FO Day Seven The Finale

Welcome to the FO Week Finale. I'm amazed at how quickly FO Week went by, and I'm also extremely happy with how it went. When I wrote my post last week and hit send, I wondered if anyone would join. At a dozen participants, I couldn't be happier. I also wondered if I would have the discipline to actually get my WIP's finished up this week. With all of you finishing along with me and inspiring me with your great FOs, I'm happy to say I reached my goal. So, without further ado, the last FOs we have to Show . . .

Jenn is finishing out the week with a FO for herself. It came out great and the color is beautiful.

New FO Weeker Annie joined just in time to show us a lovely sweater for her daughter. I love the little flower she added, such a cute girly touch. Great job, and thanks for joining in to FO with us!!

Chrissy has a final FO with another new design!! This one will be featured in the April edition of Knit Net!!! I'm so proud of all the great designs she's had accepted. Oh, and go give this poor frazzled mom a hug too - she needs one today!!

And now on to my final FO Week FO!! This morning, after it had blocked over night, I put the finishing touches on (which actually means fixed a little mistake I found while blocking) Tie One On!!!

Tie One On
Cast On: September 19, 2005
Completed: February 5, 2006
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa College 29 (main color) and S. Charles Muse 4 (accent color)

I have mixed feelings about this one. First of all, I loved the pattern and would make it again. I loved the texture and feel of the Filatura yarn, but I'm not really loving the color. There are two reasons for that. First, the yarn store I bought the yarn at didn't have a nice selection . . . but I felt pressured to buy one of the colors they had. (Long story, but I never went back there). Also, I had planned this to be kept at work to throw on when the air-conditioning was cranked up, so I was trying to go for something neutral. Of course, I got out of the hell-hole that was that job, so I don't need the neutral shawl. Had I know, I would have knit it to be more glamorous or as an accessory that could make an outfit pop. As for the S. Charles yarn, well, I hated it. Crunchy, fake, plastic feeling . . . but the yarn store didn't have the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk called for in the pattern and pushed some pretty awful yarns on me to substitute. This was the best of the bunch . . .but not so great. What can I say, it was my second ever visit to a yarn store and I felt intimidated and didn't use my best judgment. I would love to knit this again with better yarn in better colors, or maybe even tackle the piquant one.

Between the twelve of us, we managed to finish 22 projects this week!!! We had at least two FOs every day, and on our best day there were FIVE FOs. Thank you all for joining in and sharing your wonderful projects. Winners of the FO Week prizes will be announced tomorrow morning. Good luck to you all.

FO Day Six

Before I start with the FO Week update, I would like to ask for your help with something. One of the wonderful friends I have made while blogging is Christine of Knitting on Trial. In her post yesterday she spoke about her wish to make a quilt for her brother, made up of squares knit by knitters everywhere. I urge you to go read her post, and if at all possible, knit a square for her brother.

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Now on to the second to last day of FO Week. I am so thrilled with how many great things I've been able to share. It means so much to me that you all have joined in, finished those WIPs and let me feature them here. A big round of applause to everyone!!

Amanda finished a great pair of Wool-Ease legwarmers just in time for a predicted snowfall. (Did it happen?) These look so warm and pretty, and you have to love that they were knit with one skein of Wool-Ease. Check out all the KALs they qualify for too!

Peanut's got her first FO Week FO, some very pretty mittens. That Turf and Tide colorway is just beautiful . . . and don't worry, I think there is still plenty of cold weather to come this month. Next week is supposed to be more like winter again, so you can wear them!!

As for me, do you remember baby raglan? Of course you don't, this came off the needles months ago and has been stuffed in my craft room waiting to be blocked and seamed. Well, baby raglan waits no more!!!

