Ch-ch-changes

As some of you may have noticed, there's been a few changes made to the blog.  I've been wanting to clean up and simplify this space for a while now but the final push to do so came when last week I spent half the day trying to fix a blog post due to formatting issues (which I have mentioned in several posts leading up to this one).  I knew it then that it was time to give the blog a li'l makeover.  So I changed the template to something simple, cleaned up my sidebar, and got rid of the funky fonts.  I had major hopes that all my housekeeping would be the key to fixing my formatting issues.  It kinda worked.  I really liked the changes that I had made but I still spent a few hours trying to write and fix a post that just ended up not happening.  Ugh.  It's definitely time to switch my game plan here.

I've been thinking long and hard about this, had arguments with myself, weighed the pros and cons, and finally came down to the decision to re-brand and to buy my own domain.  Yup.  That last one was a huge decision for me to make, but one that I've been thinking of doing for the past few months. I finally just bit the bullet and did it.  So this will be the final post on this blog.  Don't worry, I don't plan on ever deleting this blog, and all previous posts will still be up for your viewing pleasure.  I'll still be keeping an eye on this blog, you know, to make sure the comments are being spammed and that the photos and links are still working.  I know that some people have posts and videos that link to this blog and I don't ever want people to not be able to find my work, nor do I want people to have to go and re-link everything.  But from now on you can find me at:

www.misocraftyknits.com

Starting tomorrow I'll be posting at the new blog!  So don't forget to update your feeds, readers, bloglines, and/or blog lists with the new website address.  If you subscribe by email, head on over to the new site and sign back up on the new blog.  Oh!  And while you're there, don't forget to follow me!  Once on the new site you will notice that the old blog and the new blog look eerily the same.  I guess you can say that I used this blog's last days as a guinea pig, and I wanted the transition from old to new to be easy...on me.  I know, I know...how selfish am I?  To make it even easier I had also transfered over all posts, just to make it easier to find stuff.  I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of having a million browsers/tabs open just cause I'm searching for one little thing.

Ok, well...I guess that's it for me!  Ok little blog.  We had some moments together...the good, the bad, the ugly, and now it's time for me to say "smell you later!".

As for you blogging friends, see you on the new website!

♥ Melissa

Two Against One

The Universe and the Yarn Gods are both scheming against me. They both want me to fail. The day that I posted about my Stashdown 2012 goals and plans, I got mail. Good mail. Well, what would normally be considered good mail on a day where I wasn't planning on reducing my stash. The mail? Check out the above photo.

Oh yes, that's a skein of yarn in a mug. A free skein of yarn. I can't even return it for a refund cause I didn't even buy it. The yarn is a gift. The icing on the cake: see this scratch ticket?

That's right. I won a free skein of Squoosh yarn, in any base, any colour of my choice. I won't lie, deep down I'm doing cartwheels of joy cause who can turn down free yarn?? Yummy free yarn at that? Only a freakin' crazy knitter who likes to knit with nothing but Red Heart yarn, that's who. If there is a person out there like that than I would like to meet them, solely so that I could slap them across the face with a skein of cashmere. Oh wait, that's not a punishment! That would be heaven. Ok, I'd slap them with a wet skein of Red Heart. Oh yeah. I could possibly be put in jail for that.

Both of these items came from the same company, in the same box. I think I'm being set up for failure here. You want a close up of what the yarn is?

That there, my friends, is a beautiful skein of Malabrigo Worsted. What am I going to do with it, I don't know. I have to be truthful here and say I'm not the world's biggest fan of Malabrigo Worsted. As sinfully buttery soft as it is, the single ply of this yarn pills and felts way too easily for my liking. I once had knit a project with this yarn back in my early knitting days and halfway into my scarf I saw that it was looking a little weird. It was starting to felt in the spots that were being handled a little more. Yeah, I wasn't impressed to say the least. Who knows, maybe I should give it another go? I've been eyeing up Veera Välimäki's newest collection, Follow the Lines, which uses nothing but Malabrigo yarns in all four patterns. But you know what that means. I'm going to have to purchase another skein of this stuff if I want to knit any of the patterns.

And this is how the vicious cycle begins...

How many more months until 2013? Oi...

Stashdown 2012

I'm sure a lot of you are well aware that I've had yarn on the brain for quite a long time now. I'm sure a lot of you are sick and tired of me talking about my stash and how I am feeling a tad bit smothered by the sheer amount of yarn that I have in my possession. I'm sure a lot of you are wondering why the hell am I complaining about having this "problem". Some of you don't even consider this is a problem. Well I think it is. Not only is my stash getting out of control, but so are my spending habits.

I've been organizing and re-organizing, and then organizing the stash some more in fruitless attempts at Tetris-izing it all to somehow make it fit within the confines of the closets they've been designated to. And yet, there are still piles of yarn at the foot of the bed, behind the couch, and under the computer desk. Bags of yarn have been stuffed into all the crevices on my side of the closet and caution must be given to anyone who dares to open the closet in the Munchkin's room, as yarn has been known to spring out in an almost comical way. Basically, my stash is starting to become a physical burden.

