February Fuggedaboutit FOs

OK, so, more stuff I did last month and even before that,
because that's how I roll!

basically exactly like this, with shorter hair

I started some more Toddler Flashdance back in December and finished it in January:

 

Happy Legs [Rav] by Dani Sunshine; knit with less than a skein of Lion Brand Microspun in colorway French Vanilla

Other legwarmers I've made for Punkin Q. Pie have been made in shrinky-type quasi-feltable yarn (here and here), so they're pretty beat up and hard to get onto her legs as she gets older.  These have the opposite problem: they stretch out a little more with each washing and end up pooled around her ankles within an hour of putting them on.  At least she'll have an opportunity to grow into them?

And now, with no transition to mention or explanation afterward, cabley superwash beret!

 

Brambles Beret [Rav] by Amanda Muscha; knit with 1.5 skeins of Knit Picks Swish Worsted in colorway Squirrel Heather

There were projects to donate to charity...

 

Simple newborn hat with a touch of lace [Rav] by Ginny Sheller; knit with Lion Brand Microspun in colorway French Vanilla

* MODS: added an extra lace repeat, V-shaped and offset

Burl Afghan Square [Rav] by Rycrafty Patterns; knit with half a skein of Knit Picks Swish Worsted in colorway Lawn

* MODS: sized down to 8" sq (from 1 sq foot)

...and projects for funsies:

 

 

The Short Rose [Rav] by SarahLouise MacAdie; knit with < 20yds each of Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino in colorways 141 Wild Berry, 170 Dijon, and 174 Spring Leaf

Monster Corner Bookmark [Rav] by Christel Brooks; £0.75 GBP; knit with 13 yds of Lion Brand Sock-Ease in colorway 200 Toffee and 2 yards of Berroco Comfort Baby in colorway 4700 Chalk; beads are 2/0 cobalt Czech glass

OH, and right now I'm working on an intarsia baby blanket and a shawl with TARDISes.  Toodles!


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~
Happy birthday to the woman who GAVE ME LIFE.  :)

Questions I Ask about February (Shawl FOs)

Guess who didn't post any words last month?  Didja guess yet?

This surprises no one.

Remember that January shawl that needed better pictures?

This one right here.

Took photos and handed it off to its rightful owner, doot-do-doo!  My mom (hi Mama!) helped me realize that while 2012's shawls were all about saying thank you to some of the awesome people I know, 2013's shawls are already trending in the comfort-for-people-going-through-tough-stuff direction.

 

Arroyo [Rav] by Sarah H. Wolf; knit with about 4 skeins of 

Karabella Yarns Aurora 8 in colorway 8167 Blue

This was a fantastic knit and I'm going to make another one some day... maybe even later this year, who knows!

Remember that alpaca firework-looking shawl from 2012?

When we last saw our heroine...

Finished, blocked, shipped (well, personally escorted), delivered!

 

Echo Flower Shawl [Rav] by Jenny Johnson Johnen; knit with 3/4 skein of Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Lace in colorway LP10 Red Rover

This took fooooorever AND it triggered my allergy along the way AND there were beads beads beads for days AND it was totally worth it, because its recipient deserves it like crazy (she knits, so she knows).

Were there any more February finished knits?  What does March have in store?  Am I just stacking the deck with rhetorical questions?
All (well, some) will be revealed tomorrow.
Gonna go take care of a sick kid now, byeeeeeee

Mot-less Monday: Color Swirl

January: a Tale in Pictures

Click a pic to embiggen

Jan 2 2013 -- 20%

Jan 19 2013 -- 35%

Jan 26 2013 --70%

Jan 31 2013 --87%

Small FOs and other bits and bobs

Finished up some stuff, started other stuff, continuing to work on stuff.  Stuff!  It's happening!

FINISHED STUFF I'VE NEVER MENTIONED UNTIL NOW!

Legwarmies [Rav] by Alana Dakos; knit with half a skein of Knit One Crochet Too Handpainted Ambrosia in colorway 1934 Turkish Rug and a quarter-skein of Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in colorway Woodland Sage

Toddler Flashdance!  These have felted now, but that's okay, because c'mon.  Wear and tear.

TO GO [Rav] by Laura Archibald; knit with less than 100 yds of Crystal Palace Mochi Plus in colorway 557 Autumn Rainbow

Christian's Scarf [Rav] by Ágnes Kutas-Keresztes; knit with four full skeins of Knit Picks Capra in colorway Hunter

This took forever...  I don't like knitting scarves.  BUT the yarn's a cashmere blend, so all is forgiven.

