One Day

One day that's all it took to knit up a very quick project...Ribs & Ruffles Scarf. I don't usually knit scarves using bulky yarns, but what do you knit when you only have one ball of bulky. The yarn was Katia Studio that I received in a goody bag over 2 years ago. I don't have any good things to say about this yarn...not soft, only 106 yards, variegated both in colors & dimensions. The only good was I didn't pay any $$ for the ball...

I do like the pattern though and would happily knit it again in something softer & possibly variegated. Simple to memorize & mindless to knit which is the perfect combo for TV knitting while watching Hokie Football...

Details:
Pattern: Ribs & Ruffles by Nancy Kleiber (Ravelry Link), quite popular have been knit to date.

Yarn: Katia Studio (42% nylon, 30% wool, 22% acrylic, 6% viscose), made in Spain, 106 yards/3.5 oz, variegated.

Needles: hand crafted straight oak needles, size 13

Size: 4.5 " wide and 45" length unblocked

No modifications to the pattern.

Eco Urban

Another project starting up on the needles is an exciting & exhilarating moment...usually. There have been times that I've been rather nervous about a project...Mermaid would fall into that category. Thankfully I'm usually happy to cast on new projects and prefer to have a few on the needles at the same time. For my next "big" project I decided that I must have yet another cabled sweater. Funny after I just finished one, but I do love cables. It doesn't hurt that my DH also likes my latest cabled sweater so it wasn't too hard to choose my next project...the Urban Aran from Paton's Street Smart that Jared Flood modified as a cardigan.

I'm also changing it to a zippered cardigan rather than the designed pullover. No surprise there since I really prefer something I can button/unbutton or zip/unzip as needed. Slow going at the moment due to a few other distractions...blocking Miss BB which will then need to be seamed together, casting on a new hat, & doing the last triangle of a multidiagnoal scarf for my mom who had some trouble with the last set of directions.

I'm sure I could think up a few more things to cast on...should be thinking about Christmas knitting which I have decided that I'll be doing very little. More about that later.

Uh Oh...

Oops, I only have ONE thing on needles. How on Earth did that happen? Suddenly I realized as I finished the collar on Miss BB that I don't have anything on the needles except for a Zauberball Baktus Lacy Scarf...mmm.

Must get cracking & come up with something before tonight. I cannot watch the Hokies calmly without the needles in my hands.

Read & Remember

It pays to read the pattern doesn't it? Well that's not quite right because I did read the pattern just the entire sentence didn't stick in my brain while I was knitting the pattern. In other words there I go again getting excited to be almost done to find that I really messed up...way back over 15 inches to be precise.

I have been knitting the sleeves on my Miss BB. I was done with the increases and about to start to decrease for the sleeve caps...so close. At that moment I looked at my knitting and it certainly didn't appear that I had the required 60+ stitches that the pattern stated I should have at that point. I counted my increases on the needles and in my notes...match. At first I didn't know what was wrong...slowly it dawned on me that while knitting the increase section I left out the right side increases. All of them.

I pulled out my needles & frogged back to the 16th row of my knitting. Now I'm back on track & thankful I discovered this before I had reach the end of the sleeves and would be wondering why they were not fitting.

Old Skill is New Again

I have actually been forced to learn one of the oldest sewing/knitting skills...darning. One of my hand knit socks (Retro Ribs) finally developed the "dreaded hole in the heel". Funny how it wasn't even one of my oldest pairs...according to my Ravelry project page it was finished in February of 2008. Anyway I decided that since the hole was pretty small I should try fixing it. How hard could darning really be for goodness sake...turns out not too hard at all. It took me less than 30 minutes to repair the damage. If I do say so myself it looks pretty darn good.

Supplies
--blunt needle,
--yarn of the same thickness...I even had some Jitterbug left
--something hard & round (wooden egg) to weave against and that's it.

I turned the sock inside out, but it really doesn't matter too much although the "neater side" is away from you on. I just thought I'd prefer the neater appearance on the outside of the sock.

