Knitter's block..and not

Can't...work...on...shawl. It's driving me nuts and almost stressing me out that I can't get myself to work on this shawl. OMG. I finally figured out what it is about this project that driving me nuts. The pattern is too in between. I don't mind mindless patterns. They are great for the days I want to vedge in front of the TV and do nothing because I don't have to think about them. I also don't mind the harder patterns, where I really have to sit down and concentrate on what I'm doing. What bugs me is the in-between. The first 6 or 8 rows of this pattern are mindless, I can multi-task while I do them. They I get lost. It's not that the rows are hard, but I have to pay attention to which row I'm on so that I get the stitches right. I haven't found the "lamdmarks" in those rows yet to tell me I'm on the right path. GRRR. So I sit down and start a repeat and I get into other things, then WHAM I hit row 10 and I have to drop everything because I keep screwing up. It's SO frustrating. Anyway, I'm sure I'll figure it out.

That said, I'm officially 1/2 way through Logan's IHS. Problem is, I'm not sure that the two balls of yarn I have are going to make a long enough scarf. If anything it will only be an inch or two shorter than I would prefer, so I can hopefully get that much out of a wet block, though I was hoping to avoid blocking. Oh well.

In other news, I'm starting on Logan's other super secret project today. The willow is in the tub soaking, so we'll see.

Aaaaand, that's about it.

All sorts of stuff...

Hmm where to start...

I'M OFFICIALLY A RAVELER!!! Yes indeed peoples, I got my Ravelry invite today. So, I've uploaded most of my recent FOs and the couple of things I'm working on currently. I can already see myself losing HOURS on this site. Wow. It's everything everyone has been raving about and more. Fan-FUCKING-tastic. I love it.

So, Eileen's christmas Shawl is coming along nicely. It's getting a little tedious. The rows are getting long and the pattern is pretty repetitive. It's going to be a rough go. But, I'll get through it, that's why I started early.

On the other hand, Logan's secret project #2 is MIA. Yes, I lost it. Well, I didn't lose it so much as I hid it from myself. I knew he was going to be home for several days in a row...I was in the process of cleaning...and I put it away...somewhere. Yeah, I know. Good thing it was going fast anyway. I really need to work on secret project number on too. I have the beads for it...and a couple of other supplies...but I have yet to begin assembly.

What else...OH! I joined the Daring Bakers. Yes, I know, I'm a dork. But really, I love baking and this looks like it will be lots of fun. Happy happy! I don't get to start until the November challenge though, so we'll see. Also on the cooking front, I bought 2 new books. A Williams Sonoma book on Desserts and a random book of like 200 muffin, coffee cake, down home recipes. SOOOO good. Logan says I have to make one of everything. This could take a while :P

Umm...that might be all for now. My brain is fried from the last week and yeah, I'm ready for an empty house and some sleep.

*hugs*

FO - Calorimetry

Yarn - HandpaintedYarn.com "Amatista"
Pattern - Calorimetry from Knitty.com

So, I'd had this fantastically GORGEOUS purple yarn from Handpainted yarn and I knew I wanted to make something different, not just another beanie. So, I went with a headband and scarf set. This is the headband (duh).

So this pattern is er...weird. The gauge is just...off. The first time I knit this, I used the prescribed needle size and hit the gauge with no problem. Unfortunately, I got half way through the pattern and realized that the knitted fabric was HUGE. Too huge. Bigger than my head huge. So I frogged it and walked away for a while.

A few weeks later, I picked up again and just decided to haphazardly drop 3 needle sizes. It was size perfection. I still have to add buttons to it, but I really love how it came out.

FO - Camo Stripe Hat

Yarn - HandpaintedYarn.com "Rivera Sands"
Pattern - My basic beanie pattern

This was another stash buster hat. I made Logan a hunting mask out of this gorgeous yarn. The colors are totally camo and beautiful. So, to get rid of the tiny little ball that was left, I made a beanie! I actually really like the way it striped instead of pooling. Yay for happy accidents and for stash busting!

