i'm back

ok, so i haven't posted in a while. i was thinking of giving it up. that and i've been soooo frustrated with koolhaas that i've hardly been knitting. i've started that pattern at least 5 times and it never looked right. finally i realized this weekend that, as usual, i jumped right in thinking that i could figure out reading a chart on my own - obviously not the case. i started wondering why the row numbers were written on the right side of the chart and looked up how to read a chart. ahhh...so you're supposed to read the chart from right to left (every row for in the round/every other for knitting flat) - not so intuitive. maybe i finally learned that when there's something new in a pattern i should take the time to read about it first - or maybe not. now that i've got the pattern figured out i'll have to restart the pattern one (hopefully) last time since i remembered the boy's head is larger than average and i'll have to CO a few more stitches.

2007 FO's

here they are - the 7 items i finished this year. it doesn't look like much. especially after seeing tentenknits' knits of 07 - there were 8 sweaters! damn. well, at least i have something to work toward.

1. knitted ornaments, 2. knitted ornament, 3. shane's hat, 4. super-easy legwarmers, 5. here and there cables, 6. berroco knitting tote, 7. orangina

i think the ornaments were a hit with my sis and i'm pretty sure my brother-in-law likes his hat (i have seen him wear it more than once). i love my legwarmers but don't wear them as much as i should. i love the scarf i made for my sis and i think she does too - but i'm still not too sure about the color. the knitting tote may be one of my all-time favorite knits that i've made. and orangina - well, hopefully she'll be a FO for another year.

so, on thurs i thought i had joined the 2nd to the last skein for the Here and There Cables. i was so excited to see a light at the end of the tunnel i've been knitting more than usual. then last night (sat night) i go to get the last! skein and i find 2 in there! aww jeeshz. it was just so disappointing. i know, it's not too bad, but i thought i was so much closer.

and since i'm so close to the end of this scarf it's time to plan my next knit. after 5 years of knitting i've never made myself a hat. i thought Foliage was ok the first time i saw it but Skrilla's version made me fall in love. she used a double strand of Malabrigo Worsted, which is what the pattern calls for, but i'm not sure if i want it to be 100% wool. seems like it might get a bit itchy. but i've never felt Malabrigo Worsted before either. guess i'll have to see if i can find it at a LYS.

starting/FO's

ok so i'm going to actually start using this blog. i had a website but decided it wasn't worth the $5/month for hosting. this is basically all i should need to blab about my knitting and ofcourse the rest of life's little obsessions. here's a list of knits thus far:

• Woolly Wormhead's Ribbed Beanie - Karabella Aurora #286, 1 skein

• Berroco's Knitting Tote - Berroco Suede #3716 Maverick I got the handles here.i've got tassels!close-up of detail. only a few dog hairs in there ;)

• and ofcourse Knitty's Clapotis - i used Noro's Silk Garden #47, which was inspired by Dogs Steal Yarn's Clapotis. although mine is slightly smaller - i couldn't really afford it. so, i only used 4 skeins and these mods: Section 2 - Repeat Increase Rows 1-12 four (not six) times more. Section 3 - Repeat Straight Rows 1-12, until slightly less than one ball left

• Ribbed Scarf taken from pretendingsanity.com's ribbed scarf. Katia Gatsby #88503 & Debbie Bliss cashmerino chunky #17001

• Kemp Bag from Simply Noro - Noro Blossom #4 mods: cast on 46 sts. on 6th line - repeat last 2 rows until there are 26.

• Mikado Ribbon Fingerless Gloves - Manos del Uruguay Granite/#108 mods: cast on 48 sts so they come out to be shorter

• a tie from Interweave Press - Lily's Sugar'n Cream in Soft Ecru

• Magknits' Saturday Market Bag. the top one here i made for myself and is made with Lily's Sugar'n Cream in Warm Brown and Black. the bottom one i made for my sister and is made with Lion Cotton in Sagebrush.

• Knitty's Pasha the penguin - black is cheap acrylic, i think the beige is Lion Brand Wool-Ease probably in Wheat, and brown is Lily's Sugar'n Cream (100% cotton) in Warm Brown

• the Knitted Clock from knit.1's very fist issue - some sort of acrylic purchased from Micheal's - it's been too long to remember.