The Tibia's connected to the Fibula! The Fibula's connected to the Patella!......

Ok, I know it's been WAY too long since I've posted.  Darned life keeps getting in the way!  Now, since it's December and I haven't even posted ANYTHING about my October projects, I guess I'd better catch up...after all, there's a lot of holiday gifts I'll have to post about soon!

That being said, here's my latest original design!

Being a huge anatomy geek I quickly noted how I was severely lacking anatomical knit wear.  These were my first installation, and I hope to keep up with the line once life gets a little less chaotic!
I was quite pleased with the design, although I must have weirdly shaped legs, seeing as though not a single pair of leg warmers I have ever made seems to stay up, no matter how much ribbing/cuffing/elastic I use!

And, yes, I promise I will have the patter/charts published both here and on Ravelry.com, as soon as I get off my duff and computerize the file, create the mirror image of the left leg, and actually write out the instructions in something other than henscratch and shorthand.

                                                    Here's all I have so far....pathetic.


My next plan is to create a coordinating glove pattern with the carpals, articulations, phalanges, etc.  Then maybe on to a spinal cord/chest wall/sternum sweater...we'll see!

What Do Ye Do With A Drunken Knitter?

Erlye in the mornin'?  Yeah, the whole pirate-y theme really isn't really going anywhere cool, just trying (and failing) to find a clever way to talk about my newly completed 'Shipwreck' Shawl.  I know, I know.....fail.  I'll stop now.....arrrrrr.

Anyways...Tah dah!  My Shipwreck is done!!!

I had wanted to make this shawl for quite a while, and don't really know why I had put it off for so long. It's a great pattern, my first Pi shawl , too!  It has each and every element in a knitting pattern that I adore: lacework, thin yarn and beads!  Yay!

I bought some of my favorite yarn for this, the suggested fingering weight in a soft muted purple by Berroco Ultra Fine Alpaca.  Now the pattern actually suggests buying undyed yarn and dyeing it yourself with a vinegar solution to create a kind of mottled ocean-ey appearance...yeah, not really my thing in this case so I decided to go with a shade that I like, pre-fabricated.

They also suggested buying 5,000 or more size 8 seed beads to put along the "fishnet" outer lace, which I did in a rich amethyst color to match my yarn, but I'll get to that later...

So, I cast on my initial nine stitches on my size 4 DPNs, excited to start this new endeavor.  I tried to put out of my mind the many comments I had read on Ravelry about this pattern being tedious, taking months to finish, having been put on hiatus for an indiscriminate time, blah blah blah....not me...oh no, I wouldn't get weary, I would have this done in no time, those knitters were just whiners.  There was no way I would get bored with this pattern!  Those nine stitches were just too easy!  And the following lacework to create the inner medallion was a cinch....and so exciting, too!

Then I got to knitting the outer lace.

Actually, let me go back and preface my rant with my tale of those 5,000 beads.  I DID buy them,  and fully intended to use them...but of course I'm picky about beading my work.  The pattern says to pre-string your beads, as they are being used in yarn overs (YO) in the pattern.  This makes perfect sense, adding visual interest to what could have been dull fishnet lace.  Well, I pre-strung those suckers....all 5,000 of them.  And began knitting with them.  And realized that in a border of about 80 rows of continuous YO K2Tog, I would have to move 5,000 beads up my yarn about every 6 stitches, which on fingering weight yarn is no easy feat.  AND, to add insult to injury after attempting this for 2 rounds I realized my amethyst beads did not even really show up on my Plum colored yarn.  Sigh.  I decided to cut off the string with all of my beads and continue on after re-connecting my now beadless skein.  Oh well.

Then came the monotony.  The inner lace medallion only led me into a false sense of security in thinking that I would not tire of this pattern.  The consecutive 79 rows of yarn over, knit tow together, yarn over, knit two together, ad infinitum, ad nauseum quickly quelled that.  It wasn't that it was difficult.  In fact, it was mindless...tedious...brain-numbing, one might say.  increasing each round ending with about 1700 stitches.  All of which had to be bound off after finishing what I had thought was a cathartic task.  Gah.

