Long Dog Knits

Happy May

2010-05-02T19:46:00.003-04:00

Wow, no posts at all in April, pretty sad. I've been knitting but have just been too lazy to sit and write a blog post. These were April's projects.

Up first is a Stockinette version of Haruni by Emily Ross. I used US5 needles I think, and Malabrigo sock in Cote D'Azure. I love everything about this shawl. After using the malabrigo sock it's the only thing I ever want to knit with again. I had the chance to stop in at Webs last month and grabbed enough for a light sweater. I can't wait to start that.

Next, which actually was finished first, is a simple vest of my own design in Reynolds Whiskey. I like it but as you can see the neck opening isn't low enough and the straps are too wide. I don't know if I'll fix it or not, I don't have much green left and I can't decide if it bothers me enough. I finished this just as we got hit with some very warm weather so I've only had the chance to wear it once, I'll decide in the fall what to do with it.

I was going to show May's projects but I just had to rip out my Indigo ripples skirt so that will have to wait until next time. Let's see if I can be less of a stranger around these parts! Maybe I'll even remember to take some pictures of my sewing.

FO: Bauhaus

2010-03-22T17:57:00.002-04:00

Bauhaus Fair Isle by Mary Jane Mucklestone
Berroco Ultra Alpaca
US4 and US5

So I finally got some decent pictures of my husband's Christmas gift. Unfortunately the colors are a bit washed out. The sweater took about three months of monogamous knitting and was by far the most challenging thing I've knit. It did drag towards the end but overall I did enjoy it and I'm really proud of how it came out. After a good wet blocking my tension is very even and it has a nice drape. I used several colors of Berroco Ultra Alpaca and the maroon is a skein I picked up from the Coventry farmer's market two years ago. He picked all the colors and I really like the combo he came up with. I like this yarn for colorwork and would use it again. It is very dense but it's good for those really cold days. My only issue with the pattern is that the armholes are really big. Maybe my husband is thinner than most but there is more room than needed in that area. He still says it's comfortable but we know now to take a close look at armhole measurements for future sweaters. I've got the colorwork bug now though, after my Ravelympics sweater I stopped in to Woolworks for some yarn to make myself a color work vest. Hopefully I'll finish in time to wear it at least once this season.

FOs Felicity and Bella's Mittens

2010-03-11T18:48:00.002-05:00

I have a few quick FOs to share, both completed post ravelympics. A few months ago I bought the most beautiful sparkly yarn, Plymouth baby alpaca glow. I started three different hat patterns before I settled on Felicity and I'm so glad I went with this pattern. It was a nice, easy knit and came out so nice. It has the perfect amount of slouch and looks very hip. This isn't the best angle but it really is flattering. I love how sometimes the most simple knits are the best looking. The hat was knit on US 5 and US7 and I cast on I think 10 extra stitches.

Next up a second pair of Bellas Mittens in Cascade Superwash Chunky 128, US8. I love this pattern. The mitts come out super cute and were great over a long sleeved shirt when walking on the beach. The flip top ones I knit in Perivia are warmer and don't let as much wind through but they are not wearing well.

.I felt very Twilighty walking on the beach in these mittens. We love it there in the off season because we can bring the little lady.

Re-entry

2010-03-01T18:18:00.003-05:00

The blog has been quite for a long time since progress on my one project was very slow. My husband's sweater took forever, 3 months of dedicated attention but we think it came out pretty good. For all the work I'm waiting for good lighting so the pictures do it justice. This sweater was my largest colorwork project and was actually satisfying to knit. So over the last month I cut my first steek, eeee!

It really wasn't that bad. Then there were all those ends to weave in, that took a few days.

I finished the day before the Ravelympics. It was my goal to be able to compete in the sweaterboard cross and I just made it across the finish line. I was weaving in the last end as the closing ceremonies were ending. It's soaking now, as soon as we took the photos I was off to bed, I don't normally model my garments with PJ pants :) With any luck there will be a bevy of FO posts to come soon!

Penny's quilt

2010-01-19T18:51:00.003-05:00

I mentioned that I had gotten a sewing machine for my birthday and I have been putting it to good use. I made some table runners for Thanksgiving and some Christmas gifts that I forgot to take pictures of. I got some really cute puppy themed fat quarters in my stocking so I decided to make a small quilt for Penny to use on the couch. I figure it didn't matter how messy it came out and it would keep her from licking the couch and getting too much fur on it. I cut a bunch of 5' squares and pieced them together. On some of the squares I appliqued a little shadow corgi. I found an image online and traced the outline onto freezer paper. I ironed that onto the fabric and used it as a guide for cutting. That stuff is amazing. It sticks until you peel it off and saves a bunch of time by eliminating the need to trace designs onto fabric. So I got to practice my applique skills and my free motion quilting skills. The swirls are a little hard to see in the image but they came out ok. It's definitely tough to maneuver the fabric around when free motion quilting and I think it would take some more practice to get really good at it. Overall I'm pleased with it and it was a good learning experience. I'm not sue how much quilting I will do in the future but I'm happy I know how.

I think Penny likes it :)

FO: Bella's Flip-top Mittens

2009-12-13T16:15:00.003-05:00

Pattern: Bella's Mittens by Marielle Henault
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia, just over 1 skein of Chipotle
Needles: US 8

I have had one heck of a head cold for the past week or so and these mittens have been just what I needed. The pattern is great, each row is written out so it requires very little concentration which is not something I have been able to do with my throbbing head. I have a think for moss stitch so I changed the palm to be moss rather than stockinette. I also followed some modifications on Ravelry to make them flip-top. I didn't do the sewn bind-off but rather bound off using a super stretchy bind off in the last issue of Knitty. It worked great and no sewing! I will be sure to use that for the next pair of toe-up socks I make. I also did not rib the bottom of the flip-top, I wanted the moss stitch to be uninterrupted. I added thumb slots by placing 4 inner stitches onto waste yarn and then casting on another 4. After finishing the thumb I knit back and forth over the 4 stitches knitting or purling the last stitch of a row together with one of the bumps from an adjacent stitch inside the thumb so the flap sat on the inside without having to go back and sew it in place. I completely fudges the decreases but I think they look ok. I bought myself a proper iron to go with my sewing machine so I decided to steam block the mittens. In addition to setting the stitches nicely I think the steam actually helped my sinuses so it was a win win situation. I used leftover Berroco Peruvia from my Tilted Duster to make these, it works nicely but I do think a true bulky yarn would be the best for these mittens. I ended up diving back into the stash searching for scraps since these took like a yard more than one skein. I'm sure without the flip-top one skein would be enough. So overall I'm very happy, I think it will be convenient to have these mitts and they are really cute.

I hope soon to be able to concentrate enough on my husband's Christmas gift, I'm almost halfway done the body and I really want him to be able to wear it this winter! Here's a snea peak, I'll write more when my attentions span is back to normal.

FO: Mayer

2009-12-07T20:10:00.003-05:00

Pattern: Mayer
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia 8 skeins
Neddles: US8 and 9

Where did November go? It's been crazy around these parts but there has still been knitting. When Mayer came through my inbox it was love at first sight. Once the yarn arrived at Woolworks I was off and pretty much entirely monogamous with this project. It seemed like it took longer than I had anticipated and the brioche stitch bothered my hands a bit but maybe I was just anxious. I love the sweater but it sags and the cuffs are too chunky. If I were to make it again I would knit at a tighter guage and perhaps make it with a higher neckline. I'd also knit smaller cuffs, probably by casting on fewer stitches or not folding them over so they wouldn't be so bulky. That being said it is a very cozy sweater that I have worn several times already. I will likely crochet around the inside of the neckline for more stability, I really hope it doesn't grow too much over time. You can see from the picture it's sagging down near the bottom of my chest. I should have known better. I needed to go back for another skein of yarn and I ended up using almost the entire thing even though my sweater may be a tiny bit shorter. So glad there was yarn left. I have more fun stuff to show, I just need to put down the knitting and blog more often.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T20:07:00.003-04:00

Mine is the vampire and my husband's is the scared one :)

FO: Zickzack Tunic

2009-10-08T17:48:00.003-04:00

Pattern: Zickzack Tunic by Melissa Wehrle IK Spring 09
Yarn: Naturally Dawn 2 ply
Needles: US 7, 5, and 3
Size 36.5"

In the words of Tracy Jordan: I love this sweater so much I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant. The yarn is perfect, the fit is great, and the color is gorgeous. I knit the 36.5" size so it has about 0.5" of positive ease and that works perfectly for me. The only modification I made was accidental. I misread the collar directions so I basically knit the collar for the next size down. I was more that halfway done by the time I realized what I had done and I didn't think it would make a big deal. The pattern was really nicely done and went pretty quickly. I felt like the collar took forever probably because I was so anxious to have it done. I love Melissa's designs, I think they are really flattering and stylish. I wore this today despite not having buttons, I just couldn't wait and having a new sweater to wear on my birthday was great. It is nice and cozy but not too warm. I'm going to have to stop myself from making one in every color :) I love garments in lace weight but after this and Whisper I think I may need a break, I'm going to try and finish up a few things and decide what my next sweater will be. I'm thinking either the Heather Hoodie vest or Melissa's Berkshire dolman. Both are a must knit this winter.

Grr

2009-10-05T18:01:00.005-04:00

Well blogger won't let me upload photos today and I refuse to let it beat a post out of me. So in lieu of the knitting content I will just tell you this and some lovely Japanese fabrics are on their way to me to christen my the sewing machine I will hopefully receive soon. If you think those are some cute owls wait until you see the rest :) I see some very cute purses and totes in my future.

FO: Eclipse Socks

2009-09-17T18:17:00.003-04:00

Pattern: Eclipse Socks by Julie P. Miller
Yarn: Valley Yarns Huntington
Needles: Addi Turbo Lace 2.5mm

So maybe I liked the books :). Sometimes you have to embrace your inner fan girl. I love the look of these socks, the way the ribbon design looks like the red is spilling from the cuff to the toes is so cool. We stopped at WEBS on the way up to my in laws so I could pick up some sock yarn for these and a pair of Addi Turbo Lace needles for magic loop. The needles are amazing by the way, perfect joins, flexible cables, this was the happiest sock knitting experience I have had. The long holiday weekend gave me plenty of knitting time and since I was knitting these together from the toe up, with an afterthought heel they were nearly complete by the time we got home. The duplicate stitching was what took me a long time. I don't think I did the best job, the writing on the back of one sock looks pretty bad. I'm also dumb and think I followed the chart upside down. This was my first time doing an afterthought heel and while it doesn't fit my personal ankles as well as a gusseted heel it is great for knitting the heel in another color or for a prolonged period of mindless knitting. I love these socks but I am really worried about how they will wear, I can see my toenails through them :( I think I'll have to treat them gently. I will also have to add some elastic to the cuffs, I used a Russian bind off and I don't like it, way too loose. Doesn't it figure the most recent issue of Knitty came out just days after I bound off with a new technique for toe up socks. My husband is dismayed that I didn't write I heart Andy on them, maybe I'll write it on the other. Or I may take advice from my sister and make his something that says I heart Kate on it and make him wear it. I have plenty of yarn left over so I have started on some Breaking Dawn socks, they have some really cool shadow knitting which I had never done before. I don't often like knitting socks but for some reason I feel like it now. I've learned to embrace these knitting urges, just cast on and go with what you really want to knit at that time. Amazingly I tend to finish more if I go this route.

Dayflower Sweater

2009-09-13T17:41:00.002-04:00

I am really late in posting this but I had my first pattern published in the most recent issue of knotions. It's a seamless yoked sweater with a scoopneck and lace panel. It's based on a favorite light weight store bought sweater I have. I'm pleased with it and I can't wait to see some finished versions on Ravelry.

I have another FO blocking away, pictures hopefully soon!

FO: Whisper Cardigan

2009-08-23T18:33:00.004-04:00

Pattern: Whisper Cardigan by Hannah Fettig Sprin 09 IK
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace ~1.5 skeins
Needles: US7 and US 4
Size M

Whisper is finally done and I love it. Very soft and very light. I didn't make any real mods, I think I bound off the called for amount of stitches for the arms at the beginning of two rows rather than breaking and reattaching the yarn. I added some length and did a few rows of garter stitch at the bottom to prevent a lot of rolling, the arms I like the rolled look so I left them as written. The construction of this is pretty cool and it was an easy knit. It seemed to drag on a bit towards the end with the ever increasing rows but it was so worth it. I do wish I had bound off a little more loosely around the neckline, it is a hair to tight. You can tell that I used two different dye lots but I don't think it looks too bad, the color is much more intense than these pictures, it got a little washed out in the evening light. I'm happy with this, love the yarn and would use it again in a heartbeat. I do hope it wears well. I seem to be in a red mood, I also have some red socks on the needles but I have also just cast on for a zickzack tunic. I love that sweater and will get some progress shots as soon as I start the lace part. I'm about three months behind the IK magazine :)

FO: Bina's Shrug

2009-08-14T18:12:00.003-04:00

My sister asked for a shrug to wear to some weddings this summer and requested that is be silver and sparkly. I picked up this sugar cane yarn at Woolworks that I think is lovely. A slight shimmer is all you need some times. I went through my Barbara Walker stitch dictionaries (I now have 1 and 2) and we decided on this simple four row lace repeat with some ribbing at the sleeves and garter stitch around the opening. It's just a simple scarf sewn up at either in. She seemed to like it and I may just have to make one for myself. I have about the same amount of yarn left over :) I'd like to write this up maybe with a few modifications, I just need the time!

Yarn: Queensland Sugar Rush ~3 skeins I think.
Needles: US5 and US3

FO: Sweet Lilly Shawl

2009-08-05T17:59:00.003-04:00

My have I been gone awhile. I finished this several weeks ago and hoped to get some pretty beach or mountain shots but alas, our vacation was hampered by poor weather. There are only a few poor pics since the bugs in our yard have an insatiable appetite.

Pattern: Sweet Lily Shawl by Kritstin Omdahl
Needles: Knitpicks US6
Yarn: Kool-aid dyed baruffa cashwool

I do love the color of this shawl and ma glad I untangled all that yarn. I used it held double and went down two needle sizes to conserve yarn and get a slightly smaller shawl. I like the size but I could have gone with US7s, I haven't weighed the shawl but I do have a decent amount of yarn left. This was an easy knit, the construction was cool and I actually managed to memorize the wedge pattern. I most definitely was sick of knitting those wedges by the end but I really wanted the shawl. I also changed the knots to nupps since I can make one of those much easier and I'm all about easy these days. Overall this is a great knit, I would recommend it to anyone and can't wait to actually wear it.

I have another item to show, I'll try not to be so lazy and post it much quicker. I'm working on a Whisper cardigan in Malabrigo Lace (mmmmmm) but I am slowed by some really bad wrist pain. I got myself a brace to wear at night and the Twilight series to force me to take some time off from knitting. Sigh, it sucks to miss out on yoga and knitting but hopefully I can finish the sweater in enough time for it to see some wear.

