Mandi Knits   » Knitting, spinning, crafts, and being a geek.

Last night and this morning I managed to turn out a couple more FOs for 2007:

First, I finally finished my Irish Hiking scarf. It’s only been on my needles since November (ha ha)!

I’m extremely happy with the way it turned out. I used 4 balls of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Claret Heather. It’s not a color I’d normally pick, but I thought it would look nice with my black peacoat.

I’d set a goal of wanting to learn to do cables this year, and this project was my first experience knitting them. I think they turned out well! I only screwed up once:  I twisted the cable the wrong direction by putting the cable needle to the back instead of to the front. I almost let it go and kept knitting, but I decided to rip back and fix it. I’m glad I did because I’m sure it would have driven me crazy.

The other quick FO I completed this morning was a pair of Fetching gloves. This is such a popular pattern, but I’d actually never knit a pair before. However, after knitting them up, I understand why they’re so popular! They are super fast and you really get a great finished product with very little effort.

The Fetching pattern calls for size 6 DPNs, but I decided to give my new Knit Picks Options interchangeable needles a whirl instead. I used the size 6 needles with the 32″ cable and knit them using the magic loop technique:

I have to say, I’m more than pleased with the Knit Picks Options needles. They’re every bit as nice as Addi Turbos! (And what a deal…!) I have to make sure to call my parents and thank them again for getting them for me for Christmas.

The first one turned out a little on the small/tight side. I guess I was knitting a little too tight, which I sometimes have a tendency to do. So when I knit the second one, I went up to a size 7 needle and that worked much better. Eventually I may re-knit the left one on size 7s so that they both fit better, but right now they’ll do the trick!

I’m guessing those will be my last FOs for ‘07. I may finish up my FIL’s socks tonight while watching the ball drop on TV, but it probably depends on how much toasting Nick and I have done!
I’m happy with how much my knitting has progressed in 2007. I achieved two goals I’d set for myself: learning to knit socks and learning to knit cables. Neither one turned out to be nearly so scary as I’d feared. Quite the opposite, really, because now I’m hooked on sock-knitting!

My knitting-related goals for 2008 are:

• Knit my first sweater (any pattern)
• Learn to do colorwork (intarsia and/or fair isle)
• Learn to knit 2 socks at once on circs
• Knit or crochet an afghan

And yes, I said crochet. I know a lot of knitters consider that blasphemous, but I’m an equal-opportunity fiber artist. My grandma taught me to crochet when I was 7 or 8 years old, but I’ve never really crocheted anything “nice” before. So I’d kind of like to dust off my crochet skills and make something. I’m thinking a traditional granny-square afghan might be fun!

What are your knitting goals for ‘08?

Anyway… hope everyone has a happy and safe new years eve!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I had a great holiday, even though it was small and quiet.

My husband surprised me with a shiny new 80GB iPod Classic so now I can fit all my music and all my podcasts on there! *squee!* AND I can load it up with video podcasts too. (Can you tell I’m excited?!)

Some of my other favorite surprises were two Harry Potter HD-DVDs (also from my husband), a “I [heart] Knitting” sweatshirt (embroidered for me by my mother), and lots of knitting books.  Oh! And my parents got me the KnitPicks Options interchangeable circular needle set!

Speaking of knitting books, though… thanks again to my friend in Canada. I got your package on Christmas-eve. What a surprise! Thank you SO much.

Knitting books added to my arsenal this Christmas: Knitting Circles Around Socks, More Sensational Knitted Socks, Favorite Socks, Big Girl Knits, Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter, and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off. Crazy, huh? I’ve been carrying my knitting and my stack of books all around the house for me so that any time I have a minute I can knit a few rows or read a few pages.

This Christmas will also forever be remembered as the “single sock Christmas”. I didn’t manage to finish the socks I was knitting for my father-in-law, so I wrapped up the one sock I had completed and sent it to him with a note explaining that the elves at Santa’s workshop were behind but would get the second sock to him a.s.a.p. I felt like an idiot. I mean, who gives someone one sock as a gift?! Ha ha. The second sock is almost done though. The heel is turned and half the foot is knitted. So I’m almost there.

Despite the fact that I could (should) have been finishing my FIL’s socks last night, I couldn’t resist starting to knit up the Noro that I got with my Loopy Ewe gift certificate from Alan & Erica. I wanted to see how the colors would look because they’re so deceiving on the skein.

If for some crazy reason you haven’t seen it yet, this is the new Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. I chose colorway S95. I’m using US size 1½ (2.5mm) DPNs and getting about 9 stitches per inch.

Though it might be shocking, this is my first time using Noro of any sort. As many others have mentioned, it’s not soft (at least compared to most sock yarns). However, I don’t find its texture offensive. The colors, of course, are amazing. I didn’t find any knots in my skein (which I’ve read is a problem with other Noro yarns) and I’ve only found a few bits-o-nature (little twigs) which were easy to pull out as I went along. Overall, I love the results but with so many other sock yarns out there to choose from, I’ll probably only use this once and move on to something else. So many yarns, so little time, ya know?

