Howdy, Internet!
So apparently I'm featured on the TeachStreet Knitting pages? Awesome! Thanks, TeachStreet!
Welcome to new readers, if there are any! I haven't been posting a lot lately because I've been busy with work and school, but I plan to get into a better knitting/blogging groove once the semester gets going. Feel free to read some past posts and please comment, even if its just to say hi!
This blog is about my knitting adventures, and sometimes about my life adventures. As a college student who knits, crochets, and spins, I feel I have a unique perspective on yarncrafting. I've been knitting since I was 10, but re-discovered the magic of sticks and string only 4 years ago, so I still have a lot to learn. This blog documents my learning experiences, successes, and failures for my own sake, but also just in case others read it and might learn something from my experiences.
Will definitely post an actual crafting update once I'm done with my seemingly infinite pile of Japanese homework (darn the mundane call of homework and real life when there's knitting to be done!). Thanks for reading!
Yarny love,
~YoungKnitter
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Sweater progress
My first sweater is going REALLY WELL!!!
I finished increasing for the sleeves and they're sitting on scrap yarn right now while I'm busy knitting away at the body! I took this picture just after dinner, but have made immense progress between then and now because I just finished watching the 3rd Lord of the Rings movie with my parents. I have this hilarious tendency, while movie knitting, to knit faster the more exciting a movie gets. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is 3 hours of straight EXCITEMENT, so I got a good 3 more inches done on the body. WOW.
I'm a little worried that I made the sleeves a bit too wide, but I'll worry about that when I go to knit up the sleeves. Or maybe I should go ahead and do that now? If I go ahead and finish the sleeves, then I'll know exactly how much yarn I have left to give the body a little extra length. Hmm.... I shall look into it.
That's about all the news here.
Yarnylove,
~YoungKnitter
Sunday, August 7, 2011
FIRST SWEATER AHHH
Breaking News: YoungKnitter attempts a sweater!!!
Yes, you heard it folks, our very own YoungKnitter cast on her very first sweater mere moments ago. And she couldn't be more excited!
It all started with what was meant to be a routine, casual stop at my LYS. However, Stitching Mantis in Cape Elizabeth, ME is GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. Which is tragic, because how on earth am I supposed to get my close-enough-to-walk yarn fix when SM is gone?! But, everything is 35% off right now cuz the owner is trying to get rid of everything. So I snagged some lovely sock yarn because who can resist? And a wonderful Harry Potter knitting book called Charmed Knits which turns out to be full of wonderful patterns I can't wait to try! But then I thought "Well, I've been wanting to brave making a sweater, and when else will I get such a cheap opportunity to buy sweater yarn?"
So I got 9 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. It's GLORIOUS. It still cost a pretty penny, but I have a few theories about sweater yarn. 1) It's a big project. I need a yarn that I'll still be happy with eleventy-bajillion stitches into the project. 2) It's my first sweater. So I need something scrumptious to encourage me to work on it, even when I get frustrated. 3) It's my first sweater, but I want it to be something I will wear and enjoy. This yarn is a lovely dark green, and luxuriously soft, so I think I'll be really happy to work with it, and happy to wear it once it's done. That being said, I figured my first sweater yarn was worth the splurge.
The pattern I'm using is the 5$ in Paris (Ravelry Pattern page). It's a simple top-down raglan sweater with a pretty boatneck collar. I do plan on making the sleeves full-length, but other than that I'm gonna stick pretty close to the original pattern. I'm using a DK weight yarn, when the pattern calls for worsted, so that might cause a little bit of trickiness when it comes to sizing. But my gauge is very close to the designers, so I guess I'll try it on as I go and figure it out from there.
I realize I haven't blogged in forever, so here's a summary of what I've been up to and what I'm working on right now:
1) I finished the Sharf, but I still have to block it.
2) I bullied my Socks for Soldiers socks out of hibernation to knit on the plane and stuff.
3) I started a pair of armwarmers, and I got to the hand increases when the pattern stopped making sense. So I'll pick those back up when I'm less mad at them.