Then there's the psychological side. Oh yeah, yarn likes to play mind games with a knitter. Having so much yarn at your fingertips could make a knitter go crazy. You're constantly thinking about all the pretty yarn that you want to cast on. Like, yesterday. Nevermind that you already have 6 projects on the go. Why not cast on just one more project? The (evil) yarn is calling and before you know it, the wool fumes have gotten to you and you find yourself casting on for yet another project. Crap.

There are moments when your stash makes you have temporary amnesia. You are planning for a project and all of a sudden you can't think of a single.yarn.in.the.stash.that.will.work. So you go and buy some more yarn. You get it, knit it up, bask in the awesomeness, and then you see it in the corner of your eye - some yarn in your stash that is exactly like the yarn you just used. Or even worse, you see a gorgeous shade of yarn in a base that you know you'll just love. So you purchase some. Then when you go to dump it into the black hole that is your stash add it lovingly to the rest of your yarn collection, you realize that you already have 6 skeins of yarn that look exactly like the yarn you just bought. Want to turn it into a nightmare? That yarn you just bought IS the yarn that's already in your stash. Oh yeah. It's happened baby, and it wasn't pretty. Not pretty at all. You want to wake up screaming all sweaty? How about this: you.don't.return.the.yarn. You convince yourself that since you love the colour and base so much that you bought it twice, that you'll most definitely will be able to knit two (large) projects with it. I'm losing my freakin' shit here.

But then there are times where you don't even think about the stash. You have so many pretties that all of a sudden you get consumed with the thought that you need even more of the lovelies, which then turns into the crazed idea that you need to own ALL the yarn. Sharing?? What the hell is that??

Deep breath. See?? See?? What did I tell you? Yarn makes a knitter do crazy things. What's that? No, no...I'm not rocking back and forth, whispering all the names of yarn companies and their yarn-y line-up in alphabetical order. No, no. I'm just um...LOOK!! SQUIRREL!!!

Woah. Aaaanyways...

So what's a knitter to do when they find themselves in such a predicament? Well, in order for me to curb my yarn shopping and accumulating, I'm partaking in Stashdown 2012 (imagine a deep, Hulk Hogan-like voice saying stashdown, with the end echoing a bit...and maybe throw in the sound of something really heavy crashing down at the same time). What is Stashdown, you ask? Well let me tell you, my dear friend. It's dedicating a certain amount of time (in this case, the entire year) to whittling your yarn stash (or any other stash you may have...I'm thinking of also doing a fabric version) down to either a pre-set amount or percentage, or to as low of an amount as you can humanly do so. There are tons of groups on Ravelry that are hosting a Stashdown of sorts and I was thinking of joining as many as I possibly could in hopes that being in so many groups would help me in my quest to well, get the stash down. Then I realized that having too many groups to check in with throughout the year would just turn me off and I will most likely fail in the most epic way known to man in the end. I foresee it not being a pretty sight. So I opted to join only one group's stashdown in hopes of avoiding such an epic downfall. Stashdown hint: You know you need to do a stashdown when you start padding the stash in preparation for the stashdown. Seriously, WTF? Who does that? Me. And I'm sure there are a whole lot of other knitters out there that have done the same.

The group that I joined decided to not have any complex rules, just simple guidelines with the main goal to reduce your stash down to "slightly hoariffic levels". You set up your own goals and you be the judge as to whether or not if you're failing. Easy peasy, right? Well maybe all down on paper! As the cliche saying goes: easier said, than done. I don't really have a set amount of yarn that I want to get rid of per se, my main goal is to have more yardage leave the stash than enter by the end of the year. Think it'll be hard? For me, I think so (I know some crazy people ahemMaeahem, that can totally do this challenge. I'ma thinking that I'll need to channel their willpower throughout the year to help me out). In general my rule is to knit more, buy less! But to break it down even further, here are some goals I'm going to work towards:

- the months of January and February are strict No-Buy months.

- instead of trolling for more yarn, these months will be dedicated to nothing but knitting (although, I just discovered that I have one bag left in the shop so I'm going to have to use a few knitting days to replenish my inventory)

- I'm allowing myself to keep my yarn clubs and spending the money to renew subscriptions - but no new clubs, unless I have moved out a lot of yarn from the stash

- I can only buy yarn if, and only if I need it to complete a project

- with the last goal said, I know myself well enough that I can't go cold-sheep and tell myself I can't buy any yarn whatsoever. This will only cause me to fail miserably. Therefore I'm giving myself a monthly budget of $50 for yarn. I can roll over this amount to the next month and ultimately "collect" enough to spend on a sweater quantity, but I CANNOT borrow from the next month's budget. Again, I know myself too well to know that this will end up in horrible failure. You might think that $50 is a lot for a monthly yarn budget, but really, you can't get a sweater's worth of yarn for that much (unless there's an epic sale going on or someone is destashing their yarn to the point where they are practically giving the yarn away for free), can you? Because my next goal...

