Beaded Bag in progress

I have re-purposed this yarn and these beads from an old project. It was from a kit to make a scarf with beads, but I was not happy with it.  I am not a big fan of starting over from "square one" especially when the scarf was more than half done, but now that I've been working on this project for awhile, I am glad I switched gears.  I re-strung all the beads (a big chore!) because the beads had pearly white beads mixed in... and when you used a white bead against the white yarn in a pattern like this (or as in the scarf) it looked as if I made a mistake and missed a bead.

To see the beaded scarf (which is now just a memory), click HERE. 

Here Fishy, Fishy Socks are complete!

You can see the tops of the socks are matchy, matchy for awhile...

But then the bottom portion of the socks are very different... almost like two different balls of yarn!

Overall, I am pretty happy with these socks. They are modeled by me in this photo, but I made them for someone with larger, wider feet than myself.

If I make something with Crazy Zauberball yarn in the future, I might buy two balls if I am wanting to make the socks identical to one another.  The pattern repeats in the yarn are a bit random (much like the Mini-Moochi yarn). 

I was a good girl and did not cast on anything new until I finished these socks (well, I did start a beaded bag the other day... but that did not count as starting a new project because it entailed me frogging a beaded scarf which was already in progress... ).  But this weekend I told myself to not start anything new until these socks were complete). 

As a reward to myself (ha, ha!), I started a new project last night.  A wrap called "Saroyan" in Berroco Comfort Chunky Yarn in an "Oat" color.  Oh my goodness!!! I am in love with this pattern.  Click HERE if you'd like to see the pattern.  As I am knitting away, I keep thinking of other yarn in my stash which would also look beautiful in this pattern. Such a fun knit... it's difficult to put down.  I'll post about the Saroyan wrap another day.  For now, I am too busy knitting to be blogging!

Here Fishy, Fishy (socks) in progress

With a ball of Crazy Zauberball, you never quite know what you'll get!  The tops of the socks are quite matchy, matchy... which I really did not intend.  The bottoms of the socks will be totally different from one another.  I had to redo a bit of the second sock... the part where you decrease stitches after turning the heel. The yarn had a bit of a flaw where, for several feet, the yarn's thickness was two to three times thicker than the rest of the yarn. It made for a lumpy part in the sock and I worried it would make the sock uncomfortable to wear.  I had set these socks aside for several days since un-knitting is no fun. Now that I have removed the five or six lumpy rows and cut out the offending part of the yarn, I am back on track... heading for the toe.

Things to do

I have been pondering New Year's Resolutions since mid-December.  When I joined the Ravelry group called "12 months=24 hats" it got me to thinking about setting goals for my knitting.

• I'd like to make two chemo caps each month for "12 months=24 hats" and Halos of Hope. 
• I'd like to try to make one Christmas stocking for Operation Holiday Stockings each week so by Thanksgiving time 2011, I'll have 52 stockings ready to mail off. 
• I'd like to use the baby yarn I have to make as many caps as I can for Caps for Good and One Stitch at a Time.
• I'd like to make one shawl for Wrapped in Care.
• I'd like to make one baby blanket for Granny Squares for NICU.

With these goals in mind, I've been inventorying my stash of yarn.  I have yarn to complete all of my goals and then some!  The only exception is yarn suitable for the Wrapped in Care project. I have some yarn in my stash but it might not be suitable.  When I did an inventory of my yarn today, I gathered printed patterns and skeins of yarn and made up kits to make the following projects. Drum roll, please... here they are!

1. Pismo sweater in Cascade 220 Superwash in a lavender color.
2. Clapotis in Noro Silk Garden (sock weight).
3. Modern Classics Christmas stockings in blue and white (a kit from Knit Picks)
4. Point Gammon Pullover in Berroco Weekend in a tan color.
5. Beaded Scarf in Cascade Ultra Pima Cotton (chocolate brown color with great beads).
6. Hemlock Ring Throw in Cascade Eco Wool in an off white/natural color.
7. Enough yarn to make 9 pairs of socks (various brands of sock yarn).
8. Enough yarn to make 15 chemo caps with Berroco Comfort DK.
9. A ton of Queensland Bamboo Cotton (am not sure what to do with it).
10. A ton of Nancy (discontinued) cotton/rayon/acrylic/silk blend yarn (might make a shawl).
11. A ton of acrylic and acrylic/wool blend yarns (not sure what to do with all of it but some is being knit into stockings for soldiers and some is being knit into hats for babies).
12. Two kinds of lace yarn in different shades of pink to make a scarf and a shawl (maybe)
13. Several skeins of Berroco Comfort Chunky in an off-white color (might make Rosamund's Cardigan but I am just not sure?).
14. Some bright yarn to make these Christmas Ornaments (a crochet project).

Believe it or now, I have much, much more yarn.  We'll have to revisit this post in December (and throughout the year) to check on my progress.  I am feeling a tad overwhelmed. I better knit faster! 

What projects are you planning to make in 2011?

Here Fishy, Fishy!

Crazy Zauberball
Color in German "Frische Fische"
Color in English "Fresh Fish"... must be tropical fish.



A little tropical yarn on a cold winter day...
the view from my knitting korner today. 



We think we got about 9 inches of snow today...
school was closed.  
I think our high temperature today was about
24 degrees Fahrenheit.  Brrrrr!

I love this yarn!

Pattern:  Bamboo Socks from Lorraine Ehrlinger Designs.

Yarn: Schoppel Wool Crazy Zauberball

Color: Frische Fische (Fresh Fish)

Shedir in Red

This shows how little yarn I had left when the hat was complete... crazy, huh?

This cap was a labor of love.  A lot of work but worth it. The pattern is called Shedir and the pattern can be found HERE.  The yarn is Berroco Comfort DK in red.  The gal, who designed the pattern as a chemo cap, is named Jenna Wilson and I am convinced she is a genius.  Such an amazing design.

