After what felt like an eternity, my Creme Brulee is finished!

I had thought that it would be really fast after I split for the arms, but it really wasn’t. Purling slows me down, plus by that point I was bored to death of the stitch pattern.

I really liked the way this top is constructed, because it’s really easy. This baggy meshy look is pretty “in” this season (not that I follow those kinds of things), and I think I want to make some similar tops different lace patterns.

I have to say, I was a bit unimpressed with the pattern itself, though. There are multiple areas where the mesh pattern is not even, and that kind of thing really irks me. I didn’t realize until I was too far past them to want to frog back to fix them, but really all it takes is a little math to sort out how to rearrange the stitch pattern to keep things even. I’m disappointed that the designer didn’t do this; these kinds of problems are forgivable in a free pattern, but (and maybe it’s just me) when I pay for a pattern, I expect these kinds of things to have been accounted for.

</rant>

Pattern frustrations aside, I really do like the finished item. I’ll love it even more when I lose 10 pounds! Which, I am totally in the process of doing, yay! I’ve lost 2.5 so far and am working hard!

My neckline isn’t nearly as wide as I expected, but I think I’m okay with that, as I didn’t really want this one falling off the shoulders. My sleeves aren’t as loose as I wanted, but I don’t dislike them.

I’m glad to be done though, woo!

I finished my Aflight test knit socks last Friday, actually, but then had to block and photograph them. But, I think it was worth the wait so I could have good light and pretty pictures :)

These were a really fast knit, I got them done in two weeks which is a record for me, no joke! The lace cuff was fun, then the simple ribbed body went by surprisingly fast for being knit on size 0 needles, where each inch is a mile! And, the pattern (this was a test knit) is now available on Ravelry. The pattern author liked my pictures so much she requested to use them on the pattern page! I was glad to share them.

The yarn, String Theory Caper Sock, was a dream to knit with and is sooooo cozy! I love these socks, and  hope the yarn holds up to wear well. The fabric it made on 0s is amazing.

Ok that’s enough babble, here are the socks!

I went to the yarn shop today.

I know, I know.. that’s hardly newsworthy. I’m at the yarn shop so frequently that the ladies recognize my voice if I call. I was just going to stop in to get the last skein of yarn for my Creme Brulee wound but I got distracted and spent my whole lunch break there.

This, of course, means that I came home with yarn. This happens frequently, and I don’t usually talk about it, but I’m smitten with the yarn I got today.

First up is the yarn I went in looking to buy. Well, to be more accurate, I wasn’t looking for this specific yarn, so much as looking for an acceptable yarn to use in place of the Sea Three that’s called for in the Greata Headband pattern. I settled for Berroco Lago, which has a fascinating texture.

It looks like teal is my go-to color this season. I’ve got it on my finger nails, many of the projects I’m knitting right now are teal, and I keep picking it up in everything I see. It’s giving pink a run for it’s money!

I also ordered a cool looking Golden Shadow Swarovski Crystal Cosmic Ring for the headband from Etsy. It’s way prettier than a plastic o-ring, I can’t wait for it to get here!

While I was browsing the yarn shop, I fell in love with this skein of madelinetosh Prairie.

I’m not normally drawn to neutral colors like this, but something about the warm oatmeal color said, “take me home Katie!” So I did. I have no idea what I’m going to make out of it. Maybe I’ll sit and admire the cake for the next month or so.

When I got home to take stash photos, I found that the two yarns look stunning together! I have no idea how, but somehow I must make this work.. I want to make a small project that uses both yarns. How to use a lace weight and aran weight yarn together, hmmmm… something to think about :)

Since it’s Wednesday, I guess I can also show you the progress on my Aflight socks! I’m getting really close, with a little luck I’ll be done in time to show them off on Friday.

Anybody that stops by on Wednesdays has seen the projects I’m currently working on, so I didn’t want to make a dedicated post about them again. Besides, who doesn’t love yarn pr0n?!