- absolutely NO Knit Picks yarn purchases!!! The only Knit Picks purchases I am allowed to make are for more cables, tips, and as a complete, total, and utter dead last resort for yarn when knitting something for Brett or the Munchkin. But seriously, what does Knit Picks have on Patons Classic Wool, Cascade 220, or even Berroco Vintage or Weekend?? Absolutely nothing. Well, other than the fact that it can be much, much cheaper. Yet I need to remind myself that: I still have copious amounts of City Tweed in a lot of sweater quantities, I do not need more; I have a lot of their sock yarns, and I'm not even a fan of how thin their sock yarns are...the colours is what sucks me in; and even though Knit Picks yarn is friendlier to my wallet and I feel I can buy way more than if I were to buy a more expensive yarn, I always feel horrible when I get my order because the quality really doesn't compare to some of my snobbier yarns. Knit Picks yarns can be totally hit or miss. So far, there's been more misses than hits. I need to remind myself that it is definitely worth it to shell out a bit more money on a higher quality yarn - it's all about quality, not quantity. Knitting is so tactile that when you spend hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months knitting with the yarn you would want something that you love to touch, hold, and ultimately wear. Like my friend Andi and I agree on, in the end it's better to have spent a few more dollars on a quality yarn that will look good, wear well, and hopefully will last longer.

- cut down on single yarn purchases!! Unless I am needing a skein for a project. I have so many solo skeins in the stash with more coming from the yarn clubs, that I have plenty for socks and shawls so there really is no need for me to be buying any more. This will help out my $50 monthly yarn budget and will help me to save up for a purchase of a really nice yarn for a sweater. It's a win-win situation.

- minis swaps are ok. Cause that means I'll be swapping an entire skein of something from stash for a bunch of mini skeins in a variety of yarns in return. This could possibly help curb my urges to purchase one skein of sock yarns with the idea of using it towards my Beekeepers' Quilt.

- actually, swapping is ok. I haven't been swapping much anyways since postal costs can really add up but swapping isn't adding to the stash...just switching it up.

- if I really must buy a sweater's worth of yarn and will die if I don't have the yarn in my stash, then I must get rid of an equal amount of yarn from the stash either by destashing, donating, or...a giveaway!

Reasonable and realistic goals, no? We're only four days into the new year, so I can't say for sure. Ask me again at the end of the month. I think the keys to my success will be to avoid going to my LYS "just to see what's new", avoiding all online yarn shops and all yarn shop updates (I'm looking at you Wollmeise!), and stop looking at destashes. I'll also forewarn you all right now too that if it's a bit quite around here this month, it's because I'm busy either knitting or sewing...and maybe dancing (that damn Xbox is luring my attention away from my crafty endeavours!), so please, no hate mail as to why I haven't been around lately. Ok?

To help me kick off Stashdown 2012 I'm going to do an impromptu quickie yarn giveaway! My yarn hoarding will be your gain! The yarns I chose for this giveaway is one that I love dearly. Alas, whilst going through the stash I realized that I had several skeins of a certain colourway and the other I have already knit a project with. I also chose this yarn because I know several of you have either commented on this here blog, on my Ravelry project page, or had sent me a PM via Ravelry regarding the fact that you have not yet knit with this yarn but would like to.

So without further ado, the giveaway and the deets....

*** This giveaway is now closed...Thank you so much to everyone who entered! ***

The Prize: one lucky reader will win one of the above skeins! Those lovely skeins are, you guessed it, SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in colourways Boysenberry (left) and Nightshade (right).

How to Enter: leave a comment letting me know which colour you like the best AND what you would knit/crochet/weave with it.

The Rules: all comments must include either a valid email address or your Ravelry ID. Comments not containing either of these will be disqualified. Giveaway is open until Friday January 6, 2012 midnight PST (I told you it was going to be a quickie!). I'll contact the winner sometime the following day.

Good luck!

A Mission Accomplished!

S-U-C-C-E-S-S, that's the way we spell Success!

Yes, I'm channeling my inner cheerleader cause boo-yeah! I've accomplished the 12 in 2011 goal! Ohhhhh yyyyyyeah! Actually, I had accomplished this mission back in September but didn't realize it 'til now when I was going through all my lists and was trying to figure out the things I've completed this year. How awesome is that? It's always such a boost to find out that a goal you've been working towards all year finally comes to fruition. Even more so when you don't realize it until after the fact. Man, I feel good!

And to prove that I'm not lying I've made a list and linked them all to the finishing blog post. Without further ado, the projects:

1. Shalom

2. Ishbel

3. Queen Jaywalker

4. Sweet Monkey Socks

5. Plain Hummingbirds Socks

6. Blue Maile

7. Pebbles Maile

8. Sunshine Sunnyside

9. 220 yds. of Retro Heaven

10. Tahitian Tea Leaves

11. Georgia

12. Emelie

There's also a few "beyond 12 in 2011" in which I used really old stash yarn with patterns that were free, like:

The Munchkin's Thorpe

Stockholm

Both projects were knit using yarn that I had before I even considered myself a knitter! Yowzas! I'll admit it's an awesome feeling to get those out of the stash, even though I didn't even know that they existed. I'm thinking I need to do a complete and total overhaul of ALL my crafting supplies and do a thorough inventory. It also wouldn't hurt to toss the stash every now and then to remind myself of what I have.

