I'm In the Same Boat

Well, I've neglected this site as well during the summer. I've not had the energy to knit since I've been working 60 to 70 hours each week. I hope that this insanity is coming to an end soon, but I'm not so sure that is going to happen.

I've picked up the needles, determined to finish my Somewhat Cowl sweater that I started in March. I've knitted about an inch or so after the join. I like knitting from the top down so far. Here's what it looks like so far (sorry for the bad photo).



I may wish that I had knit this in a size smaller, but it seems to fit fine, just seems big right now in the arms. Maybe that will be better determined once I actually do the knitting on it.

Oh, I have to introduce you to my newest "child." This is Clyde. He is the new love of my life. He'll be 2 in November, so too young to ride, but I'm doing a lot of ground work with him right now. I work with a trainer once a week with him and it is amazing to watch a 1000 pound animal learn like a child would. It's the one thing I really force myself to make time for once a week and I just love my time with him. I'll have a reason to knit some cute hats, scarves, sweaters, finger-less gloves, etc. to wear at the barn this winter!

Mea Culpa

I am feeling like the worst blogger on the face of the earth. I haven't posted here in forever, but I guess that is because I haven't been knitting either. This summer has been like a blur to me and now it is about over. Of course with the heat, it sure doesn't feel like summer is anywhere near ending. Today it is supposed to be 101, right now it is 97 and tomorrow's high is forecast to be 105. Somehow, I can't get too excited about knitting while it is baking outside.

Part of the problem with the weather is also how it affects flying. Due to the weather and forcing me to miss connectioning flights, I have been stranded for the night twice in Denver, once in Houston and once in Pittsburg. I hate summertime flying. In the winter they keep the runways clean of snow, de-ice the plane and off it goes. But in the summer, let there be a thunder cloud anywhere in the vicinity of take off or landing and the pilot keeps the plane on the ground. I hate summertime flying, or did I already say that?

I've also been too busy with work to have any free time to knit. I used to knit in my hotel room at night, but this summer I have had so much work to do, analysis and reports that I've been putting in some very long days work. I've got to get my priorities straight and put knitting farther to the top. I have been working on a baby sweater which is almost completed. I will see the new father this week, so I plan to finish it tomorrow. It is a pattern from Yarn Market called Nana's Hooded Baby Jacket.
The yarn is a ribbon in a cream color and the size is supposed to be 1 - 2 years old. It looks a little small to me, but then it's been a while since I've been around a baby. The baby who is getting the sweater is a few months old but lives in Chicago, so the sweater should come in handy this fall.
After the weather cools down, I want to knit a sweater coat for Lisa. I picked out a kit from Ram Wools. It is wool so I am definitely waiting til it is cooler to start it.
Will try to be a better blogger in the next few weeks. Keep adding to your stash. The urge to knit always hits at the oddest times (usually when the LYS is closed!)

Stash Flash

As promised, here are the newest additions to my stash.



Prior to my trip to Boston, I bought Jaeger Siena 4-Ply in black for Orangina. I hope to get started on her soon. I really want to finish my Jaywalker socks before I start this. I'm flying to Raleigh for the week of the 18th and then Kevin and I will be in San Francisco on vacation the following week - so I'll have some air time to make some progress

In Boston, I visited one of my favorite shops in Newburyport, MA called Three Bags Full and purchased a skein of awesome pink, brown, and cream striped Trekking XXL sock yarn and some J.Knits turquoise, grey and black striped sock yarn. They are both really different, I love the colors and I can't wait to find the perfect pattern for these two.

We took an impromptu trip to Boone, NC for the Fourth of July (yes, I do work) and I visited a new yarn store in town, Laura's Yarn-Tastic. I went in just wanting to look around and came out with four hanks that were died in Mountain City, TN. How could I pass up local products? The yarn, died by Miss Babs is really different. I came home with two skiens off superwash sock yarn, one in pinks, purples and olive tones and the other in , bright purples, blues and greens (I thought of you, Nancy. Totally your colors). I also came home with a skein of her 100% Merino Wool in really cool shades of brown and gold. I will use this with some Cascade that I have and felt a neat bag with it.

