol. After that frogging I mentioned, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. The pattern is actually one that a friend created herself. I'll put the link right---> here. After a bad experience learning how to do cables, this one was much better=) I actually wanted it to be scarf length, but the scarflet length it turned out to be is just fine. I like it better that way.

I also created this hat after the scarf:

Yarn: A friend's handspun

Pattern: Foliage

Yeeahhh, it doesn't match with the scarf, but I don't hear anyone complaining, lol. It was a quick knit, too, as I went the chunky weight yarn route. I kinda wish that I had used a less fuzzy yarn though, but it keeps my head plenty warm, even with snow outside. Oh, and about the cat... that's Jack, he was looking all hateful and stuff, so I stuck the hat on his head. Turned out to be one of the better photographs XDD

Alrighty, I don't want to be doing Completed Knits overload, so more shall be coming soon, if I remember, muwhaahaa!!

Text-only entry, sowwie

I've been a bad updater. Bad, bad me!! Speaking of blogs though, did you know October is Blogtober along with Socktober. That's right!! More reason for me to get into blogging and sock knitting.

Yeah, about sock knitting.. I don't know why, but those monkeys I started took me a month a finish. Haven't a clue why. I guess nowadays I'm more apt to knit when I feel like rather than because I really want to finish something. I must tell you they're beautiful though. And, the softest socks I've put on my feet. Softer than Malabrigo Sock yarn and I don't know why. I can't feel the definition of the stitches on my feet with the the Monkeys, but with the Malabrigo Sock yarn socks, I can. Weird, huh?

I've also worked more on cabling. I forgot my yarn was broken in two sections though and learned 4 feet is not long enough for a scarf. Hopefully after some splicing it works out better. I did have to frog it though shortly after the previous entry because I made a big boo-boo. It's going a lot better now.

So yeah, expect a blog filled with pictures tomm and so on. Or, maybe I could leave you a teaser? Just a few, lol.

By the way, KnitPurlGurl is having a giveaway of Bamboo Interchangeable needles from WEBS. Check it out!!

Now those teasers...

I've been a bad bad updater

And I have been productive since my last entry, but just didn't like the end results from the pictures that I took.

Yep, I finished my Malabrigo socks.

I've been wanting to take better pictures, but just haven't felt the motivation, nor the inspiration. Gotta feel a little inspired to take a good pic of these socks, lol. I love them, but I also find it hard to capture the leg pattern well. Then again, that's what I took a second picture for. Hope you like these pictures:


I gave myself a day of a break after completing these socks to cast-on, and begin, my first Monkey sock. So far, so good. I only had to rip back once. However, I've noticed that if you make an error, while knitting, with this pattern, that it's best to go back and fix it. Mistakes of your own will be noticeable, especially if it's a yarn over. The good thing about the pattern for the Malabrigo socks is that I got away with my own errors, not so much with the socks I'm working on now. Doesn't bother me, but requires that I pay more attention. That may not be so much fun, lol.

Alrighty, I'll be seeing you guys after the weekend, where I will be taking part in a Coastal/Provincial Co-ed Softball tournament. Many pictures will be had and lots of knitting (on those Monkey sock) shall be done!

Ariel

I forgot to show you my new yarn that I got the other day. Every now and then my LYS gets a shipment of Fleece Artist or Hand Maiden in. This last one had been delayed, but I'm so happy to have come in at just the right time to get this:
If I could name my yarn on Ravelry, just like you do with projects, I'd name this yarn Ariel. The colorway reminds me a lot of The Little Mermaid. So, for the specifics... this is Fleece Artist Merino 2/6, which will probably end up becoming a pair of socks. I think the Fleece Artist colorway is Sea Foam, but there's no description to the yarn tag. It looks similar to the other Sea Foam skeins I saw on Ravelry anyhow.

By the way, that chocolate dessert you saw on that last entry? It was ice cream balls. McDonald's tried something similar in the past. Mine was Chocolate & Cookies, which were Fudgee-O's. It was pretty good, but it's best if you don't eat it immediately after they get it out of their fridge. Way too cold, especially the chunks that were stuck together. I learned the hard way on that and had to wait 'til it melted to close my mouth. It also brings on brain freeze a lot sooner than regular ice cream if you try what I said.

At One With Nature

I did some of this today:

I completed the 1st sock a couple days ago and cast-on for the second shortly after. I'm done with the first repeat for the leg pattern, 4 more of those to go. Debated with myself on whether I should put the pic of the first sock up, it looks so lonely that way though. Anyways, I worked on it a bit while at a family gathering today, knitting beside a lake like this was just too nice to pass up.

I also went to the local faire/exhibition and met some of these:
and had this while I was there:

Can you guess what it is? Extra brownie points, if you can!

P.S. Maybe it's because I'm originally from Southern California, but Alpacas always remind me of California dudes, Surf's up!!

Teasers

I finished this today:

Consider this picture to be a teaser.

It's a shawl that I knit for my mother's 50th Birthday coming in October. Yeah, I'm surprised I finished it so soon. The pattern was a little conflicting with me and I honestly cannot come up with a reason why. It's still got to be washed and blocked, but I have to go to the LYS to do that as they have blocking wires, more space, and less interference (aka kids or pets) there. I won't be saying the pattern until either I block it or it is in my mother's hands. I never know who might read this.

The color, by the way, looks like this:

Yarn: Briggs & Little Durasport
Colorway: Blue Jean
Pattern: TBA

This picture also shows a sample of the garter stitch that I did in this project. Trust me, I did a lot of it, and I actually enjoyed it, too. When I first started knitting I never thought I'd enjoy knitting garter stitch, but somehow I've warmed up to it. Maybe after reading in blogs how soothing it is to knit, it's helped me appreciate such a simple stitch.

Oh, and that massive Malabrigo Sock knot(s)? It's been all detangled. Don't know whether I should put pictures up of it all detangled though. I brought it to Knit Group last night, a fellow Knitter couldn't stand the sight of such a tangled mess, so she started detangling right then and there. By the end of Knit Group it had been pretty much all detangled, the knitter took it home to finish it up though, and told me to pick it up today. I'm soooo happy!! I can finish those socks peacefully, I hope *fingers crossed*. Now, to come up with a gift for the Knitter who so kindly did detangled that massive knot for me, hmmmmmm...

Face your knitting fears

I found the skein, the pattern, and I conquered!

Yarn: Briggs & Little Heritage
Colorway: Light Blue
Pattern: Cables & Columns by a good friend of mine

Yep, I faced my cabling fears. The first time I attempted cables, I had a very loose laddering effect on the sides, which frustrated and confused me so much that I was scared to face them again. Then, the next attempt, I just didn't have faith in the pattern and was lost after the 2nd row. Finally, I gave the pattern a chance before giving up and it all came together, like so. It seems to be a slow process and that's probably because it's a new knitting maneuver, possibly more because I'm not using a cable needle, either.

What I have found that helps me with cabling is that I give the yarn that I am knitting with an extra tug, between knit and purl transitions, or at the beginning or end of a cable. So far, the laddering effect has not shown up due to this.

So, with this said.. face your knitting fears like I have! Sure, the water may be cold at first, but you'll warm up to it!