Stitching Right Along

Lots of progress happening here!  I have been knitting up a storm the last few days.  I'll start right off with the fabulous Purple Owls Sweater that is rapidly nearing completion!  I think I love my second attempt at Kate Davies' ever popular Owls Pattern even more than my first version.  I've gained some improved skills with finishing, weaving in ends, stretchy cast-ons and bind-offs, and magic looping to make it more enjoyable to make and to make it look a bit more polished as well.  This one is closer to gauge, too, so it is more form fitting and a better fit in general.  My first Owls sweater was my first adult sweater, so it will always have a special place in my heart, closet, and wardrobe.  But I'm also super excited to have more Owls to add to the line-up.  Especially ones in my favorite color!

The Owls are (mostly) done!  Top right picture is most true to actual color of the yarn.  Left to do is weaving in ends, choosing and sewing on buttons, and blocking.

Right now, I'm working on weaving in the many ends.  I did the Kitchener stitch to close up the underarms last night.  There were four stitches on each arm and each side of the underarm, that are then Kitchener-ed (is that a word? it is now.) together to mostly close up the armpits.  There were small gaps on each side of the Kitchener, but certainly easier to close up little openings than a large hole a few inches across.  A lot of people I've talked to seem to have strong feelings against the Kitchener stitch, but I honestly kinda like it.  I've gotten a groove going with it, and it's easy for me to remember what to do.  It always goes smoothly for me. 

A full view of the sweater.  With Apollo prancing around in the background, and possibly a Linus in the lower right.

Since the sweater used bulky yarn, it seemed like my skeins ran out instantly.  In total, I used just under five of the six balls I purchased of the Wool of the Andes Bulky in the Blackberry color.  I love this yarn knitted up.  It's the perfect shade of purple, which in case you didn't know is my all-time favorite color EVER.  The stitches show up nicely, and it is fairly soft.  I think after a wool wash bath or two it will soften up even more.  And I only had to deal with one mid-skein knot out of all of the ones I used, so that was great. Sometimes it is a lot more.  Plus, since I overestimated yardage, I have an extra skein!  Maybe I'll make some Owl mittens, a hat, or a headband to match

Just a few of the many tools used on this sweater!

After all the finishing is done, I'll bust out my scale for a more exact yardage estimate.  And after the weaving of ends is done, I have button decisions to make.  I already know I want to put eyes on all 17 owls, which means I need 34 buttons.  I have a considerable button stash, but I only have eight maximum of any given style on hand.  Luckily, all of the ones in the running for Owl Eyes are from Joann Fabrics, so it will be easy to track down enough for these hooters' peepers.  Unfortunately... I am slow to narrow down decisions.  There's 12 possible styles, and I am nowhere close to deciding!  I think last time I laid out 8 or 9 buttons all right next to each other, one set per owl, and just stared at it for a couple hours, slowly taking set by set out of the running. 

On to my other main project!  I've cast on for the all-cotton market bag for my MIL's birthday in September.  I'm naming it the Bright Light Market Bag because the colors remind me of a sunrise, with their bright orange and yellow tones.  This is my sixth bag using the awesome Grrlfriend Market Bag pattern, and I highly recommend it if you're looking to make something similar!  I'm just starting the base now on US 6 needles to get a sturdy bottom fabric, and then once it has reached 25 stitches on each needle, I switch to circulars with US 10 or 11 needles and start the stretchy mesh sides.  These bags make great gifts - they are super durable, are washer and dryer friendly, and are endlessly useful.  Every recipient thus far has loved them!

The starts of the Bright Light bag.  This is the base, working outwards.  The multicolor Dishie yarn will be for the sides of the bag.

The orange/red/yellow on this bag is the Dishie once it is worked up.  It will look like waves of bright light!  Oh, and don't mind the kitten toes.  Linus needed to supervise me.

Speaking of sunlight colored yarns, I got myself a treat while I was in Chicago this weekend.  I had a 20% off deal, so I got a skein of Malabrigo Silkpaca Lace in the Sunset color for under $10 at Loopy Yarns.  They have a great program where if you bring in a yarn label from yarn purchased at the store and a finished object using it, you get a discount on the next yarn purchase.  I now have 420 yards of lace-weight yarn to experiment with.  I've never used such a fine weight of yarn before.  I think it is going to be a shawl.  I'll definitely be doing some Ravelry browsing to find the perfect pattern.

So excited to try a new type of yarn!  Haven't used much alpaca, never used silk, and never used lace-weight.  It will be a fun experiment!

These past few days have included plenty of knitting in public.  I am incapable of making my knitting hobby an at-home activity only.  At least one project goes almost everywhere with me.  This week alone I've fit in some stitches on the train, in the car, while visiting family, at a restaurant, at Millennium Park and along Lake Michigan in Chicago, on my lunch break at work, while catching up on Torchwood episodes, and while reading things online.  Even at home I have a knitting audience, since the two feline beasts think the humans need supervision at all times.  I'm truly addicted!

Thanks for reading, and stay posted for new project updates, reviews, technique talk, and more!  If there's something you're interested in hearing about, let me know and I'll add it to the future blog ideas list.