Linnet's Nest

Livingstone Cardigan and Julia Child

2011-12-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

I am finally knitting a sweater for me. My project notes are getting much too long on Ravelry, so off to the blog I go! I'm knitting the Livingstone Cardigan in Rowan British Sheep Breeds in mid-brown Jacob.

I chose this pattern because it reminds my of a cardigan my Aunt Carol gave me in 3rd or 4th grade. I outgrew it very quickly and have wanted a replacement ever since. I've finally found something close to what I remember.

Now that Amazon has all 10 seasons of The French Chef with Julia Child, I'm slowly working my way through the episodes. I'm still in season one, in black and white, so it's hard to tell what she's doing and most food doesn't look terribly appetizing in shades of gray. I just missed how to make mayonnaise by hand, since I was fixing cables.

What I've learned with this project so far: Swatches lie. I need to look at my knitting after every single row. I have every size DPN, except 10. It's not as scary to drop down and fix cables as I thought.

Sigh

2010-02-13T08:20:00.001-08:00

It came this way. Maybe I should stick to already wound yarn.

Multnomah is finished

2010-02-11T09:52:00.001-08:00

The colors have a wonderful glow. This really was mood knitting and it shows. My tension was back to normal by the end. I'm ready to go back and tackle my other WIPs now.

WIPs

2010-02-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a bag of WIPs:

The blue is Gaenor and I haven't made much progress on it. Pink is Bitterroot and I'm on the D chart now. Orange is Multnomah. I have 5 more repeats until it's finished.

I started on the Multnomah the day after I put Skunk to sleep. I made 10 mistakes on one row of Bitterroot, so I decided something simpler would be better. I'm finding it slow going now, just because it's such a simple pattern. It's my first project without a single white cat hair.

RIP Skunk

In progress

2010-01-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

My original goal for 2010 was to complete 12 projects, of any size, by the end of the year. I think I should have been more ambitious!

Completed:
Very Large Scarf in Noro Yoroi on 35 needles. This took me a year to finish.

Abstract Leaves Cowl in WM Twin

In progress:
Gaenor in Wool Candy BFL Lollipop. I love working with BFL. The lace is fun, but the garter stitch is a bit tedious.

Indigo Dandy in numma numma panna. I went for ruffles instead of the tailored look.

Bitterroot in numma numma stretto. This is extremely pink. It's just a touch darker than Barbie pink.

Blocking

2010-01-06T14:26:00.000-08:00

The Abstract Leaves cowl is blocking. Again. I managed to block it wider than it is long and while it was pretty, it didn't exactly fit. So I took extra care to block it long this time.

I'm working on Gaenor in a blue BFL from a local indie dyer. It's a quick knit with lace on both sides to keep interest. It seems to have a distinct bias, though, which I'm hoping will block out.

I'm still looking for an appropriate yarn for the Dragon. The Yarn Chef had some red merino/tussah that was almost perfect. But I will find the right yarn. I'm going to use the WM lace for the Magic Carpet Ride scarf. I'm just waiting for the beads to get here. The scarf will only use half the skein, but I'm sure someone will be willing to take it off my hands if I don't find a use for it.

Milkweed pic

2010-01-03T19:10:00.001-08:00

Next time, I'll block the points more. There was a mistake I didn't notice until I was unpinning it - a yarn over moved over one stitch and all the YOs after are out of alignment. Since I'm going to be wearing it as a scarf, it's really not a big deal. I'm just pleased that I finished it instead of changing my mind halfway through and ripping it out. I'm either getting to be a better knitter or I'm more accepting of my mistakes. Either or both is good.

Milkweed is finished!

2010-01-02T20:53:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the Milkweed shawl. It was supposed to be the last FO for 2009, but turned into the first FO for 2010. It's blocking now. Pictures tomorrow or whenever the sun comes out.

I spent several hours yesterday looking through Barbara Walker's books looking for a pattern that called out to me. I have some gorgeous sea blue yarn that needs just the right stitch pattern. I settled on the Seaweed pattern, since it's reversible. I haven't figured out the rest of the design, but I think I'm going to use YOs as "bubbles" to separate the repeats. I only have 400 yards of fingering, so I want to stretch it out.

Finally, I cast on for January's cowl KAL: Abstract Leaves Cowl. I'm using WM 80/20 in Ruby Thursday. It's the perfect red-blue. I'm not taking any chances on the needles, either. Addis all the way! (Which is funny, because I'd forgotten I even had them.)

(insert primal scream)

2009-12-31T12:14:00.000-08:00

Last night, I was merrily knitting along, on row 102 of 105, when disaster struck. My needle cable snapped. My shawl exploded off the needle and turned into a jumbled mess. I spent the next 20 minutes carefully picking up the stitches. But now that I have the stitches picked up, I'm wary of knitting them on KP again. Since I only have 3 3/4 rows to go, it should be done quickly, but...

The Dragon is stalled. Wollmeise Lace-garn does not like to be frogged. When I went to cast on again, I found that it considered plying a suggestion rather than an imperative. I ended up cutting off several feet of what was essentially tiny threads vaguely related to one another. Even so, what remains is still incredibly splitty. I'm of two minds about this yarn. The pros are that it's the perfect color, the drape is wonderful and it has good stitch definition. The cons are that it's is very splitty and doesn't take frogging well. It also has an heretofore unexpected halo, which I definitely don't like. I honestly thought the difficulty in knitting this project would be the pattern, not the yarn!

Hurray for Yarndogs!

2009-12-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

I picked up the Addi Turbo Lace needle, US 0, 2mm, 40" today at Yarndogs. I was trying to decide if I really should get an Addi, but decided that since I've already spent $15 on the pattern, which will undoubtedly only be used once, I should definitely spring for the needles. The join on the KP needles was snagging on the yarn, anyway.

I decided on the 40" so I can tell right away how large the shawl will be. I hate pulling a mini-shawl off the needles and discovering I've actually made a poncho. For example, I have a sneaking suspicion that my Milkweed Shawl is much larger than it ought to be. The other problem is that it makes me hungry every time I knit it. It's in Handmaiden Casbah (which I got for half-price(!) from a destasher on Ravelry) in Blackberry. It looks exactly like blackberries, so I crave blackberries, blackberry pie, blackberry cobbler, blackberry jam... The Casbah is very nice, even for an MCN yarn. It's soft and squishy and so nice to knit.

Ribbit, ribbit!

2009-12-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

I started to have a nagging feeling that I was going to run out of yarn. My gauge swatch was off just by 1/2 stitch, but I thought that wouldn't matter too much in lace. Well, 1/2 stitch wouldn't but 2 stitches definitely is too far off. I would have been short ~200 yards. So, I frogged back. And promptly discovered my cast-on was wonky anyway. Since the only needle I have in the right size is a KP Harmony, way too close to my yarn color, I'm going to track down an Addi Lace tomorrow. In the meantime, I have a couple of UFOs to work on anyway.

10 rows down...544 to go

2009-12-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

I finished 5 rows today and 5 yesterday. At this rate, I'd be done in April which wouldn't be too bad. I hope it's not a bad sign that I miscounted for the 2nd YO. I'm going to take it as a warning not to be cocky and count everything. Twice. Another 24 border rows and then I get to the body of the shawl. Then 20 rows of ring stitch before starting the dragon. My goal is to get to the dragon's claw this weekend.

Dragon of Happiness

2009-12-23T11:20:00.000-08:00

The problem with asking yarn what it wants to be is that sometimes it tells you. I'm participating in a Wollmeise Lace KAL on Ravelry. I thought it would be fun to do a large project that would utilize as much of this beautiful yarn as possible. I was thinking about the lovely Forest Path Stole, which is entrelac lace, so each rectangle is a mini project. Very satisfying. However, after I wound the lace, I changed my mind. I searched the Ravelry patterns and came up with a short list of possible patterns. That's when the trouble started. The yarn didn't like any of my choices. I went through and discarded numerous patterns, when finally a tiny voice said, "Dragon of Happiness?"

My immediate response was no, absolutely not. I'd have to be crazy to tackle it. It's true knitted lace with no rest rows. According to Ravelry and Google, only 4 people have ever completed the shawl, with one of those being the designer. The pattern is 23 pages long with 18 pages of charts. There are 6 charts, each 3 pages and 100 rows long. Over 125,000 stitches. The KAL deadline is March 31. March 31, 2010. 3 months from now. I must be insane.

So I've spent the morning assembling my materials and taking pictures and generally dawdling to avoid casting on for this monster. Choosing the right knitting bag for each project is so important! After all, I wouldn't want the bag and the project to clash, right? But I think I'm ready to start now. Right after lunch.

Pattern: Dragon of Happiness by Sharon Winsauer
Yarn: Wollmeise Lace-garn Dunkle Kirsche
Needles: Knitpicks Options US1 (2.5mm) 32" circular
Knitting Bag: Green Mountain Knitting Bags Madison Sweater bag

It Lives!

2008-08-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know where my camera is or I'd have lots of pictures.

I finished my mom's scarf last week. It was 2x2 ribbing in Claudia's Handpaints Sport in Ocean Depths. It came out very pretty, if a tad short.

I am still, believe it or not, deliberating on how to finish Lady Eleanor. She's finally complete, but she needs fringe or something.

