Lillian Tank and wips wips wips

So last night I finally FINALLY decided to finish that Lillian Tank. Woooo.







Don't mind the dirty mirror and needing to shower photos - I was gonna wear it tonight when I was all dressed up but no lol.

Pattern: http://deliciousstitches.blogspot.com/2007/05/lillian-tank-top.html Lillian Tank by Delicious Stitches
Yarn: Three skeins of Lion Brand Cotton Ease - with some leftovers (headband, anyone?) - Cost me about $15 CDN
Needles: 24" US 6 Pony Circulars - The pattern calls for 16" but A) I didn't want to buy new needles and B) I don't think I could have comfortably fit all my stitches on there. lol

The Good:
- easy to follow pattern
- affordable yarn
- great worn on its own or with something underneath
- fast knit

The to-change-for-next-time:
- I think I might make it a tad bit shorter so that I can wear it on my jeans with pockets without having it stretch around it
- Might do the middle ribbing in a slightly smaller needle
- Experiment with other lace patterns - though I do love this one

Interesting notes:
- before I blocked this it had the most interesting ridge pattern. Not something that I'd wear because it looked like I had potatos in my shirt but still really cool look. I didn't even block this properly. Enh
- It's just a teeensy bit too big around the waist area in the back for me. Whatevs!

Favourite knit so far, I think!

P.S. I knit this about a month ago and didn't get the ribbing done in time for my trip to Florida so I put it away for a month cause I lost the motivation to finish it until last night.

And progress on my first pair of socks - photo taken Tuesday.

Lack of updates

I haven't updated here in a good while mainly because I haven't had time to be the craftster that I want to be. lol Seriously.

My Lillian Tank is sitting on my desk, the armholes still awaiting the final ribbing. My mom keeps asking me why I don't finish it already so that I can wear it but I haven't had the urge to finish it just yet. I think I aught to go shower, water the plants and then maybe do that.

The day I left for Florida I also started my first sock in this awesome wool. I luuurve it. I have to admit, turning the heel was not as hard as I thought it was going to be and was quite enjoyable. I'm still on sock #1, though.

I also at some point in time ripped apart my sari silk scarf. Why, you ask? CAUSE I AM RIDICULOUS. Anyhow, what's done is done and I'm currently re-knitting a scarf that I once had. It is slightly different as I'm knitting it on bigger needles in hopes that it will be longer than my last scarf.

I've been itching to make this bolero for quite some time now. I think I want to do one in black, see how it comes out and then try it out in a different colour with a different lace pattern. Someone on Craftster used the same pattern but used a different lace pattern and I love how it came out. I think I want to make one in white or yellow or blue. Yes I did just list lots of colours. And woooo! Lion Brand Cotton Ease will make it an affordable project. I should go pick up some with the coupons I have for Michael's before it expires.

Everytime I use my sewing machine I'm inclined to learn more and do more with it but no time! I started a knitting needle case for all those circular needles Spiderman bought me but I haven't finished it. I'm starting to think I should have used a pattern of sorts cause it's kinda messy but ah, what can you do. I still am going to make another case for my straight needles & double pointed needles with some fabric I bought last month. I think I'm going to use the leftover fabric to make a purse because I seem to have bought a lot of it.

I've spent the last hour gazing at all things Amy Butler. GAH. More things adding onto my to make/do/knit list. Oh yeah, and it doesn't help that every family member seems to want me to knit them something for Christmas/birthdays/just because. Eeeee! I've got to work on this time business. And updating business. I have plenty of photos but I think I'm going to hold off on the Lillian photos till it's absolutely done and I'll post an earlier progress shot of the socks later.

On another note I really want to go to the Stitch n Pitch.

Mistake or a touch of humanity?

So I've been knitting away on the Lillian Tank since late Friday night. Actually, I didn't really work on it much today but anyhow. Today I thought to myself, "Wow, you've made it so far in the Lillian Tank without a single glitch. I mean, sure, at first your stitches were twisted and you had to re-start but that wasn't so bad. Now you're many inches in and it's lookin' good."

But I spoke too soon. No sooner than after I thought this, I realized I made a mistake. Two rounds below where I was I must have made a mistake with my yarn over. As in I never actually made a yarn over. Making one of my lace repeats hole-less. Holiness. Enh.

I showed it to my mom comparing this one tiny bit with the rest of the lace patterns and she assured me that it wasn't noticeable but I didn't continue knitting either.

I've been staring at it since wondering if I should stop being so lazy and go back two rounds (280 stitches my friends! lol) or if I should think to myself, "Ah, it's on my back, no one will notice or care."

I'm starting to think I'll go backwards but maybe tomorrow when I'm hopefully more awake.

Oh and I would post rather amusing photos I took but my laptop is being a pain.

