Finished Project #3--Learning....

So I just finished knitting my first hat!  It was quite the learning experience for me...I got this yarn (Malabrigo) over the summer at my first trip to Loopy Yarns, and I had intended to make a hat with it, but hadn't gotten around to it b/c of the baby blankets Claire and I were making. 

I'll spare you all the details of this little adventure other than the fact that I forgot/sorta didn't know that when you get 100% wool hot, it felts.  Which means it looks less like knitted yarn and more like colorful felt.

Here's the before wash/dry/felt:  

And here's the after/final project:

Luckily, I still like it.  I was really upset at first because it wasn't what I had intended/wanted, but my co-worker, my roommates, and a friend that's visiting all love it.  So, I guess it can be considered a success.

book worm

I came across this on one of the blogs I read, and I loved it.  Check out this book worm quote/picture.

Finished Project #2!

I finished my momma's ear warmer, and it turned out great  I particularly love the way this yarn self striped.  Here's the finished project.

I did a stockinette stitch, with a garter stitch border on each side, and some rows of garter stitch spaced throughout.  I used the gorgeous Malabrigo we got at Loopy Yarns here in Chicago. 

Never mind my hair sticking up...I had just come home from a 2 show day at work, had already put on my pajamas, and I pushed my hair back with an elastic head band, so despite the fact that I look ridiculous, the headband looks awesome :)

My Momma and Some Yarn

My Momma is in Chicago for a visit!  She came up on Thursday with a coworker for a conference, and I met her downtown afterward and brought her back to my apartment!  Today we spent the day shopping downtown!  Our top priority for shopping was a local yarn boutique, Loopy Yarns.  For you Chicagoans, it's located at State & Polk, and it's amazing.  Legit.  Anyways, we went a little overboard, but isn't that what visits with your mom are for? 

I got some super soft black yarn (on sale!) to make some black fingerless mittens and a hat for me to wear back stage when I get cold, and I got this super awesome, UNREAL SOFT, bulky yarn, which I think I might use to make a hat and cowl for myself.

Momma got some great purpley blacky silvery yarn to crochet herself a scarf with, and I helped her pick out some GORGEOUS multi-colored Malabrigo (my FAVE yarn) for me to knit her an ear warmer/headband with.  It's base color is purple, but it also has some mint, light blue, and orange in it. 

No we did not spend $90 on 6 skeins of yarn today... :)

Left to Right:  Mom's scarf yarn, my hat/cowl yarn, Mom's ear band yarn.

This ear warmer yarn calls for size 7-9 needles.  I tried both my 8 and 9 sizes and decided they were too big.  The only 7s I have are double ended, so I just shoved some corks on the end to make them work.  Luckily double ended needles come in packs of 4, so if I ruin these 2 with the corks, I still have two left. 

Finished Project #1!

Now that I've picked up my knitting again pretty regularly (and by regularly I may or may not mean obsessively) and gotten a lot better & learned new things, I've taken on some new projects! 

My roommate, Mikey, was impressed with my basic fingerless mittens that I made for myself, so I told her I'd love to make her a pair!  Here are mine:  

My fingerless mittens.  Made using two  strands of sock yarn at the same time.  Yarn bought at Knit Stop in Indy.

I made Mikey's with a beautiful dark purple, satiny yarn.  I think they turned out pretty great, however one is one or two rows longer than the other...oops. 

Mikey's mitts!  Made with Bernat Satin, worsted weight/100% acrylic, in Plum Mist Heather, with size 8 straight needles. 

She spent the last 3 years going to grad school in Florida, so she's super excited to be able to wear cold weather clothes & accessories again!

A New Home!

A new home, two-fold!

Fold #1:  I've moved from Indianapolis to Chicago.  So, literally, I'm in a new home!
Fold #2:  A new home for my thoughts and whatever else I decide to put here. 

I thought it'd be nice to have somewhere to put down the random things that I think that are too long or complicated for a Facebook status or Tweet, but I think someone, somewhere might want to read them.  Plus, I hope to chronicle some of my adventures here in the fabulous Windy City.  I've lived here for almost 2 months now, and I absolutely LOVE IT!

And, I'm a knitter.  I learned to knit right around Thanksgiving 2009, and in the last few weeks, I've grown exponentially in my abilities.  I've taken on some hefty projects: a wedding blanket for each of the two brides who's weddings I'm in in the summer of 2011, using left over yarn to make ear warmers for the homeless, fingerless mittens for my roommate, a knitted tie for the artistic director of the Tony Award winning theatre I work for, and many more!  I want a place where I can post pictures with detailed captions and information about my knitting projects and progress.

Oh yeah, and that little thing about me being a huge book worm!  I keep a list of all of the books I read throughout the year, but how great will it be to also mention them here for anyone who might want to know what I'm reading and/or want a recommendation from yours truly!

And lastly, I'm trying to learn classic photography.  The fabulous Daddy Deeter gifted me his Canon AE-1 Film SLR camera that he bought in the 1970s, and I'm learning to use it as professionally (and awesomely) as possible.  After I get film developed, I scan all of the pictures into my computer, so I'll post some of those too!

Here's a photo to get you started :).  And welcome aboard!

Saint Mary's of the Lake Catholic Church.  One block south of my apartment at the corner of Buena and Sheridan.