My first Koolhaas

koolhaas blue, originally uploaded by dejarlids.

What a fun pattern! At the last minute my childhood best friend and I decided to do a handmade gift exchange. A great excuse for trying out the koolhaas pattern! I'm knitting it with Grace Silk and Wool. What a wonderful, soft, delicious yarn.

Since I'm away from home right now I don't have access to my needles and the LYS here was out of all metal circs in the size I needed! These bamboos are making me crazy.

It's done!

easter dress 018, originally uploaded by dejarlids.

More photos later: here it is for now. I love how it turned out!!

Just 18 steps to DONE

I swear, the finishing on this dress has gone on for eons. I knew that going in, but I finished the knitting a week ago and here I am: seaming, crocheting, embroidering. I'm loving how it's turning out, though, so nothing to complain about, really. Plus I got two new skills: duplicate stitch (for the eyes and feet of the little birdies) and french knot embroidery (for their eyes).

I have to make the big chicken that goes on the front and crochet the edging. Then, blockity block block. With allllll those inches of stockinette I think the blocking will make the whole thing more polished.

It fits!

Finally!

Nearly a year after I gave it to my friend, the flower and lace cardigan finally fits her daughter. Oh well, that's the fun of knitting for kids! As long as it isn't too small, it's fine!
Here's the cutie pie:

learning to crochet

learning to crochet, originally uploaded by dejarlids.

Yes, I know it's been forever since I posted. What can I say: it has been an extraordinary fall full of craziness.

I'm almost finished with the easter dress! The bottom edge will have a crochet border so yesterday I decided it was time to learn. This picture shows what I made improvising some stitches together. Totally useless but now I feel like I know the very basics! Yay!

Oy!

Has it been a month already? Well, my knitting progress sure doesn't show how much time has passed. I have about four inches of blue SS on the dress now and counting the rows until the next decrease. It's boring but exactly what I need in the midst of the work insane-o-land.

Maybe next weekend I can work up the applique chicken.
Meanwhile, Alex's socks have had about six rows added to them. Stagnant knitting alert!

Colorwork done!

Phew!



It's a bit hard to see in this photo but the bottom border of the easter dress is done! Well, the knitting part is. I still need to go in and add beaks, eyes, and feet with duplicate stitch but I'll probably wait until the project is off the needles to do that.

I'm excited to start tearing through the stockinette stitch body and a bit nervous about figuring out all the tricky finishing work. Sometime in the next few months I need to learn to crochet! Yikes!

And when/if I get bored with the blue SS I can start working on the applique chicken. I'm loving this project so far!

I'm IN!

I got my Ravelry invite!!! I spent all morning entering projects and stash, and still have lots to do, but I just have to say what a phenomenal site. I'm so impressed! It's slick, intuitive, and all around awesome.

Hurray for Ravelry!!

Slow progress

I blame the heat. It has been in the upper 80s and low 90s here in Central Va for the past week. In mid-October. It's crazyland, I tell you. I have no problem knitting in this heat during the summer, but somehow when it's the fall it feels wrong wrong wrong.

It's so hot that one of the herding dogs at the fiber festival decided to jump into the water trough to cool down.


I've only knit a few more rows on the easter dress. After about 12 more rows of colorwork, the rest of the dress is straight (yaaawn!) stockinette. So I've made a deal with myself. After I finish the colorwork I can cast on a second project to keep things lively. I'm predicting grey socks.

But! I should really be learning how to crochet since the easter dress has picot edging. Eh, it'll happen soon enough. For now, I want to play with my pretty new yarn!!

Beginnings of an easter dress

And to prove that I'm knitting as well as stashing, here's a semi-mysterious shot of the beginnings of the Easter dress I'm knitting for my new baby niece.

Intro to Stash-hood

Today a friend and I headed out to Montpelier for the Fall Fiber Festival. It's official, I'm a knitting geek. I mean, who else goes to fiber festivals? Here's my friend demonstrating our geeky excitedness.



I hadn't planned on buying much and up until today I could claim that I am not a stasher. Not anymore.
Here I am practically drooling over the yarns.



