Random Fibers

Flying Spaghetti Monster

2009-02-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a long time before I knit I-cord again. There must be miles in this Flying Spaghetti Monster. His/her/its final destination is a friend of DS, whose birthday is tonight. The pattern is from HistoryWeaver, and is very easy to follow. The eyeballs were especially fun to do.

Just in time for cold weather...

2008-11-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

I finished the V-neck cable sweater in time to wear to work on Friday (yes, the Friday when the temperature went up to 64F)

It went together easily, and the hemming didn't take long, and resulted in a nice edge. The Berroco Ultra Alpaca is extremely soft and cozy, and I'll be wearing this a lot this winter, since I don't want to turn the heat up very high.

Sweater Detail

2008-09-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

This is the detail on the bottom edge of the Drops cardigan. I like the scalloped edge. The original pattern calls for a bobble, and I tried several, but went instead for a knot, as suggested by one of the people on Ravelry who have knit this pattern.

For a DK weight yarn it seems to be going pretty quickly. The challenge at this point is keeping track of buttonhole placement, side increases and front decreases. I have the distance to each point listed on a note on the pattern, and can only hope that I remember to check on my distance knitted frequently.

Secret Swap for Hat City Scissor Squad

2008-09-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

We had a secret swap for the Scissor Squad, and I made a "mini" Booga Bag out of some Noro Kureyon that was in my stash.

It was a quick, fun knit, felted pretty quickly (now that the washing machine actually works) and the recepient loved the colors.

I've started a cardigan with yarn that DH bought me in Scotland in 1985. Yes, 23 years ago. I'll post pictures once there is something to look at.

Watch out for cobwebs!

2008-08-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised this blog wasn't covered in cobwebs and dust! Life has been challenging and busy, with some time for knitting. I finished the silk/mohair boucle scarf done in the veil stitch, now to wait several months for some colder weather.

I also fulfilled a long-standing desire for a tattoo - freshly inked as of today. The redness and swelling should go down in a couple of days.

The tattoo is on the front side of my right hip - think appendix.

Can you say "mid-life crisis?"

Progress Report

2008-05-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've been spending much more time actually knitting than reading about knitting on the internet. Here's the results:
Tidal Wave Socks with Tofutsies yarn. The pattern is from the Southwest Trading Company website, and is a nice, quick knit. What would ordinarily be stripes have been broken up by the pattern, and I quite like it.

My main project is the Taconic pullover pattern from Valley Yarns with Berrocco Ultra Alpaca. The back is complete, and the front should be shortly. The cooler weather has made it possible to keep knitting on this. I'm afraid that if I put it away for the summer my gauge will change, so I'm determined to finish it as quickly as possible. Since it's a V-neck, the front should be finished soon, and sleeves will be quick.

I finally decided what to do with the silk/mohair boucle that I bought at Rhinebeck. I'd been searching Ravelry for a pattern, and nothing worked well with the boucle, so I'm back to the veil stitch in the round. So far so good, though slow to knit due to the bumps.

Off to a Memorial Day picnic with lots of knitting time. Thanks to our troops and all that went before them.

I'm still knitting

2008-04-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Midwest Moonlight Scarf, made from Hand Maiden Sea Silk. While it is lovely, I've decided I like my scarves to be a bit more colorful.

The back, up to the beginning of the armhole decreases, of the Taconic V-Neck Pullover from Valley Yarns. The yarn is Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I'm hoping to get much of this done before it gets too warm to knit with wool/alpaca.

I don't have a portable project right now, so need to start some socks. Between the sock yarn stash and all of the patterns to choose from, I need a small project to work on while I decide which socks to knit next!

The Seville Jacket is complete!

2008-03-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been longer than I thought since I last posted! Mostly I've been working on my Seville jacket, which was finished up last night and I wore today.

The yarn is Wonderfully Woolly from the Green Mountain Spinnery in Lapis Ragg. I originally bought 3 skeins while at Rhinebeck in 2006, and ran short. I bought another skein directly from Green Mountain Spinnery, figuring that no one would notice if the cable edging was a different dye lot, and it turned out fine.

A Snood while waiting

2008-02-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

I occasionally get random phone calls and text messages from J at school, wanting to know things like why I took my maiden name as my middle name when I got married (the short answer is that if I had gone the hyphenation route, as was popular way back then, my initials would have been B.A.R-F. 'nuf said) and other sorts of questions. So she called last week to find out if I would make her friend A. a snood for her birthday. Since I had just ordered the additional yarn for the Seville jacket, I said sure. Ravelry provided me with a knitting pattern from Twisted Stitches, and my stash provided the yarn, Optimum DK from SWTC in silver (from my first Secret Pal exchange, thanks Mama-E!). I cast on, and here's the result:

We stayed home for the long weekend, T. had Friday and Monday off, DH had Monday and Tuesday off so not worth going away. As it turns out, T. was busy and DH quite under the weather healthwise, so I had some time on my hands. So I watched the instructional DVD and started a little practice piece on my triangular loom. The DVD is very good, and full of "a-ha, so that's how that works" moments for me. I have some cotton chenille on a cone which I'm using for this, whatever it is. The main concern is the amount of space between the warp and weft threads, so a worsted weight yarn may not be heavy enough. It will be perfect for DH's handspun.

I had purchased some Berroco Ultra Alpaca when A Stitch in Time had a sale with the idea of making a shawl; if it fulls up a bit when done it may work okay.

Algebra for Knitting

2008-02-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

So, I finished all of the pieces of the Seville jacket, and just have to knit the cable border that goes all around the edges. 72 inches of cable border. Based on the amount of yarn remaining, there's no way. So I knit up a bit, and did some calculations. The first one is to figure out the grams per inch of the 2" long knit sample.

5 grams of sample plus needle minus 3 grams per needle = 2 grams per sample, or 1 gram per inch. So, I need 70 additional grams of yarn.

I have 31 grams. Not nearly enough. So, I ordered another skein from Green Mountain Spinnery, with the hope that no one will notice a dye lot difference, as the cable section will look slightly different anyway.

This leaves me with one WIP, so off to figure out what is next!

Chain Chomp

2008-01-30T17:57:00.000-08:00

I didn't know what Chain Chomp was until we made one from paper mache as a Halloween costume. It's a villain from the Mario Brothers games, and seems to be descended from a wrecking ball. That was successful and we moved on to the hat.

It was a quick knit with Plymouth Encore Chunky, and fun to do.

Seville Sweater

2008-01-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

This is the Seville Jacket from Oat Couture in Green Mountain Spinnery's Wonderfully Wooly in Lapis Ragg, from Rhinebeck in 2006. I had started it a year ago, but never quite got into the swing of it. I picked it up again after Christmas, and kept going. Unfortunately, my gauge had changed dramatically in that time, and it was too big (even before the gauge change) so I frogged it (after reaching the armholes) and started over.

This time it is flying off the needles, especially for me. I knit both front sections at the same time, and kept track of which was which by tying knots in the cast on remnant - one for the right side, two for the left. I cast on at SnB on Tuesday night, and cast off during the car trip home from my mother's. Next up is the sleeves, which involves knitting a twelve-inch strip of cable, and picking up the stitches along the side and knitting up.

This is the first sweater that I've knit in 20 years, so quite exciting.

But I don't want a new washing machine for Christmas!

2008-01-06T14:36:00.001-08:00

It was the Thursday evening before Christmas, when I decided I had to felt the Christmas stocking, or it wouldn't dry in time. I had specific instructions not to make it shrink too much - the bigger the stocking, the more presents it can hold.

So I started the washing machine with a pair of jeans and a dollop of detergent, and let it fill with water. Then in the the stocking, the wash cycle was started, and I waited about five minutes prior to checking on the progress. Now, the usual sight upon opening the lid is the agitator slowing down. This time, it was already stopped. I assumed operator error and tried again. No luck. It finally dawned on me that the washer was broken. The agitator was trying to move, it made all of the appropriate noises, but nothing was getting washed. So, for some unknown period of time, our clothes had been getting soaked and rinsed, but not really washed. This explained some socks with detergent spots on them, and a white turtleneck with more stains when it came out than when it went in. So, bright and early Saturday morning we went off to Lowes, to see what was on sale and in stock. Found a suitable replacement, and had it up and running by Saturday night. I did one load of regular laundry, then felted the stocking. It came out just fine, and dried by Monday night.

My big Christmas present was a triangle loom, that should work really well with handspun, since I'm not sure what to do with all that DH is spinning. I'll post pictures once I try something.

On the regular loom, I finally rethreaded all of the sections that broke, just in time to move the loom so we could put up the tree. The tree is down, and the loom is back in it's usual spot, and next I have to untangle the mess, shown below, and try to wind the warp again. Hopefully there won't be any broken threads this time, cause I haven't figured out Plan B (or is it C) yet.

2 more stockings complete

2007-12-16T14:53:00.000-08:00

This is my attempt at stranded color knitting. I'm not thrilled with the shaping on the stocking, as there wasn't anything in the pattern about how to modify the color chart as the decreases took place. And it looks a little odd. As long as it is filled with presents, the recepient won't care.
This is the gansey style stocking, which turned about to be bigger than expected, even though I went down 2 needle sizes. I would have liked the resulting fabric to be firmer, but was worried that the stocking would be too small with a yet smaller needle. Turned out not to be a problem.

Now I have to cast on for my stocking, which is a giant argyle. I do have a backup for Christmas Eve, as it's doubtful that mine will be finished. Though, with another snow storm or two I may have a chance.

The first, and possibly only, knitted gift

2007-12-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

The Nordic style Christmas stocking is almost done - 3 more rows and then the toe. As it looks the same only longer, I didn't take another picture. For travel knitting I have the Falling Water Lace Scarf knit from DH's handspun, as a Christmas gift for his mom.

Due to the time constraints of knitting four stockings, this may be it. The internet and I need to spend some quality time actually ordering, instead of browsing, in the very near future, or everyone will be opening I.O.U.s on the morning of the 25th.

Progress on the Nordic-style stocking

2007-11-18T13:03:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure that black and green are traditional Nordic color choices, but this is turning out pretty well. I've finished the first chart and figure I'll need 3 1/2 repeats of the second chart before starting the heel. The pattern refers to a decrease every 5th round 8 times, so we'll see how that works out.
In real life the knitting is a little lumpy; I'm hoping that it smoothes out after blocking.

I finished the alpaca scarf, but haven't blocked it yet. Since it looks just like the previous post, I didn't bother with a picture. The scarf for my MIL is started from DH's handspun. This is the first large quantity of spinning that he did, and it's interesting to see how far he's come since. It's like knitting with two strands held together, as the plying was pretty loose. I still need to come up with something for my mother - not quite sure what at this point. Off to work on the loom, as I'm winding replacements warp sections for the cotton flake yarn that started breaking when winding the warp onto the back beam.

It's too dark out!