There was never a WIP post for these, since they knit up so quickly, but I want to show off my very first knitted baby items. One of my friends from high school just had a baby boy, so I made some booties and a hat for him!

This post is like a two-for-one special; not only are there pictures, but there’s also two tips on how to photograph baby items when there is no baby nearby to put them on! Desmond is 1000 miles away, so I had to improvise.

Tip #1: When photographing baby booties without baby feet in them, nail polish bottles make a decent substitute.

Tip #2: When photographing a baby hat without a baby head, an 18-55 camera lens makes a surprisingly good filler. The hat is not baby-head round, but at least it’s not just laying flat.

I loooooove the little topknot so much! Also, I’m shocked at my ribbing – the stitches are the exact same size as the body, but since I suck at ribbing, I used a smaller needle. Only in this case, the difference is nuts: I knit the hat on 6′s but the ribbing on 2′s! I don’t know what I’m doing wrong that my ribbing turns out so loose, but hey, at least I know how to work around it!

And now to pester my friend for baby pictures in handmade hat and booties….

As we probably all know already, I have a bit of Knitting ADD, and can’t knit just one project at a time. So, I volunteered to test knit a pair of socks!

The yarn I’m using is String Theory’s Caper Sock in the color Agave, which is gorgeous!

The sock is a simple K4 P1 body with a lace cuff, so I decided to try to learn two-at-a-time with these. I’ve been doing Magic Loop a while so this seemed like the logical next step in the progression. Plus, learning this will mean that I can stop suffering from Second Sock Syndrome (and second glove), which is rad.

I did cheat a little though; I knit the cuff part one at a time then put them both on the same needles for the body… What? I was intimidated!

I’m knitting these on size 0 needles, so each inch feels like a mile! But the fabric that this tiny needle produces is amazing; it’s so dense and squishy, I love it so much. It’ll be worth knitting miles and miles for the finished sock, I expect them to be very cozy.

I’m also still working on my Creme Brulee, though admittedly not as quickly as I’d like to be. I wanted to be split for the arms by the Sunday that just passed, but I’ve still got like, 3 more inches to go. It’s coming along though.

So that’s what I’ve got this week!

Ok, I actually finished this shawl last week, but it was late and dark and rainy, and thus not at all conducive to taking photos! Today was an amazing day, so I took my shawl out to the patio at the office for a couple photos.

I adore the picot edging at the edge of the little ruffles, I really do.. but EGADS it was a pain in the neck to knit! The bind off took forever and a half, I’m not even kidding – I spent three days worth of knitting just binding off.

The whole thing drapes really nicely. I think part of it is the pattern and part the yarn, I really enjoyed knitting with the Silky Merino (oh Malabrigo, all your yarn is so yummy!) The pattern got a bit dull shortly through the third section though. I think it was me, I enjoyed the knotted lacework though. I’m glad I made one, but I don’t think I’ll be making more of this particular shawl.

So, some of you may notice the water in the background: here’s where I make you all jealous and show you the view from my office.

Please try not to hate me too much. For what it’s worth, I am as jealous of the people on the boat as you might be of me! I’m actually not allowed on the lake: it’s privately owned and only people that live in the super expensive houses on the lake are allowed to get permits for it.

It was a beautiful day today though, I shall leave you with something pretty I saw on my way back to my car.

So, it’s been a while since I officially joined the Knit-along that we do at my awesome LYS, The Knitting Bee. Part of it is because many of the things they knit are not quite the same things I’d ever wear (I’m really particular about knit garments), though I did participate in the Shawl-along (because who doesn’t love handknit shawls!) and when they knit the Mondo Sweater, I made the Mondo Hood.

The other part was that when I did participate last, it turned into the catastrophe now known as The Sweater I No Longer Speak Of™. I’m half surprised that didn’t scare us all away from each other haha!

Anyway, for our Spring KAL, we selected a super simple, really cute shell-type shirt that is great for layering called Creme Brulee. I’m making mine in Malabrigo Arroyo. I’m actually planning on making a couple more, though maybe with a different stitch pattern, and definitely in not-wool for the summer. I love the construction of this because not only is it easy to make, it’s also easy to customize and swap out stitch patterns if wanted.

