Katie Knits

Vest is Finished!

2007-05-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

It took me forever, but it's done. It wasn't any more difficult than the other vests, but school prevented me from working on it much. As I needed all my crazy pages of notes, it wasn't a particularly portable project.

What's black and white and black and white and red?
My "sorry I knit so slowly, hope this makes up for it" yarn that I sent with the vest.

These are in the mail on the way to my personal swap partner. I hope she likes them.

Quick baby sweater

2007-04-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

There are a hundred other things I need to be doing like looking for a new job, and finishing swap items, but my mom needed a baby shower gift. I needed a simple project to work on while looking after about 40 youth at a conference at my Unitarian Universalist Church. I love UU cons, but they are not the place for complicated projects. It was the perfect time to work on this little simple kimono sweater from mason dixon knitting. The youth and I also did some knitting graffiti at the con. I'll post some pics if I can get some. I unfortunately forgot to bring my camera.

Cable vest, finished SKB, and yarn.

2007-03-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

My poor little subaru died. I've been spending hours on the bus. Yuck. I don't mind public transportation, but Seattle's system has lots of room for improvement. I miss Chicago some times. Anyway this leaves me lots of knitting time, but not so much blogging time, or time for anything else. I've been making slow but steady progress on the second cable vest. I've been trying to turn my notes into a pattern along the way. I've got the back and one front completely done. I'm working on the second front now. Then I just need to pick up stitches for the boarder/ collar. I had rip half of front #1 because I was so intent on keeping the cable pattern that I forgot to start the arm hole shaping. Duh! I was so mad at myself. Oh well.

I finished the simple knitted bodice, but the neck got weird and saggy after blocking. I carefully threaded some beading elastic along the neckline to fix this. I'm happy with the results.

I have figured out navajo plying. I have tried before with mediocre results. I think I have it down now. The roving was also hand dyed by me. I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's being mailed off in a swap for a copy of Nancy Bush's folk socks.

Handspun single

2007-02-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

This is from a while ago, but I never posted any pics. I haven't decided what to do with it yet.

Blocking Bodice

2007-02-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

All the knitting is done. I only had 5 inches of yarn left! It was so close. Carrying the sequins along while knitting was too much of a pain so I plan to sew some more on once it's dry. I adore this pattern. I love how the sweater looks. I omitted the purl ridges on the body and replaced them on the neckline and bottom edges with seed stitch. I made the medium size, but did some extra rows before connecting the v neck to accommodate my chest. I used knit picks andean silk which I now love and can't wait to use again. I've heard some people say it was too scratchy, but it's not for me.

Baby Jeans!

2007-02-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

I made the blu pattern from knitty. They are so cute. I just need to weave in a few ends and sew in the elastic. Then I've got to quickly get them to my friend's little girl before she grows any more and they don't fit!

Simple Knitted Bodice

2007-01-31T20:49:00.000-08:00

I started the simple knitted bodice. I'm also making another cabled vest, but I haven't taken pictures yet. I'll do that soon. Hopefully I'll have a pattern to share for the vest also.

Happy Gift Recipients

2007-01-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

There was wine bottle cozies, hats, a mini clapotis scarf among others. I did lots of other gift knitting, but because I'm horrible they have not been mailed yet. Eek! If they ever make it to AZ I'll post pictures of those too.

2007-01-21T14:52:00.000-08:00

Oh, poor neglected blog. Here's some cute alpaca pictures to make up for my lack of blogging. My Christmas gift from Steve was a tour of an alpaca farm. It was so much fun. They are so cute.

I have knitted things to show also, but blogger is being a pain with pictures right now. I'll try to get those up later.

Hats, gloves and a wine cozy.

2006-11-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

I made Steve some gloves kinda following the pattern in weekend knitting, but at a bigger gauge. Then I felted them slightly. I used paton's SWS in natural earth. I finished a stirling one skein cloche (pattern is on craftster) using noro. There is a head band around it now for blocking purposes, but I think I'll put black ribbon and rhinestones on it. We'll see. I also made a wine cozy from the pattern on knitty for Steve's aunt who is kind enough to feed me today, Thanksgiving.

Clutch

2006-11-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but it's still cute. I hope the recipient likes it. It's just big enough to hold keys, wallet, and a lipstick.

Football or knitting?

2006-11-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

Who do you think will win? The football blogger or the knit blogger? I'm siding with the chick with the pointy sticks.

http://regulus2.azstarnet.com/blogs/designerknits

Noro Cardi

2006-11-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

I finished the body and almost all of the first sleeve. I'm so excited about this one. I think I want a zipper, which might be hard to find in a good length. We'll see.

