Ouch! I've been bitten!

Sock Bug attacks! After finishing the sockee, for some reason I was not really into starting Tricot quite yet. I was wanting something smaller, quicker on the needles. Not necessarily fiddly knitting, but something a little smaller. Ah Ha! Socks! And, and as luck (and the knitting gods) would have it, I found some yarn and a pattern that would work. The Sockotta was the last of my sock yarn stash, but I did get a skein of Wool Ease sportweight in trade in some nice muted woodsy/autumn tones. I have yet to knit anything for my hubby yet - he doesn't wear sweaters - so I thought socks would be nice. And, after seeing a few completed pairs around the blogging world, and knowing that the varigation in the yarn would not be a problem for the pattern, I cast on for Thuja!

In watching the Bachelor finale (yes...I did watch) and Scrubs last night, I have this much done!

Not bad! The sportweight yarn makes it go nice and quick, and the pattern is easy easy!!

In my recent affliction, I also requested these from our library:

We have such a great library. The physical library is pretty small (though they are doing a HUGE renovation and expansion soon!) but we have quite a few shelves of knitting books. Turns out the library director (who is in charge of buying all the books) is a knitter! Even if we don't physically have the book at our library, we have a great network, so I hop on line, request it, and it's delivered to my library in a matter of days! I always get comments when I go in to pick up my books - I guess the staff (all older women who knit) thumb through everything I request (which tends to be a lot!) and see if they'd like anything for our library. I'm glad I can be such a resource!

I'm heading to the Knitters Breakfast at Fabric Place this Saturday. It was a lot of fun last year, got some great door prizes, and met some nice people. I may even get some sock yarn......

An Unintended Gold!

I didn't even enter the knitting Olympics as I really didn't think I could both start and finish something in the 16 days. My outback hoodie is done and blocking, but I started that way before the Olympics. The sockees were almost done, and those too, were also started before opening ceremonies. Until my sister tried them on.

In the end I got knitting gold. The sockees were started and finished within the days of the winter games. I cast on for the second one just last weekend, finished it mid week, and ripped out the first one and re-cast on for that one. Ironically, without even realizing at the time, I was kitchnering during the closing ceremonies last night.

Pre- kitchner shot

So in the end, I claimed Olympic Victory!

The Outback hoodie went together easily. Doing the set-in sleeves on Hope made these realatively simple to figure out. The hood is still a concern though. I have to try the whole thing on once it's dry tonight. I re-blocked after I assembeled it, and it's waiting at home putting some much needed humidity in the air (can you say static!! The dogs crackle every time they get up off the couch!)

The color choice for Tricot is at a standstill. I just can't decide. Here is what I have left of Cotton Ease for colors:

I'm not sure which to put together. The blues are nice, but I just finished Hourglass in almost the same blue. Lavendar and black? The yellow is pretty bright, so I'm not too sure about using that. I could just make it a solid color - I just like the idea of a comfy pullover for spring.

On the agility front, both dogs did weave poles last night for the first time with no aid of any kind! On to more trials! They are so smart!

Finally some pictures

I have been to lazy to download the pictures off the camera until today. Serious lack of motivation in some areas! So, the sleeves for Outback are blocking, hopefully to be seamed tonight, and the body/hood is all assembled and the ribbing trim done.

Looks kinda funny, doesn't it?

The hood came out kind of small looking - by the model picture it looks all big and drapey (not like I'll really wear the hood) so I'm hoping a blocking will solve it and at least get it to lay pretty flat.

The sockees are another story. After mulling the toe issue (doesn't fit my sister) I frogged the toe of sockee #1.

Then, after looking at how the heel fit her, I changed heels on sockee #2 to a flap/standard heel. I think it will be a little deeper and fit better. So, I have to now frog the whole foot on sockee #1 also. For ankle socks, these are taking forever! I also discovered that I did the ribbing pattern wrong! It is a k6p2 ribbing, you are supposed to knit a round, then do a ribbing round. Duh. I just did ribbing, no knit round. Oh well. They will be nice and stretchy!

I also need to paroose the stash this weekend to come up with my next project as Outback is (finally) just about done. Oh - and seaming it - I problaby have about 1.5 oz of yarn left (pen for

size comparison). I'm thinking I may start Tricot next and use up more of the cotton ease stash I have. Plus, it will be a nice spring sweater to wear.

I do have to consider Project Spectrum - reds/pinks for March. My next pair of socks are grey and purple, so no go there. Tricot will probably be blues and/or yellow, no red there. Maybe something non knitting? I'll have to think on this one!

