Knitting Addiction

Back?

2006-09-12T11:53:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'm back.

It's official.

I can't knit during the summer. I finished one Great American Aran Afghan square over the summer and that was it. One square. Everything else I picked up got immediately put back down.

I think it's the heat/stickiness of the summer that makes me not want to touch wool or even cotton. And you know what? I'm ok with that!

I have a ton of yarn that I need to use before I can even remotely justify buying ANYTHING new. If I do buy something new, it'll probably be sock yarn. >.> Melanie designed some absolutely fabulous Snowflake Socks that I'm coveting! There's also a Knitty pattern that is a crazy crazy cabled sock pattern that might be a "long term project.

Actually. I'm rather pleased by the mag knits/knitty stuff this fall. The fall Interweave Knits is also looking good. I poked at the new Vogue Knitting and eh. We'll see.

Anyway. Getting back into the swing of things. SLOWLY.

Wendy's Book!

2006-06-25T13:45:00.000-04:00

Got it, brought it home, spent all afternoon devouring it. Go get it! Go get it now! It's both an interesting read AND some of her really nice patterns (including the grape arbor shawl) are included. So wonderful!

Expect changes. I'm not COMPLETELY sure what changes specifically or when EXACTLY they will happen. But they will. Thanks you.

Thoughts

2006-06-23T17:13:00.000-04:00

I'm alive but life is so complicated and horrible, I'm not sure how "alive" I am for purposes of blogging. I won't give out details though, admittedly, if you're on my lj you MIGHT be hearing some.

I've knitted a little--most of a sock with the MS&W festival yarn--but not much. I've been reading a few knitting blogs religiously but that's about it. I remember I fell into a knitting funk about this same time last year--must be something about the season change + wool. Dunno.

Having been reading Wendy (of course), I feel an itch to do Alice Starmore and/or Fair Isle. But I have things on the needles that really should be finished.

...or should they? I've had an ABSOLUTELY INSANE urge to pull out all the work I've done on Kinsale in the past year. AM I CRAZY? maybe.

I'm going to knit a sock. Tell me it's a bad idea, even though Kinsale is a bit smocky....

Alive!

2006-05-09T12:21:00.000-04:00

I'm alive again.

Finals over and done with, trips done for now. Whew. :)

I did make it to MD Sheep and Wool with my sister and Jen and her husband. We had fun but all my pictures areeeee.... back in MD with my family. Doh!

I'll do more details later and I'm sorry to say, it's going to be lots of socks for a while, folks. ;)

Here!

2006-04-13T11:52:00.000-04:00

I'm here alive, I promise. I've had 4 tests in three weeks and my parents are visiting so that's eaten up my brainpower lately.

I'm insanely late in both sending out my last Secret Pal package (ooh, I hope she likes some of the stuff) and in saying OMFG THANK YOU! to Willow for her package to me! I love that Cascade color! And those labels!?! So cute! Also, I sent a notebook to my secretpal too, I think we're on the same creepy wavelength! Woo!

I'll put up a picture in a couple days.

Huge thank you!!!!!!!!!11!1! to Willow. You are an amazing secret pal!!!!! THank you. :)

Socks!

2006-03-31T19:21:00.000-05:00

Sure, they don't match, but they're comfy!

And what will these be? Hmm, I wonder!

These are Knitpicks Memories 100% merino sock yarn. The colors are Yukon and Redwood Forest. Much lovelier than the usual knitpicks colors so I'm rather pleased. Soft as hell but no nylon so they won't be as sturdy. But the colors! Oh my god.

I need to make these socks as long as I'm in the mood to do so. I'm going to be casting on for the other pink sock as soon as I finish the tests tomorrow and clean the house. Then the other blue THEN I can start the new stuff. Will I make it?? We'll see.....

!

2006-03-28T18:54:00.000-05:00

Did you guys know there were a bunch of bunch of free lace shawl patterns by big names on Vogue Knitting's site?

I'm sure many of you are as excited by free neat patterns as I am! ;)

Knitting Group

2006-03-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

Soooo, I have about 6-7 skeins of Rowan Big Yarn Fusion in a pretty green color. It's BIG. Seems to need size 17-19 needles. I'm not entirely sure what to do with it. Ideas?

The people I'm meeting at my knitting group are really really nice. I enjoy their company and it's so nice to see people face to face to talk about knitting with and to share ideas. We have a variety of knitting experience levels, books, interests and so it means we have a lot of diversity. We decided to try all knitting socks together. Since I have the basics down, I decided that means I need to try knitting top down socks instead of toe up as a learning experience. Quite possibly a scary learning experience. :)

Still, it's nice to be around other knitters. Hopefully this is going to end up a weekly group!

Socks!

2006-03-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

I promised pictures! I was finally prodded into taking one. I started a second one. I can hear the howls of anguish out there. NO! You immediately cast on for the SAME SOCK!!!!

Well phooey on you. ;) Here's my socks:

I can hear a few of you going "Oh NO! It's the Pink Sock Yarn of DOOM!" It is!!!! But this time I'm going to finish it comma damn it. I've already gone around the heel!!

I have to point out the short row toes:

and, not to be left out, the short row heels:

I had the fabulous timing of Wendy working on some socks at the same time and she went over how she picks up the wrapped stitches for the short rows in this post here. Thus, my short rows are neater on this second sock than the first. I'm also watching fit very closely this time around and already it's fitting better. I'm going to try the Picot Point Chain Edging by Nona as a cast off for these. Why? Because I'm dumb. I dunno. I can try it and if it's a bad idea or just....not good....I can always rip the cast off back and do the E.Z. one. Either way, it's making me far more confident.

Yarn for each: the blue is Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Tahoe and the pink is Opal....something. Opal sock yarn, I don't know where the band for it is. :)

Lace!

2006-03-20T16:55:00.000-05:00

Wow.

I was looking at The Princess Diaries (oh god, how I want to knit that pattern one day) and one of the knitters linked to several articles about lace by Eunny.

If you enjoy lace or are interested, good look at them!!!

Majoring in Lace: Part I

Majoring in Lace: Part II

Majoring in Lace: Part III

A great little introduction. :)

Finished!

2006-03-18T11:55:00.000-05:00

I actually finished a sock. I know this is shocking news but it's true.

I used Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Tahoe and a mix of various bamboo size 2 dpns. I used Wendy's Generic Toe Up Sock with Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Cast Off for a stretch edge though I have a touch of figuring out HOW I finish the very end of that bind off--it loops everything on a line around the edge of the cuff and thus can be too tight so it's a learning thing.

I'll have to do a bit more fine tuning when it comes to size on various parts of the foot as I have one of those odd feet that sorta tapers and thus needs to be sized through the whole thing. Still, I am very pleased that I actually FINISHED a sock. Now I just have to make one to match. ;)

Today I'm going to a local knitting group meeting--it's the inaugural one for my town and I'm hoping it'll be good. All I need are one or two cool people and I'll be happy. :) I'm not sure what projects I'm taking yet but I do know I need to clean out my big tote to transport things. I think I'll take 2-3 projects with me so I can choose what I want to play with in case I get bored. You know me. I'll even take that pink sock yarn I've been tortured with for so long. I think I want plain st-st with a picot cast off for my next set. I'll concentrate on getting it to fit really well with this next one. I'll also toy with making my short rows neater. They were a TON better this time but I still have a great deal of room for improvement. :)

It's going to be a knit filled day!!

(Yes, I'll put a picture up. Next time.)

Still Knitting

2006-03-12T14:25:00.000-05:00

See? Those are my on the needles projects. Yes. There's four now. Hush.

Anyway, three of them you've seen (the Clapotis, the Dalegarn pullover, and the Kinsale) and the only new one is what I'm going to show today!

Did you think I could just pick up that Tahoe last weekend and not start something? :) Haha. No, didn't think so. I'm using Wendy's Toe Up Sock pattern. Isn't that color lovely?? I think so too. This is PRETTY close, in all honesty--took it in some natural light for once.

Take a look at those short rows! I paid close attention to HOW I picked up the short rows and I think it made a real difference in the way they came together. No holes!

It's knitting up fast. God, I loooooooooooove Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock. Such wonderful yarn. :)

2006-03-05T20:52:00.000-05:00

What trip to Threadbear Fiber Arts? I don't know what you're talking about. And that's certainly not 2 sets of doublepoint needles or 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepard Socks in the Tahoe colorway. No siree.

Willow!

2006-03-04T12:15:00.000-05:00

OMG how WONDERFUL!

Take a look at what my secret pal just sent me!!!

That would be: 2 balls of Elann's Peruvian Collection Baby Cashmere--I cannot tell you how soft this yarn is!!!, 3 packets of camomile tea (yum!), the new Enya cd (which makes me laugh because my very strict and uptight dad loves Enya so there's a soft spot in my heart for her lovely music) and, most exciting of all---Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman! I'm now going to curl up in a bath, mooning over the beautiful things in the book!

Thank you, Willow! It made my day!!!

Pictures!

2006-02-25T09:09:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love some progress pictures??

Here we have the Dalegarn baby sweater. I'm about 2/3rds of the way to the body shaping/split for front back. That'll be interesting as I've never had a sweater that did that before. Learning experience!

And here's my miniclapotis. I've done section 1 and 2. I've finished one repeat of section 3 and I'm partway through repeat 2 of 8 total. It's going fast and I do have a different sort of appreciation for the pattern now that I understand what I'm doing better. :) Also, this yarn is deliciously soft and wonderful.

Still knitting. But having several projects to work on is keeping me from getting too bored. Hooray!

Knitting!

2006-02-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

I promise I'm still knitting. ;) I'm finished a good part of the bottom body of the Dalegarn sweater--I'm about 1.5 inches from doing the shaping for the body at this point. It's very easy and mindless--st-st in the round so knitknitknitknit--which means it's perfect for tv watching.

However, I was thinking last night about the yarn I got at the Maryland S&W. I have 200 yarns of Spirit Trail Fibers 50% silk/50% merino wool worsted weight. It is as luscious as the Lion and Lamb so I'm probably going to do a Mini-Clapotis variation though I'm a little worried that even that wouldn't be small enough for the 200 yards. Ah well, I can at least try. It's so pretty--pinks and roses.

Anyway, a bit later this afternoon, I'll start working on it. Once I get a bit of progress, I'll take pictures of both baby sweater and mini-clapotis and get em posted.

Sweater!

2006-02-20T09:05:00.000-05:00

Jen gets the virtual cookie! It is the start of a Dalegarn chick outfit. :)

However, this time I'm making the pullover, rather than dress. Want to see? I know you do.

I did this all yesterday. Yes, I was avoiding other things while knitting. Hush.

Wanna see the chickies?

And since I know a few of you (Tersa, I'm looking at you) will ask to see the floats:

Sam decided he was going to help me in that last picture. That's a little Sammy knee. I'm pleased with how the floats are progressing. Additionally, I know what a little blocking will do for things. :)

Anyway, on to project details.

It is Dalgarn #139 for Baby which is a pdf so click on the link with warning. You can see the various chick outfits a few clicks down in that document. I'm making the pullover that's on the page with the girl in the chick hat but in the dress colorway. (Confused yet?)

ANYWAY, I'm using Dale's Baby Ull which is a superwash merino in the fingerling weight. I have to tell you, this is a soft soft wool. It moves easily through the fingers while knitting it, shows stitches nicely and is generally easy to work with. Sam also likes to pet it and rub his cheek against it. Add to it that it can be tossed in a washing machine and I am in love with this yarn! :D And since it comes in colors OTHER than baby pastels, it might just have become my new fingerling weight yarn of choice. :)

I've tried this part of things before. It is much easier this time around. I was contemplating this and finally reached a few conclusions. I can knit better. It's just plain old practice to start, pure and simple. I've done some colorwork and can read charts/patterns better. Because of this, I'm less confused AND I'm not freaked out by the floats on the back of things. I've also learned not to switch which yarn is the "main" yarn as I'm doing colorwork. I'm not entirely sure I could explain that concept but it is making a difference thanks to a few comments I got on my journal re: the hat.