I'm actually quite surprised at myself for keeping up with the whole 12 in 2011 goal. I honestly thought I would give up halfway through the year. I was definitely tempted to knit up every single new pattern the second they came out and was itching to cast on with newly purchased yarns the moment I got home or when they arrived, but I persevered and stuck with the plan. I mean, I had queued these patterns ages ago and for a reason (such as I really like them, or why else would I have queued them?), and have been wanting to knit them up for-evah. I would always feel guilty about casting on newer patterns that were at the bottom of the queue, so it does feel quite awesome to finally knit those 'top of the list' patterns! I'm also quite pleased that I did my 12 projects with three months to spare, even though I feel like I kinda cheated by knitting three baby sweaters. Oh well. I could have spent the entire year knitting nothing but dish cloths, wrist warmers, and bookmarks and then go around claiming that I'm on my two millionth project of the year. That's not what 12 in 2011 is about, but sadly some people started to view it as a competition. I'm just happy that I had knit every project from stash (most of the yarns were from when I was just starting to have a stash and when I was starting to shop at my LYS rather than Walmart), and that all of the patterns were either at the top of the knit-list, free, or were bought and then quickly forgotten and ditched when an even newer pattern come onto the scene. I had a game plan and I stuck with it. Changing only a few projects...like Shalom. The original pattern in mind was something that I had started knitting and ended up frogging before the yoke was finished - when I realized that the design was just all shades of wrong for me. The three baby sweaters were all suppose to be different, but who can predict that everyone was going to have their baby at around the same time? Not to mention that one of the patterns I had bought yarn for (gasp!) and therefore didn't count.

Since 12 in 2011 was such a success for me, I think I'll do a similar goal for 2012. This time around I plan on mixing up the patterns I queued ages ago with newer patterns...cause who knows how much longer my will power will last! I'm also thinking of going bigger...as in a sweater a month big. Oh yeah. I plan on going there. I guess that means I'll have to go through my Ravelry queue and really weed it out, add tags, and all that jazz and figure out what is do-able. While I'm at it, I should also go through my stash page and update everything. Ahhh...can't you tell that the new year is almost upon us? Is anyone else planning their 2012 knitting schedule? I can't wait to get started!!

Finished: Owls v2.0

Guess what's finally dry and off the blocking mats? That's right, my second Owls sweater! It couldn't have come at a better time too, the weather has gotten so cold that I swear my nips fall off the second I take a step outside! Ooohhh...was that over share? Ack, I don't care! I'm bloody warm now! This sweater has been in major rotation in my wardrobe ever since it was dry enough to wear. It has now become the go-to sweater for when I know I'm going to be outside for extended periods of time...like when I take the Munchkin to the park. Or when I'm pushing a stroller all around the downtown area trying to get as many errands done at once so that I don't ever have to leave the house for a few days. Yes, it's that cold outside. Or maybe I'm just a wuss. Nah, it's cold outside baby!

I'm sad to say that my friend Hayley and I didn't get to finish our sweaters at the same time like I was hoping we would. I'm a bad KAL friend! Hayley has been busy with life and didn't have much time to knit on her sweater or to make it out to a knit night. I, on the other hand, have no life and thought it was so unbelievably cold out that it would be foolish of me to not finish the sweater pronto. I should note that Hayley was kind enough to message me and gave me the ok to carry on without her.

The funny thing is, I really didn't mean to finish this. Really, I didn't. It was late, I think I was watching Dexter, and this project was hoarding four of my interchangeable cables. I needed to re-claim those cables for other projects. So I sat down with the intention of joining the sleeves to the body and just transferring all those stitches to one cable. Before you know it, I had finished the owls. I looked at the pattern and saw that the yoke shaping wouldn't take long to knit up. It would have been stupid of me to stop knitting right there. So I continued on. All that was left was the neck ribbing. Again, being so close to finishing this project, I would have been an idiot to not do the ribbing too. Uh oh. I was done.

I have no control.

Just when I was telling myself that I really should stop and wait for Hayley, my hands were already weaving in the ends. I was trying to figure out what I was going to say to Hayley as I was filling up my kitchen sink with water and wool wash. As I gently placed the sweater in the water and was squeezing the air out, I thought maybe, just maybe Hayley was knitting that night and that the next time I talked to her she too would be finished. I looked down. The damn sweater was soaking.

No control, I tell you!

There's nothing you can do once your knitting is soaking, other than to dry it. And while it's drying you might as well block it, right? Riiiiight?? I know, I know...I'm making up excuses to ease my mind. Anything to make me sleep at night. Ok, not really.

While knitting the yoke I could definitely tell that a lot of changes were made to the pattern since the first time I had knit this pattern. You can't see the changes, but they're there. I didn't do too many mods, just extra rounds here and there to add length in certain places without compromising the placement of the back waist decreases. And since the pattern doesn't state what kind of increases to make, I tried using the lifted increases for the back. Brilliant! I love the look of it. I think the lifted increase is my new favourite increase.

The one major mod that I did:

Oh yeah baby! Thumbholes. Hells yes. I heart them so much! I now want to knit thumbholes in every sweater I make. Every.Single.Sweater. They are just that awesome. Seriously. Pure awesome-sauce. I cannot tell you just how handy having thumbholes in this sweater is. How they have kept me oh so warm during walks with the Munchkin, when I have to push a stroller. How toasty warm I stayed when I put on my gloves and then slide my gloved thumbs through the holes and no cold drafts could ever sneak up my sleeves. Ever. How there's no awkward tugging of the sleeves when I go to put my jacket on. How easy it is to just unhook your thumbs and maybe turn up the cuff a little when you're indoors and don't need the thumbholes.

