Knitted Fits

Great American Afghan Wrap Up

2010-12-30T14:17:00.005-05:00

It's finished! Yay! What a relief. I completed it before Christmas (on Christmas Eve), but mom wasn't home for the holidays, so she told me not to send her package until after Christmas. Whew!

Here are my comments on each square:

Square 1 was pretty cool to knit. The center square (where the hearts are and the socks end up being) is knit back and forth, and then stitches are picked up all around the square so that the larger square is knit in the round with increases in the corners. This square was knit on size US6, and I really like Cascade 220 on this size of needle; it makes a very nice fabric.

The socks were fun to knit too. I didn't use the separated Cascade 220; instead I used a fine fingering/laceweight yarn with 0000 needles, so my socks turned out tiny (and adorable). Also, I didn't do the color pattern. The heel is marked with a piece of waste yarn and then added later (I think EZ calls this an afterthought heel?). And these are probably my favorite toes.

This square (along with several others) had lots of post-knitting finishing work. As you can see, I didn't do all the extra needlework called for in the pattern (I'm here to knit, not needlepoint).

Square 2
The interesting thing about this afghan was that many of the squares were done with techniques or in ways that I'd never done before. To make the center square here, you cast off in the middle of a row, and then pick up stitches in the cast off on the way back. Very interesting to knit.

Square 3 is really pretty and straightforward to knit. Just watch out for the yarn overs between the purl and knit stitches. Also, cabling is of course easier without a cable needle.

Square 4 is, in my opinion, badly designed. The row gauge is so vastly different between the moss stitch (on the left) and the cable pattern (on the right) that the designer tells you to do short rows in the moss stitch section. She recommends three sets of short rows, but that of course depends on your own row gauge. I had to do six sets of short rows to get it to come out squarish. I get that the patterns are supposed to look like sand and sea, but ugh. The little critters were OK to make, but I didn't appreciate all the extra finishing work. I used Noro Silk Garden to make the crab and the shell. The fish are made with other colors of Cascade 220 used in the afghan.

Square 5 is awesome! OK, row 41 took about two hours to finish, but the pattern held my interest and I was able to finish this one pretty quickly. The bobbles are easier and faster if you knit back backwards.

Square 6 is my own design taken from stitch patterns in one of Nicky Epstien's books. I just couldn't stand to do the square 6 in the book. All that embroidery would require either lots of ends to weave in or lots of thread running across the back of the work, which is of course a huge no-no. I'll save my embroidery for my embroidery projects.

Square 7 was very enjoyable to knit. It's listed as one of the most difficult to knit, and I think that's because you have to knit from three different charts at the same time. I renumbered the leaf chart to include rows 27-52 so that I knew where I was in relation to the main chart. It's really a beautiful pattern.

Square 8 is by one of my favorite designers: Kathy Zimmerman. I used highlighter tape to keep track of my rows. Can't you just see that pattern on a sweater?

Square 9 was fun to knit. It's knit from corner to corner, on the diagonal. Again, the bobbles are a lot easier if you knit (or purl) back backwards. I love the purl-in-the-row-below pattern. It looks great.

I've included two photos of square 10 'cause Chelsea looks really cute of course while she's assisting with the blocking and because while the photo on the left shows the stitch pattern, the color is weird. The tuck stitch was not enjoyable. Viewed up close, it doesn't do much for me, but it looks good in the photos (i.e., from a distance).

Of course I had to knit the kitty, square 11. It was fun and easy. I don't like the gauge of Cascade 220 on size US 8 needles though.

Square 12 was my first try at entrelac. The pattern calls for extra finishing work (chain stitch in two of the corners to make them match the other two corners), but I realized part of the way through that if I just picked up the stitches *behind* the slip-stitch edge, the line of stitches will be there and the extra chain stitches aren't necessary. Anyway, this was a fun one to knit.

Yawn. Square 13 is good knitting for a road trip during which you have to serve as navigator as well as resident knitter. It's a stand-out square, though, visually speaking.

