Knitting Kick

I've been on a fresh finishing kick lately - first, I finished the socks I've been working on for a few weeks. I used Quaere Fibre self-striping in "Socktober". Unfortunately, I started the heel turn just a tiny bit too early, so they're just the tiniest bit too snug. Looks like my mom gets a new pair of socks. 

After that, I needed a size one needle to start a sweater for #3. While I was looking, I found a sock-yarn sweater I started in December 2010 - a full year before Carter was even born. It turned out I really only needed to do seven rows of garter stitch, bind off, weave in ends, and seam the sleeves. I have no idea why I left it lingering for so long! It turned out it wasn't even the needle I needed, but I was very happy to have that done. 

Right now, I'm almost done with the body on a Newborn Vertabrae using Felici. It is a very quick knit, and hopefully I'll be done before I leave for the knitting retreat next Thursday. Then I need to plan what I'm bringing for that!!!

Back!

It has obviously been awhile since I've posted!  Little did I know while writing the last post, I was about 24 hours away from heading to the midwife's office in labor! Carter was born 12.7.11 at 7:23pm.  Since then, I haven't had nearly enough knitting time :) I finished knitting my sister's sweater a few weeks ago, but still don't have it all seamed together. Turns out I made it too long, so I have to pick out my bind off and rip back two repeats. THEN I will be able to seam it and give it to her.  Just in time for summer. . .whoops.
After I finished that, I made a Multnomah with the Seven Dwarves like I'd planned.  It was very easy, but man some of those rows got long near the end!  I didn't do a very good job blocking it - Carter woke up as I was just starting to lay it out, so the edge isn't shaped the way I'd like it. Oh well, at least the knitting and weaving in of ends is done!

I was recruited to crochet the border on one of the baby blankets my knitting group makes. It has been taking me longer than I wanted, but I should be done tonight.  I just got an order from KnitPicks with two different colors of Felici (two pairs of socks), another of Felici Sport (something for Carter, probably sweater/hat), two balls of Chroma (for another Noro Striped Scarf) and some tools for colorwork.  I bought the kit for the Falling Stars sweater last month and have started the hat as practice.  It will definitely be easier now using the bobbins and yarn stranding guide I just bought!  It hasn't been nearly as difficult as I expected, as long as I focus on not pulling the strands too tight.  Once I'm done with the border, I will finish the hat, then move on to a pair of socks. I can't believe how much I want to cast on a pair right now! Unfortunately my child only likes to nap about 45 minutes at a time, so my knitting time is severely limited!
 

Final Stretch

I'm due in just 4 days, so I've been working on finishing Courtney's wrap around sweater. It's actually pretty fast going, it's just a matter of me picking it up instead of sitting around on the computer or napping. I don't think I'm actually going to 'finish' it before I give it to her. The construction is pretty simple - it's just a scarf, but with the ends seamed together and then attached to the back (this makes a lot more sense when you look at the pattern).  Since in my current state, my abdomen is HUGE compared to hers, I'm going to have a difficult time judging how long it needs to be.  I think I'll do the recommended 16 pattern repeats, then put it on waste yarn and finish it up while we're there at Christmas. Worst case scenario, I'll need to add a repeat or two, and they only take about a half hour apiece, so I should have plenty of time during the few days we're in GR. It's looking like it will take just over 3 skeins of Knit Picks Biggo, so I'm glad I went for that extra skein I wasn't sure about.  Maybe the extra will be just enough for a small snuggly cowl or something. The yarn is nice and soft, but it does tend to fuzz a little.  After knitting with it for awhile, I have little reddish fibers all over my (ginormous) stomach.
Something I would have liked to have done is use a provisional cast on. I attempted it a few times, but it just frustrated me, so I ended up just doing my typical long tail CO. It seems like a provisional would be nice, though, because then I could just kitchener (or whatever, I don't know all of my official terms) the two ends together for a neater seam. Oh well, someday I'll figure it out.
When this is done (providing there isn't a new baby around), I need to finish my second Offset Wraplan, and then I think I'll make something for me - my eye is on Multnomah (Rav link), in Knit Picks Imagination in Seven Dwarves. I bought two skeins in 2009 (my first real sock yarn purchase), and then never got around to doing anything with it after a few false starts on socks.  I think it's about time! The pattern also looks easy enough for me to be able to pick it up and just knit a few rows while baby is sleeping (if I'm not also sleeping, of course). I'm thinking of just making one slight modification, and only doing 3 center stitches instead of 5.
No pictures this time since I haven't taken any in forever :)

More Finished Goods!

