Glee fan project, part 1!

Okay, I'm about to admit just how big of a nerd I am. I'm a huge fan of Glee. What can I say...I love to sing. So anyway, I belong to a Glee fan group on Ravelry. One of our members, KatyKoolKat, had participated in another fan project where everyone knit something for a cast member. She thought it would be fun to do for Glee.

Here we are, about a week before the mailing deadline, and most of us are done or nearly done. We wanted a central place to point people to, to see all the projects and such...and I'm bored, so here we go.

Knitting for Artie/Kevin McHale: katiekatt222

(no FO pics yet)

Knitting for Becky/Lauren Potter: emxlenie

(no FO pics yet)

Knitting for Blaine/Darren Criss: KatyKoolKat

(no FO pics yet)

Knitting for Brad/Brad Ellis: yours truly, nekkidknitter

Pattern: The Man Hat
Yarn: Knit Picks Cadena in Peat



Pattern: The Fidget, modified to broken rib and 21 sts wide
Yarn: Knit Picks Cadena in Peat



Knitting for Brittany/Heather Morris: Sugarpies

(no FO pics yet)

Knitting for Burt/Mike O'Malley: me again

Pattern: loosely based on A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia in color 7129



Knitting for Carole/Romy Rosemont: theyarnprincess

(no FO pics yet)

Crocheting & knitting for Coach Beiste: ShadowLisa and jewleigh

(no FO pics yet)

Whew, I think that's all I can do for now. More later!

Don't let the door hit you on the way out, 2009.

I am so, SO glad to see 2009 in the rearview mirror. As far as I can remember, only 2008 was worse for sheer misery. So I'm really happy to kick this year off right. Mr. Nekkid is starting a new job today, and he's back to making almost what he was before he was forced to leave his previous job. This means that 2010 WILL be the year we start to dig out of debt. The first-time homebuyer credit that we're expecting any day now will give that goal a huge kick-start, and it's all uphill from there.

Without further ado, I present a parade of FOs and WIPs.



Big Bad Baby Blanket in progress. I've lost momentum on it...really need to get motivated to work on it again.




Pattern: Whipped (I can't help but call it "Whapow!")
Yarn: Rowan 4 ply soft in 395 light pink, purchased during the after-Christmas sale at Loops for 75% off! I also got two balls in cream. They're different dyelots...but it's cream, for crying out loud.
Needles: US 7




Pattern: Cedar Leaf Shawlette
Yarn: 2 skeins Malabrigo Silky Merino in 63 natural
Needles: US 7

This was also purchased (as a kit) during the Loops after-Christmas sale. I got there in time for the doorbuster and picked it up for 40% off! I never could have afforded it otherwise. And I wound up with one skein left, too! Can't wait to turn that into something luscious...I just have no idea what yet.




Pattern: 1x1 ribbing
Yarn: probably Patons Classic Wool Merino in black, held double
Needles: US 11

This is for the pharmacist at Prime. He requested a sturdy hat suitable for Minnesota winters. If two strands of worsted 100% wool isn't warm enough, I don't know what else I can do. :) I have to add a brim to it and then it's done!




Pattern: improvised...I'm calling them texting gloves
Yarn: NaturallyCaron.com Country, a surprisingly nice acrylic/wool blend
Needles: US 8
Buttons from Joann


Ah well. I suppose I should call it quits for now - housework beckons and I can't tune it out anymore.

Knitting fool

I have really been knitting a lot lately. During Thanksgiving week, I watched 40 episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Netflix and finished three projects. They were all small projects, but I still felt very productive!

First up, my new love: a Baktus scarf. This is intended for a Dirty Santa exchange at work this week. I'm already wondering just how tacky it would be if I picked my own gift...because I rilly rilly want it for myself! If I weren't completely destitute* at the moment I would be at Loops getting more of the exact same yarn.



Pattern: Baktus
Yarn: 2 skeins of Mirasol Hacho in colorway 312
Needles: US 9
Knitting time: two days - literally. I spent all day Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving working on this scarf. But it's done and it's lovely and I hope the recipient appreciates it!

Next, we have two "Pretty Things" from the pattern by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I don't buy patterns very often, but I had to make an exception for this.





Don't they look like little corsets? :)

Pattern: Pretty Thing
Yarns: Berger du Nord Charmant in color 9040 (blue) and Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn in Cosmos (purple)
Needles: US 7 (blue) and 5 (purple)
Knitting time: about 12 hours each.
Mods: One repeat was added to the purple one. In the future, I would add a second...I just knit SO tightly that it's necessary. But that one was for the other Dirty Santa at work and it went with a woman with a slender neck so I'm sure she'll be fine.

I finished two other projects but they're both gifts...and on the slim chance that the recipients read this blog, I won't be posting pics till they're received.

On the needles:

Big Bad Baby Blanket in Knit Picks Shine Sport in cream. This is for my hairstylist, who is having a baby girl in February.

Tabbed Cuffs in the leftover Hacho. Yet another reason I really need a Baktus of my own. :)

Hopefully Santa will bring me a new digital camera (or better yet, an iPhone or something comparable, because I need a new cell phone too). The one we have now was a MUCH appreciated wedding gift, but it is now 4.5 years old and starting to flake out. With increasing frequency, the screen flickers purple, and if you take a picture before it settles back down, it will turn out purple and streaky. Additionally, most of the pics turn out at least a little purple at the edges. Ah well, it was a wonderful camera while it lasted.

