Aran Delight Mittens

Name: Aran Delight Mittens
Pattern: Aran Delight Mittens by Alexandra Charlotte Dafoe
Craft: knitting
Made for: Me :)
Started date: February 28, 2009
Completed date: March 23, 2009
Needle: US6/4.0mm
Yarn: Cascade 200 wool
Colour: 9477 Tutu pink
How much? 1.1 skeins
Modification: I-cord cast on, blocked mitts to make them super comfy
See the project on Ravelry!

Jim and I only spend $20 on gifts for each other for Valentine's Day because we go all out on birthdays and Christmas. What we decided was that we would limit our gifts to $20, but make the gifts extremely mushy and sentimental. So for Valentine's Day 2009, Jim got me a cupcake shaped ceramic container and inside it was a list of 100 reasons why he loves me and a coupon. The coupon states "This coupon is good for one year's worth of yarn store visits because I love how happy it makes you!". He's going to regret giving that to me! *Insert evil laughter.* I also got a skein of pink Cascade yarn from him because he knows how much I love Cascade yarns and pink. When I saw the pattern for the Aran Delight mittens, I knew instantly that my Valentine's gift was meant for it!

I'm really bad when it comes to knitting mittens. I can quickly whip one up in 3 days, but after that I lack the motivation to complete the other mitt. These mittens took me almost a month to complete. I have knitting ADD, I love starting new projects, but find it extremely challenging to finish what I have started. It does not help that I constantly find new patterns that I want to knit on Ravelry!

Overall, I am really pleased with how these mitts turns out. They are super cute and plushy! They were completed just in time for them to be placed away in a drawer because spring is now here.

Easter Eggs

Name: Easter Eggs
Pattern: Easter eggs by Little Cotton Rabbits
Craft: Knitting
Made for Jim's mom
Started date: March 6, 2009
Completed date: March 8, 2009
Needle: US 2/ 2.75mm
Yarn: Bernat Baby Jacquard
Colour: Easter Basket
How much? Less than 0.5 skeins (173 yards)
Modification: Added an extra 6 rows in the center to increase length
See the project on Ravelry!

When I saw this pattern on Ravelry last week, I knew I had to make it! And I knew exactly what yarn to use to get the results I wanted. I have been in love with Bernat Baby Jacquard ever since I received an email from Bernat advertising them. I thought the idea of the yarn was simply brilliant! You get the cute fair-isle pattern without having to change yarn colours or weaving in loose ends! I remember running to the store that weekend with my mom and getting a bunch to test drive them. The key to this yarn is keeping your stitches under 100-ish...anything over that and you will not get the stripping pattern.

My love for this yarn was raised to another level when I found Walmart selling them for $2.74/lb. I went crazy and bought 4 lbs- 2lbs in this colour (Easter Basket) and 2 lbs in "big deal teal". I have only used 1 lbof the Easter Basket so far and have been able to knit a baby blanket, a scarf, and these 6 eggs with it. Best $2.74 I have ever spent!

Ok, enough with declaring my love for Bernat Baby Jacquard...back to these adorable eggs! When I saw them I knew I had to make them for Jim's mom because I knew she would get a good giggle out of them. I didn't bother trying ot stuff with stuffing because I knew the eggs would come out lumpy. I went to the dollar store and bought styrofoam eggs...and voila, perfectly shaped eggs! I also had this "brilliant" idea to knit this in rounds so I wouldn't have to sew them up later. This was not a very smart idea because if I had made this in rounds, there was no way I could fit the styrofoam eggs into it in the end. My mother graciously agreed to sew the eggs for me and I think she did a wonderful job! Look how cute they turned out :)

"Custom made" hat and mitts

Name: Isotope Cabled Hat #2

Pattern:Isotope Cabled Hat by Tonya Wagner

Craft: Knitting

Made for Susan

Started December 29, 2008

Completed December 30, 2008

Size Adult
Needle: US7/ 4.5mm and US8/5.0mm
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Wool
Colour: 7803 Magenta
How much? 1 skeins (220 yards)
Modifications: None
See the project on Ravelry

Name: Very Cabley Mittens

Pattern:Very Cabley Mittens by Kelly Porpiglia

Craft: Knitting

Made for Susan

Started February 12, 2009

Completed February 16, 2009

Size Adult
Needle: US6/4.0mm
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Wool
Colour: 7803 Magenta
How much? 1 skeins (220 yards)
Modifications: Made this with the alternative pattern to increase the length of the mitts
See the project on Ravelry

When Susan saw Jim's mom's hat, she wanted one for herself as well. She also wanted a pair of mitts to go along with the hat. So we went off to the nearest LYS to pick out yarn for her hat and mitts. Since we're talking about Susan, she wouldn't want anything neutral. Anything colourful and bright is best...hence this magenta colour! She was so excited to get "custom made" hat and mitts, it inspired her to learn how to knit! So we went off to Zeller to buy her cheap acrylic to learn how to knit. We went back to my house and had a little "knitting party" with another friend of mine. It was such a fun night! Two of my favourite friends, knitting, wine and junk food! I'm not sure how Susan' knitting is these days, I think she may have given up. I plan on giving her the hat and mitts today, so hopefully that will renew her interest!

