Shawls, more shawls, and school.

School is kicking my ass. Seriously.

Classes started two weeks ago and already I've had two major stress melt downs and have
gotten sick once. NEVER TAKING TIME OFF AGAIN! I feel like I'm behind of everything, even though we just started school. I'm hoping that once I get more into the groove of homework and papers and tests I will be less of a nervous wreck. 

So far I am mostly enjoying my classes. 

I loooove my "Love and Work in 19th Century Literature" class. It is really interesting and the professor is a lot of fun,  but it is a senior level class so there is a LOT of work.

 I like my Lit. Analysis class, but it is a little boring sometimes because a lot of it the last couple weeks has been review.  I love my professor because she is French and has the best accent ever. 

I also really like my art class, just because I love drawing, but the professor is one of the hardest graders I have ever had for art. That class is the one that is kicking my ass. I am the only one is the class that is not an art major, and she expects us to spend at least 6 hours outside of class doing homework and working on projects. Gaah. 

Milo got his little kitty balls removed last week and he is just as rambunctious and silly as ever. It definitely has not changed his personality AT ALL which is good news. We have been supposed to keep him from running or jumping all week, which has been pretty much impossible. How are you supposed to keep a kitten from playing??

I have not had a ton of time to knit, so I've mostly just been busy finishing projects that I already had on the needles, BUT I did somehow find time to start and finish two shawls since the last time I posted. SPEED KNITTING! So, all the knitting I have to share with you are finished projects. 

I'm going to make the rest of this post quick because Milo decided it's time to try to take a nap on the keyboard. 

Finished Objects:

1) I finished my lovely Henslowe

I am so happy with it! It is squishy and soft and the color is lovely.So this is the Henslowe by Beth Kling. I knit it on size US 5 (3.75 mm) needles with Knit Picks Capretta in Celestial. 

2) I test knit a pattern for a designer 

A lot of times when an independent designer makes a new pattern they will ask people online to test knit it for them to make sure that it is written correctly and there are no errors. This is the Rosewood Shawl by Rose Jordan and I made it as a Christmas present for someone secret. I used size US 9 (5.5 mm) needles and Caron Simply Soft in Carnation. 

3) Last but not least, I knit shawl with some of my hand spun

This is the Gale's Art Polwarth that I finished spinning and plying last post. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this shawl. Oh my god the colors. GORGEOUS! This is the Holden Shawlette which I knit with size US 6 (4.0 mm) needles and my hand-spun. I am so pleased with how it turned out. 

4) I also finished Molly's shawl! 
I will add photos HERE after I am done blocking it.

I knit this shawl using Liz Corke's Storm Warning pattern with US 6 (4.0 mm) needles and Jo-Ann Sensations Cuddle in Lilac.

No works in progress right now, but I do have a sweater I am planning to knit. It's called the Troian by Vanessa Smith and it is lovely. I am planning on overdyeing some neon purple yarn to make it a sort of dark plum color and using that to knit it. 

Stashy Stash

Some of this was actually purchased before my last post, but hadn't arrived yet. 

TWO large sweater's quantities for only $15 each! WHAT!

I got this free with my purchase. WEEE

2450 yards of laceweight merino for only $15!

This was a gift from moutons on Ravelry

Another sweater's quantity for 12 dollars!
Can you tell I want to knit some sweaters?

Otherwise

I thought I would share a couple of my most recent drawings and sketches with you. Remember it's been a year since I've drawn seriously, so some of these are not my best work. And if you want to share these pictures, please be sure to credit me. 

Selfie

My hand

My hand again

in class model

Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week, and keep your fingers crossed that Fall weather comes soon.

-Nicole

Welcome to the family Milo!

Hello folks! Did you miss me?

I got back from vacation about a week ago, but have been too busy to post, partly because I was sick the last few days, but mostly for the best possible reason.

WE GOT A KITTY!!!

Meet Milo! He is a two and a half month old shorthaired tabby and he is my baby. A couple was giving away kittens at the local farmer's market and he was the last one left.  He was very skittish when we first brought him home, but now he loves to play and snuggle and get into all sorts of mischief. We're still in the training phase right now, and are trying to teach him not to scratch furniture and attack our feet under the blankets at night, but he is a ton of fun and very sweet. Right now he is being super adorable and taking a nap across my legs.

Vacation was amazingly fun. We stayed up in Boyne City, MI, and visited Petoskey and Charlevoix while we were up there. Our condo was on Boyne Mountain, and it was very beautiful up there. There was a lot of relaxing and taking hikes in the mountains, visiting the beach, eating TONS of delicious food, shopping, playing with my nephew. It was one of the best vacations I've had in a long time, and I even managed to fit some fibery fun in by forcing my family to come with me to the Stonehedge Fiber Mill, which was only a few miles away from where we were staying. The actual fiber mill location was a little underwhelming, but the yarn was beautiful and the owners of the mill were very friendly. I will get onto the knitting now, but will post lots of vacation pictures at the end of the post.

