Yarn Along: Knitting Ennui, Elf Slippers & Portland Hoodie Cowl

This last week brought to me something new in knitting.  I did not have anything to knit. I did not know what I wanted to knit.  No matter how many hours I searched through patterns, I could not find something that jump out at me and scream KNIT ME.  Sure there was a few things in my queue that I liked but honestly, I can't afford to buy new yarn right now.  That was a big part of the problem.  Though I have tons of yarn in my stash, it was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears:  Not the right weight, not the right yardage or just not the right yarn for the projects that were jumping out at me.  Finally I brought one tote at a time to my computer and searched patterns by the yarns that I did have as I also photographed the ones that weren't in my Ravelry stash and updated amounts in Ravelry that I forgot to update as being used.

Eventually I came across in my stash a yarn that was the perfect weight, the perfect yardage for a pattern that I had recently fell in love with and had I been able to buy yarn, this pattern would have been at the top of my list to make.  It is the Portland Hoodie Cowl by Neeka Knits.  It's cute, it's useful, it may just solve my hat dilemma that I've been in for the last year.  Only problem, this yarn is just not something I would make something for myself out of.  However, it was a yarn that I would knit something for my roommate out of and this pattern is perfect for her as well.  She is a walker and a traveler.  She puts on miles.  And is unexpectedly back in Minnesota after fleeing it for climates that aren't quite as brutal.

Portland Hoodie Cowl

I cast on immediately, only to realize that the fabric I was getting was lumpy and just not what I wanted for this pattern.  Because this yarn is a thick/thin yarn, I was expecting this in a small amount, but not the amount I was getting.  I also was ending up with huge gaps in between some stitches that would make the cowl no where near as warm as I wanted to make for my roommate with all of her winter walking.  What to do, what to do.  I remembered that I still had a ton of the black Reynolds mohair in lace weight that I made my cowl out of last month.  If I knit both yarns at once, the Reynolds may just fill in the empty gaps that I was getting. I ripped out what I had and cast on a second time with both yarns.  After a few rows, not only was I pleased with the results that I was seeing, I was completely falling in love with it.  The second yarn filled in the gaps, but the contrasting color made the Gedifra Cicco yarn that I started with stand out and look nothing like the yarn I had started with.  I'm about half way through the cowl section, hopefully this weekend I'll be ready to start the hood!


I also stopped procrastinating this weekend and finally felted the Elf Slippers that have been waiting for some time to be thrown in the washer.  After taking these photos I realized that I need to clean them up a bit more after felting, however they are felted dammit and finally dry enough to wear.

Jenifgrr's Elf Slippers

Julian's Elf Slippers

I made Julian's slippers first and left off the edging on purpose, however, didn't realize that I needed to add i-cord to the tip of the toe to make the elfness of the slippers pronounced.  The pair that I made for myself I added both and will from now on if I make them again.  And I have a feeling that I will be making these again.  Everyone loves them that has seen them and they are an easy knit for a gift.

Yarn Along: Day late, Oh Well?

Apparently, structured posting is not my thing. Could also be that Thursday mornings just work better for posting because I have a late start at work on Thursdays.  Either way, I've been able to get a bit of knitting done this last week even with fighting off sickness and desire to just sleep anytime I haven't been at work.

I was able to finish knitting the Elf Slippers from my last Yarn Along post.  They haven't made it into the washer yet for felting (along with Julian's that have been waiting to be felted for oh, a year or so now), but I'm pretty confident that by next week I'll have pictures of felted slippers to share.  Here's how they look while they're waiting to be felted:

This weekend I started my sisters Up On Top boot toppers that she asked me to make for her way too close to Christmas this past year for me to complete in time to give her as a gift.  Not because they themselves would have taken too much time to make, but because I had too many other knitting projects already slated to be knit by Christmas and I already had a gift for her.  But, bonus for my sister because I have the time now and since her birthday will be too far off to gift to her then, she will get the next time I see her after I finish the pair in hopes that she can still wear them this winter.

This pattern is well written and very easy.  Previously I had tried another boot topper pattern that I started no less than three times trying to make the pattern work, but gave up in frustration.  I normally don't have issues following a pattern and I love patterns with cables, I don't know if it was me or the pattern but it was frogged and the pattern was thrown in the recycling bin.  In the time it took me to knit, frog, knit, frog, knit, frog I could have made several pairs in the pattern that I am currently using.

Next week I should have photos of the completed boot toppers with the felted slipper photos and hopefully another project on the needles.

Yarn Along: Elf Slippers

I finally wore through the first pair of felted slippers that I made when I first learned how to knit, which meant that I could finally cast on a pair of Elf Slippers for myself!  I made a quite small pair last year coughthatstillneedstobefeltedcough and ever since have been planning on making a pair for myself.  I've been working on these off and on since the beginning of the year, but once I started my new job in January, I really didn't have much brain power left at the end of the day to even knit.  Now that I've been there for over a month now, and I finished the black cowl that I decided to make after I started the slippers, I suddenly have both the brain power and the time to finishing these up!

Tonight I was able to finish knitting the second slipper and all I have left to do is the top flap on both slippers.  By this time next week, hopefully I'll have a lovely pair of felted slippers to show.  Granted, my weekend will be taken up by this craziness.  We'll see how much knitting time I'll actually end up with this next seven days.

A New Year, A New Adventure.

The first post in a new space.  How daunting.  I was once a live journal girl, however, in the last few years I've stopped posting there and just go to read other peoples postings.  I wanted to start a new year, my new life, my new outlook with a brand new space.

I've decided to join Yarn Along each Wednesday as a way to both start posting more about my knitting and a way to get me back in the habit of at least once a week writing and posting.

This week I finished a cowl that I made after another cowl that I had purchased a few years ago.  It is made out of stretchy, soft t-shirt material and drapes beautifully.  I knew using yarn, the drape would be different, but to make up for that I alternated rows of knitting and purling hoping to give it a similar draping effect.  It looks nothing like my other cowl, but I love how it turned out.  So soft and snuggly, and so crazy long.  I finally used two of the skeins of the Reynolds no 1 mohair that I found at a thrift store a few years ago.  It was a perfect choice.  Now I just need to figure out what else to make out of the remaining 11 skeins!

This weekend I'll work on better photo's, I took these last night after a long day at work on my phone.  And yes, that is white cat hair in my knitting.