Gretel #2

She's done!

Gretel
Caron Simply Soft Heathers in Gray
Size 4 needle for the ribbing
Size 7 for the rest
Regular Size

I used my cable needle this time instead of working it without one. To be honest, it just "flows" better for me WITH it than without it. I don't dig cabling without a cable needle for some reason. (Probably because this works cables back/front in same rows at times. It took me more time to look up the directions again and again for each than to just use my needle.)

It wasn't blocked in these pictures. I washed it tonight in All Clear since my cousin is very allergic to detergents, then stuck it in a plastic bag (loosely) to finish blocking on a plate since she's also very allergic to cat dander. (And that's ALL over my house!) I'm praying that it's okay for her and I'm going to tell her to wash it herself when she gets it to make sure no stray kitty hairs are on it. I don't want to be the cause of a bad reaction! Gulp!

Again, I have to say I love knitting this pattern, it's fast & really fun to make. This is actually my third one but #2 was made out of Red Heart Soft in a pretty purple color and came out too snug, (I was experimenting with needle sizes) and too "shaggy-fuzzy-frizzy-pilly" (eww!) It's buried somewhere around here....

Today was spent clothes shopping for my girls, cleaning (blah), laundry (blah blah), and cooking, so no fibery things were worked on (yet!-that baby blanket is bugging me). The seasons are changing around here slowly but surely, so my girls were hinting lately that the need for longer pants was arising. It feels like school just started and we just finished clothes shopping for capri's and shorts...where does the time go?

It's slowly been getting darker a little earlier each day and the terrible heat & humidity went bye-bye a couple of days after Hurricane Ike passed by (whew!). Can you see autumn? I sure can. The "sunshine" during the day has a whole different look and glow to me. Amazing.

Here's an early"Happy Autumn" to everyone.

WIP Wednesday

Oh my gosh, do I dare? Because I have to confess that even though I've read that a lot of people really enjoy seeing WIP's on blogs, I seem to only JINX myself by posting about them.

Exhibit A: My Stash-ghan (on my sidebar). Which if anyone ever notices is still at the same percentage as when I posted about it... I just haven't gotten back to it and I won't go digging through my blog but I also never finished a couple of sweaters I posted about either. I have a habit of only posting about Finished Objects and that forumla seems to work for me because I WANT to post about them when I'm done of course. My head can come up with the craziest things.

But, I'm going to try again:


I'm working on a baby blanket for a co-worker of my husband's whose daughter was born a YEAR ago. He volunteers me for these things and the only reason I'm trying to pump this out is because a different co-worker is due to have a baby boy in November and I'm making him some booties (I've made one, need to do the other one...forgot to get a pic yesterday!).
Guilt will get you every time.

Here's my socks I've been ever so S L O W L Y working on. I'm not liking the striping on these so I may overdye them with some kool-aid or food coloring when I'm done with the second sock. (I know my pictures are TERRIBLE, please forgive the dark shadows but it was so gloomy outside yesterday and I can't edit to save my life!) This is how pretty my yarn looks in a cake. I loved it in a hank and I love it in a ball, but I don't love it knit up. I know, I'm one of those crazy people.

I've really been tugged towards more "solid" sock yarns for awhile now, I'm really enjoying the look more for some reason but these fooled me, they were close so I didn't expect what I got. I hope to post closer up photo's so you can actually see the stripes (hopefully) when they're completed.

I've also added another Gretel in the mix as well. My cousin's 50th birthday is coming up in October so I just got a bee in my bonnet last night to whip her up one of those. Hope to finish that by the end of the week so I can send it out soon.

So that's it...me with a million things to get done and I keep thinking of more. Please wish me luck! (gulp)

Knitters ADD

It's sure "catchy" but I guess we're all susceptible at times. I've been reading as much on other blogs so I know I'm not alone these days. The first Gretel I made went super FAST, this time I keep messing up all over the place and can't get the flow going smoothly. I've been fudging the stitches already and I'm only on Row 10. I do love this purple I'm using though, I think it's Red Heart Soft. This will be gifted for Christmas probably. Well... if it ever gets done.


Here's sock #2 in progress and it's driving me absolutely crazy. I've started over 3 blasted times. The first time was because I was visiting with my inlaws and cast on too many sts, the second time was because I dropped a stitch and it was a mess due to the k2 tog, yo's. So, try number three here has just begun again. At least the one sock I've finished so far DOES fit me! There is hope.
My Undulating Waves Scarf is in limbo land permanently. I can't decide whether I want to take all those beads off and over-dye this yarn. Now is the time to really consider it since I don't know if dyeing it AFTER it's all done will work with the beads on there. I wouldn't want any of the beads to crack or discolor. It seems safer to do the yarn all alone I would think. I rinsed this Schaefer Heather yarn before beginning my scarf and it bled out a lot (not unusual with this yarn brand). It's a lot duller now and washed-out looking. I think a quick burgundy over-dye job just might help it perk back up. What do you think??

Actually in the picture it looks more colorful than it is in real life. Trust me, it looks washed out.

I've been on Rav a lot lately, too much as a matter of fact. I've printed out several more patterns of "this & that". My "someday" list is not achievable in this lifetime but it's sure fun to dream!

Oh! And I bought more yarn....I'll save that for the next post tho! Happy Knitting!

Gretel

She's done. Whew. I thought those cables would never end! Still...a very quick knit! I love it!

While "showing off" my knitting on Ravelry during the last visit with my in-laws, my SIL noted that I had never knit her anything. So we browsed thru some patterns and she really liked this beret. I purchased the pattern from Ysolda and picked up some Caron Simply Soft Heathers in the Sage colorway. My SIL is one of those that doesn't like wool (too itchy for her), and her color choice was tough, since "Sage" can vary GREATLY between so many different yarns out there. I liked this colorway when I saw it, and I like Simply Soft yarns - so here it is.

My Gretel turned out "large" (my SIL told me she has a big head!) but I made the "slouchy" version so I kind of expected that. I just hope after her wash she keeps around the same dimensions or I may have to redo it. What I may do is work some elastic in the band like others have had to do to their own berets so it'll be okay. We had a lot of laughs trying this hat on as well. It can fit kind of funny until you get it situated on your head just right. What great entertainment!
If I make it again, I'll do the "regular" version and probably go down a needle size on the ribbing. This is why I'm so glad I skipped the "tubular" cast on. My gut instinct was "don't make it too stretchy" and I was right. A regular long tail cast on was perfect. I highly recommend this pattern, it's easy to read, easy to make, and FUN to watch evolve. 2 Thumbs Up Ysolda!