My first gusset!!

Well I have completed my first gusset ever! Woo hoo! I had been avoiding glove patterns that had thumbs because I was intimidated by them, but i found a free pattern for manos silk blend yarn, so I gave it a try. It's beautiful yarn. The gusset felt a bit awkward with the M1L and M1R, but I referred to some helpful youtube videos to help me along (it's always easier once you see someone else doing it. written instructions are often confusing), and it all worked out.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Finished Fingerless Gloves

Here they are. One more Christmas gift complete! I think I've mentioned it before, but it is the "voodoo wrist warmer" from Knitty.com, and a very pleasant project.

I have had trouble in the past with having tight binding off. (I also tend to do a tight cast on, but doing the cable cast on seems to help with that.) I found the following method as a good alternative which leaves a very nice raised edge and is very elastic. It is also described as being a good bind off if you are going to be stitching at seams.

See the nice stitch this bind off makes.

To bind off:

K2tog through the back of the stitches. You will now have one stitch on the right needle. Slip it back onto the left needle and K2tog with the next stitch, into the back of the stitches as before. Continue this way until just one stitch remains, then break the yarn and thread the end through the loop and pull up firmly.

Get yerself to Craftland!

If you're in the Providence, RI area, I suggest you check out the 9th annual craft show at Craftland. One of my friends and I visited two nights ago and found many lovely handmade items to be had! We got there when things were fairly quiet, then it got swamped! It was nice seeing such a huge turnout. They had everything there from prints to textiles to ceramics and more. So many goodies!

The blurriness! My camera sucks.

I need Santa to bring me a new camera this year.

Free Owl Calendars at MY OWL BARN

Check out the adorable owl art at Shivani's blog My Owl Barn !! You get to design your PDF calendar the way you like it. IT'S FREE! Pass it on.

Falling Leaves Scarf Project: Finished!

Whew! Never before have i cussed so much while knitting. This yarn, though undeniably beautiful, is light as air and very hard for me to manage. I don't think I'll be rushing to make another lace item, that's for sure.

But I have to say, I learned A LOT from knitting this scarf. Now I can do YO's and K2tog's and PSSO's in my sleep. Repetition is key in learning, and I think these stitches are in my memory banks forever now. And at first I could not understand the pattern - that is, I couldn't read it and understand what would result. At some point, after all the repetition, I understood what was happening. It was really neat.

Falling Leaves Scarf

It sure is beautiful, if I do say so meself. The color of this yarn is stunning, and it is so squishy and poofy and fun to touch. Even better, that's one less thing I have to buy for Christmas! My  mom is gonna love it.

See the leaves falling? Ahhn.

Mr. Biddles hard at work