A.Co Knits

October 4, 2009

Revealing the Secret!

Filed under: Girasole — Tags: Girasole, secret project — alcohen @ 6:32 pm

I can finally blog about the SuperSecret Project!

It’s a Girasole!

I finished it on time for my parents’ anniversary, blocked it in my dorm room on cork board and towels (with the help of a friend), and was able to present it to them as a gift when I got home for their anniversary party.

(Here it is basking in the sunlight in my dorm room)

Here are the details:
Cast on: June 19, 2009 (I really only knit a tiny bit over the summer though, so I consider the real cast on date September 1)
Cast off: September 23, 2009
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool - 6 balls
Needles: 2 size 6 circulars-and it barely fit on them!
Raveled here.

(A lovely closeup of the edging)

My parents really loved it, and displayed it over a railing:

And then my mom got cold and wore it as a shawl:

I’m so glad it was done, since I had to be a monogamous knitter while I was knitting it in order to get it done, and I absolutely HATED knitting it. The pattern was written beautifully, the finished product is gorgeous, but knitting it made me want to impale myself on the needles. No idea why. But whatever, it’s done!

Also, in other news, I won a contest! And the prize I won was yarn! I donated money to restore a fountain and got entered in a raffle for yarn. Sadly, I didn’t win the Wollmeise, but I did win some lovely seasilk laceweight. You can see it here.

I’m working on a ton of stuff, so that will be coming up in the blog soon! But I definitely wanted to give the Girasole its own post, since it was kind of a big deal for me!

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September 13, 2009

Cotton Candy Swirl Blanket

Filed under: Blankets, Cotton Candy Blanket — Tags: crochet — alcohen @ 4:12 pm

My supersecret project is growing and growing and growing. I wish I could show a picture of it, but suffice it to say that earlier this week my friend wore it as a hat. If she tried to do that now, she might drown in yarn. It frightens me daily, yet I press on knitting.

But for now, all I can show you is the new crochet design my mom made. It’s called the Quick Cotton Candy Swirl Blanket, and it’s raveled here. If you want to buy it but aren’t part of ravelry, click here.

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September 3, 2009

Lake House Throw

Filed under: Blankets, Lake House Throw — Tags: blanket, Lake House Throw — alcohen @ 3:55 pm

Sorry I’ve been absent these last few months. Summer was crazy and I’m just now getting back into the swing of things!

In case you didn’t hear, my mom and I have a new crochet pattern for sale on Ravelry. It’s called the Lake House Throw, and it’s a really nice piece that can be crocheted using pretty much any worsted weight yarn. We used Red Heart Eco-Ways, but a nice wool would be great as well. It’s easy but also a lot of fun!

You can find out more about it by looking at it on Ravelry or you can click this button to buy it if you’re not a member.

You’ll be hearing more from me in the next few days, and hopefully I can keep the blog updated regularly!

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April 20, 2009

Wow

Filed under: Sock Yarn Blankie — Tags: Kiri, Sock Yarn Blankie, Under the Sea Socks — alcohen @ 4:49 pm

I just counted up my sock yarn blankie mini-skeins that I got through trades and other means, and including the next swap package I’ll be getting, I have 169. Of course, a couple are doubles that I’ll probably reswap, but that’s a lot of scraps. I currently have 6 Ziplocks full of them. I love the blankie swaps, but I think I should slow down, because I’ve been so occupied with other stuff that I’ve only knit a couple squares this month. Even if I knit two squares a day, it would take about 3 months to get through what I have now. And I’ve only got a month of school left, so I won’t trade anymore until my blankie stash gets down to a reasonable size (I’m not even counting all the squares from unused sock yarn skeins that I have sitting around-that would probably bring the count close to 200!).

In other news, my first Under the Sea sock has been done for a couple days. I keep procrastinating on casting on sock number two for some reason. I’ve been working on Kiri, and it looks really good. I’ve memorized the pattern and it’s pretty relaxing!

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March 25, 2009

Knitting Just as Fast as I Can!

Filed under: Blankets, Coriolis, Sock Yarn Blankie, Socks, Under the Sea — Tags: Coriolis, Sock Yarn Blankie, Under the Sea Socks — alcohen @ 3:50 pm

So, as the last entry said, I’ve caught the mitered square bug. I can’t stop. Today I had to force myself to work on my Coriolis:

Look, almost done with number one! I’ll finish these tonight and cast on number two. I want them done by next week, but that might not be possible.

And here are my Under the Sea socks, which I can’t work on because the needle is broken (Kollage is sending me a new one and told me how to try to fix this one with superglue. I might try it anyway):

You can’t see the lace well in this, but the color is so pretty that I had to share.

But my heart really belongs to this:

It’s going to go on a different size bed, so that’s why it looks so huge on my tiny dorm bed. But I love it to death, even though it’s difficult to work on since it’s so huge (I’m only doing 31 sts at a time, but the actual blanket makes me hot when I knit on it).

Soon there’s going to be a fun pattern release over here at A.Co Knits. Get excited!!!

