Hemp Hat

I finished this hat sometime in June. It's the Maze hat from Knitty, in the colors pictured, Charcoal and Aubergine inAllhemp 6. This was a difficult yarn to knit with with, since it felt like twine and was hard on my hands. But it does seem really durable and went in the washing machine with no problem. I have enough left over to make another one in the opposite color scheme. I've also been working on Rusted Root, again in the same yarn as the pattern, Cotton Fleece Sedona red. I had originally made the medium size, but it turned out way too large. One thing that's weird about the pattern is that there is no schematic for the sweater sizes, so you have to do math in order to figure out how big it will get. But the size small fits, and I just have about six inches to go.

Stranded Colorwork is Awkward

I've been working on the Deep V Argyle Vest and so far, the main problem is that my gauge is off. I know that the gauge might change after I wash it, but I just figured I would start it, and see if my gauge was working out. I'm not sure if I should count on that or not. I really don't want to make a swatch and wash it, even thought that's what I should do. Making swatches feels so tedious, like I'm doing homework or something. The other problem is that my left hand feels so strange holding the yarn, but after finishing this, it should be much less awkward.

I pulled out two more projects that I had quit working on last fall, which I thought were coming out kind of small. But I decided to keep working on them and try to block them if I could. One is the Lotus Lace Tank with SWTC Bamboo in turquoise, and the other is Bonita with Knit Picks Shine sport
in hydrangea. After seeing all the progress I had made, I didn't want to just rip it out and either start over or abandon it completely. I would rather wear a too small sweater, than completely start over.

Fall Star Quilt

I recently finished my second quilt. The star squares were originally supposed to go on the outside of a center area, but it didn't look right. I had the black leaf fabric and realized that the squares would look a lot better against that instead. One thing I didn't do right was on the back fabric. I cut it too small, so I thought I would put in a binding and cover up all the extra space. I had left about four inches between the front and the back all around. I had already started quilting and had to rip out all those seams along the edge, and attach extra fabric to the back in strips. The whole thing was tedious, but it doesn't seem to show. So next time I know not to do that. Other than that, I like how this turned out. The fabric was a lot smoother and didn't bunch up during the quilting process, unlike my first quilt. I still want to quilt around some of the stars in the center, because it seems to make the quilt lay more flat. The whole thing seemed to go a lot more smoothly, compared to my first quilt. I have some Halloween themed fabric, so I was thinking about using that for my next quilt.

Booga Bag Done

Here is my finished Booga Bag. I used Noro Kureyon and Patons merino wool, which felt differently. The Patons was done the first time I took the bag out of the washing machine, but after two times, the Kureyon still has stitch definition. I like how it turned out, except I would have made it a little bigger and the handles longer. I don't know what the ratio of how much it shrinks is, and I didn't want to make it enormous if i wouldn't shrink much. Other than that, I like how it turned out. I wanted to have a sort of stained glass effect, and it seems like it worked.

The Most Challenging Sweater

I started Demi from the book, Vintage Knits by Rowan. It is easily the most complicated project I've done so far. But I'm having more problems with Shedir and the Bonita shirt from Interweave. The only problem so far with Demi, is that some of the purls are in the wrong places, but the fabric is dark and I didn't want to start over. For some reason, it always seems to take me a few rows to get the hang of the pattern. One problem was that I wasn't using some way to mark the rows or what I just did. Then I remembered highlighters. It seems dumb that I forgot about using them.
So far, with the Demi pattern I can see what the difference between the knit stitch and knit in the back loop stitch. It really stands out more when you knit through the back loop. I'm using Rowan Yorkshire Tweed and it's fairly dark, so the pattern would be really hard to see, but the pattern really pops it out. The only thing is that every single stitch for the entire sweater is part of a chart, so it will take a long time. Shedir is going okay and I decided to knit through the back loop on that also, for the same reason.

Granny Afghan

I finished this granny square afghan after months of not working on it. I used Bernat Chunky acrylic yarn, which is really cheap. I used one ball of all these colors and still have a lot left over. The blue is actually purple, though. I still am going to put some kind of edging on it, maybe just shells or something simple. When I started, I planned on doing a bunch of different types of granny squares, but I ended up doing the most basic one. I did this project as my easy one, where you barely have to pay attention to it. I like having a simple one, if I'm also working on something more complex.

Blossoming Trees

These are two squares from a small quilt I started working on. I found some of those Joann's quilt squares kits on sale, so I used some of the fabric from that came with them. Those kits are good, but then you know exactly how it'll look when it's done. I realized with the last quilt I made, that the colors were too similar, and I didn't leave enough unknown parts of the quilt at the end. I think the whole process is more interesting if there are things that you have to figure out all along. If everything is completely figured out for you, there doesn't seem much point in making it. I guess knitting is kind of like that if you're using a pattern. But some of the time, I just want that particular sweater, so it doesn't seem like an artistic process. I haven't been knitting much lately. I started on a sweater, but it was way too tight, so I had to rip it back. That gets really frustrating. I would like to start a project and have it work and fit with no problems, for once, without having to resort to making only scarves.

Crochet Granny Bag

I started the Granny's not-so-square bag from the Happy Hooker. I ended up using the recommended Berroco Cotton twist, because it's shiny and seems more durable. I used a couple of other cottons, but the colors weren't right, and they didn't blend in with the suede on the outside. Now the only thing is I ran out of suede, and the color I'm using, Tobacco, is difficult to find unless I pay a lot. Also I can't find the 2" O-rings for the handles. So the project is on hold for a while. Which is too bad, because I really like these colors. The picture makes the purple look too blue, and the Cotton twist is a lot more shiny in reality. It's twisted with rayon, so it looks really pretty.
I've also been having a lot of problems with Blogger. It's erased my template a few times, won't let me log in, won't let me post pictures, and overall just frustrates me. I don't want to pay for a another blog, like typepad, so I guess there's no solution, but it's still irritating.

First Log Cabin Quilt

I just finished my first quilt. It's in the log cabin style and I used cotton for the batting. When I started, it didn't seem like there was enough of a contrast between the colors, but it worked out. I wanted to keep this first one more simple, but I can see how I could have used more fabrics, a patterned border, or different types of log cabin piecing. I used thin cotton batting that was doubled, but next I won't double it. The hardest part was quilting it, because it was hard to jam it all under my small sewing machine, and the fabric would get all bunched up. Next time, I want to measure everything more accurately, because I only measured the original parts of the squares, then nothing else. I wanted to just start doing, instead of measuring and checking everything. I probably won't make really intricate quilts, because I really don't like all the precise measuring and creating templates. I want to just cut the fabric and start sewing right away. I'll probably make art quilts, so the mesuring and templates won't matter. I do like how this turned out, though, except that it's way too hot to use it right now. It fits my bed and is really warm.