Belated Update! Finished Project Spam!!!

Been crazy busy with work. Just the usual.

My life is pretty much:

Wake up
Work
Knit
Play Videogames (Rune Factory 3 at the moment)
Eat
Sleep
Repeat

Exciting, no?

But I am going on vacation to Florida in a week, WOO! So more knitting and videogames and no work! heehee! :)

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In the meantime I guess I will share some finished projects with y'alls, in order from most recently complete:


Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief/Shawl (Free Pattern) (My Ravelry)





This is the first shawl I ever attempted to knit. I should have made it bigger because I still have a decent amount of this Manos de Uruguay yarn leftover! But the pattern is SO basic that I got bored of it easily. This is good though, I wanted my first ever shawl to be, well, not complicated! LOL! ;) It was only supposed to be a kerchief size but it was very easy to extend it to make it larger.


Wavy Garden Shawl (Pattern) (My Ravelry)

I love how it turned out! SUPER fast knit and VERY easy to follow pattern. Recommended! Also I highly recommend using the ArtYarns Supermerino yarn. It is INSANELY soft!!!!


I didn't think my photo here is so great b/c it's a bathroom selfie and poor lighting but the author of the pattern seemed to like it and she put it on the ravelry page for her pattern! I feel so honored! First time that has ever happened to me. :3


Shawl being blocked! So cool looking! ;)



Faraway, So Close Shawl (Pattern) (My Ravelry)
From the pattern designer: "This shawl was originally designed as a gift to comfort a friend during a time of much grief. In honor of Infant Loss Awareness Month, each October all proceeds from the sale of this pattern for the month are donated to charities that offer support and guidance to families suffering the loss of a child. In 2012 you helped me to donate $345 to Share. Learn more about Share at http://www.nationalshare.org"
I highly HIGHLY recommend you buy this pattern. Not only is it amazingly gorgeous and totally easy to follow even for a beginner knitter like me, but they donate proceeds from the sale of the pattern in October. So buy it in October when the weather is cooling down and knit an amazing shawl for yourself or a loved one. Or donate to a charity. I plan to do some charity knitting this year! :)


This shawl came from my 2nd and final KnitCrate (I had to cancel my subscription cause it was just too expensive for me, sadly.)


I should have blocked this before taking the photo. Urrrgh. Curly ends bug me. But I was SO excited to wear it out the day I finished it! :D


Yellow Halter Top (Free Pattern) (My Ravelry)

First time knitting with cotton yarn and I messed it up big time. It doesn't fit me, and I had to cut the back strap and serge the ends. BLAH. I may try to salvage it but for now it goes in my reject pile. ;___; Derp.


Two-Direction Scarf (Pattern) (My Ravelry)

I had to wait until I was better at picking up stitches before I finished this project! The yarn and pattern was a Christmas gift to me from my BF's mom. Of course I finished this beast of a scarf in the end of spring/early summer. xD Too hot to wear now!


Really lovely finished product! I actually messed up the transition a bit because I think either the pattern was written wrong or I am just dyslexic, lol!


McCarren Park Cap (Pattern) (My Ravelry)

This was from my May 2014 YarnBox! I didn't like the outcome as much as the designer's finished product. IDK why. The buttons are fabric covered. It's funny because a lot of my friends tell me this is their favorite item I ever knitted but might be one of my least favorites. I don't like the way it looks on me. Reminds me of a goofy elf hat. Maybe my gauge was off.. :(

Derp!


Yellow Alpaca Chunky Cable Hat
(Free Pattern) (My Ravelry)

This was a gift for my BF's mom. I made it a little too big. But it's 100% alpaca so very warm! Will keep her head warm in Colorado winters. :)


Siidegarte Sproinger Hat
(Pattern) (My Ravelry)
My first ever finished project from a YarnBox. (I think it was April YB?) Both the amazingly luscious yarn and pattern came from the box. It was a little tricky since it was my first time doing a three needle bind off and only my 2nd or 3rd time picking up stitches but it was a piece o' cake! I did mess up the 3 needle bind off a bit but that's OK. You can't see the seam cause it's hidden in the back, heehee! ;)

Love the result!



Now what should I do with my other skein of yarn?? :D


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Current Work in Progresses:

Ojo de Dios Shawl by Vanessa Ewing (one of my fave designers!)
(Pattern) (My Ravelry)

Tricky at first. I tried starting this project at the beginning of the year but I got stuck several times and kinda just gave up for a while. I kept knitting the triangles backwards. DPNs can be tricky when you are first learning to knit. >__<;; I think I figure it out though. You have to knit 17 triangles together then I think you pick up and knit along the upper edge and do basic garter stick the rest of the way which is truly quite simple. Pretty interesting how the first part of the pattern is very challenging and the second is like, the most basic knit stitch imaginable. LOL! I love the designer though, Vanessa. She's very sweet and always answers questions! And I looove her work. I want to knit her Noro Skirt next. :3 Aftethought A La Carte Socks
(Pattern) (My Ravelry)

Using my May YarnBox sock yarn in Summertime Sweet by Cherry Tree Hill. Interesting that an engineer came up with this pattern. Yay! Represent! Engineers who knit, lol. I always thought of knitting and crochet as very engineer-y types of activities. Lots of concentration, problem solving, working backwards, and of course, mathematics involved. Interpreting patterns and charts is a lot like interpreting blueprints to me, which I do every day at work. xD Also on this project, I taught myself the Magic Loop method on 1 long circular needle but I have decided DPNs work better for me. Less portable and I love to knit whilst drunk at bars, but I have HORRIBLE ladders with Magic Loop. I frogged this sock and I will re-do on my stainless steel carbon fiber DPNs (lol even my needles are engineer-y.) xD


Click the Read More jump below to see some more pics!




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SPINNING!

I also tried my hand at spinning on my new drop spindle. (It was only $1!) I am not very good at it though >__<;


practice makes perfect right?

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Random yarn photos!

July 2014 YarnBox:

Fiberlady 70% Bamboo and 30% Cotton in the "Relaxing" colorway. Still stumped about what to make out of this. I love it tho.

June 2014 YarnBox:

ArtYarns Supermerino - AMAZING yarn. Seriously some of my most favorite yarn to knit with ever. So soft considering it's 100% wool. This is what I used to make the Wavy Garden Shawl above!

June 2014 KnitCrate:

Targhee Worsted in Muddy Autumn by Blue Moon Fibres ^__^ SUCH LOVE. Lovely yarn to knit with. Not as soft as the ArtYarns supermerino and did smell strongly of dye but thankfully did not run when I wet blocked it and was really easy to knit with, no tearing or breakage. Made for a lovely shawl.

May 2014 YarnBox:

Amazingly beautiful Cherry Tree Hill Sock Yarn