Second Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Day 4

Day Four: 31st March. Where are they now?
Whatever happened to your __________?
Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity.

This is gonna be a quick one because I'm headed off to tech/first preview...

This one's easy!  Last fall, I knitted my mom a headband with some BEAUTIFUL Malabrigo.  And then for Christmas...a pair of handwarmers with the rest of the yarn.  And I KNOW she wears them, because whenever she comes to Chicago, she brings them with her and wears them!  Hooray!  And these are special because they were at the beginning of my Yarn Phase 2 (phase 1 being just garter stitching for months, phase 2 being when I finally learned to purl, and phase 3 being crochet), and one of the first things I made with the purl stitch in them. 

Me modeling said headband.

mitts!

Momma with her headband in the Grand/State Red Line station!

Holy Yarn Colors, Batman!

This afghan is amazing.  They made all 55 of these different colored blocks using 10 different colors & double stranding them.  WHOA.  This is for real awesome. 

I found this here.  But I believe it originated here. 

An Update of This Week via Pictures...

Thanksgiving Dinner with SMC Theatre Girls in Chicago down on the south side on Monday!

my Thanksgiving dessert without the pineapple topping

pineapple topping cooling!

crocheted baby hat for my current stage manager

Old Man Marr's knitted scarf with the awesome cards i got at the DIY Trunkshow!

Finished Thanksgiving Dessert!  Pineapple top, Cool whip/Cream Cheese middle, Pretzel/Butter/Sugar bottom

can you see the yummy layers?

me and my "little brother" on Thanksgiving

Old Man Marr modeling his scarf while watching the Irish beat USC yesterday! Photo courtesy of my dad's phone.

FOs #7-11! so many!

 Here are pictures of my most recent finished objects! 

Hat & Cowl crocheted with yarn from Loopy Yarns.  This yarn has become my favorite.  SO SOFT!

 

Two Cowls.  One for me and one for my cousin.  Both crocheted.

Cowl for cousin.  Pay no attention to the crazy hair. 

This is my first crocheted hat.  It's from the same yarn I made the black fingerless mitts out of from Loopy Yarns.  It's specific purpose is for wearing backstage when it's chilly (which happens more often than one would think).

Last but not least, a Scarf for my neighbor in Indy, Old Man Marr.  Don't judge me, I haven't tucked the ends in yet.  This is an early Christmas gift that I will give him at Thanksgiving :).  Knitted in a big basket-weave stitch (2 squares across).

What Day is Today?

My roommate Mikey and I just collective realized today is Tuesday and not Wednesday or Thursday... In our world (she's a lighting designer), weekends don't really matter, that is they aren't generally work free, but certain days have certain things going on.  Especially when you work free lance like we do.  It was quite the strange realization.  I'm actually ok with it only being Tuesday, because I have a lot to get done before Friday night when I hop on the Megabus and head home!  I'm unreal excited about going home this weekend.  Even though it's only for like 36 hours.  Wedding/bridesmaid dress shopping with the besties, shopping with my mom, dinner with my family, etc! 

One of the things I need to get done before I get home is a knitted scarf for a dear, dear person.  My parents have lived in their house for 20 years now.  And our neighbors across the street moved in a few months before we did.  Our families have pretty much blended together, and I'm super close to all of them.  Especially Old Man Marr (granted he's a few years younger than my dad).  He's become a second dad.  Anyways, I'm making him a scarf as an early Christmas present (he spends a lot of time outside, so I'd like him to have it for a majority of the cold months). 

In other news, you should check out this playlist of MUSIC TO KNIT BY that I saw on Twitter this morning. 

And here's a gratuitous picture for the day: 

What I plan on eating Saturday night with my parents....Daddy Deeter's Steak!

Knitting To Do List

While knitting and watching the Colts' game last night, I realized I needed to make a To Do List for my knitting projects, including writing down when things are "due."

So I did.

Here it is (in order of due date):

Due Date -- Project
Thanksgiving -- Scarf for Old Man Marr
Thanksgiving -- 4 more headbands for the homeless
?? -- Cody's mitts (he has to get me yarn/measurements first)
Christmas -- Dad's gift (which I won't tell you what it is in case he reads this :) )
Christmas -- Mom's gift (see above)Mid-December -- Megan Flanigan's blue giftChristmas -- gift for baby Jayce
Christmas -- Aunt K's washclothsChristmas -- Matt/Sarah's washcloths
Christmas -- Smiley's ribbed scarf
Christmas -- Lily's scarf
Christmas -- (hopefully) gifts for the 4 BFFs (Ann, Sarah, Chris, Frankie)
Whenever -- Roommates' washcloths      
End of Jan. -- Ann's wedding blanket
End of May -- Sarah's wedding blanket

I'll be sure to keep you posted on my progress... :)

Work In Projgress #1/HOME!