2007-11-08T18:27:00.001-08:00

When am I supposed to take pictures? I got home early today because I had my yearly mammogram and then worked from home. As usual, it was uncomfortable but not painful. I've always had lots of cysts, and last year they were more pronounced, so I had an ultrasound to investigate further. Well, one was more suspicious, and though I could've waited to see what happened, I had the cyst aspirated. The most likely outcome was that it was a normal, if bigger cyst with clear fluid. Less likely was a "dirty" cyst, with debris(?) in it. And least likely was that it was not a cyst. It was a dirty cyst. And if anyone is facing the aspiration procedure, don't worry, it doesn't hurt. There is a little pinprick when they inject the anesthetic, and that's all you feel. I believe I was knitting a sock in the waiting room. We'll see what happens this year.

My Christmas knitting is making progress:

This is the start of the black and green Norwegian-style stocking for DS. I'm getting the hang of the stranded knitting, though I'm holding both strands in my right hand. I'm using David Reidy's video as my guide, scroll down to the notes for Show 33.
I'm very pleased with the alpaca scarf for my SIL. Through no fault of my own the colors are spiraling around the tube. I'm almost to the end of the yarn, so this will not be a terribly long scarf, though very soft and cuddly. I'm going to block in severely along the length and see what happens.

So many socks, so few feet

2007-10-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

October has yielded two identical and one large sock. The large sock will eventually be felted, but DD wants me to wait until she's home at Thanksgiving. The pair of socks is out of A Piece of Vermont merino sock yarn, knit on US1 dpns. I'm trying to knit socks more tightly to make sure they wear well.

The regular sized sock is in the picture to show the scale of the large one. It's from 2+ skeins of Noro Kureyon, and trying to keep the stripe sequence intact was quite involved. All comments about the quality control of the Noro came true on this one.

The stocking for DH is on the needles. I've come to the conclusion that I knit on the loose side, so ended up going down two needle sizes. It's a gansey style, so very straightforward. I'll start the Norwegian style for DS this weekend; it could take awhile.

RHINEBECK!

2007-10-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

Why does tomorrow seem much more important than last year? I feel like something big is about to happen, when in reality it will most likely be a pleasant day of fiber shopping and meeting some old and new friends. I'll be a square for blogger bingo, and will be wearing Icarus, with my canvas bag from last year.

Depending upon when the Ravelry t-shirts are available, I may be wearing that at some point. If the temperature reaches 70F, that T-shirt will be necessary. As for shopping, I'd like to get yarn for a sweater for myself, though I don't have a pattern in mind. I've seen guidelines for how much yarn to get, so will go by that.

Off to check the weather report yet another time!

The Downside of Noro

2007-10-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

DD requested the Christmas Surprise stocking, and selected the Noro Kureyon colorway that she wanted. This the second time that I've knit with Noro, and the first time where the workmaship has left me underwhelmed. The knitting has been fine; the changing colors has kept me intrigued and VM is minimal. Then I came to the end of the first skein. Knotted onto the blue was a piece of orange, which isn't in the correct sequence at all. So I untied that, and found my second skein. The initial color was orange, not the blue from the first. So I tried the third skein, and wound off what you see on the TP tube before finding where I wanted to start. It will be lovely, and I hope I have enough yarn to keep the color sequence intact.

I was thrilled on Monday to read that I had won a prize! Chicken Knits had a contest to name her new twill piggy, and I'm a runner up. My prize package came on Friday, and is fantastic.

As soon as my jaw recovers from having a filling replaced, I will be into those gummy bears. The yarn is Daring from Sunshine Yarns, and will be high on my list of projects, once the Christmas Stockings are complete.

October Events - Socktoberfest and Red Scarf Project

2007-10-06T13:20:00.001-07:00

Sock #1 of the "A Piece of Vermont" merino sock is complete, and the second sock is a couple of inches along. Jessie commented that the yarn was old - I don't remember who I bought it from but it was at the CT Sheep and Wool Festival last April. I'd forgotten how nice it is to have a plain sock to knit. No pattern to keep track of.
Then we have the red scarf, which is quite soft and squishy. I hope it keeps a college student warm and snuggly. The yarn is Marble by N.Y Yarns, and is 66% acrylic, 30% wool and 4% nylon. It did not feel like acrylic, and is washable. I made several attempts at knitting a pattern, and gave up - the yarn obscured everything. A simple 2x2 rib gives it some volume. 3 skeins yielded a 5 1/2 foot scarf.

The Christmas stockings are started, so I have three months to make four of them. I could be quite busy on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Knitting

2007-09-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

Last year I knit lots of little things for Christmas - mostly scarves and fingerless gloves. It wasn't until I found a book in my local library, Christmas Stockings - 18 Holiday Treasures to Knit, that I had an idea for this year. That was to replace our store-bought stockings with hand-knit ones. I had each family member pick out a stocking design and tell me their color preference, so I now have a knitting plan for fall. As it turns out, each stocking is in a different style, so the knitting will be interesting.
First up is DD's stocking, which will be a giant felted stockinette sock made with Noro Kureyon:
Then for DS, a Nordic-style Fair Isle stocking, black background with green design. The green is a little brighter in real life. This is my first try at stranded knitting and it's all David Reidy's fault. Based on his descriptions in his podcast, Sticks and String, I want to give it a try.

DH has requested a Gansey-style stocking in Deerfield green:

In keeping with the spirit of trying new things, I've chosen an Argyle stocking for myself. The main color is white, with green and red as the diamonds and gold and blue for the diagonal lines.

I'm torn between what to start first - and whether swatches are really needed, because these don't have to fit!

K.I.S.S. applies to socks, too

2007-09-15T14:54:00.000-07:00

The very first pair of socks that I knit was in stockinette, and after that I went to patterns. I wasn't happy with my Fawkes socks(page down), and wanted something to work on while I figured out what to do with those. At the same time, I had a skein from A Piece of Vermont that I wanted to knit, but couldn't decide on a pattern.So, thanks to the Simply Stockinette group on Ravelry, it finally hit me. Just knit a simple sock, and let the yarn provide the interest. Which it does. I'm also knitting these socks tighter than I usually would, since the yarn is 100% Merino. I've read that it wears better when it is tightly knit. I'm really enjoying being able to knit and not worry about the pattern. The knitting also seems to go more quickly.

The red scarf is making progress - has to be mailed by October 15th!

Fawkes with STR, mixed results

2007-09-08T12:52:00.001-07:00

Despite changing needle sizes, I couldn't keep the spiral going - it switched directions on me, leaving a blob in its path. I'm not sure that I like the effect, but don't want to start over, either. Given the wild colorway, it may not matter what I do!

Pattern: Fawkes, with 4 pattern repeats on US2 dpns for the leg, then the instep knit on US2 and the sole on US1. This may become the first sock that I have ever completely frogged and reknit, with the whole sock on US1. I just weighed my sock and the remaining yarn, and the first sock has used 1/3 of the yarn. I left the ankle short just in case, and now will have a lot of leftover yarn.

I'm going to have to think about this one. I love the pattern, and it was a pretty quick knit. Fawkes will have to sit in time out while I work on my stockinette stitch sock with the Piece of Vermont yarn I got at CT Sheep and Wool, and figure out what the Firebird wants to be.

It's time to start knitting that red scarf!

2007-08-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

Due to the overwhelming response to last year's Red Scarf Project (over 7,500), the deadline for submitting a scarf for the 2008 giveaway is October 15. Scarves can be sent in any time between Sept 1 and Oct 15, so don't wait until the last minute. Mine is underway, with pictures soon. It will be good travel knitting as we travel to Boston to take DD to college.

In the meantime, I have a finished object to show off!
It still needs to be blocked, but I managed to crochet an edging around the neckline. I've decided that the armholes don't need edging, mostly because I couldn't figure out how to crochet loosely enough to maintain the size. The original length was too short, so I picked up the cast on edge and added several rows of ribbing. The yarn is Artfibers Rosetta, a mercerized cotton tape, so should be comfortable in the summer. I'm a little concerned about the looseness of the stitches, so found a navy camisole to wear underneath.

On the needles we have the Fawkes socks in the STR Firebird colorway, the cabled cotton pullover and a new handle for the Big Booga bag. Next up are a lacy scarf from some sock yarn and another pair of socks. Several of the sweaters in the Fall IK and No Wool for You are calling me, time will tell.

In which we discover how needle size affects pooling

2007-08-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

I finally started knitting with my Rockin' Sock Club yarn, choosing to knit Fawkes with the Firebird colorway. Thanks to Ravelry for allowing me to search on the colorway to find a pattern that I liked. Not that I don't like the Solstice Slip pattern, but the cable is so similar to the twining in Conwy that I wanted to try something different. I started on US2 dpns, and loved the way the stripes spiral around the sock. Because the sock seemed a little big, I switched to US1 dpsn for the last pattern repeat before the heel. The arrow highlights just what happened to my lovely spiral.I tinked back to remove the damage. As I also had concerns about having enough yarn, I decided to start the heel after 3 pattern repeats instead of 4 and started the heel with the US1s. I don't mind the leg portion of the sock being a bit big as long as the foot fits snugly. I'll do the sole on US1s and the instep on US2s, and see what happens with the pooling.

Finished Big Booga Bag

2007-08-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Total felting time - 1/2 hour in the washing machine, then lots of rinsing. Extra rinsing because I put it on the deck to drip dry, right before the torrential downpours of last Thursday night. The blocking was down over shoeboxes inside a Stew Leonard's bag, so the bottom is flat.
I'm not thrilled with the handle - too short, but need additional yarn to make more icord. That won't take long, and is easy to replace.

This is destined to hold my tap shoes and dance clothes - class starts in early September, so I should be ready!

Really big booga bag

2007-08-08T16:34:00.001-07:00

The bulk of my vacation knitting, during one of the hottest weeks of the year, was on a huge wool item. I was driven to finish knitting so I could see how it came out once felted. The unfelted bag is shown here on a fully grown college freshman:
Yes, if stretched it would completely enclose her. I was good, and swatched:

This is after 10 minutes in the washer with some towels. I'm going to let the bag go for at least 15 minutes, as I want it a bit denser, and smaller.

If all goes well, the felted swatch will be sewn inside for a pocket.

Non-knitting content

2007-07-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

Not much knitting news to report - there should be plenty after next week, it's vacation time! Yes, one whole week up in New Hampshire, to knit, read, relax, and repeat. The vacation knitting bag will contain:

Big Booga Bag
Fawke socks, with RSC Firebird
Cotton cable sweater
Artfibers shell
Falling Water Lace Scarf with RubySapphire sock yarn in Bryleigh

That should hold me for a week. Just for fun, I tried this quiz:

You scored as Storm, Storm is a mutant who possesses the psionic ability to manipulate weather patterns over limited areas. Storm is extraordinarily skilled at picking both locks and pockets. Storm is also a gifted hand-to-hand combatant, having been trained extensively by her fellow X-Man Wolverine, and is also an excellent marksman with handguns.

Storm

70%

Kitty pryde

55%

Rogue

50%

Jean Grey

45%

Mystique

40%

Emma Frost

40%

What X-Men would you be? (Female Version).
created with QuizFarm.com

If I could control the weather, the humidity would be much lower.

Finished Montego Bay

2007-07-22T15:12:00.001-07:00

already worn twice, with very positive feedback. All those braids as fringe were a pain, but look nice.
and a false start on the FiberArts shell.
Every pattern knit in the round warns to make sure it isn't twisted. I'm not as observant as I thought, because I didn't notice until I'd completed 6 rounds. The challenge will be to remove the needle, and reinsert back at the beginning so I don't have to cast on 128 stitches again.