And once again, looking through the catalogue, I'm dying to knit some of the sheer adoreableness contained within. Sam's too big for this stuff though. :( I think, however, once I finish this, I'd be ready for Baby Norgi. We'll see.

And Kinsale? She's lounging around and taking a little break. We'll both be better for it.

FINALLY

2006-02-18T17:53:00.000-05:00

NBC has finally made me feel like the US broadcasts of the Winter Olympics are actually about the games and not just the silly antics of the American athletes (if I have to hear about Bode Miller or Johnny Weir or that idiot snowboarder girl one more time, I may well scream). I've been watching the games like I always do when they're on. I have zero interest in joining the knitting olympics (I knit for fun, not pressure) but I'm knitting DURING the Olympics. So there. ;) Anyway.

They did a story about the rivalry between the Norweigian and Italian cross country relay teams. They called it, unsurprisingly, the Great Race. If you didn't get to see it, you can buy it for 2 bucks though I don't know if, in good conscience, I could say this is a must buy. Either way, they took it seriously enough that it was narrated by Sam Waterson. They used the audio of the Norweigan and Italian broadcasters of the race and interviewed the athletes and coaches of each team.

Mind you, I'm the type to get sniffly and soppy about sports. I've always loved sports and I've especially loved the Winter Olympics. Additionally, I have a major soft spot for Norway. I once taught the son of a Norweigan exchange officer way back when and he is still my favorite student ever. Additionally, Scott spent time in Norway so I know far more about it than most other countries outside the United States. So obviously, this story caught my attention more than most. I was GLAD to see a non-US centric story that wasn't about one individual. It was nice to watch.

Also, Norway is the country of origin for my new project so there's a tenuous knitting link.

Onward....

2006-02-18T16:56:00.000-05:00

So, Kinsale gets bigger by the day. Take a peek:

Looking nice, eh? That's a better idea of the color, btw. Love that natural light. I measured just before coming to post. That's 30.5 cm. I need to get to 70 cm so I'm getting close to halfway. I'm also getting faster at working each row....kinda.

Problem is, I'm getting bored of it. Not the pattern itself but working only that every time I get a chance to pick up the needles. The boredom is actually hurting things--the more bored I get, the more mistakes I make and the more I'm having to pick back.

So, I decided to pick up a secondary project. Wanna see?

A virtual cookie to whoever can figure out what it is. Details next post. :)

ARUGH

2006-02-16T17:36:00.000-05:00

Oh. Dear god. I picked up my newly arrived knitpicks catalogue, leafing through it.

I think Knitpicks isn't making Merino style in the vanilla color anymore. I have 7 skeins of it. I'm on the 3rd of 7 at the moment and I'm only about a 3rd of the way through the back of Kinsale.

I do not have room in this month's budget for more yarn (yeah, yeah, being more careful). Think they'll have 10-12 more skeins next month? Arugharugharugh.

2006-02-14T17:11:00.000-05:00

RL is giving me a major kick in the nads, so to speak (in that I'm a girl and I don't have those precisely but it's the same idea). As a result, I don't know how much I'll be updating things here though I'd certainly like to show my progress on Kinsale. (I've already added 2.5 repeats from the last picture.)

Willow--thank you for the card. You have no idea how much it helped when I opened it. As for my wish list, it's still really wishy. ;) I don't think I've picked anything up from it since I made it.

Knitting Kinsale? More theraputic than I realized. :)

Why I Knit

2006-02-10T12:27:00.000-05:00

So, last night we were watching that new show on NBC that has Seth Green in it. Anyway, in it, one of the guys was knitting and Scott commented, "You know, knitters are kinda like a cult." It made me laugh, I made some half-hearted protests while secretly agreeing and we talked for a moment on -why- it seems to be getting so popular.

Which lead to me pondering, again, why *I* do it. And I realized, with my sheer joy and love of knitting both the nordic hat recently and then this sweater that I'm working on...I think I'm knitting for myself. Really. Maybe a few things I make are gifted to someone else but I'm knitting patterns or using yarn because *I* want it, not to make things for other people. Insanely selfish? Oh yes. But perhaps more satisfying.

I started knitting to make HP scarves for the stepkids. I did it. Made one for my mom too as she really likes the books. Used my sister as an excuse to start Tempting and she still goes "So where's my sweater?" from time to time. But it's when I'm making things for myself that I actually....finish them. Odd, hm? But it's true.

So, from now on, I'm making things for myself. If I make them and go "Wow, I think someone would love these!" then great. But I'm not going to stress myself out making presents for others on purpose anymore.

Except Sam cause he's the cutest kid ever. I'm totally not biased. Hush.

Thoughts On Finishing

2006-02-10T11:30:00.000-05:00

I don't have a long drive to school each day but I do my share of sitting at lights. Sometimes I'm listening to talk radio or flipping through stations or talking to Sam. Sometimes, I'm thinking about class. Lately, I've been thinking about knitting.

This is a new phenomena. I've noticed myself eyeing a man or woman's sweater and idly pondering to myself just how it was constructed. (There's no shortage of sweaters in Michigan in the winter, after all.) Where I once would have been awed, I now find myself going "I wonder if I could manage to do that yet..." Which is an interesting transition.

I am lacking in any experience with doing shaping for a body or finishing a wearable object. This foray into sweater-making (yes, Tempting is still sitting forlornly at the bottom of my knitting bag, let's not talk about that) is my first. I've checked my gauge and it was correct in the swatches. I also understand the miracle of blocking so I'm feeling somewhat confident. But I'm starting to realize, from watching sweaters appear like little miracles on various needles in the online knitting world, that the -true- measure of a garment, so to speak, is in the finishing.

Now, I can hear some gentle chuckling (or some outright laughter) at the thought of me considering finishing at a point when I have exactly 25% of the BACK of my current sweater finished. I still have the front, the sleeves....right. Well, first off, I want to think long term. I want think "I am finishing this sweater". For the love of god, I want to finish a project.

Also, I think I would like to take an actual finishing class. I don't feel like I need a class for most things. I've figured out casting on, knitting, purling, cabling, increasing, nordic/fair isle style knitting and so on without a class. Buuuut. I think this is one area where I would -vastly- benefit from having the input of a more experienced knitter guiding my steps. My very close LYS, Flying Sheep Yarns, doesn't really do a LOT of classes though I'm sure I could pay for a couple hours of help/supervising in finishing an object. Now, Threadbear is not close--it's about an hour and a half away--but I know that they do classes on a regular basis. So. I might give them a call, explain what I'm doing and see what they'd suggest. They tend to be exceptionally helpful guys.

Wow. This post is getting huge. Since I have thoughts on a completely different subject, I'll pop those up in another post.

Kinsale!

2006-02-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

Here she is. :) It is NOT that french vanilla color. It's more of an off white. This is about sixteen centimeters. I need to get to sixty centimeters before I get to the neck decreases. And that's just the back. yeeeeah. Still, I'm familiar with the pattern now so I can do it faster and, well. It's a work in progress. Still, I like it. It's striking, you know? I think, however, if I did another Starmore piece, I'd splurge and get the Alice Starmore yarn for the project. If I'm going to put the amount of time/attention/detail/work in, I want an heirloom, damn it. ;)

(Also, the Scottish also do ganseys in the round--theirs tend to be more complex than the English. I do not want to misinform.)

Still Knitting!

2006-02-08T18:52:00.000-05:00

I promise.

I've picked up Kinsale by Alice Starmore again. (See the inspiring version by Wendy right here.

I promise I'll take a picture in the morning when there's natural light. I've done my third repeat on the back of the design. It's a ladder/diamond combination, done in knit/purl combinations. Surprisingly easy, actually. This is how traditional English gansey patterns are done, btw. Only in how the pattern is made, however, as English ganseys are traditionally knit in the round. If I ever manage to try another Starmore pattern (and I'm hoping I will), she has several knit-in-the-round gansey patterns in her book Fisherman's Sweaters which has been republished so I recommend picking up if you are into sweaters. :) (Actually, the four recently republished Starmore books are on this amazon list along with the insanely priced ones that haven't yet.)

I'm far more familiar with the pattern now so it's getting easier. I'm enjoying the knit too. I'm using Knit Picks Merino Style in vanilla. I'm running into a problem with the merino that Wendy had run into---it gets stringy from time to time, which means I have to pay attention. I'm not sure if it's just this merino or merino in general. I might save my money and try to make something in Koigu's Kiersti (oh god, is that drool-worthy merino) at some point to test it out. Yes. That's why.

Anyway, that's what I'm working on. I'm trying to focus just on that for now. So far, not bored. Woot!

Yes. Pictures tomorrow. ;)

Arugh

2006-01-31T07:53:00.000-05:00

Now, I have a stash that's way too big. That's me being polite, me being kind. I have way too much yarn that I have yet to actually use. And I have no excuse! I should use it before I even think about getting something new.

But, late at night when I think about my knitting (don't you?), I find myself lusting for...well....silk. Luscious, glimmering silk. A silk shawl, ironed (aieieie)to show off the beauty in it's depths.

Maybe Art Fiber's Golden Chai silk? Maybe their Hana? What about Spirit Trail? I have some of their silk and the colors are truly amazing. So amazing and beautiful, I've been afraid to make -anything-.

And then, what pattern? The flower basket shawl, like the Harlot? One or two of the lace shawl patterns from knitpicks? What would I use? Why do these ideas torment me when I desperately need to use up the yarn I already own??

Anyone else have these sorts of problems?

Finished Branching

2006-01-31T07:24:00.000-05:00

Amazingly enough, I have another Finished Object to show off. This has already been a crazy year, given that I've finished, in the past 2-3 months, 3 scarves and a hat. Usually I take longer. ;)

Anyway, let's take a peek at Branching Out blocking, hm?

I don't like having to pin it out that way and I think before I block another lacey project, I'm going to get a wire blocking kit (or do a makeshift one). When wet, the Andean Treasure did the usual alpaca things. It also lost some dye when soaking--as that's the second knitpicks yarn I've been do that, I'd recommend making sure to wet block and rinse carefully. Unlike the Decadence, this one stayed as soft as before and I'm petting it as I type.

And here's the finished object doing an early morning lounge on the couch. Once again, it's a pleasure to see the transformation with a good tight blocking. No longer smooshy and ugly, the scarf has now popped out, proudly displaying itself. ;)

Anyway, the specs:

Pattern: Branching Out from Knitty
Yarn: Andean Treasure by Knitpicks in Lilac.
Needles: Clover Bamboo Straight Needles, US size 9

Pattern thoughts: It really is an easy pattern. It is well written, there's both chart and written out form (and if you want to move on to bigger lace projects, don't be lazy like me--read the chart as you knit) and there are clear descriptions of what you should be doing. Once you start the pattern, carefully read each row, go back and count at the end of each row AND learn how to read your knitting. It is an invaluable skill! (Also, I recommend only stopping at the end of each set of 10--trying to remember where you left off? recipe for disaster) I didn't see this as a hard or tricky pattern--as lace goes, it's dead easy. You just have to
pay attention, pure and simple.

Anyway, finishing up the last few repeats of freaking Irish Hiking scarf. Then....lace or hat? Lace or hat? Lace or hat? I'm not sure!!!! (Hahaha. Maybe both? No! Bad Sarah! One or the other....)

Secret Pal Loot!