FO - Voodoo (to the third power)

Yarn - HandpaintedYarn.com "Shells"
Pattern - Voodoo from Knitty.com

Yes, this is my third set of voodoo. I also think it's my favorite. I love the way the pink spirals around the wrist. I actually got my first chance to wear these the other day and they are so incredibly warm. I'm in love. There will no doubt be more voodoo in my future. Love this pattern.

FO - Lace Skull Cap

Yarn - HandpaintedYarn.com Buotone
Pattern - Modified " Halley's Comet Hat from Marnie MacLean

This is a hat that I've wanted to make forever, but could never find a yarn that made me happy. Well, after I made my Wisp from knitting, I had enough of the buotone yarn left over for a hat or two, so I used part of the leftover ball for this. I love it. The pattern is pretty much verbatim, I just made it a lot shorter so that it could be more of a spring hat instead of a winter beanie.

Here's a closeup of the lace - I really like it. I would like to try and make a circular shawl out of this petal pattern, but I don't know if I have the energy (or the skill) to manage that.

FO - Ponytail Snowboarding Hat

Yarn - 1 skein HandpaintedYarn.com "Geoda"
Pattern - Free pattern from WoolyWormhead called "Tea Cozy Hat"

So, I found myself with a dilemma. I went snowboarding for the first time last year and I really liked it. But, I'm from California. I'm used to wearing a ponytail on the slopes and not having to wear a hat...so wearing my hair down was just...unnatural.

When I saw this hat I was ecstatic. It was perfect in theory, but I was a little skeptical that it would actually work out the way it's supposed to. But it does! I love the color of the yarn against my hair too. I couldn't be more happy with this one.

I've got more of this same yarn and I'm going to make a scarf and possibly wrist warmers to match.

FO - Sk8er Gurl Hat

Yarn - Less than 1 skein HandpaintedYarn.com "Noches de Otono"
Pattern - Just a basic beanie pattern I created/divined from multiple patterns

I love this yarn. It's gorgeous. Logan and I both have a hat in this yarn and pattern. It's the perfect skater gurl/boy beanie. Yup.

FO - Nautilus Hat

Yarn - Less than 1 ball HandpaintedYarn.com "Granate"
Pattern - Marnie MacLean's Nautilus

I've admired Marnie's patterns for a long time now, but until recently, I've not had great confidence in my knitting ability. It seems that since everything, I've decided there's nothing I can't do, and this applies to knitting too and I've been trying patterns that I never would have tried in the past.

Obviously, it was all in my head, because I had absolutely no problems with this pattern, it's not difficult, I was just intimidated. Not anymore!

FO - Tweed Hats

So, I had this leftover tweed wool from forever ago (I made a purse out of most of it) well, I decided to make a hat out of it and get rid of the little balls ... except I didn't expect it to make two hats, sooo, Logan and I have gross couple semi-matchy matchy hats now. Shuddup. This one is mine. It's okay, for a stashbuster hat, but it's not fantastic.





This one is his. His is better..I know

Odessa

I just finished an Odessa from Magknits. While I really like it...I'm not sure that I will do another one...

Well, I mean, it was a super easy pattern, easy to remember and easy to execute. And the end product is really nice looking. Problem? I insisted on using beads that were technically too small for my semi-chunky yarn. But it's what I wanted hehehe. They are really cute on there and I love them and I'm glad I didn't compromise, but it took me a couple of hours to string them on and killed my fingers. I ended up having to use a thick cardstock to make a needle threader to thread the yarn through the beads since the hole in the beads wouldn't accomodate two widths of yarn and a needle. I know, I know this is my fault and not the hat's, but DAMN. Seriously, what a pain in the ass. And then, since the beads were tight on the yarn too, moving them as I knit was a huge pain in the ass too. Grr.

That said, I really do like the hat. I may end up breaking down and making another one. The color is so my mom that I may just give it to her and make myself one in another color. We'll see.

I'll take some pictures...at some point. I know, I know, this is what I'm alway the worst at...actually posting pictures of my FOs.

Oh, speaking of FOs, I finished a brown hat for Logan the other day. Yup, it's purty too. Sure, why not, I'll put it in the ever lengthening picture queue too.

I'm impossible.