1st Pair of Bootees Almost Done

I just have the buttonloops and bobbles to add and my first pair is complete! Rose is due *this* weekend so it is perfect timing. I have been really pokey about my knitting over the past few days - these knit up quickly and if I set my mind to it I am sure I could probably finish these and do 2 more pairs on my day off tomorrow! These things are adorable! I need to experiment with larger needles and other yarn to make these for larger feet.

Bootees!

"Saartje’s Bootees" was one of the first patterns that caught my eye when I joined ravelry.com. They are genius little things and it was love at first sight. Rose is due IMMINENTLY and I want to have a few cute knit items for her as soon as Bailey is born! On Sunday I cast on and got started! I grabbed some Caron Simply Soft and got to work – just wanted to test the pattern out and see how it came together – it is an easy pattern, but some things were a little confusing for me until I was actually doing it. Needless to say, since I didn’t bother selecting the right weight for the yarn they came out GINORMOUS, but it was a test run anyway! After I finished the test bootie, I cast on for the real thing – since Rose hates hates HATES the color pink, I used blue and cream to make the first one. I plan on making more (I have yarn in mint green, cream, white, blue, pink and purple!) and sending her a slew of them in the mail so she gets them right away (I would hate it if I couldn’t get up to see her before the baby gets too big for the booties!)

Another reason ravelry.com rocks – before I got started I pored over the shared projects page for Saartje’s Bootees – I paid attention to all of the different mods other folks made when they knit their Saartje’s Bootees and adopted some of them for myself! Buttons, for some dumb reason, are difficult to come by around here … Walmart is just about the only place that sells them. I have seen a few websites with really cute buttons, but haven’t gotten around to ordering them yet. Someone used bobbles for the buttons and it just knocked me out! Adorable and no need to buy buttons. I decided to try it for myself and I am in love with the result. As of Monday night 1 is done and the next is cast on – Rose is due this coming weekend so if I keep my head down and get some work done I can have a slew to send to her to welcome her and the baby home from the hospital.

The Twisty Turns Wrap and I go to the Dentist

I had an appointment with my dentist for a cleaning on Saturday – I decided to bring the twisty turns wrap along to keep me busy while I waited. I hate going to the dentist, just … ugh. So I was a little distracted when I went to pack up the knitting – I totally snagged the RS of the wrap on Velcro. Naturally, it was a good 6 inches down from the needle so ripping back or even dropping and re-knitting the column(?) that stitch was in are not viable options. I know I can fix it, but it still pissed me off.

At the dentist’s office I am knitting in the waiting room. The assistant calls my name, and not wanting to keep her waiting I quickly jump up and manage to drop half the stitches off the needle. Greeeeeaaaaaaat. Punchline? I waited in the chair for 50 minutes before the dentist came in! There was no need to rush me into the chair, but I am glad she did because otherwise I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to screw up the same project twice in 1 day! Admittedly, I wasn’t happy about being there to begin with, but the fact they never bothered to bill my secondary insurance for the last round of work I had done and presented me gleefully with the bill, the assistant who called me in actually gave me a hard time about asking her to switch to non-latex gloves (don’t let my latex allergy cause you to walk an extra 3 steps to get the gloves that won’t make my skin blister), and the fact I waited 20 minutes to be brought in and another 50 to even be seen didn’t really do anything to improve the experience. I like the dentist, but her staff pisses me off. I have to decide whether I like her enough to continue to put up with her staff.

So, in the dentist’s chair I slipped the stitches back on the needle and just tucked it back in the bag – haven’t touched it since. Sometimes when there is a snafu on a project I temporarily lose interest in it. I need to sit down and get it all sorted out and then get back to work! I want to wear this thing as soon as next month – need to get to work!

The Blanket is Finished!!!

It may have taken forever, but it is finally finished! It really is very pretty, but I think in the future I will try a few more established baby blanket patterns before trying to wing it. I finished on 8/16/08, quickly wove in the ends, wrapped it up and then got right in the car to go to Liz & Kevin's BBQ! Sandra, Glenn and Hailey were already there and so was baby Kara who is adorable and so tiny and sweet. It is a little too warm right now to make much use of the blanket, but I hope it will keep Kara warm in the fall!