2006-01-28T13:49:00.000-05:00

Hooray! I finally checked and there was my delivery from my secret pal! It was a really sweet delivery too, I'm very pleased. :) And my goodness! She's from the same state as me!

Let's take a peek:

Isn't that a great start to things??? The yarn, which is the logical starting point, is a brand I'd never heard of before. It is Hayfield Kimono and is utterly, lusciously soft. I loooove it. It's an acrylic/silk blend and I'm currently debating with myself what to make with it!

She also got me lilac room spray (sooo pretty) and--this made me laugh as it shows she understands Michigan winters--a Burts Bees facial kit. Truly she knows! :)

Hm. Maybe I'll make that pretty cap from the Knitty Breast Cancer surprise....choices choices...;)

Thank you, secret pal! I love it! :D

Now With More Posting...

2006-01-25T08:22:00.000-05:00

...kinda.

This is mostly a drive by as I've been too busy doing non constructive OR school stuff lately.

Anyway, work progresses on Branching Out.

There was a terrible terrible accident with my lorna's laces. I had them in the car and, well. I can't complete the sentence. So there will be no sock. I think I have a curse or something related to them.

Since my sock has been destroyed, I think I shall allow myself to start my other nordic hat. Ahaha. (I'm so weak willed.) I want to wait till I have 5 or so more repeats on the scarf though.

Might do something along the idea of the Knitting Olympics though I feel no need to register or commit myself. But perhaps it's time to challenge lace again.

More (with pictures!) later.

Ships Project

2006-01-19T19:24:00.000-05:00

The Ships Project

If you want to knit and donate something to the troops at the same time, check this out. :)

OK

2006-01-19T17:26:00.000-05:00

First, for Tersa! Here's the lining. I took the picture of the stranding before sewing in the lining then balked at showing the picture of the lining because of my bad hemming job. But I'll just feel brave and show it anyway. ;)

The Tahki is knit along the bottom edge and folded up--it's only enough so that you can shield your ears and forehead from the itchy wool and let me you, it works perfectly! I'll wear it out this weekend when I'm sledding. ;)

Secondly, Beverly: Thank you! You totally got what I meant and that makes me very happy. :) Glad to know I'm not the only one out there thinking that way. :)

Hm. I think I want to knit another nordic hat. Aie! Must finish Branching Out and Hiking scarf first. Did 3 more repeats and added a new skein on the Branching Out today on the way to the Detroit Auto show. It's a somewhat decent portable project. So light! So soft! Love it.

Pictures later. Anyway, for now, I'm going back to knitting. Also, check out the Scottish Lamb who I just found. Great stuff, fantastic pictures. :)

Thoughts

2006-01-18T21:21:00.000-05:00

Wendy's recent series of posts have had me thinking about my own knitting.

I started knitting so that I could make some things for my stepkids. Or at least, that was my excuse. Now, however, I seem to knit whatever catches my fancy at that moment, regardless of whether it is actually for someone or not.

More often than not, I do make it for someone else. Clapotis for Min, HP scarves for the kids. A scarf for Scott and a set for my parents and sister. A project for Min and no I'm not telling you which one it is.

But, first and foremost, I make things that are INTERESTING to me. Whether it's repeated failed attempts at lace or Nordic knitting or Alice Starmore stuff, doesn't matter. It's stuff *I* am interested in, first and foremost. If someone else can later get something I'm having fun knitting? Great! But I realized I'm not knitting just to make things for other people. I'm knitting what I want.

That gives me a certain freedom. I don't have deadlines unless they are self-imposed. I can pick whatever yarn I want. And I can get a joy (and frustration) out of trying out new yarns/patterns/techniques.

Selfish? Yup. But it also means I'm more likely to actually keep going with this hobby. :) We'll see. Still, I feel no need to justify what I'm doing (much) or anything like that. It helps. :)

Hat!

2006-01-18T20:38:00.000-05:00

I finished my hat!

Scott was gracious enough to model it which is extremely good natured of him. :) It blocked out nicely! I steam blocked it around a medicine ball (yeah yeah) and that seems to be all it took.

The details:
The pattern: Bea Ellis Originals Traditional Hat
The yarn: 1 ball of Dale Heilo in black and 1 in white and 1 skein of Tahki Cotton Classic in black (for lining)
The needles: Addi Turbos 16" circulars in 3.25mm and 3.75mm (size 3 and 5)

The stranding (my stress point) smoothed out with blocking:

So I'm very pleased. I'd do another one of these in a heartbeat and now I'm really looking forward to the other kit I have! Also, it's been damned cold here so I'm glad I have a hat. :) Also, I have trimmed the tassel since taking the picture.

Now, I need to get those stupid scarves finished up. :)

Nordic Hat

2006-01-16T17:02:00.000-05:00

So, I spent a great deal of this past weekend working on my traditional nordic hat pattern that I got from Bea Ellis. Here it is:

It is coming along quickly. My stranding is...well. It's kinda crappy:

But I see this as a learning experience so I'm not freaked out too much by it. I can see that the tension across the back of the stitches is something that will come with practice. It's been getting better and I even managed to figure out how to twist the strands together.

One thing I'm NOT sure of is the proper way to hold the yarn when switching from one color to another. Do I just slide it across or bring it up from underneath or...or...or? See? Not sure. I shall experiment. Still, overall, I'm pleased. And it SEEMS to fit at the moment. hooray!

Quick Thoughts

2006-01-13T07:48:00.000-05:00

Is it a bad thing that I already have my first Secret Pal package ready to go? (I'm taking it to the post office today.) It was easier than I thought to get the first one together. I think I have already decided that I'm going to do these via themes. January is one theme, February is another and March a third. This first one was easy because it's something similar to things I like to do as well! The other two may well be trickier. ;)

Checked the gauge on my hat. It wants 24st/4in and I'm getting 25/4. I THINK I'll be OK. Probably. The cotton classic is knitting up very nicely--I got addis (surprise surprise) and it's going very fast over the needles when I knit. I haven't touched my Branching Out since I last pictured it. Dunno. Just haven't been in a knitting mood--beginning of semester brain drain, I suspect. Did a few rounds on the sock. Also, my foot is not as mutant as it looks in that picture. Yikes. Anyway, enough of that! I'll write more when I have pictures to show. :)

Pictures!

2006-01-10T16:39:00.000-05:00

Yes, we finally have some pictures! The camera is no longer elsewhere. :) So, first things first, a picture parade.

The Navy socks. Toe up in Lorna's Lace's Shepard Sock in the UMich colorway. (I believe you can only get that at Threadbear.) I haven't worked on this one too much. It had been sitting in my purse which meant I knocked out the needles along one row at one point--no more of that. I wish I'd done one more short row stitch on either side so the toe wasn't so pointed but it's still better than what it was before. either way, I love this yarn.

The Branching Out scarf I'm working on for my sister. Isn't that pretty? Knitpicks Andean Treasure in Lilac. Soft and wonderful to work with and the pattern is easy while still providing a nice challenge. I'm knitting it on size 9 straight needles and I'm liking the fabric so far.

And this is the start of my traditional hat. I haven't checked gague yet which is dumb. I'll probably have to rip back. I had to go out and buy black cotton (Tahki Cotton Classic) because I indicated the wrong main color when I ordered and got white (the cotton is lining). That's ok--gives me something to use when making a second one since the pattern -is- nice. I haven't gotten to the interesting part yet though. :(

Speaking of, I didn't take a picture of it but I DID wash and block Scott's scarf last night. It lost some of the yummyness in the process. But I'm damned glad I did it--this thing had a TON of dye that washed out. I had to keep rinsing and rinsing it till the water finally ran clear. I kept having visions of Scott getting it wet and it ruining a white work shirt of his. So that's disappointing. Still, it looks nice. Just have to weave in ends now.

Also, shopped for my secret pal. Hooray!

Secret Pal 7 Questionnarie

2006-01-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? I am, indeed, a yarn snob in the sense that I like my yarn to be a natural fiber that's fairly well constructed. Not sure how it happened but it did! I don't like most acrylic because of the feel and how it wears.

2. Do you spin? Crochet? I do not spin nor crochet and I'm not interested in learning either of those.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Uh. A bag from the yarn store. ;)

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I have been knitting about a year and a half at this point. I'm close to intermediate when it comes to some things, leaning toward beginner for others. A good combo.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I have a knitting book/pattern one that I wrote up a while back but not an amazon one.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Lilacs

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I'm trying to get away from the sweet tooth. Please. Don't send me anything sweet. :(

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I scrapbook occasionally. But knitting is my big craft. I do like to cook though.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like a lot of different kinds, really. Not into rap, really but other than that, I usually can listen. And MP3s are very playable in my house.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I like most colors though I don't really like orange too much. I look good in summer/winter colors but i like fall ones. Just can't wear em which is a shame but, well, there you go.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? No pets in our house. A kid and a husband are-+ plenty for the time being.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? NO PONCHOS. I don't wear those and I have taken the Manolo No Poncho pledge. All the rest I wear though! :D

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Um...well, obviously, anything with cashmere. ;) That said, I like the feel of most yarn as I knit though cotton seems to stress my hands out more than the animal fibers. :)

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Most fun fur. Straight mohair is too scratchy though Kid silk haze isn't bad. I don't like the various Noros I see. Sorry, I know that's close to blasphemy but I just don't like the color combinations I've seen and it's way too scratchy.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Nordic/Dale of Norway. Loove me nordic stuff. I just love how it looks so much and I'm determined to figure out how to make it.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? For something fast and easy? Scarves. Other than that, just whatever I'm working on, really.

17. What are you knitting right now? a Nordic hat, a Branching out Scarf and a Alice Starmore sweater (very very slowly)

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Sure!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circular.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo unless they're addi turbos. I have learned, however, that small DPNs need to be metal for me--after I snapped 2 sets of Brittney I said "well no more of these".

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? No.

22. How did you learn to knit? I looked at books and videos on the internet and had a little old lady in a knit shop show me how to purl. :) Always hadn't wanted to learn and finally just decided to do it.

23. How old is your oldest UFO? Uh. About a year now.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Well, I guess...uh. No favorite.

25. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving.

26. Is there anything that you collect? No.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? No--I sometimes get Interweave Knits if something catches my attention.

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? Any Dale of Norway sweaters. :) Louet Gem lines, also. Those look yummy.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I'd like to learn fair isle and to really make a sock work. So far socks have mostly been misadventures. Also, I'd like to learn how to do steeks.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I'm trying to be! I have size 9 feet. :)

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 07/26

Also: there are no known allergies in my house though my son is still fairly young. We don't smoke and like to keep smoke smells out of the house. Thanks in advance! :D

Nothing To Show...

2006-01-06T15:17:00.000-05:00

...because Scott's out of town with the camera. Again.

There's a long story behind this that I don't feel like sharing at the moment. But, for whatever reason, we drove to Chicago last night and I drove back this morning. And as a result, we have a new (well, 2003 with 16k miles) minivan for the family which is very good for hauling kids around. Anyway, on the way out (before it got too dark), I was able to finish Scott's Panache scarf*. Hooray!

So, I started a new project (what, finish one of my other ones? Ahahah) once I did. Since I'm almost done the Irish Hiking scarf for my dad (honest) and I have an extra Decadence scarf lying around, well, I'll just make scarves for all of my family!

And it so happens that I had a few skeins of Andean Treasure in lilac** lying around. So, with that in mind, I picked up a pair of size 9s and started knitting Branching Out in it for Kathy. Boy, what a wonderful yarn to knit with and what an easy but lovely pattern. I've already done 3 repeats in virtually no time and I'm really enjoying it. The heathered effect of the yarn is rather nice too, adding a little something to the whole picture. I look forward to seeing it all blocked out.

