More Time = More FOs

The things I can do now that the Fall semester is over! I've been on a lil bit of a knitting streak lately - haven't touched my resin or Perler or the 20 other crafts I dabble in. Because of that, I can present...TWO *gasp* FOs. Granted, they were both small projects, but so what!
You might recognize this as the Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat. The pattern was very easy to follow, and even though I had to use DPNs, I enjoyed knitting it. I should really try magic loop in the new year. At any rate, the only problem I had with the pattern is the size. I wasn't going to go up a needle size, because then the hat would be loose, holey and ugly. Instead, I (stupidly) added 1 purl stitch to the end of each repeat of the cable pattern. It wasn't until I was a few rows in that I realized that this f-ed up the spacing and symmetry of the cables. I was, of course, too lazy to rip back, so I'm calling it a "design feature". There is symmetry between each group of 2 cables at least, hehe.

But, after finishing the hat, it seemed too short (at least for my honkin' big head). I gave it to my friend anyway, thinking that her head was smaller than mine. Well, apparently, not really. So I had to take it back to tweak it - I added a short garter stitch brim, and earflaps & pom-poms at the request of the recipient. And voila....

I call it my Jazzed-up Unoriginal Hat.

I like it a lot and am quite proud of the finished product, especially since I kind of fudged with the placement of the earflaps. So now I am totally in need of knitting one for myself too.

After I had patted myself on the back for a job well done, I was still in an unselfish mood and craving a simple, fast project, so I cast on for a kitty sweater for Nermal. Getting Nermal to stay still for the measurements was a little bit of a challenge though. And sad to say, this is my first time EVER knitting a gauge swatch, lol. But the knitting itself was very mindless, which worked for me at the time. However, once again, several rows into it, I realized another miscalculation of mine...or to be more accurate, a misreading of the numbers. I didn't knit enough rows at the bottom of the sweater, but there was no way in heck I was ripping it back and reknitting, given that I was using acrylic yarn (you'd think I would've learned by now to stop trying to do that, given how much I hate the experience). So yeah, I made Nermal a Britney-Spears-type belly sweater, and I think it's pretty cute!

Nermal's Sexy Sweater

Yes, cats LOVE sweaters, ha. I had so much trouble getting him to keep it on the first 2 times...he just kept kicking it off. But the third time, he couldn't get out of it for whatever reason, so that's when I snapped these hilarious pics. I think Nermal's expression in the first picture kind of sums up his feelings about the sweater - sort of a "I don't like it, but I'll deal, you evil human" kind of look, hee hee. More pics of Nermal modeling his fabulous sweater can be seen in my Flickr photostream.

Now that I've finished a first sweater (ha ha!), I really need to get it together and finish MY first sweater, and my Log Cabin... Those can be my New Year's resolutions, I guess.

And lastly, another funny pic of Nermal (sans the sweater):

Happy New Year, everyone!

Feels Good

Yay, the Fall semester is over! I am so relieved and thrilled...that makes 7 courses completed this past year and a half while working. There is 1 more class that I am tentatively planning to take next semester, but that is contingent on how my PA school interviews go. If I make it into a school, then no class for me! If not (I don't even want to think of this possibility), then I would have to take that course so that I would be able to apply to a whole lot more schools next cycle.

Another thing that feels good - I have another FO! Crazy, right? Me, the serial knitter with A.D.D.!
This is the ubiquitous MSCS - my third one! This is my second time knitting it in Malabrigo...I just LOOOOVE this yarn and pattern combination. And this one is for me. Only problem is that since I made this scarf pretty long, the middle part gets a little stretched out. If I make a fourth MSCS, I might go down a needle size to make a thicker and less stretchy fabric.

Of course, true to form, right after I finished the MSCS, I cast on for another project - Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat, in Noro Yoroi. I'm loving this yarn so far... too bad it's discontinued now. The pattern is simple but looks great and complicated to the non-knitter, so I'm planning on knitting a couple more of those as potential gifts...in fact, I'm going on my lunch break to score some more bulky yarn!

Nermal says hi!

Knitting Content!

Just to remind everyone (including myself) that I do knit, this post will not have all the other craft hub-bub I've been talking about recently! I finished one of my knitting projects over the weekend - while I was studying for my Anatomy & Physiology final...which, btw, I so knew I was going to do. I'm just so sick of studying, I pretty much rewarded an hour of studying with practically an hour of knitting... Anyhoo, the FO is part of someone's Christmas present, and since this person reads this blog, unfortunately, this is all I can show of the FO here:


However, all you resourceful knitty people can see the FO in its glory on Ravelry. ;)



And because I can't resist the urge of casting on, here is the newest project to start on the needles:

It's Sarcelle, and I already know this project is going to take me a while to finish. Something with me and lace just does not click yet...I actually got further than this pic shows (past just the stockinette and increases, lol), but had to rip back because I totally misread a part of the chart, and had not put in a lifeline yet. I have no idea how people can memorize these types of lace patterns. I have never completed a lace FO yet, so keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the one! And if it drives me nuts, then I'll just have to cast on for a simpler lace project - I have plenty of choices from my Ravelry queue!


Hey, and look at my awesome new bag, that I got from NY & Company!
They're my favorite store...cheap and fashionable!

I've got my last final tomorrow - I'll be relatively free afterwards! Wooohooo, can't wait!

Finished Resin!

Thanks again to everyone for the good luck vibes for my GRE! I didn't do exceptionally well, but it was good enough to get an interview for the school that required the GRE score. Yay! So I have 2 interviews in January that I need to prepare for...nerve-wracking! There is one school left that I have not heard from, and well, the pessimistic side of me is thinking this is looking bad. There is pretty much 1 week left for me to hear from them; after which, it is safe to assume rejection. I'm a little bummed about it, because this last school is one of my top choices, and I really thought I was a strong candidate...sigh.

On a lighter note, I've got finished resin pieces to show!

The last one is my favorite! I've got lots of ideas for the resin, but have also been trying to catch up on my knitting projects, so progress is really slow.

All the yarns I mentioned in my last post have arrived, and it is sooo difficult resisting the temptation to cast on. I'm hoping to have my secret project (you can see it in Ravelry) and another project finished relatively soon, so that I will have an excuse to cast on. Some days, I just wish I could knit and craft for a decent living. I'm sure I'm not alone in that sentiment. =)

Enjoy the weekend!