The Novel Knit Girl Blog

No photos today because I finished my sister-in-law's scarf about 10 minutes before leaving for her b-day party. The good news is that she really liked it.... the bad news is that I would have liked more time to knit it a little longer and block it better (and take a picture of it!). But, it was a nice garter stitch scarf with some fun striping. I may may a similar one for my daughter after Christmas. I think I get to relax now. Just making warm warm stuff and hoping to start on a new sweater soon.

Proud Puppy Sweater by Lion Brand and I used Lion Brand Amazing yarn in the Constellation colorway. It's just too cute. Now I am on to trying to finish scarves for Christmas. It just got very cold around here so I've been inspired to give people good 'ole warm scarves this year. This works best in garter stitch, so after trying to make something more complicated, I am back to knitting each row for a simple and clean look. I'll post them when I'm done.  Another of my dog though....

Here I am. I finished a sweater. It's a pretty homemade looking thing, but I'll wear it because I made it, and because it's warm. It has a few details that I'll probably never do again, like a sideways cable yoke. Yeah, definitely not my thing. I still need to improve my seaming, but each sweater is better than the one before it, I guess. Getting ready for the holidays and right now I'm working on knitted things for me. A few gifts here and there, but not the pressure of last year. I already have the teacher gifts done, so that helps a lot! Finished the finicky hat a a pair of fingerless mitts for my sister in Seattle. Not sure lace will ever really be my thing.... Both of these gave me some trouble, but they are done and getting wrapped for shipping shortly. (I learned that I'm pretty sure I just don't like knitting with black yarn!) On to December knitting.... On the needles now, a blanket scarf for me (yay!).

I'm in Chicago today. At the Illinois field office for the lovely organization that employs me, and due to train schedules, they have been nice enough to allow me a tiny room in the back to work until my lunchtime meeting. I didn't take pictures of the big city because, you know, I'm from Illinois and it feels funny that even though I'm still always very taken with Chicago and those within it, I'm not allowed to take pictures because it should be old hat to me. I took the Amtrak down and it was a piece of cake. I regretted lugging my 800+ page Alexander Hamilton biography for the trip during my 1.3 mile walk from Union Station to the office, but I didn't regret it on the ride. I may hail a taxi back. We'll see how tough I'm feeling after a meeting and coffee. I thought about bringing knitting for the train, because I'm been doing plenty of it - but I'm having trouble with a hat. It's all so disappointing because it's going peachy and

Over the course of a week, I opened the box that contained my sewing machine. Then, I threaded the bobbins, cut fabric, and - you guessed it - sewed fabric together! I ended up making 5 French seamed envelope pillows. They turned out O.K. I hope my sewing skills improve over the next several months. And now, the "envelope" please.....

I finished the Herringbone cowl. It was going great until the last row or something. Or something because I'm not quite sure what happened. It just got off. So, I bound off. And the sewn bind off just went okay. I did everything right, but the edge isn't great and it is almost too stretchy. The cowl works. It's soft and warm. It really looks fine. It's just that after all that time, I wanted perfection. I'm learning that I may never be a perfect knitter. But, It doesn't stop me from doing it. Here it is: In other news, My dad turned 75 last weekend. He was 38 when I was born and I think I get my "maker" gene from him. He does woodworking and has made the beds that both my husband and I and our son sleep in along with tables and desks and cradles. We had a party at my house and I made a shrimp and grits dish that was a huge hit. Four of his 7 grand kids were in attendance and all 4 of his kids were there - my sister flew in from Seattle. It was

I was beginning to see the end of this cowl that has been taking me a long time to knit. I started it last January and then it hibernated for about 8 months because I wanted to make other things. It's not a difficult stitch pattern, but it's one that I can't easily navigate by eye. I need to know which round I'm on and even though it seems like I should be able to "read" my stitches, with this pattern I just can't. It's a herringbone pattern and a silk blend yarn. When it's finished it will be heaven. I started having visions of binding off and then I dropped a stitch and couldn't recover. It was sad. In other news. I finished a scarf for Kid 2's teacher for Christmas. I'm on a roll with Christmas gifts this year! It was yarn that I bought from the Wisconsin State Fair and I always wanted to try one of those balls that is white in the middle and dark on the outside. Turns out, the result is just okay. In other news..

