Mama Vertebrae and 1898 Hat

Finally finished this freakin' cardigan!

The sleeves are a bit long. I wanted them to hit right at the elbow but the cuff is right below the elbow. Also, this style of cardi doesn't close across the chest. It's made to frame the torso and I think for me it's a little too titastic LOL. I'm still proud of it tho and I really like the color. I don't think longterm projects are for me. I like stuff that lasts one, two weeks tops. I still want to make cardis but small ones for babies and dogs and stuff ;)

I have a skein leftover so I started a new pair of socks! I have been wearing my Felici Rainbow socks and they are so warm. I really want to focus on making more socks this year :)

Still trying to use up my stash and not spend money on new yarn so I reclaimed the yarn from two hats that I wasn't happy with and never wore. I heard on Very Pink Knits podcast how to reclaim yarn by frogging then washing it. It worked so well.

I reclaimed 4 skeins of gorgeous Malabrigo. I used one to make this Rikke and I love it! So soft and warm. 

I also experimented with making a messy bun hat. I made a sample with some chunky yarn that I had in stash. It turned out to be too big for my friend, Amber, and the bun hole was too small. I made another one in black and she tried it on and acted like she might wear it but it's probably part of her dog's bedding now or something LOL. Not really my best work. 

I also made another Antler Toque This one was for my Uncle Brian. It turned out really well and my Aunt Rhonda sent me a pic of him wearing it today. 

I'm still trying to use up that Basil Plymouth North yarn so I made this awesome 1898 Hat! I really really love how it turned out! It was such a fun hat to make. And looks hard but it was so simple. I'm sure I'll be making more in the future. 

I also made another gold Gellatly hat for my friend, Jennifer, at work but forgot to take a pic. 

I thought December 2016 was a lazy knitting month but looking at my projects I feel better about it. Just from now on no more big projects! Ugh!

I'm not hoarding yarn (thank goodness that would break my pocketbook!) but I've started buying patterns from my favorite designers when they come on sale. I bought several over the last month so more cool projects to come!

And here's Pokey napping on his food bowl LOL! 

FO socks and Mama Vertebrae WIP

Finally finished my first pair of socks! I think they turned out pretty good for a first attempt. I used Knit Picks Felici in Rainbow and a gray Felici for the contrast color. Things I learned: two at a time magic loop is where it's at, with self-striping yarn I need to start with the same color stripe, I followed the pattern and made the leg part 7" long but it's really too tall for me, I need to cast on more stitches next time for a looser sock (I may give these away, they're a bit snug), my kitchener stitch on the toe wasn't the best (the second sock is way better then the first). 

I definitely want to make more socks and I'm so excited to wear these despite their flaws. They aren't good enough to enter in the fair but now that I feel more comfortable with sock making I'll have better luck at making that winning pair ;)

I like this yarn. It's a good alternative if I want a cheaper option. It did split pretty bad which was annoying but it's soft so that's good. I think my next socks I'll get some higher quality yarn. I feel better about doing that since I was successful with this cheaper pair. 

I've been working on this Mama Vertebrae since October 16th. It feels like it's taking forever! I like how it's turning out tho. I can see the end in sight so I'll try to focus on it completely and get it done!

I gave my cousin Amelia a Gellatly Hat and she sent me a pic on Thanksgiving. I love the way it looks with her red hair!

Then today her sister Abigail sent me a pic of both of them wearing the hats I made them. So cute!! Made me tear up, y'all. 

Here's Ripley imitating a shrimp :)

New Gellatly hat, Knox hat fail and Adult Vertebrae

This Gellatly turned out perfect. I donated it to the library that I work for a charity auction. 

This Knox hat, on the other hand, turned out like crap. I was making it as another donation hat for the auction. I used Cascade 220 which is not fun to work with and made it tall to fit a big head like mine but it turned out too tall. I also messed up on the pattern. It requires alot of M1R and I think I was knitting in the front of the stitch instead of the back so its off in some places. Real bummer. When I get a chance to buy some better quality DK weight, I'd like to try it again. 

I started an Adult Vertebrae Cardigan. It's gonna take forever but I'm excited about it. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Poppy Fields. Its yellow like a school bus LOL. It's gonna be rad if it fits. 

My cat Ripley being a jerk as usual LOL. 

Stitches Texas 2016

On September 23rd, I made the three hour drive to Irving, TX for StitchesTexas. I'm glad I went because I wanted to feel the Madeline Tosh and Hedgehogs Fibers yarns that are so popular. I didn't find any Yarn Love :(. But looking at the price tag I quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to afford these yarns on a regular basis or maybe ever LOL. 

I am not the intended customer for the 20 to 35 dollar a skein yarns. I can't afford it. I want to buy it but..like...money. That's something that I rarely hear knitters talking about on podcasts or blogs. The cost of what may be a passion but is basically a hobby. The ladies that I saw shopping at StitchesTexas appeared to have way more disposable income then me.

I kinda felt out of place there. In the knitting sphere, there seems to be a bit of snobbishness about yarn. I hate the tattoo that I see sometimes on Instagram "Death Before Acrylic". That is so uncool. Some people are allergic to wool or just can't afford fancy, high-priced yarn. 

If the only yarn available to me was the expensive stuff I would be priced out of the hobby. One of the things that drew me to try knitting in the first place was the low start up cost. Seven bucks for needles, 4 bucks for a ball of acrylic yarn. Without knowing whether I would like it or be successful, I didn't feel comfortable making a huge investment in tools and materials. The big knitting expos like StitchesTexas (and often the boutique yarn stores, my fave store in OKC has started promoting weaving. Weaving?! It's a huge loom investment OMG!) about making knitting accessible, they are about making some products appear elite or exclusive and parting the more affluent knitter with their money. 

