Yikes!

I just added the Mystery Stole 2 button to my sidebar, and realized after the Sexy Knitters Club knit along starts tomorrow, and the Mystery Stole 2 starts next week, I'll have SEVEN projects on the needles! That means I need to get busy this weekend. The Simple Stripes pullover just needs to be seamed together, and the Falling Leaves Cardi needs blocking and seaming. I need to knit the second Fair Isle sock, and redo the toe on the first. I don't think the second one will take near as long as the first... I had to knit the heel six times. I had never done a short row heel before, and the instructions weren't making sense to me. Plus, every time I worked on it, it was late at night, and I was on cold meds... I know, excuses, excuses! Anyway, I am off work until next Thursday, so even though we will be out of town for part of it, I have no reason not to finish some projects this weekend!

That means my next post should have FO pictures ;)

Edited to add: I plead the 5th on how many quilting UFOs I have.

Handpainted Yarns

Here are more pictures of the yarn I've hand painted in the last few days. The first two are going up in my Etsy shop. The top is a 440 yard skein of sock yarn, and the next are 3 skeins of laceweight merino, 400 yards per skein, to be sold together or separately. I had some red dyes left over after painting my merino for the Mystery Stole 2.

The last one is another skein of sock yarn for my Knit Sock Kit Swap buddy. This is all I have for her so far, but have lots of ideas swirling about my brain for her project bag and all the goodies to go inside it.

I really love hand painting the yarn. I can't sleep at night for all the color combinations running through my mind. I won't tell you how many skeins I've painted and dyed and then decided to keep for myself. Far more than I could ever use. But I can enjoy them for awhile, and then I'll list them in Etsy. Maybe :)

Skeining, Dyeing and Knitting, Oh My!

I've been working, really I have! This is my current "car knitting" project. You know, the project you keep in the car for when someone else is driving, or your sitting there, waiting with the kids while they run in the store to grab a couple of items. Or when you're stuck in construction traffic, hoping the guy in the truck next to you doesn't notice your knitting behind the wheel. Yeah, you know what I mean. Anyway, this is the back of a cardigan for Sweetpea in the 18 month size. TLC baby 100% Acrylic in New Mint Sparkle, US Size 6 Denise Needles, free pattern from Bernat found here.

I've also been skeining yarn to be dyed, and dying said yarn. In the last week, I wound 12 skeins of Superwash sock yarn, 400 yards each. I also skeined 8 hanks of laceweight merino.
Actually, I dyed two of them for my Mystery Stole 2 project, and then decided 880 yards of laceweight was too much to work with at once, so I wound the remaining 6 hanks into 12 more managable 440 yard skeins. As I said, I dyed 2 hanks for my MS2 project, and then swatched on size 3 needles (pictured above). I also dyed more laceweight and sock yarn, some for Etsy, and some special orders. I'll post photos when I have time to take some good ones.

Because of all the dying activity, I haven't knitted much on LL, so no progress photos there. It is 36.86% complete, and I am within yards of finishing the first ball. I hope to make significant progress tonight at stitch group!

Mohair tip

FYI - dropped stitches in mohair don't go anywhere. They just stay right there, waiting to be picked up. Now isn't that good to know?

(Lacy Lattice 33.93% complete.)

Casting Off, Casting On

Why do I have a problem finishing things? The Simple Stripes Sweater was blocked last Thursday, ready to be seamed together, the Falling Leaves Cardigan pieces have been finished for 3 months? 4 months? Ready to be blocked. I have a chenille vest I finished at least two years ago, waiting for a single crochet edging around the openings. I don't know if by the time I get to that point, I'm so tired of / bored with the project I don't want to touch it, or if I have a fear the item won't fit or won't be flattering. Lord knows that's happened often enough. I have two FOs waiting to be frogged because they are too big. It must be a combination of all of them, since they came to mind so easily. Plus I have so many projects waiting, crying to be on the needles, I just can't wait another second to start them. My goal this summer is to finish ALL UFOs.

