Post-Thanksgiving

I knit very little over Thanksgiving. A few rows on the actual day, I think.

But did a lot of talking about knitting and knitting-related things.

Dave's mom offered to knit us another afghan. Cool! She said that she does them now on US 17 and needs 10 balls of Lion Brand.
So yesterday I inspected some colors in person, and finally seleted Barley.








Yesterday JoAnn had free shipping, so I had all the yarn shipped directly to her! Thanks JoAnn!
This picture doesn't show it off well. It matches our furniture and leans more in a direction that I'd like to go colorwise (instead of the always orange direction).

Then my father visited and I told him I knitted the sweater I was wearing (baby alpaca, drops design). He did not reply. I said, "Did you hear me?" He said, "Something about your sweater." I said, "Yes, I knit it." He just sort of nodded, like, uh huh.

So the next day, I asked him if he could create sweater closures out of leftover wood (he's a woodcarver). So I brought down a bunch of sweaters that I had made to illustrate my point. I said, I MADE these. He says, "Yes, I can tell."

And people wonder why one day was all I could stand with the man.

Then he asked me to knit him a scarf. Trying to help him pick a color other than beige or brown to go with his beige coat was quite a struggle. We finally settled on these two colors:











The scarf will be knitted horizontally (CO a gazillion stitches) in stripes. Luckily he doesn't want it to be too long. So I purchased some Knitpicks Options Needles with a 47" cord. While I was shopping, I thought maybe Dave's mom would like some needles as well. So I called her to check. She told me that she's been knitting afghans on 29" circulars!!!!!!!!!!!! So I bought her some US 17 with a 40" cord.

Also, while perusing my favorite blogs, I came across the Urban Aran projects. Damn you knitting project pushers. I could not resist. So I purchased the pattern from JoAnn (free shipping yesterday, you know). Now I need to purchase the yarn. Although I have heard that the Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky is very sheddy, it really is an unbeatable price for this project.

While I was deciding on whether or not to buy this color:










I got an email from Elann that they were selling Boho:














A yarn needed for a pattern that I've had my eye on for a long time.

But really, it's getting a little out of control. And while the skirt would be fun to make, I question how much I would actually wear it. *sigh*

I am trying to save knitting (finishing) the chevron scarf for knitting at LPK. So I was working on my cashmere sock last night. I stop the pattern at 1.5" before the end. I'm almost there. This is sock #1.

Today I will return yarn to the stores I brought the Lion Brand colors home to show Dave and buy the elann yarn, that will probably arrive before the pattern does. Which while frustrating, will probably allow me to do a swatch, then again, maybe not. ;-)

Excuse the dust

While I format my new blog and get all of the previous posts copied and pasted into blogger, because tripod lycos completely ruined my previous blog.

A lot of the old entries have sentences that run together - it's a formatting issue that I will fix. Just wanted to get all of the info in here first.

This will be the first entry that I will not have to change the date and time stamp! Yeah for me!

UFO

This is an unfinished object that has not been touched for probably over a year.














It is the morning surf pattern in Knit Picks Shimmer Morning Mist
My husband said, "I haven't seen that in a while." I said, "It's been sitting in the same place for about a year." He said, "I mean, I haven't seen you work on it in about a year."
Well, yes, that would be accurate.
And as soon as I picked it up, I remembered why.
Not because it is worked on a size US2.











But because before I could even start knitting, I had to rip out two rows.
It may not be obvious, but there's a right and wrong side to this piece. I managed to knit another 8-10 inches on this yesterday. I would like to finish it - just to see what it looks like once blocked properly.
And the chevron scarf, I'm happy to report, is three and a half feet long!

need a photo shoot

for all the pieces that I've completed!
yesterday while babysitting movers for my friend who moved to France, I made major progress on the sleeves to the mohair Japanese cardigan pattern. it's now finished and I'm wearing as I type!
here's what I'm working on now:










you may remember this needle from the high anxiety, cheap, cute needles that were on sale at Tuesday morning
they are perfect for this pattern, as they are SUPER pointy and make the kf&b x 8 (two times) a piece of cake!
I'm using koigu and nature's palette yarns mixed together
Joyce and I went to Purl Soho in Costa Mesa on Wednesday - which is basically a small warehouse. I looked for another koigu to mix for the pattern, because the nature's palette is a bit bigger in diameter. I bought some koigu that I thought might match, but it didn't - it was too silvery blue. the nature's palette color is much more brown and works bettter color wise.

between

petting giraffes and worrying about work, I finished the vest cape, but am not super pleased with it.
it's very tight and I feel like it's too short
I also finished this pattern













in a very soft pewter grey wool boucle and it turned out very nice!
I'm now working on another Japanese pattern in an acrylic mohair, lace chevron fronts and sleeve bottoms.
and I'll also be starting the Last Minute Knitted Gifts chevron scarf with these yarns:










I've been reading that it's fast and easy.
And my friend who just got back from Paris, said all the women looked like me and wore scarves, so maybe this will wind up being my travel scarf?

