Grrr!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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.

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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?

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

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!