Sheepie Knits

I have so much respect for you fair isle knitters-It’s a bit tricky. You have to do weird things with your hands-haha But i am really happy with my first project. I decided to work with some worsted weight yarn first and work my way down.

First Fair Isle, originally uploaded by Craftydiddl.

Pattern-it’s just the basic hat that Elizabeth Zimmermann has you make in Knitting Workshop-starting in the first chapter and continuing on as you learn a new technique in each of the following chapters. The alternating sigle stichs she did have in the book but i graphed the moon shape on my own.
For-Practice-i will probably donate it because it is way to small to fit me, i have a big head
Yarn-i used leftover Lamb’s Pride wool.
Needles-Size 8-circ and Dp’s
Dates-2 days jan 27-28, 2008
Notes- I tried several ways to hold my yarn. Both in the left hand- Super tricky and then one color in each hand-While it still takes some manuvering and getting used to this worked the best for me-Which is kind of funny because when i first learned knitting i tried learning with the yarn on the right hand and i could not get it AT ALL-it just didn’t click-but it has for “fair isle”ing I still need a lot of practice.
Next i want to try some wrist warmers with thinner yarn and then after that some mittens. Just easing my way in
Overall happy with the result-the only thing i didnt like was the obvious jog from working in the round-maybe it was the patterning i chose but it was very noticable that the rows aren’t meeting up.

In between all this trickier knitting i decided i need something easy to keep me feeling good about myself-so i cast on for Juliet.

It’s a dark purple but no matter what i do it photographs more blue, so you have to take my word for it. I got the yarn while i was in G.ermany and i knew i wanted to use it for this pattern. I love the yarn. it’s so soft and squishy. oh and it’s Lana Grossa Due.
So far so good and Easy

Little Man decided last week that he doesn’t need a nap anymore-and he is almost 4 so it’s not a surprise but it was so sudden that i haven’t adapted to it yet and i have lost a bit of extra time in my day-but today we tried using what used to be nap time as a time where he plays on his own and i do something for half an hour and that worked really well and it gave me just some time to sit and not do toddler stuff. So i think we will do that again tomorrow.

Oh no!-a dragon has come come into my room -gotta go

MY NEKKID MAN, originally uploaded by Craftydiddl.

He’s Here!!
I am super happy with how he turned out. This was a really fun project and it really doesn’t take that long-i finished each step in an evening and spent some evenings in between on the computer lol For now he is done-i do want to make him a shirt or a cardigan but right now i just want to take a break from the little knitting. I was actually thinking about knitting and A-shirt (scroll down a tad) and a cardigan to go over that.

Pattern: Little Nekkid Man by Eatenbyweasels– I tried to find a link to the pattern but i had no luck. From what i can gather she had some trouble in the past with a bad commenter and had to close down the blog that had the patterns on it. So sad that i came down to that. Hubby always teases me that i print patterns i find online right away-even if i won’t make it for a long time-he thinks i should just bookmark it but you can bet i am glad that i printed this one out.

For: FUN-this was a lot of fun and doing all the Details just added to it.

Yarn: Body-Lion Brand Baby Soft in Cream, Hair was leftover yarn from hubby’s socks from Louet Gems in Sandalwood and his jeans are Schachenmayr nomotta Catania (from Joanna!!)

Needles: Remember those Knit Picks circular needles i got in my “Learn to Knit on 2 circ. needles” kit. the cursed 3.00 mm that were too big. They were just the size i needed to work on my man. So i used one of those-which was a plus since i thought i would never use them again.

Dates: Jan 18-25, 2008

Notes: I made no mods. The pattern was very well written and easy to follow. Next time i might try to do mattress stitch to seam him up instead of seaming him when he is inside out-just for a neater overall look. Jeans were easy as well-but i didnt add the extra details there, she had a button and loops closure-i just seamed it shut. I did thread some invisible elastic around the waistband because mine was a little loose. i wrestled with his mouth almost all day yesterday-i wasn’t happy with any of them-but this one grew on me and now i am really happy with it. I have one little spot on the back of his head that for some reason didnt get covered that good when i was weaving his hair but not a big deal and i can move the other hair around to cover it up.

Overall: YAY!!! I love him!!!!

I also said that i worked on a quickie project-More OWLS

I found this fleece at my local Joann Fabrics store and it was half off!! Can’t beat that-i had to get. So i figured i would make on of those No Sew fleece blankets (again scroll down a little-i didnt make my knots like this but as nice as it looks i will have to remember that for next time-hers looks so perfect!!!!). It was really easy but i can tell you that my strips i cut for knotting are no where close to the same size. i tried really hard at first but then i just quit and cut as close to neat as i could-i mean really once they are tied up you can’t tell anyway.

