Feather & Fan

Just finished a feather & fan dishcloth; pattern here.

I really like this pattern and think it would be lovely in another type of yarn as a scarf.

And I have a little peek at a x-stitch WIP:

Hmmm…what could it be?

Easy Knitting

Size 50 needles are pretty awesome – you can knit things so quickly! They do take some getting used to:

I knitted this Vol-inspired “Half-Hour Skinny Suede Scarf” (in about an hour) for my mother-in-law. I think she really liked it. I used Peaches N’ Cream cotton in orange and white instead of the suede. I’d like to try the suede at a later date, but they only had a rust color, and I wanted something Vol for my mother-in-law, who is a Vol superfan.

I also knitted this dishcloth:

You can find the pattern here. It was a really easy knit, and a great way to use up my not-quite half skein of Lily Sugar N’ Cream twists. I knit only 10 pattern rows, 3 shy of the 13 that the pattern requires, but I still like my results.

WIPs

I’m procrastinating this:

This is for the Bear (it will be a pillow), and I thought I was done BUT when I showed it to him he told me that, while it looked great and all, he wants it filled in. So I’ve been procrastinating because I just don’t want to do the fill stitches! I finally started them yesterday – they’re a variant on long and short stitch, a la Follow the White Bunny‘s work.

I did finish this simple garter stitch scarf:

Super simple to do; just cast on 18 and work in knit stitch until you’re almost out of yarn, then bind off. I was a bit disappointed – I thought this would be longer. This yarn is Berroco Love It! Colors, which appears to be a discontinued yarn. I wish I had planned its use better than just doing this scarf – I might have been able to stretch my yarn with some yarnovers in there. Oh well, live and learn.

My big WIP:

I’ve read a lot of griping on the ‘nets about Lion Brand Homespun yarn. But you know what? I got this for under $3 per skein (clearance at Joann), and it knits up really soft. There is a learning curve with the yarn – easy to get your needle stuck – but after I got used to it, I really don’t mind working with it. I’m using this pattern and hope to have a nice shawl for myself when the weather turns cold.

So, what are you working on?

I Heart Knitting

I’ve finished super-secret birthday cross stitch project, and will post results next week.

While I wasn’t feverishly trying to finish the super-secret birthday project, I have been knitting. Finished this:

The pattern can be found here on ravelry. This was my second knitting project and I’m really pleased with the results. It’s very forgiving – I made a couple of errors in counting my yarnovers, but cannot find them in the finished result. I have yet to wash and block it, and that’s supposed to open up the pattern even more. I will post if this causes a dramatic change.

With some of the leftover yarn, I knitted a quick headband in a basketweave pattern:

Then moved on to this dragonfly dishcloth:

Another easy (and quick!) pattern to follow; if you know how to knit and purl, then you can do it too. This would be great as a gift set. I’m very happy with the results, though the next time I do this type of pattern (with an inset picture/motif) I will try using solid yarn. I used Sugar n’ Cream twists, and think a solid would have shown the pattern even more.

I better go embroider something soon.

Photo Recap

Yesterday, BHE and I celebrated 8 wonderful years of marriage.

Cupcakes were made in celebration, in addition to a wonderful meal of steak and roasted asparagus and red potatoes.

It’s OK to drool. I won’t tell anyone.

The vanilla cupcake is an OLD family recipe that, I’m sorry, I won’t share. The frosting is my mom’s chocolate frosting recipe.

My icing skills aren’t the best (see my buddy at Family Bites for that), but I think I do simplicity well. My tip for simple icing? Take a spoon, put a dollop in the middle of your cupcake, and carefully spread with the dull side of a butter knife. It’s not fancy, nor involved exceptional skill, but your cupcakes will look nice and neat.

In other news, my mom has a renewed vigor for sewing, and has taken up bag-making. Bow down to her sewing prowess:

The bag fits a ton – two cross stitch projects – one a decoy, the other I’m doing on the sly as a gift – and my knitting project:

I got this Drop Stitch Scarf pattern off ravelry, and I’m really enjoying it.

Blogroll Housekeeping

My blogroll listing has been outdated for some time. I just overhauled my blogroll, and you might note that it’s gone – totally removed from the sidebar. I’ve instead added a new page – craft & food resources – you can find the link up at the top. It’s a little more organized, and a little easier to navigate. There you’ll find resources for food, embroidery & cross stitch, knitting, sewing, and general crafts. Enjoy!

Finished and Almost-Finished Projects

Finished:

My first knitted piece! You can find the pattern for this simple washcloth here.

And almost-finished:

The Monkey loves snakes, so this will be turned into a pillow…however, first I have to stitch up a dolphin for the Bear, so they each have a pillow, even stevens.

I really like how he turned out. The pattern came from this coloring book.