Finally! A wool I Like

I started my first Jpanese pattern: Vest Cape.
It's very hard to find a substitute yarn for a pattern, let alone a pattern which lists the yarn in Japanese. All I had was the gauge to go on.
And with my mathematical challenges, that was not easy either.
I ripped two times before I got the gauge for the combined yarn beginning:
I used the Patons Soy Wool Stripes in Natural Navy and Noro Cashiroha in Natural.
The rest of the piece is ribbed. It's knit all in one piece. The yarns are so soft, I can't stop knitting once I start.

"Cozy!"

both socks are done.

Yes! He tried it on.

the past two times I went to knit at LPK I worked on Dave's sock.
the question I got each time, "Did he try it on yet?"
I think they were concerned that it might not fit.
But I happy to put all of the concerns to rest.








In fact, I knit too far, I need to rip out a few rows to complete the toe decrease!

you'd never know

that I hadn't worked since Sep 15
I have been knitting - and networking!
the alpaca sweater is finished and looks DAMN good. I've worn it twice and no one asked me, "Did you make that sweater?"
it's all about sox now and the mystery project. I am holding my breath that: 1) I have enough yarn and 2) it turns out somewhat as I have envisioned
sock 1 (for Dave, Sheree helped me figure out where I had stopped and what I needed to do next today)



















and sock 1 (for me, Knitty.com Hedera, leftover cashmere. I've tried it on several times and it's starting to take the shape of my calf).



















mystery project was supposed to be this:
















but I gave up on it last winter when it wasn't turning out anything like the picture. I ripped the back out - 2.5 skeins - the other day.
now the mystery project back is complete and I'm working the two front sides of the mystery piece at the same time.
I really don't like this yarn. it feels like plastic. the give of the elastic makes a gauge swatch useless.
if the mystery project works, it will be a miracle of G-d.

Happy Birthday to me!

or what my second birthday present was, because the camera that I got, that took this picture, was actually more for my husband.
my first blocking project on my blocking board!















the front left was almost done, and then I saw stockinette inside the garter, so I ripped to about four inches from the bottom
then I noticed stockinette inside the garter about an inch from the bottom, so I ripped even further
I got the garter right the rest of the way up, but ran into trouble on the decreases for the neck
I didn't like the SSK that I tried, so I ripped it out and tried SKP
I'm not thrilled with this either, but was too lazy to look up something better
I've been so unfocused since I've stopped working
I got lost in the pattern instructions and when I got about 4 inches from binding off, I thought that I had decreased too much, so I ripped it back to 22 sts left on the needle.
re-read the instructions - it was supposed to stop decreasing at 29 sts
so now two pieces blocking, three more to go!

this week's jonesing

I decided this weekend that I must knit more socks - that this would be an excellent way to reduce my leftover stash of yarn
so I researched on Knitter's Review Forum, Book Recommendations and have always seen knit and tonic's can't live without.
So I bought:















and
















my order hasn't been shipped yet, but I am already crazy for two new circulars, so that I can use up the leftover cashmere yarn
that would be 16" US 1s
I found this interesting needle comparison, while I was trying to decide if I should by Knit Picks circulars or Inox circulars:
http://www.grumperina.com/knitblog/archives/2006/07/weighing_in.htm
tonight is knit night at LPK, I will see if they have the Addis, if not, I'll place an online order for the Knit Picks needles

my friend, close to tuesday morning

when I wrote her about how crazed I was that sheree had found knitting needles at tuesday morning and that my closest store didn't have them,
she became my
S U P E R H E R O
and picked herself off her couch on a hot sunday afternoon and went to her closest store to look for me!













this was my sneak peek, as neither of us made to LPK last night

school sweater

the yarn from the previous post was gobbled up into a scarf in six days
when I started the project, I decided that if it turned out well, that I would submit it to knitty.com
I showed it to my friends and they loved it and one wanted the pattern. I wrote the pattern in 10 minutes
then, I deliberated over the submission of the pattern to knitty.com for 12 days
in the meantime, school has started, and I told all of my knitting friends that I would not start a new project because it would be too tempting to knit and not do school stuff
then I proceeded to start this sweater in knit picks alpaca silk:

done in this color from the bequeathed collection.

I've got black, white, and cinnamon of the the same yarn to figure out what to do with as well
I think part of the reason I started a new project is because I intuitively knew that my contract wasn't going to be extended and that I would soon have more time to knit.
and sure enough the contract was not extended. my last day is the 15th of September.
I have been eyeballing this pattern for awhile:

using this knit picks alpaca.

so dave said that I should buy more yarn while I was still working. so on Thursday I did. It was shipped on Friday.
Along with that purchase I bought a skein of yarn to add to the socks I'm going to make for Dave. The yarn that his sister bought for me for by birthday - wasn't enough for my sox:














and it definitely won't be enough for his.
when I asked him which he would like first - his sox or the golfclub cover for his new driver, I'm sure no surprise to you, he said golfclub cover.

yarn arrived yesterday

and I went at it with much enthusiasm
I wound a bunch up and have joined two skein for a nice-looking fabric
dave helped me with the math, so I've got the pattern
but now I'm nervous that I won't have enough yarn.

time and changes

Although I haven't blogged, I have been knitting.And I also gave away a bunch of projects that looked like crap because I failed to knit a gauge swatch.
Since I've last blogged, I've made a commitment to knit more perfectly. This often involved lots of ripping.
And my most recent foray into knitting without a gauge swatch involved a waste of yarn - cabled mohair that will never be able to be undone.
But here is a picture of finished cashmere items for Dave:















And here is the Interweave Spring 2006 Picot Camisole in Frog Tree Pima Silk:



















And here is the cashmere I'm waiting for - for a special gift for someone (and then lots left over for the Greetings from the Knit Cafe Slouchy Cardigan:



















Hopefully more soon.

pathetic

-my blogging commitment-the sweater that I re-did for dave-my ability to complete projects that I start-the amount of time I have to knit-going to the yarnlady bag sale when I have more yarn than I'll ever be able to knit up in this lifetime if I continue working full time and consider going back to school at the beginning of the year

should be called knitting for dave blog

I finished his scarf and even blocked ithe said, I must be a very special person, you never block anythingand then said, so now you'll start on the fingerless gloves?...so making good progress with the cotton angora side to sidewhen he pulls THE sweater out of the closetthis sweater is practically exactly one year oldand it's been sitting in the closet patientlyafter the "finisher" had her way with itI couldn't stand it any longerthe beautiful pathetic sweater that was not being wornat 10:30m am I began ripping it apartat 1:30 I was almost finishedwhen I say ripping, I mean, just to the armholesthis sweater was seamed before I knew what I was doingand that's why it went to the "finisher"dave helped rip apart a sleeve todayand I'm almost done with re-working the frontit will be like a weight off my shouldersand then I will finally delete the message from the "finisher" from my answering machine - saving her phone number all this time - thinking I might actually call her up one day and tell her what a horrible job she did and the sweater doesn't fit

slowly but better

I have had no time to knit
the only drawback about working againI am making huge strides on the front of the swooped eyelet pulloverbecause I'm not having to rip out every two rows that I knitthis makes me happydave's cashmere scarf is a slow work in progress as wellherringbone pattern, size 2 needlesI believe that I failed to mention that I bought the cotton angora in the color forest.I'm going to make this sweater from the DB CA book















and instead of working on my paper or knitting yesterday, I found this sweater that I really want to do

doesn't he listen

I told my husband not to let me buy anymore yarnbut there he sat complacentlyas I punched in my credit card number at herschnerr's faster than he could say cotton angora













speaking of angorafluffer just ploppedwhen he eats so much that it's nap timehe plops on his sideit's very cuteso back to the yarnit was $3.47/skeinit's flying off the H shelves

ripped a skirt

I tried to knit a skirtand then found out how unflattering it is on me
so I ripped it outI've spent the last few hours (not working on school work like I was supposed to) researching patterns and installing my knitware software on my laptop to design something new







it will be like this sweater but a cardigan, not a pullover{crossing my fingers that I have enough yarn}I also ordered the software updateit's supposed to have yarn estimation improvementsthat would be niceok I'm really going to work on my midterm reflection paper now

95?! Geesh!

how am I supposed to wear my new acrylic sweater when it's going to be 95 degrees tomorrowdid someone forget to tell the weather that it will be october in 3 days?awww manthat's all kinds of suckyor sweaty

target sweater done

I worked all friday nightand most of saturdayknittingfinishingadding boucle to the edgesit's so darn cuteand too darn hot to wearthat acrylic, man, sure can make me sweatI want to show it off on wednesday at knitting, though, so I'll probably wear it anyway...seeseesee what target yarn can make?!!I finished the back of the orange swooping eyeletand started the frontand am slowly working on dave's cashmere scarfyesterday I was reading this blog:pamie.comand I felt possessed to knit my own cashmere hoodieI will resist the urgeof buying more yarn from richard...at least for now

finished? nope.