What I did:

1. Thread the needle with a fairly long piece of yarn...~2 yards so there's no break in the yarn.
2. Pick a starting point a few good stitches down & away from the hole & use a running stitch up to a few good stitches past the hole. You continue weaving the needle & yarn up & down the heel...over the hole the yarn should not be tight. Once you run all the way across and continue past the hole until you've reached good stitches.
3. Turn the sock 90 degrees and weave the needle & yarn over & under your previous work. Continue until the entire hole area has been filled with the patchwork.

Cut both ends of yarn which should felt into place with wearing. Turn the sock right side out and there you have it a patch where a hole used to be...it's not perfect, but it's wearable.




Of course there's always videos of darning socks on the Internet...what I thought would be difficult really wasn't bad at all & I still have a pair of socks that I'll still be able to wear.

Another Knit from Chick

I have yet another of Ms. Bonnie Marie Burns's Chicknit Patterns on the needles. How many have I started? Well if you include the Mystery Hat KAL this would be number 3 in the last couple of months that I have cast on. My first was Cassidy, followed by that little side trip to knit up a Mondo Cable Cap then two weeks ago I cast on for Miss BB. I still have Twist & Mondo Cable Shell/Vest to go...I may have a problem.

Ravelry's Chicknit group has a KAL going on for Miss BB so I thought I'd go ahead and join in the fun...so far have been started. It's been going very quickly...the back's done as are both fronts. I've started knitting the sleeves. I'm doing both at once so that I have the increases/decreases & length all in the same place. Let's hope it ends up as planned...I keep getting tangled up in the many balls of yarn I have going. Why so many? Unfortunately the Classic Elite's Waterlily I'm using was bought 3-4 years ago for another project, Nicole...which ended up being knitted out of something else. Waterlily has since sat in the stash waiting to be something. I kept looking at patterns & tossing the Waterlily aside & hanging on to it until the "perfect pattern" could be found.

About a year or so ago I was afraid that the original 12 balls wouldn't be quite enough for anything else so I bought 4 more balls..."just in case". I always figured that I could use the off lot for the sleeves...so now I have multiple balls being knitted in order to keep the differences minimal. I have not noticed any garish differences & the "watercolor" effect of Waterlily is beautiful. The yarn has great stitch definition, a very soft touch & the 'watercolor effect' is making Miss BB look terrific...one draw back is the occasional yarn splitting, but it hasn't been affecting my enjoyment in the least.

I guess I don't have to say that I really enjoy knitting Chicknit patterns. I have knit quite a few (Ribby Shell, Cassidy, Mondo Cable Cap, Miss BB)...all have been well designed, the designer is very willing to address problems or questions along the way and so far everything I've knitted looks very sharp & stylish. What's not to like.

My Cassidy

I adore this sweater. Absolutely loved knitting it, especially the yarn chosen which I wrote about a few days ago. My only 'uh oooh' moments were with those darn button bands. I knitted them at least 4 times...may have been more 'cause I've blocked the number of times at this point. On my first attempt I picked up way more stitches than I really should have and paid the price. A really wonky looking button band that puckered & waved...so it was frogged.

The second time I attempted to use a little math to figure out how many stitches to pick up. The method was based on one of Knitty's articles about picking up stitches which I found very helpful. Funny that it worked out okay even though I didn't have enough info from the pattern to calculate it out perfectly. Not the fault of the designer it was all due to the changes I made to the pattern...not fond of hoods on my sweaters so I changed the designed hood to a cabled collar.

I had no idea how many stitches were to be be picked up for doing just the button bands. I decided to take the numbers provided for picking up for the hood and down each front & subtract out the stitches for the hood. This left me with a number I could use to plug into the formula. I played around with my stitch markers, measured the fronts & put all the info into Knitty's formula. All of this left me with a number to pick up...97 stitches.

Finally, I was back on track...well almost anyway. I had a small problem with the edge curving out at the buttons. I'd knit the band, but when I added the buttons I'd get a fairly dramatic curving outward, but only at the buttons & especially noticeable when buttoned. First I thought the problem had to do with how I knit the button holes so I frogged it & re-knit the button holes on the wrong side...still had a problem although it was somewhat better. At this point I was stymied as to what I need to do...started thinking about ditching my buttons for a zipper.

