Froggy Knittery

A lace scarf and the start of training

2012-01-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I started a Falling Water scarf. I originally meant it to be a Christmas gift, but since it had to go by mail, after about 4 inches, I decided to make a hat to gift instead.

But since I had already knit 4 inches, I figured why not go ahead and finish the rest of the five feet or so I prefer from a scarf. And let's finish it before January so it's not hanging over my head, unfinished. So I did. It's a beautiful lace pattern, but I was bored to near tears knitting it. And since I didn't really have an emotional investment in it, my arbitrary deadline was the only thing that kept me working on it.

It is lovely though.

Yes, I was very lazy blocking it, so it has faux points instead of being straight along the edges. I think it looks nice, and I guess that's what counts.

I knit this scarf using a cashmere yarn from the fine folks at Keystone Art and Craft. The yarn is recycled from sweaters, and it's very very fine, so I held it doubled. The yarn broke once, because I was yanking at a knot. I'm very pleased with how soft and airy this scarf is.

On the running front, tomorrow marks the start of my training cycle for my April 15th half marathon! I've got four miles with speed intervals on the calendar. And, as the car is covered with about a foot of snow, I may be doing this outside, in the dark, in the snow. Should be a heck of an adventure.

My training plan has me running three times a week, strength training twice, and doing cardio cross training two or three times a week (strength and cardio cross are on the same days). In addition, I'm hoping to keep going to my Yoga Fit class once a week (on my easy run day) because I adore how yoga makes me feel. I'm excited to be training again. I love having a goal.

A little bit of knitting

2012-01-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

I've had the book Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi for a while now. A couple weeks ago, I asked my husband to pick out something for me to knit. So he picked the tiny Easter bunny, and asked that it be an albino rabbit. Okay. I can do that.

Except that an albino rabbit would have a pink nose... We both think that this tiny rabbit might be the tiniest bit evil and, you know, plotting our demise. Luckily the cat seems to keep the rabbit at bay. Even his tiny fluffy tail.

For myself, I knit a tiny gnome. Love those gnomes. I knit this little guy up in a couple hours of watching this and that on Hulu one morning. Both he and the rabbit are knit out of scraps of sock yarn that I had in the stash.

The gnome mostly lives on the bookshelf. The rest of the world is dangerous. It's quite easy to fall into a box of yarn and lace and never be heard from again.

Or to be suddenly snatched and eaten by a creature many times your size with claws and sharp pointy teeth.

Best to stay in the bookshelf, safe and sound, navigating the great crevasses and chasms of science fiction with a friend.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T15:07:00.000-08:00

I finished my Christmas knitting. Four hats and a scarf. Not too shabby.

Windschief for my brother

Coronet for my mother-in-law

Escargot for my aunt

Cerus for my brother-in-law

And a pompom hat for my BiL's wife.

After wrapping those up, I made it my goal to finish 2011 with no WIPs on the needles (except for a movie theatre sock, and the sock yarn blanket). I have met that goal! To really super dooper meet it, I need to sew on two buttons, block a lace scarf, block a vest, and block a cardigan. .... We'll see.

I am goal oriented. I have been thinking about goals for 2012 for the past month or so. My main goals seem to be health and fitness oriented.

1. Run 3 half marathons (already registered for 2, and am looking for a third).
2. Continue to get fitter, faster, stronger, and healthier in general.
3. Hike up Mt. Si.
4. Knit more lace. (Especially Evenstar, the Vernal Equinox Shawl, and Andrea's Magic of Spring))
5. Read more consistently.
6. Blog more, all over the place.

I can think of lots of other things I'd like to do next year, but let's keep the list fairly simple.

I'd best get to blocking that lace scarf!

FO: From Norway with Love Hat

2011-11-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

I might, just maybe, be participating in Blog-vember, which is a stupid name, but any excuse to get myself to post more. Luckily, I have a significant backlog of finished knitwear to show off.

Pattern: From Norway with Love
Yarn: Leftovers and odd balls. Cascade Lano d'oro for the purple. The rest is Cascade 220.
Needles: 8s, I think.

I knit the pattern as written. It turned out a bit on the long side. That's okay, though, because I can turn the ribbing under for extra ear warming.

If memory serves, this hat represents only my second foray into stranded knitting. Considering that, and considering I haven't actually blocked this hat, I think it turned out really well.

I was very careful to keep my floats as loose as seemed reasonable. I've had the tendency to pull them too tight on previous stranded attempts. In some cases, I may have been too liberal with the looseness I allowed, but overall I'm pleased.

I loved this hat when I saw it on Ravelry. And I do love the version I made. It was a fairly quick knit, but I am not yet skilled in stranded knitting. It's certainly a challenge. But this is a good pattern for entry level stranded knitters - the motif is simple and repeats itself. Some of the floats end up being 7 or 9 stitches, but that's the only more challenging aspect of the stranding. Overall, I think this will see a lot of wear during the colder winter months.

Race recap: Columbia Gorge Half Marathon

2011-10-29T14:38:00.001-07:00

Last week Sunday, October 23rd, I ran my first ever half marathon! I know you've all been waiting in anticipation for a recap, or, maybe for any update to this poor blog at all. Anyway, here it is.

On Saturday my husband and I drove down from Ellensburg to Hood River, OR. It's about a three hour drive, but very pretty. We got to Hood River and went to pick up my race packet. It was really exciting to get my bag with my number, chip, and fancy hat. I also bought a race shirt, because we've got to have souvenirs!

After that was in order, we checked out a couple of used bookstores and, of course, a yarn shop. Knot Another Hat is a really cute yarn shop with a nice selection. I picked up a couple balls of superwash for Christmas knitting, and a hank of lovely souvenir sock yarn. Shalimar yarns Breathless - a washable merino/silk/cashmere sock yarn. Mmm.

After those adventures, we checked into our hotel. We got a room with a river view, and what a great view.

It was even better when we got up early for breakfast.

We went down to breakfast. I ordered the cereal and banana, but only ended up eating a tiny amount. I'm used to running with very little in my belly and was not particularly hungry, so I just went with it. Back to the room and time to get dressed and pose for a "before" photo.

I walked from the hotel to the finish line (nice! hotel super close to the race finish), where I immediately got into a port-a-potty line and then in the line to the buses that would take us up a huge hill to where the start line was. The last two years, I guess they started where they finished - I can't fathom tackling the hill we drove up first thing - it would be brutal!

As it is, the course has a net elevation gain of 1100' and a net elevation loss of about 1300'. There's not really any flat part of the course - you're either going up or going down. Since I had trained on mostly flat ground and averaged around 11:30-12:00 minute miles on my long runs, I was expecting to run around 2:38-2:45, factoring in the challenge of the hill. Mostly, I wanted to finish on two legs, but I had 2:30 in my head as a great time to achieve, though I knew it was unrealistic.

Anyway, the runners were being bused to the starting line and I got there in time to see the marathoners start - away they flew! We were scheduled to start 30 minutes later, but the start time got pushed back an extra 20 minutes while we waited for everyone to arrive on the buses. At least the weather was great - partly cloudy, high of about 60 predicted. Lining up, I tried to move to the back of the pack, but pretty much ended up in the middle, because the chute was relatively narrow and a bus was literally unloading as the final remarks were being made. It didn't really matter though, as I ended up having to dodge walkers, and faster runners ended up having to dodge me. Not a huge issue, I think, as this is not a PR friendly course.

I ran (uphill) for the first three miles, feeling amazing and joyful, being careful not to feel like I was working too hard, and enjoying the scenery. This race is billed as the most scenic in the country, and I believe it! You're on an old historic highway which runs above the Columbia River - there are jutting rocks, changing leaves, two tunnels, and at least one small waterfall. Truly gorgeous. I spent those miles just listening to the runners around me and feeling great.

After three miles, and grabbing some water from the first aid station, we started a descent. I turned on my music and embraced the downhill. Embracing that downhill led to two(!) sub-10 minute miles (amazing since I had only done that once before in my life). I was careful not to feel like I was putting out extra effort, but just enjoying the momentum. It was all downhill to the turn around at about 5.25 miles, where I waved to my husband and grabbed a water from the aid station. Pride kicked in, and my plan to eat my Clif Shot (mocha!), walk, and drink my water was passed by my desire to look awesome for the hubby. So I flew back past him and started up the enormous hill I had just enjoyed flying down. My plan to run quickly became a plan to run/walk, quickly became a plan to run when I could, but just keep hiking with the rest of the field around me. I must have done ok, because my longest split in that area was about a 13 minute mile, which I'll take.

Approaching the turn-around:

I made it to the aid station at mile 7.5 where I finally had my Clif shot and some water. My right hip was beginning to tighten up and I figured that's what I get for flying down that first big hill. Luckily, the course is mostly downhill from mile 8 - not entirely, but mostly. So I was able to keep trucking at a pretty good pace, though I was starting to count the miles. We came off the historic highway, where I grabbed a small cup of gatorade at the last aid station, and began our descent into Hood River, OR. A steep, twisting road led down to the town - again, amazing views of the hills, the town, and the river. Stunning. Even though it was, literally, all downhill at this point, I ended up walking twice in the final mile. I was just spent. Letting pride get in the way of my fueling plan was a mistake. But I looked at my Garmin and saw that I could still finish in a time that I never had expected, so I picked it up and kept running the last half mile, giving it whatever I had left as I crossed the finish line.

Looking crazy, crossing the finish line:

I finished in 2:29.19. I am thrilled! 2:30 was something I had hoped for, but never expected considering my training! I had a great time at the race and it seemed well organized, except for the late start. I would run this again some day, for sure.

The "after" photo - thrilled to be sitting down, thrilled to be done.

Well, there we have it - did you make it through? Maybe I'll have some proper knit blogging on here someday. I'm working on a sweater vest out of cashmere. Very very soft.

Race! Snoqualmie Railroad Days 10K

2011-08-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I ran in my second ever race. I finished! And I wasn't last! Well, I was last in my age group, but that's to be expected.

The race was the Snoqualmie Railroad Days 10K. A 10K fit nicely into my training schedule this weekend as I had a 6 mile run scheduled. Plus I wanted to have more race experience, having only been to one pretty local affair previously. And this fit the bill. As a bonus, the course was described as flat, fast, and beautiful. And only an hour and a half from home.

We rolled into town around 8 am and found a parking spot a few blocks away. Picked up my bib, shirt, and bag and wandered around town a little bit. Bib #14 - apparently numbers were assigned alphabetically to the 10K folk. Wandered back to the car to drop off bag and shirt and pull on my headband. Love my BondiBands, since I hate sweat rolling down my face.

Then we waited around a little more and then it was time to line up! I never know where to line up. Except NOT at the front. So I stood pretty far back. Apparently too far back. These folk, who look very serious, were at the front.

I was not so serious, but I was intent on starting my watch, followed by being intent on not running into the walkers I had lined myself up behind. D'oh.

I had a great time the first mile - I was running strong, feeling good, and passing people, which was a lot of fun. I finished the mile in under 11 minutes, which is something for me. But it was all downhill from there. I must have pushed out too fast. By the third mile I was bribing myself with walk breaks every 5-10 minutes, and by the fourth mile I was walking whenever I felt my heart rate was getting too high, which seemed to be pretty frequently. Probably because when I would start running again it was at a closer to 11 minute/mile pace which was too much for me at that point.

But I finished in 1:12, which averages to about 11:30 per mile, which I'm pretty happy with. I'm not thrilled with the non-sustainable way I ran the race, but it was a good experience to have. And the course was very very pretty. Here's my race data for those interested. And here I am, crossing the finish line, intent on stopping my watch and finding where they keep the free smoothie I was promised.

We spent the rest of the day in Seattle - eating, watching Captain America (which I really enjoyed), shopping at used book stores, and getting stuck in traffic. At least the I-5 through Seattle can be gorgeous, even in traffic.

Mount Rainier

The Olympics.

Space Needle.

And how about just a dash of knitting content? Here's a pair of socks I knit out of Zauberball recently. Pink and purple and wooly, oh my. Just a basic toe-up stockinette sock. My default movie theater project.

They should be lovely when it's cold and I'm wearing socks again.

FO: Liesl Cardigan

2011-07-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

Vital Stats
Pattern: Liesl Cardigan
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Tape, just under 9 balls or just over 600 yards
Needles: US 11
Size knit: 46", but I went up a size because my gauge was tight
Time to Completion: A month or so.

I finished up my Liesl cardigan more than a week ago, but hadn't gotten around to asking Mr. Husband to take some photos of me. In a fit of productivity this morning I went out on the porch and took some photos in the full length mirror there. Yes. We have a mirror on the porch.

This is not a mirror shot - this is a kitchen table shot.

I received this yarn in a secret pal swap. It's lovely yarn, but cotton is not usually my thing. So it hung around for a little while before I decided to put it to use in the Liesl cardigan.

I was pretty skeptical about this pattern. I know it's wildly popular and all, but to me it looked a little bit, well, like a baby cardigan. Plus it does that 3 button thing at the top that I'm not a fan of. Why am I not a fan? Because if you've got a belly, I feel it can look a bit maternity.

But it turns out that I quite like this sweater. I found the yarn a little tricky to use - it has a tendency to catch on things, and it's difficult to effectively weave in ends. But the pattern is lovely. My only confusion came from trying to understand the buttonhole instructions, which I couldn't seem to grasp. I did something and ended up with three button holes, though.

The buttons I choose are really too heavy for this sweater. I should probably buy some cheap plastic ones to replace these. But I did happen to have thread that matches the yarn nearly exactly!

And there it is! It must be a summer of cardigans. I'm not sure what I'll cast on next. I will keep you appraised of the situation.

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Running is going smoothly. I attacked the only hill in town on Thursday. Twice. Hills are hard. What possessed me to sign up for a hilly first half marathon? Lack of reason, I guess.

