Felt Like Knitting

FO Friday - Pettine!

Pettine is finally finished!  I started knitting this with Mary last fall.  At first, we were very faithful about knitting only this when we met.  But then one of us had a knitting deadline and so on...  Pretty soon both shawls were tucked away.  But I got this out a few weeks ago and now it's done.  Trump looks like he's not so sure about being a model, doesn't he?

I liked this pattern and it's my first side-to-side shawl.  There is a mistake in my knitting somewhere because I ended up with 10 stitches at the final decrease instead of 11.  And I appear to have one extra border section on one side.  But it will be fine and I am NOT going to go back and figure out my mistake.

And I liked the yarn - Malabrigo Sock in the Archangel colorway.  The only thing I don't like is that this yarn looks yucky in fluorescent light.  Seriously.  It is like a sunrise when it's in natural light.  So. Very. Beautiful.  But in fluorescent light?  Blech.  Dull purple.  Guess I will only be wearing my shawl outside.  :)

Time to give it a soak!  If I can get this pinned out today, I can wear it to my knitting class tomorrow.  But class is inside.  What will I do?!

FO Friday - Colchicaceae

Going on the road trip last weekend allowed me to finish Colchicaceae.  I'm so glad I finished it!  It is the softest shawl I own because of that wonderful Sublime yarn.  (Although I will tell you that the yarn is a bit splitty.)  The shawl isn't as long as I had hoped so I can't really wear it as a scarf.  But it is very easy to wear with the ends tossed over one shoulder.

Time to get Friday started.  Are you looking forward to a nice weekend?

FO Friday - 1/2 pair of socks

Just finished binding off the first Coralicous sock today while waiting for my physical.  (Pretty good report, by the way.)  One down, one to go!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

FO Friday - Cedar Leaf Shawlette

I love, love, love this shawl!  It's the Cedar Leaf Shawlette by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting.  Short rows give it a crescent shape and the leaves are applied when the body of the shawl is done.  My favorite thing is the shape.  Crescent shaped shawls seem to be easier for me to wear.  The shawl I'm knitting now is crescent shaped and I have another shawl or two (Rav link) picked out to knit that are, too.

The yarn is Cash Iroha and it was on sale at my LYS.  I thought the color would look nice with my eyes and with jeans.  The last time I used this yarn, it got very fuzzy and almost kind of felted.  But the shawl will be more lightly used than my mitts are so I'm hoping for good results.

I want to knit this again with slightly thinner yarn or with smaller needles.  (Unfortunately, I didn't write down the needle size when I knit it in December.)  I'm happy with the size and look, but I wouldn't mind having one a little smaller and with a tighter gauge.

What have you knit lately that makes you happy?

FO Friday - Wednesday edition

                

I don't have WIP pictures to share right now so I'll share FO photos instead.  Above is the Shawl Collared Cowl pattern that I liked so well.  The buttons are on and I know I will use this a lot this winter.  I'd like to make one for my mom for Christmas, too.  It seems like a buttoned cowl would be easy to wear and less cumbersome than a scarf with long tails.

Are you a fan of cowls?
 
 

FO Friday - Smooshy Hamamelis

This is my second Hamamelis and I love this pattern.  This one was knit in Dream in Color Smooshy and it was wonderful to knit with this yarn. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Finished Object Friday - Springtime Bandit

  

The color in the top two photos is correct.  I'm excited because this goes with a skirt I just purchased!

Have a great weekend everyone! 

 

Cheese board cloche (A finished object of the non-knitting variety)

I really enjoy seeing the creative things people make and the tutorials they share.  Recently I saw a cloche made from a thrift store cheese board and candle holder and I decided to make one of my own.  I followed these oh-so-helpful tutorials at House of Hepworth and Thrifty Decor Chick.  Since they already provided the how-tos, I'll just show you mostly photos of what I did.

   

One of the hardest parts was figuring out which candle holder to use.  I ended up using the greenish one on the left ($1.99).  The cheese board was $3.99.

    

I made sure to thoroughly clean the top of the candle holder for the best adhesion with the Gorilla Glue.  (That stuff is terrific!!!)  I wish I had also cleaned the base because some of the paint bubbled up, but it's okay.

       

It was really helpful for me to draw a line exactly where I wanted the candle holder to attach to the board.  I slightly dampened the board as the glue instructions say then plopped the candle holder down on the line with no guessing.  The instructions also say to clamp the object or put a weight on it to achieve the best possible bond.  As you can see, I used plates.

 

I painted a coat of black primer then a coat of oil rubbed bronze.  Voila!  A decorative cloche for my kitchen counter!  I think I'll buy some Pottery Barn limes to display.  They'll look better than these aging apples.  Any other ideas about what to display?

FO Friday - Haruni

It's done!

  

A bit of a breather

Did you all have a good weekend?  We had beautiful weather and I enjoyed being outside in it to cut the grass yesterday.  With the mulching blade on the mower, I didn't have to empty bags of grass onto the compost pile and it hardly seemed like work.  I did see a lot of things that need done around the yard, though.

I didn't get around to posting on Friday so I'll show you a finished object today.  It's Swifty (Rav link) from Mason Dixon Knitting's Outside the Lines.

These aren't good photos and the project itself isn't pretty like the ones in the book.  But the Swifty does work great!  I just tried it out this morning and was amazed by the dog hair and dirt it picked up.  I need to knit a few more of these.  Do you think I'll clean the floor more often if I have fun cloths to use?

Emma's drama production went well this weekend.  Can you believe I forgot to get a single picture?  I wasn't back stage for costuming and it never occurred to me to snap a photo before.  I'll have opportunities later because the group is taking their show on the road and will visit area elementary schools who don't have arts programs.  I think they'll enjoy acting for the school kids and I think the school kids will love the show.  

Now that much of the drama stuff is over I feel like I have a bit of a breather.  Time to catch up on some of this housework that's piling up around here.  I'd also love to straighten up my sewing room so I can make a few things for my wardrobe.  Lynne has been sewing a lot lately and seeing her lovely projects makes me want to make some of my own.

Have a wonderful day!