WandaWomanKnits: Adventures in Knitting & Life

August Accountability - Fitness Challenge

2011-09-05T14:38:00.001-06:00

August ended up being a tough month. But which month isn't, right?

I did work out throughout the month, although one we took my stepson to college, my workouts really fell off for a week afterwards. I worked out once while we were out of town and then one we came back, went back to a busy schedule and then my birthday the following weekend. As we were also down to one car for part of that week, I ended up falling off the wagon for a week, but eventually got back to working out the following week.

The running challenge has not yet taken flight. I did Day 1 of Week 1 of Couch to 5K, and that went ok, but I haven't felt the urge to do it again. Part of it is after I did the first workout, I started experiencing low back pressure, which I'd previously not suffered from. Nothing too serious, but I have found that yoga, pilates and stretching have helped. It makes sense to experience some of this pain since I sit in a cubicle all day and barely leave my desk, but I seem to be associating the low back pain with running and haven't wanted to try it since. Maybe I will get over it, we'll see.

I find that after 2-3 weeks of continuous work outs, I get bored and not have any motivation to go to the gym. I'm still exploring trying other workouts, getting Groupons for other gyms, just to try some different exercise modalities. I really like the idea of boutique gyms that offer class packs, for 5 or 10 classes and you can stop in as time permits to workout, but don't have to take on a different gym membership. I've been buying class packs for yoga, which has been very helpful.

Surprisingly to me, I've found that I am enjoying yoga much more this time, than in previous history. I'm still not a huge fan of vinyasa yoga, but I have tried Forrest Yoga (super hard core yoga), Yin Yoga (lots of long stretches), and a Candlelight Vinyasa Flow, which was not as fast-paced as regular vinyasa flow classes. I still want to try Anusara Yoga, just because and also Hatha Yoga. There's a yoga studio very close to my house that offers several classes in hatha and some yin yoga, and that will probably be my next yoga class pack purchase. Also YogaCycle or spin/yoga fusion classes are also awesome. I love getting cardio in and then stretching.

Swimming has been very hit or miss. I have gone to the outdoor pool with my neighbor twice, but otherwise, haven't been too motivated to get in the pool. I figure I will swim on occasion, because I know how, but it hasn't become a must do exercise every week. I don't know if I just wanted to learn because I couldn't do it or if I will feel the need to swim more.

I never made my workout challenge goal of working out 5 days a week. I'm going to step down the goal this month to working out 4 days a week. I can usually get in 3 workouts a week, so this month we'll try for 4x/week. I'll keep you posted.

Accountability Week 1

2011-08-12T11:41:00.001-06:00

Time to fess up. Last week was ok and I did workout more than the prior week, but did not make my goal. :-(
Workouts last week totaled three. Although I set the goal, I neglected to plan for it. Which is, of course, a recipe for disaster/failure.

I did cardio twice, one day which was the Couch to 5k run, and one day of yoga.

So far, only one day of running. It was ok, but I felt lower back pain for several days afterward and I normally don't suffer from back pain, which concerned me. I may give it another try next week.

That's it from the trenches.

Have a great weekend friends!

I Don't Run unless being chased?!?!

2011-08-03T11:00:00.001-06:00

I don't run unless being chased, that was always my tag line about running. As I've been working out over the past year, I find myself trying things that I never thought I would do. I can't believe it's come to this, but I'm about to try running.

I know, right? Surprise, me too. Although if you have been following me on Google+ or Facebook, you may have seen me mention that I was shopping for shoes last week. Well, the shoe shopping was successful and now the hard part begins. The uber-famous, Couch to 5K, program is the one I will be using. I love the iPhone, as there is a C25K app, that I have on my phone. Technology is great. Running, well, we'll see how it goes. Stay posted for updates and wish me Godspeed.

Types of Yoga

2011-08-02T12:00:00.001-06:00

So as I mentioned in yesterday's post, I am looking to incorporate yoga into my workout routine. What's spurring this on is that my massage therapist is always mentioning how tight my muscles are and that I need to stretch more, which I do agree with. However, I know that I probably won't just stretch on a daily or nightly basis at home. My thought is that I should take a yoga class instead. I am not looking for the vinyasa flow-style yoga that most gyms, mine included, that are taught as a fast-paced flow to help you sweat.

I would like a slower-paced yoga class to hold poses longer. In looking at different yoga studios around time, I see gentle hatha yoga, restorative yoga, candlelit vinyasa flow yoga, and Anusara yoga. Is anyone reading this familiar or have any experience with these types of yoga to provide insight?