I finished the target sweateror so I thoughtwhen I tried it on and the sizing was HORRIBLE under the armsthe pattern was suppsed to be a fitted waistbut somehow in knitting this got translated to fitted waist with extra room for someone with DD cup sizethis is not an experience one wants to have to endure with a boucle yarnlast night involvedsighingrippingcuttingtearing (that would be forced pulling, not water in the eyes)pickinguntil only about three inches remained front and backwhich is where the nightmare of increasing beganand this morning involvedwinding the front and back back into ballsso that they could be re-knitthis time I'm doing a straight shot up to the armholewish me luckotherwise this $8 sweater will become trash can filler

getting sick of yarn?

I never thought I'd say it, but it feels like when I've eaten too much, past the time where I say to myself, "I should really stop eating now," and I've gorged myself to feeling physically uncomfortable.I feel overwhelmed by the number of projects that I want to be working on RIGHT THIS MINUTE.The front and back of the target yarn sweater each took 5 hours. I'm about halfway through the 3/4 sleeves.I created my very own pattern for dave's cashmere scarf.and I cannot for the life of me get through more than four rows of the the diagonal orange yarn over sweater. it's seeming rather hopeless. I spend more time undoing stitches than actually knitting stitches.

target yarn!

my husband had to tell me to calm down when I walked into the dollar section at target and saw target yarnthey had soft eyelashscratchy acrylicand interesting ladder/railroad novelty yarnand this:




I







normally abhore boucle, but a sweater for $8 - WHO CAN RESIST THAT?there's no gauge on their packagesso I knit up this swatch for my knitware software patternon the recommended US8 I gotapx 14 st x 20 R

more yarn

I think it was last week, I said to my husband, I'm beginning to get sick of myself and all this yarn I'm accumulating. Please don't let me buy any more yarn.So I've been resisting the urge to buy this yarn for $2.97 a skein.No, you're right, I don't need anymore yarn. Nope. But I do need to buy yarn that cheap. That is the overwhelming urge I feel.Plus what am I going to mix the yarn that pirijio and illka brought back from finland(in bright pink) with?







and the cashmere yarn from the UK (which arrived here quicker than the book from NY, which still has not arrived) is GORGEOUSGORGEOUS I tell youon their flyer they had a quote from some one who said that the yarn was SOFTER after washing!!!HOW COULD THAT BE?AND Richard gave me a free skein! because he said the shipping that he charged was too highUh, Richard, do you want a friend for life?Right now I should be writing my paper for class.But I'd much rather peruse scarf patterns for my new cashmere yarn.

don't do carmen

I was going to title this WHERE'S MY BOOK?

but wanted to warn anyone who would listen about this yarn:Patons Carmen

my friend adrienne came over friday"I can't get this scarf to go straight."well, that would be because THE STITCHES ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP TRACK OF nevermind the fact that the yarn is SO FREAKIN' SLIPPERYthe redeeming quality of this yarn is that is so soft and furry that any mistakes are completely covered by lots of furoh, and I had to use THREE stitch markers on a CO12 scarfthat was the only way I could finish the scarf for herbecause yes, I am a knitting martyr

and WHERE IS MY BOOK?

beginning to think there's no help

for people like meit's a sicknessand I'm not talking about the sickness that is the cold I had all weekI'm talking about this sickness:insanity is my middle name or my husband won't know whether to kill me or kiss meluckily I am working for the next monthand earning extra cashoh, that cash was supposed to pay for the new engine for my car which isn't under warrantywhich honda of america may or may not pay for oh wellI'll have lots more time to knit soonI'm supposed to be reading for school right nowI promised myself - no knitting - so what do I do?surf the web on knitting related thingsI'm really going to knit, I mean read now.
Edit this Post Delete this Post

coming home with more yarn than I left with

we were out of town this weekendvisiting family and friendssunday my aunt gave me the two skeins of recycled silk that she ordered forever agoshe is having hand surgery soon, so I'm going to make her a scarf to go with her amazing orange gap down coatthen wendy's local knitting store was having a 50%, yes, let me repeat FIFTY PERCENT OFF saleoh lordI thought my brain was going to pour out of earsthey had the most amazing selection of yarnsthey had the southwest trading company phoenix - but not enough of any one color to buy for a garment, DAMN!I stumbled upon the tables in the back where I found MY LINEN YARN it's mostly viscose with some linen. but it's perfect. the color is a little lighter, but I think it will work perfectly. I bought a bag of 10 balls for $40 (175 yds ea)and before I left they were asking me to come up and teach a classI was like huh-WHA?

