Lace Hat & Sachets

I'm 50% done with my very first hat for me! Its actually my first hat that I didn't make for an infant and my second hat I've ever made. XD Justin's is still sitting at 25% because I got tired of it and Mom doesn't do much knitting even though she's going to try to finish it for him. Here's a picture of my lace hat currently. The lace pattern is finished and now I just knit in stockinette until I start decreasing.

I'm also showing off the picture of the supplies for my strawberry sachets I'm starting May 1st which is also Beltane. I'll be putting Rosemary and Lavender (shown in pic also) in them for protection. ♥

Injured Foot

Last night my foot got hurt pretty badly because a really heavy rock got away from my step-dad and landed on my foot. Today I realized that my thoughts were right - it didn't land on my toe, but instead the area just below my toes. Its currently dark blue and the part of my toe that the rock hit is purple. As long as I stay off it, I should be okay. If it gets any worse, Mom'll take me to the doctor. But as long as I have to stay off my foot, I can get lots of knitting done! Not that I have any place to be since I'm jobless...

Bedford LYS

After some online searching a few days ago, I found that there is a LYS in Bedford, VA which is not even a full hour from me. So Mom took me to it yesterday and if I had called, I would have known they were closed. >_<;; But I didn't. Still, we're going to go sometime next week and I'm really excited. I've only ever been in one LYS and that was before I knew about all the different kinds of yarn and stuff. Now that I'm learning more about it, I'm quite excited!

Why is it so impossible?

Why is it so literally impossible to knit with bamboo needles? The tension is hard as hell, even when I casted on over both needles and pulled the second out to have a loose cast on. The cable is thicker than what I'm used to by 2x or more. I tried every way I can think of to get them to work and they just won't. If I was doing something that needed all 29" they might work. But doing magic loop on these needles is impossible. And they're the only circulars I don't have with something except my two US size 6 16"s.And I was hoping to use magic loop instead of having to use 2 circulars.

Oh how I need to get a bigger needle supply...

Gauge

*grumbles* Why is figuring out the gauge for my newest project so hard? I want to make a pair of fingerless gloves using my DPNs but all I have are size US 3 and the pattern calls for a size US 7. I know you can adjust the gauge to what you're using needle and yarn wise from what the patterns, but I don't know how to do it. Maybe my problem is that I'm trying to teach myself because I'm the only one in the house who really knows how to knit? So I don't have anyone to go to but myself. Well, there's the internet but I can't be calm about anything when I'm this frustrated. It feels like I'll never find a use for my DPNs, except maybe socks.

When it comes down to it, I guess I just really want someone who I can go to and ask "How do you do this?" because I really don't have anyone that I can. I'm more advanced in knitting than Mom is. After all, I just taught her how to circular needles tonight.

Knitting for me now.

Its taken me a couple months to figure this out but I'm glad I did. At least for now, I'll only be knitting presents for people for Christmas. For two reasons: One, most of the things I can knit currently are useable in the winter months and most wouldn't wear them during the summer. And two, if I only knit for other people, it takes the fun out of knitting and I have to fight to get any progress done. Perhaps as I get more experience, this will change. But for now, its how I feel.

I'm kind of excited to be working on different patterns because now I'll have a lot more stuff I can knit. I don't really like only knowing how to knit scarves, hats, and dishclothes.

Interchangeable Needles

As I was looking at what kind of hat I could make myself that was pretty easy, I found a pattern that needed size 13s. And I use circulars for most things. When I went to knitpicks to see how much a pair would be, I found the only way to get a pair of size 13 16” circulars was to use interchangeable needles. I’ve actually thought about the idea of getting interchangeable needles for awhile now. I just don’t have the money to do it and while the ones I have are what I need, don’t see too much of a need for them. Once I have the money, I’ll probably get the kit of them found here.

Until then, the next time Mom says she wants to get me some supplies, I’ll probably pick out a cord and needle size. I told her that when she wants to get me something relating to knitting, to just give me a price limit because its so much easier going on knitpicks and finding exactly what I want than going into a store in the hopes they’ll have what I want. Plus, I love knitpicks needles way more.

Kitty Playtime!

Last night Mom bought my kitty Selena a new toy. It's a squeaky bird that sounds like a bird and instantly became her favorite toy. She was having so much fun that I just had to catch her on video.