     I'm apparently really on a baby roll.  Larissa called me a few weeks ago asking if there was any way possible I could make Easton a pair of baby mittens and a matching hat.  Since I was already planning on making him a hat for Christmas, I said, "Of course!"

     I had just finished my first hat in Swish, and it turned out to be very stretchy, so I decided to use that pattern again (Little Boy Blue Ribbed Baby Hat), and found an easy thumb-less pattern for baby mitts (Basic Baby Mitts). She told me to use whatever yarn I had on hand, but clearly this was an opportunity to place a Knit Picks order (plus I needed to order yarn for a project for my little sister), so I picked up a skein of Swish Worsted in Dublin and one in Dove Heather to make the perfect MSU set!
Once I finally got to knitting it, it was super quick - mittens took about an hour apiece, and the hat was two easy nights of TV knitting.
     Up next is my sister's wrap around sweater using Biggo.  We'll see how it goes!

Lots of mini-knitting

Knitting for babies is so much better than knitting for adults.  My Zora is still sitting, unseamed, waiting for the day when I get the motivation to spend a few hours finishing it.  On the other hand, I've finished two cardigans, two pairs of thumbless mittens, five hats, a sleep sack, and two blanket squares since doing the final Zora knitting.
My latest FOs are the Owlie Sleep Sack with a matching hat (I just finished the hat last night and haven't taken a picture yet).

 I shelled out the big bucks for Malabrigo Rios, and it was totally worth it.  They are super soft, and I love the semi-solid look.  I'm also a big fan of the color, which is closer to the full picture.  I know babies are born with blue eyes in general, but since Evan and I are both blue-eyed babes ourselves, it's looking pretty good that little Rocky Balboa will be sporting them as well.  The teal-y color of the Owlie set should look really, really good on the kid. He's clearly going to be a good looking kid ANYWAY, so this set makes me really happy. I honestly don't know how often it will get used - my main purpose for it was to have a nice prop for his newborn pictures.  Kristy, our photographer, is pretty awesome, so I'm sure she will get some terrific shots.
I'm thinking with my leftover Malabrigo I'm going to make another Hermione hat.  I have about 66 grams leftover, which is enough for just about any hat, but I'm a huge fan of the Hermione hat I made last Christmas.  I probably don't need another one, but I'm not sure what else I'll do with the yarn, and I don't see any other hat patterns that are calling my name. I've also found a cardigan I'd like to make for myself (with NO SEAMING, I've learned my lesson) out of the yarn I bought at a fiber fest at the end of September. It was supposed to be a vest, but based on the gauge I should be getting, the yarn is just not going to work.  The pattern calls for either a worsted or bulky yarn, but I think it would work much better with bulky, and this 'worsted' is more like a light worsted.  I have six weeks-ish left until this baby shows up, so I'm thinking I should get a bulk of my knitting done now! Odds are, I'll just sit on Ravelry and look at stuff, though, instead of actually knitting. . .