My long run for Saturday is scheduled to be 6 miles. I'm planning on hitting 6.2 for a nice even 10K. Last Saturday I carried a water bottle for the first time. It was the 20 oz bottle that came free with my cheap-o bike (which has had a flat read tire for over a year. Anyone wanna fix that for me?). I chose it because I wouldn't be sad to abandon it. I didn't, but it was annoying to carry, and heavy too. Also my hand got wet and gross from leakage. So I was on the lookout for an alternative.

There she is. The FuelBelt Sprint Palm Holder 10z. I got it from the place I linked. I like them because of the free two day shipping, even on little things. Also, the price is good. I think it'll be a good solution. Pretty light, and the doohickey keeps it stuck to my hand.

I bought some powerade to stick in it. POWER! I'll let you know how it goes.

On the treadmill

2011-07-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

Let's start with running today, shall we? On Tuesday I was scheduled to do a 35 minute run, but couldn't drag my butt out of bed to get out before work. And, by the time I got out of work, the wind was gusting up to 40mph so I wimped out of running outside. To the treadmills! I went down to my gym and hopped a treadmill.

What I forgot is that I really really don't like treadmills. Not so much the boredom, though there's that. But the lack of breeze really does me in. I overheat and it gets really hard to keep going. So it was horrible. I ran for 35 minutes, including 2 one minute walk breaks in the second half. My technical fabric shirt didn't stand a chance - I was pretty well soaked.

But next time I'll take the wind and leave the gym for strength and cross training.

Tomorrow is another three miles! Outside this time, for sure. Tomorrow morning looks fine, with only 11mph winds.

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Now knitting! With the sad closing of the Dancing Ewe, there was no longer a centralized local group on Ravelry. So I took matters into my own hands and set up a group, Windy City Knitters, for anyone in or around Ellensburg. Check it out if you're local or planning to pass through.

Tonight I sewed on the buttons of my Liesl cardigan! Soon there will be photos. In the meantime I've picked up my sock yarn blanket. But it looks much the same with a few new squares as it did before. I'm really enjoying the blanket at this time - small squares are satisfying.

Salad and a sweater

2011-07-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

I made another pasta salad this past week for my lunches. It was more successful than the previous one, with the tuna and the bacon, but it got a bit old eating it everyday, plus once for dinner. Still, it gets a mention - Pesto Turkey Pasta Salad.

Ingredients: pesto mix, turkey breast (only used maybe half of it?), grape tomatoes, mushrooms, and pasta. Oh, and I tossed in some carrots for good measure.

Nothing fancy, just cooked the pasta, sauteed the mushrooms, and cut up the turkey, and mixed it all up. Oh, and the pesto mix which required a full quarter cup of olive oil. Hello!

I'd put some grated parm on it before eating it at work, and that improved things as well. Cheese usually does that. I'd call this a success, but it made too much food. I think I'm done with this whole pasta salad thing for a while. Three weeks is enough. But what should I do for lunches next week?

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Thursday, at knit nite, I finally finished knitting my Liesl cardigan. It's a pretty fast knit, actually, but I am just not a fan of cotton. Or bulky yarn. I played fast and loose with gauge, which means that even though I knit a size up, it may still be just on the small size. Also I did not wash a swatch, so I don't know how it will behave when washed and dried.

Unblocked.

I picked some buttons out of my button collection - I like them a lot, but they're pretty heavy. I'll have to see if the cardigan can handle them.

I took pictures of the buttons while the sweater was soaking. I used a sample of Soak which must be several years old, but still smelled nice. I was surprised by how much dye came out of the sweater, especially considering none ended up on my hands during knitting.

And the sweater spread out to dry. I managed to make it a little bigger, but time will show if I was successful.

Now I think I'll work on my sock yarn blanket for a while.

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Running! I finished my running for week 2 of training this morning. I did a 5 mile long run in what constitutes highly unusual weather for this area - humidity. It was very very strange. I ran just over 11 miles this week and will likely do about the same for next week. I did join RunKeeper.com to track my runs and connect with other folks. It's got some really neat functions - I think I'm going to like it. Track me down and join my "street team" if you've got an account!

7/8/2011 - Cleaning house

2011-07-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Knitting:
We have a knit nite here in town. Used to be held at the yarn store, but now that we're LYS-less, we hold it at the campus Starbucks. Things were getting downright rowdy yesterday! Kestrel came in her awesome pants and brought Rebekah (why do I assume Rebekah is spelled that way? It's almost certainly not.) with her. Rebekah attempted to educate me in anime. I may be hopeless. Still, I managed to knit an inch or two on the Liesl cardigan, which means that it looks essentially exactly the same as it did last time we saw it. I think I'm nearing the end of the body, at least, and the sleeves should be super quick!

Love that texture photo.

Running:
Thursday was meant to be a crosstraining day, but I was so tired when my alarm went off that I decided to switch it with my scheduled rest day on Friday. Which means I slept in yesterday (until 6:40!) and went off to cross train at the gym today. I do an endurance weights routine with some cardio thrown in. My trainer, who's a firecracker, says it's meant to raise my lactic threshold. I followed it up with some time on the elliptical. Tomorrow is my long run of 4 miles and, luckily, the wind is supposed to be under 10mph when I plan to go out! Hooray!

Other:
I seem to be terrifically linky today. How about that?

I've changed sizes recently. Enough so that the closet of clothes I'd been cultivating for years no longer fits. I'm trying my luck with a bit of an internet yard sale. If you're interested in XL, XXL, 18-20 (with some 14-16 tops), hop on over to Crazy Froggy's Internet Yard Sale. Everything must go! Will accept yarn in trade!

7/6/2011 - Slow Knitter to Conquer Half Marathon

2011-07-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I started the Couch to 5K program. Why? Because I couldn't run a mile and that seemed like something a body ought to be able to do. Of course, by the end of the program, you're running nearly three miles! So I did that and then followed it up by alternately running for a while then not running for a while. Winter, you know. When spring came, I got my mojo back and began to set goals. I decided to run 5 miles. I did. Then I started to look around for half marathons (13.1 miles). Eventually, I found one that seemed awesome! So I signed up. It's the Columbia Gorge Half Marathon. It'll be held at the end of October and is a pretty hilly course - perhaps not the wisest choice for the novice racer, but I think it'll be fun.

It's kind of awesome that I've gone from dismissing runners as merely crazy to embracing the whole thing. I realized that, when I go out to run, I freaking look like a runner. Maybe a fat, slow runner, but a runner nonetheless.

Click through for a ton of notes.

This week is week one of half marathon training. I'm doing three runs a week with 2-3 days of cross training, 2 of which include a strength training regimen. My long run this week is 4 miles. Woo hoo! I'll hit 6 miles by the end of the month and up up up from there. I also run the only hill in town once a week to get the feel of that kind of challenge.

Let it be noted that I am breaking no land speed records here. My fastest mile ever was 11 minutes, but I average more around 12 minutes. I'll probably be even slower once my mileage gets up there. My husband can literally walk as fast as I run. If I can do this, anybody can.

7/5/2011 - Questionable Pasta Salad

2011-07-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not so great at post titles. It's easier to classify things by date.

Summer is finally hitting - it's been a long cool spring with moments of warmth. It doesn't help that our house is a cave, so until yesterday I was still under a fleece blanket while sitting on the couch. But the heat is here and will probably be for at least a couple of weeks.

I'm working on another summer cardigan - Liesl. I'm knitting it with Rowan Cotton Tape which is very interesting. Not, I would say, my favorite yarn. I'm not a huge fan of cotton. Nor am I a huge fan of bulky yarns. It's knitting up fairly nicely, though I worry the finished product may be on the heavy side.

At least it's a pretty fast knit. I should be done with it in a week or so, momentum permitting, and may actually be able to wear it in its appropriate season.

To me, summer is the season of the pasta salad. Last week I made a nice salad of chicken, tortellini, and grape tomatoes. I got a little more... creative this week. This week's salad includes: Whole grain shells, tuna, bacon, bell pepper, peas, carrots, onion and garlic (sauteed in bacon fat), and a dose of Miracle Whip. It's... passable. I don't think it would be a hit at a party, and the colors leave something to be desired. It screams 1970s kitchen to me. Eh, I'll eat it anyway.

FO: Featherweight Cardigan

2011-07-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

Oh, my Featherweight cardigan. I love it. I love it like I've never knit any sweater I've knit. It's light, it's breezy, it's easy to wear.

Vital Stats
Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan
Yarn: Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca Silk, a little more than half a cone, maybe?
Needles: 6? Whatever the pattern asked for.
Size knit: 42", I think
Time to Completion: 3 or 4 months

Did I mention that I love this cardigan? I do.

The arm holes are actually enormous. That would bother me on some sweaters, but it's perfect for this one. Knit in an 80% alpaca yarn, I wouldn't want the arm holes too tight in summer. It weighs practically nothing.

After knitting the sleeves, I noticed that one was about a half inch longer than the other. I didn't fix it. I tried to make them the same during blocking. I think it was successful, although it's hard to tell due to the loose way this cardigan sits on the body.

Picking up stitches for the band was the hardest part. The pattern is a ton of stockinette, so that actually slowed me up some. I didn't have the inertia to finish for the longest time. But I'm glad I finally did!

See that shoe box on the floor? Those are my new running shoes. I'm training for a half marathon in October. I'm thinking about blogging my training here. Any strong feelings about that?

FO: Acer Cardigan

2011-07-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

What? I didn't blog my completed Acer Cardigan? Well! I'll have to remedy that.

Vital stats:
Pattern: Acer Cardigan
Yarn: Cascade Lana D'Oro, color 1052. About 6 skeins. Maybe 5.
Needles: Size 6
Time to completion: About 5 months.

I finished this cardigan at the beginning of May. Just in time for warm weather! Nothing like a wool/alpaca blend to welcome the sun. I was mostly just glad to finish this cardigan. It was a long knit. It wouldn't have even taken that long if I'd been committed to it, but I wasn't.

I do really like this sweater. I hope it gets a lot of wear next season. The pattern is really a very flattering style. As I knit it, the arms are a bit tight, which seems to be a pattern with me. I've historically had very large upper arms.

The buttons are some inexpensive plastic ones from the tiny sewing shop in town. I like the sort of retro look they have.

And that's that cardigan. I think I'll queue up a post about my exciting new Featherweight cardigan.

Hellos and Goodbyes

2011-04-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's sad, but my local yarn store, The Dancing Ewe is closing for good. They had a close call last summer, but this time is really the end. It was a lovely shop and a lovely community of knitters (and crocheters), but all good things must come to an end. Thank you, Kathy, Jami, and all those who have helped make it great over the years.

Closing up shop means sales, and sales mean I end up with a great deal of yarn. Particularly of the luxury variety. My stash is now stocked up against the soon-to-come yarn drought in this town.

Also on the yarny front, my good pal Diana from the days of grad school has started up a fabulous etsy shop - Keystone Art & Craft yarns. She specializes in up-cycled or recycled yarns, many of which she then redyes. She sent me some pretties!

That's an indigo-dyed silk-cashmere blend, cashmere in Orchid, and merino in Wild Rose. I'm seeing some new lace shawls in my future.

I feel like I've been doing a lot of knitting and not finishing. I have a sweater that's been done for a month except to sew on the buttons and block it. But I have at least finished my Porifera socks. I started them in October. October. What can I say? I'm not a fan of ribbing. But the Malabrigo sock yarn is amazing and the pattern is lovely.

I think I'll get that sweater finished up tonight. Maybe it will help kickstart this blogging thing again!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

I've spent the day sick in bed, but this card from my aunt made me smile.

Scary Maneuvers

2011-01-04T16:43:00.000-08:00

I decided to say the heck with it and start knitting a sweater. I have often come back to the Acer cardigan on Ravelry, so when the gauge looked good I cast on and started knitting.

And I was moving along at a pretty good clip when I noticed something... I'd missed a cable crossing about 15 rows down.

See that? That hurts. I considered... could I live with it? No. Was I willing to rip out over 3000 stitches and inches of work? Absolutely not! So. Drastic measures. Fix the cable.

Step 1. Using a stitch holder, capture the five stitches that will need to be crossed.

Step 2. Put two end stitches on holder.

Step 2.5. Breathe deeply. Don't panic. This is no time to panic.

Step 3. Drop the five stitches down 15 rows. That's the scary part. It looks like this:

Step 3.5. Continue to not panic. Stay calm.

Step 4. Get the 5 stitches on the needle and cross them in the right direction.

Step 5. Start laddering your stitches up, not forgetting to do the yo, ssk every other row. I did this step row by row. I suppose you could do the three straight stitches all the way up, then the yo ssk, but I don't think it makes sense. Easier to keep track this way.

Step 6.

Step 7. Profit!

And no one will ever know that I forgot! Except you all. But you won't tell.

The Yarn Harlot has a much nicer tutorial on how to execute this tricky, but very useful maneuver.

I'm knitting on this cardigan like crazy. I'm very nearly ready to divide for front and back!

A tale of two cowls!

2010-12-24T15:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve! It's a quiet one around here - the husband and I are sticking around here since air fare is redonkulous. A couple of weeks ago I made a few kinds of Christmas cookies. We ate all of those. So I whipped up a second batch of cookies yesterday morning - snickerdoodles and meringue surprises. This is the first time my meringue cookies approximated success!

And the surprise? Chocolate chips.

The subject of this post is not COOKIES! It's a tale of two cowls. For that is what I have knit lately. I needed something quick to knit up and I found the Birthday Cowl. Exactly the thing I needed. And the yarn? Some of my much hoarded Jade Sapphire Cashmere. The thing is like butter.

I increased a bit at one end to create a flare. It's soft and warm to wear, but isn't very fashion forward.

