I know it's been a LONG TIME!!

OK...so I haven't had the chance to post anything recently because I've been SO BUSY!!

Knitting went on the back burner for a while...more on that later. I finished a hat for Jon so he can be warm when he is working as a valet at the hospital. Here is a link to my ravelry page with that project: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/liaknits79/ely-stocking-cap-76

I'm still working on that cardigan for Harrison which I started in October. I hibernated it to finish Jon's hat. All I have to do is graft the sleeves, sew a couple of seams and sew the buttons...pretty simple, huh? Well, not exactly. I have to learn the kitchener stitch to graft the sleeves, and the mattress stitch to sew the seams. I'm making swatches to practice the techniques.

On my queue for my next project? I bought yarn almost 2 months ago to make my first pair of socks. I'll be using a basic sock pattern I picked up from my local yarn store...but I promised myself I won't start that project until I'm finished with the cardigan.

So the reason I haven't been knitting in a while:
I started reading the Twilight series and now I'm an addict. Edward Cullen is my drug of choice :) I was listening to the other teachers at lunch talk about the series and how awesome it is...they all heard about it through their students. So because of my curiosity, I asked to borrow the books. I immediately fell in love with Edward and Bella's story. I finished the first 3 books (Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse) and I'm waiting to get back to work after Christmas break to borrow the 4th book (Breaking Dawn). I keep wanting to cheat and buy the book myself, but of course, they are nowhere to be found unless I go online...but I'm too impatient and cheap to buy it online. On top of that, I promised my husband that I wouldn't buy anymore books since there is no room on our shelves.

Anyway, enough for now...Happy Knitting and Happy Twilight!!!!!

My dabble in crochet and a new knitting project

I took a break from knitting for a few weeks to concentrate on getting myself back into a school year routine. The summer was fun trying to get back into knitting and I realized it has become my sanity - you can take that any way you like...if you are my husband, I've become insane trying to get that bag finished.

Anyhoo...Way back when I wanted to find my craft, I went to wally world (yes, walmart) and picked up the Boye kits on knit and crochet. Crochet seemed too complicated for me at the time, so I started knitting. Well, I decided to try it again...I thought it was going to be the DEATH OF ME!!!! I'm a visual person and I have to see someone do it for me to get it. It felt SO STRANGE to have only one hook and I couldn't find my grip on the yarn. I kept leaving the stitches on the hook!!! I had to find SOMETHING to help me. Well, thanks to my MIL, I found my grip on the yarn :) Thanks to hobby lobby, I found a tutorial CD-ROM to help me see the light.

And I did it! After a lot of patience and practice, I made a bookmark:) Well, it came out horribly, so I made a second one and it looks so much better...can you guess which one is which?

So my newest project I started is the Tote Around by knitkit.com. I had the hardest time trying to do the circuluar cast-on. I went to youtube and found a great video the Emily Ocker cast on method which is one of the recommended ways to cast-on in this pattern. The pattern’s directions were confusing to follow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gK7yn-M7Yg

I'm blocking!!!!

I started to work on at a pocket for my Oregon Tote before I began felting. I wanted it to go in the inside of the bag so that I would have a place for my cell phone. I started on it a couple weeks ago, but I had to suspend my knitting for the time so I could pack for my trip to FL. I left on the 19th and came back last night. Harrison and I went to visit my mom for her birthday and my sister joined us from Chicago :) I packed up my knitting, but I didn't seem to have the time or patience to work on it...long days and chasing a newly walking 15 month old took all my energy!!

Since I didn't get to work on the pocket much, I began to be impatient and wanted to start using my bag soon, so I decided to scrap it for now and begin the felting process. I was SO pleased with how it looked right out of the washing maching. I took two boxes of 12 packs of sodas and put a Target shopping bag over them and shimmied the bag over it to block. I couldn't get over how tight the bag was...I thought it would be more plyable, but it took so much effort to get it over the boxes...

I'm hoping my bag will be ready for me to use tomorrow...they say it could take a couple days, but the bag seemed so dry already when I got it out of the machine.

I have to say one more thing...I'm so excited about my invitation to join Ravelry!!! I found the site while reading other knitting blogs a couple weeks ago and now I'm setting up my project notebook on there!! For anyone not familiar with Ravelry, it takes a couple of days to get the invitation and then you're in!

Happy knitting!!

My first felted project - in progress

I ordered the patterns for the Oregon Tote and Tote Around from knitkit.com a couple weeks ago. I started on the Oregon Tote first and I'm about 90% finished with it. I'm working on the i-cords for the straps and I might knit some pockets for it before I felt it. This is what I have finished so far...

I had to go onto youtube to learn the i-cord bind off...I linked CraftyAndy's video here for you to see...his demo was just what I needed!




The only issue with my bag is the size...pre-felting it measures 19" x 13" x 7"...it should be 18" x 16" x 10". My gauge is off because I used US size 10-3/4 (7mm) circulars instead of US size 11 (8mm) and I tend to knit tightly...I tried knitting loosely, but that's just not how my hands work. Next time I knit this, I'll buy size 11 or larger. (I'm getting my supplies as I go along so that I don't break the bank in one trip! I learned my lesson when I tried scrapbooking and that got too expensive!)