Monday, October 31, 2005

Touch Me Peony

Remember the Touch Me yarn that we bought at Stitches East? I have knit the Peony and finally got the beads for the center completed yesterday. It looks funky in the picture, because the leaf doesn't look like a leaf at all. It looks better in real life. Am at home today, so I can Trick or Treat with Heidi tonight, so I'm off to Michaels to get a sew-in pin-back for the peony pin. How is your pin coming along. Have you done the other pin yet. My yarn is sitting here, waiting to knit that one as well. I think the pins are unique. We for sure won't ever see another just like them. Can't wait to see Ophelia when she is finished.




The Touch Me Peony Pin is much better in real life. Here the green leaf doesn't look too good.  Posted by Picasa

Christmas Stockings

My knitting time has been taken up with this project that I wish I had never said I would do. A friend of Lisa's "Kate" wanted me to duplicate her hand-knit Christmas stocking for other members of her family. In addition, in the area where the name is on the front, had a date that she wanted changed. Not an easy task. I wasn't able to find yarn that matched exactly, but this is close. "Chip" is my coy. I think it turned out OK. Now to do Chas and Vivi stockings. I hope to have them completed before Thanksgiving. I'm due to go to Seattle for about 10 days in mid November,so this will be my knitting project for the road.
In addition, I am knitting a sweater for Heidi out of the Debbie Bliss Cotton and Angora. It is so soft, but leaves fuzz everywhere (from the Angora) so I learned to put a towel on my lap while knitting. It is knit from the top down and in the round, all stockinette so it is mindless knitting.




These are the stockings. The ?Kate? one is the original and ?Chip? is my copy Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Catching Up

I've been slow on knitting these last couple of weeks. I did finish Mandy this week and I'm excited for the weather to change so I can wear her (it was 89 here twice this past week). I'm making some progress on my Einstein Coat, but I will admit that I've neglected him badly. I've completed eight repetitions of the cable on Ophelia. I received a reprint of the pattern from Patternworks earlier this week in the mail. I'm glad to see they made the necessary corrections.

My goal this week is to complete three more sections on Ophelia and finalize my list of knitting projects for the holidays. Oh, I bought the most wonderful 100% llama yarn at an arts and crafts festival last weekend. It was spun with black and natural colored fiber and no dyes. It is so amazingly soft. She had a skein of solid black that I'm wishing I had bought as well. I've got her card, so I may have to have her send it to me. I'm unsure of what I will do with it, but it felt so good and the black and natural combo was too hard to pass up.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Wow

Your cables are great and you sure are speedy with the knitting! You must be having fun! Are you using the left handed yarn method or throwing the yarn over the needle with the right? I haven't read the pattern for the scarf so I didn't know about the dropped stitches. Where are they? The ones that look like ribbing in the photo? I'm on a mailing list from Herrschners Yarn Shop and each week get emails with sales. Today I purchased Debbie Bliss's Cotton and Angora yarn for $3.47 a skein (usually 7.50). Can't wait to see it! I figured I couldn't go too wrong with that blend. I got a variety of colors and hope to knit a sweater for Heidi as well as the top from Dazzling Knits. I don't ofen buy from Herrschner's, but couldn't resist the Debbie Bliss yarn this week.
Keep me posted on your progress with Ophelia. I love the way you name all your projects.

Dramatic Ophelia


Here's where I am. I'm a little obsessed with getting her done. I hope be at least half way (8 circles) by the end of this weekend. I'm a little nervous about the finishing and slipping all of those stitches to create the fringe. I have nightmares of everything unwraveling itself.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Cable Crazy

I'm having a blast making my new scarf. I started on her when I went to the beach and I am 1/4 of the way through the pattern. I am so glad I took the cable class. There were so many mistakes in the pattern (the first row was even wrong) that I wouldn't have been able to figure out what I should do to correct it. I've got it straightened out and after frogging her twice, I think it's correct. Whether it is what Ms. Epstein meant for it to be or not, I will never know, but it will be my version. It's really frustrating. I will take a photo after I work on her tonight. I think I may call her Ophelia, since she is very dramatic.