Bigger Booga Bag

2007-07-16T16:15:00.001-07:00

Knitting has continued on the Montego Bay scarf, which is almost done, and on the Big Booga Bag. We spent the weekend in Vermont, where it was cool enough to knit with a giant wool blob in my lap.
I've finished the first ball of yarn, and knit 20 of the 64 rows called for in the pattern. Looking at the picture, 64 rows seems excessive. It all depends on how the turquoise yarn holds out. The plan for the stripes is to make the black stripe 1/2 the width of the first stripe, and continue with narrower and narrower stripes.

The second picture is to try to put the size in context. My original plan was to put the dog in the bag, but he wasn't in the mood.

Big Booga Bag

2007-07-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

The bottom of the bag and the Icord are complete, and I bought the required US15 circular needles at the knitting guild meeting last night. The weather will be a little warm for the next several days, so there may not be much accomplished on this. My iPod is included for scale, as it is difficult to see how big this is without something for comparison. I'm concerned that I don't have enough of the turquoise to complete this, so bought some Plymouth Galway in black. I'll double it up and put some skinny black stripes in the bag, both to extend the yarn and add some interest.

Let's hope this isn't too ambitious for a first felting project; prior to this I tried it a couple of times on swatches - never on something that I cared about.

Last minute substitution

2007-07-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

Artfibers rocks. I ordered 3 skeins of the Phyz, having decided that the colors weren't going to be found anywhere else. Then I get the email from Kira at Artfibers, telling my the my color choice was discontinued because of difficulties with the color. Aargh. I got smart, and emailed her back with what I was looking for - bulky lightweight yarn, with purples, blues, greens.
Kira emailed me back with several suggestions, of which Rosetta wins:

3 skeins are now in Priority Mail on their way to me. I also started the Big Bulky Booga bag - pictures shortly.

Vacation shopping

2007-07-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

or, none of this counts, does it? I went to Patternworks on July 1st, and all of their sale yarn is another 20% off for the month of July. The Fantasy Naturale is destined to be a tank top - it has several of my favorite colors. I did break down once we got home and order the Phyz from Artfibers, because nothing else is close with the colors.

The Lamb's Pride was in the sale bin, and I love the color. No plans yet.

It's hard to tell scale from the picture, but the turquoise yarn is super bulky. I'm going to knit it up in the Booga Bag pattern, but on US13 needles, not the 10 1/2 per the pattern. Hopefully it will knit up bigger; I need something other than a plastic bag to tote my tap shoes back and forth to class. I'll do the I-cord first, then knit until I run out of yarn.

It was cold and windy in New Hampshire, so plenty of knitting time. The Conwy socks in Tofutsies are finished, the Montego Bay scarf is about 1/2 done, and the cotton cable sweater is out of hibernation. It is easier on my hands to use a cable needle. I'm trying not to cast on anything new until the scarf is finished, though the latest Rockin' Sock Club, the giant Booga Bag and the cotton tank top are all calling out. We'll see how long I last!

Vacation knitting

2007-06-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

or, how much do I need to pack for a 4 day trip? We're heading north on Saturday afternoon, and returning on Tuesday. There is a fairly frequent theme in blogs and podcasts these days about how much knitting to take when traveling. I err (if it's an error at all) on the too much side. I cart around a fair amount of stuff on a day to day basis, it's out of control when I leave home. Throw in that I plan to visit Patternworks up in Center Harbor, and there is lots of yarn hitting the road.

Forget SABLE, there should be an acronym for taking more projects than could be knit if you didn't sleep while you were away.

And if I think of an appropriate acronym, I'll let you know.

No pictures today, because my projects look the same. The Montego Bay scarf is longer, the second Conwy sock is about to get a heel flap, and I may drag the cotton cable sweater out of hibernation and work on that. I'm giving up on cables without a cable needle on the cotton; it's too hard on the hands. My plan is to work on those projects, with the hope of finishing the sock and scarf. We'll see what happens.

Oh, and Ravelry rocks! Lots of ideas for projects, though browsing on Ravelry eats into my knitting time.

The start of a project

2007-06-24T16:22:00.001-07:00

This scarf has most of my favorite colors, and I've decided that I'd like a summer sweater that goes with it. That's the easy part. Coming up with a pattern and appropriate yarn will be more difficult.

I'd like to use bamboo and/or a bamboo blend, to take advantage of its cooling properties. My preference is for a heavier weight yarn, worsted weight or thicker, and for the yarn to be variegated. In other words, a quick knit that doesn't need a complicated stitch pattern to be interesting. I like the look of this tank from Crystal Palace (also in the 2007 Pattern a Day calendar), but not the yarn (it's 100% nylon).

Artfibers has some interesting yarns, but not bamboo. Phyz is a cotton/nylon blend (70% cotton) that knits up at 4 spi on #10 needles, so should be quick.

So I'll be surfing the internet, especially Ravelry, and looking through my knitting books to try to find the perfect ingredients for this sweater. I'm thinking if I find the yarn, then the pattern can be worked out.

Stay tuned!

The Freshmen

2007-06-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

Newly minted, freshly graduated, both my kids now qualify as "freshmen". One going off to college, one to high school. It was an amazing weekend - well planned ceremonies, cooperative weather...

I'm so proud!

WWKIP - New York Public Library

2007-06-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

It was only for a few minutes, since I was with non-knitting friends. But I was there!

There was knitting done on the train, but not seen by many people. We went into NYC to see this:
Yes, instead of sending DD to college, we're having her bronzed! Her Theater Production class performs as living statues every year, to raise money for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDs. Every time someone made a donation, the actors changed their pose. They were right in Times Square, and there had to be thousands of people. Then they went out to dinner, saw Mary Poppins, and on Sunday morning attended the dress rehearsal for the Tony Awards.

Rough life, huh?

Montego Bay Scarf

2007-06-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

I have a pale pink scarf that I bought years ago. I wear it frequently, and am coming to realize that it may be past its prime. So when I saw the Montego Bay Scarf in the Summer IK, I immediately thought that the replacement was at hand. I found the Hand Maiden Sea Silk in Rose on the Hand Maiden site, then had to look around to find it on line. I found it at Knitty Noddy, and they shipped it right out.

The pattern is very straightforward, and will be a fun and quick knit.

The hardest part was winding the Sea Silk into a ball. We tried it on the ball winder, but it looked kind of messy, so I took it off and tried again. BIG MISTAKE! It instantaneously tangled up, and took me a couple of hours to rewind (by hand) into a ball. It's behaving now, but is quite slippery so be careful.

As for the fleece, it is all dry. DH bought a couple of wire dog brushes to try carding. After an hour, he is ready to buy a drum carder. So we'll have to wait and see what happens next.

From sheep to...

2007-05-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Who knows - we may have enough fiber here for a sweater. The sheep belongs to Debbie, who lives on Prince Edward Island. She used to live locally, but moved up there when her husband retired. She's done my hair for several years, and comes back regularly to take care of clients. Since this past Friday was the Senior Prom, she was back to do updos for her girls (DD included; she was gorgeous). She's quite aware of my fiber obsession, and that DH spins, so she brought us a fleece to work on. It turns out that the sheep is a Shetland, and is black, so we have the potential for some amazing yarn.

The process of getting from sheep to yarn is somewhat daunting. Sheep are not clean. We started by putting the fleece in our spa tub, and yes, it is the first time it's been used by us. We put an old sheet in first to keep stuff from going down the drain. One alternative was to use the washing machine; based on the VM and questionable other things in the fleece, I'd rather not have that pollute the washer.

We put the fleece through several soak and rinse cycles. This morning I took a large bowlful outside and arranged a cleaning procession. One bowl with Eucalan, and three for rinsing. That large bowlful occupies my two sweater drying screens.
DH took care of the rest in the tub - about three additional soak cycles. That fleece is drying on the two sheets.
We picked out a lot of VM, but there is still a fair amount of stuff stuck to the fleece. A friend from work has a drum carder; time to beg and plead to borrow it.

DH and I are finding this all pretty humourous - it is very typical for us to try something to "see what happens". We've learned with this one - the next one is going out for processing.

Gratuitous cute animal picture

2007-05-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

I finished the first sock, and since it doesn't look that different from the in-process pictures, the cute dog was enticed into the picture. He's looking for someone to throw his tennis ball, which I did shortly after taking the picture.
I've added Montego Bay (Summer IK) to my knit list, and went ahead and ordered the Sea Silk in a pinky rose color. I have a pink scarf that has seen better days, and this will replace it. There are 6 inches to go on the Chevron Scarf, so better get that done before the Sea Silk arrives.

Debbie, who has taken care of my hair for years, moved to Prince Edward Island a couple of years ago, when her husband retired. She comes back every couple of months to visit family still in the area and do hair. They have a farm up on PEI. With sheep. She knows about my knitting "habit", and that DH spins, so is bringing a fleece. I'm pretty sure it's fresh off the sheep, so needs washing and skirting and whatever else it is one does with a fleece. It'll be fun, right?

We interrupt the regularly schedule knitting

2007-05-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

to bring you a hat. I bought the yarn in the middle of the winter because of the bright yellow color, and just decided that it was time to knit a baby hat for an expectant coworker (5 weeks to go). So progress slowed on the Chevron Scarf and Tofutsies sock while I knit this up:
I started on size 3 dpns, decided that was too loose and switched to size 2 circs, or so I thought. The circular needle was the same size as the dpns, but the hat turned out okay. The needle was a bit too short, but I managed to use a Magic Loop method. The yarn is Sandnesgarn Mandarin Petit; it's machine washable and air dry. I threw it in the washing machine to make sure; it looks exactly the same.

Back to the sock and scarf!

Alpacas go "Meep"

2007-05-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

It was too dark to get a decent picture of the alpacas, so here are some sheep:
I'm positive that I heard an alpaca make a "meep" noise. There were two that were very watchful; standing next to each other, heads together and looking about. The weather was perfect for the fiber fest, and I love the small size. I checked out all of the vendors, then went back to make my purchases. Along the way I found Karen and Pea, and Jessie whom I met last year. We were all wearing our lace shawls, so I was glad that Icarus was with me. Note to self: wearing of lace is a great conversation starter.

My haul was under control - I brought cash and didn't even spend all of it. The yarn on the left is sock yarn from A Piece of Vermont, and on the right is alpaca from Hampden Hills Alpaca. The socks are for me and the alpaca will be a scarf for my SIL for Christmas. Any thoughts on a pattern that will show off the yarn?

The roving on the left is a Merino/Tencel from The Sheep Shed, and on the right is Coopworth pencil roving from Wild and Wooly Fibers. Last, but not least, I bought some sheep's milk cheese - yum!

CT Sheep and Wool - Saturday, April 28th

2007-04-27T03:52:00.000-07:00

The weather looks okay - better than today. It was cool and crisp last year, and tomorrow looks similar - cross your fingers for no rain! No shopping list as of yet, we'll see what calls out to me. DH would like more roving, though he may change his mind if my friend from Prince Edward Island gives me some fleece! I found someone else who has an idle carder, so we may be able to do something with the fleece. Starting with washing - any ideas?