Thanks for your help and Namaste. ;-)

August Fitness Challenge

2011-08-01T22:51:00.001-06:00

Hello Friends,

It's been awhile since my last post. An online friend is trying to get me to commit t0 30 days of blogging. Not sure if that will happen, but the primary goal I've been focusing on is getting more fit and working out consistently. Some weeks I work out 3-4 times a week and others I barely get 2 workouts in. I know that burnout is pretty typical and I'm trying to find other ways to keep my workouts fresh and interesting.

For August, I have a goal of working out 4-5 times a week. I'm going to use my blog as a way of keeping myself accountable.

I'd love to see comments or a WTG to keep me motivated. You will see more posts from this space, although they may not all be fitness related.

I am looking to incorporate yoga or Pilates at least once per week and get back into a swimming routine as well. I wanted to purchase a bicycle this summer, but it's not looking likely for this year, but next summer it will be mine. The goal is weight lifting or cardio for tomorrow.

Here's looking at you, kid!

Super Saturday

2011-06-18T11:59:00.001-06:00

5K, well a 3K for Scleroderma a d now a spin/yoga class.
Bookclub tonite and then rest.
Whew!

Untitled

2011-06-18T08:10:00.001-06:00

Busy day today.

First up: Scleroderma 5K to support my cousin June.

Before & Well, Now

2011-06-10T08:12:00.001-06:00

In the past year, I've become an avid exercise buff, primarily doing cardio (spinning, swimming, elliptical and bike riding), along with strength training. Prior to that, I worked sporadically and never consistently. After having some health issues, I finally decided to do something about my weight, which was a primary factor in my digestive issues. As I'd always wanted to learn how to swim, but had problems mastering breathing, I was never successful with swimming. Fueled by my desire to attempt to learn to swim (yet again) last summer, I took swimming lessons at my local recreation center. In order to build my endurane, I started practicing kicking with the kickboard and taking aqua aerobics.

While I did not learn how to swim last summer, I continued to work out and then later worked with a swim coach and learned how to swim this year, finally. I ran across some old photos yesterday and decided to post them.

It's not a before & after, because I am, after all, a work in progress, but rather a before and now.

When looking at the pictures, I can truly see a difference. Over 2 years, I've lost about 30 pounds and still have another 20-30 lbs to go. But I am very happy with the changes in my body and feel that I am much healthier than I've ever been.

With all the fitness enthusiasm, sadly, my knitting productivity has waned. I'd like to think that it will pick up at some point, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen again or not. I've still been knitting, but mostly socks and it's off and on, more off than on.

That's all for today.

Hello There World

2011-06-09T18:55:00.001-06:00

So, I doubt if anyone is actually checking this blog for updates, but wanted to let you know 2 things. One, I finally actually graduated from grad school with my Master's in Human Resource Management. Two, I have started a new blog on Posterous at http://whirlgirl.posterous.com/

Hope to see you there.

It's been such a long time

2010-02-15T21:05:00.027-07:00

I really debated whether or not to return to blogging or to just call it quits. Sometimes I really enjoy it. Lately with so many different pressing desires, I just have not made blogging a priority. It really started to feel like something I had to do, on a long list of things I had to do, it was not high on that list.

School is wearing me out. I am starting to get sick of it; however, I only have 3 more classes after the current class I'm in, so I will stick it out, obviously. I'm just ready for it to be done.

There's no way that I can possibly update you on the past 5 months. School has been busy of course, although I had a little break after the first Fall term. However, that "break" just became study time for a work test, which I passed, YAY! Right after I took the test, 3 days later, my mother, sister and supercute nephew came out to visit over the Christmas holidays, which was awesome. We also completed some home renovation, putting down wood floors, which I may have previously mentioned and bought adult furniture (new table). Just lots of things, then school started again the first week of January.

I have been knitting through it all, just not as much as I would like. Something I finished were a pair of socks in Shibui, a 3x1 ribbed sock.

Lately, I've been casting on for some new projects, although not a lot of finishing:

Aestlight Shawl

And I signed up for the Knitting Olympics. The project I signed up for is the Bramblewood Vest.

Not a lot of progress on the vest thus far and who knows if I will ever finish it in the time? But I'm not stressing about it. We'll see what happens. I'm not even minding the cables, yet.

Well, that's all for now. I may be moving the blog too, but if I do, I will let you know, however many readers that may be at this point (haha!).