Yes, thumbholes. Pure love.

I was smart this time though, I made sure to cast on pretty loose so that I can actually use my hands whilst wearing this sweater without feeling like the yarn is going to cut off my circulation. I once made a pair of wrist warmers and made the bind off way too tight at the hand. They get too annoying to wear any more since I can't even spread my fingers out without injuring myself.

I also learned from past mistakes. On my first owls sweater I made the bind off at the neck too tight and sometimes find myself tugging at the neck to keep the sweater from digging in too much. This time I used Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off and I have yet to have a single issue at the neck because of it. I know some people find that bind off way too loosey goosey, but for a tight knitter like myself, it's perfecto.

To say that I'm mighty pleased with how this sweater turned out is an understatement. I'm freakin' ecstatic! I love how roomy it is yet still looks slim. I like how the sleeves don't accentuate my "meaty" arms. I thought it was going to turn out too big, but the hooters look totally fine to me. Or maybe I just gained 10 pounds since the first Owls sweater? Ohhh...let's not think about that.

This version is so incredibly comfy, that I feel bad for the first sweater. I don't think it's going to get any more love now that this sweater has come along. I heart it so. Did I mention how much I love this sweater??

Is it wrong that I want to knit another Owls sweater?

Sweater Details:

Pattern: Owls by Kate Davies

Yarn: Cascade Eco Wool

Colour: Soft Grey Heather

Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Wood Interchangeable in 6mm (US 10) for ribbing and 6.5mm (US 10.5)

Ravelry Link: MisoCraftyKnits' Owls v2.0

Finished: Georgia

O...M...G. That's right peoples, I'm finally blogging about my Georgia cardigan!! This project is so beyond long overdue for its debut, it needs its mad props pronto! What took me so darn long to finally show you guys my Georgia?

Buttons.

Seriously. It all came down to buttons. I just couldn't find the right ones. Either I couldn't find the right colour, or the colour that I thought would work turned out to be too red...too orange...too brown once I got home. When I did find the right colour, the buttons were either too big or too small. There was even a time when I found the perfect buttons only to discover that there were two left in stock with no opportunity for a re-order. I was crushed. How hard was it to find buttons?? It got to the point where I just started to bring the cardigan with me everywhere. Just in case I came across a shop that happens to sell buttons. You never know, right? I also got to a point where I started to get desperate and was trying to convince myself that getting buttons that were a little on the bigger side was ok. Luckily the perfectionist techie in me talked me out of that! One thing that I learned in fashion school is proportion. Having buttons that are bigger than the width of the button band can make your garment look sloppy. Such small details like that can make your garment look either homemade (which isn't bad if that's the look you're going after) or "Wow! You made that?!?". Who knew that I was actually listening in class that day...

So yes. Buttons are to blame for why it took me forever and a year to blog about this project! Seriously! This cardigan was started in February, finished in August, blocked in September, and now buttons added in November...oy vey! But don't think I don't have any love for this cardi. Oh, hells no! The second this was dry from blocking you better believe that I was wearing this practically every day. This cardigan is sooo comfy and absolutely perfect in keeping the chill out. For a while there it really didn't matter that there was no buttons on this bad boy, but then Brett asked the other day if I was ever going to add the buttons. I guess that was a hint? I finally buckled down and went to the local big box sewing store and managed to snag the last 2 cards of buttons that matched! Score!

Now that I've added the buttons this cardigan has become my ultimate go-to cardi - I grab it when I need to throw something on when I leave the house, when the house is feeling a little chilly it's the perfect sweater to put on and still look/feel chic, and most importantly, it works amazingly well with the rest of my wardrobe as I pretty much wear nothing but jeans, a tank or tee with a cardigan thrown on top. I'm seriously contemplating knitting a few more in different colours! Yes, I'm one of those people who, when they find something they like or works they get it in every single colour possible.

Once I got over my gauge issues (which we won't get into...it was exhausting. But if you're that curious, that post is here) the knitting went along swimmingly. Although, don't pay attention to the insides where I either joined new yarn or tried to alternate skeins...yeah, not pretty. I've knit quite a few sweaters since and have learned from my mistakes. The pattern, in case you didn't know, is Georgia by the über talented Jane Richmond. I absolutely love Jane's patterns. They are so well-written and in a simple format so that when you look at the pattern you don't feel intimidated and overwhelmed. I hate that feeling you get when you look at a pattern and see pages and pages of nothing but notes, numbers, and complication instructions on how to do something that should be simple. Not with Jane's patterns though! When you look at her patterns you get the immediate feeling that you can totally pull it off without a hitch (and in my case, think you can whip it up in a matter of days...which I suppose could be true, if you didn't eat, sleep, or have to take care of a rambunctious toddler). Another thing that I love about Jane's patterns - the fact that she admits/notes that she uses up every single inch of the yarn, including the swatch. Not many, if any, designers admit that they swatch and then rip it up so that they don't waste the yarn. Ahhh...a knitter after my own heart! Thank you Jane for being honest and for realizing that there are a ton of knitters out there that do that exact thing!