Mmm one too many projects

So after Rogers today I quickly went to Michael's to find yarn for the Lillian Tank that I could afford after my not-so-good trip to Romni Wools last week. They didn't have TLC Cotton Plus but they had the just-as-good Lion Brand Cotton Ease in a few colours. It was also on sale! Eee. So I bought 3 skeins for a total of $15 but I'll only use up 1/2 of the 3rd skein meaning that the top will cost under $15 when done. Which is about how much I pay in store. Reasonable? I think so. I stood for awhile staring at the colours putting it against my skin trying to see which one went best. I didn't want white or black and I didn't want pink. That left me with a lovely buttery yellow, a terracotta that was extremely bold, a soft shade of blue, a bright lime and a really dark purple-y colour. I ended up choosing the "misty water blue".

Now you see, I still have to finish Vanessa's legwarmers. In fact, because I keep getting side-tracked by random things, I'm still on legwarmer #1. How is this possible? lol I'm going to dye and hopefully knit Vidya's camera case today and mail that out to her and then I'm giving myself until... hmm... Saturday to finish Vanessa's legwarmers. Which then gives me three and a half weeks to knit the Lillian Tank. (I want it done in time for Florida.) Hoy. If I manage to knit that quickly then I shall start my sock-ness.

Oh crap, it just occurred to me that I have that magazine article to start that's due Friday. Hum.

It also just occured to me that this Cotton Ease is a worsted weight. And I was looking for white worsted weight cotton to do this shrug in so I can wear all my silly tanks. But all I found was acrylic or wool. Me so silly. Oh well, I suppose if I manage to fly through the Lillian Tank I can get to that...

Scrappity Scrap Scrap

So for some reason after all the cleaning I did today I felt more in a scrapbooking mood than a knitting mood. I quickly did a page for last year's semi formal and the SAC BBQ but they're quite simple. I figured I can always add more embellishments later but for now I'm just wanting to get this thing done/up to speed. I just put a whole bunch of photos (151 to be precise) taken over the past year of friends (and there are still more I need to get off of people) into a folder to be printed to be scrapbooked. Aiyaaaa. And I've still got to finish high school stuff! Eeee... Simple it is!

Add-on: I finished two prom pages after this. Fly fly flyyy.

Harry Potter

I knit a giant bookmark glasses case. Well I still have to seam it up so it looks like one. And add my initials. Thank-you Yvonne for helping me come to that decision. Goodness knows how many ideas we went through.

Note: It is curled because it's in stockinette stitch.Originally (and I think I still am) I was going to sew up the sides so that it was a double-sided but it's going to be thick. (shrugs)

Poxy

So while on the chicken pox I have this crazy desire to knit and yet I haven't really been knitting much on Vanessa's legwarmers despite them being an easy knit. I really want to start those socks with the yarn I bought but I don't have needles for them yet.

Here's what I have been up to...

I wanted to use up some eugh blue acrylic so I double stranded it on huge needles and made a garter stitch scarf. I kind of want to embroider a design on it now.

Progress shot on Vanessa's legwarmers.


The front of my phone cozy. Aran braid cable from Vogue Knitting.


The back of my phone cozy. Beaded rib from Vogue Knitting. As you can see, I need to add a button.

Add-on: Since this post, my mom has claimed this case for her phone because it fits it. Actually I think it fits it even better than it fits mine. Wtf m8. lol looks like I've got to make another one. Different, obviously. Probably the same yarn since I really want to use it up and I currently don't have access to a yarn shop. I've also started knitting a Gryffindor bookmark since then but I think it shall be far too thick to go between the pages of a book comfortably. Oh well, it'll be for show I guess. Or a nifty pin. Or when I get a bulletin board I can stick it up and be all proud. We shall see.
Add-on2: Since I wrote that last note, I've realized that this bookmark is huge. I mean, I've only done two repeats of the golden yellow stripes and it's already about as big as the book. Oops. Should have stuck to those smaller needles. For some reason I'm far too lazy to go back. I'll just have one giant-sized bookmark. And one miniature-sized scarf. (shrugs)

WIP: Legwarmers

So back when I started Van's legwarmers I kept getting frustrated because apparently "yo" or "yarn over" means two different things in the British and American systems. Needless to say it wasn't working too well. Last night I re-started it and I finally got through the (simple) lace part but I've to say, it looks rather wonky. Hahah. Like seriously.

A part of me hopes that the second pair comes out perfect but I think it'll look funny if one side is kinda wavy and one is all straight and even. I guess I'll have to figure out a way to block them when it's done so that it looks relatively similar. It definitely will need the ribbon to make it look better. I also decided that I really should have "splurged" and bought the merino wool rather than the wool blend I'm using right now because the merino would have been all smooth and shiny and pretty and neat but this blend is your typical fuzzyish wool. Sigh. I think it's good for late autumn/winter, though.

