(Tessah's) Dress

Well, the plan was to knit DS a pair of socks - but then I realized our little neighbor is having her first birthday soon! She is so precious, I had to knit something for her. So here I am working on "Emma's Sundress" for her. Has to be done by Sept 16. I've had considerable trouble with the pattern, and after many posts on MDC and a couple emails back and forth with the author, I finally figured out the lace repeat! YAY! It's coming along nicely, though I'm concerned it will be too light for fall/winter wear. I was considering gifting it with a pink turtleneck and pink leggings underneath, or lining it with girlie fabric. Will lining it look weird?

Somebody on MDC wanted to know what my "knitting bag" looked like. Well, bein a busy Mama and nursing student, my knitting bag looks like this:

*giggle*

And lately, DS has this thing for falling asleep in weird spots on the floor. Like yesterday, he tore apart a filing cabinet (that Mama sacrificed for the sake of a little time to herself *blush*) and then fell asleep on the ruins:

Later that day, he just wanted to sleep on the livingroom floor:

Petience Prevails!

My Pretty Petals are finally done! Knit on Size 1 needles with KnitPicks Sock Garden in Stargazer Lily. I LOVE them! They fit really well and feel GREAT.

I think now I'm going to start a pair for DS with some koolaid dyed yarn I got in a swap AND AND AND the new 5" Size 2 DPNs I got from Frugal Knitting Haus.

Not Givin' Up

I don't think I've ever gone this long with just one project OTN! But, as my first pair of socks, these have a special place in my knitterly heart, and I want to get them done right. I did cast-on again the same day I frogged the entirety of the first sock, this is the progress I've made thus far:

I just finished turning the heel and picking-up stitches along the heel flap - formerly my least favorite part of sock knitting, now a simple aspect which breezes by! I'm really proud to have stuck it out and committed to finishing these socks, despite all the setbacks (pulling the wrong needle out of the lace pattern, tearing back after DS got hold of my knitting, redoing toes, and *finally* re-knitting an entire sock!).

The Starburst Sweater can officially bite my big behind - too many negative reviews online, I'm not risking a huge project on a bad pattern. I am thinking to use the yarn for a moebius wrap a la knitty gritty. Still need the enormous needles though!

In the meantime, I got some Regia yarn in a green/brown colorway - HALF OFF BABY! Yea, LYS rocks. Some KnitPicks Classic Circs on the way to try out knitting two socks w/ two circs. Should be interesting...

FSS?

Today, I couldn't take it anymore. I've heard it's possible to cut into and tear back knitting from the cast-on edge, so I gave it a shot. As you can see in the photo, my first Pretty Petals sock only had four repeats in the pattern, making it at least an inch shorter than the second. I had already torn out the kitchener toe and toe decreases on this first sock and redone them so they looked perfect and beautiful.

But I couldn't take it! Why spend that much time on something and then not like it? So, I went with tearing the ribbing from the cast-on edge, planning to redo the ribbing as well as a single repeat of the pattern, and then kitchenering it to the formerly finished sock - maybe not a perfect join, but better than being a full inch shorter than the other sock.

Then this happened :



Ok, not so bad. Scary, but not bad.

Then, the stitches wouldn't rip out. Then I couldn't get a circ through a row properly...

Then this happened :



And finally, this:



I did however surprise myself with the resolution to finish these socks if it kills me. I have enough yarn (surprisingly, after all the tearing back and re-doing business).

Off to cast-on. Again. Is this a mutant, highly resistant form of SSS? Oh the humanity!

Pretty Uneven Petals

Woo! Check that hairy leg out! Yowsa! Well, thanks to working two overnights in a row, my Pretty Petals socks are finally done. Only one problem - I did four repeats of the lace pattern on the first sock, and five on the second. *smacks forehead* So, after all that work, I have two pretty but uneven socks. Oh well. I am really enjoying wearing them around the house anyhow. I also had to redo the toe decreases and kitchener on the first sock ... all in all, a good learning project. The next pair will be perfect, I'm sure. Of course, the next pair will be for my DS (probably this pattern.)

On deck : the Starburst Sweater.

And a pic of the shrug I'm not so impressed by...

Well, I suppose it turned out OK. It looks pretty good when it's not fastened up. I did a pretty silly job on the seaming, as I was just SO SICK OF LOOKIN AT IT by that point. Hehehe. It is VERY soft and VERY warm though, so I think I'll get a lot of use out of it this winter.

In other news, this is how DS and I spent our afternoon yesterday (note the soaker knit by yours truly ;)) :

MY FIRST SOCK!!

YIPEEEEEE!

I finished my very first sock. I'm so proud! Pretty Petals knit in KnitPicks Sock Garden on Size 1 needles. I luuuuuurve it. I am dancing foolishly around our apartment in one sock tralalala.

The toe decreases look strange to me, too square. On the next pair of socks I do I would like to attempt a more rounded toe. Anywho, here's another pic: