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.  

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 

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.

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.

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.

Closer to Stitches

I love Mandy! What a name and what a great pattern. No wonder you are enjoying knitting it. Where did you get the pattern? If you can do that I am sure you can do the other scarf. You will love cables and will be surprised as to how fun + challenging they are to complete. I worked out a way using Excel to keep up with the patterns. Actually that is the subject of the article that is supposed to be published in the upcoming holiday issue of Cast On magazine. I don't know for sure if it will be published, but they haven't returned the sweater so I assume they are using it for pictures for the article. We'll see.
I'm getting excited about Stitches. I have packed my bag with a couple of sweaters I finished lately since I think the weather may be cool enough to wear them. I will be going to Seattle after Stitches so I am sure the sweaters will come in handy there. I got my homework swatches completed, except the felted swatch. I didn't get a chance to do that. I may do it after I get there, since the class isn't until Saturday.
I finished the knitting on the Wright Wrap I am making. Now to do the finishing work which consists of sewing the panels together, duplicate stitching to form the "lead" as in leaded glass windows and do an edging for it. Knitting it was a challenge and I'll hope to complete the finishing work during the fall.
Can't wait to see you and to visit the Stitches market with you. I have signed up for several classes and of course the fashion shows. It will be so great to spend time with you, see some knitting buddies from Tulsa and meet new ones.

Getting Longer

My scarf, that I now refer to as "Mandy" since I have lunch with her at least two times a week, is getting longer. The color in this photo doesn't show the fabulous teal and camel colors in the yarn. The more I work with it the more I love the color. I hope to have her done before I leave for Atlantic City on Thursday. I'm looking forward to meeting new people, taking my cables class and going to the fashion show on Friday night. I'm excited!

My goal will be to have the guts to start this Nicky Epstein scarf when I get home. I just love the feminine quality of the cable pattern and all of the fringe. It really makes a statement. We'll see if I get the confidence to start this.

I'm still working on my Einstein Coat, but I'm getting bored with the garter stitch pattern. I'm traveling the entire week after Stitches, so I'll bring it along in the car to hopefully make some progress.

Northwest Knitting

I';m blogging tonight from the Seattle area, actually Edmonds, Washington. I finally got a few minutes to go into the downtown Edmonds area last week while out here. It is absolutely a wonderful place that anyone would love to see. I got about 15 minutes to browse at the yarn shop, Spin A Yarn . I wish I had more time to spend there. It was wonderful. A great yarn shop with wonderful yarns. I plan to go back soon to spend more time. Problem is they close at 5PM and I usually am at work til at least that late. I bought a couple of skeins to knit a scarf. Hope to get it started soon. It will take big needles and it should go fast.

Looks like you are really doing a great job with the felted purses. I'll bet they are fun to knit, but you are right about the swatch. I all too often skip that step because I am too anxious to get right into the pattern. Knock on wood I haven't had a bad problem yet. You know it is only a matter of time til I do. If I were smart, I would learn from your mistake.

Counting the days til Stitches East. Can't wait to get with knitters again.

Little Bag Teaches Big Lesson

I've finally finished Heidi's felted Lucy Bag. I love this pattern, it's really easy - great for mindless knitting - and the style is great.


This is the I've made four Lucy Bags with three different brands of yarn. The first two, made for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, were made with Lion Brand's Fisherman's Wool. The second one, my mother's bag, was made with Lamb's Pride. This bag I used Cascade 220. The first three bags felted after four or five washings and they shrunk, but not too bad. This bag shrunk a lot in only one washing! When I went to get it out of the washer I was shocked. I had anticipated that the final outcome would be bigger, but what I have made is a smaller version of the bag. At first I was disappointed because I really liked the size of the first three bags, but the more I look at it, and try and carry it in a variety of ways, I kinda like it. Heidi doesn't really carry a big bag anyway, so it will be perfect for keys, a wallet, lipstick and a phone. What else do you need in a purse anyway?

Lesson learned - I should always felt a swatch when I use a new yarn. Emma doesn't look too impressed with the final product, does she?



I'm making a lot of progress on the ruffle scarf and I'm at the halfway point on the bottom of the coat. I hope to be done with the scarf this week and I'll post photos when I have it ready to wear.

Scarf and Coat Pictures

Here are the most recent photos of the ruffle scarf and the Einstein Coat.







I have a long way to go on both, but I find myself knitting some on each every night before bed and I bring my scarf with me to work to knit at lunch. Maybe in a week or so I'll have more progress to share.

