Stash Therapy

Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran (30% off bag)...love this yarn. It's soft & squishy...holds cables well and I adore the color. Destined for a sweater and it's looking like Cassidy may be 'the one'.

Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo (50% off bag)...I'm really leaning towards the Wyvern Wrap...loved it when I first saw it last fall, but it it had been designed for kids. Now that's been corrected and Angela has a new designed based on the kiddos pattern!

Artyarns Beaded Cashmere (50 % off)...2 skeins. Can I just say OH. MY. GOODNESS. I have longed for these skeins for a very long time. Now that they are mine I am just overjoyed...I will knit a scarf for me. Did ya hear that? It's for Me!

Jade Sapphire's Mongolian Cashmere (50% off) in Cashoflouge...think Christmas for someone special. Now is there anyone who deserves a bit of cashmere around their neck? MMMMMMM..................

Rowan Cocoon (30% off)....will be used for Snezi found in Sensual Knits. Another Me project......

Jade Sapphire's Mongolian Cashmere (50 % off) in Wasabi...think Christmas present for another someone special. Whose left that I know deserves a bit of cashmere? MMMMMMM..................

Blue Heron Egyptian Mercerized Cotton...bought without any plan...just because it was 50%. I do love my Lace Ribbon Wrap knit out of the leaf colorway so it may be destined for something similar.

Blocking the CPH

The Central Park Hoodie's back and both fronts are now blocked. So far so good...well except for the honking mistake I found while I was blocking the right front. At least I only have to tink back one cable repeat & redo the shoulder shaping so it's not a big problem. Never noticed it while knitting. Mind must have been wandering again because I DID count the cable repeats before I started the shaping...just didn't count well.

Anyhoo once I blocked out the right front and then the left front you could not help but notice the difference...the right was a couple of inches taller. Not good. So once it's dry I've got to fix that before I can join the fronts and the back together. Still plan on doing a three needle bind off for the shoulders so the plan is to finish the main body tomorrow.

As for the sizing issues that I was worried about prior to blocking it looks as if it's right on the money. The back is perfect at 20" wide and about 1 " longer at 25". The left front is 9" wide without the button band and is also 25" long. I'm not gonna talk about the right front since it's slightly off...it is okay in width though at 9". The way the numbers are working out once the button band is attached I'll be slightly wider than the 10 1/2" listed on the schematic...works for me!

As for the sleeves I decided to knit them at the same time on one circular needle. So far so good through 2 pattern repeats. Let's hope there are no more surprises...I have enough going on right now.

Run Through

Today it's all about what progress has been made with all the stuff on the needles. Actually I'm pleased that I have touched everything I have at least once in the last week. All are making progress towards completion. All have required me to fix something...in one case quite a bit of tinking was needed.

First up is the Nicole Jacket I finally got past the armhole shaping and am close to starting the shoulder shaping. It seems like it has taken forever to get past the armhole decreases because of my inability to knit & watch the National Geo channel. This pattern has driven me more nuts than usual because the pattern is knit on the wrong side...you can't tell if you're still right unless you continually flip back & forth or you just go for it and realize you're off as you get to the last 5 stitiches. I thought of using stitch patterns, but I'd need one every 4 stitches...so I just decided I won't work on it if there's really something I have to see on National Geo.

My second big project is the Central Park Hoodie...moving quickly there. I'll finish the right front this evening. This weekend I may go ahead and block the fronts and back so I can seam it up and try the darn thing on. The arms I'm thinking will be done in the round so I'll have a bit less seaming. Although I've thought about doing them together on one circular I doubt I'll go that route...too much thinking about which sleeve is which so the cables aren't flipped. So far my only problem with CPH is the 2nd cable I forgot to do on the left front. At least I noticed before I'd gotten the entire front done. Decided to frog back to it rather than take out the stitches just for the cable...turned out to be much faster than messing with picking up the stitches for 4 sets of cables.

The poor basic sock has been a bit neglected this week. I did work on it while sitting in a waiting room, but I'm just not loving this yarn at all. I don't like the feel of it and the patterning isn't matching as well as I think it should...afterall I did start at almost the same spot, but the design is not as crisp and clear as the first sock. I'm not ripping it back because as much as I hate to say it...just don't care about this sock.

The last of the projects that got a good bit of attention was the Herringbone Wrap...needed to see how far I could get before my trip to Mosaic on Tuesday. It's now 72" long which may be long enough, but I just might add another set or 2 of squares since I still have yarn left & I love long wraps. I ended up buying 2 more skeins of the Noro Silk Garden Lite in the colorway I used the least in order to knit the sides. Maybe the darn thing will be all done by the end of next month...will need to plan out the sides. I'm so type A that I want to match the two long sides...crazy right?

Short RowsDone

Short rows are all completed...there are 18 stitches for each shoulder and 38 stitiches for the hood all waiting paitently on holders. I'm hoping I've done them correctly. Time will tell. I also started knitting on the left front and got all the ribbing completed before bed...yeah!

