February is for Finishing (NaKniSewMo)

my february fo's

2008-03-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

February is for bunny slippers

My first goal for this year's February is for Finishing was these long-suffering bunny slippers from the Happy Hooker. One has been made for a year and a half, just waiting for a mate. So here it is. It's made out of Naturally Yarns "Sensation" which is an angora/merino blend and plenty fuzzy without the mohair strand. I added extra rounds to the ankle piece and changed all single crochets to half-double crochets to get some very needed height. These slippers will not stay on my feet as originally written. The other weird thing was that the second slipper came out too big, so I had to rip back the upper and sole until it fit my foot.

I know the eyes are crooked. I don't care.

eternity cardi

I started this cardigan in March 2006, driven by a desire to take the edge off Sockapaloooza and a low price for Lana Gatto Ontario that promised a full cardigan for $30. It took maybe three months to knit the pieces - I seem to remember knitting and marking essays, and I definitely remember doing one of the fronts during a Meet the Teacher Night. Then, once it was done and summer arrived, it lingered. I put all the pieces in a bag for safe keeping. I got a new job. I bought a house. I moved. I sewed one whole seam right before a crazy-hot Thanksgiving that had me putting away the wool for awhile. And now, goaded by NaKniSewMo and my desire to CO for a Noro vest, I finally finished this simple little cardi.

Now that it's done, the collar kind of looks like a tumorous mass. I can't tell if it's my sewing or the fabric to blame. Also, I didn't put on the ribbon closures because it seemed dumb. for now, I'm using a 1" Bridesmaidmania 3 pin to close it, but will come up with something more dignified shortly. My knitsibs can't believe that I've never finished a sweater before. I'm just glad that I finished this one.

blurry but more-or-less accurate

pay no attention to the muffintop

123: loopy hemp pillow

When I asked Sister Silver what she would like me to knit her, she quickly decided on a loopy pillow. As it was beastly hot in the valley, I found a beautiful hemp (All Hemp 6) in the exact colour of her couch throw. What I didn't realize was that hemp is rough as hell on the hands, especially if you're fiddling with it to make loops. The knitting dragged. My hands chapped. I started to watch episodes of Lost while knitting it, thinking that an hour a week was enough. And then, once I got a square, I figured out that I didn't get gauge and my square didn't match the pillow form. Grr.

I ended up picking out the cast-off, knitting more rows, then binding off and picking up stitches along the side, log-cabin style to make this panel fit the pillow form. Exhausting. I threw it in the washer/dryer to soften it up, which it did, beautifully. It’s backed with fabric from Ikea because i couldn’t face the idea of buying a third skein. True to form, handstitching the back to the front took more than 6 months as it went hibernating for a long time.

Now that it’s done I have the damndest case of Stockholm Syndrome: it looks so good with my colour scheme that I may need to make another. But not of hemp, goddammit.

a front and side view of my new master

At the Wire

2008-02-29T14:18:00.000-08:00

Lucky it is a Leap Year. I needed the extra day to finish up, but the mittens are done and warming the hands of my friend.

These are knit from Knit Picks Elegance, alpaca and silk. The color is lilac, and it took just a bit over two skeins I used 3 mm DPNs. The pattern is from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns, and I modified the thumb to make it less tight (by using the instructions for the next size up).

This may not seem like much, but it clears my slate a bit to return to some bigger sweater WIPs. So March will also be for some additional finishing.

Finishing Up

2008-02-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Unlike last year, I didn't have too many UFOs left, although there are several WIPs that need attention. My major objective was to fulfill a promise for a Christmas gift. I ran out of time, and just left the recipient with a promise. My intent was to make a pair of Norwegian gloves from Heilo in my stash, but I was not getting gauge. As the time passed, I thought I might substitute a pair of socks, but my stash yarn wasn't looking good after swatching. I still wasn't getting gauge. Ordinarily, this doesn't bother me too much, but I didn't have time to fiddle with the pattern to make it work.

So, instead, I embarked on a simpler pair of mittens, made from Knit Picks Elegance.

I completed the thumb gusset on one last night, and I'm sure to have these done by Friday.

For more details, check my blog: primetimeknitter.typepad.com

2008? 2008!

2008-01-20T06:24:00.000-08:00

It's almost February, my finishing-challenged friends! I say we rev it up. Hell, I still have UFO's from the last time.

We even have a Ravelry group now. Shiny!

If you were a part of this crazy train last year, just start posting if you're taking part. If you want to join, send me an email (check the sidebar).

Crafters, start your sewing!

the finish of the finish

2007-03-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

This has been fantastic, guys! I'm going to figure out some kind of symbol to mark those of us who finished all our projects this month (not me, I'm afraid!) So let me know if you're earning your big 'F' for finishing!