I didn't do any modifications, I even kept the sleeve length as written in the pattern! I love three-quarter length but decided to not go that route this time around. I really wanted this cardigan to be a year round piece and knew that if I wanted to wear this in the dead of winter that it would have to have long sleeves. In hindsight I could've gone just a tad bit shorter since I have abnormal T-Rex arms. I should also point out that I had knit the 36" bust size. I didn't want the cardi too snug and the actual 36" would have been too big, but because of the gauge that I was getting I knew I would get something around the 34" range with enough room in the waist for when I'm having a blah day.

Oh! Can I also talk about the yarn? Ooohhh...the yarn! This was my first time knitting with SweetGeorgia's Cashluxe Fine (yum...MCN!) and it will definitely not be my last!!! Knitting with this yarn was so heavenly. Physically and visually! It was so lusciously, squishy soft sliding through my fingers and the colour...oh my, the colour is absolutely delicious! I'm going to sound like a total geek, but I got a weird, giddy, happy-joy every time I got to a bright and vibrant pink-y section of yarn and would be full of glee after knitting it. I get compliments whenever I wear this and had gotten compliments every time I've knit this cardigan in public.

Ok, I think I just talked myself into knitting another Georgia...and I know I have some more Cashluxe Fine in the stash. But I also have some beautiful purple (Boysenberry) Tough Love Sock that would also make a fabulous Georgia. Although, one of the newest colours in the SweetGeorgia lineup, Glacier, would also make for a gorgeous Georgia...oh, and the turquoise-y blue of Saltwater? Oh yeah, that would be one smoking hot Georgia!

I can go on forever here. Please excuse me, I need to go smell some yarn.

Georgia's Details:

Pattern: Georgia by Jane Richmond

Yarn: SweetGeorgia Yarns Cashluxe Fine

Colour: Oxblood

Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Wood Interchangeable in 3.5mm (US 4)

Ravelry Link: MisoCraftyKnits' Georgia

Finished: Sunshine Sunnyside

Lookie here! Another baby sweater that I can finally show you! The baby that this was made for was actually born in June and I was really hoping to gift this to the mommy when I was in Vancouver for my friend's wedding. Sadly, that never happened cause I couldn't get the finishings done in time to block and dry the sweater before I had to leave to catch the ferry. Ugh. Why couldn't weaving in ends be more enjoyable to me? I had grand plans of showing my dear friend Erin what was coming to her and her sweet little Penny, go home and finish the sweater, and then mailing it to them pronto. I did say they were grand plans, not a plan that actually happened. The sweater was shown to Erin, but then brought back home to Victoria and promptly placed on the "to-be finished" pile. Dangerous! I should've known better, cause that sweater sat there forever. Then Erin and Penny arrived in Victoria a few days ago (Erin's husband is here to film) and so I busted my butt to get the sweater finished.

Can I just say what a moron I am? Babies grow at an alarming rate. What if the sweater no longer fit the wee kidlet?? Well, I lucked out and the sweater fits her now and she looks so absolutely adorable in it! Sadly, I forgot that I even owned a camera and didn't take any photos of her in it, but little Penny will be able to wear her new sweater for at least a week before she's too big for it. Lesson learned. Don't wait to gift a baby item!!!

This project will count towards my 12 in 2011. Yay, happy dance! The pattern, which was designed by Canadian yarn dyer, Tanis Lavalée (of Tanis Fiber Arts fame!!) is Sunnyside Baby Sweater and is a free pattern that you can download from Ravelry. The yarn is a yummy MCN blend (merino, cashmere, nylon) from Sunshine Yarns. I had received it from a grab bag sale that I had purchased last year. It's an absolutely gorgeous skein of yarn but I had no idea what I was going to make with it. Sometimes yarn screams at you, begging to be knit with. This skein called to me for months. When I heard the happy news that Erin was expecting, I knew immediately what that skein was destined to become.

I had such sweet and quick success with the Maile pattern that I thought this pattern would be the same. While both patterns are easy, I found that the Sunnyside took me way too long to knit up. Yes, I did do a larger size for the Sunnyside (6-12 months) but I didn't think the knitting time would be that different. In hindsight I think it's because Maile is knit bottom up and Sunnyside is top down, and to me bottom up feels so much faster. That, and the picot hems are a little on the time-consuming side.

I had only run into 3 problems whilst knitting this sweet sweater up. My problems had absolutely nothing to do with the pattern, which I thought was well written, but had to do with knitter errror. I had cast on for the project at one of the knit nights and was knitting extremely tight. By the time I got home that night I decided that I didn't like the fabric I was getting so I ripped and re-started. Luckily I was only on the neckband, so no major time was lost. My second error was my knitting over enthusiasm. I had knit at least an inch past the stitch count needed to start separating the sleeves from the body and had to tink back. My third problem was a weird one. I don't know if I was really tired or what but my stitch count wasn't the same as stated in the pattern, and it drove me crazy trying to figure out where I went wrong. But then after knitting for a bit my count matched up again. So weird. I didn't see anyone else mention a typo or anything in their notes, so maybe it was just me not being able to count? Probably. I wouldn't be surprised.