  But in the end it WAS admittedly a lovely shawl.  HUGE, but lovely.  So huge in fat that blocking it was a bit of a pain.  I had to use two whole repeats of the alphabet toddler mats that I utilize to block my projects (and that I utilize to confuse my non-knitting friends who wonder where my baby is, considering my child is now 10).

Here it is blocking:

 It ended up taking 3 weeks to complete, I finished blocking it day before my birthday, and not having to do any more of that border was the best present EVER!

 It did turn out lovely.  It hangs nearly to my ankles, which is a bit large for me but very dramatic, which suits me just fine!  I think next time I will make it again only in a lace weight to suit the small bead size and make it easier to slide up the thread (or possibly add beads at the K2Tog's with the crochet hook method, which I prefer exponentially), and I will probably decrease my needle sizes, both to suit the size of the yarn and the size of the shawl's wearer, as I am only 5'2"!  Oh, and I will NOT wear the second one I make to work, where I snagged it's predecessor a record breaking 5 times on sticky-outey-pointy things in the shop.  For those of you who knit, you know that a snag on a newly completed project produces low guttural cursing, accompanied by trying to pull the snag back into shape, accompanied by much gnashing of teeth.  It's not pretty.

At least the shawl is!

It's a Good Thing This Pattern Was Easy...

Let me just start by saying I absolutely LOVE my job working at my LYS.  It allows me so many opportunities to see fabulous needles, yarns and patterns...This, too, is my constant downfall! So many neat knitting things!  Darned stash enablers.  But I digress.  I'll simply say I saw a nifty pattern for a cute sweater and had to try it =)

This is Plymouth Yarn Company's Quick Top Down Jacket in Baby Alpaca Grande yarn, pattern # 1756.  Quick is definitely a plus with my currently busy schedule, and I had always been intrigued by that particular yarn.  Of course those who know me also know that I do NOT like working in bulky weight yarn.  Ah well, no matter, I'd try it anyways.

I was in lean times, so at the pricey cost of the yarn and my poor decision making in what size I am I decided to make it in 2 strands of worsted weight in a cheap yarn just to see if it turned out well and in a size that would fit.  I ultimately made a purple and black combo sweater in what I thought would be an appropriate size, for a 36" bust, the smallest size on the pattern.

Of course, for that to work smoothly would be waaaaaaaay too easy.  It DID knit quickly, in 2 days, and the purple and black yarns made it have an awesome tweed appearance!  Too bad even though I knit it exactly according to pattern with a comparable weight of fiber and exact needle sizes it was SO not my size.  Boo.
Fortunately it fit my best friend Robbin, and she loved it!

So, back to the proverbial drawing board.  I decided to make the same pattern in only one strand of worsted this time, and on one size smaller needles.  I also omitted 4 stitches from the back section of the pattern, thus altering the size to a 32" bust.  Success!  Result!  This time the finished product fit!  An added bonus was that it only took 145 yards to complete!  And, I don't know if this was a bonus or not, but since I had already made it once the day prior it only took me 1 day to complete this time...

 

It's a good thing that I got more proficient with this simple project and was able to complete them in less and less time.  Another friend saw me in mine and wanted one, then so on and so forth until I had made 4 in one week.  I have a feeling that I could make them in my sleep at this point.  Maybe that's why I look less than thrilled in my photos.

Good thing I liked the pattern!

Mil Besos Shawl, A FAB Designer, & My Love Affair With Madeline Tosh

I know it's been quite a while since I've posted anything here.  Life got pretty hectic around the 'ol Junaidy household from March to April and sadly many of my recent projects that were completed were never posted.  In March I married my wonderful (now) husband and I was finally able to let go of MONTHS of pent up wedding-related stress.  We spent a lovely, albeit rainy honeymoon in Monterey on the beach.  Month after we took our family's annual pilgrimage to Disneyland for my son's spring break.  As soon as we got back from THAT adventure I was hit with a MASSIVE illness that landed me in the hospital for a few days.  But, putting that aside, time has passed and I'm finally back to blogging!