I'm pretty sure that I'll need this again next year, so don't worry too much if you slip into old habits...I'll be there right along with you, avoiding sewing.

four for seven is better than half bad right?

2007-03-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

Or is it five? I set out to work on Lady E, not finish her, so I suppose she's one for the record books too. I finished the collar on the not-so-cowl of doom last night, a nice roll neck that I'm really happy with. I'm wearing it right now but haven't had decent light or anyone to take a pic yet so I should be back to post that tomorrow sometime. It's nothing like the pattern picture led me to believe it would be (seriously, who photographs a sweater with the model's arms crossed over her chest?) but I love it anyway, the fit is really flattering. Many thanks to the ladies at SnB for assuring me that it would be fine when I was sure it would be better off in a pile of crinkly yarn on the shop floor.

The FA mitts, mom socks and Rutelilje were my other FO's for the KAL with the seamless hybrid, dad's socks and Lady E still on the needles. I am proud though that I didn't work on anything but the items on my list for the whole month, not even an errant swatch!

This has been great!

2007-03-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful way to motivate us to get to those UFOs! I now realize that all I have to do is apply a little time and Voila! magically those projects seem to finish themselves. Thanks for hosting such a productive KAL.

A sad finish to the month!

2007-03-01T01:16:00.000-08:00

Back at the beginning, I said I was going to finish three items in February: a wrap (with 2200+ ends to sew in), a teddy and a cardigan. The wrap and the teddy are finished. The cardigan is a very sad story.

Western Sydney has had heavy thunderstorms every day for the past week. That means the natural light is not very good. The cardigan in question is a dark colour (navy blue) so I have procrastinated.

On Tuesday, two days before the end of National Knitting Sew-up Month, I pulled the cardigan out of storage. I was determined I was going to finish that cardigan whatever the weather. I carefully pulled out each piece, the back, the right front, the left front, one sleeve - all looking good. I pulled out the second sleeve and there it was - a hole so large I could pass a ping pong ball through it! :-( Some nasty, wool-loving insects had a feast on my sleeve despite my precautions.

So I have struck out - the month is over and I have not finished! (sigh) However, at midnight on 28 February, I was only 40 rows (1760 stitches plus bind-off) short of completing a wrap (70in x 40in) - those nasty little insects don't eat acrylic! (one thing in its favour!)

Thanks, Aleta, for putting this KAL together. Maybe we can do it again next year - or maybe we've all developed new habits of finishing for 30 minutes before knitting! :-) Fellow-finishers, I bid you adieu, drop by and visit my blog sometime!

PS If you drop by now you can read the expanded version of this story - The Cardigan That Never Was (Part I)

One down

2007-02-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

I didn't finish ALL my UFOs but I did finish one. These alpaca armwarmers will be sent off to their recipient to be enjoyed in whatever is left of winter. Although they look small on me, they will fit her better as she is a tiny wisp of a woman.

I am close to finishing one of my own armwarmers as well and did succeed in not casting anything on during Feb. Other projects, like unfinished Branching Out, stayed in my knitting bag all month.

Thanks for this project! It really kept my knitting time focused on projects I needed to finish. Now if only I can keep that focus AND make more time for knitting in March!

Updated: One? I totally finished more that one! I forgot about all the ends I wove in (3 scarves worth) and blocking of one of those scarves. All the things I finished were for other people and all the ones that remain to be finished are for myself so I am happy about that as well. I am actually gifting one of those scarves tonight so it is REALLY finished!

i'm 5 for 8!

2007-02-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

I bet my friend Preacher never knew he wanted an Sn'B Nation Rockstar Doll, Palaver style! This doll is largely improvised, but I love a challenge. I'm now past the deadline for Preachtoberfest, but I was determined to do this one right, no matter how many times I had to knit the head. The embroidery was damned finicky as well. Fun.

my apologies for this garbage picture

This guy is coming with us to his new home NY this March Break. Good thing I managed to finish him in the last gasp of NaKniSewMo!

and one makes three...

2007-02-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

Rutelilje is done and she’s so gorgeous I could cry. This tiny little sweater is the triumph of my knitting career so far, that’s a bit melodramatic maybe but I’m so insanely proud of her I could pop. I learned a lot on this knit and really stretched myself to do some things I was really afraid in the beginning I wouldn’t be able to do successfully. I knit the colourwork, I steeked, I did what seemed like an endless amount of finishing to get the details just right and in the end I think it’s paid off.

I thought about going with off white buttons to match the body but DH thought the pink would have more pop and I have to say he was right, which he generally is when it comes to these things which is why I consult him so much. I’m glad that I decided to knit the body in flat stockingette, the allover moss stitch in the pattern would have been too much I think and would have taken away from everything that’s going on in the yoke.