Next up after this-Some Fair Isle. I have seen so many great mittens and wristwarmers (JOANNA) this year that i just can’t resist anymore. I must conquer my fear of Fair Isle. I just don’t know what project to do first to ease myself into it before i do something more complex. I am a very tight knitter so i know that will be my biggest problem. Any tips or ideas?

Well i have to go play Planet Heros. Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend-Ours will be snowy-It’s be coming down since i woke up. Maybe we will go out and play in it

Nekkid Man has some hair, originally uploaded by Craftydiddl.

Sorry crappy shot, my camera wasn’t working with me today-i haven’t made much progress over the past 2 days-i did all the hair last night. It takes a long time-well to me it took a long time.
he had some chest hair but it looked funny-so after i give him his nipples i think i may put some back on around them-not sure yet though. Today my goal is Nipples, Belly Button, Eyes, Mouth, nose, Eyebrows and if i am lucky i may even be able so start his pants. But we will see. i also have another quick project i want to work on today, it’s not knitting and i need a big work surface so i have to wait for hubby to wake up. I need the King-size bed-best work surface in the house lol.
So more nekkid man progress to follow and my quickie project.

And Something special today-my mom’s birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABSI!!!!!!

Sewn up Nekkid Man, originally uploaded by Craftydiddl.

Here he is all seamed up-the seaming wasn’t as bad as i thought it would be but i think if i made this nekkid man again i would do mattress stitch seaming instead of seaming him insideout so he would have a cleaner look . I will tell you His Goods were a pain in my butt to do, mainly picking up th stitches but in the end it looks really good and he should be very happy with what i have given him
Not sure if i will get to his body and head hair tonight i am kinda tired after my day at the mall.
My makeover was really nice. I got it all cleaned and moisterized and then makeup. Here’s a pic-i know you really don’t have much to base it on but just picture the same face with no makeup because that’s how i am about 99% percent of the time.

i got something i really wanted as well-At Anthropologie last year they had this super cute tea set and it was supposed to be a special item only for Christmas. Well i walked into the store today and almost shrieked out loud!! THEY HAD IT-It’s this set. (sorry it’s a Sake set, lol) Isn’t it adorable? I love owls-they are beautiful creatures and so wise in the eyes!
Well I’m off-hopefully a hairy man next time teehee

The last update was weak! I had gotten a complaint from my friend that she had “seen my recipe box 10 times already!” And we had been talking(naughtily) about my nekkid man on Instant Messanger last night so i threw up the deflated looking man for a quick post.
ANYWAY….
I have been knitting-See:

Dream Swatch, originally uploaded by Craftydiddl.

It’s a Dream Swatch.
Dates:Jan 13-17, 2008-yeah i know there are people that have finished this in an evening-What can i say? I’m slow and i have been dragging a little. But it is a quick knit if you can stay focused.
Yarn: One skein of Lana Grossa Binario Print-i think this was part of my problem-this is a great yarn i used it to make a shirt a couple years ago but i found it to be a bit stiff for this project. I used it becuase it is quite stretchy and for a head wrap i thought stretchy would be good.
Needles: Just some short straight size 5 needles-no clue what brand they were given to me when someone cleaned out there stash. We all like free knit goodness
Pattern: Dream Swatch from Wendy Bernard at Knit & Tonic
Overall: i do like it, i wish i had made it longer and i still could because i do have another skein of this yarn but I have moved on and really don’t want to work on it anymore. it looks cute. i will make this again but i think i would only cast on 18 sts and maybe a super soft merino yarn, or cast on the same sts as in pattern but use a sock yarn. And make it longer

So you all already know my next project is the Little Nekkid Man by eatenbyweasels. i would link to it if i could but it’s in Live Journal and you need to have an acct. to see the blog ( i got it before they made those changes) and sadly i think she has deleted the pattern becuase when i used my friends username and password to log on-i found the blog but no pattern. I am attempting to contact her though-she has another cute pattern and i want it!! lol
Everyone, besides my mom, has asked me why i am knitting a n.aked m.an and my answer really is-Why not? He is super cute and i guess i just want to say hey i knit a n.aked m.an. The pattern also includes directions for jeans and a cardigan so his goods won’t just be hanging out-I was even thinking about making him some briefs or boxers. I think he will be lots of fun! Today i am going to be seaming him up!! Hope he turns out okay-seaming always ruins me-but i am going to take it really slow and concentrate.
Thanx for being patient(not ANDREA lol ) with me during my unplanned blog absence.
Tomorrow i am getting a makeover Every year for my mom’s birthday we go to a super fancy mall about 35 mins away and this year she got a coupon from Origins for free makeover and goodie bag for her and a friend and she asked if i was interested-Did she really think i would say no??? Little Man was going but hubby has the day off for MLK day so YAY!!! mommy has free time! Very exciting.
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!

