Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Time for eye candy...

I think that I've kept you waiting long enough so, without further ado, here are the long awaited photos of my recent finished projects...



Pattern: Artful Afghan from Lion Brand

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted

Modifications: None

Comments: I love the finished product after months and months of work! That said, I don't know that I will EVER make this blanket again because it was so time consuming. I thought that it would keep my attention a little more than it did, but I quickly realized that while 4 increases every row may be a little interesting at first (when there were only 8 stitches) it quickly loses my interest. No big deal, though! I'm thrilled that it's done, I think that the recipients will be very happy, and I am glad that I finally tried the pattern. Enough said...



Pattern: Fat Bottom Bag from "The Happy Hooker"

Yarn: Lambs Pride Worsted

Modifications: None

Comments: This has very quickly become a popular bag among my friends and I have made more than I could have imagined. However, this was the very first and I made it for myself following my surgery. It's a cheerful little bag that did exactly what I wanted it to - cheered me up! I do think that I will switch out the handles for some round bamboo handles, but this works for now.



Pattern: Purl Beret from Purl Bee

Yarn: Claudia's Handpainted

Modifications: None

Comments: I'm still not sure about the shape of this hat on my head, but it was a great pattern for a single skein (175 yards) of fingering weight. I was not thrilled with this yarn as the dye was very clearly not set, so my fingers turned a very disconcerting purple every time I knit on this hat. I washed the hat with some Soak and it seems to have gotten the dye out, but I think the real test will come when I wear it out for the first time. Let's hope that I don't have a purple stripe on my forehead!




Pattern: Stella's Hat from Knitting School Dropout

Yarn: Galway Chunky


Modifications: None


Comments: There's not much to say! It's a fun pattern with a great finished product. I imagine that I will be making more of these in the future!


And finally, here are some pictures of my current projects in progress. I am not including pics of all of my projects as some of them are gifts and I don't want the recipients to sneak a peek...But don't worry, Mom, your Mother's Day gift will be making its way to you very soon!





That's a baby surprise jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman on the top. I'm knitting it in Encore Worsted Colorspun and am loving it! The bottom photo is of a fat bottom bag in progress. I'm making it for one of my coworkers in some kind of Red Heart.

So, that's it. I'll try to be back more quickly than I've been managing...:)

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Happy New Year!

Okay, so I missed the new year by a while, but I'm going to wish you a happy new year all the same! Just consider it my welcome back to both of us as I reenter the blogging world...

So, I know that I fell off the face of the earth after that last post, and I am hoping to start rectifying that situation now. It's been a really crazy couple of months with my recovery from surgery, return to work, the busy holiday season, and then just keeping up with life...That certainly does not mean that I have put my crafting on the back burner or that I don't have some big projects coming up in the near future, so I'm going to dive back in.

First of all, I'm still plugging away at the SSCCG (which the couple knows about now and has seen, so it has lost its super secret status), but am exactly 6 rounds away from being done with this huge thing. I can't wait to finish the blanket and pass it off to the happy couple...I think that it's going to look really wonderful in their home! But, the wedding projects don't end there because I'm going to be starting a new blanket for some dear friends who are being married later this year. Lest you think I haven't learned anything from the SSCCG, I am going to be knitting with MUCH thicker yarn and it will be in several pieces (easier to cart around with me!) that I'll seam up in the end. I can't help it, I love making stuff for the people I care about...That is going to include me, though, because I have some great projects in the wings for myself. Mrs. Ha-Ha bought me a kit for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan in a lovely shade of red and I have a bunch of smaller projects that will start to use up my stash. By the way, the yarn diet has been extended to the end of 2008 because I'm just not going to be able to make enough of a dent by my birthday...That doesn't mean, however, that I might not treat myself to a little yarn treat for my birthday! It's number 30 for me and I figure that deserves some yummy yarn...

In other exciting news, Mrs. Ha-Ha and I have officially booked a place for our commitment ceremony, which will take place in May 2009. We scheduled it to coincide with our 5 year anniversary, so it will be a celebration in many ways...I'm already starting to brainstorm as to how I can include crafting in the ceremony! :)

Okay, there's more to share, but I'm going to save it for the next post which will hopefully also include some pics! Thanks for sticking around...