Stylish Fingerless Gloves

Ta da!!! I finally have a pair of gloves!

I love this pattern because lengthy decreasing is not needed, just a sudden increase to allow room for the thumb, and the ribbing shapes itself to your hand!




Needles: a set of 4 dpn, US size 5
Yarn: thin worsted weight, approx. 80 yards (I used handspun)
Gauge: 32 rows and 20 stitches is 4' square in 2x2 ribbing
Notions: 1 stitch marker
Fits: a medium woman's hand


Pattern:

**Note: Knitting begins at the fingers and works down to the cuff.


Fingerless Gloves (make 2)

-CO 36 sts and divide evenly on three needles. Place marker. Join, being careful not to twist.

-Work in k2 p2 ribbing until the piece measures 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) or desired length. This should fit comfortably from mid palm up to fingers.

-At the end of the next row, BO 4 sts You now have 32 sts.

-At the end of the next row, CO 8 sts. You now have 40 sts.

-Cont in 2x2 ribbing until work from BO/CO section is approx 4 inches (10 cm) or enough length to cover palm and go down the wrist.

-BO all stitches.

I finished the second super secret project, and am on a great start on the third.
School is still crazy, so please bear with me!

Update

The goal is to keep the blog aware of my goings-on at least once a month. There is a lot more homework this year than last, but I'm doing OK. I only had 10 minutes of homework today, so I have time for a short post!

I have not brought my knitting to school for the past couple of weeks, but before that, I did get Riley's bolero done:

It's packed away for Christmas now.

I'm barely more than halfway done with Ryan's vest; the argyle was fun to do, but a little confusing. I used 5 different balls of the dark blue yarn for the CC, and pulled behind the MC.The library book is due soon, so that's my first priority now.

After that, it's on the the Super Secret Presents, then a scarf for a friend, then maybe I can get started on spinning for that dress!

Off to enjoy my day of No Homework!

Baby Steps

(no pun intended)

I now have both fronts, and the back done and the same length.

I had a bit of a scare regarding the gauge; it turns out that the yarn, although it's a similar weight, does not match the gauge in the pattern. Since it makes the bolero bigger, not smaller, I am going to continue on today as if I had the proper gauge, with my eyes shut. I know I am going to be embarrassed about this later, but my logic is that Riley wouldn't be able to wear this for long if it was in the proper gauge, maybe she'll get a couple more wears in it if the gauge is a few less stitches to the inch.

But before you send me "Are you crazy?!?" mental thoughts, just know this: it made sense around 10 last night.....

I'll be seeing the twins tonight, so I can sneak a couple measurements and see if my wonky-gauged version will fit her. If not, maybe I can adjust the pattern a smidge.

When I took a break from my Ravelympics project, I did a little spinning.

This is an alpaca and cormo (cormo is a brand of sheep that is desended from Corriedale and Merino sheep). I Navajo plied the yarn; it's the thickest I've made in a while. After I catch up on Ravelympics projects, this will probably be a hat.

Ravelympics Day 2

Beginning on Tuesday, I went on a trip to Ohio for school. On Friday, (the first day of the Olympics and the Ravelympics), we drove back. I got a good seven or eight hour car ride to work on my first project, fingerless gloves for my little brother. It was just the right amount of time. John loves them--and they fit. (Score!)I did the finishing today, and hope to go to a Michaels or JoAnn's this week to get the yarn for the other competition I am in: Baby Dressage. I also need needles for the gloves I would like to make for myself.

Unfortunately for my yarny plans, I have color guard (aka waving flags in pretty ways) all day, every day next week, and no planned long car rides till after the Olympics end. The knitting (and blogging) will be sporadic, but a little more updated than usual.

Ahem.

The bolero and vest were not created. No yarn was found.
*moment of silence*
Perhaps I will be able to make them for their Christmas gifts.

I did, however, create a little book of fiber for my cute twin neighbors--I'm always ready to push the knitting/fiber aspect!

Using some leftovers from various projects, I had a page for alpaca, wool, soy silk, silk, corn, and flax. By putting hot glue on the pages themselves, the paper stuck. If I put hot glue on the paper, it wouldn't stick to the yarn. There's probably some scientific logic to this; I wouldn't know.

We also got some hardcover books, one about sheep in a car that won't go, and, my personal favorite, "Is Your Mama a Llama?"