Also, today my Bea Ellis patterns came! Hooray! I'd show you the pictures but, well. Scott has the camera. I'll show you once he's back from Chi-town. (Yeah, I drove back by myself, Sam was a champ). The kit is really nice and the pattern doesn't look too hard. I need to go pick up a #3 and #5 16 inch needle to do these (3 for the cotton lining and 5 for the wool) but the pattern is big, the pictures clear and the explanations very nice and clear. I also put in a note to Yummy Yarn about asking to join the Norweigian KAL. Hopefully that plus impending cold weather will be incentive to finish. :)

*I cannot emphasize what a lovely yarn this was to knit with! After the dusty feeling I would get on my fingers knitting with the Decadence, I was a little worried. But really, it was smooth, lovely and wonderful to work with--perfect for a soft and cushy scarf for cold weather.

**This stuff is even softer and more wonderful than the Knitpicks Elegance. I forgot how nice a sport weight it is to work with though I'd never use it for cables.

Stitches?

2006-01-04T19:42:00.000-05:00

I've been eyeing the Stitches Website. I've been to scrapbooking conventions in the past and those were a lot of fun. The Stitches ones look like they would be too. There's going to be one in Chicago in August and another in Baltimore in October. (That's Stitches Midwest and Stitches East, respectively). I'm seriously tempted to try and hit both of them, depending on kids/budget and so on. Looks like it'd be a lot of fun, even if I don't get to go to a class and just hit the showroom floors.

I know Stitches West is coming up soon so I'll be curious to hear about those if you and Ezzy go, Tersa.

Also, go check out Wendy's Bohus. Omg is that a gorgeous sweater.

Alas...

2005-12-30T10:03:00.000-05:00

...I succumbed. The call of Nordic knitting and Bea Ellis Originals was too much. Plus, I'm just about done Scott's scarf and I'm almost ready to just bind off that damned Irish Hiking scarf. ;)

I got Flenten:

In green and white.

I got Traditional:

In black and white.

We'll see what happens with them. I am very excited though!

Hooray

2005-12-26T18:56:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great holidays. I didn't get a great deal of knitting done. A little more sockage. I moved on to the second skein of Scott's new scarf. I have to say, the Decadence really feels wonderful to knit with but really really reminds me of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Which is probably the idea.

Found a place for some Nordic Mitten Knitting Patterns which are super cute. :) Eventually.

I was totally going to take pictures to keep this from being boring. But Scott has the camera. :( So just imagine a black scarf and some socks. Wheee. ;)

Ahaha

2005-12-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

Also, I'm slowly but surely adding more blogs I like to my sidebar. If only to clean up my favorite's list. If you can think of blogs that I don't have that you think I might like reading (or just that you love), toss a link or two in my comments! :D The more the merrier!

Knitting

2005-12-21T08:47:00.000-05:00

I am still knitting though it's slower. I take the sock with me in my purse which has proved conveninent at times. I put aside the Irish Hiking Scarf to make that cashmere blend scarf. It's going to be given to Scott, alas, as the other scarf sheds too much for his suits. I should have thought of that so I'm feeling kinda dumb. But oh well. I'm going to aim to finish all scarves before Jan 1. If I get all of thsoe done (and one sock) then I'll allow myself to pick up a Bea Ellis hat/headband kit. Since we're probably going skiing in February. :)

Anyway, still knitting. Pictures soon, I promise. Loooooving this Knitpicks cashmere blend. I'll post more about it later. :)

Hats!

2005-12-18T13:29:00.000-05:00

I'm making progress on the sock but I'll show it to you once I'm further along. Also, I'm feeling too lazy to get the camera. ;) Also, I really need to finish that damned scarf. Arugh.

Anyway, today we took the boy sledding again. It was a success, there was much fun and glee to be had by all. It was, however, extremely cold and I had no hat. Aiyiyi, no hat! So, it made me start thinking about the Bea Ellis Hats and Headbands again. I think once I've cleared out some of my stash (and not before comma damn it), I'm going to pick up one or two. Two goals: warm cute hat or headband AND learning to do nordic patterns. I might aim for one of the snowflake patterns for a start. We'll see.

Plodding Along

2005-12-15T15:18:00.000-05:00

Now I remember why I put aside the Irish Hiking scarf the first time. It's boring. so boring. My little ball of yarn for it doesn't seem to be getting any smaller even though I know that it must be. Bleh.

So, to alliviate the boredom but to keep knitting going, I picked up socks once more. I think I finally got the right needle/yarn/pattern combination. I picked up metal sock needles (kept snapping the little birch ones I had), size one, and the toe up pattern from Wendy. I have 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepard's socks in the UofMich/Navy colorway. So far, I have a toe with the number of short rows that fits me (6) and it is going well. :) We'll see in the long run BUT. Really portable knit too. Fits right in my purse.

OMG Finished Objects

2005-12-11T22:22:00.000-05:00

Not one but TWO finished objects this weekend! Finished Scott's scarf--not gonna take a picture. It's a scarf. I grew less enchanted with the Decadence the more I knit with it. There was dirt in the yarn that I could feel as I knit and sure enough, when I gave it it's little bath, the water was filthy. Also, it split somewhat easily. I'd knit with it again, yes, but...

Anyway, the bigger deal was this:

This is the first square of my Great American Aran Afghan being blocked. Hooray!
This is the Ginette Belanger square, knit on US 6 needles out of Plymouth Encore. There's like....2 rows where I got the brambles on either side backwards. I didn't notice when I was knitting them but now that I'm looking at the square, I'm going "arugh". But no way am I frogging it. ;)

Seriously, it was fairly easy. The most challenging thing was the P3TOG since my needles were bamboo and a somewhat dull point. The cable looks more complex than it was, really. I'm pleased, however, both in how quickly it knit up when I sat down and concentrated on it and how nice it looks. Only 19 more squares to go!

My next concentration will be that stupid Irish Hiking scarf. I just need to get that damned thing finished. FINISHED.

Addendum

2005-12-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

Found another site that I like for Norweign stuff.

Bea Ellis Knitwear.

I think the hats might well be a good intro/beginner project. Cheap, fun looking and a good start.

Knitting Notes: Reference Links

2005-12-09T16:16:00.000-05:00

I'm putting some links up in here. This is mostly for my own reference, really, though I'm sure a few of you would happily use these as resources as well. Anyway, it's all technical stuff that I'll try and organize as I post these.

Sock Links
*FluffyKnitterDeb's Turkish Caston Tutorial for doing gorgeous looking toe up socks.
*Wendy's Toe Up Tutorial in Knitty to go with the other toe on thing.
*Wendy's Generic Toe Up Sock Pattern using short row toes and heels.

Norweigian Steeking/Fair Isle Stuff
*Wendy's Norweigian Steek Page1
*Wendy's NSP2 which is just a picture guide.
*The knitty version of this
*Streets & YOs verison of Baby Norgi with notes
*Baby Norgi
*Feral Knitter's FI Getting Started Guide

Supplies
*Schoolhouse Press, IE: Meg Swanson and Elizabeth Zimmerman
*Louet Gems Info Page -- for possibly Baby Norgi stuff?

New Knitters To Link
*Norway Needles
*Streets And YOs
*Feral Knitter

There we are. Things I don't want to lose track of. Man. Wendy is an evil evil temptress.

Ooh

2005-12-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

I should stop reading Wendy's page because she's usually knitting SOMETHING I end up desperately wanting to knit. And lately, it is the same.

I love the Bohus sweater she's working on. Love love love love love. Course, I love Dale sweaters and designs too. And nothing says I'm READY for that sort of thing. Just that I love it. I'm tempted to pick up a kit, however. Might put that on the back mental burner. :)

I'm Still Here...

2005-12-06T16:25:00.000-05:00

...honest.

Working on Scott's scarf. About halfway through the 2nd ball. I have 3 skeins of the Decadence but, as I knit, I think I'm only going to need 2. Whoops. Not sure what to do with third yet but I'm sure I'll figure something out. Maybe a little hat.

The only other project I'm picking up lately is the first square for the Great American Aran Afghan. I'm working on the Ginette Belanger square and I'm almost halfway through it. I can't find my picture thing for the camera so no pictures yet.

Anyway, the square is fairly easy. I, of course, managed to screw up a couple rows of the bramble stitch on each side but the main cable up the middle is proceeding well. That said, it still looks rather nice. I have look up how to block Plymouth Encore--I know it involves a steam iron I just can't remember the details.

Also, going to do Secret Pal Seven this time for real. ;) Signed up today. :) Me and most of the knitting community, it sounds like. I am totally looking forward to it. :)

WIP: Christmas Countdown

2005-11-26T14:02:00.000-05:00

So, I'm actually knitting a FEW things for Christmas. Kiri's been put aside as I'll be working a long time on that.

I got my knitpicks order and let me tell you--that's some nice yarn. Holy wow.

The Panache feels like a bulky-weight Cashmerino Aran, actually. It's not the same fiber content, mind you, but that's what it feels like. The Decadence is just woooonderful. Superfine alpaca and just fantastic.

I'm making this for Scott:

It's called a Cartridge Belt rib in Decadence in tan. It's soft and warm and conservative and it'll work well with some of his suits. To match his darker suits, I'll knit up another one in black. It'll be nice, a tiny little touch of luxury and honestly? Something against the damned cold here in MI. ;)

Sam likes his scarf:

And he even wears it. Hooray. :)

I'm toying with a couple of the Great American Aran Afghan scarves too. If I finish any, I'll post a picture. It's good to be knitting again. :)

Yarn Diet?

2005-11-18T12:58:00.000-05:00

Hmm?

Actually, I managed to finish the Sam Seed scarf last night. Gave it its Eucalan bath and blocked it and all I have to do is weave the ends in. It is clear that this was started when I was less practiced and every time I try to put it on Sam, he runs the other way screaming. But. It's too cold and I'll get it on him somehow. (20s today. wah.)

I am also sick as a dog. Still, I should be able to get good progress on the various projects I have at the moment. Making the scarf for Sam, however, makes me want to get a few other people a really nice little luxury scarf for their own use (especially here in Detroit) so...

yeah. stupid knitpicks. I picked up some Decadence in tan and some Panache in coal. They are both bulky weight and the pattern I snagged them for knits on 11s so they'll be -really- quick projects compared to the other things I have. Hooray. And a discreet and conservative little scarf will go a long way on a cold day. Or at least, that's my logic. ;)

Still, I'm making progress and getting things finished. This is cheering me up a great deal. :) Now if only I could get rid of whatever fug has invaded my head...

WIP: Now With Pictures!

2005-11-17T10:01:00.000-05:00

That's right. I'm taking a picture of my current active WIP. We won't talk about the inactive ones. ;)

Anyway, here's a group shot.

Let's examine them one by one, shall we?

Kinsale:

This is being knit in Knit Picks Merino Style in vanilla. Loving using this yarn--feels really nice. The pattern is surprisingly easy to follow (it's charted) but I haven't gotten near any shaping (and won't for a while) so that's easy to say for now. ;) It's an Alice Starmore design from her book Fisherman's Sweaters. I like it but it's on size 3 and k p back and forth so I can only do it so long.

Irish Hiking Scarf:

I found it languishing in my knitting stuff box upstairs, felt bad and pulled it out. I might actually finish it for the holidays, hooray! This is the famous Irish Hiking Scarf that I used to learn cables. :) The wool is...uh. Something 100% wool and from NZ and I can't remember what brand. Fairly soft for pure wool, all things considered.

