Unfinished poncho with fringe

This poncho may never get finished.

All I have to do is add the fringe. But I hate doing fringe, and since I bought cheap yarn, it comes apart, which means I have to Fray-Check each and every strand. I MAY finish this in the nursing home.

METHOD:
The pattern was from LionBrand, for use with their Lion Suede. I saw Hobby Lobby had a chenille/suede yarn the same rough weight that was 50% off, in a brilliant "Island Teal" color, and thought it would work okay. It knits up a little lighter than Suede, and worked okay, except for the edges of the raw yarn falling apart. I got gauge by using #10 needles. I did the caston and bindoff on bigger needles -- 11 I think, to keep the bottom open and loose.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
The lace is messed up, once again, I think. But the way it hangs, you can't tell. I'm not crazy about the length, but I guess it will look different if and when I ever get the fringe on it.

What is it with patterns that tell you to buy waaaay too much yarn, anyway? My leftover stash is growing larger every month.

Sweater Bag -- my SG1 Bag

Isn't this cute?


I bought this pattern (a whole 99 cents) from LionBrand because I bought one of those "Pound of Love" skeins in baby blue and had no idea what to make with it. I originally envisioned this as being my knitting bag, but I decided to give it to mom to tote her crochet work around in. (Note to Mom: You must actually crochet something once in a while in order to keep this bag!)


So I called it my Stargate SG1 bag, since I've been working on it while we watch old episodes of Stargate on DVD. Therefore, any mistakes in it can safely be blamed upon Richard Dean Anderson.


METHOD:
I got this pattern from LionBrand, and followed the instructions exactly (sorta) with the recommended needle sizes, which I forgot to write down. This used almost the entire ball of "Pound of Love" yarn.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
The sides and straps didn't match up. Guess I should count rows instead of inches.

Second only to the Boring Shawl, this is the most mind-numbing project I've worked on so far. Nothing but straight stockinette ... as far as the eyes can see ... yawn. And EVERYTHING needed seaming. I spent more time seaming than I did knitting.

I thought about making one of these for me, but I think not. I need something exciting. Like maybe something felted.

Fuzzy Purple Tank Top

Another purple garment, 'cause you just can't have too many. I bought the yarn for this ages ago, and only just got around to making it. I started it, did a few rows, and then put it off for something else. I ended up finishing it yesterday in the car on the way to St. Louis.

METHOD:
This is Moda Dea's "Tutu" yarn, in grape, and using #8 needles instead of the recommended from their free pattern. The pattern stitch is K1P1 ribbing, all throughout, which got a bit messed up at times, but the nature of the confetti ribbons in the yarn hides that.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
The three-needle bind off! That made seaming the shoulders togther a lot easier. And the seams on this are ugly (I blame the yarn) but they're still SOOOO much better than before.

Shaping on the ribbing, or rather keeping the continuity of it, was hard. I'm not sure how exactly I was supposed to do it. I also learned, after the fact, how to seam ribbing so it looks seamless. This garment has lines up the side where the ribs don't meet, but once again the fuzzy nature of the yarn hides it.

This yarn is a bear to work with! The little fuzzies get caught in everything, and you can't really see your work very well. Still, it's soft and cute, and I MIGHT actually make another one.

One other thing: this is supposed to be form fitting. I need to remember to start making "form fitting" garments to fit a 38-inch bust, not a 40-inch. I guess you never really are as fat as you think you are :)

2020 update: I'm probably just giving this away. It is SO not me. And kind of ugly to boot.

Mom's HomeSpun vest

I'm so proud of this. It's not nearly as hideous as anything else I've done just yet. Mom seemed pleased, although when I gave it to her, it was about 90 degrees outside.

I started this on February 27, and actually manged to finish all of the pieces by April. But it sat in the basket for months because I was afraid of blocking and seaming it. Actually, by the time I got around to doing so, I'd gotten a bit better at seaming and the the process went rather quickly and easily.

It's still a bit of a mess, which better blocking could have helped.

METHOD:
This is from a LionBrand free pattern, using LB HomeSpun and 9 and 10 needles. I found some Swarovski crystal buttons on clearance, and used those to give some bling to an otherwise folksy and chunky look.

This piece used a little over 4 skeins. This piece, for mom, could probably have been a little bigger, but it seems to fit okay and stretches like crazy.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
1. HomeSpun stripes! In a rather cool way.
2. Not to forget the top buttonhole. I sort of made one for this vest, but I need to remember to actually KNIT one the next time.
3. Sewing the buttons exactly opposite the holes is hard. I need to learn a better way to do this, so the buttons are even. Although I did figure out the buttons had to be sewn off center, in order to close right.

I'm right happy with this one!