WIP: Burnham Wood Capelet

When I saw the Burnham Wood Capelet pictured in the Spring 2011 Interweave Knits magazine, I knew I had to make it. I scoured the magazine to find the pattern to no avail. Thanks to a quick search on Ravelry, it turns out the capelet was actually in the Winter 2010 magazine. The photo just made a second stop in the spring magazine. This was a very fortuitous error for me as I had not flipped through the winter magazine as thoroughly as the spring one.

This is the most complicated knitting project I've attempted to date. Not only is this my first attempt at knitted cables, it is also my first attempt at reading knitting charts and it is the largest knitted garment I've ever attempted.

Note the key word here - attempted. I have high hopes that I will make it to the end of the project with a capelet that fits and one that I adore wearing. But there is so much that can go wrong between a collar and the last stitch. I'll be checking in with Romi's Ravelry group and other wonderful knitters who have made this project.

My Ravelry project page is the most up to date and I've chronicled my progress in the notes. So far, I've completed the collar.





The delay in starting the next part of the shawl is a baby blanket I must complete before a baby shower in July. It's close to being done so I hope to pick up the capelet and get back to work on it soon.

What has been your greatest knitting or crochet challenge this year?

Frog One, Knit One

I have begun working on one of my crafty resolutions - to go through all the unfinished projects lurking in the shadows and either finish 'em or frog 'em.

First up - the spiral motif shawl that I started years ago. I bought the yarn at my very first MS&W but I just couldn't find a pattern that did the yarn justice. Even with the spiral motifs, the pattern was lost and the yarn didn't look good.

But I wanted it to work, so I just kept making the motifs, trying to convince myself that the finished project would be so much better. Denial lead me to create 7 large motifs that when pieced together, still looked awful. So into the bag the motifs and leftover yarn went and in the bag they sat, waiting for the right pattern.

I finally found that pattern at last year's MS&W when at the same booth I first acquired the yarn, I saw it hanging on the wall - the most beautiful knitted wrap in a plain garter stitch using very large needles.

I had my idea, but I didn't have the time last year to act on it, so the boucle sat untouched for many more months until...

Two weekends ago (before snowmaggedon), I started poking around the craft room, trying to visualize how the new cabinet I ordered would look (more on that in a separate post). I saw the bag of beautiful boucle and decided right then and there to frog it. There was some swearing as the boucle loops were knotting themselves together as I tried to rip out the stitches. Some inches of yarn were lost to knots and breakages but I salvaged almost all of it. The small balls of yarn were a marked improvement over the motifs.

Then I pulled out the giant knitting needles I bought in Ireland and cast on. So far, here's what I've got:



More photos and details on Ravelry. So far, so good. It's fast going and I love the way it looks and feels. I probably could have used slightly smaller needles - but I'll save that experiment for the other skein of boucle I have in blues and greens.

Happy New Year!

Goodbye 2007....Hello 2008!

Greetings and salutations! It is with great pleasure I make time enough this evening to finally get a post on the blog. Though I love the holidays, they do take up so much of my time. I hope all had a good holiday (whichever one(s) you chose to celebrate).

But first - an update! for it has been so long since last I posted here.

First off - I did do a bit of spending with the Joann's gift card I received when I left my last job.



I needed new paints and new brushes as well as a decent pair of scissors. I spent too much on the pins and pin cushion but they were just too cute and fun not to get them. Not pictured are the supplies I used to make reindeer candy canes (bells, googly eyes, red pom-pom noses, brown pipe cleaners and candy canes) for my and Sean's offices. The bead supplies were for wine charms I made for Sean's aunt. They turned out okay given I've never worked with beads and wire before. I used earring hoops for the rings as they were a much more affordable option ($3) compared to buying memory wire and a memory wire cutter ($10+). I added the snowflakes for a seasonal touch. His aunt seemed to like them.





