Fall in New England. . .

It's finally fall in New England! It's been so unusually warm, but finally, there's crisp cool fall weather here in little old Massachusetts. So of course, I begin to feel like knitting!

But, I think I'm making a move from this blog location to wordpress. I tend to not feel motivated to update this blog because it's always such a hastle, more so since Google took over. I think this particular blog host isn't a good fit for me, personally. So I'll try things over at wordpress for a while. . .

http://jenniknits.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there!

Just a couple of pictures. . .

First, of my finished Anthropologie knock-off:





I adore this pattern. It's quick, it's easy, and it's cute! I have another one started in an off-white for my sister. :)

And this is that pink Everyone's-Doing-It Shrug, but modeled now instead of just flat:





So current projects are now just the 2nd Anthropologie sweater and the forever-ongoing Gryffindor scarf. And I may possibly take a break and make a baby-type present for a good friend. We'll see!

Back from the dead, apparently!

Bad Jenni. Bad, bad Jenni! EIGHT months? *looks ashamed* I swear, I really am going to be better about updating this blog! I'm getting more into knitting, now that I've found a bridge between scarf land and giant project city: Little shrugs and mini sweaters. I want to make them by the dozen. But before I start on that, here's what little bits of knitting I've been doing over the past eight months. . .

Mice. Knitted mice. A lot of them! My Aunt Jenny visited from Japan in November, and thought the knitted mouse I made for my kitty from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation was super cute, and so of course, I made a pair for her two kitties:



Then, I couldn't have Halloween not get one too, so I made her another one. (The gray contrast is actually remnants from my first-ever finished knitted item - the Gray Scarf of Doom that I made for my husband).



The next mouse came in December, when my beloved niece got a kitten! Of course, this one had to be knit much smaller, since her kitty is smaller, and it also had to be done in baby yarn, since her cat is, well, a baby! ;)



And then in January, my friend at work found out her kitty was really sick, and to comfort the poor thing, I made him a mouse too!



My friend shared pictures of her kitty and the mouse. While he doesn't look to amused, I have it on good authority that he drags it around everywhere, and plays with it quite a bit. :) (And, has recovered! Yay!)



So those were the mice!

Oh, and I finally put the seam on the kitty bed for Halloween that I knitted a million and a half years ago (give or take). I can't believe how long that took me! Halloween showed her approval:



I've also been working on the Gryffindor scarf in between projects, but it's very slow-going, not to mention totally boring. Here is where it is at:



To try to liven it up, I made some cute stitch markers:



So then I didn't knit too much for a while because I'm sick of scarves (and mice, ha ha ha!) and afraid to tackle something big like a sweater. Enter the shrug! Ahh, crafster.org, how I love thee, let me count the ways!

I started with the "Everyone's Doing It" Shrug:



It's so easy and quick, it's ridiculous! And cute! It's like a scarf, but less boring, and I can wear it in the warmer months. Yay that!

Just last night, I started the Anthropologie Knock-Off Sweater. I'm making mine in Wool-Ease Chunky, in white like the original, but with glitter in it, unlike the original, but very "me." ;)



And just for kicks, I unearthed my collection of favorite Anthropologie catalogs (I'm too poor to shop there, so I save my favorites in case I ever feel like sewing a knock-off of anything) and wouldn't you know it, I have the winter '05 issue! Here is the original:



Personally, I think all of the knock-offs I've seen are way cuter. I think it's the yarn they use or something. However, I need a rhinestone-encrusted ginormous hook and eye for mine! OMG! Where can I get one?!?

So. That brings us up to date. Upcoming projects include a possible second Anthropologie Knock-Off in Caron's "Black Magic" yarn (in shades of blue/black), the cropped hoodie from craftser in Caron's Simply Soft (in a pretty rasperry color) (this is my bargain project!), and in a blend of my knitting and historic costuming obsessions, I'll be making a knitted reticule like this one either in Baby Ull or Royale crochet thread - tbd. I had plans to do the Stitch 'n Bitch "Pippi Kneestockings" in shades of black/gray/pink, but I don't like the colors together now that I've received them, so I'm not sure if I'll go for it or not. And on a whim, I bought this silly yarn at JoAnn's because it was funky and on sale. Not sure what to do with it. An iPod cozy? Another shrug? Who knows!

I definitely have enough to keep me busy. Let's hope I a.) stay busy, and b.) actually keep up with posting about it!

Back from the missing. . .

Oh my. FIVE MONTHS since my last post?!? *looks guilty* It's not that surprising though, really, since I tend to take a little knitting vacation in the summer. . . I guess I'm just not hardcore enough to want to knit in 90 degree + weather! The good news is, I wasn't totally away from the knitting, and now that I can feel fall creeping up - it's all that "back to school" stuff at Target, you know - and so I'm thinking knitting thoughts again! So, I give you progress on a Gryffindor scarf, which is sort of a mix of the infamous atypically pattern and my own pattern, based on studying images of the movie scarves. . .



The next two projects after this scarf I think will be another set of wrist warmers (this time using knitty.com's pattern), and my very first sweater. Since I like to fling myself into the deep end when it comes to things like this, I picked a complicated-looking sweater - but I couldn't help myself because it's so cute, and so very me! It's a modernized 1940s cardigan pattern from the Rowan book "Vintage Knits." Should me mental and fun in equal parts, I think! ;)

Yes, I sometimes actually knit.

My latest knitting has involved creating a pattern for some simple wrist warmers. Yes, I know there are a handful (no pun intended, really!) of free patterns for this item out there, but I wanted one that had the seam on the underarm, not on the side, and I didn't want to knit in the round either, so. . .

My wrist warmer:


I'm on the fence as to the thumb. Leave it as is, or add a little thumb piece? That would probably involve fiddly knitting in the round, so perhaps not. . . ;P

As if it weren't enough to have booties for an imaginary baby. . .

I give you a bonnet in progress (which matches the booties, actually). This is what happens when you stay home from work, but lose power an hour after you get up, and don't get it back until around 6:30 pm. ;)

   

So, there you have it. Laid flat, and draped over my hand to make it make more sense.

I've made some mistakes in this one, and I couldn't magically fix them. And, I'm not frogging it because they're near the seam, and I've done so much!

So this means, I have a mistake-ridden bonnet, one great bootie, and one bootie with an obvious ridge all the way around that the good one doesn't have. *sigh*

So anyhow. In typical "me" fashion, none of the above are finished, but I've started another project! ;)

I was in a shop in Boston and they had these little "wristlets" for like $19, and I wanted them but was not willing to shell out that much. So. . . I'm making up a pattern for them! I think I've come to enjoy winging it & making my own patterns more than anything. The projects go better, and I seem to be more likely to actually finish them. Granted, the first couple were simple, but this one is getting a bit more challenging. Right now, I'm doing it in cheap worsted wool from Wal-Mart, but if the pattern works, I'm going to make this my first Fair Isle project, and have some real fun with it!

One of those UFO's, finished, and off to it's new home! But before I gifted it, I took a picture:


Two more UFO's to go!

I also made excellant progress on baby bootie #1. All that's left is the seams/weaving in ends, observe:



And in other news, I'm not going to wait to buy my yarn for my first sweater. I just don't have the self-control! ;P