Like I said... I've been feeling color lately. And, I've been feeling shawls, scarves, and accessories in general. Here is my second easy shaped shawl in Mindful Mauve. I'm working on my photography skills. I don't think they're improving much.

I think I mentioned the ox wool that my parents found and bought for me during their trip to Alaska in July. Well, I finished the scarf and it's lovely. I don't really think of myself as a great lace knitter, so this was a challenge. But, the pattern was easy and the end result is quite nice. Here it is: In other news.... Life After Life by Kate Atkinson is proving to be worth the read. My kids finally went back to school on Tuesday. Kid 1 is now in 3rd grade and Kid 2 is starting kindergarten. It's been a whirlwind. I'm not sure how I did this when I had to go to an office each day to work! Life is hectic with dance 3 nights per week for 1 and swimming one night for "the deuce". Tonight we may go out for dinner - which is something the four of us almost never do together. The kindergartner is having adjustment exhaustion, so we'll see. Overall, things are as good as I think they can be for early September!

It's been an exciting end of the summer. I accepted a new job with an amazing organization where I can work full-time from home (my dream come true) and I left a job that was making me unhappy. I used to love that job, but it became toxic in the end. And I wasn't doing well. I started taking some (prescribed and very low dosage) drugs and realized that my tension headaches are probably hormone and mood related. They run in my family and my mother and sister both also suffer from them. It's not TMJ and it will likely not get much better so I need to figure out how to manage them. But, in general, I love my new life! I love not having to rush out the door in the mornings and being at home all the time - getting some exercise and alone time in during the days so I'm enjoying being with my kids more when they are home with me. And, I love that I will be the one to get my kids from the bus and take them to their events and maybe even go on a field trip or two this year.

This is my daughter - aka Kid 1. She was given an ipod touch for her First Communion - not by me. Here she is in our bathroom, sending me a text to ask me if I'm okay. She cracks me up. Anyway, I was making a pair of Raw Honey Mitts to start my Christmas gift stash and she kept trying them on and asking if they were for her. So, I made her a smaller pair and I was pretty happy that I was able to size them down for her. So here they are, and here is a cute pic of her wearing them on the 2nd day of July.... after we learned she is getting a new Aunt - and me a new sister-in-law.  So far July has brought one last case of strep throat for my family (both kids had it and then my husband got a positive throat swab on July 3rd), a full-body rash for kid 2, a birthday party, hosting a 4th of July party, fireworks, a bit of t-ball, a quick trip to DC, a lot of exhaustion and a little break from knitting. I finished two books in record time and have had to cancel a lot

I think I shall,l from this day forward, always knit sweaters in bulky yarn. It goes so much faster. Also, short sleeves. The only thing I don't love about this sweater is that the sleeves are maybe bound off a little too tight. Other than that.... happiness. This is the lace yoke sweater pattern by Eunny Jang (Craftsy class: Choose Your Own Sweater Adventure). Tons of yarn left over, so there may be some bulky wool mittens and hats for Christmas gifts this year!

Variations on Gray.... These mitts. They are Clara Parkes stash mitts pattern and I loved the pattern and I love these mitts. Not the most beautiful things, but I chose my yarn well and they are very soft and comfy. Making a few more pairs for Christmas gifts. And, this is clearly my best thumb gusset to date. My mood is still very gray. Although my husband and I took a (too) short trip over the weekend - back to the place where we had our wedding reception nearly 13 years ago, and it was rejuvenating. I haven't been feeling like myself, but I'm trying to push through it and find some solutions that don't require medications that make me feel forgetful and loopy. There is an MRI in my future, but I'm not very concerned about it. It's my jaw. I just have to figure out how to keep it from getting so aggravated. I came back feeling better. More like myself and able to function again. So, that's something.