Norovember

2006-11-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

Someone in the knit blog world announced that it's norovember. (I'll find a link to her blog and post it later) I just happened to have splurged on some noro big kureyon 'cause it was on sale. I love noro. I've never bought enough at one time for a sweater before. I'm using some of cosmicpluto's top down cardi pattern and the Elizabeth Zimmerman Percentage method. Here's hoping this thing fits me! So far, so good. I've been trying it on as I go.

To Dye For

2006-10-29T18:32:00.000-08:00

To Dye For from Stitch n Bitch.
Knit Picks hand dyed Suri Dream.
I finally finished seaming it this weekend because I wanted to wear it.

Orangina... but grey.

2006-10-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

I got a big box of yarn in the mail yesterday from little knits. I love mail that is big boxes of yarn. I bought some sale classic elite patina which is cotton and silk. I wanted something bright, but of the colors they had left I liked this slilver-grey and the black the best. So I bought some of each. I haven't decided what I'll so with the black, but I started oragnina with the grey.

I hate finishing

2006-10-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I have seaming?

And weaving in ends?

I do. I hate it. I love the knitting part. I hate the sewing together part. I think this sweater is going to be a winner. My old complaint thus far is the color pooled kind weird. Like that big purple spot on the lower front. The back is even stranger. I think I may duplicate stitch over some of it to break it up some.

My significant other gets to live

2006-10-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

So, last Friday Steve lost his sweater. Yes his gigantic green sweater that I knit. Yesterday he came home wearing it. I am so happy he found it. Now the sweater curse doesn't have to come true.

I'm on the last half of the second sleeve of the to dye for sweater. I should have a finished object to show by tomorrow. I am in love with the Suri Dream yarn from knit picks that I'm using on this. So soft. I've heard it sheds like nobody's business though. We'll see.

Klaralund rip off, socks, evil pumpkins and monsters.

2006-10-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

I finished my Klaralund rip off and have been wearing it a lot. It's big and warm and comfy. My car died and I got stuck out in the rain today so no modeled pics until I have better hair, but here she is on my kitchen floor.

I finally got my knit picks order. Hooray for yarn swifts! I'm so happy to have one. I also ordered Andean Silk for the simple knitted bodice, and some Suri Dream for the to dye for sweater in SnB.

Steve's socks are done I just need to weave together the toe on the second one. Yesterday I finished the 'his" half of matching his and hers monster slippers from SnB Nation. They are in the washer getting felted right now.

Just for fun, last night was my friend Kendra's annual birthday/ pumpkin carving party. Steve and I joined forces to create this evil cannibal pumpkin scene.

Duct tape dress form

2006-09-30T15:33:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my Klaralund rip off. Half a sleeve to go. I spun my first coiled yarn. I made it pumpkin like because it's a gift for a friend who has an October birthday and a Halloween themed party every year. The purple/blue/green is some handspun for a swap. The grey/black/white is a big huge skein that I may keep. I have some more of that wool to spin still.

2006-09-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have some handspun, a few FOs, and a WIP to show off.
The yarn is on it's way to lasandri. Hopefully some will show up in her fantastic "crazy lasandri hats." Check out her etsy shop. She rocks. The tiny sweater is the baby bolero from one skein. I added some multi color mohair around the edge so it would match the booties I already made of of the same yarn. It's for my friends Amanda and Craig's little one who is scheduled to make her grand entrance into the world in early December. I took another shot of the vest, and I think I'm going to crochet a quick round of single crochet on the ribbing to help with the slight wonky-ness of the collar. I'm a perfectionist. The blue thing is my attempt to make a Klaralund sweater with out the Klaralund pattern. I decide to knit the body portion in the round. It's in Paton's classic wool which I really dig. The color is great and it's pretty cheap. The Klaralund pattern was written for noro and eventually I'd love to make another in the noro. Mmmm Noro.

Vest!

2006-09-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

It's done! This is for a craftster swap. It's a recreation of this vest.

I'll take better pictures later. I was just really excited that it's finally finished and looks (at least vaguely) like the original.

And here's the one I made. I hope rosali likes it.

beer and socks and the simpsons

2006-09-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

I have a few big projects going, one being an almost finished cable knit, self designed vest. I need a break. So, I dug out the socks I'm working on for Steve, opened a beer and turned on the Simpsons. I promise someday I'll have an actual FO to show you guys. For now it's just one more WIP. The chair is one that Steve brought with when he moved in. It's my new favorite place to sit and knit.

Tom Knits

2006-08-04T23:41:00.000-07:00

My family came to visit me. I gave my youngest brother a knitting lesson. He was bothered by the accidental holes in his knitting until he realized it fit perfectly on his nose.

2006-07-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't finished anything since I'm having a bad case of knitting ADD, but here's pics of a few of the many, many works in progress. Enjoy!

A blanket for my bro based on the alien illusion scarf from Stitch 'n Bitch.