Sam Seed Scarf:

It's a scarf in seed stitch. Nothing too exciting. I pulled it out because it suddenly became frigid yesterday. Sam won't wear a hat at the moment--we're working on it :( -- but he loves the feel of this scarf. I don't blame him since I'm knitting it out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in color 611. So soft. :)

Kiri Shawl:

This last one is the beginning of Kiri because for some reason, I can't function without three or four current projects on the needles. Anyway, I'm doing it out of Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in mist. I'm not sure if I like the yarn. Very soft, yes. But the yarn splits very easily, which is an alpaca thing, I believe. Still...dunno.

Got a bunch of needles the other day (you can see my new Inox there in the picture) so WHEN I finish these (cause I'm not allowed to start anything new till then :() then I'll be ready to move on to new things. :) Hooray.

Kiri Questions

2005-11-14T21:23:00.000-05:00

OK, I picked up (oddly) the Irish Hiking scarf that'd be languishing since last spring. I'm making decent progress on it--my knitting speed has picked up, apparently--and I may well finish it so it can actually be a christmas present this year. ;)

Anyway, at the same time, I snagged the two skeins of Alpaca Cloud I have. I'm thinking of trying out Kiri with that. So, inspecting the pattern, I have a couple questions. I guess this is mostly directed to you, Tersa, since you've done the Kiri pattern.

First, did you use a 24" or 29" 4.5mm and 5mm needle? I have a feeling I can't find mine so I'll need to pick up new ones so knowing the proper size would be handy.

Once I have the proper needles, my next question is this. It says that after knitting 14 rows, you pick up one stitch from each garter stitch ridge for a total of seven stitches. I really can't manage to get my brain around this and there aren't pictures. What should I be doing here?

The rest seems fairly straight forward.

I have to say, working with 5mm needles after so long on the smaller sizes feels odd. ;) Still, i think I need a break from the things I've been trying to plug away on for my brain's sake. And it'll stashbust which is good.

I Am A Posting FOOL

2005-11-12T15:57:00.000-05:00

Mostly, I'm getting back into the mood for this sort of stuff now that fall is (mostly) rolling in and the cooler weather is here.

I will say first: this is a bookmark list for ME. This is to help me keep tabs on/track things I'm interested in getting eventually. This is not me shamelessly trolling for gifts. Let me repeat this: this is not a call for gifts. Unless your name is Scott W. Then it is. ;) So don't go "Oh, gawd, she sucks, look at her." I just want a list of a link/location/purchase place for this stuff so that I can eventually check it off my list. Yes, I've done this before.

Anyway, note to me: set up in catagories with links to places that SEEM to have the best price and/or delivery policy. Preference given to places I've ordered from before.

Books
*A Treasury of Knitting Patterns
*A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns
*Charted Knitting Designs
*A Fourth Treasury of Knitting Patterns
*Simply Shetland
*Gorgeous Knitted Afghans
*Knitting Around
*Knitting in the Old Way
* Alice Starmore's The Art of Fair Isle Knitting
*Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting
*A Gathering of Lace
*Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls
*Dale Torino Pattern Books

Patterns
*Knit Picks Fair Isle Vest
*Heirloom Aran Pullover
*Northern Lights Mittens
*Adamas Shawl
*Faroese Peaks Shawl
*Abigail Sweater
*Elizabeth I
*Dale of Norway Patterns

That's a damned good (and damned expensive start). I'm thrilled that the Barbara Walker books are getting republished. I've had the first one out from the library before and I greatly enjoy it. The sheer number of potential patterns held within the pages are amazing. Obviously, I'm a sucker for Starmore and, well, if you look at my choices, I still lean toward traditional things: shetland patterns, fairisle, arans, ganseys, traditional lace and Norweigian styles. Ah well. Guess that's where my heart is. :)

Trial Yarns

2005-11-12T15:38:00.000-05:00

I was recently, like many of you, sent the newest issue of the Knit Picks catalogue. I was intrigued by this one, especially, because two very small samples of their cashmere yarn was included.

I knitted up both the best I could while at the funeral this weekend. I have to say, I really loved both of them. They knitted up very smoothly, they were amazingly soft and they were enjoyable against the skin.

Ambrosia was the sport weight. I kinda wish it was DK as I just personally tend toward projects (lately) that are DK weight though perhaps I could adjust some projects to fit it. The composition is lovely (80% baby alpaca, 20% cashmere) and you get 50g (110 yards) for $6.99 which is way cheap. I'm a bit disappointed because I'm not particularly thrilled with the color choices for this yarn. However, this is a common complaint of mine about Knit Picks yarns. Kelly, the owner, seems to go for tones that I mostly don't personally enjoy. I think she strays too much toward shades of pastelly colors.

Panache was the bulkyweight. Again, though it's a different composition (40% baby alpaca, 20% cashmere, 20% silk, 20% extrafine merino), it was wonderfully soft. I really enjoyed it. It'll be really good for a scarf or a sweater, pressed against the skin. That said, I'm kinda disappointed that it's a bulkyweight. I suppose mostly because the patterns I have personally rarely call for bulkyweight yarn. The colors for this one are much better, however, and given that it's $6.99 for a 50g ball (works out to 68 yards), it's a steal.

If Knit Picks were better about their color choices for most yarns (excluding Merino Style and Shadow which are some colors I just adore), I probably would never buy yarn elsewhere. I still probably will spend more money with them than elsewhere in the end (though true luxuries like Lorna's Laces and such have nothing to worry about).

Regardless, I don't need to be thinking about this too much as I'm on a self-imposed (and Scott-reinforced) yarn diet until I manage to use up most of my stash. Which is incentive. I really want to start some fair isle, for example, and some Dale of Norway stuff (which reminds me to put stuff on a mental note wish list;) and some lace projects. Arugh. Too many wants, not enough knitting motivation lately! (common among several of my friends other than Tersa, I've noticed. ;)

Knitting Again

2005-11-12T14:07:00.000-05:00

That's right! Miracle of miracles I'm slowly knitting again. I'd like to think that I'm knitting for Christmas but I'm not going to delude myself. I'm knitting as slowly as can be but getting some progress and I'll leave it at that.

Let's do a quick summary:

*Kinsale: on the needles. I just finished the 2nd repeat of ~15-16 that'll be the back of the thing. Yeah, not very far but it's super easy and it's reminding me how much I love the Merino Style from Knitpicks.

*Sam Seed: So close to being done. I've got a small amount left and it's almost cold enough for it. God, I soooo love Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Such luxury.

*Estonian Wrap: I've frogged once. I'm going to restart soon. I did fairly well, I knew where I screwed up/why I screwed up and I'll be able to handle the redo.

*Tempting: Just don't ask. Maybe I'll finish by next summer.

Temptations:
*Kiri: I have 3 balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. I'm seriously tempted to put aside the Estonian wrap for a bit and to work this up. Mind you, I have no clue who'd want the color Kidsilk Haze I picked (what was I thinking??) but it'd be pretty enough that I can think of a few people who might. I also have some Alpaca Cloud that might work for it too. The pattern looks fairly easy though I have a few questions I might put up here. (Since I know you, Tersa, are working on this. :)

More thoughts and pictures later. Especially on the new Knitpicks catalogue with knittable samples of their cashmere blend yarns (sosososo yummy). ALSO. They reprinted the Barbara Walker books. I'm so excited.

Arugh

2005-10-04T20:07:00.000-04:00

I want to knit. I do. I've been knitting a little--progress is being made on the Sam Seed scarf. However. It is now 80 degrees during the day here. October. In Michigan. WTF. So, knitting is put off. Again. :(

2005-09-13T23:02:00.000-04:00

You are Merino Wool.
You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to
keep you close because you are so softhearted.
You love to be comfortable and warm from your
head to your toes.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Secret Pal Six

2005-09-08T16:49:00.000-04:00

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? Honestly? I've started avoiding the acrylics once I finally got to the point I could actually knit in a pretty fashion. Doesn't mean I only want expensive stuff---knit picks isn't, for example! But still. Plz. No Red heart, Bernat, Lion Brand or Caron. :( It would be a waste.

2. Do you spin? Crochet? I dislike crochet and I do not want to start spinning. God. No. Please. Not another fiber addiction. Seriously. I don't knit enough as it is.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) No known! But I really hate the way smoke smells.

4. How long have you been knitting? A little over a year now!

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No. Should I do that?

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Lilac. Hands. Down. And rose too.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? God yes.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Cross-stitching and scrapbooking. That's enough for me!

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like classical, some rock, some country, some alternative and dance. But most classical? Can't go wrong. And yes. :)

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I can't stand orange. Hates it. Also, browns are not so good. Most others make me happy though a puce or a fuschia will make me cry. I seem to be picking lots of naturals, whites, grays and blues lately. And pink!

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Toddler, husband. And does the toddler count as a pet?

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) Nursing school, happy and healthy family and way too much yarn in my house.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? So far? I LOVE Alpaca With A Twist's laceweight/silk blend. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Most Lorna's Laces. A lot of the Knitpicks yarns. :)

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Mohair. Hate. I don't mind Kidsilk Haze but that's not straight mohair.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Lace. Lace lace lace. I had to take a break from it though because of frustration.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Anything in the round and shawls. :)

17. What are you knitting right now? Alice Starmore's Kinsale. A sock. Tempting.

18. What do you think about ponchos? They should all be burned.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circular.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Addi Turbo then bamboo.

21. Are you a sock knitter? I am now!

22. How did you learn to knit? I found a webpage and just....plugged away at it till I finally managed to do it!

23. How old is your oldest UFO? Uh. About a year now.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Animated character: Grommit!

25. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving.

26. Is there anything that you collect? No! I have toyed with the idea of collecting china teacups. I know. Weird. But pretty!

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? None though I sometimes pick up Interweave Knits.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? Knitting In the Old Way, any Barbara Walker Treasury, any Alice Starmore book other than Fishermans Knits

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another?? Sharon Miller's Shetland Wedding Ring Shawl. That'd be one of those Life projects that's an heirloom and I haven't picked it up because it's kinda pricey--20 pounds is close to 40 dollars. Also, since Wendy knit it, I've been lusting after Tina

Hmmmm

2005-09-02T17:47:00.000-04:00

There's one pattern from MagKnits that I just might do. It's Picovoli which, essentially, is just a cap-sleeved Tivoli Tee. But I don't care! It's cute. And I have Debbie Bliss Cathay, just like the pattern calls for. I do like that they suggest alternatives for the yarn: Shine by knitpicks.

It's also knit in the round which is another bonus point. BUT. It must wait until I acctually succeed knitting SOMETHING that I already have. Arugh. Still. A possibility.

I've also heard I would like some of the patterns in the new Vogueknits. Probably. but I'm trying to keep my stashing down to nil. So I will avoid it! I also want the new Rowan Mag, though. :( There's a Sharon Miller shawl pattern. *sob*

Ahahaha

2005-08-22T19:31:00.000-04:00

Oooh, lookie here!!!

Knitted Dishclothes of the 50 states. BUT!! I think that would make a FABULOUS afghan. Seriously. I might start working on that. Ahahaha. As if I didn't have enough to do. I cannot get myself knitting lately. What's up with that?? Is it the summer? Am I burned out? Am I just...tired? Aie!

KnitPicks

2005-08-09T13:30:00.000-04:00

So, I was eyeballing the new Knitpicks yarns. They went for Merinos, Cashmeres and Suri Alapacs, it turns out. YUM.

In case you aren't on their emailing list, here's a link to the new fall yarns.

I can see that the theme is bulky-weight yarn and socks. I'm ok with these, mind you, though I don't have any current projects that call for any of that. I LOVE the heathered merino laceweight. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Love the colors, love the concept. Wannnnnt. I don't like the varigated ones but I don't generally like the color choices they use for their varigated so that works out.