FO: Printed Silk Cardigan

2009-06-25T18:35:00.005-04:00

Finally done and worn to work today.

Pattern: Printed Silk Cardigan by Connie Chang-Chinchio
Needles: Knitpicks US4 and Clover US3
Yarn: Ella Rae Silkience

Holy finishing Batman! There was a lot of sewing involved with this sweater. I can't believe it but I started this cardigan a year ago. The body went pretty fast but those 1x1 ribbed sleeves took forever. The cotton yarn hurt my hands when doing ribbing so i had to take frequent breaks, and it was just too much ribbing. I don't seem to tire of stockinette but ribbing, not my cup of tea. I had to fudge the sleeve caps to account for a difference in row gauge, I can't tell you what I did but it worked. I actually took the time to do the sewn bind off but it was way too floppy. I ended up crocheting around the neckline bind off for stability and modesty. The weight of my cotton yarn was making this way too boobalicious for me, it was sagging below my bustline and I wouldn't have worn it. I think it looks neater than the sewn bind off anyway.

I do like the finished product, I think it was probably worth all the work. I do doubt that I will make something with ribbed sleeves any time soon. The one thing I wish I had done was a hem or something at the bottom, I foolishly thought the cotton wouldn't curl but it is and it's bugging me. Maybe once it gets washed it will relax a bit. The buttons are from Joann's and were amazingly the perfect color. So overall I am pleased and I think this will see quite a bit of wear, it feels good to finally get this out of the WIP pile. This is already the second item I have made from the spring 08 IK magazine, one of the better issues in my opinion, and there are a few more to get too.

FO: Ilene Bag

2009-06-13T16:41:00.003-04:00

I finished this awhile ago but waited until I could get some actions shots to post. Inside our entire haul from the first day of our local farmer's market.

Pattern: Ilene Bag by Hannah Ingalls
Yarn Louet Euroflax sport 1 skein
Needles: US5 and US3

I went down a needle size only because my 6s were otherwise occupied and I wanted a slightly tighter knit bag. I got this yarn in Portland Maine last summer and used all but a few inches of the skein. Despite the fact this thing killed my hands to make I'm really pleased with it. It is comfortable to wear and easy to knit. It also stretches like crazy, it held: Cabbage, collard greens, kohlrabi, beets, cucumber, broccoli, and spinach. Then we went off to pick some of these to make the most wonderful honey sweetened preserves (amazing on ice cream):

I love summer :)

A Case of the Mondays

2009-06-08T20:03:00.003-04:00

Just as I sat down outside to get some knitting done my husband pulled in and it was time to start dinner. That just fit in with how the rest of the day went. I did have a chance to snap this quick photo of the shrug my sister asked me to make. She wanted Silver and sparkly, Woolworks did not disappoint as I found this Sugar Rush yarn made from sugar cane. It is great so far and more silver than this picture. I took this as an opportunity to come up with my own pattern and stop in to the anniversary sale...I think it looks good so far, hopefully she'll like it.

I meant to post this Friday but time got away from me. And I'm lazy lately. I stopped into a great place, Silver Circle Studio in Putnam on the way home from work Friday. I needed something to cheer me up after a long week so I got this awesome Annie Adams shawl pin, isn't it cool? It is a bit heavy so I guess I'll just have to make a sweater to go with it :) An interesting side note: The owner of the place is the sister in law to the pin creator so I got to learn a bit about how the jewelry is made. I highly recommend stopping in if you are in the area, there is some amazing art there.

New Distractions

2009-05-31T18:57:00.004-04:00

My husband and I discovered an amazing place recently, a tropical greenhouse that specializes in container gardening. Logee's is such a fun place to walk around, they have lemons that weigh 5 pounds! We've been there twice already and have picked up a few fun items.

From left to right we have a Rex Jasmine, a pepper plant (the kind that give black pepper corns), Passiflora Possum Purple which will have purple fruit, Euphorbia milii 'Splendens' "Dwarf Crown of Thorns", an Arabica coffee plant, and a tart orange plant that already has the beginnings of tiny oranges. We got sucked in what can I say? The thought of growing edible products in the house was just too appealing. They seem to be doing well so far so I have high hopes. It also gave us an excuse to make a nice table together and spruce up the living room. The legs and wood plank were prefab but we assembled, sanded, and stained it ourselves which I think counts enough. I've become pretty obsessed with these plants, I love checking for growth and I may tell them they are pretty from time to time... Here is a close up of my favorite, the dwarf crown of thorns, aren't the flowers pretty? I love how it is both beautiful and dangerous :) I do highly recommend this place, it is truly amazing inside and we are lucky to be close. Be warned, even though it is a big place that will take awhile to get through it is a little cramped and impossible to leave without something... or several somethings :)

I have started knitting again, for awhile after making a tote bag out of linen I really couldn't do much. Hopefully this will be a calm week and I can show some of my stuff off.

FO: Vintage Pink Cardigan

2009-05-25T20:29:00.003-04:00

Pattern: Vintage Pink Cardigan, Norah Gaughan
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light
Needles: US3 and US1

This has been done for quite some time but I just haven't had the time or energy to get some pictures and do a post. These aren't really flattering pictures, they don't do the sweater justice. I really like it. It has a nice classic look to it and some cool cabled detail. I didn't do any waist shaping since I was knitting for zero to negative ease and I think it worked well. Ultra Alpaca is one of the greatest yarns out there and even though it isn't the perfect yarn for this I think it worked ok. I didn't get row gauge so even after adding some length I still had fewer buttons than called for. I had to fudge the armhole shaping but it seemed to work out, the fit in that area is fine. The sleeve length is longer because I was too lazy to do the math but I don't really mind that. This think knit up fast which totally boggles my mind, I swear I've knit things on larger needles that have taken much longer. The only downsides to this are that is shows dog fur like crazy and the buttons keep popping open. I have replaced them once with larger ones but the YO buttonholes are just too loose for my liking, maybe next fall I'll have the energy to fix them up.

A test of Patience

2009-04-22T17:30:00.003-04:00

This ball of yarn may not seem like much but it represents a big win for me. This was over 1400 yards of tangled mess after I dyed it with Kool-aid. It has taken many many hours to untangle but I am now glad I resisted the urge to give up. I win! I am so close to finishing the sleeves of my black cardigan that I decided to sit down after work today and finish untangling. Once I got past the last knotty area it was smooth sailing and only took about a half hour. YES! Now to wind it into equal balls and cast on for a new shall. This makes me happy. But now you see why I had no blog material for quite some time.

In other news I've been on somewhat of a health kick (I use this term liberally) lately. You see, sometime last year I went to turn on a burner on our stove and screws fell out. Luckily it didn't turn on, but it never worked again. Shortly there after another one began to randomly shut off. So we bit the bullet and got some new appliances. We now have a fancy (to me) new convection oven. We didn't set out to get a convection oven but it just happened to be a feature of the type of stove we wanted. I love to bake. Well, I love to eat baked goods and will pretty much do anything necessary to do so. This oven can bake several trays of cookies, muffins, etc at once to perfection. I've used it several times a week since we got it. So baking is super easy now which is a problem to my expanding waistline. So in order to indulge and achieve my goal of being able to eat cookies everyday I set out to find healthy recipes. I used this recipe for muffins but used 1c whole wheat flour, 1/2c cake flour, only 1c oat bran, and no oil. I also added cinnamon and nutmeg. I don't think I subbed the eggs with flax seed but I've done it before and it really works. Unfortunately I only had 3/4c of applesauce. They were so good! Had I had the whole cup of applesauce they would have been even more moist. I suggest adding berries for more interest I just didn't have any. I was going to make them again today but forgot to stop for fruit. Bummer.

I also tried this recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies but cut the white sugar out (my husband and I agree they would have been way too sweet with it) used whole wheat flour with a touch of cake flour, and cut the salt by half. Next time I'll try subbing some of the butter and maybe the eggs but these are really good cookies. I'm not too concerned with cholesterol since my husband is a vegetarian so eliminating eggs isn't a major concern. Since I freeze some scoops of each batch of raw dough on a cookie sheet and bag for later use I may pop a few in the oven right now... Man I love cookies. It took me awhile to discover freezing but I am glad, fresh baked cookies after a long day are awesome. Last tip, chill the dough, it really helps the flavor. Ok, that's all. Thanks for letting me blab on about yummy treats :)

Where does the time go?

2009-04-13T18:27:00.003-04:00

Well, unfortunately I don't have much to say lately. I didn't finish my knee socks for Easter, in fast I am only now to the heel. They are tedious and make my hands hurt. I really don't want to look at them anymore right now. So come Saturday when I knew there was no way I could knit two sock feet in one night I returned to something I do like knitting, my Vintage Cardigan, put the socks into time out. I now have the back, right front, and ribbing of the left front done. This thing flies off the needles which has me dumbfounded. A US3 knit sweater so fast? Crazy. I'm going to stick with this magic sweater for the time being, hopefully I'll even get one wearing in before it gets too warm. I shall try to dedicate some more blogging time soon, there are tasty treats I want to share :)

Boy does that sweater show dog fur!

New Beginings

2009-03-23T17:24:00.002-04:00

I've started two new projects recently. Norah Gaughan's Vintage pink cardigan in some lovely black ultra alpaca. I bought this yarn some time last year to make a Harry Potter themed sweater but decided I didn't want it in black. In my goal to knit through my stash and not buy knitty things through lent I decided to use it for this sweater. I've been wanting to make it for ages, I think I bought the magazine on my first trip to WEBS a couple of years ago. It is coming along nicely despite being knit on US3 and not getting enough attention.

The second, more tedious project is some Clessidra knee socks. I've been wanting to make these for awhile too. I don't know how I feel about them yet. They are a bit tedious but now that I have the cable charts memorized I'm hoping they go faster. I wanted these for Easter but I'm not sure if that is a possibility. My knitting time just seems to be getting shorter and shorter.

Random Acts of Turkey

2009-03-18T17:04:00.005-04:00

You know when a turkey crashes into and shatters your bedroom window at 2am, it isn't going to be a good day. Glass all over the deck. He was huge, and though he was bleeding he hopefully survived after taking off.

But for every negative we must look for a positive. It was only the outer storm windows that broke and my flowers opened today. That makes me happy.

Random Dye Job

2009-03-17T17:13:00.004-04:00

I can be quite random sometimes. Sometime during the day yesterday I decided I had to dye this skein of yarn that had been in my stash for quite some time. I had to do it that night and it had to be done with Kool-Aid.

I spent a couple of minutes after work looking up a recipe for the color I liked and I was off! I'll spare you the rant about how ridiculous it is that Big Y had no Kool-Aid brand items in the aisle labeled Kool-Aid... After a quick trip to the always delightful Stop and Shop I had some fruity drink packets in flavors similar to what I was looking for. I can honestly say I've never bought 20 packets before, come to think of it I don't remember the last time I had Kool-Aid. I was so ready to jump in I forgot to unpack my lunch bag or put my Cancer Society daffodils in water right away (as an aside this is a great way to donate and get some beautiful flowers).

I soaked the light blue Cashwool, a 100% wool cobweb yarn in the sink for maybe a half hour or so. I really wasn't feeling this color. I want to knit both the Fountain Pen Shawl and the Sweet Lily shawl from the most recent IK with yarn I currently own and didn't want to buy more yarn just because of the color issue.

So into the pot went 17 packets of Black Cherry and 4 of Iced Blue Raspberry lemonade. I wanted a deep color and this site suggested around 5 packets per ounce of yarn. I wanted the dark plum but they didn't have the right flavors at the store. Since I had to do it that night I subbed. This is what it looked like when I started and yes, that is my dinner cooking alongside it. Don't judge.

I simmered it for awhile and the dye did actually exhaust. It was really neat to see.

After cooling I rinsed it but there was really no bleeding of color and hung it to dry in the basement. I'm happy with the color even if it isn't as purple as I would have liked.

This was surprisingly fun and super super easy. The house smelled really nice too. I perhaps should have tied the skein better as I'm sure it is going to be a bitch to untangle but I'll burn that bridge when I come to it. The only issue now is the yarn amount. I have 1350 yards in this skein. I would like to use it doubled so figure 675. The sweet lily shawl calls for 875 on US8 needles. I want a smaller shawl and was thinking of going down a few needle sizes to maybe a 4 or 5. I'm 33% short which is a scary difference. I could not double it or I can knit a bit on the smaller needles and see how I'm doing, maybe re-adjust some numbers. Hmm, I'm stumped on this one, maybe I should make sure I can untangle it first...

FO: Andy's Vest

2009-03-12T17:29:00.003-04:00

I'm wiped out today so I'm using that as an excuse to blog and not exercise. We finally snapped a quick photo of my husband in his vest the other day.

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool less than 4 skeins
Needles: US 4 and US 2

Is that not the sexiest torso you've ever seen? This was a fairly straight forward knit. My husband chose the Silky wool in a really nice green-brown color when we made our annual trip to WEBS over Thanksgiving and we decided the 3 x 1 ribbing worked the best. From there I used the Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd as a starting point but bound off a few more stitches for the armholes. The V-neck and armhole ribbing is 1 x 1 done with US2 needles. I worked the vest in two pieces and seamed them up at the end. Overall we are both pleased with the results. I think I may have bound off a few too many stitches for the armholes and it could be a bit longer but he thinks it works, which I guess is what really matters. The drape of the Silky wool is really nice but I'm not sure I'd use it again. Now my husband can look sharp and be warm at work. I would like to come up with another hand knit for him, he's pretty much my size so the sweater knitting would take about the same time.

For my sister

2009-03-11T17:34:00.002-04:00

One down, one I hope finished tonight. Soon you will know the loveliness that is Rowan 4-ply soft. Big presentation tomorrow so I'm off to do yoga and knit to relax, let's hope it works!

P.S. I'll try to pick off the dog hair but you know the little lady :)

FO: Owls

2009-02-23T17:47:00.003-05:00

Pattern: Owls by Kate Davies
Yarn: Plymouth Homestead 2.5 skeins
Needles: US9

Whoa I feel like I've lost 5lbs when I put this on (I assure you that is most definitely not the case). It is such a flattering and cute design, I'm totally smitten. I've been to three Joann Fabrics and I am still three buttons short but I wore it today anyway. I love the yarn but it does push my limits for the itch factor. I can usually wear wool next to my skin but with this I do need to have a tank on underneath. This is a worsted yarn so I basically sized up the pattern one more size than what was given to get about a 36 inch bust. This went really quickly and was a nice fun knit. If I were to do it again in the same yarn weight I would knit another round or two before the ribbing, it did stretch a bit over the course of the day. Overall I am really please with this sweater and am really glad to have finished at least one this year. Yoked sweaters are fun to knit and I feel flattering to everyone. There will be more in my future I'm sure.

Catch up

2009-02-20T22:02:00.003-05:00

I've become a terrible blogger. I am still three lousy buttons short of finishing my Owl sweater and daylight is never around the same time my husband and I are. I do hope to get some pictures this weekend, buttons or no buttons but in the meantime I can show you some socks I started.

