Two Rows of Fish

I finished the "Mother-of-Pearl" color and "bubble" lace for the seashore shawl and started the darkest blue. I knit two rows in garter and six rows in Stockinette then started the lace pattern for fish--got one row in pattern and one purl row done. I should listen to my instincts more often--I don't love the spacer rows but there are too many stitches to frog unless I make a mistake.

I Am a Process Knitter

I read somewhere that some people are project knitters--they want to work on something because they like the progress, and other other process knitters--people who like the planning and starting etc. That's me. Which accounts for the inventory to over 100 started and unstarted projects in my closet. I gave the two baby sweaters pictured here as gifts recently so there is evidence that I actually do finish things--eventually. The neckwarmer has been done for months now but I just recently weaved in the ends. I bought the yarn, which is silk cashmere from Elsebeth Lavold several years ago in Dallas, TX. It's almost too pretty to wear.

Tiny Bubbles

I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on my new seashore inspired shawl but I have been having fun with it. The first photo shows how large it is--290 stitches! The second is a close up of the "bubble" lace pattern I started for the bottom edge. The bottom few rows do look like bubbles, but then I put it down for a few days and when I continued, forgot I was spacing each YO row with three additional rows (P K P). I thought it would look more frothy but am getting a mesh feeling from it. Since the next row will be fish, still will work, right? Have to clean up around the house and also have work work to do, so I'm not sure how much progress I'll make this weekend. I'm hoping to at least finish the bubbles and get in a couple of rows of fish!

In the Mood

I've been so busy at work that I haven't been able to spend any time online and have had precious little time to knit, much less update this blog. Well, can't complain considering the alternative, right?

I need a better storage system for my yarn--I have a problem working on one thing at a time and I'm always pulling out multiple projects at once and somehow they don't get put away...I like to keep them close at hand. I thought I might get a handle on the projects I have by assembling a list of projects on needles as well as yarn in my stash. There are over 110 items on the list--time for a purge, I think.

I hae been looking for a KAL to participate in and really liked the Yahoo group for the Creatures of the Reef shawl. You work at your own speed, which is entirely up my alley. However, finding the pattern has been a problem--it's not the cost of the pattern (which is about $12.), it is the S&H (which is about $10.50!). Frustrated, I checked my LYS. They don't carry the Fiddlesticks line but said they would look into it for me. But they also suggested that I could design my own shawl, which we are doing...I'm so excited.

We're using Mica from Berrocco and I'm knitting on #4 Addi Turbos for lace. I bought the second Barbara Walker book because that has most of the patterns although I also bought another pattern for a shawl that had nautical themes as well as one of the Great American Afghan booklets. I feel like I shouldn't say too much about it because it will jinx my progress, but I can't resist.

The final size should be about 60" long x 20" tall. I cast on 290 stitches in Mother of Pearl last night and started a shell pattern but got all jumbled up, so I switched to bubbles. I got through 12 rows which is just about a full skein of Mica (108 yards). I hope to get through another 12 rows of bubbles, then I'll switch to Vivianite, an almost navy blue and knit in some fish. After that, I'll use Abalone, a silvery gray, to knit fish hooks out of the BW book and then I'm switching to a nice sandy beige (can't tell which it is from the color card) to represent the shore. I really really really liked the starfish in the Reef shawl but couldn't find a pattern but found one yesterday--I ordered Ocean Breezes: Knited Scarves Inspired by the Sea from Barnes & Noble and hope to have it in hand later this week. I need to decide whether to switch colors for the starfish or if I want to use the same beige I'll use for the sand. I have some Tilli Tomas Disco Lights in beige as well as one skein of brown---I'm a sucker for sequins anyway. Or I could just get some brown and have it represent wet sand.

Shaina from The Skein Attraction found a pattern for a gingerbread house in the BW book--I'm going to put that in the middle of the back in the sandy color and I am making applique crabs and snails from the Great American Afghan booklet in Cinnabar and Purple Pectin. Then I'm finishing it off with an edging pattern from one of Nicky Epstein's books--I'm using a blue called Lazulite, which is meant to represent the sky, but I'm using a pattern that looks like a wave.