Cowl #2 has been in the works for a while. But it's been a slow knit. Churchmouse's Bias Loop Cowl. It's knit in lace weight yarn and is a simple simple pattern. But beautiful. I knit it a few needle sizes down (Size 9!) with Malabrigo lace. My neck is sensitive and can't take mohair, or even alpaca, but Malabrigo lace gives that sort of halo with amazing softness.

Instead of a kitchener graft, I did a three needle bind off. It's not invisible, but it saved me a lot of grief. And I have been and will be wearing this cowl all the time. I might be making these for gifts one year.

And those are the cowls. Both soft and warm, but one will be worn a lot more than the other.

A sad hat

2010-12-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

There's been no Christmas knitting this year. No one is getting a knitted gift from me. Instead I've been huddled under my blanket, too cold to knit most nights. There has been a bit of knitting, here and there.

Like the sad hat. I call it sad because it was a failed experiment. I thought, I'll use this ball of Cascade 220 to make a cabled hat. And I won't follow a pattern! I'll just make it up as I go along! What can go wrong?

A lot.

I'm not sure the picture conveys the full sorrow of the hat. First off, it pulls in on an especially cable heavy row. Second, the lack of planning contributes to an unfortunately organic look. If the thing were dyed pink it would look like my brain was sitting out.

It fit, I give it that much. But that's all it gets. Except for frogged.

I frogged it this evening. No more sad hat.

FO: Haruni Shawl

2010-11-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

Phew. Been awhile? I'm an on-again/off-again blogger. I've got no excuses. Okay, I've got a ton of excuses, but I'll not go into them.

During my hiatus there has been knitting. I have always loved the Haruni Shawl, so I finally knit one. I finished the main leaf portion during my August vacation, but stalled out a bit on the edging motif, mostly because I found my initial read through of the instructions confusing and put it aside to do something more straightforward. But it is done now.

I knit it from Naturally Dawn, a wool/silk blend which I quite like. In fact, I have enough of it in white for another project yet. Needles were Addi Turbo Lace, size 5. I followed the pattern except for the crocheted loops/bind off where I just did what I knew and not precisely what the pattern said.

Unblocked with hank of Lorna's Laces sock for scale:

Blocking with same scale (and cat):

And finished:

Details - I love the leafy edging:

And now I'm feeling a bit mad, so I thought maybe I would commit myself to a large scale lace piece with all the bits that drive me batty - patterned on both sides, knit on edging, needles below a size 5...

I haven't cast on. But I will.

No Money Miracle

2010-08-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

That's the latest Knittyboard swap I'm a part of. And yesterday, I got a package in the mail! A shoebox full of goodness.

Oh, what can it be? The anticipation...

So much wonderful goodness!

From left to right: A hank of lovely Thirteen Mile yarn in one of my favorite colors, a tape measure, a pair of wrist warmers in a deliciously soft and squishy fabric, a ball of Jojoland Harmony in the perfect summery beach colorway, a cute little book, sock patterns, and a super project bag. And to whom do I owe my thanks? The fabulous Verablue. Thank you, Jeanne! I love it.

FO: Felted flower bowl

2010-07-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

The final edition of a four day FO dump. Now I have only unfinished things to show you.

I'm currently involved in a swap, one in which you spend no money (except for postage) to spoil your partner. I dived into my stash and pulled out some yarn for gifting, but wanted to include something I made. As my sewing skillz are crap, I went to my strength. Knitting. I wanted to make something useful, but not a washcloth (especially as I have no cotton yarn), so I started searching Ravelry for a felted bowl that I liked.

And I found the felted flower bowl. It's cute, it's useful, it's great for odds and ends. And, I think, it makes a nice gift. This example is knit from bits of Lamb's Pride Bulky.

I seem to be in a bit of a felting phase. I love how quickly it uses up the odds and ends that had reached critical mass, combined with how quickly these things knit up. And the fact that stuff tends to look pretty awesome when it comes out of the washer - what's not to love?

FO: Ishbel.2

2010-07-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

I finished my first Ishbel scarf at the end of March. Then I finished up spinning some merino/silk I had been working on. I ended up with about 350 yards of more or less lace-fingering weight yarn, with some areas so thin as to be threadlike and a couple of noticeably thicker slubs. It was enough for a project. And, while I usually don't like to knit the same pattern twice, Ishbel seemed just right. So I started knitting it. Then I stopped for a long time. But now it is finished.

The fiber spun up into a lovely mostly-blue-but-with-shades-of-greens-and-purples that I feel is quite nice. Because of the thinness of certain areas, I did not block as aggressively as I am wont to for fear of breakage. It seems to have come out intact.

I feel especially proud of this because I did take it from fiber to finished. It's my first project from my own handspun. Yay!

FO: Clapotis for me

2010-07-28T19:30:00.001-07:00

Clapotis, possibly the most popular project evar. And also one of the best for variegated yarn. So I splurged, bought some variegated Malabrigo (in Plena) and made one.

I knit it with one less increase section, and used very nearly all my yarn. The thing turned out huge. The blocking pick a few posts down is the best for scale. It's probably a skosh over 6 feet long. There are no modeled photos of this because it was 100 degrees out when I took it and we do not have AC. Not gonna wrap myself in merino under those circumstances. The chair, however, I have no pity on.

I was a little surprised how dominant the golds are. But its really the outlier color, so I suppose it makes sense.

I am not normally a big fan of variegation at this scale, but there are a handful of techniques that I believe it's appropriate for. Mostly this and certain types of modular knitting. Also, it's going to be sooo soft and luxurious and warm. This winter. Not now. Too hot hot hot.

FO: Kitty Pi

2010-07-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

I've been finishing projects like wild lately. I've wrapped up four projects in the last week or so. Here's the felted cat bed!

Sans cat:

The cat bed turned out a little on the small size. But the cat still fits, more or less.

Most exciting to me is the fact that the cat is actually using the cat bed! She got into it without prompting and hung out there till I noticed. But, sometimes, she doesn't look so thrilled...

A great stashbuster/odds and ends user upper. I think I'll be making a second.

New books!

2010-07-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

Look what I got in the mail today!

Three books from Amazon - Knitting 24/7, New England Knits, and Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. And, as a special bonus, Miriam Felton's Twist and Knit.

Knitting 24/7 and New England Knits feature the sort of patterns I adore. Clean, simple, but interesting. From New England Knits, I absolutely must make the Augusta Cardigan.

From Knitting 24/7, I quite like the Grandfather Vest. I love a good sweater vest.

Twist and Knit was a must have. I've been a fan of Miriam's designs since I fell swooning in love with her Icarus Shawl. So of course I'm going to buy her book! First on my list are the Porifera socks, which are lovely.

And the Artisan Bread... well, I'm enamored of the idea of baking fresh bread. But my husband is skeptical. No trials this week though. It's going to be hovering around 100 for the next few days. Yeech.

Oh! And, on Saturday, I scored a copy of Sweater Design in Plain English for three bucks! I sure do love a deal.

Block(ing) Party

2010-07-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! Blocking party going on in the Spare Oom at my house!

Ishbel.2 and Clapotis blocking at the same time. Clapotis is being blocked rather firmly, and unevenly (yes, I know), while I took care to be firm but quite gentle with Ishbel.2. Ishbel.2 is made out of my own handspun, which is generally a laceweight, but there are a few places where is decreases down to fine thread. So I tried to be a little more gentle with it.

I started my felted cat bed. Turns out I have a lot of partial and odd balls in red and brown. But mostly red. And I've probably got enough more to do a second on in mostly blue... In fact I think I might just do that.

I think I'll finish the knitting of the cat bed today, most likely. And I've got the itch to cast on something new, but I have two brand spanking new books that ought to arrive in the mail tomorrow, so I think I'll definitely be waiting for those before beginning a new project.

Blue noise

2010-07-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

I finished up a pair of movie theater socks a couple of weeks ago, but only got around to taking photos yesterday. (Movie theater socks are plain stockinette that I can knit in the dark of a theater.) I knit them out of Zwerger Garn Opal in a colorway that I thought might make thin stripes. Not even close.

It's frenetic and nonsensical. So I call these my blue noise socks. Like white noise, but bluer. I was surprised to find that most of the people I showed them to really like how the color way knit up, because I would not buy a yarn I knew to knit up in this way. But hey, socks are socks. I'll wear 'em.

I've been pretty busy this summer. Lots of getting out, and a fair amount of staying in. I've finished a clapotis and Ishbel.2, but neither are blocked yet. I have a bunch of projects on the needles that I don't have the mojo for, so I cast on for a Kitty Pi felted cat bed with scraps and unloved oddballs of wool from the stash. The cat loves kneading wooly blankets, so I hope she at least gets in this once or twice.

The real question is: Fringe yarn or no fringe yarn at the edge?

Road trip!

2010-07-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

It's summertime! Well, it's supposed to be. June has been chilly and July has not yet heat up. But that didn't stop Mr. Husband and I from heading south to Oregon on the first roadtrip of summer. We drove down to Klamath Falls, OR which served as base camp. From there we spent one day at the Lava Beds National Monument which is fantastically awesome if you have any interest in caves. And we spent one day at Crater Lake National Park which is phenomenally beautiful.

Unfortunately, we went to Crater Lake a little early in the season, so most trails were blocked by snow. The only open trail is the Cleetwood trail, which takes you down the the water. So off we went! It was steep and swarming with more mosquitoes than I have ever seen before, but it was worth it. We hung out on some rocks and enjoyed the view. I waded a bit (just a little - the water is 38 degrees F), and then I pulled out my knitting.

Because, yes, I am the type to carry my knitting more than a mile down hill just for a photo op so I can post it on my blog.

The project in question is the ever popular Clapotis in deliciously soft Malabrigo.

---

Sad news: My local yarn shop is closing at the end of the month. The Dancing Ewe has been a beautiful shop and meant a lot to me personally. A contest there pushed me into trying lace design, the weekly knit night was always lovely, and Cathy, the owner, gave me the opportunity to discover that I really enjoy teaching others how to knit or to learn new techniques. So thanks for everything. The Dancing Ewe will be missed.

Organizing! Earrings!

2010-06-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

I make piles by nature. Nesting? Laziness? I won't look too closely at it. But it's true. And, for some time now, I've had a pile of earrings and necklaces all jumbled up on a bookshelf in the bedroom. It was time for a change. Somewhere I remembered seeing an earring stand that was a bit of knit fabric in a picture frame. Now, it just so happened that I had the back of a sweater that I never knit the rest of, and the dollar store had cheap picture frames! A bit of magic later, and voila!

Works great for earrings with hooks, less for post earrings, but since I mostly wear hook earrings, it's all good. Now, the reverse is sloppy, since I didn't cut down the fabric, but I'm fine with that for now. I could see cutting it down, sewing up the edges, and then stapling it to the board. The cheap plastic frame is straining under the bulk of the fabric, and might break. But I hope not.

The non hook earrings I put into this little bowl. I adore little bowls, especially pretty ones. It's sitting in front of my proper jewelry box.

Summer of starting

2010-06-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

I seem to be in cast on mode. I started a Raspberry Dream Stole in some blue alpaca laceweight, a Wood Hollow Vest in some green Cascade 220, and a sock yarn scrap-ghan with my sock yarn bits and bobs. Oh, and I've knit a toe in my green Zauberball yarn that I don't know what to do with yet.

And that's not all!

I really want to cast on for a Clapotis in the fabulous Malabrigo I just picked up at the Dancing Ewe's surprise sale. And I also want to start a Double V Cardigan in some Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool I've had for a while now. So I've got a lot on my to do list!

But I have finished a couple of things. I finished the Monkey socks for my aunt and those were a great hit. Plus I finished a pair of Anastasia socks in Chameleon Colorworks' Footsie, color Indian Wedding. The color repeat on this yarn seemed sort of short, so I was worried about how it would pool, but it ended up having a lovely stripey effect. And the colors are very nearly Gryffindor's colors, but not quite.

New Yarn Extravaganza

2010-05-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

I love a bargain. It must be genetic. My mom was bargain mad too, as is my brother. So, when the Dancing Ewe had a sale this weekend, I ended up with a few new bits of yarn. First this Louet Gems Fingering in a gorgeous vibrant teal:

And four hanks, enough for a largish lace piece, of Cascade's Alpaca Lace:

Then we stopped by Goodwill, where I checked out the crafts bins out of habit and, lo and behold, the greatest Goodwill haul I've had in several years. I won't bore you with photos of yarn in messy balls, but I got four balls of Filatura di Crossa Zara, three balls of Rowan Calmer, and a couple balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino for a comparative song. Wheee....

On Tuesday I embark on several weeks of travel - a week in New York state, a couple days home, then nearly a week in Los Angeles. And the big question is, what do I bring for a knitting project? I'm thinking socks. Single socks at a time. Maybe the monkey sock in a variegated yarn I've been unsure what to do with. Something easy, but not dull, and something portable. What to do, what to do?

Two, two, two socks at once!

2010-05-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm over that knitting hump I had. I've cast on for a pair of socks, in my favorite method, two socks at once on one long circular needle!

(Coincidentally, I'm teaching a class on that technique at the Dancing Ewe on Saturday.) I also cast on for a new sock to knit in movie theaters. I did much of this one while watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's a great film, although with a couple of scenes that are really brutal. At one point I jumped in my chair and stabbed my finger with my knitting needle. Knitpicks Classic Circs. They're really sharp. I still have a mark on my finger.

Anyway, that's the sock. I kind of hate how it's pooling. I also started a project out of my very own handspun. Another Ishbel shawlette!

It's thrilling to be making something out of yarn I made. But I also gave in and got a couple of hanks of Malabrigo Sock. I held out for over a week, but I gave into Bubblegum Pink and a color I call, in the most loving way possible, algae.