I haven't heard anything about a blogger lunch for tomorrow, but will bring food to be prepared and see what happens. This year I know where to go, and to bring food to share.

A Blast from the Past

2007-04-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

Wendy of Wendy Knits mentioned this vest in her most recent post (April 20, 2007)! I had to dig it out to show what I was working on over 20 years ago! What's changed since then? I wouldn't even attempt something like this - too much of a commitment.
The pattern is by Perry Ellis and was published in the Spring/Summer 1985 issue of Vogue Knitting. I remember that it took me a while to find the yarn. I worked on it all summer, and finished just in time to wear to work for Halloween 1985. In those days I lived by myself, and had considerably more free time than I do now.

I did a terrible job of weaving in the ends - if you look at it up close there are lots of holes. There also appears to be a gauge problem - it's wider than it's supposed to be. Still, people were very impressed that I had made it, and I'm finding it hard to believe. The young have no fear!

Summer knitting, had me a blast...

2007-04-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

The high school is doing Grease this year, so I've got the soundtrack in my head. Anyway, I'm all about summer knitting right now (optimistic, aren't I?) First up is Conwy from Knitting on the Road in Tofutsies.

My other colorways of Tofutsies are more variegated, so need a bigger pattern. I've wanted to knit Conwy ever since I got the book last fall, so this one is first.
I started the LMKG Chevron Scarf, and it's coming out okay. The versions knit with STR on the Flickr group are prettier, IMO, but this will be great for brightening up some summer outfits. By alternating between the two projects my hand doesn't get so stressed, so the achiness is kept to a minumum. Somewhere there is a UFO - cabled cotton sweater, that needs attention. I'll have to dig it out and remember what I was doing.

Completed Monkey Socks

2007-04-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the Stash and Burn podcast, and they interviewed Lisa Souza. It was a classic "Duh" moment on my part, as Lisa described the inspiration for the Wild Things colorway as the book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

After looking at the socks, how could it be anything else? These were knit on US 1 dpns, and are a little bit big, so they sag a tiny amount around the ankles. I'm wondering if blocking them would make any difference - any thoughts?

L&V Yarn Pr0n Secret Swap Package Arrival

2007-04-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Look at all my goodies! My pal is FiredUpFairy and she made the book and the notecards.

The book has handmade paper and picture mounts (the little triangular corner thingies), and I haven't decided what to put in there. I'm thinking swatches and representative samples of yarn from finished projects. A previous secret pal (Hi Miz Hardy!) sent me a notebook that is good for ongoing notes and calculations and things, so this will be for Finished Objects. It should last quite a while. The first FO to go into the book will be my Monkey socks - #2 is done except for the toe. My left thumb and forefinger are a bit sore and tired right now, so they'll get a rest and I'll finish tonight.

The other contents of the box are equally fab - love the Tofutsies yarn and pattern. I'm struggling with which socks to do next - Rockin Sock Club (I should start before the next shipment arrives) or something with the Tofutsies that will be light enough for summer wearing. Or both. I'm leaning towards using the STR Monsoon with RPM, as the challenges of the toe-up Inside Out sock pattern have me scared off. There is a downside of reading the blog postings of those brave enough to try - lots of frogging to get the gage/fit correct.

I just saw on the CT Sheep and Fiber Festival web site that the calendar page has the Spring Festival on April 28th, 2007. It's the .pdf files for programs, etc. that isn't up to date. As soon as I get some further news of a blogger meet up, I'll post it. Karen and I are planning for a picnic, so hope to see some familiar faces and blognames there.

LMKG Chevron Scarf, and CT Fiber Festival

2007-03-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

Did you know that there is a Fiber Festival in Connecticut? It's a fraction of the size of Rhinebeck or MD, but still fun. That's where first met up with other bloggers. Karen, of Musings of a (Mostly) Self-Taught Knitter, and Pea, her DH, as well as a host of others. Well, it's getting to be that time again! This year's festival is on Saturday, April 28th in Vernon (just east of Hartford), which is just 4 weeks from today. I'm sure there will be the usual blogger lunch, and this time I'll be ready with food to share. I may be able to convince DH to join me, as there will be spinning.

The chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts has drawn a lot of attention since someone figured out to use Socks That Rock in complementary colorways. (Check out the Flickr group). The scarf is gorgeous, but I didn't want a wool scarf for the upcoming warmer weather. A post on the Lime & Violet message board sent me to the Etsy store of Myrrhwood Farms. They have a cotton/rayon blend that is beautiful, and should knit up nicely for a summer scarf. There are two skeins in the picture; I'm hoping there's enough variation for the scarf to be interesting to knit.

At long last - knitting content!

2007-03-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I managed to finish one Monkey sock, and almost finish the ribbing of the second. I love the flashes of turquoise in the Wild Things colorway - it doesn't show up unless the light is right. I've decided to finish the Monkey socks, then try the STR club yarn. I'm leery of the pattern - all that talk of 0000 needles and multiple froggings. Courtney of yarn tootin' used the RPM pattern from knitty, so I may try that.

My thumb gets tired after 10 minutes of knitting, so frequent breaks are required. I also have to pay attention, because mindless knitting leads to too much pressure on my left thumb, and I'll be right back where I started. In the meantime, I have half a warp wound, with the intent of weaving cotton dishclothes in a waffle weave. I will be very happy if I can get the loom set up this weekend.

St Patrick's Day Snowstorm

2007-03-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

After a brief glimpse of spring, look what we got for St Patrick's Day! It's hard to tell from the picture, but we have over one foot of snow with an icy crust. Excuse my meager attempt to make it green - anything darker than this didn't work too well.

My thumb is feeling much better, and I was able to knit a few rounds on Monkey last night. One more pattern repeat and I'll do the toe decreases. Two weeks is a long time to go without knitting! My goal for this weekend is to finish the first Monkey sock, cast on for the second and wind the warp for the big loom.

Since I'm not going anywhere.

Not knitting

2007-03-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

One of many problems with not knitting is nothing to blog about. I'll try to post about knitting withdrawal at some point, but it's rather painful. In the meantime, I'm working on a warp for cotton dishtowels. I found a waffle-weave draft at www.handweaving.net, and figured out how I want the stripes to run. Tomorrow's activity is to wind the warp. On the plus side, my thumb is much better, so the inactivity is helping. In an effort to have something to post, the following meme is taken from Karen.

Look at the list of books below:
* Bold the ones you’ve read,
* Italicize the ones you want to read
* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) read it several times
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) I have a copy, haven't started it yet.
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible - not all of it, but a lot.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo) - in French!
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I've read more on this list than I originally thought - guess that's a good thing! Nothing terribly recently - need to work on that.

I'm hoping to try knitting again in a few days, if I don't try tonight. The cause of the problem seems to be my keyboard posture at work; I lean on my left arm/thumb while working. If I can knit for a bit, maybe I'll stop twitching!

Knitter down!

2007-03-04T17:21:00.000-08:00

Here's my little haul from the LYS on Friday night - I don't think the Tofutsies will take too long to sell! The pink will make great summer socks, something lacy. The brownish will be interesting - not sure what to do with it yet, but love the colors. The yellow is a great new baby yarn, and may be effective against SAD.

Now for my bad news. I've had tendonitis in my left elbow for a couple of weeks, along with in the joint of my left thumb. I've tried to knit without using my thumb to push the stitch off the needle, but it's hard. Since the discomfort (really a constant ache) isn't getting better, I've decided to stop knitting for a week or so. It's probably due to poor keyboard practices at work, so off to Medical in the morning to try and get some relief.

The silver lining to this cloud is weaving seems to be okay, so time to get the loom set up and make some dishclothes.

Lime & Violet Yarn Pr0n Exchange Survey

2007-03-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

I decided not to join Secret Pal 10 - things are amazingly hectic at work. The L&V exchange is for a shorter period of time, so that's the bandwagon for this spring.

1. What kind of fibers do you prefer? Natural fibers, especially the new stuff that's out there - bamboo, soy, corn, shellfish, etc.
2. What kind of weight do you prefer (sock, worsted, bulky)? Now that spring is around the corner, I'm liking the thinner and lighter weights - sock, lace, whatever is the next weight up from sock.
2a. Color preferences - jewel tones - blue, green, purple, dark red.
3. Do you spin? No.
4. Do you crochet? No.
5. Are there any books, patterns, magazines would you like to own that you don't? I've been eying Lace Style, and Interweave's Favorite Socks.
6. Are you participating in any themed a-longs like the Project Spectrum? I have some L&V yarn from Lisa Souza, but haven't started knitting that yet.
7. Do you have a wishlist on Amazon.com or Half.com? (provide a link) Yes, though it's out of date. Wish List.
8. Any Etsy stores that you would love to get something from? Too many to list.
9. What other crafty things are you involved in (quilting, drawing, painting)? Weaving.
10. What is your favorite sort of scent? lavender
11. Do you have a sweet tooth and what kind of sweets do you like best? Dark chocolate. Coconut. Mint.
12. What kind of music do you like? Alternative rock, various bands from my youth. Texas, Roxy Music, Queen, Erasure, Orchestral Manouvers in the Dark.
13. What do you like to knit? And for whom? I knit mostly for myself, though made lots of presents at Christmas.
14. What sort of things do you like to collect? I'd like to get some fun stitch markers.
15. Do you want needles? And what kind do you prefer? I'm okay with needles.

Tonight was Knitting Guild, and my LYS just got in some Tofutsies. Pictures to follow some time this weekend.

Monkey Socks

2007-02-24T18:31:00.000-08:00

Here's what I accomplished during a hectic week (monkey with Lisa Souza Wild Thing yarn)- lot's of travel:

We spent last weekend in Vermont with my mother, we missed the blizzard itself but saw the results. Then I made a quick trip to Clearwater, FL on Wed - Thurs. Beautiful weather, and some knitting time on the plane. Friday afternoon DD and I took off for my MIL's and a Saturday visit to Northeastern University - an admitted student welcome session. I hadn't been, so wanted to make this trip. MIL, DD and I attended an introductory session at the College of Computer Science, ate lunch in one of the dining halls and acquired NU clothing - sweat pants, hoodies, and car stickers. Then back this afternoon. I'm ready to stay home for a while!

Is it Icarus or a set of batwings

2007-02-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

After 8 1/2 months of knitting, tinking and rekniting, Icarus is complete. Blocked and worn to work, even. The opinion of the rest of my family is that it looks like bat wings - it's the scalloped edges. DD already has dibs on it for Senior Prom - a silver dress would go nicely.

The folks at work all thought it was pretty, and were duly impressed with the knitting. And agreed that it looked like bat wings.

It is warm and lightweight, and the purple is beautiful. I can't believe it's actually done!

Progress at last

2007-02-10T11:59:00.000-08:00

Extended knitting time during the Super Bowl led to this:

Other than Thuja, I've been focused on Icarus. Kimberly of Some Bunny's Love wanted pictures, so here is the latest:

Looking closely at the upper right hand corner, the observant reader will notice:

the binding off has started! With 523 stitches, it could take quite awhile. More pictures tomorrow as we move on to blocking.

Another Secret Pal Revealed

2007-02-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

My spoiler for Secret Pal 9 was Miz Hardy of Nebraska! She sent lots of goodies - this was better than my birthday!

