ene is done. well, almost done. i just need to get my new blocking board and weave in the ends. it went super-fast toward the end. it's for my aunt's birthday in mid-july, so hopefully i'll be able to block it soon.

in other news...

yes, it's my second sock syndrome swap sock. i went up to size 3 needles and it's looking a lot closer to the one i received from my swap partner. woo hoo! plus, it seems lightning-fast compared to ene.

first off, here's a picture of my progress on ene's scarf.

it's moving along pretty well. i'm hovering around 200 sts or so, which is definitely a more manageable number.

also, this is just one picture of the utter mess that my crafty room was this weekend. we got a new shelf unit from ikea, so hopefully much prettier pictures with be forthcoming.

::ene's scarf
moving along. slowly. the 300+ stitches per row is simply brutal. i'm only 16 rows into it, but i'm hoping that it gets more manageable soon.

::gusseted floor cushion
i just started this yesterday and i already have three of the four sides done. it's a fantastic fast knit. i've been meaning to make these for over a year, so it's about time.

::provincial waistcoat
i sort of draped this over myself the other night and it seems to fit well. i'm done with one of the fronts so far.

pattern: baby sweater on two needles from knitter's almanac
for: ami
timeline: started 06.08.2007; finished 06.11.2007
yarn: 2 balls of rowan calmer in 490 (with about 5g left over)
buttons: 6 from a bunch of random buttons from vogue fabrics on roosevelt

i've seen these all over knitting blogs and was charmed by it. in fact, i bought knitter's almanac for this pattern alone. the only change i made to the pattern was to make the boyd one inch longer before starting the garter stitch border.

things i wish i would have known before starting:
1 - start planning and putting in the buttonholes from the beginning.
2 - for the sleeves: knit sleeve stitches, cast on 7 stitches, turn, at end of sleeve stitches, cast on an additional 7 stitches.
3 - when knitting the rest of the body after completing both sleeves: when getting to the extra stitches cast on for the sleeves, pick up and knit a total of 14 stitches for each armhole into those cast-on stitches.

pattern: baby hat from one skein
size: newborn
for: bianca
timeline: started 06.11.2007; finished 06.12.2007 (just two days!)
yarn: ~1/2 skein swtc vickie howell CRAFT in candi (brown)
needles: US size 7 metal dpns, set of 5
nothing much to report. not surprisingly, this is a quick little knit. it only used about half a skein of this yarn, so i may try to get another hat out of it.

pattern: prairie tunic from interweave knits, spring 2006
size: 33" bust
for: me
timeline: started 05.19.2007; finished 06.08.2007
yarn: <4 balls of rowan 4-ply cotton in ardour
needles: US size 3 addi turbo circs

this ended up being a fantastic project to work on while on the bus. the lace pattern is interesting, but easy to memorize. the biggest pain was definitely making the cord for the straps.

the few finished prairie tunics that i saw on blogs ended up being too big, so i made one size smaller than i normally would. even with that, i think it's still a bit baggier in the waist than i normally like. however, i do like it and i think i'll wear it.

FOR SALE

Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky

Amount: One hank
Color: 563 (bright blue); dyelot 8139
Fiber: 100% Baby Alpaca
Yardage: 108 yds
Gauge: 3.5 sts=1" / #10
I used this to make the luxe neck warmer from knit 2 together and it only took one hank.

Price: $12.50 including US shipping with delivery confirmation


Lang Yarns Venezia

Amount: One ball
Color: Natural (beige)
Fiber: 50% Mohair 50% Acrylic
Yardage: 142 yds
Gauge: 11 sts=4" / #8
I used this to make the airy wrap-around lace sweater from fitted knits, but ended up with one ball left over.

Price: $10 including US shipping with delivery confirmation


Terms: Paypal, no debit or credit cards.
Just email me at lynnewio at gmail dot com if you're interested.

pattern: luxe neck warmer from knit 2 together
for: me
timeline: started 06.02.2007; finished 06.03.2007
yarn: 1 skein cascade baby alpaca chunky in 563 (a fantastic, intense blue)
needles: US size 11 bamboo circulars

i saw this fabulous blue yarn at nana's knitting yesterday and just had to grab it. i had just seen the pattern for this neck warmer in knit 2 together and figured it would be a good match.

the only changes i made were to cast on 12 fewer stitches and use larger needles. this only took me one evening and a few hours in the morning and it was done. i have the feeling i'll be using this a lot come winter.