Nekkid Man progress, originally uploaded by Craftydiddl.

An update For you andrea I know not much yet but there will be more.

Note to others-he will be getting jeans and a cardigan as well so not naked forever just a few days-some seaming and stuff hopefully tomorrow if i don’t feel too lame-seaming is something that must be done carefully and fully focused.

Well, here it is what you all have been waiting for-MY RECIPE BOX!

It’s not my favorite project of all-but it was something different and i learned some things.  I am happy with the way it turned out.  You are all probably wondering why a recipe box? Well if any on you read Mason-Dixon Knitting, you may have read that Kay started a little contest where you show off your recipe boxes.  There have been so many in blog world and such wonderful recipes that have been passed down.  I especially love the handwritten card that have faded and turned brown with age. I wish i had some like that.  So i looked into getting one on Ebay and  at the time nothing appealed to me (though there are a couple i like now) and so i decided to make one myself.  Hopefully my son will be interested in the recipes i collect-the box maybe not so much

 Any ideas for my next project?

You guys are really starting to get curious about what i am making Haha-well all my sides are stitched up so now all that’s left is putting them together-Just a little bit more of a wait.
i figured since you guys have just bee getting clues for soemthing you have no clue about i will show you my Sock in progress-no guess work there pattern from here

Zigzagy in progress, originally uploaded by Craftydiddl.

I updated my stash on Ravelry today-OH BOY i have way to much-when you have it all squished into totes hiding under the bed it does’t phase you but when you see actual numbers-its a bit freaky lol-i need to do some serious knitting from the stash!

Today we played A LOT of Candyland and Go Fish but after nap time we made PRETZELS, from this recipe. They turned out good and were really easy to make. They are kinda doughy/soft and i only mention that because i am used to hard and crusty pretzels. But they are still really good and easier for Little Man to eat. i think since they are soft they would make a good sweet pretzel-i just did the salt version.

No big plans for the weekend but by sunday i am hoping for a Reveal-that means i better get back to my assembling.
Have a great weekend!

Still Needlin’ Along, originally uploaded by Craftydiddl.

Only two more sides to go and then some seaming and the Big Reveal. So far this has been a fun project-and that’s what i wanted-some simple new fun and hopefully a ccool product at the end of it all and if not that’s okay too.
I also worked on inch on my socks.
And that’s all-this stitching stuff is fun but slow going.
(Stacey, I may have to start a chant to keep me going lol

Hubby’s Hat, originally uploaded by Craftydiddl.

My first Finished Knit of 2008 is here!!

Hubby’s Earflap Hat
Pattern: Ended up being a collaboration of mine and hubby’s. He decided what kind of stripes he wanted and how he wanted them. He picked how he wanted his flaps to be and the length of the ties-i did all th other math, measuring and knit the hat. UGh this was easy but at the same time drove me nuts. We originally has some yarn picked out from Germany but it was too thin. So we went to our LYS and got some different yarn. Originally i was going to use the Swell pattern from Knitty but i could not get guage no matter what i did on that pattern or any other pattern for earflap hats. So i finally decided it’s just a hat i can do this myself. I should have done that right from the beginning. There was quite a bit of ripping because i wasn’t happy with the look of the earflaps, but i finally got it. The hat part itself went fine until i was finished. The i realized it was way to tall. So RIIIIPPPP of more than half the hat. i had started decreasing to late in the hat but after i went back and re did everything it turned out perfectly! he did wear it over the weekend but naturally as is whenever you finish a Winter knit-It warms up. It feels like Spring outside today.
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: Size 8 Circular and Double-Pointed needles
Time: It took me about a week since i had to make so many adjustments. But i am happy that i took the time to work out the problems and fix the mistakes cause it looks really good.

Next up-i still have some socks on the needles-they weren’t touched during the hat knitting time AND this weekend i have been working on a secret experiment/project but i still have a lot to do-you would think ithis needlepoint stuff would go quickly but i am new at it and it sure drags on. I hope what i am visualizing works out the way i am seeing it in my mind. Either way it’s something new and fun. Here’s a little peek-