Little Coffee Bean Cardigan [Rav] by Elizabeth Smith; knit with "a skein" (207 yds) of Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in colorways 122 Taupe, 149 Stone, and 113 Cherry

My first foray into duplicate stitch: success!

Seamless Baby Kimono [Rav] by Jacki Kelly; knit with most of a skein of Cascade 220 Superwash Paints in colorway 9860 Jelly Bean and half a skein of Cascade 220 Superwash in colorway 815 Coal

 My fifth SBK -- so simple, so easy to adjust the sizing, fits for a really long time.

2013: JANUARY SHAWL is finished!
But I haven't taken proper photos yet!  So all you get is this:

OTHER STUFF I'VE STARTED
Still working on the alpaca laceweight firework-looking shawl...

more Toddler Flashdance is on the way, one bound-off leg warmer...

and I'm making a cabley hat out of superwash because I can.

Exeunt!

2012: The Year in Shawls

TWELVE SHAWLS IN 2012?  No.

It was a valiant attempt that fell short... as in, there were three full months out of the year I didn't do any shawling.  Oops.

Shawl	Project	Pattern [Ravelry links]
1	Sensational Carnation	EZ 100th Anniversary Hearts Half-Circle [Rav]
2	Diamonds for a Queen	Girl's Best Friend [Rav]
3	Seanmháthair	Ashton Shawlette [Rav]
4	Shawlette of Destiny	Holden Shawlette [Rav]
5	FanFare	Panda Silk DK Fan Shawl [Rav]
6	Mariquita	Annis [Rav]
7	My Prerogative	Eiku [Rav]
8	Gryphon in Repose	Ethereal [Rav]
9	Lannis Port	Bananaboat [Rav]
10	Leaf Shawls are Cool	The Lonely Tree Shawl [Rav]
11	Autumn Fireworks Shawl	Echo Flower Shawl [Rav]
12	Classy Engorgio Crescent	Crescent [Rav]

HOWEVER
I will not be beaten!  I will not be cast down!
I WILL be attempting twelve shawls in 2013!
With a plan this time!  And zero months off!

First on the docket is a bright blue aran-weight crescent shawlette; I'm trying to decide if I like knitting crescent shawls or not, as they may be easier to wear.  Hey, we'll find out!

See, I've already picked out the yarn and everything.  This is totally going to happen.

FO x2: Shawls I Have Loved

In writing my Shawls of 2012 post (awesomeness to follow, ladies and germs!), there came to light a glaring error: two of the shawls had never made an appearance on this blog!  THIS SHALL NOT STAND!

From June: 

Holden Shawlette [Rav] by Mindy Wilkes; knit with a skein of Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk Paints in colorway 9996 Deep Water

No mods, just a straight-up awesome free! pattern, knit in what might be my go-to favorite shawlette yarn.  I love this stuff: it's so soft, it drapes well, I'm not allergic to it, the colorways are beautiful.  YAY.

This was about the time for figuring out photography stuff -- color balance, contrast, lighting conditions -- and I took lots of (awful) progress shots for this one, so here they all are yyaayyyyy......

*muppet flail*

From December:

The Lonely Tree Shawl [Rav] by Sylvia Bo Bilvia; knit with two and a half skeins of Knit Picks Swish Worsted in colorway Indigo Heather

A triangle shawl in worsted weight probably smacks of desperation to some people, and I'll admit, I did knit this mostly to quickly add to my Yearly Shawl Total (YST).  But I love the yarn and the shawl looks great, so I'm not going to feel guilty about the fact that I finished it in about three days.

 

 

This was Shawl #10 in my quest for TWELVE SHAWLS IN 2012!  So was I successful?  Or did I go down in a blaze of glory?  You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out!  Spoiler alert: wah-wah fail.

FO: Lannis Port

THE HOLIDAYS MADE ME SO TIRED, YOU GUYS.  Also, I'm writing this before coffee; this may get interesting.

Christmas knitting got away from me, as always, so I still haven't been able to send some things.  But the recipients aren't expecting them and they don't knit know about this blog, so HA, gonna write about stuff anyway.

It's a shawl!  It took a month!  Ooooh, aaaaah:

Bananaboat [Rav] by Sue Berg; knit with 2-ish skeins of Knit Picks Gloss Lace in colorway Port

This pattern is free! on Ravelry, vaguely translated from German.  I went up a needle size (no long-length circs in size US5 at my house), so I only did 3.5 of the 4 total repeats of the lace chart (for yarn usage reasons, rather than size).

 

I named the project "Lannis Port" for Game of Thrones reasons; it seemed clever in my brain at the time...  using yarn in the Port colorway + fancy like royalty + I had just finished A Feast for Crows (AKA Book 4).  Cersei wishes she had this shawl!