4) I have about a bajillion projects in my head for starting soon. More news on those when they get farther along in planning.
I have about 1.5 weeks before I head back to school, and less than 3 weeks until classes start. Yikes! So excited about the upcoming semester. Definitely gonna try my hardest to fit in more knitting (and hopefully) blogging time, but we'll see.
Before I leave, here's a pic of me with my new super-short haircut approximately 2.5 rows into my sweater. My friend Cassidy made those stitchmarkers for me for Christmas and I can't get over how adorable it is to have cute little butterfly and rainbow star beads dangling off my work.
Happy Knitting!
~YK
Yes, you heard it folks, our very own YoungKnitter cast on her very first sweater mere moments ago. And she couldn't be more excited!
It all started with what was meant to be a routine, casual stop at my LYS. However, Stitching Mantis in Cape Elizabeth, ME is GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. Which is tragic, because how on earth am I supposed to get my close-enough-to-walk yarn fix when SM is gone?! But, everything is 35% off right now cuz the owner is trying to get rid of everything. So I snagged some lovely sock yarn because who can resist? And a wonderful Harry Potter knitting book called Charmed Knits which turns out to be full of wonderful patterns I can't wait to try! But then I thought "Well, I've been wanting to brave making a sweater, and when else will I get such a cheap opportunity to buy sweater yarn?"
So I got 9 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. It's GLORIOUS. It still cost a pretty penny, but I have a few theories about sweater yarn. 1) It's a big project. I need a yarn that I'll still be happy with eleventy-bajillion stitches into the project. 2) It's my first sweater. So I need something scrumptious to encourage me to work on it, even when I get frustrated. 3) It's my first sweater, but I want it to be something I will wear and enjoy. This yarn is a lovely dark green, and luxuriously soft, so I think I'll be really happy to work with it, and happy to wear it once it's done. That being said, I figured my first sweater yarn was worth the splurge.
The pattern I'm using is the 5$ in Paris (Ravelry Pattern page). It's a simple top-down raglan sweater with a pretty boatneck collar. I do plan on making the sleeves full-length, but other than that I'm gonna stick pretty close to the original pattern. I'm using a DK weight yarn, when the pattern calls for worsted, so that might cause a little bit of trickiness when it comes to sizing. But my gauge is very close to the designers, so I guess I'll try it on as I go and figure it out from there.
I realize I haven't blogged in forever, so here's a summary of what I've been up to and what I'm working on right now:
1) I finished the Sharf, but I still have to block it.
2) I bullied my Socks for Soldiers socks out of hibernation to knit on the plane and stuff.
3) I started a pair of armwarmers, and I got to the hand increases when the pattern stopped making sense. So I'll pick those back up when I'm less mad at them.
4) I have about a bajillion projects in my head for starting soon. More news on those when they get farther along in planning.
I have about 1.5 weeks before I head back to school, and less than 3 weeks until classes start. Yikes! So excited about the upcoming semester. Definitely gonna try my hardest to fit in more knitting (and hopefully) blogging time, but we'll see.
Before I leave, here's a pic of me with my new super-short haircut approximately 2.5 rows into my sweater. My friend Cassidy made those stitchmarkers for me for Christmas and I can't get over how adorable it is to have cute little butterfly and rainbow star beads dangling off my work.
Happy Knitting!
~YK
Monday, May 16, 2011
Summer Knittin'
Hello! Long time no blog!
The semester is over and I'm back to my relaxing summer schedule of knit knit knit all the time! :) As evidenced by the successful completion of half of a pair of Cookie A's Vilai Socks (my Ravlery project page) that I finally finished.
I started these socks last summer (sheesh!) and finally kitchener-ed the heck out of those toes earlier this afternoon. *so proud*
Now to start and finish the second half of the pair. *sigh* Other works in progress: my Holden Shawlette, more affectionately called the Sharf. I finally printed out the lace chart for the final edging and will get started on that tonight. Other than that, I don't have any other real projects going on. I've got an idea in the back of my head for some armwarmers for myself with some leftover Plymouth Yarn Co Happy Feet. Also, I got a gorgeous skein of Jawoll Magic with which I need to find something to do.