I used a bit of grosgrain ribbon to seal the steeked edges which weren’t that nice to look at as I used pink thread to sew them so I could easier see what I was doing. It took hours last night to sew it in by hand with the tiniest little stitches but I think the work is worth how clean it looks on the inside now. I also sewed in the tiniest little tag I found at Knitomatic (click here, they’re having a huge sale).

If I had to do this one again, and it’s a strong possibility as I really enjoyed it, I’d cast on more stitches in the steek to leave myself a bit more leeway on the sewing, five was just a few too little and made things a bit tight in places where my machine stitching wasn’t perfectly straight (tough to sew really straight when you’re that nervous!).

This was mostly a stash knit which is great, I don’t think I’d have ventured to do this one had I had to buy a new ball of each colour only to use just a smidge of it. I was told by the lady at the LYS that I could probably get away with two balls of the main colour if I was doing the body stockingette but I was skeptical and picked up a third (to add to the two I already had) just for insurance and I’m glad I did, I used the majority of the third ball and I always like to have little bits of Baby Ull or Lanett laying around for something like this. Of course I'll give you the obligatory inside shot to show off my wonderful stranding.

Specs for this knit:

Yarn: a mix of Dale Baby Ull and Lanett Superwash, two of my fave baby/sock yarns as they come in great colours and wear like iron (not to mention machine wash like a dream), three balls of the MC and scraps of the CCs

Pattern: Rutelilje from Dale of Norway Baby #129 in six month size (but would almost fit M so I have to think that the sizing runs a bit on the large size)

I started this early in January so it wasn't the quickest knit out there but I'm still glad I did it and will do it again

Sock it to me baby!

2007-02-26T13:13:00.000-08:00

Well, they aren't pretty but they are functional, and even better, they're complete and he likes them! The Moda Dea Sassy Stripes has a few production problems wouldn't you say? Look at those sad stripes! But this is about celebrating the completion of another project!! YIPPEE!!!

Status Report

2007-02-26T12:06:00.000-08:00

Well it’s the third last day of the (short) month and I have to say that things haven’t gone as well as I’d hoped on the finishing front. I started out with seven UFO’s and at this point I have two that are actual FO’s, mom’s socks and the Fleece Artist mitts. Still unfinished from the original list are:

-the cowl of doom- needs the shoulders taken apart and reseamed and the collar knitting on, I’m going to go with a low roll neck so I think it should just be a few rounds more to knit then the bind off, this will be finished this month

-dad’s socks- I started these on Wednesday at work and I’m almost ready to start the heel so then it’ll be just the heel and leg to do for the pair so these are still a possibility

-the seamless hybrid- about 6 inches of each sleeve are done and they’re not likely to be done in time to knit the yoke and do the finishing before then end of the month (barring an act of God like time standing still or knitting gnomes invading my knitting bag during the night)

-Rutelilje- all the knitting is done so it just needs some ends woven in and the grosgrain ribbon sewn in to hide the cut edges of the steek, this one will be done by the end of the month

-Lady Eleanor- I knew this one wouldn’t get done by the end of the KAL but I did hold to my promise to move it in a forward direction, I have added almost four tiers of rectangles to it this month, can I call that a triumph?

Anyway, lots still to do but I’m getting there at least

Halfway there!

2007-02-25T16:53:00.000-08:00

I finished my Jaywalkers

They're in Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Sock, in Liberty, knit on size 1 DPNs.

I also finished everything on BabyHoodie, except for attaching a button. I was going to go get a cute button today, but it was snowing. No pictures of BabyHoodie, for now. It's a gift for a friend - I don't want to ruin the surprise. I started seaming my Pinup Queen, but I think I've had all the seaming I can take for one day.

At Last

2007-02-25T04:43:00.000-08:00

I had to wait for daylight to do the final steaming and sew on the buttons (finishing details are on my blog, primetimeknitter.typepad.com), but here it is:

I'm really glad to have this off my UFO list, because there is still a lot of time to wear this sweater before it gets warm. I work in a loft-office, and if I heat the house so that the office isn't cold, I'd never be able to afford to buy yarn again. And when I saw the pattern, I thought this loose-fitting sweater would be perfect to work in. The pattern is from Interweave Knits, Fall 1997, and the designer is Nancy Bush. I used Rowan Magpie (now discontinued), size 5 and 7 US Inox matte grey needles.

I still have three more UFO's. One may be frogged and redone completely. Another is of Cotton Fleece, and I've decided to work on it in the summer. But the third is in about the same state as this one was when I started it. So now that this KAL got me off my rear and I realized the finishing wasn't as arduous as I imagined, I think I can get the next one done by the end of March (even though that isn't "national knitting sew-up month"). So thank you, Aleta for hosting this blog.

Fashionably late?

2007-02-24T17:49:00.000-08:00

So, I'm joining this party a little late. Luckily, I have few plans for the rest of this weekend or next week.