So, where to begin?  Oh, yes, my fabulous new shawl:

 This pattern is yet ANOTHER fabulous free shawl pattern on Ravelry.com, entitled Mezquita.  Not only is this shawl adorable and easy to make, but the pattern's designer Roxanne Yeun is quite possibly one of the sweetest people I have ever e-conversed with.  I started having issues with the way the shaping of the pattern was written and said so under a comments section on the pattern.  In less that 24 hours I had received an email from Roxanne outlining a simplified explanation, tutorials and incredible words of encouragement.  And not just one email:  Multiple responses to each time I wrote, thanking her, asking questions, etc.  She is certainly one talented lady.

AND!!! (yes, as you can tell by the multiple explanation point used there that I'm REALLY excited) When you look up her Mezquita pattern, my project and sweet little mug (LOL)is on the designer's page!  WOOT!

I named my finished shawl 'Mil Besos' (Thousand Kisses) after a song by Patty Griffen with the same title.  It has a bit of a flamenco flair to it, and has always struck me as a very powerful love song.  The first day I wore this shawl out in public I was told by one lady that I looked like an old-fashioned flamenco dancer.  I don't necessarily think it was a true statement, but now I can't wear it without thinking of that comment!

I made this project out of Madeline Tosh's "Tosh Sock" Yarn.  I had previously bought some of the Madeline Tosh Lace yarn, and this sock weight only reinforced that I have a secret knit crush on Madeline Tosh (Yes, I know the actual producer is Amy Hendrix, but I'll just refer to the yarn's moniker as my yarny love-interest).  Seriously.  She induces yarn-lust.  The lace I bought was called 'Nebula'.  She uses words like 'Lucious' to describe her fibers.  I ADORE her!  My husband is aware of this infatuation, and other than the fact that the down side is her growing effect on my yarn stash, he only seems lightly amused rather than threatened.

Anyways...

This particular colorway is called 'Tart'...

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Again, this causes quite the turmoil in my head.  Is it called that because it is the perfect shade of a crisp apple, or  is it called 'Tart' because it is a shade suitable for a brazen hussy?  But as I knit I realized something rather important.  She could actually call one of her yarns 'Brazen Hussy' and I would buy it and wear it proudly.  Sigh......

Another Blog About Hats

I realized as I finished my last post about baby hats and holding my son's little preemie hat from when he was born 10 years ago just how much that kid has grown.

...So, time for a new hat.

This pattern from Carissa Knits blog was just about the most perfect pattern for my kid that I could possibly imagine....and it's freeeeeeeeeeee!

My son is one of the biggest Star Wars fans I know. He can give you the down low in the Galactic Empire, the specs of the latest models of pod racers and light sabers and a who's-who list of the Jedi High Council.  My son is a walking Wookiepedia.  When he saw a pattern to make a beanie resembling R2D2 I practically had to wipe the drool off my keyboard.

It's a great pattern in and of itself: Multiple size options (Child, Adult Small and Adult Large), chart OR written instructions, even different  methods for embellishments (duplicate stitch or color stranding).  Awesome.

I ended up making him the Adult Small size, although in hindsight I  may have been better off making the child's size.  No matter, he can grow into it.  I started doing the charted/color stranding method, but I think my combination of worsted yarn and large needles (size 7DPNs) made it awkward for me and created some gaps in my finished project that I wasn't too pleased with.  So, I frogged and started over doing the striped beanie method with a LOT of duplicate stitch embroidery detail work....and I do mean a LOT.  I think I spent way more time stitching the details rather than knitting the actual hat.

But goodness, did the man-child love it:

It's amazing to see in size and in style of simple knitted hats how much my baby has grown.

If he keeps up at this rate, I'll be investing in both University AND larger amounts of yarn!