Greenhorn tips from other knitters!

A few posts ago, I talked about the difficulty with locating your row in a long and convoluted pattern.  I had mentioned that I found that highlighting the row helped me to spot it quickly.  Fortunately I also learned of some other really great ideas to remedy this.

Michelle over at CollegeKnitting says:

"...if it's something that I think I'll knit again, or if it's in book and I haven't made a copy of it yet, I use the little post-it tabs that are sort of see-through to mark my row. That way there's nothing permanent, and I can easily look through them if I have to go back. And the sticky part is pretty strong, so you can use them plenty of times!"

Another great tip is to try out the Knit Picks chart keeper which allows you to mark your place with a magnet.  You can find these at the Knit Picks site.

My Knit Nook

I really can only speak for myself here, but something tells me I'm not alone.  I have a yarn problem.  I covet it, obsess over it, crave it, and buy it.  Even if I don't need it or have a pattern for which to use it.  Needless to say, I have a bunch of it.  Skeins, hanks, balls...expensive, cheap, middle of the road.  It doesn't matter.  If it strikes my fancy, I have to have it.........OK.  So I've admitted my problem.  That's the first step right?  Well, I'm not sure what the next step is supposed to be, but for me it would be having a beautiful nook for showcasing all of the yarn I so love.  I've mentioned this before, and knew that it would be quite the task to build a knit nook to the specifications that I was imagining.  I'm not one to outright expect anything to be given to me.  I was brought up with the notion that you do not ask freely for things that you do not need.  Luxuries are to be earned.  I truly value this notion and honor my upbringing, but a girl can talk about what she would love to see materialize someday, right?  Sure.  And talk I did.  And people listened.

 I am now the proud owner of my very own knit nook thanks to the thoughtfulness, craftsmanship, and creativity of my dad and my husband!  These two have been planning and scheming for quite a while about building me a yarn cabinet.  I had absolutely no idea.  Branden had been spending hours at my parents house working with Dad cutting, measuring (twice so as to cut only once  :) ), assembling, marking, disassembling, staining, reassembling, all in secret during the school day (I teach.).  For Christmas, I was presented with a scrapbook of pictures by my mom documenting the whole process.  (The cabinet had be left at home since we were spending the holiday out of town.)  The album brought me to tears.  I was floored.  

I love the bookshelf at the top!  The space in the middle of the cabinet also serves as a bookshelf.

And we made merry...

For the Christmas holiday, my husband Branden, my mom, dad, and I drove up to Logan, Utah to visit my aunt and uncle.  My brother Tyler and my sister in law Jessica moved to Barcelona in February and would not be here this Christmas, for, in my brother's case, the first time.  I thought traveling to visit family would be a nice way to fill the void.  It certainly was.  The weather was crisp and cold, the little town of Logan was all decked out for Christmas, and my aunt and uncle warmly welcomed us into their home with open arms, delicious treats and a warm fire.   How was your holiday?  Hope all was and is well.

As for the wonders of gift giving and receiving, there were many.  I finally finished the Leaf Mittens for my mom at 1:00 AM Christmas Morning.  (It's truly just like me.)  Here are a few photos to showcase the mittens.

Unfortunately, Branden's Broken Rib Cardigan was not finished in time.  However, he did not go empty handed.  He and I are traveling to Boston in June for our anniversary so I bought our tickets to watch the Red Sox play at Fenway Park.  Merry Christmas to both of us really!  I also included with his gift a little box that held a preview of his sweater.

I will be posting pictures of the sweater WIP soon.

I also receive some delicious yarn for Christmas!  Three skeins of hand dyed wool/alpaca from Araucania.  This yarn is so soft and sumptuous-I just can't wait to cast on!

Here's to a Happy New Year and Happy Knitting!

Greenhorn Tip #12 For the buggy eyed knitters among us...

I would love to have eyes that can look across a row of stitches on a knitting chart and memorize them, but like many of you, I can not.  I am also unable to look at a massive chart and immediately locate the row I am working--especially if that row is an even row since they typically do not number these on the chart.  Therefore, when I started knitting this pattern (Leaf Mittens) my eyes starting to go buggy on me.  The project was taking so long because I had to constantly look down and refocus on my row and stitch.  BLEH!  So, enter the highlighter.  Yes-it requires you to stop and highlight a the end of each row, but it certainly made my knitting go much smoother and saved time in the long run.  I already mark all over the pattern as I go, noting increase rounds, marking even row numbers, and such--what's a little color going to hurt?  Definitely not my already mediocre eyes.  

