Say it isn't so....more Holiday Knitting.....

Well it seems I have been a busy knitter.  I don't know if you remember or not but over the summer I made a scarf for a friend of mine in Germany.  He liked it so much he requested a hat to keep him warm for Christmas.  So back to the needles I went.  Luckily I was able to find the yarn again so it completely matches.  However, the color is last season's so it is getting difficult to find.....

Of course while i was working on it I had to try it on.  It was a little too big for me but my knitting friend had to get a picture of it on my head.  With the strings coming down through my hair it almost looked like I had added blue dreadlocks to my already unruly hair ;-)

I used US 10 circulars (6mm) with Katia Fabula in color 98 (100 Merino Superwash).  I also added a pom pom to the top with two contrasting colors of Elle Rae Classic wool yarn.

Yet more Lembas Bread....

Ok I couldn't help it...I had to put in a Lord of the Rings reference...after all it wouldn't be winter without it playing on someone's TV. 

I have completed another pair of socks.  This pair is for miss Frieda in her favorite color.  I found this yarn at my local yarn store The Woolie Ewe last summer when it first came out and picked it up just for her.  I have since finished her dress and plan to add accents to the dress with the left over yarn from her socks. 

Since its the holidays and these socks are for a special little girl...they had to have a little bit of sparkle ;-)

I used Louisa Harding's Jasmine yarn in Color 25.  Yarn is made from 48% Cotton, 39% Bamboo, 10% Silk and 3% Polyester. I used circular needles size 3 mm.

Holiday Socks Continue......

Another pair of socks complete.  The gifts are filling up the bottom of the tree now.  Thank goodness we are starting to finish them up.....

This pair is for my dad.  If you have been following my blog, my dad received my first pair of knitted socks.  Now they weren't exactly his color because they were originally meant for me, but I made them too large for my feet.  So I figured I would give him another pair....but I would make them in one of his favorite colors instead ;-)

The yarn is another Online product Supersocke 100 Emotion II Color 50% Merino wool, 25% Viskose, 25% Polyamid Color 1230 and was knitted on 3.00 mm needles.

Now off to make more socks....I think my hands may fall off soon ;-)

Unusual Requests.....

This year I asked a friend of mine what he wanted for Yule.  He told me this year I would like for you to knit me a T-Cell....luckily when he told me I was on the phone with him so I could look strangely at the phone and answer OK...I will see what I can do about that.  When I got off the phone the first thing that came to my mind was what the heck does a T-Cell look like....so I conducted a Google search and found it. 

Now when I looked at pictures of a T-Cell, I saw pictures of DNA, graphical representations, etc.  It wasn't until I found an actual slide of a cell from under a microscope did I figure out what I needed to do.  So off to the local yarn store for ideas.  I was with my best friend and fellow knitter and we were throwing out ideas when we came across the yarn that we thought could work.......

Now mind you I had no idea how I was going to use the yarn I found because I had never knitted with it but I thought what the heck.  So I knitted for a while on one pattern and it didn't work so I started the project again.  It took me approximately 3-4 days of knitting to come up with the result below.....

Liz's first T-Cell design.......

Using puff ball yarn in three different colors and using an eyelash yarn weaved into it, this is the result.  I created a T-Cell pillow that looks like a T-Cell if you have seen the pictures. On the other hand it also looks like a demented cupcake if you didn't know what a T-Cell looked like.  Needless to say I was laughing my butt off when I finished this during my holiday knitting frenzy. 

I had the fortunate experience of giving the pillow to my friend in person.  He wasn't sure what it was....so I said remember when you asked me for a T-Cell.......he looked at me with wide eyes and said I didn't expect you to take me seriously ;-).  I said you now have a Liz Original Design T-Cell Pillow.  And everyone laughed so hard.  He was very happy and it made my day to see his smile.  So I said you will now always have something to keep a smile on your face and you will always have 1 rather large T-Cell.

May the mirth still keep you laughing all the while......even when life gets you down.....may you always find humor in your life.

Project was created with Bernat Puff Ball Holidays colors in red, multi, and white.  Also using Martha Stuart Red Eyelash yarn to accentuate the hair like structure of the cell.  I used size 9 US/ 5.5 metric needles.

Well it is getting to be a bit cold outside.....

Now I realize there are much colder areas in the world than in North Texas in the winter but here we like to dress warmer when there is a chill in the air.  Since it isn't quite as cold as it is in the north we don't need to dress in wool to stay warm.  We can use a lighter type of yarn to give us a bit of warmth.

A friend of mine loves the color purple and she likes to sparkle.  I found this yarn at my local yarn shop The Woolie Ewe and it had her written all over it. 

The yarn is called Tinseltown by Euro Yarns in Purple.  I used size 8 US/ 5 metric needles and knitted garter stitch.  It is a fun yarn to work with and knits up really fast.  My friend really enjoyed receiving her gift and was wearing it when we left dinner last weekend.

Woo hoo one gift given this year for the holiday and it was completed in time....now off to the next project....

Well this elf has been busy.....

