mmm, knitting

I knit up the Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet the other week. It was really quick, took about 3-4 days at about 2-3 hours a day. I used a yarn from Joann's Bellezza Collection. Starts with a "D"... very thick and soft. I didn't really have anyone in mind for the capelet, I just wanted to prove to myself that I could knit an actual garment--something that wasn't a scarf, hat, or accessory. I had my friend Lora try it on the other day and it fit fairly well so she will be the recipient once I wash and block it.




I originally began knitting with wooden straight needles (my favorite) but they soon became too full to hold all the stitches, so, I switched to my next longer needles which were aluminum. These were just toooo slippery for the yarn and it made knitting a bit of a challenge, but, in the end it was a fairly easy project.



That's my Tenorikuma... his name is Latte. Obviously an attention whore. A friend was telling me about a new Sanrio character months ago who supposedly was related to coffee (knowing how hard of a coffee addict I am). I finally hit up Gurnee Mills and stopped into the Sanrio store and fond the Tenorikuma... who supposedly work in coffee shops. The "leader" is Latte... who has a heart in his ear to distinguish him from the rest. Of course, I had to buy him.

On the subject of purchases... I FINALLY bought an interchangeable needle set. I'm so stubborn. I always said to myself that I wouldn't buy one because I love my wooden needles AND I prefer straights over circulars... but, in order to knit my current WIP I needed a size 9 circular with a relatively short cable. Of course none of the 4 stores I went to had any so I binged and bought a Boye set.



I'm surprisingly REALLY happy with my purchase. They are unbelievably useful and I feel like I'll never have to buy needles again ... well, except for maybe completing a set of DPNs. The case is great too, very not-girly which many knitting related supplies tend to lean toward... and it's all small and compact and well organized. I love it. =)

My current WIP is Coachella from knitty.com. It's part of my growth towards a full-on sweater. I actually feel like I'm ready to knit one. Ouuuu, big step. Coachella has been a breeze, a VERY easy to follow pattern. I've been working on it for maybe 5 days now with Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I'll hopefully be finished knitting by tomorrow or the day after.



The Cotton-Ease is interesting to work with. The yarn itself is very firm and thick and it holds stitch definition quite well. The drape seems to be a bit on the stiff side for a top, but, I'd actually like to see the garment on a person and then judge the drape for real.
I had this hat from H&M that I LOVE and I've been wanting to try to knit it, but I've never been able to find the right yarn. This Cotton-Ease is the perfect match. =)


^{get out of the way!}

That's how it's going. So, I still have to share my trip to the Folk and Fiber Arts Fair thingie from the other weekend and my collection of DS Lite cases. ^_^
Knit hard!

done! =)

I finally finished! I'm having the hardest time remembering when I started... I know I purchased the yarn on a Monday and started the same night... I just can't remember when that was. Maybe 3 weeks ago? Not too long I suppose. I probably could've made it in less time, but, I didn't really put huge amounts of effort into finishing it.
About finishing--I still need to weave in the ends and block it, so I guess technically I have about 10% left. ^_^


^clapotis!

I've read that some people prefer the unblocked Clapotis. I was going to lean that way but my dropped stitch columns are all creased from originally being knitted. I'd rather have them completely straight. So, I will attempt my first blocking.
I bought a pack of glow in the dark straight pins yesterday. The Joann near my house is having a huge closing sale and these glow in the dark pins were the only pins they had left (aside from the safety variety). Their knitting section is pretty cleaned out. They're just left with really odd sized needles. They have many US 13 and 15 29inch circulars. o_O And a few US 35 and 50. All of the remaining yarn is fun fur and other novelty yarns.
Hmm, back to the pins. I decided to use them for the pictures and I found it surprisingly easy to pin the Clapotis to the carpet. I was always afraid that I'd have to buy one of those expensive blocking boards, but, the carpet works perfectly.



I'm considering knitting one for my mom for mother's day. I'm a little scared that I won't finish in time and I'm also afraid of Clapotis itself. Those straight rows really drive you insane. I originally loved dropping the stitches and unraveling them all the way down. But, it soon became very tedious. They didn't just drop, I had to separate them on each row. I guess I have a tendency to catch a few strands of a ply and knit into them. o_O There was a lot of breaking to be done to simply drop a stitch.



On the subject of Joann's closing. My cousins and I have been working on this scrapbook for our grandma. It's going to be her 80th birthday in 2 weeks. It's more of a family tree in scrapbook form. It's looking pretty good. We meet at Archiver's on Sundays to work on it and whenever I'm there I have a look around and I get so inspired to make a scrapbook of my own.
I bought a ton of supplies from Joann's. I've been there twice and I've easily spent $80 on close out sale items. Good deals. I spent another $25 on papers and things. So, I laid them all out yesterday (I had made a deal with myself: once I finish Clapotis then I can start scrap booking) and I realized that I have no pictures. I don't print any of the pictures I take. So, I ordered $50 worth through flickr.com and, now I'm waiting for them to arrive so I can finally start. ^_^

That's all for now. I'll hopefully find someone to model my completely blocked and finished Clapotis so that it doesn't look so throw-blanket-ish.
Knit hard!