*personal happy rant ahead*

Their birthday party was adorable. I was worried that Ryan and Riley wouldn't recognize me with so many relatives around, but they gave their usual big smiles when they saw me, and Ryan even crawled over one time to be picked up. Happy 1st Birthday, cuties!

*ok, I'm done*

I'll be at camp for the next week and a half, the same one I went to last year and came back with dyed yarn and new fiber Mom and Dad had sent from home. This year, I'll be bringing some fiber, as well as the leftovers from the cardigan. (aka these 800 yards)I still have no idea what I will make with it, but I do have a few ideas. Please let me know what you think!

Choices (I have 800 yds of yarn):

A) Knit a shirt similar to the halter top, except instead of a single strap, I would make two thick straps, maybe even little sleeves, yarn permitting. Does that make sense?

B) Does anyone have a pattern for lacy gloves? *fiberfiend6891 was nice and found the pattern for me! I need the needles though. Off to look for them!*

I found a picture in the Spring or Summer Interweave Knits, but (grrr) the pattern wasn't there. I may not use the the cardigan yarn (wrong color), but I do have a couple hundred yards of white handspun I'm up in the air about dyeing. A problem about this idea is that I don't have enough double-pointed knitting needles to make a set. That, and I've never made gloves before in my life.

C) I'd say socks, but the double-pointed knitting needle problem would come up again.

D) Anybody have any other ideas?

I'll check the blog tomorrow, then I'm off! Camp, here I come!

You Know You're a Child of the Internet When...

...your friends check on your blog to make sure you're all right when you don't answer the phone, and panic when you haven't posted anything recently. True story. Sorry guys! Hopefully this will quell your (possible) fears.

I have a couple moments to breathe before buckling down into finals again, so I figured a blog post was in order.
Remember the yarn I won in Ravelry?
It is now a triangular shawl.

The possibilities with this baby are endless.I feel so safe in it--this will be what I wear for the last day of school.

I am also spinning some soy silk. I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet-it's so soft, I'm tempted to just knit a pillow!

Aaaand, compliments of Sarah at Mom's Knitting and her blogiversery contest,(I'll probably have a year-and-3-months contest, so stay tuned!) I got some yummy yarn in the mail!It's all so soft and yummy. Thank you so much, Sarah!! I'm still waiting for it to speak to me about what it wants to be made into. I'm hoping it's a teddy bear. The twins next door would love it to death!

Speaking of the twins, I have yet to start on their birthday presents. Of course, I already have the ceramic shoes, but I wanted something more knitty-related, if you could recall. I found a Debbie Bliss book with an adorable bolero top for the girl, Riley, and a little manly vest for Ryan. The patterns call for cashmerino, which, considering the fact that it's spring, wouldn't be a good idea.

When we go to the yarn store tomorrow, after exams (the one good thing about taking long tests is that we get at least the other half, if not the other 3/4ths of the day off!), I'll be looking for a cotton blend. I found something called "CotLin" on KnitPicks, perfect weight, colors, the whole shibang, but the yarn wouldn't get here in time for their birthday party this Saturday. As it is, the chances I'll give them a half-made gift is far from unlikely. My goal is to post every day this week to make up for the fact I've been a bad blogger.

Does Anyone Else Feel Like It's Thursday?

I'm barely into the week, yet I still feel like I haven't posted in at least seven days! Maybe my knit-picky (pun most certainly intended) self is beginning to make sure I post more by making time go faster.
Hey, I'm not complaining!

I have been knitting up a storm, which might account for feeling like every second is a minute....


I have successfully completed yet another pair of socks:
These are for Mom, but are on my feet, which explains why they might look a tad stretched.
It took me several tries to get the foot to be the right length; I am happy that they are finally done!

Now, it's on to Dad's socks!
He has a 11 inch foot--I'll be knitting for a while, although not as long as I thought I would be:

I've done all of this today, and I'll probably be doing a lot more tomorrow, as I have a Spanish test that I'm a tad worried about.

Aaaand spinning progress:
Getting closer! I might be able to achieve my goal of getting all of the spinning done by February!

Who Knows About Hydrocarbons? Raise Your Hand!

That's what my science quiz tomorrow is about, so this is going to be quick--
Nothing new on the blanket front, but I did get some knitting done!
Ta Daaaa!
Bye-and if you didn't notice, the January 12th post was published yesterday....that one is a whole lot longer and has a whole lot more pictures!

I'm Baaaack!

