Another Nest Tote

I started knitting this bag on the beach back in January. That's right... January is the perfect beach weather over here.

I put the bag down for weeks and weeks and finally got around to finishing it earlier this month. It comes in handy when I walk across the block to "Adbul Salam Vegetable and Fruit Shop".

Thanks to my sister for sending me over some cotton yarn.

More Practical Knitting

Again on a trip to the desert, I took up the knitting needles.

I love love loved knitting this pattern. But, I can't remember what it is! I do know that it's available for free on ravelry.

Practical Crafting

When packing up my crafting supplies, I tried to include crafts that would be useful to me over here in Abu Dhabi. I packed up two skeins of cotton yarn with the idea of making dishcloths in mind.

Finally during a quiet weekend in the desert, I quickly knit up this one. The pattern is Chinese Waves from Ravelry. I like it fine enough, but don't know that I'd knit it again.

Sorry for the hasty post and photos. I'm off on a plane this afternoon but didn't like the idea of a solitary post for November! I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Owl Mittens

Well I felt a little silly when I asked my sister if there were "supposed to be little creatures" on the mittens she knit me... because clearly, they feature these amazing little OWLS.

My sister tends to be a little tardy when it comes to gifting... These mittens came a month late but just in time for some very strange and chilly March weather. Hello rainbows, snow, and sunshine.

The way I see it, owls are the new cupcakes and I predict foxes will be the new owls. Any one else feel that?

Mismatch Socks

I have a wonderful friend I've known since first grade. It wasn't until living with her in college that I realized she often wore mismatched socks. And not really on purpose. It wasn't her trademark fashion statement, it was just Jenny. If you happened to say to her: "Hey, do you realize you're wearing one Halloween sock and one Christmas sock?" She'd either lazily explain that she couldn't find others or she'd respond with, "Oh... yeah... " and trail off doing something else.

A few months ago I was over at her apartment for dinner when her boyfriend took his shoes off and revealed his mismatched socks. I pretty much took this as a sign the two were made for each other.

The story just makes me really happy and I think about it sometimes and smile.

For her birthday, which happens to be Christmas, I knew exactly what to make her. A pair of mismatched socks, of course!

The Bearded Lady

You know those pretty little holiday cards my friend Sandra made me? Well, they were half of a much anticipated exchange we concocted. Forever ago, maybe last spring, Sandra asked if I would knit her the ultimate winter hat. She had something quite specific in mind.

I started scouring the web looking for patterns. With a hat like this, there's not much selection. On my third attempt I felt happy enough to finish the hat through.

I smooshed it in a box (with a few other goodies from Redbird Studio) and sent it on it's way to Germany.

I didn't know Sandra would look so good with a beard. (She's amazing at everything, I should have realized.)

Calorimetry Headband

Back in November I mentioned having made a friend a headband that was too small... so I just had to keep it for myself. I did end up making her another one. And here she is... my headband twin.

Blessings in Disguise

Sometimes you might not know it... but when that really drunk guy was knocking into you and falling on the floor and you sorta pushed him down a little harder because you were irritated that he spilled nearly his entire beer all over you and your friend while all you were trying to do was enjoy the music... it was actually a good thing.

Not only did the beer soak my socks and my shirt, but also my beloved pair of mittenettes. Mittenettes that had been worn nearly every day for a full year and were starting to show it. What better excuse to knit a new pair than not wanting to deal with the combination of beer and wool?

I thought so.

I knew exactly what pattern I wanted to knit. Last January when I knit a pair of Diamond Handwarmers for a friend, I was in love with the thumbs. You don't have to pick up stitches... it's like the thumb magically appears, or something. Clearly I wanted to repeat this experience.

It was actually a slower process the second time around. I just made a series of dumb mistakes. Like starting to knit two lefts. What?

I'm very happy with the results. The cuff is much longer than on my mittenettes so I don't have as much of a gap when I wear sweaters with 3/4 lengths. This tends to reduce the amount of goosebumps while sitting at my desk at work. I like that.

"It's okay to make mistakes!"

That was probably the most cherished mantra of my undergraduate studies. As well as something I'm getting more and more comfortable with as I grow. It's also probably a little overstated for this "mistake."

It's not really a mistake, but sorta-kinda a mistake.

My aim was to make the lovely Julia one of these in exchange for another new masthead. I went and bought the yarn. (Got a super deal which was bitter sweet considering the yarn shop was going out of business). Well, turns out I bought twice as much yarn as I needed. Then, I finished the knit... only to discover that my calculations were mistaken. The headband just barely fit around my head. I couldn't take the chance of sending it states away only to be too small for Julia's.

I just had to keep it for myself. So it ended up being a good thing I bought double the yarn. Now Julia and I can be headband twins.

Maybe that's all I really wanted in the first place?

Cowl-a-bunga!

I knit something for myself, actually. I think the last item I knit but didn't gift or exchange away was this very happy hat. And even though I have plenty of projects lined up for others, I decided to jump queue with something for me. But it's ok because it was crazy easy and fast.

I thought a bright green cowl would look nice with my navy coat. Something different. After a quick search for patterns, I picked this little one.

The yarn is Misti Alpaca Chunky in Chartreuse Melange.

You can't really see the yarn overs (the holes) very well in my finished product. Not sure what happened there.

The happy ending is that I sewed the cowl up and promptly took it out for crepes.

A Fetching Birthday

I knit these little mitts in early September when I had far too much time on my hands. But, it's always nice to have a birthday present taken care of a month and a half in advance.