Short Rows You Say

Significant progress has been made on the Central Park Hoodie or CPH. I'm about ready to start the shoulder shaping and have decided to do short rows rather than binding off as the pattern describes. The sloped shoulder will look so much better than binding off and then seaming up the fronts and back. The live stitches will then be held & I'll seam the fronts and the back using the three needle bind off.

I'll end up with a sloped shoulder & an almost invisible seam...what's not to love about it? Now how will I do this when the pattern isn't written with short rows? Well you can find a tutorial here at Knitty that tells you how to 'rewrite' the pattern from binding off to short rows. It's really very simple in the case of the CPH. The size I'm doing tells me to bind off 6 stitches for 6 rows, but what I plan to do is knit to the last 6 sts then wrap & turn back, then I will follow my pattern until the last 6 sts where I'll wrap & turn back. I'll repeat this for each row...knitting up to 6 sts before the last wrap & turn for 6 rows.

So I have rewritten the shoulder section to look something like this:

Row 1(WS): follow pattern to last 6 sts, sl 1 pw, wyif, return sl st, move yarn to back and turn

Row 2(RS): follow pattern to last 6 sts, sl 1 pw, wyib, return sl st, move yarn to front and turn

Row 3(WS): follow pattern to last 12 sts, sl 1 pw, wyif, return sl st, move yarn to back & turn

Row 4(RS): follow pattern to last 12 sts, sl 1 pw, wyib, return sl st, move yarn to front and turn

Row 5(WS): follow pattern to last 18 sts, sl 1 pw, wyif, return sl st, move yarn to back & turn

Row 6(RS): follow pattern to last 18 sts, sl 1 pw, wyib, return sl st, move yarn to front and turn

Row 7(WS): follow pattern and pick up all wrapped stitches, either knitting or purling as needed, place the stitches just worked on holder (18 sts + 38 sts), break yarn and reattach at RS to pick up all wrapped stitches at right shoulder (18 sts).

I should have 18 stitches(left shoulder), 38 stitches (hood) and 18 stitches (right shoulder) left after I complete the short rows...it'll be fun right?

Even and Odd

What happened? I suddenly have a number of things on the needles this month and all requiring my attention. Currently there are 3 sweaters (Nicole Jacket, Central Park Hoodie and Shaped Edge Sweater) 2 different socks (Basic pattern & Knitty's Spring Forward, Etrusca and the Herringbone Wrap. I'm thinking in order to get it all done quicker and so no project will feel neglected I've decided to take the time honored approach of an odd/even day. It worked during my kids growing up for various things so on odd days I'm planning on working on Nicole, Basic sock or Herringbone Wrap. Then on an even day I'll knit on Central Park Hoodie, the Spring Forward sock or Estrusca. The Shaped Edge Sweater only has a sleeve left so that can be worked in when I need some mindless knitting.

Another great thing about this approach is that my poor thumb will not cramp up with the same needles being handled nightly. Of course it could all fall apart when one project becomes the next obsession...have to resist that impulse.

The Group's First Sock

Back in March I mentioned that my neighbors had asked me to help them learn how to knit socks. Everyone knew the basics of how to knit, but no one had tried knitting socks. The first call came from D who wanted to do a pair for her oldest daughter who had recently had a foot injury. D had knit up a "toe cozy" for the daughter because her exposed toes were constantly cold. Since the daughter loved the feel of the yarn on her toes D naturally thought she'd love handknit socks....who wouldn't love them! So plans were set to get together and start a pair of socks as a birthday present for her daughter. Afterall she said we "had until June to get the socks done"...funny how that worked out. The other neighbors, B & E decided they would like to take part in the knitting party too.

I made up a basic sock pattern based on the Yarn Harlot's book, Knitting Rules and a ball band of Colinette Jitterbug. The first lesson came...everyone got their socks cast on and 2 x 2 ribbing started. We got together a few more Sundays to knit...progress was very very slow for everyone. The last time I checked in on their progress D had ripped back and restarted a few more times...still working on the ribbing & the June birthday is now past. E had made it down to the heel flap, but had not picked up her needles in a while.

Of the three who started knitting back in March only B was close to finishing her first sock. On July 8th she was done with the toe decreases and ready to learn how to finish...the very next evening she learned how to do just that. The Kitchener Stitch can be a confusing mess of stitches when you first do it. I remember sitting at my desk and saying out loud..."knit off, purl on...purl off, knit on"...over & over again until I got to those last 2 stitches. B did have some problems remembering the mantra, but she got through it with a completed first sock.

Her sock has had some memorable moments...about 1/2" of the knit stitch followed by a row of purl before realizing that by knitting in the round stockinette is created without the need of purling, the poor sock & it's attached needles getting sucked up in her vacuumn not once but two times & the heel flap getting ripped back multiple times for 'dropped' slip stitches...still a mystery as to how those stitches ended up unravelling. I've told her that she needs to cast on for the second sock...before "second sock syndrome" rears it's ugly head. Mine is cast on and ribbing is done. The question is do I work to the heel and wait for E & D to get there or do I finish my second sock?