Oops

     I made the mistake of washing and drying the new sweater in the machines.  By mistake, I mean it was totally on purpose, but hoped the outcome would be different.  Turns out it shrunk a little, and looks even more wonky than before :-/ I'm hoping that running an iron over it (especially the hem which WON'T STAY DOWN) will help, or even just soaking it again and blocking instead of drying. We'll see. It should still fit for a little while at least, so not a huge disaster.
     I finally got around to making a hat, also.  The Dec 2011 Mom's group on Rav had a hat KAL for the end of August, but it seemed like I never had the needles I needed when I needed them (just ask my fellow stitch 'n' bitchers - I think there were multiple nights when I just didn't end up knitting anything).  Since my Zora is currently off the needles (still blocked, still not seamed), I realized it freed up my 40" size 3. Triumph! Finished a baby hat right away. I used the "Very Basic Baby Beanie" (rav link) pattern, which was exactly as described.  A perfect quick little knit. I am definitely planning on using the pattern again. I think the brim will end up being turned up, but this should fit for a little while at least.  After finishing this, I started an "Offset Wraplan" (rav link) in the same yarn (KP's Felici Sport, colorway "Too Cool"). The Dec2011 group just so happened to pick sweaters as the theme for Sept.'s KAL, so this is perfect! Hopefully that little bit of motivation I might need near the end.  Assuming all goes well, this *might* be baby's coming home outfit.

Baby!

     With my baby boy due in December, I decided it was (finally) time to start some baby knitting. My husband kept bugging me - "When are you going to make something for the baby?" - as I worked on my Zora sweater, so once the knitting on that was mostly done, I went for a sweater.  I had a few sweaters in my queue already, but ended up finding a striped sweater in the book 60 Quick Baby Knits (rav link) that I figured would work nicely and, more importantly, quickly.  I ordered two skeins each of Gulfstream and Pebble (disc.) in KnitPicks Swish Worsted. I've never worked with it before, but decided I didn't want to mess around with handwashing things.
     I'm really happy with how quickly the sweater worked up, although there are a few little things I'd do differently. I didn't want the bottom to roll up, so I purled a RS row to make a hem.  The sweater still wants to fold up, so there must be a better method there. I didn't really know what I was doing, so I'm sure there is something I'm missing there.  Also, the bottom corners where I picked up stitches for the button band look a little wonky. I like how the knitted on buttons bands LOOK, but while knitting, I much prefer one that is just a continuation of each row, using intarsia if multiple colors are used.

     I started this on Thursday and finished on Sunday, so all in all, a super fast knit.  It still needs buttons, so I'll run to JoAnn's today and decide on the color and shape. Right now, I'm thinking bright yellow, but I don't know about dressing my kid in blue and yellow. . .(Go Green!). Hopefully something will catch my eye!
     Now I need to get back to work on my Zora - the back, front, and sleeves are all knit, but not seamed together yet.  Once that's done, I need to do a 4 inch 2x2 rib all along the front and neck. This could take awhile. . .I will probably end up starting another baby project somewhere in there.

So close!

We had two snowy days this week, so I had lots and lots of knitting time!

First, I started anoter pair of socks. I've only done one of the green crazy color socks, but the Knitpicks Lovers group on Ravelry started a Sock knit along this month, and I wanted to join in that.  I decided to make Valentine's Day socks using the Heart's abound pattern that came in my Stroll Tonal sock kit.  With it, I'm using Stroll Tonal in Gypsy.  I had the yarn up in my "For Sale" section of my stash, but once I decided to make Valentine's Day socks, I knew I had to use it! I'm making them two at a time, on two circular needles.  The first repeat of the pattern made me nervous - it's not difficult, but it's 20 rows and I had a hard time intuitively being able to see what the next row should be.  Now that I'm on the second repeat (of about 7), it's coming along a little faster.

Yesterday I also got a lot done on my Owls sweater.  The cabling is all done - I can see owls! I only have about five rows to go on the neck, plus seaming the armpits, adding button eyes, and weaving in the ends I tried it on last night to make sure it was going to fit. It's snug, but I think it will block nicely and fit perfectly.  My husband was pretty impressed with it, also. He always seems so surprised when I finish something and it looks like it's supposed to. I guess I'm just impressive :) I'd like to wear the sweater Sunday, so tonight will be the night to get it done! Here's hoping the armpits come together like they're supposed to - I'm a little nervous right now :-/

