Fingerless Mitt Progress

It's day 2 of my pattern designing and so far the fingerless mitt is looking like I expected it to, so that's good. I've completed 3 repeats of the cable pattern and here's how it looks:

I'm pleased that this is both looking like I expected and also coming out the size I expected. I've struggled with making swatches in the past and I've decided that while I normally knit in the gauge that is given in patterns, once I try to figure out my own gauge it usually goes very wrong. The last time I made something using my own gauge (entrelac beret) it came out waaay bigger than I intended. So I've decided that instead of making a gauge and casting on based on that, I'm going to cast on what I think is right, knit for a bit and work from there. I know my technique is pretty much swatching...but it works much better for me than knitting a square and counting rows and stitches. 

Anyway here's a look at my notebook I'm using for writing down my thoughts as I make up the pattern:

All I have to say is that mini-sticky notes are the best. They are perfect for adding notes and counting off rows. A full sized sticky note would cover too much space on the page and take away from my other notes. I know you must be thinking, you have a whole notebook...why use sticky notes too? But there's good reasoning behind it, I can bring the stickies for counting around with me without risking damaging my notebook and then I can add them in when I'm done. They also make it easier for me to compile my thoughts from other patterns I've done and then I can stick them in the right spot with the rest of my notes. So, as you can see, sticky notes are legit. 

That's all for today. I know it's short, and for the next few days it probably will be, but I figure some is better than none and at least you can see my progress from day to day. 

Long Time No Post

Well, as usual I've let blogging fall by the wayside. Mostly because, I guess, I'd rather be knitting than writing about knitting. However, I've gotten some good things done since my last post.
I finished the shawl I was working on:

I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. But it did seem a bit smaller than I expected so hopefully I can block it into a bigger size. The pattern was simple enough to bring around with me but also interesting enough that I didn't get bored.  

After such an involved lace project I decided to go for a quick project. So I went for a market bag. I found the yarn and a pattern at the Westport yarn store where I went with Lindsay labor day weekend. I'm really pleased with the end result. The bag is nice and stretchy and I can fit a pair of jeans and a pair of shoes with a t-shirt in it for after work.

The yarn was really nice to work with, so I might try to find a worsted weight cotton project so I can use it again. 

Now I've decided it's time to try the dreaded pattern design. I've decided to make some arm warmers that are basically fingerless gloves that go to my elbows. I chose a cable pattern out of  my "Very Easy Guide to Cable Knitting" book, and am hoping that I can figure out the thumb gusset myself when I get there. So far I've done the cuff and one repeat of the 12 row cable pattern:

So far so good. However I feel like I haven't reached any of the hard parts yet...I've been doing well writing everything down so hopefully I'll be able to make both gloves match. I'm also hoping this project goes well so that I can gain the confidence to design more patterns in the future. 

I've also started a pair of socks on the side as my travelling project, since they will be both portable and hopefully not as involved as my improvised project. So far no pictures of those yet since I've only knit about 3 rows of the first sock cuff...

Well I guess that's all for now. Partly because I've run out of knitting things to talk about, and partly because of that thing where I'd rather be knitting than writing about it. Hopefully I can keep up the blogging and keep track of the progress I make on my fingerless gloves/arm warmers and also any sock progress, though that doesn't seem promising for this week.