{Knit PIcks Contest!}

In case anyone in my family is interested in Christmas shopping from my Knit Picks Wish List  , here's the link!

Oh, and I COULD win my list if I get lucky too! WAHOO!

(don't worry, there'll be a better post this weekend. I've been knittin'!) :)

Holden Shawlette DONE!

 My Holden Shawllette is done!!

Rav link to the free pattern

 I finished it earlier this week. I pretty much love everything about it!  I love the colour the BEST!  This might be my favorite yarn colour ever - Malabrigo Sock yarn in Botecelli Red.  The variation in the yarn is my absolute favorite kind of colour too - sorta solidish. hehe  The pattern was super easy and would be a great intro to lace/ shawl knitting for anyone looking for an entry project!  The size is bigger than I thought and it's knit on 6's, which is kinda large for a lace shawl.  It's one that's easy to wear too because I don't feel like it's way fancy or anything.

As soon as it was blocking I started pulling out the yarn from that Pea Coat that made me so mad and starting knitting on my LAST Christmas gift!!  The sweater for my niece is to be the Cable Rib Pullover by Kristen TenDyke.  Here was my progress as of thursday: 

Another free pattern available on Ravelry

Don't those cables just look impressive?  It requires two cable needles, which is something I've never done before.  I love how fast this knit is going (maybe because the back was only on 60 stitches? hehe)  The back was done yesterday and I cast on for the sleeves to do two at a time on a long circular.  I'm not sure why I didn't do this pattern in the round instead of knitting the front and back separate.  I usually don't mind the seaming part too much and as I've already pointed out, it's a pretty little sweater, sized for a 2 year old.  Since Alora will only be 18 months comes Christmas, hopefully it'll fit her for at least through the winter.  

The yarn is Vanna's from Lion Brand and chosen because it has a great loft to it. It's showing the cables FABulously, but I'm not really enjoying knitting with it.  It's tough on the hands after knitting with it a ton and I'm looking forward to gettin' this one done!  I don't think she'll have any problems wearing it though and hopefully it'll soften up more after a washing. :)

{Some School Maddness, then Knitting. and sewing.}

I'm seriously seeing a pattern in the frequency of my blogging lately - mainly that I have been blogging once a week on a weekend day.  I'm not surprised because I know how stressed out I've been at school this week month. And really, it's been my knitting that I've sort of retreated in to.  Healthy or not so much?  I really don't know, but I'm glad I have it.   It's only two weeks until Thanksgiving break and then I get that whole week off of classes (but will have tons to do at home) and then I go back for a week and a half, and then it's FINALS!   It's so so weird how fast it's coming up.   I have so much to do next week and in to the weeks after, but at the same time it feels like this semester just started a few weeks ago.

Last week I kind of had a melt down, actually.  My classes are just getting so hard and I'm having a hard time spreading the hard ones out over the last three semesters I have until I graduate because of when the department offers the classes I need.  We're a small math department on a mostly residential campus and I'm an adult commuter student.   My advisor was trying to pressure me in to taking not only the 8 credits of math I don't have a choice about (if I want to graduate in 2012), but also another 2 credit elective course.  Ummm... No.  I think I mostly have that situation worked out after a LOT of meetings with deans and department heads.  I may have to go to another college to take an elective in order to graduate on time, but I'll be a much saner person for it. :)

I realize this blog is called "The Student Knitter" but I rarely talk about the student part.   I've been a strong student all my life and have always enjoyed school, so I guess no one thought to tell me that school was going to get really hard, even for me, and that I would begin questioning my ability to finish it altogether.   I also still have no idea what I think I want to do with my BA in Mathematics and another BA in Communication and Technology (business, basically).  Everyone I tell that to goes "huh. What a weird combination."  lol   If anyone has a job themselves, or knows someone who has a job that has these kinds of qualifications, I would love love love if you would leave me a comment or send me an email!

Skip to Here if you want to read about Knitting! hehe                                                                       
So, are you ready to see some knitting updates? hehe  As you can see by my side bar status thingy, I did decide to frog the pea coat I was working on.  I was just really mad at it. lol   I haven't decided what I'm going to do to replace it yet and since it's my last gift to finish before I need to send everything to Canada on December 1st I decided to start something for me!