Tonight, I started Edgar for a co-worker. She's someone I have lots of conflicts with, but as I discovered knitting for my mom, it's a lot easier to think pleasant thoughts about someone when you're knitting lovely, yummy yarn up for them. I'm using Noro Silk Garden in color 47, a black/brown/grey colorway.

My next project for me is the Braided Pullover from the fall Interweave Knits. My LYS had enough Cascade Lana d'Oro in Regal purple for me to start right away. They are currently looking for another skein of Cascade Eco Wool in silver, so I can knit the Susie Hoodie this fall. I think it will look lovely in natural silver wool.

Lady Eleanor in the home stretch

2008-03-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

I just started tier 29 today. Here's a pic from last weekend. Everyone loves the colors. You can see, down at the bottom, a single tier of brown. That's just how the yarn knit up. After all, there has to be a bit of order in perfect chaos.

Lady Eleanor the Second

2008-02-25T00:14:00.001-08:00

Here she is:
Isn't she lovely? I'm about a third of the way through now. This yarn is a dream. It's very well-behaved. I love how the colors change across each square. Every once in a while, I'll get a square that is all the same color. In fact, I have one tier that is entirely brown.

I've been knitting a little over a skein a day, so I could be finished with it in March.

Stitches, or I have $1.02 left in my pocket

2008-02-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

The Stitches market was fun. I made a beeline for La Lana Wools and bought the Forever Random Worsted I've been drooling over for the past year.

I finally got to see the Noro Kureyon Sock. It's much too thin for me to knit into socks, but I think it will make very pretty lace.

I bought some cashmere, Just Our Yarns Myne, as part of a beaded shawlette kit.

Here is the sample of Malabrigo laceweight that the Malabrigo booth was giving away on Thursday night.

There's more, but that's enough for now.

Beech Wood

2008-02-04T20:31:00.001-08:00

I ran out of yarn just after the second full repeat. Not sure what happened, but it still looks pretty, if asymmetrical. I hope my friend likes it!

Things I've learned about knitting lately

2008-02-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

Life is too short to knit an ugly pattern. If the pattern is ugly, changing the yarn and/or colors probably won't help.
Life is too short to use ugly yarn, too.
Do not take a class from someone who writes patterns but doesn't have the pattern edited or test knit, unless you're a masochist.
I like cashmere.
I like knitting lace.
Cashmere lace is awesome.
Merino's nice, too.
Purling in the round takes all the fun out of knitting in the round. Never knit a pattern in the round that uses purls for half the pattern.
Always read the pattern all the way through before starting. This may be something you have to learn the hard way, though.
I really do have enough pink yarn. Possibly for a lifetime.
On the other hand, I don't have any pink cashmere laceweight. Yet.
I need a challenging pattern to keep me interested. 5000 rows of the same pattern over and over will drive me mad in white linen. Although linen is nice, too.
I'd rather buy a sweater than knit one, but I do appreciate a well-knit sweater.
I don't like knitting on a deadline. Anybody's deadline.
Don't take multi-day classes, because again, I hate knitting on a deadline.
It's ok to take a year or two to finish a project.
It's also ok to frog a project that I can't remember what row I'm on, don't like the yarn, and can't remember why I thought the project was a good idea in the first place.
I'm still allergic to mohair.
I do not enjoy Fair Isle right now.
Socks are fun (I really like turning the heel) but I don't have the patience to knit two of them. So from now on, I'm only buying sock yarn in complementary colors, so I can have socks that are, well, not fraternal twins, but at least vaguely related.
I finally learned to use DPNs without stabbing myself, but I still prefer Magic Loop.
Rather than trying to figure out what fibers make me itch, these are the animal fibers that don't: wool, silk, cashmere, and camel. Yes, I even find qiviut and baby alpaca itchy. More for you.
I don't like to knit the same pattern twice.

I'm about a third of the way through my child's size Fair Isle sweater, halfway through Lady Eleanor (still), a quarter of the way through my Mistake Lace scarf, 2/3 through the Clapotis, and half way through Beech Wood.

Beech Wood needs to be done by Tuesday morning, since I'm giving it to the wonderful friend who took care of my cats while I was in the hospital last week. Luckily, it's a fast knit, and it's in the scrumptious Hand Maiden 4 Ply Silk Cashmere in the Paris colorway.

2008 is here at last

2008-01-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

2007 was an odd year for me, so I'm grateful to be able to put it behind me. The best thing about 2007 was finding my new job in a completely unexpected place - the industry I swore I was leaving forever in January. Famous last words! My new employer is wonderful, and have treated me very well through my health issues, which was the downside to 2007. But my health issues are under control now, and I'm looking forward to a great year in 2008.

I have gotten some knitting done, although not as much as I'd like. I finished the moebius cowl and it is beautiful, even if it does have some extra "design elements." I'm very close to finishing my Lady Eleanor, although she's been languishing for the past month or so. I'm over halfway through my first (and probably last) full size Clapotis, in Patons SWS in Natural Violet. I'm about a third of the way through a simple lace scarf in Fleece Artist Italian Silk, quite possibly the most delicious yarn I've used in quite a while. It has a very strong silk smell, but it is decadently gorgeous. Pictures just don't do it justice.

I've signed up for a Fair Isle sweater class next week. I'm a little nervous about steeks, and not too sure about stranded knitting, so this will be a good exercise for me.

I've been purging my stash of the yarn I don't absolutely love. Novelty yarns, acrylics, murky colors, strange textures - it's all going. I still have too much yarn, but since I love what I have left, I don't feel too guilty. And I have empty bins available for Stitches next month! I've already started planning my method of attack on the marketplace.

Oops!

2007-11-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

I learned a valuable lesson on Friday - do not attempt to knit lace in the lunchroom! My cowl ended up with a rather peculiar lace pattern afterwards, so I ripped it back. Ouch! It should go much faster this time around.

My SP11 scarf is blocking now. It should be dry tomorrow morning, so I can ship it out. I'm sending it with 2.50 mm Knit Picks Harmony dpns. It's unfortunate that green is the dominant color in this set. I hope my pal doesn't mind too much!

Moebius Class tonight

2007-11-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

The moebius class was canceled, so the LYS suggested their sophomore knitting class instead. The other women in class declared the moebius to be senior knitting, at least. :-) I ripped back once, after knitting a definite freak of nature, but got it the second time. I hope. Time will tell. Behold, after 2 hours of knitting, I have this:The teacher hadn't knit a moebius before, so it was a learning experience for both of us.

2007-11-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

My second SP11 package was well-received. I must block the scarf and get it out next week for the final reveal package. I've been distracted by health issues the past 3 weeks while the doctors try to figure out what is wrong with me. I have medical tests planned out through December, so in the meantime, I'm knitting. What else is there to do?

I finished the SP11 scarf

2007-11-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

My SP11 scarf is finished. I just need to block it, and it will be ready to go. I don't know if I'll buy Lorna's Laces again. The yarn was splitty and I found 5 knots in 1 1/3 skeins. That's an awful lot of knots, considering how much this yarn costs. Several of the knots were only in a single ply, which made them difficult to see until I was just about to knit them. But the scarf did come out nice.

Kureyon Sock?! The yarn diet is doomed.

2007-10-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

Doomed, I tells ya. Noro Kureyon in fingering weight. Sigh. Those color changes the vegetable matter, the uneven spin... in fingering weight. Yum! And I always thought Noro lace was an oxymoron. It's due in stores in December or January, but a few lucky people scored some on eBay earlier this month. I hate them. I guess I can look forward to scoring some at Stitches in February. It's not like it's going anywhere, right? Right? Oh, yeah. Noro. Well, maybe I'll get lucky. I want 102, 180, 182, 184...

Something to look forward to on a gloomy day.

Almost forgot...

2007-10-28T22:53:00.001-07:00

Here's the yarn my SP11 pal sent - Spunky Eclectic Super Nova in Aspen:

And this is a skein I finally broke down and bought - Fleece Artist Italian Silk in Fruit Punch. It stinks to high heaven, but it is oh, so beautiful. Because of the smell, I doubt I will be buying it again, but it's so beautiful, it's almost worth it.

Lady Eleanor progress

2007-10-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

I decided to work on Lady Eleanor a little today, and ended up adding an entire skein. The skein thankfully had no knots, or odd color changes, and wasn't noticeably thick/thin. If only the rest of the skeins are like this one! I wish I had realized when I was swatching that the skein I started with was much thicker yarn than the other skeins. I would have definitely gone down a needle size or two. I do like the color changes in this colorway. Now that I'm a quarter of the way through, I'm pondering what exactly I'm going to wear this with. I guess I have a ways to go before I have to worry about that!

Harmony needles

2007-10-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

My Knit Picks Harmony needles set is finally on its way. It should arrive on Monday or Tuesday.

I also found out that my new job will let me ship packages via FedEx for their discounted rate, so my next SP11 package is going FedEx. That saves me a trip to the post office, and it's about 50 cents less going FedEx than US Mail. The second package will arrive before the first!

My package arrived today

2007-10-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

My SP11 package arrived today with a cornucopia of goodies. Since I am an impatient person who rips wrapping paper off without hesitation, I don't have any pictures of the black and orange packaging.

