Emma 1 – socks 0

Okay, a more accurate representation is probably Emma 2 – socks 57,000… but I can officially say (read: boast) that I have finally finished a pair of socks for myself.  I posted a while back about not being able to get past the toes of socks for myself, but a couple of days ago I finished a pair!

I used Sarah Ronchetti’s Scott Base – toe up pattern, the same pattern I used for the pair I knit for Emmy a couple of months ago.  I am now working on a pair of the same socks for Lauriel, in a gorgeous rainbow yarn.

 

 

Lauriel’s socks – past the toes and onto the foot!

 

On a side note, my mum has been working on socks as well and finished her about the same time I finished mine!

I feel like Dory right now

No matter how hard I try at the moment, I just can’t get past the toe section of damn socks.  My latest knitting challenge is to knit two socks at a time.  It goes brilliantly until I get to the end of the toes and then I f*ck up in some way.  I feel like I can’t win and that I should give up, but stupid me doesn’t want to give up!

I know, I know it’s actually a good thing that I don’t want to give up, but right now, as I stare at empty knitting needles and messy balls of yarn, I feel plain ol’ defeated.

All I can think of is Dory from Finding Nemo.  Just keep swimming knitting, just keep swimming knitting, just keep swimming knitting…

If I just keep swimming knitting, surely, eventually I will have to accomplish this goal, right?  (Please?!)

And I’m freeeeee…. freeSTYLING

After my emotional crappiness in the early hours of the morning, I wanted to share something positive, something that made me feel good about myself, that made me feel not-crap.

I spent the morning knitting.  Literally 8.20am-1pm I was knitting like a… well, something that knits really intensely.  The end result was a Milo for my cousin’s baby due in February.  More specifically, it is a Milo that included a little freestyling!  Yeap.  Me.  The person who must follow a pattern, who must follow a recipe, who must do something exactly how she is told to… I freestyled.

Okay, so I didn’t freestyle a hell of a lot, in fact, it was only one row that was different from the pattern… but I love that it worked!  I did a row of eyelets so I could lace through some ribbon to be tied in a bow at the front.  Being that I haven’t had babies for a long time now, it may turn out that ribbon is a pure and simple pain in the ass with a baby, in which case I am sure my cousin will use her brain and remove the ribbon!

Was nice to do something that left me feeling accomplished today.

My latest knitting accomplishments

Just wanted to share some of my latest (finished) knitting projects!
click on the links to be taken to the patterns on Ravelry

Cheer Up (Kelly Brooker/Pekapeka)

Asterism (Janina Kallio)

That Cheeky Kea (Kelly Brooker/Pekapeka)

Quaintly (Kelly Brooker/Pekapeka)

Rainbow Trout (Kelly Brooker/Pekapeka)

Orbit (Janina Kallio)

Milo (with quilted lattice stitch body) (Georgie Hallam)

Another Milo, this time in the Wanganui rugby team colours, for Gabrielle’s teacher’s baby!

#MiloMay final report

First things first – I’m already looking forward to Milo May 2016!!!

Milo May gave me the perfect excuse to stop making, well, excuses,  and finally attempt a Milo, something I’d been wanting to do ever since I saw the pattern months ago.  Mission accomplished!  Not only did I make my very first Milo, I ended up making eight of them and in the process developed my knitting skills and got over my fear of working with circular needles!

I know the Milo is an easy pattern and some people could do them in their sleep, but for me, it was a major milestone-esque accomplishment to successfully complete the pattern – and eight times over!  Over the month of May I realised that I doubt myself far too much and that I can do something if I set my mind to it and refuse to give up… it’s a pretty nice feeling, really.

On top of the personal high-fiving, I was lucky enough to win one of the Milo May prizes, my very own Zippy Wippies WIP (that’s ‘work in progress’ to those of you not in the know) bag!  I cannot wait to see the finished product and to finally have an awesome bag to take my WIPs in when I take knitting out with me!

Lastly, I was lucky enough to see one of the Milos in use by its recipient, Miss Lillian.  Was a pretty cool feeling to see her wearing it and to know it was something I’d created…

Milo #1

Milo #2

Milo #3

Milo #4

Milo #5

Milo #6

Milo #7

Milo #8

Miss Lillian in her Milo

#MiloMay2015 progress report

May, as well as being the month of my daddy’s birthday, is the month of the Milo!

No, I am not referring to the hot drink, I am referring to the utterly gorgeous 0m-4y size knitted vest, designed by TikkiKnits.  I have been wanting to knit it since I began knitting, but always looked at the pattern and thought it’d be too hard.  Well, I decided to bite the bullet and knit one.  It went surprisingly well… so well that I began a second almost as soon as I’d finished the first!  Number two is finished and after a break of a couple of days, I am thinking it might be time to start number three!

I have probably spent more time knitting than I should have – and less time on my school work – but it’s been a form of mental health break for me.  The sense of accomplishment when I finish one, or when I successfully do one of the skills that has scared me off doing it before, it’s amazing.  I don’t feel quite so useless when I look at my completed Milo, and it felt great today to gift the second one to Gabrielle’s teacher, to give to her newborn nephew!

I am yet to do a version with a cable pattern on it, but will definitely be doing one… perhaps for number four, because I think number three is going to have a variegated wool body, and the cable just gets lost in busy wool!

Here are my two completed Milos

If you are interested in the pattern you can get it here on Ravelry!

Keep on knittin’ on!

It has been close enough to two months since I last posted (oops).  My lack of posting hasn’t been related to a lack of crocheting or knitting, in fact, completely the opposite!  I have been knitting so much lately that I haven’t had any time to blog (that and university has started back so I’m into the swing of the academic thing of things).

