I am finished...

.....with graduate school at least. :) I walked on Saturday, and my family got to come watch me and take me to dinner. It was great having them all here. I have such a supportive and giving family. I couldn't have asked for better, and I know that they are a big reason I have been able to accomplish so much! Now, to find a job. I have an interview in the morning, so we'll see how that goes.

Now, on to knitting....

1.) I finished the Montego Bay Scarf from IK Summer 07, and just realized I did not get a picture of it before giving it to my grandma. I made it for her as a thank you for the support she's given me throughout college.

2.) I cast on for the Holly Jacket from IK Spring 08. I've only got about 3" knit on it, but since I'm done with school I should have lots more knitting time!! I really like the yarn I chose, Queensland Cotolino from Webs.

3.) I still need to finish the second sleeve for my Cinnabar Pullover.....100% wool and 80 degree weather don't go well together. I'll finish it before next fall......

Wrapping it up.

I have two FO's for you today. My Monkey Socks by Cookie A., and the Princess Wrap from Classic Elite Yarns. Both of which are free patterns.

I really like my new socks, but I am a little unhappy about the yarn. As you can see the left sock has way more blue in it, and less pink/red than the right sock. The yarn is Jitterbug, and although it is nice, I probably won't buy it agian because of the poor dye job.

The blocked, finished Princess Wrap. I wan't sure it was going to turn out very well, but I am very happy with it. I think I am going to use it a lot this spring. I have a wooden shawl pin that looks great with it. You can sort of see it in the second pictures.

I still have a sleeve left to knit on the Cinnabar Pullover, but since it's already getting warm here in OK, it may take a while for me to finish it. I will probably cast on for the Holly Jacket this week. I'm really excited about that!

Pictures

FO: Princess Wrap - soaking

Princess Wrap - blocking

WIP: Monkey Socks

WIP: Cinnabar Pullover

What to do when you...

don't want to go to class because you are bummed about not getting an interview for a job that you really wanted:

1.) Soak & block your Princess Wrap that you finished this weekend, and take pictures.

2.) Take pictures of your nearly completed Monkey Socks.

3.) Take pictures of yourself wearing your almost completed Cinnabar Pullover.

4.) Post on your blog.

5.) Upload imaged on Flickr.

That's what I'm doing this afternoon before going to a lecture on campus about healing spaces. I will be recieving extra credit for my socio-cultural foundations class. As per the email sent by Dr. H; there is a 15 point max: 7 for attendance and 7 for writing a paper/essay about it....somehow that just doesn't add up.....no matter how you add those two numbers together.

I was trying to post pictures, however, for some reason blogger doesn't want me to right now. I will try again later.

Peace Out Knitters.

Proof that I'm still knitting.

This is my Cinnabar Pullover. I have almost attached one sleeve, but I still need to do the seaming on the actual sleeve and that side. Then I need to knit the other sleeve. My knitting time has been dramatically interrupted due to school. I took my master's comprehensive exam last Friday. I'm glad it's over, but I'll still be mostly working on school until May 10th.

I also purchased from yarn from Webs. I got 9 skeins of Queensland Cotolino to knit the Holly Jacket from Interweave Knits Spring 2008. I am really excited to cast on for this!

Most of the knitting I've been able to do lately is on my Monkey Socks. I am almost ready to turn the heel on the second sock. No second sock syndrom here. :) Sorry, no picture though.

"Wherever you go and whatever you do, May the luck of the Irish be there with you”

I hope you're wearing green today! If not, you might get pintched!

Sorry, but I have no pictures today, and I just realized that I haven't posted in a while. School and work is keeping me really busy! I am almost done with graduate school, so being busy is expected.

On the knitting front, I CO for the second monkey sock! No second sock syndrom here! :) AND, drum roll please, I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO close to being finished with my sweater. I didn't want to say it out loud, but I really wanted to wear it today, since it's green, but that didn't happen. :( All I have left are the sleeves.

And, because I'm Irish, a few Irish blessings and prayers.

"The Irish ignore anything they can't drink or punch.”

"May you always walk in sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.”

A Wish for a Friend
Wishing you a rainbowFor sunlight after showers—Miles and miles of Irish smilesFor golden happy hours—Shamrocks at your doorwayFor luck and laughter too,And a host of friends that never endsEach day your whole life through!

An Irish Prayer
May God give you...For every storm, a rainbow,For every tear, a smile,For every care, a promise,And a blessing in each trial.For every problem life sends,A faithful friend to share,For every sigh, a sweet song,And an answer for each prayer.