I received 2 cookie cutters (a black cat and a pumpkin) a pin with a black cat on a broom, a small box of Russell Stover chocolates, 2 packages of Candy Corn popcorn, some fruit treats, a package of Brach's Autumn Mix (my favorite fall treat, besides egg nog), and the September Funky Eclectic club yarn, Super Nova in Aspen. The yarn is a sport weight in a merino/nylon blend, so it's very soft.

I'm not sure where my camera is, so I'll try to post pictures later.

The package is on it's way!

2007-10-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

My SP11 pal's first package is on its way. We agreed that I would send one package at the end, but I went overboard on stuff, so I have to send multiple packages to avoid import and gift taxes. I hope she likes it! Since postage is so expensive, and customs so high, I'm sticking mostly to yarn. I hope to include a set of Knit Picks DPNs with the last package, but I don't know when those are going to ship. I may send those off when they get here, probably long after SP11 is over. Since they're small and light, postage should be fairly inexpensive if I have to send them alone, or I can send them with the back up yarn...

Semi-fiber related, I am gainfully employed again, so I can continue to support my yarn habit. I'm very excited about it. It's a fun job that pays well, has great benefits, I really like the people I work with, and it's close to home. What more could I ask for?

Halfway done with the SP11 project

2007-10-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

It's taking way too long - I'm far too easily distracted. Anyway, it's halfway done. And now I'm realizing that it's not turning out at all like I had planned. Much the same as my life, really.

I must finish this scarf, so I can finish the second sock, so I can finish the dragon scale scarf, so I can start on the Forest Canopy shawl. And then I really need to work on some sweaters.

I received my size 0 KnitPicks Harmony circular today. It is frighteningly light and fragile feeling, although very pretty to look at. I am rather nervous about knitting with it. I'm rather impatient for the rest of the needles to arrive, though. I want 'em now!

I did some checking on postal and customs regulations for my pal's country. Oops! I've exceeded the gift limit, so I need to break up the shipments, lest they be taxed. That wouldn't be very nice of me at all, would it? If it's 2 separate shipments, it will stay under the limit, and I'll pretend the postage is, I don't know, Monopoly money or something. When did postage become so very outrageously expensive, anyway?

TKGA Yarn Haul

2007-09-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Yarn for my SP11 pal :

Argosy Lotus Blossom (merino/cashmere blend) - Grape Juice

Fleece Artist Nova Socks (100% merino) - Amethyst with the Tilting Blocks pattern

Pacific Meadows Alpacas Fingering Weight (100% alpaca) - Charcoal

Yarn for me:

Argosy Luxury Yarns Zen 4 Ply - Martha's Vineyard

Koigu KPM 1160 - a plummy shade

Koigu KPM - 1150 Hot pink (This is another one that caught my eye from across the room.)

Royale Hare Fingering Weight Superwash Merino - Calistoga Calypso - my favorite colorway of theirs

Sheep City USA Eco Wool - I saw this yarn, walked into their booth and said I'll take this, please. (The color isn't accurate here - it's much brighter pink!)

White Lies Madeline Sweater Kit with Treasure Island cotton in pink

TKGA show

2007-09-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

I went to the TKGA show in Oakland today, just to go to the marketplace. It was a tad picked over by this morning, but at least I stayed within my budget. I bought Koigu (2 singles, I'm not sure if they are for socks or a scarf yet, but will require colorwork either), a skein of cashmere for a scarf, 2 skeins of fingering alpaca for my SP11 pal, rainbow colored sock yarn, a hand-dyed merino/cashmere blend for my SP11 pal, a skein of Fleece Artist Nova Sock with pattern for my SP11 pal, a White Lies sweater kit, a huge skein of gorgeous hand-dyed bulky wool, and a mitered shawl pattern. I like going to yarn shows when I have a pal to spoil - I get to buy more yarn that way!

I wouldn't have bought so much, but I'm celebrating. I've decided that I need to go on a yarn diet until Stitches West in February. I may not make it, but I'm going to try.

I'll post pictures later. It seems that we are having power problems, and my UPS isn't kicking in, and I don't want to take any chances with my computer.

That's a lot of yarn!

2007-09-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

I finished updating my stash on Ravelry and I'm awed by the total. I have 26 miles of yarn on Ravelry. That doesn't count the 2 dozen Noro Kureyon singles I'm not going to bother putting in, or the other yarns I can't be bothered to add for one reason or another. I'd better stop shopping and get knitting!

No wonder I had that terrible nightmare last night that somebody stole my yarn. And there wasn't any more to be had anywhere! In particular, I was trying to replace a merino wool with long, Noro-like color changes. Believe it or not, it had been discontinued. I was relieved that it was all a dream, although somewhat disappointed that the magical yarn didn't exist. Mmm, Noro + merino. Yummy!

I want!

2007-09-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

I so want KnitPicks new Harmony needles. I am resisting buying them only because, well, I'm trying to live within my budget. That, and I don't really need another set of interchangeable needles. However, I think that these may make my Denise set obsolete. Decisions, decisions! I may buy a set of the 0 circulars, just because.

I've been working on my SP11 project a little bit each day. Now that we're moving into knitting weather, I'm sure I'll be knitting more and more. I have to finish my second sock, too. Once the SP11 project and the sock are done, I need to start on the Forest Canopy shawl. I also need to start the master socks from Cat Bordhi's book.

I heard from my SP11 secret pal today! :waves:

Sock picture

2007-09-02T15:00:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of the completed, but unblocked, sock. As you can see, even on 0 needles, my gauge is still pretty loose. I'm going to find an 000 Addi Turbo, and see if I can get sock gauge on that. If not, I guess I'll be using sport weight to make socks. Which is a pity, since I splurged on sock yarn. I suppose I could double the fingering weight up and make more anklets. Maybe I'll be making a number of lace scarves or some mitts, since a looser gauge won't matter as much on mitts as it does on socks.

As a bonus, a picture of part of my SP11 project. Isn't it pretty?

One sock down...

2007-09-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

One to go. No, I haven't cast on for the second sock yet. I will have a pair, though. They will be anklets, since I was bored with going round and round in circles. :) I can't cast on for any of the Cat Bordhi master socks until I finish the second sock, so that's my motivation to avoid Second Sock Syndrome.

I've started on a secret project for my SP11 pal. Finding just the right yarn and color took a week. Then it was time to swatch. I finally came up with a pattern that I like. I should have taken a picture of the Swatch Thing before I frogged it, it was very artistic, if you're into free-form knitting. The actual project is much tidier and fun to knit. The pattern was very easy to memorize.

The Swatch Thing inspired a second project that is much larger, and in a different color. It still needs to be swatched, and then I'll need to chart it. There's no way I will be able to do that one without a chart.

The Dragon sleeps

2007-08-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

I pulled the dragon scale scarf out to frog it, and I just. couldn't. do it. It's much too beautiful to frog. However, I'm not very interested in continuing on it at the moment, so it's going into the UFO pile. I'll pick it back up later.

The Lady of the Forest does need to be frogged, but she's hiding from me at the moment.

I got my Ravelry invitation last night (id: Linnet) and promptly went nuts adding stash, books, projects, etc. I'm beginning to be frightened by my stash and I've barely skimmed the surface of it. (9 miles of yarn so far and that's just what was in easy reach...)

I'm going round and round up the leg of my sock now. I'm not sure how long I actually want it to be, so I guess I'll just eyeball it. I thought the foot was going to be a touch small, but it actually fits perfectly. I'm not sure I'll end up with a matching set of socks, but there will be two of them.

Gusset increases!

2007-08-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

I'm finally to the gusset increases on the sock. Hurray! It took less than 2 weeks to get here, too. :) I'm having fun knitting again! After knitting and frogging and swatching and frogging, it's nice to be getting somewhere on a project. Of course, there's always a second sock, but I won't think about that right now.

I can't believe that summer's almost over. Actually, it's just now starting to feel like summer around here, which is fine with me, isn't that why we pay outrageous prices for everything? I'm more than happy to skip 3 digit temperatures.

I think the dragon scale scarf is headed back to the frog pond. I'm just not liking the way it's turning out. I love the scaly effect, but I don't care for the garter border. Of course, I had to wait until it was 3 feet long to decide this...I've set it aside for the time being. After a suitable amount of time, I'll decide whether it needs to go ribbit, ribbit.

SP 11, sock progress

2007-08-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

I've heard from both my upstream and downstream pals for SP 11. Yay! I'm really looking forward to it. Since my downstream pal is in Finland, I'll have to really think about what I want to send. International postage is really expensive! $37 flat rate for up to 20 lbs, and that's the least expensive option I've found so far.

I'm almost to the gusset increases on my sock. It's actually not quite that bright and the pooling isn't as obvious in real life. It's a toe up, magic loop sock, my first for both. Magic loop is working much better for me than DPNs did, although I have discovered that 4 DPNs are easier to work with than 3.

I frogged my Malabrigo dropstitch scarf. I just wasn't liking it. The color, Applewood, just isn't me, either. Maybe it will eventually tell me what it wants to be, or perhaps it wants to go live with someone else. I also frogged both Touch Me scarves, wincing as I did so. Chenille doesn't survive frogging well, but it had to be done. The red one was started when I had a much tighter tension, and there was no way I could match it, even by switching needles. The Vintage Velvet in purple Touch Me Due wasn't working, since the horizontal stripes were clashing with the vertical cables. So I frogged 'em.

