Really, I Have Been Knitting...

I know I've been promising some pictures of finished projects so here they are (please don't mind the cell phone photography)...

Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood

Yarn: Wool-Ease by Lion Brand

Color: Heather Grey

Okay, first I had a love/hate/hate/love relationship with this pattern.  I love the look of the cables and twisted stitches, but I hated having to cable them with a needle...ugh!  Every other row is a cable in pretty much every set of two stitches.  I was able to do 2 rows of cabling without a needle but for the cables involving purl stitches and knit stitches I used a needle (just and extra dpn).  

I also hated the decreases, I had to pick back the first row of decreases THREE times because the directions were unclear to me.  But I do LOVE the end result...I probably won't make this again, or at least not for a very long time ;)

Although I'm not a super big fan of slouchy hats I did the amount of repeats for the Men's sized hat because I wanted it long enough to go over my ears but that added a little too much length so it is a bit slouchy.  It'd probably look nicer as a slouchy hat if I had used a yarn with more drape...but then the cabling would have been a nightmare!

Still all in all it was a good knit, and relatively fast...maybe 2 weeks?  Which for this momma of five is fast.

Pattern: Rae by Jane Richmond

Yarn:  Baby Cotsoy by Queensland Collection

Color: Navy

As a self-proclaimed hater of scarf knitting this 'scarf' surprised me.  It is ridiculously easy to knit and memorize the pattern.  You simply have a decrease or increase every four rows.  That was enough to keep me interested.  This is a great travel project and I knit most of it in *GASP* Church or BSF (I retain so much better if my fingers are moving, just ask my college professors).  I can definitely see myself knitting this again but I might mix it up with a bulkier yarn or maybe a lighter yarn just to see the different results.  I used just over 2.5 skeins of yarn and if I had weighed all my skeins before starting I could have used it all up, but it was more than wide enough for my tastes in the middle when I started my decreases.

Yes, I take all my cell phone self portraits in the bathroom :)

Pattern: Capucine by Adela Illichmanova

Yarn: Taos by Tahki

Color: Black/Grey Variegated

First off I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pattern!  It took me all of 2 days to knit and the construction was so unique and fun that I wanted to knit a dozen more of them as soon as cast off.  I left off all the tassels because as Momma to little ones I knew they'd just get in my way and drive me nuts!  I definitely am planning on making another one (or 7) because they were so fast and I get comments on it every time I wear it out.  The other winning note in the pattern is that you can still wear it with a low ponytail or low messy bun which really is great for bed head days...or sick days...or I don't feel like doing my hair days...

The yarn was also fun to work with.  Soft and light and because of it's bulky weight felt a lot like roving wool.  I was skeptical of how it would knit up because it does have a thread than has been plied around it for texture.  In the past I have not always enjoyed working with this type of yarn because it tends to split but not with this yarn.  Also I loved the punches of color the yarn had, overall it is a dark charcoal grey but there are spots of blue, orange, magenta and even purple, really it was a great yarn.  Even better was that it was a gift I received on my birthday.

Well there you have it, my latest finished objects for knitting that is.  Never fear I'm still plugging away at the sewing but caught a cold and find myself knitting more than sewing...

{{hugs}}

So what have you been crafting lately?  Any finished projects you want to show off?  I'd love to see them so post a link in the comments or send me a pic!