Ooh, I can almost taste the prettiness

I have finished so many things in the past month that it is actually scary. Seriously!

Piccies to come shortly... after the holiday gift season is finally over.

On the needles currently? Another shawl, this time for me in a gorgeous hand-painted silk. It's all orange and red and looks like flames. Gorgeous. Also a sweater. Well, two sweaters. Both about elbow length sleeves, both featured on the cover of Interweave Knits. I'm such a copycat.

I also plan to start another baby blanket soon, for one of the many people expecting. And who knows what else! I hoped to have the shawl done before my vacation, but it's looking like a no-go. Oooh well.

See you in a couple weeks, post-cruise, when I am tanned and ready to post some cool pics!! And then maybe I can keep up with this blog more... considering that 2007 is the year of knitting for ME! And that means I might as well take pictures and document the process. It's not like it will ruin the surprise.

Socktoberfest takes off!

A bit belatedly, I'm joining in the Socktoberfest brou-ha-ha. Here's the progress on a gift for a very special person in my life. She's related to me even if she is a Christian. So voila: day one of a Christmas stocking! This shows the name section and the beginnings of the first motif (hearts). I suspect this project is NOT metro-able- I am confident about knitting with both hands now, which makes fair isle a breeze, but one ball of yarn flying through a metro car is surely enough. Two is a bit rude. Oh, and as a side note... the red is far more muted in person, it's old-time Christmas not bright-and-childish Christmas. Someday I'll take photos before midnight!

Lace and more lace oh my!

The Adamas, she is complete. And purty, too! This is one ginormous shawl, after blocking. Mid-blocking. You get the idea. She's drying in the living room currently.

She looked like this first:


And now looks more like this:


Here's a lace detail:


AND as if one Finished Object wasn't enough, check out this sneak peek at another gift. So don't tell anyone.

It's a bird... it's a plane...


It's a Clapotis!


Happy knitting, folks. Time for bed! I'd like to note that the Adamas took from the end of Rosh Hashana (or so) until mid October. So just under a month, for a full-size shawl. That sounds pretty good for me! The more astonishing part is that it only took me two weeks to knit the Clapotis (maybe 3?) and yet it sat there with the ends unwoven for a few months. Ah well, it's ready for shipping now!

A complaint

So I love the Adamas shawl. There's only one little problem. I knit on the metro. Obsessively, one might say. But it's difficult to knit on the metro when you cannot complete an entire row in an ENTIRE 55 or so minute trip. Cry! So I only have two repeats to go... but at 40 minutes to an hour a row... this might take quite a while.

I also discovered the reason for why I ran out of yarn for the pillow... my row gauge is way off, and my stitch gauge isn't all that much better. How did this happen? All this lace knitting must be throwing me off my stride. The 14 inch pillow is now more like 16inch. Oh well... simply a new challenge. I'm going to try and do the i-cord bindoff this weekend, at which point I will determine if it is close enough to find a 16 inch pillow form, or if I need to make a strange-sized pillow to fit it specially. But I'm not worrying about that yet.

In other news, it seems I need a Halloween costume. I'm thinking... RenFesty pirate. This requires a new skirt. Time to hit up JoAnn's! I checked out G Street and left in sticker shock when I could find no fabric at all that would cost me less than 70 dollars for the skirt, including the grommets and thread. My mission is to locate 5 yards (or 10 yards, if I decide to do an overskirt) of cotton twill that does not cost me more than 30-40 dollars. What a mission! I'll probably have to settle for a plain old cotton blend, but anything has to be better than G Street prices. I am simply not wealthy enough, or sophistocated enough of a seamstress, to be throwing that kind of money around. Even if it is the cutest skirt imaginable. I wonder if I could get away with a RenFest full circle skirt at work? Maybe with cute boots and a sweater set?

In a final note, it is Socktoberfest and I have not cast on for one single sock, nor completed the one I already had on the needles! Time to cast on for my sister's Christmas gift, methinks. Ooh la la... it's not really good for metro knitting, but I do have a knitting group tomorrow and I'd love to share fair isle sock knitting with everyone. And by sock I mean monster sock. Just wait and see!

More holiday knitting and a birthday

So I've been plugging away at some gifts. The yarn came in for the pillow, so I should be able to complete that this week while I'm on vacation. Unless I continue to be distracted by this little lovely, which has been taking up all my free knitting time for a week now:



And I also took a little break to celebrate my birthday, Renaissance style. My parents snuck in a "cake" for me!