I do love the hearts but they require more concentration than I would like for socks. Originally I had planned on cabling both the front and back of the leg once I reached that point but honestly I stand a better chance of finishing them if the back remains plain.

I've made no secret of my love affair with the Granite state and despite the little snow left there it did not disappoint last weekend. There may have been 40mph winds and more ice than snow but we still snowshoed and had really good food. I suppose it is a good thing Owls remained at home because I would have totally ripped off my coat for a FO shoot here.

There was even a yarn stop at the Yarn and Fiber Co in Derry on the way home :) Rowan 4 ply soft for some fingerless gloves my sister requested and some Mountain Colors Winter Lace for I hope an original creation.

I hope to regain some blogging mojo but I'm working on something that if all goes to plan, will be available in the early fall :) Exciting for me but boring for the blog.

Owling right along

2009-02-08T17:50:00.002-05:00

Last week was a blur. I had a great time at the Woolworks superbowl sale. With my discount I scored all of this.

The Plymouth homestead, an undyed yarn that is really nice and reasonably priced is already becoming an Owl sweater. I'm obsessed with this sweater so I've been completely monogamous. The body is done and right now I'm doing both sleeves at once. I'm really hoping I can finish this this week. I'm ready for spring but I would still like to finish at least one sweater this winter. I also grabbed some yarn for a pair of Clessidra kneesocks that I've been dying to knit for some time and three skeins of Plymouth baby alpaca lace to make the sweater on the cover of the Filatura di Crossa booklet. Now if only I had more knitting time.

FO: Fruit Loop

2009-01-28T15:34:00.003-05:00

Pattern: Fruit Loop by Kristi Geraci Knitty Spring 2008
Yarn: Madelinetosh Sock in Lichen
Needles: Inox US1 29"

A sick day today has allowed me to finish my toe-up fruit loop socks. I'm really pleased with the way they came out. I used Judy's magic cast on and increased to 63 stitches. Then I reversed the chart and knit until the heel. For that I did a slip stitch heel and then knit per the pattern until the end where I did a sewn bind off. They are just the right length and fit perfectly. The only down side is the yarn is showing signs of wear already, just from being moved around in my lap. It's a shame because the color (which is much nicer in person) and the pattern are really nice. These went super fast even with other projects on the needles. My feet are happy and finishing these allow me to start another pair, some cabled heart socks I may try to finish for Valentine's Day. I'm not going to commit to knitting a pair a month but I think I will aim for that. One down!

Victory is Mine! FO: Beech Wood

2009-01-26T17:48:00.003-05:00

Friday evening I began to feel guilty for giving up on my aunt's cowl. So I decided to give it another go. Very late Saturday night I cast off Beech Wood and despite my sore hands I'm glad.

Pattern: Beech Wood by Ilga Leja
Yarn: Elen Cashmere
Needles: Knitpicks Options US6

The pattern is really easy and creative. It really helps the yarn which is such a plain color. I can't say I enjoyed knitting this at all. The yarn really hurt my hands and I hate deadline knitting. These are both my fault but I do love the finished product. Towards the end I was just so tired and sore that I started to ignore the pattern substituting some of the purl rows with faster knit rows. I think the randomness created by this is nice. I couldn't find a nice pin so I added a button to the cowl. I think it was well received. I'll have to make one for myself someday. Now I really am done the gift knitting and I think this year I'm going to scale it back a bit. I think every other year is fair enough. I need to get through my sweater and sock stash now.

Admitting Defeat

2009-01-22T17:10:00.003-05:00

I had planned to make sure at least everyone on my side of the family got something hand knit for Christmas this year and I very nearly made it. My aunt has been out of the country until recently so I only cast on for her gift this week. Unfortunately i am not in love with the cowl. In fact I've pretty much decided to give up on it. The yarn, Elen Cashmere, I liked much more in the skein. The color is just a bit too blah for this cowl and my knitting is rowing out terribly. Maybe this will tech me to not put things off to the last minute so I have the option of making something different. Ah well, having that off my plate is a bit liberating. I plan to mess around with a sweater design that has been on my mind since my trip to WEBS before Thanksgiving.

I finished my husband's vest this weekend and photos will come once it has dried. I can't wait to see it on him. Let's end my long absence with something positive, some toast mitts I made with leftover Malabrigo.

Against my purply green tiles you can sort of make out the purple hues to the yarn. I did not make thumbs but cast off 4 stitches and then cast them back on in the next row to make a slit for my thumb. This way I can pull them up if my fingers get cold. Really I like them better as armwarmers but it is nice to have that option. They are so soft and warm but are already showing signs of wear. Who cares though, they still function :)

FO: Just Enough Ruffles

2009-01-13T19:01:00.003-05:00

Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles by Laura Chau
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Pearl 1.5 Skeins
Needles: Knitpicks Options US9

Finally! I loved this scarf the minute I saw it and I'm so happy with the way it came out. I used the same yarn as suggested in the same color. I knit the scarf in two days, it was extremely easy but dang those rows are long! This is my first experience with Malabrigo and I do see why so many people rave about it. The finished scarf is so thick, warm, and squishy. It will be a welcome addition with the frigid temperatures on the way. I do apologize for the grimy bathroom mirror pictures but my photographer has been working late and the light outside is gone by the time I get home anyway. The lighting in the bathroom is surprisingly good though, this is a pretty accurate representation except the slight purple hue isn't captured. I'm really starting to appreciate semi-solids for their gentle color variations and the way they add to simple patterns. I have enough of this yarn leftover to knit some toast mitts too. How I ever lived without my kitchen scale and ball winder I just don't know. It's amazing how the most simple patterns can be the most creative and versatile.

Creative Blocking

2009-01-11T20:55:00.003-05:00

Well my husband says you've gotta take a picture of that I know it must be interesting. I've never blocked a hat so I decided to try two different approaches, a plate and an exercise ball. We'll see which one works best.

Decisions, decisions

2009-01-05T20:20:00.002-05:00

I don't know what to do. I bought two skeins of this lovely green Merino silk blend yarn at Woolworks and cast on for Instant Glamor. I wasn't sure how I felt about it and I had an entire untouched skein so I started the Sweet Honey Beret from the Winter 08 IK. The only problem is that it really didn't have as much slouch as I had hoped with the one skein. Now I have two hats in need of a bind off but in order to improve the Honey Beret I'd need to take apart the other hat. I'm not sure if a good wet blocking will help either hat.

Sigh, I think these are going to sit for another few days until I can make a decision. I think tonight I'll work on my socks. For some reason Ive had a real urge to knit socks lately and I've decided to embrace that. These are Fruit Loops in some Madelinetosh sock in the Lichen colorway, really beautiful stuff so far. I'm knitting these toe-up and two at once becuase that's how I roll. I have an unreasonable fear of running out of yarn and doing both at the same time avoids getting bored with the second sock. I'm not sure this is the best pattern for this colorway but it's fun and easy enough to do while watching TV.

Closing the loops amuses me, as does my "snowman" A skein of Malabrigo broke while I was winding it the other day. After I stacked the skeins I had to finish him off. I'm silly, I know.

2008 in Review

2009-01-04T11:13:00.003-05:00

I think I've finally gotten the hang of this mosaic maker. 2008 was a very productive year. Above are all the items that were not Ugghs! Many were gifts and many taught me something new. One was lost :( Of these I wear my Tangled Yoke Cardigan the most but the Cotton Bamboo Girl Tank may be my favorite. I learned how to magic loop toe-up socks two at a time and knit both lace and entrelac. In the year ahead I hope to knit more socks, which I will get into in the next post, finish all that I currently have going, design my own sweater, and knit more lace. Perhaps if I get my grandmother's sewing machine up and running I'll even try a steek. Cutting my knitting is a terrifying thought so I'm not ready to commit to that yet. Here's to a creative 2009!

Christmas Gifts 2008

2009-01-02T14:26:00.004-05:00

From Left to Right: Reversible Cabled Brioche Neckwarmer, Ice Queen from Knitty, Ice scraper mitt from One Skein Wonders, Attack of the Killer Pompom hat by Marnie Mclean, Picot Gloves, and Dayflower Scarf.

Not pictured is the little bear ornament I gave to my Mom and some Plum Blossom mittens that went to my sister without pictures. I did the garter stitch version of ice queen and I really liked it. Some day I'll make myself a beaded one. The ice scraper mitt went to my dad. It was in his stocking with some beer and I think it may have turned into a beer cozy :) For the hat I did some extra rounds of light grey to conserve blue yarn for the pompom and I added another two rounds of colorwork. Next time I won't do the extra rounds. It is soft and warm and she loved the set. The picot gloves were done in some Regia 4ply tweed on US1 DPNS. I love them. They are really cute but simple and warm. The dayflower scarf may just be my favorite and man was it hard to give that away. It was done in Rowan Kidsilk Haze on US3 needles. I think it is about 36" long and I made two halves and grafted them together. I didn't have enough left to make myself a scarf but it is definitely something I want to get around to. I do have one more gift to make, a cowl for my aunt but she is traveling and won't be back for awhile. Oh yeah, and my husband's vest...maybe I should get back to that so he can wear it this winter.

Dog Heavy Post

2008-12-31T10:15:00.005-05:00

We had a lovely Christmas at my parents. The doggies were decked out in seasonal bandannas awaiting my husband's cinnamon buns.

I don't know what got into Penny but she was unusually snuggly. Archie is often afraid of her but he tolerated a few minutes of cuddling before her bark scared him off.

By the end of the evening Penny had moved on to snuggling with Harry. These two crack me up, what an odd couple to watch play. We've come to the conclusion they have a love-hate relationship. They love to play and cuddle but, and if you are a Jeff Dunham fan you will understand, sometimes Penny is in an "I keel you!" mood.

This was the seen as we were packing up to leave, I totally understood.

Yesterday we watched as the neighbor's tree fell on the power line in the wind. What's a girl to do with no power? Go use the Woolworks gift card her husband got and check email at the Victoria Station Cafe! The yarn was for me, the coffee for my husband. He needed to check in with work after acting as my personal shopping cart. They were having a sale so I came home with two skeins of Malabrigio in Pearl for a just enough ruffles scarf, one skein of J. Knits sock yarn in Massachusetts for some cable heart socks, and two skeins of a wonderful merino and silk yarn for the instant glamour hat from Custom Knits. My mom got me this book for Christmas and I like it so far. The customization tips are great and I like the idea of afterthought sleeves. I'm using some leftover white Zarina and kidsilk haze held together but I'm just not sure I like it yet. It isn't as sparkly or marbled as I would have liked. We'll see how it goes.

I also started Selbu Modern in some Rowan 4ply soft from WEBS. This is one of my favorite yarns for colorwork. I seem to be on a bit of a colorwork kick, and a hat kick. I lost my Trinity stitch hat but nothing seems to be taking it's place. I may just have to make another.

Well, the snow is really picking up here now. I'm so glad the Internet starting working this morning so my husband could work from home. I'm off this week and the company is nice. That and now I have all the patterns and recipes I need :) Next time, I'll try to wrap up all the gifts I made this year.

Hey Mother Nature

2008-12-23T21:07:00.003-05:00

What the heck. I thought we had an understanding. You snowed over the weekend while I could stay home and the skies were clear by Monday morning. But then you had to go and make it 8 degrees and freeze everything including my windshield washer fluid. Mother nature my road is still not cleared and someone just went into a tree. Now the town has something to do with this but come on, let it melt enough to drive. Four treacherous, icy drives to get to and from work is not cool, I don't appreciate this. I am exhausted and have a giant crack across my windshield. Please plan your weather patterns more carefully in the future. Itty Bitty Bear is watching you.

Happy Holidays and safe drives to all!

Block Party

2008-12-21T16:38:00.003-05:00

Christmas knitting is done and everything that needed a bath is drying out. Phew, done early for once! Now can I manage to give it all away... I would like to thank mother nature for holding off on the snow until I got home Friday and keeping me inside to knit all weekend. I now have some cool winter accessories.

Pattern: Plum Blossom Mittens by Kristin Hipsky
Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky
Needles: US 10.5

I fell in love with this pattern the minute I saw it in the WEBS catalog and I've finally gotten around to making it with some leftover Berkshire Bulky I had in the stash. I picked up the off-white color on my last trip to WEBS just for these. This is such a cool, easy pattern. I have made two pairs and the hat since Friday. They really go fast. After the mittens I had so much yarn leftover that I made hats, the one you see above and a slightly different one Ill show later. This really is one of my favorite yarns, it is soft and thick and makes a nice warm hat. The mittens are shedding a bit after cleaning up the massive amount of snow outside so I think they will be for times when I'm not doing too many activities outside. Actually, maybe if you felted them a bit they would be pretty nice... Anyway I highly recommend this pattern. I'm very happy with the way the hat came out too. My first successful pattern adaptation! This will serve me well until I replace my beloved trinity stitch hat I lost a couple of weeks ago :( It was my favorite but at least it is quick and I have another skein of the same yarn. I still miss it though. Well, the lights are flickering so I better post this in case the power goes out.

FO: Danica

2008-12-14T22:01:00.005-05:00

Pattern: Danica by Jesse Loesberg Knitty Winter 2005
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden color 226 3 skeins
Needles: Knitpicks Options US8

I really didn't mean to be away for so long, a had a bad reaction to a tetanus shot and work has been insane. Working from 6:30am to 9:30pm and returning at 7:30am on a Saturday wiped me out. I have the week between Christmas and New Years off and I'm just trying to get there.

Enough of my complaining, on to the knitting. I finished Danica over the Thanksgiving weekend. I am so smitten with this scarf, it may just be my most favorite knit. The pattern was fun and easy to follow once you get the hang of it, and it is so thick and warm. Noro is made for this pattern, the color changes are great and the bright turquoise bits that appear sporadically are really cool.
This is a great way to try entrelac and Noro, I highly recommend it. I did not block it because I like the puffiness of the squares and wanted to wear it. My trips to WEBS was great but I am too embarrassed to show you how much came home with me. It will come out here in small bits over time I'm sure. Well, its late and my one day weekend is over. Hopefully this week will allow more blogging time. I am nearing the end of holiday knitting a bit early and have much to show.

Mmmmmm Cheeeeese

2008-11-25T21:28:00.003-05:00

I don't think I've mentioned that I like to bake. We had a great dinner this weekend and I had to share, it would make a good appetizer and I can come back to the blog to remember what I did. This goes much faster than you would think.

Baked Camembert and Mushrooms en Croute

Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add some thinly sliced onions and saute until soft. Add ~4oz sliced mushrooms, I used white button since that is what we had, and saute until the mushrooms have given off most of their water. Toss in 1 finely chopped clove of garlic and some sherry and continue to saute until the liquid is gone. I stopped short of really caramelizing the onions but I'm sure it would be good either way. Season with a little salt and pepper if needed and set aside. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry and cut a circle big enough to enclose the Camembert. I scraped the rind off the top of the wheel just to give the filling a place to sit and not spill over when assembling but that is a matter of preference. Top the wheel with the mushroom mixture and enclose in the pastry, folds on the bottom. Trim excess, spread with nutella and bake later :) I baked the wheel at 350 for about 25 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. Serve with slices of this bread. We didn't wait too long to dig in so the cheese was pretty runny, but that makes if very spreadable.