So, a confession sort of related to that rant, I started another cardi for Sweetpea. I needed a mindless knit since I finished (almost) the Simple Stripes, and this one was waiting. It's in acrylic, which wouldn't be my choice now, but I already bought the yarn, it was super cheap, machine washable, and I love the color :) I think I'm becoming a yarn snob, though. Or at least I prefer natural fibers.

I dyed some laceweight Merino for the Melanie's Mystery Stole 2006, which starts on July 7th. Its mostly red, a little mottled, but not so much to be variegated. I also skeined some fingering weight yarn for dying, to eventually end up in my Etsy shop. I wound five skeins last night, which was about 2,000 yards, and the cone doesn't look any smaller than when I started. I also have more laceweight yarn to dye for the shop. As soon as I get the camera back from BHE, I'll post pictures of the yarn when it is dry and reskeined, and of all newly finished, and newly started projects ;)

Slowly but Surely

So I was a little stressed at work today, for reasons I won't mention here, and in anticipation of said stress, I took the instructions for Elle with me. I setup a spreadsheet (yes I am a geek) of how many total rows for each section I would have to do. I was going to figure out what percentage I've completed so far. Because of varying numbers of stitches per row due in increases & decreases and zigzag edging, I had to also calculate the total number of stitches in the stole. I am a little taken aback (but not overwhelmed) to see how much knitting is left to do, and a little surprised at how far I've come. So far I've completed 28.09%.

Told you I was a geek.

Knit Sock Kit Swap

Here are my answers to the Knit Sock Kit Swap Questionaire!

The Questionnaire:
What are your favorite colors? I wear a lot of neutrals with bright colors thrown in – deep red, royal blue, lime green. But with yarn, fabric and jewelry I’m always attracted to Caribbean colors – blues fading into greens, aquas, lavenders.

Are you a new sock knitter? How long have you been knitting socks? I am pretty new. I knit my first pair about a year ago, and just completed the first sock of the second pair.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? No preference really. All the sock yarn I have is multicolored, but I think I would like solid too, if I were doing a stitch pattern that would get lost in a multicolored yarn

What fibers do you prefer in sock yarn? I’ve used cotton and wool/nylon. I would prefer it be machine washable, but I think I’d love it no matter what, as long as it wasn’t too itchy.

Where do you usually knit socks? Anywhere I can! At home, at work on breaks, in the car when my husband is driving, or even when I’m driving, if stuck in traffic! ;)

How do you usually carry/store small projects? In my purse, or a catchall basket I carry back and forth to work.

What are your favorite sock knitting patterns? I don’t really have a favorite yet. My first pair was stockinette with a ribbed cuff, and my current pair is fair isle. I do want to do Gumperina’s Jaywalkers and the Pomatomus pattern on Knitty.com for starters.

What are your favorite sock knitting techniques? I’ve only done the top down method. I don’t think it qualifies as a favorite. I did the slip stitch heel flap on the first pair, and a short row heel on the second. I think I did something wrong on the short row heel, or the pattern was wrong. It seems pointy.

What new techniques would you like to try? I want to learn the toe-up method, and two-circulars method.

Do you prefer circulars or dpns for sock knitting? I’ve only used size 2 dpns for sock knitting. I broke 2 needles recently due to a tote bag mishap, and just replaced them. My LYS only had 7" Clovers instead of the 6" Plymouths I used before. I haven't tried them yet to see if I like that length better. I was fine with the 6". Now I have no excuse not to finish that fair isle sock....

What are some of your favorite yarns? Hmmm. I’ve become really enamored of merino recently, but there are two different silk blends in my stash screaming my name right now.

What yarn do you totally covet? Really? All of it!