I'm really interested in the sportweight cashmere blend Ambrosia though, again, I am disappointed by their color choices. HOWEVER. It seems that their "season theme" yarns that are the most popular (like Shine) both get kept and get their colors expanded. So, we'll have to see.

I am, however, half tempted to find a bulky weight pattern or two for a few of those yarns (like Decadence, Suri Dream, Shadow (ahahah, like I need an excuse to buy more laceweight!), and Panache.

....ok so I like half the damned line.

Regardless, I like the IDEAS for them but as I'm not one to normally knit in bulky weights, I'm at a bit of a loss. Also, not a lot of call in my rotation for sport weight stuff THOUGH I have a pattern or two of Dale of Norway stuff that might well benefit from sport weight stuff.

Food for thought. Regardless, I need to finish 3-4 projects before I can try and get more. ARUGH. Story of my knitting life. ;)

I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE

2005-08-06T19:09:00.000-04:00

Or rather, my knitting does. ;)

I have, in fact, managed to get past row 15 in knitting. I know that this is a singularly amazing fact that may well cause my computer, needles and stash to spontaneously combust. NONETHELESS, it is true. And just in case you doubt me, BEHOLD:

The whole of the start of the back that I have so far.

A detail of the stitches. There's a diamond and ladder pattern there, yupyup. I've almost finished one full repeat of the pattern. Almost. Counting the one from the picture and Wendy's, there's about 13 diamonds total. Yikes!

Kinsale is not nearly so hard as I expected it to be. There's Wendy's example of it. It's done gansey style: all knits and purls, nothing more complicated. Seriously. Other than the imposing 170 cast on stitches and increase to 189 in dk weight yarn on size three needles. Yeeeeah. That makes it tiring.

Anyway, this is all being done in Knit Pick's Merino Style. I'm very happy with this choice, yupyup. Sooo soft, nice to work with, not much trouble with splitting. I DON'T like my needles. I used to enjoy Susan Bates Quicksilver needles but then I was introduced to those evil fast needles that are Addi Turbos. Alas! Plus, it's a 24" and I reeeally think I need a 29" circular. Um. Yes. This is all my effort to justify getting another set of needles. *sob*

Also, I have been working on my sock:

It has a heel and everything. Yes, I was too lazy to try it on for the picture. Too bad! ;)

OK

2005-08-04T11:47:00.000-04:00

So, even though I haven't really made much progress worth noting here, lemme write up a quick little summary of where I'm at at the moment.

OK. I've put down the lace and taken a few steps back. ;) This is a Good Thing in the end. I'll have some time to chill, relax, not freak. I'll come back to it once I've gotten some distance from the frustration.

I've cast on for Kinsale because I am batsh** insane. Plus, I just really really wanted to knit with the Merino. Thank goodness I've cast on because now I can't find my row counter. Oh yeah, that's sarcasm. ;)

I've finished the heel and started on the ankle/leg of my one sock. I carefully tried it on last night and it basically fit! It's a TOUCH loose but still, for a first sock, I'm pretty pleased. Also, I love going toe up. SO. FREAKING. EASY. Unless I wanted to make a specific pattern, I can't imagine doing cuff down socks. Cause really--gusset? Kitchener stitching? heel flap? No thanks!

Tempting...sits at the bottom of my knitting bag, mocking me incessantly. It's not hard I just...bleh. I don't want to knit more ribbing. Bleeeeargh. ;)

My scarfs should really be brought out of storage and finished up. Since it's getting later in the summer, fall is coming, I freaking live in Michigan now. No excuse. Must. Finish. Scarves.

So, Um, to sum up: Too much crapola on the needles. I am moron. ;) STILL. It isn't so bad. I'll get it finished up. Honest.

Also, Threadbear Fiberarts is no longer discounting their yarns. This is a bummer. :( Still, they weren't THAT far below retail costs and they still have an insane selection so I'll deal with it. One day I will knit a shawl with Helen's Lace! *shakes a fist*

ALSO

2005-08-02T19:09:00.000-04:00

My god in heaven. I really want the Wedding Ring shawl by Sharon Miller. Waaaaant.

Tersa, may well make this my first big "incentive". Since the exchange rate will make it JUST expensive enough that I shouldn't make it a smaller one. Wantwantwantwant.

!

2005-08-02T18:30:00.000-04:00

So, I found a great page thanks to a post in a knitting group today. And all ... 2 of you who read my page probably know it already so this is mostly for my own reference.

ANYWAY. I have Issues with joining two skeins of yarn. Yeeees. So when someone posted a great page that has joining techniques complete in video form, I knew I had to look!

I'd not heard of the felted join but that's my new favorite technique, I think, for trying to join any animal fiber. Hooray! I'll have to figure something else out for superwash or lace weight yarns. Any ideas?

Lace Retard

2005-07-26T13:27:00.000-04:00

Or at least, that's what I feel like. I picked up the Field of Flowers pattern instead of the Estonian Lace one just to try something else since I kept hitting a wall. Now. I get through the first fourteen rows of the pattern just fine (I think) but at row 15...I either end up over or under somehow. Like this time? I was 2 stitches short. ARUGH. And I know I was fine up until we got about 1-2 before it.

I'm facing a quandry. Do I take a deep breath, frog back one more time and try and figure out WHY I'm having the problem? Do I try to fud--no. I want to do this right. ARUGH ARUGH. This sucks. :( Must remember to put in a damned lifeline next time.

I'm pretty sure what happens is the 5 rows of garter stitch between flower patterns somehow has me losing a stitch or two. BLEH. So I'll need to pay really really close attention as I go.

Anyway, I took a picture a fake-blocked progress so far.

It is a /nice/ pattern and it's garter stitch. I hate garter stitch for day-to-day stuff but for lace? I like it a lot more.

And a detail. Ignore the spray-starch covered ironing board. ;)

And now back to frogging. I'm going to take advantage of Scott being home and Sam napping and I'll push through to get at least one repeat finished.

Also, it's my birthday and people are sending me cash. Do I get my hair done (highlights/cut) or get more yarn? Decisions decisions....

sob

2005-07-20T20:17:00.000-04:00

I'm having a Lace Issue again.

I've frogged my lace project about four times already. Four. Times.

Sadly, I know exactly why I have to frog it. The first 3-4 rows go great. Then we get to row 5 or so (it varies each time) and someone (Sam, T or the other S) comes over, harasses or sits and then suddenly I've dropped a stitch or lost track and...well. When I do the pattern without interruptions, it looks beautiful.

So, basically, I can't do this stuff till the stepkids are gone and the boy is napping/in bed. Sigh.

I'm tempted to try the other pattern. The middle section is nice and simple, at least. I'm winding the lovely blue Fino yarn for it at the moment and I'll try it out. If that ends in disaster, I'll have to wait on my lace for the latter part of summer/early fall. Alas.

It's just frustrating because it was making this really lovely and delicate fabric. ARUGH.

Status

2005-07-18T20:07:00.000-04:00

OK, so I went through my knitting bag and am listing out the status of my projects.

1. Tempting: I've started the sleeves. I don't know how long it's going to take for me to actually do these but hey. I'm on the sleeves. It's something different in the neverending shirt of doom.

2. Pink Girlie Socks of Doooom: I'm done turning the heel. Hooray! However, my short row wraps leave much to be desired. That will, I'm assuming, improve with practice.

3. Estonian Lace Wrap: Yes. I was originally going to do the smaller scarf version. Did my provisional cast on and started knitting happily away this afternoon. It was going well. Then the light and beautiful and lacy alpaca yarn said to me (um....yes. just...accept it) "Sarah. I don't want to be a little scarf. I want to be a big ole wrap." So, as the kids played in the mall play place at the mall, I frogged the whole thing.

Also, I want to make a note about this pattern. It's a decent introduction to lace knitting. The pattern is fairly easy, flows nicely and immediately looks pretty. Even without blocking. This is definitely a good thing!

I kinda wish I were doing a secret pal sort of exchange because I totally want to sucker someone into the world of lace with that pattern and some of this alpaca laceweight. That's right, I'm an enabler.

2005-07-17T10:30:00.000-04:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

OMG

2005-07-12T21:20:00.000-04:00

I love knitpick's Merino style yarn. I'll link later. So soft, so beautiful and less than 3 bucks for 123 yards. Holy wow.

I swatched it up and it's just beautiful to work with and so very soft. I totally want a sweater out of this. I don't like MOST of the colors they offer it in (this is vanilla) but the winter ones are good.

I finally started the sleeves on Tempting. It's a mess, I know. But! It shouldn't be much longer. Thank god.

The sock is coming along. I'm almost ready to turn the heel.

T modeling for size reference. :)

Tempting

2005-07-11T10:08:00.000-04:00

I'm not going to bother with pictures because there's nothing to see! I'm about to start the sleeves/yoke of Tempting. FINALLY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Thank god.

Regardless, I'm going to be working on finishing as quickly as I can. Sheesh. I'm so tired of it. And it's not a bad design but k2p2 in the round for 14 inches? Boring. :(

There will be pictures in my next post. I promise.

OK

2005-07-07T19:50:00.000-04:00

Note to self: if you buy yarn that is twisted into hanks, NEVER LEAVE THE YARN STORE WITHOUT GETTING IT WOUND.

I tried to hand wind the white laceweight alpaca. It just wasn't good in the end. I'm taking the rest with me to the store next time I go back with the receipt. I'll wind it there, thank you.

Also, I've joined two knitalongs at the moment: Summer of Lace and Great American Aran Afghan. I'll link everything up once my internet doesn't move at the speed of molasses. Cause wow, is it ever.

Anyway, working on tempting today. Making some progress on my chickie-baby thing. Occasionally pick up the sock. REALLY REALLY want to work on the Estonian lace. Making myself wait till I finish SOMETHING first. arugh.

Books!

2005-07-06T13:06:00.000-04:00

Got the Great American Aran Afghan book and the Alice Starmore's Fisherman's Knits book today. Holy wow, great looking stuff in there.

I've decided that I'm going to do the Afghan in Knitpicks Merino Style in vanilla. Yeah, it calls for aran weight yarn and that's dk but I'll just use smaller needles. I want a softer yarn without paying a fortune since the sheer amount of yarn needed is going to be considerable. I'll have a smaller afghan than if I used the Encore but that's ok. :) (Edited to add: Thinking about it, Knitpicks Elegance might also be a good choice for a soft and cozy afghan. Or Andean Treasure. :)

Also, the Alice Starmore book is fascinating. There are a number of lovely patterns and it goes into detail about knitting fisherman ganseys and a nordic sweater in the round. Which is good. I think I'll wait till I do a few more projects before trying to tackle one of these but I'm pleased. It was a good investment. It's divided up by region: Scotland, England, Ireland, the North Seas, and the "New World". The projects also range from somewhat experienced knitter to extremely exprienced in a 1 to 4 star spread. Most seem to be about 3 with several 2s and 4s. There are no 1s and I think that's appropriate.

I've my eye on a few; I need to finish a few more projects AND get some experience with more exotic cables: thus the Aran afghan serves a two-fold purpose. :) Still, my goal by the end of the fall is to have at least ONE knitted sweater for either myself or Sam. Preferably both. :)

Featherweight: Blocked

2005-07-05T09:45:00.000-04:00

So, I blocked the Featherweight Fantasy shawl last night. This was my first -major- blocking experience. Again, I learned.

Anyway, for reference, here's the post that has it unblocked.

And so, I got it wet, squeezed it out in a rolled up towel and started to pin it:

Yes, I put way more pins in after that. Then I left it alone overnight, only to come back to:

Isn't it lovely? Much better all blocked out. :) And that's with mistakes!

