Well, the holidays are long gone, and therefore Christmas knitting is once again put away until next year…

That is, right after I finish up the presents that I didn’t get done! I am notorious for biting off more than I can chew and trying to make everyone something just right, and this year I just didn’t quite make the deadline. Thus, I currently have two projects on the go that I need to finish up quickly and get to their respective recipients.

The first project is a scarf, One Row Handspun Scarf by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, which I’m making for my Mom with some black Cascade 220. It’s a really nice pattern that works up quickly, with just a four stitch repeat, so you can memorize it in the first couple of rows and not have to keep referring back. This also makes it an excellent travel project, as you don’t have to worry about getting distracted and losing your place. I’ve included some photos of the scarf so far, where you can see that I’m roughly three-quarters finished. I just have to knit a few more rows and attach a fringe, and I’ll be finished!

As you can see, it’s coming along nicely, and I should (hopefully) be finished it in no time.

The second project that I am currently working on is a pair of socks for my girlfriend Taylor. They are orange and blue, a mix of Cascade 220 and Cascade 220 Heathers, and I am improvising the design as I go along with the help of a few life-saving knitting books. She’s already seen them, as I wrapped up the one sock that I was finished to give to her on Christmas morning, so I won’t be ruining any surprise here. I’m not too far into the second sock, about halfway, so I still have some work to do to finish these soon! 

Overall, I’m a bit behind, but I’m well on my way to catching up, so I think I’ll be OK - after all, exams are coming up, and what better way to procrastinate?

Success!

I have finally finished those orange socks that were intended as my girlfriend’s Christmas present. At least she gets them in time for Valentine’s Day!

I think that they turned out pretty well, they are blocking as we speak.

I made the pattern up myself, which could have turned out interestingly, but luckily it went well (for the most part! - at one point, I forgot to write down an important number to make the socks match, but I figured it out).

And speaking of designing patterns, I got my first official pattern tester today! The first (and only) pattern that I have designed so far, which you can find here, “Dad’s Sunglasses Case,” had never been done by anyone but myself, so I decided to post it in a Pattern Testing Group on Ravelry. I though that this would be a good way to gain exposure, as well as to flush out any kinks in the pattern. I posted that well over a week ago, and hadn’t heard anything until today! A lovely person named Elizabeth in the UK said she would test the pattern for me, and I am really excited to see how it turns out!

I just wrote an exciting sock pattern! Remember those orange socks I made for my girlfriend for Christmas? I finally got around to writing up the pattern and have now posted it in a testing thread on Ravelry. I’ll let you know when it’s finished, and I’ll add it to my Pattern Downloads page when I can! If you want to test the pattern, go to the Free Pattern Testers group on Ravelry, and search “Toe-up Worsted Weight Ribbed Socks,” or comment on this post and I’ll hook you up!

In other news, I’ve also finished that black scarf for my mom! I’ll post a picture when I can. My computer is broken right now (don’t buy from Dell!), and so I sent it away to get fixed (for the second time). As a result, my files are sort of all over the place right now. 

Now, all I’ve got on my needles are those pretty purple gloves that I started in September 2010, with the wool that Kylie got me from Ireland. I’m on the fingers of the final glove!

My rainbow socks are complete! They were a nice quick knit, perfect for knitting while watching Criminal Minds and various other TV shows.

I actually finished them a couple of days ago, I just didn’t have the opportunity to take photos until today. The weather was so gorgeous! It’s warm but not too humid yet, and the nights are still cool, so in my opinion it absolutely can’t get any better.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on a couple of other things as well. First, I’ve been attempting to hand sew a liner for my mystery Waterfall Bag (I promise! I will post photos eventually!), as well as the convertible mittens I started out of the yarn I spun and dyed with Kool-Aid. I’m nearly finished them, so I should be able to post photos soon. Something to look forward to!

        Oops! It seems I got Day 6 and Day 7 mixed up. So today I will answer the question, what is your favourite piece that you’ve knit?

       This is actually a pretty hard question! There a few things that I have really loved making that turned out really well, so it’s hard to pick just one.

       One of my favourite projects from earlier on definitely has to be my elephant tea cozy, from the pattern Elephants on the Tea Cozy. It was very fun to knit, and my friend (I made it for her birthday) seemed to like it!

       Another one of my absolute favourites are a pair of socks I made for Taylor one year for her birthday. The pattern was simple, but I really like how the patterned yarn turned out. I almost with I had kept them for myself!

       Finally, my most recent favourite are a pair of gloves I made from some yarn that my friend brought me back from Ireland. They took forever… I was working on them on and off for nearly 2 years! They turned out beautifully though when I finally got around to finishing them.

       Ok, so I didn’t pick just one favourite… but really, I doubt you would be able to either!