V neck lace pull over form the summer vogue knitting.

Market bag from magknits.

short n sweet and thrifty knitter tank

2006-06-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the excessive pics. I'm excited. I really like these two. Made in brown sheep's cotton fleece, color plum patina, and a little bit of putty. This is the first time I've used cotton fleece and I love it. It's a great yarn.

The tank is a bit see through. I'm trying to figure out a way to sew in a lining or something. We'll see. I might crochet along the sides of the straps too, to make them wider so bra strap hiding is easier.

I am brand new to crochet so the bolero was quite a challenge and I am ridiculously proud of how it turned out.

Oh yeah the tank pattern is free and can be found here.

Short 'n Sweet the beginning

2006-06-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

I started on short 'n sweet from stitch 'n bitch crochet. It's a whole lot more difficult than the knot ugly shrug. I'm ambitious though, so we'll see how it goes.

Knot Ugly Shrug

2006-06-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

Yea for crochet! I'm loving Debbie Stoller's book. I've been knitting for a few years now and never got very far with crochet until now.

I used a cotton blend yarn given to me by a craftster member. I heart craftster.

Speaking of how cool Debbie Stoller is. I was lucky enough to meet her when she was in Seattle at Hilltop yarn. She was very nice had examples of the projects of the book. Turns out everyone looks awesome in yeehaw lady, the crochet cowboy hat.

And as you can see, she signed my copy of the happy hooker.

Studying is overrated- kool aid roving

2006-06-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

I have learned a few things today. Unfortunately none of them has to do with the appendicular muscles of the human body.

However, I have discovered...
Procrastination in the mother of creativity.
Wet wool, vinegar and kool aid smell really, really, bad.

Hopefully I'll have some colorful and, uh, prideful roving when I'm done.

Picovoli- the tragedy

2006-06-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

So I cast off picovoli last night, only to discover it had stretched to oddly large proportions. It is so much wider than it is long.

The arm holes are HUGE. I even added two rows of single crochet to the tops of the sleeves and made these odd little seams that attach some of the underarm to the top of the sleeves in an attempt to save this thing. They are still too big.

I think I may have to try the downsizing tutorial over at chicknits and take this sucker in on both sides. It's baggier than it's supposed to fit, and that I could deal with if it weren't for the freaking gigantic armholes. I even followed all the tips on casting on tightly and picking up and extra stitches and knitting them together to keep the armholes from being too big. I think the yarn I used just has a lot more give than I expected. Let's hope I can save this one.

Why, oh why???

2006-05-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Um, yeah. It's a fun fur throw pillow. Why did I have so much fun fur laying around? I being a person of sound mind and body bought it. So the better question would be what on earth would posses you to buy that crap? And that my friends, I have no answer to. Although I imagine it probably had something to do with a sale. As ridiculous as it is, I kind like that furry monster. I don't know what I am going to to with it.

Wedding Blanket Update

2006-05-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

I've neglected my blog lately because of work and school. I guess I am making up for it by posting a bunch during the long weekend. So I keep working on this, but feel like it's going nowhere fast. Imagine if it were all sewn together and a whole lot bigger. I've been sewing the bigger squares together as a I go, but that'll still leave a lot of seaming in the end. I'm very much afraid that the happy couple is going to receive two coordinating throw pillows on their wedding day and get the blanket in the mail later. It's the thought that counts right?

It makes me a little dizzy if I look at it too long. I really, really like it though.

Lelah

2006-05-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

And Lelah on. Like the post below, ignore the sweatpants and my head being cropped out of the picture. This top is so super comfy.

Sewing

2006-05-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's not knitting, but it's crafty. I finally have a functioning sewing machine again! I'm so rusty. It's hard to remember how to do this stuff. I found some pretty brown linen fabric on sale half off at jo ann fabric, and a cute easy pattern. Here's the result. The color is a little off, it's prettier in person. Please ignore the sweatpants and the lack of my head. I haven't brushed my hair or put on makeup yet today, and no one needs to see that.

Lelah on my kitchen floor

2006-04-20T23:23:00.000-07:00

Action shot tomorrow probably. I took some, but they looked ridiculous. I am now too comfy in my pj pants to change my clothes. It looks oddly shaped, but I swear it's just how it's laying on the floor.