Also, here's a shot with T as a reference:

Just lovely. I even stopped being lazy and wove in the ends. :)

Happy 4th of July

2005-07-04T15:09:00.000-04:00

So, today Stephanie and I went to Threadbear Fiberarts where we wandered through various aisles in a heightened sense of yarn envy. There was SO MUCH YARN. I can't even begin to describe to you the sheer amount of colors, choices, patterns, yarn, all of it. You name the brand: from Dale of Norway to Colinette to Lorna's Laces to ggh to Phildar to Cascade blah blah blah and they probably had at least some. In a huge variety of color choices. Holy. Mackerel. It was wonderous. I could easily drop far too much money there.

Anyway, I let Stephanie pick out one skein of yarn. She picked a lovely skein of varigated purple Cascade 220. She spent the whole car ride home (one hour, twenty minutes, perfectly reasonable) petting it on her lap. ;) I picked out one Dalegarn Pattern book, two Fiber Trends patterns (the Field of Flowers and the Estonian Garden ones, two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepard Socks in the University of Michigan colorway (or the Navy one, as I like to call it) and three skeins of laceweight yarn called Alpaca With A Twist Fino which is just SO soft. That'll be for the two shawls/stoles.

Behold...

Also, I've made progress on my sock:

And properly sized on my foot:

So that's positive.

The ticket I got on the way home? Not so positive.

Woo

2005-07-02T10:18:00.000-04:00

Scott and I arranged our Monday plans and we decided that I am going to take Stephanie and head to Threadbear Fiberarts in the afternoon. About 70 minutes, according to mapquest. Still, the sheer amount of YARN. Oh my goodness, it'll be overwhelming. :)

I'm going to let Stephanie pick one thing. I'm going to try and limit myself to a little bit's worth. MAYBE I'll pick up the yarn for that next Dalegarn project I was thinking of (a sweater for Sam). I DON'T KNOW.

This'll be bad. ;)

Books

2005-07-01T15:55:00.000-04:00

So, I ordered two books today. I got The Great Amaerican Aran Afghan today. I think it'd be a highly enjoyable challenge. I've been thinking about the yarn and, both economically and wear-wise, I'd probably be best served by using Plymouth Encore. I'll only have sick fantasies about doing it in cashmere. Can you imagine??? But oy, the cost.

Anyway, inspired by Wendy's recent completion of Inishmore (in 9 days!!!!! can you believe that???), I picked up Alice Starmore's Fishermans Knits which has both the Inishmore and a few other patterns. They may be WAY out of my league right now but I've learned with knitting that I only get better by challenging myself. :)

Anyway, those are ordered and should, in theory, get here by the end of next week or so. Dunno how long it'll take before I actually start doing anything with them: I have lots of projects on the needles that I REALLY need to finish but still.

A note on the Alice Starmore stuff: she and her daughter have a website. They sell, mostly, wool. I LOVE their wool and the colors. Unfortuantely, it's hella expensive. The 3-ply Hebridean yarn is to-die for. It's also 11 bucks for a 25g skein. Plus shipping. A yarn pack for a MEDIUM woman's (and I'm not sure what they consider a medium) is 200 bucks. That's such a shame because that yarn looks WONDERFUL. *sigh* Maybe I can ask for it for my birthday. Or Christmas. Or something.

2005-06-30T14:08:00.000-04:00

Because I'm an ADD sort of knitter, I couldn't help myself and cast on a pair of socks too. I have Opal sock yarn. I have no idea what particular type it is because I'm just kinda staring at the label which is German (I should have my SiL translate it for me) but I did find a pattern finally. I'm using Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock pattern. Already, I've learned how to do short rows (so easy! I don't know why I was scared!) and I practiced my provisional caston. Which is easy till I need to unzip it. Then suddenly it's tricky. :(

Here is the sock and yarn.

Admire the short rows. Oooooh.

Alas, I knit too tightly and the gauge is WAY off--I'm supposed to have 8 stitches per inch and I have about fourteen. :( So, I'm going to pull it apart and retry with larger needles--those were 0s so I'll try 2s next. Whee.

Also, here's the boring start to my Dalegarn chickie dress.

Hey look! St-st curls. :p

New Stuff

2005-06-28T21:41:00.000-04:00

Whee! So, today, I got to go to the yarn store again today. Spoiled I am!

Anyway, here's a picture of the things I got the last two trips:

That's six balls of Dale of Norway Baby Ull, size 0 and 2 dpns, size 0 and 2 Addi Turbos (yes, I took the plunge), my new Dalegarn book for kid's patterns and yes, a ball of Opal sock yarn. DON'T. SAY IT. I just kept looking at the pink and meh. here we are.

I've already cast on for the outfit on the front of that book. That's 260 cast on stitches on size 0 circs. Yes. This is going to be insane. We'll see how I go. :)

Mmm Spam

2005-06-27T09:47:00.000-04:00

So, I'm on a posting roll in here. ;)

Anyway, now that my stole is finished, I'm taking stock of my situation.

On the Needles
*Tempting
*Irish Hiking Scarf
*Sam Seed
*DNA Scarf

The scarfs are just...on hold. Not sure for how long. I REALLY want to finish tempting. A lot. A lot lot. If only to get it the hell off the needles. Also, I'd like the experience of shaping armholes and a neck/yoke in the round. I think it'll be a good learning experience. But mostly? I want it done with. K2P2 ribbing in the round? Boring.

Ready To Go
*Dale of Norway Patterns: Dalegarn Baby Winter 2003 (NR 139)

I have the yarn and dpn needles for this one. I'm going to see if I REALLY need to get circulars too. I probably do, honestly, since I think it's going to be just big enough that it would be difficult otherwise. Regardless, I'll be doing some intarsia, which will be a new experience for me! It's for a 9 month old baby, however, so I'm hoping that it won't take too long. Hahaha. Size 0 and 2 needles not taking long? I'm so funny. ;) The yarn is Baby Ull--really soft wool. It's for a baby here in Michigan so that should be good.

If the other experiment is a success, I'd like to make this for Sam. All of this will be affected by going back to school and my mood for knitting which seems to come and go. But still, they're darling patterns, super cute for kids AND Sam needs more sweaters because it gets COLD here.

I still also have 9.5 skeins of Cathay which now has no plan of action. I have 3 balls of Rowan Kidsilk Haze which is going to be for Kiri one of these days. I also have those two skeins of silk/wool mix. I need to see about getting more of it for a super fantastic Clapotis or something. I dunno. Either way, I need to get a few more FO before I spend more money. :(

FO: Featherweight Fantasy Stole

2005-06-27T08:35:00.000-04:00

I finally finished her. I hate the name of the pattern but whatever. I got it out of the The Best of Knitter's Magazine: Shawls and Scarves book. It is NOT blocked at the moment as I finished it about 20 minutes ago.

The book is good--it has a variety of shawls and pattern types. There are Shetlands, Faroe, generic ones. And Wendy recently finished another of patterns in the book here. It's breathtaking and out of my league at the moment.

Here she is! The "Featherweight Fantasy" shawl done in Knitpicks Elegance (70% baby alpaca and 30% silk) in Cornflower. It's remarkably light and it's very warm.

This is a detail of one of the repeats. Now, this was done by a row of pattern followed by a row of purling so it was an easier way to start lace knitting. Having a pattern every row would be more complicated.

This is an area that's just a disaster--Sam pulled the needles out at one point last night as I was nearing completion. I almost wept BUT, luckily, I managed to recover. Barely. I couldn't frog back (lace) and I couldn't figure out what had been pulled out so I just...fudged. It isn't nearly as noticable as I feared.

And here's a groggy T. wearing it to get a sense of size. This is pre-blocking and right now, it's a good lacy scarf, really, rather than stole. HOWEVER. Once I manage to block it within an inch of it's life, I'd imagine it'd open up a great deal. I also need to weave the ends in. I hate that part.

All in all, however, I'm pleased. I...had some problems with the pattern as I was going. I've figured out that I was inadvertantly adding stitches when I purled along and by the end, I'd fixed that problem. I also was starting to see the hows/whys of the pattern much more easily by the end. I didn't get familiar with chart reading like I'd planned which is a shame BUT I'm hoping that a few more projects will help with that.

New Skills: following a complex pattern. SKP2, S2KP2, 1L/Ts and so on. I'm not -scared- of trying a bigger lace pattern; I'm wary, perhaps, because of the concentration needed and the difficulties of complex knitting around toddlers but still. All in all, a success.

Books I Want Soon

2005-06-27T07:44:00.000-04:00

Just more as a mental note for me, a easily accessed book mark.

*Heirloom Knitting by Sharon Miller. The Author is a UK-based author and this is exclusively Shetland designed lace patterns and forms (from shawls to christening robes). This will be the holy grail, so to speak, of lace knitting for me. She has a nice website.
*The Great American Aran Afghan -- mostly since this seems like it'll be a MASSIVE project that will take a great deal of time. Lots of time. So, better to get it and slowly do it now. Seems like most people make it in Plymouth Encore. I understand why---washable and all. But I'm thinking I want it in something softer. I wish cashmere weren't so damned expensive but maybe a good worsted weight merino or something.
*Dale of Norway Books -- starting with the retro one and working my way through things. I just love love love their sweater patterns--and their kid's stuff. God, I love it. Their yarn feels nice and is reasonably priced too. :)

That's it for the "really want it now" ones. There are a few others that I'm interested in and I made a few note links.

Possible to get later:
*The Lacy Knitting of Mary Schiffmann which is a WHOLE messload of early 20th century lace patterns.
*Alice Starmore's Fisherman's Sweaters -- I do wish the publishers would reprint her other works. Her fair isle and aran books are going for almost 200 bucks on their listings.

Ooooh

2005-06-26T09:10:00.000-04:00

I saw examples from The Great American Aran Afgan book on a knitting website recently and WOW.

It's a great way to practice various aran patterns AND a great way to make a cozy afgan. Holy cow, gotta get this book.

More Books

2005-06-23T08:47:00.000-04:00

Ahha!

I finally looked at A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker.

Must. Buy. This. Book.

If I combine this one with the Michael Pearson's one, I'll be able to do some really powerful stuff. Again, I think I like the freedom of having just the patterns of the stitches and not a fully written out pattern.

I have to finish my stuff so that I can start some new stuff. Might swatch some of the patterns that caught my eye, however.

Aie

2005-06-22T13:37:00.000-04:00

Stephanie wants me to teach her how to knit. She's eight and this is a great age to show her how to do it. BUT. I'm a bit worried that a. I'm going to get frustrated with trying to teach physical things with her or b. I'm going to scar her for life.

Now yes, I used to teach. But teaching academic subjects is NOT the same as teaching a physical thing such as knitting. HOWEVER. She picked up cross-stitching (after watching me) fairly easily SO I'm hoping that it'll just be a matter of trying it. I taught my mom and my friend Krista after all. :)

Long Layoff

2005-06-22T13:24:00.000-04:00

So, I'd been in a slump. I'd managed to burn myself out on knitting for a while there, then we moved and blah blah.

Anyway, I'm feeling the knitting itch again! Which is good--I have way too many balls of yarn. There's a rather modest knitting section in my local library which, really, is a bummer BUT I stumbled on a book today that made me obscenely happy. :)

Michael Pearson's Traditional Knitting looks to be exactly what I'm looking for when it comes to knitting books for sweaters. I LOVE tradition British Isle sweaters: Aran, fisherman's ganseys, Fair Isle and so on. I've wanted to make them for some time BUT I've been intimidated.

When I first picked this book up at the library, I was stunned: there were no written out patterns. There WERE a lot of charts and so on but I'm used to operating from a formally written out pattern. However, as I read the introduction, I realized that Mr. Pearson had rather neatly laid out how to take these various pieces of pattern and put them together into a full garment. Also, the ganseys and Fair Isles were designed to be knit in the round. Heaven! The arans, alas, are designed for 2-needle knitting but only because that's the only way he was able to find patterns.