My DD has claimed the ear of corn, and wants more knitted vegetables! Clockwise from the corn there is Hot Chocolate mix direct from the Mid-West, some soap made from Bison tallow, a fun movie to knit by (My Favorite Brunette), some chocolate (very tasty - I do love my mint), a holiday mug, a fun ruffly scarf (mohair/nylon), some dyed-especially-for-me laceweight yarn, a Christmas ornament and a candle in a pretty holder. I'm overwhelmed and feel quite spoiled!

The laceweight may get cast on some time soon, as I finished chart 4 of Icarus last night. 4 rows of edging and the bind-off, and I'm done. Okay, the blocking, and fixing that spot where the yarn broke. The edging has me nervous, so I'll put in a lifeline before starting. Super Bowl knitting consists of the Thuja socks, they should be almost done by the end of the game. I have one more row of gusset decreases, then the foot should go quickly. Monkey in Lisa Souza's Wild Things (also a gift of Miz Hardy) is next.

Any thoughts on what to do with 880 yards of laceweight?

Sock knitting, hibachi style.

2007-01-31T18:43:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to show KIP - at the local Japanese steak house. This is our monthly dinner, but only Linda and I made it. Still, lots of fun, and delicious food.

The Saga of the Thuja socks, part two

2007-01-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

Through some skillful detective work, I determined that the needles used to knit Thuja sock #1 were US 2. So off I went to locate the US 2 DPNs, and finish up the socks.

I was able to find one. There are plenty of DPNs in my basket - size 0, 1,3,4 and up. Only the one of the set I wanted. This was a Thursday evening, so no Thuja knitting until I made it to the LYS and bought another set. In the meantime, I wanted to knit socks. Being a bandwagon-hopper, Monkey from Knitty is on my list. So it's Friday evening, I had a glass of wine and thought about what to start. Looking at my stash, it seemed appropriate to use the Lisa Souza Wild Things that I got from my secret pal. I cast on with US 1 DPNs, and started on the ribbing. So far so good.

Fast-forward to the next day. I can't figure out why the K1tbl, P1 ribbing isn't working. KUI strikes again. What seemed to be fine on Friday evening had a dropped stitch in row 1. So the knits were purls and the purls were knits, and it all got frogged. It turned out to be a good time to go to the LYS - I ran into a friend that I hadn't seen for years, didn't know she's a knitter and now have her lined up to attend the knitting guild meeting. So Thuja is back on track, with sock number one reknit to be long enough, and sock two ready to pick up gusset stitches.

I decided to wash and block the Red Scarf Project scarf, and sent it off with a Borders gift card and chocolate bar. It looked much better, a little wider, but not so different to take another picture. I finished a small shawl for my secret pal out of Mystical Creation Yarns wool/silk mix. It's very nice to knit; I used the Tie-one-on pattern from Knitty. I forgot to take a picture before I put it in the mail, so hopefully she likes it and posts a picture.

Last, but not least, I finished the twill scarf, took it off the loom and got it washed and blocked. It's amazing how much softer it is after washing! It curled significantly when I took it off the loom, let's hope the blocking helps to keep it flat. It could be an indoor or outdoor scarf - I haven't decided yet. I may also wash it one more time to see if it softens up some more.

Next up - a scarf with DH's handspun, Monkey socks and swatching for a knit jacket.

Red Scarf Project 2007

2007-01-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

Here's my contribution to the Red Scarf Project:

It's the Mistake Rib Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, knit with KnitPicks Swish Superwash in Fired Brick and Red Pepper (2 skeins each). It's hard to see the different colors in this picture. It is soft and squishy, and I'll know the dimensions once it finishes blocking. I'll add a gift card and some snacks and send it off. It's not too late to contribute!

Does anyone know if it is worth blocking something that will be machine washed and dried? This scarf will be blocked, though I'll never know how it does in the wash.

Lime&Violet Sock Marathon

2007-01-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

I had a comment wondering what the Sock Marathon was (Theresa, you so need to be in on this!), so here's some info. I'm an avid listener of the Lime&Violet podcast, and they are (insert superlative here) sock knitters. They came up with the idea of seeing how much sock yarn people had, in miles, then knitting socks, all the while sharing pictures of stash and socks. So it's not a knitalong, there's not a blog, but the focal point is a Flickr group.

So I took inventory of the sock stash over the weekend, and came up with over 5 miles of sock yarn. I made the mistake of doing this with witnesses; additional acquisitions will have to be done carefully.

There's the good stuff (hand-dyed)

and the commercial

Next up for sock knitting - finishing Thuja. I'll use the knitting time to plan the next pair. I have to try Jaywalkers one of these days!

Saved by the Blog

2007-01-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

So, sometime last spring I started knitting Thuja (from Knitty) using Trekking XXL. I completed sock number one, but then it became the summer of The Amazing Lace so it shoved into the UFO pile and who wants to knit a wool sock during the summer? Now, with winter and the Sock Marathon upon us, it's time to finish this pair of socks. The first one really is too short, so I need to undo the toe, reknit it to the correct length, and knit sock number two. The problem comes with remembering what size DPNs were used the first time - I wasn't completely sure I remembered. Since I modified Thuja to use the Trekking, the pattern doesn't help. Thanks to my current Secret Pal, I have a log book - not so last spring. After several weeks of wondering how to figure this out, I remembered that I had a picture of the work in process with the needles in the picture:

With a little luck, and Photoshop (CSI here I come), I was able to enlarge the appropriate section of the photo, and read what it says on the needle:

Now, once I finish the fingerless gloves for a friend (1.5 complete), the red scarf for the Orphan Project (yes I know I have to mail it very shortly) and a little something for my Secret Pal, my Size 2 DPNs and I have a date with some sock yarn.

Finished Snakes on a Sock

2007-01-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Sock one was started sometime last fall, and finished on Christmas Day. Sock two was started Dec 26th, and finished on Jan 1st, 2007.

Now, keep in mind that I only worked during one of those days. Still, nice to know it can be done. As you may remember, the sock yarn was provided by Mama-E, who was my secret pal for SP8, and the pattern is from Lime&Violet.

In other news, DD has been accepted to Northeastern University, and has decided to attend. We are all thrilled and can't believe that she's heading off to college in the not to distant future. Time will tell what happens to the yarn/roving purchases - it could get ugly.

Walking the Winter Away

2007-01-06T07:04:00.000-08:00

So, it's that time of the year where lots of new things get started. I've been walking almost daily since mid-August, but haven't kept track at all of how far I've traveled. Is it symbolic that I've covered a lot of distance, all of it either going in circles or on a treadmill? Anyway, I joined the Runagogo! to keep myself going during the winter, and also to track my mileage. Here's how 2007 looks so far:

DirecTV now has the Style channel, so between that, HGTV, DIY and the FoodNetwork I'm all set.

A Year in Review, the lazy version

2007-01-01T07:48:00.000-08:00

In which I document my fiber activities of 2006, without getting up from the computer.

It all started with the Knitting Olympics. I stumbled across the Yarn Harlot and the Knitting Olympics (can't remember how) and decided to participate. Go Team Wales! That required a blog, so I started this one. The Knitting Olympics taught me that I could finish a project relatively quickly. The downside of this was an increase in the number of projects on the needles at any one time.

FOs for 2006
Scarves - 8, including Branching Out, my first lace
Socks - 5
Fingerless gloves - 4
Hats - 1
Baby kimono - 1
Stegosaurus - 1
Wine bottle cozy - 2
Woven kitchen towels - 4
Woven table runners - 2

Other highlights include seeing the Yarn Harlot, finding podcasts, going to the CT Sheep and Wool Festival, going to Rhinebeck, weaving camp, meeting other bloggers and DH deciding to spin.

More later on the WIPs and plans for 2007. Now I'm going to watch the parade.

To switch or not to switch?

2006-12-27T13:03:00.000-08:00

Now that Christmas is a couple of days in the past, it's time to decide whether or not to switch to the new blogger. Normally I would just jump on the bandwagon, but this has some impact, however minor, on other bloggers. Since the Lime&Violet KAL was started by me, if I switch, then that blog is converted also, with many more users than just me. So, I'm still waiting. The pressure is increasing, as you may have noticed. First it was a comment on the initial screen, then a bigger comment, now there are at least 4 screens in which the blogger user must choose which way they want to go. So, in the next day or so I will at least take the virtual tour.

The total for Christmas knitting included two washclothes knit on Christmas Eve. I wasn't procrastinating, though, I didn't even decide to make them until that morning. Two gift baskets that started out as food baskets turned into spa baskets, with Dead Sea mud body bath from our trip to Jordan, a scented candle and the basket. The baskets would have been incomplete without a washcloth. I had knit Fetching for myself, which turned out too big. So they went to my SIL, who does lots of typing and has a cold office.

Mom brought this handwoven scarf back from Ireland last fall - definitely motivation to try something similar.

Especially with the roving from Sereknity that Santa brought for DH.

My MIL loved the scarf, and deemed it perfect for her winter coat!

Last, and not even a present, I was able to sit down on Christmas evening and finish off the first of my Snakes on a Sock, with the yarn that MamaE made especially for moi. I immediately started number two, and hope to finish it shortly.

Merry Christmas, Mrs Stegs!

2006-12-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

Well, Mrs Stegs is finished at long last.
Face complete, spines attached and for seasonal color, a Santa hat. The dinosaur pattern is by Jennifer Thurston of Extreme Knitting.

The hat is from the 2007 Knitting Pattern a Day calendar, sometime in December. I'm not the only one that has read through the whole thing, am I?

The face is my own creation, and a good example of why I knit instead of draw or paint.

She currently lives in DS' room, and will hopefully have a family sometime next year.

Holiday knitting and some "interesting" yard decorations

2006-12-10T15:04:00.000-08:00

First of all, there is the Secret Pal challenge for the tackiest holiday decorations.

We've always thought that the giant inflatable lawn decorations were tacky. The ghosts were the worst - tall and skinny, with a tendency to deflate. Let's not dwell on what a deflated giant ghost looks like.

This year seems to have brought out a much larger variety of giant inflatable lawn ornaments, so the opportunity for tacky has increased dramatically. It took mere seconds to decide what my contest entry is - the giant inflatable manger scene with Paul Bunyan as Joseph.

First up for holiday knitting is a scarf for my MIL, made from some llama/wool spun up by DH. She will enjoy the fact that we both worked on it.

Then we have the first pair of fingerless gloves for nieces in CA. It's Artyarns Supermerino, one pair takes one skein with inches to spare (yes Karen, this is from our yarn crawl in August). I knit each glove without the thumb, then took the remaining yarn (about a yard and a half), divided it in half and used that for the thumbs. Just enough. This yarn knits up into a delicious soft and squishy glove - and very quick to knit up. One more pair and these are set to mail.

Some eye candy, just cause it's doing so well indoors - the chinese hibiscus that we bought last fall, then decided not to plant because it's not hardy in our winters. One flower at a time, that lasts one day. We've been getting about a flower a week.

Tonight's project is to put a face on Mrs. Stegs, and make her a santa hat (Elf Couture from the 2007 pattern a day calendar. I read just a little ahead.)

