getting things finished

well, i've actually gotten a bunch of things finished lately. i've been trying to wrap up a bunch of projects that i had started to get them out of the way. so, over the last couple of days, i've completed 3 dishcloths, and i'm almost done with the 4th. which is good, because i hate having all of my standard size needles busy!

so, here are the cloths i made from my own pattern (free pattern in the previous post):




and here are a few others i've finished in the recent past, but only just got photos and posted them on ravelry:






i've also been [finally] getting my stash photographed the way i wanted to, and i really like the way it's coming out. i wanted my stash to look uniform, and once i finally came up with the 'design' i was happy with, i've been running with it, and i've been getting some really good feedback. already, 3 or 4 people on ravelry have PM'd me and told me how much they like it.

i'm off to knit with my sister tomorrow, as she's making her first knit garment (a shrug) and she wants me there to help her and cheer her on. i'm sure she'll do fine, as i think she knits better than she thinks she does! i'm going to start work on a lap throw that will be a Christmas gift for a friend. pictures of that will most likely not be posted until after it's given, just in case. ;)

free dishcloth pattern

i designed this cloth one day when i just wanted something different. i've had requests for the pattern, so i'm listing it this week as my contribution to the Dishcloth Weekly knit-a-long that i'm in on Ravelry. hope you girls enjoy it! :)

here is Jess's (Topazgirl) test knit for me, so you can see what it looks like!

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Diamonds in the Rough

1 skein solid color Peaches & Creme cotton yarn (any color may be used, however, I found that the pattern shows up better in a solid)
1 set single point needles, size US 8


CO 38 sts.
Work 5 rows in garter st.
(seed st can be substituted for border, including the K4 at beginning & end of rows)

Begin pattern:
Row 1: K4, *P1, K4*(6x), K4
Row 2: K4, *P3, K2*(6X), K4
Row 3: K4, *P3, K2*(6X), K4
Row 4: K4, *P1, K4*(6X), K4
Row 5: K4, P Across, K4
Row 6: K4, *K4, P1*(6X), K4
Row 7: K4, *K2, P3*(6X), K4
Row 8: K4, *K2, P3*(6X), K4
Row 9: K4, *K4, P1*(6X), K4
Row 10: K4, P Across, K4

Work pattern 5x.
Note: Skip Row 10 on the last repeat.

Work 5 rows in garter st.
Bind off.

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©2008 Holly Laury
Do not reprint without permission.

it's finally gone!

okay, i've never been shy about my dislike for pink (well, maybe 'dislike' isn't strong enough a word), so imagine my disgruntlement at being asked to make a pink baby blanket for someone! however, when someone offers to actually pay for said blanket, you suck it up and knit in whatever color they request!



so, that is how i came to buy and subsequently knit with strawberries & creme cotton from Pisgah in a self designed pattern. it took me a little over a month, however, would have taken me less if i hadn't gotten so bored with it. quite honestly, the main reason for the white stripe was just to break up the monotony... not on their part, but on mine!!!!!



anyway, even considering my original dislike for the color, i'm quite happy with the outcome, and more importantly, the buyer was happy with it! when i dropped it off for her yesterday, she was on her way to see her new grandaughter for the first time, and she was so excited.

now, for anyone who might be interested in the pattern, i'm going to post it here (probably later on this weekend as i haven't typed it up yet) and i hope you'll enjoy it! also, if you do make one, drop me a link in the comments as i'd love to see it! :)

nothing to do with knitting......

okay, i know this doesn't really have anything to do with knitting, but i found this meme last night, and thought it sounded like fun. i don't know how one goes about 'tagging' people, and since (as far as i know) i only have one reader (thanks Jess), i'm just going to tell her to try it, cause it really was fun! :)

anyway, here goes.............

The rules are:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into mosaic maker.