definitely original

I went to the mall for the first time since I first saw the cocoon vest at bebe.my version is very different.almost an upside-down, easier versionthis is frustrating mealso their fiber content is 90 acrylic/10 woolthere's is so soft and gushydid I mention that I am now the proud owner of three yarntainers?ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Newton's Yarn Arrived

most of it is thinbut I am going to knit either the brown and black or the grey double for the 1650 yd ruana

free yarn

prototype comments

I tried the protoype on for everyone at the store last night. They were ooohing and aaahing - they said it looked perfect, not too short, not too narrow.Kat said that she'd like a sample for the store.Lori said I should sell the pattern.I re-counted my skeins this morning that I had remaining and I think the count is more like I used 5-6. At first I felt badly using so many skeins of the Debbie Bliss Superchunky, but now that I've looked more closely - 6 skeins would probably work. The yardage on the DB is a little less than the LB.I want to have my car back - I had to ask Melissa for a ride to work today... - plus I NEED TO GO TO TALL MOUSE AND GET A YARNTAINER













I can hardly contain ***myself*** and the overwhelming need to put my yarnin this perfect yarn container.

nighttime thought

I realized in the middle of the night that I had failed to include the information regarding the 6-stitch hem of the cocoon vest.So I have added that information to the tutorial.I am puzzled as to why the tripod ad is insistent about showing up attached to the the assembly picture, I've tried to alter the document, but so far nothing is working.Here is a separate document with only the Assembly Picture.

Cocoon Vest Tutorial

You can find the first draft of this vest




















HERE. I will post a picture of mine soon.I'm actually going to redo it, and I think if this second prototype turns out nicely, I'll splurge and purchase some Debbie Bliss Superchunky.I'm considering making one for the store and making my pattern available, too.Please let me know any questions/suggestions you may have. As I mentioned previously, I've never created my own pattern before, and the one I've posted is a draft - by no means a final version.Because the pattern is simple (two pieces which form a 'T,' you should be able to start, see how your gauge fits your size and adjust to your size accordingly (until I finish figuring it out for myself).Also, regrettably, I believe Kool Wool is discontinued. I stumbled across it in the clearance section of my favorite JoAnn store ($3/skein)!Happy Knitting and I look forward to your comments!Thanks!

the silent knitter

the vest is coming along now that I've picked Leah's photographic memory brain she sketched a picture of what the back looked like and it all made sense I will be finished sooner than later now that I've switched from my 14" aluminum needles to these





















it was a must if I wanted to knit in bed dave complained that the metal needles made too much noise and as much as I liked knitting with them they were too long and unmanageable

Floor to Ceiling

I received the picture of the yarn store in Egypt.















It looks like a lot of crochet thread - perhaps that was what the 3 number was all about.Oh well, I'll find a use for it somehow, some way...

vest attempt

I've been working on this since last Thursdayand gave up last night, but JUST found a great thread on this pattern at craftster
Here's what I have now: attempt at bebe vest




















I'll post the completed project soon.And someone would like my pattern, I couldn't be more flattered!In updating news:I finshed the green golf vest, and light blue ribbed cardigan.Never again: men's vest size 42, US4, wool/acrylic blend. It looks really nice though.Oh and before I finished the vest, I HAD to make the FCEK Sp/Su05 shrug out of Knit One, Crochet Too, color Istanbul, for my birthday. My friend had done one in Rowan Summer Tweed (a multi-flecked light purple, it was FANTASTIC). I whipped that up in about 4 days - I CONSTANTLY get compliments on it - even from strangers in Carmel. :-)I've got multiple projects started now:morning surf scarf, wild stripes baby blanket, and the bebe vest.AND my neighbor called from Egypt this morning, she was yarn shopping for me, what colors did I want? I picked Egyptian cotton (total of) 1000 yds each in 3mm color: vanilla, and 2.5mm light brown.I can't wait to see it next week, she'll be home on Tuesday. It was $1 for EACH skein! The vanilla came in 50g (138yds) and the brown came in 100g (550yds). I asked her to take a picture of the yarn store, she said the yarn was stacked floor to ceiling. I'll post that when I get it.