I'm dragging a bit today.  I just woke up from a nap, and I have to leave in 25 minutes to head to Rogers Park to see a show at Northwestern -- a good friend of ours is the props master there.  Yay free theatre!

I got up early this morning and went to a free crochet class at a local library.  Hopefully, I'll have more to share on this soon.  I also did some work for one of the shows I'm working on.

Most importantly, I booked my Megabus tickets home for this coming weekend (to go wedding dress/bridesmaid dress shopping with one of my BFFs) and for Thanksgiving!!!!  I'm SO unbelievably excited!  I haven't been back to Indy since I moved up here in August...I miss it so!  And Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, so I'm psyched to spend it with my family!!

Lastly, here's one of my works in progress.  Two of my BFFs from high school are engaged (Ann got engaged lat Christmas and is getting married in May, and Sarah got engaged a few weeks ago and is getting married in August).  I'm going home in a week to dress shop with Sarah.  We've done the dress shopping with Ann.  Back before I moved, I asked her how she and her hubby-to-be would like a hand knitted (by me) blanket for their wedding gift (partially because God knows I can't afford much else), and she flipped!  So I've started.  I'm working on the 7th square (of 20).  Here's what I've got so far.  The long ones count as 2 squares b/c they're twice as long as the regular ones. 

Finished Object #4! Half-FO #5!

I just finished those orange mittens I blogged about a few days ago!  They turned out great, and now I just have to figure out how to get them to Abby (she lives in Chicago, but is currently teaching at Ball State in Indiana).

I also bought some black yarn while my Momma was here to make some for me to wear backstage...you'd be surprised at how cold it can get.  I finished one last night--usually I knit both, and then stitch them together, but this time I knit one & stitched it.  They are UNREAL soft!

I'm also making those dirty cookies again.  I went to the store and got some real butter this time. 

Also, I have a cold, and apparently you can't buy Sudafed or Tylenol at Jewel-Osco right now...something about some sort of manufacturing problem...so THAT's annoying. 

And lastly, I decided I wanted a grilled cheese w/ some tomato soup today...I used the Aldi brand singles that I got recently.  Holy Cow...they are all sorts of gooey and salty and NOT GOOD.  I haven't had a Kraft Single in a while, but I remember them being much, MUCH better.

Almost Finished Object #4

My current project is another pair of fingerless mittens for one of my co-workers from ISF.  I got this pretty, burnt orange yarn from a VG co-worker who saw it on the “free table” at one of the thrift stores he frequents.  He picked it (and another skein of green!) up for me one day!  It’s pretty thin (size 7 needles), but it’s 100% wool, so it’s got a great texture.  And I am a he texture person.  It got even softer after I ran it through a cold, gentle cycle in the wash.  Now they’re not completely done; I still have to stitch them together to make them actually go on hands, but here they are pre-stitching!

I did 14 rows of stockinette, 6 rows of seed, 16 rows of stockinette, and 18 rows if k2p2 rib.  I love the way they turned out!

 

In other news, they are photographed on top of my most favoritest blanket ever.  My Grandma Deeter made this quilt for my parents when they got married.  I “stole” it sometime while I was in high school or college, and it has become permanently mine.  I have to sleep with some sort of covers on, so when it’s too warm for my big, comfy comforter, I sleep with this.  This quilt is not only special because I was really close to Grandma Deeter (and she was an extremely talented crochet-er and sewer), but it’s extra-special because we have dozens of afghans she made, but I prefer the cool, smoothness of fabric to the warm, fuzziness of yarn.  When sleeping only, obviously.  Grandma Deeter died the day before St. Patrick’s Day in 2006.  She tried teaching me to crochet when I was a kid, but I only got as far as one really long row, and it didn’t stick.  I really wish I had learned to knit (and become as obsessed with it as I am now) before she died so I could have made something to give back to her.  I think she would have loved that.  Enough sappy for now.

(For the record, this is not cheating for NaBloPoMo...it's 12:12am, so that means it's officially 11/2.  Look, I have to leave for work at 9:30am and won't get home til after midnight.  So gimme a break!)

                                                                                                                                   

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.

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!