Pattern:    Arlo Book:    Brooklyn Tweed BT Kids Materials:  Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash -  Bamboo heather Amount:  6 skeins = 660.0 yards (603.5 meters), 300 grams Needles:  US 5 - 3.75 mm US 7 - 4.5 mm Cost: ~ $24.00 Notions:  Buttons Size:  6 Start Date:  Nov. 12, 2014 Finish Date:  Feb. 10, 2017 It took three efforts to complete this cardigan. I had a really hard time learning the new techniques at the beginning. In the middle effort, I made a lot of headway really fast, but then abandoned the project near spring as is apparently my habit with knitting. I picked it up again last winter and finished it off. It's a miracle it still fit him! I was pretty happy with it in general, but after completing this cardigan in a more economical yarn, I think I might see now why it may not be a good idea to go frugal on an important project like this one was for me. The collar doesn't stay rolled and th...

Pattern: George Book: Jaeger JB29 Materials: Knit Picks City Tweed DK Amount: (4) 50g balls 'Basil' (pattern calls for 3 50g balls but I ran out -again) Needles: US3 and US6 bamboo Cost: $4.99/ball approx. $20.00 Notions: Buttons (Walmart .99 cents) Size: 12-24 months. Start Date: Nov. 12, 2014 Finish Date: Dec. 1, 2014 So, I have a grandnephew -yes, apparently, I am that old- that just turned one. OK, he turned one at the beginning of November And, I'm sure he already has all the cool toys and clothes a one-year old could have so I wanted to make him something hand made. I had made this little cardi for my little boy a few years ago and after perusing the web for some cute boy cardi patterns, which I found plenty, I came back to this one for it's cute cables and relative ease.  I guess I really like green because I picked almost the same yarn!  This one is a bit brighter green, the other one was a bit more teal.  I also didn't realize it, b...

So, I started making this cable throw two years ago, right around Thanksgiving time. I made super fast progress on it. Annnnnnd, I never finished it. At some point, I discovered I had made a bunch of mistakes that have apparently become quiet predictable in my knitting-while-watching-tv-technique that I have.  I also was just a little bit short on yarn. And so the project sat there in panels in a basket in my family room for two years. My attempt at blocking Well, I finally got in the frame of mind to complete it again during the same time last year only to discover Lion Brand yarn has changed their colors and this green is no longer available!  A couple of months later, I determined to get-r-done if I had to comb the earth for this yarn or make it myself.  I searched high and low for days. Then -I found it on Walmart.com. Yeah, it wasn't even that hard. And it was cheap.  This happened to me because I was buying one skein at a time with a coupon. Not a goo...

With the cold comes time for knitting again. I've completed a couple more Koolhaas hats and I'm almost done with this chunky cabled throw from Lion Brand. I saw it in one of their magazines a couple of years ago. Of course, that's about how long it takes me to get started with most projects. I'm making it with the same yarn and color as the pattern, which can be found free here . It would have been way too expensive to use a better quality yarn. Even this was too pricey for me, so I have been buying one skein at a time at my local craft store with their 40% coupon. I know, kind of ridiculous, but it works. At the discount price of $5.00 skein x 9, that's $45.00, and I think I can finish it in 8. It's super easy and a great project to learn cabling on. The giant #13 needles are kind of fun to knit with too. (Photo from Lion Brand pattern). The yarn. The instructions in the pattern are quite clear, but I thought I would show how this is started...

Pattern: Reversible Fingerless Gloves Designer: Cotton & Cloud Materials: Knit Picks Merino Style ; Ella Rae Classic Solid Worsted Amount: (1) 50g ball yellow plus assorted colors; (1/2) 100g ball aqua Needles: US6 and US5 bamboo DPNS Cost: $2.79/ball; $6.50/ball Size: small Start Date: Dec. 21, 2009 Finish Date: Dec. 31, 2009 I finished my last knitted Christmas gift yesterday -another pair of fingerless mittens by Cotton & Cloud. Very cute. The recipient was pretty happy with them which is always a good thing. I paired them up with the first ones I made for her husband. So they have sort of a matching set. I think they will get some use out of them on their daily commutes in New York where they live. I used the smaller US 5 size needles to knit up the aqua Ella Rae wool because it's a worsted weight instead of a DK weight like the rest of the Knit Picks merino wool yarns and that seemed to be the right adjustment to get the stitches to m...