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? Good question. Probably the Pomatomus sock. I’ve heard the pattern is pretty intense. I’m always up for a good challenge :) I'd also like to do one of Alice Starmore's Fair Isle sweaters

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? I’ve only used bamboo dpns for my socks. I did recently buy some size 2 Addi Turbos, and LOVE them.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Something reliable, consistant, traditional?

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Chocolate, is there any other kind? (that may not be too mail-able – seriously I like anything sweet – m&ms, cookies, sour gummi candies, you name it.)

What’s your favorite animal? Isn’t sheep a required answer? I do collect dragonflies :)

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? Chloe, a 5 year old dog, part Jack Russell Terrior, part Pointer, part Beagle.

If you were a color what color would you be? I love wearing the color red, but I don’t think I really have a red personality. Probably a calm, peaceful blue.

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s). That’s a hard one. I had a baby nearly a year ago, and most of my clothes don’t fit that well (need to get to work on that). Oh, I know – I had this navy blue maternity t-shirt, super soft with a square neckline. It was very flattering because it wasn’t cut like a tent. It just kind of skimmed my sides, not too big, not stretched over my belly, and made me feel cute-pregnant, not fat-pregnant.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? I love pictures of beautiful sunsets, reflecting off the clouds. Full of pinks, oranges, purples.

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read. Let me think about this a day or so … I know - "All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!" Lucy Van Pelt (yarn is nice now and then too) :)

Do you have a wishlist? Yes at Amazon, but it has lots on non-knitting stuff on it. I also have a KnitPicks wish list, but I am now sure if it is accessible by anyone but me.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? I can’t wait to get started!

What is wrong with this picture?

Notice anything unusual about this sleeve? Notice how the striping from bottom up is green, purple, orange, green, purple, orange, green, purple, green... D'oh!

Basically, I had two balls of sock yarn in my stash. I decided I wasn't ever going to use it for socks, so I found the Simple Stripes Sweater pattern on KnitPicks website (for free). By the time I got around to knitting it up, I figured I would have to make the 12 month size for Sweetpea so she can wear it this fall. Problem: That size calls for three balls, so I had to order an additional ball. I compared the new ball closely to the two I already had, and couldn't see any difference, even though they were different dye lots. However, the difference is the yarn is skeined BACKWARDS from the original skeins! I finished the second ball just as I was starting the top purple stripe, so I pulled out the final and newest ball, pulled the yarn from the center until I came to the purple section and started knitting. I got a row and a half into the green before I realize I should be knitting orange.

I quickly frogged back, consulted the first sleeve, pulled out an appropriate amount of yarn and started again from the other end. All pieces are now blocking. I am determined to finish this before we hit the road Saturday!

I started swatching yarn for my Tempting II sweater. The pattern calls for 20 st x 28 rows to 4 ", and I have 20 st x 26 rows. Since the yarn I'm using (TLC Cotton Plus) is half cotton, I will wash it before I officially start.

Gotta go, it's Midnight, and I need my beauty rest!

Packages!

I got home from work today to find these boxes on my front porch. Unfortunately, neither package was for me. Monkeyboy got a big package full of dinosaur stuff from the great aunt in Denver, and BHE ordered some DVD blanks. I had a few minutes before I needed to leave for stitching, so I sat down on the couch to watch a little TV and promptly fell asleep! I awoke a few minutes later to the sound of the doorbell ringing. I went to answer it and saw the UPS man pulling away, but he left a box for me! It was my order from Knitting-Warehouse, and was the yarn I ordered for the upcoming Sexy Knitters Club knit along, Tempting II. I also ordered 2 pair of circular needles. I am trying out different kinds to figure out which I like better.




I went to stitch group with every attention of working on the Lacy Lattice Stole for the Amazing Lace, but ending up casting off the first sleeve of the Simple Stripes sweater, and knitting about half of the second sleeve. Here is the progress tonight. I think I can finish this here and there by Friday night, so I can start more mindless knitting for a road trip Saturday. Charts and Lace don't work well in the car for me :)

By the way, I was extremely surprised and flattered to see my entry for Challenge #1 of the Amazing Lace had been singled out for an honorable mention of sorts. There were a ton of great entries out there. Thanks!

