Me = Slacker

Sorry all,

I've been too busy/negligent to update this in a while. First I was working hard to get things done before Thanksgiving break and then I didn't bring my camera's usb hookup with me to GA, (which was a really nice break) so I'll have to do some serious updating now.

First of all, I finished my fair isle hat in one of the prettiest patterns I've ever seen:

Que belle, non? I'm especially proud of the braided pattern at the bottom--that wasn't easy to maneuver, folks. Too bad the whole hat is too tall and narrow--makes my head look like a huge oval. If I get bored one day, I may take the top apart and make the whole thing shorter, but for now I can live with a tall hat with a lovely pattern.

Second order of business: Thanksgiving project. There wasn't a whole lot to do while I was down in GA, so I mostly worked on this scarf:

It's made with laceweight kid merino yarn that's so soft and delicate I even bought a bunch to make some socks out of (next project!) Little old ladies in airports kept coming up to me and asking me about this scarf, telling me how pretty it is. I quite agree with them. Too bad I didn't buy enough yarn to finish the darn thing--the pattern lied to me. I ordered some more this afternoon so eventually I'll have 5 feet of 'lucious' lace scarf with only 3 balls (not the advertised 2).

I have also come to the conclusion that the sweater I made this summer looks like crap on me, so I'm going to take it apart and use that yarn for something I'll actually wear. And because I love a challenge, I'm going to attempt this sweater. So in about 4 years maybe I'll have a berry red torque sweater... But for now, while I wait for supplies, current project is a pair of 'strawberry soda' socks in kid merino. I'm such a knitting dork...

Until next time,

-Allie

PS: Keep on the lookout for people with abnormally long heads who enjoy fair isle.

Mitten Part Deux

Mitten number two is now complete! Hurray! Since I finally finished the schoolwork that needed to be done, I had some time to work on my project and boy did it come out nice!

The new one is on top. I think the grafting on this one came out better than the other one--it looks cleaner anyway. My sister's special request for these mittens was that they have a cord between them so she wouldn't lose them. I wasn't really sure how to do this, so I decided to go with a detachable model--I ran a strand around the wrist and tied a long braided chain to both mittens. So she gets the cord, which she can detach if she wants and some pretty bows =).

The best part, though, was her thank you--it made me feel all fuzzy inside to know that she really does appreciate my efforts. So I'd say the mittens were a success since I got to learn fair isle and to see my sister's softer side. Makes me want to go frollick in the sunshine.

Too bad it's 12:30am. Maybe tomorrow =)

Cheers,

-Allie

Mitten!

So earlier this week, my sister IMs me with the unusual request "Allie, will you make me some mittens??" Apparently it gets cold enough in North Carolina to require mittens. I can't imagine anywhere south of Maryland so much as needing a scarf, but any distraction from my studies is welcome. So I foolishly told her to find me a pattern--any pattern and she came up with this one: Corazon Mittens. Things had become slightly more complicated.

Since I've always wanted to try fair isle, I thought "why not practice on my sister?" Sounds selfish, but she won't really notice, right? So I bought the yarn and started the project most eagerly, but not without some trepidation.

I have since finished one mitten and am quite pleased with the result. I only have two complaints. One: My grafting could do with a little practice. Two: I regret letting my sister pick out the colors. You can hardly see the pattern I worked so hard on!

Sorry about the poor image quality. I'll just wait til daytime for the next set of pictures.

Here it is again on my hand:

I think she'll be pleased with it, don't you?

Mitten #2 to follow shortly.

Cheers,

-Allie

A New Leaf

Greetings all,

I have decided to try my hand at blogging, more specifically, blogging my various knitting projects and aspirations. Because my discussions about knitting have been boring my boyfriend to tears, I've decided to try a new audience.
I really learned to knit last year, and have since become something of an addict, spending most of my free time tangled up in yarn and fantasizing about it in class. Far from looking for a cure, I intend to make this more of a record of my efforts and a place to meet other people whose knitting hobby borders on obsession.

Cheers,
-Allie