New Favorite Yarn Store

I'll admit it - I've got a new favorite place to shop for yarn! I had a blast at the Threaded Bliss Yarn Shop in Nashville last Wednesday evening. I bought some great Cascade 220 in a wonderful camel, teal tweed-like color that I thought would make an interesting ruffle scarf. I hope I get to go back soon. The store Sheila has created is more like a community than just a shop. I'm so jealous that they are so far away.

My Einstein Coat is coming along. I'm almost done with the bottom section. Man - I'm sick of a garter stitch, but I love the color I chose. I'll take photos of it and the ruffled scarf tonight for posting tomorrow. That ruffle scarf works up fast and I am really having fun with the pattern. It's just what I needed. More tomorrow.

On the Road Again

I found a new store, Threaded Bliss Yarns, to visit while I'm in Nashville for the next three days. I've found quite a few things that I want to add to my "gotta knit" list including a new bag for me, a sweater for my friend's son (who I am baby sitting on Friday night so I can secretly take his measurements), a poncho for my niece, a ruffled scarf for a couple of people at work and a shrug for me for this winter. I've started on my Einstein Coat. It's a huge undertaking and I'm not even through one ball of yarn yet, but I'm riding in the car a lot this week so I hope to accomplish a lot of knitting while I'm in the car. It's easy and mindless work, but it's a ton of knitting. I hope I can get it done before I go to Stitches. I'm really looking forward to it. I kinda feel like I should start a shrug too so I might have something to wear while I'm there. I'll let you know what I see at this shop in Nashville.

Airport knitting

Well, where has this summer gone? I can't believe that next week is the last week in July and I have very little to show for it in the way of knitting. My traveling has picked up and I will be spending part of each week in Lincoln, NE and the other part of the week in Seattle WA for the remainder of the year. I'll need to find something that is portable knitting. The wrap that I am working on uses too many colors on each row and the pattern requires too close observation for me to feel comfortable working on it in the airport.

I am seeing more and more knitters in airports. Are you? On Monday's trip, I saw 2 women knitting in the Minneapolis airport and one on the same flight I was on into Lincoln. It is fun to see a craft that I love so much being enjoyed by others.

I envy you the shopping trip in Massachusetts. Yes, you can drop a paycheck on yarn without batting an eye. A couple of years ago I was in Stevens Point Wisconsin and found a yarn shop with a great warehouse sale. I had a shopping cart full before I stopped. I'm still working on some of that yarn, but still buy more. My motto is going to be.."She who dies with the biggest yarn stash, wins!" I'm sure that it applies to more than me when it comes to a yarn stash.

How did your summer wrap turn out? I'm so glad you bought a copy of Knitter's. It is one of my favorite mags. I've subscribed to it for a few years. You know there are people who collect all the back issues. I know someone in Tulsa who has a complete set! Every issue! It has taken her a while to collect them all, but Ebay has helped.

Successful Yarn Shopping

I was on vacation last week and Kevin and I took a trip to Western Mass to visit one of my favorite yarn suppliers. I spent two hours in Webs and bought yarn to complete my Einstein Coat as well as some interesting muted cotten out of the bargin bin and some red wool for a purse. I had a blast!

One Purse Wrapped Up

I still do not have the yarn for my wrap, so it's safe to say that I won't have the wrap complete for my trip to Boston. We leave a week from Tuesday, so I doubt that the yarn will come in and I'll have the time to work on it prior to our departure. Much like you, I'd like to support my new LYS, but it is frustrating to know that I could have ordered the same yarn online and had it in just a few days. It's been two weeks. Oh, well. I'm going to take your suggestion and work on a swatch with some cotton yarn I have to prepare to work on the wrap. Maybe by September it will be ready!

My interim project was the SOHO Purse from one of my new books, Bags, A Knitter's Dozen. You can wear it in three different ways. I thought is was a fun casual purse for the summer. I'm always wanting something to just throw my keys and id in for a day out. I just bought some kitchen cotton, which worked pretty well. It may not have longevity, but I can say the same for 90% of the purses I own - no matter what they are made of.

Things I learned while completing this little bag: 1) how to complete a three-needle bind off; 2) how to sew in a zipper in a knitted piece; 3) why you should allow for major stretch of the i-cord strap when you have things in the bag - I over shot this by a lot. I'll probably redo the cord on this one.

