Yarn addiction: I has it.

Oh man. So, for my birthday I got a gift card to Michael's from one of my friends. Yes. And, thankfully, there's a Michaels a few miles away, which I had seen several weeks ago when driving with my roommate.

Gosh. I turn into such a weird person when I go peruse the yarn selection at craft stores. (Not so much at independent knitting stores, maybe because their yarn is so pricey. I mean, it's better quality, and nicer, and all that, but more expensive, so I don't tend to buy yarn at those stores. Not at this stage in the game, anyway.) I was there at Michael's, and I had never been to this one so I had to acquaint myself with the layout and where the different brands were and everything. Apparently they just recently expanded their yarn selection, but haven't quite yet gotten the actual yarn to fill in all the spots, so it was kind of sparse today. (And they didn't have the color of a particular brand that I needed to finish that afghan I'm working on.) But...oh man. Even with that, it was so hard not to walk out of there with more than I did. (And I walked out with too much as it is.) I'm such a sucker for yarn. Especially baby yarn, which was mostly what I got. I do have tentative plans for some of it, which is good. And I'll find projects for the other stuff.

I also ventured to the JoAnn's which is like two stores down from the Michael's in that shopping center. It's a small, dingy Jo-Ann's, especially compared to the one I'm used to back home, but they had the yarn that I actually needed, in the color I needed. Unfortunately, neither had good candles (I was hoping one or the other would have a pumpkin spice candle I could get, since I need one. As much as one can need a candle, anyway). But it was still lovely. And it's surprising - my yarn ventures tend to be less expensive than I expect. So that's good. I mean, I buy acrylic yarn typically, which is the cheap stuff, but whatever. It's machine washable! And I've gotten some good afghans out of Caron Simply Soft. Dude. I love that stuff. I don't know how well it holds up over time, but so far so good. And for babies, the Bernat Softee Baby is delicious. Those are pretty much my two exclusive yarn brands, depending on what I'm making. I've used various other things for various other projects, but I'm definitely a big fan of those.

I wish I had eight arms, so I could knit multiple things at once. Sigh.

(Today also made me anxious to get my new bag - which should be delivered on Wednesday, yay! The knitting I carry with me in my purse got a little tangled with my keys today. Everyone made it out unscathed, but it was a harrowing few minutes there. But the bag I'm getting will have separate knitting sacks in which to put projects to keep them separated from other stuff in the bag, and it also has a key clip so my keys will stay put. Double yay!)

Friday Night In

Scarfy

So, remember that scarf I mentioned in my last post? Since I wasn't feeling great about the multi/light green combo, and because I had two different skeins of the multi, I decided to try it with the dark blue I was thinking about. This way, I didn't have to take apart the whole green combo in case I decided I didn't like it with blue. Anyway. Irrelevant now, because it's so much better with the blue:

Dark blue on one side, light green on the other, and multi in the middle. It looks so different with the blue! I like it a lot better. Guess now I have to find another use for the green...(I have three skeins of it left over from an afghan I made last year and overestimated on. Anyone like the color? Want me to make anything with it? Suggestions?)

Catching up

I went and changed blogs on you people. (Of course, I'm not even sure anyone's bothered to read this before anyway. Haha. Oh well.) Ahhh, it's so fun though.

So. Pictures!

 Monica's afghan. Not sure how I feel about the size, but oh well. It's a pattern called Twilight from my Quick Knit Afghan book (chosen specifically because the recipient happens to be something of a fan of the Twilight series...but thankfully not a crazy fan. Haha. Not sure if I could be friends with her if she were.)

Baby hat! Mock Cables Baby Hat. I added a pom pom (my first time making one!), and I like how it turned out. I washed it after taking this picture, and it looked a little more settled after that. (And hopefully it looks better on a real baby instead of my small Dolly, the only relatively baby-sized thing I had on which to model the hat...)

Fresh Picked Baby Hat. Suuuuper cute. Quite enjoyable.

I'm not sure how well they fit a baby's head, since I'm not really knowledgeable in that area, but hopefully they'll fit ok. The purple one is quite stretchy, so it's probably pretty adaptable. But, what do I know.

