Era bueno

Adios!

Where you might find me this week, on vacation.

thanks to everyone who voted on the yarn color - it's a tie between moss and orchid!!

Vote for a color -->

This cardigan is in my Ravelry queue:

ETA: this pattern is from Knit.1 Spring/Summer 2009

and I really want to try Patons Silk Bamboo.


But I can't decide on a color!
What do you think?

I'm thinking about adding beads, as that's an option for the pattern.

I'm excited to try and add them using the crochet hook method. Hooking Beads As You Go.

I finished the Wide Rib Hoodie, which required completely different-sized needles than the pattern called for.
I used US 11, US 10.76, and US 10.
The yarn is Schachenmayr nomotta Extra Merino. I had 12 skeins and I barely had enough to finish - only got to knit 4 inches of the ribbing vs the 4.5 inches required.






I washed it yesterday and it got VERY stretched out :-(
It's drying now - hopefully it didn't completely lose its shape.

The yellow yarn project was ripped out.
It was way too wide.
I started my own personal pattern - the idea was to have a fitted waist, scoop neck, fluttery sleeves.
I knit most of a front (or back) and part of a back (or front) and sewed it together to see what it looked like on me - it was Meh.

It sort of deflated my knitting mojo.

I switched to crochet this weekend for (another) sooper seekrit project - I'm crocheting spirals!!!

I've got two done and will just keep on keeping on until the yarn is almost gone.

I have two projects planned for my vacation.

I'll be knitting a pair of very simple, but finely ribbed socks using the Crystal Palace Panda Cotton (below) and this pullover.

Just waiting for my KP bamboo needles to arrive...(US 0, 1, 2, 3, 4).

when needles lie

My favorite knitted item to date:

Provence Marl Empire Waist Cardigan

Whisper Caridagn #2:

Knit Picks Shadow in Papaya

Diagonal Baby Blanket for co-worker Ethan

Sugar and Cream, Butter Cream

RosiG's A Little Nightcap

Dave thinks I look very ethnic is this thing that makes my head look ginormous because I have so much freakin' hair.

Used leftover Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in Alpine Lilac.

This.... this is a mess. knit about 10 inches and decided to iron it to see how wide it actually is.

It's 40" in diameter. When I can stomach it, I'll rip it out and figure out what the hell I want to do. At this moment in time, it just makes my head hurt.

On to bigger and better headaches. Pebbles Wide Rib Hoodie.

This is from the same pattern book as the Empire Cardigan.

I'm using Schachenmayr nomotta Extra Merino.

The pattern calls for DK double stranded, US 8 to get 10 sts/ 4 in.

I swatched - I don't know why - but I did.

US 8 didn't work. I got at least 14 sts/4in.

So I tried US 9, then US 10, then US 10.5, and finally US 11.

US 11 is pretty spot on.

There are three needle sizes used, they claim that they are US 8, US 7, US 6.

I had an AHA one morning this week - I think they transposed millimeter sizes with US needle sizes as US11 = 8 mm, etc.

So I e-mailed them and they responded right away - said they'd re-check.

It will be interesting to figure out how I'm going to come up with a 7 mm needle.

Butterfly 2.0

I originally started Butterfly at the end of July in 2008.
I got all the way to the end, put the elastic in, did the crochet edging, tried it on.
It was WAY too big.

I was so disheartened. I put in a plastic bag and stuck it in my closet with my more well-behaved yarn to let it think about what it did wrong.

About six months later, it told me that it might be willing to be unraveled and start again.
I took this under consideration.
I started looking at other people's Butterflies on Ravelry. What yarn did they use? Did they get gauge? What tips or tricks could I garner from their lovely Butterflies?

Then one day, I stumbled across someone's FO. They mentioned that the sizing was based on the circumference under the bust.

I then realized why my Butterfly never took off.
I had knit the incorrect size, based on my bust circumference.

So out came the Butterfly and the ball winder and the yarn was wound back into little cocoon balls.

On March 20th, I began again.
On March 31st, Butterfly 2.0 took flight.






I omitted the crochet edging on the arms and bottom.

Knit Picks Shine Worsted, Laurel
Addi Turbos US 9

Remember Nutkin?

It turned into Coin Lace Scarf.



While I was finishing that, I also knit Retro Rib Socks in Araucania Ranco Multy.



And for my co-worker that I'm teaching how to knit: Mr. Mousey, stuffed with catnip. An un-felted version.



Kihei hides the mouse and brings it out from time to time and drops it at her feet.



Also, Pasadena, which took a wrong turn on the Raglan I-5 and wound up in Armsyce Hell.


I will be ripping this apart at some point and re-doing all of the pieces down to the arm holes. Why? Because I'm crazy like that. I used Plymouth Encore Worsted.


Can't go to work without socks! Patons Kroy sock yarn (Summer Moss Jacquard), basic toe-up sock pattern with 3 x1 ribbing. One sock down, one to go.



The Whisper Cardigan in Argosy Luxury Yarns, Haiku 2-ply, Wedgewood.







And my current project - which is going REALLY well.

Provence Marl Empire Waist Cardigan in Filati Torre Lino (a PERFECT yarn sub) from Florence, Italy.

That's one sleeve, I've knit across the back and started down the second sleeve today.

Sooper Seekret Project

for his birthday, dave is getting a new coat.
his old one, a very nice gap coat, disappeared when we were remodeling.
bags of coats from our closet somehow got mixed in with a giveaway pile.

what do scraps have to do with his birthday present


can you tell now?


what he'll find when he puts his hand in his new coat pocket:


the prez!