Since I was due for a trip to Blacksburg for a meeting with my Unraveled group I held off the decision so I could get their advice...everyone basically said I was nuts (no news there) to be worrying about the band. It made me feel better, but I was still not pleased that it wasn't looking the way I wanted. I must thank Sandy from Mosaic for bailing me out once again with another one of her tricks. She said that "there's always a way to fix it"...thank goodness she was willing to show me what I needed to do. All it involved was a crochet hook, a little yarn and a few minutes to add a slipped stitch edge to both bands. A perfect fix. The ends have now been woven in and Cassidy has been out & about in the cool weather...I'll say it again I love this sweater and the yarn's not half bad either.

Details:
Pattern: Cassidy by Bonnie Marie Burns (Chicknits). Ravelry has knit.

Yarn: 100% Montana grown Cormo Wool by Elsa Wool Company, spinning system: woolen, 2 ply, worsted, 237 yds/4 oz in a light gray. I used 5 skeins plus 2 3/4 oz of another skein.

Needles: Addi Turbo, 40" circular, sizes US 6 and US 7

Gauge: 19 stitches per 4 inches

Size: chest 40"

Modifications: Rather than do the shoulder shaping as designed I decided to rework the pattern to include short row shaping. It worked out well and did not disrupt the cable patterns as much as I feared. Three needle bind off at the shoulders in my opinion goes together so much smoother & easier than the 'stair step' results of binding off the fronts & backs.

Buttons: 7 mother of pearl "smoke" buttons, size 3/4" from The Yarn Lounge

**pics to follow once my camera returns**

Remember When

Remember back a few months when I knit my Mom's first sweater...Mr. Greenjeans? Well it now looks totally different. I spent the rainy day ripping it apart into 6 nice sized balls of yarn. After 4 hours of ripping out alternating skeins I'm pleased that I did not end up with a totally tangled mess.

All I have to do now is to get it on the swift to re-skein & set it in a nice bath so it can relaaax. Sad to rip out a perfectly good sweater, but it wasn't gonna fit anyone I knew. It seemed to be a waste of some perfectly nice yarn to have it sitting around in that sweater. Now what to do with 4 skeins of Schaefer's Miss Priss...maybe I should give it back to Mom so she can knit something out of it.

I'm sorta over this adventure in knitting or rather unknitting adventure as it turned out.

A Very Fast Knit

Just what I needed to break up my knitting...something fun on the needles that almost knit itself. A couple of weeks ago I was offered the chance to participate in Chicknits Mystery Hat KAL. Ms. Chicknits (Bonnie Marie Burns) herself sent out a set of 3 clues over the last few Mondays to knit a hat. I finished the last clue last night...not too bad since I didn't cast on until after the 2nd clue had been received.

The cap was such fun & so quick I'm thinking I may need to look through the stash and knit a few more to match my sweaters. My only concern is that after blocking the yarn has bloomed a good bit so that the ribbed edge feels looser than I'd like. Another opportunity to use a technique that I was shown just this past weekend. Thanks to Sandy at Mosaic I think I can make this cap a wee bit tighter. Her trick was so simple too...using a crochet hook and a bit of yarn you just hook around the edge skipping a stitch or two as you go pulling the edge inward.

Sandy said that it's useful for any edging from neckline, to hems, cuffs, & button bands. Especially useful on that infamous button band from Cassidy. It worked perfectly on my sweater & happy to know I have another trick in the bag for my future projects.

Details:
Pattern: Mondo Cable Cap by Bonnie Marie Burns (Chicknits). Ravelry link has knitted to date.


Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca (50% Alpaca, 50% Wool, 215 yds/200 grams), in the color pumpkin puree (6226). I used 3/4 of the skein to complete my hat.


Needles: Knitpicks Harmony Options 24" circular size 5, Options 24"circular size 8, and Boye DPN's size 8.

