A few months back, I found myself with some time on my hands and no active knitting project in progress and no real idea of what I wanted to work on next. While wandering my LYS, I found these skeins of Yoga ribbon that were just gorgeous.

I have worked with Yoga before. My very first knitting project was a garter stitch scarf in the blue-green Yoga. I would kill to pick up more of that but the yarn has been discontinued and is hard to find. The skeins that were at the store were in the golden - brown colors and I decided to do a dropped stitch scarf since I thought it would show off the gorgeous ribbon very well. I made one with all the dropped stitch rows the same length. It wasn't originally intended for a Christmas gift but when it was done, I just knew that it would perfect for my Aunt Sharon. I decided to make another one for myself. This time, I decided to experiment with the pattern and I alternated between short dropped stitch rows and longer dropped stitch rows which I think added some interest. My aunt's scarf is already packed up for Christmas but I finally got around to taking some shots of mine. Hope you like it.

( photos )

My #11 is something I call a Scruffel. It can worn as a shrug or a scarf. Made with 1.5 skeins of Caron Simply Soft. This is an original design but may write up a pattern if people are interested.

This one is actually for a friend and is a little big for me. The one I made for myself (years ago) is much more snug around the shoulders when worn as a shrug.

( What's a Scruffel??? )
Pattern - Scruffel (my own design)
Yarn - Caron Simply Soft
Ravelry Project Page - Here

x-posted to personal livejournal

I finally finished, and I must say, it looks pretty frickin' AWESOME!!!

( Flying Spaghetti Monster accepts all offers... )

Let's see, I made it with Lion Brand Fisherman's wool and some Red Heart something or other for the meatballs.  Used wedding flower crystal inserts for the eyes (I'm not so good with the fimo clay stuff), and TADA!!  I think she'll like it. 

*Edit - whoops!  Forgot the pattern - Flying Spaghetti Monster @ HistoryWeaver.org

Okay, Christmas eve TOMORROW (we do the whole gift exchanging tomorrow!) and I still am not finished, oopsie. I refuse to blame myself (even if I should have started in August, September, something - I always should!), I blame exams, and all the cute things I need to knit for myself. Hahaha. Anyway, I still have finished a heap of projects - small, cute projects, next year really will be the Year of Sweaters and Shawls (...and Socks and Hats and Mittens).

Yay!

Onto the projects! ( very picture heavy... )

I'm working on a pair of Anemoi mittens (not a Ravelry link), but I'm having a good deal of trouble on the cuffs (partly corrugated ribbing), to the point where I'm considering just going with a solid-colored cuff and then going to colorwork for the rest of the mitten when I don't have to also worry about purling. Colorwork on dpns? I'm fine. Knit/purl combination on dpns? Easy. Combination of colorwork and k/p? Apparently not my forte. Mostly, I'm having tension issues where one dpn meets another, and while I've tried moving the dpns around the work, it still looks messy.

But I refuse to be defeated, particularly when I know it's just 36 rows of 56 stitches each, and I've never been defeated before. I wonder if maybe switching from metal dpns to wood/bamboo dpns, or perhaps to two circs, would help? Since I don't currently possess enough circs or wood dpns in the correct size, I want to make sure that they would be a worthwhile investment. So, for those of you who've done corrugated ribbing, or any sort of stranded colorwork that also involves knitting/purling combinations, could you tell me about your experience, and share any pearls of wisdom?

Many thanks!

Current Mood: chipper

So, in a few weeks I'm flying to NYC to see Eddie Izzard at the Garden, and wanted to perhaps see if anyone knows of some really cool yarn stores in Manhattan that I should visit whilst there.  Any ideas?

I recently finished two pairs of Bella's Mittens. They were fun and easy to do. The purple pair went to my Twilight-loving SIL and the white pair went (with permission) to be auctioned off at my daughter's school fundraiser.

I also made a reversible cable scarf. I got the pattern link from here sometime this fall, but despite searching the archives and even Google, I have not been able to find it. If you are the pattern-maker, please comment so I can credit! I sent it to my purple-loving friend in Boston as a Christmas gift.

I also thought I'd show you the knitting-needle holder I made for a friend of mine last spring. Hope that's ok.

( Photos under the cut )

I've been feeling bereft since finishing my knitting; not sure what I feel like making next. *ponders*

I posted an entry about two weeks ago seeking advice on buying decent quality circular needles and was able to buy used Addis which are in the mail but while waiting, I purchased some inexpensive Pryn needles and can't believe how great they are so I thought I'd pass that on.

I'm working on lace, and my speed is way up with the Pryn needles. Meanwhile, I cast on for a scarf I'm knitting in alpaca using a set of old cheap needles and found I can't handle the frustration - I don't know how I've managed using them all this time.

So this isn't all text, here's some progress on the lace ( Woodland Shawl. )

I needed a low-cost gag gift for a friend who is a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Trek, so I found a pattern for a potholder with the Starfleet insignia. Then I found a pattern for the gothic B of the Buffy logo, so I combined that with the potholder pattern and made a second one.

( Pictures and links under the cut )

Current Mood: accomplished

i_hope_that
For many of us, the holidays can be kind of rough. If you're searching for a network of understanding friends, this ultra-nurturing community encourages you to express your heartfelt wishes and offer other members encouragement and acceptance. Not for the terminally snarky or emotionally-challenged, this is a good-spirited place to lend comfort and support.

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