Lelah Modification Specifics

2006-04-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Warning: unless you are adding straps to the lelah tube top this is going to be an incredibly boring post.
I don't have a picture yet. I've been far to busy with work and school. I've gotten lots of questions though. I promise to add a picture soon, but for now you'll have to settle for just the details. For those interested I knit it according to the instructions for the large size. I followed the decreases as they were written instead of measuring above my chest like she suggests. I figured I'd be ok since I was adding straps. I used lion brand cotton ease from my stash. I used just about 2 skeins exactly. I made an icord for the tie instead of ribbon. So if you use ribbon, 2 skeins is probably perfect. If you want an icord, I'd buy 3 skeins just in case. I knit the lace part on the bottom on US size 10 needles. I then switched to US size 7 for the top. I wanted to make sure the fabric was fairly dense and not see through. I knit until the stockinette part was long enough and then starting at my stitch marker that signified the beginning of a round, I BO 12 sts, K 11, BO 24, K 11, BO 24, K11, BO 24, K 11, BO 12.
Straps: At each set of 11 sts, attach yarn then:
Row 1: knit
Row 2: purl
Row 3: knit
Row 4: purl
Row 5: ssk, k7, k2tog
Row 6: purl
Row 7: ssk, k5, k2tog
continue in stockinette st until strap part is about 6 inches long, or how ever long you need to reach the top of your shoulder. I then used kitchner stitch to seam each of the front straps to the corresponding back strap. Last I crocheted in slip stitch all the way around both arm holes and the head hole so it wouldn't be a rolling mess. There were vague strap mods posted somewhere about page 14 of the lelah thread on craftster. I used those as a jumping off point. I'm glad to answer any questions for anyone changing up there own lelah. I tried to be as clear as possible. I hope that makes sense. Pictures soon to come!

A few works in progress. Steve's lap top sleeve and another Lelah

2006-04-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

This is made of some lamb's pride bulky from my stash. Felted, just needs to finish drying and then some magnetic snaps.

This is going to be another lelah, but I think I'll add straps this time.
link to lelah pattern
I'm using some lion brand cotton ease also from the stash. I've been inspired by Emmie's craftster post about use what you have month.

Sick Day

2006-04-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today I was sick, so I sat on my couch and in between blowing my nose I made this clutch from One Skein by Leigh Radford.

Smart Boy

2006-04-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

So Steve is more of a visual artist than he realizes. I was playing around with how to lay out the squares and Steve pointed out maybe I should put the grey/reds together in bigger squares and the tan/reds together. I think he may be onto something. I like it so far. I won't admit to Steve how smart I think he is though, because then I'll never hear the end of it. I guess we'll find out if he still reads my blog.

Blanket Squares

2006-04-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

I have been threatened by more than one person to keep posting so I will. I don't want a bunch of crazy knitters coming after me. They are dangerous. After all, they are known for carrying around bags filled with sharp pointy sticks.

I haven't gotten much knitting done in the past week, but what I have done is update my etsy shop and make more blankest squares.

I have these three colors to work with. I want the blanket to be predominantly red. I like the red with the grey/blue color, and I like the red with the tan/cream color, but I wasn't too excited about squares of just tan and grey. So I decided to make them all red with a contrasting color. Now, I'm having trouble deciding how they will be laid out and attached together for the final product. Your thoughts and ideas are welcome. Maybe I'll just knit more and see what I come up with when I have more squares.

I'm a Pinup Queen

2006-03-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

I finished the pinup queen sweater from Stitch 'n Bitch. I'm not completely happy with it, but I am glad that it is done. Please excuse the weird face. I was beginning to think the self timer wasn't working when, snap, it takes the picture. I look really pissed off or something. Not so. I just didn't expect the picture right then.

I think it makes me look chubbier than I really am. Maybe it'll look better with a nice pair of jeans rather than my pajama pants. I also have a cute lace camisole on the way to wear under it. This is a sexy sweater pattern, but I didn't think it would be quite so sexy. The v neck is a little deeper than I expected. I am really pleased with my dye job on my hair though. I seem to like it better the more unnatural a shade of red it is.

Teaser- Christina and Matt's wedding blanket

2006-03-25T12:27:00.000-08:00

These kids have an eye for color. I would have never picked out these three colors. I'm really digging the way they look together. The wedding is in July. I have a lot of squares to knit in that time. I'm going to make a ridiculous amount of mitered squares and sew or crochet them together. I'm using knit picks wool of the andes.

Steve's Argyle Hat. Finished!

2006-03-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

Here we are. Steve's argyle hat. Some more work, and then some math to determine how to make ones that will fit on average size heads, not just gigantic ones, and we'll have a pattern.

And this mess of chicken scratch is
the current state of the "pattern."
As you can see it needs some work.

Yep, I broke down and set up a knit blog...

2006-03-23T22:52:00.000-08:00

I never thought I would do it, but I have. I am the proud owner of a brand spankin' new knit blog. My nerdiness level has just increased ten fold. Here's my latest project. I've knit many a hat and scarf and such sans pattern, but this one may turn out to be my first full blown written pattern with alternate sizes and all. We'll see.

It's a pretty darn big hat to go on this sleepy guy's pretty darn big head. I have so much yarn left over from this sweater, the poor guy is going to end up with so many green and orange accessories he won't know what to do.