Square 14 was nice to knit. My only trouble came from not reading the instructions thoroughly. I jumped right into the graph after the garter stitch border and couldn't figure out why my stitch count was wrong. Turns out there's also a stockinette stitch border, too!

Oy, square 15. Life is too short (much less the time that was left before Christmas) for making those "leaves" and then stitching them on. And how do they stay puffed up like they are in the photo in the book? If I had to do this again, I wouldn't do the "stamens" either. They don't look like stamens, and this square doesn't look like a flower, even with the "leaves." But I really like the stitch pattern.

Square 16 is gorgeous! I had to use a cable needle for the cables on rows 18 and 24, etc., and row 9 threw me for a loop (no pun intended) at first--I wasn't using my tape to track my rows and missed the new knit stitch to start the first full leaf. This pattern is really, really beautiful.

I don't know what I did wrong on square 17. I'm pretty sure I followed the instructions, but I had to pick up WAY more that 35 stitches to complete the center, which tells me that I join the little rectangles together correctly (or something). I did not enjoy knitting this one. If I'm really bored some day, I'll try this one again just to see what I did wrong.

Square 18 looks really cool, but save it for knitting in public or in the car. It was really boring to knit. It's knit in the round from the center out. I think it would make a nice hat if it's kept round (no corner increases) and a rib border is added. I had a really hard time blocking this to a square. The one photographed on page 44 in the book looks perfect, but when it's shown stitched into the afghan, it's crooked like mine.

I just couldn't bring myself to make square 19 as written. All those ends to weave in on top of having to stitch two (two!) sections of three-stitch wide garter stitch and then sew them to the entrelac. No thanks. So I came up with this design using stitch patterns in Barbara Walker's Second Treasury. I think it would make a great panel on a sweater.

All I can say about square 20 is that it's done. I don't really like it. It was pretty easy to knit once I figured out the tension on the leaf stitches (make the loops really loose!). Also, instead of going under the bars between the stitches, I went into the middle of the center stitch so that the two leaves are exiting from the center rather than to each side of the center. Knitting back backwards helps the bud stitch to go faster.

Square 21 was great. I really like the cable pattern on the right. I don't know why I don't have a better photo of this square. It was a very entertaining knit.

Heather Lodinsky is doing what she does best here: creating rich, dense fabric. The cable is a bit boring (over and over and over), but it looks great. This is yet another square with more finishing work, but it's too plain without the addition of the I-cord chain stitch. The (umm, er) "instructions" for chain stitch are on page 31 of the book, not in the back with the rest.

I like the idea of I-cord intarsia, but I don't like this square. The instructions don't say this, but the increases should continue all the way to the very last row. I had to rip this one out and redo it. Also, I don't like the gauge on size 8 needles.

Ah, Eugene Beugler, the lace mastermind designed square 24. Very cool square. Feather and Fan is always a nice stitch pattern.

Last but not least, square 25 by the fabulous Nancy Bush. This stitch was so much fun, and I can hardly wait to try it in other projects (with beads?). I forgot to do one of the wraps in the last row, and I didn't notice the omission until after I had cast off. But it was easy to use the tail to weave back and insert the wraps about the appropriate stitches.

Overall, this was an OK project. I didn't like all the extra finishing work (not very knitterly). I'm also making the Great Aran Afghan (is that the right name?), and I'm hoping it does not follow suit. I think I'm on square 6 or 7, and so far, there's no extra finishing work (i.e., sewing on extra do dads).

Piecing was not a problem. The crochet border would have been faster, but as I found myself with a couple extra days to finish, I chose to knit on the border as called for since I had never before done that border.

Great American Afghan Update

2010-10-19T10:41:00.006-04:00

I'm almost halfway finished with my squares. Of course, I'm behind schedule if I want to finish and ship this for Christmas. I have nine weeks to knit 14 squares, sew them together, and finish. Hmmm....

Anyway, here's my progress so far.

Square 1
Square 2
Square 3
Square 4
Square 5
Square 7
Square 8
Square 9
Square 10
Square 11
Square 12

I'm not knitting square 6 as written because I don't want to add the needlework; the stitches would require lots of running thread across the back or lots of weaving-in of lots of ends. Not very knitterly.