Oh man, I loooove this blanket. Pinwheel Baby Blanket. Super easy pattern, lovely to knit, and I loved the patterns that the multi-colored yarn made throughout the blanket. Not sure how practical a round blanket is, but it's original, right? Haha. Whatever. I like it.

Dolly graciously agreed once again to model for me, just as a sort of size comparison. Even though she's quite small.

This is not something I knit. Ha. I just bought this yesterday after a trip to the local knitting store in Old Town. I'd seen it before online, and oh how I wanted it. It's a circular needle organizer!

It has tabs on which to write the different sizes, and separates them all, so I don't have to search through a tangled bunch of circulars anymore to look for the one I need! It wasn't very expensive, either, and it's definitely worth it. (I previously had all my circulars in the pocket of a small cosmetics bag, I think, and it was always frustrating to find the needle size I needed. And I pretty much only knit with circulars now, or double pointed needles, so having a good organizer is definitely a good investment.)

One of my current projects. It's a scarf, this one, and I'm trying to decide if I want to keep going or scrap it and start over. There's supposed to be more of a difference between the two different colors that are used (if you look at the original picture, it's a multi lighter blue paired with a dark blue, whereas I'm using a multi green paired with a light green that's the same as one of the greens in the multi, so it doesn't have the same effect). I'm not sure what alternate color I'd use, though, with the multi...I might try dark blue. Not sure how it'd look though. I guess I'll just think about it awhile more.

Oh my gosh I LOOOOOVE knitting. Sigh. I wish I could knit professionally. Except I'm not good enough, and I'd probably have to learn how to design my own patterns, and I'm not sure I'm creative enough for that. I'm a follower, not a leader (or creator, as the case may be). Oh well. I'm going to order a Swift bag today, and I'm so. excited for it. I hope it doesn't disappoint. That's what worries me about things I wait on and think a lot about before taking the plunge - I build them up so much in my head that they're bound to disappoint, right? Oh well. I think I've researched enough to know that it'll probably work out well. I don't normally spend that much on anything (other than, say, trips to the grocery store, or airplane tickets), but I know it'll last me awhile and it'll be a good investment. I just still can't decide whether I should have it shipped to work or to my old place of residence. My former roommate said it'd be fine if I did that, but if I ship it to work I'll get it sooner. :-) Anyway. We'll see.

Gosh. I would spend all my money on knitting stuff if I could. Yarn, needles, bags, books, tools, etc. Maybe someday. I love knitting so much. SO much. Oh well.

What kind of a knitting blog doesn't have pictures?

In an attempt to make my foray into knitting bloggery not completely wasted, I guess I'll post something again. (Apparently I've only posted six times since I started this back in July. To be fair, I suppose it was right before I went home for a couple weeks, during which time I wasn't really thinking much about knit-posting, and then since I've been back things have been crazy. But with no sign of slowing down, either, so maybe this thing will really get going in a year or so...)

I have (almost) finished three different baby items, which is exciting. Oh, wait, there was a fourth thing I finished, but I'm not sure if it's gift-able, because I may have made it too big. I don't know. It's this little baby cocoon thing, basically a sort of micro-sleeping bag. Apparently people make them for babies. I don't know. I just came across it and it looked cute (and easy), so there you go. I'm worried it's too long, though, and would be ineffective for its purpose (which, from what I can tell, is to swaddle the baby like newborns like to be swaddled, or something). I just know nothing, so it might just go in the pile of "generic baby stuff I've made and have yet to give to anyone and might give away someday". I think there are two or three blankets in that pile. And maybe a baby hat or two. And some booties, which may or may not be an appropriate size; I'm not sure.

Besides that, though, I finished a cute baby hat with ear flaps (but I still have to weave in the ends, and add the strings to both ear flaps so it can be tied). It has an owner, and at this point might just end up being a Christmas gift for this baby. (It'd be too big for him now anyway, plus there's the small matter of the fact that it's only September and certainly not cold enough to necessitate this hat.)

I've also finished a car seat cover thing, which is really cute and I like and I hope is ok. It's got a hole built into it so that the seat belt can go through it, and it can keep the baby covered with the seat belt on. I also have to weave in the ends of that one. (It's amazing how many projects I finish in a timely matter, only to leave that last little step for weeks and weeks. And weeks. I just hate doing that part, and I don't really know why, since it takes all of like five minutes.)