Chugging Along

I've made pretty good progress on both the Moderne Baby Blanket and my owls sweater.  I'm almost done with the first sleeve on the sweater, only about an inch or two to go (which is nothing when it's in bulky weight yarn). Hopefully I'll finish that up during the MSU basketball game this afternoon, and start the next.  The blanket is coming along as well, although by looking at it, you can't really tell. It's incredible how much longer it takes to do a row by just adding a few stitches. I'll just keep chugging on both of these, someday I'll be able to say I'm done!
I've picked up spinning again, and I can tell I've gotten better.  My problem now is that I'm making the yarn too thin. Also, my plying is off. I think I'm underspinning each single, which is making it harder to ply. I spun up one of the PhatFiber samples from September (Farmers Market) that looked like a watermelon. I lost the label for it a long time ago, but it was a bright, fun fiber.  I'm thinking I should have left it unplyed, though, because the act of plying really muddied the colors and it doesn't look nearly as bright anymore.  I just tried to take some pictures, but the lighting was awful. I think I'm in struggle mode today. . .

Housekeeping

As per usual, I haven't updated this blog in about a bajillion years.  Oh well.

I've been working on a Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting lately.  I'm using Knit Picks Shine Worsted yarn in Creme Brulee, Cream, Clementine, and Begonia.  I purchased 5 skeins of each color. Based on stitch count, etc., I think it will be more than enough of cream (I should have plenty for an applied i-cord border, I hope), just a little extra orange and yellow, and not enough pink.  I'll have to reassess the pink when I get closer to the end, but it's looking like I'll need to buy another ball. I'm hoping maybe I can send one ball of the orange or yellow back and just exchange it.  We'll see what happens!
So far, I love the yarn. It is super soft, and the stitches just look really nice.  Also, as the name implies, it has a nice shine to it.  Sometimes I lay it out and I just smile because of how nice I think it's turning out.  Right now, I'm a few rows back from finishing block 6. I'm starting to get a little tired of all of the garter stitch, which might be a problem since I'm only 36% of the way done :/.  Oh well, its potential recipient isn't due until July, so lots of time!  It is not known yet whether the baby is a boy or a girl. I really wanted to make this blanket in these colors (and have for some time), so I figured I would start, and if it turns out to be a boy I can make something else.
I've been doing a few other little projects here and there, but nothing huge.  I have one sock finished from the Threadbare yarn I bought awhile ago, but haven't begun sock #2 yet. I really like the yarn AND sock, but I've been spending all of my knitting time on the baby blanket.  When the baby blanket gets less portable (as it quickly is), I'll start the next sock.
I've also started the owls sweater. I have an extra skein of yarn, so I made it fairly long. Now I'm at the armpits and I've quit.  I need to make the sleeves and keep going, but once again, the baby blanket distracted me.  I am typically a super loose knitter (socks on 0's are still pretty loose gauge), but for some reason, have an iron grip on this sweater. I actually had to go UP a needle size, which is completely unheard of for me.  Because of this tight knitting, it's hard for me to work on it for too long. My hands start to get tired and ache.  The actually knitting moves pretty fast, so if I just dedicate a few nights of knitting (or a long weekend), it should be done. Maybe that can be my project today, once I finish up block 6. . .

Fishies

In April, I decided to start working on another afghan.  I found a fun pattern for little fish (Rav link) and decided it would make a fun baby blanket with the Loops & Threads Yarn Gang yarn I bought on sale.  I have approximately one billion skeins, in all sorts of colors, so I needed to do something with it.
I ended up picking out a subdued rainbow, and combined that with cream.  Finally, I decided a dark blue would work to crochet each row together plus add a border at the end (Evan helped me pick out the dark blue). Then I made some of the cream and pink fish and. . .put it away. I figured I could pull it out and make a fish or two whenver I was tired of the current project I was on.
Fast forward to last weekend. I finished my diagonal lace socks, I finished my hat, and wasn't sure what I wanted to start next (like I said in my last post).  I picked up the fish blankie, and started churning them out.  I also decided to start stitching the fish together.  I feel like I've accomplished so much - in addition to stitching all of the cream, pink, and orange into rows, I also crocheted those three rows together. There's nothing like working on the whole blanket as you go. It makes it look like there's actually an end in sight. For me, it's really disheartening when I knit knit knit blocks for what seems like months, and THEN I have to weave in ends and stitch together.  This way when I am done knitting fish, the blanket will just need a border! Excellent :) I will plan on taking a few pictures tomorrow - I also need to get one of my hat!
Oh, and GO GREEN!

