The Novel Knit Girl Blog

Since January is nearly done, it's time to reflect on what I hope to accomplish this year (right?). Every year I have the same resolutions, which should tell you something about me. This year, I'm simplifying. 1) Knit with yarn I have. I am not allowed to buy any more yarn until I get through at least a good portion of my stash. It's a large stash. I have three projects in the works now, and a few quickies I hope to breeze through this weekend. I love yarn. I love the possibilities. Sometimes my excitement gets ahead of my time and talent availabilities. (This also means that I need to use up yarn that I don't like. So I've returned to a project that was one of the first "kits" I bought after graduating from swatching. It involves a not beautiful burgundy-colored "homespun" yarn and a shrug that seems like a bad idea now. But it will be finished - and possibly donated. Or maybe it will be fabulous. That's the great thing about projects. ...

I get it. You don't want to read my blog unless there are pictures. I'm so late in finishing this post and I haven't photographed everything I was going to include... but here is what I have to show for my attempt at homemade Christmas gifts this year. (NOTE: WORKING ON MY PHOTOGRAPHY SKILLS) Craftsy November knit-along cowl with cables, which I messed up. I misread the pattern. Luckily the final product works just fine. It has a few mistakes, because sometimes that's how I roll...  I plan to re-do the pattern to include the additional stitches that I forgot on this one, but for someone in the Pacific Northwest, I think it will be great (and this way my sister and I won't have the exact same cowl). This is the Knit and Tonic Lucky Ribs Cable Cowl (a "modified" version). And here are the nephew scarves - Go Go Gryffindor and the Meandering Rib scarf Go Go Gryffindor - no pattern used. Just garter stitch. P...

Recently finished: easy lace scarves for mom and mom-in-law ...And some dishcloths for teacher Christmas gifts. And this was a lovely baking weekend filled with: Giant ginger and sugar cookies Oatmeal, banana, chocolate chip cookies (ingredients in title) Baked apple chips - which made my house smell divine! On the needles today - this fun little scarf for one of my nine nephews - an avid Harry Potter fan. (This is what he asked for!)

Don't be fooled by the title of this post. I mean, I have been hibernating a little. But, it doesn't mean I haven't been knitting. Last Friday I was up until 11:00  knitting up a third lacy keyhole scarf (pattern by Stephanie Japel) while my husband was at the Airborne Toxic Event concert. I just haven't seamed it together and weaved in the ends yet. I'll post it soon. It will be a gift. Of the lacy keyhole scarves that I've made, this is my favorite so far. I love the color (leftover green yarn) and yarn choice. It just seems softer the wool ones I made before. I guess that should have been a given. And I'm working on a triangle scarf. Which should be easy because it is all garter stitch (same thing over and over) with a increases and decreases to make the triangle, but I've ripped it out three times now. It seems that the simpler the stitch the more mistakes I make. And... my Hunger Games inspired hunter cowl. It was fun at the start and now I...

I've been attempting my first fingerless mitts, in a chevron lace pattern by Aurora Sisneros. I'm beginning to think I'm not cut out for mittens, gloves, socks, or anything that requires double pointed needles. I started with cheap plastic needles that are so cheap, one of the points broke off. I wasn't stabbing with it, it just broke, mid stitch! So, I took a break. Then I switched to bamboo needles procured (or bought) from the Internet.... and they seem to be better and worse and possibly incorrectly labeled because they're way too big. Luckily I bought several pairs, so I can figure this out and likely find a pair in the correct size. But, they're almost too long for this project, making the whole pattern feel tangled and utterly un-fun. I'm getting frustrated. I was hoping to make a few pairs as Christmas gifts this year, but I'm losing patience. These are the mitts I'm attempting.....wish me luck. With any luck, I'll be wearing a pa...

It's true. I seem to have finished my first garment. I started it, oh, I can't even remember when... I should have recorded the date, but I didn't. I know that I was at least working on it in April of 2014, and it is September 2014 now. And, I did it. I finished. Yes, it has a few mistakes and a couple areas of questionable stitch integrity, but it's complete! I mean, your first sweater isn't supposed to be perfect - right? Otherwise it wouldn't be your first sweater. Kind of like first loves - they call them "firsts" for a reason. You learn and make better decisions the next time around. This is the Lion Brand "my first sweater" pattern and I utilized the online class by Amy Ross. The class was OK. It was good to have visuals, but I've taken better online classes. But, cheers to Amy. She got me through this and she just seems so very sweet. I did enjoy knitting with her, even if some of the directions weren't totally clear, whi...

James Foley was executed in Syria 2 weeks ago. You might find this bit of information odd for me to add to my "knitting" blog, but we are both Northwestern graduates and I work at his other Alma Mater. I didn't know him, but I've been following the Free James Foley site since news of his captivity was announced in 2012. This project will be named after Jim. I think I'll just call it my JIM hat. This hat is from a Craftsy class pattern (Sidebar: I love, love, LOVE Craftsy.com), One-skein Accessories: The Chevron Collection (instructor Aurora Sisneros).  And, I'm actually loving this pattern. This is my third hat, but I'm considering it my first hat since the others were pretty awful. Both in black bulky yarn and just a boring old garter stitch pattern. This one has been a fun challenge for me to knit. Some might call it easy, but so far, only dishcloths have been easy for me on the first try. I ripped the hat out once. I had some trouble with my stitch...