Here's a swatch of what I'm substituting for square 6:

I can't decide if I'm going to knit square 13 as written either. Again, there's already too much going on in terms of having to add things to these blocks after I'm finished knitting them (see blocks 1, 4, 15, in addition to 6 and 13).

The cool thing about this project is that so far, with the exception of block 11 (the cat), every block has included a technique and/or stitch that I've not ever done before (block 12 was my first experience with entrelac). It's been a good learning experience.

Knitting Graph Paper

2010-10-17T19:06:00.002-04:00

I just found this Web site that has a knitting graph paper tool--you tell it how many rows and stitches (and a couple other values), and it spits out printable graph paper. I tried a couple of others, but this one is the best of those I tried.

P.S. It works better with IE than with Firefox.

Finally, in 2009

2009-06-15T11:17:00.004-04:00

My how time flies! I've picked up my needlework again. Here's what I've been up to since last fall:

I finished the Farrow Rib Cardigan:

It's from Interweave Knits, and it was a nice pattern to work up. My cardigan is 100% alpaca--a female named Jewel, with whom I'm personally acquainted. :o) For Christmas, I made Chris's dad this Meg Swansen vest:

It was hard to know exactly the size to make, so after completing it and Bruce trying it on, I had to steek and reknit the facings.

For Chris's mom, I made Pearls of Wisdom by Brenda Patipa.

This is unblocked. I forgot to take a photo of the piece after blocking, but it turned out beautifully, and Anne-Marie loved it.

For Helena, I made these mittens by Jared Flood in Vogue Knitting:

It's a great pattern and lots of fun to knit.

I made a pair of mitts for Judy. This photo shows us both wearing our mitts, which are made from the same pattern with the same yarn, but with the color work reversed.

Some Canadian friends invited us to watch President Obama's inauguration from the Canadian embassy, so to thank them, I knitted Denis a scarf and Louise a pair of cashmere mitts:

For Cindy for her birthday, I made her a pair of bed socks:

I also made a couple scarves and a hat, and I finished my spring cardigan (finally), but I still need to take photos of the latter.

And I just finished this scarf for Mary for her birthday:

To needlework!

Pat's Huswife, which will be a way to store and carry needlework tools:

The photo on the left is a photo of a photo of the finished product. The photo on the right is my work in progress. The outline on the right is where the scissors will be kept, and it is done in hardanger.

This is Venetian Delight:

Again, a photo of the what the project will be and a photo of my progress. This is canvaswork designed by Jean Hilton and Ro Pace. I took this class from them at a national seminar for the American Needlepoint Guild.

I've started on a group correspondence course with the Embroiderers' Guild of America. It's a drawn thread piece called Angelina. This is a photo of the project since mine at this stage just looks like a piece of white linen with barely visible basting lines:

And lastly, I've started on a piece of counted work on 40-count silk gauze. The needle is placed for scale.

Update

2008-10-29T18:07:00.003-04:00

I have more finished projects!
I finished the second shawl from VLT: the scarf or shawl with center panel. I gave it to Auntie Pat (my husband's aunt) when we visited her in Cornwall, England, in September.

While in Cornwall, I almost finished my Transition Gloves and the Farrow-Rib Cardigan:

WWMD?

2008-07-09T12:34:00.005-04:00

I'm just back from Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp I. Camp was fantastic, the knitting was fantastic, and Meg is fantastic. And my head is about to explode it's so stuffed with knitting.

I discovered Meg Swansen several years ago. Then I discovered Elizabeth Zimmerman, and then I discovered they are daughter and mother. Meg always looks as though she's a really nice person in her photos (her eyes always seem to smile), and after being in her class, I know she is one of the most gracious people on the planet, not to mention one of the most talented knitters and designers.

There was show-and-tell every day of camp. I showed-and-told on day two. The following day, Meg actually remembered my pathetic knitting and asked to see it more closely. It blew me away that someone of her renown and talent would be interested in and would be troubled to remember such a detail.

I would say Meg is a real lady (the word "lady" is used far too indiscriminately these days), and Helena would say Meg is a class act.