Me and my lack of job. I really would have bought the beautiful yarn had I been able to afford it that day lol. If I see some affordable merino that can work well when I go to Romni next week I might have to consider picking it up.

I'm rather excited for the Romni/Knit Cafe expedition with Carmen, Josephine and hopefully Robyn. Mmm yarn.


Add-on: Maybe when I'm done Van and I can decide whether or not we should attempt to shave it.


Oh and here I was just randomly wonder what double stranding looks like (knitting with two strands of yarn together) but

WIP: Legwarmers

So I bought yarn today for VanSiu's legwarmers at Mary's Yarns. What a lovely shop. There was so much yarn and the people were superbly friendly. :)

I must get to my real point for blogging ... I'm terribly frustrated with myself* because I'm supposed to do a basic lace pattern on the DPNs however, it's not working for me. How am I supposed to slip the stitch over the k2tog part if I'm using all four needles. Do I use another one? Is that how this works? Maybe I'll try that next. Anyhow, I've ripped out what I just started and will try this again. (Note: I want these done by Saturday. Yeup, I did just say Saturday.) I get the feeling that the first of the pair will be kinda wonky but the second one will be okay. VanSiu will just have to make do with my shoddy first-attempts. (I mean really, I've only ever done plain stockinette on DPNs and that didn't even look brilliant!)

In other news, I bought myself some sock yarn. I plan on following this brilliant tutorial online for knitting socks. I can't wait :) ... just need to get these legwarmers done. And started. lol And someone please tell me why sock yarn is so expensive.

*note: I only have made one attempt so far so who knows what I will be like if I fail at this after 3 gos. I think I'm just tired.


Add-on: So After I had done tone round of the lace pattern and then a round of plain knitting I figured wheeeee, I've got it! But now I'm extremely confused. I started off with 17/16/17 for stitches on each needle and then now it's 18/16/18. And when I work out the lace pattern in my head, it seems to be increasing. But it's not increasing enough or properly because at the end of the lace round I end up with extra stitches. And wtheck, I don't think it should be increasing either. Goodness, this is just simple sl/k2tog/psso/yo and yet I'm completely baffled.

Add-on again: I have now ripped this thing out 4 times. Three of those times had to do with the stitch numbers fudging on me and this last time because my hand slipped pulling out more stitches than i could catch. I think I need to stop. I need sleep.

WIP: Petunia Tote - final update before it's done... I think

Yeah. It has been a slow process. Only because I always put it down. Anyhow, all that's left to do is knit the handles. Here it's what it's like after being steam-ironed. The old-lady fabric in the background is actually what I'm using to line it. (shrugs)

Add-on: So today is May 21st. I'm working on the handles. There's a problem, however. I suppose since it was my first time using DPNs I have been pulling my stitches ridiculously tight to avoid that awful rung/ladder of stitches that people always get when using them. So I've pretty much managed to avoid that but my gauge is all off. The stitches are much tinier on the handles than they are on the bag... and I'm running out of yarn. I'm hoping that by the time I get to the end of the skein I will have large enough handles for such a ginormous bag because I really don't want to have to buy another one. It's good in one sense because it's now rather stiff and once I stitch in the denim in the handle it won't stretch out but still. Also, this bag is ridiculously huge. Why did I make such a big bag? Why didn't I stop at 1.5 repeats like a smart person? And why did I actually use cotton to make this bag? Sure, it was the recommended yarn for a "summer knit" but even with all my lining it will no doubt stretch out.

RARGH. I just needed to rant.

Wings Lace Bookmark and other notes

So, did I tell you how bored I got of knitting that Petunia Tote? Really bored. Maybe it wasn't challenging enough or I just need more diversity in my life than just simple knits and purls. Go figure.

Here is what it was like as of yesterday:

All flattened out.

Awkwardly stuffed with (clean) pajamas. The highlighter is for size comparison.

Awkwardly stuffed and all alone.

To remember why I enjoyed knitting so much I started knitting off of every bit of yarn I had lying around. I tried lacework with this red yarn - it looked terrible. I had to frog that. I starting knitting with a pair of chopsticks my dad brought from the plane ride from China. Then I started trying out this diamond pattern - that really is just knits and purls but it's cute. I guess it will make itself into a pencil case of some sort. Except I'm not sure I'll have enough yarn and the whole point was to get rid of that ugh blue yarn. Maybe I'll make the back a different colour? Hmm. We shall see.

It's kinda hard to make out with this lighting but enh.