And hopefully, I'll post more often in the future.
Thanks for your encouragement; I got good grades on all but one midterm, and the bad one didn't even knock me down a grade level, so I'm good and happy.
I have not one, not two, but two and a half, count 'em, two and a half, pairs of socks.
The socks I made from yarn I got from Christmas from a friend:They have afterthought heels, which I won't be doing again any time soon, but it was fun.
These are for me:
A little big, but they are comfortable.
Currently, I'm knitting my mom's present.
See? I already have a sock done!...and a quarter!
I got a $25 ebay gift card, which I hope (since the money goes through paypal) that I can use on etsy to get sock yarn for my friends' presents, and white yarn for a surprise (for you guys) project.
I am also getting some progress on my blanket:
This is the second third, FINISHED!!
And this is how far I am on the 3rd third.
I'm crossing my fingers on getting all of the spinning done by the end of the month.
Hopefully sometime next week I'll have some information about my brother and his recent introduction to the spinning world. (!!)

One More Day Until the New Year!

So, I'd like to start out with a clean slate. Here's all of the things I've been planning on putting on this here blog, but haven't gotten around to it now. The finished hat, complete with a really sweet heart button: I'm planning on knitting this for myself in blue for when the weather gets warmer, in my "spare time".

The final third of roving for my blanket, which I dyed yesterday. You may not be able to tell by the picture, but it really is darker than the second third.

Aaaaand now, the amazing, the long anticipated.........BABY PICTURES!!! YAAAAY!!

I don't look this tired all of the time, seriously. The babies are cute, though, aren't they? I just melt every time I see them.
The hats I gave them turned out a tad too big; nothing a folded-up brim can't fix, thankfully.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Remember That Blanket? And Other Items To Reminise About

You might recall the blanket that I am planning on dyeing, spinning, then knitting. Well, I am much farther along on it than I have let on. In fact, I am almost done with the second third!I also can now reveal something from the Fiber Chic vault: the super secret presents I worked on in October, November, and December. I knit a pair of Knucks, one pair for each of my three best friends. Here they are, in all of their glory:Remember how I said I'd give you cute pictures of babies in my next post? Well, that didn't work too well, did it? The problem is, when I got to play with my little friends last Thursday, I forgot my camera. BBR and BGR's mom, however, came to the rescue and took a bunch of pictures. So, once she emails those pictures to me, you will get baby goodness, I promise.

Clarification

I just reread this post, and I realised: I am turning into a real, honest-to-goodness teenager. I have way too many capitalized letters, exclamation points, and starry things in my writing. *GASP!!!!!!!!!*

Know when I wrote that last post? All of that stuff that I didn't even have the yarn for yet? THAT was my Christmas list of things to knit. Therefore, I did NOT have even close to my Christmas list done. Sorry for instilling misplaced anger in anyone at me for having everything done already. Truth is, I was WAY behind. I guess I should have been a little more clear on that.
Now, however, I have almost everything done.(Yay!)
Sooo, may I introduce, the A-mazing, the IN-credible, FINISHED OBJECTS!!!!

(*Insert Cheering Here*)

This is the cotton hat for that good friend in California. As you can see, there isn't any cool, funky button on it. That's because I don't have the button--yet. Perhaps this will be her New Year's Present, yes?

John's missing Christmas present and I have been reunited at long last, and everyone is happy that it is back--even Mister Green Fox! (What? You can't see the absolute delight and joy on his little carved face? I guess not...)

Last but not least, these are BBR and BGR's Christmas presents from me. The blue one was started last night, and was finished 4th period today. The pink one was cast on shortly after that, and was done by 8th period. In light of the holiday break approaching, our teachers obviously gave us a lot of down time.

The reason for my hurry? I was going to see the twins next door today, after play practice. However, practice was late, so I was not able to visit *sob*. I wasn't able to stop over on Tuesday, either--the other day I usually help out. But don't fret! You'll have adorable pictures of babies in hats before 8:00 tomorrow, I promise.

Now, for two interesting websites:
How to you woo the love of your life using just a semester of Spanish? Watch here.

Want to improve your vocabulary and help people in third world countries have food? You can play this fun game!

A Long Put-Off Post

Answers to the problems I had last post are highlighted.
Well. I've got a lot of catching up to do.
-I have to clean the gerbil cage,
-memorise (well, actually study) 20 lines of Shakespeare,
-figure out where I put my brother's and my dad's presents --which are knitted bow and long ties, respectively, since I didn't think I had enough handspun to double it back into fingerless gloves for my brother--
-get yarn for the babies (I'm making them hats, not sure of the pattern yet)
-and yarn for the friend (I do know what pattern, not what yarn)

I also started socks in this pattern, just as a relaxing complicated pattern, if that makes sense-it's Slippery Socks, a pattern by a TEEN KNITTER! I hope someday I could get into Knitty....You can't really see the colors, but it's pinks and reds

Hasta luego!