Show and Tell

2006-12-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

Lots of good stuff got delivered this week - between my Secret Pal and Etsy I'm all set. These short days make the picture taking difficult - I'm not home during daylight hours during the week, and the interior light in my house just doesn't work.

My Secret Pal included a note with descriptions, and each item was numbered. The theme was purple, with a handknit purple washcloth, lavender body wash, a notebook (lime and violet?) with purple pen, a beaded bookmark and stitch marker and Lisa Souza sock yarn in Wild Thing. And chocolate - did I mention the chocolate? There was more, but it took a few days to be able to take a decent picture. I'm wondering if there is a Lime & Violet connection here - my Secret Pal is from Nebraska.

Out of the goodness of my heart, I decided to support the Lime & Violet Etsy shop and buy some roving. 4.2 oz. of Flower Bowl goodness! DH is quite concerned with running out of roving to spin, so this will also keep him happy for a while.

Another Etsy shop, RubySapphire Yarns, had a sale for Thanksgiving, so I picked up this lovely skein of greenness, - they ship little goodies along with the yarn - some dum dum lollipops and polished stone magnets - the refridgerator is much prettier now! This yarn is destined for scarfdom, but not until the holiday knitting is done.

Several Almost FOs

2006-11-26T13:51:00.000-08:00

There are several projects that are almost, but not quite done.

First we have the wine bottle cozy from Knitty, lacking just a ribbon to thread through the top. Instead of the cord in the pattern, I'm going with a silvery sparkly ribbon to liven up the design. There's an arrow pointing to the eventual location of the ribbon - I also need to work on my arrow-drawing skills.

Then we have Mrs. Stegs. She's been in a WIP since the middle of summer. Now she just needs her spinal plates to be attached, and a face and she's all done.
The second Fetching just needs a thumb, and an owner. It's a toss-up as to whether DH or DS will get them; let's just say that they're NOT fighting over them.

The ultimate unfinished object, Icarus, is slowly approaching the finish line. Row 13 of Chart 4 is complete. There is one benefit in knitting this so slowly - I just found an errata for the pattern, for the last few lines of Chart 4. Mim (who designed Icarus) knit Icarus again, and found a slight error in the pattern. One hopes that I would have figured it out when I got there, but better not to have chanced it.

The next project is a scarf for DH's mom, from the roving that he spun. Possible swatching tonight.

In which DD knits a baby hat..

2006-11-18T07:21:00.000-08:00

This is the hat that DD knit for a dear family friend that is expecting her first child. I had a wonderful post written about it, and deleted it by mistake. Don't blog and talk on the phone at the same time, I guess.
The pattern is the Cap with Rolled Brim from Dale of Norway's Designs for Baby. The yarn is Plymouth's Wildflower DK, a cotton/acrylic that is machine washable, but dry flat.

This was DD's first experience with DPN, and as she didn't know that it was considered difficult, had only a couple of problems. She figured out how to pick up a dropped stitch, and has been introduced to the mind-numbing aspect of plain stockinette stitch in non-variegated yarn.

Our friend will be thrilled that DD made something, so since the baby is due in less than a month, we'll get this in the mail ASAP.

November Flowers

2006-11-10T13:51:00.000-08:00

Is Mother Nature confused?

Icarus is kicking my butt

2006-11-06T16:17:00.000-08:00

I've finally reached the last few rows of Chart 3, but it hasn't been easy. It takes the utmost in concentration, carefully counting, checking stitches, and still these rogue yarnovers appear. So, depending on where I discover them, I let them drop, or have to knit back. Luckily the alpaca laceweight is pretty forgiving. I was within minutes of shoving it into my stash, to be dealt with later (or never) when I checked "one last time" and realized that the errors weren't as bad as I thought.
I love the feel of this shawl! It is soft and squishy - I wonder what blocking will do?

Then we have fetching, in Jo Sharp Aran Tweed. The first try was a bit big on me, so I went from 45 to 40 stitches.
This one is still a bit big, and has a "manly" look with the dark gray tweed, so DH might get them. He tried on the one finished glove and it fit fine - finally something knit that he likes!

Last, and not least at all, is the first yarn off of the new wheel. It has the usual newbie problems, but is spun and plied and washed and I'll knit it up tomorrow.
There's enough for a swatch.

And now we need a lamp

2006-10-30T16:01:00.000-08:00

Weaving requires much more thought and organization than knitting, and so is harder to get going on. With knitting, there's "a little something" that can be picked up and worked on. And location doesn't really matter. With weaving, you gotta go to the loom. Please don't construe this as whining, or that I don't like weaving. It's just not that spontaneous. I've found that I don't put a lot of thought into my knitting, at least in actual preparation. I can always start over if something doesn't work out. I start over a lot.

So, last Saturday I figured out what I want to weave - pattern, yarn, length, etc and wound a warp.

This will be a scarf, in a twill pattern, with the weft being black. I used these same colors in the twill piece we wove for my class, and like the combination. I made the warp long enough for two good-sized practice pieces, both for testing for fulling and for practice.

This was all done on Saturday, with the next step being to sley the reed. That will have to wait for next Saturday, as the lighting in the living room is great for entertaining, but bad if you are trying to get yarn pieces in the correct order without skipping or doubling up in the slots of the reed. It's tricky enough with good lighting - no sense in taking chances.

While I was winding, DH was spinning. After many starts and stops and watching videos, he got this:

Very tightly spun - we'll see what happens when he plys it.

I have promised to knit it - most likely it will be a pot holder.

Stowaway from Rhinebeck

2006-10-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

And not an alpaca! Okay, well not technically a stowaway, but look what followed us home! And by us I don't mean me.

As we're walking around, DH mentions that he learned how to spin while he was growing up, and wouldn't mind getting into it again. The things you learn after 20 years!

I'm not one to dissuade anyone from developing a fiber obsession, especially one that nets me more yarn! So Christmas arrived early, in the form of an Ashford Kiwi and some roving. It also became necessary to buy a swift, so we now have one of those too. Time to wind the L&V yarn into a ball, and decide what to do with it. I met someone through Blogger Bingo who had made the Swallowtail Shawl with subtly variegated yarn, and while hers is gorgeous I now don't think that the L&V will work with that pattern. So, socks, anyone? Hmm, I just remembered that I didn't buy any more Size 1 DPNs, which seem to be best for the Lisa Souza. Knitpicks here I come. Okay, back from that little side journey. Stream of consciousness writing has its pitfalls.

The wheel is useless without something to spin, and we lucked out at the Wellspring Farm booth (Bldg A, lower level, right inside the door).

Ted and Elke provided lots of information about what works well for beginners, so we have some Corriedale, some Jacob's and some llama/wool mixes. Elke offered phone support for the beginner spinner, so I'm sure he'll call at some point.

I'd say I love it when a plan comes together, but this caught me completely by surprise!

I'm a square...

2006-10-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

I knit this sweater for my DH about 20 years ago. He rarely wore it, as we don't live near the Artic Circle, and that's the only place cold enough for him to be comfortable in it. It occurred to me recently (yes, I should have thought of it much earlier, like a decade) that it would be perfect
for me. I'm amazed that I managed to finish it, especially since it is the second sweater. Yes, I knit this baby twice. Once for my brother (he was still in college) and again for my DH.

The importance of this sweater at this point in time is I'm going to wear it to Rhinebeck on Saturday. Add shoulder length dark blonde hair and a Blogger Bingo tote bag, and I'm ready to play.

My "shopping list" for Rhinebeck includes trying to find yarn for the following items, which I would like to knit someday.

Simple Knitted Bodice
Celtic Icon from Inspired Cable Knits
Ram's Horn Jacket from Knitting Nature
Cable Spiral Pullover from Knitting Nature (thanks Mama-E!)

And, maybe some alpaca for my Secret Pal, and me. Oh, and I want to make a booga bag, so something for that. We'll see how much DH is willing to go for - he's along for the ride. It's a good thing there is wine and cheese tasting, just saying.

Calling my Funky Scarf Swap Pal...

2006-10-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

Edited to add: My scarf arrived today - and is really pretty - art yarn in greens, dark red, some sparkly stuff, some shiny boucle, etc. I'll post a picture once I get one that shows the colors.

Oh, FSS pal - please send me a message through the swap-bot, or email me through this blog, so we can figure out what happened to my scarf.

Funky Scarf Swap

2006-10-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

As I write this, my funky scarf is on its way to Denver, where it will (hopefully) keep Heidi warm as well as funky. The scarf has 2 pieces, both tubes knit with the veil stitch. The inner (or could be outer) tube is Noro Kureyon, and the outer is Brown Sheep Mohair and Wool. There's a little left of the Brown Sheep, so it could be a smaller version of the outer tube.

I'm anxious to see what I get - we had a cold snap today!

SP9 Questionnaire

2006-10-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Wow - almost that time again! I had such spoiling and being spoiled that I want to do it again. Not surprisingly, most of my answers have stayed the same.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Love alpaca, alpaca blends, wool that is soft. Don’t like harsh feel or colors, the usual curse of acrylics, though the newer microfiber yarns look interesting.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Needle case for straight needles, DPNs and circs are in their packages in a basket.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? My mother taught me to knit when I was nine, and I’ve been knitting for almost 35 years. I’m an intermediate knitter, as I haven’t tried Fair Isle, or intarsia, or entrelac.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Amazon wish list is up to date.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) Lavender

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Dark chocolate and mint, separately and together.

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

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) 80’s alternative, almost anything Brenda Dayne has on her podcast.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? Love bright and vibrant colors, jewel tones. Don’t like rust or orange.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? One husband, two teenage kids (1 girl and 1 boy) and two dogs.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Scarves and mittens, including dressy scarves for work.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I’ve knit the most scarves, though enjoy socks and learned to knit lace over the summer.

13. What are you knitting right now? Scarf for Funky Scarf Swap, socks, Icarus, another pair of socks, cotton cable sweater.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes, especially if the gift is quirky and/or witty in some way.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I like everything – it depends on the yarn. Bamboo DPNs for socks, aluminum for lace, plastic if the colors are fun.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yarn winder, DH does swift duty.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? 13 years old – never finished DS baby blanket.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas. I love the decorating and snow.

19. Is there anything that you collect? Other than yarn? Prints and posters from places we’ve visited.

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’d like the Knit Fix book, and have a subscription to Interweave Knits.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Toe-up socks, with the picot edge.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes, 9 ¼ inches long, and 9 inches around the instep and ankle.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) January 23rd.

Me in a nutshell!

In which the Random Knitter joins many KAL...

2006-10-02T16:04:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the joining theme, we visit the virtual community today. In addition to the Icarus KAL (still knitting chart #1, though almost done), I've signed up for the following:

The goal of this KAL is to focus on socks, whether it be learning, finishing, knitting some for charity, etc. Current socks on the needles are the second sock of the second pair of Cascade Fixation footies (also a KAL) and the first Snakes on a Sock pattern from Lime and Violet (see below for KAL). Then there is the second sock for Thuja with some Trekking XXL, though I don't like how the first one fits, it's a little small. I will rip out the Kitchener and toe decreases, then make the sock a little longer. And some other socks that show up a little later.

SP8 was so much fun that I want to do it again. Rhinebeck will be the perfect hunting ground for SP9 stuff - the hard part will be doling it out over the 3 months.

