Absolutely gorgeous!  Somehow I'd passed over the winter IK issue, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to go buy it after seeing your awesome sweater 

[the head vampire:]

The neckline!  I totally see it - I think that would definitely help.  I'll try to work on it tomorrow when I'm awake again and post pics if it turns out ok     Thanks for the comments!!

the head vampire:  it totally feels like a landmark!  I remember this serger from my childhood as the thing next to the sewing machine that made my mom say "ack!  no!  don't touch that!"  (which I totally sympathise with now after having had to thread it  ) so making myself sit down and try it out feels like I really accomplished something new.

Awesome!!  I love the color and cable pattern.  They look like they fit really well and are super comfy too!!

 Isn't finishing the first pair of socks like one of the biggest feelings of accomplishment?  I remember being like "OHMYGOSH they actually turned out like real socks!" when I made mine 

Those are beautiful!  The colors all blend together so well    I adore them!

Colorwork is the main big knitting thing left that still scares me, but the thought of being able to make awesome stuff like this is helping me start to get over that fear!

This is pretty simple, but it's the first actual useable thing I've made with my new serger!  My mom gave me her old serger over the holidays (an old-ish Babylock) and I finally got up the nerve to try it out today!  After at least half an hour spent threading the damn thing (the manual wasn't kidding when it suggested having tweezers handy) and a couple more hours getting acclimated and adjusting tension & such, I got bored with making little hemmed squares and decided to just go for it.




(sorry about the weird angle in this one!)

The shirt's made from two cheap XL men's t-shirts I got from Hobby Lobby.  For the fitted top part, I chopped off the shirt about 2 inches below the armholes and saved the bottom for later.  I traced the outline of one of my favorite shirts over the top part to make it fitted - I cut off the arms and adjusted the sleeve holes and sleeves to be smaller.  Then sewed the sleeves back on & sewed up the side seams.  Next I took the leftover bottom of the shirt, gathered it at its top, and sewed it all together in the middle, and tada!  Cute shirt, and I used my serger to make something real.   

It's really basic but I'm proud that I sat down and actually tried out the serger!  It could definitely use some sort of finishing touch, but I'm kinda stuck on what - there's lots of t-shirt fabric left and I've also got a decent button collection but nothing I'm coming up with feels quite right.  Any ideas for what I could do?

Gorgeous!! I'm totally awed 

Majorly cute!!!  I may have to buy it soooon 

Super cool!!  I would figure out ways to wear that even when it wasn't cold anymore 

Thank you all!! 

Zia:  It was knit in pieces and seamed up, and the collar picked up from the neck, but it seems like a simple enough pattern that figuring out how to do it in one piece (or at least the body in one piece!) would probably be do-able

em_a_bee:  Totally!!  This was way easier than the first sweater I ever made.  The big yarn makes it go super fast, and the seaming and stuff goes faster than usual too cause there aren't really very many stitches.  I'd absolutely recommend it.

Again thanks for all the nice comments    I really appreciate you guys looking and letting me know what you think!

I am in love!!  This sweater was SO fast, simple yet still interesting, I managed to get the yarn on sale, and to top it off it turned out just the way I wanted 

     

(click for bigger pics!)

Pattern:  Anise by Sarah Hatton from Rowan New Shapes
Yarn:  Rowan Big Wool in color 24

I would totally recommend this pattern to pretty much anyone.  It's the most instant-gratification sweater I've ever done - the toughest part was probably sewing on the snaps (the front buttons are just sewn on the panel, and behind the buttons are snaps which actually close up the front, eliminating the problem of big, gappy, wonky buttonholes). 

The Big Wool is really soft, and blocked beautifully right into the shape I wanted.  I will note that it definitely got bigger with blocking, so this is definitely a yarn you want to wash & test your swatch for!  I loved making this sweater and I will definitely be trying to find more discounted Big Wool so I can make more of the stuff from this book