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.

One Sock Down, One to Go - Olympic Days 6-8

I'm half way there! One sock complete, one more to go.


And the first one fits.


I'm babysitting tomorrow night for a little one, and after he goes to bed I'll have some uninterrupted time to dedicate to sock number 2. While completing the matching sock (fingers crossed), I'll have to think of a name for these girls (I think green and purple socks have to be girls).

I've really enjoyed knitting these socks and I'm excited to cast on the second one tonight. I'm already looking for my next project since I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with these socks. I'm thinking about this bandeau top. I thought it would look cute for spring, maybe with a white t-shirt and jean jacket. It's cute and it is a beginner's fair isle pattern.

Another choice is this cute tank from knitty called Honeymoon . It's a good pattern to practice my shaping and it will be cute to wear with jeans or, if I dare, under a suit.

I've not forgotten about my Einstein coat. It's just so hot here this winter (82 today) and I'm burning up with it just laying in my lap. I cannot imagine wearing it this year. So, once we turn the A/C on in the house - I'll get back at it.

Knitting Olympics - Days 4 & 5

I'm working on the foot of the sock. After successfully turning the heel and in the middle of knitting the instep, one of my brand new Brittany needles cracked and eventually broke. I had enough length on the needle to continue to work, but I will have to make a trip to the LYS to get another set.

I was a little shocked by the break, since I have other Brittany needles and they are such high quality, I really didn't expect this to happen. But I believe that the true sign of a good company is how they handle problems and Brittany has this covered. I happened to notice on the needle pack that the needles are guaranteed for five years. I went to the website and all I had to do was send an e-mail with the needle information and they would replace my needle within two weeks! How fantastic. While I will still need to purchase a new set, eventually I will have two complete sets. I guess I better get good at knitting socks.


Could this be equated to Kerri Scruggs in the 1996 Summer Olympics when she hurt herself on her first vault, but went back out there and nailed her second vault to win the gold for the women's gymnastic's team? Ok, that might be pushing it, but I am making progress. I just hope they fit after all is said and done.

Knitting Olympics - Days 1-3

I'm making progress. I hope to finish the heel tonight, but here's what I've learned so far in my three short days of the Knitting Olympics:

1. Knitting with toothpicks takes some getting use to. However, I love my size 2 Brittany needles and after a few rounds I've gotten the hang of it. I can't imagine what working with size 1 or 0 might be like.

2. I'm not knitting socks for church. In the process of working the leg, I missed a stitch and had a hole in my sock. Not good.

3. Frog in circles. I tried to ladder down to fix the hole, but being a novice at making teeny, tiny stitches, I had little success at fixing my mistake. I ripped back, but didn't rip an entire round, so after a couple of rounds I realized that the end/beginning of my round was no longer the end/beginning.

I need to get moving on this heel if I want to try and stay on schedule. Only 13 days left.

Update

Its great that you are knitting in the Olympics. I was so amazed with some of the projects when I visited the web site. I thought about joining, but couldn't decide what I wanted to knit. So, I'll be anxious to follow your progress with the socks. I have knit a few pairs and find them a lot of fun to knit, but not nearly so much fun to wear. I agree with you, can't wear them to work, don't wear work boots and since I'm always traveling the Birkenstocks don't travel with me. I find that when I'm at home, I do wear the socks with the the sandals around the house. So I get some wear out of them.
I haven't started anything new lately. Still working on the vest from Dazzling Knits. It is so much fun to knit but can't work on it while on the road as well. I am traveling with the Catherine Lowe BodyWrap from the kit I bought. It will take a long time to finish it. I find the knitting difficult since the yarn is lace weight and the wrap is so large, however it is all garter stitch and is meditative knitting. Stress reducing after a long day.
I'm in Newark this week, going to Texas next week. If anyone reads our blog I'll bet they think we must work for the same company, both going to Texas at about the same time. I'll be in Bryan/College Station, what about you?

The Newest Knit-lete

I decided to challenge myself over the 16-days of the Olympics, so I signed up for the Knitting Olympics, just prior to the deadline of midnight last night. However, I decide not to tackle the sweater I posted previously. I plan on knitting this sweater over Spring Break at the beach (yes, when you're married to a school teacher you still get spring break). Due to lack of funds to buy the yarn required for the sweater and the threat of a ton of travel in February, I've decided to complete a basic pair of socks as a part of the Knitting Olympics. I figure that if I am sent back to Texas over the 16 days of the event (totally likely), that socks will be easier to manage on the plane.

I'm going to use this pattern from Vogue Knitting, Fall 1992. It gives good directions (believe it or not) and I like how basic the pattern is (I'm not all that keen on fancy socks anyway - I can't wear them with heels and a suit, so why bother). I'm going to do my best to update each day.

In other news, I've felted my free-form purse. I don't know what I will use for handles, but what I do know is that they won't be knitted. I'm going to try something different. Who knows what I'll come up with. I'll post photos later once the handles are on - whatever they turn out to be.

Podcasts & Knit-letes

I'm leaving for Houston tomorrow evening and I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to take with me. I think I'm going to try my hand at making another sock. The purse I'm working on has gotten too big for me to drag along. I do have a new guilty pleasure while flying. I've really gotten into a knitting podcast called Cast-On. It is fantastic - like NPR meets Debbie Bliss. She uploads each Friday and I have a new edition in my ipod to enjoy each week. You can download on your computer as well if you want to listen to them while you work. Check it out. She's really great.

