FO: Eyelet Neck Scarf

Since I had some available knitting time this month I have been finishing projects. The eyelet neck scarf (Ravelry link) I started back in December has finally been completed.

This pattern was given recipe style; so instead of a fixed pattern, one is given motifs to use and put together. Not that there is a lot of motifs to use, really its stockinette with a row of lace.

I had some issues with it, mostly because I’m new to lace knitting. I found every time I did a lace motif, my count was off. Every. Time.

You can also tell, in the following photo, where exactly the yarn overs finally clicked for me.

I also thought working on this that I was knitting this from the center bottom up. It wasn’t until I was casting off that I realized this was knit from the center neck down.

The pattern recommended a garter tab start, which was interesting, and it wasn’t until just a couple of weeks ago I found a wonderful tutorial on how to do it correctly (because, after seeing the tutorial, I hadn’t done it right), that this type of start makes sense.

This piece was knit using one skein of Alpacaware Alpaca blend, and after blocking it still is a little on the scratchy side. It takes a moment after I put it on to get used to it and to filter that scratchy out, but it is still pretty squooshy feeling. And surprisingly very warm; perfect for these rainy days we are having where I refuse to turn the heat back on!

May WIPocalypse Update

It seems I’ve missed the May WIPocalypse post, again. Better late than never, I suppose. The good news is, I have actually stitched this month.

 

Guardian got a bit of love, and the castle is finally complete. I have started to move on to the tail.

 

 

 

 

It always amazes me, when I work on a TW piece, the ability Theresa has on her colour blends. It makes working on these pieces such a joy.

 

 

 

In other news, I wanted to share a fantastic piece of stitchery from my wonderful friend, Jenna. I jumped in on a challenge to do five Pay it Forward pieces for 2012, and here’s what she sent me.

Isn’t it amazing?! This is stitched all over one. I absolutely love it!

And for those people who have signed up for a PIF piece from me, I do have a couple done, waiting to be mailed out. It’s coming, I promise!

Sackboy 2.0

Not much to discuss today, I just thought I would share a quick finish with you.

 

I’ve already crocheted a sackboy a while ago, but I thought I would try a slightly different pattern. This one worked up a lot larger than the other.

You can find the pattern on Nerdigurumi.

Since I used a pretty thick yarn I used one hook size larger than recommended, and he is around 8 inches tall. He does work up quickly, but the pattern does assume you know a few things about amigurumi so I would not recommend this for beginners.

One thing I absolutely loved about this pattern is the designers told you exactly where to place the eyes as you go along on the head. Since my face construction on ami’s is the part where I need the most help, I really appreciated this.

Book Review: Knits For Nerds

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

I have heard a lot about this book, most notably the buzz just as it came out. If you have read my blog at all, you know that this is something that definitely appeals to me since I have made many a nerdy project in the past. And plan to in the future. Therefore I definitely wanted to check this book out.

Since I’m a cheapskate, I borrow any books that I consider purchasing first from the library. That gives me a chance to browse through and see if it is worth spending my money on. If I like it, then I’ll order it.

I’m glad I did so with this book. This is obviously for a niche market – not only knitters, but nerdy knitters at that. And while Geek is the new sexy, I feel like this book is just trying to cash in on it. On to specifics.

There are a few patterns in here that I would classify as specifically nerdy patterns. The cover shows the cinnamon bun hat and Padme’s battle cape, for example. There are others though, that while they could be, I suppose, nerdy, they don’t really fit the bill. There are shawls, fingerless gloves, sweaters that are lovely designs, but just adding on the tag “fairy” or “dragon” doesn’t make it nerdy.

Those patterns that were aimed at a specific genre of geek I was less than impressed with. I am a bit of a Trekkie, and the one pattern I was most looking forward to was the Next Generation sweater. While the pattern does have the general look the uniform has, I was appalled at the lack of finishing on the pattern. The book only shows one image (more on that later), but the collar is just straight knit then cast off. No finishing, just a raw edge. Furthermore, on to the Trek Girl Dress, the edging is exactly the same. It just looks unfinished. I’m not asking for couture here. I am asking though, if I’m going through the process of making something, I’d like it done neatly and right. It recommends wearing the dress over a black t-shirt to finish the look – why not knit the black edging on and finish it completely?

On to the photography. It was nice to see these pieces in cosplay. But, let’s face it. This is a pattern book, so the person looking at this is a knitter. While we may enjoy the Leia pose, I want to see the detail of the piece. The one pattern in particular that struck me with this was the browncoat sweater. We are shown the back and the bottom edge. While I’m not ashamed of my backside, I’d like to see the sweater in the front to see if the style suits. I know how I’d like it to look, but if it’s boring, or has a weird collar, etc, I won’t be knitting it. Perhaps the front is the exact thing that will make me want to knit it. MOAR PICS!