Here's a look at the finished product.:









I'm not sure if I'll do another one of these bags. A couple of people I've shown it to have been less than thrilled with the look of the bag. I guess it's a little to hippy or crunchy for them. I still want to knit one with a flap that folds over like a messenger bag.

Pattern and Wrap

That's a great pattern and I think you can do it. If you are like me, I want to start knitting as soon as I can after deciding to knit the pattern. Why don't you get some yarn that you have left over from another project and appropriate sized needles, cast on about 3 multiples of the wrap's pattern stitches and practice the stitches. It will make the real project soar when your real yarn arrives, since you will already have worked out the stitches in the pattern. It will make the pattern flow much easier when you get the "good" yarn.

I finished the child's sweater and have already mailed it to Cast On. I will be writing the article to go with it, hopefully over the weekend. It's a great load off my mind to have it finished. I made a size 8 so hopefully when I get it back it will fit Heidi and she can have it for the winter.

I'm real excited to have started the ruana wrap that I designed. It is fun to knit it using all the colors that I selected. I am using intarsia since the color is in large blocks. It is not conducive to travel since I would have to carry too many balls of yarn. I'm hoping that I can enter it in a design contest later this year.
Did you get the brochure for Stitches East? I have it in my briefcase and will make my class choices soon. I hope you are still planning to go. It will be a fabulous experience for you. My first trip to a Stitches event was so great.

Step 1 - Buy Yarn

Ok - it's taken me all week to complete step one of the knitting process. I took my pattern over to my new knitting store to select just the right yarn. I'd looked at a lot of different types of cotton on-line, but when you're buying 1400 yards, you also have to consider price too! Even though her store is new, the owner helped me to select just the right yarn Plymouth Fantasy Naturale, which she thought would have the right gauge, would hold up over time and would wash best. I selected a raspberry color (8016) and I hope to have the yarn in hand by next weekend so I can make up for a lot of lost time. I guess I'll have to do my housework since I have nothing to procrastinate with this week!

Commitment

I treated myself to a new knitting magazine this weekend and purchased the latest issue of Knitters. It's a magazine that I don't usually buy because I never feel like I can make something in it, however; this time I just bought the magazine without looking through it. I was surprised to find quite a few adorable, knit-able, summer wraps that I think I can make. The Sunset Wrap on page 76 is so cute and would be perfect for me to take to Boston, where the summer evenings are too cool for this Georgia girl. So, I've made a commitment to make this wrap over the next month. Tomorrow I will go to my LYS to buy the 1400 yards of yarn I'll need as well as a new size 8 circular needle. I'd like to find a nice, neutral color so I can use the wrap into the fall, but I have a tendency to really dislike a blah color after working on a project for two weeks. Let's hope this goes quickly. I leave for Boston on June 28th. It looks challenging, but the outcome looks worth the effort. I'll take photos of my progress and let you know how I'm doing.

Speaking of my LYS, there's a new yarn shop in town! I just stopped in for a few minutes at Creative Yarns, but I have to say my brief experience was very positive. Friendly staff, interesting knitting opportunities and, most importantly, an eagerness to draw in younger knitters. In glancing at her class schedule, I'd like to take her color class. I do fine with just one color, but when it comes to switching colors, carrying each color along the back, etc., I have some trouble. I hope I can make the dates of the class work. Instruction aside, I'd like to have the opportunity to knit with other people. Since I'm never home, and when I am I don't want to leave, I rarely have the opportunity to knit in a group. I think it would be good for me.

Flowers!

I love the flowers! I'll bet the beads took a while to do, but they really add to the flower. I can't wait to make some myself. You should think about selling these at Mossy Creek. Can you do that?

Well the sweater and the written directions must be finished by June 10th so I am working under a time frame. I'm knitting as fast as I can. I've let the master level work sit untouched for the last 2 weeks as I work on the sweater.

I haven't received anything about Stitches East, but I know it is Sept 22 - 25 and at the Atlantic City Convention Center. I agree it would be fun to stay at a Trump Hotel. Selfishly, I would like to use frequent stay points to stay free, but I'll bet that won't happen isnce my points are Marriott or Hilton points. You can go to the web site and sign up to have brochure sent to you, but I don't think it is ready yet or I would have gotten it. I got the Stitches Midwest brochure a few weeks ago and it is in August in Chicago. I can't wait to see what classes they are offering and select the ones I want to take. These events are so great, I always learn a lot and leave inspired to work on a new project.

I'm at home the first part of this week and will finish the sweater today, I hope. Wish me luck on that. I'll send pics later.