The last skein I spotted while checking out (isn't that where all the best stuff is?) was in the half-price bin. It was a skein of Miss Babs 100% wool in the neatest shades of black, grey and navy blue. You may be able to see the colors in this close up. I think this combined with some Cascade 220 I have in gray, I should come up with something neat.

I'm Jaywalking, Too

On my flight to Boston, I started the Jaywalker socks that everyone seems to have made by now. I was a little late to the party, I guess. I made a lot of progress during my trip and I'm almost done with the first sock. I like the way they are turning out. I've never used size 1 needles, I've found they are pretty easy to use.



Here's a close up of the stitch patern. It's really easy and gives a great effect.



I've added to my stash and boutght yarn for Orangina. I'll give you a sneak peek into my shopping spree in Boston and Boone tomorrow when the weather is good enough to take photos outside.

The Honeymoon is Over

I've always wondered why clothing designers didn't cut their clothes larger so that women would be forced to buy a smaller size. Talk about brand loyalty. I don't know many people who wouldn't be drawn to a specific brand if the size on the tag was at least one size smaller than all the other pairs of jeans, shorts, skirts, etc. in their closet. The ego boost of a smaller number on the tag is really unbelievable, even if it doesn't happen very often.

Maybe Bonnie, my Honeymoon Tank, was trying to give me an ego boost. I measured myself, measured my swatch, adjusted the pattern, frogged it and adjusted it again and even though she measures right when flat, as you can see, she's a little big on me. I guess she's just trying to make me feel better about turning 30. I'm guessing it's the weight of the cotton I used that didn't allow it to drape like it should and instead she is a little saggy. I tried to block some of that out of her, but it really didn't help much. You live you learn I guess.



I'm not going to frog her. I'll be able to wear her around the house, outside while tending to my flowers and maybe to the pool. I don't think she'll become a staple in my wardrobe. I do think I will actually make a size smaller in a sweater than I think I should if she is supposed to be close fitting.

I'll apply this concept to Orangina, who I'm going to start while we're on vacation next week. I really like the way it looks and based on some of the results the girls at the Sexy Knitters Club have had with this pattern, I think this will look awesome in black. They did this as a KAL in April and I really like the finished product. I'm on the search for the right yarn and I hope I'm successful before we get on the plane on Wednesday night. Knitting with cotton really hurts my hands, but Orangina is also made of cotton, so maybe the soreness is just making my hands stronger.

Until then, I'll keep plugging away on my Somewhat Cowl. The back and forth knitting is so slow, but I know it will pick up once I join the round. But, for a little instant gratification, I made this little cosmetics pouch for my purse last night. Easy and it only took a couple of hours to finish.

Bonnie Blue

I've been pretty busy knitting this weekend and I'm almost done with the blue tank. I think I will call her Bonnie. Real original, huh?



I finished the right side yesterday and hope to make the same kind of progress on the left side tonight. I still have the i-cord straps to do, but I think I'm going to try it on first and then knit the straps based on the fit. I like the decrease method used in the pattern, so I learned something new.



I wonder if I'll have the guts to wear it when all is said and done. Maybe with another tank under it or something. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have a finished product up for review. The cats are unimpressed, as they think mom suddenly made them a blanket for them to relax on while sunning on the back deck.



Today is sad for me. Sasha, the dog I got when I was 16 years old, has gotten too sick for us to stand by and watch her suffer through her last days. We're taking her to the vet today at 11:45a to say goodbye. She's been a good dog for 14 years and was my father's devoted companion. It's going to be a tough day, but my mom and I know it is the right thing to do. We're going to bring her ashes to Boone and spread them at the graveyard so she can be next to dad. Here's a photo of my girl just a few months ago. It's not the best picture of her, but it's the only one I had this morning.

First Official Day of Summer

Each morning I usually go upstairs and run on the treadmill. It's too hot in Georgia, no matter what time of year it is, to run outside, so I run while I watch the morning news. Today is the first official day of summer for our house because school is now over for the 2005-06 school year and my husband is home now and is sleeping in as I write this, which interrupts my morning routine.

I work from home. Kevin will be home all day, too. I'm not sure how this is going to work.

My current plan is to run from 12:30 until 1p each day on my "lunch hour" and use my quiet morning time to knit. Between my morning knitting and my pre-bed knitting I may get this darn tank done after all.

