I seem to continue to fail at keeping my knitting blog updated. I think a lot of this has to do with ravelry. Just so easy to update your projects with pictures and leave it there. So, as I haven’t been good about keeping this blog updated-
friend me on ravelry! my username there is ‘hobbitknitter’
Hope to hear from you guys!
-Sarah E.
Posted in Uncategorized
So I’m going through my WIP basket. Good. Lord. Woman. I have waaay too much on the needles that needs attending to!
1) Shetland Shorty.
I just need to finish this. It’s about 1/3 done and looking very cute and I know I will wear it when it’s finished. So that’s my lace project.
2) LOTR socks #1: elvish script.
These are going to be so flipping amazing! I’ll post a picture soon. They’re very time consuming, though, with an intricate fair isle pattern and US #0 needles.
3) LOTR socks #2: Gandalf.
These are bulky weight wool socks which will have Gandalf’s “G” rune embroidered on the cuff. Very cute and warm for cold practice rooms.
I’m going to have to post the patterns for both of these socks. 
Nerds unite! …YEAH!
4) Boomtown Scarf.
Inspired by a scarf Rose wears in an episode of Doctor Who (Boomtown, season 1… why yes I am a hopeless nerd). It’s reeeeaally pretty and uses 4 different colors of variegated bulky weight wool, and a stitch pattern I designed myself. Another pattern I’m going to need to post!
5) Annoying sweater
It’s supposed to be Salina, but I messed up somewhere and am so over it! Going to be ripped and made into something new and fabulous. Possibly with a nerdy overtone to it just to keep the theme going.
Yay summer projects!
-Sarah Elizabeth
Posted in knitting
Long time no see.
Finished my sophomore year! No knitting was done at all. Buuuut I got straight A’s, so I suppose it’s worth it.
I feel very in the need of knitting right now though. A friend of mine, who was in the same class with me and who I took all my core music classes with, was hit by a car and died Sunday night. He was loved by all his friends and it’s really shaken us all up. I can’t concentrate on reading at all but I definitely need something to ease my mind and keep my hands busy. I suppose now is the time to test the whole knitting as therapy thing, eh?
I’m sure I’ll be posting more this summer – I have a lot of projects planned and should have lots to show you.
-Sarah Elizabeth
Posted in miscellaneous
Amazingly, I have another finished project to show you!
Yes… it’s a Tardis. AKA a time machine/spaceship/thingie disguised as an English Police Box. And it’s bigger on the inside. Dr. Who would approve.
I’ve also got yarn to start a great quest… designing the most amazing socks ever. They’ve already got quite a promising name – ‘footsteps of doom.’ And will feature the elvish script from the one ring (yes, lord of the ring reference – 2nd nerdy reference in this post) in fair isle on the cuff and foot. To be worn with black or maroon converse (kinda a nerdy reference #3) while conquering the world! YEAH! One sock to rule them all! Or one pair. Either way. The yarn is claudia handpaints and cost 42 (4th nerdy reference) dollars for 3 skeins… kind of ridiculous but it is SO pretty and I am super excited. I found the chart online, and have worked it out to redistribute the script over the amount of stitches I’m working… and it’s going to be pure awesomeness.
I love break and time to do what I WANT! It’s so awesome. I even had time to experiment with my hair. I used the Clairol Shine Happy treatment – I’ve read mixed reviews, some loving it and some saying really godawful but kind of exciting things like that it dyed their hair orange. So in an impetuous moment of risk-taking I did it. No exciting disasters to report, but it did seem to lighten it some and bring out my highlights. And it’s pretty. So I’m happy.
-Sarah ‘liz
Posted in knitting, miscellaneous
Why hello. It’s been…. forever!
I’m currently in the middle of my delightfully long winter break, with 2 full weeks left before I go back to school. Last semester was incredibly intense and I barely got through in one piece with my sanity intact.. but I did it. With A’s in everything but one class, which I got a B in… so yay. Once break hit I was able to start catching up on my MUCH needed sleep, which has been awesome!
I don’t even know where to START with catching this blog up with everything that’s been going on. Suffice it to say, for me, as for everyone, life has undergone many changes, many trials have been met, many hurdles overcome… and all the rest of that cliché business. But I’m still in school, still a music major (though I’m not sure I’ll stay one… I might end up switching to English. I’ll never graduate!), still teaching piano and working in retail (though for how much longer I’ll have THAT job is somewhat worrisome), still a huge nerd and still the ‘mama’ to the most awesome dog in existence. And, still knitting!
This break, I’ve knit a hat:
It’s the Who hat! The cables are actually little owls. I still need to add eyes, but I love love LOVE this hat… it’s adorable and funky and sooooo me!
I finished my crocheted bathmat as well:
So. Cute. I’m thrilled with how it came out.
I’ve been slowly teaching all of my friends who don’t know how to knit… to knit. And hanging out with fellow knitters has been a huge part of winter break for me! On friday 5 of us got together and worked on our projects… I made a washcloth in the time:
Nothing too complicated, I alternated garter stitch, moss stitch, and yo k2tog lace. It’s really squishy and amazing.
And now I’m back to working on the Salina sweater from Rowan Vintage Knits. I’m really hoping to get it finished this winter – it’s been on the needles for a LONG time and I need to stop neglecting it and get it done! I’ve found a new tv show that I’m quite in love with – Dr. Who – and it has been providing good entertainment while I knit. And that’s what I think I’m going to go do now.
-Sarah Elizabeth
Posted in knitting
Hello my faithful readers,
Well, I have not died! School has been atrociously busy and I’ve not had much time to catch my breath. Things are going well, though; I like all my classes (though they’re all quite intensive) and life is good. Lots of changes, but I suppose that’s what life is… change after change, and you just have to adapt.