For dessert I suggest the nutella scraps and some cranberry dark chocolate chip cookies based on this recipe. Food is good :)

I don't know what got into me (FO: CoCo)

2008-11-23T19:07:00.006-05:00

It started because I wanted a simple hat, and I wanted to use some leftover Berkshire Bulky that matched my coat. I've never been a huge fan of garter stitch but when I saw CoCo I had the "I have to make that now" urge. I don't know, maybe I have a thing for big ears

Pattern: CoCo by Chloe Sparkle
Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky 1 skein in Olive
Needles: Knitpick Options US 10

I took of knitting and in a couple of hours had a new hat. It is ridiculously simple and I think pretty cute. Unfortunately I think it makes me look a little....stupid, for lack of a better word. I'm not sure I can leave the house with it on which is a shame because I love the yarn. So soft and warm. My husband says nothing but he is looking at me a little weirdly. Oh well, they can't all be winners. I think Penny is tired of me exploiting her cuteness on the blog, she says to knock it off with the pictures and knit another hat.

FO:Gathered Scarf

2008-11-22T16:47:00.004-05:00

Pattern: Gathered scarf by Maryse Roudier
Yarn: Bristol Yarn Gallery Buckingham ~1.5 skeins
Needle: Susan Bates US2 DPNS and Clover Bamboo US7 DPNS

Work has been hectic the past couple of weeks but my lack of ability to focus on anything complicated resulted in finishing my gathered scarf. I love everything about this scarf. The pattern is simple, the yarn is both soft and easy to work with and the look is really cute. I didn't block this because I like the puffiness and the way is curls so you can't see the wrong side. It took awhile but this has become my favorite scarf, I've worn it everyday since I cast off.

I may have mentioned here that I don't particularly like knitting scarves and that has been the case for awhile. I'm pretty much eating my words now, I don't know what has come over me but as soon as I finished this scarf I had the urge to start another. I think it may be that I like to have one simple project that I can pick up at any point and knit a few rows without following a chart. So this week I stopped in to Woolworks which is always a good time. We had a good laugh when my total came up as 48,000.00. I assure you I didn't have that much in my hands :) I've always liked that store and I plan to make that my first stop for yarn even more so next year. I don't order too much off the Internet but while this year has been the year to try many new yarns next year will be more shopping locally. Anyway, I've jumped on the bandwagon and scummed to my inexplicable urge to knit the Noro Striped Scarf. I liked this when I saw Brooklyn Tweed's last year but I didn't have the scarf itch at that time. After scouring Ravelry I decided to go with Plymouth Boku. This is a nice, inexpensive yarn with pretty colors. I'm just not sure I like the way the colors are striping, I 'm not sure if I will continue on or start over.

It had just gone on sale for 25% off that afternoon so I really lucked out, which kind of gave me an excuse to try Noro Silk Garden. This is another reason Ravelry is both cool and evil. I never liked Danica when it came out but while researching self striping yarns I came across some versions with Noro and I fell in love. Entrelac is really cool and I love watching the colors come out. I'm totally smitten with this scarf and it is just the right simple project to take on our Thanksgiving trip next week.

Adding to the scarf craziness is this out of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. I'm loving the look and feel of this yarn, I can understand why people talk it up so much. This requires chart reading but is pretty easy once you understand the pattern.

I did restrain myself and not buy yarn for Cosmicpluto's just enough ruffles scarf but I suspect I will break down eventually. Of the three scarves above one is a gift, one is for me and the other...I'm not telling. Bwa hahahaha. This below is definitely a gift, do you know what I am :)

Well, that was a pretty big update, I'm off to knit some more and make my WEBS list for our stop on Wednesday! I'm excited, my birthday gift certificate has been taunting me for over a month and I do love going to my other favorite yarn store.

Bitten by Brioche

2008-11-04T19:13:00.013-05:00

I'm sure that title has made it's way around the internet but I can't seem to come up with anything else that fits. My Family is being sneaky and is now reading the blog to figure out if they are getting something for Christmas so I've decided to give it right back :) I'm not going to say what projects are for me and which are gifts, I may not even show the entire finished project here. Bwaaa hahahahahah! Anyway this is almost done and it is my first Brioche stitch project. It's a great pattern and works up quickly. The yarn is Mirasol Miski that I got from Yarns With a Twist in Chaplin. It is the softest baby llama yarn, it is like knitting with a cloud and feels amazing next to the skin.

FO: Phases of the Moon Sleeping Cap

2008-10-30T19:45:00.003-04:00

My husband asked for a sleeping cap about a year ago and I've finally finished it. We worked together to create the chart and after a few starts it came together. Unfortunately my stranded knitting sucks over long areas of one color so the background color shows through. He says he likes it, I think he's just happy to have a soft hat. It was tested out last night and it stayed on throughout the night. Phew glad to have that monkey off my back! The yarn he chose was Filatura di Crossa Zarina, it is a washable wool that is wonderfully soft. I love knitting with this yarn and the Zara, both hold up well and are soft against the skin. It did grow after I washed it but a tumble in the drier shrunk it back nicely. Needles were Addi US3 16".

I'm hoping the full moon evens out with some wear, boy did I make that section loose.

Remember me?

2008-10-28T20:23:00.003-04:00

I had to rip out just about everything I knit last week so I went back to an old project, my arabesque blanket. This simple hexagon gave me the small sense of accomplishment I needed. Now that the weather is getting cooler I really wish I had kept to my goal of one hexagon a week. I doubt this will get finished before Christmas.

This lovely skein of Classic Elite La Gran Mohair is evidence of how I have the greatest parents ever. They spent a weekend at the Cape for their anniversary and brought me back this gift from Adventures in Knitting. It is amazingly soft and I can't wait to knit with it, unfortunately I have a long long queue of things to get to. Sigh, I need few more hours in the day. I have finally started the phases of the moon sleeping cap that my husband asked for last winter, I'll have pictures once I get past the colorwork portion.

FOs and Frogs

2008-10-19T16:39:00.003-04:00

To make up for the fact that we weren't going to Rhinebeck this weekend we decided to take a trip to the beach to enjoy the great weather. Penny loves running in the sand. Unlike our trip to the farmer's market she was very good. We kept her off the leash and she only strayed when someone started to reach out and pet her. That dog amazes me sometimes.

I took that opportunity to have a little photo shoot of my new fingerless gloves

Pattern: (Ravelry down, I'll edit later- based on Hello Yarn Socks)
Yarn: Jewel in Indian Corn from Mocha's Fiber Connection
Needles: Inox US 2 40"

I love them, perfect fall gloves. I cast on 49 stitches carried the twist over 6 stitches and had 1 purl stitch between the twists. I only wish I had done more than 4 pattern repeats before starting the thumb gusset.

I must knit more for my husband since he really enjoyed posing for me.

These are a simple 3 x 1 garter rib stitch sock. They are magic loop, toe up with a slipped stitch heel. The yarn is Valley Yarns Huntington in Charcoal. I really like the yarn and will be getting more soon. Now that the weather is cold I'm loving my hand knit socks and want more.

Now on the disappointment. I had settled on a pattern for my new yarn but I need to start over, my tension is horrible and the white yarn is too thin, you can see the red yarn through it. Sigh, now I have to knit the same thing three times. At least this gives me an opportunity to fix all the little things I didn't like about these arm warmers.

Sneak Peak

2008-10-16T18:53:00.003-04:00

After buying some really nice Merlot colored yarn at the farmer's market I spent ages searching for the perfect pattern. I couldn't find anything I thought did the yarn justice so I sat down with excel and have been messing around with charts for the last couple of weeks. I think I've finally settled on something I really like. We'll see how it turns out :)

Positive rogress

2008-10-11T10:15:00.003-04:00

After starting and ripping several patterns I've finally decided on one I like.

Unfortunately I don't have any US1 circs long enough for my beloved magic loop so it's DPNS for me. It makes me appreciate magic loop even more. My sister got me a gift certificate to WEBS for my birthday so when we go up around Thanksgiving I'm going to invest in more 40" circulars. If I can hold out that long.

I don't think I've mentioned the scarf I started awhile back. This was originally a lace ribbon scarf but I didn't like how it was coming out. I really love the simplicity of this pattern and the cool affect changing needle size has. I'm not crazy about scarf knitting but picking this up when I need something mindless should get it done for the winter. That and I really need a scarf. This yarn is Bristol Yarn Gallery Buckingham and is so soft, I love it. I don't know why this picture is upside down but I'm not in the mood to try and fix it.

My Printed Silk Cardigan is also growing slowly, I have the back and just about one front done. This is what I really want to work on and wear, it just keeps getting pushed aside for other projects I want to wear sooner. I really enjoy seeing the twisted stitch pattern emerge.

Do I like it?

2008-10-01T19:12:00.003-04:00

I've been playing with a fingerless mitt design but I'm not convinced I like it. I wanted to show off the yarn but I think this is just too simple. I'm keeping the picot cast on but other than that i guess it is back to the drawing board.

Why I love my husband

2008-09-30T18:51:00.004-04:00

My birthday is still a week away but this came in the mail a few days ago and he gave away what it was. This was the one item I begged for and after the tangled nightmare last time he tried to help me wind skeins it wasn't going to be a surprise. I love it. It is the best thing since sliced bread and it is honestly taking restraint not to wind up every skein I have in the house. Look at the nice tidy yarn cakes! Unfortunately I want to use the wine colored skein with a very light grey so I had to unwind it and wash it so it wouldn't bleed. The dye just kept coming out, I soaked it with vinegar but the water still wasn't clear after two days of washing and rinsing. I just hope I've gotten enough out so that it won't bleed in the final project. He ordered the swift and ball winder from WEBS, the small set in their catalogue and it arrived in one day. Now that is fast. I could never say enough good things about WEBS, or about my husband :) To thank him I have finished his socks, I just need to get a good photo of them.

Aquisitions and Dilemmas

2008-09-25T18:57:00.004-04:00

This weekend we went to the Coventry Farmer's Market annual fiber twist. It turned out to be a family affair as my parents and sister came with us. Even Penny made the trip though her attitude toward other dogs likely made that her only trip. She did love all the people. I had been looking forward to this for a while since I've decided Rhinebeck is just too far to go this year :( There was way too much to choose from, I wish I had more money and had been better prepared. Here is what I got:

From left to right: Shimmer a merino tencel/blend sock yarn from The Painted Sheep in Mocha. Jewel a merino/bamboo sock yarn from Mocha's Fiber Connection in Indian Corn and an unknown semi-solid wine colored yarn in what I think is a fingering weight. I can't for the life of me remember the vendor and the tag only lists the price. I think it might be some kind of goat fiber. I know the mocha colorway will become socks but I'm not sure what to do with the other skeins. The Indian corn yarn is soooooo pretty and the skein is 550 yards. It just seems too pretty to put on my feet but what else to do? I'm not sure I'd wear a cowl so I'm thinking either fingerless gloves or a shawl. I'm worried I wouldn't wear a multi colored shawl, I'm really conflicted. The red skein may go into some color work items since I think it may not be soft enough for a shawl/scarf. My sister was quick to note she liked the color so I may see if I can work it into a gift for her.

I was bad and also stopped into Woolworks last week to get yarn for the house sweater from Charmed Knits that I really want to wear. I ended up not finding the right color gold for the small stripe it calls for and came home with 9 skeins of black Ultra Alpaca Light. This yarn is great, I loved the Ultra Alpaca so I'm sure the Light version will be nice, the price sure is. The only issue is that I don't think the black will look good with gold and maroon so it won't become the house sweater :( I'm really torn now between the Gathered Pullover and the Vintage Pink Cardigan. I think the color would work with the cardigan but I had planned on a Christmas splurge for the Blue Sky Alpaca Silk. I'll have to swatch and make sure the drape is ok with my yarn. Pretty funky bag too :)

And because I think this picture is hysterical here is Penny after her bath the other day. So spikey.

And for her humiliation she got some couch time after she dried. I shooed her away from my WIPS three times before I gave up and let her bury her face in them. She had a rough day.

FO: Banded Peasant Blouse

2008-09-22T20:51:00.002-04:00

Pattern: Banded Peasant Blouse by Mary Jane Mucklestone IK Spring 2008
Yarn: Louet Merlin

Needles Susan Bates US5 and Inox US 3 40"

I meant to post this last week but my computer decided to stop booting up completely. This was a nice straight forward knit. The neckline is too big and that makes it unwearable at work but I really do like it. I wore it to the Coventry Farmer's market this weekend and it was very comfortable, not too hot at all. Say what you will for summer knits but I have been very pleased with mine this year. I absolutely love the Merlin, I have a bunch left over and I'm going to find some way to use it all. WEBS has the worsted version on closeout and it has been very hard not to snatch it up. A word of warning thought, my yarn bled a bit. My only complaint about this sweater is how tight the arms are, if I were to make it again I wouldn't decrease as much before starting the color work bands.

Well, I'm all up to date on my FOs and now that I have inherited my husband's old laptop I hope my blogging will be more frequent. Next time I'll show my new acquisitions from the Market.

FO: Guinevere

2008-09-16T17:53:00.004-04:00

Pattern: Guinevere by Melissa Wehrle

Yarn: Garnstudio Lin 105

Needles: Susan Bates US4 and 5 Inox dpns US1

This was my Ravelympic sweater and this post is long overdue. I had some issues with the pattern but now that the error has been fixed and some more directions have been added I suspect it won't be as problematic to future knitters. My gauge was off with this yarn so I knit the smallest size to get about zero ease and it worked out perfectly. The yarn was a bit stiff but didn't hurt my hands at all and it softened up with blocking. I really like the color (a little more rich in real life) and feel of the linen, I have worn this sweater a ton and it has held its shape wonderfully. As much trouble as this was I really love the sweater and I'm thinking of using the white Merlin I bought at WEBS for a longer, 3/4 sleeve version. I'd have to do some math to make set in sleeves but I think the style is really flattering and I do love the Merlin. We shall see, it is time to turn to fall and winter knits so my mind may change. I have one more FO to show and then I'll be all caught up, as long as I don't wait too long to post it :)

Where have I been?

2008-09-08T19:17:00.003-04:00

I really didn't mean to stay away for so long. Being camera-less for a few weeks really threw me off and it's been hard to get back in front of my computer. I've been knitting a lot recently, my husband was working hard to finish up his PhD which gave me time to finish up a few WIPs. He's done now so I'm not sure how his free nights will affect my knitting but for now there's much to show. Two things motivated me to get back into the blogging thing, my husband is going to upgrade his computer for work which means I get his old one. So only a week or two of my lovely yet very slow computer. The second is my awesome new camera, I got an award from work and we decided to treat ourselves. It's a fabulous blue Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS, the one Maria Sharapova has in the commercials. My family has had great luck with Canon and I do love my new toy, my knitting pictures are much improved. Here's an example, picture one from the old camera and picture two from the new one.