30th Birthday Blues

So, I turned 30 on Saturday. All of my friends and my husband are all older than I am, so I received no sympathy. I was stressed about it as the date grew closer, but it really wasn't a big deal after all.

Someone told me that their 30s was when they really figured out who they were. I hope that's true, because I have no idea. I just keep waiting to wake up one day and someone has figured it out for me, but I guess what I'll really come to grips with in my 30s is that the only one who can figure it out is you.

I'm trying to cure myself of my knitting ADD, although I've not done a particularly good job of it. I bought some craft store yarn to make the Honeymoon tank from the Knitty archive. Once I did the swatch I found that it didn't match the gauge called for in the pattern - so I knit a swatch on a size 7 needle (up one size) and although it gave me my gauge, the fabric didn't have the look I wanted. So, I decided to alter the pattern using the new gauge and knit it based on my measurements.

Let's pause here for a moment to realize that I don't do math. I hate math. I despise math. I hate everything about the possibility of adding two, two-digit numbers together without a calculator. Yes, I married a math teacher, who I use as my human calculator when I need him, but he would be little use to me in adjusting this pattern. Oh - and let's not forget that I've never finished any garment that I've EVER started.

So, I did some math (with my husband mocking me the entire time) and did a pretty good job in adjusting the stitch count as necessary. Even the decreases seemed to really work out, but when I got to the second set of increases I decided that I should try this thing on and see if it fit. I used some waste yarn to keep all my stitches in tact and slipped it on. The bottom wasn't too bad. But something had gone wrong when increasing. It was way too big. I liked the way it fit at the last set of decreases, so I decided to frog the thing back to there and continue to knit without increasing for the remaining of the tank. I think it seems to better fit my body type and I certainly don't need extra room in the bust.




I'm 1/3 of the way done before dividing for the v-shaped neckline. I was hoping to be almost done by my 30th birthday, but I guess I missed that deadline. I hope to have it done by the time we go to MA for vacation. I do have 8 hours coming up in the car when we go to Memphis in two weeks, so there's hope.

If it's true what they say about finding your true self in your 30s, I guess I confirmed for myself this weekend that I don't do math.

What day is it?

I know what you mean about Monday. Kinda like the movie "Ground Hog Day", right?

I'm not even sure what day it is or where I am. My travels are out of control as well as my WIPs. Since I last blogged it has been like this...Youngstown OH, Chicago, Youngstown, Bryan TX, Youngstown, Byan, and Youngstown. I'm really glad to get the work, but give a woman a break. How can I knit with all this traveling? I have to have time to yarn shop! I used to knit on planes, but lately have been either completing work from last venue or preparing for the next place while flying. So, I've got to get it under control and have more time to complete the knitting projects.

This past week of travel was absolutely the pits! I was flying from Houston to Denver to home. Got to Denver OK and the gate agents announced there were mechanical problems with our plane, then they proceeded to load Portland OR passengers on our plane (it was in our gate) and send them on our way. We waited for them to fix the Portland plane so we could take off. At 11PM they finally tell us they are cancelling the flight. I was re-booked on a 4PM flight on Saturday. Well there were about 60 of us booked on the Friday night cancelled flight, so 5 of us rented a car, left Denver at 12MN and drove 8.5 hours to get home. I was beat and am still fuming at the airlines. I really hate flying United and take all pains to avoid them whenever possible. I still haven't written my letter to the customer relations department of United, but believe me, I will. I don't usually get all bent out of shape about the trials of flying, but for them to outright lie to us, make us wait 3 hours before cancelling the trip and then don't have anything to offer til 4PM the Saturday afternoon! Meanwhile, I couldn't knit at all on the road trip home that night, it was pitch dark in the van all the way down the interstate in CO and KS.

I've frogged and restarted the ecru shell that I was knitting with the Cascade Yarn, then put it aside because Lisa wanted me to knit something for a silent auction that the ice skating club is having to raise some money for the club. She specifically wanted a ballet sweater. I found an adult pattern on the Lion Brand web site for free, got the Lion Brand Color Waves yarn while in Bryan and started the project. The pieces of it are finished but not put together. The yarn isn't the greatest, but the sweater will be washable and that is what the ice skaters will need. Maybe someone will buy it, but I'm totally prepared for it not to bring even the amount of the yarn. Next time, I'll just donate the amount of money that I would have spent for yarn and forego the knitting project.

