Presto!

Hello! Here's a cute little knit that was just finished up for a friend's 1-year-old. I'm very satisfied with this project and would definitely make it again!

All finished!

Label detailing

Mommy & sweater

The Birthday Boy himself!

Here are the details!

Pattern: Presto Chango

Designer: Valerie Wallis

Needles: US #7

Yarn: Almost two skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece--Robin's egg blue

Time to knit: three days at a leisurely pace-- (it felt like sewing in ends and buttons took almost as long as the knitting)

Mods:I omitted the lace section and continued large stripes across the panel. Also, I began w/ 109 sts using a provisional cast on. Then, I knit until neck opening and followed directions for each side front until bottom of sleeves. I did a three needle bind off under arms and then continued knitting the rest of the body. Sizing ended up between the 12 and 24 month old sizes.

Raveled!

This just in!

Ladies and gents, we interrupt this series of knitting flashbacks to bring you something current! Yep, hot off the needles, here is my most recent creation:

OOOooo...Ahhhh!

Pattern: Emerald Mitts
Designer: Lucy Sweetland
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette - Ash
Needles: US # 4
Time to Knit: 8 days here and there--a fun little project!
Made for: What's that you say? A supreeez??
Modifications: The most noticeable modification I made was knitting the rows following the bobbles tbl instead of through the front. Also, I decreased one stitch on row 16 of the chart by p2tog in the first stitch, then doing a P2K2 ribbing around the mitten except the design in the front. Lastly, I must have misread the directions for the thumb gusset on the left mitt, because it looks completely different than the right. Regardless of the change, they both fit perfectly.

How about a close-up obligatory "mitts holding tea" shot? Oh look, here it is:

Huzzah! It was a fun and speedy project--I'm pleased with the final result and excited to get them to their mystery owner. Muaha. I love knitting surprises!

Oh, and here it is Raveled!

Next Up: Scottish Habitat!

Moving right along in the series of unreported FO's from this summer, we have a burly wool hat! A wool hat you say? Rachel, what possessed you to knit a wool hat in the middle of summer? I'll give you a hint: It might have had something to do with this man...

Scottish Highlander. Mmmmm...

Okay, so, the man pictured above was the phenomenal highland tour guide from a 3-day bus excursion we took in northern Scotland. This guy is the quintecential Highland male, and he did everything possible to make sure we had a good time (this included being extra dreamy and awesome). Anyway, before the end of the trip, he comissioned a manly wool hat so he wouldn't have to steal mine before leaving. Fast forward seven days later? Meet Habitat:

Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood
Needles: US #7 Addi Turbos
Yarn: New Lanark Donegal Aran - 100% [Scottish] Wool
Time to Knit: One glorious week
Recipient: Graeme the Highlander!
Level of Love: Cable swoonage took (and is still taking) place.
Modifications: zippo!

Here some shots of it finished on me. Not nearly as attractive as they would have been on him, but it's the best I could do.The great thing about the hat is that the more he wears it, the warmer it will become. I chose this design because the coarse fibers of the wool (when wet from the frequent rain) will felt themselves together making a denser material better at blocking out wind. Who doesn't like a hat that does that?
The intricate cables and star burst design near the crown were a bonus because (I can say from experience) the weekend bus ride was spent looking at nothing but the back of his head. I figured the future tour members might appreciate something interesting to look at (besides him, of course...oh, and maybe the breathtaking Scottish Highlands!).
Lastly, I'll leave you with this video of me [intentionally] sliding down a hill in the Isle of Skye. The filmwork is a tad shaky toward the end (motion-sickness prone be warned), but that's because the guy filming saved my DSLR from crashing to its almost certain doom. Eeegads.

Great memories in Scotland. Great memories. More knitting to come soon!

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

I've been told by my good friend Julie Andrews that it's a very good place to start. So, let's see. When we last left off, knitting wise, I was slowly but surely chugging along on this:
Between that point and the time I finished it, I reached a point of frustration. You know, the stage when you feel like you've been working on the same project for ages and it just won't finish itself? That'd be nice. If a project could just finish itself. Obviously in my case that didn't happen, and piling it on my head seemed like a more viable solution than actually getting it done at the time.
Luckily, around May 25th I found the mojo necessary to finish the edging charts and get the whole thing blocked. Just in time for my trip to Scotland (woohoo!).Isn't blocked lace awesome? It maintains to be my favorite part of the process. Okay, how about some details?

Pattern: Springtime Bandit
Designer: Kate Gagnon Osborn
Yarn: 4.5 skeins of Artyarns Supermerino - Sapphire
Needles US #8 Addis
Time to knit: laughable. I began March 15th and well...yeah. May 25th.
Level of Love: High! Very wearable, warm, colorful, and squooshy!
Mods: I added 2 extra repeats of the leaf motif--that's it!

And here are some of the FO shots!So there you have it! This project got a lot of wear during my trip and will continue to do so now that the weather is getting cooler again. I'm glad I'm finally getting to share these projects with you, there are many many more in my FO arsenal waiting to be seen--stay tuned!

Analysis Paralysis

There is so much I'd like to do with this-here space of mine that I've stumbled into my common state of "analysis paralysis". Does this happen to anyone else? When you have so many ideas going on in your head about what you'd like to do that you end up not doing anything?

Sigh. This is where I'm at right now. Please forgive me. Let me make it better by giving you a friendly wave "hello":
No? that didn't fix the problem? Hmmm...

Would you like to know the worst part? I have SO MUCH to share with you! Actually, now that I think about it, that sounds like the best part. Give me a day or two to develop that-- I have a feeling I'll come up with a solution in no time.

Eye Candy - Stash update

Hiya! I'm back in the states and ready to do some serious knitting. To help expedite the matter, I decided to get organized. Take a look at these bad boys!


Those are my most recently purchased stash all photographed and cataloged on Ravelry. As you can see, one of those photos made the cut as a new blog header; it's a handpainted, handspun yarn gifted by my wonderful sister-in-law (thank you Keri!). The change isn't too drastic, I just needed a little change of scenery to keep up with things around here--Whee!

That stash ought to keep me busy for a while, eh? More [actual] knitting updates to come soon (I promise).

An update!

If you're wondering why there has been a severe lack of communication on my part over the past 42 days it's because...well...

a) I'm in Scotland!
b) I'm exploring things (in Scotland).
c) I'm meeting people (in Scotland).
d) I'm taking 6 credits (in Scotland).
e) I'm having a wonderful time (in Scotland).
f) And lastly, I'm exhausted (in Scotland).

Though my blog has fallen by the wayside temporarily, I have not forsaken all internet related communication. To prove it, have a look at some photos from the past 41 days!

See! Visual proof that I am actually out doing things. Admittedly, Project 365 has temporarily taken the place of a "blog" since school ended. If you're interested in following my antics over the next few weeks (until I get back to blogging regularly again), you can do that here!

"Ummm...I'm adorable."

I promise I'll get back on a normal schedule sometime in August, but until then, take care & happy knitting!