I only have one UFO left, the Karaoke Lady Eleanor. I love the colors and the pattern is nice and mindless once you get going, but I'm tempted to just sell the remaining 9 balls of it and frog the rest, because I just don't like the yarn.

My WIPs are just the sock above and the dragon scale scarf, which I am determined to finish by Labor Day. I'm over halfway done, that shouldn't be a problem.

Why didn't anyone tell me how much fun this is?

2007-08-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

I'm making good progress on my sock from this weekend. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty proud of it, considering that it's my first toe-up, magic loop sock ever. Plus, short rows, which I am terrible at. But still, it's fun! I knew sock knitting was supposed to be fun, not wrestling with an octopus. I'm using STR Fire on the Mountain, in what was supposed to be beaded rib, but is something else. It's pretty, whatever stitch it is. I haven't decided what kind of heel I'm going to use, but it's coming up soon. How can a sock knit on size 0 needles, in fingering weight, knit up faster than worsted on size 5 needles?

I went to one of my LYS yesterday, but didn't purchase anything. I was definitely tempted by all the Claudia hand paints - I'll take one of each, please, but I nobly resisted. My bank account thanks me. I also had an idea percolating in my head when I saw the new Noro yarn, Hotaru, but I couldn't find the right yarn to go with it, and the project didn't fully materialize, so I put it back. I have enough projects in the stash already! I'm supposed to be on a yarn diet, anyway.

Non-knitting content:
I'm still employed. I finally reached my recruiter yesterday, and she said that the client loves me, and in fact, have requested more people like me. The recruiter and I agreed that I only need to stay until the end of this assignment in mid-September, and that I won't be shuffled to another assignment within this particular client. That was yesterday. Today, my manager at the client called and wants to have a meeting tomorrow, to discuss "switching things around." I have a feeling I'll be talking with my recruiter again after that meeting, but I'll see how it goes.

SP 11 Questionnaire

2007-08-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love knitting with wool. I find most other natural fiber yarns itchy, including alpaca, llama, angora, and especially mohair. I don't like knitting with most acrylics, although there are some man-made fibers I appreciate, like tencel.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

It depends. Most of them are in WIPs! :) I primarily use interchangeable circulars, so they stay in their cases when not in use.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting since 11/05. I'd consider myself an advanced beginner.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No

5. What's your favorite scent?

I like citrus-y or "clean" scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I like licorice a lot, as well as mint and ginger. I don't care for chocolate.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I also crochet occasionally. I don't spin. Yet.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

Mostly country/folk, with some other stuff for variety.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I like jewel tones, both bright and muted. I love hot pink. I don't like orange (unless it's with the hot pink) or yellow.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

Single, two middle aged cats.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear scarves occasionally, but no hats, mittens, or ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Right now it seems to be things destined for the frog pond! I don't think I have a favorite item to knit yet.

13. What are you knitting right now?

My first toe up socks, a dragon scale scarf, and some other WIPs that are probably UFOs at this point.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Circular needles, all types have their uses.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes to both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

About 1.5 years old. It needs to be frogged, since my gauge has changed dramatically, but I haven't seen it in a while.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween. I love the costumes.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

I collect various types of dragons. Dragons are always welcome in my home!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I can't think of any off the top of my head. No subscriptions at the moment, I prefer to see the magazine in person before purchasing it.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Fair Isle or intarsia are on my someday list. I'm currently practicing lace techniques.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Well, I'm knitting my second sock ever, so sort of. Foot circumference: 8.5", length of foot 9.5".

23. When is your birthday?

June 12.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

No.

I have decided on socks

2007-08-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

Socks will be my project this weekend. Since I all I do is knit and frog these days, there is no guarantee that there will be anything sock-like here on Sunday night, but I'm going to try. I'm also easily distracted - ooh, shiny! - so who knows what I will have to show for the weekend.

I've also decided that I have enough yarn for any possible project I could want to make - socks, bags, shawls - lace or not, sweaters, scarves, an afghan or two, and dishclothes, if I count the Sugar 'n Cream which I keep on hand for waste yarn. I even have crochet thread, so I could make doilies if I felt so inclined. Which is a long-winded way of saying that I'm going on a yarn fast. Stitches West is six months away, in February, so I'm saving my yarn money for that.

Bacon!

2007-08-01T17:07:00.001-07:00

My biggest regret on becoming a vegetarian over 15 years ago was giving up bacon. (And corn dogs, but there's a satisfactory replacement for those.) Fakin' Bacon? I hope you like tempeh. I sure don't. Smart Bacon? Ew, no. Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips? They've been justifiably accused of tasting like bacon-flavored Fritos. Not that there's anything wrong with bacon-flavored Fritos. But now, there's bacon salt! It really does taste like bacon, and it's vegetarian and kosher-certified. No actual bacon is involved. It comes in 3 flavors, original, hickory, and peppered, and all are tasty. Bacon! It's what's for breakfast, lunch, dinner....Ok, it's salt, so it's not health food, but still, bacon flavor without guilt or fat! I've even heard it's possible to make a respectable BLT by salting the tomato. I'm currently pondering how to use it to make a tofu rub. Or real corn chowder, substituting the bacon salt for the bacon. Mmmm.

Lovely, yummy stuff!

2007-07-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

Look at what was waiting for me when I got home today:
Hand Maiden Tussah or Two Four Silk in Sangria:
Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Tiger. I was born in the year of the tiger, and besides dragons, tigers are my favorite animal.
And for everyone who gets optic nerve damage from most of my color choices, Fleece Artist Suri Blue (50% Suri Alpaca/50% Blue Face Leicester) in Stone. It's as yummy as it looks. Given Skunk's extreme fondness for alpaca, I'd better put it away quickly before he discovers it.

The good news is that I know what the Sea Wool and Suri Blue are going to be: respectively, socks, possibly the Bordello pattern, and Evelyn Clark's Spirit of the Southwest shawl. The bad news is that I forgot what I wanted the Tussah Silk for. I'm sure I'll think of something. Wait! Now I remember! Elann's Sun Ray shawl.

Vroom Vroom!

2007-07-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

The cars are blasting around the track right now. We saw Paul Newman! OK, we saw his car. It's quite noisy out there today. In here, too. I think almost everyone has left the office for the day now.

I brought my sleeve in to work on at lunch time. Unfortunately, I got the ball band gauge, not the pattern gauge. So I ripped it out and will begin again when I find larger DPNs. I think I have 8s at home, somewhere. I really need to get all my DPNs in one place. I did notice that the sleeve was huge, and that was both before I started the increases and at a tighter gauge than the pattern calls for. I liked the fabric, and thought it was pretty loose for a sweater as it was. I'm not sure that I'm going to like it any looser.

It's totally quiet this afternoon, perfect for knitting. And I have...the unraveled sleeve in my knitting bag. I should have brought a second project. Oh, well, 3 more hours and I can go home.

My project for the weekend is to find all my UFOs, match up yarns and patterns for those "someday" projects, and then decide on a plan of attack. Maybe I'll start de-stashing, too.

Grand Prix Madness

2007-07-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Today is the beginning of Grand Prix madness in downtown San Jose. Actually, it started much earlier, when the grandstands went up around the 4th of July, but today is the day the streets are closed. Last year, I worked just outside the perimeter of the track, but I've since changed jobs, so I'm actually on the track this year. In fact, it's right outside my window at work. Practice doesn't start until tomorrow, thankfully. However, since I'm a contractor, I'm grateful that I don't need to stay home today and tomorrow, like unlucky people who work inside the track.

I admit that it is kind of fun to drive, sedately, down a race track, with the barriers up and the empty grandstands, but it can be a little confusing at the lights, since the barriers make it hard to judge distances. But still, the cars make satisfactory Vrooom! noises against the barriers, even my 10 year old Pontiac.

On to knitting! I did something bad to my lace scarf, I'm still not sure what. Anyway, it looks rather sad at the moment, and I am frustrated. I seem to have lost four stitches, out of 36! And I can't figure out where, probably because I'm frustrated. So I've set it aside. I was going to work on one of my UFOs tonight, but they're all so hot. So I cast on for a sleeve of Curvalicious, for a KAL I was supposed to be working since May. I'm using Rowan Calmer and it's very pleasant to work with, even though I want to stick the wooden needles in a pencil sharpener. At least I had dpns in 7.

Well, so much for that!

2007-07-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

So, the aran handbag. It's kaput. The wandering cables were one thing, but when I managed to slip my fingers through the double moss stitch, well, that was something else entirely. I had to face the reality that my gauge was suitable for a sweater, but wasn't going to be a particularly useful handbag. The yarn calls for US 11, the pattern for US 10.5, and I should have used US 10, at least. There was no gauge given on the pattern, which should have been a hint. I think I was in knitterly denial - it'll be fine, I'll just line it. Right. I've knitted purses to be felted that were tighter. So I'm going to re-design the pattern to replace those braided cables that I don't like with a wandering "cable" that doesn't cross, use moss stitch instead of double moss stitch, and maybe make a few other minor changes.

