One Year.

Happy one year Blogiversary to me! Well, technically it's tomorrow but...why wait?!!

It's amazing to look back one year ago and see how far I've come and how much I've learned about knitting and life in general! it blows my mind really. I've never been a real diary keeper type but this is the closest I've come to it. Yeah I don't share too many personal details here but just looking at the things I was making reminds me of other things that went on during those times. I had no idea if blogging would be just a passing obsession (not uncommon for me) or if I would even like it or have anything to say (the jury is still out on that one) but I found so much inspiration from other blogs and learned so many new techniques and tips about knitting that I wanted to share my experiences (good and bad!) to possibly help other knitters and sort of "give back". Reading other blogs also gave me the confidence that I don't think I would've had to just GO FOR IT! I mean, going from just garter stitch scarves to SO MUCH MORE. It's been really fun.

And to celebrate, MLE Knits will hold its first contest! It will be very simple. I want to know what first inspired your true love of knitting. Here is my story:

I've always been crafty at heart, thanks to my mother, an avid quilter and sewer who taught me so much. Skipping ahead to make a long story a little shorter. About two years ago I became interested in re-learning how to knit when a new friend of mind became pregant and started knitting baby items. So I learned. And I got a little book on chunky hats and scarves and that's what I knit for about a year. One day while surfing the net out of bordom, I stumbled upon Knit and Tonic. This, my friends, was the moment. The way Wendy wrote and the things she made totally inspired me and opened up a whole new world of modern, glamorous knitting for me. And I fell in love. I went back and read all her archives (she probably thought I was a stalker!) and not long after this I made my first garment. The rest is history folks! Isn't that funny how one thing can totally change your perspective on things.

So, just leave a little comment about what made you fall in love with yarn and knitting. It could be anything at all....a knitting book, a certain yarn, your grandmother, etc. Leave your comment before noon (CST) on Friday, May 4th and I will select one person randomly to win a prize! EVERYONE is welcome to participate! the more the merrier!

So, wanna see the prize? One skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Birches colorway.
To everyone who has left a comment, thank you! Your encouragement has meant a lot to me and made it all the more fun! And to all the lurkers, I know you're out there! Thanks for reading!

So this is what stash is for

Whenever I get close to finishing a sweater I am overcome with the urge to cast on something new. Hence, the reason I cast on for Something Red....I was getting close to finishing the Tatami Kimono. And now that I'm getting close to finishing Something Red, I've started the Two-Tone Shrug from Fitted Knits! Insane, I know.

I was so excited when I looked in my stash and found some yarn suitable for the Two-Tone Shrug. This is the first time that I have ever done that before! My stash mostly consists of leftovers because I generally only buy yarn for specific projects that I will start in the near future. Except for sock yarn. That is different. It has its own drawer.

Anyway, I found a couple of balls of Knit Picks Swish leftover from my Lucy in the Sky cardigan in the Bordeaux color and a couple of balls in the Truffle color that I had originally bought to make Hubby a hat (he later informed me that he wanted grey, not brown). I actually never would've thought to put these two colors together but there they were in the stash drawer looking like best friends.

Yesterday I ordered some Knit Picks yarn for two more projects in Fitted Knits: some Shine Worsted for the Crisp Rectangle Tunic and Merino Style for the Puff-Sleeved Cardigan. Can't wait! Must. Finish. Other. WIPs!!!

Oh, and FYI....not this weekend but next weekend is the big blogiversary here and there may or may not be a contest that involves yarn prizes!

I've been knitting....

On an impulse, I started Something Red last week. I am so in love with the Blue Sky Cotton and had been looking for another opportunity to use it. Well, I was reminded of this pattern when I saw this one recently. This has been an incredibly fast knit so far! It's a lovely chocolate brown called Toffee (I refuse to call this my "Something Brown"!).
And I'm so thrilled that I finally got ahold of Fitted Knits! I was going to wait and order it from Knit Picks because I could've saved $5 but when I actually leafed through it at Barnes & Noble I just couldn't resist. The one thing that concerns me about this book are the sizes. I'm a 34 and most of the finished sizes start at 34 or 36. I'm not too worried though because she includes quite a bit about making a garment smaller or larger. I'm sure most of you have seen these pictures already but here are the ones I really like:

Unfortunately, Camellia has a sad ending

It's a good thing this cute little number only took 4 days to knit and seam. There are a number of reasons that poor Camellia will be taking a one-way trip to the frog pond.
You see, the very minute I had finished the seaming, I turned my back for TWO SECONDS and one of the little feline brats decided that Camellia would look lovely with a big hole right in the middle of the back. It's such a shame isn't it? Well, I'm not going to place all the blame on the little kitty because my choice of yarn was not right for this project anyway. Such a cute little sweater but it needs yarn that drapes. And Cascade 220 just does not have the drape. See the sleeves? they look like they've "sprung" back into place even though I blocked everything severely before seaming. I definitely want to make this again but maybe in some cotton or cotton blend.

Oh well. I really don't feel too bad about it. I will definitely be able to use the yarn for something else. Since I knit this with a double strand I have about 880 yards. I absolutely LOVE this color too. I think I must be on a little teal kick.

Sometimes what you need is some thick and quick action

I've started Camellia from Glampyre Knits. I had seen it around but wasn't really drawn to it and then I was looking through her pattern page this week and it just struck me as something I wanted to make....right NOW. :-) I think it might have something to do with me having New Mexico on the brain (even though our vacation is still 2 months away)....Stefanie has so many lovely pictures from there.

It seems that all the other projects I have going are on tiny needles. They're just slower. I need some instant gratification.

The pattern calls for a bulky yarn but I needed something cheaper than that so I'm knitting it with Cascade 220 double stranded. And what a weird construction this garment has! I stared at the pattern schematics for quite a while and still am not sure how the pieces will fit together. I've heard a lot of people say that they wish they had knit it all in one piece.

So, anyone knew that there were knitting novels? My sister-in-law came across this somewhere and picked it up for me as sort of a joke. I really didn't think I'd read it but I was desparate one night. It's actually not half bad! All about murder, alpacas, and eyelash yarn! LOL! pretty funny. This one is second in a series.