batty

I made this "batty" dishcloth yesterday.I used Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn in hot purple, size 6 needles and this pattern. I figured Halloween is coming up pretty soon so this is kind of appropriate.

bead soup

I made this bracelet. It's actually a knitted bracelet.It was a kit from EarthFaire. It's their "bead soup" bracelet in "the sun, the moon, and the stars" version. It was hard to get a good photo of it (you can click on it and I think it opens a new window with it larger size and it looks a little clearer). It's knitted on size 0 needles with all sizes of beads. There is a nice review of these kits here. I saw a few that other people had made on craftster and on several knitting blogs so I thought I'd give it a try too. I really like how it turned out. It took two evenings to make. The kit includes enough beads to probably make three bracelets.

first scarf

I've started my first scarf. I've been knitting for I'd guess about 10 or so years now (off and on) and I've never made a scarf. I was very excited to buy the Scarf Style book after seeing several finished Backyard Leaves scarfs around on the internet. I basically bought the book for that pattern. It's by Annie Modesitt. I really like some of her other patterns that have been published in Interweave Knits and she has a few free patterns on her blog. There are several other scarfs in the book that I'd like to make eventually. There were a couple of scarfs in the book that I didn't really like, one of which was the Misty Garden scarf. I'm not a big fan of fuzzy yarns. But then I saw a finished one posted by someone somewhere (I can't find it now) knitted in a different yarn from the one in the book and it looked totally different. So, of course I've started the one that I didn't like at first, the Misty Garden scarf, and I've put off making the Backyard Leaves scarf. I started on I think 10/19 and I'm using Artyarns supermerino in colorway 115 reds with size 7 needles. (The Backyard Leaves scarf pattern is also included in the Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts special issue.)

bohemian purse finished

I finished my bohemian pouch. The pattern is by Pam Allen from Interweave Knits winter 00/01. I used five different colors of lion brand Wool-Ease yarn and size 6 needles. This is the first time I used fair isle technique with stranding multiple colors thru an entire project. Once I got the hang of how to hold two strands of yarn at once it went along pretty quickly. It reminded me of doing counted cross stitch. I like the colors, but I knitted one side of the purse stranding more tightly than the other side. Then of course, as a result the two sides were different sizes for when they were folded together (along the bottom edge) and stitched up at the sides. I had to really stretch the one side when I blocked it to get it to match.
The lining was another challenge. I made the lining too big the first time and then had to cut it down smaller and re-sew it. I added a zipper to the top edge too. The knitting and the colors look real nice. The sides of the purse are not real straight though and have a definite home made look (putting it nicely), but I still am pleased over all. I hope the imperfections I see are not too noticeable from a distance. I'm not real anxious to do another project that requires lining. Using the sewing machine is quite a challenge for me.
The cord handle was intimidating and I almost didn't do it because I thought it would take forever and be too tedious but it didn't and wasn't. It involved casting on 420 stitches then doing a cast off row of knitting and passing stitches forwards and backwards. I was almost going to just braid some yarn, or do an i-cord instead but I'm glad I didn't. The top edge uses a two color bind off that I had never done before. It's nice how the top edge matches the style of the cord handle.

beading

I took the afternoon off from knitting and made these two bracelets

progress...

I've been working on finishing up some of my WIP's recently. I decided I'm not going to start anything new until I finish up some of these current projects (finish up some but not necessarily all, but just maybe most). The urge to start something new has been almost unbearable lately. I'm so anxious to start on the Swallowtail Shawl from the fall Interweave Knits magazine and the Backyard Leaves scarf from Scarf Style. I've been shopping for yarn for the swallowtail shawl and I am considering using Gloss from Knit Picks but am not sure if I really love any of the available colors. So the shopping continues. I also want to make either gloves or mittens out of my leftover clapotis yarn. I don't think I have enough left over for two complete mittens of gloves so I plan on knitting the cuffs in navy blue. In the meantime here is what I'm working on currently:

The Isabeau purse (free pattern from Chez Plum) just needs a button strap, button and a lining. I'm thinking of using some type of red fabric for the lining. I want something that somewhat contrasts in color so the lace will stand out but I don't want it to clash of course and I don't want to use white. I have a feeling sewing the lining will take quite a bit of effort and time unfortunately as I'm not very good or experienced at that type of thing.

The Evonne shrug needs sleeves. There is some major edge curl problems even after blocking and so I'm going to have to do some modification. At this point I plan on adding a hem along the back bottom, and then maybe a crochet edging.

My Bohemian pouch (from the winter 00/01 Interweave Knits) needs to be assembled. I finished knitting the handle strap a couple nights ago. I had debated about even doing the strap as the pattern specified because it seemed so difficult and I thought it would take me a year to do it. I considered substituting an icord or just braided yarn. In the end I did it as specified and it took about one full evening instead of a year. The strap turned out much better than a braid or icord and it matches the top edge style of the pouch so I'm glad I did it. Now I need to stitch it together and add a lining. Again, the lining intimidates me.