Dishcloth Mania

2009-09-02T00:00:00.002-06:00

This summer I knitted quite a few washcloths for my knitting girl friends, for our knitting camp weekend. Since then, I have been on a cotton bender. I have finally turned the corner and while I am still knitting some cotton, it's not the only projects on my needles that I'm actively working on.

Here are some of the finished cloths, many of which were made from the leftovers of Reynolds Morocco (a bulky cotton/linen blend):
Garter Ridge Washcloth from Knitter's Stash

Basket Weave Cloth

Starfish Cloth from

Leisure Arts #3892 designed by Evelyn Clark

Bubbles Border cloth from Leisure Arts #3892

Berries Cloth (Leisure Arts #3892)

For the cloths, I used Reynolds Morocco, a discontinued bulky linen/cotton, for the Berries cloth, Garter Ridge cloth and the Basket Weave cloth. I used Sugar N' Cream for the Starfish cloth and the Bubbles Border cloth.

I have another cloth that wasn't pictured yet, but it is late, so I will upload it next time. I have cast on for some new projects. Lately I have been in sock heaven and have 4 pairs of socks on the needles. I ripped out one sock that wasn't working out and have cast on for three new pairs of socks, while needing to finish the second sock of a pair I've been working on for awhile. I also cast on for Tomato with some lovely bamboo/silk yarn which I will have to share with you all soon.

One of my LYS is going out of business. The owner has owned the shop for 30+ years and did not find a seller when she was interested in selling the business. As the owner has gotten older, she wants to retire, which is understandable. Strawberry Tree closes its doors on August 31, 2009. This was not the store where I learned to knit, but one that I spent considerable amounts of time after my first knitting class. In the past 8 years since I have become a knitter, I have spent many memorable hours shopping, conversing with customers, winding yarn, sifting through old patterns and sitting and knitting. It breaks my heart that the store is closing, although I completely understand the reasons why. I live very close to this store and will no longer have the option of just popping in on my way home for no particular reason, or to visit one my friends who works there. Things change and we must adjust. I am sad to see this LYS close. Thankfully I live in a city with several yarn shops, but it is still sad to see a beloved yarn store with so much history close its doors. I suppose it is a good thing the shop owner is able to close the shop on her own terms.

School is back in session and I am back in the swing of things. I hope to be back here to post soon as well.

Still Here and Knitting

2009-08-27T23:14:00.003-06:00

Yikes, I was hoping to be back sooner than this, but at least it is twice in a month, right? I actually have a finished object photo for this post too. I mentioned in my last post that I finished Lutea Lace Shoulder Shell.
I really love the finished result and have worn it a few times already. Since I covered it in the last post, I won't go over all of it again. Here are the pics:

I didn't get M to take a photo, but one of my knitting girls helped me out. Thanks Terrie!

Project Details:

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease

Needles Used: US 7 (4.5 mm) needles used

Project length: a month or so. It really didn't take me very long to knit this top up. The tank knits up so quickly. I ripped out my Hey Teach earlier this summer as I could not face the task of figuring out where I was in the lace pattern. I had found some errors and I had to rip back anyway and when you dread a project, it's not an auspicious start to begin working on it again after I'd put the project down last summer. I decided if I had that much dread, perhaps I should just rip it out. I did and then worked up this bottom-up tank in no time and actually have 3 skeins of the Raspberry colorway. This project has made me fine-tune my short-rowing skills. I have found that I am not dreading short rows like I used to. The V-neck is worked by short-rowing, which is quite unusual. Again, very satisfactory knit.

Until next time . . .

P.S. And today is my birthday. I have had a great day with lots of fun birthday greetings on Twitter and FaceBook. M cooked me breakfast and dinner and I took the day off from work today. Went to see a matinee of Julie & Julia today and just enjoyed it. We also had to go to Back to School Night for M2. Tomorrow we will go out for dinner.

Has It Really Been This long?

2009-08-09T12:05:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's been 2 months since I last blogged

First, thank you to all of you were able to contribute to my cousin's Scleroderma walk. That really meant a lot to me, especially as it at the last minute. Anything that we were able to raise was helpful.

Since my last blog post, so much has happened. I don't think I mentioned it previously, but in May I went to Atlanta to visit my with my mom and sister. And I got to see my favorite nephew, Chason. I flew in on his birthday and got to attend his 4th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. And yes, I did volunteer to go this party. Mad props to my sister because she planned it at 10:30 a.m., so there were no other children there. We had the whole place to ourselves, which was perfect for the 4 year-olds who wanted to get on rides too big for them or play games where their feet or arms didn't reach and required adult assistance. I had a ball and it was wonderful to spend a birthday with my nephew. We also took a short weekend jaunt to Tybee Island and Savannah, GA. I had such a great time staying on the beach and touring downtown Savannah, I didn't want to come back.