Last night, I swatched my Socks That Rock. I got a whopping 7 stitches/inch. On 0's. It's a nice fabric, but I'm not sure it will be sturdy enough for socks. Am I doomed to knit socks in sport weight, just because that's the only way I'll be able to find needles small enough? I really don't want to contemplate knitting socks on delicate 00's, 0's feel dainty enough as it is.

I also went shopping at Colorsong Yarns, one of my favorite online yarn shops. I refrained from this, although I really, really want some. Luckily, someone finally bought out the Paris colorway, which was my favorite. Because really, what would I do with a single skein of hand-spun, hand-dyed cashmere? Besides drool on it, I mean. Buying more than one skein was out of the question, but I certainly envy those lucky people who ended up with 7 or 10 skeins of their favorite colorway.

Waiting for Harry...

2007-07-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

I managed to do something bad to my left hand (that would be my dominant hand), so I really haven't been knitting too much, except for the 4 rows a day (but not every day) on the aran handbag. I have managed to mangle the cables but good in one place - how do you choke a cable? There really are two stitches there, but it looks like one. I must have done a double-twist there. I've also mis-crossed, well, actually, not crossed a couple of times on the braided cable, so it looks particularly snake-like in those sections. It's been a fun knit, overall, and continuing on past the mistakes has taken some work on my part. Yes, cables are easy to fix, and I certainly could have ripped back, but I'm finding the mistakes interesting, a real change for She Who Has To Do Everything Perfectly, So Often Does Nothing Or Gives Up In Disgust.

My next project is the Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl, using Blue Moon Twisted! in Sherbet that I bought at Stitches in February. Here's a pic of it wound and ready to go:
I believe I've mentioned in the past my disdain for "dull" and "boring" colors? Well, this may be a bit bright, even for me. It reminds me of that rainbow stripe bubblegum I used to get when I was a kid. It didn't look that bright in the skein, really. See? Er, maybe it was. I wonder what an aran pattern would look like in Toasty Toes Las Vegas Brights?
Ow, stop hitting! :)

(Harry Potter has still not arrived, and I'm still waiting! Hurry it up, already!)

To frog or not to frog

2007-07-01T14:36:00.001-07:00

So, I've been knitting a dragon scale scarf in a pretty hand-painted yarn on my lunch breaks at work when I don't have to run errands. It takes half an hour to do one repeat, and I'm 1/3 of the way through. But I'm thinking that the yarn is too busy for the pattern.
What do you think? Too busy? Of course, it's not blocked yet, but I'm not sure blocking will help in this case.

So there I was, cabling along...

2007-07-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

And, whoops, hey, where'd all those stitches come from. Ack! Way back there, I skipped a cable. Sigh. Back I go, tink, tink, tink. Uncabling isn't any fun, either, especially since I'm on the line that has 6 cables, with 4 different cables. Whew, I made it. Back on the wrong side row. Uh-oh. Why do I have an extra stitch right here at the end. Nooooo! Peer at knitting. It appears that when I went back to that cable, I picked up an additional stitch. All the other cables and stitches are in the correct place, so, k2tog in the seed stitch! I'm going to end up ripping this, too, aren't I? Because there's still that row where I knit when I should have purled in the RS p1, k1, p1, WS k1, p1, k1. Maybe I'll drop down and pick those stitches up. Whimper. I know! It's an interpretation of the design!

Here's a pic:

Progress pics

2007-06-30T13:52:00.001-07:00

Skunk on the Lady Eleanor - looks cosy, doesn't he?

Poodle in progress - not much to look at yet

More poodle!

2007-06-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

I have finished the number of rounds in the pattern, but I don't think it's tall enough. I've been using the desk cleaner at work as the sample, but I think I really need to measure it against an air freshener can, preferably the same kind that my victim,er, recipient uses. Just from the small amount I've crocheted, I'm already building up a callus from the acrylic. I need to work wool for a while. Maybe this weekend. I have a gorgeous aran purse kit that I bought at Knitting Arts in Saratoga that I really ought to start on. It looks splendidly complex and it's a lovely tweedy cream-colored wool.

Or I could, you know, work on my neglected Lady Eleanor. The yarn makes me so cranky, though, it's almost as bad to work with as acrylic.

Poodle is begun!

2007-06-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

I started on the poodle yesterday at lunchtime. Since I had to run errands at lunch, I only got to round 5 on the body. I haven't crocheted in ages, so it took a couple of minutes to get up to speed. The H hook I have is fuschia, which definitely clashes with the bright pink, but I'm perserving. When I crochet the skunk, the hook will show up quite nicely against the black yarn. I'll post pictures when there's more to show.

After lunch:
I've finished another 8 rounds on the body. Now it looks like a small-ish beer can cozy. Maybe a beer bottle cozy? It's extremely bright pink. I think I may go blind before I finish. I'm using Caron Simply Soft Brites in Watermelon. If you've never seen this color in person, believe me, your monitor does not do it justice. I'll try to take pictures tonight.

Farting Poodle

2007-06-26T13:58:00.001-07:00

My sadly neglected blog! Poor thing. I haven't been knitting or crocheting much lately. I blame it on summer and the lack of air conditioning in my house.

I have, however, had a special request, for a skunk air freshener cover. I haven't yet found a pattern, but I did find the farting poodle. I think I will modify the pattern somewhat to produce a skunk. Unfortunately, all the white yarn at Michaels yesterday was somewhat grimy. Ick. I draw the line at skeining, washing, and winding Red Heart. Maybe I could use cotton instead? It's going to be crocheted, after all. I do have pink and black yarn, so maybe I'll make a punk poodle while I figure out how to modify the pattern. Oh, I know! I just had an inspiration. Now, to find some white, machine-washable yarn.

Mini Clapotis

2007-05-27T16:03:00.001-07:00

A very mini-clapotis. I used Schaefer Yarn Helene, in the Toni Morrison colorway. I was rushing to finish it, and didn't notice how long, or rather, how short, it really was. So it's not really even a short scarf. I may sew the ends together to make a cowl. It's definitely soft and luscious, though!

Grrr!

2007-04-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

That's it! If this project doesn't come out, I'm putting down the needles forever! Growl, snarl, snap. I can't seem to do anything right. I've frogged almost every single thing I've done this year and have haphazard piles of yarn to show for it. Not to mention the horrid Karaoke that is full of knots and is spun in varying weights from chunky to fingering weight. An entire bag full of knots and vegetable matter and random color matches. And sometimes, the yarn's not even knotted, it's just stuffed into the skein, loose. At least attempt to have a continuous skein, for crying out loud. It's very disconcerting to pull out random two foot strands from the center. Plus it's distinctly unpleasant to work with. I have have some older Karaoke in the stash that is nothing like this stuff. It's soft and easy to work with. And no knots! Phooey.

I started a project this afternoon that seems to be going well, so far. So far. I'm almost halfway done, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

Ok, I'm not really going to put my needles down forever. I just got another batch of Touch Me in lavender today. I have plans for it. Or maybe I'll just crochet. That will use up stash!

So slow

2007-04-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

I am so unmotivated about this project. I'm 10 rows from finishing the right front, and then I have the left front, the collar, and the edges to pick up. Sigh. At the rate I'm going, it won't be finished until summer. Endless rows of garter stitch is making me want to throw in some cables or bobbles or something, anything to liven it up. I was trying to finish it before starting anything else, but the end result of that is that I haven't done any knitting. I think I'll save this particular Lady for watching movies or knitting in public, and work on the Dragon Scale scarf, and the other Lady, Lady Eleanor. I have the Karaoke out where I can see it and it keeps whispering, "Knit me. I want to be Lady Eleanor. Knit me. You know you want to." Far be it for me to ignore yarn! :)

In the meantime, one of the cats has discovered that if he bats at a hank of yarn, delightful strings will pop out and the little brat mauled a skein of Socks That Rock. Luckily, I rescued it before he did any permanent damage. He's the one that needs to have the stress in his life reduced, according to the vet. I don't care how stressed he is, he still can't have my yarn. He's also discovered the swift, which he thinks is another toy. Too bad I can't teach him to wind yarn!

Dragon Scale Scarf

2007-04-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

I cast on last night for the Dragon Scale scarf from Heritage Yarns. I'm using Baywood Yarns superwash sport in Waves. I like the pattern, it's very simple and easy to remember. I modified it slightly by slipping the first stitch, since I prefer that to a garter edge in a scarf.

Lady of the Forest progress

2007-03-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

I'm making steady progress on the Lady of the Forest. I've just started the right front. I've made a couple of glaring (to me) errors, but so far, have managed to keep them on the wrong side, so I can live with them. I really like this colorway, it's perfect for spring.

Brea bag - finished!

2007-03-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

Whew! I really like to push deadlines, but it will go out in the mail tomorrow morning, and my exchange partner should have it by Wednesday or Thursday. The panels were the easiest and quickest part. The seed stitch gusset took forever, and finishing took almost as long. I forgot to crochet the tops until after I sewed the gusset, so it is a tad bit higher than it should be. All in all, it was a fun knit, and I love how it came out. I think I'll be making another one for myself. Since the purse handle came in a set of 2, I already have the handle. :)

Yarn: Cascade 220, 2 skeins
Color: 9420
Needles: 7

Hmmm

2007-03-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

I really didn't like this bag when I took it out of the washer after felting, but after a week or so, I think it's starting to grow on me. I've decided to go ahead and line it, add the buttons, and see what it looks like finished. There are still some holes in odd places, but I don't think they'll be noticeable once it's lined. I'll go ahead and see what happens.