Since the last post I have been busy knitting my way through the holiday gift list.  Needless to say it has been a busy knitting season.  While I was in Houston over the Thanksgiving holiday I finished this pair of socks for my sister's Christmas gift.  I like the way that these turned out.  The color is one of my sister's favorites so I hope she enjoys them.  They are made from cotton too instead of wool because she lives in the tropical area of Houston she might get more use out of these than the wool ones I made her earlier.

I used size 3 needles with Cascade Yarns Pima Cotton 220; 100% Pima Cotton; 100 g

I am off and running onto the next project....wish me luck!

Holiday Socks

Well, I have another pair of holiday socks completed.  I was working on these watching the Texas Rangers in the world series.  I really wish they would have won but oh well.  These socks are for my aunt in her favorite color.  Which of course is also one of mine as well.  She lives near Galveston so again I made these out of cotton.  Hopefully she will like these...I think they turned out well.....but I will let you be the judge ;-)

I used size 3 needles with Cascade Yarns Pima Cotton 220; 100% Pima Cotton; Color number 3713; 100 g

I am off and running on my next project for the holidays...hopefully I will get these done before the holidays come and go ;-)

Socks, Socks, Socks.......

Well I am really enjoying knitting socks.  So much so most of my family is receiving them for their holiday gifts ;-).  Below are the socks for mom.  Luckily mom doesn't normally look at my blog so she shouldn't notice that I posted them early.....hehe.  For my family I am doing the majority of the socks in cotton because they live in Houston so it is warm most of the year.  Hopefully mom will enjoy the socks for years to come.

I used size 3 needles with Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima 220; 100 % Pima Cotton; color number 3774; 100 g

Now on to the next project ;-)

Holiday Presents

Well I started making some of my holiday gifts.  This year I have decided to knit as many of my gifts as possible.  This takes time so hopefully I can get all of them done.  The first one is a scarf for Glen.  It is double the width so he can fold it should it get really cold but since it doesn't get that cold here it is a little bit looser weave than I would do for someone who lives in a colder climate.  I used size 10 needles so it would be a bit more airy.  It is in his favorite color so hopefully he will enjoy it for many years to come.

I used Elle Rae Classic Heathers color 174 which is 100% wool 100 g ball.

Now on to the next holiday gift......wish me luck!!!!

What more socks.....what has gotten into me????

Ok, after years of having difficulty trying to get one pair of socks done...I seem to have the need to knit more socks.  I have completed yet another pair.  This one is for my sister.  See my sister is allergic to alot of things and one thing that she is allergic to is latex.  Most commercial socks have elastic in them and alot of those are coated with latex to make them last longer.  I was looking at her poor legs last summer and noticed that she had lines from where the socks irritated her poor legs.  I thought hey I don't use elastic in my socks.  Why don't I try to make her a pair so we can see if she has the same issue with the home made socks. 

Vanessa picked out the yarn and I knitted it for her.  The yarn is another Online product Supersocke 100 Emotion II Color 50% Merino wool, 25% Viskose, 25% Polyamid Color 1218and was knitted on 3.00 mm needles.

Dad's Little Helper....

When I finished the socks for my dad around Father's Day, I had some yarn left over.  I thought it might be a good idea to use it on another pair of socks.  However, I knew I didn't have enough for an adult sized pair of socks so I thought my niece should have a pair of socks that matched her grandfather's socks.  That way they could match.  See Miss Frieda loves her grandpa so much and is always following him around so I thought this might work...besides Doby has a pair of socks why not Winky...because you know Winky needs socks too....;-)

Now Doby and Winky have matching socks.

I used leftover yarn from Knitpicks Felici yarn color Goth self striping yarn.  Knitted on a 3.0 mm needle. for a baby sock size 5-7.

New Babies

Well this spring I was visiting with my family and my sister comes to me and says a friend of ours is having a baby.  Of course this makes me really happy because babies are the best in my book.  I started thinking...what should I knit for this baby.  Of course my sister already beat me to the punch and asked me to knit her a camel.  See her husband is from Libya and the camel is very important to their way of life and they really wanted one for the babies room but were having a difficult time finding one.  So I said I would see what I could do.  I began my search of the pattern enriched environment called the Internet....I was not finding anything that I really wanted to use as a pattern for this project.  So I kept searching.....  One day I was at my favorite yarn store looking for patterns of camels and not having any luck when I decided to ask one of the ladies there.  They said oh yes we have a pattern let me go get the book.  Unfortunately the book was out of stock but she said if I would buy the book she would make me a copy of the pattern and then I could get started on it right away.  So I did....

The completed camel for Kaden.  I even knitted a little heart on his chest.

View of the camel from the front.

View from the other side.

Kaden was born on Tuesday October 4, 2011.  Katie and Nezar are so excited to have Kaden here finally.  The new family is doing well and should be coming home soon.  Another baby project was actually completed before the baby was born. ;-)

The pattern used was from Toy Knits by Debbie Bliss.  I used Plymouth Yarn's Baby Boutique yarn color 08, 05, 04, 07.  The fiber content is 50% Microfiber and 50% Nylon.  The camel turned out pretty good and definitely cuddly...but I might go with a stiffer yarn for a standing stuffed animal because this yarn is a little too soft for a stable camel.