And I must say that Santa was just too good to me this year! As noted before, I got ye olde sewing machine for Christmas from my wonderful husband.





I haven't had a chance to use it yet or even to look over the instructions booklet, but I will - and hopefully this month - for I need to finish the tote bag. It has been hibernating since September and I do so want to complete it.

I also received some wonderful gifts from my mother-in-law and brother-in-law and his girlfriend.



Some crochet hooks, novelty yarn, Maran Illustrated Knitting and Crocheting, I Can't Believe I'm Knitting Socks, the fall issue of Interweave Crochet, and a gift card for Joann's.

And as it was the season for giving, I gave some more to myself. :)

Since I so loved the issue of Interweave Crochet, I sent away for a subscription. I also ordered from Amazon.com Amazing Lace Crochet as there is a shawl I'm dying to make with the yarn I bought at Stitches East. I also bought this knitting day calendar at 50% off:



The purple dream blanket is still under construction. I now have until MLK weekend to get it done, for that is the weekend the recipient is coming for a visit.

The coasters for the girls are done! Huzzah! And look - I even blocked them!



They also got a bit of ironing and some starch, as well as some time drying in the sun.



I started on the coffee cup cozies and I should have them done this week. Hopefully there will be a package in the mail for the Queen and the Mistress soon.

Another fun development to share - it seems that a random suggestion to turn the sunroom/dining room into a craft room has come to pass. HUZZAH!!!



You see - we got new bedroom furniture and the cabinet you see in the photo didn't fit in the walk-in closet. It's a good piece of furniture and we didn't want to throw it out so it made its way into the sunroom. And while the office needed to be rearranged to accommodate the treadmill, my yarn somehow found its way into the sunroom, too. That, and my eyelash-batting request to Sean, was the tipping point for making it the craft room. It's still a work in progress as you can see the unpacked boxes on the right. There are plans to get a rug for the floor and perhaps a papazan chair from Pier 1 for the corner. Big, comfy chairs are mandatory for a craft room (in my humble opinion).

And with all the projects I have planned for 2008, I'll need a comfy chair in which to complete them. Another friend is prego so another baby blanket will be made. In addition to the tote bag, I have a number of UFOs to complete. I've got an entire list of crafty resolutions - which I shall track in a separate post. :)

Wishing you all a wonderful, fruitful, magical and crafty 2008!

WIPs

Yes! I do have some WIPs to share. Life has been a bit busy with the holidays approaching and the new job starting tomorrow.

TOMORROW?!

EGADS!

I had a lovely send-off from the last job. My going away gifts were perfect! The whole group contributed to a very generous gift card to Joann's and a friend gave me this - a perfect little project bag that I can use during my commute. Much better than the shopping bags I usually use.



The first project I'll be toting in my new bag will be these coasters. The yarn was bought during Girls Weekend back in October and the Queen and Mistress picked out a pattern they liked. So now I'm making a ton of these so we all have a matching set of coasters. I can make about 1 1/2 - 2 a day but when will they all be done? Your guess is as good as mine.



The details of the pattern and the yarn and the size will have to wait until I post about the finished project. If you're on Ravelry, here's a sneak peek.

I did make a few snowflakes as I intended to. I'm going to use the gift card to buy the materials to make a blocking board and other materials needed to make these look better. They are quite pathetic without blocking.



And finally, the WIP that is taking the most time and MUST be done as a Christmas present - the purple dream blanket for my brother-in-law's girlfriend.



Only 3 skeins are into this blanket. I'm anticipating it will take between 8 and 10 to finish. I've got 5 more skeins in my stash so I'm really hoping it will only be 8. And I'm really hoping to have it done before Christmas - but I'm realistic and I can see myself lugging it on the plane and working on it frantically well into Christmas Eve. That's just the way I roll.

With the new job, there will probably be a lag in the amount of posting I can do. I will stay busy, though. My commute will be considerably less than it was but I'll still have plenty of time to be crafty on the train.