ripped too soon

Ruffle-less top: Yesterday with both sides sewn up, both sleeves done, and one sew in already, I attempted to put in the second sleeve. It was too short. The neck hole was MUCH smaller than what the picture showed. I resigned myself to a re-do and ripped out all the stockinette (8inches worth). Today, I went to borders to get the new Indigo Girls CD and browsed the knitting magazine before I left. Knitting Knitting (from England): inside was picture of one of their patterns that showed how cap sleeves are attached to the front and backs of an item almost like the ruffle-less top. What I discovered was wrong with project were only two things: the completion of the bind off for the front and how I set-in the sleeves. Other than that, I ripped way too much and too soon. Oh well, live and learn. The stockinette knitting went quickly anyway.

really, I have been knitting

and now I have all the pictures to prove itI kept remembering more and more things to add to my completed listso I'd jump up and take another pictureI'm looking forward to seeing how the vogue ruffle-less trim top looksso far the lace detail combined with the stockinette is really prettylast night dave helped me create an excel spreadsheet




















where I can COVERT MY GAUGE INFORMATIONthis is big big bigI have such a hard time with the mathand have always been bothering him to help meexample #1 the surplice jacketI ripped that thing out so many times trying to use a different yarn than the berocco pattern called for.perfect opportunity:this vogue top I'm working onthey say - "hey, one size fits all, because we used a stretchy yarn!"I say, "I don't want ruffles, and I do not want to buy any more yarn. I want to use up the black cotton (US6) that I used for my MIL's bday shawl (6.5 skeins left)."I do some fuzzy math with melissa at LPK last week and start knittingthen when it comes time to BO for armhole shaping - my brain turns to mushI kept scratching down calculations. multiplying this and that. I had NO IDEA what I was doing.he is so smart.he whipped it right up.and then I made it pretty.if you think you might be interested in using our teamwork, post a comment, I'll email it to you.

alive and knitting

really, I'm still herestill knittingjust have been working two part-time jobs and back in school againhere is one of the cute things I've finished since then rebecca top



















more pictures to come soon(as more yarn is coming soon, from elann!)I will be making this sweater at some point:cabled zipped jacket in cavalier greycan't sleep at night thinking about all the new knitting projects I'll be doing soonwith more free timeone temp job ends today or very soon!

more knit, less blog

I have been completing projects.I finished the yellow/ribbon sweater - I wore it to strands and stitches and got many compliments, and one obvious statement - "the sleeves are little short" so the rest of the day I wore it, I kept pulling on the sleeves. when I wash and block it, I'll be a-stretchin'.I re-did for the THRID time the surplice jacket - it's done!I eucalaned both this sweater and the estivo cardigan - the blue wool was super smelly!while I'm waiting for yarn for several different projects to arrive, I ripped out the orange tank top I did last year. it's getting a new look: tan on one side, orange on the other. fitted waist and more substantial shoulder pieces, identical scoop neck front and back - so it can be worn either way.I've been thinking about how I can "spice" it up - I dreamt about beads last night, and then there's always - creative stitchery to seam it - using the two yarns together or opposite colors.I also completed a kippah for my father, it was nicer than the previous one I did, I used thinner crochet yarn, but the daleds looked like reshes. So his Hebrew name can now be RVR or ROR depending on you look at it. I was in a hurry to send it out, so I didn't get a picture.I should be getting today or tomorrow my sock yarn(shades of grey) for my fingerless gloves, the rayon chenille(shale) to join with my multi-colored mohair for the colinette pattern, and I have no estimated arrival date for the crystal palace mikado(flame mix) I ordered for my rebecca tank top(third picture from left, middle).

ottawa, baby

Brian is going to ottawa on sundayhe will be ONE POINT SEVEN MILES away fromYarn ForwardHe said, "Uh, how much space do I need to allow in my suitcase for this visit?"I said, "I have a suitcase you can borrow!"I've already started picking out what I want:These are nice in Cherry and Blue/White.and could this be any cheaper (in Tangerine)?I want to have my orange cotton tank top - but don't want to rip and re-do the crappy one I made last year.and there are some CUTE patterns in Rebecca - mottled blue jacket - would look nice with the blue/white or the cherry.Leah is coming over tomorrow - she said she'd help me pick out yarns from knitpicks.I continiued knitting the sleeves for the tre mouline - I've decided that I will sew it up and disregard the extra width on the one sleeve side - and I even contemplated using a sewing machine - so much faster - and then if I was very brave I could serge the edge and cut off the extra.*crossing fingers*

