Tipping my hat

I seem to be in hat mode right now. There's something about a quick project that is soothing to me at the moment; the lacy scarf I started the other day has already been put aside (it will be picked up again, I swear). This hat is the first (and not the last) I've started in the last few days.



Pattern: Smoky, by Kate Harris
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Heavyweight in lemongrass (0.32 of a skein) on US3 and US9 needles



Maybe I was hoping that by knitting it, I would bring spring closer? Not that it worked; between the time I cast on the hat and when I put it on for picture taking tonight, it's gone from cold to nice to snowing again.



I love the color of this yarn, and I've got a good chunk of the skein left. Guess I'll have to find something else to do with it. :)

And I was amused by having to block it on a dinner plate to stretch out the lace, so I had to take a picture of that as well.



And now back to hat #2...

Waving on by

I've been trying to knit from stash lately--I haven't bought yarn in two months, go me!--and I'd had these three skeins of Berroco Jasper hanging around. They were always meant to be a stripey scarf, but I didn't know exactly what I wanted until I found this pattern.



Pattern: Waving Chevron Scarf, by leethal
Yarn: Berroco Jasper, 1 skein each in red, blue, and green, on size 10.5 US needles
Notes: I just knit away until I ran out of yarn. Quick knit for a scarf, and the yarn is so soft and totally yummy. If I could afford it I'd make a sweater out of it just to have something ultra cozy in which to curl up.

And the long view:

Is it bigger on the inside?

I hadn't planned on doing more Doctor Who stuff for a while, but I spent a good chunk of the weekend wandering around my apartment doing every little task or project I could find. And this was one of the results:



I had picked up the bag and fabric paint months ago, and the stencil is from a jack o'lantern carving. I found it here months ago and, as I'm not much of a pumpkin carver, I thought this might be a fun use for it. So now I have a Doctor Who and his TARDIS bag.

The lizard creeps home

Way back in the middle of 2007, I started making squares for the Lizard Ridge afghan. About six months later, I finished knitting my 25 squares (I was going for a 5 x 5 blanket), and three months after that I spent a weekend crocheting ten of those squares together. Then I had visitors staying with me, and I had to clean the laid out squares off of the floor. They've been sitting under my table ever since.

That is, until this weekend. After 12 hours of crocheting yesterday, and another 4 today, it's finally done.



Pattern: Lizard Ridge afghan, from Knitty
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, many skeins in many colorways (I've long since lost track), on US 8 needles. Crocheted together with leftover Cascade 220, and border done in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in periwinkle, all using a J hook.
Notes: I love the colors.



It's really nice to see the whole thing come together, especially after so long. But I may never pick up a crochet hook again after this; 16 hours over the last two days has just been too much!



And I even managed to finish it before another winter has ended, so I can get some use out of it this season!



I can hardly believe it's done. But it's now in place on my sofa, waiting to be snuggled up in.

Toes up!

My first pair of toe up socks, and I'm kind of in love.



Pattern: Coupling, from Knitty
Yarn: Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Marine (less than a skein) on US 1.5 needles



For me, the steps I used and the pattern and the yarn were essentially the perfect combination. I used this Turkish cast on for the toe, which I loved, and which didn't require short rows. I used a picot bind off on the cuff; I had originally used a decrease bind off, which looked gorgeous, but I couldn't get the sock over my heel. The picot gives enough elasticity to get the sock on and off. And in between was this complex looking, but actually quite simple lace pattern. This pattern also uses a heel flap construction, which I much prefer to a short row heel, so it's been pretty win win all around.



And I love the yarn. Fleece Artist Sea Wool is one of my new favorites.



This was a really enjoyable and satisfying project, and I'm really pleased with how they came out!

why can't my fat be as cute as this?

I wasn't planning to do more Doctor Who knitting right away, but I needed a quick project and I had a friend (who's a fellow Who-vian) who needed a little cheering up. And this was the result:



Pattern: Adipose, by mazzmatazz (pattern removed from the internet after dispute with the BBC)
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in white and a tiny bit of Paton's Classic Merino in black, on size 6 needles
Notes: I had this pattern saved from before the dispute and have been wanting to knit it for a long time. It's totally adorable.

If you don't know what an Adipose is, they're aliens from a season four episode of Doctor Who and are essentially fat-based. Here's what they looked like on the show:



And here's the one I made hanging out with some friends:



I think I need to make another one for myself!

Snowy day

Yesterday was a kind of sort of snow day, so I spent it at home knitting away. More friends are expecting little ones in the next few months, so it was time to get working on more gifts!



Pattern: Umbilical Cord Hat, from Stitch n Bitch
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in burgundy and Berroco Chinchilla in brown, on size 7 needles
Notes: I knit about an inch in the chinchilla to give it a furry brim, and then did the rest in the burgundy. Quick knit.





Pattern: One Hour Baby Booties, from Stitch n Bitch Nation
Yarn: Lion Brand Color Waves, on size 8 needles
Notes: Really quick knit. The yarn is extremely annoying to knit with. Are baby feet really this small?

And they wouldn't fit on my teddy bear, so the poodle got a chance to model.



So, a couple more FOs completed, and a little bit more yarn from my stash used up!

Though the winter weather can end now; I just took a nasty little wipe out on the ice outside. I'm fine, but owww.