Happy New Year!

So, this picture is all of my knitting projects from 2009... WHAT? REALLY? I only did 12 things!? It felt like way more than that... Whoa. Well, it makes sense I guess, because I didn't include a few projects that I didn't have pictures of or didn't feel like posting.

For history's sake, I'll label the pictures.

First Row: A patch of a quilt that I wanted to make before I got bored, Hat for my ex-roomie, Mother Bear that looks like a panda, Selbu Modern for Mommy
Second Row: Kitten Mittens, Bird One and Bird Two, Intertwined Leaves Socks
Third Row: Jaywalker socks for Warren, Octopus for Ben, A hat that I have since given to my mother, and Knucks with christmas trees on them.

Unincluded:
~My selbu modern hat for Taylor, because I never took a picture of the finished thing! Whoops!
~A hat I made for a girl on my floor in the spring, since I never took a picture of that, either.
~The Dude Socks.
~ A sock that I've been making that I really would like to submit somewhere but I need to get the kinks out of the pattern.
~Unfinished things: Ashley's Socks, A FLCL Hat for a guy on my floor, socks for my Uncle.

I have a lot of goals for 2010- It's gunna be big!

1. Make Hooks and Needles more awesome- which will be hard :P I know we're working on a pattern book, which will be awesome!
2. Work on some more original designs. I started strong that the beginning of the year, but I feel like I straggled when school started. I still have a hundred and ten ideas, but I just need to get it done!
3. Of course, maybe make something for myself... I got very close at the beginning of school, when I made a simple hat to wear to class. Then my mom coveted and I gave it to her over Thanksgiving break. Not that I'm bitter! She wears it everywhere!
4. And of course, try to stay on the topic of Knit Amigurumi...

What are your 2010 goals?

As Advent Starts, I'm Seeing Stars!

Soon it'll be December first, which means that the days to knit up Christmas presents are fading fast. This year I've set a lofty goal of four presents, one of which must be finished (the others being surprises or gifts for understanding friends!).

The most important project this year is a pair of fingerless gloves for my sweetie. He's wanted these a lot, and I'm pretty proud of them! The first is almost finished, so I'm not exactly racing against the clock but if I don't finish it, I know that I'll never live it down... hehe. Everyone has someone like that they knit for I think.

My second favorite project is, of course, a sock. It's a slightly modified version of the Rapunzel Stocking from Knit 1 magazine... but this stocking is beastly. The heel is completely fucked, to put it gently. I don't wnat to complain about it now. Although the going is tough, Ashley will understand if I don't finish it- and she'll appreciate the cable-lace pattern and picot edging on the cuff :)

For my cousin, I'm making a hat like the one that I made for my mom for her birthday. My mom told me that my cousin was seriously jealous of her hat, so I decided to make it again... eeks! I hope I'll be able to finish it, but she doesn't know that I'm making it so, I shouldn't suffer if I don't meet my deadline. I really like these two colors!

My last project is a pair of socks for my uncle. They're just going to be plain, hand knit socks. I know he'll like them... he's been having a tough time for the past two years, since my grandmother and uncle died.

So there you go, my crazy December. I also would really like to make my mom a new hat, the one that's in the Alice and Wonderland spread in the current Vogue Knitting. I LOVE all of those patterns to death!

Glad you appreciate the updates. Here's some doodles from the meeting I had earlier today.

Octopus!

For my birthday, my bff Ashley gave me a copy of "Amigurumi Knits" by Hansi Singh. Let me say, that's an awesome book. My first project from it is... the common octopus! I made it for the secretary of Hooks and Needles, whose birthday was yesterday :)


While making this cute little guy, I realized how much I missed knitting (having knit barely anything over the summer...) and how much I missed making dolls. They're so quick to make... so easy... so admired by other people. I guess the reason I originally fell away from knitting amigurumi was because I ran out of ideas... which is a pretty pitiful excuse, if you ask me.

Also, in making this dear, sweet cephalopod, I've realized a technique that I've been totally underutilizing in making my own amigurumi- short rows. I've got to get on these, internet!