Brea bag almost complete

2007-03-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

I just need to finish knitting the gusset and put it all together. It looks like it will need to be lined after all, but I think this bag deserves it. It's coming out very nicely so far. The front piece went much faster, since I got smart, and used a size 5 needle on the left, instead of a 7. Much less strain on my wrists that way, and the yarn didn't get nearly as fuzzy from being forced along. I'm a little leery of charts still, but I think this pattern would have been much, much easier to follow if I had charted it.

This is roughly what I envision the finished bag will look like. It's going to be hard to part with it! Once this is in the mail, I can get back to the Lady of the Forest. Or that yummy bag of Karaoke that wants to be a Lady Eleanor.

2nd bag for ITEIII

2007-03-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

My B4 bag didn't turn out too well, in fact, it could be a doll's purse and it's still not completely felted. So I'm making the Brea bag from Berocco instead. I had 2 skeins of Cascade 220 in a beautiful red in the stash, and since my pal's favorite color is red, I went for it. I'm almost finished with the back. Decreasing 8 stitches every other row certainly makes the rows go faster! After ripping row 3 back 5 times, I finally got the pattern, so the front should go much quicker. The fabric feels very heavy, so I'm hoping I won't need to line it. My sewing skills are pretty much non-existent. I found a great pair of handles at a LYS, along with a bamboo button that should give it a nice summery feel.

Oops. I fell off the wagon.

2007-03-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

I had an errand to run, for a friend, at a LYS, Full Thread Ahead. Honest! She was desperate for some Misti Alpaca Lace in Cranberry, and couldn't find it anywhere on the East Coast. Luckily, Full Thread Ahead had some in stock. So, poor me, I had drive up to Los Altos to pick it up for her.
I've been ruminating on a Lady Eleanor in SWTC Karaoke, and they had plenty, in just about every color. So I picked up a few skins, ok, a bagful in the New Splash colorway. I saw some color gradient kits at Stitches this past weekend in these same colors, and loved the colors, but didn't love the projects.

Then I was assaulted by a rogue skein of Schaefer Yarns Helene in the Toni Morrison colorway. It was absolutely stunning; I couldn't take my eyes off of it. There was a brief debate about whether or not I should get it that somehow morphed into, Do I want the Toni Morrison or the Indira Ghandi colorway? Toni Morrison won. Isn't it scrumptious?

I've also made progress on the Lady of the Forest since yesterday.The colors are nice and soft. They remind me of the trilliums my great-grandmother and I would find on walks in the redwood forest when I was growing up.

Lady of the Forest

2007-03-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

I've finally started on Lady of the Forest, a kit I bought last year, and promptly buried in the stash. I just wasn't liking anything else I had on the needles, so I decided to dig through the stash for inspiration. I found the kit and decided to cast on.
Skunk approves of the yarn, Fleece Artist Silk Stream in Paris Memory.

Here are the first 18 rows. It's a quick knit, and so nice to knit all the way across, after all these short rows I've been working!

Yarn! Yarn! And Even More Yarn!

2007-02-25T14:58:00.000-08:00

I had a blast at Stitches. Friday, I took Fine Finishing with Nancie Wiseman, which was great. Nancie's a good teacher, and had lots of tips. I can seam a sweater now without it looking like a Frankenknit! Today, Sunday, I took Short Rowing Bust Darts with Lily Chin. She's a kick, anda good teacher as well. I have a much better idea of how to plan a sweater from start to finish. No wonder nothing ever fit. I have some yarn in the stash...

Speaking of yarn, here's what I bought. I stayed within my budget, so I didn't get everything I wanted. There was some very expensive yarn I decided to splurge for on Friday, but their credit card machine broke just as I got to the counter, and I didn't have any checks. I guess I didn't need that yarn after all.

This is a locally dyed yarn from San Mateo, Baywood Yarns Superwash Sport in the Waves colorway. Yummy, isn't it? It has no purpose other than to be beautiful at the moment.

Some Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock in the Fire on the Mountain and January One colorways. I know, I know, I hated knitting that one sock, but sock yarn is so cute and collectible! These may even become socks someday.

This is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Twisted! in Sherbet. No project in mind yet, but it's nice and bright, isn't it?

Fleece Artist Sea Wool in Marine, companion to Handmaiden's Sea Silk. Stitches West was the US debut for this yarn. I think I'd like to actually make socks out of this. I personally like this better than Sea Silk, but then, I think silk smells funny, so make of that what you will.

Interlacements Toasty Toes in Las Vegas Brights. It may become a Lady Eleanor. I like it so far, but I'm only on the second tier. It is awfully bright. It's quite possible that you can see it from orbit.

Ceallach Dyes Sunuvasock! in Opinionated Pink. She uses solar dyes on her yarn and fiber. I think it's going to be a scarf.

Just Our Yarn Caravan, 65% wool, 35% camel down. I have no idea what I'm going to do with this, but I fell in love with the colorway. Not my usual style at all, as you can see. Maybe I'm reforming. Or I finally burned my retinas out. It's somewhere between laceweight and fingering, so maybe it will be a lace shawl.

I didn't get this at Stitches, but it came in on Thursday, so it counts. It's Louet Gems Worsted in Carribean Blue. I did have a project in mind, but I've changed my mind a couple of times since I ordered it.

And finally, Marta from White Lies Designs. The yarn above may go into this.

Coming soon - Yarn Pron!

2007-02-23T00:42:00.000-08:00

Yes, I went to the Stitches Marketplace on Thursday night. Yes, I spent money, but only half my budget, due to the excess of mohair (allergic) and silk (smells funny). I have class today, Fine Finishing. The woman I was in the registration line with took it last year and said it was...interesting. We'll see. Will post pictures either tonight or Saturday of my goodies. I'm too busy gloating over them right now. Plus, I really need to go to bed if I hope to get anything out of today's class.

The sock is complete!

2007-02-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

No pictures, though, it's a terrible sight to behold. :)

Tomorrow is Stitches! I think I'll swing by and pick up my registration packet tomorrow evening, so I don't have to stand in line early in the morning on Friday. I'm taking Fine Finishing with Nancy Wiseman all day Friday, and Short Rowing Bust Darts on Sunday with Lily Chin. I'm looking forward to it, although I do wonder what I was thinking, taking 9 hours of classes. Plus, I'll be in class all day Friday. Everyone else will get to the yarn before I do! *big grin*

I think I should work on my bag today. I could probably finish at least the body and some of the i-cord.

Lady E goes to the frog pond

2007-02-19T22:15:00.000-08:00

Again. Oh, well, third time's a charm, right? I have a jumbo ball of Silk Garden waiting for me to begin again. It's much easier to frog with a winder. Not as many tangles that way.

My sock is nearly finished, I've just left the grafting. Since it's been so long since I've grafted, I'm waiting for tomorrow night's class.

I've finished all of my swatches for Stitches, and finally admitted that a 7 was too loose for worsted, so I moved down to a 6. They look much better. I can't decide if I want to re-knit the others, or leave them as is.

I worked 5 rounds on B4 bag, just to remind myself that I can actually knit. After the past week's disasters, I was beginning to wonder if I should just put the needles down permanently. Nah. What fun would that be?

Socks and Lady Eleanor

2007-02-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

I am taking a sock knitting class. I thought I would enjoy it, I love knitting in the round. I don't. I'm not sure why, but I think I'll finish the sock for class, and that will be that. At least I tried it, right? More sock yarn for the sock addicts!

I started on Lady Eleanor, and then had to rip, since I made a serious mistake wayyy back in tier 1 and didn't notice until tier 3. Sigh. So I'm starting over again. I'm using Noro Silk Garden #243. It's a lovely colorway, and I'm enjoying knitting it.

I've almost finished my homework for Stitches. Just 2 1/2 swatches to go!

My B4 bag for the International Tote Exchange is on the back burner. I'll pick it up again after Stitches.

Tote Exchange III

2007-01-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I must be crazy, because I signed up for another exchange. :smile: This time, I think I'll be making the B4 bag, using a rose garden theme. Coincidentally, the area near where I live is called the Rose Garden. Here is the yarn I'll be using. The colors aren't quite right in the picture, the red is deeper than that. I've been thinking about this colorway for a while, so I may make another one for me!

Awesome gift from my secret pal!

2007-01-30T14:20:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures of the wonderful package I received from my secret pal from the SP9 exchange:

It came all the way from Singapore.

Here's the inside of the package:

The wrapped goodies:

And the unwrapped packages.

Included were stitch markers, a CD just for me!, and lots of other goodies. Thank you, I feel very spoiled.

PS to my secret pal: I'm terrible at games, so I couldn't guess your identity, sorry! ;)

Lovely knitting gift

2007-01-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

I received a very sweet parting gift from one of my co-workers last night. She gave me a pair of size 15 bamboo needles and 4 skeins of Bernat Bling-Bling. It is in peachy tones. I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. It's a real bear to knit with, and now I have 4 skeins of it! I've been thinking about doing some free form knitting or crochet, and making a sort of tapestry out of yarn and fiber, so perhaps this would be a good use for it.

