Been getting lots of knitting done. Today I completed mittens for future sister-in-law's muppet Olive. I just wanted a simple mitten pattern so I used a christmas ornament mitten pattern and upped the needle size to my largest double points bamboo needles. They turned out really well. Unfortunately the muppet and owner were not in town this weekend as I previously thought so they are currently being cared for by Beaker :) Hopefully I'll have pictures soon of Olive decked out in her cool scarf and mitts 

My hat/headband (Calorimetry) is finished, as is my scarf that I've had stashed under my bed for a couple months. 

I've started working on a lace and cable scarf for my mom. She liked the last one but now that she has a short scarf she wants to wear it like one of her long scarves. She has asked for another one in any pattern I want to try out. This is my first adventure into lace. It has a rocky start but I think it will look really nice when its done. 

I have pretty bamboo sticks!

I got double-pointed and straight bamboo needle sets :) I received 12 sizes of each, under $20 for  the 12 double-pointed needles and under $20 for the 12 straight needle sets including shipping. Ebay is a wonderful thing. I'm also really glad to finally have sets of double-pointed needles with 5 needles instead of only 4. 

I also started swatching (i'm trying to be a better knitter :P). 

I started a new project with a set of the double points - dragonscale wristwarmers :) and changed from the metal straights to bamboo straights for the needle case I'm making. Its made quite a difference. The metal ones hurt my hands after a few lines, I've been able to knit more with the new ones. 

Awesome Cable Hat finished

Just returned from my first Sip n' Stitch. It was fun! I definitely plan on going to more :)

While I was there I finished the cable hat I was working on, which turned out to not be too enough for me so I've decided its for my future kid(s). Sure its several years away from being worn but until then it shall be worn by various stuffed animals around our apartment. At the moment Orlando, my koala from Build-a-Bear is wearing it :)

Now to decide on the next project....I probably should finish something else but I'm itching for something new as an alternative. As soon as my double pointed bamboo needles arrive I'm planning on swatching and then casting on dragonscale wristwarmers, and probably a sock. Recently while at chapters I found and bought a book (30% off) that shows how to knit two socks on one circular needle, which I'd like to try. 

Knitting New Year Resolutions

Some knitting-related things I want to accomplish this year:

1) Knit a hat that fits without adding elastic (just started a new hat that I'm already really excited about)

2) Knit a pair of socks

3) Acquire more bamboo needles (in addition to the lovely 15 double pointed sets soon to be on their way to me) *excited* I keep finding patterns I want to do that recommend having a set with 5...and all the ones I have are sets of 4. 

4) Start attempting to knit a sweater (if not finish one)

5) Fix a mistake vertically (if a problem presents itself)

6) Increase my stash - increase the amount of wool I have

Bunch of Projects - Update

Christmas was good to me. I got a bunch of knitting tools - two sets of straight bamboo needles, one size circular bamboo needle, stitch markers, some cable needles, needle holders, a knitting magazine and 'Knit Fix Problem Solving for Knitters' book. I already made a small scarf for a muppet belonging to my soon-to-be sister-in-law. It turned out really well, I even put some fringe on it. I made it with one set of new bamboo knitting needles. I love them so much I found 15 sets of 5 double pointed bamboo knitting needles on ebay, hopefully those will arrive in the next couple weeks. Eventually I'd like to have a set of straights but I should probably get a job first :P (current project is a needle holder for my new double pointed needles). 

I gave my mom an early Christmas gift, a cabled scarf. Its my first cabled knitted something. I also made some toy mice and a toy bumble bee for my cat. She loved the bumble bee even though I didn't fill it with catnip. 

I made myself a Jayne Cobb hat. I've been wanting to make it for a while. There was talk for a while of it being a stitch n' bitch project but I guess we were all too busy. It practically knit itself - it only took 2 days. I'm planning on re-doing the pom. It was my first one and turned out a little thin. 

New techniques learned:

- cabling

- cable cast on

- making a pom