Finished up Fridays

Since we last convened, I have made 8, count 'em, 8 projects. They are too numerous for me to rewrite new paragraphs about with any originality. Some are for me, but most are baby gifts or gifts for others. So I will recopy the paragraphs I posted on Ravelry for them. Here goes:
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/cfm
I am normally opposed to acrylic yarn, but I didn’t want to waste good yarn on an unsure pattern. The pattern worked up easily. It is in ravelry, but it doesn’t seem to want to look up. And the yarn I chose is surprisingly soft, much like lion brand suede. I used mismatched buttons from my button box to tack it down. I am very satisfied.
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/cs
I think that the pattern was easy. I have no one to take pics of me, so this hideous pic of me in my pjs in the bathroom will have to do. The scarf did turn out cute and I really like the color
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/hg
I had high hopes for this pattern and was kind of disappointed. The pattern looked like the gloves would be long, thin guaged, and simple. They were simple, but the yarn turned out kind of thick, splitty, and the gauntlets only came up midway. I found it unusual that the yarn split because I had worked with it before and never had that problem. I would probably use this for everyday working gloves, but this is definitely not for special occasions.
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/bmh
I bought this specifically for the mousey hat. It turned out pretty cute and I think that the color could be for a boy or a girl. Although I don’t know if you would want to put a boy in a mouse hat. That is debatable. But I had tried to use some stash yarn of equal weight and it was a disaster. It would only fit a doll. So spend the money and use the yarn called for.
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/sb
I think that this yarn was a bit lighter than reccomended. And I found the reccomended length of casting on for the straps unable to reach the bootie and still fit around a fat baby’s legs. So I made this one for ankle straps. And I had no 1 1/2 needles so I used size 2.
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/sb2
As on my previous project page, I think that this yarn was a little lightweight for the project. This time, for the traditional bootie, I cast on an addditional 7 stitches for the straps so that they would reach the bootie when they criss cross and still fit the babys ankles around. Also, I used a size 2 needle, as I don’t own a size 1 1/2. Also, I would like to apologize for the dark pic. The one with flash made them look like two white blobs. The dark one without flash is kind of grainy. Can’t win them all.
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/sicbb
I had a ton of this wool left over. So I thought that I would make a manly baby blanket. I will be sure to include a care label so that the mom doesn’t wash it in hot water and turn it into a pot holder! I actually ran out of the one color and had to improvise. And I left off the last row as I liked the dark stripe as the last border stripe. It is not the softest baby blanket, but I still think it looks nice.
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/ago

This is a high school graduation gift for my nephew. I am going to hot glue a gift card holder to its tummy. I used all stash yarn for it. The parts were easy to make. But the sewing is tedious. But it turned out pretty cute. I have to make another for another graduating nephew, which I will not post, as it is the same project. Also, they didn’t have safety button eyes at my local store, so I had to use black buttons and tie the shanks through the back of the yarn and into the head.
Once again, this posting program is not allowing me to post individual pics, just the attachments linking to my ravelry page. Please go see them. You are welcome to view them. I am, however, a little frustrated with blogger.com. Till next time, keep on crocheting/knitting!

Finished Up Fridays: Catching Up

So I know that my habit is to not post for extremely long periods and then have a lot to share, but I have a lot to do, and a lot going on. I have been diagnosed with Primary Immune Deficiency, and it contributes to my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, in addition to my migraines. I have been going to Denver every 3 weeks for IV treatments, which is 6 hrs away, and it involves a hotel stay. Needless to say, it was getting expensive. But they have now come up with a way to give me subcutaneous treatments at home once a week. It is much easier on my system, but it has been a learning process with its own side effects. I have been rolling with the punches with that.
In addition, I spent a month volunteering to teach Bible courses for 50 hours a month. It was exhausting, but totally worthwhile.
So what have I been doing in the fiber world? Much more crochet than knitting lately. I have been working on stashbusting. It isn't easy when you have a husband's grandma who keeps on sending you yarn. But I have also been making gifts for thanks for those who have been supporting me. Mainly slippers with unique buttons in special colors. We also had a friend who was injured in a tragic mining accident, so I made a get well present for him. So here are my projects:
Well, I did a potholder, but the blog won't allow me to put up a pic for some reason. It blocked me. But here were my comments:
There isn’t much to do with one skein of lily sugar and cream cotton. So I made a basic potholder. Very utilitarian. Simplest pattern available on the label of the skein. Nuff said.
I also did a crochet market bag:
I have made a lot of these bags in an effort to save the environment. I always get compliments on them at the supermarket. They are super resilient, and ultra stretchy. And they are available in a variety of colors to suit your personality, so they are always cute. This along with my potholder project was a stashbuster project.
And, finally, a pair of men's crochet slippers in fisherman's wool by Lion Brand for my husband Andrew:
I had the most difficult time with mens slipper patterns ever! I think I tried 3-4 different patterns before this one. I even tried felting a loafer that turned out looking like a shoe for a hobbit. I just wanted a simple one with relatively little construction. Even this one requires that you add some padding to the sole. Oy vey. It is not the prettiest pattern. I wish that I had more cooperative family members that are willing to model them for you so that I had better looking pics. And you have to have a tight guage for my husband’s skinny ankles. But you can get it done. Also, I had to do some improvising. I had to go rogue a little with the pattern.
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/mpss
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/cmb
http://ravel.me/emmyknitslikekraz/p1
The above links are the public links to my ravelry page for the projects if you care to see them. Ravelry now has the ability to share your projects public for all to see. It is pretty cool. So, until next time!