I have been knitting. It’s been really therapeutic for me to pull out my knitting and work on things. I don’t have much progress on anything to show, though, so I’ll wait until next time to post pictures.
I should at the moment be studying for a number of quizes and exams I have coming up. I sadly have a huge case of fall fever and can’t concentrate on ANYTHING! And so I’ve put my hair in curlers, watched a few too many silly things on youtube, and eaten a bit too much chocolate. But hey. Everyone deserves a break.
Let me know what you’re all up to! I’ll try to post pictures of my projects soon.
-Sarah ELizabeth
Posted in miscellaneous
hello all -
sorry I haven’t posted in awhile! I’ve been busy with work and getting ready for school, and not a lot of knitting has been happening, although I am halfway done with the back of my shetland shorty. I entered the ravelympic WIP wrestling with my shorty and my crocheted bathmat, but I fear that I will fail this time around – time is short, and as classes start on Monday (tomorrow!) and they look to be fearfully time consuming, there’s not going to be a whole lot of time to bust out two FOs in the next week.
However, I definitely plan on keeping knitting through the school year; so if I don’t post as often, at least it shouldn’t be a complete hiatus like my freshman year!
-Sarah Elizabeth
Posted in miscellaneous
On my way upstairs to write this post, my brothers grabbed me and said ‘Sarah! look! the dog on The Bells of St. Mary’s looks exactly like Bosco!” And so I looked. And it was very true. Except for the tail (Bosco’s is cropped), they really do look exactly alike! I realized that I haven’t posted a pic of Bosco in awhile so here ya go:
Adorable, right? He’s grown up into a really sweet dog. Totally a momma’s boy, he misses me a lot when I’m gone!
I’ve been really excited about knitting and fibery stuff lately. Working on all my projects, planning out things to make with my stash yarn and fiber, spending hours on the ever-so-addicting ravelry looking at the hundreds of amazing creations; it’s been loads of fun, and I’ve really gotten all my enthusiasm for textiles back (not that it ever went anywhere, it was just in hibernation because of classes). Today I was feeling particularly inspired and excited about all things fiber-goodness, and decided to go to the bookstore and buy a knitting book. Our local Barnes and Noble has a very large knitting book section, so I felt confident that I’d find something irresistible to take home with me. So I went. And I looked through many, many books. And I didn’t buy one. So I looked through the knitting magazines, and left similarly empty-handed (I did, however, pick up a copy of Spin*Off – which I feel is consistently the best fiber magazine out there. I need to renew my subscription!).
When I first started really getting into knitting the really cool knitting books were just starting to come on the scene. The books were where awesome knitting patterns lived. But as the years have gone by* the face of knitting has changed. The awesomest patterns are no longer only found in the books or magazines – they’re found, almost primarily, online. And so many of them are free! Take socks. The sock has been given a total makeover by amazing designers like Cookie A. And so many of these incredible designs are available online – half the time, for free. It’s really something when you think about it, and when you’ve just come from your computer, ogling a dozen different tantalizing free sock patterns on ravelry, books like The Best of Interweave Knits: Socks fall… incredibly flat. We should be really, really grateful for all the generous designers out there who put their designs up for free (or very low cost!).
In other news, have you seen the Twist Collective yet? It’s an interesting idea for an e-zine – articles are free, patterns are US $7 for download. It’s an interesting concept, and they’ve gathered a very strong group of designers for their first issue. My favorite patterns of the group are Bonnie (omg. I. love. this. sweater. the very last thing I need to do right now is start another sweater. But I am so tempted. So, so tempted), lissajous knee socks (WOW), cleite (it’s a potential pattern for the laceweight yarn I’m spinning, if I ever finish it!), and empoisonnée (yarnissima – whose patterns I’ve recently discovered on rav and am completely in love with). The photography is beautiful, the articles interesting; and overall it’s definitely worth checking out.
Oh yeah, and I’ve been knitting:
The lace stitch is ridiculously easy and I’ve already memorized it. I’m kinda bored. But I know I’ll wear this to school a lot, and it’s very cleverly constructed and I’m eager to get to the finishing part, so I’m plodding on. Hopefully I can finish it next week!
-Sarah Elizabeth
*”as the years have gone by?” this post is making me feel old. For the record, I started knitting when I was 10 (before it was the hot cool thing to do) and am now almost 20)
Posted in knitting, miscellaneous
Now that The Eternal Sweater is completely off the needles (does another happy dance) I’ve started a couple other projects. One is actually a crochet project – a mat for my newly painted bathroom:
I’m working it in bright cottons and broad stripes and loving the way it’s coming out. Single crochet on a G hook, 12 rows of a color and then 3 rows of white, repeat and repeat… =) It’s a nice easy project to work on when watching tv.
And I also started my Shetland Shorty from the latest Knitty!
Only on row 2 and already knitted over 300 stitches. 
But I want to finish this before school starts – on August 18th. I’m sad that my summer is almost gone!
-Sarah Elizabeth
That’s my word of the day. Done. The Eternal Sweater is DONE!!!
I did lengthen the sleeves, and I’m pretty happy with the fit now. If I made it again, in addition to adding almost 4 inches to the sleeve length, I’d add more length to the body as well – though I absolutely CANNOT be bothered to go back and do that now, and it’s quite long enough to be wearable. I do need to block it out though – the many kitchenered stitches which adorn the sweater in particular need to be blocked and evened out.
But YAY! ETERNAL SWEATER IS DONE! And I’ll get to wear it this winter! Huzzah!
Stay tuned for news of exciting NEW projects! 
Posted in knitting