Mother's Day Knitting

Its taken me awhile, but I've finally decided what to make Mom for Mother's Day. Not only am I making them for my mom, but also for Alli's too. Alli's like my twin so her Mom is like mine too. I asked her what she thought her Mom would like for Mother's Day and luckily she said dishcloths so it means I only have to do double the dishcloths of the same pattern.

Mom told me that the pattern is one she learned from her grandmother or aunt and she wasn't sure where they learned it from. So I suppose you could call it a pattern thats been passed down through the family. They make really good dishcloths too, especially if you make them big enough. xD When I first started making them, I made them a little too small but I think I've figured out a good size for them.

I'd kind of like to do another swap for Mother's Day because I really liked it, but I don't really have any money and at the moment I'm jobless. And I'm not going to ask Mom to pay for something that I should pay for.

My swap package came today!

I'm really happy! My package from the Easter swap I did came today! I didn't realize at first that it was coming from Canada which always takes awhile. I got new needles, awesome wool yarn, three dishclothes, three kinds of candy, and a sweet card. It came from schiophreza on ravelry.

Before I sent my own package off to my person, I took pictures. I took one of each dishcloth for my projects pics but also an overview of the entire package I sent. I kinda feel like I was a little cheap but around here there isn't much to choose from. (This was also before I discovered AC Moore which has wool yarn, but not the really nice wool yarn Ben Franklin does.)

Back to knitting

Now that I've finished Gaia's event, I can get back to knitting. (I took like a week's break from knitting for an Easter event for the forum I'm part of.) I sent out Nova's present yesterday (seeing as its 2am now) so I can wait on knitting her fishnet gloves. Since I want my brother's hat finished before he gets back, I've started working on it again. No new pictures yet because I had to take out the little I had done to use my second pair of 6s to finish James' hat. Thats the other reason I'm not making myself a hat yet even though I technically could. But all my metal 8s are taken up if I do.

16" 8s: Justin's hat
32" 8s: Slytherin scarf

Idk if using bamboo circulars would do anything. Probably not. I'll decide later if I want to start mine yet or just wait until I finish Justin's.

Also: I've decided that the Slytherin scarf I've been working on is going to be mine. Its got a couple flaws in it because its the first scarf I've ever done using two colors that I didn't use at the same time. I'm going to just have it as mine. And if the flaws bug me enough later, I can make myself another one. I'll try to get Nova's done for Samhain or Yule but I doubt I'll get it done before then. For me, I'll try to get mine done before July so I can wear it to the opening of the 6th Harry Potter movie.

Slytherin Scarf hiatus

I've decided to take a hiatus from my friend's Slytherin scarf because its going to be so huge. Just one stripe takes awhile to do. In the meantime, I'll be working on my brother's beanie, my fishnet gloves, Nova's fishnet gloves (I want something to send her near her birthday), and my lace scarf.

My goal for my brother's hat is to have to finished before he gets back from his 2-3 week trip out to California with dad. The fishnet gloves look easy enough so if I focus on them, maybe I can get them done soon. I need to make mine first so I feel confident enough that I won't mess up.

April Projects

Here are the projects I've agreed to do for other people. Once these two are done, then I'll be working on my own projects for awhile.

Beanie w/ Fold [For Justin]: This hat is a request from my brother for his 24th birthday in March. I'm using size US 8 16" circulars and the yarn is Simply Soft Sage Green. Has not been started yet. Ravelry link DEADLINE: April 25th

Slytherin Scarf [For Nova]: One of my closest friends loves anything to do with snakes and also loves the Slytherin house from Harry Potter so this scarf is ideal for her. I'm using size US 8 32" circulars and Red Heart Super Savor Dark Sage and Light Grey. Ravelry link DEADLINE: April 10th.

The projects I'm going to be doing for myself are:

Strawberry Sachets: My Beltane Project. Ravelry link. DEADLINE: May 1st.

Fishnet Gloves: I've been wanting fishnet gloves for a long while now. So instead of buying them, I've decided to knit myself some. I'll be using size US 2 16" circulars and Aunt Lydia's Classic Crochet Thread. Has not been started yet. Ravelry link. DEADLINE: May 1st.

Easter Swap

I've been working on a couple of dishcloths for my very first swap. I'm really excited to see what I get! I don't want to even upload the pictures I took to my computer before my person gets her package because I'll be really tempted to put them up. And I want her to first see what she's getting when she opens the package. As soon as I get word that she's gotten it, I'll edit this post with pics. ^^;;