Tempting the knitting (and Ebay) gods

And I won! I knit like a fiend this weekend - my little cousins were here most of it, so I got little knitting done until Monday. But, on Monday I sat down and finished the front, hood and picked up all the stitches for the ribbing. I will have enough yarn! I may not have enough to seam, but that is ok - I have several yarns that will work for it if needed. I had been watching the yarn on Ebay nervously - if someone bought the 2 skeins she had, I was in trouble if I needed it, but with money the way it is right now, I didn't want to buy it if I didn't need it as there was no way to return it (though I guess I could have swapped it). Someone did buy one skein yesterday, and I had a moment of almost weakness when I was tempted to hit the "Buy It Now" button, but decided to take the chance, and if the knitting gods determined the hoodie to be, it would be with the yarn I had. And, luckily, they smiled on me! I did kind of a quickie blocking job just to get the shoulder and neck area flat enough to seam and pick up the ribbing stitches (all 160 of them), but I will have to go back and re-block before I seam up the sides and attach the sleeves. But, a good bath in some Euclan will do it some good and I'm not in the mad rush that I was yesterday. Now I can take a breath and finish.

I ripped out the toe on the first sockee. Didn't fit my sisters foot at all. So, back to a different toe. I had left the second sock at work all weekend by mistake, so I was unable to make any progress on it. But, with the hoodie crisis out of the way, I can start knitting on it again at home instead of just on my lunch.

The gods must be listening.....

I just found this on Ebay - not even looking specifically for it, but I watch this woman's store a bit as she is a few towns over. I guess the lack of yarn will be a non issue! What are the odds of someone listing TODAY the EXACT discontinued yarn in the SPECIFIC color I am looking for? It is a sign. The Outback Hoodie, she will be completed in full!!!! (with plenty extra now!)

The scale tells the tale

So, I finished the sleeves for the Outback Hoodie last night. I impatiently rushed to the scale to find out what the numbers may tell. I started with three 200 gm balls. So, about 21 oz total. Here is what happened:

Back 5.25 oz
Sleeves 6.25 oz
Total Used: 11.50 oz

Yarn Remaining: 9.5 oz

Now, for the kicker. I put everything on the scale together (the knit parts as well as the yet to be knitted yarn) and only got 19.5 oz. That is kind of a problem. That leaves only 8 oz to do the front and hood. The Front should, at very maximum, weigh as much as the back. So, that leaves 2.75 oz for the hood and the ribbing. Logic (sometimes fuzzy) tells me the hood probably weighs as much as a sleeve. So, I'm in trouble. That leaves nothing for ribbing.

If I did have the full 21 oz I think I'd be ok. I may just trudge ahead and knit the front, then see what is left for the hood and ribbing. I haven't frogged or have any small chunks of yarn laying around, so that missing few ounces must just be skein weight differential. I'm hoping that maybe I can squeek by with enough yarn, but my hopes are low at this point......

Repaired!

I tried the duplicate stitch solution for M's red sweater. It worked great. Not perfect as the stitches still look a little thick in the area, but it is about 100% better than what it was. Just in time as they are coming over this weekend!

I am up to shaping the sleeve caps for the Outback Hoodie. Hopefully I can weigh soon and see if I'll have enough yarn! I may end up doing it and just not adding the hood if I run out of yarn. The sweater has a neat shape to it even without a hood!

We had a great day yesterday. We all stayed home all day and played in the snow during the blizzard. I didn't get as much knitting done as I would have hoped, but it was the first time I got to actually spend the day with my husband in I can't remember how long. The dogs had a great time bounding through the snow and rolling around in it. The wind was freezing, but it was worth braving the elements for a good old fashioned snow day. We ended up with about 14" total - very light and fluffy!

Pictureless Post

Not much to post today. I've been working on the sleeves for the Outback Hoodie - I'm about 1/3 of the way done. Still working off the remants of the first ball, and using the 2nd ball for the other sleeve. I did 3" of ribbing instead of 4", but my arms are not the longest, so I'm not anticipating the 1" will make a huge difference. I bet it will block out just fine as my row gauge is usually a little off.