Gauge: 18 sts/24 rows in 4 inches of stockinette

Size: 23" head circumference

Modifications: None other than tightening the ribbed edge

Cassidy...the New Favorite

Can I just say that I love this sweater? Specifically I loved the yarn I used to knit the sweater although the pattern has easily become one of my favorites. I enjoyed beyond words knitting with this yarn from Elsa Wool Co. Originally my plan at the Yarn Lounge was to buy a totally different yarn to do this sweater, but one touch and I was swooning. After I purchased 7 skeins I found that Knitter's Review had a nice write up about Elsa's yarns. Which pleased me to no end to see that I wasn't the only person to find this yarn absolutely stunning. I ended up with the 'woolen' variety of 100% Montana grown Pure Cormo wool that is as squishy & soft as can be which really made these cables pop. I finally matched pattern to yarn perfectly!

Of course I changed a few things in the pattern to make it more mine...specifically I left off the hood and added a collar. I knew I'd never use the hood & the added bulk would drive me crazier than I already am. I even was able to find the perfect buttons at the Yarn Lounge. Of course these led to a problem...you knew there would be one...after I attached the buttons. My button band is all wavy...right where the buttonholes happen to be. Now I have to ask..design element or real problem. After a light steam and much hand wringing I'm leaning towards "real problem". I just am not happy with the overall look...so what do I do about it?

Stay tuned as I ponder solutions...do I frog the button band, pick up fewer stitches & redo the holes more toward the edge...do I need to frog the collar too?

What no pictures? Sorry, you will have to wait 'cause the camera is elsewhere...too bad you need to see these cables...the button band not so much.

Whew It's Done...

Whew, I finished the sweater for my Mom...thankfully it fits! I gotta say that it seems as if I've been knitting on her sweater forever. I started back in February while on our "little trip" and after switching gears...both in yarn & pattern...it's done. I delivered it a few weeks back while she was recuperating from foot surgery. Hopefully she'll be able to model it soon so I can post a proper picture.

Must say that I'm officially over the February Lady sweater knitting for a while at least. At least I'm in great company...according to Ravelry there have been sweaters knit as of today. I'd say that the pattern has been very very popular! I enjoyed knitting my first one I guess it was just too soon to do another one.

Details:
Pattern: February Lady by Pamela Wynn

Yarn: Malabrigo, (kettle dyed merino wool, worsted weight, 216 yards/3.5 oz.), color: Autumn . I used 6 skeins plus 1.5 oz of a 7th skein

Needles: Knit Picks Options, 60" circular US 7 (body) and circular 16" US 8 (sleeves)

Gauge: 18 sts per 4 inches
Size: XL

Modifications: Only 2 mods: first I did not do the eyelet section choosing not to do the YO's, but M1's instead. I also added a 4th button just as I started the lace section. As for knitting with the variegated yarn I alternated skeins every other row so as to blend better.

A Sweater Side Trip

Another 'distraction' has taken hold of my knitting over the last couple of weeks. My Mom's sweater has been sucking the life out of my knitting. I'm not exactly sure why I have such difficulty in finishing this one, but I decided I really wanted to cast on another project rather than keep trudging away on this Lady.

I've had Cassidy by Chicknits for quite sometime & went off to find more yarn to go with the Thirteen Mile I bought while in Bozeman, Montana. The Yarn Lounge usually has quite a stash of Thirteen Mile so I went on a trip to add to my three skeins of oatmeal. Unfortunately no oatmeal colorway was to be found, but I did find the most soft & scrunchy yarn by Elsa Wool Co in a nice light gray color. Not what I originally planned to do, but with the "Get Your Knits Sale" going on I bought 7 skeins of the woolen light gray and off I ran. I must tell you that the yarn is really terrific for any projects that have texture such as the Cassidy.

The yarn is 100% Montana grown Cormo wool and has the most detailed tag I have ever seen on yarn...it consists of 3 cards the size of a standard business card with detailed instructions how to care for the yarn. It's soft, squishy & feels wonderful in your hand as your knit. So far the sweater has knitted up like a dream with the cables popping out very nicely...cannot wait to finish knitting up the sleeves so I can seam this one up. Fall is rapidly approaching...