So one of my new mottos to live by is "What would Meg do?" (WWMD?), which applies not just in knitting scenarios. :o)

Here are some photos from camp:

Meg at the white board.

Meg showing us something really useful.

The Wall o' Sweaters

A portion of the Wall, which includes my two faves.

Turkish Maple

A detail of the Turkish Maple. Meg signs her work--what a great idea!

The Phoenix is even more impressive in person!

Me and Meg

Me and Joyce.

Joyce in one of her incredible sweaters. Joyce is such a doll! She's friendly, helpful, and charming, to say nothing of her knitting.

Me and Amy. Not only is Amy extremely talented, knowledgeable, and helpful, she's also the comic relief! Amy got me over my steeking hump.

This is the swatch sweater I knit in camp. It's Meg's spiral yoke sweater. I can't wait to make one that will fit me!

Anyhoo, here's what I've been working on these days:

Michael Kors cabled cape in Fall 2007 Vogue Knitting

Transition Gloves from Shibui

Scarf or Shawl with a Center Pattern from Victorian Lace Today

Norwegian cardigan from Dale knit in Kolibri cotton. Amy and Joyce helped me steek and cut this at camp. Holy Toledo! The finishing will take as long as the knitting did. But I love it!

Farrow Rib Cardigan in Jewel the alpaca in Winter 2007 Interweave Knits. Almost done!

Lizard Ridge!

2007-12-12T12:16:00.001-05:00

It's FINISHED! I am really happy with the way this turned out. I had my doubts as mine is a lot more colorful than the afghan shown in the pattern (the author maybe used the same colorway for all the blocks?), but it looks pretty, I think.

I made 35 blocks instead of 24 (too short and skinny with just 24), and I used pieces of the leftover balls of Kuryeon to crochet the edge.

Anyhoo, here are the photos (somehow I managed to take all these photos sans cats, which is freaky since they are all over this afghan all the time):

This photo was taken sometime on or just after Thanksgiving Day. It's partially sewn together. The little bits of white paper you see on some of the squares are labels so I knew the order in which to stitch the square together.

Here it is all sewn together, w/o the crochet edge. I had to have a crochet lesson from Roxanne (who is blogless) before I could proceed.

Viola!

But then, during final blocking, I found a hole. Of course I had to stick my finger in it, and it of course got bigger. The yarn broke! This has never happened to me before. Woe. So I darned it, darn it, and it's all better now.

Gentleman's Fancy Socks and Hogwart's Sock Swap

2007-12-12T11:11:00.000-05:00

I knit these for Adrian (a.k.a. David), who was my swap partner in the Hogwart's Sock Swap II.

The pattern is from Nancy Bush's Vintage Socks, knit with Schaefer Anne in red 'cause Adrian is a Gryffindor on sizes 0 and 1. The pattern calls for 0s, but I was concerned about the heels being too tights, so I jumped up a needle size for the heels and part of the insteps. Adrian says they fit!

That's Rita Skeeter (courtesy of Judy) marking the end of the row.

I got this fabulous bunch of stuff from Adrian:

Kismet with the basket of goodies. Adrian also has a cat, so mine had to check things out extra-thoroughly.

These warm and wooly socks are knit with Lisa Souza sock yarn. I love them!!

Adrian included two sets of dpns and two boxes of Harry Potter stickers!

And a Harry Potter 2008 calendar.

And these beautiful stitch markers, also in Ravenclaw's house colors.

It's Chelsea's turn to check things out (she apprrrroves). The socks fit perfectly! I wear them all the time. :o)

Pearls of Wisdom

2007-10-11T12:50:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, I cast on Pearls of Wisdom, a Brenda Patipa pattern, which I purchased from Lisa Souza in a kit. The yarn is baby alpaca and silk, and the color is Celadon.

I finished the first Central Air sock from STR a while ago, and I finally managed to take a photo of it. I'm also working on the Hogwart's Sock Swap sock, but I can't post photos yet of course.

And last week, I finished the Silkworker silk that was on the butterfly wheel, and I set the first batch of the Fire Song kid mohair that was on the Traditional Ashford.