We are supposed to get slammed with a foot of snow overnight Saturday, so I fully plan on taking advantage and doing my own little knit-in. On the agenda: finish sockee #2, try the duplicate stitch on M's sweater - if it looks crappy, I'll just rip out the neck and ladder down. I'm really hoping I don't have to do that. I'd also like to finish the sleeves on Outback and do a weigh in to see where I stand. The back will take more yarn then the front as there is a deep V-neck. But there is the hood and picked up ribbing to consider. Only the scale will tell.

I have a pair of handwarmers to start for a friend at work's daughter. (She is the one I gave the purple warmers to). Her daughter almost took them from her she loved them so much. But, being the teenager she is, she wanted black. So, she got me some Wool-Ease (they had to be machine washable) and picked the simple Voodoo Wrist Warmer pattern from Knitty. Should be a quick knit. I'll eventually knit the ones for me (Mosaic Mitts from the Summer 2004 IK). I know I'll need them at work this summer as they crank the AC up so high it's almost as cold as winter!

Duplicate it is

Well, the majority seemed to think that trying to duplicate stitch the boo-boo (that is really not quite severe enough a phrase, but I am making the effort not to think about it too much) on M's red sweater. I guess it can't hurt to try that first, then if that fails and looks horrible (I have never done duplicate stitch before!) then out comes the neckline and I will ladder down. Sigh.

I cast on (loving the tubular cast on!!) for both sleeves last night and did a bunch of the ribbing. I'm anxious to see if I will have enough yarn. I'm thinking not, but I've been surprised before, and I tend to overestimate the amount I need.

The original pattern calls for 20 balls of yarn at 53 yds each. So, that is a total of 1060 yards. I am getting gauge for the pattern (16/4) and it is also the gauge of the Outback Wool. I have 3 balls at 375 yds each totaling 1125 yds. Should be enough, right? I'm not worried about seaming as I can always do that in a similar color Patons I have tons of that will blend right in. Fingers (and needles) crossed I won't have to frog the whole thing.

It is a hoodie and has ribbed trim around the deep v-neck and hood. Any ideas where I could cut back on yarn use? I know ribbing takes up more yarn than plain stockinette, so I think on the arms I'm going to only do 3" of ribbing vs. the 4" called for - I like loose sleeve bottoms anyway.

I ordered a cone of Henry's Attic Kona Superwash from the yarn co-op. I can't wait to get it! A pound is about 1120 yards, so that should make a bunch of socks. I have to stock up on some Kool Aid too. I plan on dying all of it!

Totally Tubular!

As promised, pictures of the tubular cast on. It looks beautiful, and it was pretty easy to do.

I can't get the color quite accurate, but it is nicely varigated, and not quite that bright!

Help!

Yeah, the title pretty much says it all. After standing back to admire the Placket Neck pullover for M and take a picture, I noticed something funny. See that wonky (the only word to truly describe it) stitch right in the middle.

I have no idea how to go about fixing this - it's not like I can ladder down as it's all bound off and the neck picked up and knit. Any brilliant ideas out there?

The whole thing looks pretty good. I'm happy with the modifications I made to it (neckline, ribbing) and his birthday isn't for a week, so I think I can (fingers crossed) fix it in time!

The first Sockee is done. I'm not sure I'm liking the star toe. I may end up ripping it out and starting it again. My sister will have to try it on first. I'm trying to get through the second one, but it's hard!

I put a whole bunch of magazines and books on the Stash Reduction page over on the sidebar. Some stuff has already sold! Crazy!

Here is S wearing her new sweater - nice and big, just how I wanted it! She'll get a season or 3 out of it hopefully!

Pics tomorrow of my tubular cast on and Outback Hoodie progress. I'm almost done with the back, and I think I'll do sleeves next to get them over with.

Like I need another addictive hobby!

I was at the dog show Thursday, Friday and was working this weekend, so not too much knitting to speak of, though I will have pictures tonight or tomorrow. The show went great - Tucker did so well for his first time! I can really see how agility is addictive! I want to go out and do another trial next weekend! But, we have until the end of March to get our fine tuning and really come together. I think I can wait....

Knitting wise, I've been working on the Outback Hoodie. I frogged the first few rows of K1P1 ribbing I did after reading about the tubular cast on. I found some great instructions here and here, but I think I used my Nancie Wiseman book the most. It looks beautiful! And, it was pretty easy once I figured it out. That was my "learn something new" for this project.

The sockees are coming along. I want to start the Country Socks from Folk Socks with some trade yarn I just got. But, must finish sockees first!