Also: THE DRESS! That gorgeous dress pattern I was lusting after a few months back has FINALLY been put back online. I left the yarn in Nashville, but I'll get started on that as soon as I get back.
Other updates from the last post:
I finished the blue armwarmers and gave them to Tessa, and she loved them! I'm soooo glad, and really excited to see pictures of her galavanting around Ireland wearing them next fall. ^^
I got that job I was talking about. The one in Nashville over the summer. Which is AWESOME. I'll be in Nashville acting as part camp counselor, part RA, part mom for middle- to high school-aged kids for the months of June and July. I start on the 6th of June! Can't wait :) I'll have lots of knitting (and blogging!) time, and it'll give me the time to get a head start on my dress! :D
Fishwilliam is also doing very well! He's staying with a friend in Nashville and in very good hands. ^^
Other life updates:
Exams all went well (albeit stressful), and I started my summer by spending a few days in Portland, OR with my brother. Now I'm back in Maine for a few short days to relax (and knit, of course) before running down to Boston to help my sister pack up her apartment and then watch her graduate on Sunday! It still amazes me that she's already graduating. :)
Then a few days of family vacation, a couple weeks to relax in Maine, and then I ship out to Nashville and my sister heads out to Africa! She got accepted into the Peace Corps and starts her tour of duty in June. I'm so incredibly proud of and excited for her :D It's kind of scary, of course. We're not sure of the details, but the only method of communication we're sure to have is the post. So we'll be writing a lot of letters, which will take 6ish weeks to get there! O.O Even though I want to be worried and scared and sad that she's leaving to a far-off, strange country without me, I can't help but imagine all the awesome adventures she'll be having there, too. It'll be hard not seeing her for 27 months, but I can't wait to hear all the cool stories :D
Well, that's enough babbling for one day! I'll post more pictures when I get started on other projects and make more progress on my Sharf and other Vilai sock.
Until then, happy knitting!
~YoungKnitter
The semester is over and I'm back to my relaxing summer schedule of knit knit knit all the time! :) As evidenced by the successful completion of half of a pair of Cookie A's Vilai Socks (my Ravlery project page) that I finally finished.
I started these socks last summer (sheesh!) and finally kitchener-ed the heck out of those toes earlier this afternoon. *so proud*
Now to start and finish the second half of the pair. *sigh* Other works in progress: my Holden Shawlette, more affectionately called the Sharf. I finally printed out the lace chart for the final edging and will get started on that tonight. Other than that, I don't have any other real projects going on. I've got an idea in the back of my head for some armwarmers for myself with some leftover Plymouth Yarn Co Happy Feet. Also, I got a gorgeous skein of Jawoll Magic with which I need to find something to do.
Also: THE DRESS! That gorgeous dress pattern I was lusting after a few months back has FINALLY been put back online. I left the yarn in Nashville, but I'll get started on that as soon as I get back.