I was working on this hat over New Year's weekend when it occurred to me that there was no way I was going to have enough yarn to finish this project.  If I would have picked any other Berroco Comfort DK yarn I have in my stash, I would have had a spare ball of yarn... but not the red.  My friend, Harriet, recently made a hat with the same yarn so I emailed her in a panic to see if she saved her leftover yarn.  She had and offered it to me... I offered one of my kidneys in exchange (that's how desperate I was!).  But I really wanted to finish the hat and I was not sure when I would see Harriet again.  I just kept knitting and refused to rip out any rows.  Around Row 66 of the pattern, after the eight row cable repeats were done, I started to eliminate rows.  As long as the rows did not contain any cable stitches or decreases, they were eliminated... I was ruthless!   The star/snowflake design on the top of my hat looks "tighter" compared to the beautiful hat pictured on the pattern pages.  I encouraged you to check out the pattern to see the photos... the hat is gorgeous in pale pink.  I read some reviews written by others who have made this pattern.  Some left out one repeat of the eight row cable pattern. If I make this hat again, I will leave out one eight row cable repeat and then I am pretty sure I'll have sufficient yarn with one skein of Berroco Comfort DK. The cap is designed to be rather long to cover the hair line but would be fine with one cable repeat omitted.   Also, I read where some folks completed this hat without a cable needle and the project went much more quickly.  I could really get on board with that... I need to learn more about this magical way of twisting stitches sans cable needle?  Cool!  Some rows in this pattern are very slow with the cables. After awhile, I kind of thought the cables looked like pretzels!

My V.I.P. received this hat, as well as the cream colored Shells and Trellis cap, in the mail late this week and she loves them.  Yay!  

In case you are wondering... what does "Shedir" mean?  I was curious; I had to look it up.  Here goes::

Alpha Cassiopeiae (α Cas / α Cassiopeiae ) is the second-brightest star in the constellation Cassiopeia (magnitude 2.25). It has the traditional name Schedar (which may also be spelt as Shedar, Shadar, Schedir, or Shedir).

The top of the hat does look like a star.  Fitting name indeed!

Shells and Trellis Cap in Cream

Patern: Shells and Trellis Crochet Cap
Yarn:  Berroco Comfort (worsted weight) in cream

I made this cap in Lavender Blue (Caron Simply Soft) a few weeks back. I splurged and bought a few skeins of Berroco Comfort yarn (in worsted weight) just before New Years.... like I needed MORE yarn! Ha!  This pattern was even quicker the second time around. I made it in one sitting in one evening. I highly recommend this pattern... very fun, very quick, & very pretty.  I hope my V.I.P. will like it.  I waited awhile to post this because I wanted to mail it off with another hat for my V.I.P. and did not want to post about until after the hat was received.  The other hat is worthy of it's own post.  More on that later...

Socks!

Took a little break from hats to finish a pair of socks I started in the middle of November. 

Pattern:  Ribbed Socks for Bigger Feet (by Susan B. Anderson)
Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL

I used my digital kitchen scale to measure the skein of yarn and divide it in half.  I wound the yarn into two separate balls, and cast on both socks at the same time on separate needles, paying close attention to the pattern/colors.  Ended up with some very matchy-matchy socks.  Yay!  I would like to make some different sock patterns but am stuck in a rut with this pattern because it's a great fitting sock!  The ribbing makes the socks stretchy so it's a nice form fit.

Finally... Christmas hat and scarf are complete!

Gift set for my coworker, Mrs. W.
Scarf Pattern: Wakefield Scarf (Click HERE for link)
Hat Pattern:  Lace Edged Women's Hat (Click HERE for link)
Yarn: Kollage Yarns Temptation

I was so proud of myself when I purchased yarn for my coworker's Christmas gift in July! Finally a year where I had a plan and would not be in a last minute panic.  Pat me on the back!!!  Mrs. W and I have been coworkers since January 2007, and each year, we've exchanged homemade gifts.  She LOVES purple.  I had this scarf pretty much complete a few months back but kind of grew tired of the pattern, but really... it's pretty typical for me... I was excited to try out some new yarn and a new pattern... so this sat in my closet in a gallon sized Zip-Lock bag for the past several months.  It was just a few weeks ago when Mrs. W and I were commiserating about the stress of the holidays (SO much to do and NO time to do it all). We realized we would not see one another for several days before Christmas (because of our days off) and I think simultaneously our faces turned ashen and our eyes started darting around in panic.  We confessed to one another that neither of us had completed each other's gifts.  I heard her call her husband on the phone a few moments later and I was trying not to eavesdrop, but I just had this sinking feeling she was calling him and asking him to do something for her regarding her gift for me. I quickly got on my email at work and sent
Mrs. W a quick message.  Here is how the conversation went:

ME:  "You know... this should be a no-stress zone... how about we exchange New Year's gifts?"
MRS. W.:  "Sounds like a plan!  That's a load off!!!!"
ME:  "I am so glad we are friends!"
MRS. W.:  "Me too!"

Phew, what a load off!  So I sat down yesterday and finished the scarf and put it on the blocking mats. I noticed I had at least 1 1/2 hanks of this spendy yarn left and I hated the notion of it going to waste. I got on Ravelry, typed in "Kollage Temptation" and, wouldn't you know, there was the Lace Edged Women's hat I made awhile back completed in "Kollage Temptation".  I cast on right away and got it done last night.  Happy New Year!  Both are nice patterns.  If I could do one thing differently, with the scarf, I'd add a border of two or three stitches in garter stitch so the edges of the scarf had a nicer finished look. I saw on Ravelry where someone had done that and it looked much nicer.