the blues

I ripped, recalculated, and reseamedand the surplice jacket still isn't workingI've been so depressed about this project that I don't even feel like working on anything elsebut I would love to buy more yarn!dave said that if I cleaned up the office and filed all the papers away (a job he detests) that I could buy $20 of yarnthat office was spic and span and organized the very next day!now I'm contemplating which yarns to get from the new knitpicks collectionmy difficulty in projects seem to be choosing patterns and different yarns to go togetherand not swatchingand not being good at mathand being impatientI need a knitting boot camp:8am - pick pattern8:30am - swatch different yarns9:30am - break10am - math lesson12pm - lunch1pm - calculate pattern with swatch gauge2pm - begin knitting pattern3pm - break3:30pm - continue knitting4:30pm - Q&A5:30pm - dinner

baby shower tomorrow

we're wrapping up the













tonightso I took pictures before it goes to the new babypixie and I went to encinitas to the north coast knitting guildwe saw vivian hoxbro do a presentation about her life/careershe was very sweetwe met the president of the laguna hills knitting guildand saw a woman who knits at LPK on wednesday nightsafterward we went to common threads and the black sheepat the black sheep they had the new rebecca magazine and blocking pins!life is good!

what? no mention of the kitty bed?!

here is shelby














enjoying her new felted kitty bedwe've been taking lots of pictures of her when she's in there - mostly because we can't believe she actually uses it!AND the baby blanket, booties, and hat are complete - picture to be posted soon!

where you been?

oh knitting here and thereI was working on the blue bulky cardiganbut messed up the mathneeded more yarnso I got some more from the yarn ladyand put it away for another dayI finished the baby blanket and whipped up some botties!














now I'm finishing up the body of my v-neck sweater - the yellow mixed with multi-colored ribbonit's been a good challenge and looks really cool! the "lace" work on the bottom is so pretty AND my scarf style and patons grace yarn









arrived and my spiral ruffles scarf is coming along!you can't really tell from the picture, but the beige-y color is really has more of a greenish hueI have some crazy idea in my head that I can finish the yellow sweater before wednesday nightlet a girl dream and get back to knittingciao for now!

hats

Eric sent me some pictures of his kippah and Garrett asked me to make him a hat














yesterday. He designed it - I knitted it today. I told him we should go into business together! I had a fantasy while knitting it that he would be famous and wear one of my handmade hats everytime he performed or had a public appearance. Someone from MTV would ask him about the hats he always wears. He would say, I design them, and my aunt knits them for me.And of course everyone on the face of the planet would want one because he is the coolest person ever.

mixed yarn pattern

I was so excited yesterday morning to find this pattern for my maize yarn that I am mixing with the multi-colored ribbon.After a frustrating morning of figuring out that their key translation was incorrect - an umschlag is a YO NOT a Sl 1 and ripping out about 6 rows, I knitted back to where I had ripped and it looks BEAUTIFUL!















Here















is the progress I've made on the baby blanket.I finished the brown and eggshell blue sweater, but it's a little shorter than I would prefer. I'm going to knit up some extra rows for the front and back and then figure out a way to attach them.I've added new Completed Projects pictures and here















is a closeup of the drop stitch I used for the yarn that Melissa wouldn't let me pay her for. Thank you, Melissa!

new yarn

it's been quite a busy week...having to have dave do the math on my striped sleeves, ripping out, re-knittingand I started on the baby blanketit's pretty simple!one "complicated row" - which repeats a pattern - which then becomes easy to learnthe remaining three rows are repeating combinations of knitting and purlingthose four rows over and over againhere is my new yarn





















serendipitously, the yarn I'm making the baby blanket with got into the picture - top right

a day of finishing

oh yarn sale... so much yarn, so little timeit was such a great idea to go with a few projects in mindmost of the bags I bought went for a specific needand then I bought a few extra kinds just because I liked themand then there was the camel hair/merino bag of 10 skeins that I got for $58.50this was especially a steal because I had grabbed two bags, I looked at the price - $170 and realized that I should take one back because I wouldn't need twothe bag I was left with had a different price on it! $53 worth of a differenceat that point there was no doubt I'd be buying ittomorrow is our knitting get together - so I'll be gathering a skein from each bag to take with me for show and tell. I'll take a picture of them tomorrowplus a picture of the estivo cardigan, cabled mohair that I spent most of the day finishingit's not bad! the mohair hides a lot, but overall - it's a cute, yet somewhat thick sweater - my other show and tell item.I'm several inches near to finishing the striped sweater - going to work on that now!

finishing + practice = no more louise

I was so thrilled to learn the basic finishing techniques today! The hardest thing we learned was adding on a button hole band. And the best part was learning how to do short rows!!!!!I definitely need to practice - and am so excited to have a few projects to work on.Tomorrow is the bag sale - it seemed like so far away for so long, and now it's tomorrow!!! I'll probably be dreaming of yarn all night.