Other updates from the last post:
I finished the blue armwarmers and gave them to Tessa, and she loved them! I'm soooo glad, and really excited to see pictures of her galavanting around Ireland wearing them next fall. ^^
I got that job I was talking about. The one in Nashville over the summer. Which is AWESOME. I'll be in Nashville acting as part camp counselor, part RA, part mom for middle- to high school-aged kids for the months of June and July. I start on the 6th of June! Can't wait :) I'll have lots of knitting (and blogging!) time, and it'll give me the time to get a head start on my dress! :D
Fishwilliam is also doing very well! He's staying with a friend in Nashville and in very good hands. ^^
Other life updates:
Exams all went well (albeit stressful), and I started my summer by spending a few days in Portland, OR with my brother. Now I'm back in Maine for a few short days to relax (and knit, of course) before running down to Boston to help my sister pack up her apartment and then watch her graduate on Sunday! It still amazes me that she's already graduating. :)
Then a few days of family vacation, a couple weeks to relax in Maine, and then I ship out to Nashville and my sister heads out to Africa! She got accepted into the Peace Corps and starts her tour of duty in June. I'm so incredibly proud of and excited for her :D It's kind of scary, of course. We're not sure of the details, but the only method of communication we're sure to have is the post. So we'll be writing a lot of letters, which will take 6ish weeks to get there! O.O Even though I want to be worried and scared and sad that she's leaving to a far-off, strange country without me, I can't help but imagine all the awesome adventures she'll be having there, too. It'll be hard not seeing her for 27 months, but I can't wait to hear all the cool stories :D
Well, that's enough babbling for one day! I'll post more pictures when I get started on other projects and make more progress on my Sharf and other Vilai sock.
Until then, happy knitting!
~YoungKnitter
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Happy National Crochet Month!
Hooray for crochet! I look forward to doing lots of this excellent craft this month in honor of National Crochet Month. :)
Well, Internet, I've been a bad blogger. Again. *sigh* I guess I never learn, huh?
All right: we've got some catching up to do!
First of all, the Guido scarf that I made for 9, the musical that my student organization put on in January, turned out BEAUTIFULLY!
Here's me modeling it:
And here's the actor who got to wear it in the show, Michael, modeling it:
Doesn't he look snappy? The scarf was a big hit, and got lots of great comments both from cast members and from the audience. When the show ended, Michael had grown so attached to the scarf that he asked if he could keep it. And why not? So he's the proud owner of that masterpiece.
It was a great first crazy colorwork project for me. It turned out beautifully, and I'm really proud. It was a hard skill to pick up, but pick it up I did, and I got plenty of practice on that whole huge scarf, and I feel really confident about my colorworking skills now! :)
After the scarf, I haven't been doing a lot of crafting. This semester has taken me for quite a crazy ride so far. I made the hat for Erin that y'all have already, seen, but I'll put in the picture again:
She really likes it! I made it in this great acrylic-mohair blend I got from a yarn swap from the knitting ladies in Portland, and wiht this gorgeous lace pattern called the Carson Cap (Ravelry pattern page). It was a fun project to make, and it turned out great!
Then I'm in the middle of a pair of arm warmers for Tessa! I'm using the CanCans pattern (Ravelry pattern link). The first one came out great!
It's mostly just plain ol' stockinette, but with a cool twisted stitch pattern going up the center of the back of the wrist and hand. So pretty! And it has THUMBS! I've never made thumbs before!!! I'm using the Nature's Palette fingering weight yarn, which is GORGEOUS! It's made all with natural plant dyes, it's all earth-friendly and all that good stuff. I cast on the second one yesterday, so hopefully that'll get done soon!
That's about all the knitting updates. My bummer knitting news is that the pattern for the dress that I've been wanting to make for soooo long got taken down. It'll supposedly be back up soon, but for sale. I just hope they put it back up soon! :(
Now for my exciting life news! I said yesterday that I have 4 cool pieces of news! It turns out that I forgot one of them, so really it's 5 pieces of exciting life news!
1. My best friend from Austin's sister had a beautiful baby boy this weekend. I'm SO PROUD! <3
2. I got an interview for the summer job I applied for. I would be a camp counselor/RA at an academic summer camp at Vanderbilt. The interview is Friday. SO EXCITED!
3. I was officially asked to be the Assistant Director for Vanderbilt Off Broadway's production next year. This is REALLY awesome news because I will be in line to be the Director my senior year. Which will be REALLY awesome!
4. I have officially decided to study abroad in Japan next Spring! The application is not due until October or something, so I don't have to do much for it for a while. But in the meantime, it has given me new motivation to do well in my Japanese language classes! Which I needed... this language is SO HARD!!!