Finishing Moves

I just finished up my Diagonal Lace socks today, ends woven in and all.  I also wrapped up a hat I started as a quick project, so right now I don't have any official project I'm working on.  I have a few big things that have been lingering as WIP's or hibernating, but nothing I have a deadline (self imposed or otherwise) for, and nothing small that would only take a little while. I'm not quite sure what to do with myself.  I thought I would cast on right away with my new Threadbear yarn for a pair of gloves, but I've gotten a little tired of the sock yarn at the moment.  I picked up my fish blankie and figured I could make a few fish for that while I'm deciding what my next project will be.  Originally I planned to make my grandma a Haruni for Christmas, but between the socks and all of the other lace I'd been working on, I'm not really in the mood right now.  I think that is also due to using the Comfy Fingering from Knit Picks. I like the yarn, but I don't know how well it's going to work with this project. I need to start over on smaller needles and see how I like that.
For now, I'm back to fish blankie.  I can probably get one or two done while watching DH tonight :)

Rainy Day

I wanted to try and take some new pictures today, mostly of some socks and my Citron, but it is nasty out there, so that will have to wait for another day.
I really am a terrible blogger, and don't keep up with anything. I can't remember the last thing I blogged about before I dyed the roving.  That is still sitting in its drawer. I've started spinning the bare, I try to do 15 minutes a day, which translates to 45 minutes every few days instead.  Someday I'll have it all spun up, no rush. I have no idea what I'm planning on doing with it anyway, so no rush!
I finished the Citron a while ago, but finally wove in ends the other day and did some light blocking. I think it will work really well in two weeks for the wedding we're going to - just the right amount of color (Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Springtime) to go with my grey dress. Since I had two skeins, but barely tapped into the second, I used (some of) the rest to make a pair of socks. I picked the Dead Simple socks from Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up. My gauge is a little big, and I wasn't in the mood to use tiny dpns (I prefer two circulars or magic loop - harder to pull needles out accidentally) so I had to do a little bit of modification to the pattern to make them work. They are still just a little big.
Once I finished that pair, the next pair jumped on my needles. This time I chose to make the Diagonal Lace Socks from the same book.  I'm using Shibuiknits Sock for this.  It's the first nice (expensive!) yarn I've used, which is sort of fun.  I'm really liking these. Last night I turned the heels on both, so hopefully bumming around on the couch the next two days will result in some finished socks!  Today in Lansing I bought my next pricey skein - ThreadBear's Black Dog Hand Dyed Sock.  No idea what this hefty skein will become, but I'm excited to figure that out!
Time to finish those Diagonal Lace Socks!

Dyeing?

Recently I bought some roving from Knit Picks.  I went with the cheapest, mostly because I wanted to play around with dyeing it and had no idea how it would turn out. So today, with the gladiolus on my mantel as inspiration, I got to work.

I used four packets of lemonade, two and a half orange, and two red.  I lucked out at Marshalls the other day and bought their last ketchup and mustard bottles, which worked quite well, in my opinion.

After soaking the roving in a hot tub for a little while,I drained the water, put down some garbage bags, and went to town with the dye (I forgot to take a picture of this part).  I then rolled up the whole concoction, put it in a big ziplock bag, and microwaved it for three minutes. Once it was cool enough to touch, I unrolled it in the tub (with another garbage bag for protection).

