FO Friday -- BAM! POW! Edition

I really did do some knitting this summer, and I actually managed to finish a few projects!  I know, right?  I don't quite believe it either.  I even learned a thing or two along the way.  Bonus!  See, a while back I learned that I really like doing two-handed stranded colorwork.  Then I learned that I really hate doing it on dpns.  It's so fiddly!  And annoying. 

But then, on a field trip to the Loopy Ewe, I found myself an 8"(!) circular needle, and immediately cast on for Fightin' Words.  I've been dying to knit this pattern for ages, but was holding out (see "fiddly" and "annoying", above).  The timing was good too, since I'd just been assigned an awesome partner for a swap on Ravelry and wanted to do something special for her.  I was a little worried about the teensy needle, but it wasn't too hard to handle and it made the colorwork so, so much faster.  I also learned how to catch floats without putting my knitting down, which sped things up considerably.  Really, they were a win all around.

And voila!

I LOVE the way they turned out so much that I was a little sad to send them off.  At least I can take comfort in the fact that they went to such a knit-worthy home.  Unfortunately, since they were gifted I only have the one picture of them, but something tells me there may be another pair of these in my future.  I want some, too! 

That's it for me, since we're heading up to the mountains for a weekend of camping with dogs and friends.

Yay, camping!  But go check out FO Friday and Fiber Arts Friday for loads of other inspiring craftiness.  Then go have an amazing weekend, k?

The Wayback Machine

Holy Cannoli, you guys!  It's been a whole stinking summer since I last managed to put together a post.  I'm so sorry for abandoning you!  I hate it when a blog I read disappears for no reason, but it turns out that life gets busy some times, I guess. 

Anyway.  I'm here!  Still happily hitched, and just celebrated our first wedding anniversary.  That was a fast year.  Still knitting.  And since it's Work in Progress Wednesday, I guess we'll start there.  I've got 3 or 4 projects on the needles at the moment, but have 2 that I can actually show off.  First up, I've been not-really-working on a pair of Hermione's Everyday Socks for ages.  Sock 1 is finally nearing the finish line:

I like the pattern, and the yarn is pretty and soft.  Unfortunately, it's also really, really fuzzy and I'm not getting the stitch definition I'd like with this pattern.  But!  There's definitely something to be said for socks that are really pretty and soft, right?  Hopefully sock 2 will show up soon and make quick work of itself.

The other project on the front burner these days is a Heather Hoodie Vest.  I'm still working on the Austin Hoodie, but some time at the beginning of the summer I realized it had been aaaaaaages since I'd knit with anything other than fingering weight yarn.  It became a priority.  So a few weeks ago, I cast on with some of my Stitches West yarn, and it's going pretty quickly when I have a chance to work on it. 

Lest you think I'm a complete slacker, I also finished a couple of projects while I was away, and will have at least one of those to show you on Friday.  Really, I did.

In other news, we spent our summer buying and renovating a rental property.  Crazy, right?  We found a condo for a great price that didn't need much work and yada, yada, yada... yours truly has been up to her eyeballs in paint and drop cloths and light fixtures for the better part of the last 3 months.  It's all finished now, and looks pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself.  I'll put together a post of before and after pics in the next week so you can all see where I've been hiding lately.

Finally, the puppy turned 1!  She celebrated her birthday by eating the protective covering off the lawn edging in the back yard and then slicing her foot on it last weekend.  She followed that up by finding a way to chew through her bandage and removing all of her stitches.  But let's not talk about that part.  Sigh.  She's a high maintenance little bugger...

It's a good thing she's so cute.

That's all I've got for the moment.  While the shock of a new post is wearing off, go check out WIPW for lots of crafty goodness that happens on a more regular basis.  See you there!