I love working with Cascade wool. The price is affordable and it comes in so many colours! This magenta was really bright and I found the dye to rub off on my fingers when I was knitting this, so that wasn't so fun. Overall, I'm really happy how this set turned out. These are my first pair of completed mitts. Hopefully Susan will like her presents :)

Koolhaas for KoolDan

Name: Koolhaas Kollection (Koolhaas #4)

Pattern:Koolhaas by Jared Flood

Craft: Knitting

Made for Daniel

Started February 14, 2009

Completed February 15, 2009

Size Adult
Needle: US7/ 4.5mm
Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash
Colour: Black
How much? 0.7 skeins (154 yards)
Modifications: Cast on 120 sts and did 5 repeats for the pattern.
See the project on Ravelry

Daniel asked me to make him a hat to replace his old $2 hat. Daniel is an excellent friend- he edits all my school work for me, takes me the gym, then takes me out for "foodings". (Plus he follows this blog.) So how could I say no? I bought the superwash yarn for him because I didn't want to leave him with hand washing instructions. This way he could do whatever he wants to the hat and I know it would survive. I decided to make him the Koolhaas because it's such a cool pattern (not your ordinary ribbed hat for guys). I worked on it feverously these past two days so I could have it done when we met up for dinner tonight. We made plans to leave at 5pm and I was casting off at 5:15pm. It was a perfect fit on Daniel. The 120 sts was perfect for his "big head" and the length was also perfect because it covered his ears. Now I have to sort through my yarn stash to find yarn to make him a Domokun....knitting for friends never ends!

In love with my gloves

Name: Almeara Gloves

Pattern: Almeara Gloves by Jared Flood

Craft Knitting

Made for me :)

Size: Adult Small

Started January 24, 2009

Completed February 1, 2009

Needle US6/4.0mm

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers

Colorway: 8401 Silver Grey

How much? 1 skein

Modification: Used smaller needles, made the gloves longer, and fixed a few mistakes in the pattern

See the project on Ravelry

I absolutely love these gloves! These are the first pair of gloves that I have ever knitted- and I don't think I have ever loved a pair of gloves as much as I love these! My parents were so cute while I was knitting this project. The whole time I was knitting the gloves, my dad kept telling me how impressed he is that I have managed to get all the fingers on correctly. My mom was also very impressed with them, and she graciously agreed to model these gloves so I can take pictures for Ravelry/my blog.

The thing that I love the most about it is that it is long. I have altered the pattern to make it longer, for instructions see here. It's been really cold lately, so these have been perfect for the cold weather. I love the long length because I don't have to experience the cold gap between the coat and gloves.

Knitting the second glove was definitely easier. To make the process easier, whenever there was an increase in the pattern, what I did was picked up a stitch between my two stitches and then looking at the next row to determine if I should knit or purl. I did this because it was easier than doing the million different types of increases stated in the pattern, and in the end it did not make a difference.

Another mistake that I found for the right glove is row 4 of the middle finger. I think it should be K1, P1, K4, P1, K9.

Even though this pattern has more mistakes than most regular patterns, I think the struggle to figure them all out was totally worth it in the end. Like I said earlier, I am absolutely in love with these gloves! I am now casting on to make the "matching" hat to these gloves :)

Glove, Sweet Glove

Name: Almeara Gloves
Pattern: Almeara Gloves by Jared Flood
Craft Knitting
Made for me :)
Size: Adult Small
Started January 24, 2009
Needle US6/4.0mm
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers
Colorway: 8401 Silver Grey
How much? 1 skein should be enough for the pair
See the project on Ravelry

When I saw these gloves on Ravelry, I was obsessed with it and was counting down the day until I could get my hands on the Vogue Knitting Winter 2008/09 issue. I kept saying cheesy things like "I glove you" to Jim or singing "what the world needs now is glove, sweet glove". I finally got my hands on the magazine on Friday and instantly ran to the closest yarn store to buy the yarn. I was obsessed!

As much as I liked the gloves, I felt that I would love it more if it was a little longer. Hence my first modifications to these gloves. In order to get the longer length, what I did was knit row 1 to 17, then rows 4 to 17 twice, and then continue from row 18. I am much happier with the longer length and this will keep my hands/arms nice and warm.

I also added an extra repeat for the thumb to make it fit my thumb better (and trust me I don't have freakishly long thumbs).

Being one of the first to knit this, I did notice a few mistakes here and there. Most of the time, I just tried my best to continue and hope that I was not making a detrimental mistake. The two mistakes that I found that really stuck out for me was the middle finger and the thumb. For the middle finger (of the left hand) row 4 should be K9, P1, K4, P1, K1. For the thumb, I could not find row 4 in the pattern...what the hell? I looked at one of the many pictures that Jared Flood posted and tried to figure my way around it. What I did for row 4 for the thumb was P3, K8, P8.

I am absolutely in love with this! Can't wait to make the right glove :)

Greedy for another Koolhaas

Name: Koolhaas Kollection (Koolhaas #3)

Pattern:Koolhaas by Jared Flood

Craft: Knitting

Made for Jim

Started January 16 2009

Completed January 19 2009

Size Adult

Needle: US 6 / 4.0 mm
Yarn: Lang Merino
Colour: 168 Chocolate
How much? 1.2 skeins (60 grams, 157.2 yards)
Modifications:
1. Used 4.0mm needles to accommodate for the thinner yarn.
2. Ribbed for 15 rows to make it a bit longer- again to accommodate for the thinner yarn and smaller needles.
3. Repeated pattern 6.5 times.
4. Used magic loop so I dont have to put with knitting with 4 or 5 needles.
See the project on Ravelry

I made Jim his first Koolhaas for Christmas 2008. He loves it so much and wears it at every change he gets. Then the hat started to get a bit smelly...so I decided to make him another one so he could wear it with his nice brown coat (after washing his original hat). We went to the local yarn store and I let Jim choose the yarn he wanted- and of course he chose merino (probably because they didn't have any cashmere there).

This is a very nice pattern and I keep coming back to it to make hat after hat. Supposedly it was inspired by the architecture of a Seattle library. And any day now I need to cast on to make another Koolhaas for my friend Daniel. The Koolhaas collection never ends!