I also finished a super-quick tunic from doubled bulky weight yarn.

It’s Evening Shell in Knit Picks Swish Bulky (doubled).
I think it’s a perfect color for the winter.

Raveled here.

And for the challenge? 2012 is coming up, so I’m hoping to finish 12 big WIPs/new projects in the coming year. I also want to do some smaller projects, but I’m going to focus on the big ones, like the sweaters I’ve been knitting for years. I’m hoping to have some awesome FOs come next December!

Now, over a year later, I present Stripes!

This is my first sweater design, and I’m in love with it. It uses two fingering weight sock yarns in an alternating color pattern, and has waist shaping to give it a fitted look.

I know it’s the wrong season for a sweater like this, but I wore it over a t-shirt at Rhinebeck and it was perfect for the fall weather. If you wanted to, you could lengthen the sleeves and it would be more appropriate for fall and winter.

The sweater is knit in pieces and seamed with set-in cap sleeves. It’s a fairly quick knit (I had other things going on, so it took me a while, but I ended up knitting the fronts and sleeves in under a week). I’ve written the pattern for multiple sizes, and many of them only use 2 skeins of sock yarn, so it’s a great way to use a couple special skeins. I used Dream in Color Smooshy and Slackford Studio Hedonist Sock, which is part cashmere. Stripes is soft, lightweight, and comfortable.

You can buy the pattern on Ravelry or by clicking here.

When we walked in, we saw kangaroos and lemurs.

Then we got down to the yarn buying. We managed to hit every tent/booth before it started raining. Towards lunchtime, it started to get very crowded. I didn’t even go into the Sanguine Gryphon booth because the line was so long, as always.

Here’s a picture of the Ravelry meetup. We didn’t go, but I passed by on the way back from putting some of our purchases in the car.

All in all, it was a great day, and we got some gorgeous stuff. My mom got some sport weight wool to make a sweater, but I made the bigger purchases of the day. I have been dying to make Vivian since I tried on Ysolda’s sample when she came to Brooklyn General (it fit me perfectly, even though it’s not my size…it’s like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants jeans). I got this chunky yarn for it from Wild Apple Hill Farm in a gorgeous purple color.

Then I got this really sparkly laceweight from Maple Creek Farms. I got sock yarn from them a couple Rhinebecks ago, and I loved it, so I made sure to go back to the booth. I’m planning to make Icarus with it.

To top it off, I got a spinning batt from Loop. It’s self striping and sparkly and gorgeous.

All in all, it was a terrific weekend, and I’m super happy with my purchases. Hope everyone who went had as much fun as we did!

P.S. More coming about the sweater I’m wearing in the picture in the next blog post!

However, with such limited time, I managed to finish a project.

It’s the Ribbed Lace Bolero, which I started in my freshman year of college. It’s about time I got it done.

I’m glad it’s done, because it’s really cute and the perfect thing to wear if the temperature ever dips down enough that I feel the need to cover my shoulders.

Raveled here.

My favorite parts are the buttons and the applique, which were both from Michaels (they didn’t have a huge selection to choose from, but I figured every little girl needs a cupcake sweater). It’s a simple sweater, but the little details make it so cute!

I want to make a bunch of these for my future children and all my friends’ future children. When I get a free moment (my new job is dominating my life) I’m going to cast on for another.

Raveled here.

There’s good chance that the next time I post on here, I will be a college graduate. So yay for me and the rest of the class of ‘11! We did it!

Then I finished my Crocheted Ripple Blanket, which I’ve been working on for about a year to use up my sock yarn scraps (I doubled them and used a large crochet hook…I’m not sure which size because it doesn’t say it, but I’m thinking M or N). I was going to donate it along with the other blanket, but then my friend Leslie saw it and loved it, so I’m giving it to her as a graduation gift.

I of course have many other blankets I’m working on, but it’s good to get these particular ones out of my hands and into other people’s to keep them warm! It’s kind of silly that I finished them so close to summer, but at least they will be ready for use in the winter.

And on a final note, happy graduation to MEEEE! Here’s to the end of my education!

This is Mrs. Darcy. The pattern is no longer available (that’s how long ago I started this thing), but it’s really cute and comfortable. Except that the hem rolls. A lot.

I put a bunch of single crochet at the bottom, and now it puckers a bit. Hopefully blocking will fix everything.

As you can see, the sweater doesn’t exactly fit me. It’s actually for my mom. She’s been having a really rough time lately, because our cat is very sick, so I wanted to finish this up to cheer her up. I’ll give it to her the next time I’m home, but I sent her a bunch of pictures now to make her feel better.

I used almost 4 complete balls of Cotton-Ease. This is all I had left when I was done with the buttons:

For more info, the sweater is raveled here.