Needles and a Pen » Knitting, Sewing, and Nursing School

I’ve been knitting up a storm lately and thought I’d share my projects from the last few months!

Last night I finished up my “weihnacht socken”–the Christmas socks I knit mainly in Germany and Austria over our Christmas trip.  I had run out of the green yarn that I used at the contrast color but got that last week and was able to finish these off.  I just love Jessica of yarntini‘s self striping yarns.  They make for such a fun easy knit and she is WONDERFUL!!!  This strip was a dk, so I held the lime green standard fingering weight sock yarn double for the heel, toe, and cuff.

This honey cowl was my first finish when I revitalized my interest in knitting but I somehow managed to forget to post about it in my last knitting post!  I love it but I’ve shelved it until the weather warms–it sheds like CRAZY on my black wool coat.

A Millwater cowl in Madelinetosh vintage yarn in antique lace.  One thing I’m not crazy about with the Madelinetosh yarn is the smell it gives off when you get it wet to block it.  You can really smell those chemicals.  ::eeek::

Speaking of yarn, like a lot of knitters I’ve fallen head over heels on the very-difficult-to-get-your-hands-on Plucky Knitter yarn.  So many gorgeous colorways.

We visited Stash in Castle Rock because I told Ellie she could pick out yarn for a hat.  She told me she wanted white, which I was surprised by (she’s a pink fan) but totally excited by–a cute white beret would be adorable on her!  But then she saw this pink skein and it was all over.  She was on me like white on rice to get this finished.  She literally woke me up one morning and made a very pointed comment about how “I would like to be wear my hat when we go to Germany” (a trip that was just days away at the time).

If you knit, I absolutely love this toiletries bag I got at Target right before Christmas as a knitting organizer.  It’s perfect for the task!

Another honey cowl for me, more Madelinetosh yarn.  Pashmina in cathedral and weathered frame–I alternated rows (the cathedral on the k1s1 rows) to make the variegated yarn effect a little more subtle.  I’m really happy with how it came out–just finished it Saturday!

This project is in danger of becoming one of those what-was-i-thinking projects if we don’t have some sort of snow-pocolypse where I’m stuck inside for a week.  I’ve started it four times.  Following along with a lace pattern is not my strong suit.  It’s just a baby lace project, though–a cute headband, so I feel like I should press through!  I need to learn how to knit and read a pattern at the same time though instead of having to look from the paper to the yarn and then back.  Makes me lose my place every time.

I knit this on the plane to Germany and then finished it right before Christmas (or maybe on Christmas?).  I didn’t realize when I picked the pattern that it was reverse stockinette…made for a LOT of purling!  But I still love it.  This one is in plucky yarn, the sweater base and ‘good ole days’ colorway.  It got a lot of use in Europe!

It’s always nice to forget a hobby for a bit and then get back into it and remember why you loved it in the first play.  I’ve gone a little off the deep end with the knitting.  Not sure if it’s the weather, or the fact that I can do it while snuggling a sick child (which I did a lot of this week) or the fact that it has nothing to do with anything of the things I’m SUPPOSED to be doing, like getting caught up on my miserably-behind Project Life or sewing Christmas presents or embroidering Christmas advent ornaments or you know, laundry/cleaning/cooking or something even worse like accounting or work website updating.  It’s probably a lot of that.  But regardless, I completed another project this week: the star crossed beret and I *LOVE* it.  The yarn and pattern were such a perfect match and I am going to wear the crap out of this thing this winter!  It was a totally fabulous first cable project.  I really enjoyed the cables (and I love the look of them) so I think I’ll try a millwater cowl next!

I’m trying to go back and resurrect some UFOS, too, like this shawl from over a year ago.  I had slowed down and eventually abandoned it because (a) I didn’t like how dark the gray was looking against the stripes and (b) the lace wasn’t looking right at all.  I learned a few days ago that it’s because I was doing yarnovers backward.  So…while exiled upstairs with Ellie last night during the Cub Scout meeting (trying to keep people away from her germs) I ripped out the grey and have it all set up to try again with white and correctly oriented yarnovers.  I just need a LOT more stitch counters and then I’m off to the races!

I am loving having a little wiggle room in my schedule now that wedding season is over.  I have a couple of portrait shoots every week but yesterday for the first time in months I had zero client work to do and that feeling was amazing.  I’ll be back to having client work this afternoon after my session, but to know that for a few days each week I won’t anything on the edit list is the lightest feeling in the world!

At the end of last winter I started knitting the Burton Bear Cowl for Ellie.  It was a fun knit and I had it almost finished…when I looked ahead and saw that I’d need to crochet the ears.  Ugh.  I hate crochet.  I never feel like I’m actually doing it correctly.  So I procrastinated on the project until I picked it up a couple of weeks ago determined to finish it for her to enjoy this winter.  Finish it I did and the very next morning we had our first real snow of the season!

With the leftover yarn I managed these boot cuffs which I love so much I’m having second thoughts about their intended purpose as a Christmas gift!