Snakes on a Sock - if you haven't heard of Lime & Violet, you owe it to yourself to find out. They've burst upon the podcasting scene with a humorous (okay, hysterically funny) weekly podcast; as far as I know, the only one with two hosts. The Snakes on a Sock (SoaS) pattern is available for download, one of many riffs on the Snakes on a Plane movie debacle. The pattern is much better than the movie.

In addition to podcast, forum, patterns and action figures (well, not action figures yet; it's only a matter of time) there is a Lime and Violet colorway from Lisa Souza. So, we have an interesting twist on a KAL - not on a pattern, but a yarn. And I'm the co-host! The official start is Friday the 13th, but signups are open and participants can start knitting whenever they want. I have the yarn, and am leaning towards a pattern from Sensational Knitting Socks.

Mostly I'm knitting Icarus. Each row is 300+ stitches, and takes forever.

Time for a little joining

2006-09-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

September has been a month to join things - some on line, some in real life. I'm trying to emphasize the real life activities; it's healthier. So here's what I've been up to:

Supporting Diabetes research - Walk for Diabetes - a six-mile walk on the shoreline in Fairfield, CT on October 15th. I'd love to have your support and company on the walk.

Then, Rhinebeck. DH is joining me on the trip to Rhinebeck, and will be searching for the mythical "man tent", which is filled with flat-screen TVs, a digital satellite feed, recliners, beer and snack food. I'll be in heaven, fondling fibers and searching for other bloggers. I've ordered the tote bag, so will have that in plain site.

On the knitting side of things I just finished the main section of the Funky Scarf, and will cast on for the second section in time to take it with me to the band competition tomorrow. The band did okay tonight (I'm not a good judge) and we were finally able to positively identify DD tonight. They all look the same in those uniforms, with the hat pulled low on the forehead.

The importance of finishing

2006-09-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

The process is similar to felting, but much gentler. Gentle cycle, 5 minutes, minimum agitation. The idea is to have the fibers "full", or relax and expand. The huck lace pattern is more obvious - the floats (where the weft, or horizontal, yarn travels over several warp threads) become more pronounced, emphasizing the pattern. A key step in weaving is to plan for enough material for a washing sample. Key when you're working with new fibers and aren't sure how they'll react to the finishing process. If something felts easily, it's best to find out with the sample, and not the blanket.

Yes, the edges are pretty scary looking. Practice is the only thing that will help there.

Time for an update on Icarus. I'm finally on the last full repeat of Chart 1. I am bound and determined to finish this before starting my Christmas knitting.

It has not, however, gotten in the way of my sock knitting.

This is the "Snakes on a Sock" pattern from Lime & Violet, with my special Random Fibers colorway sock yarn from Mama-E. I highly recommend this pattern - it's a fun and quick knit, and shows off sock yarn very nicely.

In related news. I'm co-host of the Lime & Violet Knitalong, featuring the L&V colorway from Lisa Souza. The KAL officially starts on Friday, October 13th, though sign-ups have already started. There is no specific pattern, though we'll have some suggested patterns to pick from. Like Snakes on a Sock.
I still haven't decided about Rhinebeck Bingo.

Huck lace off the loom

2006-09-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

and with wonky edges. Any skill I picked up at weaving camp has disappeared. It's off the loom, and awaits finishing - a quick run through the washing machine on gentle, warm and delicate, then drying on the rack outside. Hopefully the edges will improve somewhat after that step.

Next on the loom will be some of the Harrisville yarn that came with the loom, in a log cabin pattern. Once weaving with wool turns out okay, I'll try the cotton flake that was on sale at WEBS a couple of months ago.

The baby kimono was completed just in time to go to the shower. I borrowed an idea from Liz at FidoKnits, and bought a teddy bear, which wore the kimono.

The bear was very cute and very soft, and mom-to-be was thrilled with both.

The Funky Scarf Swap has been a lot of fun, especially in terms of coming up with a design. It took a couple of tries to get the gauge correct, but now the scarf looks as I envisioned it.

In the first cast on, with many more stitches, I knit 4 inches of scarf and went through 20% of the yarn, enough that I noticed. I weighed both the used and unused balls of yarn, and figured I had to make a major design change, or end up with a very odd, instead of funky, scarf.

Last, but definitely not least, I've signed up to walk with Karen in the October 15th Walk for Diabetes in Fairfield, CT, along the beach. So head over to her blog to get more details of the walk.

Snakes on a Sock

2006-09-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not completely sure of how I discovered the Lime & Violet podcast, but since then I've turned into a loyal listener. To the extent that when I heard about the Lisa Souza colorway, limenviolet, I went to check it out, and lo and behold, it's now in my possession. It's 450 yards of superwash wool/nylon, just waiting for the right pattern.

Then, you may ask, what is/are Snakes on a Sock, besides an obvious take off of a reportedly pretty bad movie? It's a sock pattern, by Miss Lime of limenviolet fame, shown here on my SP8 custom colorway. The picture is mediocre, because I didn't feel like waiting for good natural light (could be several days away), before taking the picture. Hopefully you get the general idea of the pattern, which has two "raised" sections twining around the sock. Very fun to knit.

Not ready for prime-time is the baby kimono from Mason-Dixon knitting, as a gift for a baby shower this Saturday. Yes, that's right, I have three nights to finish knitting, weave in ends, block and sew together. Oh, and make I-cord for the ties. Though I should buy some ribbon just in case.

Real weaving, at last

2006-09-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

This is the continuation of the huck lace that we learned at weaving camp. I warped the loom, threaded the heddles, set the tension and started weaving.

The edges are wonky. No doubt about it, any rhythm and smoothness that I developed at the class needs to be relearned. But, the pull-in is okay, and it looks pretty even. I'll do one more repeat of the pattern, then cut it off the loom, tie some fringe and throw it in the washing machine. The goal isn't to felt it, but for the wool fibers to "full". So it'll go in on gentle for just a few minutes and we'll see what it looks like. If all goes well, the huck sections will stand out and the pattern will become visible. We could have a table runner here!

Random Fibers, the sock yarn

2006-08-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

I have the most amazing Secret Pal - Mama-E of Cyber Fibers. She made me some sock yarn in my very own colorway, based on the funky fractal picture I posted a couple of weeks ago. Tucked in amongst the yarn are two pairs of earrings that match. Now I have to figure out the best way to show off this yarn. Socks, or a scarf? Any ideas?

The next package that I unwrapped (because I start with the biggest) was this lovely skein of Vesper sock yarn, with a set of coordinating stitch markers, including the RANDOM and FIBERS ones. I'm pretty that this yarn will be socks.

That wasn't all - a big, fragrant block of lavender soap, two yummy candles and some notepaper.

Isn't this the greatest? Once I learned her identity, I made sure to check out Mama-E's eshop. She has a sock club. How long until I sign up for that?

In knitting news, I'm trying to finish Icarus before starting anything else, like the Simple Knitted Lace Bodice. I bought the pattern, but haven't done anything about the yarn. Next up should be the Funky Scarf, since I'm designing as I go. Maybe I'll cast on tonight, to make sure I have needles that are the right size.

Last but not least, DS turned 13 today. Now I'm the mother of two teenagers!

At long last, the loom is complete

2006-08-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

Occupying much of the living room, the floor loom is all put together! DH was a great help. I don't know how we would have put it all together if I hadn't taken the class. The directions are very well written, with plenty of diagrams, but knowing what each piece does and how it is supposed to work was invaluable.
The first warp will be a repeat of the third warp from the class, because I saved what was left on the loom. It's the huck lace pattern, and there should be enough yarn for a place mat. It's primary purpose is to see how the finishing works in my washing machine.

Then I have to decide on the next project. Webs had a sale on their cotton weaving yarn, and I bought several cones - pure white, natural, pale orange, pale yellow and a variegated with the white, yellow and orange. I'm thinking baby blankets. DH couldn't figure out how such a small box could be so heavy - usually yarn deliveries are very light weight. Cotton on a cone is much denser than skeins of wool.

The other highlight of the weekend was a yarn crawl with Karen, to several of her favorite yarn shops. I'm all set for most of the Christmas presents that I want to make, as well as the yarn for the Funky Scarf Swap. Just in case, no pictures of our shopping.

Funky Scarf Swap Questionnaire

2006-08-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Are you allergic to any fibers? No fiber allergies.

Do you prefer any fibers over others? I'll take novelty yarns in small doses. Lately the unusual fibers have drawn my attention - soy, bamboo, sea silk, stainless steel. Alpaca is always good.

Thinking back to Scout’s post about what funky means to you, post an image of something that you think is funky!

Would you prefer funky yarn or a funky pattern? Funky yarn

What are your favorite colors? All shades of green, plum, royal blue, pale yellow

What colors would you never have up close to your pretty face? Orange, rust, brown, beige. I'm pretty pale, so need colors to brighten things up.

Would you prefer an actual scarf or a cowl? Scarf.

When you wear a scarf do you prefer a wider/shorter scarf or a thin/long scarf? Long and thin - I wear them indoors to brighten up work outfits.

What is the climate like where you live? Hot in summer, cold in winter, cold in summer at work due to air conditioning.
Would you prefer a functional scarf (to keep you warm) or one just to funk-up your wardrobe? Funky trumps functional.

What else would you like your partner to know about you? No frills or anything fussy - I don't even like buttons on clothes unless absolutely necessary.

Casualities of the Summer of Lace

2006-08-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

My SP8 hostess issued a challenge to display all of the unfinished knitted objects in my house. There's not enough bandwidth to show all of the unfinished objects - would probably need to include children, etc in that post. As I collected the neglected projects from their various corners, it occurred to me that most were displaced by lace oriented projects - Branching Out, Broadripple socks and Icarus. Icarus is at the top of the pile right now - I want to keep going while there is some momentum.

Clock-wise from top right we have steggy, just waiting to be put together. The body is sewn up, next is the head, then plates(?) along the spine and legs. Then there is Thuja out of Trekking XXL colorway 28. Sock one is done, but I don't like the toe so need to redo that. No rush on those, at least for a month or two. Then there is Arizona Lace, which is lace but has too many knitting errors for me to be happy with it. It's fate is unknown, but most likely involves frogs. Upper left is the windchime scarf that we learned at my knitting guild - short rows and knitting backwards. It's waiting patiently for winter. Then in the middle is the cotton cable out of Tahki Classic Cotton. I love it and worked on it diligently (cables out of cotton are hard on the hands, so only did a few rows at a time) until all the lace projects kicked it off the table.

The home-based project is Icarus, on which I've finally started to get going. The white line (don't forget to floss) is the end of the first repeat of chart 1. This has a ways to go

For traveling knitting, we have my Cascade Fixation obsession. This is sock #1 of the second set of anklets. Pair number one did very well at tap class last Thursday, very cushioning in my tap shoes.

My Secret Pal is making things worse, by having this arrive at my house:
Knitting Nature

There are several items in there, the hexagon spiral scarf and ram's horn jacket to be specific, that will go on the "To Be Knit" list very shortly.

In other SP news, we have discovered that there are only 3 degrees of separation between my SP and myself. It turns out that the younger sibling of my SP is friends with my daughter. They're all sworn to secrecy and won't tell me anything. Grumble grumble...

