My finished objects

Project: Booga Bag (though I sized the pattern up by another 1/2, and I'm glad I did. It is the perfect purse size now.)

Started: 11/03/05

Finished: 11/12/05

Materials: 4 skeins Noro Koryeon in 147, size 10 1/2 circs

The moment I saw this pattern I knew I wanted to make it. The bag looked so practical and yet so pretty. I decided to make one for my mom for Christmas. I'm so glad I did. Its a lovely piece and I am so proud of how it turned out, but at the same time it was just so simple to make. The felting (or technically fulling) process was a fun science experiment too, though it was somewhat scary to throw my hard-knitted item into the washer deliberately!

What I learned: Picking up stitches. How lovely good-quality wool is to work with. Fulling in the washing machine, and that you can do it in a front-loader despite the naysayers (though I did have to run it through 5 times before it really looked done). How nice it is to work something with big needles and a mindless pattern after the challenge of socks!

I have yarn waiting for me to make myself one of these. I just need to get one skein extra, I only got the 3 the pattern calls for originally. I got an extra of my mom's colorway locally but havent been able to find mine yet locally. (I ordered the yarn online.) And I have to get through my Christmas knitting first!

Project: Toe-up Sock (and bits from every other toe-up pattern I could find, with special help from the sewn bind-off)

Started: 10/20/05

Finished: 10/25/05

2nd sock finished: 11/9/05

Materials: Patons Kroy sock wool, size 4 DPNs

(Pardon Ed's butt in that first picture, as well as the crappy photography.)

Socks. Oh, socks, the reason I wanted to learn to knit. Little did I know what a real PITA they are. In a fun kind of way, mind, but this thing drove me batty. But its a lovely sock and I am quite proud of it.

See, its for my dad. He has always talked about socks that my grandma knit for him, and he recently told me he had only one pair left. So, for Christmas, I am determined to give him these. (Hence the boring solid gray, though its actually quite nicely heathered.)

What I learned: Using small DPNs and sock yarn. Short rows with wraps (sort of. I need help.) Turning a heel. Provisional cast-on. That regular bind-offs are very tight. Sewn bind-off. The importance of lifelines. That frogging only 2 rows can cause hours of agony attempting to put teensy-weensy stitches back on eensy-weensy needles, and having to purposely drop some for the purpose of correcting their knit- or purliness.

I suppose that technically this project isn't finished, as I am barely past the toe of sock #2, which will make this an actually useful item. This is my second attempt at that toe, as somehow my 2nd one came out even holey-er than my first. Sheesh.

Update 11/12/05: 2nd sock done. Gah. I had trouble with the bind-off, as I discovered that I had apparently dropped an entire needle's worth of stitches and then bound off without picking them up. So I picked it out, only to discover that it would be entirely too tight if I picked the stitches up. I put the damn thing down in frustration. Erin saved me by unknitting back and doing a few new rows to straighten it out, but bound off without the stretchy bind-off, having always made cuff-down socks and thereby falling into the same pitfall I had with the first one. She picked it out and I finished with the sewn bind-off. I was sure I had taken a picture of the pair after blocking but I am not seeing it now, and I wrapped them for my dad already. I will have him model them so I can take a pic when he opens them this week.

Project: Cabled hat

Started: 10/15/05

Finished: 10/16/05

Materials: Cascade 220, size 7 circs, cable needle

A fun quick project. I love this yarn so much I want to make myself a whole bunch of stuff out of it. Unfortunately it isnt machine washable and its wool and therefore itchy to me. But the colors are just so me. Sigh. When I make it again I think I will try to do the decreases differently, though, so that the cables go up higher into the top.

What I learned: cables are EASY! Wow. Again, with the length thing on the hat. It could have used another inch, even though I followed the pattern this time. Circs. That circs are much more fun than DPNs.

Project: Tea cozy (aka Tea Cozy of Doom)

Started: 10/07/05

Finished: 10/14/05

Materials: Cascade 220, size 7 DPNs

From my journal: I have now knit and frogged the sides of the tea cozy 3 times. I'm about to use the yarn (which I love) for something else. Like maybe a felted purse. If only it were superwash, I'd make socks. I keep screwing up and forgetting to do a little decorative purl thing and not discovering it until I'm far enough along that my efforts to fix it require frogging many stitches. Sigh. I need to learn stitch doctoring.

I also ended up editing the pattern, using the first circle for the bottom as written and then crocheting a 2nd circle, and crocheting them together. Then I knit the sides straight, and seamed them on.

What I learned: I got lots of practice froggin. How to use DPNs. How to edit a pattern. Yarnovers. Icord. Patience.

Project: Jiji the cat

Started: 10/07/05

Finished: 10/07/05

Materials: scrap acrylic, size 8s

Another quick knit. Sadly, it came out completely demented looking. Willow loves it anyway, though.

What I learned: I do not know how to embroider, particularly when facial expressions are concerned. Scraps of felt do not make a good stuffing, even if they are dark. Seaming is a pain.

Project: A hat for Ciaran

Started: 10/03/05

Finished: 10/05/05

A quick knit. I started it with the size needles called for, and realized quickly that I needed to go up a size. Added the tassel to be more dashing. :)

What I learned: That "Thick and Quick" is not the same as "Chunky". That when making such a simple pattern, gauge is not so important. That hats need to be longer than you think to really fit.

Project: Haiku sweater for Willow

Started: mid-September

Finished: 10/03/05

My first real knitting project. A sideways-knit garter stitch sweater with box stitch panels. I could really see my progress at it went on... The first third took as long to knit as the second 2/3. I'm really pleased how it turned out, particularly since it was my first project.

What I learned: speed. seaming. box stitch. how to fix dropped stitches. to buy more yarn than I think I need.