In other news, Adina (also from Skein) wrote a pattern for me so I can make my youngest niece a shrug with some Tilli Tomas Disco Lights--I only have two skeins in a very light pink--gives me 450 yards. I started this yesterday so I can work on it on the bus--there's no shaping for anything to keep track up so should be easy enough to commute and work on it.

I'm also trying to make the Aran sweater for the American Girl doll. Berrocco had a free pattern online recently, however, I haven't been able to find Comfort in DK weight and I'm struggling to get gauge.

Finally, Shaina was wearing a great sweater on Saturday and I had to get the pattern and some Euroflax in Terra Cotta for myself. I started it but frogged it because I don't like the increases...need to give that some attention.

What A Day

We have a new president! I was watching coverage on NBC news and the anchors were joking about how they became emotional as they watched President Obama being sworn in. Well, me too. I'm hoping this is the being a wonderful new era for us.

Sadly enough, another era ended for me and my family yesterday--we said good-bye to my grandfather who was 101 years old. You can't be sad too long when you think about it but it's still hard. I had made a list of all the wonderful things he saw in his lifetime when he turned 100--too bad he didn't get to see this day.

What does this have to do with my knitting? Well, I still haven't finished my inauguration day scarf that I started in February 2008 and was supposed to finish and wear today. But I did give my youngest niece a new pink scarf made from a fuzzy polyester called Cocoon from Universal Yarns. I'll post a picture of it later.

Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to take pictures of my nieces and nephews before the funeral yesterday. Aren't they a great bunch?

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted, but considering how hectic the holiday season can be, I shouldn't be surprised. Thanksgiving was at my house and I had decided to make everything from scratch this year--delicious but very ambitious and I have a tendency not to read recipes through completely in advance of cooking. Good thing my mother was here to help.

I am the eternal optimist and convinced myself that the year end at work would be quiet and I would be able to accomplish much of my holiday goals in the weeks before. Wrong, again. It was however a wonderful holiday and I can't complain. I took a cooking class at the Institute for Culinary Education, spent Christmas day at my sister's home, where everyone gathered and unfortunately we didn't take pictures! and went to Hershey Park in PA for a few days.

The photos with this post show my Muses, a wildly successful store-bought Christmas gift and a handknitted one--the neckwarmer is the Elsbeth Lavold pattern I posted about previously.

I visited my LYS several times over the holidays and that is always fun. I am making a few things that I will post later.

Back from Baltimore

I've been tremendously busy of late. I changed jobs on October 1 and also signed up for several writing classes. Between work and my homework assignments, I haven't had much time to blog but will make an effort to bring this up to date especially since I've been working on many new projects.

I decided, perhaps too ambitiously, that I would make scarves and neckwarmers for everyone in my family and present them at Thanksgiving (which is, you know, two weeks from yesterday!). I've got three versions of neckwarmers for the ladies: a cabled design with ruffle from Elsebeth Lavold, a pattern from a recent holiday knit magazine (details to follow with photo) and simple circular knits. I'm using a silky blend (new yarn--need to update with the details) with two strands of Koigu for the ruffled neckwarmers--I did one with only one strand of Koigu already and it's okay but a little too short. I got Torino in bright red and greens for the magazine pattern--I have two darling buttons that look like candy cane stripes for the red and got red glass buttons for the green version. The simple neckwarmers are my own (extremely simple) design--I'm using Zara mixed with New Smoking for red and white stripes for one and red and white baby alpaca for the other. I bought some tiny red and green bells to knit into the second one for holiday cheer. I also have some fancy white yarn with little beads that look like snowmen already wound in for one of my nieces.

The scarves for men are going to be more challenging just because they need to be longer. I am making a seed stitch scarf with alternating colors of Frog Tree Alpaca for my dad. You start with 3 strands of color A for 5" then switch to 2 strands of A and 1 strand of B. Then 1 strand of A and two of B, then three of B, etc. I have red alpaca for my brother-in-law and green alpaca for my niece's fiance. And red wool for both nephews. I'm toying with the idea of red and green stripes--need to see how it goes.

I didn't really didn't buy much yarn at Stitches although I did get a kit to make needle felted elves for Christmas as well as molds for needle felting little shapes. I got roving in holiday colors and the molds are leaves and berries and snowflakes--you've picked up on the holiday theme, no doubt. I'm thinking of a red sweater for my youngest niece and embellishing it with these things--but I feel like gifting something like that on Christmas is a waste because the time to wear it is so short. Maybe I'll make it a Valentine's Day theme...