I have been knitting up a storm!  To be honest, I don’t think I have picked up a crochet hook since around the last time  I blogged on here; this knitting thing, it is addictive!

It isn’t just addictive though, it has also proven to be a big internal struggle and challenge for me.  When I f*ck up it is a battle between ‘do I just put this down and pretend it never happened‘ or ‘do I keep on at it and not let it get the better of me‘?  Once upon a time the answer would have been to get rid of it and move onto something new, but that’s the old Emma – or at least I like to think it is.

Looking back, giving up so easily might have had something to do with my anxiety.  If I didn’t try, I couldn’t fail, right?  Stupid thinking really, because not trying is like instant failure, or at least that is how I see it now, anyway.  My anxiety disorder seems to be nicely under control at the moment and I am finding that has given me more confidence in most areas of my life, but particularly my study.

I haven’t stressed once over assignments, I’ve just gone ahead and done them (76% in my first 300 level assignment, thank you very much!)… I’m also doing this odd thing called planning.  I’m not sure if you’ve heard about it, but from the age of 5-ish you are told to ‘plan ahead’ for your school/uni/etc work.  After…. god, 26? years of schooling I have finally realised that planning is where it’s at.  Maybe I should make more people aware of this magical idea?

Anyway, before I leave you all to go and do some of that planning stuff I spoke about, I thought I’d leave some photos of my latest projects!

Colin vest

Zanny T jumper

Fish ‘n’ Chip jumper (little sister of the Zanny T)

Simply Soft cowl (for me, but modelled by Emmy)

Seaweed cowl

baby hat

In case any of you are interested in the patterns for the above items, here you go!

Colin vest

Zanny T jumper

Fish ‘n’ Chip jumper

Simply Soft cowl

Seaweed cowl

It’s not purlfect, but it’ll do!

I did it.  I actually did it.  I successfully knitted a hat – and without sending an SOS to my mum – OH. EM. GEE.

The hat is basic, very basic.  Six rows of ribbing and then about 15cm worth of stockinette stitch and 4 rows of knit two together and purl… but… I did it!

Now, I’m not saying the hat is perfect.  It isn’t.  For one thing, it is meant to fit an adult but only just fits Emersyn (4).  The kiddo does have a big noggin, but there is no way this hat would go anywhere near an adult.  It seems I am a tight knitter, odd considering when it comes to crochet I am a very loose crocheter!  Also, the top of the hat, where it closes up?  Yeah, that hole isn’t tight enough and it looks a bit nasty… I think I might add a pom pom as a way to hide the monstrosity of a hole; it will also be a good way to tighten up said hole!

Did I enjoy creating it?  Mostly.  I was a little on edge the whole time though, worried about stuffing it up and needing to delete* undo the whole thing because I’m incapable of fixing knitting mistakes!
*for some reason I always think of knitting in relation to internet/computer terms… I always refer to casting on on as ‘sigining on’…

I did it though.  I stuck at something and finished it.  I accomplished something.  I didn’t give up.  I know it probably seems like a small thing to most people, but considering my mental state lately (it IS on the improve now school is back!  Funny that…) it is a big deal for me.

the colour of the wool is more accurate in this photo (you can also see how loose the top of the hat is)

Wool/yarn:  Patons ‘Rainbow’ 8ply acrylic, Dawn colourway

In case anyone is wondering what hat I did, it is this one from the Craftbits website.

Casting my fears aside: This will knit turn out well!

I’m not sure if my awful (read: hilarious) puns gave it away, but this post is about knitting.  Specifically, it is about my stupid idea today to pick up some needles, cast on and attempt to knit a hat.

I know, it’s not really a stupid idea, in fact, some of the most awesome people I know knit… but I can already tell it’s going to end in tears for moi.

You see, I have dabbled in knitting in the past but the novelty would always wear off about half way through a project (read: after about 6 months…) and I would give to my mum to finish.  Ah yes, my mum.  She is what I like to refer to as my ‘knitting crutch’.  Got a problem?  Mum will fix it.  F*cked it up?  Mum will fix it.  Something too hard?  Mum will do it for me.  Got bored and gave up, therefore wasting $ on wool that would go unused wool?  Mum will finish it.

Now, that was all well and good (for me anyway) when I lived 12 minutes drive from mum and dad.  Now?  Now I am  living 650km away and even the prettiest wool isn’t worth the 12 hour drive (or even the one hour flight + one hour trip out of town to the airport) to get any knitting related problem.

But you know what?  I’m meant to be a big girl, and part of being a big girl is learning to knit without my knitting crutch.  What I have realised is that there is this thing called YouTube (have you heard of it?) and there are these things on the Tube of You, called tutorials… and said tutorials can surely teach me how to master a new stitch or un-f*ck a f*ck up?

I now sit with my purple sz4 knitting needles to my left, 74 stitches cast on and 3 rows of ribbing complete.  A hat.  I am working on a hat.  Something I’ve never knitted before, but have crocheted numerous times, so many I could probably do it in my sleep.  By posting about it on my blog I now feel as though I have to see it through, have to finish.  Maybe I’ll send it to my mum as a thanks-for-putting-up-with-my-knitting-related-crap-for-so-long type affair.

See! Purple needles, 74 stitches, 3 completed rows of ribbing. … now I pat myself on the back.

 

Maybe I’ll unpick it, throw the barf-esque looking jumble of wool at the wall, then go to my room and sulk.  And ring my mum.  And ask her to fly up to fix it for me.  Pretty please.