Pattern Tester looking for work!

My family needs some income and I'd love to help pattern designers.

I have been knitting and crocheting for about 5 years. I'm not an expert, but I've yet to find a pattern I was unable to follow with a little extra concentration. I have not yet tried Fair Isle knitting, but I would welcome the challenge.

My stitches are on the tight side, but not horribly so.

I have 30 hours per week with which to knit/crochet.

I am able to digitally photograph projects and post them on the internet for your viewing. I can, of course, email the photos, if that is more convenient for you.

Neat Stitch Markers

Pirates:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_6&listing_id=15376313

Dragon stitch marker set:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_6&listing_id=13163435

Hearthstone: (from World of Warcraft)
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10085035

Pac-Man and ghosts:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15388521

Aliens:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13900762

OMG, WTF, LOL
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15300274

Drinks
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11175371

Monkeys!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15043128

Rhino!!! (and other stuff)
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12735467

Dice
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14599336

Also Dice! (for crochet)
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12419730

These two and the first dice one will be added to my wishlist! :)
Turtles
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15264513

Pumpkins
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15472651

Need to Frog a Finished Sock

I have decided that my first ever finished sock (with a toe) is too big.

So, I'm going to frog the toe out and one repeat of the lace pattern. Then re-do the toe.

Unfortunately, I can't do this until I finish the second sock: my needles are all tied up in that. (No pun intended. :))

I'm a goober.

I'm working on my second monkey sock and I found I had an extra stitch when I got to the end of the heel flap. Everything looks even and nice, so I just knit two stitches together and got on with turning the heel.

When I got to the end of the heel turning, I was short a stitch.

It turns out that I didn't have an extra stitch, I just misread the pattern. But I didn't realise that until I had frogged almost the entire heel flap.

Oh, well. At least the heel flap knits up quickly. :)

First Real Sock!

I made my first real sock! :)



I used the Monkey Sock pattern from knitty.com. The pattern is really clear and easy to understand.

I found myself getting confused about which row I was on in the lace pattern. So, I used a sticky tab to keep track of where I was. I think I need to get one of those things you click the button on and the number changes.

The pattern is designed for a longer leg, but I wanted short socks. So, I only went through the lace pattern twice before starting the heel-flap.

It's a cuff down pattern, and the toe is kitchener stitch. Man, kitchener is fun! And look how good it came out on my first attempt ever.

Pedicure Socks!

I finished my first pair of socks a couple weeks back.



They are toe-less so when mom goes to get pedicures in the winter, she doesn't have to stuff her pretty toes into her shoes and mess them up. With these, she can put them on before the paint, then put her sandals on. Her feet will stay warm, but her toes won't get smudged. :)

I used Patons SWS yarn (a mix of wool and soy). It was really nice to work with.

These socks had me using DPNS (double-pointed needles) and knitting in the round. Two things I had never done before. :)

Sock #1: Complete!

And we have a heel flap

My First Sock

I am incredibly excited! I started my first sock yesterday. Granted, it's a toeless sock, but it's a sock! :)

Here is the pattern I'm using: Pedicure Socks.

This is a picture of the cuff: 1 inch of 2x2 ribbing.



It's my first time using double-pointed needles. The cast-on was much easier than I expected it to be. Knitting in the round is so fun.

After working on it just yesterday, I'm ready to work on the heel. Here is my progress so far:

OMG It's August!

Hello!

It's been forever since I posted. Let's see... what have I made since April?

The Tychus Hat
This is a pattern from knitty.com. It's an adult sized hat that taught me to do short rows and color changing. It's all knit-stitch, so it knitted up super fast! I used red and grey Red Heart yarn and the colors look really great together.

** I don't have a photo of this item.

Baby Tychus Hat
I had decided to give the Tychus Hat to Brian's Brother-in-Law and I thought it would be cute if they had a matching hat to fit their son. So, using the same yarn and much smaller needles (2s), I made the Baby Tychus Hat. It took FOREVER! Knitting worsted weight yarn on size 2 needles is not something I plan on ever attempting again. But the hat was so cute once it was finished.

I made my first pom-pom to go on the peak of the baby hat.

** I don't have a photo of this item.

Heather's scarf
I had some purple yarn that just called out "Heather" to me. So, I made Heather a scarf with it. I learned 2x2 ribbing and added fringe on both ends. I gave it to her for her birthday and she loved it.

** I don't have a photo of this item.

Dishcloths
I have made three dishcloths with the same pattern and cotton yarn. The first was orange and beige. The second, orange and green. The latest is red and green for Christmas. It's intended to be a gift for my mother's pedicurist. That's the one in the photo.

Update! :)

Wow! It's been a long time since I've updated. Brian and I got engaged recently, so between school and wedding stuff I've hardly had time to do any yarn work.

I finished the set of dishcloths/washcloths and the bathmat for John and Jennie. To give it to them, we rolled up the items and put them in a basket. Around each item, like a napkin ring almost, we printed out labels. The labels said things like: 1388 wishes for a happy marriage. The number indicated the number of stitches involved in that item. The card said something like: each stitch contains our love and a wish for your future.

Sadly, I forgot to get a picture of the basket (or the items) before we gave it to them.

This weekend I felt a bit under the weather, so I spent most of it on the couch knitting (even though I didn't have the time to do that).

I have made much progress on the knitted scarf for Heather. It will definitely be done in time for her birthday. Though I may wait for Christmas anyway since she won't have any need for a scarf in Southern California in July.

The scarf ended up being 2x2 ribbing with 32 stitches per row. This way, every row is the same. It was too hard to determine which row I should do. The boucle yarn makes it so hard to see the stitches.

I started my first knitted hat. It involves two colors; I've never knitted with two colors before. And it involves short rows; something else I've never done. It's coming along very well.

Since it's an educational piece, I pulled out the worst yarn from my stash: RedHeart. It squeaks as I use it. Ick! The colors are nice though. A cherry red and a heathered gray. I didn't have the right sized needles (9), so I'm making it on 8s. If it doesn't fit, I won't care. I probably should have used 10s, but Heather's scarf is using my size 10 needles.

Sip or Stitch is meeting tonight. The week before last, we had seven people. Last week we only had 4.