Mmmm... it's just so soft. I want to knit with it now! But the two-at-once socks are top priority, as they'll be a late present as it is...

Knitting Ennui

2010-04-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

*heavy sigh*

I don't have a lot of knitting mojo right now. I finished this pair of socks.

There's a second one, but I can't be arsed to put the photo in this blog post. It's a basic toe up pattern with a short row heel. I knit the pair in conjunction with a class on sock knitting.

I have some really lovely Dream in Color Smooshy in Blue Lagoon which I have promised my aunt will become a pair of socks for her. I've started a couple of patterns, but no luck, no love. I need a pattern that will be fun to knit, will look stunning, and is not too finicky. Le sigh. Maybe a pair of Monkey socks? I am possibly the only person left who has not knit a pair.

I think I need to lighten up the stash. I have some lovely bits of yarn which so very much want to be knitted, but are not getting love from me.

In the meantime... le sigh. Maybe I should do a bit of spinning instead.

Tell me...

2010-04-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

... If you're visiting this blog from Glynnethb.com, how are you getting here? And, you know, thanks for visiting.

FO: Ishbel Scarf

2010-03-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

Everybody's doing it. Or has done it. And now I'm going to be starting a two part class on it at the Dancing Ewe starting a week from Saturday, so I figured I ought to knit one up.

I went stash diving and came up with three balls of this:

That's Baruffa Bollicina, a yummy 65% cashmere/35% silk blend yarn. I must have bought it as a treat, and I bet it was on sale at the Ewe when I did. Anyway, it's lovely stuff, although I did find a knot in one of the balls.

Ishbel is a lovely little pattern - very clear and easy to follow, although the lace pattern is not one I was able to memorize. My only change to the pattern would be to do a provisional cast on in the place of a regular cast on. I think it would be cleaner, although not too functionally different.

As I am wont to do, I blocked this within an inch of its life. It ends up just under four feet long and maybe 20" wide center to point. That's a little smaller than I usually prefer, but very functional.

I could imagine making the larger laceweight version of this someday. Also, while knitting it, I had the opportunity to try AddiClick Lace needles - interchangeable needles from Skacel with Addi Lace heads. I loved how light the needles were, and adored how flexible the blue cords are (my own addi lace needles are the old red cord, which is great, but not so nice as the blue ones, apparently). And I liked that I had no concern whatsoever that the needle tips were going to fall off. But I did find the my yarn was catching at the join between needle and cord, a very unfortunate impediment to their use. It was interesting to compare them to others I've used.

Next up: Finish the foot on the sock I'm making for this Saturday's class, and then get to work on the socks I promised my aunt! Excited, because I'm going to do the Rivendell Sock - a pattern which I have loved, but not had an excuse to get until now.

FO: Olympic Rose of England Tea Shawl

2010-03-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

As you may have guessed, the radio silence has meant that I totally failed to complete my Rose of England by the end of the Olympics. I was going crazy knitting Thursday and Friday before the Olympics ended and realized that I wasn't having any fun. So I eased up, and just enjoyed the ride. It's taken me until today to finish the last dozen or so rows and the crocheted bind off.

Pattern: Rose of England (tea cloth) from Marianne Kinzel's Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting
Yarn: Baruffa Cashwool, most of one hank (~1400 yards)
Needles: Size 6 Knitpicks options, Size B crochet hook for the edging.
Size: Blocked to 58" across, pulled back some once off the pins

Kinzel's pattern is clear and well written, but that didn't stop me from having trouble wrapping my head around it. The charts have a slightly different style from most modern lace charts, which threw me for a bit of a loop. Then there's the matter of casting on for such a small diameter, which is always a bit tricky.

After the first day of knitting, I found that I had completely missed... something. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but I had to rip out completely and start over. So I lost some time there. It was all pretty much smooth sailing after that. Except for the problem of the Extremely Long Rows toward the end. And that was just a problem of inertia. I did get hung up a bit at the crocheted edging, but after reviewing multiple instructions on how to do a double crochet, I found About.com's the most useful, and off I went.

The yarn was lovely. It's been in my stash for years, and I was glad to use the Olympics as a chance to use it up. I didn't run into any knots or slubs, which is very nice over that length of yarn.

Preblocking, the usual crumpled mess:

Blocking. It took all my T-pins, and most of the safety pins I could dig up to pin out the crocheted loop edging.

Draped over a chair:

Hanging off the side of the fridge:

Edging details:

Center details:

And now onto the next!

Knitting Olympics update 2

2010-02-22T16:45:00.000-08:00

I'm at row 96 out of 152 (including the bind off row). I have 56 rows left. I'm aiming to complete a little over 9 rows per day. That way, all I have left to do on Sunday is block it. Now, this goal may be a little far fetched considering the length of the rows I have now... and that they're only going to get longer.

Luckily, this evening, I'm aiming to complete about 14 rows. I'm just at the point where I have 6 rows plain knitting, followed by two pattern rows, followed by 6 more rows plain knitting. Hopefully I can power through it.

It seems that this house gets almost no natural light. However, there's a window right next to the refrigerator. White background + natural light = halfway decent pictures. It works nicely for lace, in any case.

Knitting Olympics update

2010-02-16T22:09:00.001-08:00

I had a false start on my Knitting Olympics project. There are seven charts and, as I began the second one, I discovered that I had borked... something. I was short a double yarn over somewhere back, 7 stitches short at the end of the row. And I couldn't fix it.

I spent some time being angry at my knitting and then I started over. And did more counting. I'm now on the fourth chart, row 56 of 152 rows (and bind off) with no major errors. What was really annoying was that I had to cast on twice. Casting on 10 stitches on size 6 needles is a pain! But I did it! Twice. grr.

Am I on track to finish by the closing ceremonies? I have no idea. I have a very busy week at work, so I'm maybe not getting in as much knitting time as I could. And then I'm teaching a knitting class on Saturday, for which I need to prepare materials.

Oh, didn't I mention? I'm now teaching knitting classes at the Dancing Ewe. I had my first class ever last week and it was great. This week's class: a basic hat. I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm ready!

2010-02-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

Ready for the Olympics to start, so I can cast on for the Knitting Olympics.

I've got all my supplies ready and waiting.

I've got the pattern. Rose of England from the Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting, as seen here knit by Cookie A.

I've got the yarn. Baruffa Cashwool purchased years ago at Acorn Street in Seattle.

I've got the needles, two sets! Ancient dpns, and my addi lace needles, size 6.

Let's go!

FO: Laminaria

2010-02-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

It's done! Yippee!!

FO: Laminaria by Elizabeth Freeman
Yarn: Blackberry Ridge Silky Merino in Samarkand Blue
Needles: Size 5 addi lace needles
Cast on: May 18, 2009
Cast off: February 9, 2010

I have loved this pattern since I first saw it. And I love the pattern; it's gorgeous. And Blackberry Ridge's Silky Merino is one of my favorite lace yarns I've used (this is my third shawl with it so far). But for all that, I really didn't love knitting this shawl. With this shawl, I wanted the product. And there are a lot of stitch maneuvers that require a lot of concentration. So I found bits of it fiddly, which is why it had such a prolonged period of hibernation. But, gosh, the end product is gorgeous.

For some reason, the yarn color is impossible to photograph. It's a lovely teal-ish blue. The photo on the vendor website is pretty good, but imagine it slightly iridescent.

This is the second shawl I've knit with this yarn, in this color. And it was a close thing. I had only yards left after binding off.

And the preblocked shawl didn't look altogether that very large. But it was quite bumpy.

Then I gave it a good soaking in my tiny bathroom sink:

I found blocking to be a bit challenging. I had trouble figuring out exactly what shape the shawl wanted to be. Eventually, I settled on this shape, but I'm not 100% sure it was the best option.

Off the blocking board and onto the fence!

Details:

So that's lovely (if I do say so myself). On to the next. Can I knit a circular shawl in 17 days? Or at least use up 1400 yards of laceweight on size 6 needles? We will find out! Knitting Olympics, here I come!

Weekending!

2010-02-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

It's after 5pm on Friday, so that means it's the weekend. Yahoo!

Yesterday, after work, I ran down to the Dancing Ewe, because they're having a sale! 25% off everything. And there's this vest that I want to knit. And I didn't have yarn for it. But I do now. 6 hanks of Cascade 220 in Forest Green.

The vest, though, is a couple projects down the line. At the moment, I'm working on my alpaca pullover and my Laminaria shawl. I finished the body of the alpaca pullover last week.

Brown on beige. Very dull photo. But the yarn is Oh. So. Soft. I'm taking a little break from it for now. I'll start the sleeves... later. At the moment, I've picked up some steam on Laminaria. I'm halfway through the first edging chart, and thrilled that I'm done with all the 3-into-9 increases! I'm hoping to finish Laminaria before next Friday. I think I should be able to accomplish that.

On Monday, the cable company is coming by, and we're getting TV. We haven't had tv since we moved at the end of October. I don't mind not having it, but I really wanted to watch the Olypmpics. So we're getting it. And I've decided to play the Knitting Olympics. I'm not really a team player, so it's just a private challenge. My goal?
Knit the Rose of England design from the Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting. I'm thinking size 5 needles and see how far I get until I run out of yarn. That's the plan, anyway. Quite an undertaking for two weeks. Eeee!

FO: Cat sweater

2010-01-31T16:14:00.000-08:00

Yes. I knit a sweater for my cat. Why? I don't know. Because I think it's funny.

Anyway, a couple of months ago I got the idea into my head that a cat sweater was a must. And I searched Ravelry for a pattern. Turns out, there's more than one. I picked the Cats Love Sweaters recipe mostly, I think, because of the cat in the pink sweater, which looks quite dashing and happy for a cat in a sweater.

I've spent quite a lot of time thinking about the sweater. Eventually, I chose an oddball of Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton in a gorgeous pearly grey, on the idea that the cat wouldn't try to destroy a plant fiber. Not as much anyway. I knit it hastily, wrangled the cat in it, and snapped some photos.

The cat didn't try to get the sweater off, but she did sort of scoot around like she was walking under something the whole time it was on her. I don't think she took to it.

... at least it's out of my system now.

FO: Mini Mochi Socks

2010-01-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

I'm a sucker for rainbows. I love how happy and colorful they are. When I first saw Kauni's EQ colorway, I had to have it. So I did. And knit a shawl with it. When I saw Regia Nation Color 5399, I had to have it. So I did. And made talls socks (with a peasant heel).

Then I saw Crystal Palace Mini Mochi and it was rainbow love. So pretty, I thought. I must have more rainbow socks.

And so I did. I knit a pair of plain stockinette, toe up socks, with a short row heel. And I was loving it. The yarn is so soft, if a bit too easy to split. Then, about halfway up the leg... a knot. And the color jumped from red to blue. On the other sock, the rainbow gently reversed itself. And as I finished the cuff, another knot! Jumping the yarn from blue to red, like some kind of cruel joke. For a yarn which sells itself on its color transitions, I was not (knot?) pleased.

But, whatever, these socks are for me. They'll be okay. I just don't plan to buy mini mochi again, as pretty as it may be.

I did learn a new technique with these socks. I tried out Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. It's great! Very very stretchy! It's absolutely my new go to bind off.

I've picked my Laminaria back up and am making some strides through the blossom chart, but it's taking me a long time to get through each row! I guess it's been a long time since I've knit a proper laceweight shawl.

Christmas knitting!

2010-01-17T00:37:00.000-08:00

This year's Christmas knitting consisted of five gifts for four people. I knit four pairs of Fiber Trends Felted Clogs. My brother in law and his lovely wife each received a pair - alas, I did not take a photo of the finished felted project. My mother in law and my aunt also received a pair, but I have photographic proof of theirs!

The blue clogs are knit in Cascade 220. The blue were the first pair I knit and I knit the bumper upside down. But, as I hoped, you can't really tell once it's felted, and I even think it looks rather nicer than the bumpers done as written. The red clogs are knit in Cascade 220 and lana d'oro for the soles.

The last item is a pair of Kai-Mei socks, also for my aunt. I knit these out of elann.com Sock it to me 4 ply in rose wine. I actually really enjoyed the yarn, and the pattern is pretty neat too. I didn't do them both at the same time, so the socks are not 100% identical, but it's only by a row or two. Anyway, the recipient expressed appreciation, so it's all good.

And now the Christmas Season is officially over and I am firmly on the way to knitting in 2010. I've even finished a pair of socks already! More on those to come.

FO: made up hat

2010-01-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

Pattern: I made it up. That's why I call it "made up hat." Because of my creativity.
Yarn: Knitpicks Sierra
Needles: Size 9 knitpicks options

I liked the process of making this hat. There was minimal planning involved. I just winged pretty much every aspect of it. And for that, I'm pretty happy with the results.

This hat can be worn as a slouchy hat.

Or pulled down over your ears and forehead to keep you warm. Personally, I HATE having cold ears and cold forehead, so I like my hats to really cover my head.

And the crown, which I wasn't happy with before, but quite like, now that I see the photo.

I'm on the fence about writing up the pattern. Does the world really need another stitch pattern plugged into a hat pattern?

---
My swatch is all done. And I learned two things. First, I don't have gauge with the recommended needles. Second, a cowl neck in alpaca is never going to work. Alpaca is soft and lovely, but my neck is super super sensitive. It only accepts merino or silk, or silk blends. So the cowl, the feature I love, rules this sweater out. But swatching convinced me that I really want to knit a cozy, comfy sweater out of this yarn. Knitting with it is like butter. I lurve it. Must go hunt Ravelry for likely suspects.

FO: Amelia Cardigan

2010-01-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

Finally, right?