This is sounding awfully negative, I know. There are good things in this book, never fear. The adaptations of the Jayne Cobb hat are wonderful (a scarf and socks are featured). There are a couple beautiful shrugs featured (even though I wouldn’t call them nerdy… ok I’ll let it go….), and if you are looking for something just that little bit different, this may be the book for you. Sadly, it’s not the book for me.

April finish showers

Hello, everyone! April is over (for a whole week now!) and it’s time I get off my duff and give you my update on what I’ve been doing.

If you recall my goals post for April, I had some very lovely things planned. Alas, I didn’t get most of them done, which is fine. In addition to the finishes listed on my mid-month check in, here is what I have done in April.

 

 

Petit Romper. This is something quite different than I would normally make and was interesting to work up.

 

 

 

Baby dinosaur hat. This was super fast and fun to crochet.

 

 

 

 

Sleepy Owl baby hat. Another fun crochet.

As a plug (hee hee!), these and others are available as a custom order through my Etsy shop, Under a Fey Moon.

 

My big finish for April, and the item that took up most of my time, was my dissertation piece for Nerd Wars. I managed to finish it only 2 hours before the deadline, sacrificing my other extra curricular activities to do it. While crocheting away, Lauryn asked who the blanket was for. When I declared, “our couch!” she got upset and said, “You mean we could have had cookies baked this whole time?” Sorry kid, Mama needs to meet the geek challenge.

This blanket was definitely a challenge, at that. It was also a lesson that I really need help with my math. I was WAYYYYYYY off in my calculations. As it is, my finished size is 107″ x 56″. It’s an odd size, because my calculations were so off. After submission, I did decide to add another column of hexes and make a double crochet edging.

Despite my math, it is the perfect size for the couch. It’s super warm, and all that remains is weaving in the bazillion ends (which I’m doing here and there when I have a minute). Now just to get some figures and dice and have a game!

As far as May goes, I’m planning on completing the unfinished goals for April. In addition, the next round of Nerd Wars starts in June so I’ll be swatching for my next dissertation piece – a crochet sweater from Patons. This should be a lot more achievable and relatively (especially relative to this blanket!) easy to complete. I’ll blog more on that another time.

Mid-month and WIPocalypse check in

So we are just past the middle of April and I thought it a good idea to check in and let you all know what’s going on in my world.

Starting with a WIPocalypse check in, there has been no movement since last time. I simply have not had time to stitch, since I’m a crocheting mad woman. Hopefully this summer I’ll have more time to settle in and get some good stitching in, but currently it’s a no go.

The reason I’m not stitching is of course because I’m yarn crafting. I’ve been busy trying to get my planned projects complete, but to throw a tiny wrench into the plans I got a commission for quite a few baby items. So I’ve been silly and trying to get both done. And silly really is the word, here. I know I can’t get everything done, so priorities need to be set.

Since I’m getting paid for some of my projects this month, this obviously gets priority. But it has been fun working with them, and I hope to use them to fit into the Nerd Wars challenges instead of my previous ideas. I’m getting close to finishing those, and I may put those on pause for a few days, since I think of all the Nerd Wars projects the blanket (which will bring in the most points for my team) needs to be completed.

Unfortunately that’s all the news here. Wish me luck on finishing the blanket!

So some of the things I’ve been working on:

Koala hat

 

Bunny hat & soaker set

 

 

Bear cap

 

Pembrooke Vest (so loving this!)

Fredrika Socks

 

 

It’s good to have a plan

… and a blog, apparently. I sat here thinking the other day, I have April so well planned out as far as my projects go, I want to share it. What shall I do? Dur.

Anyway, I have so much to share with you. I did a lot of crafting in March, so I’ll bombard those photos, then I’ll share my plan for April.

xxx—xxx

Edit! I am having serious issues formatting this page with photos. So I’ve edited this post to include a gallery instead, and hopefully you can click on the individual photos for close ups.

xxx—xxx

Sonja’s fingerless gloves

Blue coffee cozy

Tunisian crochet bow

Pink coffee cozy

My hexes completed by March 29. I have about twice as many now.

Unfortunately it’s difficult to take a nice photo at this stage, but I am about half way and it is looking nice.

 

Firstly, I did do some cross stitching. I’m finding I’m having issues with my eyes, and that coupled with my son getting into absolutely everything, stitching is still difficult to do. That being said, I did make a little bit of progress.

 

The castle is nearly complete, with most of the backstitching done. I am always amazed at what a difference one thread can make.

I also worked on a bunch of Nerd Wars projects, coupling them with a few PIF (pay it forward) pieces.

 

My finishes for March:

- Tunisian crochet bow. My first attempt at tunisian crochet, and certainly not my last. This came out beautifully and was a very simple technique.

- The pink and blue corset cozies. Made with twisted stitches ribbing so it’s super stretchy.

Sonja’s fingerless gloves were pretty, and easy to do, but I chose a yarn with a lot of halo so it’s difficult to see the lacework in it. Next time if I make these I’ll be sure to choose a smoother yarn.