You can see the stitches! Granted the first is a bit dark but I love that Penny looks so surprised I finished these socks. These are my first magic loop toe-up socks on Inox US2. I used Judy's magic cast on and a slipped stitch gusset heel from a free pattern on the Knitpicks website. The yarn is Lane Cervina Forever that I picked up in Maine. It's nice and I think it will wear well. It is more busy than I would normally like but I like it enough.

I have started some toe-up magic loop socks for my husband using Valley yarns Huntington, the new sock yarn from WEBS, for my husband. I'm really liking this yarn a lot and when we go to WEBS around Thanksgiving I plan to get some for me. I can't say I love knitting socks but they are a nice change when I need a distraction from a sweater. I'm totally smitten with two at a time magic loop, I don't think I'd be knitting socks without learning this.

I've got plenty more to show soon, if you can't wait you can check me out on Ravelry (katiekakes).

I made it!!

2008-08-22T20:58:00.002-04:00

I finished Guinevere despite ll the issues I had. Full post to come when I get my camera back but here's a quick shot. I can't wait for the next ravelympics!

I'm back baby!

2008-08-13T22:15:00.002-04:00

I'm back in the game and not stupid! A nice raveler sent me a chart she had made for Guinevere and from that I realized there was no way I could get the pattern to work out with the number of stitches I had. It turns out there was a line missing from the pattern that affected certain sizes. Annoying but at least I was right, I just should have been more confident that I knew what I was doing and should have charted it out to begin with. Ah well, at least things are all set now. I'm not sure will finish by the end of the Olympics but if I get enough knitting time this weekend I may at least come close. I've been staying up later than usual and am past the armhole shaping on the back. I still don't have my camera but I realized my husband's computer has a built in camera! He's been good about this Ravelympic push even if he doesn't quite understand it, so he was more than happy to let me borrow his laptop for a few minutes. He's a computer science grad school so it's tough to get it away from him. Here is a less than perfect shot of my progress. The yarn is tough, probably not the best for a speed knitting project but it seems to be working up nicely so far. I'm hoping to pick up my camera this weekend so hopefully I can get a better picture then. Now I need to get some sleep, it's past my bedtime again.

On your mark. Get set.... Rip!

2008-08-11T13:44:00.002-04:00

I left my camera at my parents house this weekend so no photos this week :( Not that I really have anything to show as I have knit about an inch on Guinevere and can't get the freaking thing to work out! I have knit this one row for two days. I get decreasing in lace but for some reason I have one less stitch on my needles when I get to the decrease at the end. I'm pretty sure now that there is no way of finishing by the closing ceremonies but I really wanted to make this. I may give it one more try this evening after work but I don't know. I don't like feeling stupid like this. The Campanula I made last year had decreasing in lace and I didn't have to rely on the chart once I got the hang of it. Why is this one so hard? I should have known this project was cursed when I had to wait longer for the yarn and do some math for a wacky gauge. ah well. Such is life. I'll return when I get my trusty camera back.

Progress

2008-08-07T17:10:00.002-04:00

I've been completely monogamous over the last week or so and have made some nice progress on the banded peasant blouse. I am about 5 inches into the body which is almost half way. I really like this project. The Louet Merlin is wonderful and I think will be great to wear. The simple eyelet pattern is easy, yet entertaining, and with no waist shaping doesn't require too much attention. I really enjoy knits like this, if it is easy enough that I am not making mistakes then I'm not getting angry which makes my husband happy as well :) I think I scare him sometimes when I get frustrated... Anyway, here is my progress so far. It isn't much to look at so far so I panned up and snuck a puppy shot in. Penny is giving me her "Please don't make me go outside in the rain again you know I can hold it" look. In my defense I've been at work all day, she really should have to go by now.

I can't wait to have this finished so I can wear it but I decided to join the Ravelympics which I just realized start tomorrow not Saturday. I'm in the sweater sprint event with Guinevere so I'm not sure when or if I'll be working on the blouse. I was so relieved my yarn was here when I got home today, it gives me just enough time to swatch tonight. This is going to be a real challenge but I'm looking forward to it. I'll try to post my progress and lovely new yarn tomorrow. Yoga time!

FO:Cotton Bamboo Girl Tank

2008-07-30T19:35:00.002-04:00

Pattern: Cotton Bamboo Girl Tank by Sara and Joelle Meier Rioux

found in Classic Elite Make it Modern

Needles: Clover Bamboo US3 16" and Susan Bates US5 29"

Yarn: Classic Elite Cotton Bamboo 6 skeins of Orchid Ice

Buttons from Joann Fabrics

The cotton bamboo tank is done and already worn to work today. I love it! I'm learning the hard way that I need a bit of negative ease in my garments. This tank is just a little too baggy and since I'm sure the cotton will stretch I do wish I had chosen the small size. It's no big deal, I can take the side seams in if I really want to. I think I'll wear it a couple of times and see what I think. The pattern is really easy and very well written, it was so pleasant to knit. Picking up stitches for the armholes while not my favorite part, made for some nice cap sleeves. I'm probably in the minority but I don't really like to wear sleeveless shirts to work but the cap sleeves are just enough to make me comfortable. The yarn is amazing. Soft, silky and not too heavy. The color is a beautiful mix of purple and pink, I wish the pictures could capture it. I absolutely love the cotton bamboo and I am going to get more of it I promise you. Perhaps a flutter sleeve top is in my future. This booklet is hands down my favorite pattern book and I'm slowly going to make everything in it. I don't have too much more to say about this, it was just a nice, easy, fun knit that I really enjoy wearing. The only slight complaint, it wrinkled during the day easily.

A nice shot of the very cool short row cap sleeves

And the buttons that are a perfect match, how lucky was that! Thanks to my husband who came with me to Joann Fabrics on our anniversary and helped me pick them out, what a sweety.

My sister's gift is all done in time for her birthday tomorrow, as payment I'll get some shots of her modeling it this weekend.

Pick up 711 stitches

2008-07-28T17:32:00.003-04:00

That's how many stitches I have picked up in the last week. 355 to finish the cotton bamboo tank (now finally dry so photo shoot will come shortly).

196 for my sisters gift soon to be done. 160 stitches from the cast on edge to make the folded hem on my newly started Banded Peasant Blouse. I don't know why I didn't just do a provisional cast on so I didn't have to worry about picking up stitches. My hands hate me for blindly following the pattern. If you make this save your hands and do the provisional cast on. I'm really liking the Louet Merlin and the eggplant color for the band is so much nicer in real life, I'll get a better picture once I am further along.

I started Guinevere but totally wasn't following the chart so I had to rip it out. I am thinking of using that as an unofficial Ravelympics project but I'm not sure I can finish it in 17 days and I'm still not sure I want it in white. I know I have the yarn and should use it but I don't know. Anyway I am glad to be past the difficult parts of my projects and have some nice, albeit long easy rounds to work on.

FO:Button Up Shrug

2008-07-23T18:52:00.004-04:00

Pattern: Button Up Shrug from Classic Elite Make it Modern Kristen TenDyke

Yarn: Classic Elite Soft Linen a little over 4 balls

Needles: Denise US5 and US6

These are probably some of the most unflattering pictures of myself but I'm in a meh kind of mood. This has been done for a month but I just got enough energy to do the FO shoot today and get it out of the way. If I could keep this shrug on I would like it but the button holes need tightening and I'm not sure it will ever sit well on my shoulders. I guess I should have made the smallest size (I made a medium). I know what needs to be done, I need to rip out each end and make it shorter, then maybe it will be wearable. I really don't want to do it. I have to decide if it is worth the work and frankly I'm not sure it is. The shrug looked really cute in the booklet but the arms are big and I'm not sure it flatters my body at all. As far as the pattern goes this was a very easy knit but I don't like how loose the button holes are and may try another method if I were to make this again. The yarn requirement is way off which is annoying for such an expensive yarn. I have nearly two complete balls left over which is about $20. I don't see any finished ones on Ravelry yet so I'm not sure if it is just me, it will be interesting to see some other finished shrugs. I've been knitting like crazy lately so I should have some more flattering FOs to show very soon :) Now if you'll excuse me I have some seaming to do!

WIP round-up

2008-07-16T17:11:00.003-04:00

I'm a bit all over the place lately and my seriously slow computer isn't helping my blogging at all. I finished the button up shrug the day we left on vacation but still haven't gotten around to photographing it. Next time I swear. So let's look at the mess I've gotten myself into now.

First up the back and about half a front of the cotton bamboo girl tank. I love this yarn and I've been making good progress. I really want to finish it but when you are dividing your time not much gets done. Please mind my ghetto blocking station of garbage bags on the spare bed. Some day I'll get a real blocking board.

Next up we have some secret deadline knitting for my sister's birthday at the end of the month. The yarn is Mission Falls 1824 cotton in a great rusty orange I got when Yarns at Lace Wings closed. I love the color and I actually like the way this is knitting up but man is this yarn brutal on my hands. I'm getting as much as I can done a night but it's a good excuse to switch off when I start to feel hand fatigue.

In the car ride up to Maine I cast on for the Lace Ribbon Scarf but I stopped after 12 rows. It was easier to pick up my Leyburn socks during downtimes so this is stalled. I wish I had learned magic loop before I started those darn socks, I swear they'd be done by now rather than languishing in UFO land. I need to frog the first one back because the leg is huge so we'll see what happens there. Add to that the magic loop socks which you saw last time, arabesque which is totally failing the one hexagon a week goal, most of the back of my printed silk cardigan, and swatching. I'm hoping to reign myself in. I want to start socks for my husband and the banded peasant blouse for which I got gauge with the Merlin and then today I bought this. Now I don't usually go crazy and buy a pattern as soon as I see it during lunch at work but this was so so pretty. As of right now I am going to make it in white Louet Merlin I had earmarked for the dollar and a half cardigan but after swatching I'm not sure it will be a good sub for that. It'll be pretty plain but at least I can wear it with a bunch of stuff and the Handmaiden called for is just to spendy for me. We'll see. Hopefully I can make myself finish something before I cast on. It doesn't help that the pattern is printing right now.... I need help.

Oh, and the sugar plum yarn I won. It's so pretty, I'm thinking a scarf some day.

New Yarn

2008-07-09T11:11:00.003-04:00

I meant to get to this earlier but a raging case of poison ivy that requires steroids has had me sidetracked a bit. I decided to take a sick day from work today to adjust and I think by tomorrow I'll feel pretty good. Anyway, on to the yarn.

In Portland, Maine (which is a great city by the way) I stopped into two yarn shops. The first was Central Yarn Shop where I got some Lane Cervinia Forever for my first Magic loop toe up 2 at a time socks. I worked on these while visiting my inlaws for the fourth and I love it. I wish I had learned how to make socks this way first as I'm sure I would enjoy it more. They are moving along so quickly and once I am done, I am done. Love it. I am past the slip stitch heel. This was nice shop. The 86 year old man whose daughter now runs the business shared some nice stories with us so I had to leave with something.

Next we stopped at Knitwit Cafe a really nicely laid out shop where I got some Louet euroflax for a summery scarf, I think a wavy razor shell scarf maybe.

And last week I went a bit crazy at WEBS. Man that place is dangerous. I went a little crazy with the Louet Merlin but come on, it was like 50% off. I meant to only get it for the Banded Peasant Blouse from the spring 2008 IK but I also ended up getting some white for the Dollar and a Half Cardigan found in the IK magazine I also picked up. I also got some Frog Tree Alpaca sport for the White Witch Mitts and some Valley Yarns Huntington in Charcoal to make socks for my husband. I made him some before I knew what I was doing and they stretched out too much. Now that I know magic loop I can make him some custom fit socks, he's really supportive of my hobby and didn't mind going to all these yarn shops on vacation so I was to reward him for that. That and I still haven't cast on for that sleeping cap he's been wanting.

I also won a yarn naming contest! Sweet Paprika now has a yarn named sugar plum. Of the three people who suggested that I was the random winner so they sent me a skein which I forgot to photograph. You can see it in the link above but I'll show it next time along with all my WIPS, and as I am also suffering from cast-onitis there are many. Off to slather some calamine lotion on.

Trip Report: Falling Waters-Franconia Ridge- Greenleaf hut-Old Bridle Path

2008-07-01T12:32:00.005-04:00

We got back this weekend from our trip to Bar Harbor Maine and North Conway New Hampshire. We had a great time and did some serious hiking. When I plan a hike I like to Google for trip reports, I find it really helps to know what you are up against so I'm putting this out there for anyone thinking of doing this particular loop. Get the AMC hiking guide if you plan to hike in the mountains, it's the best resource.

Bar Harbor was nice but very foggy, expensive, and crowded. I'm not sure I'd go back, it's a long drive.

The white mountain area in New Hampshire is my most favorite place in the US that I have been to. If there were any way possible for me to live there I would do it in a second. This was our second year there, last year we hiked Mt Washington and this year decided to do a classic loop including part of the Franconia Ridge trail.

After much googling :) I decided to send us up the Falling Waters trail. This is a great way up to Little Haystack. The trail gets its name for the series of waterfalls it passes on the way up. These give great rewards as you make your way up and give a good excuse to pause and catch your breath while taking pictures. The rocks can be a bit slippery so I like it as an ascending route but there were plenty of people who chose to go down that way and I'm sure it would be fine. No scary sections at all this way up and it is doable if you aren't in as good of shape as last year...

We did the small side trail to shining rock, a large wet slab of granite. It's pretty, if not that exciting.

We stopped for lunch on Little Haystack where the bugs were intense, then it was across the ridge to Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette. You are above the treeline for 1.8 miles on the ridge and it is fabulous. The trail is wide enough that it is not scary and the views even in the haze were insane. I read on a clear day you can see to Canada. The only downside to this route is that Little Haystack is the smallest of the three peaks so you have to go down and then up again twice to summit Mt Lafayette before beginning descent. After that last push my legs were really tired.

Then it is down to the AMC greenleaf hut where you can fill up water bottles (I filled up the two I drank on the way up) and grab some snacks if necessary. We didn't rest too long as we were getting tired and knew there was a chance of storms in the afternoon. You do not want to be above the treeline in an electrical storm so pay close attention to the weather.

Old Bridle path (not Old Bridal path as my husband thought. I stopped dead in my tracks when he said the trail must be easy if brides used to walk up it :) ) was an old path used by horses. It is a good way down as it has several rock staircases and isn't as slippery as the falling waters trail. It also gives you great views of the ridge you just hiked. Once back into the woods the trail is really easy, we had to rush our tired, aching legs the last 0.5-0.25 miles as we heard some rumblings of thunder but it never rained.

The round trip was about 8.2 miles and took about 7-7.5 hours. It was very tiring and intense but well worth it. Last year up Mt Washington in July we had to hike in pants and sweatshirts but this time I was hot in my long pants, I sweat more than I've ever sweat in my life. We saw shirtless guys and a girl hiking in a bikini bottom, quite a difference. Bug spray didn't help fend off the crazy viscous bugs which was the only downside to the trip. In my opinion this loop is more tiring than hiking Mt Washington because you go up and down a few hundred feet in elevation gain several times but it is worth doing at least once. Those unobstructed views and lack of car traffic like on Washington is amazing.