Pattern: Amelia by Laura Chau
Yarn: Cascade Lana d'Oro - about 10.75 110yd hanks
Needles: 6 and 7 Knitpicks Options
CO: April 30, 2009
Finished: January 2, 2010

This sweater and I have had history. It's the sort of sweater I'm drawn to. Simple, yet with something interesting going on. I learned that I find twisted rib quite tedious. Quite tedious indeed. I was so so thankful when I finished that part. I learned that I really need to swatch more thoroughly. I learned that I need to look ahead to the bit with the measurements to make sure that my upper arms will fit in the measured sleeve.

I added more increases to the upper sleeve to account for my arm. I knit longer in the body and yoke (I think) than the pattern called for. Nonetheless, I feel like this cardigan could have gone a bit longer. I knit the neck as written, tried it on and couldn't keep it on my shoulders. So I pulled out the bind off edge (it unzipped - a thing of beauty) and knit for an inch or so more, continuing with a raglan-ish decrease.

Oh, and I put buttons all the way down the front.

I like the cardigan. But, fundamentally, I had gauge issues. Gauge issues because I didn't swatch carefully (probably) and also because that was a pretty big lag between casting on and knitting most of it.

The photos are a bit crap. I haven't seen natural light in what feels like a rather long time, so flash and digitally messed with images are what you get. You get the idea.

And there's absolutely no detail at all in the modeled shot, but at least you can see where the neckline ended up.

This afternoon, I swatched for Francis revisited. The swatch looks like it made gauge... more or less...

For the record...

2010-01-01T21:31:00.000-08:00

... I finished all four projects I had lined up. Three are drying right now. The fourth does not need to be reblocked. No photos just now. And I've decided to send my long suffering Laminaria shawl into hibernation. Which leaves me a bit flustered. What to do next?

I think maybe I'll swatch for Francis Revisited. I have some beautiful alpaca tweed in my stash. It might have to be double stranded. And I'm going to do a proper swatch. Washing and everything. It's the mature and cautious approach to knitting. Should be novel.

Maybe a pair of lovely stockinette socks in the rainbow Mini Mochi I've been hoarding.

I also want to do a felted cat bed at some point with my odds and ends of wool. And a cat sweater, because that's the sort of person I am.

So exciting to have these things finished and so many options available to me! Wheee...

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

New Year's is a quiet holiday for us. Neither my husband or I are big partiers, so we stay home, play board games, eat pizza, and get really really caffeinated. It is such a good time to look backwards and forwards.

In 2009, I finished 21 projects. And there are 4 more which were mostly knit in 2009 but will be finished before the end of the weekend. I knit 9 pairs of socks, 7 shawls stoles or wraps, 3 hats, and 2 pairs of felted clogs. Notice something missing? No sweaters!

In 2010, I resolve to start and finish at least two sweaters. I also plan to refrain from purchasing yarn except for gifts or Really Good Bargains. Mostly I'd like to knit down my stash a bit. I foresee more pairs of stockinette socks as I try to breeze through some of my sock yarn. I am also hoping to do more blogging, but that's not a promise. I know I can do it because of the November Project. I just need to get going and make it happen!

This weekend I will finish the three Christmas presents I have left. All of them are so very close to done. So very close. I also hope to fix the Amelia cardigan and put that on my finished list. It's 100% doable. In fact, I think I can get the X-mas gifts done today! Maybe I can even get all 4 projects done today. Maybe.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-27T12:48:00.000-08:00

So I finished the Amelia Cardigan. Kind of. After blocking the bejesus out of it, the cardigan fits, but the neckline? Is uberwide. So, once my Christmas knitting is finally done, I will pick out the bind off edge and add a couple more inches to the neckline.

No, my Christmas knitting is not done. Two of five gifts are finished and in the hands, or post office box, of their recipients. But the other three are still in progress. But this is okay, because their recipients are coming to visit in early January, and we will have Christmas then. So that's still in progress.

I took the time out to scratch the "knit something else" itch, so I designed a hat. Well, designed in the sense of tossed a stitch pattern onto a hat and go from there. But I'm pretty happy with it. I think I'll write up a pattern and knit a second one to get the bugs out of the pattern. Right now, the decreases are just too sloppy. I'd like to do something more elegant with them. Also, I need to size it down just slightly.

So I've got quite a to-do list. I have under two weeks to complete my Christmas knitting. I need to fix the neckline of my Amelia cardigan. I want to reknit and write up my hat pattern. I have my Laminaria shawl to finish up. And I am feeling the urge to use some very special alpaca yarn to knit a cowlneck sweater. I'm thinking Francis Revisited. I want to make a sweater that's like wearing a hug.

November 30th: Wrapping up

2009-11-30T22:33:00.000-08:00

It would have been awfully poetic to have finished the Amelia Cardigan on the last day of PostEveryDayvember. But I didn't. I attached 3 of 14 buttons and have the rest of the button holes lined up. When push comes to shove, I don't know bupkis about sewing, even buttons. So I just do my best! Here's the three. I've lined up the button holes with split ring markers.

So this posting every day project has been really interesting. I've learned a lot. I've learned that I don't have the content to post every day and come close to being interesting. I maybe have content for twice a week, if I'm lucky. I've learned that that light in this house is crap for taking photos, particularly at 10:30 pm, which is when I seem to post these things. And I've learned that I make a lot of declarations and then ignore them. Silly. But I kept to the 30 days and I don't think I missed any, even if a few are pretty half assed. So that's good.

November 29th: plans

2009-11-29T22:48:00.000-08:00

Pants and I went shopping in the greater Seattle area today. That entails a car trip at least 3 hours round trip. Which isn't bad, because Snoqualmie Pass is a beautiful place to drive through. Particularly by the light of the full moon shining on the snow capped mountains tonight. But what I'm getting at is I'm tired. Wiped out.

We headed to a big fancy mall we'd never gone to before, and I realized a creepy stalker moment as I recognized a knit blogger as we passed in the mall. But the mall trip itself was pretty successful, in that we picked up a few gifts and worked out plans for most of the rest of them. Unfortunately, this entails my knitting a couple more of Secret Projects First and Second, making for Secret Projects Fourth and Fifth. And I don't think I can manage it with just stash yarn. I'll just have to buy some more. Woe is me.

But I'm getting into the holiday spirit. Pants and I got some Christmas candy the other day. This Santa shaped treat had us a little perplexed... in that its Santa shape was not so much accurate.

Pants gives the candy a lukewarm endorsement - "It wasn't bad... it's what was advertised." Meanwhile, my peanut butter tree was very tasty. But I love chocolate and peanut butter, so go figure.

Stay tuned for tomorrow, where I (hope to) post photos of a sweater with buttons and reflect on this post every day business. Riveting!

November 28th: Choosing

2009-11-28T22:24:00.000-08:00

So I'm mostly done with First Christmas Project. Since it's a felting project, it knits up super quick and is a ton of fun to knit. Size 13 needles will do that.

I've picked out yarn for my Third Christmas Project (Second Christmas Project is the same as the First, but different colors and size). I'm really excited because I decided to use my Zauberball. This will be my first time working with a one ply sock yarn. Should be interesting! I am feeling a deep seated need to rewind it out of its fancy ball into a center pull cake. Because then I can knit from both ends of the ball and do two socks at a time - which I love to do.

The color of the Zauberball is great. So very green! I'm excited to see how it knits up with the pattern I've chosen.

November 27th: Holiday Spirit

2009-11-27T23:21:00.000-08:00

Now things get a little tricky on the knitting front. I've started, and am about halfway though, one Christmas gift, but I'm not going to show it. Because that would be telling. (2 points if you can read my mind, identify the inflection in that last sentence, and guess the reference.) What I can tell you is that we decked the halls today.

Okay. One hall. Mostly the living room. Mostly our 3' tree. This tree is an upgrade from last year. Last year we have an 18" tree that we bought at Goodwill, with some ornaments still attached. The two years before that? Well, we decorated our oversized Winnie the Pooh. So a 3' artificial tree represents a substantial step forward in the realm of having a grown-up Christmas. Here's the full length photo of the Christmas area of the house.

That's stockings on the tv sideboard and Christmas tree on the table. The tree is decked with various ornaments we've accumulated, surrounded by a felt tree skirt, topped by a mini-santa hat. Here's a better shot of the tree, minus Santa hat, plus adorable cat.

Time to get in the spirit!

November 26th: New socks

2009-11-26T22:08:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of things I'm thankful for. But I'm not going to speak to that today, not really. I hope you had a calm and fulfilling Thanksgiving holiday, or just a truly excellent Thursday (for those of you not in the US). Our holiday was quiet. We went to go see Fantastic Mr. Fox (which is really good, by the way, and very much a Wes Anderson film). Since I like to keep my hands busy at a film, I cast on a sock.

I chose a yarn that I had picked up one day at Joanns. I don't usually shop at Joanns; at this point I'm a pretty hardcore yarn snob, but I was engaging in retail therapy after a dentist appointment and noticed on an endcap Premier Yarn's Deborah Norville's Serenity Sock Weight. Why Deborah Norville has her own line of yarn, I do not understand. But the fiber content is 50% superwash merino, 25% bamboo, and 25% nylon. And it was like $3.50 for 230 yards, so $7 for a pair of socks? Not bad.*

So today I cast on 28 stitches at the toe and increased to 68 stitches around. I'm using size 2 needles - maybe 2.5; they're 3mm anyway. The fabric produced at this gauge is decidedly a bit loose, so I think smaller needles would be better. I'm really surprised and pleased with how this is knitting up. The bamboo gives it a silkiness and a drape which is lovely. The fabric is very soft. And the self-striping/self-patterning is fairly subdued in the purple spice colorway I chose. So far I'm really enjoying it! I'm surprised.

And also? I am loving this whole casting on thing. I cast on for this sock and a Christmas gift today. Wheee....

*Note: I would not, under most circumstances, pay $7 for a pair of socks from the store. But for sock yarn this is a good deal. So it goes.

November 25th: Button quandry

2009-11-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

I got out of work early, so I went down to the single sewing shop in town to look for buttons. I bought some buttons that I normally wouldn't. They're very pretty buttons, but, well, I'm just not sure. Tell me, what do you think?

I finished the sweater tonight. Everything except sewing on the buttons. It's blocking upstairs. When I tried it on before blocking... it was a solid size too small. I've got it blocking very aggressively, pinned out to measurements that ought to fit me. But, I'm very concerned. And upset too. And I know I have no one to blame but myself. One of these days I'll learn the value of a thorough swatching process. Hopefully by my next sweater project. And, let me tell you, I have my eye on Elizabeth Zimmermann's Green Sweater. I fell in love with it when it was featured in the Twist Collective, and I look forward to owning the pattern and knitting my own. At the proper gauge.

But maybe the blocking will prove enough. I should know in a few days, when it's dry.

November 24th: Neckband

2009-11-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

I've bound off the body of the Amelia Cardigan and started in on the neckband. Which, actually, shouldn't take very long. I am, however, becoming very concerned about the size of this cardigan... The yarn needs to grow during blocking for it to fit properly.

The camera flash washes out the black pretty severely. The neckband isn't much to look at, but it's quite a step.

And look what I picked up! 13 issues of The Workbasket from 1949 to 1958. Lots of great ads and a variety of patterns. I couldn't resist.

November 23rd; Mail call

2009-11-23T20:57:00.001-08:00

I walked in the door from work and discovered the kitchen table covered in packages, most of them weighing down the newly arrived art for the living room (mildly NSFW). I swapped out the packages for cookbooks and hurried to open them all up.

First was a package from Knitpicks replacing the cable that broke. Thanks knitpicks! Second was a package containing vintage knitting and crafting magazines that I had swapped for. The new issue of Interweave Knits arrived too.

Most exciting was the box from the knittyboard secret pal I'm participating in. The idea of this one is that you gift from what you have on hand, with minimal outside purchases. It seems to me that this leads to spoiling your downstream more extravagantly than SPs where you are to spend X amount. I know my upstream certainly went all out for me. Ohmigod.

Okay. I've been receiving recipe cards in the mail all along, which has been neat. And today this big box comes. So. Check this out. These are the packages inside the box. It took three tries to get my cat out of frame

On top of the box there's a letter, a story really, which tells the story of Alfie, the little frog in Denver. Alfie is lonely and wants a friend. He thinks of all the things friends can do. Eventually he mails himself to me! The packages are all matched up to bits of the story. Pants read the story aloud to me and I opened each package as we came to it.

This is Alfie:

And these are the rest of the things in the package (notice cat creeping into frame again):

I am beyond spoiled. This package contained, in order of opening them:
- Alfie, the frog who wants a friend
- Cookie cutters and a cookie cook book
- Hot chocolate mix
- Three boxes of fancy chocolates
- A fantastic guide to home decorating from 1950
- A project bag
- Stitch markers
- Two hanks of Noro Kureyon Big (Not sure what to make. Something felted, perhaps?)
- A ball of Opal sock yarn
- A hank of Sheared Bliss Fibers own handspun in a lightish fingering weight (I think maybe a scarf or shawlette)
- 4 ounces of Sheared Bliss Fibers wool roving, dyed with Black Walnut and cochineal.

Which leads me to the conclusion that my spoiler is the one and only ShearedBliss (or visit her etsy shop)! Thank you, Angela!

Alfie has found a home with the Thrifty Critter:

Once I got him away from the cat, who loves him in her own way...

November 22nd: Doubt

2009-11-22T22:09:00.001-08:00

I got up this morning, bought a coffee, and settled in to knit and catch up on some shows. I knit while playing a board game with Pants. I knit while watching The Apartment (I didn't love the movie, but Jack Lemmon is very entertaining). So I got quite a bit of knitting done.

That's somewhere over 5 inches from where I attached the sleeves. And I just started binding off the neckline.

But I'm very concerned. I tried on the cardigan this morning. And despite adding in several stitches at the top of the sleeves, it's still very tight. I am crossing my fingers and toes that I can gain at least an inch in them during blocking. And I'm hoping the problem is just my sleeves, and not the whole thing. Watch and find out in the coming week...