In which our intrepid knitter runs out of Snickerdoodle yarn

Here's a pretty pillow picture:



Unfortunately, KnitPicks yardage and the yardage of the original yarn... does not translate well. So my 5 balls of yarn was enough for me to finish the front and one back piece... but not the other. And then there's the 3 needle bind-off I-Cord edging to do all round... plus the i-cord buttons... oh bother.

I just sent off some more money to KnitPicks, and if the dyelot is way off, it's my own little lesson learned. I did also buy (enough skeins of) yarn to make a second pillow... because I enjoyed knitting it, it's fairly quick, and every good Jewish girl should have Chanuka decorations! I love that this yarn color is called Snickerdoodle. On the website it looks like pale khaki, but in real life it looks JUST like a nice tan Snickerdoodle. It's adorable.

Now, to start on a few more holiday gifts until the yarn arrives and I can finish this one up. I'm noticing that I have a lot more projects nearly completed than normal: the knitting on the pillow is almost completed, another gift just needs the ends woven in, I have a pair of socks that is only an inch or so from total completion, and a baby sweater that just needs sleeves. And why am I not finishing these? Because casting on for other projects is obviously so much more fun! Next up on the needles? Adamas shawl from KnitPicks. This will be my first full-on shawl lace-knitting experience. I finished a scarf, but I've never done a major charted lace project. Here's hoping that it goes better than my last attempt at the Peace Shawl! Which, I'd like to note, I do have blue yarn for... I'll get around to that project someday.

Remiss as always

There's a very good reason for my lack of blogging- I'm in the midst of a whole lot of holiday knitting! But here's a few projects that I can "dare" to bare at this point...

First off, a project in Mount To-Be-Knit. This will be a tartan bag! Pattern from Pursenalities:


Almost done with the front of the Molly Ringwald sweater:


Whew. The rest are still gifts and therefore I can't link pretty pictures. BUT here's one final photo- this is the yarn I'm going to use for my Socktoberfest project! Hurrah hurrah for Koigu. I'm thinking of doing this pattern Falling Leaves from Knitty

Kitty Hats and the beginnings of knitting enterprise

I was supposed to work on kitty hats... for months now. And things have come up, and I've been reading the paper in the mornings, and then moving, and basically I hadn't knit a single kitty hat. Finished the base for one, and ribbing for another, in the last day. I should be able to finish these two by Monday night... and then hopefully do at least 2-3 more before Friday, and then maybe some more Friday night. Whew. My mom brought over 4, so all together that's not so bad. If these all sell (who knows?), then I'll have to seriously get off my butt and make up a bunch more for the girls to bring to upcoming conventions. I was thinking I need a name for these...~

Handknit by Mikaiya

I think at work I'll print off some business cards, and a page (in color) to give the girls to display with the hats. I bet people would commission them... not sure how many I'd be willing to do, though, even on commission. The girl at Fishfish knits charges 30 bucks a pop- so surely mine at 25 are reasonable. Eventually I need to make a little website, and get those sew-in tags, too. If I feel really ambitious, I'll make some skinny scarves to sell and other one-off items.

I've been making progress on Christmas gifts (no piccies on the blog for a while, since almost all of my knitting is for gifts).

Best of all, I went to a knitting class today. I can now knit English and Continental! My left-handed knitting is absurdly slow, but I can do it, and my tension doesn't even change much. I also *cough* picked up the yarn for a pattern I've been wanting to try. This: The Molly Ringwald from Knitscene Fall 2006. I'm making it in lavendar Calmer... OH do I love Calmer. It may be my new favorite thing.

I would blog more to the knitting blog if I could access it from Writely. Why won't Writely work with me?? Ah well. Here's some project updates!

- Halfway through the "I Do" from Knitty... it's more casual than I thought, but it will still be cute with jeans, I think.
- Mom has been given a copy of the kitty hat pattern and some yarn, and I'm going to start some myself. Hurrah for Otakon.
- I'm going to buy the natural-color laceweight yarn from KnitPicks and make the peace shawl. Or maybe do it in blue. Either way, it's ridiculous not to do it in the color I want. The burgundy laceweight yarn I already own will be saved for a gift shawl, a long time in the future.
- I still have a nearly-finished pair of socks to work on (maybe I'll bring these with me to the wedding? Good hotel knitting)
- I need to think about holiday presents. I have a few ideas already...

Another FO!