So that was the highlight of our trip. We stopped in Portland, ME on the way up to Bar Harbor where I got to visit 2 yarn shops. I'm making one of my semi annual trips to WEBS tomorrow so next time I'll be back with a yarn filled post.

FO: Suzzane's Purse

2008-06-17T17:09:00.004-04:00

Pattern: Suzzane's Purse by Debbie Tuttle

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted less than one skein of onyx

Needles: Denise US 10.5

I've been promising this awhile so hopefully it isn't too anticlimactic. I used a leftover skein of the Lamb's Pride from my Buttony sweater and the oval pearl beads are from the evil empire (Wal-mart). I really, really like this purse. I cast on 5 extra stitches and did 18 garter stitch rows to upsize it a bit. The only other mod was a 5 stitch Icord for the handle instead of garter stitch rows because I thought it would look better with a cylindrical handle. It fits all of my stuff perfectly and seems really sturdy. I've been using it all week and it will be perfect for the wedding I have to attend on Saturday.

This was not only my first felted item but my first hand felted item. We are pretty new homeowners so we got an energy efficient front loading washer when we moved in. Instead of trying my luck at felting in the washer (I will next time...) I know there was a tutorial on knitty so I decided to hand felt the purse and save some water and energy. This is how the purse looked after the knitting was done:

It then went into a bucket with some hand soap and very hot water and I went at it with my baby plunger. I got some strange looks when buying this tiny plunger, I'm sure the people at Lowes thought I'd be elbow deep in some toilet. The cashier did ask and I think he understood what I was going to do, I wonder if he'll ask the next person if they are going to use that plunger on his or her knitting!

So hand felting took a long time and I made quite the mess in my bathtub. My arms were burning the next day but the result was worth it. I maybe could have felted it a bit more but I like the size it is now.

I'm thinking I will make another in some Berroco Jasper I have sitting in my stash. I've been looking for the perfect use for it and I think this great pattern will show off the stripes beautifully.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T11:43:00.004-04:00

My dad got a kick out of this beer sweater when he found it in the fridge yesterday. I think it is going to live in there to suprise unsuspecting guests like it suprised him :)

Life got in the way this week so I'll show my new felted purse next time, I'm off to BBQ with Dad.

FO: Twinkletoes

2008-06-08T14:24:00.003-04:00

Pattern: Twinkletoes by Chloe Sparkle Knitty winter 2006

Needles: Susan Bates
US5 dpn

Yarn: Filaturia Di Crossa Zara

Ok this one is cheating a bit because I knit the first one well over a year ago with yarn I picked up in the Knitting Nook's discount bin. When I ordered yarn for my Swallowtail shawl from Knitpicks I added the suede bottoms and was motivated last weekend to finish the second slipper. I don't really like sewing so it took another week to get the bottoms on. No matter how many times I tried they still came out crooked and I just don't care enough to fix them. The pattern is pretty nice but I'm not thrilled with how mine look or fit, the heel is just too high for me and if I hadn't knit the first one so long ago (and twice) I would have just done a short row heel. I love the yarn so once this heatwave is over I'll probably still wear them. I really want a sweater out of this Zara, it is so so nice and wears very well. I have some Fetching gloves that haven't pilled at all with tons of wear.

I felted something this weekend but it is still drying so I will have all the gory details later in the week.

FO: Anthropologie Inspired Capelet

2008-06-04T17:19:00.003-04:00

Pattern: Anthropologie Inspired Capelet by Julia Allen

Needles: Denise US 10.5

Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande 179.3 yards

This was a nice quick knit and I love the finished product. I chose to use a stockinette rather than reverse stockinette but I did keep two stitches in garter stitch at each end after the ribbing at the neckband. I added length too. I blocked this rather aggressively to get a better fit and open up the lacy increases and it seems to have worked well, at least I'm going to keep telling myself it doesn't look too tight. The only thing that is disappointing is that the yarn lost a bit of it's softness and fluffiness with the washing. It still is wonderful and at this gauge has a nice drape but the oh my goodness this is the softest thing ever is gone. I have a little bit of yarn left that I might make a cowl out of and I definitely won't be blocking that. Despite being a bulky alpaca yarn I think this is lightweight enough to be warn on a warm summer evening over a cute top or dress. Now I just need to find the right pin to close it up.

Yeay Woolworks!

2008-05-29T17:54:00.003-04:00

I stopped into Woolworks today to pick up some yarn for an Anthropologie inspired capelet. We're going to Bar Harbor, Maine and North Conway, New Hampshire this summer for vacation and I wanted something to throw over my shoulders on the walks to dinner. I picked up this amazingly soft Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande in a lovely creamy colour. I'm hoping to make big progress during the Lost finale tonight.

To top off this to die for yarn Jen was nice enough to give me the discount for a sale they are having this weekend which I wasn't even aware of. I really like that store and I'm glad I stopped in. They will have the cutest knit fishes in the window starting this weekend, I saw them in progress and it took all of my willpower not to grab one and run. She mentioned probably having a sale for knit in public day, if I'm free I'm totally there.

I also began work on the button up shrug from classic elite's Make it Modern booklet. I'm not far into it at all but the pattern is a really easy 4 row repeat and the soft linen is one of my new favorites. It has been burning a hole in my stash just waiting for this project to begin, I hope to have that too finished for vacation.

FO: Swallowtail Shawl

2008-05-27T17:21:00.003-04:00

I managed to tear myself away from the wii long enough to finish up my Swallowtail Shawl.

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark

Yarn: Knitpicks Gloss Lace, less than one skein

Needles: Plymouth Bamboo US4

Silver foil lined seed beads, I think 8/10?

You can kind of see the tiny foil lined beads I added to the shawl in the detail picture, my camera really sucks at close up shots. I placed a bead in every other bud on every other row and I swapped out every other lilly of the valley nupp section with beads. I really like the look but dang those beads pissed me off. I used knitpicks gloss lace which I am not too fond of and the beads were just too small to move easily along the yarn. I pre-strung a bunch because the crochet hook I bought was too large to fit through the opening. For the lilly of the valley section I made my own threader with some very fine beading wire left over from my childhood beading days. This took about 2 weeks to knit but I bet without the beads it would have been one. The yarn while nice desperately wanted to felt upon itself and just doesn't have as nice a sheen and feel as other lace weight yarn I have seen. Overall I am pleased with the finished project and it makes a good entry for the earth theme of project spectrum, I snuk it in just in time! Now I just need a dress to go with this so I can wear it to my friends wedding next month.

My new mistress

2008-05-21T18:44:00.003-04:00

My knitting time has been compromised by my new love affair.

Is it wrong that punching an animated character that looks freakishly like my husband is so much fun?

Penny has a new toy too, I'm such a sucker.

WIP it Good

2008-05-14T17:50:00.004-04:00

I like to see progress shots, especially lace projects. The transformation that happens during blocking lace is fascinating. Sunday evening I started the Swallowtail Shawl, I'm through 10 pattern repeats with 4 to go before I start the lilly of the valley border. I'm using Knitpicks gloss lace and I can't say I'm thrilled but we'll see after blocking. I think working with the Alpaca with a Twist Fino has spoiled me. I'm making this to wear to a wedding but I almost think finishing my long hibernating Print O' the Wave stole would be better. It is far from completion and I have a month to go, I don't know that I need any knitting deadline stress right now.

Lest you think that I have turned into a lace knitter I'll show you my progress so far on the Printed Silk Cardigan. I took a week off between lace projects to work a bit on this. Kinda boring shot so far, I'm ready to start the fun part and so far my measurements are working out like I calculated. I just love the Ella Rae Silkience and think this will be a great sweater. Unfortunately it is on hold while I finish the shawl.

Next up one lonely hexagon for arabesque. This is a long term project so I'm hoping to get about one hexagon done a week until the fall. They are fun and only take a couple of hours.

That's pretty much all I've got, I'll spare you a shot of my sock as it is only a few rows further than the last time I posted about it. It's fun but I don't think I'll be turning into a sock knitter any time soon.

FO: Lilly of the Valley Shawl

2008-05-11T18:44:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's day to all of the Mother's out there. This was my Mom's gift:

Pattern: Lilly of the Valley Shawl by Nancy Bush Lace Style
Needles: Denise US6
Yarn: Alpaca with a Twist Fino

Please excuse the sweats :) I forgot to measure it so I don't have the dimensions but it is smaller than the version in the book. I made some modifications so the shawl would only take 1 skein of the Fino. I omitted one pattern repeat by casting on 74 stitches. I did 9.5 pattern repeats, increased to I think 82 stitches on each edge, and picked up 210 along each side. In total I used about 70g of yarn, about 613 yards. I could have made it a little bigger but I was afraid of running out of yarn. I screwed up the edging and bound off without making the points. Very annoying but I think my Mom liked it the way it was. I love this pattern and I love the Fino, really really nice stuff. The nupps really weren't that bad at all. As long as the YOs and Knits are done very very loosely on the previous round purling 5 together isn't too bad. I'm glad I left them in. I think eventually I will make another shawl, I want one for myself and it was an enjoyable knit. I felt bad thinking for a moment (OK, longer than a moment) that maybe my Mom wouldn't want this and I should just keep it. I did give it away and I'm glad, I think it will be loved and that makes me happy. Now that the clean up from my family's visit is over I'm going to tackle the Swalowtail shawl and relax. I've strung a bunch of beads and I'm anxious to get to it.

Now Back to the Knitting

2008-05-06T17:38:00.003-04:00

I've been trying to write this post for a week or so but between computer issues and life in general I just didn't have the energy. I'm finishing up a lace piece that I will show you next week but in the mean time I've been stealing some time to knit on my Leyburn socks. The first is just past the heel.

I had some unusually strong willpower and was able to resist the WEBS sale in April and I was delighted to see that pay off with Berroco Comfort going on sale in May. I bought a bunch for arabesque so the sale really helped. They didn't have the colors I suggested in the pattern so I had to make some substitutions. I love the colors but I don't think I will use the darkest purple. I may use the green even though that will give me one more color than called for. I can't wait to start making hexagons, hopefully tomorrow.

My willpower was short lived and I also got some Ella Rae Silkience that I am going to use for the Printed Silk Cardigan from the Spring Interweave Knits. Thankfully I found a copy while I was out this weekend before the new issue comes out. I find it helpful when others give numbers when describing yarn substitutions so I'll do my best to pass on mine. I did some swatching and with US4 I get about 6.35sts/inch in pattern and about 5.75 sts/inch in stocking stitch. I thought I had a 36 inch bust but with help measuring properly I find I'm about 37-37.5 so following the directions for the smallest size I should get a sweater that comes out to about 37 inches. I've looks at the galleries for this and searched Ravelry and I think that this sweater looks great with either positive or negative ease so I feel pretty good about this. I'll get a thicker sweater but I don't mind and this yarn is too nice not to knit right away. I've only knit a few inches on this sweater but I really like it so far, this yarn is so soft and the color is the most gorgeous light teal, the picture does it no justice. I can't wait to work with it more.

Next week I'll be starting a beaded Swallowtail Shawl to wear to a wedding this summer, what great timing for the pattern to go free!

Step Away From The Blog

2008-05-02T21:13:00.003-04:00

Someone learned how to edit HTML this week :) Unfortunately trying to pimp out your blog can suck the life out of you and your knitting time. I promise to stop fooling around with this thing and have knitting pictures this weekend, right now I need some yarn.

FO: Tilted Duster

2008-04-26T09:57:00.003-04:00

Pattern: Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan Fall 07 IK 36"
Yarn: Berocco Peruvia, 6 skeins of Chipotle
Needles: Susan Bates US9 29"

Leaf Buttons from Joann Fabrics

Finally some time for a photo shoot this week. I really like this sweater and I think it will get a lot of wear once the weather gets cool again... I had to go down a needle size to get gauge with the Peruvia, it is by far one of the softest yarns I have worked with. I am a bit concerned with how this garment will wear, the loose ends of the peruvia were already felting together while I was knitting so I'll need to be careful with this piece. The color in the photos is pretty accurate, it's a nice blend of red and brown, a great transitional piece from fire to earth in project spectrum. I made no mods to the pattern which is easy to follow. The skirt did drag on and on but really it wasn't too bad. Had I not been racing the weather I don't think it would have seemed to take forever to finish. My only issues are that the sleeves are a bit snug so only T-shirts underneath, and the collar is a bit long and floppy. I'm not taking it out but in retrospect I would have picked up a few less stitches and maybe knit it an inch shorter. Minor things and I'm still very happy. I made the 36" which is zero ease for me and it's fine, the next size up may have kept the front closed a bit more but I didn't want to risk it being too big. I saw the coconut leaf buttons on Ravelry and was so happy I found them at Joann, I think they really go well with this sweater. I've been doing lots of knitting but I want to get out and pick up some flowers for the yard so that will have to be another post. Enjoy the weekend!

Adventures in Sock Knitting

2008-04-16T17:22:00.003-04:00

You know, I did well in math throughout school but apparently knitting math involves some wacky theorems that I know nothing about. The Leyburn sock went from this:

To this:

I have larger feet than what the pattern is written for and even though I swatched and went up a needle size something went awry. So I'm off to try again with the larger needle size but will keep the stitch counts given in the pattern. This is such pretty yarn I hope it works out this time.

Thanks to a sick day yesterday (I hate my sinuses) Tilted Duster is blocking away. There is still hope for wear this season :)

Mini Vacation

2008-04-14T15:02:00.003-04:00

I was on a bit of a mini vacation this weekend. My sister and I both took the day off Friday to hang out together and see Jeff Dunham, the funniest man on the face of the earth with the Family. Seriously, if you haven't seen his stuff you are really missing out. Anyway, while out during the day we stopped in at Sit and Knit Too in Old Wethersfield. I like this shop quite a bit, the people were friendly and there was a nice selection of yarn. I of course left with a few treasures. First up some Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn in lovely greens and purples for my first real socks using the Leyburn Sock pattern. I've made my parents toe up socks in Berroco Ultra alpaca but these will be for me. I'm not usually a variegated yarn person but the colors are suttle and I really think the pattern is cool. I hope to get to them soon. I recently decided to play along with project spectrum so these will fit well in the earth theme. I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep to the colors of each element but seeing as Chuck was red and the Tilted Duster has both red and brown hues to it I'm up for the challenge. I also left with two skeins of gorgeous purple fingering weight Baby alpaca and silk yarn for the Lace Ribbon Scarf from the most recent knitty. I've been looking for just the right scarf pattern for myself and as soon as I saw this I knew I'd have to cast on. It will be my small summer project when I need something easy and portable. So I'm still working on the Tilted Duster and I feel like I'm racing the weather with this one and loosing. I have a couple more rows on the skirt, which indeed seems endless, and the collar to go. I hope to finish it this week and get maybe one wear in before the warm weather but we'll see. At least I won't have it hanging over me the whole summer. So this is how I'm spending my last day off today, recovering from a little cold I picked up Friday with my knitting and a Puppy in my lap. Penny turned three Saturday so she's being spoiled this weekend :)
I don't think my Mom reads my blog but in case she gets sneaky I'm keeping a certain project off the blog, hopefully it turns out OK.