Speaking of trade yarn, I had (another!) great trade and got Scarf Style along with 3 skeins of a beautiful alpaca/wool blend blue varigated yarn. I have been wanting this book for a while, so the trade was perfect. I can't say enough about what a great experience all this trading has been. Everyone has been so nice, and it's been interesting to find out a little about people by reading up on their blogs. I've added a few to my bloglines list.

M's red placket neck is also done. I have one wonky stitch right in the front (of course)that I noticed as I was weaving in ends. I'm not sure quite what to do about it. I think I am going to end up posting a pic and question on KR as people there always seem to have a solution to everything!

I'm off to download pictures so I can post! S's mom sent me a few of her modeling her heart sweater. How cute!

Like Yarn through the Needles....

I sported my spiffy, blocked, comfy-cozy Hourglass yesterday! It fits perfectly, and it was very comfortable next to my skin. With seeing how great it fit, I'm tempted to make another if I find about 1100 yds of a great yarn. I may (emphasize may) be tempted to use the 501 in my stash if I could do a gauge adjustment project. We'll see. Backburner project for later (though it would be perfect dog show knitting - endless stockinette!)

The heart sweater got washed, dryed, labeled, wrapped and gifted all in 24 hours! S's mom loved it, and when I arrived at their house before the party, S was sporting the striped sweater I made her last year. For grins, we laid out both sweaters to see if there was a size difference. I have to say, if there was 1/4" difference it was a lot. It should be a perfect fit. I think next year I may do a cardigan for her. Something cute with a hood. And, not in a cotton blend! Two of those is plenty, though the one from the Lily yarn I made last year is wearing like iron!

My sister and I made cupcakes for the party. S wanted Miffy, so Miffy she got. We made little chocolates for each of the cupcakes. Thank goodness she is a simple line drawing! They were pretty darn fast and easy, and S ate 4 of them before the night was done. They were quite a hit.I finally finshed the first Sockee. I have had a bunch of gift knitting on the needles and have woefully negelected these socks. I am enjoing them when I have had time to knit on them. The 2nd should go quicker than the first. I also wanted my sister to try them on before I started my decreases just to make sure. After these, my sock stash is down to nil. Scary. I am planning in the back of my head to buy a pound of Kona from the co-op. Then I can do some serious dying!

The placket neck is done. I decided after knitting it not to do a placket, but just a slit or slight v neck. M isn't a fan of "stuff" around his neck, so I was afraid the placket may be too high. I'll do the same K3P2 ribbing around the neck. I had to make a few modifications to the stitch count to get it to come out divisible by 5, but it was only adding 2 stitches in the end. The color is great, the cotton ease I'm getting less fond of the more I knit with it. It splits a bunch, but you can't knock the ease of care. I think after this project I am officially done with it for a bit until I recover from cottoneaseitis. I still have a bunch in the stash, but I am going to trade off some of the colors I don't think I'll use.

I swatched for the Outback Hoodie, cast on and did about 3 rows of the back ribbing.

I love the colors! Very me.

The mailman was also very good to me on Saturday. I got a bunch of stuff I traded for over on the Knittyboard. From Catherine I got 2 pattern books I have been coveting for as long as I have been knitting. Patons Street Smarts and Chunky Knits.

There are a few Street Smart patterns I want to delve into, and the cabled hoodie in Chunky Knits that cosmicpluto mentions here. I think between these 2 books, I have about 4 sweaters to make! It will give me a nice list for MD in a few months. And, if not, I still have my Elann vouchers, and have been itching to try some Highland stuff - not sure which one though. I also got a ball of Wool Ease sport weight which is destined for a pair of comfy socks. It's nice to get yarn with a plan attached already!

Another trade yeilded me 6 skeins (3 purple, 3 light gray heather) of Patons Country Garden DK. Another pair of socks and/or handwarmers for that stuff. I love trading! It has been nothing but great stuff!

My first agility match is this Thursday and Friday. I'm really excited. Tucker and I have been doing some practice runs this week, and I have been working hard on him getting his weave poles. He won't have them 100% by the match, but that's ok. Practice makes perfect.

The Next Big Thing?

I finished seaming S's heart sweater last night. A trip in the wash/dryer today and it will be ready to wrap. I made labels following Grumperina's directions, and they came out really cute. Good thing the hubby is good with Photoshop! I'll post a picture after I sew it in tonight.

M's red sweater is coming along. The body and one sleeve are done. Let me tell you - Cotton Ease and bamboo DPN's just don't mix. The yarn sticks to the needles way too much. Grab central. Luckily, they are tiny sleeves and only take a night to do. I should have the sweater done this weekend. (then maybe I can start working on the sockees again! The poor things have been neglected as of late!)