Greenhorn Tip:  Use a highlighter to mark the charted row on which you are currently working.  This allows you to glance down at the chart, which can sometimes be long and visually overwhelming, and locate your position in the work.  When you finish, the whole chart will be highlighted, so if you choose to knit the same pattern again, just use a different color or make several copies of the pattern.  I like to make copies of all of my knitting patterns so they can bee nicely folded up and placed in the Ziplocs with the project, and it also keeps my knitting magazines and books in good shape.

Stopping by to show off some progress...

This week has been extremely busy.  It's the last week before Christmas Break as well as Parent/Teacher Conference week.  30 conferences in one week.  Tiring.  However, I have been able to make time each day for my knitting.  Especially since Christmas is right around the corner and I still have a GIANT cardigan to knit.

Anyhow, I wanted to take a moment and show some progress that I have made on my mom's Leaf Mittens from Vogue Knitting.

I love the color I decided to use.  It really shows off the pattern.

When things slow down (after Friday) I'll be back to show more!  Happy Knitting!

Loose ends...

Now, I have been told that my ambitious and type A personality could lead to the tendency to start many projects and actually finish only a few.  Yes this tends to happen, however, since I started knitting almost three years ago, I have seen most of my projects through to the last woven-in strand.  But when it comes to knitting for others, I am quite the perfectionist.  After all, I want to give the best I can to the people I love.  Indeed, handmade gifts have that handmade charm with minor flaws and such (even though I try to avoid such flaws), but when the design and fit is just not "perfect", I tend to want to try something new.  As you may have noticed from my last post, I started knitting the Plain Talk Ruffled Mittens from Boutique Knits.  This pattern is adorable, don't get me wrong, but after finishing one mitt, I realized that I (thinking of my mom-who would be receiving these mitts) wanted something more....textured.  {{Shrugging my shoulders with a "I know, I know" smirk}}  Yes, I will be finishing these some day, but not for Christmas.  Oh well.  This mitt has come along cute though, huh?

So, I decided on the Leaf Mittens from the Fall 2011 issue of Vogue Knitting.

I really like these, and they have all the texture to show off!  Of course, because these are for my mom and she is super special, I needed to do them in a super special color.  The yarn the pattern calls for is The Fiber Company Canopy Worsted, but being the yarn substitut"er" that I am, I found an amazing periwinkle color in Debbie Stoller's Bamboo Ewe.

I also visited my LYS and picked up a few new skeins to stash away for a "knit for me" day.  :)  

I have never knit with Brown Sheep Company yarn and have heard good things about Lamb's Pride Worsted.  Plus this color is great!

I am also obsessed with Cashmerino, and wanted to try something in a DK weight.  This navy is also lovely.  I'm thinking some mittens.  I think I have caught the mitten bug!

And as for holiday knitting, I am making progress on my man's cardigan.  I've been told a few times now that I am "ballsy" for trying a cardigan in pieces.  I thought it was funny, because I never thought it to be a daunting task...ignorance is bliss and all.  So, I am hoping that it all turns out ok.  I studied up on sweater knitting before casting on, so all should come out nicely.  We'll see.  Hmmm...should I buy Branden a back-up gift just in case?  Hehe...nah!  :)

I know.  It looks huge, huh?  Well I chose to knit the XL because Branden is 6'5'' and most larges aren't long enough in the sleeve and body department.  It may be roomy, but I'm sure it will be super comfy.  Happy knitting all!  

    

WIP Wednesdays!

Last weekend, I knitted up a pair of Fetching mitts for my best friend, Jaclyn for her birthday.  I absolutely love the pattern because it is super fast and very fancy.  Perfect for a gift!  I have also been trying to find the perfect mitten pattern for a lovely pair for my mom for Christmas.  Perhaps a merino cashmere blend.  While flipping through Boutique Knits I happened upon the perfect pair!  The Plain Talk Ruffled Mittens.  I love these because they are simple and elegant.  Perfect for Mom.  I also love the suede palm and thumb pads.  So classic!  The pattern calls for two tones of tan, but I decided to spice it up with a gorgeous plum color.

The pattern also called for Mission Falls Wool (100% superwash) in two tones, #006 oatmeal and # 002 stone.  I loved the colors of these yarns, but like I said, I wanted to add some spice.  I chose Lion Brand's Superwash Merino Cashmere (72% superwash Merino wool, 15% nylon, 13% Cashmere) in Wine and my accent in Blossom.

So far, these mittens are super fast and fun to knit.  They offer a fair amount of diversion with just enough ease for mindless knitting.  They begin flat and then the edges are brought together and attached.

I just can't wait to pick out the buttons!  I'm thinking antique gold to set off the wine color.  

Happy knitting!