Then I wanted to knit a scarf (the balloon pattern) from the Interweave Knits Scarf Style book for a very dear friend. I wanted "good" yarn, so I went yarn shopping at home. I really don't like my LYS but have nothing better. The lady there is really into weaving and always treats me with a snotty attitude. (Maybe that is a pre-requisite for owning a yarn shop, who knows.) I finally ended up with some silk/cotton/merino blend and began the scarf. After only a few rounds, I found that the yarn didn't really show the stitches, so I frogged that and started another scarf from the book. I don't remember the name of the scarf and don't have the book handy. It's shown in a really nice blue yarn. I knit for a while and didn't like the width of the scarf, frogged that and started over. I'm into skein #2 on that one. I like it but probably won't use it. I may put it in the silent auction as well. There is no way it will bring what I paid for the yarn, should've just donated that amount, right? There's a pattern of behavior developing here.

Meanwhile, I ordered yarn from Knit Picks to do the balloon pattern scarf for my friend. I'm really glad that I did! The yarn is great (again don't remember the name and am at work with the ball band in my hotel room a few miles away), it's soft, a color called Mulled Wine, and the stitches look great. I started that scarf last night in the hotel room. The pattern is a 42 row repeat, so I'll probably never have it memorized and the knitting will progress slowly. Glad it's spring and she won't need it til the fall/winter. This one isn't going in the silent auction. It's turning out too pretty. I'll post pictures when I get home (strike that - IF I get home this weekend).

So, I'm not sure what day it is, I am still in Youngstown and will probably be back here next week, with our without getting home this weekend.

I'm ready for a knitting retreat, Camp Stitches????TKGA conference????? Stitches Midwest or Stitches East????? What about you? I swore I wasn't going to one this year, but I'm getting itchy fingers and of course, I don't travel enough so this would be an excuse for a trip! HAHAHAHA Maybe we should plan something...Camp Stitches is June - in North Carolina, TKGA is July, Stitches Midwest is August, Stitches East is November. Lots to choose from. Last year was so much fun.

It's Still Monday

Ever had one of those weeks where it feels like Monday every day of the week? Well, I've had one of those weeks for the last three weeks. Last night was the first time I actually got to knit anything that I really wanted to work on. All I have to show for three weeks time is one baby sock. ONE BABY SOCK! How horrible. I really want to knit a cute tank to wear while I'm in Boston this summer. So, this weekend I plan to go and buy yarn and start this tank - come hell or high water.

On top of me missing my knitting terribly, Kevin and I have decided to start eating better, so I'm cranky and hungry. ARGH. It's still Monday, isn't it?

Baby Things

I love the cute hat. What yarn did you use? I got an email today that a co-worker's wife delivered yesterday so I need to make a baby gift as well. I haven't given much thought about what to knit. What do you think new parents would like to get?
Am finishing the shell that I started with Cascade Fixation. I chose to short row some bust darts since I am ample in that department. It was a challenge, even for a master knitter! ;-) I got the instructions for figuring out how to make them from Margaret Righetti's book on sweater designing. It's a great reference book. The shell is very comfortable because of the elastic in the yarn. I think I'll wear it a lot for work.
I really admire your confidence to experiment and knit without instructions. That is very difficult for me to do, but am trying to stretch my ability and knit freely with just an idea of what I want the finished piece to resemble. I can learn a lot from you about freeing up my knitting.
I'm on the road for several days now. I'm in Youngstown, OH this week, will be in Chicago over the weekend, Mon and Tue then back to Youngstown for the remainder of next week. I'll be in Texas for the first 2 weeks of May which might be good knitting time, if I can decide what to make. If you will be there, maybe we can meet for dinner or something.

I'm No Master Knitter, But...

First, congratulations on completing your work to become a certified Master Knitter. That's so exciting. I have thought about looking into starting this process, but I'm a little nervous. We'll see.