The pattern is Fetching. If you haven't knit a pair of these up yet, totally do it. So easy. Super fast. And they look pretty. I made a small change in that I decided not to knit out the thumbs. If you bind off loosely, it's not a problem.

The mitts were to match last year's birthday gift, the Irish Hiking scarf.

Happy Birthday Taune!

Sunshine Sunflower Nest Tote

Nest totes are pretty fun to knit. Pretty fast, pretty easy. (But they look kinda involved and complicated). So when Julia requested a tote in exchange for the beautiful fall themed masthead she designed for me, I was more than happy to pull out the needles.

I actually knit this up in August during a Planet Earth marathon / blueberry feast and mailed it down to her in sunny California. I hope it's getting some good use down there!

Thanks again for the masthead.

First Socks

Forever ago, I shared with you posts about my first sock... the lovely cuff, the beautiful heel. Well I finally finished the pair. And by finally, I mean, about a month ago. My intent was to block them before I blogged them... but really, it didn't look like that was actually going to happen.

So here are my unblocked socks. My first pair ever. You might notice that I ran out of my original yarn. I decided to just continue in a new color since they are really practice socks afterall. I've been wearing them as house slippers anyways.

Nest Tote

The knit blogging is back.

I told a friend I'd make her something for her birthday. And then... I just couldn't think of what to make. With less than a week to the deadline, I finally figured it out. This environmentally friendly lady would appreciate a nest tote/produce bag! But of course obligations interfered and it was a late night of furious knitting to make it in time. I totally didn't. But only a week late... and considering she lives an hour + drive away, I think that's pretty good.

This was my first successful lace project. Probably the easiest pattern ever. I also figured out that whole i-cord thing, amazing really. Want to make your own? Go here.

Delivery of the tote came just in time to make a run to Pike Place Market.

It's also the first item to get a Pilliebee label!

Le Slouch Trois

Remember that trade I mentioned that resulted in my new lovely masthead? Well here's what Julia received in return.

When you knit the same pattern three times, you sorta start to get good at it! This hat flew off the needles. Once again, credit must go to Wendy at KnitandTonic for her wonderful pattern. Love it!

The Neck Warmer I Knit in December

Way back in January I mentioned a few surprise projects. I think all have been revealed except for this one... that I knit in December. The trouble was connecting with the friend the surprise was for. Last night, it finally happened. Too bad she will get minimal use out of it seeing as it's 3 months later and practically Spring. Oh well. Here it is.

And when you fold it up...

The pattern is from Dogged.

My First Sock (Heel)

My First Sock (Heel)

Originally uploaded by pilliebee

Last week at sock knitting class we tackled the heel. It was a bit of a crazy night... the instructor, Lisa, is fabulous. She was running around grouping and regrouping us to get everyone enough support. Plus, she stayed late with my group to get us to the proper stopping point so we'd be prepared for our homework.

Discoveries made during class:
1. The heel isn't really that bad.

Especially when you have an instructor to walk you through it and classmates' work to compare.

2. I've been twisting my purl stitches!

What? I was always concerned about my knit stitches, got that worked out awhile ago. Purling was so off my radar. It took a K1 S1, P pattern to finally bring it to light. I had some really neat spirals going down my heel. Apparently, knitting this way is the preferred technique in the Middle East. It's like the time I spontaneously started to pronounce French words in the Quebecqois style to the shock (and amusement) of my French teacher.

Tomorrow night we do the toe!

My First Sock (Cuff)

My First Sock (Cuff)

Originally uploaded by pilliebee

So last week was a horrendous week. Luckily, it also included two huge highlights. One, a children's literature conference (blogged here), and the other..."Knit Your Socks Off!"

The benefit for working at a community college is FREE classes. I can take any class I want, assuming there's an empty spot, for zero dollars. I was on the edge of my seat all last week waiting to see if the last spot in the newly offered sock knitting class would fill. It finally did... by me!

I was a little nervous having never had any "formal" lessons. Apparently I cast on strangely, (the instructor wants to watch me do it), but otherwise... I was ahead of the game. Of course, that wasn't a huge surprise considering most of the students had just learned to knit a few weeks before... but still. I was kinda proud that I got my ribbing going so quickly and was able to get quite a bit done during class.

This week... we turn the heel! Excited.

Oh Woe...Yoga Bag

I've been working on this yoga bag for a week or so. It was my first lace pattern and it wasn't hard. But it is driving me crazy. I dropped a stitch somewhere and my first four inches unraveled. So I started over. Then something kept happening whenever the pattern would start over... as in the lacework didn't match up. Grrr...

Currently seeking a new yoga bag pattern.

Le Slouch Deux

Le Slouch Deux

Originally uploaded by pilliebee

About a month ago a friend came for a visit. As I was showing off my newly knit hat, Le Slouch, to the videostore clerk (a friend I'd made a different hat for before, so not entirely weird), my friend took notice. I think there was a conversation that went something like:

"You made that? Make me one."

"Buy me yarn."

She picked out this really pretty color, don't remember the code. She tells me "jewel tones" are in style. The yarn is Cascade 220.

I'm not exactly sure what happened when I knit it...I started with the right number of stitches, then after the band and all the increases, I was a few stitches off, on the small side. I guessed it would be ok because my Slouch as stretched out A LOT. But... It didn't seem to have quite the right amount of slouchy-ness when she tried it on. I think she just needs to treat it like her favorite hat, and get it all nice and slouchy.