The Play Is Fun..

..but December is upon us. It's Christmas/Hannakah/Kwanza/New Year/Holiday knitting time!
This is my list of things to do before I got to bed tonight (yes, I only have a couple hours to do all of this):

1)Update blog (I'm doing that now, see?)

2)Check everyone else's blogs (If I haven't gotten to you yet, it means I've skipped this to do less important things such as sleeping and breathing in between other things on the list. I promise I'll catch up by Friday)

3) Study for science and math tests that are on Friday.

4) Decide what hat pattern for a friend of my moms--She lives in California and likes the color purple, so it needs to be a pattern thats a little more on the summery side... Ideas?

5) Decide what I'm going to do for BBR and BGR. They tried on their sweaters the other day and were SO CUTE in them...I don't have a picture, but at their mother's disgression and when the sweaters fit a little bit better, I might post one! Ideas are welcome in this department, as well.

6) Wrap the super secret presents--I'll be giving them to their owners on Saturday, which means pictures of them wearing them Monday...

7) Figure out what to give my little brother. The yarn I spun for the fingerless gloves is WAY too thin, it won't work, and I don't have any good store-bought yarn to use. Help!

8) Practice cello for at least 15 minutes

Hope your days aren't as hectic as mine!

UFOctober Wrap-Up

In light of Tinky McFrog's final contest, here is what I have accomplished in the month of October:

Before UFOcober:
-Get Mom's scarf done
-Knit 3 "Super Secret" presents for friends for Christmas
-Finish my "Cut Your Teeth" socks
-Exception: work on dyeing and spinning my blanket

After UFOctober:
-Finished Mom's scarf
-Knit 2 of the 3 "Super Secret" presents for friends for Christmas
-I did not finish the socks, but I did get far enough that I finished them last night! Yay! (pictures to come when I'm not 1,000 words behind in NaNoWriMo
-Exception: I dyed 2/3 of the roving, and began to spin the first third

So, there you go. In my (humble) opinion, I really enjoyed UFOctober and I hope I can do it next year as well!

My NaNoWriMo word count so far is 3,594 words. Seeing as it's the third day, I'm not too worried about being 1,000 words behind, but I probably should be working on it anyway! See ya!

UFOcober, Day 8

I have another WIP going into the FO pile!
Unfortunately, it's one of those "super secret" gifts-and now, I'm working on a second "super secret" gift, using the same pattern, different yarn. (I'm considering my "super secret" gifts WIP, because I have already bought the yarn and I want to have them done soon so that I don't have to worry about not getting them done..)
I also would like to finish my socks.
My plan? I'll let myself start working on my second sock after the second "super secret" project is done.
I realise that on my knitting to-do list I have my blanket before finishing the socks, but I currently don't have the roving to dye or spin, so I'm in limbo for that project. In UFOcober it's my exception, and starting it in earnest will be my reward after all of my WIP are done.
I seem to use the carrot-in-front-of-head tactic quite often...
Now if you excuse me, I am off to study--and after that, I can sit in the rocking chair, listen to a new book tape and knit!

A FO!

Yep!
I have something actually done!
True, it's done before #2 is finished (my super-secret presents for my close friends), but at least I have something to cross off my list, especially since I've joined Heather T's UFOctober!
Neat button, yes?
I am not sure how to add this to my sidebar, so if anyone has tips, I'm all ears! (UPDATE: I now have UFOctober on my sidebar! Thanks Janet!)
The pattern I ended up picking was doing the "fire" design for 20 inches, regular garter stitch for 17 inches, then the "fire" design again for another 20 inches. It turned out to be the perfect length to either throw around your shoulder, or folding it in half and feeding the two ends through the hole you end up with (does that make sense? I hope I'm not confusing anyone-I'll have pictures of the "styles" I'm talking about soon!)
Meanwhile, we've been cleaning up the old stasharoo here at Spin, Knit, Purl and be Happy-it's been tough, but I've been giving up a lot of yarn-acrylic, itchy stuff mostly, but hey, it's yarn, and it's been mine, at least for a while... :-(
I was surprised at the number of bitty little balls I have collected over the years. Dad had a big plastic tub that used to hold pretzels, so we're collecting all of the balls in there, as it's fun to look at each ball and remember the project it was used for...
I hope it's not weird how I have kept the little strings, some not even a foot long (that little yellow ball in the middle is one of them). Any one else out there who does this?!
While some people may hoard pictures or write in a journal to remember what they've done and what they were thinking, I have little balls of yarn. They remind me of the projects I have done, which I guess you could say gives me a little encouragement.
Come on, don't tell me you wouldn't feel good about yourself if you put all your mini balls of yarn into one place and you saw you had enough leftover yarn from completed projects to practically fill a pretzel jar. I'm sure you'd be as proud as I am now.
I'm willing to bet some of you have already done this!
(please? someone? anyone?)