Show and tell. There was so much to this for me. It's an accomplishment. I made a sweater I think I'll actually wear. This is a pattern by Wendy Bernard - My first top down sweater. I also followed the Craftsy class. The class was okay - but I can't complain when I get a garment out of it! So, I did all the knit stitches using the continental-style. I still purled English-style. I don't have that down yet. Then, something clicked for me with magic loop the week before starting the sleeves and so I was able to use the magic loop method for making the sleeves. Overall, I'm really happy with this. I'll wear it with a long-sleeved t-shirt under it in the fall, winter and spring. It's wool, so too itchy to wear alone. I started doing yoga yesterday. I'm hoping that it will help with all my health "issues". I'm going to try for twice a day when I can (but if I'm being realistic, I'll be lucky for three to five times per week). I reall

I don't have much new to report. Still knitting my gray sweater - should finish the body today Still dealing with TMJ and acid reflux Still too cold outside for my preferences We got a new roof on Monday, which wiped out our finances. I'm certainly in a year of change. I want to change many things. Mainly my day-to-day life. I'm working on it. Here's a shot of my in progress gray sweater. Knitting a top down sweater is new for me- it entails moving a lot of fabric around. I don't hate it.... it's just different. In fact, I might kind of like it. Jury's still out....But don't my stitches look pretty? I almost spilled an entire cup of hot chocolate on it this morning. I don't usually start my day with hot chocolate, but I was here so early that no one made coffee yet. To be clear, I am totally capable of making coffee - I just prefer not to. So, I grabbed a packet of hot chocolate while I waited out my half hour before I could eat my bre

It's been a nice little April so far. In Wisconsin, we've had what can only be described as bi-polar weather and it has been making us all sick - literally! One day last weekend, it went from sunny and nice to like a snow tornado and then to a gentle rain during the course of 45 minutes. And it did this kind of thing all day long. I actually experienced three different seasons while taking my dog for a walk (remember Penelope? She is still adorable!). And, I'm finally really making some headway on my first top down sweater. It's gray, and I'm out of things to say about the color gray. I need to stay away from it for a while after this sweater. However, I think learning continental knitting has helped this sweater knit up much faster than it would have if I had been knitting it English-style. I still love English-style knitting (it just seems more pure to me or something), but, I'll admit that continental knitting seems faster and my tension is better. So, I &q

Or Thursday. Apparently Wisconsin is getting more snow this week after a blast of spring. The mock-spring was nice, but it made Kid 1 very sick. She was so sick I felt a little like a nurse and sat with her on the couch watching Dolphin Tale 1 and 2 in their entirety on Sunday morning. You know you're worried about your kid when you watch not just one Dolphin Tale movie, but two of them. Anyway, I'm trying to finish the book Passenger by Alexandra Bracken by March 25th since it's a library book (and I'm old school sometimes), so I haven't been knitting much the past few days. But, when I return, I'm going to be knitting my first top down gray sweater (in continental style) like a fiend to get it done! Then, my serpentine strawberry fields socks (Lucy Neatby KAL) and then a few other works-in-progress (WIPs) so that I can move on to some new sweaters and get a head start on Christmas gifts for next year... so that I'm not knitting down to the wire again.

I've noticed I have a problem with gray. I love it. I choose it above all other yarn shades and I'm going to have to a very gray wardrobe soon. I currently have 3 gray projects in needles: two are cowls and one is a sweater. Maybe I need a color intervention. Unless, say, my next project is so colorful no one will believe it's mine? That may happen with my next pair of socks. The yarn is called Strawberry Fields, and if it wasn't for something that went on my feet, I'd never have purchased the yarn. But, it could be a good thing for me - staging my own little color intervention. I'll finish the Frost Point Cowl tonight. I tried my best Kitchener stitch on it and it was a massive failure - I almost took a photo but decided to just move on. I don't know what happened. Anyway, tonight I'm doing a 3-needle bind-off and blocking tomorrow. As long as I didn't destroy the ends of the cowl too badly, I should have a finished project to show off in the

I have the Weezer song Thank God for Girls stuck in my head. It happens. So I went "punny" this morning. Can you tell I'm feeling a bit better? I finished the [insert my restrained curse word here] socks that I've been working on for more than 2 months last night while watching recorded episodes of Agent Carter. I grafted (and I use that term very loosely because I'm not sure you can call what I did to the toes of these socks grafting) last night and weaved in my ends and cleaned up the sloppy spots. It's the most I'm willing to do. Of course, I wish these had been perfect, but alas, they are my second pair of socks and I did what I could. The next pair may or may not be better. For now, I am doing a fun long cowl which I hope to finish before this winter ends. It currently has two mistakes, so I'm thinking doing a quick tear out and giving it another go....It's an easy enough pattern, so I think I should. I tend to sweat the small stuff. A