The Forgotten Finished Object

I really shouldn't say it was forgotten because it has been worn a number of times since I finished it back in June...I just forgot to take FO Picture. Of course I'm talking about Chic Knits Ribby Shell that I started in May and finished on the 17th of June. What a fun knit it was...quick, simple, looks nice on, and to top it off a few compliments even from my husband.

I didn't do an awful lot in the way of modifications...in fact only one comes to mind. I added an extra inch in length to the overall garment. After wearing it a bit I think I may add another inch or so to the length on the next one. Yes, there will be another since there are 2 versions of the same pattern...one is a plain front/back and the other is ribbed all the way around. I'm leaning towards a ribbed version, but the plain front is very nice.

The shell looks so nice I'm thinking of making one as a vest for the fall/winter season. Instead of using summer light weight yarns I'm going to use worsted weight to see how it looks...would do it in a much larger size so that I can layer under it. Bonnie Marie Burns, Ms Chic Knits herself makes that recommendation in the pattern so it should work out just fine.

The details of the project:
Pattern: Ribby Shell from Chic Knits

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Teddy Bear

Needles: KnitPicks, size 4 Harmony Options and size 6 Options, 48" circulars

Modification: added 1 inch in overall length to shell body

Size: 37"

Monkey is Done...11 Months Late

I finally finished the 2nd Monkey Sock by Cookie A. for the second time. Yep, I knitted it twice...what fun...well not really! I had finished the second sock of the pair way back in October, but when I tried them on there were "size issues". I guess I messed up the gauge and I never paid attention to this "little" problem.

After I had finished the sock I laid it on it's mate and looked at the difference in size between the two. I could not believe that I had never realized as I knit that the second sock that it was growing larger in diameter. I had used the first one as my measuring stick to check that the ribbing, the heels and the toes were all the same between the socks. I remember noticing some width differences, but blew that off as just the way I was laying them together...you know as in those peskey needles "get in the way" notion. Needless to say that width does make a difference in how the sock fits my foot...this sock did not fit & I knew I'd never wear them nor do I know anyone with such mismatched feet that I could dump them.

After this discovery I laid the sock aside for the night...to think. I don't like to rip apart in the heat of the moment so I left it until the next day. Of course I ripped the darn thing apart first thing the next morning...the whole sock. I was left with a pile of curly yarn that I washed, dried and wound back into a ball. I put the completed first sock and the yarn away...far way from me.

A few weeks ago as I was pondering what knitting I would take with me to Purl Jam I came across the Monkey bag...it seemed a shame for such beautiful yarn (Fleece Artist Sock Merino) and one sock to just be sitting on my desk. I cast on and start the second sock...making sure that I had a much tighter gauge. I didn't really knit much on it over the course of the weekend, but it started growing and was finished last night. I'm pleased with the fit...now the only problem is that it's much lighter in tone that sock 1. I didn't try to match the colors because it didn't seem possible. You do notice...DH did, but whose going to notice under my pants leg? There is no way I am going to frog this sock again...not happening.

New Day, New Month and Another Plan

Today I went to visit my LYS...The Yarn Lounge. Since I was close to the shop running some errands I decided to pop in on them. I have 2 projects, both needing a needle size of US6, so it seemed like a good idea to go ahead and get the Addi's for my Nichole Jacket by Jane Ellison. I love using my other Addi's, but I only have lace sized needles.

While I was there I looked thrrough their yarn selection for a replacement yarn for the Mosaic Maniac's Central Park Hoodie KAL. As I said a day or so ago the Kathmandu DK Tweed wasn't going to work for the CPH. After looking at my choices...the Jo Sharp SilkRoad Aran, the Louet Riverstone, and the Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted... I chose the Lamb's Pride. The Lounge had a color I had not seen before called Cafe-au-Lait...think varigated browns. The shades vary from a dark rich brown to a lighter shade of milk chocolate. No really light tones mostly a pleasing brown that once I knitted the swatch has a mottled kind of tone. I like the look of the fabric and best of all I got gauge with the US8's....even the row gauge. A true first for me...I NEVER have been able to get the allusive row gauge in any other project.

Now we will have to wait to see what other things develop as I knit this sweater. The cast on date is set for July 12th so in the meantime I'm going to cast on for the Nichole Jacket that has been on the "To Do List" for over 2 years. The Kathmandu DK Tweed will be used for this one...it hasn't been in the stash a week, but it's actually the yarn called for in the pattern so I may as well use it. I'm thinking this weekend I should be far enough ahead on other projects to start this one. Now we shall see if I can knit 2 sweaters over the same time without going crazy.