Spring Cardigan

2007-09-26T14:53:00.000-04:00

So I've been working on this cardigan off and on (more off than on) for several years. When I got back into knitting in a serious way last year, this was this first thing I picked up, and I finished the left front in one night. However, it had been so long since I knit a cardigan that I forgot to knit both fronts at the same time. Argh.

Anyhoo, I'm blocking the pieces as I get them finished since blocking five pieces at once isn't bunches of fun, and they all take up quite a bit of room.

After looking at this photo on my computer screen, I realized I needed to fix the crooked way I had the back pinned!

I might give this to my sister, depending on how it turns out. These really aren't my colors. The sleeves are almost finished, and I'm about a third of the way done with the right front. It's mostly in stockinette, so I get really bored with it, which is why it's taken so long to get anywhere with this project!

Fall Weather?

2007-09-26T14:34:00.000-04:00

Cooler weather makes me want to get back to my spinning, so last week when it was cooler than it is this week, I sat back down in front of two of my wheels. On the Ashford, I'm working on kid mohair from Fire Song, and on the butterfly wheel, I'm working on silk from the Silkworker.

I gave the VLT fichu to Loretta for her birthday, and it happens to go very well with a necklace she bought from me last year.

Summer Knitting

2007-09-20T12:17:00.000-04:00

First, I have a finished project! It's A Wide Triangle from Victorian Lace Today (one down and 100 to go). I ran out of yarn a couple weeks ago, just inches from the end, so I had to call Habu and have them send more. They said they only had a little bit left, so I said to send whatever was left, and now I think I have enough to make another little scarf. Ah well.

It's knit with Habu Tsumugi A-1 2/17 on size 5 needles in color number 46. The beads along the edge were sold at Bead Obsessions (until we ran out). Dear Chelsea honestly believes it's impossible for me to block without her "help."

I'm still working on Grasshopper and Central Air, but sock priority right now is with my Hogwart's Sock Swap 2 sock for Adrian. No photos in case he peeks in here. Also still on the needles are MS3 and a sweater. And Lizard Ridge plods along, hopefully fast enough for Christmas!

I'm in the process of switching all my photo links to a new Flickr account, so hopefully I won't have any broken links!

Island Knitting

2007-07-20T10:24:00.000-04:00

St. John was beautiful and wonderful! We had a great time, and we were able to really destress. It's amazing what happens to time on the islands. Vacation photos can be found here.

I completed clue 1 for MS3. That's Coral Bay in the background. The photo was taken from the deck of the place we rented.

Since I didn't have (or want) access to the Internet, I missed the posting of clue 2 and was consequently behind pretty much from the get-go. Then of course there was the post-vacation craziness when we returned, so I didn't start on clue 2 until this week, and I finished it yesterday.

I also worked on Lizard Ridge and socks for my mom. The socks are Central Air pattern and Rooster Rock colorway, both from Blue Moon Fibers.

Hogwarts Sock Swap Two Questionnaire

2007-07-17T17:46:00.000-04:00

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? A: Ravenclaw

2. Shoe size? A: 9.5 wide

3. Foot Length? A: 10”

4. Foot Circumference? A: 9”

5. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.

A: In no particular order:
a. Clover
b. Knit Picks
c. Inox
Size and length: I like to have various lengths in my needle palette, in sizes 0000 through 8 (obviously not just for socks).

6. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? A: Sure, anything not plastic. The only ones I’ve hated so far are the Pony Pearl DPNs.

7. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? A: Book colors (blue and bronze), but not a strong preference.

8. Allergies? Do you have any? Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? A: No allergies, and I have cats.

9. Are you an international participant (outside US)? Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal? A: I am in the U.S., and I’m willing to have an international pal.

Would you like to join the Hogwarts Sock Swap? Registration started July 14, 2007. Click here for more information and to join; hurry, 'cause I think it's closing soon (it's almost full)!

June Update

2007-06-23T15:52:00.000-04:00

First of all, this is, apparently, why I knit:

i.e., to provide bedding for Chelsea.

