Twisted Tree!

Here it is! It’s done. It’s finally done!

I just sewed it up this morning. (I couldn’t leave it so close to finished and not complete it. I had to finish it before heading out to work!) And I’m really happy with it.

I’m happy with it even though there's a mistake in it. Yup. A mistake. But I couldn't bring myself to take it out to fix it. I don't even really know where the mistake happened! Somehow I ended up with too many stitches at the end. Three too many stitches and they are all on the left front side. What’s up with that? How did I forget to decrease three times and have it all happen on that one side? Odd I tell you. Odd.
But I’m just going to let it go. It’s not going to hurt anyone if it has a slightly bigger neck. Especially since the neck was too small Xavier's sweater last year that it didn’t fit over his head and I had to redo the neck! Seriously, on Christmas morning I was remaking his gift. Luckily, he was 1. I think he’ll forgive me. So this year a few extra stitches probably doesn’t matter too much.
The sweater is actually probably going to be a little big for Xavier. He turns 2 just before Christmas, and the pattern size was for a 2/3yo, so it’s pretty big. But that is way better than being small. Hopefully he’ll actually get a lot of wear out of it. It’s a sweater. He lives in Canada. He better get a lot of wear out of it.

Hear that bro? Make your kid wear the sweater while you still have control over his waredrobe!

So, best thing about this pattern? That I’m done with it. For some reason it and I just didn’t mesh. It makes a nice sweater and I’m really satisfied with the results, but I had a hard time with it and had to frog or redo or stop to read the instructions a MILLION times over, so many times that it just got frustrating.

I’m freaking excited about the next thing on my list to knit. If it works out, I’ll post it here, if it doesn’t you’ll never hear about it again.

Twilight mitts anyone

So, along with maybe a 1/4 of the female US population I went with some friends to see Twilight yesterday. Not use mincing words: I didn't love it. I found it a bit... kitschy? I didn't think the actors were right for a bunch of the characters, etc. I won't go into it. But there was one thing I absolutely LOVED in the movie, and it most definitely wasn't Edward.

It was Bella's MITTENS!

Yes. Sad. That's the best picture I could find of them.

But I REALLY want those mittens. I want to go out and buy the yarn to start making them right now! Oh... and then I want to live in a climate that allows me to wear mitts like that all of the time. And then I want her hair... and being that skinny wouldn't be so bad either.

Is that too much to ask?

Okay. Then I'd so settle for the mittens. Really. I would. Anyone want to make a pattern, or know where I can get one? It would go to the very, very, very top of my queue. 

In the meantime I got the yarn to finish off Xavier's sweater, so hopefully that will happen this weekend. And I also started some ribboned opera gloves. Mine are way too long for some reason. 

I think I should have done about 7 repeats of the arm rather than 12. Now I'm wondering if I should frog it back. In case I haven't mentioned it before (although I have numerous times) I hate frogging. But will I hate these almost to my armpit armwarmers more? If I frog it back it's more likely that I'll actually wear them. 

They're okay. It's an incredibly simple pattern that's made pretty with the addition of the ribbon. (I'd need a different ribbon. This is just all I had at home.) And they knit up super quick. I haven't done anything on a size 9 needle in a long time, so you forget these things. We'll see. I'll debate it as I'm finishing the TT sweater.

More yarn needed!

Have you ever run out of the yarn you need to finish a project? Have you ever run out the yarn when you only need a smidge more? Well, I just need a smidge more! Just a little bit. 

See how close I am to being done! And I ran out of yarn! Yarn from my stash, so I was just trying to us it up! I don't want another skien, but another skien has been ordered!! Oh woe. What will I do with another part skein? I don't particularly love this Cascade yarn. I don't know why. But I don't think it would make a nice toque. (Toque is the Canadian relative of the beanie. I believe there is a technical reason why they are different, but I don't remember which one has the rolled up band and which one does not.) But, if I don't make a toque with it, what will I do with it? Oh my ever growing stash.

Speaking of ever growing stashes! While I was looking for the other left over yarn of this type (which I found and used all of already in the sweater) I found yarn I'd totally forgotten about! I remember buying the yarn. There's a half ball of yarn that I bought in Ireland to make Meg and Wendy mittens out of. When did that migrate down from Canada to California? It must have come on some trip! But when? Just how long has it been hiding under my bed. (You don't want to know what's hiding under my bed!) So I have yet again more partially used balls of yarn to add to my stash. 

And still I want to buy more yarn! I think I have a sickness. 

And hopefully my yarn will come soon to finish Xavier's Twisted Tree Sweater. Until then, I guess I'm back to working on the afghan, the tudora or maybe, just maybe I'll start a sweater for myself...?

Confidence booster: 15 minutes mini-mitts

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I've been busy. Busy with Nanowrimo. (39k words and counting!) Busy with Christmas baking (my best friend and I have baking parties every November/December to make Christmas cookies. We then freeze them and come Christmas all of our other friends get the tastiest, and cutest Cookie boxes ever, chalk full of calories and other goodness. So far I've made lemon drops and sugar cookies in the shape of stars. Also in the freezer are Nanaimos and cherry/oatmeal/chocolate chip drops. It's going to be a tasty Christmas!) Busy stressing out that I'm going to get laid off. (My company has been hit pretty hard by the failing economy. Although I haven't as of yet actually dusted off my resume...) And busy making mistakes on the Twisted Tree Sweater. 

Seriously. I think I have problem understanding some patterns. I must have read the yoke part of it at least 10 times trying to figure out the decreasing (five times out loud in case for some reason that turned a light on in my head. It didn't.). But I was obviously doing it incorrectly. The pattern is supposed to start slanting, but mine was going all... wonky. For the lack of a better word. It just didn't make sense to me when I was supposed to ssk versus when to k2tog. normally that makes sense. But normally you aren't doing it with a knit and purl stitch? At least that's what I think my problem is. 

So last night whilst I was bemoaning my wonky sweaterness, I knitted up these gems. 

I needed something that I could make in about 15 minutes to restore my confidence in my ability to knit. These were just the ticket! They are totally tiny. I found the pattern while looking for Christmas ornaments to knit. Along with my Christmas boxes for friends, I signed up to do a cookie exchange on a cooking blog I read. We are supposed to send a dozen cookies and an ornament, so I figured I'd knit one. I don't know if these are the ones that I'm going to send, but it was a fun tiny project to restore my sanity. (and I think luckily I have figured out the decreasing. I'll get back to that now...)

Anyways. I don't want to waste words that could be going towards my Nanowrimo word count. So, 'til I have another small craft to blog about, 'ta!

Quick Twisted Tree update

Just a quick update!
This is how far I am on the sweater for Xavier, my 2 year old nephew. It’s coming out okay, although the pattern was a little bit confusing in the beginning once I figured out the nomenclature, it was smooth sailing from there. Well… after I had to fix a few mistakes by me.


I’m a little bit worried that I’m not going to have enough yarn. This is left over yarn (don’t tell!) from when I made a sweater for me earlier this year and I really hope I don’t have to buy another skein just to finish off this guy. I think I have a 1/8th of a ball around somewhere. I couldn’t find it the other day, but I’m thinking I may have to dig it up before the end.

Once this is done, it’s back to the afghan, and then to the million of things I have in my queue. Oh lovely queue.