I've been collecting baby patterns over the last couple of weeks. We have friends who are due this summer and I thought I would have time to knit a few little things before their due dates. When we came home from vacation, we found out our friends who were due at the end of April/early May delivered on March 31. Britten Taylor was 6 lbs 10 oz and 18 inches long when she was born - a little on the small side, but can you imagine how big she would have been if she was born five weeks later! I made this little hat by combining several patterns and I'm almost done with the baby socks.



I don't like booties. They look silly and never stay on. And after they come home from the hospital, who puts these things on their kids. I ordered a book on baby socks off of e-bay that should be here any time now. Baby things are so remarkably small. I knew this before I started, but I kept looking at the hat thinking that it would never fit. But, it did.

I hope I can stay ahead of everyone else's birthdays so I will have a gift to take to the hospital. Britten and mom are doing fine and she's been home for over a week now.

Vacation Knitting

I was on vacation two weeks ago and being a road warrior for work last week, so I've not had time to post. In fact, my husband chose a vacation spot with no internet access and very little cell coverage in an effort to make me slow down. I really think it did more harm than good since I almost had a nervous breakdown without my e-mail or web access for a week.

I can admit it. When packing for vacation I had illusions of grandeur. I packed all of the yarn I needed to complete my Somewhat Cowl sweater. I packed enough yarn to make two pair of socks. I also packed some kitchen cotton to make my cute purse. I thought I would have all of this time to lounge around and knit. I guess I also thought that I became the fastest knitter in the world overnight. Needless to say I made progress on all of my projects - some more than others - but progress on each.

Somewhat Cowl Sweater: I've found out that the ragglan sleeve measurements may be off and I'll need to alter this to be sure it isn't too loose.




Mulligan Socks: I've frogged this damn thing four times now. I hate the way the heel is working out and I need to frog it AGAIN.



Polly Purse (Cute Purse): Polly was easy, but hard on my hands. I've got the embroidery to finish (four flowers) and I think I'm going to line this before I seam it up. We'll see how that goes.

Master Knitter

I DID IT!!!! I've achieved the official title of Master Knitter. I got the final letter this week, with congratulations from the Master Knitting Committee! It was a lot of work. I did the Level 1 work in 2002, had some swatches to re-do but basically got through it OK. Then in 2004 I did the work for Level 2. I started Level 3 late in 2004 and sent off the swatches, hat and sweater along with the written work in March 2005. I got the review back with a lot of swatches needed to be re-worked. My mistake was using Lion Brand Wool Ease so the tension was a mess. I had worked some swatches in a Lamb's Pride wool and they were passed as submitted. After the Christmas holidays, I used either Lamb's Pride or Cascade 220 worsted weight yarn and re-did all the required swatches. Then the hat had to be reknit. It was a Fair Isle and the review committee didn't approve my technique. I finally got all the re-work mailed off in late February. One swatch of the re-submission needed some re-work this time. It was the invisible bind-off technique. The commitee chair was very helpful in mastering this technique. I re-did that one and mailed it off a couple of weeks ago. Finally, I have passed all the work and can consider myself a Master Knitter. I sometimes wonder what my mother would think of this. She wasn't much for guilds or clubs. So I think she is probably laughing at my thrill for passing the work. I'm pretty proud though. I would recommed that every knitter do the course. It is sponsored by The Knitting Guild Association and can be found at the TKGA.com web site. TKGA has a national conference in PA in July. I am thinking of attending at least part of the conference. I know I said I wasn't going to a knitting conference this year, but as the time approaches, I get itchey to attend. We had so much fun at Stitches East, maybe we should try to attend this one.

Your last post mentioned knitting magazines. Did you get the latest Vogue Knitting? There is a dress that I think you should try for yourself. It is made of Cascade Fixation, one of my favorite yarns. I have decided to work out a pattern for a top that I can wear with my St. John's suits. Will keep you posted on that.

I've finished the Dazzling Knits vest that I posted a few weeks ago. I'll add pictures later but right now am looking for buttons for it. I've also finished the knitting of the Catherine Lowe Body Wrap. I need to block it and will post pictures of it later as well. So I'm looking for projects again. Always need someting on the needles, right?

Super Cute Summer Purse

In preparation for our beach trip I checked out the 10 day forecast. Unfortunately, it looks like I won't be getting a suntan since the high is supposed to be 68 degrees. So it looks like I will be getting a lot more knitting done than I expected and that's not bad news.