She's appearing below as the Llama Slut, a follow-up to her debut as the Yarn Harlot.

So I finished my top-down raglan, which was a KAL with Sweet Life Knitters. I finished knitting on June 12, then I blocked, and the wove in the ends just the other night. I made it large enough to fit my husband, so it's a bit large on me, but I don't think he will wear it (he doesn't like the stitch pattern on the sleeves). Ideally, he would like something knit entirely in stockinette stitch, and I would die of boredome making soemthing like that, so he may never receive a sweater knit by me.
It's very warm, knit in organic Columbian wool. It will be great outerwear in the fall and winter.

I've swatched for the Mystery Stole 3. It's Habu 2-ply cashmere (from my stash!), and I swatched on size 4 needles; I'm happy with this combo. The color is a very dark eggplant, and I still need to pick out the beads. I am pretty sure I'm going to try to do this KAL. I love Melanie's patterns.

Knitting along

2007-05-24T12:36:00.000-04:00

I love Lizard Ridge! I'm doing some blocking as I go 'cause doing it all at once would not be a whole lotta fun. And it's nice to see it laid out a bit.

And here's my progress on Knee High to a Grasshopper:

Work continues on the top-down rag. I'm taking it with me this weekend to Philly. We're taking the train, so that's lots of good knitting time.

And finally, some beauties from the garden:

Finished Project Alert!

2007-05-08T14:54:00.000-04:00

Yay!! Allegro socks from Red Bird Knits sock of the month club are (finally) finished! They're blocking as I write. I love the toe on these toe-up socks. This was my first toe-up pair. The yarn in Colinette Cadenza in color Lapis.

Top-Down Rag Progress

2007-05-02T11:43:00.000-04:00

We have a complete left sleeve (and a cat):

High Meadow Farm Lodge

2007-03-20T21:43:00.001-04:00

Photos of where we vacationed in February can be found here.

High Meadow Farm Lodge is a great place to hide from the world and get lots of beading, knitting, reading, etc., done!

I have FPs!

2007-03-20T21:31:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not, I have finished projects!

First, I made a pair of fingerless gloves for a friend's birthday at the beginning of February, but they left the house without a single photo of them taken. :o( I used the Fetching pattern from Knitty. Nice, quick pattern.

Then I finised a pair of fingerless gloves for myself using this pattern with kid mohair I spun, purchased from Fire Song Fibers at Maryland Sheep and Wool. I've checked the list of vendors on festival's Web site, and Fire Song isn't listed there. Hmmm....

Then I finished Chris's Aran sweater. It was knit in ecru bulky wool from Brown Sheep (Lamb's Pride). I had a dye lot problem, so I died the parts in a synthetic dye, dark blue, to try to rid me of my problem. I didn't have pots big enough to do all four pieces in one pot, so I ended up with a dye lot problem of different sort. I went ahead and finished the piece, and as soon as my new used 100-quart stock pot arrives, I'll be dying the finished sweater again to try to even out the color variations.

Then I finished Swallowtail! Yay!!! My first lace shawl. I am very happy with the finished product! The pattern is lovely, although the nupps weren't too much fun, I got through them. I was very glad I read about the problems other knitters had with them and the useful tips they had (i.e., hold a second needle while making the YOs).

What I've Been Up To

2007-01-19T10:47:00.000-05:00

Well, mostly I've been up to doing inventory at Bead Obsessions, but I've been knitting and spinning too. Oh, and shopping, both live and in person and virtually.

Here are the latest acquisitions:
Kid mohair from Springwater, probably for one of the little scarves in VLT.

This came a while ago as a part of a shawl club (which has discontinued). I'm not thrilled with the color (emerald green), but the pattern is gorgeous.

This is my first installment (December 2006) of the Red Bird Knits sock-of-the-month club. It's currently on the needles. It's a fun knit, the yarn, Colinette Cadenza (100% merino) is very nice, even if it does smell of vinegar!

I also got these three sock patterns from Red Bird:

I can hardly wait to start this one:

It's the Kitri sock from the Tsock Tsarina and Vancalcar Acres. The pattern is stunning, and it's beaded!