After a quick rinse in lukewarm water, I hung it up to dry:

Here is the final braid (well, three braids, I split it up to make it easier for me to spin later on):

I definitely could have used less red and more yellow - it was hard to get the yellow to really show up. I think if I did it again, I would make the sections of red smaller, and a lot more yellow.  Orange probably wasn't even necessary.  I also should have used saran wrap to roll it up. That might prevent the red from taking over as much as it did.  My plans are to spin a bare single, then use a different method to dye it green (probably stovetop). Then I'll ply the two singles together and see what happens. Originally I wanted to do green on this roving, but realized it probably wouldn't mix well with the orange or red. We'll just see how this all turns out :)

Finished!

Tada! All done! It is such an awkward size, I had a hard time getting a picture of the whole thing in all of its glory.

It is approximately 60" long, 30" in diameter. Just a little bit bigger than that, I think.  I followed the Vernal Equinox pattern, with one small adjustment. I was tired of Clue 4, so instead of doing 4 repeats, I did 2.5.  Other than that, I followed the pattern.  I used 1.64 skeins of KnitPicks Shadow Kettle Dyed in Begonia (discontinued) and used a size 4 needle.

It actually worked up pretty quickly, despite having it on the needles from April 4 until June 23. I'm sure I could have finished it in a month if I'd spent more time on it and less time on everything else I was also making (baby set, socks, blanket, etc.).  I made it with a wedding in mind and wanted to have it done well before it was needed. Since the wedding isn't until August 7, I'd say I did it! I'm so happy to have it done, I love it. I definitely have grown a lot when it comes to knitting lace. I didn't use a single lifeline, and as far as I know, there aren't any mistakes in it. Knitting my Swallowtail and Haruni first has taught me a lot about reading my stitches and making sure my rows match up.  It was really easy for me to see if I was off a stitch or two, which happened a few times, so I was able to just tink back a little instead of having to rip multiple rows.  As soon as I was done with this, I went online and bought some more yarn - this time to make another Haruni or two. 
All in all, I'm super happy with how it turned out. I can't wait for the chance to wear it!

Vernal Equinox on the Summer Solstice

Last night I wrapped up chart 6a of the Vernal Equinox Shawl.  I've been working on it in spurts.  The plan is to wear it to a wedding August 7th, so it must be done and blocked by then.  I was working on a baby sweater, also, but I've decided it is too small and needs to be made on bigger needles. I'm already using my 4's on the shawl, and broke the other set of Harmony tips, so it looks like I have to finish the shawl before moving on! Yes, I could take the tips off and use the end caps, but then I'll never finish. I'm hoping to be done by the end of the week, and blocked early next week.  Then I won't have to worry about it being done in time for the wedding. Also, then I can work on all sorts of projects without knowing I have this lingering. I have enjoyed making it, but I am getting tired of it.  These last few rows start at 485 stitches and go up to over 600, so even though there are only 6 or so patterned rows, I think it's going to take awhile.
This time around I decided to not use lifelines.  So far, it has worked out for me. I've been pretty surprised with how few mistakes I've made. While making the Swallowtail, it seemed like every other row I had to rip back to the lifeline and start over.  The Haruni and this Vernal Equinox have been going much smoother. I think the most important thing is I learned how to "read" my knitting.  While I'm knitting along, I can see how the pattern is coming together now, which is super important for catching mistakes early on. If I know how the "k2tog, yo, k2tog" is supposed to line up with the row under it, I can see if I'm off a stitch or two. This has saved me a ton of trouble.
Enough talking, more knitting! Pictures next time with the completed shawl, hopefully!

Haruni!

I finished my second shawl the other day - the Haruni.

Let me just say that I. Love. It. It was a very easy pattern for me to get the hang of, and I found myself not having to look at the charts very often once I got in the swing of it. I was hoping to have it ready for Easter, but ran out of yarn on the second to last line of the chart. KnitPicks was out of Stroll in Grass, but luckily a fellow Raveler had it in their FSOT stash, and I was able to purchase it that way. Even more luckily, it matched perfectly! Excellent! So, the afternoon I got it in the mail, I sat right down and finished.
The following day, I blocked it, and now it is DONE! I have a blocking picture, but not a "Finished and On My Shoulders" picture yet, so I'll save the final Ta-Da for next time :)

Bad Blogger!