Raglan Sweater from The Baby Knits Book.
Cast On: August 25, 2005
Completed: February 4, 2006
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino - color 204

I'm happy with the way this sweater came out, and I remember I enjoyed knitting it immensely. Baby knits are great because before you have a chance to get bored, your done!! (Unless you're me, who technically took almost six months!!) I did make a mistake on one raglan seam (you can see it there on the right), but other than that it was a breeze. I think I actually enjoy seaming!!! Good news there. Needless to say, the baby this was originally intended for is much too big to wear the 3 - 6 month size I knit. I'll just hold on to it until someone else I know has a baby boy.

Okay, come on back tomorrow for the FO Week Finale, and stay tuned Monday for the prize winner announcement!!

FO Day Five

It's FO Week Friday and we're still going strong!! I've got some really great FO's to show you today.

Christine's first FO of the week is a sexy, sparkly shawl that she will be wearing tomorrow with a little black dress. Knock their (hand-knit??) socks off, Christine!!

Stephanie is racking up her second FO with an awesome Alien Illusion Scarf from Stitch N Bitch. I think her nephew is going to love it. It looks like it would have been very difficult to knit, but since she's assured us it's easy, I'm going to have to give that one a try.

And Jessica's first FO Week FO is a pretty pair of the socks that are all the craze, Jaywalkers. (I think I'm the only person who hasn't knit these yet) Jess, don't be upset about the tiny mistake . . . we would never have seen it if you didn't point it out. (By the way, did you know Blogger Spell Check wants to replace Jessica with Cheesecake? I love them both!!)

As for me, instead of FO Friday, I'm celebrating FROG Friday. This was Hairball Pillow Cover, better known as Button-edged Rib Cushion from Hand Knits for the Home.

This was a completely painless FROG and I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. I'm not sure when I started it, but I believe it was before my blogging days because I mentioned it was on the sticks in my fourth post. (By the way, of the six projects listed there, two got finished and four got frogged!!) It was pretty clear to me from the start that trying to knit it with this yarn was not divine. I also could barely purl at that point, and was having an awful time with it. I'm not sure I'm even interested in knitting pillow covers anymore, but maybe I'll change my mind and give it another shot some day.

Two more days left to submit your FO's!!! I hope to have two more to parade out myself. I'll post the last edition of FO Week sometime around 10 pm EST on Sunday night, and I'll draw the prize winners on Monday morning. Still plenty of time to slide a few more FOs under the wire!!!

FO Day Four

We're past the half-way point on FO Week, and I am so excited and inspired by all the great projects that are flying off your sticks!

Ragan has racked up her first FO Week FO after overcoming a cold and completing her colorful "little man's socks". Just look at the wonderful, cheery colors on those beauties. And don't you think it's time for her to change her blog title? She obviously knits VERY well!!!

Jenn is celebrating her 200th post with yet another FO. This time it's a lovely S'nB Nation hat that she modified to get just the right fit. Hop on over to admire it, and also get a good tip on some nice yarn that can be just as inexpensive as Knit Picks . . . and who doesn't need more affordable yarn, right?

I've got a FO today too!!


Felted Gift Bag
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cranberry, with Lion Brand Jamie Pastel Pink for tie.
Cast On: December 4, 2005
Completed and Felted: February 1, 2006

I started knitting this felted gift bag in the informal KAL of sorts on Susan's blog. I knitted step 1 on the first day, half of step 2 on the second day . . . and then promptly forgot about it. I'm glad I picked it up again and finished, as it was a lot of fun. I will certainly be knitting more of these in the future. It's my first foray into felting (or I guess more technically, fulling) and I now understand what all the hoopla is about. It's like a little bit of magic in your washer!!! I knit this totally with stash yarn. After several attempts at designing a tie, I settled on this tedious teenie two stitch i-cord with made with baby yarn stash. To be honest, I really hated working with the pink yarn, it split A LOT, but it looks like it's been discontinued. Maybe I'm not the only one who didn't like it. It was worth it though, because I think the pink tie makes it look perfect for Valentine's Day . . . so I'll have to fill it with something good for my sweetheart.

