Hi, Long Time No See

It has been a while since I blogged. It has taken me these few weeks to get adjusted to my new work schedule/commute. Now that things seem to be more balanced I can get back to my normal blogging routine.

I hope that everyone in the East Coast made is through hurricane sandy safely. We did not suffer much of a disturbance in the DC area, at least nowhere near the devastation that happened in NJ/NY.  

Rest assured that just because I have not been blogging does not mean that I have not been knitting or crocheting. I have been doing both and this month is turning out to be a busy project month, with 3 hat projects, 1 sweater project and a pair of socks. Yeah, yeah, I know I am nuts. 

I have completed 2 out of the 3 hats, I am working on the sweater and the socks I have had to frog and I plan to start soon. Depending how the month plans out and if I do not totally fail at keeping myself on task I may get a 4^th hat in the mix.

I also got the Noro Crochet book and it is to DIE FOR! I want to crochet all the things on that book. I know I won’t, but a girl can dream, right? I will have a post later this week reviewing the book.

Finally, I wanted to say that with the New Year the blog will get a new look! I am super excited and I cannot wait to share it with you all. I hope you all end up loving the changes that will take place as much as I do.

 My goals for 2013 are to blog more and get myself better organized. In order to reach those goals, I need to start by putting in some serious attention to the blog.

With that being said, what changes would you like to see to the blog? What can I do to improve? What would you like to see more off? Or what would you like to see that you have not seen on here yet? I would love to know what you all think.

Until next time, Happy Knitting!

~Knitting Chica

Casting On: Unwrapped

After my failed attempt at crocheting Himbeerwellen I have decided to cast on a new project. Never mind that I have other projects waiting for me to finish. Which they will eventually be done but I wanted something easy and cute to complete and maybe wear to the office.

I have decided on Unwrapped by Jody Pirrello. Here is a photo from the project page:

Not my photo!

Cute, right? I decided to make it in Berroco Vintage DK. The Berroco Vintage is one of my favorite lines. It is so soft, inexpensive and wears very well. Here is a photo of the yarn:

Sorry for the not so great photo.

I love the color red and I think this pattern would work very well  with this pattern. This weekend I will have a lot of uninterrupted knit time so I should have a good progress for WIP Wednesday.

Until next time, Happy Knitting!

~Knitting Chica

Work in Progress Wednesday: Himbeerwellen

This months on the Google+ Crochet Along group we are working on the Himbeerwellen mitts. As you can see from the project page picture below they are absolutely gorgeous.

Not my photo. This is the photo from the Designer's project page.

I officially started this project on October 6th after I was done with my Rainbow Brite Socks . It has been a real challenge working on this project. The project is done completely in back loop slip stitch, which I have never done before and as an added bonus you have to crochet very loose and that is like a foreign concept with me as I crochet very tightly.

I finished one of the mitts today and as much as I appreciate learning a new technique and as much as I like the look of this pattern I will not be completing this project. Why you ask? Well let me show you....

How bad is that stitching? :(

After all the trouble I went through to get to the end of the pattern. I get to the seam and it is like entering the seventh circle of hell. Really, I am not kidding, I was chilling with Alexander the Great in the Phlegethon (I read the Inferno many times, can you tell?). That is how bad this part was. I started this over so many times that the stitches started to separate from each other. So I decided instead of frustrating myself and destroying my beautiful Bugga, I am going to make Mary Margaret's Lace Tam.

Mary Margaret from Once Upon a Time

Who knows maybe at some point in the future I will give the mitts another try.

Until next time, Happy Knitting or Crocheting!!

~Knitting Chica

Work in Progress Thursday?

I do not know what happened to Wednesday. It slipped right by me and I did not write up a blog post. So today will be my Wednesday and Thursday rolled into one.

First let us start with what I am working on:

One down, one more to go

The Rainbow Brite Socks. I am still going at it. I should have been done with this project ages ago but it has turned into the after thought project. The project that I would work on for a little while when my main project is giving me heart burn. Well, since I already finished the first sock I decided to knock this one out and finish it this week.

Now on to the latest project. On the Crochet Along on Google+ group we are  working on the Himbeerwellen Mitts as our CAL for the month of October.

Not my photo. This is the photo from the project page.

I have yet to start this project, actually I did start it but frogged it so that I can practice on thicker yarn so I can get a hang of the stitches. I am pretty excited about this project. The mitts are very pretty, I am learning a new technique and I get to use this beautiful yarn:


Cephalopod Skinny Bugga in the color Spanish Dancer

What projects are you working on or about to cast on?

Until next time, Happy Knitting!

~Knitting Chica

The Mist Stole

Pattern: Mist Stole
Designer: Cathy Johnson
Pattern book: N/A
Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock
Hook: Size F
Pattern Rating: 5 out of 5

I finished my Stole for the Google+ September Crochet Along last week and took it off the block mat yesterday.

The yarn was a dream to work with and I cannot wait to use other yarns by the same company. This was supposed to be a Christmas present but I am in love with it too much to give it up. You can read more about this project on my Ravelry project page.

Until next time, Happy Hooking!

~Knitting Chica

Weekend Review

I do not have much to report from this weekend as I have spent it sick on my couch. I did get myself out of the house for a little while on Saturday to get some fresh air and Sunshine by attending the Hyattsville Arts Festival and The Plucky Knitter Trunk show at Fibre Space.

I wanted so many of her yarn, but at the end I got just two skeins of her fingering yarn. As beautiful as her yarn is my wallet was kicking and screaming in protest.