I did snatch up some nice black yarn that has silver flecks in it--knitted up into a shawl, it looks like there are spots of silver on it--very nice for evening wear and it's knit on BIG needles. I also got some new Colinette Zanziba and Fandango. I loved the sample but didn't realize that the pattern was One Size Fits Most. I ordered extra of each yarn (they are knit together) so I could size up a little but have gotten bogged down in the math. The pattern calls for size 19 needles. I'm a loose knitter in general and tend to go down two needle sizes for regular needles and at least one size down for the larger needle sizes. I don't like the look on #19s as it is too loose but can't get gauge on #15 and #17. I'll put that down for a while and focus on other things.

I got some beautiful sweater picks from the Great Yarns booth at Stitches to gift along with the neckwarmers and lovely beaded handles for a bag from the same place.

I had a hard time selecting classes for Stitches this year. There are several teachers who I enjoy very much--Melissa Leapman, Lily Chin, Chris Bylsma (sp?) and Gwen Bortner are a few. One of the things I've found is that the class description doesn't always accurately communicate what the class is about. For instance, last year I took a color class--I thought we were talking about theory and in reality it included intarsia knitting, which I do not know how to do, which frankly blew. So I'm pretty careful. I was signing up for a Saturday afternoon class with the same teacher as the class for Sunday morning. I'd never taken a class with her before and knew it was a risk and (unfortunately) threw caution to the wind and signed up anyway.

What a CRAB!!!!!!!

Our classroom was at the back of beyond and I was a few minutes late. She didn't greet me but was compelled to shriek at me to sit upfront. I don't know if you have ever been to one of these classes, but they are typically set up classroom style and in the manner of first come, first served, people spread out and move their chairs. I was not interested in sitting squished between two people who are already nesting or getting stuck by the table leg and sitting uncomfortably for three hours. And that was just the first three minutes.

After much consideration, I bagged the class Sunday morning and will eventually get around to sending Rick Mondragon a strongly worded letter about this experience.

We had incredibly gorgeous weekend in Baltimore and I set off for home at around nine in the morning; stopped in East Brunswick to pick up my coats that were in winter storage and drove right up to The Skein Attraction in Teaneck, my LYS. There, of course, I was greeted warmly. They were holding a copy of the new Mason/Dixon book for me and I bought more holiday yarn as well as some Manos to make the bag to match the handles I bought at Stitches.

I had seen a lot of ruffles at Stitches and wondered if there were an easy way to accomplish this. They came up with an awesome idea to use Touch Me in between the Manos to create that effect after felting. I'm so excited to see how this turns out. The colors of the beads on the handles are different shades of pink, black and maroon. The Manos is pinky maroon and the Touch Me colors are wine, a similar maroon-ish color and light pink. It might get a bit tedious because I have to increase 50% of stitches when I go from Manos to Touch Me then decrease those stitches when I go back to Manos and I'm going to do it three times. but I think it will be worth it. I ordered the mesh to put in the felted bag from the Yarn Lady today and still need to find someone to line the bag for me and attach the handles, but I'm excited--can you tell?

I'll try to get pictures up this weekend so show you what I've been up to.

I Love Sparkly Things

Unfortunately I'm having a problem keeping track of my projects. I started this Artful Yarn shrug--it's brown silk mohair with beads and sequins, but I can't find it! Have to make my way through the piles of summer clothes set aside for the semi-annual closet turnover to try to uncover it as well as my pearls (yes, I'm on a roll--in a downward direction!).

So in the meantime, I started a bolero using Trendsetter Aura. I thought it was a beige color but it ends up being gray. I like it a lot and it's going fairly quickly. However, I only have three skeins and will need more. I haven't checked to see if the color is available--oh I like living on the edge. I'm going to need a metallic yarn in light worsted weight for the trim.