The Plan Changes

Well shooot...I was all set for the cast on date of July 12th of the Central Park Hoodie KAL with the Mosaic Maniacs. That is until I swatched the Queensland Kathmandu DK Tweed in Dark Chocolate which I was intending to use. I must admit that the yarn just isn't going to work for this project. When I knitted the swatch I started off with a US7 and a cast on of 45 stitiches. After knitting a few inches I counted the number of stitches I was getting which turned out to be 19 sts/4". Since that wasn't close to the required gauge of 17 sts/4" I moved up a size to US8's. I also added a set of cables from the pattern chart as I knit the swatch to see how the yarn would look when cabled.

My swatch ended up being fairly large at about 9", but I really wanted to see how the DK would do since it is more light weight than the yarn mentioned in the pattern. The pattern called for a gauge of 17 stitches per 4 inches on US8's....this worked out to be 4 1/2 stitches per inch. Unfortunately the Dk Tweed recommends using US6 needles and works up at a gauge of 5 stitches per inch. I had hoped that by going up a needle size or two it would be okay since I really wanted a light weight sweater, but after washing & blocking my swatch it became clear that this yarn would not do justice to the sweater. I was able to get 17-18 sts/4" and 26 rows, but not pleased with the feel of the fabric...it's too "flimsy". Since there is so much cabling in the CPH...arms, fronts, and back....I'm afraid that the DK Tweed just wouldn't hold up & the stitch definition would not be clear enough. I do love how this feels as you knit it...so soft against the skin. I have a plan for the Kathmandu DK Tweed just not going to be used for the CPH project.

So the search is on for alternative...I could bite the bullet and go ahead and get the Queensland Kathmandu Aran. I know this one will work and actually tried on a finished CPH at Purl Jam last week. N had knitted up a beauty out of the green colorway in the Aran weight... wonderful nice feel to the sweater. My other choices include Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted (4 1/2 sts/inch on US8), Louet's Riverstone (4-5sts/inch on US7), Classic Elite Waterlily (4 1/2 sts/inch on US8) and last the Jo Sharp SilkRoad Aran Tweed (4 1/2 sts/inch on US8) which is basically the same as the Kathmandu Aran. I don't have enough of anything in the stash to use so a shopping trip is going to be necessary...the Lamb's Pride is by far the cheapest way to go and I do enjoy knitting it. I even have a skein in the stash of Wild Oak and Roasted Coffee that I can try out a swatch from before plunking down some cash.

Also in the stash I have 12 balls of the Waterlily that I was planning to use for my Nicole Jacket by Jane Ellison. I need a total of 16 to 17 balls for the Central Park so I need to find 4 more to go with what I have...a difficult proposition since I bought this yarn at least 2 years ago so the dye lot is long gone. I may check it out and see how close the colors match. I can try knitting with different lots if I alternate the balls, but first must see how close in color they appear. The yarn does have light & dark shading...looks like it's been handpainted so you may be able to get away with different lots.

The plans are forever changing...now I''ve changed the plan for the Nichole Jacket...it is destined to be knit out of the Kathmandu DK Tweed. Which happens to be exactly the yarn called for in the pattern so the change in plans works out in the end.

Last Day Knitting

Wow the weekend flew right on by didn't it? With all the evening activities I've kind of found myself missing my knitting alone time. Weird but true...the knitting weekend really did not have huge blocks of knitting time. More sample style or should I say swatch style? I tried to knit after getting back to T's place each night...the last night I did just that until 1:oo AM. It felt nice to sit & knit in the quiet apartment after the day's classes.

Sunday's event was a Tips & Tricks class with Annie Modesitt. She gave her long tail cast on tip that she shared in the Color class on Friday...pretty cool method of never running out yarn no matter how many stitches are called for. All you do is pull yarn from both the center and outside of the ball, take the 2 ends & make a slip knot, place knot on one of your needles, start long tail cast on, once the required number of stitches are cast on decide which of the 2 ends will become the working yarn...think center...and then cut off the tail. What a good idea.

She went over blocking...the how's & why's...then the most fun ever, dreadlocks! I loved the technique. Thinking about all the applications for this little "fringing" technique just excites the devil out of me. For one I hate to add fringe to wraps, scarves, hats, bags...you name it and I will think of a way not to put it on. Now the dreadlocks...so cool...fun to do and I know they would add a certain something to an edge which would look so much nicer than it does with fringe. Cannot wait until I'm doing S's scarf 'cause these are going to be on there somewhere.

