Shamrock Knits

Yes, I'm still here

Wow, it's been awhile. I'm still working on the shawl, but I put it away around October. I started another log cabin blanket for a coworker. I used Bernay Softee Baby in the baby room colors. I used the needle size on the yarn label. I forgot that since I'm a loose knitter, I should've gone down a size. It was still fine, I just prefer the gauge in this stitch a little tighter. I do love this stitch - even I don't need to take a pattern with me.

 

The border was several rounds of half double crochet. I think that's my new favorite border. It's quick and not too lacey.

I also took a sewing class at COD with Robin. I'll post pictures of my projects later. I usually knit Christmas gifts for my cousins, but I decided to sew them gifts this year. I found this cute pattern online and got the "old" blue jeans from various coworkers and friends. I think they came out pretty cute. I made 3 snowmen and 5 snowwomen.

I'm going to make a set for me, my mom, and my stepmother. I got tired of making them, so I'll probably bring out the materials again in the summer or fall to work on those. My entire dining room table is covered with snowmen, materials, and my sewing machine. There's just too much "stuff" all around. I want to straighten the house up a bit.

I have other life issues that happened over the hiatus, but I'll post about that another time. Happy New Year everyone!

Mom's Tribute Blanket

I finished my mom's tribute Colon Cancer blanket. It feels like it took forever because of the charts. The colon cancer ribbon is a ribbon, star, person. It's called the Blue Star. I'll be writing up the pattern and creating a tribute page in my mom's honor to raise funds for awareness. My mom loves the blanket, so that's what really matters.

This is a picture taken while she's getting a chemotherapy treatment. It's cold in the office and there are blankets everywhere, because the patients get really cold during their treatments. This was her 11th out of 12 treatments. We're pretty excited that there's only one left! The extreme cold this week has been rough on her side effects. I hope the cold doesn't last too long for her sake.

Catchin' Up

I've got alot of catching up to do. First off - fun stuff. I received another Secret Pal gift.

Inside the purple gift box were the knitting tools. I seem to misplace those all the time, so it's always great to get more.  My secret pal, Jo, made a pair of hand knit socks and put the foot lotion inside. At the back right is a package of beach themed beads. Thanks alot Jo! Of course, I'm not organized, so I'll put the link to her blog next time.

I also finished another log cabin blanket. I love this pattern. It has texture, yet it's not all garter stitch. The yarn is acrylic for durability (and for the non-knitters). The colors are a more muted than in the picure. I had the vivid color setting on my camera. That feature appears to be working just fine!

I went on a trip to Cancun through work. It was mainly for sales winners, but a few support people got to go as well. I'm one of those lucky ones. We stayed at a resort that had dolphins. We passed by them back and forth from our rooms. Here's a picture of one of the dolphins that kept hopping out of the water. It was like he wanted to scratch his back.

This picture is at the Mayan ruins in Tulum. The corner of this building is the face of a man. It's a profile shot if you look from each of the sides. If you look right at the corner, you see the whole face. See it?

 

To Give and To Receive

I finished my second Special Olympic Scarf. I think I'll try to make it reversible the next time I try this pattern. We'll see how it looks at the color change section.

I also received some yarn goodness in the mail from my Secret Pal. Three skeins of yummy Noro Silk Garden. Thanks Jo!

More Fitted Knits

I finished the Bulky Mini Cardigan from Fitted Knits a few weeks ago, but I haven't sewn the buttons on yet. I used Cascade Revolution yarn from the Webs Anniversary sale. I made the body a little longer and the sleeves a little shorter than the pattern called for. I like how it came out. I have it held together by a DPN for the picture. I think the t-shirt and shorts are a nice touch too, don't you think? LOL

I also started the Drop Stitch Tank, using Cascade Pima Tencel. This one has been started three times. The pattern says to make it at least 6 inches smaller than the bust size. I wasn't making it small enough. It's still a little loose, but not too bad. I'm knitting it on circulars. The picture is from the side, so you can see the back on the right and the front on the left.

I decided to knit more rounds of the full drop stitch pattern and move the ribbing up to my waist area. I think this will accommodate my belly and bring it in for a little waist shaping. I guess I'll have to separate for the sleeves and knit flat after that. We'll see how many times it takes me to do that. I really like this yarn though. It's really soft and has a nice sheen to it.

 

Finished Socks

I finished my first pair of socks. Thanks to Kathy for giving me a sock tutorial. The yarn is a hand dyed yarn that Selena gave me for Christmas. I'm not thrilled with the color pooling, but the yarn is really nice. It's a little hard to see the cables, but they're all over these puppies. :)

I don't know if I'll make another pair for awhile, but I wanted to try them out. I really liked the toe-up cast on. That was pretty cool. Check another item off my list of what I haven't knit before.

Finished Log Cabin

I finished the log cabin blanket and gave it to my friend. I really liked the textured garter pattern.

I'm definitely cruisin' along on my socks. They're about 4 inches above the heel section. I'm just going to keep knitting until I run out of yarn. I need to finish them soon because I want to swatch with these needles and get on to the next project!

Non-Prego Vest Done

I finished the BTS Vest from Fitted Knits. I think I'd decrease a little more in the shoulder straps next time. I did a little bit, bit it would be better if the straps were a little narrower. I shortened the armhole trim by 3 rows as well. I like how it came out, though I seriously have some issues with taking pictures. I feel like such a dork standing there posing, that I do end up looking like a dork.

Cheers!

Happy St Patty's everyone!

I've been working on a few different projects over the last couple of weeks. One of them is not the cable socks. Some people have second sock syndrome. I have turning the heel syndrome. I'm doing them both at the same time on one circular needle. I don't know what my hang up is, but I just didn't feel like doing the short rows for awhile. They're in my bag in case I ever get the urge.

A friend at work's been trying to adopt for almost a year now. A couple of weeks ago, she got the word that she'll be adopting a baby boy. I'm so happy for her. We had a shower for her at work last Thursday. I made her a knit hat in a simple 2 by 2 rib. Betty from my knit group made the pom pom for it. She's the best at those.

I also made this blanket. It's machine knit with rows of single crochet trim. I used Red Heart Sport that I had in stash. Gotta love that. This was the blanket that I was going to make my nephew when he was born, but I had issues with row counting and seaming. I think this one looks much better now. It's made on my mid-gauge LK 150 machine. The strips are made separately and seamed as the next strip is knitted.

Here's the progress on my vest. I'm finishing the second front and then have the back to do. We'll see how it turns out. I really like the colors though.

Which came first?

In my case, it's the egg. Last year, I crocheted eggs for my niece's and nephew's easter baskets. This year, they're getting these adorable chicks. I used Red Heart and Cotton Fleece. The pattern uses felt beaks, but I didn't want to do that because my niece is about 14 months old. The beak on the pink one is a little distorted, but at least it's safer. I love how these came out. They're really adorable. On Ravelry, someone also crocheted feet as well.