My row gauge was quite off too. I didn't do a gauge swatch for this project...or for any of the baby projects, since I figured that all babies are different and the sweater will fit at least one of them. Right? And when I do actually knit a swatch I don't really pay attention to row gauge, unless it's absolutely vital. I guess this pattern is one of them. I had knit the first sleeve and had 2 more decreases to do when I realized that I was already way past the five inch mark. I had to rip back, do the math, and sort out my decreases.

This was my first time doing a picot hem. I think it's absolutely beautiful and really makes the sweater look a touch more girly. When I first started the picot hem I was pretty nervous about the sewing part. If you don't know me by now, you should know that I avoid hand sewing in my hand knits as much as possible. This type of hand sewing is no exception. I freaked out when I was finished too because I thought I had stretched out all the hems too much while sewing cause they all had this weird flippy action happening and in some parts started to ruffle (and it shouldn't ruffle). After a good block and some time to sit, the hems all relaxed a bit and now they look "normal". I think in the end I did a good job and I'm pretty pleased overall with the hems. And would you just look at those buttons?? They make me squee with glee! Too cute to boot!!

I definitely recommend this pattern and love the fact that Tanis has given two options to make the sweater look either more girly or more masculine (garter stitch hems and beautiful cables rather than lace). I totally want to make the boy-ish version and suspect that the knitting would go by much faster than its feminine counterpart due to the simple (and no sew!) garter stitch hems. I just have to wait for someone to announce that they're having a baby!

Sunnyside Sweater Details:

Pattern: Sunnyside by Tanis Lavallée

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns Luxury Sock

Colour: Mother Earth

Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Wood Interchangeable in 3.5mm (US 4)

Ravelry Link: MisoCraftyKnits' Sunshine Sunnyside

Finished: Westknits Mystery Shawl

I know, I know...another FO. Now don't go thinking I'm the Speed Racer of knitting. All these FOs are happening all at once as a result of my pure laziness of weaving in ends and lack of blocking room. This particular project I was extremely lazy with, all those ends that have to be woven in...now I know why I don't do much intarsia! But I have to admit that the finished product is absolutely lovely and I've gotten tons of compliments on it whenever I wear it. And trust me, I've been wearing it non-stop lately. Ever since the weather has turn utterly crispy cold and being in the shade for even two seconds make your nips fall off. Ohh...over-share.

I had finished the knitting on this on the last day of August, but had completely forgotten to take a photo of it before the Mystery KAL contest was over. So I didn't get the chance to enter this bad boy. So sad. Oh well. I enjoyed knitting this, even if the rows did get insanely and annoyingly never-ending long towards the end. I know there were several people doing the KAL that were disappointed by this pattern, but if truth be told I don't know what they were expecting in the first place. If you've ever knit or seen a Stephen West pattern you would know what his style is all about and shouldn't have expected some shawl knit with a lacy border. I should also point out that the majority of people who disliked the pattern were also knitting with highly variegated yarns, something Mr. West cautioned about. I truly love my shawl and I think a lot of that has to do with the colours I chose. Even though I griped about the intaria and having to weave in the millions of ends, this project definitely made my finishing skills better. You can't tell where I've woven in a single end. Added bonus: I now know how to do intarsia properly. No unsightly holes! Yay!

I had knit the large size and I'm just glad that I didn't do an extra section three repeat. I had a ton of yarn left over in all three colours and was seriously considering knitting another section just to use up more yarn. Then Andi, one of the lovely ladies in my knitting group who also did the KAL, brought in her finished and blocked shawl to a knit night. She too had knitted the large size and I saw just how big her shawl turned out and decided against the extra section. The completed size that she had was the perfect size that I was looking for.

I was happy to learn that I wasn't the only one that had a lot of yarn left over, as it seems that anyone who didn't use scraps had a ton left over too. I think I have maybe a half a skein of each colour left? At first I was thinking of turning the left overs into Hexipuffs, but then a week ago I saw these gorgeous hand warmers on The Purl Bee blog. How awesome that those warmers use Tosh Merino Light too? And from the sounds of it, I have more than enough to knit up a pair AND still be able to make a few Hexipuffs too! Sweet! I'm adding that pattern to the queue...just hope I can get to it before the winter season is over.

I also really liked the yarn I was working with. It was my first time knitting with Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light. While there was a difference in weight between the black and the pink, I truly loved how the yarn felt as it slide through my fingers. And boy, does this yarn ever block so nicely! I was aggressive (no surprise there) with the border cause my garter hem was starting to flip up, and I tried to stretch the crap out the whole thing in hopes of making the shawl bigger. Which was completely unnecessary as the shawl grew without my help anyways. The yarn gives beautiful stitch definition and the blocking only made it look even better by blooming the yarn just enough to fill in the spaces.

Stephen West gave a few options and ideas about what you can do with the border. I chose to go with the simple option of using just the anchor colour, rather than try to incorporate all three. I think the colours are pretty bold together and the fact that the anchor colour is so dark and was used as the point of interest in the middle was enough to turn the shawl into a statement all on its own. I didn't think it needed extra pizzazz.