Christmas 2006

2007-01-18T13:31:00.000-05:00

Here's what I got for Christmas!

A kitting journal and scarf from Ilene

Adorable stitch markers from Judy

An invaluable yarn meter from Helena

Weee! A yarn swift and ball winder from my dahling husband Chris

A hand painted drop spindle from Amber--I love ladybugs!

And a set of Knit Picks circs from my Chris

We also received a Christmas quilt made by my mom, but Chelsea thinks it's hers.

Busybusybusy

2006-12-11T18:53:00.000-05:00

Things have been a crazy--crazy in a good way. We just concluded our busiest week ever at Bead Obsessions, thanks in part to the gorgeous trunk show from Blue Heeler Glass.

I'm still plugging away at the last of the Christmas scarves.

The two Pine Cone scarves turned out very nicely.

I'm really happy with how this handspun looks, feels, and works in this pattern.

The multi-yarn red scarf destined for a teen in the East Village looks better in person than in this photo, I think. If she doesn't like it, I'll wear it.

My first installment of the Shawl Club arrived the other day. And I'm still drooling over Victorian Lace Today on a near-daily basis. My reward for working on the Christmas scarves is getting to do a few repeats on chart 2 of the Swallow Tail. It's coming along nicely.

I also finished the 2006 Bead Obsessions Ball Gown today! Yay! I haven't taken a photo of the FO yet, but here it is almost finished.

And here are a couple photos just too dang cute not to share.
Chelsea is helping me out with the red scarf.
Who's the yarn harlot?

2006-11-28T13:37:00.000-05:00

Ah, the cooking is done, the kitchen is all clean, and the relative is gone. Time to get back to the good stuff.

OK, so I got really tired of knitting scarves with big yarn on big needles, and although I promised myself I wouldn't cast on anything, especially lace, until after the Christmas knitting was finished, I couldn't help myself. I cast on some lace, and I've been sort of ignoring the Christmas to-do list and knit, knit, knitting lace. I am weak.

I've been reading so much lately about other knitters' experiences with the Swallow Tail that I thought I'd give it a try. So far, so good. I'm making it bigger though. The yarn is some "vintage" yarn that was given to me. The label says only that it's 2 oz., navy, and 100% wool. No name, no gauge or needle recommendations, no dye lot, and no yardage. The skeins are substantial though for fingering weight yarn, and I have three skeins, so I'm pretty sure I'll be OK. The original pattern calls for under 450 yards, and I'm not quite doubling the size. Wish me luck.

Plan B in lieu of the failed Nantucket yarn project is to spin some naturally colored superfine merino and silk blend top to make the DNA scarf. The scarf calls for just under 500 yards of sport weight yarn, so I'm trying to make a 2-ply sport weight rather than a single ply so there is better stitch definition in the knitting. I need to hurry up though! I've already told the spouse that his parents aren't getting their Christmas gifts on time, which is OK since they're always gone for weeks at a time during the holidays and won't be home to receive the package anyway. (We won't consider that the possibility of me getting a gift package to them before they leave for the holidays even exists.)

I gotta go spin!

More Christmas Scarves Underway

2006-11-20T19:02:00.000-05:00

So, I just need to add the fringe to the Pine Cone Scarf and then block it, but of course I'm procrastinating about that since I hate finishing. In the meantime, I started a second version. It's an experiment, and so far, I like it. I have several skeins (just one of each) of brushed mohair, wool, and handspun, all in reds, and I've had them bagged together for a while now because I like the way they look together. The Pine Cone knits up in a snap, so I gave it a whirl.
Kismet thinks I'm weird. Here's the scarf as it was the night before last. I've since frogged and started over as I made a couple mistakes and couldn't live with them. The scarf is for a 13-year-old girl who lives in the East Village. Will she like it?
Hopefully, I'll finish this tonight, and then I'll fringe and block both.

Also on the needles is a mock cable scarf from Vogue Knitting in Nantucket handspun (not by me) Romney.

