Nakniswemo over!

Darcy Cardi, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Well, my goal for the NaKniSweMo was to finish up the two languishing sweaters that only needed sleeves... and, only a few hours before the end of November, I have succeeded! Go me! Darci is finished, complete with buttons! The sleeves do need to be blocked... they look icky compared to the already blocked body, but the knitting and finishing, is done. Fortunately I bought the buttons for this ages ago...

P.S. Sorry for the crappy picture... I need new batteries for my camera so I just used the maccam and the lighting is icky and dark!

swoosh!

fast socks, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

That's the sound the act of knitting these socks makes... they're so freakin' fast, it's kind of ridiculous. Made for my sis, who requested more after the first pair.

Notes:
Pattern:Easy Boot Socks
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash Paints (less than 1 skein!), purchased at Lovelyarns
Needles: US 5 / 3.75mm dpns
Mods: shorter cuff than called for, longer heel flap.

NaKniSweMo FO #1!

wicked, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Wicked is finally finished! This poor sweater has been on the needles since early May and due to a series of rather unfortunate event is finally finished. I ought to try and remember that sweater patterns, as written, are almost always too short for me. In the case of this sweater, this resulted in ripping back and adding several inches to the bottom, which, in turn, used up more yarn than expected and I ran out with about half a sleeve left to go. Check out the before and after lengths:



But through the generosity of friends and ravelers Tinypurls, Spacekitty and Crashintoewe I was able to finish. Thanks gals!

Pattern: Wicked by Zephyr Style
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Verde Adriana (4.25-ish skeins)
Needles: US 8
Mods: Lots of added length to the body!!

a pair of bears

Grandma Bear, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Two bears in two days! First up is "Grandma Bear". She's being sent to Africa via the Mother Bear Project. (Actually, via Lovelyarns to the MBP, to Africa...). I just thought she looked very grandmotherly... aside from the semi-florescent green yarn used for her head, hands and feet. It doesn't look it in this picture but under the bright lights at the store it looked like it would glow in the dark! Anywho....

The other bear is Frankenbearina. Remember my attempts at crochet to keep my hands busy while staying in bed for 2 days? Well, it created this:



OK, so that picture makes her look extra scary... she's actually kind of cute, in a mismatched, Frankenstein-y kind of way:



It was a good learning process. I learned several different crochet stitches, I learned that it's a lot easier to miss stitches in crochet than in knitting (at least, without unraveling the whole thing!), and I learned that there is a reason that all the other crocheted mother bears don't use the various different stitches - they're too holey and now all her stuffing peaks through. So I used some of the plastic doll eyes I had left over from another project and gave her a stitched up mouth a-la Frankendeer - whom she reminds me of and who has been MIA since August. Well, not really MIA, I know where he is, but I probably won't be seeing him anytime soon. :( But I digress... She's too scary / fragile to be shipped off to Africa so she's sticking it out here with me. Hopefully the cats won't eat her....

sick days = lots of productive time...

mitered squares blanket, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So I've come down with laryngitis and have no voice. No voice! I didn't realize how much I must talk until I couldn't. I mean, I sort of can... it's sort of whisper-y and squeaky, but I was cautioned to try not to speak as much as possible. So I spent 3 hours in the student health clinic yesterday waiting for my "walk in" turn and finished most of the mitered squares blanket. (And yes, I will wash it very well before giving it to a new born baby!) I wove in the ends last night and crocheted a border on it this morning.

Ah, crochet. The knitter's nemesis. Or is it? I mean, crochet borders can give definition and stability to the edges of many projects, right? So I decided that since I'm staying home today and mostly staying in bed, especially since every few hours when the sudafed starts to wear off I feel woozy and fever-y again, that I would teach myself how to crochet. Obviously I sort of know how... to the extent that I can single-crochet a border around a blanket. But as for other stitches, etc, I'm pretty lost. And I still probably couldn't read a crochet pattern anymore than a kitten can resist a paper bag, but I have accomplished this so far:



I'm not following a pattern but it's supposed to be a crocheted mother bear. I figured it was a good way to try out different stitches and have something with purpose to it at the end of the project. OK, more sudafed and ibuprofen and back to bed for me now...

NaKniSweMo

OK, so it's NaKniSweMo again... I sucked at this last year so I'm not sure I want to try again... BUT I have 2 sweaters (Wicked and Mrs. Darcy) that are both really ridiculously close to being finished. So my goal for the month is to finish both of these sweaters. Depending on how long it takes me to do that I will perhaps even try to find another to cast on... actually, I have the yarn for at least a couple more sweaters that I could use... and in fact should use, as my stash is starting to take over more of the living room than I'm comfortable with...