These were definitely a learning curve for me. They were restarted a total of six times (5 because I had a hard time figuring out how to do a short row toe up, and once because my son deemed it so). Not only was there a short row toe, and worked from the toe up, there was also a short row heel. Not to mention cabling and twisted stitches, this certainly became quite the job. And finished just in time to count for March.

Moving on to April, every project I want to do fits in with Nerd Wars challenges. I am working on a couple more PIF pieces, which will fit in with the challenges.

The first on the list is a Work in Progress challenge. Pick a project and do some significant  work on it to finish. My eyelet scarf certainly fits the bill here, and even though something is wrong with my counting (seriously, every lace row is off no matter what I do to correct it), it is progressing.

I’m going to be working on socks for April, of course, and be making Fredrika in hot pink.

The Druidess Beret is going to be made in a lovely burgundy. Looking at the pattern this one will likely be the tricky project for me this round. Plenty of cables and bobbles, and so pretty!

By son will also get a Pembroke vest this month, before he starts complaining about how I dress him. I honestly can’t wait to start this one! I have a lovely brown set aside for this.

There are a couple of small projects to be thrown in as well, including a sack boy I have promised to send away and still haven’t done. Add in a few hats and such, it should be a busy crafting month.

Oh. One more thing. I haven’t told you all about my dissertation for this tournament! As you may (or not, it’s been a while) recall, Nerd Wars has a three month project challenge, called a dissertation. We are challenged to step outside our comfort zone and get something big done in three months time. Last time, I made myself the Horde tabard.

This time, I’ve decided to crochet a couch blanket, reminiscent of a Dungeons and Dragons hex map. I’m using the map shown in the gallery as a basis. I won’t be doing the whole map, just the bottom right 415 hexes.

Initially I wanted this to be a stash buster project, thinking I had enough yarn in each colour, but that did not turn out to be the case. The colour I had the most of, a green which I was going to use for the most hexes, only made 39; not the 169 I needed in that colour. No way was I going to get the blanket I needed with my stash. So shopping I did go.

I have made a bit of progress, but after two months I’m only at around the 20% mark, so April will have a lot of hex crocheting happening in between everything else. This is the big points getter for my team, so I really would like to complete this.

Next round I definitely need to make something less time consuming. I thought the tabard would be a challenge, but time wise, it’s nothing compared to this blanket.

Had enough photos now? I know I have! Wish me luck!

Peanut butter shortbread cookies

Yesterday I decided to try the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread cookies featured on The view from Great Island blog. This was a pretty interesting experience.

I am not a beginner baker, but I still have an awful lot to learn in the kitchen. When I was taught baking, it was with recipes that said, mix dry, add wet, bake. There was very little difference in if we used margarine or butter, and ingredients were substituted where we needed to. I don’t fault that type of baking, after all, you do what you know. But, let me tell you, what a difference when you do things the way it is intended.

Yesterdays lesson was on mixing. I made the blunder of mixing the dough with a mixer, rather than stirring in the dry ingredients at the appropriate time. The result was a horribly crumbly dough, which did not form into a log as intended, but had to be formed into cookie shapes in order for me to bake them. They came out too large, and the consistency just wasn’t right.

The taste, however, is wonderful. My husband, the shortbread expert of the family, loved them. He insists that they aren’t shortbread cookies, just shortbread-like; they do have peanut butter, after all. But that didn’t stop him from scarfing a couple down.

Today I’m making the Double Dark Chocolate Shortbread cookies from the same blog, doing it right this time. Already, before even taking a bite, I can see a difference.

In search of the perfect oatmeal cookie

I am pretty picky when it comes to cookies. I love them, they are the perfect little munchy snack at any time of the day. (Yes, even breakfast. ;p) I love a chewy, substantial cookie. One of my favourites is oatmeal raisin. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much luck with recipes; most of mine come out dry and crunchy.

Thanks to Pintrest, which I recently discovered, I’m find a lot of fantastic recipies. I thought I would try out the Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin recipe offered by Smitten Kitchen (link to the recipe on her blog).

These did in fact turn out to be a lovely cookie. Very chewy, and stayed that way until the last one was eaten (which doesn’t often happen with my baking. The longer a cookie stays in the jar the harder it gets. Which is why we eat them all right away, of course).

The only problem I had with this recipe was that it was a bit on the boring side. In the future, I will try it with more cinnamon (it only calls for 1/2 teaspoon) and see if that changes things.

Give it a try and see what you think!

Chocolate chip cookies

I mentioned cookies the other day and I thought I would share one of my favourite recipes with you. I’ve long had the problem of my chocolate chip cookies coming out flat and hard, and unless one is a gingersnap, that’s not good. Fortunately I have a good friend who shared her recipe with me, and it’s come out perfectly every time. So if you like a nice chewy cookie (even days later), I highly recommend this one.

 

Natalie’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
chocolate chips

Cream butter with sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, beat.

Stir in flour and baking soda. Be sure to not over beat.

Add in chocolate chips.

Bake in a 350F oven for 8 minutes.

Nom nom nom!