FO: Buttony

2008-04-04T17:37:00.003-04:00

Pattern: Buttony by Katie Marcus

Needles: Clover US8 29" circs and DPNS

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted 4 skeins of Onyx

I finally finished Buttony last weekend and we had enough daylight to take some pictures after I got home from work yesterday. The best part of this sweater is the cute flower buttons I found at Joann Fabrics, I love them. My camera sucks at close-up shots but you can get a hint of the cuteness from this shot.

This was my third top down raglan in a row. I made some changes to the pattern (more like an outline) starting with the yarn. I didn't like the bulky yarns my LYS carried so I decided to go with the Lamb's pride worsted since I had never tried it and the black colour was so intense. I love the color but this is a much rougher wool than I have ever used so I think I may always need a long sleeved shirt underneath. I was hoping to be able to wear T-shirts with this so I could keep it in rotation as the weather gets warmer but that is my own fault. I wanted to get the yarn at my LYS and had to compromise to do so. If there is a next time I will use a more drapier, softer yarn and do the 3/4 sleeves I thought about. I would also put the first button hole in the top ribbing, I think it would look neater. I cast on the indicated number of stitches and increased until I got the fit I desired. I made the button band seed stitch instead of garter stitch, I really love seed stitch and have never really been a fan of garter stitch. I also added some waist shaping which worked out well this time I think. Too bad I hadn't seen this handy calculator in time.

I started this sweater the first time in February and finished at the end of March but for some reason it felt like an unending process. I think it was having to rip out most of it due to stupid mistakes and really wanting to wear it before it gets too warm. I'm glad my Love-Hate relationship with this sweater is ending on a positive note. I really love it's cute, classy look and will wear it a lot, I think it will look great paired with a skirt on more dressy occasions.

I've been plugging along on the Tilted Duster but will save that update for another post. Penny hasn't made an appearance in awhile so here is a cute puppy shot, my version of Friday eye candy :) She just loves to wrap herself up in a blanket.

FO: Bluebird, aka Redbird, aka Chuck

2008-03-23T19:01:00.003-04:00

Pattern: Bluebird by the Berocco design team

Needles: Clover US7 DPN

Yarn: Scraps of Ultra Alpaca

Say hello to Chuck! I don't know why I call him that but that's his name. This is the second little guy I made, I just had to have one for myself. These are really quick and easy to make, I highly recommend the pattern. Instant gratification projects that make you smile are a great thing :)

Happy Easter!

FO: Wicked-ish

2008-03-20T18:46:00.004-04:00

I finished up my version of a Wicked type raglan this weekend and wore it to work today.

Pattern: Based on pictures of Wicked by Sarah and Rachael

Needles: Denise US7

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers

Overall I'm pleased with this top. It works nicely as a vest and fits pretty well. I love the color and I think this FO will see a decent amount of wear. The Cascade 220 was nice to knit with, not my favorite yarn but a good one. I think this only took about 2-3 weeks with other projects mixed in. It was a bit liberating not to have a pattern at first.

I've been making progress on Buttony, last night I split for the armholes. I will definitely like wearing this sweater, the black color is so vivid in real life and they Brown Sheep yarn is really soft.

I've also finally cast on for the Tilted Duster! I am so excited for this knit. I bought the magazine this fall and the yarn on my first trip to WEBS over Thanksgiving weekend. I'm part way through the back and I have to say so far the Peruvia is a dream to work with. It is sooooooo soft I love it. Hopefully the finished project will wear well. Call me crazy but after three top down raglans I am so ready to seam up a sweater. I can't believe I said that but those long rows before you split off for the sleeves go on forever. I guess I like having small milestones with seamed up sweaters. So I'm pretty much splitting time between these two projects though I may take some time off to knit another Bluebird. I knit one in red Ultra Alpaca but gave it to my grandmother without taking a picture. We had the first family gathering at our house last weekend and with all the crazy house cleaning we had to do I'm just glad I finished the bird.

WIP Wednesday

2008-03-12T17:39:00.005-04:00

I thought I'd share a quick round-up of what I have going on.

First up is my Back to Wicked vest, from Back to School vest to this nearly completed Wickedish top. I have one cuff left before I knit to my desired length.

Next up we have Buttony. Buttony and I have not been getting along. I was up to splitting for the armholes when I realized I hadn't placed the markers right. Stupid girl. I really can't believe I didn't notice, I deserved that complete frogging.

I swatched for the Tilted Duster from the Fall 2007 IK and got gauge with US9. Once I have a FO I will cast on for that, I can't wait!

I was lucky enough to get promoted at work even though the company had a terrible year. So I allowed myself to celebrate with these two skeins of Canopy from the Fibre Company. They arrived today from WEBS and will become the Summer Shawlette, free in IK's website. I had been wanting a soft summer wrap and seeing that pattern on Ravelry sealed the deal. I was going to splurge on some cashmere but I was hesitant about the price and I fell in love with this color. It's so pretty I may just have to play with it tonight :) 50% Baby alpaca, 20% Merino, 20% Bamboo in the rosehip colorway.

FO: Textured Tunic

2008-03-09T18:46:00.004-04:00

Here is my Textured Tunic dry and with buttons

Pattern: Textured Tunic from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel

Needles: Susan Bates US 9 and Clover US9 DPNS
Yarn: Tahki Donegal Tweed 4 Skeins

Modifications: Where to start. This is the second pattern I have made from this book and I'm a little disappointed. The yarn I used gave me a different gauge but following the directions for the second size gave me a sweater slightly larger than the smallest size of 34.5". I added some waist shaping and only did slits on the bottom part, not the weird flap thing the directions called for. I am rather well endowed in my hip area and I thought the sweater would be too tight with the flaps. I didn't make button holes but did sew some on because I liked the look. I knit the sleeves in the round but they came out way too tight so I ripped them out and did not do the decreases. When I got near my wrist I increased a couple times to give a slight flair to the sleeve.

I'm not sure how I feel about this sweater, it fits OK and looks nice enough but I'm not sure about the bottom. This was my first time adding my own waist shaping and I think I could have done a better job. The yarn is nice and I'll be able to wear it against my skin but I could have gone down another needle size. If I were to do it again it would be nice to use a yarn with some more drape, perhaps a silk blend. If the neckline stretches out I may try to do a crochet chain around to tighten it up, we'll have to see how it wears.

A somewhat Wicked distraction

2008-03-02T18:33:00.002-05:00

I should be finished my Textured Tunic but after deciding the first sleeve was too tight and ripping it out I needed to put it aside for a few days. That sleeve and most of the second are done and it will hopefully be completed very soon. In the mean time I needed a distraction.

I debated posting on this for awhile as it may be a touchy topic. I saw a few posts of Wicked's on the Internet and I really thought it would be cool to have a short sleeve top down raglan with baby cables to wear as a vest. So I took my Back to School vest out of its punishment bag and began to rip it out until I got to a point where I could just knit from the old garment into the new one. Maybe this is wrong but I am tired of winding yarn, I wound 875 yards of Alpaca with a Twist Fino for my Mom's Mother's Day gift and that about drove me batty. Now after working on the Textured Tunic I have a good idea of how top down raglans work and I used baby cables in my neckwarner a while back so I did not purchase this pattern. I feel a bit guilty for taking this idea but honestly I don't know or care if mine comes out like the original. I just want a simple sweater with baby cable ribbing at the yoke, sleeves and bottom. I'm not even sure the pattern calls for this ribbing everywhere. If some day I want to make the pocket I will buy the pattern but for now I would just rather use the picture as inspiration and go my own way. That being said since it will be close to a published pattern I won't list any technical details. I don't want to give people a way to get out of buying this pattern. I didn't even check my gauge with a swatch, just cast on what I thought might work and went to town. I'm almost ready to split the sleeves and body. I love this color Cascade 220 and I'm glad it will see the light of day.

Since the end of the Tunic is near I went to Woolworks to get some black yarn for a Buttony sweater. It is worsted instead of bulky so I'll have to do my own math but I think the results will be worth it and it is good to keep the brain working. Hope I have some nice FO's to show of soon.

The Upside of Monogomy

2008-02-24T15:33:00.003-05:00

Probably the nicest thing about devoting your attention to one project is that even if you have to rip the sweater twice even though you did the math and it should have worked, you still make progress pretty quickly. The body of the Textured Tunic is done after several modifications. I'm not too frustrated with it because this sweater is teaching me how to custom fit my garments. Not exactly what I had in mind when picking this as my next project but a good learning experience. I hope to finish this up this week if I don't have to modify the sleeves. I have it in my mind that I can finish two more sweaters before it gets too warm out, I think I just want an excuse to buy yarn to make a black Buttony sweater. Tilted Duster is a definite but we'll see if I can squeeze one more in before I dive into my new summer yarns :)

WEBS Rocks!

2008-02-19T18:14:00.003-05:00

My new yarn arrived very quickly and it is all wonderful stuff. I can't wait to start using it. This is for summer knits and just having it arrive makes me happy and anxious for spring. Now I don't have to worry about using my free shipping coupon in time :)It will have to wait a little while until I make more progress on my Textured Tunic. I'm up to the box stitch portion now and liking both the pattern and yarn so far. This is my first top down sweater so watching the raglan shaping unfold is pretty cool. It is also nice to have some stockinette stitch to work on, I guess I'm just in a simple knitting place now.

FO: Tangled Yoke Cardigan and FO: Little Leaf Scarf

2008-02-17T16:31:00.005-05:00

2 FOs for the price of one today.

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang Interweave Knits Fall '07

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in Whisper 7 balls (just a few yards of #7)

Needles: Susan Bates US4 36" and DPN, Addi US3 and US0, Inox US2

I love this sweater and I am so glad it is finished. The fit is perfect. I added some length to the garter rib section somewhat accidentaly but I decided to keep it and I am so glad I did. The length is perfect for me, I'd always rather er on the side of too long. I used US3 for the collar (what a pain that was for me) and US2 for the button bands simply because I didn't have long enough 3s. I picked up 152 stitches to compensate for the extra length, it may have been a few too many as the bands flop a tiny bit but I think it looks fine. I may wear this open from time to time and I am not doing those again. This was a nice knit, it was a pain at times but thankfully those moments came near the end and with a finished sweater in sight I ripped and kept going. This sweater greatly increased my knitting confidence not because of the complicated yoke or the folded hem but because of a near disaster Friday night. As I was kitchenering up the last armpit after finishing the collar and button bands the yarn snapped in my hands. I thought I had accounted for all of the loose stitches and finished up. As I excitedly tried on the sweater I heard a loud snap and almost had a heart attack. Something in the armpit broke and I had way more stitches loose than I should have. After over an hour of examining things I finally managed to graft the loose stitches from the front and then finish up the armpit. So after a freak out and some nasty words all ended well. My husband actually asked me if I enjoyed knitting during this whole debacle, my answer was of course! Just look at the finished product, it's worth all the time and effort to have a comfy new sweater. This yoke shot is a good representation of the color. I am afraid of damage with wear (which will be a lot) after the breakage but I have plenty of yarn left over and I'm getting the hang of this grafting thing. Just please don't let the yoke break!

Last night I also finshed up my Little Leaf Scarf

Pattern: Little Leaf Scarf by Pam Allen from Classic Elite Make it Modern

Yarn: Classic Elite Soft Linen in Soft Fern 17grams

Needles: Clover Bamboo US6

I adore this scarf. It is so freaking cute I can't stand it. I also love this yarn like you wouldn't believe. It is so soft, light, easy to work with, not splitty, just perfect. More is on the way for the Soft Linen Button Up Shrug and it is bringing it's cotton bamboo friend for the Girl-Tank both from the same booklet. They may have talked some Valley Yarns Colrain into coming along too... Yeah, that free shipping coupon Webs sent to those who bought during the sale burned a hole in my inbox. I just hope they don't sell out of the yarn before it ships. Man, I am on a yarn diet for sure now. I've never had a stash before but when this stuff arrives I'll have 4 projects backlogged, ouch. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. The scarf pattern doesn't require DPNs I just like keeping a small project on small needles and I like bamboo. If you make this beware that the length given for the scarf is way too long. Measure as you go, I had to rip back to get it just right. I love this booklet so much and will probably make everything in it, I'll write up more as I go. Tonight I cast on for the Textured Tunic from Fitted Knits in Tahki Donegal Tweed I got from the Super Bowl sale at Woolworks. Yeay for a project on US9 needles!

p.s. Is any one else having spell check problems?

What A Tangled Yoke I Knit

2008-02-10T19:59:00.000-05:00

Phew! That was intense. It was fun to see the cables take shape but row 7 kicked my butt and I had to rip half it back. Well, un-knit stitch by stitch is more like it. But it is done and I'm in the home stretch now.

Ever since I saw this booklet on another blog I had been lusting after it. No LYS that I have been to around here carries classic elite yarns and I couldn't find it online. Until Thursday when I stumbled accross it at Jimmy Beans Wool. My inlaws had given me a gift certificate for Christmas so I took that as fate and had my husband call in an order while I was at work. Saturday there was much squeeling and rushing to the mailbox just after we saw the mail lady put the package in. I am going to make the scarf on the cover this week, I like that there is a pattern that uses one skein of yarn, such a great way to try it out.

FO: Gemma Beret

2008-02-07T19:34:00.000-05:00

Short post since it is Lost night, I just couldn't wait to show this off.

Pattern: Gemma Beret by Sarah Hatton

Needles: Addi US3, Denise US8 and US9, Clover Bamboo DPN US8

Yarn: Valley Yarns Sugarloaf

I had to rip the initial version of this as it was way too big. I cast on 90 stitches in the round and increased to 108 after the ribbing. The next increase I think I had 114 stitches but now I don't remember. Knit to about 15cm and winged the decreases. I decreased according to the pattern directions except I left out one 3 row section. I think it came out pretty good. I'm not sure if I will block it right away or not, since this is a merino microfiber mix I'm not sure it will do much. I love this yarn, it is very soft and not itchy at all. I wish the color would photograph better, it really is a beautiful rust color in person.

The Back to School vest is finished but we won't talk about that right now, it is being punished.

I went to the Super Bowl sale at Woolworks Sunday. It had been awhile and it was nice to stop in and chat for a few minutes, everyone there is so nice. I was fortunate enough to pick a 33% discount out of the bowl, I'm so glad I had a decent amount of yarn in my hands :) Below you see some Tahki Donegal Tweed in a lovely cream mix. 5 skeins for the Textured Tunic from Fitted Knits. Penny is worried I didn't buy enough since the guage might be off but she has been wrong before.