I plan on making the Pair-a-normal socks that came out with the most recent issue of Knitty.

Are these not the coolest socks you ever seen?

I will be using the Gray yarn as the main color and the Pink yarn for the Skulls. I plan to make the toes and top bands in solid pink. That way I can get a lot more use of the pink yarn and not have too much left over.

Aside, from buying yarn and planning what to make with it. I worked on my Stole and I am happy to report that I am almost done with it. I want to have it done by Thursday so I can block it over the weekend and have something to show next week. As much fun as this project has been, I am ready to move on and finish some of the other projects I have on the needles.

Finally, I blocked my Color Affection Shawl. I will be taking photos of it tonight and have photos up tomorrow.

Until next time, Happy knitting!

~Knitting Chica

Work in Progress Wednesday: Rainbow Brite Socks and Mist Stole

I am currently working on a few projects but the two that seem to be taking up all my attention is my Rainbow Brite (Remember her?) Socks and my Mist Stole.

I have not made a pair of socks this year and I figured now that the year is starting to wind down I should at least get one pair in. I have had this beautiful Ashton Studios colorful yarn in my stash for a while and decided that I will give their yarns one more try. So far I have not been disappointed. The yarn is not splitting, it is not fuzzing, it is just working up beautifully. I have been working on them a little at a time, whenever I need to take a break from the Mist Stole. I hope to have the socks completed by the beginning of October after I am done with the Stole.

I am working on the foot of the sock.

 I have not created a project page on Ravelry for the socks and I am not following a pattern. I am just making it up as I go.

The next project I am working on is the Mist Stole. This is for the Google+ September Crochet Along (SepCAL). I am really having a lot of fun making this stole. It is very simple and the yarn is a dream to work with. It is taking me a while to completed as this month has been a super busy time at work, but I hope to have it completed by this weekend and blocked during the week.

Almost done with the 2nd ball of yarn.

What projects are you working on?

Until next time, Happy Knitting/Crocheting!!
~Knitting Chica

Let me see your Craft Space

Last night I decided to clean my knit area. I have a small table that I keep next to the place I like to sit on the Couch. On the table I keep my yarn bowl, my yarn basket, the case with my Crochet Hooks, a notebook with pen and a bottle of water. I also have a very pretty addition, a beautiful Orchid that was given to me by the company that I work for. Since I had just blocked my August CAL Doily I decided to place the flower pot on it. This is the first time that this space has been so clean. It looks so nicely set up I have spent more time looking at the table and less time Knitting.

My Knitting/Crocheting Area

Do you have a space in your home in which you have dubbed your Knitting/Crocheting/Craft space? If you do, post a link in the comments, I would love to see to see photos.

Until Next Time, Happy Knitting!

~Knitting Chica

Designer Wear Inspiration

Very recently I made a Kate Spade Inspired Sweater and it was such a successful project I started looking for more things I can make that look like other designer clothing I covet but refuse to spend the money on the price tag.

As if to answer my unasked question Crochet Concupiscene blogged about Marc Jacobs Fall 2012 collection and all the crochet pieces he used. You can see her blog post here.

That is where I saw this shawl:

Image from Vogue

Image from Vogue

Doesn't that shawl look awesome? But at $1,800 bucks a pop, there is no way that I will be buying that. I know that it is a crocheted waffle-knit shawl, it is wool and the safety pin I can buy at the craft store for cheap. I am pretty sure this can be replicated without too much trouble. 

Continuing my quest to find more designer clothing I can recreate brought me to Anthropologie and this tunic:

You can find the top here

It is another crocheted piece and it is beautiful. I of course took to Ravelry to look at the Anthropologie Group and sure enough they have a discussion going on on this exact top. While reading the thread I saw that someone has created a very pretty top inspired by the tunic. You can see her blog and picture's here. I am definitely going to give this a try using one of the many patterns that the Anthro Group suggested. Not sure which I will use, I just know I do want the flowers going down the spine.

Are there any knitted or crocheted designer clothing that you would like to re-create?

Until next time, Happy Knitting Crocheting!

~Knitting Chica
 

My Blocking Adventure

One of the things I do not like much about Knitting/Crocheting is the finishing process. I know it is an important process to make your items look good and not amateurish. But once I finish my project I want it to be it, the finish line. I do not want to have to wait a day or two while the project dries so that I can enjoy the fruits of my labor. Call me inpatient but darn it I want to wear it NOW!

Which brings me to my current little problem, I have a beautiful shawl that I Crocheted up last summer to wear this Spring but I never blocked it. Now that the weather is perfect for this shawl, I cannot wear it! It is currently a bumpy, curled around the edge mess.

So on Sunday I was scrambling around my apartment, looking for the blocking pins that I know that I have, but I cannot find because I have never used them because I refuse to block my projects and I just beg my friends to do it for me (Did you get that? Have I made you dizzy yet? No? Oh, you just wait).

I finally found them, I set up all my stuff, I took a deep breath and took the plunge!

The tools

Before blocking.

I took the plunge!

Get down there and stay down!

Out to dry. My Shawl was bigger then the mat so I had to also use towels.

It took a day and a half for it to dry. I am happy that I got over my fear and blocked my shawl because it looks great. Take a look at it after drying on my model Alice:

After - Front

After - Back

You can find all the details on this project on my Ravelry page.

Until next time, Happy Knitting!

~Knitting Chica