just a quick blogpost to share my joy: i finally finished Paulie! :)

i'm definitely experiencing a "knitters high", i couldn't be more thrilled about this. my very first knit garment!! it's far from flawless but it fits and i can't wait to have it ready and start wearing it!

Paulie taught me so much: the construction of a (seamless)cardigan, picking up stitches, i-cord bind-off (genious!!), making button holes... Paulie definitely brought my knitting skills to the whole next level, and made me more confident as a knitter! if i can knit Paulie, why wouldn't i be able to knit Miette or Benedetta, or finally try stranded knitting with Dot The I!

but: i'm not finished yet!

to do next: some more tedious tasks (for me, at least, i always find it hard to actually FINISH things when the knitting-part is over): weaving in the ends, blocking and sewing on the buttons.

any advice on how to handle this? how do you block your hand knit garments? what to do or not to do? i'm gonna read some blogposts about blocking anyway, but i could sure use some advice! :) 

i can't imagine a better way to start the new blog-year with a review of my crafty year 2013. i love seeing all your review posts coming up, so inspiring!!

in 2013 i made 3,5 pair of socks, 1 cowl, 1 shawl, 1 hat, 1 baby cardigan, 25 tiny hats, 2 birth presents, 1 pair of handwarmers, a cutlery roll and a lot of hexagons. i was obsessed by scraps (scrap socks, scrap blanket, magic ball blanket, hexagon blanket) and knitting. i knit my first baby and adult cardigan (paulie!!), and made my first knit hat ever. i received a bunch of free yarn and taught a crochet workshop at the last Maakdag.

and i'm totally ready for another handmade year!

before i begin my last blogpost of the year, i want to wish all of you happy holidays and a wonderful 2014! :) may it be wonderful, woolly and crafty!

the last weeks of the year are always so busy! first my birthday (25 already, everybody hates me for saying it but i really feel like i'm getting old), then christmas eve and christmas... days filled with parties, family, lots of food and christmas shopping. and i try to find some time for knitting, maybe some sewing or cleaning up the house... (priorities first, right?)

and ofcourse all is well with paulie! i'm now halfway the second sleeve, and it's looking more and more like a cardigan with every stitch i make. i'm also really curious how my stitches gonna look after blocking the whole thing!

 

ahh, notice my new coffee cup? it's from pip studio, a birthday present from my sister. so cute with the gold trim and the little birdie! :) my new knitting companion.

my boyfriend gave me the interchangeable circular needle set from knitpro for my birthday! i couldn't be happier with my new knitting equipment, no more wasting time and money searching for the perfect circular needle, now i have them all!! 

in 2014 i will knit like a PRO! ;)

ohh dear, has it really been more than a month since my last blogpost? oops! ;) 

i wish i could give you a big update but unfortunately not much happened; i resisted the urge to start new projects and my mind is now set on finishing things... you know i've got a lot of W.I.P.'s, so this is actually a really good thing!

and ofcourse, i've been working on paulie! i finished the first sleeve yesterday and started on the second sleeve today. i had quite some trouble with the sleeves... i didn't measure my arm size and thought the S that i'm knitting would be fine. i already knit 1/3rd of the sleeve when i decided to try it on and it was so tight, i just couldn't believe it. turns out i have to knit the L size for my arms to fit... so i ripped back all of it and started over, picking up way more stitches than i was supposed to for the S size.

long story short, one sleeve is now finished and it fits perfectly. lesson learned: measuring is important! here is a photo of the sleeve a couple of days before i finished it.

i've also been knitting and crocheting little hats for the innocent smoothies campaign. they collect small hats to sell with the smoothies, and the profits go to charity. i made 25 hats, which is not so much but every little bit counts, right? i had a lot of fun making these and finishing them with different pom-poms and crochet flowers. :)

 

that's all for now! :)

i'm back with another blogpost about paulie! :)

  today, i finished the body and started knitting on the sleeves. i love how it looks already, the fit is great and i love those bright stripes. i only hope blocking will even out some of my wonky stitches.  

 

 

 

sorry, picture overload.. :) 

it's not finished yet, but so far, i can recommend this pattern to anyone who's new to knitting sweaters/cardigans. it's well written, easy to follow and a good tv-knit once you're knitting the stripes. those stripes also make a bit more interesting. :)