Remember This?

Back this spring, I made the dolls to this video! It's finally found a place on the internet, so, give it a look-see and tell me what you think!

Tweet Tweet from Warren Sheetz on Vimeo.

Oh Hey, I Do This Thing Called Knitting Sometimes.

I am proud to present to you my first finished summer project. Potentially, it's my only finished summer project.

Today is the day of my boyfriend's driver's test, so everyone say a prayer, ok!? Not because only prayer can help him now, but because he gets so nervous. Thankfully these socks will be waiting for him, regardless of whether he passes or not.


Oh and they look big because they're not made for my feet. Duh.

Insomnia = Things get done.

More ends to weave...

... and I don't have a yarn needle. I really don't know where mine went, but they all disappeared when I migrated from Rochester back to Elmira.

Anyway, I really like how these socks came out! I used some Knitpicks Kettle Dyed that my dearest Ashley bought me for Christmas. I saw some bad reveiws of the yarn and got worried, but they were all wrong! This yarn worked out swimmingly, and there was no dye lot problems at all.



Also, I'm making SABLES today... Mango sables. I just tasted the dough before letting it sit in the fridge, and it's SOOOO GOOD. I love mango things. With real mangos inside? Yes.

I'm squeefully proud. I'm also working on some hats with ear flaps for the sweetie and I to wear and be TWINS IN :B (... if he'll wear his...)

Where I Produce Some Movie Stars!

So, for my sweetheart's final film project for this quarter, he asked for some puppets! I made these birds in about two weeks, and he added the pipe cleaner faces and rigged them with armature wire.

I'm really proud of my work- perhaps I'll show his project up here when it's finished :)

Keeping you Updated

I always feel a little guilty when I do something cool and don't blog about it. So here you go. A nice picture for you.

Right now, I'm working on knitting puppets for my boyfriend, who is a first-year film and animation student at RIT. He's going to use them in a stop-motion short!

Here's the blue bird, where my work is finished. I knit the body, and he will stuff it with armature wire so that it stays put, add the face and legs, and essential make it look nice.

I'm pretty proud of the composition, though it was mostly ad-libbed. The head is a separate piece so that it's movable, held in place by the gray cuff.

Perhaps I can show off my work by posting the animation when he finishes!

Oh, by the way, have no noticed the poor quality cell phone pictures? My camera charger disappeared. I plan on buying a new one this weekend.

Wanna see What I'm Doing?

Every so often I try to get away from knitting, because of things like family or schoolwork or just work in general. Then, it sneaks up on me in the night. It starts with the occaisional doodle, usually in class. I think, "Hey, that would be a cute doll!" Then it becomes schematics. Then I think of another doll, and another, and then a pair of socks, or a sweater, or maybe a stylish hat.

Then BAM. Superbam. I'm doing things like picking up projects that I "put down."

Then I'm deciding they aren't good enough.

Then I'm frogging them.

Then I'm staring at the yarn, and I'm thinking "Why did I have to play god?"

My love me knot socks before I decided they needed to be improved:

My love me knot socks after I frogged them.

Then, to add insult to injury, the yarn tangled up and attacked me.

So, now I'm a zombie. What a weird day.

Kitten Mittens

Kitten Mitten
I will not hesitate to admit it: this started out as a joke. I wanted to make a cute little kitten, but someone scoffed and said I should make it “at least useful.” Well, here you go! They’re mittens, shaped like kittens, ready to smile at you while you play in the February snow.

Although they have a distinctive look, these mittens aren’t a pain to knit up. If the snow gives you a long weekend, you’ll be ready to rock these at the bus stop on Monday. If your intuition says there’s a good chance of a snow day tomorrow, you could probably whip these up for a little one in an evening of work.

Meow Meow Meow Mix <3

So, I finushed this cute little guy, but I don't really want to make his mate right now, because the chilly Rochester weather has turned to a warm and happy spring weather. Who says groundhogs are right?

Why aren't I typing up a chemistry lab?

