Kermit

Sweater with cap sleeves is done. I'd like to say that the pattern was great, but there were some huh? moments for me in it. You can really tell it was translated from German. Maybe it would have made more sense if I followed the German version.

It's knit flat, then seamed at the shoulders and sides. I really despise seaming. So very much! The shoulders look terrible, but the sides are the best I've ever done. Go figure.

The pattern says to: "crochet 1 round sl-st each over 2 rows in height along pick-up sts for armhole bands, starting each at lower edge and ending at shoulder". This is the part I don't get. So I left it out ;)

Maybe I'll do single crochet later, if it turns out that the sleeves roll too much.

I still need to wash it a and block it properly, I only blocked the edges so that I can sew up the sides.

The yarn I used here is Merino Mix by Schoeller+Stahl, green color, the color of Kermit the frog. Well, not really, the site says it's the color of birch, but it sure looks Kermity to me. Kermit took 6 skeins exactly, on 5 mm needles.

Now it's time to start the Dalek. I've been postponing knitting it, out of fear of bobbles. But I guess this is the perfect pattern to learn bobbles.

Round two

Just spent the entire weekend trying to crochet flowers.
I've just about had it. It's time to take a break before I go completely insane.


Knitting, I'm coming back to you!

Crochet flowers all around me

... and not a single one that looks good.

I've been taking a break from knitting in order to work on my crochet skills. I did maybe two rows in a few basic stitches before I proclaimed myself to be the master of crochet and went on to more complicated stuff.

And then the crochet proved to be the master of me. But I did learn a lot. Like the fact that you don't need the turning chain if you're working on a circle. Or that you' re supposed to keep the stitches on the fat end of the hook, not the narrower part on the top.


I also learned that I suck at crocheting flowers.

These are all trials and failures. All the same flower, from the Happy Hooker crochet book. It all goes great until I come back to the first stitch and have to join the petal with the slip stitch and finish off.
Obviously I don't know which stitch is the first. Or I'm not chaining enough, um, chains?


I should really read that book from the beginning. But I'm impatient. And I wanted to crochet flowers! Pretty, perfect little flowers, not the mutilated kind you see up there. Damn.

Bown cap / Sleeve cap

Thanks everyone for the sock suggestions! I decided to rip the top of the first one. With a heavy heart, mind you. I truly hate ripping. I added dark brown Jelka for the toes, double stranded because it was thinner then yarn used on the rest of the sock.
So here they are. Not the prettiest thing I've ever knit, that's for sure. But still, a sock is a sock. I'll just have to make another (prettier) pair to give my aunt as an apology for presenting her with this.

So that sort of takes care of one half of a very belated, handmade Christmas present.
Next up is my friend, who is getting a vest. The Sexy Vesty vest, to be precise.
I wanted to make it in black, and set out all happy to the TWO yarn stores we have here, only to find that there is no way I'll find black yarn that contains natural fibers. It's all acrylic! So now I'll have to order yarn online, and wait 'till it gets here.

To kill time while I wait, I started another vest thingy, for myself. This is the green Merino Mix from my stash. The pattern is from Rebecca, Sweater with cap sleeves.


I love this yarn. It's so soft and strechy. And it knits up on 5 mm needles. Speedy knitting is the best!

Denial.

You know that feeling you get when you're knitting, that you're not going to have enough yarn?
Do you ever ignore that feeling and keep knitting anyway, because you're convinced that your half a skein will magically produce, say a whole sock? I do. And then I end up with this:

This is a very fine example of denial. I was actually surprised when I ran out of yarn. Like, how on Earth could this happen?

So, now what? Do I look everywhere for another skein of this yarn, that I bought 3 years ago, not even sure in what city, let alone which shop. Or do I try to find something of similar color and just continue? Ripping does not sound appealing.
And to make the matter worse, these were supposed to be for my 78 year old aunt. I don't think she'll care that they're multicolored, but still. You can't just give crap as gifts. Grrr!

So while I'm deciding about the fate of the socks, I went and practiced some crochet.
So behold the crochet square, that was lying flat before I added a crochet border around it - to make it lie flat. Oh cruel world!
And the not so circular circle, that has so many mistakes it's a wonder its stitches are holding together.


Crochet seems hard and like a lot of works. I don't get the turning chain, don't understand how you can do a million things in the same stitch and I don't see the stitches like I do when I'm knitting. It all looks like a bunch of knots, I can't tell where I increased, or even how many stitches I'm working with.
But, to be completely honest, I haven't read the book on crochet. Just opened it on the page where it says "crochet circle". I should probably start from the beginning. Like I said, a lot of work.

So long 2009! Welcome 2010!

Here are my very last 2009. projects. Both are made form Wonderwool yarn, on 6 mm needles for the hat, and 7 mm for the scarf.

The hat is a bit pointy when I put it on, but it kind of looks all pixie-like, so I'll let it slide.

Knitting plans for 2010. include: A knitted Dalek toy (from Doctor Who, the tv show) for a friend, socks for my aunt, and possibly a sweater for another friend. Those are a must. Everything else - well, it'll just be plain knitting fun!