Over the weekend I purchased two new knitting magazines and I've been saving them to enjoy them while I'm on vacation. I didn't think looking at my mom's new knitting magazine was cheating and while I browsed the pages of the Family Circle Easy Knitting magazine, I found the cutest spring/summer purse. It's hard to find a cute, non-felted, purse for warmer weather. The best news, it's knit in kitchen cotton and it seems really easy.

I think I'm going to do this in yellow with blue and white flowers, so it won't show dirt so badly. Big needles, big yarn... I'm guessing it won't take too long to knit. We'll see how it comes out. I'll post a photo later. I thought FCEKnitting would have a photo of it on their site - but it hasn't been updated since 2005.

I've also done some research about LYS at my vacation spot and there's one right downtown. This map was very helpful. Pretty neat for travelers.

Socks and Jocks

I've gotten a lot of knitting done this weekend, thanks to the NCAA Basketball tournament. With a house full of guys cheering for or against one team or another, I've had to busy myself with something other than television. Don't get me wrong - I love college basketball, but there simply wasn't room for me to comfortably sit, enjoy the games and knit all at the same time. So here's what I've been working on:

My Mulligan Socks:
Ready to start the heel on this one. I'm going to do short row heels on these socks because I think I'll like the look a lot better. I hope to have at least one heel done before I go to the beach.








My Dorthy Scarf:
This is the emerald green scarf that I frogged last Sunday night while watching the Soprano's. I started the so-called scarf pattern that evening and the goal was to finish it before I left for my trip to NYC this week; however, my trip was postponed so now there's not a lot of rush. I will say that the stitch pattern is addictive and produces a woven, cloth-like effect with the yarn.



I'm a Ball-er:
I dragged out my ball winder on Friday night and wound the hanks of Blue Sky Alpaca I ordered for my Somewhat Cowl sweater. I will knit the swatch before heading to the beach so I'm not trapped there without the right size of needles. I hope I make a lot of progress on this project while I'm there. While the winder was out, I went ahead and wound other hanks in my stash.

I'll Take a Mulligan - Or Two

Well, make that three. Last week I visited my sister in Boone and went to the LYS in Blowing Rock - Nan's Yarn Nook. I went in to buy the Addi Turbos for knitting my Somewhat Cowl sweater and I made the mistake of looking at the sock yarn. I bought enough to make two more pairs. I enjoyed my first pair and they are so darn portable, they fit my travel lifestyle.

So after a long day, I started a new sock. I was lazy and got cocky, so I didn't knit a swatch. I know. I know. Don't even go there. I really shouldn't be surprised that it was too small when I had the chance to slip it on.

So, I frogged it. It wasn't too painful - this time. Now you would think that I had learned my lesson and would have taken a little bit of time to knit a swatch before starting over. Of course not. I prefer to simply guess, keep my fingers crossed and get as far as turning the heel before I realize that I still didn't have enough CO stitches.

So I'm on my third try. I'm hard headed, but I eventually took time to knit a swatch last night, measure it and figure out the exact measurements I need for my socks. I will cast on tomorrow just to have something portable in the works.

Speaking of portable, the emerald green scarf that I knit on the flight to NYC has been calling my name recently. I really don't like the way it came out. Maybe it's because I never added fringe. Maybe it's because I don't like the way the variegated yarn almost striped when knit on the vertical. No matter what it is, I think I'm going to frog it tomorrow and start this "so-called scarf" pattern. I think the outcome is really cool and I think the variegated shades of green will really look cool in this pattern. I just love the color of this yarn too much to hate the project that it is used for.

I'm winding balls of yarn tomorrow. My Blue Sky Alpaca and the el-cheapo cotton that I ordered from Webs arrived on Thursday. Maybe I'll frog the scarf and wind it while I have the materials out. I'll post more tomorrow - with photos.

Olympic Non-participant

There were many more watchers of the Olympics than participants, right? Well, at least I'm using that to justify my position of not knitting in the Olympics. I am still working on the vest from Dazzling Knits that I posted a few weeks ago. I don't take it on the road with me so my knitting is limited to only my days at home, lately that has been all too few. I'm getting ready to finish it though as it looks as if I will be staying at home with Grandmother Duty for 3 days one week and 5 days the following week later this month. I'll post when that is finished. I'm also still working on the Body Wrap by Catherine Lowe. It is 4 large triangles of which 2 are completed and the 3rd is on the needles.