Things I have to finish:
- My February sock (my goal this year is a sock a month). I might finish this one tonight.
- A baby hoodie. For a friend's baby that's not due till July, but I might as well get it all finished. Mostly seams on this.
- The seaming on my Pinup Queen sweater. I finished the actual knitting in...October. Yeah.
- Lining on my Marigold Tote, finished not long after the Pinup Queen sweater.

I keep hoping that if I ignore these things long enough, the finishing elves will come do the work for me, but alas. I have finished one thing this month already - I blocked a Branching Out scarf that I finished knitting sometime in the summer. (As you can see, its a good thing a KAL like this has come along) For pics of the scarf, other adventures, and general rambling, you can visit me here.

The F Word

2007-02-23T15:10:00.000-08:00

Finishing, that is...

A few days ago I drafted a rant about how even though I had signed up for this KAL all I was doing was starting projects:

*spa socks from Knit1 (one of the very few reasons to keep that issue as far as I'm concerned)
*My So called Scarf (as an instant-gratification break from the sweater)
*crocheting [a whole other craft!]
*and I'm seriously trying to stop myself from casting on for the Razor Cami.

It was so bad that I found myself avoiding posting on this blog, even just to introduce myself.

[I am sienna & you can find me here; I am thrilled to see everyone else's accomplishments and am terribly embarrassed that it's taken me until almost the end of the month not only to post here but also to have something to post about.]

Yesterday, however, I finally blocked a scarf for my friend.
I also finished my My So Called Scarf.
I'm almost finished the first sleeve for my sweater (just have to fix a couple of cables)

and at long last I finished my resume!

I guess it's not too late to start finishing in February!

The toe that never closes

2007-02-22T14:52:00.000-08:00

I don't even want to admit how many times I tried to do the short row close on the hubby's sock this afternoon. I will give it another go tomorrow! ARGHH! I WILL finish those boogers!

Crossing off a few!

2007-02-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

Alright, slightly modified list (just because school work is killing me) but still quite a heap:

DONE:
Husband's Knucks
My Knucks
Mason-Dixon's Baby Kimono

STILL NOT DONE:
Last of 3 pairs of Nephew Mittens
Either Damn Sock or Jaywalkers done

Finished!

2007-02-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is my first KAL & I've finished the Mary Ann Sweater. See picture at Whatchamacallknit?

Renee

sequel to "I've finished"

2007-02-19T21:11:00.000-08:00

The photos of my finished afghan and teddy are now up on my blog. The post also includes my next project; please drop by and take a look. Comments welcome too! ;-)

2nd Project Finished

2007-02-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

This KAL has really helped me move along my outstanding projects. I have now finished a second project which is my First Lace Weight scarf, which is a gift for my Auntie B. This was the Bellini scarf kit from Morehouse Farm. I have one more project on my needles. I however am contemplating changing G's new scarf, so I don't think it will be finished by the end of the month.

The Hard Part Is Over

2007-02-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

It took two weekend days to complete the buttonbands, which were the obstacle to finishing this sweater. I did the buttonband on Superbowl Sunday, and the buttonhole band yesterday. It took about five tries to get the ribbing so it would match on both sides. And I never made one-row buttonholes before. There is a wonderful video showing how to do it (and many other techniques) on knittinghelp.com (the buttonholes are one of the advanced techniques). I usually don't knit near my computer, but this time I took the partially-finished sweater to my loft-office, watched the video and knitted along to it.

Now it is smooth sailing. I'm sure I'll finish the neck ribbing tonight (who can ask for better knitting TV than "24"!). And I've never minded sewing seams together. So I hope to have this modeled before the end of the week.

This is the major project I hoped to complete in this KAL, and I'm on track to do it.

Another dishcloth finished...

2007-02-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

I need to change my list of things needing to be finished to include only things I start in February! HAHA

Anyway, I finished the "round dishcloth". The 2nd pic is of a piece that may one day 7,000 years from now become a bedspread. I was really just attempting a lace pattern, so we'll see how it pans out in the future.

A few more pics can be found on my blog.

I've finished!

2007-02-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

I wanted to shout but it's not good etiquette! ;-) Rejoice with me - the ends are finished, all 2200+ of them.

I did knit all (or most) of my ends in as I was going but as the patches were small and the ends in some cases were less than 2 inches in length I was a little scared they would unravel (it's loose tension) so I sewed them all back on themselves. Not to mention all the nasty ends that kept wiggling their way through to the front of the work!

Photos will be posted on my blog some time later today when DH gets home from work to take them. (It's Monday morning here in Sydney, Australia) Here's one I prepared earlier, a close up of the right side of the work (before the ends were sewn in)

And more good news...I've also finished the teddy that I was working on! Yeah for me, two projects down, hip, hip, hooray! (Sorry, I'm just a bit excited)

Cross posted from www.stashalong.blogspot.com