Regardless, I think this is going to prove to be a valuable resource for me. I looked and, alas, this book is out of print. I MIGHT be able to find it used-book style and I have access to it through my library but still. What a bummer. However, the recent trend of reissuing out-of-print knitting books fills me with hope that this one would be too. I'll still look for an old copy and I'll keep this checked out a lot but still. Maybe it'll be reissued.

I have a few other books on knitting out too. One of the bigger knitting treasuries, a book on knitting Christmas stockings (I'd have to start now!) and so on. But I THINK I'm going to get a bunch of fisherman's yarn and just knit up some of these patterns to see how they come out--it's MOSTLY just knits and purls. Whee! Experiments. :)

Hmmm.

2005-04-21T10:16:00.000-04:00

So, I did a wetblock of the swatch of Cathay. I have to say, I don't think I like the results. Its lost some of its glimmer. None of the drape, luckily. The gauge did improve. I find myself wondering, however, if I wouldn't be better served by just knitting with larger needles.

Anyway, there's the swatch. It is bigger, at least, so that's a good sign.

The close up is blurry, my camera sucks. The gauge is now 30 rows per 4 inches and 19 stitches per four inches. Much closer to what I wanted.

I would still recommend gentle blocking for this--mist, not a full wet blocking.

Cathay!

2005-04-20T15:22:00.000-04:00

So far, I'm enjoying this yarn. It is my first cotton yarn that I've knitted with (its a cotton/silk blend) and thus I'm mildly surprised at the nature of the cotton--I've been used to more elastic animal fibers.

That said, I'm liking it. Once I got past the caston row (I just cast on tightly), it knitted quickly in st-st. I don't know why I made my swatch so long--dont' ask me what I was thinking.

The gauge for me on US 5s is 36 rows in 4 inches and 25 stitches in for inches. The project I purchased the yarn for is calling for 30 rows and 22 sts. Which...probably means I need to go up at least one needle size. Blarugh. I'll end up using a whole damned skein on swatches.

I don't know if you can see it but there's a soft gleam/luster to this yarn. So. Pretty.

EDIT: I think I shall block this swatch--a full wet blocking--and see how the gauge shapes up then.

Never Go In A LYS

2005-04-19T12:16:00.000-04:00

I should never go in a LYS. I went into mine (The Knitting Basket) today looking for Jaeger Siena. I wanted to have the stuff to start the little dress for the girls.

Except I left with six balls of Debbie Bliss Cathay in 08 (which is lighter than that picture, of course), the newest InterweaveKnits, circular 5s and 3s. DOOOM. But once I saw the Cathay, I couldn't stop touching it or looking at it. There's a super cute bolero in it made of Cathay that I have my eye on.

Dooooooooooooooooooom.

**There will be pictures later. When I'm not feeling so lazy.

woo!

2005-04-15T14:29:00.000-04:00

So, since I know that P.'s little new baby is a girl, I'm going to make Anouk from Knitty for her. I'm going to do the 6 month size since most kids hit that by about month four. Either way, it can be a cute little dress.

I called Threadbear Fiber Arts for the Cascade Pima Tencel for it. They had everything but the red and they said the red should be in within about ten days. Man, those guys are great. And I know them--I should have the yarn by Monday or Tuesday. I still have to finish Tempting and the stole first. Must. Finish.

Blarugh!

2005-04-14T08:14:00.000-04:00

Its totally raining babies!

I have two friends who are pregnant--one is due in August, the other is due in November. They're military friends so, of course, they will be nowhere nearby when their babies are actually born. So no playing with new squishy babies for me. :(

ANYWAY, I want to make things for said babies. Sadly, however, I am lacking in the knowledge of the sex of said babies. And, well, I have other things I need to work on. Seriously. Bad Sarah.

So, my wish list is now getting reorganized.

I'm going to nix the laceweight Clapotis. I wasn't especially inspired by that anyway so its OK. The kidsilk haze shawl can wait until closer to fall, yes indeedy. Plus I have a few questions that need some serious asking so I might wait till I'm near Threadbear Fiberarts and can just ask them (or sign up for a class, whatever.)

So, that'll be the little cotton knit dress for Jessie, something for Sam--sweaters for the cold Michigan winters!, a little knit wrap for Erin-bear (cause NC gets chilly in the winter), and two things for the new babies. But I don't know what they are so that might be best to do after they're born.

Of course, all of this depends on me finishing AT LEAST Tempting and the stole. And preferrably at least one scarf. At least. Bleh!

EDIT: I totally forgot about Patricia's baby. So that's baby 3 who was just born last week! How exciting. :) That's a little girl, at least, so I know what I'm starting with there. :)

Bad Ass Knitter

2005-04-14T06:54:00.000-04:00

I am totally a bad ass knitter.

Sometimes this is because my knitting looks like ass but most of the time, its because I genuinely enjoy my knitting and I make no apologies for it. Anyway, check those puppies out. Not a bad mindset to have, hmm?

Also, I totally have found a few new knitblogs that will be added today. :)

Haha

2005-04-13T08:25:00.000-04:00

This is what I want to make for myself. With Rowan Calmer. I need to get my hands on the Rowan 35 book but I just love it so. Its so very lovely. Also, when I'm ready to make it, I do think it'd be rather flattering. (Yes, its my "hit your goal" reward for myself.) Oh Audry.

What I Would Like To Knit.

2005-04-12T12:36:00.000-04:00

OK.

So, here's what I have on my needles:

1. Irish Hiking Scarf. Or, as I call it, the scarf that will NEVER END. Since its getting warm, that's a total back burner one at this point.
2. Sam Seed Scarf. 3/4ths of the way done. Want it done before the fall in Michigan.
3. DNA Scarf. About 1/4th of the way done. Really easy, just need motivation to finish it.
4. Featherweight Fantasy from Shawls and Scarves. A little more than halfway finished. Should be completely finished within a week or two.
5. Tempting. I would say about 1/3 of the way finished. Need a measurement on Kathy but should be done by early May.

I am totally sick of scarves and once I finish the three on my needles? Not planning on making any any time soon. Unless its part of a present package. And that's a big old if.

What I would like to do soon:
1. Clapotis with Alpaca Cloud laceweight--using two strands of the laceweight yarn held together. REALLY not sure if I am going to commit to that BUT the yarn is super super soft and light so its tempting.
2. I'd like to START a super cute little daisy dress from Adorable Knits for Tots by Zoe Mellor. It has intarstia (or however you spell that) which will be a first for me. That'll be for Kelley's little girl. Its lightweight cotton on small needles. Deeeeath.
3. A sweater for Sam--there are several in the book I like. Also, some cute ones on Knitty. So we'll see.
4. The Kiri shawl using the Kidsilk Haze. There's a question I have about starting it that'll need help from some experience shetland shawl knitters so I might ask at Knitters Review bboard. Not sure if I'd keep it or give it as a gift. We'll see.

There's other stuff too but that would eat up a LOT of time. And its a managable list.

Progress

2005-04-12T12:06:00.000-04:00

Sooo, I thought I'd slap up a few progress pictures. Because hooray! I'm totally making some progress.

First, the lace stole I'm working on:

I've finished the first two repeats and started the third. There are four total. Now that I've done two repeats, its coming along much faster. I am SO glad I have some really sharp cheap boye needles--I need to dig into the stitches on the WS to purl.

The Elegance is still a lovely yarn to knit with and I am very pleased with it. It'll be soft and cozy which will actually be nice for Kathy shoulders. And my mistakes in the lacework are lessening as I go along--I'm getting much better at reading my knitting. (Still have a long way to go but hey. Progress.)

There's a nice close up. Pretty easy pattern, all things considered.

As for Tempting? She is coming along!

No close ups because she is just a K2P2 ribbing for now. I'm almost at 9 inches. The pattern calls for 14 but I'm probably going to do at least 16 if not 17. I have to physically measure Kathy to be sure. Its a nice mostly-mindless and soothing knit though.

***

I am also trying to destash a bit. This is partially because Sheep and Wool is approaching and also because we're getting ready to move. Also, like I said in my last post, the more I knit, the more I find that what I want to knit is changing and evolving so my original purchases are turning out to be a bit silly.

So, let me mentally try to organized here. The yarn that I offered before:

is still up for grabs. I am, however, adding 4 balls of Filatura di Crossa 501 in Natural (its a cream-colored 100% new wool--nice stuff) and 6 skeins of KnitPicks Andean Silk in Slate (alpaca/silk blend in a nice pretty Gray). One of each of those has been knitted on and then frogged and rewound. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS YARN. I just ain't gonna use it. So, you'd get the felted Merino from Classic elite, you'd get the dk baby microfiber from Plymouth, the 501 and the Andean Silk. For free. Because I NEED to destash. I'm sure SOMEONE can either think of a home or something. Otherwise I'm just going to dump this at Goodwill. I'd rather give it a loving home. ;) Tersa's got it. She can give it to whoever she wants! :D

Oh yeah.

2005-04-10T17:38:00.000-04:00

The more I knit myself and think about things that I would like to wear, the more I find myself looking at things like lace--I seem to be liking anything lacy lately. I can tell already there will be a limit to how many lace shawls and the like that *I* can have but they will be good gifts for other people. Especially yummy things like cashmere, merino, silk blends and kidsilk haze. Depending.

HOWEVER--when I look at sweaters again (for both myself and kids AND possibly Scott), I find myself looking at the Zoe Mellor Adorable Knits for Tots book and things from Dale of Norway. The more I see them, the more I love them. I TOTALLY am not at the point where I can make them but moving to Michigan is making me think of warm winter sweaters.

I DID, however, find a Norweigan sweater by Wendi of Wendi Knits that was on Knitty. It might be worth experimenting with since you knit in the round and have to cut in steeks for the neck and sleeves. I dunno, we'll see. It doesn't look INSANELY hard, however. Its just a matter of experimenting and trying, you know?

We shall see. Almost finished a full repeat of the lace pattern. Two more to go then....

Stuff I'm Learning

2005-04-09T19:55:00.000-04:00

First, I hope you all notice the EVER INCREASING list of blogs and sites that is on the sidebar. Its been a domino affect--the more I look at knitting blogs, the more I notice OTHER knitting blogs and, well, soon all I will do all day is read knitting blogs and covet other people's yarn.

Its a disease, I tell ya.

REGARDLESS! I am learning some neat techniques with my Tempting work and my lace work. I've learned how to do a Russian Join to combine skeins and that website made it super easy. Mine still looks a bit...well. Awkward. But my second time doing it is already way better than the first and so on. So very cool. Its much neater than knotting things together.

Also, I've seen several Clapotis that were done using laceweight yarn on smaller needles. Ohlala, that's an intriguing thought. I have some laceweight Alpaca Cloud that would be a beautiful and soft Clapotis. Also, there's the thought of doing it with two things of lace yarn held together on 8s. DECISIONS. WHAT TO DO??

Uh. I SO need to finish Tempting and the lace first. No. Excuse. Going to leave soon! Must get to KitKat. Arugh.

Oh La La

2005-04-07T16:14:00.000-04:00

Oh, blogger, how I hate thee.

I had a long post getting into hysterics about Two Pointy Sticks Yarn and how much I want it.

Also, I am super excited about The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival that I will be going to with my mom, Sam, maybe Scott and maybe my sister and neice. Take a look at the vendor list and squeal like a little girl like I did.

Caroline, you up for possibly trying to meet up at it? ;)

Must not buy yarn. Must not buy yarn. Must finish at least two projects before festival. I'm off to cry like a little girl now.