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As you can probably tell, the gift bag picture was taken OUTSIDE. Wait, it gets better. I have clothes. On the clothesline. In Connecticut. In February. Sheer madness, I tell you. At 45 degrees, it's down right balmy here. Let me point out right now, I am so not complaining. I'm not a bit winter fan. I'm also not a big dryer fan, as in I never use mine. That's right . . . she hates meatballs, she doesn't eat mashed potatoes, and now she's admitting to not putting clothes in the dryer. Well, my mom never used the dryer. And I'm afraid it will ruin the clothes. And why pay for electricity when the sun and air will dry them for free. In the winter our clothes spend time on drying racks stashed in the dining room corner and in the spare bedroom. I'm so happy to have some hanging outside in February!!

Now that I've shown myself to be a complete wack-job, I'm about to give you a tip that may redeem me. Want to line up some good Karma? Well, head on over to Jill's blog and join her Karma Swap. Have the fun of gifting, clean out your own stash, and get some cool yarn in return as well! Genius, I tell you!

FO Day Three

Day three and we are still going strong!! I'm so excited by all the FOs to Show, and am hoping we will have at least one every day. I'm also getting together the prizes, which are a big secret. Why?? Well, because I don't quite have them yet. I did some on-line shopping last night and am planning a LYS run Friday or Saturday, and then I'll assemble them. Names will be drawn and winner announced on Monday, so submit those FOs and earn your extra entries!!!!

Chrissy has her second FO!!! She has finished a design she is submitting to Knitty - isn't that exciting??? (It's a long post, but keep reading and she'll tell you about it) No picture yet, due to the top secret nature of design, but hopefully we'll all be seeing it in the next Knitty! Send out some luck to her!! While you're at it, hop on over to the new edition of MagKnits and check out her Ziggy!!!

Jenn also has a second FO, a baby sweater that's been waiting since December to be seamed. She's new to seaming (I am too, with a baby sweater waiting in the wings) but got great help from The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques. Looking at the sweater, you'll see what a great job she did! I'm so glad I snapped this book up at a post-Christmas sale . . . I'll keep it by my side as I tackle my baby sweater. Thanks for the tip, Jenn!

As for me, today's FO is no 'mo. I was so close to finishing Airy Scarf. I was starting row 111 of 134 when I stopped again to take a look. And that's when I saw IT. A DROPPED STITCH. IN ROW SEVEN!!!!! I guess the hairy quality of the yarn had covered it and held the threads together all this time. Now that it had finally broken free and revealed itself, I knew I only had one choice. The dreaded FROG. Pea was flabbergasted and begged me not to rip it out, but I explained that the hole would only continue to grow once I blocked it and wore it. (He actually tried to grab it away from me to stop me!! He was more upset than I was!) The whole scarf was loaded with mistakes, and that yarn was far too expensive to turn into something that crappy. I learned a lot while struggling my way through. I definitely think the project was too hard for me when I started, but I think I have progressed to a point where I can handle it now. So I'll start over and do the whole thing right this time. After all, it is just a four hour knit . . . even if I had been working on it off and on since August. (Mostly off, but I guess that goes without saying.) And for all of you who have speculated, yes, Kidsilk Haze is a nightmare to FROG.

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Not much else to report here. Pea and I had a great ballroom dance lesson tonight. We did cha cha for the whole 45 minutes, and since I love cha cha I was happy. Anyone who doesn't think ballroom dance is a great workout should try 45 minutes of cha cha. Granted, the steps we do are not as fancy as you'll see on Dancing with the Stars, but it's just so much fun. If you can talk your SO into going, I highly recommend it. But go with a good sense of humor, because you will feel like you have two left feet at first. Heck,we've been taking lessons for almost two years and I still usually feel like I have two left feet. I won't let it stop me though!!

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You will be smothered under a rug. You're a little

anti-social, and may want to start gaining

new social skills by making prank phone

calls.


What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
brought to you by Quizilla

I had to re-post so I could add this quiz that Stephanie found. I love Edward Gorey, and actually have this book in display. It cracks me up. Yes, I have a weird and dark sense of humor somtimes.