November 21st: In the Kitchen

2009-11-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

I have not knit a stitch all day. I got a call at 8:40 (I was asleep at the time, mind you) asking if I could move my hair appointment for the morning up a half hour. Okay, I can do that. So I get moving and grooving, Pants gets moving and grooving. We leave the house, go to the bank, then to the hair appointments.

We went to the local cosmetology school for haircuts, since they only charge $6 a cut. I got a trim and bangs! No photos yet, but trust me, they're cute. Pants just wanted a hair cut, but the student was a little unsure about the whole thing and his appointment took an hour. Yikes.

Grab lunch, check out St. Vinnie's, then go grocery shopping. Because I have plans. Dinner plans. And they involve Julia Child. I get the necessary ingredients and we head home.

I head into the kitchen where I bake some snickerdoodles out of my old Betty Crocker book. Pants tells me he doesn't like snickerdoodles, but he'll eat them. But when I give him one, he's confused. For some reason, he was under the impression that snickerdoodles are rice crispy treats with peanut butter on top. Odd.

For dinner, I decided to make potage parmentier or leek and potato soup, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The grocery store only had onions, but Julia says regular onions are okay, too. And darn if that isn't a delicious soup. A bit thin to our sense of soup, but deliciously tasty.

I wanted to cook something out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking because, in the last month, I read both Julia Child's My Life in France and Julie Powell's Jule and Julia. My Life in France is fantastic - Julia shines through every page and it's fascinating. I read it in 48 hours on a business trip. I felt rounding it out by, you know, actually cooking something would be appropriate. And so it was.

November 20th: Friday!

2009-11-20T22:32:00.000-08:00

And thank goodness for Friday. This week has just been exhausting. But it's Friday, so that meant time to kick back and enjoy the simple things in life.

Like Mac n' Cheese with Bacon. And Fraggle Rock.

Followed by knitting. And Fraggle Rock.

Followed by a two hour nap. Boy I sure know how to go crazy once the work week is done.

After my nap, I was really excited to watch the finale of this season's Project Runway. My favorite designer didn't win, but all three collections were nice. Project Runway is far superior to Bravo's replacement for it: The Fashion Show. The Fashion Show lacked something important that I can't put my finger on. You know, not that I can sew worth a darn. :P

November 19th: Nothin'

2009-11-19T22:19:00.001-08:00

I got nothing. Knitting content is slim. I've made maybe 1.5" progress on the sweater, so that's quite dull. I went to knitting group tonight and wandered the store, wishing I could buy yarn, but knowing that I have zero need for new yarn right now.

Work was alternately crazed and calm. I spent quiet time photo editing and crazy time giving tours to a foreign dignitary (for real!) and setting up for a guest speaker.

So... here's a photo of my cat. Staring at you and sticking out her tongue.

November 18th: All together now

2009-11-18T22:43:00.000-08:00

Eek! I almost forgot to blog! And where would we be then? Where I ask you? I was so caught up in the finale of America's Next Top Model that I almost missed it (shush, ANTM is a fine show and I'm not afraid to admit it).

Yesterday, as things were breaking right and left, I attached the sleeves to my cardigan body. I'm currently working on the raglan decreases; I'm about 1.5" into them. As I laid out the cardigan on the kitchen table to take a photo of it, I got a little worried - the body is looking kind of short, but I swear it measured what the pattern said it should. Maybe it's just the comparatively longer sleeves confusing me...

Of course, it looks okay from the angle I photographed it at. Go figure. :P

Now, in confidence, I am having urges. Urges, I tell you. Urges to cast on for new things. Urges to start new projects. But I must stifle them. I know I said that I would finish every thing I'd started before casting on, but in the face of my decision to knit for Christmas, I think I need to amend that somewhat. I will cast on no new personal projects until the ones I have are finished. I will work only on existing projects up to and through next week Thursday (Thanksgiving). After that, I may cast on for and knit Christmas gifts. Luckily for me, family won't be visiting until two weeks after Christmas, so there's some extra time.

And, in the meantime, I'm cautiously optimistic about finishing this sweater by next Thursday.

November 17th: Everything's falling apart!

2009-11-17T21:04:00.001-08:00

Ack! Everything is falling apart! It started a couple of weeks ago when the zipper pull on my Knitpicks Options Case fell off. Just... broke and fell off. Oh well, I thought, I can just move the slider back and forth. Annoying, but still functional. Well! Then, this weekend, the slider just breaks apart. *poof* I can no longer close the zipper.

This is what's left of the slider thingy.

I contact Knitpicks and they are quick to respond and mail me a new one. I was going to wait and mention it once I receive the replacement, but then two (2!) things busted tonight.

First: One of my 40" options cables pulls apart. This is not quite a *poof* moment because I was pulling on the cable from the needle end. Still, I did not appreciate that breaking. I'll be letting knitpicks know what happened, but it's probably more in the realm of user error than defective item. Thankfully I didn't drop any stitches.

Second: One of my favorite stitch markers went poof. This is what they look like:

But this is what one of them now looks like:

The bending is my fault. Inexplicably, the bead portion just fell off! It's still whole, so I tried to force it back on, and cannot. I guess the marker is technically still functional, but it's gonna catch on everything now. :P

I mean, really, what the hey? I understand things break, but this is all going down at the same time. The needle broke on my first row of joining the sleeves of the Amelia cardigan to the body. The stitch marker went sometime in the next couple of hours. Yeesh. Here's to hoping everything stays in one piece tomorrow.

November 16th: FO: Pink Granite socks

2009-11-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

More knitting! I call these my Pink Granite socks because the pink and the grey reminds me of stone.

I knit these on size one needles using J. Knits SuperwashMe Sock. These are a basic toe-up stockinette sock. My go to movie theatre knitting. In fact, according to Ravelry, I started these on May 10th of this year.

The first sock was knit with a short row heel. The second one got an afterthought heel - I got to the heel point just before we left for the movie, so I decided to put in some waste yarn and have different heels on the sock. Not a big deal, since these aren't gift socks. But I definitely think I like the short row heel better.

It's amazing how hard it is to get a decently lit picture in this house. I went out to our mudroom and brought out my sheepskin rug to cover the grody carpet that's out there. The light lasted about as long as I took photos for. Maybe on a day when the sun is actually out....

November 15th: Mom's lap blanket

2009-11-15T15:22:00.000-08:00

I started knitting during the summer of 2004. I told my mom and learned that she used to knit. I was really excited about this. So for Christmas that year I bought her a pair of size 8 needles and two hanks of what I think might be bulky weight Blackberry Ridge Kaleidoscope from The Sow's Ear back in WI. Shortly after, she borrowed a pair of size 15 needles from me and cast on as many stitches as the long needle could hold and began knitting back and forth. She'd work on this every once in a while, but mostly it was held in a cupboard where the cats couldn't reach it.

She knit continental. I never really caught onto continental.

In July of 2007, my mom was killed by a drunk driver. As I dealt with her estate in the month that followed, I found the lap blanket she'd started. I took it back to Washington state with me and knit on it some. I finished the first ball of yarn and began knitting from the second. I would only knit a row or two at a time, and then put it away.

It felt like a connection to her.

But now I've finished it. I bound off the edge I finished with a crochet loop to differentiate it from the cast on edge. The finished lap blanket is really more of a shoulder shawl. It's wide, but not that long. It sits nicely around my shoulders. Or over my lap if I'm curled up on the couch.

I have mixed feelings about having finished it. But it's done.

November 14th: Girth

2009-11-14T22:29:00.000-08:00

I finished knitting and cast off my mom's lap blanket while playing Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo with Pants. I did a crocheted bind off. I wasn't sure what size crochet hook to use. I figured I should use something about the same as the needles I was using. So I grabbed the biggest crochet hook I have - my selection isn't great, though it's not bad - and went for it.

I maybe should have gone with my second biggest crochet hook. That's the hook I used, the size 15 knitting needle I had been knitting with, and a standard #2 pencil for scale. That hook? Is behemoth. It worked, but it was not the easiest way to do it. Lesson learned.

I think I'll go weave in the ends and watch some Ghost Hunters. I'll start the heel on my sock as well, I think. I slept in until nearly 11am this morning, so I might be up for a while...

November 13th: To Washington!

2009-11-13T22:53:00.000-08:00

Pants and I just finished watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the first time ever. It's a wonderful film.

I spent the movie (except our break for popcorn - I <3 my Whirley-Pop) knitting on my mom's lap blanket. I'm very nearly done. I need just to finish the row I'm on, and I think then I'll move to a crochet loop bind off. I think I'll just wing it.

Size 15 needles.... what size crochet hook do you suppose I ought to use to bind off?

November 12th: Long day

2009-11-12T22:33:00.001-08:00

When I'm really tired, my legs feel tired. I don't know how else to explain it than my legs feel tired, and I get spazzy if I can't put them in a comfortable position. I've got that kind of tired now.

It's been a long day. Up before sunrise, run around right before I have to head out the door because I've lost track of time. Busy day at work, with at least three crises, and I end up staying 9 hours instead of my usual 8. Run home, dinner with Pants, then off to knitting. Knitting for a couple of hours, which flies by. Then home where Pants and I pick out art for our living room walls. This takes two hours. So it's 10:30 now and I have some time to think about blogging. And I am just weary. Mostly in my legs, but I think I'll fall asleep pretty quickly.

Anywho. At knitting tonight I bought a pattern. A pattern I was going to mention, but since I am thinking about knitting Christmas gifts from it, I had perhaps better not mention it. Initially, I'd planned not to knit much in the way of Christmas gifts, but I'm feeling pretty broke right now and knit gifts are sounding better all the time. We'll see how this all shakes out.

Also, I'm at 13.5" on my sleeves. I need 18". According to the pattern, I'm nearly done with the increases, but I think I'll be adding more for a better fit. It's good to see progress.

It's funny though - I'm fixated on this sweater, but I'm almost done with two of the other wips. My socks just need a heel. Just one short row heel. And the lap blanket can't be more than a couple of hours away from done. And I'm working on this sweater. Maybe it's the onset of winter. I guess it's supposed to snow tonight/tomorrow.

November 11th: Tangled Mess

2009-11-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

Today is a state holiday - schools and state employees have the day off of work. A good day for tackling those projects you let go. One such project was to clean up my scrap yarn bag.

To be clear, I have two bags of scrap yarn. One is for sock and laceweight, the other is for everything else. The everything else bag is the problem.

No, really, look at that mess.

And that was even after I'd pulled out some of the more well behaved balls of yarn. It took about 10 minutes of detangling, but eventually I got it sorted out and looking more like this:

Ah. Much better. I have two scrap yarn projects percolating in my brain. The first is barely worth mentioning. I need a coaster. See, we decided we need to respect our furniture, now that we've got a few pieces worth respecting, and coasters are part of that. We have this great set of coasters that are red with white flowers in the center, but they're also curved up at the edges. Which is great for juice glasses and whatnot. But I favor large nalgene style bottles or large pottery mugs which don't sit nicely on the pretty little cup holders. Thus, I need to knit some coasters.

The second project I am contemplating is a felted cat bed, ala Kitty Pi minus (probably) the fun fur. This would lighten the scraps load considerable like, I think. The cat clearly has a fondness for knitted things. Why just today she was scaling Mount Blanket.

Mount Blanket features my last stashbusting effort, the ugly afghan and a wonderfully warm shawl gifted to me by my friend Laura.

November 10th: Forearms

2009-11-10T22:19:00.001-08:00

I took today off of work. Pants and I ran some errands, but were thwarted by long waits at our primary objective - the Department of Licensing. So we still need to update our addresses with them. Le sigh.

One thing we did accomplish was cashing in our coins at the Coinstar machine. We got an Amazon gift certificate with the money. Apparently, there's a promotion right now where if you cash in $40 or more of coins, you can send in for an extra $10 Amazon gift certificate! That's awesome!

While I didn't use today's certificate for knitting related purchases, I do have my eye on a number of knitting books. Knitting in Plain English and The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques, notably. I want to get a better technical understanding of this knitting thing. I have a pretty good functional grasp, but feel that a good solid grounding in the technical will improve my finished projects considerablelike.

Catching up on reality shows and watching Brazil has resulted in sleeve growth. My forearms are substantially covered, now. I think there's some more watching of things in the plans for tomorrow, so I am expecting further growth.

I don't have a new photo for today, so here's a photo - taken by webcam - of the view from the 9th floor of the tower at the Catamaran Resort in San Diego. I stayed there overnight a couple of weeks ago when I presented at a conference. The weather is turning downright cold around here, and San Diego was nice and warm, but not too warm.

November 9th: Cookies

2009-11-09T21:58:00.000-08:00

Today, I made cookies. I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from this recipe. And I wore my brand new apron, which I mentioned yesterday.

But what fun is wearing a classically styled apron if you don't go full 1950s housewife on it?

I'm even wearing pearls (oops, I wrote purls first) and heels. The heels lasted through about the middle of actually baking the cookies. Then I switched to slippers. :D

The oatmeal in the cookies really bulks out the batter. You get about 40 cookies per batch. Also, this batch and the previous are the first times I've used honest to goodness butter in baking. I was raised on margarine, what can I say? But butter cookies are so rich and decadent.

I'm not 100% with the consistent sizing of cookies either. But as far as I'm concerned, it's not the way they look, but the way they taste.

The last few cookies spread out too much and got kind of caramelized/crispy. Pants didn't care for them, but I like them. When I was done, into the cookie jar go the cookies. And we have, in my opinion, a truly excellent cookie jar.

It's not bigger on the inside, unfortunately.

No knitting yet, but I think I'll stay up a bit and work on my sleeves once this is posted.