Now I am off to knit another project....hmmmm maybe more socks ;-)

My Second Pair of Socks

Well I finished my second pair of socks.  This pair was for my uncle, Roger.  He likes really colorful patterns so I made him a pair of socks from some really great yarn by Online.  This yarn works really well for socks.

The material used was Online Supersocke 100 Emotion II color 100 gram 50% merino wool, 25% Viscose, and 25% Polyamid, color 1220.  Knitted on 3.0 mm needles.

I gave them to him and they fit his feet well.  He really liked them.  Now to make more socks ;-)  I think I am quickly becoming a sock knitter.

FO: Men's Scarf

I knitted this for a friend in Germany:

Ok not entirely finished; still need to weave in those ends

Me, modelling the scarf; had to do it indoors with A/C on high

It's about 7 feet long by 8 inches wide and very warm and puffy. Yarn used is Katia Fabula in color 98 (100 Merino Superwash).

Close-up of the scarf; It will never be cold enough where I live to wear this thing, but in Germany, it should be quite useful.

Pattern: Using US 10 circulars (6mm), cast on 30 st. and knit in garter stitch (knit every row) to desired length.

My First Pair of Finished Socks

Socks have been the bane of my knitting experience.  I knitted a sock before that would probably fit a troll, because it surely wouldn't fit a normal sized foot of any kind.  Of course that was with a set of 5 dpns using the top down method.  I almost finished its mate but gave up when I came to the heal.  I just lost faith at the time.  I figured I would get back to it once I figured out what the heck i did wrong.  Needless to say it was a couple of years before I attempted it again...

Low and behold I finally gave it a shot again with a toe up pattern knitted in the round that my best friend and corrupter created.  Below is the result......

The original thought would be that I would make them for me...however they were a bit too big for me. They fit my dad so I gave them to him for Father's Day.  My dad said to me "socks for me....Doby is FREE".....of course if you know Harry Potter you will understand...needless to say he got a big laugh from me...because I am a huge Harry Potter fan.

They were knitted with Knitpicks Gothic self-striping fingering yarn.

I am now working on knitting the whole family socks for the holidays.....

There isn't anything an aunt won't do for their niece.....

One day last spring my niece came up for a visit and saw a hippo at the local yarn store. She really wanted it and so she picked out some yarn from my stash and low and behold three days later, I made this hippo. Now mind you my niece at the time was not even a year old but she is a girl who knows what she wants.

Hippo Front View

Hippo Back View

Hippo Standing

Of course I had to do another view of its backside standing

She did have to wait for the hippo until Easter but she liked the finished product.

Pattern was from Itty-Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson.  Unfortunately the yarn was not identifiable because the cats tore the label off of it and I couldn't find it.  It was worsted weight.

OMG....I can't believe its finally done!!!!!

When I picked this beautiful baby set for my unborn niece little did I know it would become the project that was doomed from the very beginning....

It was my first ever cable knitting project and I thought well it might be a little complicated but heck I can get through it.  I am a smart woman and  I like challenges. 

So, I was working on the dress and had the skirt completed and started the bodice of the dress and this is where things went severely wrong.  I tried and tried to complete it but when it came to the decreases it was nearly impossible because nothing matched.  So I let my trusty friend take a look and see where I kept screwing up.  Even she was cursing the pattern before she was done.  So, while she was working on the dress I decided to work on the blanket.  Well that turned out to be just as confusing.  We were ready to scrap the whole project and pick a different set when....

We get the brilliant idea of sitting down with the pattern and rewriting it in Texas English.  It worked....I started the blanket again around Easter of 2011.  Of course my niece was approximately 10 months old by this time, because she was born while I was working on the bodice the first time through.  So what began as her baby set is now her toddler set.  I finally finished the blanket around July 4, 2011.  I was never so happy to finish a baby blanket in all my life....

Finished Blanket for niece

Border detail

Corner detail

Another full view of the blanket

And now to finish the dress.....

more to come.......

Project is worked with Plymouth Baby;Pattern is Sandnes Lanett 0812 Baby 0-4

Cool Yarn.....bought on Sale

Well, one day I was at my favorite little yarn store in Plano, Texas called the Woolie Ewe and low and behold there was a yarn sale. Of course I am not one to pass up a yarn sale by any means. So while I was looking I found this really cool cotton yarn. At the time I didn't have a project to go with it but I figured I would find something when the time was right. So while I was looking at patterns for dresses to make for my niece I found a use for that cotton yarn. The project was started on my way back from my niece's 1st birthday and became my new car project. It took me a couple of weeks but it was completed over the July 4th weekend.

Completed Front of the Dress Size 12mo-3 yrs

Back of dress

Knitted Rose

Lace Detail at the bottom of the dress

Close view of the dress with the rose as a broach

I also knitted the rose one evening at mom's house while I was watching a movie..I figured she could put it in her hair or use it as a broach.

The pattern was Emma's dress pattern from KnitPicks.com. Knitted with Jarbo Garn super soft cotton color 8866 Party 85138