5. Last but not least, I got a new pet fishy!!!
His name is Colonel Fishwilliam H. Fishington III, or Mr. Fishy for short. <3 He's a beautiful male betta fish, colored a gorgeous blue-y purple. He's a little camera shy, and it's hard to get a picture that really does his colors justice, but these will have to do for now!
I've always wondered why people have pet fish, since they seem so boring and stuff. My reasons for getting him, though, were that I decided I need to learn to take care of another life. I want to get a cat when I leave Vanderbilt, and I figured my first pet should probably be a fish. I'd feel way worse about accidentally killing a kitten than accidentally killing a fish.
But since I brought Fishy home, I've been so happy! I talk to him a lot (my neighbors must be confused) and it's nice to have someone to say hello to when I come home. And he has a personality and everything! When I sit down at my desk (right by his tank), he swims up to the glass nearest me, and we commune for a bit before he swims away and goes about his fishy business. Then, when it gets close to feeding time, he swims right up to the glass in the corner nearest his food tin. He seems happy and healthy and I'm soooo glad to have a great pet and friend in Fishwilliam! Also, I've been bragging about him to anyone who'll listen and showing him off to anyone who comes by my room. ^^
Well, that's just about everything y'all missed from my looooong blogging hiatus! I'll try to blog more often (I say that too much, don't I?) but in the meantime, have a FANTASTIC National Crochet Month!
Happy Knitting (and Crocheting!),
~YoungKnitter
Well, Internet, I've been a bad blogger. Again. *sigh* I guess I never learn, huh?
All right: we've got some catching up to do!
First of all, the Guido scarf that I made for 9, the musical that my student organization put on in January, turned out BEAUTIFULLY!
Here's me modeling it:
And here's the actor who got to wear it in the show, Michael, modeling it:
Doesn't he look snappy? The scarf was a big hit, and got lots of great comments both from cast members and from the audience. When the show ended, Michael had grown so attached to the scarf that he asked if he could keep it. And why not? So he's the proud owner of that masterpiece.
It was a great first crazy colorwork project for me. It turned out beautifully, and I'm really proud. It was a hard skill to pick up, but pick it up I did, and I got plenty of practice on that whole huge scarf, and I feel really confident about my colorworking skills now! :)
After the scarf, I haven't been doing a lot of crafting. This semester has taken me for quite a crazy ride so far. I made the hat for Erin that y'all have already, seen, but I'll put in the picture again:
She really likes it! I made it in this great acrylic-mohair blend I got from a yarn swap from the knitting ladies in Portland, and wiht this gorgeous lace pattern called the Carson Cap (Ravelry pattern page). It was a fun project to make, and it turned out great!
Then I'm in the middle of a pair of arm warmers for Tessa! I'm using the CanCans pattern (Ravelry pattern link). The first one came out great!
It's mostly just plain ol' stockinette, but with a cool twisted stitch pattern going up the center of the back of the wrist and hand. So pretty! And it has THUMBS! I've never made thumbs before!!! I'm using the Nature's Palette fingering weight yarn, which is GORGEOUS! It's made all with natural plant dyes, it's all earth-friendly and all that good stuff. I cast on the second one yesterday, so hopefully that'll get done soon!
That's about all the knitting updates. My bummer knitting news is that the pattern for the dress that I've been wanting to make for soooo long got taken down. It'll supposedly be back up soon, but for sale. I just hope they put it back up soon! :(
Now for my exciting life news! I said yesterday that I have 4 cool pieces of news! It turns out that I forgot one of them, so really it's 5 pieces of exciting life news!
1. My best friend from Austin's sister had a beautiful baby boy this weekend. I'm SO PROUD! <3
2. I got an interview for the summer job I applied for. I would be a camp counselor/RA at an academic summer camp at Vanderbilt. The interview is Friday. SO EXCITED!
3. I was officially asked to be the Assistant Director for Vanderbilt Off Broadway's production next year. This is REALLY awesome news because I will be in line to be the Director my senior year. Which will be REALLY awesome!
