FO: Lacy Beret

Quick post:

I finished this tonight, and haven't blocked it yet. I'm so excited to have made my first knitted hat!
I tried this because it’s an unconventional pattern that didn’t require knitting in the round or dpns. I didn’t check my gauge, but knitted looser so it came out slouchier.

Pattern: http://knittingdivine.blogspot.com/2007/07/lacy-beret-free-pattern.html

Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in Bright Red

Amount: 1 ball
Needles: Size 4 24" circular (knitted flat)

Mods: Omitted Rows 63-64 so the band didn’t turn out too tight at all. In fact, it could stand to be a bit tighter. Instead of seaming side, I single crocheted with wrong sides together.

I'm back!

Well, I've been back in town for almost 2 weeks now, but it has been a whirlwind of activity. After coming home from Washington on the 6th, I went to a dentist consult on the 9th to do x-rays of my teeth, and had all 4 wisdom teeth removed on the 11th. I was a bit scared going into the process as a lot of people I know have been telling me horror stories about their experiences. One co-worker even has a permanently damaged jaw. And I had never been under anesthesia before so that was also a new experience for me. But all in all, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Except for non-stop bleeding on the first day and swelling like a chipmunk, it was relatively painless. I only had to take 1 Vicodin after the surgery and I haven't taken any since. Don't want to become addicted to painkillers if I can help it.

I took many pictures in Seattle, Bellingham, and even a day in Vancouver. I even had the rare chance to do a quick visit at an alpaca farm! Once I clear up hard drive space on my computer, I'll load the pictures up and tell you all about my exciting trips to the Washington yarn stores. :-)

Over the past four days, I took time off from work and basically slept and knitted everyday. I am really glad to say that Talia is finally finished! I actually managed to get past the neckline shaping part! Yay! I still need to sew on some buttons, block her, and then I'll take some pictures. I still can't really believe I finished her since she is the most complicated knitted sweater I have ever made. She's not perfect, and I know exactly where I made mistakes, but after frogging numerous times, I decided I'll live with mistakes that hopefully nobody else will notice too much.

On the knitting front, I realized I tend to fall into new projects before an old one is quite finished. So yesterday, before Talia was completed, I started the Shalom Cardigan from http://involvingthesenses.blogspot.com/ . Hapichick on Ravelry has a gorgeous version of which I will be shamelessly copying her right down to the yarn. Only difference is that mine will be a blush pink. :-)

Vacation and random gifts

Well I'll be off to Seattle tomorrow for 1.5 weeks of vacation, tourist attractions, and fun. I've reached the neckline shaping section of Talia and she is beginning to get difficult, so I will unfortunately have to leave her at home. People laugh at me when I say knitting stresses me out at times. Not all the time. Only the times when I make mistakes I don't know how to fix, or when I keep ending up with the wrong stitch counts. But I'll be bringing along some wool and straight needles to try a cabled scarf pattern I've been eyeing for a while now. Something easy and relaxing.

Here's a picture of a bag hook my bf randomly gifted upon me last week. I have always wanted one, and surprisingly, The Limited were selling bag hooks! I don't know of any other store in the mall that carries them. They're great for hanging your purse on the table when you're at a restaurant and you won't be forced to put it down on a chair (or worse, a dirty floor!)

Talia progress

Front progress...

Back progress...

Casting on for Talia

Well, I have basically finished Green Gable. The only things left to do are the sleeves. Sigh. Which brings me back to the same problem I had with Rusted Root. I don't know why I can't seem to bring myself to learn how to use 2 circulars to complete the sleeves. I even have the instructions printed out in color lying on top of my Green Gable to motivate me to finish it. But, alas, to no avail.

So I decided to cast on for Talia after admiring Amateur Craft Mom's and Juicy Knits' Talias. After scrounging through my stash, I tried a swatch with Patons Classic Merino wool but the gauge was off by too much. Not to mention the fact that I really didn't want a white vest. So I decided a swatch with Cascade 220 in a gorgeous burgundy shade. And for the first time ever in my life, I got exact gauge!! It made me so happy since I could never seem to be spot on. Holding onto the gauge throughout the project...well that's a different story. I'll be going to Seattle for 1.5 weeks next week, and I'm not sure if I should bring Talia with me. She is going to get complicated and I don't know if I want to bring something that I might not be able to fix without access to Ravelry, online knitting videos, and other knit friends like Amateur Craft Mom and rchrispy.

If I get really lucky, Talia should look like this...

And look at her gorgeous waist shaping...

I would love it if anybody has suggestions for mellow, plane/airport knitting patterns. :-)

Green Gable progress pics

Some quick pics of what I have done so far...

And to the yarn stash it goes...

Since I received 2 sets of the same Ratatouille Remy talking figure last Christmas, I decided to give one set away to one of my co-worker's 6 year old son. A couple weeks ago, she surprised me with 2 skeins of Patons SWS in the Natural Earth colorway. Wasn't it nice of her?

The gift bag her son chose for me.

So what should I make with 220 yards of Patons SWS? I have never used this yarn before and would appreciate any suggestions. :-)

Green Gable progress

Here's how my Green Gable is coming along. After close examination, I realized my lace section is incorrect. The first half is correct, but the second half is wrong. Sigh. However, it is consistently incorrect, so to a non-knitter, it could be interpreted as a deliberate design detail. :-\ Anyway, I'm going to leave it in because I'm too lazy to frog and it doesn't bother me too much. I put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn last night and I ended up with 3 stitches extra on one sleeve, and 4 on the other. Sigh. Plus, 3 less stitches for the body. Perhaps I'll do a little decreasing when I finish the sleeves and hopefully it won't look too big. I wouldn't mind a slight puffed sleeve look.

Doesn't it match my comforter quite nicely?