I cast on the Holden Shawlette, which was published for free in September 2010 and already has 124 projects!  Mine doesn't look like much yet, just the stockinette body.  I'm doing it in this yarn: my Malabrigo Sock in my absolute favorite colour EVER.

(remember this mess? Never again Thanks to my friend Hope!! She sent me a swift as soon as she saw this pic!! Thank you so much!)

So yeah.  I'm chugging away on that and pondering Niece #3's Christmas gifts!  This year is going to be very lean so I'm sure I'll have to knit something, but what? Or maybe I'll quilt for her? Dunno yet, but it needs to be done in the next three weeks ! lol

I also did a bit of sewing last night.  It was kind of an whirlwind of little threads and machine whorls:

It's a pillow! Kind of lumpy and poorly photographed, but made out of the fabrics leftovers from my quilt and a recycled sweater.  The lumps will work themself out with wear, right?  This was my first time working with a knit fabric (what a pain!) and also my first applique project, and the first pillow I've ever made. LOL  I like it, I think.  It looks amateurish, but I learned a lot (like buy pillow forms, not just stuffing!)    I also tried to do a bit of a cording around the outside and you can see how that worked out for me too. hehehe It disappears in to the corners instead of going around them.    I'm not sure if it'll stay at my house or go off with the Quilt as an xmas gift.  We'll see. hehe :)

Was the pillow worth reading through all the blather at the top?  How are you guys going on your Christmas gifting lists? :)

{Yet Another Gift Done}

Today is Halloween, just 55 days until Christmas is upon us.  The days here are getting crisper with a tad of frostiness each morning.  I of course am MORE than welcoming this change from 70 degree days!  Let winter come!  The most surprising?  This is the second to last gift that I had to do, and then my Christmas knitting list is complete!  Almost too good to be true, isn't it?

Alrighty, now's the time for the standard warning: if you happen to be Niece #2 - You may not look any further!!  Anyone else, look away!

{When Knitting Attacks}

I have just about had it with this dang pea coat.  I've been knitting garder stitch for what seems like weeks now, and this is what I have to show for it:

I keep measuring the hood only to discover I don't have as much length as I thought I did last time I measured... it's like I'm knitting backwards! UGH!  I don't even have sleeves yet!

And ya know what?  I I just ran out of yarn.  SERIOUSLY.  I don't even know what I'm going to do. Should I rip back the hood and knit the sleeves? Or should I just frog the whole thing and pick a new design that isn't so BORING to knit?! I hate this coat!  Or maybe I'll just buy my niece a beautiful Christmas Dress like this one:

DONE.

{My Socks Are Done!}

Man I loved knitting these!  The pattern, the yarn, everything.  They're the Lace and Cable Socks by Wendy Johnson from her toe-up sock book, and the yarn is the Umaj Sock from Gaia's Colours, which is a dyer from close to where I grew up.  I wrote extensively about it a few posts ago. hehe

Done!  And since I decided to make them anklet socks (like I normally wear) I still have half the skein for a second pair!! YAY!

{The Quilting Problem Solved!!}

Oh my gosh! Okay... I'll start at the beginning.

So you guys remember my recent quilting disaster, right? (It was outlined here, but I don't suggest you read it. It's kinda depressing. lol)  I was talkin' it over with my new knitty, quilty, overseas friend named Laura Jane, and SHE suggested that I go check out The Moda Bakeshop.  I had NEVER heard of this before and O.M.G. It's the best thing ever! I have been searching for inspiration for my Christmas tree quilt that uses both my triangles and my squares and WHAM! Here it is!  It's perfect!

 from ModaBakeShop.com

YAY!! Now I'm SUPER excited!  I'm going to go and buy some white fabric (or off white at least) at the quilt shop soon and then I'm going to get started! YAY!  My more contemporary turnovers will be in the center for the tree and I'll use the squares for borders so no clashing or cutting!  Plus, the green fabrics that I already bought will be able to be used for other borders and such.  It's SO. PERFECT I want to SCREAM.

Thanks Laura Jane!!