On Time...For a Change

Woo Hoo! I actually got my sock for Ravelry's Sock Innovation Group's July KAL done before the deadline. Last month's sock was sooo close, but failed to be completed before the end of the month by a mere 12 hours. I figured I'd messed up another month when I did not cast on until mid-July, but what the heck I needed the break from the Sweater. All I've knit the last few days has been these socks. I must say that I love how they came out.

The attention to detail that Cookie A puts into her designs is fantastic. She really takes the time to insure that the ribbing in the cuff flows into the patterning all the way down the leg. Rick is no exception to the rule...the twisted rib cuff flows right into her spiraling pattern all the way down to the heel. Her design switches things up at the foot, but still flows along lining up as it travels. Love the symmetry.

Since she has designed the socks to mirror one another I hope I'll be able to remember which is "Left" & which is "Right"...maybe. The other thing I'm liking about these socks is the fit...the twisted stitches help in the fit around my narrow feet. Sometimes I have difficulty with socks being a bit "baggy" around the heels & ankles...not these.

Details:
Pattern: Rick from Sock Innovation by Cookie A

Yarn: Mountain Colors, Bearfoot, 60% Superwash Wool, 25% Mohair, & 15% Nylon, Thunder Head Colorway, purchased from The Yarn Lounge. I used 73 grams of a 100 gram skein.

Needles: 4 size #2 DPN's, I think these are Boyles...metal anyway.

Size: Ladies size 9 1/2 inch foot

Gauge: 30 sts/ 4 inches

Mods: None...16 leg repeats to reach 7 inches for the leg. Left foot stopped at row 52 of left foot chart. Right foot stopped at row 50 of right foot chart.

New, Fresh & Different

I have become so bored with my knitting lately. Thinking it's because I have only had one work in progress. You read that right...only ONE. It's been mentioned before that things can get ugly when I only have the one thing going. To be honest I have had the Etrusca half done...twice. I get the front (or is it the back) done, realize that it is looking way too short, frog & repeat. Two times. It's in it's project bag along with the needles & notes. Waiting. For what? Probably frogging I'm afraid...again. Maybe I need to re-swatch or change patterns for the Calmer to work out for me. Love the yarn, but so far not working for this pattern.

So tired of knitting on my Mom's Sweater that I decided to take a brief break from it. Who really needs a sweater finished in the middle of July. Really. I cast on Rick by Cookie A a few days ago. This so happens to be the current choice of the Sock Innovation Group on Ravelry for the month of July. Who knows I may actually get both socks done before the end of the month...maybe. I have yet to get the KAL choice completed during the actually month. The last one was done 12 hours past the allowed time. How do these people finish their socks in less than 2 days?

Pics to follow soon...camera batteries are charging. Seems to the the way things go around here...off to finish the laundry.

A New Look

A few days ago I took the leap & had a few of my pattern books rebound. First time I have ever changed a book in such a way...never knew I could actually. After reading a post on Ravelry about rebinding Cookie A's new book I picked out a few favorites & headed off to Office Max.

Now I have 3 books rebound with a nice shiny black coil that allows me to fold the book pages flat...so much easier to use & I no longer will have to flatten the spines when I make a working copy to mark up. Now I know what all of y'all are thinking....cost a bundle right? Nope, that's the next best thing. Fairly inexpensive...depending on the size of the coil needed...the thicker the book the bigger the coil the more it cost. My most expensive one was $6 whereas the smallest one was only $3.25. I'll take it. It's a win win! Now I find myself looking at ALL of my knitting books, cooking books, hiking books...you name it I'm thinking of rebinding them all.

Must I Say It

I'm going to go out on the limb and just say it...not liking my current project. At. All. Not sure why, but I'm knitting forward when I'm not pleased. Stay tuned...maybe it will change. More likely in a negative way.