It's Fall

And where has September gone? I can't really say I've been excessively busy so I have no good excuse for not posting. To catch you up, I mailed the last package to my SP 12 recipient. I'm not sure she liked the last package--she never alerted me that she received it but did mention it on her blog. This time I gave her a hand-dyed purple nubby skein that would make a nice scarf, a skein of ombre sock yarn--I forget the name of it but I was intrigued because the fiber is impregnated with some kind of lotion that rubs off on the knitter's hands to moisturize them and then also moisturizes the feet of the wearer of the socks--so clever! I also put in a tiny skein of novelty yarn--it's beaded and purple. The yarn is rounded out with a purple tape measure, needle sizer pendant and some NYC souvenirs. I hope she likes it as much as I liked my SP 12 packages.

Actually, I LOVED my packages--every single one of them. The last package had some beautiful ombre fingering weight yarn and three (yes, I said THREE!) skeins of Debbie Bliss Pure Cashmere--oh so beautiful. I swear I went and washed my face so I could rub them on my cheek--they are so soft and fluffy--I love them! There were also other goodies in the package, like a really nice knitting journal and some KnitPick needles and chocolate--a wonderful bar of Godiva chocolate that I ate on the spot and something very unusual--its called Brix. At first I thought it was a bar of soap because it comes packaged elegantly in a box. On closer inspection I realized that it is a bar of chocolate specially formulated to enhance the flavor of red wine. Now that is a wonderful idea, don't you agree? Thank you, Barb (sipknitter)!

Since I cannot ever work on just one thing, I have made some progress on my Rowan Cocoon pullover, the Tahki Bianca/Blue Sky Suri Merino cardigan and that (darned) Log Cabin blanket. I have also started a Snuggle for the Sit and Knit NY group, a hat for Hat Attack 2 and a neck warmer for the Sit and Knit NY exchange.

I love the neckwarmer--I had gotten the pattern in Dallas, TX a while ago and have some yarn to make it with, but never got the chance (or was motivated--I think I was daunted by the cables and ruffles involved). The woman I was assigned wanted cables so I found the pattern, bought some Frog Tree merino at Modern Yarn in Montclair, NJ and cast on. The cable is actually a "mock" cable so it was pretty quick to knit the main body. The first ruffle is knit on the bottom and then a second ruffle is knit along the cast on edge. I finished the first ruffle last night and picked up the stitches for the second ruffle and started working the increase rows early this AM. I'm a little confused because I picked up the 130 stitches on the RS but you're supposed to start on the RS--my fault for not understanding the instructions. So I had made it through four rows of the second ruffle and wanted to finish the last three and bind off at lunchtime today, but realized that I was making the ruffle backwards! So I ripped it back--luckily I just went down to the first row and didn't have to go through the pick up exercise again (that was a little tricky!). So I'm now where I thought I was this morning. Hopefully I can finish it this evening. The exchange meeting isn't until early October, but I do want to wash it and block it nicely. I'm debating whether to crochet on loops for buttons or not.

I have taken two classes at the Skein Attraction in Teaneck, NJ recently. The first one was to make a scarf with a reversible cable in Touch Me. I struggled a bit with the pattern on either side of the cable and realized I was working too loosely. Touch Me has a tendency to worm and even though I'm going to felt the scarf, it would be obvious. So that had to be frogged.

I did much better at the Charlotte's Web class. This is lace knitting using Koigu. I had originally bought yarn in blue colorways and tried making it on my own with limited success. I opted for new colors in an autumnal (browny-beige-greenish) colorway and with the wonderful instructions from Adina at Skein, was able to "get" it. I don't always pay close enough attention and have to do a lot of counting and tinking to ensure I have the right number of stitches but I am in love with it. The colors are gorgeous, if I do say so myself, and this is going to be a work of art (again, if I do say so myself).

The other things I'm excited about the new spiral hat I'm making myself with Kureyon and novelty yarn and the cardigan I'm going to make in Suri Merino in a gray colorway called Fog. I am toying with the idea of cat buttons--I have several that are rather small and each has a mouse dangling from it. I guess I have lots of time to decide since I haven't cast on yet.

And finally, I am dead. I received the death blow from my assassin in Hat Attack 2 yesterday. I have to say though that I am delighted. She knit it in brown and white which are excellent colors for me and the hat is large enough for me to wear (unlike the weapon I got in Hat Attack 1). Unfortunately for my assassin, redhead1968, I haven't made much progress on my hat so I'm mailing it off to her today so she can finish it and "off" my target. I have to say, I didn't mind getting killed when I got the hat!