These socks are literally taking me forever to knit. It didn't help that I had so many issues on the first one that I had to start it over twice, and now I am pretty sure I'm going to have to redo the toe on that first one because I dropped a stitch. I am on a mission to finish them soon because they have been terribly time consuming. And the worst part about it is that I'm pretty sure the rest of the knitting world thinks knitting socks is like a quick and easy thing to do - but this pair has literally been my entire February! And I want a sweater! (Why don't I just put the socks aside and knit the sweater you ask? I don't know! I'm a glutton for punishment.) So, I've been miserable for about, oh, the entire month of February. TMJ and tummy issues. I've decided that I'm having an allergic reaction to winter. Maybe this is a legit thing that I can use to get my husband to move somewhere warm in the future. Arizona dreaming.... I've also decid

So, I'm feeling better and realized that the migraine and TMJ tension that I had last week was not, actually, going to kill me. So, I spent some money on yarn and the Scrivener writing software and I've decided to go for it. It being life, I guess. The thing is, when you are in pain and living with your emotions so close to the surface, you start to realize things. Words and plans start to mean more. I'm not trying to be so dramatic. But, it's true. You only get to do this life thing one time, and if you're not happy, you need to change. I know what I need to do to change. It's hard, and it's been put off, but when I really stop and listen to my insides, I realize that I need to get back to myself. Back to writing. knitting has been the most unexpected and wonderful diversion that I will continue for the rest of my life! I will still post about knitting and cool things I bake, and maybe - just maybe - I'll also start writing about my writing journe

I've been knitting, I swear. I just have nothing to show for it. Socks are not a quick thing for me and I signed up for a sock knit-along. I was about half way through my first sock when I ran into trouble... two people mentioned that sock #1 (started without a gauge swatch, of course) looked small, and it was. WAY too small. Rrrrrrriiiiiiippp. So, I started it again. And, starting a sock for the second time is never really a "fun thing". But, here I am. And my sweater is also coming along very slowly but surely. I'm practicing a new technique, so it's taking its sweet time. I'm so tired. The winter makes me tired and sore. Everything wrong in my life gets worse in the winter. It's just the truth. I'm going to try some yoga tonight. I get terrible TMJ when I'm either cold or stressed out, and right now I'm a little bit of both. I never used to have TMJ, but something happened to my jaw after my wisdom teeth were removed and now the left sid

My 2016 Goals.... I believe in goal setting. I don't always follow through on my intentions, but I like to try new things even if I have a lot of false starts.... but, no one can say that I'm afraid to try. So, here are my goals by category: Knitting: 1) Not buy ANY yarn. This will be a big challenge - and I've already failed if we are going to be technical. I ordered a little sock yarn on Etsy from this sweet little shop to start my Beekeepers quilt - which will be a multi-year project. It was $28.25. So, not crazy and I "technically" used Christmas money towards it. Also, I have a $20 gift card to a local yarn shop, so when I'm really in a rut, I can go buy some yarn for a project and support a local shop as well. I'm really hoping to keep on track with this because I've gone into a bit of a yarn debt. 2) Finish 5 sweaters. I have boatloads of yarn just waiting to be used. I'm hoping to start with a few sweaters in the new year. It w

Christmas knitting is over. Christmas is over. 2015 is over. And, I have to say, it was all somewhat of a disappointment this year. A lot went on in 2015 that wasn't great. Here is what I finished for Christmas gifts that I haven't already posted. Some of it was okay. Some was awful. It is what is is. I'm not even posting the disaster ornaments I made for our god children.... I think I'll just advise my sister-in-law to toss them next year after I make something much better. A "beer" cozy for my father-in-law (pattern: Conceal on Ravelry) A Rib-A-Roni hat for my dad.... Gift card holders for my older nephews:  Fingerless mittens for my daughter's teacher: The 11th hour headband for my mom (finished Christmas morning)