There were alpaca, sheep, goats, and bunnies! BUNNIES!!

So. I came home with a few goodies. My "stash" which has previously just been remnants has now become a bona fide stash. I'll admit to being a tad nervous at where this all could lead...

The goodies!



Three Waters Farm Superwash Merino-Bamboo in Etude in Grey (I see husband socks in this yarn's future)


Alpaca with a Twist Fino in a pretty dusty rose color. (875 yards! in a single skein!!)


Knitting Notions Classic Merino Supersock in Ruby.

Since I've knit in very few yarns up until now (mostly have stuck with Dale of Norway products) I don't really know my way around the brands. So maybe I didn't get the stuff that you'd really NEED to be at a fiber fair to get, but I'm happy with my little burst of stash enhancement. Can't wait to start knitting it up!

Summer Project #3

Hat for Elliott, originally uploaded by dejarlids.

Okay! Now we're basically up to the present. I started this hat mid-August and finished it mid-September, as a gift for my newborn nephew. It's a Dale of Norway pattern made with Baby Ull.

I need to work on picking up my stitches more evenly in edging so the fabric stays nice and flat, but for now this'll do for me. I don't think the baby or his parents will mind the bunches too much.

I had real trouble finding a button that fit the hat nicely, but I always have button trouble! Mostly because I leave the button shopping until the last minute.

Summer Project #2

Traveling Vines scarf, originally uploaded by dejarlids.

This scarf had been on the needle for (count 'em) THREE years. Every winter I thought, "Hm. I should finish that scarf so I can actually wear it this year." And every year other projects took priority and back in the closet it went, UFO status intact.

The pattern is called Traveling Vines, designed by Lauren Lindeman and the yarn is some kind of scrumptious green alpaca.

Can't wait to wear it this year!!

Summer project #1

Hat for Alex, originally uploaded by dejarlids.

This summer I picked the needles back up after a nearly year-long hiatus. I had a number of UFOs languishing on the needles for yeeeears so I took the summer to wrap them up.

I think I had a pattern when I started this hat, but by the time I picked it back up my plan for it was long forgotten. So I just threw in some decreases and called it done. I also have no clue what the yarn is.

I'm starting to think that I should add "disorganized" to my "Who Am I?" section. But hey, maybe when I get into Ravelry all my forgetting will be a thing of the past!

Anyway! The model and recipient of the hat is my husband-extraordinaire, and he was happy with the result and that's enough for me!

And now for the sloppy part

Sirdal Pullover, originally uploaded by dejarlids.

Here's the thing: I don't frog. There are times when I really, really should and yet I can't bear to do it. I push on, finish the project, and then get it out of my house so I don't have to look at the imperfection anymore.

Here's an example of a project where I really should have gone back to fix it but darnit I didn't. Still, I'm damned proud of this sweater. It was my very first stranded-colorwork project and I did it all by my lonesome without any guidance. Up until then my main source of guidance had been my mother, but see I was making this sweater for HER so I couldn't very well call her up and ask for help!

It makes me crazy to look at this picture and see all the little flees in the bottom half where I carried the strands too tightly, especially since I finally got the tension worked out by the fancy top part.

I guess until I learn to frog I'll just have to live with the mistakes!

This sweater was the one and only adult Dale of Norway pattern I've made, but I'm planning another for my queue. More on that later!

The wild world of knit blogging

Baby cardigan, originally uploaded by dejarlids.

Yes, I'm late to jump on this bandwagon. It funny, really. I like posting pictures, I love knitting, I have another blog... not sure what the holdup was!

In any case, I'm finally starting a knitting blog! A big catalyst for this was Ravelry. I've been waiting for my invite for a while now and as the waiting list ticks shorter every day I'm starting to get myself set up so I can make full use of the site as soon as I'm in. I can't wait!!!!!

So I thought I'd start with a photo of the project that I feel the best about. I love how this baby cardigan came out. From the buttons to the choice of colors to the lacework, this project rocked. It was a blast to knit and the design is just precious. Hoping for more projects like this in the future!