Twinkle Big City Knits - Tuxedo Jacket

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finished this Tuxedo Jacket and it came out great!!!!

I promise I will get hubby to take pics of me wearing it so you can see what it looks like on!

First off... sorry this took so long. It's not that this pattern is hard or that it takes forever to work...

It's that I am in school and school is kicking my butt!

But my time there is (hopefully) almost done and then I can get back to my knitting!

So, I used Lion's Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Cranberry.

I was hoping it would be ok enough even though it's only 20% wool (80% acrylic) instead of the full 100% wool.

One skein of Lion T&Q is 6oz/170g... After doing some research, it seems the Twinkle yarn is 7oz/200g.

Not that I'm avoiding buying the Twinkle yarn... just that I'm an "instant gratification" girl...

I don't wanna order yarn to sit and wait for it to come...

I wanna just have it! :-P

Anyway, overall, it came out great and it fits well! YAY!

Again, thanks to the great folks on the KnittingHelp.com forum. I wasn't figuring out the whole yo, k1, yo mess til I went to them for help! :)

I sewed up those holes which really bum me out. If I do make this again (and I totally would) I'm not sure how I'd get around the holes. But sewing 'em up works just as well.

No more holes! Yay!

Looks better, right?

Always a cable with Twinkle! ;-)

Twinkle Big City Knits - Tuxedo Jacket

Third time's a charm?

Have you ever had a pattern just fall into place? Like, one day, it just makes sense and works out fine.

I've finally reached that day with this pattern. This is literally the third time I've re-worked this sweater.

I'm not sure if it's that my skill has improved or what, but all of a sudden I get it!

And thanks to my new friends over at KnittingHelp.com, I have gotten past that ridiculous (yo, k1, yo) into next st that was giving me such grief!

I still dunno why they included the words 'into next st' but feel free to ignore it!

It is just as simple as yo, k1, yo... twice! That's it!

Anyway, I can't even tell you how happy I am with this sweater. It's looking sooooo good!

Now my only beef with it is... how do I get rid of those holes created by the yo, k1, yo? Is there a different/better way to increase 2 sts without getting those holes?

See these holes... they really bum me out...

Twinkle Big City Knits - Twinkle Hoodie

Well... Back to the Twinkle Hoodie.

I think I've burned myself out on the hats and scarves so much that I'm actually really into the Hoodie now!

I think also it helps that I'm actually headed towards the end!

I just need to sew the sleeves together and the hood. Then just need to add the border, and then just add buttons! Yay!

This is coming out really cute and I do kinda sorta wish I'd added the pockets like the pattern calls for but I'm thinking maybe it wouldn't be too hard to still do anyway? I dunno...

I also still think that I don't need more attention drawn to my tummy with things like pockets. ;-)

From the Twinkle book...

Twinkle's Town & Country Knits

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Twinkle's latest book was released Tuesday and mine is set to come tomorrow!!!!

I can't wait to dig thru this one!

If it's anything like her 2nd book, I'm sure I'll love it!

I was telling hubby the other day that the Weekend Knits book was such a huge improvement over the Big City Knits book.

Not that the patterns are better (cause I LOVE the patterns in the Big City Knits book), but there were just so many errors in the patters in Big City Knits!

So far, I haven't found any errors in the Weekend Knits and the patterns are so easy and fast!

Can't wait to see what she has in here!

Twinkle's Big City Knits - Aspen Hat

This hat came out soooo cute and it's soooooo easy!
I'm lovin' these quick projects! They help me get thru my random yarn and they're a quick fix!

:)

I'd like to make another one with 2 different colors (ie - white brim and pink crown, etc)

I will say tho... I'm getting (really getting) the importance of gauge and checking it before making ANYTHING!

Also, importance to sticking with pattern rules (which I think goes back to gauge). This pattern calls for size #19 - 16" circular needles.

As far as I can tell, they don't exist!!! :-( (I've looked everywhere, called everywhere, online searched everywhere and nothin'!)

Anyway, so I made this hat with my size 17 - 16" circulars and it came out cuuuute but small.

I've pulled out my #19 - 24" circulars and am gonna try it again. Hopefully it'll come out correct (size-wise) but I worry about reaching a point in decreasing where the 24" will be too big for the hat!

Used Lion Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Fisherman (about 1/2 a skein).

Twinkle Hats

These hats are for hubby's BFF... I'd made him a hat as his Best Man present for our wedding and it was from a crochet pattern from the Stitch 'n Bitch Happy Hooker book and the hat (& pattern) are really cute. But my crochet comes out too loose! ANYTHING I make in crochet comes out too loose!

So I've abandoned crochet all together and have focused on knitting ever since!

We saw hubby's BFF back in May and in his cutest most polite way, he asked if the hat I'd made him was fixable. When he pulled it outta his bag, I almost died! It'd stretched out sooooo much (it was Stretch n' Bitch!) it looked like one of those macrame plant holders you'd hang in your backyard!

I promised him I'd make him new hats and so here they are!


First is the Snowcap hat from Twinkle's Weekend Knits (pattern on pg. 84).

This hat I kept for myself. It came out too big (cause I cast on extra stitches!) so I thought it'd be good for reducing hat-hair during the winter.

