Another One . . .

Finished!  Oh joy!

I was quite the happy knitter today, needles busily clicking away as I finished my "secret project" for the Bernat blog and then proceeded to finish another gift.  Oh yeah, Super Acrylic-Girl!  Rock on!

That just leaves ONE item on my Christmas gift list: fern and waves scarf. Thankfully that is already half way to completion (I think I've got about 30 plus inches done already.  Gotta check my Rav project list).  So I'm gonna go ahead and cast on something for me. 

Remember my little special stash from here?  Finally gonna start that silk-merino-alpaca scarf using a free pattern on Ravelry called Fern Lace Scarf (Rav link).  The original pattern used lace-weight, but it should still work with a heavier weight yarn;  I just have to cast-on fewer stitches (I'm thinking somewhere between 24-30 stitches). 

Heck, I might even cast on for that pair of socks too . . . . oh the excitement! :D

Still Experimenting . . .

And still knitting--well sort of.  I'm not doing as much knitting as I'd like, but every little bit counts.  At least I finished one fingerless glove and working on second one: still working on thumb gusset and hopefully I can knit one or two fingers this weekend (I'd love to finish the enitre glove and be done with it very soon, but who's kidding who.  Ain't gonna happen this week).

And I've discovered how to take even better indoor photos.  Remember when I first discovered a good photo spot (blogged about it here) right in my own home (which incidently is rather dark especially on a dark, dreary winter's day)?  If I take a picture using the snow setting on my camera, the colours look just as they do under sunny conditions.  Here's the proof:

Auto Setting

Snow Setting

Natural Sunlight

A eureka moment!  Gotta love it when the light bulb in my head turns on :D  I may not have to build a photobox afterall.

And, I started experimenting with Wordpress: witness my handywork here .  No, I'm not moving my blog.  Actually I've enjoyed the ease of Blogger.  Highly recommend Blogger to any newbie interested in starting up their own blog.  Wordpress takes a little getting used to, but I wanted to try it out because I will eventually use it.  Confused?

Bernat has asked me to blog for them on their website (which uses Wordpress).  So excited and just plain tickled pink!  You can check out their website through my blogroll.  I won't be there till early November (I'll be sure to add a link after I start posting), but looking forward to it. :D

What's This?

Nice ribbing, eh? Can you guess what this is?   I'm using Bernat Worsted and I'm still on the fence.  Other Bernat products such as the Chunky and Softee have felt incredibly soft and have worn well despite numeorus trips through the washer and dryer.  But the Worsted doesn't feel soft, although it is quite smooth (not at all scratchy like Red Heart Super Saver); oddly enough, it tends to be rather stiff for an acrylic.  In fact, I'd almost swear it feels like a worsted cotton.

Can you guess what would be made in the round in worsted weight?  Here's a hint:  in a few days, my cuff turned into this (see below).

Is it some strange instrument of torture? Or perhaps some hideous device for destruction?

Or even more sinister, the remnant of some mutant frankenstein-like creature born out of the tangled fibery remains at the bottom of the yarn basket? Franken-mitten! Aaaaaaaah!

All kidding aside, its the Manly Fingerless Gloves (another Rav link and its a free pattern).  Still, my mitt looks really twisted.  It started innocently enough as a ribbed cuff in the round.  I even got as far as the thumb gusset when I realized it was way too big.  When I checked the pattern, I realized I was using the wrong size!  Pattern called for 3.25mm but I was using 4.00mm.  Ugh!  Doubly sad since I've worked this pattern before.  So my first attempt at second pair of fingerless gloves went to the frog pond.  That wasn't as bad as discovering the unravelled mess of yarn barf inexplicably got tangled.  That never happens to me!  An hour of my time wasted!

Despite my woes, I re-started on needles that were much smaller (used 2.75mm for cuff and then switched to 3.00mm).  And all is progressing well thus far.  Still, I can't help but wonder if the yarn is cursed . . . 

Happy knitting where ever you are :)