4. I have officially decided to study abroad in Japan next Spring! The application is not due until October or something, so I don't have to do much for it for a while. But in the meantime, it has given me new motivation to do well in my Japanese language classes! Which I needed... this language is SO HARD!!!
5. Last but not least, I got a new pet fishy!!!
His name is Colonel Fishwilliam H. Fishington III, or Mr. Fishy for short. <3 He's a beautiful male betta fish, colored a gorgeous blue-y purple. He's a little camera shy, and it's hard to get a picture that really does his colors justice, but these will have to do for now!
I've always wondered why people have pet fish, since they seem so boring and stuff. My reasons for getting him, though, were that I decided I need to learn to take care of another life. I want to get a cat when I leave Vanderbilt, and I figured my first pet should probably be a fish. I'd feel way worse about accidentally killing a kitten than accidentally killing a fish.
But since I brought Fishy home, I've been so happy! I talk to him a lot (my neighbors must be confused) and it's nice to have someone to say hello to when I come home. And he has a personality and everything! When I sit down at my desk (right by his tank), he swims up to the glass nearest me, and we commune for a bit before he swims away and goes about his fishy business. Then, when it gets close to feeding time, he swims right up to the glass in the corner nearest his food tin. He seems happy and healthy and I'm soooo glad to have a great pet and friend in Fishwilliam! Also, I've been bragging about him to anyone who'll listen and showing him off to anyone who comes by my room. ^^
Well, that's just about everything y'all missed from my looooong blogging hiatus! I'll try to blog more often (I say that too much, don't I?) but in the meantime, have a FANTASTIC National Crochet Month!
Happy Knitting (and Crocheting!),
~YoungKnitter
Monday, February 28, 2011
Yikes, again.
Oh hey, Internet.
Sooo remember how I'm really bad about posting regularly?
Yeah. That's still going on.
So it's the end of the month and I just now finished a project for the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup and I gotta get it on the internet so I can submit it. Yaaay!
Here are Tessa's arm warmers, using the CanCans pattern from Ravelry and Nature's Palette fingering weight in a gorgeous light blue color.
Tomorrow marks the beginning of National Crochet Month, and in honor of that I'm gonna get all my blogging stuff together and actually write a real post! But until then, I have choir rehearsal. O.O
A teaser: I have 4 exciting life announcements and one bummer knitting announcement to make. Get excited!
Lots of yarny love,
~YoungKnitter
Sooo remember how I'm really bad about posting regularly?
Yeah. That's still going on.
So it's the end of the month and I just now finished a project for the Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup and I gotta get it on the internet so I can submit it. Yaaay!
Here are Tessa's arm warmers, using the CanCans pattern from Ravelry and Nature's Palette fingering weight in a gorgeous light blue color.
Tomorrow marks the beginning of National Crochet Month, and in honor of that I'm gonna get all my blogging stuff together and actually write a real post! But until then, I have choir rehearsal. O.O
A teaser: I have 4 exciting life announcements and one bummer knitting announcement to make. Get excited!
Lots of yarny love,
~YoungKnitter
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Yikes!
I need to get this posted before the midnight deadline runs out for Ravelry's Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup!
Darn my procrastination!
My homework for Defense against the dark arts: an article of clothing to repell the twitchy ears hex!
I used maybe 150 yards of a light worsted weight mystery acrylic/mohair blend I've had sitting around for a while, and I made the Carson Cap pattern from Carol Bristol on Ravelry.
I promise I'll post more soon! And better pictures of the hat!
Until then, happy knitting!
~YoungKnitter
I need to get this posted before the midnight deadline runs out for Ravelry's Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup!
Darn my procrastination!
My homework for Defense against the dark arts: an article of clothing to repell the twitchy ears hex!
I used maybe 150 yards of a light worsted weight mystery acrylic/mohair blend I've had sitting around for a while, and I made the Carson Cap pattern from Carol Bristol on Ravelry.
I promise I'll post more soon! And better pictures of the hat!
Until then, happy knitting!
~YoungKnitter
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