The other technique that I have never done was a 5 stitch bobble. I have avoided those like the plague in the past, but now I'm going to give then a try. It may be a good use on my next bag as a closure or even decorative edging prior to the icord bindoff. The possibilities are endless with these 2 little decorative tricks. Annie also did a few things that I'm very familiar with like the icord bindoff...nothing new there, but her way of doing a left leaning decrease was new. I either do a k2tog tbl or ssk... I prefer the ssk. She came up with another that starts with knitting into the stitch and wrapping around backwards from your ususal way which marks the stitch by twisting it. When you turn the work and purl back you notice because the stitch isn't sitting correctly, this is where it gets "fun"...maybe not so much. When you get to the twisted stitch you then p2tog tbl. I dislike the manipulation of p2tog tbl....been there done it and it hurts my poor bad thumb...whiny I know. I tried it in class, but didn't feel that my left leaning decreases improved much if any. Can you see which looks nicer? My ssk's are on the right and the p2tog tbl is on the left...what do ya think?

Already It Is Day 2

Day 2 arrived as early as the first day...another 5:30 AM wake up call from the chirping birds. A little knitting to start the morning as I waited on B to get up so we could head off for the day's classes. I don't often get the chance to knit first thing in the morning, but I find it a wonderful way to start my day. The weather was terrific...sitting on the deck with the cool air was a big change from last week's heat.

After breakfast I started my morning off with Cornelia's Herringbone class and B went off for Annie's Cocoon Shrug class. Thankfully, I had heard we had to do some knitting homework for the class and had gotten it done the night before at the "pajama party". Good thing a few of us had worked it through ahead of time because we were able to have a good laugh as others caught up to the 'count error' in the pattern. Cornelia laughed along with us as we talked about how errors occur on patterns & what we should do about them...afterall "knitting is not rocket science." The pattern is very interesting and I find it addictive. Once I had it in the brain I didn't want to stop. I find myself saying just one more block...just one more block...One. More. Block. It won't take long to get the shawl/scarf done at the pace I'm going.

I had read that Cornelia knits from a skein she places in her lap. She does not wind it into a yarn cake or ball...merely lays it down and pulls yarn from it as she goes. I know I'd have a mess of tangles if I ever attempted this...

The last class for the day was Cornelia's Swedish sock class. The class was going to be outdoors under a large tent...good thing for great weather. When I got there Cornelia was none too pleased about the table & chair placement. Four rows of tables & chairs on both sides of an aisle and they were all facing forward just like school. Cornelia & I moved the tables into a large square so we were all facing each other...a much nicer, more intimate setting.

Cornelia started the class by saying that we could custom design socks for any foot with any yarn...to start you need the width aroud the ankle and the gauge of the yarn to figure out the number of stitches to cast on. As the class started we found that we were going to do a different sock...an anklet so we could get further along into the mechanics of sock knitting. Before class ended we actually made it through the cuff, leg, heel flap, turning the heel, gusset decreases and talked about decreasing for the toes and even how she closes off the toe. Cornelia uses the same technique as when you close up a hat...run yarn through the last 8 stitches and pull tight. It looks kind of pointy, but you could not feel it from the inside. I still like the look of Kitchner and I love doing it so I'll probably continue using that as my preferred method.

The patterning she chose looks nice...a 7 stitch moss pattern with some ribbing created as you go. I'm must redo the ski socks with some of the tips from Cornelia to see if I can get the heel area from bunchin up...this pattern and slipped stitch heel may do the trick!

Lessons Learned on Day 1

I decided to take 5 classes at Purl Jam 2008. On Day One B & I took in Annie Modesitt's "Color Combination" class bright & early... well for most the 9 o'clock hour was early, but I once again woke at the wonderful hour of 5:00 AM...that's truly early. I found class pretty straightforward & fairly easy which I was surprised about...figured that I had been doing it "wrong".

I had only done a small bit of colorwork on a blanket square in the shape of the Hokie Bird. It turned out okay, not great...a bit tight across the floats, but I was pleased that it made it into one of the blankets. The only other time had been on DH's and T's blankets...huge squares which were done as color blocks with each color wrapped around as I came to the changes. In Annie's class I discovered that I had been doing it correct for the most part. She had a few tricks to make things appear a bit smoother and easier as you knit along...as in fewer tangles of the various yarns which I loved learning. I will be trying out these techniques in a handbag and a scarf in the next several weeks.

After lunch it was on to Cornelia Tuttle-Hamilton's "Fear of Finishing" class. At the party the night before we had learned from her that we only needed 2 squares for our homework, not the 6 that had been listed. I figured we would learn different ways of joining seams of various stitch patterns...my OCD kicking in....but it was really just the mattress stitch on anything & everything. I played around with each of my squares during class & discovered that if the edge stitch can be figured out, then yes mattress stitch works well.

As Cornelia said I must think ahead about the edges of my work in order to have a nice finish. I'll really need to check my Nicole Jacket pattern to see if the designer took into account the need for an extra stitch to compensate for the basketweave patterning & the fact that during the seam joining I'll loose a stitch at each end.