Another baby item I finished recently is a round pinwheel blanket. Oh I love it. (Same story with this one - have to weave in the ends. Fail.) I don't like how thin it is, but it's really cute, so I'll forgive it for that. It was super easy to do, and the yarn I used is a variegated yarn so it makes a cool effect throughout that works well with the spiraliness of the pattern. I like it.

And I just realized why I haven't posted more on here: I want to take pictures and have links to the stuff I do,  but I haven't taken many pictures of my more recent knitting. And why haven't I? Because I haven't quite finished them enough to take the final picture. It's all a vicious cycle, no? Ah well. One of these days I'll finish them up and take pictures and put them on here.

Up next on the docket: a blanket I've been working on for far too long (I think I started sometime in February, but then put down for several months until June or July when I started working on it again), which is just about done. It has a repeating pattern of eight rows, and I wanted to squeeze out one more pattern repeat before getting to the final twelve rows that are just knit stitch across for the edging, but I don't think I have enough yarn for that. So I'm going to have to take out the four rows of the pattern repeat I've done, and then knit the last twelve. And once that's done, I have another afghan I need to do; I have a few scarves and smaller items I've been working on; and there are these oh-so-cute baby hats I really want to try. Oh man I'm excited for that.

I get all sorts of knitting-related things in my email these days, from various knitting magazines, stores, yarn brands, etc. Last week, one of them was from a particular brand of yarn, announcing their upcoming "crochet-along" that they're starting Sept. 22. I guess they did a knit-along last year, so now it's crochet's turn. Every week, they give out one clue - a pattern for a square, and you're supposed to knit some number of that square. By the end, you sew up all the squares, and voila, you've got an afghan. They don't show you what the finished product will look like until the end, though. They tell you how much yarn you'll need, and how many colors. I really, really wanted to try it. I don't know how to crochet, but they say that they start with beginner stitches, and then by the end it's more advanced stitches, so you can learn as you go if you don't know crochet that well. (Same with the knit afghan they did, I guess.) I did manage to talk myself out of it, though, because a) I don't know that this is the best time for me to be trying to teach myself how to crochet, because I might devote too much time to it, or I might get super frustrated with it and hate everything around me, or who knows. b) I shouldn't be spending $40-50 on yarn for an afghan just to do it, not right now anyway. c) well, I guess that's it mostly. I just decided it's probably smarter to let it go for now. Plus, the knit-along patterns are still on their site, so I assume the crochet will be too, so someday I can always go back and do it if I decide I want to.

Anyway. Completely uninteresting, I know. I just really wish I knew how to crochet. I don't know why the teaching myself to knit worked out so much better than teaching myself to crochet. People say crocheting is easier, but it seems more complicated to me. (But then, when people see knitting patterns I'm doing, they say it looks complicated or like another language, and it makes complete sense to me. It's all just a matter of learning the language, I guess, and I'm sure I'd be able to pick it up if ever I gave it a really good go.)

Someday. Maybe I'll be able to take an intro to crochet class next year. Who knows.

What I do know is this: I wish I could devote a majority of my time to knitting, rather than having it as a hobby that I use to procrastinate my homework. I wish I didn't have to sneak in rows here and there, or feel guilty every time I pick up a needle. Alas, such is life right now. Tis temporary, though, as are most things.

Hello, hit-and-run blogger!

Man, I make this thing and I'm all excited about it and then I go nowhere with it. Oh well. My excuse is that I was in Colorado. And...I knitted there, but not much. But dude! Baby things! Soooo fun! I made two baby items while I was home (well, finished one last night), and am now working on a third. I do have two people that these are actually meant for, but I think I could easily go overboard and do just a ton of baby stuff right now. Especially since, for the project I started and finished back in CO, I definitely didn't even use a whole skein, and I bought four for it because I had neglected to check how much I needed. Luckily it's an awesome color.

And, you know, I know so many people who have gotten married in the last year, and who will be getting married in the coming year, this stuff's bound to come in handy!

Baby yarn equals awesome. The end.