Here’s the progress I’ve made so far:

On one hand, it’s knitting up quickly because it’s a simple pattern. On the other hand, it’s taking FOREVER because it’s a garment. I’m such an instant-gratification kind that large projects make me crazy haha.

Because I’m a “want results now” type I kind of want to work on a second, smaller project, but then I also know that doing that will make this one take even longer. Oh, decisions…

You know, one of the things I love about FO Friday is that it is an active reminder and encouragement to photograph my projects. These mitts have been finished for almost a week, but I’ve been too busy wearing them to take pictures! But then I saw it was FO Friday, and took them off long enough to snap a few pictures (they are already back on my hands, by the way.)

Ok so I know this isn’t a tech blog and some of you don’t care, but I got an iPad and an iPhone recently (and with those plus my Macbook and iMac, I think it’s safe to say Apple owns my soul), and I love Instagram. I refuse to apologize for this :) If anyone wants to add me on there, my username is “lifelessmind”, and I have no idea if there’s a better way to help you find me.

Anyway, here are the Ragtop Mitts I posted about recently! These all but flew off the needles, and can I just say that I think this is my all time favorite mitt pattern in the world? I am so serious. The fold over top cuff is really cute, and I like the double warmth over my knuckles. I’ve tried wearing them unfolded to cover my fingers but I personally like them better folded, even if my fingertips get no love. With all the fingerless gloves I wear, they’re used to that anyway. Sorry, fingertips!

But the best part about these mitts is the thumb gusset. It is super roomy and comfortable! I want to learn how to modify the thumb fourchette so I can use it in all my glove patterns, because it is simply the best ever.

And the yarn is divine! Oh madelinetosh, you make such beautiful colorways and such snuggly yarn &hearts;

I’ve already got plans to make a second pair in Malabrigo Rios. I think for that pair, I will add the cable from Commuter; I saw a pair like that on the Ragtop projects page and love it. I thought about doing the full ribbed wrist, but man I hate knitting ribbing, and the cable is cuter!

Now, I know what some of you may be thinking: “But Katie, it’s almost April, why would you be prepping to knit another pair of mitts now?” Well my friends, apparently Oregon doesn’t care that it’s almost April, because this is what I had to deal with when I left for the office yesterday:

SNOW. Yes folks, Portland, a place that does not really get snow, had snow on March 22. Then my car decided to dump half of what was on the windsheild into my car (this picture, that’s the “After”.. so about as much as you see on my window wound up IN MY CAR. This is why I didn’t move to Boston 5 years ago, in case anybody is curious).

So there you have it, I still need mitts, and Ragtop is an amazing pattern, everybody should have a pair of these! And now, I’m off to see what everybody else has finished this week.

I received two skeins of scrumptious Malabrigo Silky Merino in Ankara Green in a swap a while back, and decided that my quick project to work on before the Spring KAL at my LYS would be a shawl. So I decided to knit Summer Flies even though spring hasn’t really even started here!

It’s coming along pretty well, I’ve finished the first three sections whilst watching some How I Met Your Mother (I love that show!). I really wish the pattern had charts though, I absolutely HATE knitting lace from written instructions.

Pattern: Through the Woods Cabled Cuffs
Yarn: madelinetosh tosh vintage
Project page on Ravelry.

After taking ages to finish my brothers gloves, I really needed a quick, easy project. These little cufflets whipped up in just a couple episodes of Supernatural, and used up the last of my tosh vintage.. well, almost too perfectly. If I hadn’t split the leftovers into two balls (which I did about 6 inches off-center), I would have had the perfect amount!

But, I ran out of yarn a few inches from the end on one cuff (after having leftover on the other), and I didn’t really think I had enough left to join the leftover from the first and weave ends (plus, joining on a castoff probably doesn’t work well) and did one less cable repeat than the pattern says. Le sigh!

I love them anyway, though :)