A Tiny X-mas Present

I have a new pattern for all of you!  Here is my Tiny X-mas Stocking, now available for free on Ravelry!

Download yours today!

Isn't it adorable?

And in other news, I have finished the knitting on my Even Flow Sweater!  I will be weaving in ends and seaming pockets some time today and will have it blocked by some time next week.

This is the first sweater that I have knit and I am very proud.  

I have yarn all ordered up for my next one already.  I am planning on making a Chickadee by Ysolda Teague in KnitPicks Capra.

See? Two sleeves and everything!

All-in-all, a good week.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @AngieChervenak and I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The Day After Thanksgiving

No blogging today. I'm taking the day off. 

But here is a picture of a cat napping in the sun. 

A Sleeve and Some Research

I'm not gonna lie. I haven't gotten a ton done lately. I haven't been feeling well. 

But I have made some progress with this sleeve. 

And I have a design I've been working on for a while nearly finished, but now I need to write down what I did to make it before I forget. I would show and tell more about this one, but I have a pitch in for a magazine and I need to see what they have to say first. 

I am also reading a book about small business startup. I figure that I should probably get a hold on marketing and bookkeeping if I am trying to freelance. 

So, not a lot of interesting stuff today, but maybe things will pick up if I can lose this nasty sore throat/ears thing that I have going on. 

A New Pattern!

That's right!  I have released a new pattern!

The Harney Peak Hat is a spiral ribbed hat made from wool and alpaca.  This hat is super warm but unlike 100% alpaca it holds its shape.  I am very excited to see other people's versions of this hat!

I have priced the hat at $2, but for the first week (until November 29), you can get it for $1 by entering the coupon code "AJC" at checkout.

So go!  Get your copy today! It can be found here or from my Patterns page.

You know you need a warm winter hat.

And in other absolutely amazing news, I finished the black socks of doom.  I just sat and watched Poirot and let my hands go.

Not too shabby

They are now washed and blocked and once they are dry I can give them to my dad.

So, grab a copy of my pattern for yourself or your favorite knitter and I think I will kick back and have a beer for a week well done.

Just Like a Little Bird

That's right!  Just in case you can't get enough of my obsessive ramblings, I am on twitter!  If you would like to follow me, please check me out @AngieChervenak or just follow the link on the right side of the page.

I have actually been making pretty good progress on my list of projects since last post.  Some of the progress is on design projects though and I won't be able to share those with you until they are done.

However, I did whip up the crocheted slouch hat!

See, I can crochet too!

I have to say, this was a fun project.  I especially love the look of the band.  It is done in back post single crochet.

However.  Hmm.  I apparently crochet at a much tighter gauge than whoever wrote this pattern and instead of starting over when I realized this, I just decided that I would keep going as long as it fit.  So my super slouchy hat basically has no slouch at all.

Which doesn't really matter to me.  The even bigger problem is that my greatest fears about this yarn were realized.  The fiber content is wonderful, but the colors are hideous together.  Beautiful colors, absolutely goofy when knitted up together.  But I will wear this hat, because I love a hideous hat.  (Something my husband and I always had in common.)

There has been no sweater progress over the past few days because I decided to put it aside for a minute.  I have been working on that sweater very hard and I am proud to say that I will likely finish the whole thing within a month of starting.  But it is a personal project and I have other things to work on too.

However, the sweater has inspired me to add a list of links to helpful tutorials.  Check out the new "Links" tab at the top of the page.  This week I have added some links for my favorite yarn joining methods.  I have been spit splicing my yarn for this sweater and I am very pleased with the results.  Leave it to me to find a way to avoid weaving in all of those ends.  The russian join method is great for joining yarns of different colors without having to weave in ends.  I will be adding more links as I think of them.

Finally, I have a confession to make.  I gave in to the trend and made a ruffle scarf.  I can't see myself ever wearing it, but I am considering trying to start up a class in Custer on how to make these.  Gotta give the people what they want, but I can't help but think that this yarn would make a way better skirt embellishment than boa.

Not too bad.

Pockets!

My Even Flow sweater now has pockets!

See? Pockets!

I decided yesterday that I need to get more organized.  I wasn't sure what I had going on and I was getting a nagging feeling while working on my sweater for the past couple of days that I should actually be advancing other projects as well.  So I made a list of all of the projects that I am making or that I intend to make soon.  I came up with a list of 15.  Seriously.  15.

That might not seem like a lot, but you have to remember: These are knitting projects.  Most of them cannot be knocked out in a single day.

Here's a quick overview of some of my ambitions:

A few years back, my grandma gave my mother a knitting bag and some fabric.  The idea being that I would take the bag apart and reconstruct it.  Last week, I finally got around to taking it apart.

The handles aren't worn out.

It is currently sitting in my workspace waiting for me to draft and cut out the pattern in the new fabric.  But I kinda figure that if I am going to bother to do one of these, I might as well bother to do three at once.  So if I ever get this sorted (and find some handles that I am satisfied with at a decent price), there may be fabulous knitting bags up on an Etsy store.

Next, as a way of using up some of my limited edition colorway yarn, I have decided to crochet a slouch hat out of this Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted.

A beautiful colorway of which it would be difficult to find any more.

I got this colorway at the 2013 MN Yarn Shop Hop.  But designing with exclusive colorways isn't very nice, so, darn it anyway, I get to make something for myself.

Then there is the design project that I had to rip out and now have to restart.  Luckily, it will be on these needles:

Gotta love #17 and #19 needles.

And last but not least, about a year ago I said that I would make the Lampwork Hat and Mitts for Athenais and the yarn has been just sitting in my stash ever since.  Maybe she'll get to wear them this winter.  Maybe she'll have to wait until next.

So, as much as I enjoy blogging, I'm afraid that I have quite a bit to work on today.

Phoning This One In

I am feeling pretty sick today with a sinus/ear/throat thing and I do not feel very verbose.

So here are a few pictures of progress and projects:

My new homemade niddy noddy.

Side view of the Even Flow sweater.  I am now working on the front edge, with stitches held aside for pockets.