Random Tuesday

My internet is back up after being down since last Thursday night...I never realized how much I'd miss it, especially over the weekend. I'm not quite sure what was wrong, something to do with my wireless router, and the something getting changed when we used the wireless network at the hotel in Dallas a few weeks ago. Apparently, since we got back, I had been logging on via a neighbor's wireless network (don't know which one). My husband is a Mac guy through and through, so I had to wait until the PC guru/brother-in-law could come by to fix it. Took him all of five minutes.

So, did I knit in public last Saturday? No. I intended to knit at Monkeyboy's soccer game, but that got vetoed by the now-crawling Sweetpea, who loves to hunt out foreign objects (the dirtier the better) and put them in her mouth. That would have made for a good picture for the Amazing Lace Challenge #2, though. Actually I think I did knit in the car while TBHE made runs into a couple of stores. Monkeyboy kept wanting to "hold that" for me. We were at Joanns the next day, and he told me he wants some "kni-ing nee-els." I put him off for a while. I think he's too young to learn right now. I told TBHE ever when we got home, and he wasn't against it at all. I told him he can teach Sweetpea how to change tires and check the oil when she's old enough. He said, "Are you kidding? She's going to be doing her own brake jobs!" ha ha :)

I haven't knitted much the last few days, other than a few mindless rows here and there. I've used the internet down-time to get started cleaning my sewing room. That lead to cleaning the rest of the house, and as my various abandoned projects and surplus of magazines and books made their way back to the sewing room, the clutter kept coming back. TBHE and I clean one room each night, top to bottom, and after we're finished, I clean my sewing room, again. Our home was broken into back at the end of March, and was ransacked - devastating to say the least. I then had to search my trashed sewing room, which is also my office, looking for insurance papers, receipts for things that were stolen, anything to show we owned what was taken. It took me a while to get over it emotionally, and I am now reorganizing all the paperwork, and trying to compile a good list of things we own, complete with serial numbers. They didn't take anything that couldn't be replaced, and no one was hurt. The scariest thing they took was my laptop, which had all sorts of personal info on it, SSNs, bank info, etc.
Thankfully, our house is much more secure now, and we hope we never have to go through anything like that again.

I am (slowly) nearing the end of the first sleeve of the Simple Stripes sweater, and I think I have a little over 3 repeats completed of Chart B on LL. I may have to take it to stitch group, but I don't know... I tried that last summer, and it was way to easy to get off track on the chart with all the distractions.

Oh! I did join the Knit Sock Kit Swap yesterday. Sign ups are closed now, but it sounds like fun. Rather than swapping knitted socks, you will put together a kit with sock yarn, a pattern, whatever accessories you think they may need, other goodies if you want, all in an appropiately sized project back you make yourself! Since I am a "bag lady", this was a no-brainer. I will of course include my own hand painted sock yarn, and maybe some of my stitch markers too. I have more of both than I will ever be able to use. I really need to post some more in my Etsy shop....

How many links can I fit in one post?

I think I may have a problem.... As you may have read, I am currently signed up for the Amazing Lace Summer 2006, the current Sew I Knit, the Sexy Knitters Club, and am planning for the Palette Fair Isle Cardigan knit along Laura mentioned in the fall. Well, yesterday I signed up for the Mystery Stole 2006 Melanie is doing. It just sounds like so much fun! I've done mystery quilts before, but never a mystery knitted item. Last night I swatched several different skeins of laceweight yarn I already have to decide on the yarn and needle size. I still haven't decided yet, but am leaning towards the 100% Alpaca. Unfortunately, I don't have enough yardage in the colorway I have, so I am thinking of ordering some that I will dye. If successful, I will put some up in my Etsy shop.

