Fell off my yarn diet!

But I wasn't too bad. I just bought three skeins of Noro Kureyon, color 102. And...I had a gift certificate. I've been wanting to try it for a long time, and then read a lot about it on KR. Seems people either love it or hate it. I think I'm going to make a feather and fan scarf, and if I don't love it, I'll frog it and make a felted bag.

Felted knitting bag

Here is my finished 'stash buster' knitting bag, made from leftover yarn from other felting projects, that I am determined to use up. I have my current sock project in it - two needle socks that I'm knitting with wool-ease on size 5 needles. They are super simple, but of course the seams will need to be grafted, and I'm not so good at that!

Felted Slippers

I felted my slippers this morning. I did what the pattern suggested and after they were felted enough, I spun most of the water out of them, and then wore them over some socks to shape them to my foot. It worked really well, and I love the slippers.
I don't know how this would work if I was making them for a gift though! They were knit with one skein of Cascade 220,colorway 9440, which I received from my KR gift elf, using a pattern from the Knitty archives. I'm thinking needle felting some flowers on them- what do you think?

Socks for a Giant?

I just finished knitting up these giant socks. They are supposed to turn into slippers after they are felted. Stay tuned for the results!

I finished my third pair of socks - and wore them today! They feel so good - probably just because I know they are handknit - by me! I really needed them today too because we are finally having winter. It snowed all afternoon, and the roads were so bad by the time school was out that I practically crawled home!

2006 Goals, continued.

Another goal I have for 2006 is to use up some of my leftover yarn, before I buy any more new yarn. This is not an easy thing to do - especially with a gift certificate to my favorite LYS burning a hole in my wallet! I've made at least a half dozen of my version of the felted "Booga Bag" and have given them all away - so I decided to make myself one with the leftovers to use as a knitting bag for small projects. In fact, I think I will have enough for several from my leftovers. Most of the yarn is Cascade, Galway, and some Patons. It will be interesting to see how they felt when used together. I'm about half finished with this one - and here is my basket of leftover wool. Well - actuall, that's not all of it. I have some in plastic totes, and a basket of fun fur and novelty yarns. There are no full skeins, so it will be a challenge to come up with things to make to use it all up. Any ideas?

Then of course there are the usual goals: eat healthy, lose weight, get more exercise, etc. Does anyone know how many calories you burn when you knit? At least I can't knit and eat at the same time! Is knitting considered an exercise?

Goals for 2006

New Year's resolutions don't work - so I thought I would try some goals. The first was to learn to make socks - and I'm working on that. I just finished my 5th sock (that's two pairs plus one single). I love the colors and stripes in this new sock - it's from yarn that I found in my stash that I must have bought years ago. The labels were not on, so I don't know what kind it is, but I'm pretty sure I bought it at my LYS. It's a finer yarn than the Parade, probably fingering weight, but I still used the #3 needles, because they are the smallest size I have. I also started a baby sock with Parade in shades of blue - but have already frogged it three times - it's so tiny, I keep losing stitches. Here is the single sock I finished:

Another Pair of Socks

I finished another pair of socks! I know you are as excited as I am (LOL). Notice they don't quite match - one has a purple toe and one a gray - I did that on purpose of course!

Socks!

I finished my first pair of socks!!! Well - they are nothing to brag about, except to myself. There are lots of mistakes in them, but they look reasonably like socks and they fit, and a non knitter would never know the difference. I used the magic loop method and Knit Picks Parade, and loved it. Had no trouble turning the heel. My biggest problem was with the toe. I followed the directions for kitchenering them together, but they don't look right. I guess I need more practice. I cast on for another pair yesterday, and I'm already down to the heel. It's a little different pattern, but I'm still using Parade, and the magic loop. Here they are!