In pondering my next sweater project, I wanted to a) use up some of my stash and b) wanted something comfy that I could wear often. The sweaters I have made to date are great for their purpose, but aren't "everyday" wears. Banff and Top Secret are super warm, and Hope is a bit cropped, and a spring/fall wear. I do wear my Dolman quite a bit, so I wanted something similar weight.

The Outback Wool I got at MD S&W last year for $4/skein has been languishing in the stash, so I decided that it should be the next to be knitted up. Since it's varigated (pretty pink/brown tones) it had to be something relatively simple. I'm also limited by the yardage I have (3 400yd skeins) as it is discontinued and I can't get any more. I looked at doing the "Not Your Standard Issue Sweatshirt" from the Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knits, but I already have the yarn and pattern for the very similar if not the same Cynthia hoodie from Berroco. So, I browsed my pattern spreadsheet (yes, I am that organized) by gauge and found this cute hoodie from the recent Fall 2005 VK. It is cute and just a little different with the low V neck and ribbing. I think it may be ok in the varigated yarn also. So, right now, that is the main contender. I do still have to do my gauge swatch and see if it was meant to be. Hopefully it will be on the needles this weekend.

I joined Lolly's Project Spectrum. It looks like a nice way to incorporate new colors into my days - and it doesn't have to be knitting! I have been itching to do some dying, so that may be March's task with the red theme. I love using color, and it should be fun to see what other people do!

Just A Little Seaming

The heart sweater is done! I just have to seam the sides and the bottoms of the arms. The neck was easy thanks to my handy dandy 12" circular! Luckily it was just the size I needed as I used the same needles for this as I did for my hourglass. I think after a good run through the washer and dryer the stitches will even out a bit. Pretty darn cute!

I also worked some on the M's red sweater. I am done with the body, and cast on to my DPN's for the first sleeve. It is the exact same construction as my Hourglass, everything in the round, which is nice. The sleeves are going to be a bit slower going on the DPN's. The bamboo catches the yarn and has a bit too much grip. I may see if I have an old metal pair laying around (I had a few I inherited) or just do Magic Loop with my Denises. I think it will make it go quicker.

I am so itching to start another pair of Jaywalkers. I love the first pair I did, and the pattern was great and fit perfectly. My only problem - no yarn! I literally have no sock yarn in my stash right now! I have a few skeins up for sale/swap as I don't think I'll ever use them, but other than that, my sock stash runs dry.

Browsing through Ebay a few weeks ago I found a seller called "The Knotty Sheep". She has some great handpainted yarns, and I loved how they were varigated and didn't look stripey at all. I emailed her asking if she had any orange or yellow in the works (I have been DYING for a fire themed pair of socks!) and we had a great email exchange and she will dye some up for me when she gets her yarn shipment in! Yipee! She was really nice and friendly, and I can't wait to get the yarn. Of course, you will see it here when it appears at my door.

We had a quick snow last night - only about an inch or so. At least the roads were only wet this morning, not like Monday when it took me 4 times longer than usual to get to work in the morning!

Last night was our first night with only 2 dogs in about three weeks! It was very quiet and a little more empty. It was so much fun having the six dogs - a bit chaoitic, but very entertaining! Now, to clean the house....

Stash Reduction!!

I just posted a link over there on my sidebar for a bunch of yarns I'm willing to part with, and my friend Heather cleaned out her stash as well, so it's a combined reduction! 2 for 1 deal! Go take a browse!

Knitting news: S's heart sweater is done, it just needs to be seamed up, and the neckline picked up and knit.

I started M's placket neck pullover (from LMKG) - going pretty quick in the round. I changed the border to a K3P2 ribbing instead of seed stitch. I did seed stitch on S's and I wanted something a little different! Pics coming soon.

I'm almost ready to start the toe decreases for Sockee #1! Yipee!

2nd Try's a Charm!

I ripped out S's sweater front and started the intarsia again - just a heart. It is going much better, and with only three balls of yarn to deal with, I can concentrate a bit on getting the technique right. I did about 1/2 the chart last night, so I should be able to finish up tonight, then sew it together this weekend and pop it in for a wash. I noticed the Honeymoon Cami I did out of Cotton Ease got much softer and bloomed a bit after a run through the washer and dryer.