I have also made more progress on the twisty turns wrap. It is working up quicker than expected - I have been knitting it while talking to friends, watching TV and watching Dave play Zelda. It doesn't occupy a lot of my attention - I am using a pink stitch marker on the side that starts with purling and a blue one on the side that starts with knitting to help make it as mindless as possible. The 4x4 ribbing is almost automatic - anytime I do manage to make the wrong stitch it feels "wrong" enough that I can simply catch it right away, but even if I do make a mistake, it is easy enough to fix on ribbed stockinette. I have explored the idea of making several of these in different colors - if it continues to be this easy and enjoyable and the finished piece suits me, I think I just might!

Progress

I am now officially 75% of the way through the Feathers and Ridges baby blanket - the end is in sight. Don't get me wrong, I love it and it is coming out great, but it has been on needles since at least the beginning of the year (...so long I forget how long!) This will be the first knit baby blanket I have ever finished - I have a yellow one waiting to be frogged all done in Norwegian Fir stitch. Somewhere along the line I dropped a stitch or made some sort of heinous mistake. Perhaps I have learned more while it has been hibernating in my basket, but when last I looked at it, it seemed pretty hopeless. With al of the yarn overs and decreases and such there is no sane plce to rip back to. But again - maybe fresh eyes will yield a solution.

I added a few inches to the Twisty Turns wrap this morning too. It is really knitting up quick and easy - I wish I could remember who on ravelry said it was a good TV project because I would thank them for planting the idea in my head to start this one!

The Twisty Turns Wrap Begins!

Someone on ravelry happened to mention that the Twisty Turns wrap was a good "TV" project - except for the first 10 rows after initial cast on and the first and last 6 stitches of every row it is 4/4 ribbing. Well, I couldn't resist! I like something to fidget with in front of the TV - perfect!

I spent much of the day cataloguing my stash, needles and pattern books so I came across a bunch of yarns and patterns that had caught my eye when purhased but for one reason or another just wound up sitting around. After spending way too much time poking through patterns, yarns and projects on ravelry, I decided to go with a charcoal gray Twisty Turns wrap!

So far, so good! This will serve me well when I am weary of purple lace on the Feathers & Ridges blanket ... so long as it doesn't take over and keep me from finishing the blanket!

Nearing the end of the Feathers and Ridges Blanket

This is my first knit baby blanket. The only other baby blanket I have made was crocheted for Drew Creeden. It was just about the first thing I tried to crochet after not having picked up a hook in YEARS. Gauge was... non-existant. It was pretty, but also pretty screwy. I do owe that id a better gift! :) But I digress!

This has been on my needles for a very long time. I just picked a stitch I liked out of the Knitters Bible and decided to make a blanket out of it. Wow. I bit off more than I intended to chew ... at least it is something I am happy to be working on.

I guess I needed a reason to finish this ... some firm deadline to really get me moving. Well, I decided that this blanket is going to be for Kara Hope Bysterbusch - my friend Sandra's newest addition! I haven't met Kara yet (it's a vicious circle - I want to give her the blanket when I see her, but the blanket isn't done, so I haven't called Sandra about getting together - I kind of feel like an ass.) but I need to stop procrastinating on this blanket already!

On 8/16/08, Kara and big sis Hailey's Aunt Liz and Uncle Kevin are hosting their First Annual Summer Party - even if Kara isn't going to be there, I want that blanket finished in case she is! Now that I have a deadline work is moving along a lot faster on the blanket. I have 16 Pattern row repeats to go - totally doable! I guess that is why I threw myself a monkey wrench and decided to cast on for a new project today too. Not to mention that I want to also make something for the new big sister, Hailey! What was I saying before about biting off too much - guess I am just a glutton! :)

Cast On

I have never cared much for keeping journals, diaries and what have you, so ... needless to say, I have never cared much for blogging either. Just couldn't be bothered.

But I have found a reason to bother! I have always wanted to keep better notes on my projects. I recently joined ravelry.com and it is a great resource - it allows me to keep track of my needles, hooks, stash, pattern books and projects as well as interact with other knitters and crocheters. You can see what other people have done, get their advice on our projects and search for new patterns and ideas. (Not to mention just socializing in the forums - its not all about yarn crafts!) It also lets you link to your blog ... thus my sudden 180 on the need for a blog.

So, here is where I will keep detailed notes on my projects - I guess I have always been a geek for chronicles, so here is one of my own.