Eeek! Long time no post. Oops. When I finish making something I post it to Ravelry, LJ and appropriate communities and groups and then I'm too sick of posting to put it here as well.

What have I been up to? Not much really in terms of knitting FOs. Why?

I've taken up spinning again. I never really got the hang of using a drop spindle before. I thought I might just be one of those folks that does better on a wheel, even though it's more complicated in some ways.

A lady on Craigslist responded to my ad about wanting to find spinning classes or a wheel that I could rent or borrow. She said she had one for sale for $60. It was missing a part but we went and bought it and found out the part was just the distaff and fairly non-essential. We bought some candle wicking to rig up a drive band and I've been spinning ever since.

It's incredibly addictive! For now I'll just leave you with one knitting FO and some pics of all the yarns I've been spinning up. :)


Another Perdita bracelet.


Isn't she cute?

I made this bracelet during my trip to Chicago. The pattern is from Knitty, Summer 2006, and it's called Perdita. This one is the Lilac version.



I love making these so much. I have done at least one of each version and the one above is my second of that particular version. I skipped the beads on this one because I didn't have beads with me at the time. I think the variegated thread really gives it more depth than the solid, so it doesn't absolutely have to have beads.

At any given time, I usually have at least 5 colors of the DMC Perle 5 thread on hand cause I buy it sort of impusively, especially now that they have the really gorgeous Variations line of colors. The awesome thing is, they're only about $2 per skein and so it's an affordable little treat and fun to make.

I recently found two patterns that were inspired by the Perdita bracelets. One designed to look like dragon scales and one designed to look like snakeskin. I have some nice colors picked out for each one from the Variations line. Fun fun.

I recently made some itty bitty baby socks, hat, and booties for a friend's baby shower. I had to sit on my hands and wait to share them with you because she's on my Flickr friend's list. :p

Also, today, I made a miniature sock. I'm going to put a magnet on the back of it and start making all kinds of little miniature magnets for our fridge. It's a fun way to use up leftover sock yarn. This one is particularly special because the yarn is leftover from my very first pair of socks I made.

Details:

Hat - Cat-eared Baby Hat by Sophy T. O'Donnell
I used the pattern for the number of stitches to cast on and the decreases. I didn't add cat ears and I used a k2p2 ribbing instead of the seed stitch. I also didn't make the little button flap. I don't know if that's different enough from the original pattern, but I figured I should give credit anyhow.
The yarn is Regia Ringel Color #5047

Baby Socks - Hunca Munca by Beth LaPensee (website is loading a different page than I remember...I can't seem to get to it, but that's the link that Ravelry says the pattern is at).
Stockinette version. I used the same yarn from the baby hat for one pair and a ball of Regia Jacquard for the other.

Baby Booties - Saartje's Bootees by Saartje de Bruijn
There's a modified pattern here at Fleegle's blog for knitting it seamless. If I make this pattern again, I'll probably try it that way, because the seams were a bit annoying. Really cute, fun pattern, though. I left off the buttons and sewed the straps directly to the bootie.
The yarn is Lorna's Laces in Purple Club. I received half a ball of leftovers from someone for this project and only used less than half of what she gave me.

Mini Sock - Wee Tiny Sock Swap Sock by Emily Ivey
Yarn leftover from my first pair of socks.
Knitpicks Sock Garden in Daffodil

This is a great little project to use up leftover sock yarn. I finished it in just one evening. I blocked it over a small bottle of glue to shape the bottom of the bag. I think it really improved the overall shape of the pouch. These would be great to put little gifts in or good luck charms.

Details:

Pattern - Amulet Pouch by Maggie Luongo
Yarn - Knitpicks Sock Garden in Daffodil (discontinued)
Needles - US 1 Nickel plated DPNs from the Knitpicks sock DPNs set

A video and lots of pictures from The Butterfly Palace in Branson, MO.



Click thumbnails for bigger versions...

This was a really quick knit and uses very little yarn. I used some of the kool-aid dyed yarn I posted about before.

I like to wear my hair up, but I also have to be really good about keeping my ears covered because I get earaches in the wintertime. I have a fleece headband I wear a lot, but I thought this would be a fun pattern to try and a good use for the yarn I dyed.



Details:

Pattern - Calorimetry by Kathryn Schoendorf
Yarn - Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in "Cloud" overdyed with kool-aid
Needles - size 7 Knitpicks Options circular, used to knit flat

Notes:

I modified the pattern by casting on 108 stitches and doing 10 repeats of row 5. I read that a lot of people had this turn out rather large when knit exactly as written. I skipped doing a gauge swatch, but thankfully it turned out great!

I was digging around for a button and came across this clear hair barette and used it to snap the two ends together. It looks cute and I can skip sewing on a button.

Labels: calorimetry, dyeing, knitting, kool-aid

My first finished socks! I had issues with the first sock I began in a different pattern and different yarn (no fault to the pattern, though), so I ripped and started fresh with new yarn and a new pattern. In the process of knitting those 2 and a half socks, I have become thoroughly addicted to sock knitting.



I think variegated yarns are really fun since they create their own interesting patterns based on the gauge. The yarn pooled into wide spirals in this case, and I like it just fine since it came out similarly on both socks.

Details:

Pattern - "Not Pedestrian" Ped Pattern by Stitchnsnitch
Yarn - Knitpicks Sock Garden in "Daffodil" (discontinued)
Needles - size 2 bamboo needles, non-brand bought from ebay

Notes:

I rounded off the toes a teensy bit faster than the pattern said to (6 repeats of the 2 rows and then 5 more decrease rows instead of 4). There's a bit of a mistake on the heel of one...I came up with the wrong number of stitches after the heel turn and just knitted another two rows to decrease to the right number of stitches....I really didn't want to rip back and figure out what I'd done wrong, but the result is that one of the heels is a bit bunchy. I had some nice folks help me figure out what I did wrong when the same thing happened to the second sock.

Labels: FOs, knitting, socks