FO Report: Arugula Jaywalkers

Pattern: Jaywalkers by Grumperina

Yarn: Knitpicks Felici, Arugula

Needles: Options US size 1, 2.5mm

Started: March 10, 2008

Finished: March 20, 2008

Modifications: I knit these toe up, with a turkish toe. For the increases, instead of k1fb, I used a m1 increase. Short row heel because I like the way stripes look in a short row heel. Finally a picot edge hem.

I like these very much - the yarn is super soft, and I love the "Jaywalker" effect on the stripes. They do fit a little more snug than they seemed while knitting, but not too snug. And not so snug that I would change the stitch count next time around.

Dream in Color KAL

Did you know the Loopy Ewe is having a Dream in Color KAL? You have to email Sheri that you want to participate, and include DC-KAL in your order notes. If you purchase enough Classy for a sweater, you get 20% off!

They added a new stock of Classy last night, and I ordered enough Dusky Aurora to make a Cardiganized Wicked! As of this posting, there are still 22 colorways remaining of Classy :)

Thank you all for the birthday wishes yesterday!!!

March 25

On this day in history (and my birthday):

Events:

• 1634 - Lord Baltimore, his younger brother Leonard Calvert, and a group of Catholic settlers founded the English colony of Maryland.
• 1655 - Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christian Huygens.
• 1975 - Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by a mentally ill nephew.

Births:

• 1911 - Jack Ruby
• 1918 - Howard Cosell
• 1938 - Hoyt Axton
• 1942 - Aretha Franklin
• 1947 - Elton John
• 1962 - Marcia Cross
• 1965 - Sarah Jessica Parker
• 1966 - Jeff Healey
• 1982 - Danica Patrick
• 1984 - Katherine McPhee

Holidays:

• Greek Independance Day
• Mother's Day in Slovenia

Ok, I'm too tired in the wee morning hours of my birthday to link all of this for you, so I'll provide you with just one : Wikipedia, where I found all of the above simply by searching for "March 25".

WIP Wednesday

On my needles - My second pair of Jaywalkers, this time in KnitPicks Felici in Arugula. I'm working this pair toe up (of course) and I'm nearly finished with the second sock. I'm finishing the top edge with a picot hem, and I really like it compared to the ribbing I did on the first pair. I wanted to finish them in time for St. Patrick's Day, but no such luck. I'm sure they will get plenty of wear between now and next St. Patty's day, so it will be interesting to see how they hold up. On a side note, I noticed a lot of wear this morning on my Panda Cotton socks, after maybe five or six wearings. But that's another post for another time. I'll have to check the Ravelry reviews on that yarn.

Also on my needles - I signed up for the Mystic Light Mystery Shawl (starts next week). I saw a couple of people were using Drops Alpaca, and coincidentally, one of my LYSs, Loops, just started carrying Drops yarn. I picked up 4 skeins, and started swatching. I love the yarn, but I'm not crazy about the yarn and this pattern. I don't know if I'll do the shawl or not - I hardly ever wear the stoles I've made, and I doubt if I will wear a triangular shawl either. However, my mind has started spinning with new ideas. I sort of have a picture in my mind of what I want, and while I can't pinpoint it, I also can't find a Drops pattern for this yarn that is "the one." I've pulled out my stitch dictionaries, and will start swatching as soon as my second Jaywalker is finished (I know myself too well), and I just may end up with my first design, as opposed to a heavily modified version of someone else's design ;) Stay tuned, the progress will likely be slow. I'm more inclined to take my time with something like this, rather than rush through for the sake of a finished (non)wearable. So, patience, please :D

Spinning

Okay, I'm just found out about this yesterday. I'm thinking about going to the Spring 2008 Yarn School in Harveyville, Kansas. This year's school is April 24-27. Is anyone going, or have you gone before?

I have some roving and batts, but have never spun before. I have a drop spindle, but have been afraid to try it - isn't that crazy? I know as soon as I start, I'm going to want a wheel. What is a good wheel for a beginner? They provide wheels for you to use, or you can bring your own. Part of me says go, and gather advice on what kind of wheel to buy, but the other part says buy one before so I can learn on it at the school. Help!