can't control the beast

apparently I couldn't wait for the bag sale on saturday to buy yarnI had to buy from a store I swore I would never again buy frombut it's a gift for someone's baby...and dave said I could...do those things make it OK?I bought Flower Variegated to make a blanket, a hat, and booties
Leah came over yesterday and we knitted.I've started the sleeves on the brown and light blue sweater.

knitting swatches

after a lazy weekend of knitting and ripping(did I mention that I don't follow directions well?)I started knitting my swatches for my finishing classI am using the caron simply soft brites, mangoit's very soft, and I am so in love with the color, I'm thinking of knitting a sweater with it - it's SO crazy - it would look cute with dark blue jeans

addicted to cables

I feel like I'm beginning a new era in my knitting experienceI got my knitware software - which will make my constant use of different yarns for patterns easierI'm taking my finishing class on Friday - I am SO excitedand I completed my first cardigan with cables - the sleeves are PERFECT...I'm already searching for new patterns with cables!I'm 2/3 finished with the back of my brown and blue striped sweaterafter the class, I will have two projects to practice seaming with!the day after the class is the yarn lady's bag sale - I am going through serious yarn buying withdrawal - every day I find myself searching online for yarn - I should have bought the Patons Grace from JoAnn on Thanksgiving day - it would have been $3.23/skein and free shipping. Feeling sick to my stomach about that loss.

I'll show you, my pretty

did I mention that I took dave's sweater to be finished "professionally?"and it still looks weird...I just signed up for a finishing techniques class in encinitas - I am SO excited - I know that if someone can teach me, I'll be able to do it - it's just SEWING with a needle!!!!!!!I need to bind off the back of my divine cardigan and I finished the front of my striped sweater last night - progressthe bag sale is coming up and I'm starting to have yarn buying withdrawl - I don't know if I can hold it together for another two weeks - and I don't even know what I want to make - just know I want to have lots and lots of yarn around me

go bruins

dave helped me whip these
















up on sunday
can I be done with his projects now?oh, by the way, louise is re-seaming practically dave's entire sweateras she so delicately put it, the job I did was really "bad."he finally got the sweater over his head and the arms were all bunched up - it looked like crap.she said that I needed to learn some better finishing techniques. I said, I'd love to, do you teach any classes?she said, oh no, I don't teach finishing techniques, that's my profession.......gotta love those yarn ladies.while we were at LPK on sunday, we discovered their ball winder!!!! what fun! I had a bunch of the yellow and blue yarn all tangled up - and we wound a few sections into balls - we came right home and bought one off the internet!

what's wrong with this picture?

I finished seaming dave's sweater and did the neck ribbingand then I tried to put it over my head and it got stuckand I laughed outloud because I knew that if it wasn't going over my head, there was no way in hell it was fitting over his
I knew instantly that I'd have to take a picture













of the last hiccup in this sweater for dave

fantastic first meeting

yarn, wine, yummies and silly talkit was great!what does it mean, when I wake up in the middle of the night, dreaming about how to seam the shoulders of dave's sweater together though...?no offense, honey, but I really want to be through with this project for youlooks like I'll be re-doing a scarf a made for him in my early crocheting days - it's a little wide....pzee's husband wants a golf vest, and dave said he'd like one, tooguess I'll be searching for a pattern today....

maiden meeting

that's what avril1980 called tonight's first south OC meeting! I'm excited to see what everyone's working on and get more seaming done on dave's sweater.last night dave said, don't you get bored of just sitting there and knittingsilly boy, NO! the project I'm working on now has the cables which definitely keep things interesting and I'm already itching to start the brown and blue pullover (for me!!!).

be specific, would ya?

Dave figured out the measurements of his sweater on Sunday. The pattern only had percentages - so he put his astro-physics brain to the task and discovered that I had knit the top portion of the sleeves incorrectly.The sweater is knit in stockinette, and the instructions said, "Decrease one stitch each end of needle every knit row 44 times." So I only decreased on the "knit" side. I should have decreased EACH side.So I spent probably about 8 hours yesterday ripping out sleeves and redoing them. They're done - they're correct - and now all I need to do redo the shoulder seams - I tried a method that looked really crappy - sew the arms in and do the ribbing for the neck collar.What a relief.I've already finished the right front of my cabled cardigan - and started on the left side. So far, so good!

becoming unseamed

I seamed an entire sleeve to the body - only to find out it wasn't fittingso I did some researchand I ripped out the seamnow I've seamed the shoulders togetherbut they look totally stupidI'm pretty close to taking it to someone professional who knows what they heck they're doingI'm very close to finishing the second sleeve, so I'll revisit seams when I finish that