I'm still 1/4 of the way through my "I Do" project... but I took another brief break tonight and completed a project- in about 3 hours- for my coworker's new baby. Who has not yet been born... unless he has. In which case I guess Dan will get it belatedly. Either way! Piccies. I have no model, unfortunately, being happily childless.





Voila! Cutesy cutesy wow!

FO!

I finally finished something! This was a fairly quick knit, in the Mikaiya world of taking a year to finish anything. Aran baby blanket, completed 6/3/06. Pattern is Mom's favorite pattern (book unknown). Yarn is Red Heart- only 3 skeins- in the aran color.

Voila!


Detail:


Currently working on I Do from Knitty to wear as a shrug over my summer dress. Since I have a lot of weddings to attend, with none of the same people... I'm just saying that it will get a lot of use! It is a SUPER fast knit. Now I have the new camera working well (where did I put that charger??), I figure I'll get pics up once it's more recognizably sleeve-like. I'm almost to the right elbow already, working up from the tips.

Maryland Sheep and Wool

I wasn't planning on going to Sheep and Wool this weekend. Silly me. I was in a rotten mood the last few days (not feeling well), and this was the best pick-me-up ever!! I enjoyed watching the sheep, strolling around the Howard County fairgrounds, enjoying the pit beef and a real Coke (a real treat for me). But of course the best part? The vendors!! Hundreds and hundreds of fantastic vendors of all sorts. I learned that I am totally in love with Koigu (of course), rug hooking (who would have thought??), and the people from Philosopher's Wool really ARE as nice as they seem. Here's a pictoral review. Nothing here for the rug hooking, but that's my next hobby. I think this fall I will investigate taking an intro class or something. I might not be quite artistic enough for it, but the finished products are absolutely gorgeous. Like latch hook gone adult. Anyways, on to the photos of my loot!

OMG Koigu!! I really think this is my favorite yarn of the moment. I can't wait to make some socks with it. I might even break down and do a Charlotte's Web. So pretty!


I realize one should buy lots of yarn from people who can't sell wholesale at this sort of event. But at the same time, I found some yarn that I had never seen in person before, at least not in the colorways I ended up loving. So not only did I get the Koigu, I got another sock yarn, Mountain Colors. I think these would make excellent cable-up-the-heel socks, to go with my clogs:


I have wanted to make a fair-isle Philosopher's Wool sweater for ages, but couldn't pick a colorway. I'm still not certain that this is my favorite pattern/color combo, but it does look very pretty on me. They had a model I could use. This kit will make one sturdy and warm sweater, which I could easily wear as a fall/spring jacket. Did I mention that it's fun fair-isle??


The kit laid out:


Free bag for purchasing a Philosopher's Wool kit:


One booth had really lovely hat patterns, including the following. I purchased their handspun fingering weight to make my own, which should go well with the hot pink winter coat, and be light enough to wear in the fall and spring.

I had a post in my LJ the other day... which probably should have been in this journal. I apologize if you've read this content before, feel free to move along!

Gaia had an pretty interesting comment for me the other night. Someone at her gym saw her kitty hat and wanted to see more of the things I make. I was concerned because the kitty hats are probably my quickest and cheapest project to make, and therefore the most sell-able. But this woman could be interested in the non-quick and cheap. Hmm. So it's got me thinking about cottage industry, and what I could reasonably make to sell.

The time issue is the most difficult- I knit on the metro at least half the time, and that's time that I don't mind devoting to knitting (I read the newspaper when it's too full to sit and knit, or read my Palm... but if I had a simple pattern I can stand and knit). And I spend a lot of time online, so that's quite a bit of non-knitting time. I could go back to watching more movies and TV at night, instead of gaming so damn much, and that would give me quite a bit more time to devote to this. So here's some ideas of what I could do, for Christmas-gifts, etc.

1- kitty hats

This is a decent idea for holiday gifts and for Otakon. I have quite a bit of the yarn already, the pattern is self-created (therefore I don't have to worry about copyright infringement). They take 2-3 evenings of fairly solid knitting and sewing up the ends. I enjoy making them, but I won't make many more in black- it's just too damn fuzzy when trying to attach the ears. I could realistically sell these to people, and have done so in the past... I aim to make up a bunch for Otakon this summer, and see how they sell then. If I try to make one a week, that will be enough to have a decent stack at the con- and if I try and make more than that, well then all the better.