Ladybugs and Dragonflies

Lookie, lookie! I won a blog contest from Jennifer at CraftyLilly! She was celebrating her third blogiversiary and I correctly guessed that cross stitch embroidery was the craft she's done the longest. It was sort of an educated guess - My mom taught me to embroidery when I was about 4 or 5, and I took off into all sorts of other crafts from there. I think a lot of girls of my generation were introduced to embroidery first. I'm sorry to say this thank you post is way overdue - Monkeyboy turned 5 last week, plus Sweetpea started serious potty training, so I was heavily distracted with party preparations and every-20-minute potty breaks!

Anyway, Jennifer gave me a choice of sock yarn or a stitch marker bookmark as my prize. Since I've been on a bit of a sock yarn binge* since the beginning of the year, I chose the stitch marker bookmark. Isn't it the cutest? I didn't really give her a very good idea of my favorite color, since I usually bounce around from red to blue to purple to green to chocolate... Anyway, she couldn't have made a more appropriate bookmark for me! BTW, she sells her creations on Etsy, if you are interested!

Years ago when I was prego with Monkeyboy, but didn't know what he was, I started a quilt with pink flowers and red ladybugs all over it. I know it sounds like a horrible clash, but trust me, it's cute. Anyway I started getting the feeling he was a boy, so it got sidelined. (Still not finished.) I knew the ladybugs could fly (no pun intended) for a boy, but not pink flowers. In the meantime, BHE painted a mural all around the nursery with ladybugs, dragonflies, bumblebees, a great big tree in one corner and a big happy sun on another wall. Suddenly we had ladybugs cropping up all over the place. I had already been partial to dragonflies, so I had a few of those already. We have a ladybug suitcase, backpack, ink stamps, board books, etc. So, very appropriate. Thanks Jennifer!

Next, check out what my friend Rori gave me - a dragonfly stitch marker! It fits right in with the buggy theme, and I love it! I have a few dragonfly stitch markers and row markers I've made, but none as pretty as this one. Thank you Rori!!

*You all think I knit fast? Let me tell you, I can shop way faster than I can knit.

Chloe

This is our puppy-dog Chloe, although at seven years old (in human years) she isn't a puppy anymore. She is part Jack Russel, part Pointer, part Beagle. She does "point" and patrols our back yard for any intruders, mainly of the squirrel variety. They do torment her, pelting her with acorns from the trees above. And I swear, they do throw them at her, because the hit the ground harder than if they were just falling! When one dares to come out of the tree and down to the ground she stalks it, with every muscle in her body quivering.

This morning as I was getting ready to leave the house, I noticed her trotting around the yard with something in her mouth. At first glance it looked like a bunch of dead leaves, but I knew that wasn't right. I looked again, and it looked like a rat, which she has caught and killed before in our back yard - GROSS!

I went out to make her drop it before she made herself sick, and on closer inspection found it wasn't a rat, but a small squirrel. Not a baby, but not a full grown one either. More of a teenage squirrel. It made me a little sad because they are so cute, but happy for her because she finally caught one.

Actually I think this might be her second, or even her third. I remember my husband catching her a couple of years ago tossing one up in the air like a rag doll. Hope I haven't grossed anyone out this morning. I did save you from having to view a picture ;)

Update: I called BHE to tell him about the squirrel, and he went by the house at lunch. Apparently, the squirrel was either just pretending to be dead or made a speedy recovery, or it's little squirrel friends had a quick funeral. BHE wasn't surprised, he said Chloe's caught things before and just carried them around in her mouth. I had forgotten about the time she brought a live baby bird in the house (through her pet door). We heard the most horrific screeching from the mother bird outside. BHE got some paper towels and put the baby bird outside and then blocked the pet door. Within a few hours the little bird had learned to fly and escaped from our yard. I just hope she doesn't try to bring a squirrel inside the house.

FO Report: Serendipity Socks

Pattern: Serendipity by Adrienne Fong, size medium

Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight, Dragon Dance

Needles: US size 1, 2.25mm

Started: February 29, 2008

Finished: March 9, 2008

Modifications: The first thing I did differently was a super stretchy cast on I found at jigsawknits. Love the cast on, and I'll definitely use it again on my next top down socks! Because of the cast on, I did a k1 p1 rib instead of k2 p2. The only other thing I did different was I left 11 stitches unwrapped in the heel instead of 9. I love these socks!