The Questions (and, in italic, the answers):

1. What is your first name? Holly
   
2. What is your favorite food? spaghetti & meatballs
   
3. What high school did you go to? Canaan Christian
   
4. What is your favorite color? green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jerry O'Connell
   
6. Favorite drink? Arizona Green Tea
   
7. Dream vacation? Snowy River, Australia
   
8. Favorite dessert? chocolate ice cream
   
9. What you want to be when you grow up? a photographer
10. What do you love most in life? kiddo's
11. One word to describe you. irrepressible
12. Your flickr name. in the beginning

on a side note: i do have some knitting/yarn news, but i'll save that for another post... maybe later tonight. :)

nothing

i did absolutely no knitting yesterday. none at all!
which is very odd for me, because Sunday is usually my most productive day. but, my wrist was hurting, so i decided to take the day off.

now, today, i haven't done anything either, but i'm about to plop down and work a while on the strawberries & cream baby blanket, cause i really need to get it done. if i could get a full repeat done (10 rows), i'd be pretty happy with myself for the evening.

i've been really noticing how sore my wrists get when i knit constantly day-after-day, and i'm so afraid of ending up with carpal tunnel (i don't know if's hereditary at all, but i've had two aunts who had to have surgery for it), and i don't like one bit the idea that i wouldn't be able to knit for a long time, if ever, again!!

anyway, enough worrying... i'm off to hopefully conquer a baby blanket!!

shrugged — twice

i've been working like crazy this week... i've got at least two projects going at all times, which i suppose isn't that unusual, but i'm working on a cotton baby blanket that i'm getting paid for, and that needs to be done before the end of the month!


however, it's a bit boring, so i thought it would be good to have some small projects going at the same time... you know, something with some kind of shaping or that at least requires brainwork!

so, i decided to try out this shrug pattern... my aunt saw a little (boughten) shrug-type thing i wore this summer, and said she would love something like that. and this was the pattern that immediately came to mind. but, i wanted to try it out first, with some not-so-expensive-yarn, to make sure it was something i could do. so, i figured i'd make one from some Jiffy that i had in my stash for my daughter for her birthday.

well, first attempt, i made a guage error, and it ended up fitting the two year old!


so, back to the drawing board, and some more calculations (and re-calculations), and i finally got guage right.

it certainly does knit up quickly (between 4 and 5 hrs of atual knit time ~ for me, anyway), and quite frankly, the hardest part is seaming the sleeves! of course, that is just because i'm so bad at seaming!! lol

i don't have a finished photo of the second one, as i haven't woven the ends in yet, but i like the way (both of these) turned out in the Jiffy. nice and soft, and it's a good weight for a spring/fall shrug, plus, i knit up (one) on size 11's and (one) on size 13's. woohoo! i love big needle projects! :)

i would love to figure out gauge and everything, and make one of these in sock yarn or similar weight. i think it would have a beautiful drape to it.

and on top of it all, i found out that top-down raglan style is a lot easier than i thought it would be! i tend to get afraid of new things... although i don't know why, because once i try them, they (almost) always end up being so easy! so, it was awesome to me when i saw just how easy it was, and how quickly i finished! talk about 'instant gratification'!!

let's get it started!

well, here goes....

i've had my photography blog for a while now, but i finally decided to set up another one for posting stuff about my knitting. partly cause i have friends who might actually read it, but also as an easy way to share some patterns i've designed.

i'll warn you of a few things right off the bat:
#1... i don't type with capitals. please don't be offended, and please don't write and scold me about it. i've always felt a kinship with e.e.commings.
#2... i will admit to you here and now that i will not post on a daily basis. i simply cannot be clever every day. it's just not in me. and even if i do manange to be clever each day, the cleverness ranges from writing to knitting to photography, so i'm never clever at them all at once.
and #3... i've only been knitting for about a year and a half, so i'm still learning. if you see that i've done something wrong, or know that i'm going about something in a manner that's harder than it should be, please don't hestiate to tell me! i'm all up for learning new things, and i want to gather as much knitting knowledge as possible.

so, here's to my newest journey...
:)