More SP 12 Questions

The first question was something about your proudest knitting moment. For me, this was when I was showing my mother a spiral hat I knit with Kureyon and novelty yarns. She said "Your grandmother would be so proud of you."

The second question was about the best thing you ever received in the mail. This is a hard one. I love love love getting packages of yarn and chocolate and books and make up. I also like getting postcards and letters from people traveling, especially my nieces and nephews. I'm going to have to think about this some more.

Postscript

The first photo is the beginning of the hat for my younger niece--it's made of Kureyon which is a bit scratchy for a child but we'll see if she likes it. I selected this colorway because it's got a lot of pinks in it. She's a big big fan of pink. She has told me that red is the darkest pink. I'm not sure I agree but don't see the value of arguing that one!

We're all excited because my older niece just got engaged. What kind of knitting does one do for a bride? I'll have to do some research.

Meanwhile, I found a Rowan pattern book for Cocoon. I have two colorways in my stash and love working with it, however, the first project was going to be a lace knit lap throw and I couldn't get past the first 20 rows and the second one was going to be a cabled sweater but I got stuck on the "meandering" part of the meandering cable. There are plenty of really nice patterns inside and they are sized appropriately for me. You have to love that. I'm not sure which manufacturer I love more--Rowan or Blue Sky Alpaca. Luckily I don't have to choose!

Fall is Coming

I've been pondering the state of my wardrobe for the fall as well as the many, many WIPs I have stashed around the house. Inspired by a review of my knitting books, I pulled out some old old old Takhi Bianca yarn originally intended for a sweater for me. This was back in the day when I didn't understand the value of gauge and ended up with something ginormous and promptly frogged it and have been saving the yarn for something new. Sally Melville has a pattern called "not your mother's suit jacket" (or coat) in her Purl book and I've begun knitting away.

The pattern calls for a super bulky yarn mixed with a bulky yarn knit on a size 13 needle at 7 stitches to 4". Bianca is technically super bulky and I swatched it on 13s and 15s by itself and got about 9 stitches to 4" on both. Not sure how that is possible but off to the LYS I went. I went to Modern Yarn in Montclair, NJ. They are open Sundays, have very cool yarn organized nicely and the owners are very nice and helpful. I finally chose Blue Sky Alpaca Suri Merino to mix in--it's 60% baby suri and 40% merino. The color is called "fog"--a very pale gray. It's super soft and a little fuzzy (but not so much that I am picking pieces of it out of my mouth--I hate working with that kind of yarn). Anyway, it's luxurious--it actually says "Opulent meets orthodox."

I started knitting last night. You can't really see the suri knit it because it blends with the black, white and gray of the Bianca. You see a very faint haze right now--I'm wondering if that increases over time. In either event I love it. I'm winding up with a very stiff fabric. I'm making size Large which should be big on me, but I believe if it doesn't work out for me, it is beautiful enough for a gift. Look at the progress I made in one night! I have to admit my hands got sore but I love that there's so much progress. That's about 42 rows. I'm still on the first ball of suri and started the 4th ball of Bianca.

Truth be told, I ordered more suri in "Dusk" which is a charcoal gray, for a sweater for me. More on that another time. I also picked up some red and green Cascade for a holiday pillow I saw online and a ball of Kureyon for a hat I saw online that I'm trying to size for my niece.

Now for my confession. I did not finish a single item that I intended to complete during the Ravelympics. Not one. Never even looked at them. Had the best intentions. Planned and planned and planned to do it. Oh well. There's always 2012. I hear Michael Phelps will be there.

SP 12 Question 10

This week's question is: What Olympic event would best describe you knitting/knitting style? Is there a Stop 'n Start event? I actually signed up for the Ravelympics in the WIP Wrestling category and have not touched a single project that I registered in the event. I have, however, started a brand new project using Blue Sky Organic Cotton for a cardigan for me--I need to look up the pattern--I got a slew of new knitting magazines last weekend and have been salivating over the different styles.

And I made some progress on my Rowan Handknit DK top from BGK--it's a tank top. I'm very proud to announce I used short row shaping for the first time. I watched Cat Bordhi's video instructions on YouTube a few times before I went off on my own to do it. I think it turned out pretty well. Now I just have to keep going...it's going to be time for woolens before I'm done!

I have the best SP in the world!