I did not get a ton of knitting done on vacation because I was too busy having a blast, but I've gotten a few things done the last week. 

Finished Objects

1) I finished my second Boyfriend Sock.

I was not in love with this yarn by the end of the project (too much brown) but I would definitely buy it in a different color in the future. I combined two patterns for this project: Erica Leuder's Hermoine's Everyday Socks and Wendy D. Johnson's Sport Weight Toe-Up Socks with a Gusset, using Leuder's stitch pattern and Johnson's sock pattern. I knit these for my dear boyfriend with 60 stitches on size US 1.5 (2.5 mm) needles with Paton's Kroy Socks FX in Camo Colors.

2) I also finished my Sunshine Socks!

I love these socks so much. I used Wendy D. Johnson's Toe-Up Slip-Stitch Heel pattern, except that I did an eye of partridge heel because apparently it is physically impossible for me to actually follow all of the directions of a pattern. I think the slip-stitch heel would have looked better, but I wanted to try something new. I also tried hard to make the stripes match on these, which meant that I had to cut and tie the yarn on the second sock about four times. I knit these on size US 1 (2.25 mm) needles over 56 stitches with Knit Picks Felici Sport in Southwest. 

3) I also crocheted a hat in about two days.

I bought this yarn on a whim during a trip to Michael's because it is sooo soft and shiny and eye catching.  When I bought the yarn I saw a little free pattern sheet at the store which I thought was PERFECT! This is the Wave Stitch Beret pattern crocheted with Paton's Metallic in Blue Steel on a size H (5.0 mm) and a 4.5 mm hook. It is difficult to photograph because of the shininess* it is actually much darker than the first photo shows. The pattern was fun and very quick. I got a little distracted at one part while doing the increases, so I accidentally made it a whole repeat bigger around than the pattern called for, meaning that it is much floppier than it is supposed to be. I am actually pretty happy with the floppiness though, and I'm glad that I "messed up". 

Works in Progress

1) I am still working on the Dane Shawl.

I decided to make this shawl mine instead of Molly's since it will probably be too scratchy for her delicate skin. I am moving onto the third repeat of the body pattern, which means that I am (supposedly) 2/3 of the way done, but since the rows keep getting longer I'm more like 1/2 of the way done. I am knitting this with my handspun Corriedale on size US 7 (4.5 mm) needles and am using Jane Tanner's Dane Shawl pattern.

2) I started another, softer, shawl for Molly

Molly picked out this skein of very soft, snuggly yarn at Joann's , so hopefully she will like it better. This Liz Corke's Storm Warning shawl and I am knitting it with Joann Sensations Cuddle in Lilac on size US 6 (4 mm) needles. I have modified (of course) the pattern to make it more triangular, and am knitting it without beads. I love this pattern, and it is very easy and fun to knit.

Stash Enhancement

I got a few things while on vacation

Stonehedge Fiber Mill Crazy

Stonehedge Fiber Mill Fine, mill ends, Plum, 515 yards

Stonehedge Fiber Mill Fine, mill ends, Raspberry, 432 yards 

Jojoland Melody Superwash, color MS12

 

I'm going to Stitches Midwest next weekend, so I will have much more to share with you then. Until then, have a great week, and enjoy some of my pictures from vacation. 

-Nicole

 

 

Ack, the Plague

In a turn of events that will surprise no one, I am sick again.

Brandon and I both woke up on Tuesday suffering from an uncomfortable amount of snot, and it is has just gotten worse since then. Brandon is feeling better but I am still feeling like something the cat coughed up. I have not even felt much like knitting this week, since I have to stop every other minute to blow my nose or have a sneezing or coughing fit. I have been reading A LOT though. I am re-reading the Harry Potter series, this week I got through the Goblet of Fire and the Order of the Phoenix. I started the Half Blood Prince this morning and am about a fifth of the way through it. 

My knitting time has also been delayed a bit by happier things. I spent Monday with Celeste and Phoenix, and watched him while Celeste and Levi went to get the first ultrasound of the baby. It looks like I'm going to have a niece! I am so excited!!!!!! And now I can finally use some of those baby dress patterns that I have been coveting for so long. I don't think I own a single skein of pink yarn, except for some hand-me-down acrylic yarn, but I don't really like color coding things for babies anyway. I think I'm just going to use up some of the yellow baby yarn I have an make ALL THE THINGS before she arrives. EEEEE!