Stumbling & Bumbling

I feel like a newbie knitter. I'm stuck up to the armpits literally on Etrusca. For some reason known only to my brain I'm having some difficulty with the decreases for the armholes. The pattern has been easily followed until I reached the point of decision...deep scoop neck (front version), a more modest scoop (back version) or one of each and decide later which way to wear it. Three ways to knit it up...love that. The problem with all of this is how to proceed with the decreases for the armholes.

I decided to follow a more modest path & do the back version, but reached the point that I am unsure of my decrease. Do I decrease both ends while on the same row? On the beginning of each row? The kicker is that the designer added the dreaded "as for the front" which has me confused...the front decrease includes binding off for the neck at the same time. I'm thinking way too much I know so I'm going to let it go for awhile until the Epiphany hits me...or not.

Another Hokie Sock...Pomatomus

Must be getting forgetful...finished my Pomatomus socks and forgot to post. I started these in mid May as part of Sock Innovation KAL on . Too bad I didn't get them done during the month of May...missed it by thaaaat much, as in less than 24 hours. I finished weaving in on June 1st so they can't be counted amongst those finishing on time for the prizes. Oh well at least I finally got around to knitting the pattern.

I enjoyed kntting these socks. As always Cookie A's pattern was well written, fairly easy to pull off & the pattern just looks so cool. No problems and no modifications to my socks...can it be I followed the pattern all the way? Seems to be true. I also was able to use some stash that's been hanging in there waiting on a good pattern...my Scout's Swag Custom Dyed Hokie yarn finally made it's way into a pair of socks.


Details
Pattern: Pomatomus by Cookie A

Yarn: Scout's Swag Fingering Weight [100% superwash merino, 400 yards/92 gram skein]; custom dyed- Hokies. I have about 13 grams of yarn leftover from the one skein used.

Needles: Knit Picks Harmony DPN's, size US 1's (2.50mm)
Gauge: 32 inches/4 inches

Size: Women's size 9 1/2"

One last thought...you will notice that these are not exactly matched. I did try to get them to match, but once again missed by that much. Must be a theme for the last month or so.

Now it's Etrusca Turn

Finally getting around to knitting a pattern called Etrusca I bought a year ago from Angela Hahn. Really. A year...jeez. I swatched the darn thing over a year ago and was all set and then...nothing. I put all the yarn in it's project bag and promptly forgot it. Why? No idea. Now the next question: Do I redo the swatch? Mmmm, nope I've thrown caution to the wind and cast on last night.

After knitting a few hours and finishing the bottom lace section I packed it in for the night. You know what's coming don't you? Today I found a problem...so much for starting last night. Now I'm ripping back to the first 4 rows to restart the lace pattern. Admittedly I noticed last night that it looked funky, but kept on knitting. You'd think I'd stop and examine why it looked weird? Yeah, you'd think that, but noooo not me so today I'm frogging. At least I noticed before I got so far that I'd consider calling it my "interpretation of the design".

Y'all see the problem?

How about now?

If you said where the heck are all the slip stitch columns you'd be correct. I forgot to move the yarn to the front on every single column while knitting on the wrong side. There you have it...moving along & paying better attention. For now.

My Pomatomus

I finally got around to knitting Pomatomus by Cookie A...really. The pattern has been out there for quite a long time (2005), but I had yet to knit it. It took the Sock Innovation KAL on Ravelry to push me over the edge. First let me just say that I love the book...most every sock pattern in this book is one I plan to knit. Aside from her patterns Cookie A has a ton of info on how she designs and tweaks patterns...which means that yes you too can do the same. I never thought about how the cuff ribbing design wove into the leg design, etc. It explains a good bit of why her patterns are so nice & flow from all the way though to the toe. With this book I may even get around to messing around with my own design...like I need something else do do with my time.

I'm almost through the first sock, but getting back to the KAL...nope I won't get the pair done by the 31st. Not sure how these people can knit an entire pair in under 2-3 days. Amazing! On a good day I can knit for 7-8 hours, but a whole sock would not be the end result. Well I better get cracking if I want one sock done the the end of the month.