The wool is grown and sold on Nantucket, and while I like the idea of helping preserve a traditional cottage industry, I'm not thrilled with the wool. It's very rough; probably it's overprocessed? It's a bit overspun too. Sylvia the spinning teacher mentioned that it's possible to add some oil back to the yarn/roving, and so I knit a swatch and added oil to it (vitamin E oil is what I used), and it helped a bit. The wool sucked the oil in very quickly, so I think it would take a whole lotta oil to help this out. So I'm on to plan B (whatever that is) for a scarf for the spouse's dad. The DNA scarf would be suitable; I'll have to go through my roving stash to see what I can spin up for it.

Also finished this week one class project for the shop and started two others. But you'll have to visit Bead Obsessions to see those.

#4 on the Xmas list finished

2006-11-14T11:35:00.000-05:00

Here's Chelsea modeling Branching Out. She loves alpaca and silk.

I'll finish the Pine Cone Scarf today, so I can cross that off my list too! Then three more to go. Then I have all the beading projects to get done. Luckily I'm not making anything for the spouse for Christmas.

Whilst

2006-11-10T12:57:00.000-05:00

Some say clear thinking comes whilst (I love the word "whilst") they are exercising, but for me it's while I'm spinning or knitting. And then I wonder why I didn't think of it previously. Ah well.

It came to me today while trying to get some Christmas knitting done how I can reorganize my Web site. The knitting didn't go well (first I frogged, then I tinked, then I tinked again, and then I tinked some more), and I decided the paperwork gods were punishing me for not working on paperwork for Bead Obsessions. So I'll post here and then get back to what I'm supposed to be doing during the day. Shame on me!

But last night I did get the rest of the yarn for the Pine Cone Scarf plied while (whilst) the brownies for tonight were baking, and now it's setting.

What a week!

2006-11-07T10:50:00.000-05:00

I finished the Melon Stitch Scarf! I started on a new lace pattern too (a Christmas present and for Lacevember). I've been reading about lots of people knitting Branching Out, so I'm giving it a try. What fun! It knits up pretty quickly. I'm using my handspun alpaca/silk blend.

We went to Stitches East on Friday and did some major damage. Yarn for years of enjoyment! I was very very bad. I purchased and had the author, Jane Sowerby, sign Victorian Lace Today. Ms. Sowerby is lovely, and the book is very inspirational.

I also received my order from Fearless Fibers: three skeins of cashmere for the Casino Shawl and one skein of Wisteria colorway that I don't know yet what I'll do with it, but I just loved the colors too much and there was only one skein left (so obviously I had to have it).

Also on the needles is the Pine Cone Scarf from Interweave Knits, Winter 2004. I'm knitting it with some handspun that I plied.

New to Bloggin'

2006-11-01T11:47:00.000-05:00

OK, here I go! I figure this is a good day to start blogging since I joined the Lacevember KAL (knitting being one of my obsessions). You can join the KAL with a project already on needles, so that's what I'm doing.

It's the Melon Stitch Scarf adapted by Carol Huebscher Rhoades on 100% kid mohair yarn from Brooks Farm in Lancaster, Texas. I purchased the yarn from Brooks Farm at the Maryland Sheep and Wood Festival.

I've also signed up for the Lace Shawl KAL. I've ordered handpainted cashmere lace weight yarn from Fearless Fibers and I plan to knit the Casino Shawl from Annie at KnitSpot. So I'm impatiently waiting for the USPS delivery, but I'm sure I won't get started until after the Christmas stuff is finished.

Hot off the needles is an Aran-type sweater I'm making for my husband. It's Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride bulky and Reynold's pattern no. 401. Now to block and finish.

Also just off the needles is this scarf knit with some sort of specialty yarn I purchased at Knit Happens. I can't remember what is was, but it was a truly mindless knit and very warm and pretty. This one is a Christmas present.

Btw, I'm having a horrible time getting images to upload. I've checked the help section, and I'm doing what they say, so if anyone has any tips, I'd appreicate them. I'm trying to post other stuff, but I'm getting no where, so I'll try later.

Of course, my main obsession is my bead shop, Bead Obsessions. I'll be posting a blog-type page pertaining to the shop at that site.