I must admit to being a bit disappointed that mattress stitch was the only technique shown because I had assumed there would be other methods. In the long run it was fine because I was able to see that mattress stitch will work on anything...even my Shaped Edge Sweater. I had taken that as my UFO so I could see how to seam up those ribbed diagonal edges. Cornelia took it over to figure it out since she found it "unusual" then she passed it off to S, to stitch up the seam a bit. It bothered B that Cornelia didn't bring it back over to me & show me what was going on, but she has never seamed anything & was sorta lost with what was happening. I found nothing wrong with it...all I need to do is spread apart the seaming & see exactly how & what was done. S did a wonderful job as did Cornelia so why be upset?

Cornelia approached me the next morning to appologize about passing it off...not sure why she felt the need to say anything, but I told her it was fine & that now I had less seaming and could tell everyone that I had a "real" designer do some "finishing" on the sweater. Pretty coool I'd say! So thanks Cornelia & S for putting your creative touches to my sweater!

Back to Reality

B & I are back from our adventure to Blacksburg and what was Purl Jam. We had a great time and now B has her stash started. She admitted that there seemed to be fumes in the air and she just could not resist the urge to buy yarn.

B even DREAMED about a yarn that she saw when we were in Mosaic for the book signing. You know it is a sign that you MUST buy that yarn which turned out to be Gedifra's Filorosa. Poor thing was worried it would all be gone by the time we got to the store when she'd tell someone about her discovery. No worries, she found her yarn packed up and left one happy lady.

As I unpacked my bags today I was surprised at how little yarn I actually bought...strange event I know. DH even noticed that I didn't have as much as he expected I would have. I must be slipping somehow. I ended up with 3 skeins of Classic Elite Alpaca Sox to be used for another Lace Ribbon Wrap, 1 skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Moccasin Trail, 1 skein of Blacksburg indie dyer, David Simpson's Kona Superwash 100% merino wool in the color Underwater Twilight...love the name & feel of this sock yarn. Last more Hokie colored yarn. I can never have enough of those colors...this is from Farmhouse Yarns and is 100% Andy's Merino III. The skeins even include a picture of Andy the sheep.

Other purchases included 3 books...Cornelia Tuttle-Hamilton's Wanderlust & Araucanian Leisure and Sensual Knits that included Jared Flood's Ramona sweater pattern. I also succumbed to the temptations and ordered a Lawre Laine knitting bag....yeah I know I have 3 nice bags, but you can never have enough and I have wanted a specific color and look so the opportunity was there and I just did it!

Now for a few pictures:








The lovely Gina... Mosaic shop owner and the organizer of Purl Jam

2008 Purl Jam Event Instructors/Designers:

Cornelia Tuttle-Hamilton, Jared Flood, & Annie Modesitt

48 Hours to GO....

Yep, it is now less than 48 hours until B and I leave for the long awaited Purl Jam Event! My knitting bags (note the plural...I have 3 ) are packed & ready to go. My "homework" is done...including blocked and ends woven in. I even will have an unfinished item for the finishing class! The Chicknits Ribby Shell is done except for the shoulder seams. I figured I'd take it with me and see what seaming Cornelia would recommend using on joining the shoulders.

So excited about the upcoming weekend. So many people I've met through Raverly to put names & faces together. A fun weekend of knitting, talking, eating, learning, ......the list is almost endless.

Three Down and Three to Go

I've completed 3 of the 6 squares I need for my Fear of Finishing class at Purl Jam next week. So far I've got a garter square, a moss square, and a just finished stockinette square. Three more to go before I head off next Thursday...should not say that it's a piece of cake...don't want to get those Knitting Gods worked up do we? Nope, I've got to decided what other patterning I need to have so I can learn how to finish off more professionally.

I'm leaning towards a basketweave of some kind due to a long hibernating pattern for a "jacket" called Nichole by Jane Ellison I found in the Queensland Collection Book 1 over a year...or maybe 2 years ago. Can that be right? I've had the yarn & book for ages so it could be 2 years. Anyway it could prove helpful to see how to seam up a basketweave if/when I knit the Nichole Jacket.

The last 2 squares have not been decided...one will have some yo's and be more lacy and the last one may be the patterning for another future project (Etrusca swatch) so I better get back to it...

Homework

Homework...no haven't returned to school, but I have some prelim work to do for Purl Jam. I'm taking a class on "finishing" as in finishing off my knitting in a more professional manner. I'm hoping that I will learn a few more ways to seam up my FO's. At the moment I only know one way...mattress stitch...which works great on a bunch of things. It doesn't work so well on certain stitch patterns, therefore when the class list showed up the finishing class seemed to fit what I was looking to improve the most in my knitting.

So now I need to knit up 6 squares to practice whatever seaming techniques that are being taught. I'm thinking I need a couple stockinette, garter, and at least something with some holes or combination of stitches. No size was given for the square, but the 6-7" sqaure would be large enough to handle and see what the heck I was doing. The class is June 20th so plenty of time to get these knitted up...need to choose a color. I'm leaning toward one of the left over oranges from the blankets.