I love how "Dr. Zhivago" it looks.









This hat is supposed to be cast on with 36 stitches. With this one, I cast on 40... I couldn't find my 16" circular needles at the time and only had the size 17 -24" circular. So more stitches was easier! Anyway, I kinda like how big it is!

This hat works fast cause it's an easy pattern.

I've looked everywhere for errata on this book and can't seem to find any! Thank God!

This is the hat that was sent off to hubby's BFF. This is done to pattern.
Cast on 36 stitches and done with the correct Size 17 - 16" circular needles (which I found!). It's still big, which it's supposed to be!









Finally, the Twinkle Pilot hat from Twinkle's Big City Knits (pattern on pg. 94).

This pattern (and this whole book) is packed full of errata, but it is updated (and as recent as 4/08).

This hat also came out a bit big cause I also added stitches to it!

It calls for casting on 32 stitches and I cast on 36 cause the 1st time I made this hat, and followed the pattern, it came out so tiny, it didn't even fit the head of my little 3 yr old God-Daughter!

Anyway, I didn't add the sides or the top pom-pom cause I didn't think a grown man would want that on his new better-fitting hat.

:)

(Yarn used - Lion Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Navy)

Twinkle Big City Knits - Magic Shawl Wrap

YAY!!!!

I finally finished the birthday gift!!!

It's not that this pattern is hard or works slow...

It's just that I got busy with lots of other stuff!

Anyway, I enjoy working this pattern and I've really come to love Cable Knit!

Doubling the yarn (2 strands vs 1) made the wrap soooo much heavier, which will be awesome at winter time on a cool night!

I think doubling the yarn also helps the chunky look even more!

Overall , I think I ended up using 10 skeins of the Lion Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn (that's doubled... so 5 skeins x 2)...

And while I used the reg size 17 and 19 needles for the cable knits, I used size 17 & 19 Circular needles for the longer stuff, like picking up the 66 stitches across the smaller cable.

It's so much easier to work the piece using those circular needles for the longer stuff (a nice tip I've learned from the Twinkle book!).

After all this (and a month past her bday), I hope she likes it!

A pic of the pattern from the Twinkle book:

Twinkle's Big City Knits - Magic Shawl

So...

I did finish the 1st of the two cables (the shorter one) and I'm 3 cables into the longer one!

Once that one's done, then I can do the ribbing and connect it all together!

It works pretty fast, I just haven't worked on it much lately cause of finals...

But now that finals are over, I am back on it!

Twinkle's Big City Knits - Magic Shawl

So, I'm back to Twinkle.



























My good friend's b-day is coming up and I thought I'd make her somethin' this year!

I LOVE this shawl... Shawl. Wrap. Whatever...

It's too cute!

This will be the 2nd one I'll have made and so this one should work even faster and easier than the first!

I love that cable pattern! It's so easy too... I just love the weave it makes and how it really does come out to look like a braid... or even a pretzel!

It's here!!!!!!!

Yay!!! My Twinkle Weekend Knits came today!!!

I have to admit...

Part of me is a bit sketched out just cause the Twinkle Big City Knits has been so tough on me...

Many new gray hairs thanks to that book...

But I am excited to flip thru and see the cute things I'd like to try and make!

I already like the 2 hats and the tunic!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Twinkle Hoodie

Blah blah, blah blah...

I dunno why I'm having such a hard time getting into this one...

Esp since this one is fairly easy!

I think I'm a bit intimidated by the pockets.

The sleeves have been easy. And the rib (k2, p2) on the body is easy... Hopefully the rest will be too...

And I checked out the errata and it's definitely got some errors in the pattern. Ugh...
I wonder if I can leave the pockets off...

They are cute, tho.

Arg... :-/

Yarn: Lion Wool-Ease Thick 'n Quick in Fisherman (2 strands held together)

Needles: Size 17 and 19 - 24"

Etc: Marker, tape measure

Twinkle Pilot Hat

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Navy (2 strands together)

Needles: Size 19 circular - 24" long (and then switched down to size 15 circular - 16' long when I was getting to the top and it was getting too tight!)

Etc: Marker

Yay!!! Success!

I think this truly is the first pattern out of this Twinkle book that I've been able to get thru completely, without questions and without issue!

Hat is worked from bottom to top. Was supposed to cast on 32 stitches and I cast on 36 'cause the first time around (when I actually followed the pattern) it came out too tight and didn't fit on hubbby's head! Also did k2, p2 rib an extra 2 times cause, again, first time around, it wasn't long enough on hubby's head!

Still need to add on side ear-flap thingys...

Should be easy (at least it looks like it)!

Am happy that I was able to do this in a night. I think it took about 3-4 hrs (stopping and resting and all that).

:)

Cables!

And I was sooooo intimidated by them!

Now I'm obsessed with them!

Twinkle Tuxedo Jacket

Good God...

I think I have about 10 new Gray Hairs, thanks to this ridiculous sweater.

I know I'll never wear this... Aside from the fact that it looks TERRIBLE, and came out HORRIBLE, it doesn't fit right...

And the sick part is...

I'm gonna try it again!

Kill me now...