Look what I got today!

I couldn't resist picking this up in downtown La Jolla today. I impulsively bought a pattern yesterday that I will hopefully cast on later after I wind it into a ball. Can you guess what it will be? Hint: It will only take this one ball, if not less.

FO: Weighted Companion Cube

A Day in the Life of a Companion Cube

* 8 am: Wake up in her rocking chair

* 9 am: Head to the kitchen to start grilling breakfast

* 10 am: Play with her owner

* 11 am: Let owner goof around and wonder what life would be like if she had a square head

* 2 pm: Check out what's on TV

* 4 pm: Play a game...

* 5 pm: Maybe even some Guitar Hero

* 6 pm: Consult the latest Knit.1 magazine

* 7 pm: Work on the Leaf Yoke Top

* 9 pm: Ahh, back to bed

This has been one of my longest FOs yet because I let it sit around and procrastinated on doing the assembly and finishing. My bf is an avid fan of video games and one of his favorite games is called Portal. In this game, you go around shooting things and you get through a level with the help of your trusty friend, the Weighted Companion Cube who lets you position it as a stepping device. However, to get to the next level, you have to throw your friend into the Incinerator. So I decided to make my bf a friend who never has to be burned. He loves it so much that I kinda regret making him that scarf that he never wears. Note to self: it's a safer bet to make geeky toys for your boy than an article of clothing. :-)

I'm very bad at motivating myself to finish/sew things up, so my bf helped with most of the sewing. In fact, he probably was responsible for at least 75% of that part. He spent one night staying up until 3 am to finish sewing up all her corners. I say "her" because he has decided that the Companion Cube will be a girl and that her official name is Kubie. :-P

I loved this pattern because I think the crochet and all those individual corners make her "pop" out more than the popular knitted version that most people have made on Ravelry. She is actually pretty similar to the plush Companion Cube seen here.

Pattern: Weighted Companion Cube from Craftster by sprocketfish

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Oxford Grey (darker grey) and Grey Heather (lighter grey) and Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Pink

Amount: 3.5 balls - Oxford Grey, 3 balls - Grey Heather, and 1 ball of the pink

Hook: 4.00 mm (G)

Mods: None, except for crocheting the sides together instead of sewing to enforce stronger seams

FO: Leaf Yoke Top

* Happy FO * Front

* Back

* Collar

I fell in love with this pattern a couple months ago and immediately proceeded to buy the magazine simply for this top. After searching through my stash, I decided to go with the Cotton Fleece as I wanted to start using it up. All in all, I'm quite happy with this pattern and I actually found myself being happier with the top than I expected to be. I don't remember being too impressed with the yarn last year because it bled a lot in the wash, but this time I was extra careful to wash and rinse twice with vinegar. (I would die if my beautiful blocking board became stained.) And now I'm really loving the feel of the yarn.

I work in an office and knew I wouldn't be able to pull off wearing this at work, so I went to H&M over the weekend and found the perfect little short-sleeved, button-down shirt to wear under it. Voila! Now I can wear it to work and not worry about being that scandalous girl. :-)

I also decided to forgo the folded hem and opted for the scallop lace from Titania, thanks to Jasmom's suggestion. In my opinion, I think it complements the lacy leaves well and leaves room for some "air conditioning" at the bottom.

Pattern: Leaf Yoke Top from Spring/Summer 2009 Knit.1 Magazine

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Terracotta Canyon

Amount: 2.5 balls

Needles: US 4 and 6
Mods: Cast on 8 sts instead of 10 sts for armholes
Added an inch in length by doing increase rows every 6th round instead of every 5th round
Added an extra inc round for the waist
Worked to 19 inches before starting lace pattern from Titania for the hem
Only picked up 40 sts around armhole (not including the 36 held on waste yarn)

All in a night's work...

From this...
to this in 2 hours

If you recall, I knitted Green Gable last year. This was one of my earliest tops, back when I did not know how to use DPNs, or owned 9" circulars. The sleeves did not come out well, and the body felt frumpy on me so I rarely ever wore this FO. After finishing the Leaf Yoke Top the other night, I figured why live with mediocrity? If I don't love something, I will never wear it and it would be a waste of yarn hanging in my closet. Not to mention that I loved this gorgeous leaf-green shade (unfortunately, my camera can't seem to capture its true color).

After patient frogging and detangling knots (man, I splitted so many stitches), I came to this conclusion...

an impulsively cast-on Leaf Yoke Top II!

FO: Ingenue

It just occurred to me today that I forgot to blog about my finished Ingenue! And Ingenue was finished 2 months ago. *hangs head in shame* I have posted them to Ravelry, but forgot to update here too. So here you go...

* Front

* Back

* Artistic sleeve


* Collar


* Trying to look happy wearing a mostly wool sweater in 80+ degree weather

Audrey Hepburn is my favorite actress of all time. In fact, I have a poster of her posing as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's on my wall. So when I saw this pattern and it made me think of that scene in the movie where she's knitting and wearing a similar, turtle-neck sweater, I knew I had to make it.

Pattern: Ingenue from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard

Yarn: Rowan Soft Lux in Amethyst

Amount: 7 balls

Needles: US

Mods:

Added extra 10 rounds before shaping waist,
Did extra 8 rounds before increases,
Did extra pair of decreases/increases,
Did extra 3 rounds before beginning Ridge Stitch,
For sleeves, I worked the Ridge Stitch another repeat longer since I wanted to maximize my yarn. In the end, I had only a little bit of yarn left!
Instead of sewing down the collar, I was lazy and crocheted it down. It looks much better, is invisible, and provides a very strong seam. :-)

FO: Backward Cabled Pullover - The Sequel

I loved my first Backward Cabled Pullover that I knew I had to make a second one. While the first one was made from Karabella Margrite (a wool/cashmere blend), I decided to make this one appropriate for spring and summer. I'm a bit sad that the yarn I used for this version, Ella Rae Silkience, is now discontinued! It feels so nice against the skin and I love the shiny gleam that the silk lends to the yarn. Even sadder that I can't even find this colorway online anymore either. On the bright side, I did pick up a bag of Silkience in a lilac shade from Little Knits a while back, so there's enough for me to make a cardigan with that one day.

* Front

* Sleeve

* Collar

Pattern: Backward Cabled Pullover from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Ella Rae Silkience, Colorway: 12
Amount: 6 balls (I had literally less than a yard left from the last ball.)
Needles: US 6 and 7
Mods: None that I can recall except for adding an inch or two in length, and of course placing the scoop in the front