All the thrift sweaters are now pulled apart -

Purple Gap Sweater

Long Merino Sweater

Chunky Winter White Gap Sweater

The long merino sweater yeilded about 2500 yards! We weighed a small skein and extrapolated from there. The chunky winter white is interesting stuff - it must be a 15 or 20 ply yarn - here is a close up:

It is incredibly soft and cushy. It is merino/lambswool/mohair. Not very "hairy" but it looks like it is going to be very splitty when knitting with it. I think it is destined for an adventure with some Kool Aid. I've been wanting to do some dying, and this stuff is just right. I can make a nice cozy scarf or mittens (or both!). All in all, the 3 sweaters cost me about $10. Not bad.....

Hourglass is DONE except for blocking. I ended up doing a simple single crochet border at the neck. I did the knitting to do the sewn hem that the pattern instructs, but I just didn't like the bulk up there. I ripped back and just did the crochet. My first time crocheting! It was pretty darn easy, and made a nice firm edge. Can't wait to wear it this weekend!

Learning Something New

So I started the front of S's sweater - I did the seed stitch edging, and did about 2 1/2" and then started the chart I had made. Following the chart - no problem. Knitting it, that is another thing. I had 5 balls of yarn going, and some of the floats were a bit long. I think I may need to go back to doing the heart (only 3 balls required there) and get the hang of twisting the yarn and keeping my tension even before I delve in a bit deeper. I think the heart will be really cute, and I may just try the S one more time before abandoning it. I have until Saturday the 28th to finish it, and the back only took me 2 nights of knitting, so I think I may just try it again. It's keeping all the balls of yarn straight - that is what is giving me a problem. Some of them are only 2 stitches apart, so I think I grabbed the wrong yarn at one point, and that messed up everything else.

Not the first time (or last!) I'll frog for learning....

The socks are coming along. I'm not sure I like the Sherman heel. It feels a bit tight. My sisters feet are about two sizes smaller than mine, so I may have to have someone else try them on to see how they will fit. If not, frog those back too.

I am still waiting to seam up Hourglass. With six dogs all wanting attention, it's been hard to knit at night. Hopefully in the next day or two I'll be wearing it!

Four of the six currently in residence:

Thrifty finds!

I did a bunch of knitting this weekend. I got the sleeves and back of S's sweater done, and just need to print out a chart for the "S" I want to put on the front instead of a heart. It is very cute, and knitted up fast - pretty much all stockinette except for the seed stitch border (which I love!)

As you can see in the picture, we had a rare few days of full sun, though the temperature was a balmy 7 degrees! Ouch!

Hourglass is pretty much done except for the neckline. I can't quite decide if I should just leave it the body blue color, or do a tiny crochet edge of the contrast color.

A trip to the Goodwill store yielded a few great finds. I got this purple sweater that is 50% wool, 50% acrylic from The Gap. Very easy to pull apart, and I think it is the exact same sweater that Lolly found - just in purple. How weird is that???
My friend Ivy also gave me a floor length 100% merino cabled sweater that had a hole in it. I debated about just repairing it, but it really wasn't my style, so my sister diligently ripped it apart, and in the end we had all this!
It is really 2 ply, one of the plys is darker beige than the other, and boy is it soft! It is a light worsted or sport weight, but there is tons of it. The big balls barely fit on the ball winder.

All 6 dogs are lounging comfortably on the couch - it's amazing we all fit. They all get along so well, and even in the freezing cold they played fetch for about an hour yesterday. It is a full house!

I've got it!

After fiddling a little last night trying different types of needles in different sizes I finally got gauge for S's heart sweater with #9 Bamboo. The fabric is good - I know it will "plump" a little with a wash and spin through the dryer as my Honeymoon Cami did. Gotta love Cotton Ease! I changed the hems - I made her a roll hem sweater last year, (picture below) and wanted different edge treatments this year, so I went with a seed stitch border. Just 4 rows, but enough to keep it from curling, and add a little texture. I'll do the same at the wrists and the neck. Now, onto miles of stockinette! Come to think of it, her sweater last year was all sorts of bright colors, and she loved it! She is still wearing it - I made sure it make it a few sizes too big so she could get a few seasons out of it!

I finished the cuff and the first part of the heel for the Sockotta socks. I like knitting with this yarn - it is working up really quick! I'm doing a Sherman Heel for the first time, so far, so good. I want to be able to interchange heels as I want. For a lot of the varigated and striped yarns, I love the look of a short row heel. I know it's not as durable, but I love how it comes out. I'm not the biggest fan of picking up stitches either (though I am a lot better at it after a few pairs of socks under my belt!)