As for the other classes I'm doing there are no homework assignments just yarn lists...I've already made a visit to Mosaic (while I was moving oldest to yet another apartment) to purchase what was needed for the Swedish Sock and the Herringbone Classes. I picked out 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Lite in deep blues/browns/greens(colorway 2023) and deep greens/pinks/blues(colorway 2014). Who really knows what's inside the skein...the beauty & mystery of Noro Yarns.

For the sock class Cornelia recommends either the Noro Sock or Mirasol Hacho. I decided against using my Noro for the class due to it's less than nice feel or stickiness nature. Doing a class with unknown techniques...to me anyway... I didn't want to be fighting with the yarn while I was trying to learn something new. I much prefer the feel of the Mirasol Hacho (colorway 302) ...a nice soft feel which is both smooth & even in texture. It's a varigated with deep blues, purples, pinks and a touch of turquoise blue. I've never used this yarn so I looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

The remaining classes are using stash yarn....Yeah! I have several colors left from the 2 blankets I've knitted....T's and DH's which is perfect 'cause I need 6 different colors for a color class. Really looking forward to a better understanding of intarsia, stranding, & colorwork in general. The weekend should be fun & fiber filled...hope I'm up to the challenges.

Oopsie

This is where I was yesterday afternoon when I took time for a photo shoot...I was much further along when I discovered I had a problem. Once again my thoughts got ahead of my fingers while knitting on a new project. I started the Chicknits Ribby Shell last week when I finished the Lace Ribbon Wrap. Really moving along on it too with about 8" completed...then I noticed it. A glitch. A BIG one. All the way down to just past the 2" ribbed edge.

Can you see it? The ribbing at the far left just stopped being ribbing...not once, but 3 different times! I had managed to knit my first 2" of ribbing and start on the body just fine, but then...a royal screwup. One that I had not noticed until I was over 8 1/2" into the body and started thinking ahead to the armhole shaping. As I was smoothing the surface & admiring how far I had knit in just a day I noticed that on one side I was somehow off in the patterning....what the? As I counted the ribbed section on one side and came up with 13 sets I started to sweat...not going to be 13 on the other side. Nope, only 10...I had changed the purled stitches to knit for 3 sets of ribbing and never caught it.

I first thought no problem I'd just unravel the 2 stitches of each set that had been knitted and switch them to purl stitches. It started out well, but as I continued up the section the tension got much too loose. After several attempts to get it all even and tight to match the surrounding area I had to reach the realization that I was going to have to frog back a very long way. It was already well after 11:30 PM and I knew that I had to at least rip back or I'd not sleep well.

The frogging began and took over 30 minutes to get ripped, wrapped and back on the needles. Of course I had to knit/purl around a few rows to make sure everything was back on track. At 1:30 PM I was all set with my knitting back on course and really ready to go to bed. At least I didn't dream about the problem all night.

It's Done and so am I

I've finished the Lace Ribbon Wrap for the Mosaic Maniacs KAL... Whoo Hoo! The last stitch was stitched on May 27...today is June 3rd. Yeah alot of a lag in completion time and write up, but the other part of my life kept interrupting me. I knitted until I had about 1 gram of yarn left...worked out so well it was almost like I planned it. I stopped right at the end of the 24th row of the pattern with enought yarn to knit 2 rows plain. Perfect! I figured I could go on for a few more rows, but what was the point? The patterning would have looked all wonky ending on any other row so I'm done. Did I mention how pleased I am with the result?

Very happy...so happy that I was able to get a decent length with the one skein of Blue Heron Merc. Egyptian Cotton. That worried me a little as the ball got smaller and smaller, but the length was nowhere long enough for my taste. In the end after it was blocked I have a decent sized wrap...or scarf if I choose to double up the width.

The Details:

Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery

Yarn: Blue Heron Merc. Egyptian Cotton

Needles: Clover Bamboo, size 3, 24" circular

Size: Blocked- 23" wide, 72" length

Modifications: Cast on 116 sts. was the only modification and knitted until I was almost out of yarn

18 Repeats and Still Going

I have now completed a total of 18 pattern repeats on my Lace Ribbon Wrap and still have a good bit of yarn left. My plan is to continue knitting until I've used all the Blue Heron. I see no good reason to stop until then. The wrap is now 58 inches unblocked and I'm hoping to get another 12 inches or more out of what I have left. This last bit of yarn doesn't seem to getting any smaller...my DH keeps asking if I'm knitting because the yarn doesn't appear to be getting any smaller.

I still have no idea how many more repeats it will take to finish, but I'm still enjoying the knitting on this project. This should be done by the Purl Jam Event next month. I cannot wait to see everyone else's scarves/wraps...the Mosaic Maniacs should be a site to see if everyone can get them done for the big event.

Oh Boy! Oh Boy!

Eyelet Mock Cable

Whoo hooooo! What a nice surprise to discover today as I read through my usual blog list. Today when I clicked on Stitch Marker I discovered the happy news that I was one of two radomnly selected to receive a prize. A few months back I knitted up 4 dishcloths for Larissa's Dishcloth Project.