November 8th

2009-11-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today's knitting amounts to about 4 inches of garter and stockinette. Not very interesting photo material. I lazed about. Caught up on some shows in the morning, finished a book and napped midday. And in the afternoon we finished unpacking and picked up in the play room. We still need some furniture in there - there's just one shelf. But it's a start.

I decided to take most of my yarn out of the fabric cubes that the cat destroyed and display it openly. We keep the door closed, so the cat doesn't have access.

This is the sock yarn and books:

Looking at it makes me want to cast on for something. That mini-mochi in front calls to me. And the Fleece Artist and the Zauberball are enticing as well. But first I must complete the projects I have going on - it's for the best. And I fear that's going to take rather a long while at the pace I'm going. But Wednesday is a holiday, and I think I'll take Tuesday off too, depending if anything comes up tomorrow.

November 7th: Still not knitting

2009-11-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

Nope, no knitting today either. I got up at 6:15 because I had a meeting at work this morning. On Saturday, yeah. It was done by 10:15 and I reclaimed my sewing machine (which was still at work from the last time I used it) and headed down to the local fabric shop.

You see, I want to make an apron. More appropriately, I want to HAVE an apron. A particular apron. This Apron. (This apron was featured in a post on Cake Wrecks a while ago.) I became obsessed with this apron. A friend tracked down the exact sewing pattern for it and I promptly bought it from eBay.

So I get to the local fabric shop and tell the woman inside that I have this pattern and no idea about anything else.

Have I mentioned that I have never sewn from a pattern in my life? Also, I don't sew much at all in general? Anyway.

The woman at the shop is very helpful. But I have sticker shock. Most of the fabric is $9/yard. Especially the fabric I like. So I back out. I'm pretty sure I'm going to maul the thing, so I'd rather not use $9/yard fabric.

In the afternoon, Pants and I head down to Yakima. We hit up the fabric stores. Fabric costs less, but it's still pretty expensive and I'm not in love with anything exactly. That doesn't prevent me from wandering back and forth for an hour muttering. Eventually, we leave empty handed. We go next door to Goodwill. I find this:

Fabric! For $1.99! Does it look like an old bed sheet? Because that's what it is. But I like it and I feel thrifty all at the same time. And sheepish. I feel a little sheepish about the three fabric stores and hours spent muttering.

Then we go to Target. And darned if I don't find an apron there that's nearly what I wanted, and in a fabric I like to boot. Yeesh.

November 6th: Not so much knitting

2009-11-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

I knit, like, three rows on my sleeves today. And that's all the knitting that happened. I unpacked the rest of my yarn and related materials, but this is not about that either.

You see, the husband and I are Nerds. With the capital N. Mister Comfypants recently bought Dune: The Board Game at the local Goodwill. This game, despite being very nerdy, in a beat up box, and 25 years old, had all of its gameplay pieces. And there are a lot of them.

(I would have included one with my knitting in it, but, look! Patrick Stewart!)

Here we are, after starting the game. Reading the rules took nearly an hour. You can see we are playing the game, and yet Mr. Pants needs to consult, NOT ONE, BUT TWO sets of rules to figure out what's going on. It's a complicated game. But, actually, surprisingly, a good game. It captures the intrigue, which is unusual for a movie tie in.

Knitting content tomorrow, I swear.

November 5th: Partial Cuffs

2009-11-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

And we have sleeves. Well, cuffs. Half of cuffs, if you want to get into it. But it's a start. I cast them on last night and worked on them at knitting group tonight. You've really got to pay attention to garter in the round! Not as much as you do to twisted rib though. ;)

I really like this two at a time thing. I am thrilled that I won't have to knit a second sleeve, because I'll already have done it. Just got to keep on, steady as she goes.

November 4th: Cat on doily

2009-11-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

The moving process is a funny thing sometimes. Furniture goes missing. Books get un-alphabetized. Pets freak out. Business Cat was getting a little alarmed about the whole process. Late one night she hopped up on the no-longer-ours coffee table and, very very carefully, sat herself down on my hand knit doily.

She did it without knocking over that taun-taun too. Previously, the doily had been out of her reach and I don't think she was even aware of it. Cats just have that knack for sitting on the only thing that is different in texture from everything around it.

And she's not been interested in the doily since.

November 3rd

2009-11-03T21:40:00.000-08:00

What's that? It's about 14" of Amelia Cardigan laid out on my lovely couch. It used to be my ugly couch with the cheap white ikea cover, but now it's my lovely couch with the discontinued-but-I-got-it-on-eBay red corduroy cover. I love it more now.

The important thing about the photo above is that it means I stop knitting the body for a while and knit the sleeves. And thank goodness for that. I am not a fan of twisted rib. Especially when I have to twist purl stitches. I complain a lot about the more fiddly knitting things, but they do have a rather lovely effect, don't they?

Still, the sleeves will be an excellent break before I get to the end. I'm going to knit the sleeves two at a time, for maximum excitement. I think I'll go wind some yarn now!

November 2nd

2009-11-02T20:20:00.000-08:00

Today we began to unpack in the play room. That's the room that normal folks would call a guest bedroom, or an office, or some such. But it is the Game And Hobby room for us. And it's a mess. And it's mostly my mess. I, you see, have a lot of stuff.

But the knitting stuff is coming out of the packing materials and out onto my much loved, but seemingly discontinued, Enetri shelf.

I'm not sure if I should leave my yarn in its various fabric boxes, or go the open display route. What's your opinion?

November 1st

2009-11-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

November, that month where people go insane writing novels because someone said to. Or doing other things. And I, good people, am a sheep. Not a novel writing sheep. A blog posting sheep. I'll try to post to this blog here every day this month! With some kind of content. And a photo.

Business Cat naps on my knitting.

The project my cat is napping on is my mom's lap blanket. One of the four projects I'll be finishing before I start anything new. It's on size 15 needles, which are pretty much the same as tree trunks compared to sock needles. I think I'll do a crochet loop bind off, so I know which side is which.

See you tomorrow!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

Whew. What a couple of weeks it's been! First off, we've moved. Moved to bigger place in an older building. Our first apartment with a kitchen large enough for a table, it's own washer and dryer, and two floors. We also have a guest room, which we are referring to as the play room. Because it will hold our games, toys, and hobbies. YARN ROOM! YARN ROOM!

After three days of hauling furniture (including a one day trip to ikea), I jumped on a shuttle to the airport where I hopped on a plane to San Diego where I boarded a shuttle to my hotel room where I dragged myself into the room and ordered room service. I watched the sunset over the Pacific and then some tv, then got up in the morning, gave a conference presentation and then traveled home. In and out.

Wednesday was back to work. Except I didn't stay at work because I caught the flu. What flu, I don't know. All I know is that I was running a temperature of 100-101 degrees and felt like death. My fever broke this morning and I feel awesome! Still not able to do much without being winded and I'm hounded by this horrible hacking cough, but I don't need to nap every moment of the day and I can imagine doing things.

Long story short, not much knitting been happening 'round here.

So far I've adhered to my "finish what's started before starting something new" goal. I've knit a bit on each of the four active projects, with the focus being on the cardigan. The socks are closest to completion - I could probably finish them in 2 hours work.

Since we're certainly not headed out tonight, I will have the chance, and the energy to get a little knitting done. Stay safe tonight everyone!

FO: Damson Shoulder Shawlette

2009-10-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

I finished my Damson Shawl, a pattern from Ysolda. I began knitting it while finishing up my Diamonds and Triangles stole. I had seen Veronica's finished Damson on Ravelry and lurved it. I figured it might be just the thing for the Trekking Hand Art (color 503!) that I had been hoarding.

So Damson became my mindless knitting relief. And now it's finished and off the blocking board and onto my shoulders.

It took almost exactly the full hank of Trekking - I don't think I could have knit another full row with the tiny bit I have left over. I love when that happens, but it's nerve wracking. I was mentally going over my sock yarn scraps for a possible match at the end there.

While I loved this yarn in the hank, I'm not 100% in love with how it pools as it knits. I think it would have been better in socks. But since this is a scarf, I can handle the pooling. All in all, I think variegated yarn in scarves is best in a Montego Bay type pattern.

Blocking was interesting. I wasn't really sure what shape the shawl wanted to be, so I kind of felt like I was forcing it into this shape. I think I achieved more or less what the shawl wanted to be.

Although it was a very simple shawl overall, and easy to knit, I learned something new! The loops at the edge have an unusual construction. I had assumed, from looking at pictures, that it was a crocheted bind of, but no... far more interesting than that.

Now that this is off the needles, I only have four projects on the needles, three of which are active. I'm knitting the Amelia Cardigan lightly modified, the Laminaria shawl, a pair of stockinette socks, and the lap blanket my mom started some time ago. I have this crazy idea. The idea is to finish all four of these projects before beginning a new one.

This idea may be impractical - I do have some air travel at the end of the month, and I usually like to bring a pair of socks in addition to a lace piece. So there may be another sock cast on before I finish everything. But then I would finish those supposed socks before starting new projects. I don't recall a time while I've been knitting when I didn't have something in the works. Should be interesting...

Moving sale

2009-10-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

Are you on Ravelry? Would you like to buy some yarn? Then check out my Ravelry destash page.

I'm letting go of my Denise needle set, my CTH Suri alpaca laceweight, some Cascade Eco+, and more.

Hat Attack!

2009-10-03T15:05:00.001-07:00

Finished object!

Pattern: Quincy by Jared Flood
Yarn: Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere 8 ply
Needles: Knitpicks options size 10.5

The weather turned cold here and I was struck by the urge to whip up a hat. It took me two evenings in front of the teevee to knit it up.

You know, I was really skeptical initially about using a size 10.5. But I think what happened is that I work so frequently with such lightweight yarn and wee needles that bulky yarn seemed small and the 10.5s seemed enormous. But it worked out, just about perfect. Even though I didn't swatch. Because it's a hat. Fate was on my side... this time.

The pattern is excellent. The construction is clever. You knit a strip in garter with built in i-cord edges, graft it together as a mobiusm then pick up stitches from the i-cord edging and decrease. It took me a while to wrap my brain around the construction, particularly picking up the stitches, but eventually I got it. It's nifty.

The yarn is... well, the yarn is fabulous. I was practically giggling while knitting with it because it is soft and scrumptious and amazing. I got it for a steal on clearance. And I have more! A thought which makes me nearly giddy.

The only problem is that my ability to graft could really use some improvement. It really shows up at this gauge.

DONE! FO: Diamonds and Triangles shawl

2009-09-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

DONE!

Pattern: Diamonds and Triangles stole from Victorian Lace Today
Yarn: Baruffa Cashwool, nearly a full hank
Needles: US size 7, three brands.
Cast on date: November 2007
Cast off date: September 24, 2009

That's right. It took me nearly two years to finish this behemoth. I began it, finished the center and put it aside, worked on the edging, got bored and put it aside. Rinse and repeat until a couple of weeks ago when I decide that it will be perfect with the dress I've bought for the opening of my museum. At that point I have the edging complete on two sides, so I've about half the edging to go. And I kick it into high gear. I finished knitting it on the 24th and had it ready to wear on the 25th.

If I were to knit this again (which I don't plan on) I would absolutely use smaller needles, and probably a slightly thicker yarn. It was very fiddly. The pattern itself is quite straightforward. I find that I have a strong preference for shawls knit in one piece, instead of having to knit an edging on after knitting the body.

Technically speaking, there are problems with this shawl. I had some difficulty with the corners - I had to fudge one or two things here or there. There are a couple of mistakes in the edging. And my weaving in of ends isn't very good. In short, this isn't a fair piece. But I don't worry about it because the shawl is black, which makes a lot of things hard to see, and because of the size.

One thing this piece is, is enormous. I blocked it out to about 3' by 7'. And I didn't even block aggressively... It's also very warm. The wool is soft and kept me warm all night long at the opening.

Preblocking, with a meter stick.

Blocking on my alphabet foam blocks, with a meter stick. You can also see the line created by grafting. I pulled the kitchener tight, rather than making it invisible.

Blocking cat deterrent devices. We had a little problem the last time I blocked...

Post blocking detail

Wearing the shawl with my dress from the opening. Not the shoes though. My feet were tired from the heels.

Higher contrast posing:

Fluttery detail shots:

Lace ambitions

2009-09-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

I didn't get so far as I had hoped yesterday. I did a couple repeats during the movie and another one later. Here's a big mess of black. I'm getting a little worried - it's going to be tight at the end for yarn.

But, in other news, I got packages today. First package is a very pretty sock needle holder from my pal Madam, which normally would be enough to thrill me, but it got a bit overshadowed by the second package.

Second package!

Knitted Lace Designs of Herbert Niebling! Printed by Lacis and available through School House Press (who had VERY fast shipping, big thumbs up there).

With pretty things like this:

And this:

And this:

Such lovely lace designs. I swoon. ... But first the edging.

The Green Mile vs. the Edging

2009-09-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 1:43 pm PST: I have 8 repeats of the edging left to go on the Diamonds and Triangles Stole. I have about 3 hours of the Green Mile to watch. How far can I get? My money is on three repeats, when you count in interruptions. Hoping for more. Wish me luck.

Summer Swap

2009-09-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

I participated in a Summer Swap over on the KnittyBoard. I got my fabulous final box from my swap partner, Aitara! It was chock full of East Coast goodies:

Lovely yarn, lots of little goodies, Maine saltwater taffy, a really neat blank book, and some chocolate covered graham crackers that disappeared before the photo was taken. Thank you for the fun summer packages, Aitara!

In knitting news, I've really been focusing on buckling down on my Diamonds and Triangles stole from Victorian Lace Today (aka: the shawl started in November 2007). I'm knitting on the edging and I'm about halfway down the second long side. So I have the rest of the long side and the last short side and a 32 stitch graft, and then it will be done!