I think this is the most projects I've had going at once. Granted, M's sweater isn't on the needles, but it is picked out and ready to start. I like having a main project, and a pair of socks going, but 2 sweaters and socks is a bit much for me to divide my limited knitting time. Hourglass only has a little to go, and I so just want to work on it to finish it, but S's sweater is for her birthday on the 26th, so I really have to make sure that is done in time. I'm hoping with football and the dog show on this weekend, I'll have time to work on both quite a bit.

The dogs arrive tonight, so hopefully I can still get some knitting done. If, that is, there is any room on the couch!

A New Sock!

I started the Lux Sockees (the name just makes me smile) in the Sockotta. I had about 1/2 hour to kill at the dentist office, so I cast on and spent about 15 minutes detangling the yarn throwup that came out of the middle of the skein. I proceeded on last night and got about 1 1/2" done. The simple K6P2 pattern is easy, I acutally love the no cuff look for these, and the yarn is soft and easy to work with. The new needles, Inox Experss, are a bit more slippery then I'm used to, but I like how the stitches slide. The cord is actually a bit long - I got a 40", but probalby should have grabbed a 32" or 36" - whatever they come in. But, it is very workable and I'm liking it.

My friend Heather and I got together for a knit/magazine night last night. Her mom got her a huge pile of knitting magazines from someone who was going to throw them away! There were piles of Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits and Family Circle Easy Knitting, some current, some older. There was also some Creative Knitting and a few pattern books. We just took a quick glance through, but it definitely warrants further delving at a later date! She'll probalby end up trading most of them, or selling on Ebay. There were so many!

I did a gauge swatch last night for S's sweater. Of course, it didn't fly. I was getting 20 st/4" instead of the required 18. I may try going up a needle size, but I don't know if I'm going to like the fabric at that point. It is a basic (very!) pullover, so I'm sure I can just re-write it for the new gauge, and in the round maybe. I think the Handy Book of Sweater Patterns may come in handy! A stop at the library today after work...

Kids Knit Week

Since I have 2 kids sweaters to start very soon (one tonight) this is going to be a kid knit week(s). The heart sweater will be my first intarsia. It is only one big heart, so I'm hoping it's a good starting point. I'm using the turquoise and pink Cotton Ease from my stash. (turquoise for the body, pink for the heart) I think they are great, happy, bright colors for a 2 year old.

I am plugging away on the yoke of the Hourglass. Luckily the stitch count goes down by 8 every other round! I think I may just do a crochet edge in the light blue instead of a whole seamed collar - more comfy.

The handwarmers are done and gifted to my co-worker. She has been wearing them all day and really likes them.

I also want to start ankle socks for my sister. I may use this pattern - it's cute and kind of different, but there is always my standby ankle sock from Julia. I've made it a few times before and they've turned out great. I also have a yarn choice to make - I have some KnitPicks Dancing in the Rhumba colorway and some Sockotta in I think the #4 colorway. The Dancing has some elastic in it, which may prove interesting as I'm a tight knitter anyway, and may not really be the best on ankle socks - I may save it for "regualar" socks where the elastic would come in handy keeping them up. I just use the Sockotta as my sis loved the colors and it's a cotton/wool blend which is what she wanted.

It's been strangely warm here all week (January thaw!) - it's even supposed to get up to 50 degrees on Friday. But, typical for New England, they are predicting snow and a high of 20 degrees on Saturday. I feel a cold coming on already.

Next week should be interesting. I am dog sitting 4 dogs in addition to my 2. They are all lap dogs (they think they are even weighing in at 55 lbs), and all bed sleepers. Maybe we'll sleep in the guest room and give them our bed! I will for sure have pictures of the mayhem that is sure to insue when 6 herding dogs get together. It should make for a fun week.

Terri is down at the AKC Nationals this week - she had 2 of her dogs invited! Razz for Agility and Deuce for breed! We will all be rooting for them from here. Go Collinswood!!!

A (finally!) Productive Weekend and a Felting Fiasco

I really feel like I had a productive weekend. I got the second sleeve done and attached to the body and first sleeve of Hourglass, and now all I have to do is the yoke.