I used some yarn in the stash...Peaches & Creme in ivory and some Sugar & Cream in white. It is amazing to see the number of dishcloth patterns that are out there. These patterns were all found at http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/dishcloths.php

Little Shells

Snowdrop Lace

Fir Cones

New WIP...swatch at least

Graduation is now a done deal...was a very nice weekend spent in Blacksburg with my boys. The weather turned out better that I had hoped. Friday we ran around all day in cool and drizzly conditions...then friday evening for the graduation events in Lane Stadium we had clear skies and a moonlit evening to walk back to the car with the Grad! Saturday was sun shiney and perfect...so no ruined pics or clothes. My oldest is now a Graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. A real mouthful of a name for what most call Virginia Tech, but that's the name on the diploma. Now proud Mom's off the soapbox and back to talking about knitting.....

While in Blacksburg I was given an early Mother's Day gift...a certificate to Mosaic from my oldest. After an early dinner he said that "you really want my gift now"...then it struck me what it could be. I was so very pleased for the thoughful gift from him. My DH and I headed off to Mosaic to check out the possibilites while my oldest got ready for graduation. Of course my DH took a nap in the car while I shopped & gabbed...I was even able to get a cup of coffee and due to the kindness of a knitter's offer of a needle knit on a swatch for a bit before he came to get me.

I ended up buying 4 skeins of Rowan Calmer in Slosh a nice smokey blue and 2 skeins of Fleece Artisit's Sea Wool in Mermaid (I think based on color descriptions). I started swatching for the Angela Hahn's Etrusca while I waited for DH's naptime to end. I only got a few rows before it was time to head on off to pick up my son and his girlfriend for the night's big event. Last night I started the second swatch in the ebellished garter stitch as the designer recommended to verify all is well with the selection...it's looking as if size 7 needles will be the choice. I have to finish a bit more to check the row and block to see how the Calmer is going to do, but so far I'm spot on gauge. I love the soft feel of the Calmer...the first time I have used this yarn. I hope to cast on this week for the tank because I'd love to wear it next month to Mosaic's Purl Jam . If interested check out the link quick since there are only a few spots left!

Another Shot

I tried another shot at dying yarn with koolaid. What colors....the Hokie combination of orange & back cherry what else would I use? Of course forgot to take pics as I went...the brain is not up to par this week. I did remember to get before & after shots of the yarn so that will have to do. This skein turned out somewhat different than Mom's....I tried to actually paint lines into the yarn. Not sure it worked out as planned, but the colors mixing are nice. Next may need to lay the yarn out in long sections and plan to paint individual strings. Wonder how that would turn out? Would I get nice changes on colors or a muddy blending when it was knit up.

This weekend I'm planning on dropping into Mosaic and buy some Kraemer Jeannie. I'd like to have enough to knit up some socks. These little cakes aren't enough for more than a skinny scarf. I'll have to find more black cherry koolaid if I go the Hokie color route with the socks...although I'm leaning toward another colorway. I'm thing a cool green lime maybe? It could match my current wip...lace ribbon wrap.

Too bad there is not more than 24 hours in my days. I have too much going on this month to add more...graduation & birthday cards to make, 3 days till oldest's VT graduation, windows to replace which leads to painting inside & out, and lastly painting the entire house as I go. Did I mention that the summer's heat is mixed into all this painting?

"I don't understand Lace Knitting"

Yep, my DH said to me last night that very thing..."I don't understand lace knitting." At the time I was fussing a bit about a stupid error I'd made in my Lace Ribbin "wrap". He went on to say that he thought it was "interesting" just why would you want to knit it? I laughed because I really have no idea why I find lace so fun, yes I said fun to knit. Maybe it's the fact you have to pay attention and keep focused on your knitting. Let's face it I do enjoy that piece of the puzzle because I'm a totally obsessed knitter. A project gets into my head and I cannot put it down until it's complete. The lace has been that way for me the last few months. First, it was Laura of Dragonwing Arts Summer Radiance Shawl that I completed in March, now it's the Lace Ribbon. My other projects are suffering from neglect.

There are a few other reasons. I love to watch how the simple act of a yo becomes this complicated looking twist in my current project. When I've messed up and dropped a yo I've tried to recreate the twist 2 rows down...does not look right, but is it oh so simple when you remember to just wrap a loop and on the next row knit or purl it.

Lace has taught me a few things along the way. The first is to use a life line if you don't want to pull your hair out with a major error full of lost yarnovers. I've become much better at both "reading my knitting" and using charts to knit. When I first starting knitting I figured no way would I be able to read a knitting chart...too complicated looking, symbols to remember, etc. Now I adore using charts vs written instructions. I now prefer the charts, but will read through the written directions for anything that may not be clear on the charts. Why do some designers use a chart, but write extra instructions buried in the written? Drives me crazy...then I am a bit.