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March 22, 2009

Miter Love

Filed under: Blankets, Clapotis, Scarves, Sock Yarn Blankie, Socks, Under the Sea — Tags: Clapotis, Sock Yarn Blankie, Under the Sea Socks — alcohen @ 7:14 pm

I just got back to Vassar after Spring Break, and the first thing I did was organize/unload some of my yarn. I also almost immediately picked up my Sock Yarn Blankie to do another miter square. Oh, how I love miters! And two weeks without them made me really sad (also because I got one of my swap packages at home, so I had all these lovely scraps but the blankie was at school, so I couldn’t knit them into it). I have at least two more swap packages waiting here for me, and a nice Raveler sent me four little balls of yarn that she didn’t want. So I got those today, which made me happy. There’s something really endearing about little balls of sock yarn, but I can’t quite explain why.

I’m almost done with my first Coriolis sock, but I have no picture to show for it. I was also working diligently on my Under the Sea socks from the Loopy Ewe sock club, but my Kollage square circular needle broke! I’m going to email them to see if I can get a replacement (this is my first time using them, and I’m usually not too hard on my needles-I’ve never broken a circular before).

But never fear, I do have a Finished Object to show you. Here’s my Clapotini, sported my my mom and blocking out on the floor:

Pattern: Clapotis
Cast on: March 3, 2009
Cast off: March 16, 2009
Yarn: TJT Unraveled Yarn in Panera (specially dyed for us!)
Needles: US size 5 straights
Mods: Made it less repeats to make a scarf-sized version.
Raveled

My mom loves her new scarf, although she did forget to wear it to our knitting group-but she’s worn it everywhere else! I liked making it, and would definitely do the pattern again in a little while (but maybe just another scarf version, because the full version is daunting).

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February 25, 2009

Distractions

Filed under: Blankets, Sock Yarn Blankie, Socks, Spring Forward — Tags: Shopping, Sock Yarn Blankie, Spring Forward — alcohen @ 5:46 pm

So…you know how when you’re supposed to be doing something, and you force yourself to do it, you end up wanting to do anything but that thing. That’s how I feel about finishing up my Spring Forwards.
springforward

Here’s what is distracting me:
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The swap package I got for my sock yarn blankie

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The new spring jacket I got from H&M (the lighting is bad on this, it is actually much cuter in person)

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The star-shaped earrings (and unpictured shirt and bracelet) I bought for 80s night, which I’m not even going to this week.

And the fact that my roommate is dressing up for 80s night, because she’s going. But I have to study for a test. Yuck.

So after I finish studying and working on my socks for a bit, maybe I’ll indulge myself and work on a miter square or two (OMG I LOVE MITER SQUARES! But that is a different post entirely, so maybe I’ll write it tomorrow).

And to distract you, here’s a completely gratuitous picture of me in my new jacket:
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February 19, 2009

WIP update (lots of pics!)

Filed under: All You Need is Gloves, Blankets, Crocheted Sock Yarn Blanket, Gloves, Sock Yarn Blankie, Socks, Spring Forward, Sweaters, Tulips Baby Sweater — Tags: All You Need is Gloves, Crocheted Sock Blanket, Entrelove Socks, Sock Yarn Blankie, Spring Forward, Tulips — alcohen @ 3:39 pm

Recently, I’ve realized that I have waaaaay too many WIPs hanging around. My goal for this year is to finish as many as possible and refrain from giving in to my startitis. Here are a couple of my WIPs with a little progress report:

1. The Blankie
blankie1
Here it is in its entirety. I started this about a year ago and am still in love with it. I’m well aware that I’m going to have to have at least 450 squares total (I’m at 50 now…so that’s a long way to go). I got involved with a bunch of swaps, so hopefully soon I’ll be getting more 5 gram balls of sock yarn to use. I already got some Pagewood Farms mill ends that I loved from Yarn Expressions last week. Here are some closeups:
blankie2

blankie 3

2. Crocheted Sock Yarn Blanket
Yeah, I know I rip on crochet a lot, but it’s a great way to use up your odds and ends. This blankie has a specific color palette of blue, green, black, purple, and occasionally yellow and brown. I’m hoping to get it done soon, because it matches my bedspread in my dorm.
crochet

3. Spring Forward Socks (in Shibui Knits Sock Yarn)
These are for SKA January Challenge on Ravelry. I have to get them finished by the end of the month to count. I’m still chugging along on sock number 1, but I feel like if I try to work on them exclusively, they will get finished by next week. Here’s a not-so-great pic of the lace pattern:
spring forward

4. Tulips Baby Sweater (in Dream in Color Classy)
I bought this kit over the summer at Knitty City. I had a sudden urge to cast on a baby sweater for no reason, so I started this. I love how cute the pattern is and can’t wait to have it done! In the picture you can see the raglan shaping for the armholes.
tulips

5. All You Need is Gloves (in Louet Gems Pearl)
Gloves I’m designing with a heart motif. Nothing much on these yet, but I love the corrugated rib cuff.
gloves

6. Entrelove Socks (in Knitterly Things Vesper Sock)
Entrelac socks that I’m designing for the SKA February Challenge. I’m going to either frog and restart or rip out the entrelac because I don’t like how it looks. But these will be done!

Now, these WIPs aren’t a complete picture of my knitty life. I didn’t take pictures of things I haven’t had much progress on lately (::cough::Silver Belle::cough::) or aren’t working on at present moment. But I’m hoping I can make some more progress on all my WIPs so that I can cast on new projects without feeling a pang of guilt for what I’ve done.

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