And, my personal favorite:

"Do not be afraid to trust and Unknown future to a Known God."

Eye Candy Friday

I was looking for a pair of buttons to go on Mr. Gabu for eyes I thought I'd brighten up the day. I love color, and colorful buttons make me smile. These are randomly collected buttons that my mom gave me. Enjoy, and have a good weekend.

Mr. Gabu is done, but still doesn't have any eyes.

Amigurumi is fun!

My first crochet project!! How cool?! I found this pattern on http://www.roxycraft.com/.

The name of it is called "The Gabu". It looks like a little alien.

I am using left over yarn from a tank I made last spring. It is Shine Worsted from Knit Picks.

I need to read a little bit before going to the gym, but I'll post some more pictures soon.

P.S. I finished the front panel of my Cinnabar Pullover yesterday. I'm getting so excited to finish it and wear it. I need to knit the plackets and sleeves.

Playing with Pictures: Rubix Cube

Rubix Cube
Originally uploaded by k3grachel

I found this cool website called dumpr.net. Go to www.dumpr.net to play youself. I made a Rubix Cube and Egg....I'm bored. :0)

WIP

I'm still working on the Cinnabar Pullover. I am almost to the armhole decreases. That's my little girl sleeping next to me. All this St is a little boring, but it makes pretty good TV knitting. I'm going to try to finished the side increases tonight. I still need to go to the gym though...and make dinner.

Birthday Card

I finished my second project for Project Spectrum 03. I made a birthday card for my best friend. Her birthday is today. I made it using a scrapbook card, fabric, scrapbooking markers, and a velum quote. I think it turned out really well, and my friend is going to love it! The card is going to accompany a bottle of wine I picked up the other day.

I finished the middle portion of my Through the Keyhole Scarf today. I CO for one of the edge pieces, but I didn't get very far. The Cinnabar Pullover is coming along nicely. I have about 8 inches done on the front panel. Last week really slowed down all of my knitting because I was so sick. I've done some this week, but I was so busy, I didn't have a lot of time.

Firery: Oklahoma Sunset

Firery: Oklahoma Sunset
Originally uploaded by k3grachel

This is my first 'project' for Project Spectrum 03. It's a picture I took about a week ago of the sunset here in Oklahoma. To me it looks like the land is on fire. I hope you like it.

If you want to learn more about Project Spectrum visit, Lolly Girl. Lolly girl is the founder of PS. There is also a Flickr group where people can upload pictures of their artwork, photography, knitting, etc. It is here Flickr Group. I want to try an do different types of crafts for this, and not just knitting. The first two months, February and March, the colors are fire: orange, red, and pink.

I <3 the Holly Jacket

To start: a picture of two of my current WIPs, monkey socks and cinnabar pullover. And yes, that is the newly released issue of Interweave Knits, Spring 2008. I am in love with the cover knit, the Holly jacket. I am resisting the temptation to cast on until after I finish the cinnabar pullover....it's going to be hard. (Sorry the picture is dark. I haven't had time during the day to take any pictures.

Life is busy, so that's all for now, but I'll leave you with a picture of my baby, Chloe.

Sorry, no knitting.

Happy Valentine's Day

I've had the flu = no knitting at all.

KnitWars

I just joined. Check out their Ravelry group. If you go to Lime n Violet: The Daily Chum you can learn more about KnitWars.

Due to an inability to read a pattern...

I did not get as much knitting on my Cinnabar Pullover this weekend that I had hoped to. On Friday I started decreasing for the armholes, and suddenly couldn't go any farther. The pattern just didn't make sense to me. I put it aside, knit on something else, and came back to it yesterday. Still not being able to figure it out I looked up the designer of Ravelry, and started to send her a messge....lightbulb moment....I'm glad that I did not send that message. While typing out the part that was confusing me it hit me what I was suppose to do. I'm back on track now, and am close to starting the sholder shaping = short rows. I <3 short rows. I'm really don't get why people are so afraid of them, but maybe that's why my stepmom calls me a fearless knitter. :)

I found a new website, 100 Pure Wool, where I can get inexpensive yarn. They have 440 yrd skeins of sock wool for $8.00 in some really pretty colorways. I may be purchasing some soon.