So for all you lace knitters out there (I'm fairly new at this), what size needle do you typically use for your lace knitting? My Lacy Lattice Stole is going fine on size 4s with the mohair, and the swatches I did last night in 100% Merino was fine, but the Alpaca was not. Way. Too. Loose. I'm trying again on several smaller sizes tonight, because I really like the look of the alpaca, and how light and delicate it feels, yet strong at the same time.

Progress Report

As promised, I have pictures of current WIPs. Due to a minor incident on the way home from daycare, I spent a good 45 minutes last night untangeling a chunk of yarn. Of course, I then had to knit the unskeined yarn, so the front of the Simple Stripes sweater is now up to the armhole shaping.

It is pictured at right with the already completed back.

Then, having left the pattern in my work bag, and not wanting to move from my comfortable nest, I picked up the Lacy Lattice Stole I am working on for the Amazing Lace, and work another pattern repeat, or 16 rows. I love long stretches of time to myself! BHE didn't even ask what happened, he just put Monkeyboy to bed at the appropriate time.

Due to the afore mentioned mishap by the unnamed three year old, and the ensueing untangling, I did not block the Falling Leaves Cardigan. Later this week perhaps.

Lace Knitting

I worked on LL late last night. I felt guilty we are already officially a week into the Amazing Lace, and I have yet to work on it. So, I thought I'd work a couple of rows to at least say I did. It took me for-ev-er to work across that first row. The mohair is much finer than the fingering weight sock yarn and especially the bulky weight novelty yarn of late. I felt like I couldn't keep the proper tension on it, so by the end of the second row, my fingers ached. Then on the third row (I kept going), the stitches on the needles were so tight I couldn't hardly get my needle into them. So, of course I had to keep working to get the tension evened out. Then I remembered from working on it last summer that I had to constantly remind myself to knit the second row loosely so I could do the k2togs and k3togs somewhat easily. After going that far, I felt compelled to work to the end of the pattern repeat. By the time I was there, it was 12:30, and I was too tired to take pictures. Check back tomorrow. End result - I have completed 2 pattern repeats out of 18 of the second chart, and am about halfway through the first of three balls of yarn.

Oh, I also worked on the Simple Stripes Sweater. I was nearing the end of the first skein of yarn, and wanted to start the second skein at the right spot in the striping. It is my lunchtime knitting. It will be finished soon I think.

Tonight I need to block the pieces for the Falling Leaves Cardigan (I think that's the name). I'll try and post pictures of all the WIPs.

Finished Objects!

I have two finished objects to report! First, I have finished the Lucy Bag by Two Old Bags. I made the larger size, using KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in Grass. I used a little over six skeins. I used size 10 1/2 bamboo double point needes and 32" circular needles. It went through two cycles in the washer before I decided it was finished. Here are before and after pictures!






















I also finished a shrug for a co-worker's mother. I worked on this for way too long, and had it almost finished, when I decided it needed to be frogged. I reknit the entire shrug, plus the ruffle in a little over a week. The pattern is the Kid Merino Lacy Shrug, but because my co-worker has an intense dislike for wool, she instead chose a bulky weight acrylic novelty yarn. The yarn used was Yarn Bee Decadence, and I had to use size 17 needles to acheive large enough yarn overs to be called "lacy." If anyone wants more details feel free to contact me. Here are pictures of the front and the back.

I've also finished one KnitPicks Fair Isle sock, but because its not official until its a pair, I will not post pictures, or remove it from the UFOs in the sidebar. I'm in no hurry to finish it though - I have a mission with a certain piece of lace knitting in mohair!

Oh, I'm also working on the Last Minute Simple Stripes sweater for Sweetpea. The back is finished, and I'm 20% finished with the front. Let me tell you, switching back and forth between projects on size 17s and size 2s are not advisable. I felt clumsy no matter which size I was using! I will keep working on this sweater during the Amazing Lace, for when I need mindless knitting :)