I need to get it completed this week as I need to start two kids sweaters. Probably both out of my Cotton Ease stash. One for a boy, one for a girl. I think for the boy I will do a basic hoodie in Red (his favorite color) with maybe contrasting cuffs. For the girl, I think a simple sweater with a heart insert. I have to see what colors I have in the big bin of Cotton Ease! At least I have picked patterns and am ready to swatch. Both kids need something machine washable/dryable, and I'm trying to use up my stash, so I figured Cotton Ease is perfect!

I also finished 1 1/2 of the handwarmers.



I really like the pattern - kind of a spiral rib - and they fit both me and my co-worker sepreately. The yarn is a great purple (a bit deeper than the picture) and the variation in the yarn make some interesting bumps - it goes from light worsted all the way to super bulky at some points! But, it is super soft, and I think my co-worker will like them. I plan on doing a pair of Mosaic Mitts from the Summer '04 IK for myself - first colorwork! I fell in love with them, and I think all my leftover Patons Classic scraps may work well.

I also have to pick a pair of socks to start. I love having a portable project. I think I'll do my sisters anklets...they should be quick. Then, I'm out of sock yarn - darn!!

As far as the felting fiasco - I felted the fuzzy feet.


Need I say more. The yarn was HORRIBLE. It shed more than anything I have ever seen, and it is still so incredibly hairy, they look like troll slippers! (my cute dad insisted he liked them hairy, so no trim for them!) They felted very slowly, and the Patons (grey part) felted a lot quicker, so the foot was too narrow, but still too long. I made the foot wider to accomidate (my swatch did the same thing) but to no avail. I think I will cut off the toe where it is about 3" too long, and sew it back together, then tack together the tops somehow - they are huge! I will not be using this yarn to felt again!

I totally forgot to take a picture of these pencil toppers my mother in law gave me -


As you can see, they work well as point protectors! And they make me smile when I look at them. May they transmit knitting wisdom and peace.....

I also got (from my mom) a great, perfect gift this weekend at our belated Hannukah celebration -

Mmmmmmm. All I need to say.

If my feet could smile...

They would be today! I'm wearing my Jaywalkers! I'm really not sure how they'll wear as they are 100% merino, but I figure I'll wear them mostly around the house anyway to keep my feet warm. A few people at work wanted to see them, so my feet are quite happy today! They are so cushy!

I started a pair of handwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts in some purple handspun I had in my stash. They should keep me toasty at work. I promised a co-worker I'd also knit them a pair when I finished mine (use more stash!!).

Speaking of stash, I decided to do a scarf out of all my odds and ends - I have about 15 sample skeins that are about 30 yards each, and a ton of just plain oddball stuff from pulling other stuff apart. I was thinking something like alison's - but maybe doing it lengthwise. And, maybe a hat to match if I have enough! I am just so determined to use up my stash (or at least a bunch of it) - some has been sitting for almost a year (yes, granted I only started knitting a year ago!) but I am a high turnover type of knitter - I like to try/get new things and see how they knit up. I'm on kind of an accessory kick right now, so what a perfect way to use up my stash. I am fully planning on going to the MD Sheep and Wool festival again this May, and I know from last year that there were quite a few yarns I wish I could have purchased (Brooks Farm), and some I missed totally (Blue Moon and Tess) so this year, I want to do it right and have some room in both the stash and wallet for it!

New Projects for a New Year

I finished my Jaywalkers!! They fit PERFECTLY and I love the color - it pooled but it makes them kinda funky looking!



I really want to make another pair (though maybe not as many as Cara! - Happy Birthday!)but there are so many patterns I'd love to try, I may do another then come back to these when I invest in some Socks That Rock yarn.....

I also started a pair of Fuzzy Feet for my dad....

They are going pretty quick on size 11's. I got the yarn at Webs - it's their house stuff, Berkshire, and pretty darn close to Brown Sheep Worsted. Pretty economical too. I got a nice dark green, and am adding a grey stripe out of some leftover Patons Classic.


My hourglass is progressing. I have one sleeve done and attached to the body, and need to cast on for the 2nd sleeve - I wanted to finish my Jaywalkers first!

On a fun note, I had a snow day today! We got about 6" of snow overnight, and it is still really coming down - they are predicting about 10" when all is said and done.

I am going to work from home, but until they get my VPN fixed, there is only so much I can do. I'd like to cast on for some handwarmers also. My hands get so cold at work and I have a few balls of cashmerino that I can use.

New Years Eve was a lot of fun - lots of friends, great food...what more could I ask! The desserts were great - homemade mint chip ice cream, homemade eclairs and cupcakes...YUM!


I hope everyone had a great New Year!!