I've been terrible about blogging since the summer ended.
I finally finished my Swallowtail, it is currently soaking in Soak, waiting to be blocked. I am such a goof and forgot to get a picture before I dropped it in the water, but it measured at 37" across the top and 16" down the center. We'll see how it ends up. It was a little smaller than I'd wanted, but I'm hoping it will block larger.

I have quite a few WIP's going right now. I'm finishing up a crocheted granny-square afghan for my mother-in-law. I need to just sit down and get to work and it will be finished. I've been joining the squares as I go, which was a brilliant idea. I hate seaming, so it will be nice to only have ends to sew in as I finish instead of piecing the whole darn thing together.
I'm also working on the Woodland Scarf. I really like the pattern. Once I "got" what it should look like, memorizing the chart was a snap. I haven't even looked at it for the past few repeats, which is nice. I don't have any pictures up yet, but I will soon.
The last two WIP's are a diagonal baby blanket, and my two-at-a-time socks. Both are coming along, but barely. I was so excited to finish the Swallowtail, and need to get moving on the afghan, so they have sort of been put on the back-burner.

Well, I think it is time to get out the pins and block this sucker!

Making A Dent?

I really want to get some new yarn and start a few Christmas presents, but first I have to make a dent in my WIPs! I picked up my ripple afghan again, and am just about out of yarn. I'd like to think that by tonight the body will be finished and I'll just need to add the edging tomorrow afternoon. The diagonal baby blanket I'm making with Crayon is taking FOREVER. A stitch is added every row so it just gets slower and slower as I go. I also discovered I'm going to need approximately 6.4 skeins to make it the size I want, and I only ordered 6, so I need to get one more. I think I'm going to get white instead of the same blue so I don't have to worry about dyelots, then it will have a diagonal white stripe in the middle. It should work out ok, I guess we'll see!
I also have my socks going right now, plus my dad's deer. I've sort of given up on the deer - my brother joked that I should make the body the neck instead, and then mount it on a piece of wood. Slightly morbid, but something my dad would think is funny. Oh, plus the Sweet Dreams throw. I'm thinking of making my MIL the same throw in colors to match their new living room, but I'm not even 1/3 of the way done with mine, so that might be too ambitious. I just have too many different projects going at once! I really want to start a shawl, but clearly I have other things to do first :)
Since every post needs a picture, here is the most recent shot of the ripple:

Done!

I finally finished my sisters blanket, just in time to give it to her this past weekend when she visited. It was a complete surprise (yay, I handled keeping a secret!) for her to use when she moves into her new apartment today. Hopefully she'll get lots of use out of it.
It ended up taking around 2.5 skeins of each color of Loops and Threads Impeccable. I didn't measure it before I gave it to her, but it was probably around 4'x5.5'. A good snuggling on the couch size. I used the pattern I found on a leaflet at Michael's and followed it for the squares and color placement. Then I did a border of black sc, white hdc, and blue dc. The squares are seamed together using a sc join through BOTH loops of the edges.
Not only am I done, but I was the first person to finish one and post it on Ravelry, so my picture is the main picture for the pattern :) How fun!
Up next - socks! I am using the Lifestyle Toe Up Socks patern from Charisa Martin Cairn that I found on Ravelry. Really, the thing that drew me to it was the no-swatch needed aspect. It takes me so gosh darn long to make a 4"x4" square on sz 3 (or less) needles, I figured by the time I had it done I could be halfway done with socks! So far, I love it. Judy Becker's Brilliant Cast On is, well, brilliant. It worked so much better than all of the other methods I'd been trying. As for now, I'm just knitting one sock on two circulars, but I can see how next time it will be really easy to do two at a time instead. Ah, pretty Knit Picks yarn, already made into a toe for a sock! So excited! In fact, I'm so pumped, it's time to work on it some more. I'm doing a K2P2 rib for the instep that will carry up the leg, and I think I'll finish the cuff with a k1p1. We'll see.
Here's a picture, on my foot :)