To tote or not to tote?

2007-01-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

Tote Exchange III is coming up soon. Do I want to participate? On the one hand, it could be a great way to use up my stash, on the other hand, I didn't have much fun knitting for Tote Exchange II, ended up crocheting instead, and I definitely wasn't pleased with the outcome. On the other hand, I just gave notice at my job, and am planning to take some time off, so I might have a lot more free time to knit. I wonder if anyone would like a hot pink cabled tote? I could definitely do that from my stash. Hmm. Well, I have a couple of weeks to think about it.

I'm dawdling on my Vintage Velvet. I haven't even finished one repeat yet! It's not a difficult pattern, but Touch Me isn't very much fun to knit with, even though it's very soft. I think I need to knit something in a medium weight, smooth yarn for a while. I could start the Lady of the Forest, it's a nice worsted weight, straight forward pattern.

My precious Touch Me Due arrived today

2006-12-28T21:49:00.000-08:00

This is going to make the yummiest scarf, I can just tell. It's even prettier in person than it is online. And it's oh, so soft and squishy. Now where's my copy of Scarf Style? Maybe I'll cast on tonight for the Vintage Velvet. Ooh, it's going to be so pretty, I can't wait!

Ribbit, ribbit

2006-12-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

My final Christmas present went to the frog pond again. Luckily, I don't think I'm going to see her until after New Year's, and it's deadly quiet at work this week, so I think I can finish it by the end of the week.

My co-worker whose husband is in the ICU is coming in to work a half day today, so I can give her her present then. It's a lovely scarf from a Colorsong Yarn kit, in a colorway with teal, burgundy, and gold. I normally don't like fringe on my scarves, but this one cried out for it. I took a picture before I wrapped it this morning, but, like always, forgot to bring the camera to the computer. ;)

A lovely card

2006-12-19T09:05:00.000-08:00

I received a lovely holiday card from my knittee in the Scarf Exchange. I'm so glad that she likes her scarf. (P.S. It's perfectly safe to wear in the rain, it's superwash.)

I finally got a package out to my secret pal in the Secret Pal 9 exchange. I still have another package worth to send, but I think I'll send that first thing in January.

I just purchased enough Touch Me Due (in purple, of course) for Vintage Velvet from Scarf Style. Yummy! I love Touch Me, although I prefer it in its unfelted state, but I'm going to risk it for Vintage Velvet.

I'm alive, really!

2006-12-18T11:20:00.000-08:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I haven't posted at all. Anyway, I am down to the wire with Christmas presents. I have one that I haven't even started yet. I think I'll be buying her something, rather than knitting. I have 2 packages that must go out today if they are to arrive in time. I haven't decided if I trust the postal service, or if they'll be going 2nd day air via UPS.

One of my dear friend's husband is in the hospital with pneumonia. It seems there is something in the air here, as everyone seems to have a loved one in the hospital for one reason or another.

Pictures and Crochet Lace

2006-11-29T19:54:00.000-08:00

Here are my goodies from my secret pal, a scarf, a coin purse, bangles;

orange gummis, Pocky, green tea, green tea ice;

strawberry cough drops, origami papers and instructions and orange yarn. (The kitty paws came separately.)

I received my copy of Amazing Crochet Lace today. Lots of fun projects and a couple I want to tackle right away, although I'll have to go yarn shopping. Hmmm. I just got my registration confirmation for Stitches West and I did get the classes I wanted. Hurray! Maybe I'll save up my yarn money for February, though. It's only 3 months away. I have lots of yarn in the stash that I should use.

Secret Pal package arrived!

2006-11-27T23:56:00.000-08:00

I received a package from my secret pal in Singapore today, with lots of goodies, including some orange gummies that actually taste like oranges, and one intriguing package called Green Tea Ice, with the instructions written in Japanese. I'll have to take that into work to be translated. She also sent a beautiful wine & cream scarf, some pretty pink bangles, a cute purple coin purse, and some tiny origami papers with instructions (I know what I'm doing at work tomorrow!) and some dark orange yarn. I'll post pics this afternoon after work. Thank you, secret pal!

I had an uneventful holiday weekend, although I did finally put together my knitting bookshelf. Surprisingly, I still have room to add to my knitting book collection. :) The cats were fascinated by this new toy, and spent all day yesterday jumping on and off the bookshelf, and curling up next to the books.

No actual knitting was accomplished, but I spent some time planning out my next projects. And now I have that lovely orange yarn that wants to be a scarf, or maybe some fingerless gloves, or even a hat. Hmmm.

New scarf AND a new book

2006-11-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

I started a new scarf in elann's Baby Cashmere. It's a lovely burgundy color. It's another reversible cable scarf, but it's teeny-tiny. The cables are so cute at that size! It was going to be a Christmas present, but at that size, I'm not sure I'll finish in time.

I don't have anything else on the needles at the moment, which is a little disconcerting. However, I have the yarn and have swatched for Sally Melville's Not So Warm Coat, the lighter version of the Einstein coat. It's Patons Katrina in a lovely pale blue, perfect for blue jeans. I also have Ilga Leja's Lady of the Forest shawl kit, in Paris Memory, from Colorsong Yarns, which I've been meaning to start. But I just got Victorian Lace Today last night, and I'm so tempted by those, even though most of them are beyond my skills at the moment. They're simply gorgeous, though. I will not go to the LYS tonight, I won't, I won't. (Sure, that'll happen.)

The scarf is done!

2006-11-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

I finished my scarf for ISE III today. I couldn't get the cast off to match the cast on exactly, but it's close enough. I think it came out beautifully. I'm already planning a second scarf, with 3 reversible cables, 1 large and 2 small, one on each side of the large one. Maybe in a worsted or DK weight cashmere, for a skinny scarf scarf for a petite friend. Mmm, cashmere!

Oh, so very late!

2006-10-31T15:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of my tote for the International Tote Exchange. It's going out in the mail today. I'm not sure about it, but I hardly have time to do another.

Here's the lovely lace scarf I received in the International Scarf Exchange.

Now I have to finish my scarf for the exchange. I was hoping to be done by now, but no luck. Soon, though.

Progress, I hope

2006-10-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

So I think I'm making progress. I'm halfway done with my scarf for ISE III. It has, however, gotten quite boring to knit, cables and all. I hope 3 more hours will do it. maybe Stitch n' Bitch tomorrow will finish it off. So I'm working on my tote for ITE II instead. This is at least the 4th or 5th one I've attempted, so I'm really afraid of jinxing it by saying too much. It's crocheted instead of knitted, which seems to have taken some of the pressure off.

I've also been putting together my first shipment for my secret pal in Secret Pal 9. So far, I have, well, way too much stuff, but it's so much fun! I think I have almost enough for 3 boxes, one each month. I'm so much better at putting together gifts bags or boxes for people than I am actually making things. I think it's because I think of deadlines as "suggestions."

I received a post card from my secret pal in Singapore on Thursday. It definitely brightened up what had been a lousy day! Thanks, secret pal!

Disaster strikes

2006-10-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had two nasty knitting disasters. One, the purse refused to felt and dyed itself mud brown. It is spectacularly ugly. Two, the yarn linen yarn I bought and brought home to wind? Towards the end of the skein, it flew off the ball winder. Ok, I stop and check, it's wrapped around the ball winder. I have remove the ball winder from the table to get the yarn off of it. Then I realize that it is hopeless tangled, so I decided to wind it back into a skein on the swift, whereupon it promptly knots itself around the base of the swift. So I have to remove the swift from the table and fight to get the yarn off of it. At this point, it is a hopelessly tangled mess and I don't have time to deal with it. At least it wasn't laceweight, I suppose.

Nearly there...

2006-10-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

I went to a UFO Night at the LYS and made serious progress on my scarf for ISE III. They had shipment of cashmere just in, but I nobly refrained. I didn't even look, because if I had, I would have bought.

My tote for ITE II is on the stove at a full boil as I write. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I've been having fun looking for things to spoil my SP9 secret pal with. So far, I've made a purchase on Amazon, but finding actual yarn is more difficult, as I like bright, varigated yarn and my pal likes earth tones and solid colors. It's good for me, though, right? Plus, I can stay on my yarn diet, because it's not for *me*.

I received *my* scarf from ISE III today, from Lesley in Denver. It's a grape colored Branching Out scarf in Kid Seta.

I also received my bag from Rikako in Kyoto, Japan. It's a lovely red/pink/white crocheted bag. It is so me!

What a month!

2006-10-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be sooo easy to participate in the International Scarf and International Tote exchanges. Boy, was I wrong! I haven't been even been able to knit much for the past month. I'm having some weird dizziness, so I can't even hold the darn needles. I finally managed to finish a tote, even if it wasn't the one my partner was expecting. I hope she likes it! It still needs to be felted, and handles attached. I think I'm going to skip the lining, though. I just don't have time.

As for the scarf, it's a good thing it's in chunky yarn on 15 needles. What there is of it is quite lovely, though. I am doing some major cleaning this weekend, so I hope to have lots of knitting time after that's all done.

