I've Finished Something!

I had lots of uninterrupted knitting time yesterday evening and was able to complete the R2 scarf. With the garter and stockinette stitch, the sides were really curling up, but threading the Rag through the width of the scarf actually prevents the curling. Now back to Bloom...

Phew!

I have no knitting to report from this weekend because I was finishing the last of my house painting. I am glad to say that it is finally done! So I shall be able to spend more time finishing up the two projects I have been trying to work on. Another crafty project I am planning is to make placemats from some gray fabric in my stash, as well as the Whirlygig fabric I bought a while back. For the gray fabric I plan to make something like this.

PS Craftster has a new blog with lots of good information.

Keep on Truckin'

I'm continuing to work on the other half of Bloom and the R2 scarf. I'm only knitting for about an hour total each night as I finish up painting in my living room. I finally got the rest of my dining room furniture and you can see some photos here.

Locals Only

Knit*Knot Studio, 1238 NW Glisan, is celebrating their one year anniversary. For the month of September, all yarn will be 10% off! Go check out this great shop if you haven't already.

R2 4U

Here's the R2 scarf so far. It's knitting up very quickly on number 13 needles. I'd probably be done with it if I could work on it for more than 30 minutes a night. Once the scarf is done, you take the Rag and just thread it through the width of the scarf, so it's more like decorative fringe. I also started in on the other half of the vest the other night. I hope that will be completed by next weekend!

Vested Interest

Here's the back of the vest. It's blocking now, though the directions said to press the pieces. I haven't cast on for the front yet. Instead, I started the Rowan R2 scarf. The Paper is fun to knit with, but I'd rather make a garment out of the Rag. It's funny, but the Paper yarn is basically a Handi-Wipe. It's got the same texture and everything, just not the blue stripes.

The other picture is the Disco Dot wall hanging I made for the newly painted dining room. It was a very simple and fast project. I bought canvas stretchers and just stapled the fabric on. I like the notion that I could change the fabric just as easily too. Instant art!

For Sale

So, I decided I'd try to sell my leftover bazaar items here on my blog at discounted prices! The flowers and kerchiefs come in both small and big sizes. The top row of flowers are the small ones, approximately three inches wide, and are $8. The larger ones, about four inches wide, are $9. The next photo shows the small kerchiefs, which are 16 inches wide where the ties are. Those are $14. The larger kerchiefs are 19 inches wide and are $16. Shipping would probably be no more than $4. First come, first served. Payment must be through PayPal. If you are interested, email me.

Update
These flowers are sold: top row, orange and red flowers; middle row, orange multi and orange flowers; bottom row, both light and dark pink flowers. These kerchiefs are sold: small size, pink and olive green; big size, orange multi.

Thanks to everyone who has made a purchase!

Blooming

Here's what I have started on the vest so far. This is the left side of the back or front (both are worked exactly alike). That's the shoulder and armhole there. It looks sort of weird, but I guess it looks pretty much the same as the photo. I really like knitting with the felted tweed, though my fingers sometimes get sweaty. The fabric feels very nice and soft and I like the flecks of colors in the yarn. I will need to buy some shirts from the new American Apparel (just opened last week!) to wear underneath.

PS Click here to see what I was working on the last five days.

Back With a Vengeance

After taking a 10-day break from anything knitting, I am refreshed and rejuvenated! I bought Rowan 36 a few days ago and after going through it several times, I decided that this Bloom sweater would be my next project. I love the shaping of it and the fact that it's knit lengthways (a trend I can't seem to get away from lately). Lint is having a sale this weekend and I had to go check it out. I splurged and bought some Felted Tweed since I only need three skeins for the vest. I haven't knit with Rowan yarns in a while and I am excited. I couldn't resist the 40% off sale prices and quickly filled up my basket with the other yarns that you see. I got 10 skeins of GGH Via Mala, three skeins of GGH Sierra, three skeins of GGH Soft Tweed, and three skeins of Lana Grossa Veneto. I'm planning to use the Via Mala for the Rowan cape and the rest is for experimenting with some hats and scarves. I saved almost $73 on all that! I also got circular needles, two for one, and since I spent over $50, I got to draw a prize out of a jar and it turned out to be the R2 Scarf Kit. I'm ready to swatch!

Actionless Hero

For the first time in a long time, I have no knitting projects on my needles. It's very strange and I feel like I have all this free time on my hands. I guess I should order those Rowan books (aside from magazine 36) since they aren't anywhere to be found in town yet. Then I could actually shop for yarn. I also wanted to experiment with making some fun winter hats. It's just so hot here lately and I'm caught up in painting my dining room that knitting hasn't taken priority.

It's a Wrap

Here's my next project. B's sister asked me if I could make her the poncho wrap on the left. It's actually from the Anthropologie catalog and is hand-crocheted. However, the thought of trying to create the pattern isn't so appealing to me. So, I wanted to try and find a pattern first. I really like this pattern from the Rowan Ribbon Twist Collection. It's not out at any of my LYS yet, so I'd have a wait a while before I could get started. Meanwhile, there's a huge 40% off sale at Fabric Depot this weekend to distract me!

Finished Projects

While the tank was blocking I finished a quick scarf that I plan to give to a friend. I used some of the fun Crystal Palace that was sent to me a while back. The Choo Choo and Squiggle blended together nicely. I also added a couple of my flower pins for some decoration. The Rebecca tank turned out great. I did notice, however, that the actual pattern and the tank photograph in the magazine do not match. In the picture, the tank has a deeper scoop neck and skinnier straps. I still like how it turned out though.

Rolled Up

The tank is finished and is blocking. Since the tank is mainly ribbing, I didn't bother to pin it down, but I did want to set the stitches. So, I sprayed both the front and back and rolled it up in a towel. For the lengthways stripes, you pick stitches along one side first, then the other and then graft the two sides together. I kept screwing up the grafting in the beginning and had to start over several times. But once I was able to get in the groove, it went by quickly. I tried it on before blocking and it fit nicely. I should be able to post a picture tomorrow.

The race was great fun! Unfortunately, we missed Flock of Seagulls because we lingered at the General Public stage for too long. Oh well. It was worth it to hear Save It For Later and I Confess.