Chakra with Mittens

The Pattern: Chakra by Alysa Joaquin
The Yarn: 1 ball Noro Kureyon in #253 Turq, Royal, Red, Pink 1 ball (110yds/100m) and 1 ball Ella Rae Classic Superwash in cream (219yds/200m)
Needle size: US 7 (4.5mm)

Started: 8/12/11
Finished: 8/13/11

I knit this hat once before for a swap. I loved it, but I had to give it away. So I decided I'd make one for myself.

This time I decided to make mittens too. I made up the pattern as I went along.

Have you seen this?

It is a fun little video. The creator describes this it as "a short stop motion, knitted adventure about a boy and his cat who travel far and wide to deliver parcels in their little red plane."

Baby Kimono x2

The Pattern: Garter Stitch Baby Kimono by Joji Locatelli
Size: 1-3 months
The Yarn: Rowan RYC Siena (153.0yds/139.9m) in Flounce (3 balls), Grasshopper (3 balls), and Frost (1 ball)
Needle size: US 4/3.5mm

Started: 7/6/11
Finished: 8/11/11

Quick knits made for these two cuties, our soon to be god-kids. Twins born to good friends of ours. The one with the smirk is Grant and Gabby is the angel on the right.

I had a larger vertical gauge than was called for so I didn't do as many decreases along the neckline, so the necks ended up a little tight.

The edging is an applied I-cord.

Overall they turned out pretty cute.

Deluxe Oblique

I love love love this sweater and I almost ruined it!

The Pattern: Oblique by Veronik Avery
Size: XS
The Yarn: Gedifra Shetland Deluxe in Med Brown (9293) 9 skeins (1143yds/1045.2m)
Needle size: US 7 and 9

Started: 1/26/11
Finished: 2/21/11

This sweater sucked up more yarn than was called for.
I only worked 2.5” of twisted rib on cuffs (I didn't do a reverse cuff as called for), my sleeves were still pretty long. I also eliminated rows 13-16 (36 sts remain unworked at each end of Row 12) of collar and then skipped to rows 17-20.
I still ended up using every last strand of yarn (a couple hundred more yards than specified) and then had to sew some of the seams with a different yarn.

I really hate sewing seams, I am just not good at it. But I wasn't sure I could figure out the shaping if I tried doing this in the round. So I sucked it up and knit everything in pieces :'(

This sweater turned out really well. I loved the fit and the yarn was soft and silky. Then I lost my mind and put it in the washing machine where is was viciously shrunk to 2/3 its size!
After several hundred gallons of tears and some elbow grease I managed to reblock it to the correct dimensions. Although the yarn has lost some of its silky softness *sniff, sniff* it still remains one of my favorite knits.

Keeping Warm

It is a little hard to think about these legwarmers during 90 degree summer weather. But during January in Minnesota these were fabulous.

The Pattern: Bulky Cabled Legwarmers with Buttons by Liat Gat
The Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 1 skein in black (220yds/201.2m)
Needle size: US 14 - I think, I forgot to write it down again :'(

Started: 12/29/10
Finished: 1/19/11

I made these as a gift for myself :) It seem appropriate to post them today since its my birthday.
I've been looking for a good pair of tall boots for awhile now, but I just haven't fallen in love with any yet and I don't want to shell out a few hundred dollars on something I don't love or $80+ on something that isn't going to last.

So I decided that I would knit some legwarmers to help keep me warm until my I find my sole mates.

I used this yarn double stranded and I'm pretty sure that I used size 14 needles. I'm really kicking myself for forgetting to record my needle sizes Aargh!
I really love how these turned out. They look cool and really help keep me warm.