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.

Boring...No Way!

Still knitting my evenings away on the Lace Ribbon "Wrap" that I've been involved with since the April 19th knit off with the Mosaic Maniacs from Raverly. I'm getting through the repeats faster as I go...can now knit through a whole pattern repeat (24 rows) before bedtime. If I make bedtime after 11:30 PM...I'm usually so close to finishing that I stay up past my usual time so it can be finished.

Today I weighed the yarn to see how much further it will go...about half way or so at the moment. Out of a total weight of 227 grams I still have one unused ball of about 84 grams, working ball of 50 grams and 93 grams of knitted yarn. So all that checking on how much yarn is left to knit means is that I think I will have enough yarn to get this to a minimum of 60"...maybe. It's now measuring out to about 26 inches unblocked.

Loving how this is coming along so far...I've been able to catch errors pretty quickly without ripping out or even tinking back. Yeah, I know that the Knitting Gods are going to smite me down any day now, but I'm feeling pretty happy about this project. I'd like to get this thing done in the next couple of weeks so I can start on a few summer tops. Finding it difficult to focus on those with the KAL going on too...pressure is a good thing in one's life right?

Progress

I'm making good progress on the Lace Ribbon Scarf (wrap in my case) that I'm doing as part of the Mosaic Maniacs KAL. I have modified the cast on from 53 sts. up to 108 stitches so that it will be wide enough to use as a wrap. At least it looks wide enough on the needles...so now I only have to worry if I'll have enough yarn for a nice length wrap. I have a backup plan if the worse happens...either buy more Blue Heron Egyptian Merc. Cotton or use my leftover stash of Handmaiden Sea Silk in Storm to edge both ends.

So far I've completed the 2 pattern repeats the KAL Moderator suggested we have done by the end of this week. My hope is to be several repeats into the wrap by the weekend. The pattern has been very easy to memorize and read as I work so it's going pretty quickly. I have not used a lifeline yet, but probably should add one now...better safe than sorry.

Casting On Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the start of the Lace Ribbon Scarf KAL with the Mosaic Maniacs on Raverly. As I mentioned a few days ago I'll be using the Blue Heron Eygtian Mercenized Cotton in a colorway called Leaf...very Springlike with greens, blues and a touch of yellow.

I've tried swatching to see how this is going to work with the pattern. First I tried out the Addi #2's which didn't really show the stitches as defined as I would have liked. So I moved up to my Harmony #4's...well I tried to until I broke the needle. Yes, that makes 2 Harmony #4's broken in a 2 week span. The first broken needle wasn't any doings of mine, but I can't say that about this mishap. I put my hand right down on top of it as I was answering my phone...then to compound the screwup no one was on the phone.

Rather than call Customer Service again I just tried using the superglue trick. I've tugged & twisted it and it appears to be fine. My guess is that it will be until I'm well into the project, then all will go "k-flooey". My DH thinks these are too fine with too many layers to be used in the way they are being used...screwed on the end of a cable in this case. He may be right...they are beautiful, just not very strong which is sad.

Stash Busting...1 Year Later

I selected the yarn to use for the Mosaic Maniac's Lace Ribbon KAL...Blue Heron's Egyptian Mercenized Cotton...now there's a mouthful.

I bought this yarn over a year ago at Mosaic so this was a no brainer. I've been debating for the last few weeks what to do with it. I pulled it out and sit it on my desk to contemplate my choices...Mystic Lace Mystery KAL, Clapotis, or my own made up pattern. I decided that this was perfect for the pattern. Tonight I think I'll try to swatch a bit and see which needle gives the best look to the stitches.

I may even go nuts with the pattern and switch it up a bit by making it more wrap like than scarf. I have 1000 yds of yarn so I think I have enough to widen the scarf by casting on double the stitch count and knitting more repeats until I run out of yarn. Math may need to be used to figure this one out...oh no. More to come on this project which is to be cast on this Saturday.

Spring is for Growing...As in WIP's

How many WIP's can a person actively work on? I have no idea, but I'll be adding one more to my nightly knitting. The Mosaic Maniacs group on Ravelry is going to knit the Lace Ribbon Scarf from the Spring Knitty as a KAL starting next Saturday. I'm excited that I already have yarn in the stash...only have to decided between the koigu and the fleece artist.

Although I don't really have too many items on my needles at the moment. I've been swatching for a tank top...Soleil since last week. Currently at a stand still waiting for a needle replacement to arrive...more coming up about that problem. I find for the first time in a long time I've had difficulty obtaining the correct gauge for this tank which is 22 sts/33 rows. The yarn I love to use in the summer...Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in the color "Teddy Bear" usually knits at 5 stitches per inch on size 6 needles...which would be about 20 stitches over the 4 inch swatch.

I first started out using my Knit Picks Options size 6, then my Harmony Options size 5's. When I tried to use my 4's, however, there was a problem with one of my needles...the cable and the hub fell apart before I could attach the cable. What the heck was up with that? These were a gift from my oldest and had not been out of the package so I called Customer Service and a new needle has been shipped....Yeah! So the tank is on hold at the moment. I cannot figure out why I keep getting 16-18 stitches, but maybe it'll will all come together later this week.

Also working up a few other tanks...summer is coming and I live in tank tops. My other 2 projects are Chick Knits Cami with wide straps in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Nymph. The last pattern is a new pattern from Angela Hahn called Etrusca. Angela designed the Lutea Tank found in last Summer's Interweave Knits that I loved so much I knit 2 of them for myself. I'm going to try and use the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Harvest... stash busting on this one...the rest I had to buy.

I love all of these so I need to get busy and get the gauges correct so I can have something new to wear as the weather gets warmer.