WIPs

Tah dah! The replacement needles that Crystal Palace Yarns sent me. Aren't they pretty. J/k. They have already proved to be much better than the other set. I am using them to knit my monkey socks. I have finished the third lace repeat on the first sock. I am really enjoying knitting these socks. I am even thinking about frogging the slip up sock to knit a second pair of monkey socks. I alreay am going to have to rip the toe out, and knit the foot more because they are too short.

This is my cool monkey. I am in love with the colors. It isn't stripping like I thought it would, but I like the way that it is turning out. This picture doesn't show it exactly, but I am getting blocks of greens and blocks of purple/blues. I am on the 4th lace repeat already. (In this picture I only have 1 lace repeat done.)

Here is the back of my Cinnabar Pullover. I am done with the waist shaping, and am ready to start the armhole decreases. This is going very quickly, but all the stockinette is a little boring. After the armhole shaping there is some short row shapping for the sholders, so maybe that will break up the boringness.

And last, but certainly not least, the Through the Keyhole Scarf. This picture reminds me of a sushi roll. Mmmm..sushi, I love sushi. I am really enjoying this knit, but with my other two projects it isn't getting the love and attention it deserves.

Monos Locos!

....Crazy Monkies. I finally joined the bandwagon, and cast on for a pair of Cookie A.'s Monkey socks. I am using the Jitterbug yarn I bought at SWAK In the City. I knit the cuff and first pattern repeat. It's amazing, and I'm in love. :) The pattern calls for US1 1/2 needles that will yeild a medium size sock, but I have a small foot (and no US1 1/2 needles), so I'm using US1 needles. Speaking of those needles, they are the replacement that I got from Crystal Palace Yarns. They seem to be a lot sturdier than the other ones. They came very promtly, and I'm expecting them to work a lot better than the last ones. Maybe I just got a bad set the first time.

I am really close to the armhole shaping on my Cinnabar Pullover. I am really enjoying knitting it. It isn't too hard, so it makes great TV knitting. I'm trying to keep up on it, so I will actually be able to wear it this season! I don't want to have to either a)wear it and sweat in OK weather, or b) wait until it gets cold next fall. I'll just have to finish it soon!

I was checking out Lime and Violet: The Daily Chum (link to the site is to the right), and found some new sock yarn that I want. They are a fairly new website, Sunshine Yarns/, and have some amazing colorways. The colorway I really want is WEASLEYS WIZARD WHEEZES - TWIST. It is so colorfull and gorgeous! I'm trying to finish up some projects, so I won't be buying any anytime soon, but I'll definitely keep my eye on it.

Sorry for the pictureless post. I'll try to post some later today or tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!

FO's, Yarn, & New projects

Finished Objects

I finished my fingerless mittens. I really like the way that they turned out. For some reason the second one turned out a little looser than the first one, but not enough to make me re-knit it. :)

These are two dishrags that I finished last week. They are out of Sugar n' Cream. I think I used most of one ball to knit them both.

I also finished the Basketweave Scarf from Interweave Knits. I got it from Knitting Daily, so I'm not sure which issue it was originally published in. It is for my boyfriend. He already took it, so I didn't get to take a picture. I'll have to snap one of him wearing it!

Works In Progress

I bought yarn on Monday from SWAK In the City. I was planning on making the Tangled Yoke Cardigan, but I think this yarn will do better if I make the Cinnabar Pullover from Interweave Knits Fall 2007. I cast on about 3 times, but I think I finally got it right this time.

I also started the Through The Keyhole Scarf from The Knitter's Bible Knitted Accessories. I have about half of the center part of the scarf done. It is going really quickly. I am knitting it with Patons SWS. I really like the way the yarn feels. It is really smooth and silky.

Yarn

Loop -d- Loop Moss.

Patons SWS.

That's all for today. I'll try to get a picture of the Basketweave Scarf up soon.

Impressed!

A representative from Crystal Palace Yarns left a message on my blog, and after talking to her via email she is going to send me a replacement set. First off, I have no idea how she found my blog, but I am really grateful that they are replacing my whole set of needles.


These socks are the ones I just finished! Aren't they great?! Just plain stockinette with a 1x1 ribbing at the top. I really want to start another pair, but there are two issues with that. 1. I don't have needles. 2. I really need to finish by boyfriends scarf that was suppose to be part of his Christmas gift. I told him I'd finish it after I was done with my socks. I guess I'd better do that. ;) I have a three day weekend, so I should be able to finish it. We get Monday off from school because of Martin Luther King Jr. day.