For one of my last Christmas gift projects I needed a color of yarn I couldn't get from the Knit Picks selection of merino wool so I was forced to get off the couch and make a trip to the yarn store. There aren't any yarn stores too close to where I live so I wasn't really looking forward to this. Not to mention, going to the yarn store kind of makes me feel overwhelmed, like I don't know what the hell I'm doing there. My mind starts to get lost in all the candy like qualities of the yarns, picking out ones that I like, trying to think of what I could make with them, how much I would need, is it even the right weight, and soon my brains gets overloaded and I feel like leaving and coming back when I know what I'm doing. Of course, that never happens, the going there, knowing what I'm doing part. Cascade 220 Pastaza This time, all I needed was a pleasant duck egg blue/aqua type color in merino wool DK. That seemed like something I might be able to handle. ...

Pattern: Cigar Gloves  free pattern from Knitty.com Designer: Keri Cadd Materials: Knit Picks City Tweed DK Amount: (1) 50g ball Orca' plus a tiny bit more to finish the pinky and thumb Needles: US4 bamboo DPNs Cost: $3.99/ball Size: Small -changed length for medium Start Date: Nov. 10, 2009 Finish Date: Dec. 20, 2009 These knit up pretty quickly, specially compared to the fingerless mittens I finished a little while ago that are double sided. I just didn't get around to finishing them until last night. I made these for a Christmas gift so I don't have any pictures of them on male hands for which they are meant. My husband kept eyeing them and wanting to try them on --and he does not get excited about knitwear by any means-- but I didn't want him to model them because his hands are much to big and I made these a small size for my brother. If you stick to the instructions for the small size, then you should be able to knit these just from one ba...

Pattern:  Koolhaas Designer:  Jared Flood Materials: Knit Picks  Wool of the Andes (worsted) Amount: (1) 50g ball  'Lake Ice' Heathered plus a tiny bit more Needles: US5 Options Zephyr Acrylics 24" circulars and US7 16" Addi Turbo circulars Cost: $2.19/ball approx. $4.40 Size: Knit per instructions (4 pattern repeats) except with one size smaller needles and lighter weight yarn.  Finished size fit a 2 year old average head Start Date: Oct. 29, 2009 Finish Date: Nov. 7, 2009 I really wanted to knit a little winter cap for my little boy.  He's out of hats that fit and the one new one I bought for him through the Land's End catalog was too big and immediately snatched up by monkey pants .  I thought Jared's Koolhaas pattern would be perfect.  I thoughtfully looked for a color that would go with his navy winter jacket as well as other outerwear.  I wanted to stay neutral, so he could wear whatever colo...

Pattern: Reversible Fingerless Gloves Designer: Cotton & Cloud Materials: Knit Picks Merino Style Amount: (1) 50g ball 'Nutmeg', (1) 'Fedora' (dark brown) and assorted colors Needles: US6 bamboo DPNS Cost: $2.79/ball approx. $5.60 plus assorted colors for stripes Size: small Start Date: Oct. 21, 2009 Finish Date: Nov. 4, 2009 I would have been done much sooner, but started on the Koolhaas pattern when I had the second mitt completely knit minus the thumb and grafting. I was too excited to get started and I really should have finished the mitts first. This was a fun project. You knit up two mitts that are stuck together at the wrist and then turn one in so they are double sided and there are no seams. The pattern has an adorable flower embroidered on the solid side. Mine has nothing because these are going to be for a guy. I intend to make an accompanying girl's pair with the flower. The crochet cast on was a new technique fo...

With so many planned knitting projects, I finally had a justification to get this circular knitting needle set. I also finally set up an account on Ravelry ( LolaT ). What an organizational treat. I don't know why I've never gone on there before. It's going to take me a while to set up all my projects and things but I had no idea there were so many photos of finished projects. If you're new to knitting or just didn't know about this site, it's great. We are coming out of a bout with the flu, the infamous H1N1, but I plan to start posting some knitting soon.

Pattern: George Book: Jaeger JB29 Materials: Knit Picks City Tweed DK Amount: (4) 50g balls 'Splash' Needles: US3 and US6 bamboo Cost: $3.99/ball approx. $16.00 Notions: Buttons (Walmart .79 cents) Size: 12-24 month. My swatch came out bigger so I knit a smaller size than what my son measured (he just turned two and was maybe one centimeter smaller than the 2-3T size measurements. However, I knit to the lengths for the 2-3T size. I made the button border following the smaller size and the collar following the bigger size. I'm not sure why, but it seems to have worked out. Start Date: Oct. 3, 2009 Finish Date: Oct. 12, 2009 I've never knit anything this fast before. I guess the combination of Fall, being pregnant, and watching too much TV is very complimentary to knitting. As I went along, I started worrying that the cardigan was turning out too small, but it is very fitted in the book picture so I trusted that it would come out OK. It fits perfectly, but I do...