Slacking already

Look at this, less than a month in and already I'm failing at this blog. Thankfully, I'm currently suffering from insomnia, so it's the perfect time to update! The good news is I haven't been slacking on my knitting. I finished that afghan I was working on last Monday, and have been making progress on the other one. Although I'm now realizing I'm going to need more yarn for it, because I'm using a smaller sized needle than the original pattern calls for, so it's taking more yarn to do. I think. I don't know. I'm not sure how this one is going to turn out, really. I don't know how well any of them actually turn out, to be honest. Out of all the afghans I've knitted in the last year (six or seven?), I've only really been happy with one of them. Ah, well, live and learn I guess. Although obviously I haven't really learned. Whatever.

I'm also working on another shawl (for me, yes), with the brown yarn I bought at the yarn store a few weeks ago. I've pretty much exclusively worked with Caron Simply Soft, which is acrylic (aka, not as nice, although I do still like it plus: cheap!), but this yarn is part cotton and part something else, and whatever, it's soooo silky and soft to knit with. Very not what I'm used to. It's also a thinner yarn. But I'm really enjoying knitting with it, although it's more slippery too so I have to be a bit more careful. Hopefully the shawl will turn out nicely.

I just started a hat for my little brother. He wanted navy blue with a couple of red stripes in it, so I got to try this new (to me) way of color changing. I love it. It's so easy! And looks a lot nicer than other methods I've used. I've typically tried to avoid color changing in the past because I hadn't really figured out how to do it so it looks nice, but I think this method might change that. I'm planning on getting a chunk of this Christmas afghan I started sometime last year done while I'm home, since I left it home intending to work on it this summer (because, you know, I was supposed to be home all summer). It requires frequent switching between colors, so I'll try out this method with that too. Not sure if it'll work the same, though, because this method seems more suited to changing within a row, or, in my current case, in a knit-in-the-round project. But I'll try it and see how it goes.

I almost had a panic attack (not really) the other night, trying to figure out what knitting I would be bringing home with me. I don't want to bring home the afghan I'm currently working on, especially since I think I need to buy more yarn (I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, but I just don't want to bring it home. Maybe if it were for someone back home and I could leave it there, but if I were to finish it while I was home, I'd still have to bring it back with me, and that's just annoying). I do have another afghan currently slated to be done sooner than later, and I could start that, but then I'd have to bring all the yarn for it home with me, and who knows if I would finish it while I'm there (I might - the afghan I just finished only took me a week and a half - but you never know), so then I'd have to bring everything back with me. So I'll probably just bring some needles, since I do have yarn at home that I might want to use for something small, plus I have lots of baby yarn at home and people I know are starting to have babies, and the shawl, since it's small and I doubt I'll have it finished by then, and the hat if it's not done. But I can probably get it done before then. It just feels weird, though, not to have something concrete to work on. I might have to figure out something smallish to do so I can work on it on the plane. But then, like I said, I have that Christmas afghan at home to work on. I'll probably focus on that. It'd be fun to have it done by December. No idea who I might give it to, but I guess I have time to figure that out.

Also, I really, really, really want these. Except I wish it included a 16" cable too, as I find myself using that size somewhat regularly. And they don't have the option even to buy a 16" cable by itself as an extra, so that's kind of annoying. I'd have to buy them individually...except, I don't need to because I have a set of 16" bamboo circular needles. So never mind. I do need to buy a new size 8 16" needle, though, as I overused mine and it broke a little bit. Anyway. I still really want that set. But maybe I should start with just one needle, just to try out that kind of needle, which I've never used before. Maybe I'll buy the size 8 16" circular needle in that line, and then test it out. Yes. Good plan, Susie. Why thank you.

Well...that's about it on the knitting front. Once I figure out my housing situation for the next year (currently somewhat in flux), I'm going to have to get a better system figured out for my yarn stash. It's so annoying the way it is, all stuffed in bags according to color, and the bags overflowing from the one large Rubbermaid thing that I have for yarn storage. No good. Although maybe it's better to keep it all hidden away for the upcoming year, what with my crazy September schedule and comps studying that will ensue in earnest come January (or sooner, if I'm ambitious, which I'm not). Man, school really cuts into knitting time. It's quite sad.

Anyway. There's my current update. Maybe I'll take some pictures of something one of these days. Knitting blogs should have pictures, right? Otherwise, what's the fun in it?