Seriously. I do. My August package arrived from Bram and it is spectacular! She remembered my birthday is this month and I think she went through my profile and found wonderful wonderful treats to honor each of my preferences. There's a book on dreams, a relaxation CD and scented candle plus some Chanel No. 5 (my favorite!), chocolate biscuits (it took a lot of willpower to not open the package last night), a 2009 datebook, a bookmark (I'm a big reader) and some clean linen scented potpourri. The yarn she sent is magnificent--some Malabrigo--that's something I have always wanted to try--I'm going to make a hat with it because the color matches my coats. It looked like Manos to me but is so so much softer--I kept rubbing it against my face (is that weird?). And then there is some baby alpaca called Fable--I had never seen it before. It too is oh so soft and I love the color. I'm thinking I should make a scarf with it--the color will bring out the color of my eyes.

I love it, Bram. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Finder's Keepers

I brought an aran scarf back from Ireland for my brother. My cat Lucy has adopted it for herself so I'm not sure it is ever going to make it to him. She's actually very shy and well behaved so it was a surprise that she kept pulling it down and wrapping herself in it--I couldn't catch a shot of that but I assure you, it's hilarious.

New SP Question

This week's question is about whether we have ever entered our knitting (or anything else) in the fair and/or would we ever consider it? No, I've never entered anything of mine in a competition for judging. I would however consider it. As you can see, I'm rather pokey in terms of trying to get a project done, but these days, my work is fairly nice. Perhaps not Stitches Fashion Show nice, but nice.

Aran Sweaters

These are awe-inspiring purchases from Ireland. I bought them in a store called Standun in Spiddal in the west--it's outside Galway City on the coast road to Connemara. As previously posted, the prices were great and the sweaters beautiful.

I got the scarf for my brother and the sweaters are for each of my nieces and nephews. There was a very helpful sales woman at the store, which was lucky because the sizes are exactly true because they are handknit sweaters. I think only one of these had the name of the knitter on the tag--how cool is that?

Recent Projects

I made good headway on a felted bag while in Ireland. People were so impressed with the project because of the ombre pattern--I'm using Manos for this. The actual production is monkey work--straight knit on circs which is why I brought the project--it was easy to pick up on the plane and bus.

I also made a little bit of progress on the Rowan ribbon shell. There's a close up of the Artful Yarn ribbon so you can see the colorway.

SP 12 Question 8

What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening? This is a hard one. Ideally it would be a bowl of steamers enjoyed with a pint of cold beer on the patio of a seafood restaurant off the ocean. From a practical perspective, it is probably grilled steak and vegetables on my patio--I'm in a heavily wooded area and although its very shady, I get the late afternoon sun out there and the light is beautiful. It's pretty quiet around where I live and the river is in my backyard, so I still enjoy the water element.

In knitting news, I'm working on a shell for me (there's a surprise, huh?). The predominant yarn is Rowan Cotton Ribbon although I'm mixing in some ArtYarn fibers--they're all in the same colorway but different weights of silk--ribbon, plain silk and then silk with beads. I just cast on using my own measurements and we'll see what happens. I need to find another needle though--I'm using #6 ebony circulars and one of the joins isn't smooth enough--I keep having to tug which interrupts the rhythm once I get going. I'll photograph it later today.

I also have photos of my trip to Ireland last week. I searched far and wide for Irish wool and let me tell you, it was not easy. Apparently, most of their lamb and a lot of their fleece are exported and there are few mills left. I did get several skeins of brown worsted in a town called Doolin, where Irish is the main language. And I did find a nice kit for making an Aran sweater in a store called Standum in Spiddal--however, the kit was almost 40 Euros and a handknit sweater was almost 40 Euros, so I opted for the sweater rather than the yarn. I bought one each for my nieces and nephews and am now trying to design a sweater for myself. My last name is English in orgin and I'm trying to figure out what the elements of our family crest represent so I can find corresponding cable patterns to develop a pattern for our own.

SP Question #7

What is(are) your favorite place(s) to knit? At the beach (notice a theme?) or in the living room in an upright chair. A nice comfy couch is always nice too. What supplies (besides yarn & needles) make the setting perfect for knitting? For me, a good glass of red wine in a Waterford double old-fashioned tumbler--less chance of spills that way.