Then today I decided to knit myself a bookmark with the yarn I bought for Rachel's camera cozy. It's really meant to be used for crocheting - considering the name "Heavenly Crochet" - but who cares. It had such nice shades of blue. I'm thinking that the pattern might have been better suited for one colour rather than self-striping yarn but ah well, I still like it. I managed to yo and ssk without messing up like I always do. I still need to block it out a bit but I won't right now because I'm too lazy to find pins. Maybe I'll add a tassel - so it looks more like a bookmark and less like a knitted rectangle... we shall see. And who knows, maybe I'll get back to that bag. Sooner or later...

Yeah. This yarn was by far the most exciting to unravel. On the outside it was cool with all the angle-y business and continues to be. But as I unraveled, I grew mesmerized by the swirly goodness. It's like a blue campino, really.



Blue goodness. :)


Close-up. Yeah, it really needs to be blocked to look more like wings. lol


Zoom-out.

WIP: Petunia Tote

Over the past week and a half (?) I've been knitting about a row a day. Which is nothing but that's all I've really had time for - sad, isn't it? Yesterday I went a bit crazy and knitted quite a bit. I basically have to do double what you see in these pictures + the straps + lining and it'll be done. I want to be done the knitting portion by the end of this week. For sureeeee. I can't wait to iron it out so that it's smooth and you can actually see the flowers properly - not as a mess like it appears right now. Also, it seems pretty bunched up because I'm using shorter needles than the pattern called for - but when it's done it'll be okay. And it's stuffed here with a dress of mine for better viewing - lol.

WIP: Petunia Tote

I am an idiot. Really.

Making this bag is ridiculously simple. Y'know what I did? I somehow managed to ignore the left-hand side of the pattern chart for three rows. Meaning I have to go back 552 stitches and do it all over again - this time including the second flower pattern.

How the heck did I miss that?!?!?!?!

Grrrr.

Add-on @ 8:22 p.m. on March 26: Okay, so that wasn't a big deal at all but I was in the mood to rant. lol

WIP: Petunia Tote

Warm Weather Knits

I bought my supplies for the Petunia Tote today. I'm using Cantata Cotton Crepe DK in colour 3853 lot 219610 (for my own reference.) I bought a pair of 60cm 4mm Pony circs - shorter than what they called for - because the "right" size wasn't there.

Mai and I trekked to Romni Wools and I tell you, I have found my new favourite store. It is ABSOULTELY AMAZING. There is so much yarn! AND books! AND classes! AND a basement that I did not check out. It was simply lovely. They were incredibly helpful and friendly and I really can't wait to go back again, finished project over my shoulder, ready to get some more yarn. Man. It's THAT that makes me want to get a job. So I can afford yarn. Forget everything else!

Afterwards I checked out The Knit Cafe which is small but nice. I don't think it'd be good for our RyeKnits meetings (yeah... it's going to happen...) because it's too small but it'd be nice for four of us or something. It's also really randomly located. Like seriously. In the middle of nowhere.

Either way, Queen St. West is my new favourite place. We passed a gazillion and one fabric shops, button shops, paper shops, art galleries, art supply shops, unique fashion stores, used furniture, new furniture... EVERYTHING. Honestly. It killed me how tired we were coming back ... I couldn't even go to some of the places. Next time, I guess.

It looks peachy here but the colour on here isn't so accurate.

WIP: Irish Hiking Armwarmers

The luck of the Irish

I'm trying out cables and it's much easier than I thought it would have been. When I first tried out cables I was making it up as I went along and not following pattern and so I clearly had problems. I'm making myself a pair of Irish Hiking Armwarmers (and yes, I'm going to make a scarf to match.) I'm making the pair much longer than the way the pattern says to make it - I want mine up to pretty much where my elbows start.

Haven't done much but this is what it's like right now. The colour is not accurate here.

WIP: Basketweave Pencil Case (Update #2)

So after watching House and Gilmore Girls last night I pretty much finished the knitting portion of the pencil case. I have yet to bind off because I'm not sure if I want it this length or not. I forgot to make button holes along the way and don't particularly understand nor want to put them in now. I'm going to line it and hopefully add a zip but that means I have to get one first of all. Once I get a zip I'll bind off.

For not that much work, I like the way the Basketweave looks. It actually looks pretty cool on the back too.

WIP: Basketweave Pencil Case (update)

So I've done several repeats of the basketweave pattern from the book but I'm getting a stockinette border along one edge that is not in the image of the pattern in the book. I've double and triple checked to make sure that I'm following the pattern correctly and I am but despite the border not being in the image in the book, it's most definitely in my knitting.

I know I can still work with it but still. =S Is this supposed to happen? Hmm...

WIP: Basketweave Pencil Case

They call me mellow yellow...

I have leftover yarn from my Gryffindor scarf that I want to experiment with. I tried cabling but the results were so terrible-looking I ripped it all out. Instead, I've opted to try the Basketweave Rib from Knitting Over the Edge.

So far, so good.