This body wrap may be my never ending project. I decided to opt for the kit when I realized that I could spend almost as much money picking out yarn only to get a second rate product. The yarn is finger weight silk, wool and mohair. The dying is fabulous so the color is very even. I couldn't get her gauge with the size 6 needles and dropped to size 4s. This is hurting my hands, but at least it is on target with gauge. The funny thing is that I had a lot of yarn left over when I had completed the required number of rows and stitches, so I changed the sizing to a total of 423 stitches instead of the 375. I do like the density of the fabric better than if I had used the size 6 needles, even if it takes more stitches to get to the measurements. It's all a matter of taste, right, but its a LOT of stitches that I would have to frog and a lot of re-knitting I would have to do if it doesn't turn out right.

Your Olympic Socks are great! You live in a climate where you can wear the socks with clogs or sandals all winter. Have you tried to knit any socks with Cascade Fixation? The yarn is great for socks, although a little larger yarn than sock yarn. The yarn has some elastic spun into the fiber so it stretches. Makes a great fitting sock that doesn't bag or stretch out of shape. They have wonderful colors and great colorways in the yarn. Try this web site http://cascadeyarns.com/cascade-fixation.asp It is inexpensive, costs less than $5.00 a ball and requires only 2 balls to make a pair of socks. I get one sock with less than one ball, but will start the second sock with the second ball to avoid having to start the second ball halfway through the second sock.
When I first returned to knitting a few years ago I did a google search on knitting. I found a plethora of web sites with hand knitted socks. After spending a few hours online looking at a lot of the posts, I decided I must be the only person in the world not knitting socks, so I had to try my hand at them. I've made a few pairs, they make great gifts (where else is the recipient going to get a pair of hand knit socks) but aren't too practical for my climate. I have a friend who is an outdoor person and loves the socks with her boots. Not for me...How can I be outside, wearing boots and knitting. Just doesn't fit. I do wear them with my Berkinstocks in the fall and spring. They always get someone's attention, giving me what we all like, a chance to say, "Thanks, I knit them."

So maybe in 2 years during the summer Olympics I'll knit something, at least I can deram of what I would like to do. How about a summer cardigan, cotton, white, lacey??? I've got plenty of time to think about that one.

I like your choices in tops and can completely understand that pacing oneself with knitting is impossible. Maybe even an oxymoron, Pacing and Knitting, totally incompatible. I truely believe the saying, so much yarn, so little time.

A Successful Pair of Socks

Yes, my olympic knitting socks are complete. In fact, I'm wearing them right now. I'm pretty happy with the way they came out. I'm not sure the heel is quite right, but they fit. On my next pair of socks - yes, I think there will be another pair - I hope to try a more complicated pattern and maybe it will have a different way to turn the heel.

The yarn is ordered for my Somewhat Cowl sweater, as well as cotton for my "beach knitting sweater." I'm afraid that I'm going to have a bit of withdraw without something to be focused on until the yarn arrives. I've got plenty of yarn to knit dish cloths for the next week, so I may try a complicated pattern to practice a few new stitches.

Olympic Knitting - Days 9, 10 & 11

I'm almost done with sock number 2. All I have left is the remainder of the foot and grafting the toe. If I can find some time over the next two days, I'll be in good shape. I know - socks aren't that challenging and required no blocking and such, but it was somewhat of a challenge for me. I don't like the way my stitches look when I pick up stitches, so I need practice or suggestions, or lessons or something. I just don't like how they look, so I'm doing something wrong, I'm sure.

It's important that I get this right because I have found my next project, The Somewhat Cowl, and I've got the yarn ordered - so this is a commitment. I found this pattern by accident when browsing Olympic Knitting blogs and I not only love this pattern, I really enjoy reading her blog. There's also a cool link to The Garter Belt. Some neat, modern, attractive patterns are available. I thought it was a good find. So, cancel the other two projects I mentioned last time - I have such knitting A-D-D right now it's horrible. So scattered about projects I want to complete that I get so overwhelmed that I can't even figure out the best place to start.