I read the Yarn Harlot's blog pretty regularly - not just for the great knitting, but for her fantastic sense of humor. We heard her speak at Stitches and she's written a couple of books. For the 2006 Winter Olympics, she is organizing the Knitting Olympics.

I've toyed with the idea of joining in to participate, just to challenge myself. All of the rules are listed on the site, but the gist is to begin knitting something on Feb 10 and have it finished when the Olympics conclude 16 days later on Feb 26. It might be a good way to force myself to finish a sweater. I've started at least three and have finished none.

So, I've had my eye on this sweater from last summer's Family Circle Easy Knits. I thought it would be cute for spring and I can use it while I'm in MA boating this summer. I have no idea what color I will do it in, but it's easy enough to complete while sitting in front of the TV at night and if I'm traveling it may not be too big to tag along in my bag.

I'm going to make my decision on whether or not I'm a worthy Knit-lete this week.

Latest projects

I've been working on the Concha Vest from the book Dazzling Knits by Patricia Werner. This is the most fun project I've had in a long time. Knitting a "shell" goes very fast and you can't wait to see what another shell will add to the look. I find myself knitting longer than I plan every time I pick it up. I'm using Debbie Bliss Cotton and Angora that I got on sale. What do you think? Looks good, huh? I've never been a big vest person, but I think this will look good with black pants and turtle neck.

 


I'm also knitting on the Body Wrap from Catherine Lowe that we saw at Stitches East. The yarn came a couple of weeks ago. It's a lace weight, so progress is slow. Nevertheless, I'm about done with one triangle. It will make a great road trip knitting project so it will go with me to Texas this week and to Newark the following week. It feels great to have another road trip project! I traveled to Texas, Seattle and Newark the first 3 weeks of January and didn't have any projects. I worked too many Sudoku puzzles instead of being productive with work or knitting.

Hope your week is a good one. Where are you off to this week? 

Another Week, Another City

I'm on the road again this week. This time it is the great state of Texas. I will be doing this commute regularly now. On the plane I finished the long, emerald green scarf I started on my trip to NYC in early December. I'll take a photo once I take care of the loose ends. I'm looking for ideas to finish the fringe. I'm thinking about spiral fringe, but we'll see if I can come up with any other options. I don't know that this trim is the best option, but it does need something.

I also started a felted purse tonight. I've got the base completed and I'll cast on three times the amount of stitches I started with and join in the round to complete the sides. I'm not using a pattern, just experimenting as I go along. I'm using the bright yarn that I used to make the fingerless mittens. I'm curious to see what it will look like felted. I hope pretty neat.

I was making great progress on my Einstein Coat until I found that there's a hole in my knitting a pretty good ways into the panel. I guess I split the yarn and it pulled loose to make that darn hole. I'm going to sit down and figure out exactly which stitch the problem child is located in and rip that stitch all the way down and fix it with a crochet hook. I was shown how to do this in my cable class at Stitches and I've used it a few times, but just for a few stitches - not 75! I'll let you know how it goes. Fingers and toes crossed.

Amazing

The Wright Wrap is AMAZING! Both beautiful in design and detail. It lays beautifully when worn. I hope you wear it out. It's just beautiful. I'm sure the pattern is way out of my league, but it is something to aspire to. I wonder what it would look like in a different color pallet. I'm sure Interweave will love it. Who wouldn't? I love that it is knit in Cascade 220. What wonderful colors they have and such a range to choose from. I wonder what it would look like in brown/earth tones? Maybe more pastel for spring.

I've been knitting a lot this week. I'm almost done with my first sock. I have to admit that I don't think I'm a sock person. Maybe the second pair will be better. I'm considering frogging this one and starting over, but I'm almost ready to start the decrease rows for the toe. Here's a photo of the top portion that I took earlier this morning. I turned the heel and knit the instep this evening. I'll just finish it off and consider it practice, then rip it out. While I love this yarn, it's the same I used for Mandy, I don't like the way it looks for socks. I have a few balls of Sock Garden from KnitPicks that I may dig into for my next practice sock. I don't have enough of one color to make a pair, but I have enough to practice with. I'm back on the road week after next, so I may just have to get good at socks so I have something to do while I'm gone since my Einstein Coat is too enormous to manage on a plane.

I'm almost done with the bottom portion of the Einstein coat. I've completed 115 rows of 160. I took a photo for proof. Maybe by tomorrow evening I'll have it done and be ready to pick up stitches to start the front. I've got a really busy week ahead of me next week, so I've got to get my knitting in this weekend.

Ophelia!

I think she is just beautiful and the mittenettes are great. I am still working with the yarn that I got at Stitches, plus the other yarns. I did an afghan for Lisa for Christmas and finished the sweater I was working on at Disneyworld. I'm also re-working my master's level submission. I had to re-do a lot of the swatches, mainly because I didn't use a good quality wool so the swatches didn't turn out with consistent gauge. Perhaps I'll be able to get the re-worked submission in the mail soon. I wanted to finish before I had to return to work, but that isn't happening. I leave tomorrow but I'm not looking forward to it. I've been at home for 3 weeks, so going back to work is really difficult. I would rather stay home and knit. At least I'm not going North at this time of year, but am going to Texas for the week, back to Seattle next week.
I'm glad to see you knitting continental style. It really does build up speed and allow you to finish projects faster, which means you can get on to the next one! Somehow, we never run out of projects.
See you soon in the blog.