… ’cause look, they’re totally yarn-enablers:

I’m off to order the new Noro sock yarn (colorway S95) that I’ve been drooling over… *SQUEE*

Thanks soooooo much you guys.

I’m (perhaps foolishly) starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel where my Christmas-gift knitting is concerned. Sure, there’s a good bit to go and I only have a week till I have to mail my packages out, but no sweat right?!

Right.

Because I’m anticipating this holiday-knitting coming to end, I’ve been fantasizing about what I’ll knit next. Something totally of my choosing. Something for ME. I’ve narrowed it down to two things that I want most:

The first thing is a pair of socks. I’ve only knit myself one pair of socks — the first pair I ever made. They’re a bit flawed, with gaping holes at the gusset, but I love wearing them. Every pair I’ve knit since then have been a gift for someone. I’ve been stashing sock yarns like mad and though quite a few were purchased with a friend or relative in mind, there’s a few that I’ve set aside specifically for myself, like the one in the picture to the left - Sheeppaints Bamboolaine in “Cinderella.” (Doesn’t “Cinderella” describe that color perfectly? – I totally need me some Cinderella-socks.)

… Of course, this may all change because I read Sheri is getting in some Noro sock yarn (look at this stuff!) and eventually some Wollmeise too. *gah*

The other project is one I’ve started, but haven’t gotten too far with: my Juno Regina stole. It’s without a doubt the most complex thing I’ve knitted so far. To some, that isn’t saying much, but for me it’s an achievement — lace knitting takes a level of concentration that this multi-tasker isn’t used to devoting to something!

I’m knitting it with Wollmeise lace-weight yarn that I’m absolutely in love with, and I splurged a little bit much on. But it’s worth it because when I hold those few completed inches in my hands, it’s just the most soft and luxurious thing I think I’ve ever held. I absolutely can’t wait to have it finished so I can wrap it around me. I may never take it off. And then I’ll be “the weird scarf lady” who walks around cuddling her stole.

Yup. That’s me.

Perhaps I should knit some crazy socks to match my stole. Then I’d be all set.

Where was I going with this again? I think the knitting IS getting to me after all.

How do you knitters do it?

I love knitting. I really, really do. As far as arts & crafts-type activities, it is by far my favorite.

But I could never do it exclusively. I also like to dabble in so many other artistic and/or crafty endeavors: sewing, embroidery, paper-crafts, photography, etc. In my home craft studio, you’ll find everything from yarn and fabric to woodworking tools and a Wacom tablet for editing digital photos on the computer. I love it that way; you never know when mashing all those seemingly dissimilar hobbies together will result in some entirely new creative idea or product.

Can you commit to just one craft?

Sunday morning, I got up and drove out to the Factory at Franklin. I forgot how long of a drive it is out there — and it feels even longer.

I went out there this weekend to check out the “Rock Your Stocking” show put on by the Nashville Craft Mafia. I have to say, it was well worth the drive! I got there early and when I walked in, a lot of the vendors were still setting up their booths. I bought a goodie bag– it had a lot of nifty things in it, including a photo wallet, a ring, and a handmade candle. It also had lots of information about all the vendors at the show.

So, on to the fun part — what did I get?

• 3 prints and a necklace (pic) by Samantha Callahan
• an adorable pincushion (pic) by Ashley Fennessey
• 3 handmade soaps and a lip balm (pic) by Allison Fortner
• a hand-dyed silk scarf (pic) by Jennifer Randles
• a fun necklace and pair of earrings (pic) by Michelle Frank
• holiday earrings (pic) by Lori Davis (no website)

Quite a haul, huh? A lot of the things are gifts, but a few are little splurges for myself also.

Before I left, I walked over to Happy Tales, which is the humane shelter/rescue organization that we adopted Gracie from. They have a shop in the Factory at Franklin where they shelter their cats, but all the dogs are fostered in volunteers’ homes. They also have a small store where they sell dog and cat toys, collars, etc. and the money helps the rescue. I’d hoped to purchase some Christmas gifts for Gracie and Gidget there, but it turned out they were closed. I was happy to find, though, that they have a donation box outside the store. So I dropped the last of my cash in there and headed home.

Gidget was quite pleased with my purchases. Or, well… more specifically, she was quite pleased with the tissue paper that my silk scarf had been wrapped in. She tore apart, rolled in, and finally napped on the tissue paper. So much for needing to buy her actual “real” cat toys.

Gracie-dogger went bananas over the “Fishy Kisses” lip blam I got. She spent half the afternoon trying to get in my face to sniff my Roasted Coffee Bean -scented lips. LOL.

Anyway.

Between doing some shopping on Saturday and then going to the craft show on Sunday, I’ve put a fairly good dent (finally) in my Christmas shopping. Whew! I never used to be such a procrastinator, but the last couple years I have been terrible with the last-minute shopping. I need to double-check my list, but I think I’m pretty much done now except for some things I want to order online (because I’m sick of dealing with the crowds at the store).

How are you all doing with your holiday shopping?