This is the first shipment from the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club (Did I post that I signed up last fall?), and even though a ton of people have finished theirs, I feel a little reluctant to post my finished picture, for "spoiler" reasons. Click here to see my finished pair!

Now - I have nothing in my needles! I'm not sure what I want to do next. the KNIT guild meeting is tomorrow night, and I have to have something. I can't sit at a knitting guild meeting for 2 hours and not knit! I bought a skein of Malabrigo today, but I can't decide which of two hat patterns to cast on for. I've also been trolling Ravelry for the last couple of hours looking at sock patterns. I have some Felici in Arugula (greens), and am leaning towards it for my next sock yarn, since St. Patricks day is around the corner. I don't want to do another plain stockinette just yet. I see a lot of people using this yarn for Jaywalkers, so I'm thing about another pair of those. I also am intrigued by the Sidewinders, but I think the Jitterbug in my stash might look better for those.

FO Report: Mega Boot Stretch socks

Pattern: My own.

Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch, color 704

Needles: US size 1, 2.5 mm

Started: February 11, 2008

Finished: February 27, 2008

Not much to say about these, I made the pattern up as I went along. I did start over a couple of times to get the right fit and feel, if you know what I mean. They are toe up, with a Turkish cast-on, 60 stitch foot and leg, slip stitch short row heel with a gusset, and k4 x p2 ribbing on the leg. I knit the leg as long as I could stand it, and then did a stretchy Sewn bind off. These are the longest socks I have knitted, and I still have quite a bit of yarn left over, probably enough for socks for Sweetpea. I love how the color changes in these socks, and they kept my toes toasty warm last night after our cool front moved through! The yarn has been in my stash for awhile, but I do remember it came from Webs, although I don't find it on their site right now. I picked it out to knit while waiting on 2.25mm needles to arrive from Knitpicks. Up next - Serendipity socks from the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club!

FO Report: Vogue Wrap Cardigan

Pattern: Vogue Wrap Cardigan #18 by Margaret O'Leary, from Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2006
Yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky, Chocolate Truffle
Needles: KnitPicks Options, U.S. sizes 10 and 11
Started: October 5, 2007
Finished: February 22, 2007

Modifications: Several - Fist of all, I knit the back one size smaller than the front, to help with the out-of-proportion-ness of my shoulders vs. boobage. Turns out, I probably could have knit the whole cardigan a size or two smaller and still would have been fine. To accommodate the difference in width, I decreased the fronts by four stitches on each side between the armhole shaping and the shoulder bind offs.

Next, the pattern called for casting on and knitting stockinette. I knew I wouldn't care for the rolling edges that would ensue, so I cash on and knit 5 or 6 rows stockinette, then a turning row, and then continued on with the pattern instructions. After the sides were seamed, I went back and hemmed the hems.

What else - oh, instead of casting off for the back, I kept the stitches on stitchholders. Once the fronts were finished, I did a three needle bind off for the shoulder seams. The pattern called for the center front sections to continue to be knitted for 2 1/2" more on either side, bound off, then seamed to the back neck, and finally seamed together, making a shawl collar. Instead, I knit one live stitch from the back neck together with the first stitch or last stitch on each row of the collar. When both sides were worked to the center back and all the back neck stitches were worked, I joined the two sections together with the Kitchener stitch.

No mods on the sleeves other than hemming them as I did the front and back sections.

See how long those sleeves are? See how far down the "set-in sleeves" drop? This cardigan is huge, and I've thought long and hard about what to do with it. I won't wear it the way it is. I thought about taking it apart, ripping back the sleeves to make them a little shorter, and reknitting the entire back to make it narrower, then ripping the fronts to the armhole shaping, and then decreasing from there to the shoulders to match the width of the back. However, the collar will keep rolling. For some reason, although I knew not having any kind of edging would cause the edges to roll, I didn't think it would roll quite as much as it does. Blocking did not help. It's like wearing a sausage around my neck.

Long story short, I'm almost positive I'm going to rip the entire project. I'm thinking of knitting Jared's Hemlock Ring Blanket. Or maybe I'll just design something a lot more fitted. I still want a dark brown wrap cardi, so maybe I'll come up with something. Any suggestions?