Anyway, if the people speak I will probably post the pattern up, as I am in love with him and would like to see an army of kittens... mwahahaha.

I feel like I'm stating the obvious, but the thumb is supposed to be his tail <3

BLARGMONSTER.

I finally got off my butt and got myself some polyfill to finish the panda! Isn't he adorable? I've also spent way too much money and yarn as well, but I've yet to think up anything awesome to make with it :( Oh well, I have yarn, so whatever!

I've also made another hat, but I want to photograph it on the person I made it for! It's out of Twinkle <3

In other news, I put off chemistry to make this tiling pattern. Sex much? I love it, I think I might put it on a sock or something some time in the future...

Here's the problem with me. I make all these designs, I think up cute things, but I get lazy and never actually knit them! I could probably write up the pattern without actually making them, but I just never get around to it. Mayhaps I could get some sort of person to knit things for me, and have their credit in the pattern. *COUGHSAUCE* Oh, my email is lynough@gmail.com by the way. Just thought I'd make that clear.

Anyway, it's my first Winter Quarter Week 9, officially. I'm not happy. I have too much to worry about.

Beret-ness

I finished a super adorable beret for my super awesome room mate. We're plotting fingerless gloves with INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS doodle colorwork. Ooohh, I need to put a pin in that. "Doodle Colorwork." You're going to see that later.

ADD aside, this beret came out totally awesome! It was easy to knit up, and looks so pretty. It's like, lacework for dummies. If you can YO and work a magic loop, you're pretty much kosher to do this. GO FOR IT.

Anyway, the pattern is from knit therapy. Just thought you'd like to know

Productive Start

So, I finished a little piece of a big afghan that may eventually warm someone. Potentially. It took a week to make, and is roughly 6 x 6, so, it would take about 50 weeks to make an afghan that... would be suitable for a child or wheelchair. According to certain sources. DAYAM.

So, I decided to not think about this depressing thought while making a bear for the Mother Bear project. I have to say, it's incredibly awesome; quite possibly the best bear in the history of bears. And he has no clothes. I don't know if that will keep him from the hands of young Africans or if his naturalist charms will be a selling point.
I want to finish him by the end of the week! Wah! There's so much finishing to him, too, because I want to make him just perfect.

In other news, it snowed today! In Rochester! I know... don't laugh at my naivete. Or my inability to use accents on my mac.

Loving the two hears at the bottom of the image: do you see them? :) That was after my 8 AM class, I saw that and thought that maybe today will be good. Below is a close-up of the snow molesting a certain knitter as she walked to class.

Even the Tiger was overcome! Really, I don't think these photos do justice to the fluffy snow. As I came back to my dorm, I looked down, and it looked like that fake snow made out of spun felt that my grandma used to use to put expensive replicas of a small town on during Christmas.

Mittens... um, Fail?

So I fell in love with this beautiful pattern from Interweave. It came into my inbox and I was like "zomg! Mommy gloves!" I will not mention the name of the pattern, to protect the innocent... But it's in my ravelry list as frogged, soo... you wouldn't have to look far *wink wink*

Well, on Thursday I cast on for them, and started worked the cuff. It seemed a little big. As in, 8 inches in circumference. I was like "Okay, maybe it'll tighten up..." To put it in perpective, my wrist is 5 inches in circumference at the thinnest part, and 6 at the thickest. Mommy's got about an inch on me. Even with the shrinking ability of ribbing, these baby's were going to sag.

Then I thought "Maybe my guage is off- that's not new." I knit up a swatch. My guage was spot-on...I guess the pattern was just made for a chunky hand. This depresses me immensely, as it's already knit on size one's, and I'm too lazy to fuck with the swatch with size 0s and below, and I didn't feel like remaking the lovely colorwork that I fell in love with...

The lesson? If you're making a pattern, include the measurements. It would save tiny peoples like me time... say, four days? Thanks, Interweave. Way to not win.

On the plus side, I finished the Dude socks :) And, I'm using the yarn from the glove fail to make a double knit patch that may or may not be part of a quilt someday. (Look at my pretty color work! Be awed.)