Yarn I used for the socks: Jojoland Melody. Needles: Crystal Palace Bamboo dpns 6", US1

Happy Weekend, Happy Knitting!

Disappointed...

with my Crystal Palace Bamboo double pointed needles. I am almost done with my third pair of socks, and I have broken one, and the other four are severly bent. One is on the verge of breaking. I just hope it lasts until I can finish the sock. I only lack the toe! I would like to see if they would replace the broken one, but I can't seem to find a website for them. Maybe I should contact the yarn shop where I bought them. In the mean time I want to purchase another set of dpns, but I'm not sure what brand/material I should buy. Any suggestions?

I am pretty new to sock knitting. I found a really cool chart to figure out how long to knit the foot based on your shoe size. http://www.knittinganyway.com/socks/socksizechart.htm

Fingerless mittens are wonderful!

It took forever, but I finally got my Ravelry sidebar/progress bar to work. I didn't think I was ever going to get it to work. I got the code from another Ravelry user, because I couldn't get the one Casey did for me. I would rather the pictures take you to my Ravelry account, but flickr's ok. At least I got it to work!

I wanted to make a pair of fingerless mittens out of the Esperanza yarn I bought, but I couldn't find many patterns that use chunky yarn. I decided to design/create my own pattern. I feel pretty proud of it! It is simple, yet functional. This is just the first one. I will knit up the second one. I jotted down the pattern as I was making it up, so once I finish the pair I'll share it. I just need to come up with a cool name for them.

School started this week, so this will start to get busy. I already have my first reading assignment due Wednesday.

Knitting while intoxicated....

is not the brightest idea. Now, I'm not talking about drinking. I'm talking about knitting (or trying to knit) a sock after taking sinus medication that makes me drowsy. It's not suppose to, but it always does. I had taken it earlier in the day, and just went to sleep for a few hours. Later that evening I didn't want to sleep, so I did my best to sit up-right on the couch, watch tv, and knit. It was going along fine....I was about half way done with the heel flap (of my second sock), and counted the number of stitches that were on the needle. I was suppose to have 28. I had 25. I left it alone for a while, got out of the sinus med fog, and recounted....still 25.

The sock on the needles to the right is the one that needs work on. I am going to try and figure out where I dropped those 3 stitches, frog, and re-knit. The other pictures are of the completed sock. I love how the colors fad into each other. The yarn is Jojoland Melody. It is a superwash wool that I bought from my LYS. It is just a basic stockinette sock.

YARN

Colinette Jitterbug
Colorway: Dusk, 77.

I love it!!!!

Misti Alpaca Chunky

Colorway: Puprle

I love it too!!
It was a Christmas gift.

Schafar Yarn Esperanza

Coloryway: ? Multicolored

This yarn is AWESOME!

It bought it with a gift certificate.

Sophie Purse I gave to my sister for Christmas. I lined it with a purple and yellow paisly print.

My dad, wear the sock I gave him for Christmas. He got the other one a few days later. :) I used Regina Tweed. They are blue with green, red, and orange specks. I guessed on how long to make the foot, and they fit perfectly. I was so excited. I really likes them too!

In-Between-Days

Christmas and New Year's are gone. School and classes will soon be here again. I have a few more days before the hustle and bustle of classes, reading, teaching, and studying start back again. I am working this week, but I don't really have to start using my brain for much yet :). I done have to go buy books sometime this week; have lunch with friends. I feel blessed though. I had a wonderful holiday break with family and friends. I got to travel a bit, and go snow skiing. It was so much fun, and completely exhausting (not just the skiing part, but the whole traveling around thing). I feel like a need a vacation to regain energy lost from my vacation. How goofy is that? All in all, it was worth it though.

I got all of my Christmas gift knitting done...even if they weren't all given to the recipiants completed. I did finish them all. Everyone like them, and the socks for my dad FIT! That was best of all, and it was my first completed pair of socks! I still haven't made the matching pair to the Slip Up Socks. I started another pair of socks for myself. I finished one last night, and I'm about to cast of for the next one. The first one went by pretty quickly, so this one should too. I am hoping that the yarn is going to be sturdy, and not wear out quickly. I do have to finish the Basketweave Scarf for my boyfriend..... I will be posting pictures of completed gifts and current WIP's soon.

A non-knitting topic: The 'non-knitting blog' to the right is my cousin's. He is currently living in Kenya as a missionary. Please pray for peace and safefy there.