FOs and a hint

2006-08-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

Branching Out is finished, including blocking, and I'll probably wear it to work tomorrow.

The Broadripple socks are done, and I'm sad that they have to leave - they are very comfortable. My SIL will enjoy them - she picked out the colors.

The Cascade Fixation ankle socks get to stay here, and I'll wear them to tap class on Thursday - someone might get a look at them. The cushy nature of the sock will be welcome for tapping, that's for sure. My first attempt at a short row heel and toe. I like the heel, though with the minimal number of stitches the heel of the sock was a little low, so I crocheted on several additional rows across the back so the sock won't fall off. The variegated yarn hides my wonky crocheting quite well. I had trouble with the short row toe, and getting the yarn in the right place to do the grafting. I may go back to the standard toe for the next pair. Yes, there is a next pair already. I went to Patternworks up in Centre Harbor, and picked up some more Cascade Fixation. My apologies to those who entered my little contest - no one guessed that Patternworks would be my destination.

The solution to my "Where's the lace?" picture:

The Broadripple socks, carefully scattered amongst the beach towels and water paraphenalia. The hot pink sock is on the hot pink towel, and the green sock has its pink toe carefully hidden on a matching T-shirt.

Where's the lace?

2006-08-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

Edited to add: There are two (one pair) Broadripple socks in this picture.

We're back from vacation, and before I do anything else I have to get my post up for The Amazing Lace challenge #5. So, without further ado, find the lace item(s) in this picture. I'll post the "solution" in a subsequent post.

Finally, time to knit.

2006-07-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

No knitting updates worth showing, or loom building either. The socks - Broadripple #2 (green with pink toe) and Cascade Anklet for me are slightly bigger. Branching Out is close to completion but looks the same. By next week, though, I expect to have all of these finished, and have Icarus well under way. How, you make ask, when I've made so little progress lately?

VACATION! For the next week we'll be relaxing on Lake Winnespesaukee. So I'll be spending the next week knitting, reading, knitting, swimming, knitting, etc. Oh, and sleeping. Hopefully I'll have better luck with that than in recent weeks.

Here's a peek of what it looks like:

Bear Island cam

If you take a boat ride and head out between the two closest islands, you end up in Center Harbor in about 10 minutes.

What's so special about Center Harbor? I'll have a little contest, and pick a name from those who guess correctly. The winner will receive a little memento from Center Harbor. Extra credit if you pick the day I visit there. So, leave a comment by Sunday, August 6th with your answer.

Looming

2006-07-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

loom

One entry found for loom.
Main Entry: loom
Function: intransitive verb
Etymology: origin unknown
1 : to come into sight in enlarged or distorted and indistinct form often as a result of atmospheric conditions
2 a : to appear in an impressively great or exaggerated form b : to take shape as an impending occurrence (definition from Merriam-Webster)

The second definition seems to be more appropriate these days, as most of my time and energy is consumed by work, so little else is getting accomplished. At least, not as much as I'd like. So, for a quick update, my project status:

Branching Out, which looks longer in real life. I've completed 20 repeats, and almost reached the end of the second ball of yarn. Seven or eight more repeats should do it.

Then, the looming loom. DH is helping with the assembly, so it's going a little faster. Next step is threading the heddles on the heddle rods. All 800 of them. Let's hope no one sneezes.

Then, the second Broadripple sock for my SIL. We were in NH in early July, so she was able to confirm that it fits.

The fixation with Cascade Fixation has claimed another victim - I should be able to knit some ankle socks for myself pretty quickly. I'm going to try a short row heel, as I prefer its appearance on this type of sock.

Well, I feel better reviewing the week, as my unfinished projects loomed over me. More was accomplished than I thought.

No lace for you!

2006-07-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

No lace knitting to report, along with no non-lace knitting to report. There has been knitting, as I decided that I wanted to make my Secret Pal a little something. So that's complete, and the regularly scheduled lace knitting will resume.

As will the loom assembly. There was a bit of a delay due to a hole being in the wrong location. I called Harrisville on Tuesday at noon, and had the replacement part by Thursday evening. Since it was one of the feet, I didn't make a lot of progress until yesterday.

There is still quite a bit of assembly left to do, so I'll keep working on it.

Maybe by next weekend I can weave something. I had better weave something before we go on vacation so I don't forget what I learned at the workshop.

Some assembly required...

2006-07-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

By the time this is all put together, I will have an intimate knowledge of every piece of this loom. According to the directions, the loom takes 4 to 8 hours to assemble. It's taken me 3 hours to get ready to assemble, not counting wait time. To start, I unpacked the three boxes and identified every piece on the list. The next step is to lightly sand, then apply the finish to the wood pieces. The loom is made from rock maple, which is a beautifully grained wood. To allow the natural patina to develop, one applies tung oil to each piece, let sit for at least 1/2 hour, then apply another coat, sit another 1/2 hour and wipe off the excess. Oh, and don't let the cloth with which the tung oil is applied sit in the house, or spontaneous combustion could occur. So much for assembling the loom over the weekend. DH brought the boxes into the house Saturday afternoon, once I returned from my stint at the thrift shop (no purchases today) and the library (time to renew the card). After several hours of unpacking, sanding, wiping, oiling, oiling and wiping, I'm finally ready to start assembling. It's now 8 PM on Sunday, and time to get ready for the week. So no assembly yet. I really do enjoy putting things together (20 years as a process/manufacturing engineer will do that to you) and am looking forward to getting the loom operational. Here are all of the pieces:

In knitting news, I finished the first Broadripple sock for my SIL. She had picked the yarn over the Memorial Day weekend - one sock pink, one sock green. With that in mind, I decided to take it one step further, and swap the toe colors as well:

Other knitting news is secret, as something is in the works for my Secret Pal. I know she's a Red Sox fan, so will try to find something appropriate. Sorry, the World Series is out of my control.

Weaving at last

2006-07-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

After many months of anticipation, I spent the last week of June at Harrisville Designs, at a "Learn to Weave" workshop. This particular workshop is for those who have very little experience in setting up and weaving on a floor loom. I stayed, with four other wonderful women, in the charming "Chelsea Mills Boardinghouse." Charming is the most applicable description for Harrisville - to include the boardinghouse, the town, the business, everything.

I set off for New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon, and knew I was close when I saw this moose at the rest area in Vermont:

Then it was off to Harrisville, which is 10 miles east of Keene, NH. I was the only one at the boardinghouse on Sunday night, so made lots of progress on Icarus.

We warped the looms first thing on Monday, well it took most of the day, then started weaving. Tom Jipson, the instructor, is a great teacher, and let everyone work at their own pace. Over the course of the next day and a half we learned all kinds of weaving patterns, then worked to develop a rhythm. This is what we had at the end of the first warp.

The second warp was set up as a twill, and was equally as long. The third was for Bronson lace, and then a type of pattern called "Summer and Winter". I had a great week, loved the weaving, and this followed me home:

Some assembly required.

Camp for Mom

2006-06-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

Sometime last fall, the idea of weaving, in addition to knitting, became implanted in my brain. (Sound of Silence, anyone?). So I read books, and searched on-line, and found some wonderful weaving groups. The desire grew to the point where my main Christmas present was a Kromski Rigid Heddle Loom. Unlike knitting, where the initial outlay is small, weaving requires a loom. While I like the Kromski Harp, it seems like only the bigger floor looms really allow the weaver to experiment with patterns and colors and such. While I enjoy the rigid heddle loom, it's not what I'm looking for.

With the Kromski Harp, I've made several kitchen towels, and the ill-fated scarf/shelf runner. Clearly, this is not something that I'll be able to teach myself. So, way back in January, I discovered that Harrisville Designs, in Harrisville NH, offered a week-long Learn to Weave workshop. From 9 to 4 each day, with access to the weaving room outside of those hours, I could learn to weave. The town is charming, and the Weaving Center offers a boardinghouse for those who wish to stay there.

This is my idea of heaven:
- 5 days with other fiber-addicted adults. One assumes that all will be women; we will try to keep an open mind.
- The cost of the workshop is exactly the same as one offered locally, only the local workshop is half the hours of instruction. If I'm going to use vacation days, I want it to be a whole day. The local workshop is 10 - 2.
- 10% off of everything at the Harrisville store. 'Nuf said.
- I'm going by myself. I love my family, but I need some me time. DD is off to Florida on a mission trip to rebuild houses wrecked by Hurricane Katrina. Let's not get into the request that all bathing suits be modest. DH and DS are off to mid-NH for a week of swmming and video games.
- No internet connection. No checking email, no requests to provide information for the folks at work. If I decide to drive the 13 miles to Keene to use the free wireless connection at Panera bread, it will be due to the coffee and pastry.
- Time for walks and knitting (Icarus, I hear you calling).

So, I may be incommunicado for the next week. I'll take plenty of pictures, write a poem about my Amazing Lace, and recharge for another year.

P.S. DD is working at the Cold Stone Creamery in Brookfield, CT. Make sure you leave a tip, especially if the red-haired kid is working. She's probably the one singing the loudest.

Icarus - too close to the sun?

2006-06-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

I made it all the way to row 36 of the pattern when I noticed this:

The feeling that something wasn't quite right had been nagging me for a while now, possibly the reason that I hadn't been working on Icarus very much. There were a few minor errors, nothing major, yet still there it was, the urge to frog and start over.

With the discovery that I had knit the stitch counter into the shawl, the decision to frog was made. Despite paying what I thought was close attention to what I was doing, the error with the stitch marker was made 4 rows back, and I hadn't noticed. Next week is Learn to Weave (camp for adults) at Harrisville Yarns, so I'll have time to concentrate on Icarus. (I'll also read the manual for my camera to learn how to focus better on shots like this.)

Icarus B.F. (before frogging):

Secret Agent Knitter - apparently not

2006-06-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing I never wanted to be a spy, because the Secret Pal stuff is a bit of a challenge. The spoiling of the secret pal is going well, it's the secret identity that I'm having problems with. So far I've left a comment on my Secret Pal's blog as my real self, then I left a comment as anonymous, but didn't put anything in the comment as to who I am. My Secret Pal is smart enough to figure it out, but still...

Silver Arrow Knits had the suggestion to use the not-quite-a-scarf to display antiques, and I decided to go with that theme. Below you see some of the souvenirs of our trip to Jordan last summer - the brass shows up nicely.

Knitting update - I had a whole blog posting planned around my lace knitting taking a trip to Lafayette IN where I went for business this past week. Knitting on the plane, in the car, at the River Knits yarn shop... but I forgot my camera. We chatted with the owner, and showed off the iPod case, but didn't get her name. I picked up a couple of skeins of yarn, which may get described at some future date. One is destined for my Secret Pal, so won't be mentioned until it's in the mail. She already let me know that she will try to resist the temptation to follow the link of the comment back to here, but I don't want to take chances on spoiling any surprises.

Much of my travel time was spent working on the lacy socks, so here they are: Arizona Lace in Green and Broadripple in Pink. Both are now good travelers, having been to New Hampshire and Indiana.

Arizona Lace is waiting for the gusset pick up, and Broadripple is ready for the heel flap. Tonight I'm going to spend some time with Icarus - it's been neglected as of late.