2- socks

This project is a little trickier. If I stick with self-striping yarns or do simple stripes of my own, I don't have to worry about copyright (the basic sock pattern I use is generic, not written by anyone in particular). If I were to do funky designs, I'd need to create those myself- something I could surely do, but it would mean some trial and error because I haven't done a pattern yet. Socks are relatively fast, but if I work with fingering weight or sock yarn, working with the size 1-3 needles can be rough on my fingers. I've never done a pair of socks in a very short period of time, because I like to switch between them and bigger needles, to protect myself from injury. I could, however, knit a couple pairs in a month while knitting other projects, if I spent more time knitting at night. I'm ambivalent- mostly because the amount of time required would push the price a bit high. I don't know how much people are willing to pay for socks. The yarn also figures into the cost factor- I can get yarn for a pair of socks anywhere from 3 bucks to 20 or 30. I usually average 9-10. On the other hand, anyone who ordered hand-knit socks would be getting exactly that- hand knit, sturdy, wool-blend, washable socks. And mine have lasted beautifully. ((Note: I'm thinking that the size issues are the most troublesome... I won't offer to make socks unless it's for people whose feet I know. Mom? Yes. Random stranger? No.))

3- scarves

Ok, I do tend to forget this stuff. It's a broad category, but I can make fuzzy scarves, long skinny scarves, striped scarves, Harry Potter scarves, lace scarves... anything really. I could sell them cheaper, because they're faster to knit. The yarn costs are all over the place. Lace would cost a great deal more than a simple fun fur-type deal, since it takes about 4 times as long to make.

4- other hats

Could do bears hats... striped hats... toques... fair isle... skies the limit. I need to make up some models. Hats are cheap to make (or free, from stash yarn), and quick.

Sweaters take too long. Baby sweaters.... maybe. Baby blankets.... maybe. No afghans for adults, unless they're crocheted. I could definitely do crocheted baby afghans, they don't take more than a few days.

One more pic

I forgot- this is the sweater I am just dying to make, in this color and all. Hurrah for bobbles:



But the yarn is a bit expensive for my current tastes. In the meantime, I have PLENTY of projects going on. Hurray for the digicam, nonetheless!

Camera! Pix! Action!

I have been promising an update, and I have been promising pictures. Now that I'm a proud owner of a swanky new digital camera, I can finally deliver. So here you are!!

The enormous lavendar baby blanket:


Detail of the cabling:


Finally bought the yarn to make this project:


Beginnings of a cabled baby blanket, from Mom's favorite pattern:


The first lace scarf, pre-blocking:


The first lace scarf, while blocking:


Current progress on the second lace scarf:


My Clapotis being blocked (lo these 12 months after finishing):


I think that will do it!!!

Camera's still mostly broken. Pix to come.

But in the meantime- I'm 1/3 of the way through a lace scarf (super pretty!), finished the purple baby blanket, halfway through the aran-colored crocheted throw I'll probably donate... whew. I also finished the body of my peach baby sweater, I'm working on the first sleeve.

And I need to make a crapload of kitty hats in a week. Go go go! We're going to try and sell a few at Katsucon.

That is all. I swear I'll be back. I knit on the metro every day now, so hopefully this will lead to some completed projects soon...

Sweater curse

I'm not saying that the sweater curse is true. All I'm saying is that this finished project (from a bit ago now) isn't an engagement sweater. And I'm single. Hmm. It's still pretty, and there's no reason on earth why a girl can't wear a man's sweater. Even if it is a bit ginormous.



Detail of the neck and cabling

Not quite knitting...

One of my resolutions for the New Year ought to be to blog in my knitting blog more (and perhaps Livejournal less). Per usual, I gave away two knitted gifts without taking photos first. I gave my mom the cream-and-burgundy afghan, which I completed before Chanuka was over (hurrah). I also made yet another kitty hat for my co-worker's daughter in pink. It looked like... confection.

In my defense of the lack of digital photography to prove my finished project status, my camera hasn't been working. It did, however, decide to start cooperating tonight. Since the gifts are long gone, I can at least give you a picture of my cutest Chanuka gift, care of Dallas:



Isn't she a doll?

I have a trillion projects on the needles that I should be working on. The first goal for home is to finish the lavendar baby blanket (so close!). Now that I have a metro commute, I will hopefully be able to get some smaller projects knit on my way to and from work. Goal for the commute? Finish the second sock in my latest pair. It would be nice to be able to wear them before summertime. After those long-term projects are complete, I have another great metro project- the peach baby sweater. It's tiny enough to stuff in a purse, and adorable as can be. Or will be, if I get more than 4 inches into it. Bloody sport-weight yarn on size 2s.