I'll put it out there that I liked this pattern. Yes, it was boring at times but it's great TV or movie knitting...that is, once you get the hang of intarsia and have your numbers right (quite a few people have messed up on the center design and after wondering how they could screw that up I realized it's because they had their stitch counts wrong). I'm a fan of pretty much every design that Stephen West has published and this one is no different. Suffice it to say that I will be knitting a lot more Westknits patterns in the future...I'm already itching to knit up a Daybreak and a Spectra but am holding off until I can get other knitting commitments out of the way. Sadly, I probably won't get to these patterns until the new year (boo erns I tell you, boo erns!). In the meantime, I'm going to wear the heck out of this Westknits design!

Shawl Details:

Pattern: Earth & Sky by Stephen West

Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light

Colours: Cloak (black), Tern (grey), Posy (pink)

Needle: Knit Picks Harmony Wood Interchangeable in 3.5mm (US 4)

Ravelry Link: MisoCraftyKnits' Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL

Finished: Emelie

Let's keep this FO train going, shall we? This here is my Emelie cardigan (sorry for the washed out photos...it was a gorgeous day and I was experimenting with different backgrounds. Now I'm too lazy to try to get different photos taken and I'm sure Brett is still grumbling about the last time he had to help take photos!). I absolutely love this cardigan. I seriously cannot get enough of it. Once I started getting into the knitting, I couldn't stop! I still claim it's the needles that I used...

Anyhoo, the second the cardigan was dry from blocking I was dying to wear it. So much so that I didn't even bother to finish sewing on all the buttons! I think I had sewn maybe four buttons before wearing it out to the Bitchy Bees' Bellinis Night at Milestones! I am so proud of this cardigan that I wore it three times in a week. I'm sure the ladies of my knitting group are sick and tired of seeing it already!

And the colour? Sorry that you're only seeing a washed out version of it, but the blue is much deeper in real life and has way more depth to it. I'm actually really happy with how well it matches the rest of my wardrobe. For those wondering, the yarn is my beloved SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock. This cardigan is the third garment that I've ever knit out of this yarn and it definitely won't be my last.

I'll confess that the knitting wasn't all smooth sailing. I did have some issues with the sizing of the sleeves. When I started knitting the first sleeve I thought it was going to be extremely snug. I tried it on several times and could see and feel just how tight the sleeve was. Instead of ripping out the sleeve, I had put it on waste yarn and started up the second sleeve...only this time I used the stitch count for the next size up. I went to knit night the next night and asked the girls for their opinions on the sleeves and they pointed out that the sleeves will most likely grow after blocking, not to mention over time. Cause didn't my Queen Honeybee cardigan stretch out enough in the sleeves?

Ah, the ladies are so smart! And so right. I'm just glad that I didn't rip out the first sleeve and that there were two sleeves to experiment with! So I ripped out the second sleeve and finished the first. It was a little tight whenever I tried it on but sure enough, after a good soak and a (slightly aggressive) blocking, the sleeves feel and fit perfectly. Thanks for the great advice girls!

Another thing that I had to re-do? The buttonhole band. I've never done 3-stitch buttonholes before, just the eyelet version but after completing four of them I have to say that they are so beyond easy. I'm seriously hooked. I'll put it on record that I absolutely love these buttonholes! They look so clean, polished, and look like actual buttonholes! Not just holes within your knitting that you can squeeze a button through, but a real buttonhole. Pure.Love. For reals.

Yes, they take a smidge bit longer to do but they are so worth it! Once I finished the row of buttonholes and had knit a row on top of it I realized that I could do a better job. You couldn't see it on the right side but on the wrong side there was a tiny loop of yarn that was connected from the edge of the buttonhole and crossed a stitch and reconnected to the stitch after. Almost like an elongated purl bump. I didn't care for it. I thought it looked slightly sloppy. Needless to say the perfectionist in me came out and I just had to rip back and re-do the whole row of buttonbands. Oh yeah, this is how some people can go nuts. Something as small and insignificant as a stitch-long float can drive a person bonkers and while most people would have ignored it, I just couldn't. I never said I was sane.

I didn't do any modifications to the pattern. Before casting on I went over it and everything just seemed so kosher to me that I thought I would just let the designer tell me what to do. The only thing I did differently was that I used a 2.75mm (US 2) needle to pick up the stitches for the collar and the button bands and had knit a row before switching to the 3.25mm (US 3) needle.

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I absolutely love this pattern. It is so very well written and so very thorough. You can tell a ton of attention was put into it, and I have to say that the links to the tutorials on how to do some of the techniques were greatly appreciated. It was my first time doing the fake side seams, the 3-stitch buttonholes, and knitting an Elin Berglund pattern, and I can already tell that it won't be my last!! I highly recommend this pattern and am sooo tempted to cast on for another! That's how much I love it. The only thing holding me back from casting on a second Emelie is the fact that I have way too much in my queue that I want to knit too.

But I do have a few skeins of SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock in a beautiful shade of purple that would look fabulous...

Ooohh...dangerous!

Cardigan Details:

Pattern: Emelie by Elin Berglund

Yarn: SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock

Colour: Nightshade

Needles: Signature Needle Arts in 3.5mm (US 4), Knit Picks Nickel Plated Fixed Circulars in 3.25mm (US 3) for ribbing, collar, and button bands and 2.75mm (US 2) to pick up stitches

Ravelry Link: MisoCraftyKnits' Emelie