Ravelry Really Is a Black Hole

-but a good black hole. One that's filled with yarn and friends.

Well, I got half of my homework done Friday before I succumbed to my curiosity. Then, about 500 clicks later, it was time for bed. Ravelry is like a MySpace (which I am not, and will ever be, affiliated to)for knitters, crocheters, spinners and dyers. I absolutely love it!

I am in a group for Teen Knitters-simply wonderful! It's so good to know there are people my age who are as crazy about yarn as I am. (Hi Sarah!)

I have a question for those "in the know.."

How do you interface your blog into your "About Me" page? I have teenspinyarn.blogspot.com/ in the little box that says URL, but I don't have anything in the RSS feed box, and I'm not sure what I should put in there...Any ideas?

Meanwhile, in the actual-knitting department...

I'm still stitching away on Mom's Phoenix Tears scarf. I didn't find the proper yarn for the "feathery" part, so I'm just going with the silk.

You can see on the left where the fire part ends and the garter stitch bit begins. There is also a much redder part right where I'm knitting. It seems I spun some parts with more white than others, which is making a sort of stripey effect. Neat!

I think I might change the pattern so that there's a fire part on both sides, and a garter-stitch strip in the middle. I just can't imagine my mom with lots of frills and fuzzy stuff on her accessories. She doesn't wear style scarves much anymore. I've seen pictures of her when she was in her teens/just out of college, and she wore a lot of simple, smooth scarves. I sorta want this scarf to go with that theme.

Off to post on Ravelry!

A Random Ball of Green Handspun, Plus a Random Pair of Knitting Needles = ?

A random hair tie!
Last week was Homecoming week at my school-each day was a different time period. During 50s day (I think), I knitted up this little number-(With a little bit of guess-and-check, I took this picture myself!)
The pattern is really easy, so I'll put it here:
Row 1:CO 1 st
Row 2:k through the f&b of st
Row 3:k through the f&b of first st, k to end
Row 4:K all sts
Rep from row 2 however many times until 8 sts on needle, then do garter st till piece measures three times the length of your face.
*Next row: K2tog, k to end
Next row: K2tog, k to end
Next row: K all sts
Rep from * until there is just one st left-fasten off.
Cut string, weave in loose ends, and proudly wear!

PS: Thanks to Debolsollo for advice on my Spanish (I got that right on my test too; how could I have forgotten since then?!), and to Tama, Janet and Sarah for the Phoenix scarf yarn ideas-I just need to get to a LYS soon to get the yarn! :)

Lookie what I Got!

Last Saturday, DM and I went to a guild meeting, and one of the ladies there was selling the wool which her Rambouillette sheep had grown the past year. Well, I can't pass any spinning fiber, so I got this:
The darker colored roving is actually a bit more brown than black...I'm thinking of making some Knucks for my little brother for Christmas. The last time I made gloves for him, they kinda ended up a bit wonky. I hope this pattern works better! :)
Speaking of presents, I finished Mom's yarn for her scarf-I have finished the fire part of the Phoenix, but I am not sure how to go on. Should I add a fuzzy fiber for the feathers, or just let it be only silk and continue on? I'm leaning toward the adding a fuzzy yarn, but I don't really have any fuzzy yarn in the stash that goes with the orange, pink, yellow and red in the yarn. Hmmmmm....
And now, a Ravelry update!

Found you!
You signed up on July 19, 2007
You are #18748 on the list.
1285 people are ahead of you in line.
17140 people are behind you in line.
48% of the list has been invited so far.

Hoy es martes, el veinte y cinco, de septiembre del dos mil siete.
Spanish speakers out there: Did I write that right?