My projects will be finished and received in time, even if postage costs more than the project. My goal is to have them in the mail next week. Luckily, both recipients are in the US, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Secret Pal 9

2006-10-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I like almost all animal fibers. I find cotton, linen, etc, to be rather hard on my hands. Acrylics, it depends. If it's really soft, I make allowances. :) I find silk stinky, but silk blends of less than 30% are ok. I'm not allergic to any yarns, but I even find baby alpaca scratchy, make of that what you will.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Nothing in particular, although I do have the Denise & KnitPicks Options sets. The needles tend to wander away, though. I confess that I own far too many of Martha's bags, http://www.greenmountainknittingbags.com.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting almost a year and consider myself a beginner. I learned at a LYS from a wonderful teacher. I'm very left-handed, so it took some doing to get it right. I've recently started knitting backwards instead of purling, but that only works if it's a whole row of purling. I haven't figured out how to do cabling or ribbing that way yet.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I do, but it's more of a private shopping list right now. I'll see if I can make a public one soon.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
I prefer citrussy, woodsy or "clean" or "fresh" scents. I find most flowery fragrances too cloying. No candles, please, the ceiling is awfully sooty from all the candles I used to burn.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Yes. Red Vines, red Swedish fish, sour gummy-type candies, toffees and coffee candies. Oh, and fresh saltwater taffy, I grew up on the beach. NO chocolate. I'm not allergic, but I really don't care for it. Heresy, I know. :)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I also crochet. I would love to spin and quilt, but I am studiously avoiding these activities, as I live in a small house! Me, the cats, and the yarn are quite enough without adding fabric and fleece to the mix.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like country music, favorite artists are Johnny Cash & Mary Chapin Carpenter. I can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love hot pinks & purples, and deep jewel tones. I dislike earth tones.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
It's just me, the cats and the yarn! The yarn is winning.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves only occasionally as I live in a fairly warm climate.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I'm still a beginner, so it's all fun to me right now.

13. What are you knitting right now?
A scarf for the International Scarf Exchange, due 11/1. Yikes! I'd better get going.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I love seeing other people's creativity. For example, I joked with a co-worker who was taking cake decorating classes that I would probably never get a wedding cake of my own, so when she made her mini-sample for class, she gave it to me. So sweet!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I prefer circular needles for almost everything. Pointy tips are most important to me, since I'm a tight knitter. I have lots of bamboo straights, but didn't care for the one bamboo set of circs I had. The join was way too squeaky and very annoying.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes to both. That means I can escape the LYS without buying the store while waiting for the yarn to be wound.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
December, I think. I started on the Einstein Coat, and it has been swatched and started and frogged and re-started... Then I have a sweater from April, Bombshell from Big Girl Knits.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
That's a hard question. Probably Halloween. I love seeing the costumes, especially on the little tiny kids. I don't celebrate Christmas.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Dragons! Any kind of dragon, sculpture, glass, stuffed, bookmarks, jewelry, I love all kinds of dragons, but especially Oriental and Welsh dragons.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Hmmm. I tend to indulge myself, so let's see. I don't know, there seem to be a lot of luscious yarns out for fall, and I'm trying to stick to my yarn diet, so any yarn that just came out this fall would be good, for example, Rowan Tapestry, and almost all of the new Crystal Palace lines.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Lace. I keep saying I'm going to start, and I have patterns and yarns for them, but I haven't started yet.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
No socks yet. That's a lot of knitting! No idea, but I wear a US 8, and I have extremely high arches. :)

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
June 12.

Yarn for the International Exchanges

2006-09-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

I finally have pictures of the yarn I'm using for the exchanges. First is the yarn for the International Tote Exchange II. My pal wants a very subdued and simple felted bag, so I'm using Cascade 220 in navy, with a little Rowan Lurex Shimmer for some zing.

Next, I chose another yarn for the International Scarf Exchange III. This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky in the popular colorway, "The cat thought the skein band was a toy." I like the colors better now that I'm knitting them up. I'm using a reversible cable pattern, which is very easy and fun to knit.

I have 1 1/2 repeats finished here.

While I was in the LYS, I couldn't resist this, Lorna's Laces Revelation in Watercolor. It was so pretty, I had to have it.

Blogger won't allow pics, but here's the post anyway.

More yarn!

2006-09-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

For me, that is. I still haven't found the right yarn for my International Tote Exchange II partner. It seems like everyone else is finished already. It just started last week! I have until Halloween. Don't worry, partner, you'll get a tote sooner or later, probably later.

I spent $50 on yarn today: 4 skeins of Cascade Pastaza in a beautiful pewter color, 1 skein of CPY Squiggle in pink/orange, 2 skeins of CPY Little Flowers in red/pink/purple and orange/red, 1 skein of CPY BeBop in chocolate almond, and 1 skein of a Trendsetter railroad yarn in reds/purples. I didn't mean to purchase yarn for me today, but it was on clearance sale and it was pretty. Will post pics soon.

I can't wait to get the name of my partner for the International Scarf Exchange. And I just signed up for Secret Pal 9. Yes, I've jumped into the exchanges. How else am I to diminish the stash or excuse the purchase of more yarn when I'm supposed to be on a yarn diet? I think my stash has enough yarn to get me through to Stitches West in February. Of 2009. A mere piker, I know.

My LYS is hiring and I. Will. Not. Apply. I know I'd take all of my wages home in yarn.

New knitting bag and WIP

2006-08-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

I received my large carpet bag from Green Mountain Knitting. Isn't it stunning? Martha always does such a fantastic job! I confess that I own 4 of her wonderful bags and will try to remember to post pictures of the rest this week.

Here is the Noni bag I'm currently working on. It's a modified version of the medium carpet bag using 3 colors instead of 2. I'm about 1/3 of the way through. Yes, I'm knitting at work and no, they don't mind. I'm really liking the way the colors go together on this bag. My LYS wasn't too sure about these colors together, so I'll have to take it in to show off when it's complete. This is going to be a gift for a friend, which I only discovered after I started knitting. She just loves brown and I know she'll love this bag.

3 FOs!

2006-08-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

This is my wrap in Noro Iro #56, with KnitPicks Sierra in Bud in the center. As you can tell from the picture, it's quite substantial, as only 2/3 of it are visible. My girl kitty seems particularly fascinated by it.

This scarf is for a co-worker who mentioned about 4 or 5 times how much she loved the colors in this yarn, Noro Silk Garden, not sure of the color.

This is another co-worker birthday present, in Noro Silk Garden #239 (I think that's the right color). This is a pattern I made up on the fly. I think it came out quite nice, although I think I'd make the boxes more rectangular if I made it again.

Stash enhancement!

2006-07-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

I hit my LYS today for necessary supplies. I need to knit up several gifts in the next 2 months and when I checked my stash, I realized that virtually everything is either hot pink, purple or hot pink and purple, with a little dash of burgundy.

So I tried to step out of my normal color range. Not too far out of my comfort range. I'll post pics later.

I've almost finished my purple/pink/green wrap. It's Noro Iro in #56, with a skein of KnitPicks Sierra in Bud thrown in for good measure. The colors are delicious, they remind of a water garden. I'll probably finish it tonight, it's easy knitting.

Crochet bag finished!

2006-07-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

I finished my crochet bag tonight. Now I just need to finish the shawl and scarf and I can cast on for a new project!

More beads!

2006-06-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

I got my box o' beads yesterday and Folk Shawls. I'm ready to start knitting lace. My first project will be the Butterfly Shawl in a, what else? hot pink yarn. The yarn should be here next week sometime. Can't wait to start.

Work is slow today, so I brought in my crocheting stuff and hope to finish the bag today.

Got a couple of rounds in

2006-06-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

I worked a few rounds on my crochet-in-the-round bag last night. I also bought a zipper for the Sakura circle bag, so I plan on finishing that tonight. I am impatiently waiting for my vacation to start tomorrow evening - a entire week of knitting & crocheting time. My intention is to finish my shawl and round bag on vacation, so I can cast on for the 2nd B4 bag.

Ta da!

2006-06-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

The B4 bag is finished! The fabric isn't as firm as I would have liked, which could either be due to the acrylic or the fact that I felted it by hand, er, foot in the bathtub. I am happy with the way it turned out, though. I'm planning on making another one with Patons Merino, which I've heard felts up fast. They are a lot of fun to make, so I don't know if I can stop with just two!

I decided that I need to finish all of my projects on the needles (and hook) before I can cast on anymore projects, including the second B4 bag. That would be my Touch Me scarf, the crochet purse, the crochet shawl and Bobblicious from Knitty, as well as finishing and putting the zipper on my round bag. It's just so much more fun to start projects than to finish them!

Finished the B4 bag!

2006-06-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

I finished knitting the B4 bag last night and felted it. Here's a pre-felting picture. It should be dry tonight, so hopefully I'll have time to sew the buttons on.

I splurged on beads at http://www.shipwreckbeads.com this morning. I have lots of projects in mind for them!

Pictures!

2006-06-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

I finally got pictures of some of my projects:

B4 bag

Summer shawl:

I did knit a few more rounds on the B4 last night. I'm not as far along as I thought I was, but it's looking very pretty. I can't wait until it's finished!