I walked by one booth that sold bags for knitting projects. The fabric was very pretty but the construction was terrible and these bags were marked at 30 to 40 dollars each. I definitely didn't get one. 

I did buy a book of shawl patterns for $35 and it seems pretty frivolous because, well, shawls are a frivolous thing to make but the pictures are so beautiful and I love just reading the patterns. I'll be taking this book to work soon and use it for display because it is just so lovely <3

I was so glad to get back to Oklahoma. This pic is of the windfarm by Turner Falls. So pretty. 

Maybe some day I'll be able to afford Hedgehog Fibers for every project, but until then I will use what I can afford and make beautiful things anyway :) 

Newborn Vertebrae, Rainbow Socks and another Gellatly Hat

Forgot to mention in the last post that I finished another Owl Beanie. I gave it to a friend. 

The Newborn Vertebrae was so fun to make! I am so pumped to make my own now. 

Started a pair of socks. Two at a time with Magic Loop is definitely the way to go. 

Also, posted my first project onto Ravelry. It was so easy don't know why I didn't do it sooner. I kinda wanna go thru the blog and post everything I've done but I'm lazy LOL

I started another Gellatly Hat for my cousin Amelia. I love working with that yarn. It's so soft. 

Here's Poke relaxin' at Gran's. 

And Ripley enjoying a lazy Sunday with me :)

My County fair entry, Stash Buster pillow, Gellatly hat and other plans.

So, I actually won something at the Cleveland County Free Fair this year LOL

There are two categories at this fair for knitted stuff.  Coats, Sweaters, Capes and Other Clothing Knitted Articles.  My hat was in the latter category.  So that means I compete against everything else that you wear that isn't a coat, sweater or cape (and who knits capes? is that a thing?).  So last year, I competed against some socks who won first and second and probably third.  This year the sock knitters decided to stay home I guess because I didn't see any entered and I actually won second in my category!  That was pretty cool and I totes bragged about it on all my social media and even posted a picture at work lol.

This is the crochet/knitted hybrid that beat me.  Seems a little fishy that something that is mixed styles should be allowed in the knitted category but oh well.  The ladies taking the entries are volunteer and trust you to enter in the correct category and there may not be a category for crochet/ yarn articles.

This shawlet thing won third.

And this entry into the Coats, Sweaters, Capes category took best of show.  I definitely need to enter a cardigan next year and get that green ribbon!

Well, after that unexpected win and boost to my ego I completed the knitted top of my Stash Buster Pillow.  I didn't follow the pattern exactly because when I read it, it looked like it wanted me to knit when I wanted to purl and end up with a stockinette stitch for the blocks instead of garter stitch.  I was not having that so I made it to match the Ballband Dishcloth Pattern so that's what I did.  I did not want to weave in all those ends so because it will all get sewn onto the pillow back, I just tied them off and cut the strings.  I think that will be ok for this project and suit my laziness better.  I used I Love This Cotton from Hobby Lobby and I have so much left over!  It was fairly cheap at like 3 something a ball but now I have so much!  I might end up making another one if this one looks good sewn up lol.

I finished a Gellatly Hat and I really like it!  The yarn is super soft, Plymouth Select Worsted Merino Superwash in some gold/beeswax color that I can't remember right now.  This was the first pattern that I bought online from Ravelry and for some reason it seemed like a big deal to me even tho it was super easy.  It cost about 6 bucks and I think it was totally worth it.  I had to stop myself from going on a pattern buying binge.  I really wanna make the Beeswax Hat and also the Knox hat.  I have the perfect yarn for both!! Ugh, I really need to work on some stuff that doesn't require me to shell out 6 dollars for patterns but who know I might change my mind ;)

I bought some monster heads at Wal-Mart.  They were with the Halloween stuff and work really well as hat models LOL

I took them to work to decorate my cube :)

I finally started the Newborn Vertebrae.  I'm pretty excited about it because I really wanna make a cardigan for me so hopefully I can get down the basics with this one and then be ready to save up some big bucks for several skeins of the fanciest, softest yarn that I can afford for my cardigan :)

Actually wearing the dresses I sewed, Owl Beanie FO's and future de-stashing efforts

This pic is terrible LOL. But I was super excited to actually wear a dress that I made to work which was my initial intention so it was nice that a plan worked out :)

I have worn the three dresses I made from this pattern often and I plan to make another soon to use up some of my stash.

So, I forgot to take a pic of the finished hat before I gave it away but here are the little owls. I actually had to rip it out because I forgot to use the larger needle after knitting the ribbed brim :(. But it worked out and I finally finished it and passed it on. 

In the spirit of de-stashing I decided to use the Knit Picks Hawthorne fingering weight in Turkish Delight to make a Newborn Vertebrae Cardigan. I really want to make a cardi for myself and I figure this will be a good start in learning the process and also using up my stash.  I think I can use the Rainbow Felici for this pattern as well.

In order to make the Newborn Vertebrae I needed some smaller needles so I placed a Knit Picks order and also added some white and grey cheap fingering to the order. I want to make some accessories for my cube at work so it was absolutely necessary LOL. I also wanted the grey fingering for cuffs on another vertebrae cardi made with the rainbow Felici. That's my plan anyway. 

Well, I actually won something at the local county fair this year.  There were no socks entered this year so I think that gave my owl hat a better chance at wining a ribbon :)