* - Okay, so I'm not completely destitute. All our bills are paid. There's just not much leftover till we get our money from the gubmint!

Quickie

Not much going on right now...I've abandoned the slip-stitch hat for the moment because the decreases are vexing me. I'm working on a super secret project right now in hopes of having it done for a Christmas present...it's only been a WIP for a year or two so it's about time. :)

I don't have much to add, so I'll distract you from the lack of content with a pic of my adorable kitty!

Thursday night boredom

So I thought it was time to catch up. I did finally finish the baby sweater, and although I am pleased with the results I may never use another Debbie Bliss pattern again. She gave the oddest short-row instructions I've ever seen, and I'm glad I had already done them so that I didn't have to try and follow hers. Basically, she says to do the W&T, then slip a stitch. ??? I gave her the benefit of the doubt and tried it, but it looked and felt really weird so I undid it and just did it the way I was used to. But it turned out great and the mom loves it.



Next up is the hat I've been working on sporadically for months. Apologies for the lousy quality...it seems that our 4.5 YO digital camera is trying to give up the ghost and is doing strange things with color and focus. Maybe I can convince Mom to get me an iphone now that I need a phone AND a camera. :) (During a torrential downpour a month or so ago, my phone took a bath and hasn't worked properly since. I've been using my old phone, which works okay but doesn't hold a charge so well and occasionally just doesn't want to do anything.)



I think it's probably going to be a little big on me, but worst case scenario is that I learn from it then donate it to charity.

Rollin' Beret - finished months ago, but finally got a decent photo:



One strand each of JoAnn Sensations Dreamweave and TruBoo, about 1.3 skeins of each. Love the feel, and it's nice and warm, but a little too big.

Cable Twist Handwarmers, also finished months ago:



Colinette Cadenza, about 1.25 skeins

A trio of baby hats for my boss's preemie triplet grandbabies:



3 skeins of Patons Grace (one each of white, purple, and green)

I suppose that's all for now!

Bleh.

One of the pharmacists at work recently found out that her first grandbaby (a boy) is on the way. I told her long ago that I'd be happy to make her a baby sweater when the time came. So I went through my pattern books and found Debbie Bliss's Shawl Collared Jacket. I'm a sucker for shawl collars, and since this was in a book called "Baby Knits for Beginners", how hard could it possibly be? So one night while watching a movie I started on the back. I knit about 4" or so - pretty quickly, since she picked out an aran weight yarn - and started thinking "Gee, this looks kind of big."

According to garment sizing standards, an average 6-12 month baby is going to have a 17-18" chest. Now, in baby clothes even moreso than adult clothes, I understand the importance of ease. But the 12 mo. size in this pattern calls for a 25" chest. 7" of ease? Really? I guess all the extra is so you'll have to buy more Debbie Bliss yarn to make it. So I ripped it out and started over again, aiming for 9.5" for the back. (Here's the difference between the two.) But then I got frustrated because I was going to have to refigure the decreases, plus I found a frayed spot in the yarn, so I ripped it out again. So have I been rewriting the pattern to suit myself? Of course not:





Pattern: Robin's Egg Blue Hat by Rachel Iufer

Pattern mods:

- 68 sts for the band
- 56 sts for the hat itself
- Garter stitch band with no point
- Decreased 4 sts per row every row: k12, k2tog, then k11, k2tog, etc. until there were 8 sts left.

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky, in M47 Tahiti Teal and an unknown color, about 3/4 of a skein of each that I inherited from my grandmother.

Buttons are from Joann's. These are going to go to charity - I like the style, and they fit me, but I think the spot where the band overlaps itself looks a little funny because it's so thick. Eventually I'll make myself a hat with a wide garter stitch band and just sew a button somewhere on the brim.

I really do need to get going on the baby sweater again...the baby's due in September. I know that's still a while away but, well, I have a tendency to procrastinate. :)

Done and blocking!

Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert

Yarn: Mirasol Chirapa, purchased at Twist Yarn Shop in Wichita, KS., on New Year's Eve when Mr. Nekkid and I went up there overnight. Colorway 703, barely more than 4 skeins - it can't have taken more than 700 yds.

Blocked size: 70" x 18", which makes me wonder how much larger my other Clap would be if I blocked it.

Started January 2, 2009, and finished April 30, 2009...obviously with some hibernation time. :) All told I'd say it would have taken me about 3 weeks if I'd worked on it straight through. I absolutely love it and I hope we have at least one more chilly evening before summer takes over and makes me wish I were dead, or at least in Antarctica.

I also made Mr. Nekkid's hat...luckily I finished in time for him to wear it a few times. I am really, really pleased with how it turned out.



Pattern: Yar! by Michelle Booher

Yarns: Cascade 220 in 8886 Royal Purple and Patons Classic Wool Merino in 00225 Dark Grey Mix. I used slightly less than half a skein of each.

I made a few small mistakes, but they really aren't noticeable. If I were making it for myself I'd be disappointed with the size, because it's slightly too small for me. But since Mr. Nekkid shaves his head, it fits him perfectly. I'm still trying to figure out what my own double-knitted hat is going to look like. I really wanted to make one that's just plain with the Cheesylove heart motif around it for a stripe...but the repeat isn't a good number of stitches to make the right sized hat and it's not easily resizable. I'll figure out something, I guess.