What Karen Knits

Sunday, July 13, 2008

A Better Bucket

I love the way this yarn looks and the way the colors worked out.

But I’m not entirely happy with the hat. It’s a little tight and the brim just doesn’t seem to sit quite correctly. I’m going to try blocking it (when the manikin head that I bought arrives) and see if that helps. Otherwise, I do think this might be the right style hat for me if I can make it fit right on my head!

Pattern: A Better Bucket
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted in Amoroso

Tiny Sock Ornament

So cute! I plan to make several of these to give as gifts for Christmas. It took me about an hour and a half to make this first one, but since that was also figuring out the pattern, I think I could get them down to about an hour each.

Elvish Leaves Dishcloth

I like the way this yarn feels, but it seems a little thick for the size needle as I didn’t really get the lace effect with the YOs. If I try this again with this yarn, I’d go up a needle size to see if that makes a difference.

But it does feel really nice!

Erlenmeyer Flask Dishcloth

The purple is quite vibrant, but it doesn’t allow the image to pop out very well. The picture truly shows how it actually looks - you have to look really closely to see the flask.

My first time using this yarn (KnitPicks CotLin). I like how it looks, but it was a little slippery to knit with and I had trouble holding a good tension on it.

Dishcloth has been sold in my etsy store: karendawn.etsy.com

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Shallowtail Shawl

We're going on a weekend getaway for our anniversary, and one night we'll be going to eat at a nice restaurant. I have a brown dress that I plan to wear and I really wanted a shawl to go with it. I got this yarn in the mail last week and fell in love with it, knowing that it was the right yarn for the shawl for this dress. (The yarn is yummy! It's called Dream in Color Smooshy. Isn't that just a cool name? The color is November Muse.)

Now I needed to find a pattern, something that I could actually finish in a week. A lot of people on Ravelry have been talking about this Swallowtail Shawl, so I thought I'd give it a try.

After a week of knitting, I am happy to report that it is finished! I learned a lot with this pattern and feel much more confidant about lace knitting now. I also learned about the magic of blocking. Blocking is basically wetting the yarn and stretching it out to the shape/size you want it and then letting it dry.

Pre-blocking, the shawl looked like a bunched mess of yarn:

Definitely not a gorgeous shawl like I want it. But with the magic of blocking, it now looks like this (it's still drying on the blocking board, so no pictures off the board yet):

MUCH better! And here's a closeup so you can see the pattern a little more:

It's a tad smaller than I thought it would be and I don't think I've stretched out the right side as much as the left, so after this weekend, I'll probably block it again and see if I can get it to stretch out a little more. But I can't wait for tomorrow when it should be dry and I can actually try it on!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Celtic Cable Neckwarmer

I had a partial ball of green Malabrigo and didn’t know what to do with it. If my calculations were correct, I had just the right amount of yarn for this neckwarmer, so it was a perfect combination.

June 26: Found some buttons to use - I really love the buttons so I’m looking forward to seeing how it all looks when it comes together.

June 26 (later): Stayed up late to finish this one. It’s currently blocking, but I had to take a picture first! I had to tighten the buttonholes a bit as my buttons were a bit on the small side. But I’m very very happy with how it turned out!

Katey's Purse

I saw this pattern on my calendar for June 6 and I just had to get started on it right away. I knew that the bamboo/wool yarn that I had in my stash would be perfect for it. I also thought that if I could get it done in time, it would be a nice present for my niece who was coming to visit.

I went to Hobby Lobby and found some lovely purple gingham fabric for lining the inside. At Michael's I found a cute daisy button. All the pieces were ready, now I just needed to knit it!

On June 14, I finished the body of the purse. The whole next day I worked on the i-cord for the handle (three long pieces and then braided together). I was still working on the lining and adding the button when my niece was here but I didn't tell her that the purse was going to be a gift to her.

As I finished it and took a picture to post on Ravelry, she was watching over my shoulder on the computer. On Ravelry, I typed up my finishing comments and added this statement: "Now it’s time to give it to my niece!" She apparently didn't quite know what "niece" meant, so I pointed to the place on Ravelry where it lists who the object is made for, which said "Katey." She smiled and I gave her the purse. She carried it with her almost everywhere we went after that (it looks really cute on her). I hope she enjoys it. :)

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Gryffindor Quidditch Sweater

It's another Harry Potter knit! I've never knit a sweater before, so I was really hoping this one would turn out okay. Here's what the sweater looks like in the movies (I'll have to see if I can find the patch for Gryffindor to put on it):

And here's the start of it - about 7-8 inches of the front side in 2x2 rib - not much to see quite yet (I switch colors at 11-1/2 inches). [Note: The yarn that I'm using - Cascade 220 superwash - seems to run as my knitting needles are now turning the color of the yarn; you can see it if you look at the tip of the needle in this picture. Eek!]

Updated April 3, 2008: And here's the latest progress - I've finished both the front and the back and one sleeve! I'm almost finished with the second sleeve and then I just have the seaming, adding the neckline, attaching the sleeves and I'll be done. Oh, yeah, not much else to do. *faints*