A Couple o' FOs and a WIP

I bought a new purple coat at Lane Bryant recently. Being a knitter/crocheter, I had to accessorize this new purchase with yarn goodies. I made myself some fingerless gloves (my variation on another's pattern, see this blog entry for details) with some Vanna's Choice yarn in a purple print. Yep, people, Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune has her own yarn. She's quite the crocheter. The yarn is very reasonably priced. The gloves cost me $2.99 to make. Here they are. Kinda spiffy, no? Note to self: Get a manicure!

I've never been one to wear hats. Having short, short hair and a big, big face, I tend to look odd when wearing hats. Headtoppers of any sort have never been a good look for me. However, now that I'm getting old (42 years, 8 months, and 25 days old to be exact), cold weather is affecting me more negatively than before. So what's a middle-aged knitter supposed to do? Stalk the profiles of the hat knitters on Ravelry. I found one I liked. It's Kody May's Lace Elegance Hat. It's purple, of course. I used Jo-Ann's Sensations Bellezza Collection Cosetta yarn. Can you believe I actually wear it out in public? I haven't worn a hat in public since...um... junior high/high school, way back in the late seventies/early eighties. Here she be.



Finally, I needed a scarf. So after stalking the Ravelry scarf knitters, I found the Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf pattern. Talk about mindless and pretty (the scarf, not me). One row repeated over and over until the scarf is as long as I want or until the yarn runs out. So two skeins (maybe three?) of Vanna's Choice are now in the process of becoming my scarf. I'm using the same colorway as my gloves. Here's the progress shot so far.

Seraphina's Shawl

I just started this shawl a few days ago. I'd been all over Ravelry searching for shawl patterns when I ran across a few examples of Seraphina's shawl. The ones made with Jo-Ann Sensations Rainbow Boucle are just gorgeous. Naturally, I couldn't resist the urge to crochet one. I ordered some yarn online since my local Jo-Ann didn't carry the colors I wanted. I really, really wanted the shades of reds/oranges but couldn't find it online. I ordered some orangy yarn instead. I'm sure the shawl will be pretty anyhow. I also got some berry shades yarn and green shades yarn. My plan is to make this shawl again in the spring in green for my secret pal at work. I sure hope she's a shawl wearer.

The first one I decided to make is the berry colored one. Just look at it so far.

It looks nice in my opinion. I'm going to love this shawl when it's done.

I've never been a huge fan of boucle yarns. I like my yarn on the smooth side without little things hanging from it, but I bowed to the Ravelry peer pressure and bought the boucle (6 big-ass skeins of boucle, as a matter of fact). It's not so bad once you get working with it. Plus, this boucle isn't that loopy. It's more like boucle-lite. My only complaint is that it's a bitch to untangle as I crochet. I found the end in the center of the skein. I like to use center pull skeins. But every few yards the yarn gets all tangled. Just take a peek here. You can see the tangled guts of the skein getting puked out as I crochet. This is definitely not pretty yarn porn.

I would be making so much faster progress if I didn't have to untangle so often. I swear I probably would've finished this within 3-4 days if my yarn was smooth and tangle-free. As it is, I'm gonna have to work for the FO this will be.

Have You Seen This Show??



Have you? I'm so hooked on Pushing Daisies. The best part is that Emerson Cod knits. He knits!! He knits gun cosies and money holders. It's awesome. I hope this show goes on forever and ever.

Thanks to Knitting Lemonade for the Pushing Daisies button.