For my Mother's Day I want to make a Lilly of the Valley shawl from Lace Style out of this Alpaca with a Twist Fino in cream. I love this yarn, my Print 'O the Wave stole is using the same yarn and I really liked the feel. My mom also admired it one time I was working on the stole at their house so I'm sure she'll appreciate her own item out of the Fino. Plus, if it is a gift it will get done :)

p.s. spell check isn't working so I appologize if there are errors. Blogger really ticks me off sometimes.

Cast-onitis

2008-01-30T17:11:00.000-05:00

I guess I am a slutty knitter. Something new and pretty walks into my life and I just have to get a piece of it. Not only did I cast on for the Back to School vest from Fitted knits which was slightly planned, but I also came across the Gemma Beret pattern in one of the discussions on Ravelry. I don't know what came over me but at that moment I had to have that beret. It's just so cute! So last night the Valley Yarns Sugarloaf I had earmarked for a moss stitch beret started being worked into the Gemma Beret. I love the color of this yarn and the feel is really nice I just don't know if I like the way it is working in this pattern. I'm going to keep knitting it a bit longer and then reassess. I really wanted to use this yarn so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Tomorrow I am going to try to take a knitting day off to rest my hands and soak up the new episode of Lost. So excited! The pictures do a good job of representing the blue color but not the rusty orange, it is so much lovelier in person.

FO: Endpaper Mitts

2008-01-27T15:44:00.000-05:00

A week to knit and here they are:

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang

Needles: Inox US0 and Susan Bates US2

Yarn: Rowan 4ply Soft (Blue) and Mondial Extrafine (Brown)

These were pretty quick to knit and the pattern was easy enough to follow while watching TV. I really enjoyed not having to worry about catching any floats. It is definitely worth it to do the Italian tubular cast on, the mitt I used this for fits better. My hand measured exactly 7" but I didn't have the correct DPNs for that size and I wanted them to be snug so I threw caution to the wind and went with the small size. They fit well although they are a bit long. When I knit I wear them folded back so they don't catch the yarn. This is a pattern I will very likely be making again. I had a hard time picking colors at Webs and even though they look good I don't think there is enough contrast to the colors. I really wanted a nice marroon but I didn't see one I liked. I think the store overwhelmed me that day and I just lost focus. They serve their purpose and have already seen some wear, I have to take them off long enough to block then and I think my stitches will even out nicely. I loved the Rowan yarn, so nice and tightly spun. The Mondial I think may pill and was a bit splittier. I don't think I'll be doing any more color work for awhile, I'm really not a fan of knitting English style. I can do it but it feels very unnatural for me. For my first official FO of the new year I am pleased with these.

The first yarn store I ever went into was The Knitting Knook in Coventry, CT. It was a great experience and I liked the store a lot. It's small but well stocked and the owner has always been very nice to me. I've since moved further away and haven't been to the store in about a year. I recently found out she now carries Cascade 220 (which I could never find out here) and since we were out running errands that way my husband and I had to stop in. I picked up three skeins of cascade 220 in a heathered Sapphire color for the Back to School vest from Fitted Knits. The picture is a pretty good representation of the color, it is perhaps a bit more vibrant in person. I hope to swatch and cast on this evening while my husband is making his first batch of homemade beer. We both satisfied our hobbies this weekend :) Next weekend Woolworks in Putnam, CT is having a Super Bowl sale so I may use that as an excuse to pick up another sweater's worth of yarn and some lace weight to start a shawl for Mother's Day. If I start now I should be able to finish in time with no stress, we'll see how that goes.

With my new comfy mitts on I finished up the last sleeve to my Tangled Yoke and joined both to the body while lounging on the couch and watching movies this morning. I love a Sunday with no chores, so relaxing before heading back to work on Monday. I'm excited to be nearing the cable on this, even more excited to be done with DPNs for awhile.

FO Bird in Hand Mittens

2008-01-21T17:59:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Bird in Hand Mittens by Kate Gilbert

Needles: Inox US1 DPNS

Yarn: Valley Yarns Southbridge and Ella Rae Classic (white)

My mittens finished drying this weekend and I've worn them out a few times. They are indeed very warm and the pattern is very cool looking. My tension was totally different for the second (left) mitt because I switched to keeping the main color in my right hands instead of the left. I really shouldn't have changed mid project, I think had these two yarns been similar in weight things would have been fine but since the Southbridge is thicker things got screwed up. They came out to be about the medium size which is what I wanted but they don't fit too well. I think because the row after the braid is so loose they move around on my hands a bit. I'll keep wearing them but only time will tell if they become a permanent wardrobe item. I would not recommend the Southbridge yarn for these, it's too far off and I payed the price. These mittens hurt my hand something terrible.

I went back to my Tangled Yoke and my hands kept hurting. I eased up a bit and took this as an excuse to cast on for Eunny Jang's Endpaper mitts Saturday. Two color knitting with fingering weight yarn doesn't bother my hands at all, yeay! I love an excuse to give in to temptation and cast on another project. I had the day off today so I managed to finish one up.

These are a fabulous knit. The pattern is really easy and only requires a quick glance at the chart every so often. We keep the house very cold and I often knit in a pair of pink fetchings
I made a while back. These work fine when using circular knits but since I've been using double pointed needles a lot recently I've run into problems. They are just too bulky and keep snagging my needles. I unfortunately picked up 8" DPNS at Webs last time I was there and it turns out that extra inch is pretty annoying. I really want these mitts so I think they'll be off the needles soon, probably before I continue work on my sweater. I left off the Italian tubular cast on from this mitt because I was too lazy to look it up and I think it was a mistake. I may undo this row and do the Kitchener rib bind-off the pattern called for at the tops of the mitts. This bind off technique isn't too hard but I either have no coordination or the cold house has caused me too loose feeling in my finger tips because I dropped the needles so many times. Thank goodness this isn't slippery yarn! It took me longer to do the bind off than to knit the ribbing. I'm hoping with practice it will get easier and I'll be happy I know it the next time I knit socks. I've managed to grasp the Italian tubular cast on for the second mitt, I recommend watching a video online as I had a hard time getting it from written directions. We'll see how it turns out as I get further into the mitt.

2008-01-17T17:48:00.000-05:00

I'm having a bad week so this will be a quick post since I've been MIA for awhile. I finally finished my Bird in Hand mittens. I have had a love hate relationship with these, see the difference between the two. Never change techniques mid project no matter what the so called right way is. The bird is pretty cute at least. I'll write more after they finish blocking.And because she makes me smile and is my biggest fan Penny gets to be in my progress shot.

Crappy photo but the puppy was cute and I don't have the patience to mess around with pictures tonight. That is one sleeve of my Tangled Yoke Cardigan down. I love knitting this and it is going pretty quick. Now that those endless mittens are done I can knit peacefully on this until I give in to temptation and start another project. I need this easy sleeve tonight.

1.5 FOs!

2008-01-06T16:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I seamed up my Drops Jacket just in time for the 50 degree weather expected this week!

Pattern: Drops Jacket 103-1
Needles: Denise US 11
Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky bought at Webs ~7.3 skeins
Mods: Three needle bind off at shoulders

Hubby is really busy this weekend but I got him to snap a few quick pictures of me modeling the jacket. I love this jacket so much! It is warm and cozy and so cute. I made the medium size and used just over 7 balls of the Berkshire Bulky yarn. The last 2+ I bought go into the stash and await future inspiration. I really like this yarn, it's soft and not at all itchy. I plan on wearing this jacket until the cold temperatures return so I'll be sure to report on how it wears. The pattern was confusing but easy enough to follow after reading it a few times. The only problem I had was that the sleeves turned out way too long. Maybe I didn't understand the directions well enough, or maybe I have short arms but they look cute folded back so that is how I'll be wearing it. This was a very fun knit and went pretty quick. If it had been my only project I doubt it would have taken more than a couple of weeks. I managed to get one sleeved done in two evenings for a time estimate. Seaming this wasn't too bad either but I am glad that my next sweater project won't have any seams to sew. I don't particularly mind seaming especially with selvage stitches but it definitely isn't my favorite part of a project. Weaving in the ends would be my least favorite part. The collar keeps my neck nice and warm but flipped down is a nice look too. Here is a close up that shows the buttons I picked up from JoAnn Fabrics on the way home from work Friday. I think they are glass.

After the jacket was done I finished the thumb on my right Bird in the Hand mitten and did the seaming and weaving in on that Saturday too.

I love this pattern too, very very cute. I used some embroidery floss I picked up for sewing buttons onto my winter coat and my Drops jacket to embroider the wing and eye and to sew up the picot hem. I of course forgot to embroider the beak on before I closed the top of the thumb is I decided to wait on that until the next one is done. The rest of the yarn necessary to finish the second one should hopefully arrive this week so I'll be starting the second one soon. I really hope I can finish these before it gets cold again. I was really wanting them when the temps were in single digits this week!. I'm thinking of making some less dense ones in pink and brown eventually, maybe in a DK weight yarn. We'll see, the worsted weight yarn on small needles hurts my hands and can be frustrating at times. It is probably a good thing I had so much sewing to do this weekend, it gave me a chance to rest my knitting muscles.

My Tangled Yoke cardigan has been growing quietly in the background all along. Today I finished the body and cast on for the first sleeve. Below is a crappy picture. I'm excited to devote more time to this, I think I will really enjoy the finished product. The next sweater will be the Tilted Duster, the project I bought the magazine for has been waiting patiently to be knit and I really want it as a spring coat. I'm trying to keep from swatching, having two sweaters on the go makes me a bit uneasy and I want to make sure I enjoy everything I knit this year. I guess it's kind of my resolution. That and to knit up everything I have already bought yarn for. I've been good about buying yarn with a project in mind but I've built up a queue that has me a bit intimidated and knitting for me should be a stress relief tool. So I'm going to be good this year and have fun. On the to do list for me is more colour work, felt something (on purpose :) ), and finish my print O'the wave stole for my friends wedding in June.

Home Sweet Home

2008-01-01T19:25:00.001-05:00

It's good to be home, not so good to be going back to work tomorrow. We got back from the inlaws Sunday night. It wasn't a bad trip other than the 8 hour drive up there in the snow storm. It usually takes 2 hours from Webs, this time it took 5 and was not fun at all. Webs was packed. We picked out our yarn and got a couple things from the warehouse and were on our way. Hubby wants a sleeping cap with stars and one crescent moon (way to make it easy on me) so he picked out some Filaturia Di Crosa Zarina, a fingering weight yarn in blue and white.

I picked up some Valley Yarns Sugarloaf in a nice rust color for a moss stitch beret, I don't think now that I bought enough but we'll see.
Some Rowan 4 ply soft and Mondial Extrafine for Eunny Jang's Endpaper mits.

And finally some olive Valley Yarns Sugarloaf and some cream Ella Rae Classic for the Bird in Hand mittens. I'm stupid and can't do math so I didn't buy enough of the green yarn. I should have stuck with the Cascade 220 or Ultra Alpaca but I had my heart set on this green. Stupid me. Now I have to order one more skein. I do have to note that the sugarloaf is not good for this pattern, it is too thick and hurts my hands on the US1 I am using. this is the progress so far on one mitten. Maybe I'll finish it tonight, I only have 1 sleeve left to the Drops jacket and I really want to wear that.

These were my knit related gifts. The latest Interweave and Knitter's magazines, Fitted Knits and Lace Style. Hubby got me the needle size checker thing and the thimble for color work (another reason for the Webs stop, just had to try it). The thimble is cool, I really have a hard time holding the yarn in my right hand so I used it for about half the mitten. I really don't care if it is cheating or not. I'm really excited about Fitted Knits, I think the cover sweater will be first. Once I've knit all I have already bought yarn for...

FO: Banana Republic Knock off hat

2007-12-26T19:17:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Banana Republic Knock off hat by metaphysical muse

Needles: Denise US 10.5

Yarn: Red Heart Grande in Country Blue

This would have been a quick knit if I hadn't had to rip out and make some adjustments. Probably my own fault for not doing more math. I followed the pattern but kept 54 stitches for the body of the hat. I don't remember how many rows I did before the decreases but I knit 9 stitches placed marker and repeat around the hat to give me 6 decrease spots evenly spaced. I didn't have a button so I stitched on a snowflake. It's fine for what it is. The yarn cost me $1 at Ocean state so this is a fine machine washable hat for outdoor activities.

I was going to post on my Christmas gifts but paypal has royally pissed me off. We are off to the in laws tomorrow and are stopping in at webs for some yarn for a sleeping cap hubby requested. I need mittens and he got me this cool gadget for colour knitting so I wanted to treat myself to the Bird in the Hand mittens. I remembered I had a few dollars left in an old paypal account from several years ago. So I got in and tried to order the pattern. Not a good experience for my first pattern download. It took like a half hour to get the transaction to go through. Now I have no patience left. At least I have the pattern and can hopefully knit the mittens this weekend. Happy Holidays!

FO: Trinity Stitch Hat

2007-12-23T18:42:00.000-05:00

Here is my new slouchy Trinity Stitch Hat!

Pattern: Trinity Stitch Hat from Craftster

Needles: Denise Interchangeable US 8 and US 10.5

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in Sable, less than 1 skein

If I hadn't had to knit this twice it would have only taken one longish evening to make. As I was joining the second ball I decided to try it on, the hat fell down over my eyes and was huge the first time I knit it (yeay for being able to try things on as you go). Apparently I have a tiny head so I had to rip out the entire hat and make a few mods the second time around to make it work with my yarn. Here they are:

Mods: Instead of the US 9 I used for the ribbing the first time around I used US 8 and made the ribbing using 64 stitches. I did the ribbing for 1.5" and when it came time to increase I switched to US 10.5 and did *K2 increase one by knitting into the stitch below* all the way around to end up with 96 stitches. I worked the stitch pattern (k1, p1,k1 into the same stitch not the indicated p1,k1,p1) until the hat measured 6". I then followed the instructions for the decreases until I had 32 stitches. Then I did one pattern round (row 3) and then K2 together for the next two rounds. These will use just less than the 125yds in one skein.

I really like the way that the hat came out and am glad I ripped it. I probably could have cast on even fewer stitches but it has stayed on fine the few times I've worn it since Friday night. I even learned how to finish a hat with 2 circulars instead of going out to buy 10.5 dpns. I put one 10.5 and one 8 at each end of two cords from my Denise set and it worked great. I can't sing the praises of that set enough. I also really like the way the looks inside out, maybe even better than the right side. Yeay for a reversible hat! I may make another some day in a more drapey yarn.

Work may cause me terrible amounts of stress but I am lucky enough to have the next week off so there will be much knitting going on. Since my gifts are all done (after a slight unraveling incident with my Mom's gift today, I almost had a heart attack but I'm not ready to talk about it yet) I've been knitting my old WIPs. Today I finished the right front of my Drops jacket and it is blocking away while I knit the sleeves.

Penny was helping me with my knitting and Christmas preparations but it just became too much for her and she passed out. Poor tired puppy :)

Some work has been done on my Tangled Yoke Cardigan but I'll hold of a picture until I break for the sleeves. A post on my gift knitting soon to come!