Central Park Hoodie KAL, first meeting!

On Sunday my KAL group had our "first meeting" :).  Our group consists of me, Lindsey, Alex, and Alex's mom!!   I'm very excited about this because this is my first knit OR crocheted adult size sweater---and it is for me!  We met on Sunday, had some lunch, and got to knitting!  Some of us had cast on prior to this first meeting to begin the ribbing--because ribbing can be a bit boring/annoying/blah...  Well, Alex was a bit gung-ho and finished the back of her sweater DURING our first meeting.... :) Way to go ALEX!  You can see her finished pieces in the picture below :).  The rest of us either completed at least all of the ribbing during this first meeting and began the pattern repeats.

Pictured here is Alex and her mom.  I'm so happy that we have Alex's mom on board, we can learn so much from her!!!!  She is a wonderful knitter and it makes me very excited that she decided to join us!  Both Alex and her mom decided to use Knit Picks Wool of the Andes for their sweaters.  Alex's is a purple/red heather color (Claret Heather) and her mom's is a light blue/gray color (Lake Ice Heather)

Lindsey got a good amount of her sweater done. (Notice her stitch markers!! I made those :).  Lindsey is using Caron One Pound in a navy blue color.  I'm also using the Caron One Pound, but in white.  I had a bunch of this yarn in my stash (3 pound in each color) and we figured that since this was our first real big sweater project, it was best to try and use up a stash yarn instead of buying something new :).  A bit plus is that this yarn is machine washable and dry-able!!

From left to right: Alex, me,  and Lindsey.  We are all so proud of our progress on these sweaters!  This was taken at the end of our knitting session!

Finally, here is my progress (by the end of Sunday night) on my sweater!  This is the back.  I'm slightly nervous that this might be too small since this pattern is said to run about 4 inches too small.  I went up a size and got a slightly larger gauge with my yarn than the patter, so I'm hoping that it will be ok.

Our next meeting is on June 19th!  We made an agreement not to have more than the back and two front sides made by this time.  Alex is really knitting this quickly and we thought it would be best to try to stay at a similar pace for this project.  I hope that I can do the back and the fronts by the next meeting!!!  I think I might take this to work with me :) so I can knit on the train!  WOOHOO!!!

Until next time!

FO Friday!

I've noticed a trend across crafty-blogland that a lot of people are using certain days each week to post pictures of their projects.  Specifically WIP Wednesday (work in progress) and FO Friday (finish object).  I figured I should get on this bandwagon and do the same thing myself.  So, today being Friday, I figured it was a good motivation to post.  (I've been a little absent with my posts lately....mostly busy with school and work).

Drum roll please :).  I now present to you all of my recent FINISHED OBJECTS! (In no particular order).

Let's start with two throw pillows made for my friend Kerri and her new husband Bill for their wedding!!  Kerri loves polka dots, so I figured pillows with crocheted bobbles would be perfect!  They are in a neutral color to coordinate with Kerri and Bill's living room.

(Ok, so these aren't finished objects...but they are pictures of Kerri and Bill's wedding.)  Here is the lovely bride and groom and some of the bridal party :).

And here we have Kerri's mom, Kerri, Me, and my mom!  I've known Kerri since we were both very little, so this picture means a lot to me :).

Now back to the FOs!  This is a pair of knit slipper socks that I made for my mom for Mother's Day.  I used Lion Brand Homespun and large-ish needles (size 10? maybe).  They are a great quick present and a GREAT way to use up leftover yarn.  Side note, I hate Homespun....but it worked well for these!!!

This is my first knit wearable!!! It is the Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher.  It took me about 2 weeks to make, but I only knit on the train to and from work....and one night at home to finish it.  I am quite happy with it and VERY excited that it is my first sweater-like object!!!!

Finally, I've been on a "let's redecorate/spruce up my apartment" kick lately.  These are one of my newest additions!  My living room was somewhat lacking in the artwork department....specifically on the wall that goes up my stairs.  Since I love yarn and crocheting and knitting so much, I decided it would be nice to frame some doilies!  I got these frames at Ikea for about $10 each, got the teal paper from Michaels for like $0.20 each or something like that, and I had the crochet thread already.  I made 3 different doilies from patterns in a book I have and from patterns on the web.  They are about 7ish inches in diameter.  The framing area is about 7.5in x 9.5 in (yes, weird I know..most are 8in x 10in hahaha, but Ikea had to be different :)).  I blocked each doily with water, let them dry overnight, and then used a light spray adhesive to make them tacky and place them in the frame.  I'm quite proud of myself!!

I hope to post an entry soon about my apartment improvements :)!  I also will be starting a KAL (knit along) with 2 of my friends and my friend's mom!  We are going to be knitting the Central Park Hoodie, and I'm SOOOOO excited!! Our first meeting is Sunday...woohooooo!! (I'll share a secret...I cast on already and have knit maybe 6 rows of the ribbing...shhhh).

Another Zergling-ini (maybe Zerglini?)

The 6th member of my Zerglini collection will soon be on its way to the state of Washington to meet its new owner :).  I never thought that my interpretation of these creatures would become such a hit when I first started making them last November!  #4 and 5 made it safely to Canada, btw!  Bye-bye spring green/electric green Zerglini!  Safe trip!!!

Lunchtime yarn fun!

Had my first trip to Knitty City today!!! What a wonderful (and friendly) store!!

My Knit Picks order came!!!

YAY!!! I was delighted to come home from work on Friday and find my Knit Picks order waiting at my door!  Even though I have enough yarn to last me a few years (I need to reorganize my stash....maybe in a month or two I will do that and post all of what I own **gulp**), it is always nice to receive some in the mail or buy it in the store or get it as a gift...you get the idea :)!  All of the yarn in the order is sock yarn--which I plan on using to make more Easter eggs...(for next year) :) and I also tried a set of interchangeable needles (which I am loving!!) and some new stitch markers!!!

::Drool!!!::

Mmmmmmm all the yummy yarn!!!!! KP <3!

Felici in "Moonlit"

Felici in "Rainbow"

Stroll Multi in "Meadow"

And Imagination in "Fairy Princess"

"Mermaid Lagoon"

"Pixie Dust"

and "Unicorn"

When I get new yarn it reminds me how far I have come with knitting and crocheting.  I'm not sure if everyone else is like me, but I know that I started out using yarns from craft stores like A.C. Moore and Michaels (which I still use btw because they are quite useful!) and as I got more skilled I advanced to using more "special" yarns.  I love yarn, knitting, and crocheting so much and I'm so excited to use this new yarn!!