Brandon's birthday was on Wednesday, and we had a nice day playing video games and just relaxing together. I made him his favorite peanut butter chocolate cream pie (OOOOOOOOOOH SO GOOD) and some yummy malted flour waffles for breakfast. His parents took us out for dinner and margaritas later, and over all I think he had a really good birthday (in spite of the fact that we were both coming down with colds).

In other news, I am currently on a yarn diet, meaning that I am not buying any more yarn until the end of the summer. I realized that I have been spending too much money on yarn lately, so I made Brandon my warden and made me promise that if I can not buy any more yarn until Stitches Midwest this summer, then he has to come with me. If I just haaaave to buy something, because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity or something, then I have to do dishes for a week. I think Brandon is sort of hoping I will fail so that he doesn't have to do dishes or go to Stitches, but I am determined not to fail....wish me luck.....

And on an unrelated note, I sent out a yarn swap package this week. I am a part of the Knitting Samurai Plus One podcast group on Ravelry, and the group was doing a yarn swap this month. A yarn swap is sort of a Secret Santa type deal, where you are randomly assigned a partner and have to secretly send them a present. The fun part of yarn swaps is that you get a chance to get to know someone new and give and receive awesome presents. I didn't get a chance to take a picture before I sent mine out, but I sent my partner a lovely skein of yarn, some natural soap, chapstick, and hand balm, a notebook, and a couple of little Hamster Beans (pattern by Emily Stoneking)

I asked a coworker to cover my shift today because working last night was beyond awful. I had to run to the back of the restaurant every few minutes to hack up my lungs and blow my nose, and I was so out of it that I kept getting really disoriented and stressed with only a few tables. I also managed to spill beer all over one of my customer's laps. I still managed to rake in good tips, but I think that's just because my tables all felt bad for me, because I know I was doing a horrible job. I am currently curled up on the couch with a cup of tea, Harry Potter, some knitting, and Cracked.com articles. 

I did manage to get a couple of things made this last week though, so without further ado:

Finished Objects:

1) I made some Hamster Beans, some for my yarn swap and one for my mom.

I used some leftover sock yarn and size US 1 needles.

2) I finished my handspun Cassiope shawl! 

I am really really happy with how this turned out! I used size US 8 (5 mm) needles, my hand-dyed, hand-spun BFL yarn, and Alexandra Beck's Cassiope pattern. I modified it a little bit, adding another mesh lace repeat to the bottom to make it longer, but I really enjoyed this pattern. I think I would consider this  my first real lace project (in that most of the pattern was charted lace repeats). I looooved knitting with my hand-spun yarn. I think this may be one of my favorite project ever. And it is just so pretty and warm and soft!

Works in Progress

I have not worked on my cotton cami or my socks recently, but I have been working on a couple things

1) I started a secret project for a very special person that I will not reveal until I am done. But I will tell you that I am using some of the yarn that I mentioned in my last post. I bought it specifically to make something for this special person, and I really hope she likes it. 

I will reveal more once I give the project to the recipient.

2) I am almost done with a baby blanket for my future niece. 

Just as a note, I am not 100% happy with this. I had some stash Hobby Lobby Luscious yarn and some Lion Brand Jiffy and Lion Brand Pound of Love in yellow colors that I thought I would have enough of to finish this blanket. Unfortunately, I ran out of the fuzzy yarn, and they discontinued it years ago. I tried to find some online, but couldn't find any. There were some people on Ravelry who had theirs listed as "will trade or sell" but nobody has emailed me back. The only other fuzzy yarn that I have is pink, so as soon as I found out the baby was a girl I decided to finish off the blanket with pink yarn and make it a design element, maybe crocheting a yellow flower onto the pink corner to bring it all together. Hopefully it will look good once it's finished, but as of now I'm feeling kind of meh about it.

I am using size 15 (10 mm) needles and as this is such a basic blanket I am not really using a pattern. This is such a well known blanket/washcloth pattern that it would be ridiculous to link just one pattern "designer". The pattern is basically just as follows:

Start with five stitches (or three if you are not doing a border) and knit one row

Knit two or three border stitches, if desired,  yarn over and knit to the end. 

Repeat this row until the blanket is half as big as you want it

Knit the border stitches if desired, yarn over, knit three together (or sk2p) and knit to the end. Repeat this row until there are three (or five) stitches left and bind off.

3) I have spun about one ounce of the faux cashmere that I dyed with Easter egg coloring. 

I am spinning fingering weight singles, hoping to end up with a worsted weight two ply yarn. 

I have run out of tea and my Robitussin has worn off, so I am going to finish this post off here. 

I hope that you will be seeing some May flowers in your town this week!

-Nicole