And I want to finish it in less than 2 weeks. In two weeks, the museum I work for will be opening (like, for the first time!), and I bought a dress online that the stole will be gorgeous with. So I need to finish it in time. I really hope the dress fits right when it arrives.

FOs: Socks and Lilac Leaf Stole-ish

2009-09-07T09:31:00.001-07:00

It's Labor Day in the US. Time to show off the fruits of my labor.

First up is a pair of socks for Ms. PolarG who will be starting a nursing program very soon! They're simple socks in Elann's Natural Merino sock yarn, with a contrast heel and toe from leftover Dream in Color Smooshy I had from my Killa socks. They were worked two at a time, two up, with a peasant heel (or is it an afterthought heel? I'm not sure there's a difference.). The ribbing may look familiar - it's the same as the Spey Valley socks, a 5x2 rib.

And then there's my Lilac Leaf Stole from Knitted Lace of Estonia. It took 4 balls of Naturally Dawn 2 ply, three of which I had in my stash and one which I had to hunt down in a panic when I realized I was running out of yarn. Three balls had the yardage the pattern asks for. I was using a needle size up from the pattern requirements. Yet my stole still blocked out much smaller than the measurements in the pattern. (14" x 56" rather than 20" x 66")

Naturally, I didn't swatch. I never swatch for lace because I'm all kinds of mavericky. I think, if I did it again, I would go up yet another needle size for a looser knit. The Dawn, while called a lace yarn, seems more like a light fingering to me. The yarn itself is soft, but tends to be a bit splitty. I hope it holds up well - I have six more balls of the stuff because I'm a sucker for silk blends.

The pattern, now that I get to it, is pretty easy! The center motif is memorizable, and the edging lends interest. Least favorite part of the project? Kitchenering the top edge to the body. Kitchenering is nice, and creates a good effect if done properly, but over 95 stitches? Oy. Still, all in all, I like the stole, even if I wish it were a bit bigger. Let's go to the photos:

In this photo you can see where the kitchener is. My tension on that is all kinds of wonky. Nancy Bush, in her wisdom, incorporates the kitchener into a garter stitch row, so it's a less heinous offense to have wonky tension.

Knitting: Now with more awards!

2009-09-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

It's fair weekend here in Kittitas County. And, for the first time ever, I entered some knitting in the fair. Because it's free. So why not?

Mr. Husband and I went to the fair today to check it out. We picked the only day in months where it rained. Actually it poured. We got pretty wet. But our umbrellas still work, despite not getting as much action as they used to in Seattle.

The socks were the first entry I spied. A blue ribbon!

Just before submitting the socks, I cut out some sock forms from cardboard. That lace really pulls in on itself. Second sighting was my Milky Way Scarf. Blue ribbon!

My final entry - my Shetland Tea Shawl - was the hardest to find. It was in the back with the other best in class winners!

I was pretty excited. Although, as you can see, the judging committee was not exactly stingy with the blue ribbons. But it was really neat to see my stuff with everyone elses. Needlework entries were a bit scarce, but there were a lot of quilts. And the winners were stunning:

The black one on the far left was amazing. The work that went into it just astounded me. And there were entries elsewhere that didn't even get a ribbon. But I thought they looked good. Just not as technically excellent, I guess. Lots of great handwork going on in the county.

Busy bee.

2009-09-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

But I've been busy. A couple weeks ago my husband and I took an impromptu road trip up to Kalispell, MT and Glacier National Park. It's a 7 hour drive and it was a three day weekend. You do the math.

For the record, Glacier National Park is stunning. We saw lots of mountain goats, including a kid, a couple of marmots, and even a bear!

Before we headed home on Monday, I wanted to stop at the yarn shop in Kalispell. Camas Creek Yarn is a beautiful shop, with a great selection. It's organized front to back from thin yarn to thick yarn, with lots of comfy corners and warm colored wood. I only got this sorry shot of the inside (being too midwestern to just whip out the camera and start snapping)

But see how warm and inviting that is? And the storefront is great too.

Naturally, I had to get some souvenir yarn, so I got a Zauberball in Grass Green. Which promptly went in the stash. Socks someday, I expect, to remind me of the green hills and the hiking. (Check out the photos which my husband has cleverly condensed and I have not even processed yet (except for the ones of the yarn store.))

And I've been knitting like a madwoman. A pair of socks for this gal headed into a nursing program, and I just now, just earlier tonight, blocked out my languishing Lilac Leaf Stole from Knitted Lace of Estonia. I survived the kitchener.

By brain is consumed by the fibery. I want to be knitting all the time, playing with my yarn all the time. But I have this thing called a job, which I would like to keep...

I have two lace shawls on the needles. One of which I started nearly two years ago and which really needs to be finished. I'm not a fan of the knitted on edging, I tell you what. But what I want to do is one of those super cute little shawls that's mostly plain, but with a bit of interest at the end. I think it might be time for me to break out the hank of Sea Silk I've got sitting in the stash and knit something on that order.

But I should really finish that one shawl before it hits its terrible twos. It's going to be a massive thing, let me tell you.

Nothing much here

2009-08-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

So I'm what you might call new to the design game. The Milky Way Scarf is my second pattern up on Ravelry. And it just tickles me pink to see that people seem to like it! Those little hearts are just about the greatest thing to see increase. But anywho.

On the knitting front, I've resumed progress on a couple of my lace pieces. I've completed the star and transition chart of my Laminaria Shawl. I'm really happy to be done with the star chart - not my favorite stitch. Nor is the 3 into 9 stitch thing you have to do in the blossom chart, but I have to admit the effect is very nice. But it's so fiddly!

Yes, that photo was taken on the back of a very obliging cat who was sitting in front of the picture window.

Yesterday, Mister Comfypants and I went to the next town over to see The Hurt Locker (which is a great movie, by the way - very intense). But we got done with our planned errands too early and had time to kill before hand. I'd noticed a thrift store we hadn't hit up before, so we headed over there. And I found these fabulous vintage creamers.

Now, they've nothing to do with knitting, but aren't they great? Pants and I love Mount Rainier, and I love beautiful small containers, so they are perfect. For something. I don't know what yet.

New Pattern: Milky Way Scarf

2009-08-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce my latest (second!) design: The Milky Way Scarf.

The scarf is knit from 400-450 yards of fingering weight yarn - I used a sock yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Midnight Derby. The lace pattern is quite simple, but creates an elegant effect. The undulating edging and random yarn overs evoke the night sky. The pattern is charted.

The pattern is available for free (FREE!) download at my Ravelry pattern store, or at the Dancing Ewe Yarns website.

This is the secret design I've been talking about the past couple of months. I submitted it to the Dancing Ewe's scarf from sock yarn design contest and am completely thrilled that the pattern took first place in its category of Opera Scarf. A big thanks to the Dancing Ewe and the illustrious judges for the incentive to design my first lace piece.

FO: Spey Valley Socks

2009-07-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Spey Valley Socks by Nancy Bush from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Brown Sheep Wildfoote Luxury Sock
Needles: Size 2

First things first. I took these photos today. It was 103 degrees outside and those are wool socks. Just saying. I've got commitment people.

These socks are pretty awesome. I followed the pattern (except for the decorative pattern at the top where I accidentally omitted one repeat) and I adore them. I love the rounded toe, the smooth heel, the simplicity of the ribbing. They're great. That is, the pattern is great. Wildfoote yarn is fine, but it's never been my favorite sock yarn. It is nowhere near Luxury, in my opinion. But it does make a darn fine sock, even if it's not soft and smooshy and, well, luxurious. Let's see some close ups.

I started these socks in June. I finished the first one just before I went on vacation. I finished the second one while on vacation.

Then I started the Salto Socks in some Trekking XXL I had. The pattern is beautiful. It shows up gorgeously in light colors and the cable pattern is simple to memorize. I really liked how they were turning out.

Except for the sizing. I was using 1.5s and what I'm told is Trekking (ball band lost), and the socks were clearly going to be too tall and too narrow to accommodate my calves. It's a lovely pattern and I may knit it someday... with thicker yarn and slightly larger needles. Le sigh.

And now I'm back from vacation and sick of socks. I'm going to concentrate on finishing up a couple of lace projects I've got going and see where my whims take me...

Vacation!

2009-07-10T16:37:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm leaving for a two week vacation! My contest scarf is all finished and turned in. I've got two knitting projects and a drop spindle packed. I am ready to go! I'll see you all in a couple of weeks. Here's a sneak peek of my contest design:

The cat is a bit too interested when I block lace....

Road Trip!

2009-07-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

We took a weekend trip to the Olympic Peninsula (along with about a quarter of the population of Washington State, it sometimes seemed). We hiked, saw amazing scenery, but mostly we hiked the Ozette Loop. The loop goes for about 9 miles - three to the ocean, three along the coast, and three back the the trailhead. At the end of our first third of the trail, we were at Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the continental US. Which I thought was awesome. So naturally, I brought my knitting.

I knit about a row on my Spey Valley sock from Knitting on the Road. But mostly I hiked. And I am not used to hiking that much - I am very sore now.

The entire, long set, including a visit to Hurricane Ridge, is here.

Project storage is no picnic

2009-06-18T19:47:00.001-07:00

I've got about a half dozen project on the needles right now. I have a variety of bags that I keep them in. I've got your basic canvas bag, a nice reversible blue bag, a variety of Halloween bags from the lovely cyclingkate, a cute drawstring bag with a bird on it, and my newest addition from Corrina of Picnic Knits.

You see, Corrina has this Etsy shop where she sells various lovelies. And one day I was so in love with some fiber that I had to buy it. So I got this:

It's very pretty, but I haven't spun a bit of it yet. I go through fits and spurts with the spinning thing, unfortunately.

As a little bonus, she sent along this bag:

You see, it's great because it has exactly enough room for a pair of socks and a nice flat bottom. As a bonus, it's reversible! I actually keep the yellow star side out because it's so happy.
That bit of blue is actually the scarf I've been working on for the contest. (I've got maybe 10" knit so far!) This is my favorite bag for small projects right now.

Designing is hard!

2009-06-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned that my local yarn store is having this contest - make a scarf, in any of four categories, out of sock yarn. I've been interested in trying my hand at lace design. I've designed a pair of socks (On the Fly Socks), but the novel thing there was making up a stitch pattern. So this contest opportunity - with its prizes and celebrity judges - seems just the right nudge to get me going.

But I come to find out.... this is hard! And scarves don't even need shaping. I figured that, given my not insignificant experience knitting lace, this should be a breeze. But, uh, it's not. The rules of the contest specify that the pattern must not be published prior to the contest, so you don't get to see photos of the design I finally settled on, but I am going to show you the rejects.

(Washed out with flash - makes it easier to see the pattern.) The bottom design is the first try. But in addition to being fiddly to knit, it's pretty complicated and hard to see in a scarf. I like it a lot, though, and think it's got potential. Just not for this project. The design on top... eh.. not so much. It's simpler than the bottom, but still not hitting any notes.

Attempt number three: Something still not hitting right about this one. Subtle, but to the point where it gets kind of hard to see.

So what did I end up going with? Well... that remains to be seen. I'll post photos, and the pattern, after the contest is over. Early August.

FO: Kiila Socks

2009-06-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

My socks are done! These socks have been the bane of my existence. There's a reason I don't like to do cables - it's because they're fiddly. Then compound that with needing to tweak the pattern to accommodate my gauge and my increased stitch count (heaven forbid I actually change needle sizes to accommodate the pattern!) and it's one of the more challenging patterns I've knit. That doesn't mean I don't like them, because I do. And the pattern is lovely; simple but elegant. I just went and made things more difficult than they needed to be.

Pattern: Kiila by Yarnissima. (If you like it and are on Ravelry, grab it quick! It's only a free download until June 8th.)
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in a green color
Needles: KP circs size one
Methods: Magic looped, two at a time.
Notes: I made lots of little tweaks to make it work. I knit at 72 stitches, did the small size on the gusset, and mussed about with the ribbing on the leg to accommodate the 72 stitches. Oh, and I did fewer rounds of ribbing at the cuff for a shorter sock. All in all, the changes made it very challenging, but a lovely sock. If I had to do it again, I’d just suck it up and go to a size 2 needle so I wouldn’t have to deal with the tweaking.

So these are very pretty, but I am so relieved to have them done. My June sock challenge socks will be very simple, I think.

In other news, I've charted out my design for the scarf contest at the LYS. Now to cast on and knit! I hope it looks good and not a mess!

5th of the month project status post: June edition

2009-06-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

Old business first!

- Diamonds and Triangles Stole from Victorian Lace Today: Active-ish. It's around, but not top priority.
- Kiila, the mystery sock for May: Active - near the end! Just have about 27 rows of the cuff left to do.
- Amelia cardigan: Sleeping. It's too warm to think about an alpaca/wool sweater.
- Lilac Leaf Shawl: Active-ish. It's around. I'm pretty worried that I'll need to cut out several repeats in the middle and try to block it out longer. We'll see.

New Business!
- Laminaria Shawl: So happy to have this one on the needles. It's still in the first motif, so there's a long way to go.
- Pink granite socks: Plain stockinette socks for easy knitting in pink and grey yarn.

Plotting:
- Nancy Bush socks: The June sock challenge is to design your own or knit a Nancy Bush pattern. I'm thinking Nancy Bush, though I haven't decided what pattern or yarn, precisely. I'll cast on when I finish the Kiila's.
- Sock Yarn Scarf: The local LYS is running a contest for scarf design out of sock yarn and I think I'm going to take the opportunity to try my hand at designing a scarf. I have the yarn and I have some ideas....

Goals:
- Finish Kiila's
- Turn the next corner on the diamonds and triangles shawl
- Cast on for the Nancy Bush socks
- Get the scarf design swatched, written, and started