Long time, no posty

I have been in and out of town for a while. A long while. Every 3 weeks. And I have been working on a shawl and making very little headway. Then my home health nurse decided to leave me, so I worked on 3 little projects for her. Then I decided things were just out of control. I mean seriously. I have at least 10 unfinished projects just laying around my yarn room begging to be worked on. Possibly more. And here you are, being neglected. So I made a list to prioritize. It doesn't mean that I am working any faster. It just means that I am working in order now. And I am going out of town again. For the second time in 2 weeks. And I will be out of town again next week. I am now officially living out of a suitcase. It is exhausting on my health. I am officially clinically exhausted. Not to mention that traveling is exhausting my wallet. At a time when my husband is changing careers, it is most inconvenient. If there was any way around this, I would find one. But there is not. So here we go.
Party wristlets

I just needed a quick project that took me less than a day for a going away present for my home health nurse, Alicia. I am not a big fan of buying yarn from large chain stores, but it had to do in a pinch. It turned out ok, and Alicia was happy with the results, which is all that really matters.



Sparkly Stockinette Scarf
I find that the best scarf in a rush is two novelty yarns held together and knit in a stockinette. It is quick, and it provides the desired effect. Especially if the gift receiver knows nothing about knitting, they are really impressed. This was made out of two sparkly yarns, burgundy and gun metal grey. I spent a lot of money initally on the yarns at a little yarn store in Mendocino, CA. They are Italian, but I lost the labels and can’t remember the name of the yarn. This scarf is definitely more about form than function.

 Sparkle flower wristlets

I just needed a quick project that took me less than a day for a going away present for my home health nurse, Alicia. I am not a big fan of buying yarn from large chain stores, but it had to do in a pinch. It turned out ok, and Alicia was happy with the results, which is all that really matters. Also, I used leftovers, not the sparkly yarn that the pattern called for. I also used some leftover beads that I had.

Finished Up Fridays

I have a new shawl to review that I have finished. It is called the landscape shawl. It is an alarmingly easy shawl. It has a variety of panels, seed stitch, stockinette, and lace in it. It is perfect for a first-timer looking to take on a shawl or a lace project. And it turns out very lovely. My only beef with it is that it says that it requires 430 yards of fingering weight yarn, and even though my guage was spot on, I ran out of yarn and had to leave out some repeats. Fortunately I blocked it out large and it is still more of a shawlette. I would have advertised it as needing more of 470 yards. You want pics?! As you wish:

Yes, I know it is not Wednesday, nor is it Friday

I thought that I would give a brief review to The Fibre Company's Road to China Light yarn. Typically this would be done in the Wednesday Review, but I have committed myself to an extraordinary amount of volunteer work this month, so everything else is going to seed. The Road to China Light is comprised of baby alpaca, camel, and cashmere, and is endurably soft. That being said, I thought that the stitch definition would be more clear for the pattern  I was working on according to pictures I had seen on other peoples' blogs. But I was not disappointed by the softness. The loft was very nice, and I have received several nice comments about the yarn. I would reccomend it again. 4 out of 5 stars.
I am also reviewing Patons lace and sequins. It is sturdy, comes in a variety of lovely colors, and I like the sequins. It is nice to see a sequin yarn that doesn't look like the sequins have been thrown up all over the place, vomited to inconsistency. I know it isn't the ideal fancy yarn that costs $50 per ball, but it still looks classy at an eighth the cost. Sometimes you gotta go on a budget, you know?! I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Also, I would like to post some finished projects. This is just a basic stockinette stitch scarf that I made out of the 2 yarns that I reviewed in my previous post. I am not a fan of fashion yarn, but if you have to get rid of it, and you need a fast scarf, I do reccomend a fast stockinette scarf. I do not, however, reccomend crocheting with fashion yarn, as you will lose your stitches should you need to rip it back. But my grandma liked the scarf, and that is all that matters.

Next up is the frukttgard hat, which I am sure that I am spelling incorrectly, which I made with The Fibre Company's Road to China Light in Grey Pearl. I enjoyed the finished project, and the process wasn't too tedious, however, the directions required 1 skein. I ended up with 12 rows to go and needing another skein. Yes, I checked my guage. And I would have made the smaller size. I perennially find that making the larger size, despite my very large noggin, makes it too large after fulling the yarn.

And here is a leaf and vine hat that I made many moons ago in a needle size larger and a yarn heavier than called for. Therefore, it turned out to be a beanie, and not a beret. But I still like it.

And last, but not least, is a potato chip scarf in Patons lace and sequins. It could not be a simpler project, and it achieves the desired result. And a little bit of sparkle is nice every once in a while.

Review

Yes, folks, I am back to knitting. So here is a brief review of 2 new yarns that I have tried. One is dragon fly by classic elite. It is a novelty yarn that has little paperesque pieces tied to the yarn string. I suppose that they are trying to replicate dragonfly wings, for lack of a better word. Novelty yarns aren't really my thing, but I did go through a period where I did snatch up a bunch of them, and now I have to use them. So as novelty yarns go, this one is pretty interesting. It gives visual appeal. I would reccomend knitting with it, because if you crochet with it, you lose all your stitches. You won't be able to figure out where they are. It would really stink. But it turns out really cute. I just reccoment pairing with another yarn as well to give it some heft. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
The second yarn is La Gran Classic Elite Mohair. It is definitely mohair-y. It is strong and has an aura about it that has a resemblance to a cloud. It may be too much for some people, but it blended well with my other yarn for a scarf, and it was very warm. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.

It's all ok

It's all ok. I know that I haven't been posting as much because I haven't been knitting as much. Truth is, I haven't been doing much of anything. I haven't been inspired. I have mostly been ignoring my projects, ignoring my stash, making lots of medical trips, and reading alot. And I mean alot. And getting alot of rest and laying down alot. But you know what? That is ok too. It's ok to veg. It's ok to take a break, recharge, and focus on more important things, like your family and your health. After all, if you can't make important decisions because you're distracted, then what is the point, huh?