Felt Like Knitting

Frogging some Wobbly Circles

                                          

That's a picture of what was side 2 of my Wobbly Circles Tote sitting beside side 1.  (The oversized green hat at the top of the photo is the body of my Garden Party Noni bag.)

Gauge is strange.  When I cast on and knit some of side 2 of my Wobbly Circles Tote, the gauge didn't seem right and side 2 was smaller.  I figured my stitches were tighter since I knew what I was doing on side 2.  I frogged and changed to a size 11 needle.  That seemed to work and I checked the gauge (versus side 1) several times.  Yesterday, with less than 40 rows to go, I checked the size again.  Oh, it's way bigger than side 1.  Out it goes again.  I'm back to 10.5 needles again and it's pretty close.  Now I'm wondering what I was looking at before.  It must have been right.  I should have taken it off the needles to check it before I ripped it all out the first time.

You know, I normally would have just kept knitting.  But I'm reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Knitting Rules!.  I'm enjoying this book quite a bit and the section on gauge prompted me  to start checking gauge more often.  So that's why I checked side 2 in the first place.  But, I didn't knit a gauge swatch or take the project off the needles to check gauge and I should have.  At least I'm learning this on a tote and not something wearable! 

I made myself cast on (again) right away so that I wouldn't be tempted to shelve this thing.  Fortunately, it's knitting up quickly.  If we don't end up going to the baseball game tonight, I should be able to finish it.  (My daughter is not feeling her best and we may not go.)

Speaking of MLB, is there some kind of knitting etiquette concerning games?  Is it okay to knit while waiting for the game to start?  And are needles allowed in?  I checked the Turner Field web site and didn't see anything prohibiting the use of knitting needles at a game.  If they're allowed on airplanes again, they should be allowed at ballparks, right?  But I don't want to chance having to hand over my Addi Turbos because they are stiff and pointy.

Green, glorious green!

Well, it's finally here... May is green for Project Spectrum!  I love green!  Other colors are nice, too, but green is my favorite.

Green makes all the flower colors stand out.  Green is the color of new life coming from the ground.  Green is the color of mint chocolate chip ice cream.  Green is beautiful. 

There are so many different knitting/sewing/crafting opportunities in blogland.  Knit-Alongs, Project Spectrum, Use What You Have... the list  goes on, I'm sure.  These are all great and they inspire me to create even if I don't officially participate.  In the spirit of Use What You Have, I've decided that May will be my month to finish what I have started.  And since I'm participating in Project Spectrum, I'm going to finish the green things first.  And finally, like knit-alongs, the more the merrier.  So please join me if you like.  I suspect that not many people will need to set aside an entire month to finish their projects, but I doubt I can finish in one month!  If anyone knows of a group already doing something like this, please point me in their direction so I can join!  :)

Last April post

Goodbye to April, hello May!  Here's a final project with orange and yellow.  This is an experimental vase that started out as a pencil cup.  I've read before to make sure to leave the yarns loose in the back when doing stranded knitting and I can see why.  I do like the way it pulls in at the top, but it was harder to block and the beads don't lie flat.  It turned out better than my experimental bowl.  That didn't even make it into a post!  :)

Borders sent me a 30% off e-mail coupon so of course I had to go out and use it.  I kind of wish they would stop sending me those things!  :)  I couldn't decide on which book to buy, so I bought two books:  Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and Knitting Rules!  I have to return LMKG to the library, so I bought my own.  And KR just looked really funny.  I read the bit about the traits of an obsessed knitter and could relate.

In non-knitting news, our associate pastor is leaving at the end of the month.  He has been called to start a mission church in another part of town.  I know this is a wonderful opportunity for our church to support him and help reach out to other people, but I'm sad that he won't be with us anymore.  I'm also apprehensive about what this will mean for our contemporary worship since our senior pastor is pretty traditional.

April Project Spectrum bag

There aren't many advantages to outgrowing your clothes.  But, I just discovered one.  I can make handbags from the things I don't wear anymore!

I had a linen tank top that I really liked, but it was a little too short, a little too tight in certain places, showed my arms, etc.  But, I loved the fabric from which it was made - an orange paisley.  After a few hours of work, I now have an orange paisley handbag!

   

The whole thing cost me a whopping $2.75 for 1/2 yard of beaded trim.  I had everything else here.  Since the linen was a bit flimsy, I added some thin batting and quilted it a bit.  Wonder what else I don't wear anymore?

Time to stop

                                     

What's wrong with this picture (aside from the rat's nest of yarn and the table that needs refinished)?  How in the world did I start knitting on the purl side?!  And how did I not notice it for two rows?!  I guess it's too late to be knitting.  "I just want to finish the blue circle or the green circle before I stop."  Ha!  Now I know why it's called the Wobbly Circles Tote.  I'm the wobbly one.  I'm not even going to try to un-knit it tonight.

In brighter news, I finished seaming the baby sweater tonight.  I just have to weave in the ends before I photograph it.  I'm glad it's done.

Wobbly Circles Tote

The official start date for the Wobbly Circles Tote KAL was Saturday, but I started last night.  I do have one hole that I'm unwilling to fix by frogging, but I can take care of that later since it will be felted.  So far I'm enjoying it, but we'll see how I feel about side two!

The Third Day concert was wonderful!  The opening band was David Crowder Band and they're another of my favorites.  Check out their music.

April Project Spectrum Colors

April's Project Spectrum colors are orange and yellow.  I've been meaning to gather my orange and yellow belongings for a photo shoot, but I'm too lazy.  So I guess you won't be seeing my orange and yellow capris and various orange shirts.  :)  But I do have a few pics to share with you...

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

1.  Guitar picks!  The three orange picks are special picks but the yellow one is the one I use each week.  I play electric guitar in our band at church each week.  I absolutely love it.  I just wish I could practice and knit at the same time because knitting is winning out right now and my playing is starting to suffer!

2. and 3.  Flowers from our trip to FL.

4.  Eggs?  Yep, eggs.  My daughter made these on the last day of March and I thought it was an appropriate intro for April's colors.

5.  A purse I made that still needs a button.

For this project, we don't have to knit.  The orange and yellow can be in anything.  I enjoy knitting more than other things, so that's what I'll stick with.  But, I'm having a hard time finding orange or yellow yarn for this month's project.  So, I'm going to use some wool from my stash to make (another!) felted project.  More on that later...

Spectrum Bag

Several people have asked me if I would post the pattern for the Spectrum Bag pattern.  I plan on doing this within the next week.  (Life is just a little busy right now.)  I'd like to thank you all for your kind words and positive feedback.  This really means a lot to me and it's very encouraging!  Thank you!

With very little time to spare...

                                          

I just finished my March Project Spectrum felted bag.  Whew!  It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but I like it.  It was fun designing my own bag and I've learned a lot about combining colors, shaping bags, etc.  On to April!

Baby sweater and Project Spectrum scarf

Today I bought yarn for the baby sweater:     This yarn is sooo soft!  I can't wait to start this project, but unbelievably I need to buy needles for it.

Last night I knit a quick kerchief from Last Minute Knitted Gifts from a skein of novelty yarn I had never used.  It contains red, pink, and some indescribable color that's a cross between plum and green.  I started knitting it to 1) do a little more fun knitting for the night, 2) use some red and pink yarn for Project Spectrum, and 3) keep my neck warm while blogging.  I'm usually cold so this should do the trick.  I think if I stretched it out and blocked it, it would almost be large enough to use as a small shawl.  Since I'm usually pretty conservative, so it probably will never be worn outside of my house!