Iced Iced Baby

It's 2013 and it's the year of changes!

First off, I'm becoming the proud owner of a rescue dog on Friday. First pet in this house and I'm pretty stoked. (That word didn't age me at all....)

Secondly, this is the year I will make a sweater. Not a pullover because frankly I can't stand those. Thanks to thyroid problems I often have hot flashes so I tend to layer and take off what I can when I'm flashing. So I'm making a cardigan because, boy howdy, I love me some cardigans.

My only big problem with them is that I apparently have razor sharp elbows and they wear out fast. But I saw this pattern made on The Knitgirllls video podcast and since it's made with a bulkier yarn, I thought I could do this. 

Behold the Iced cardigan from Knitty.com

I excitedly bought some (sale) yarn from WEBS and was so happy when it arrived. I dutifully did my swatch and washed it.....and it felted right up. Did I really buy 22 balls of yarn that wasn't machine washable? Yes, yes I did.Wow.

I amaze myself sometimes.

So, it's not a total loss. I can make a nice cowl, mitten, hat set out of that yarn for this howling winter we're having. Now I just need to find washable yarn for my cardigan. AFTER I get my new dog settled in.....

Podcast of the Week - CraftStash

This is a video podcast so you can see all the crafty goodness.

The host, Kaystarr, is most awesome. She's so incredibly enthusiastic that I swear I want to KNIT ALL THINGS when I'm done watching an episode. Plus, she's all about learning new things, which in turn spurs me on to learn new things. It's been fun watching her learn to spin and seeing how amazing her yarn is becoming.

Here's the Ravelry group for CraftStash. She's currently doing a read-a-long in the group for Wool by Hugh Howey and I'm so glad she did, because I never would have found this series of books on my own.

She has a Craftstash tumblr and posts a lot of yarny goodness. *swoon*

Watch her!

Podcast of the Week - Down Cellar Studio Podcast

I listen to a frightening amount of podcasts, mostly crafty but also sciencey. I thought I would share my favorites with you each week!

Right now, I'm running through the back catalog of a fairly new knitting podcast. The Down Cellar Studio podcast with BostonJen. She does more than just knitting and one of my favorite features is the photography section. She really gives some good information on how to take photographs, of your crafts and other things.

She sews, crochets a bit and has a really great voice.

Lately she's been doing more contests, knit-a-longs and giveaways. Fun stuff! Plus, almost all the patterns she mentions? I go straight to Ravelry and queue. Enabler!

Here's her group on Ravelry, with a current knit-a-long!

Check her out!

Holidays are over - FOs!

Despite my funk of a few months ago, I did manage to get some projects finished for Christmas presents. Not everything I wanted but now I have presents to give people throughout 2013 - as I get them done :)

For some reason, the start of 2013 has made me excited about knitting again. And I know why. The projects I'm working on are for me. I love knitting for others and for charity projects but I think I neglected myself a bit.

First up:
Abundance Afghan for my sister. Made from 9 balls of Suri Dream Alpaca from Knitpicks.com in the (discontinued) colorway Sunkissed. Suri Dream is also discontinued but a nice bulky yarn that has a great halo would work.

I'm kicking myself for not taking a photo of my friend's Trillian scarf. I'll try to get her to take a photo. It was made with yarn from Little Red Bicycle in the River Styx colorway. Here's what the yarn looked like.

 It did knit up well but I have to say, the feel of the yarn wasn't the best. I was making another scarf with Gnomeacres yarn and the difference in texture was pretty obvious.

Onward to the Hitchhiker scarf! Done with Gnomeacres fingering sock yarn in the colorway Hawkeye (yes, from The Avengers!). It turned out beautifully with a wonderful drape. This went to another friend for Christmas.

Gnomeacres is a favorite shop of mine now. I love her yarns - color and texture. I also completed a Hitchhiker for myself out of Gnomeacres worsted yarn in Sonic Screwdriver. Pictures soon!

As an added bonus, I got a request to knit some little gnomes. I said yes immediately because they were going to two special people who needed some gnominess (not a word, says spellcheck). I decided against little gnomes and went for bigger, cuddlier sizes.

Awesome, right? The pattern was easy and I ended up finding excellent beard type fabric at Jo-ann Fabrics. Although it shed a bit, but I used this goo on the back to keep it from fraying. I'm making one for my cube at work, to hide among the plants.

Next up, FO for me! A pink Ninja! I need to add weapons but she looks pretty awesome at work.  She was made with leftover Knitpicks yarn in a colorway that had no label. I think it was a spring bloom or something. And Lurleen from Rebecca Danger's monster book. Lurleen is heading to the 600 Monsters group to be handed out to some kids. Lurleen's yarn was a handpainted Cascade 220 yarn.

That's about it....wow. I'm amazed at how much I really did while I was off work for Christmas break. Onward to new things!