After that, I decided to take off the summer from school and it was the best thing I did for myself. I really needed a break as I was starting to get burnt out. And there is no deadline to completing school. Better to take a rest than to take a permanent break from school. Now the fall term is upon us and I am refreshed and ready to start anew.

In knitting news, I have been knitting in fits and starts. I decided recently to take the pressure of NaKniSweMoDo off and just knit what I want to knit. I'm a NaKniSweMoDo dropout and I'm ok with that. Our knitting group recently had its annual Camp Retreat weekend and this year we decided to make or contribute items to the goody bag rather than have it assembled for us. My contribution to the goody bags were face/washcloths.

I am posting a couple of pics here:

However, you may look at the rest of the photos on Ravelry at my Camp facecloth collection.

Also, I have completed the Lutea Lace Shoulder Shell and I love how it turned out. I have already worn it three or four times, but I really need to get a modeled pic.

I have another summer top, Pintuck, on the needles and it is coming along. Please excuse the horrible picture. I wasn't able to get a progress pic in natural lighting.

I also have a pair of socks on the needles. Actually two pairs that I just started and I will be ripping out one pair, as I don't like how it's knitting up.

As what seems to be my habit now, every summer I am inspired to knit dischloths/face cloths, etc. After I had to knit 10 wash cloths in about 17 days, one would think that I might be a bit burnt out on cotton cloth knitting. Not so, I am still knitting face cloths, with the leftovers for myself. After three of them and I still have enough yarn to knit 2-3 more, I am moving on to dish cloth knitting. It's time to refresh my kitchen with new dishcloths and perhaps purge some older ones. It's always fun for me to knit up some new patterns and see which cloths are the best to use for my kitchen. I have found that overly lace patterns do not work well for the kitchen. Perhaps those are better suited to the face. I have about 7 skeins of dishcloth cotton hanging around my house. I would be very happy if I could use up what I have and get rid of it. Then when I am ready to buy new cotton yarn, I can just do so.

I'll post some pics of the dish and face cloth pics next time. I'm sorry for the length of this post. Hopefully I'll be back to post again in a shorter time frame.

Till next time . . .

And There is a FO Pic

2009-06-04T23:43:00.002-06:00

Ladies, I am pleased to present finished FO pics of my latest garment, Flutter Sleeve Cardi. It turned out great! (If I say so myself! ;-)

Anyhow, not going to be much of a write-up. It's late and I would like to go to bed.

Front:

The pictures were taken at the end of the day and M is no stylist. Overall, I am very pleased with the look and fit of this garment. If I were to make any changes, I would add a third button and perhaps make the cardi a smidge longer, but really no complaints. I am seriously entertaining the thought of a second one. When I would get to it, who knows, but it certainly a winner in my book! Yay for finished projects.

This is number 4 for NaKniSweMoDo. Got some catchin' up to do. Oh and in the photos, you might notice that I added some highlights to my hair.

Raveled

And lastly, this is really last minute and I do apologize. My only family member here in Denver was diagnosed with a disease, scleroderma, a couple of years ago. This weekend, I will be walking for the second time in the Steppin' Out for Scleroderma Walk. This disease doesn't get as much publicity as others, but it can be life-threatening to those affected by it. Thankfully, my cousin is okay, but she has a lot of health conditions, including hardening of the skin, which can affect her organs. It's also scary because it can be hereditary too. I walked last year and didn't receive my registration packet in the mail, so I just signed up online yesterday. If any of you are able to contribute to the fundraising efforts, I would appreciate it. At the top, right-hand side of the page, you will see a widget to the donation website. You can also go directly there to donate as well. If you can't, that's ok too.

In Which I post twice in one month

2009-05-31T22:57:00.000-06:00

Just under the gun, I'm back again. I was hoping to be able to model my latest handknit garment, but it was not meant to be. I finally finished knitting the tabs, which took all of 1 hour and sewed them on the garment. I bought cute vintage glass buttons, but I need to move them over a bit, as the cardigan looks a bit strained. I will re-sew them and steam block the cardigan. Hopefully I can wear it to work tomorrow. If so, I should be able to get a picture soon.

Since I don't have a garment, I do have a pair of handknit socks that have been completed. At least there is some knitting, right? Yay! Besides, handknit socks are always good.

In a beautiful and crazy colorway of Trekking, I finished a pair of simple, stockinette socks.

Here's a teaser of the Flutter Sleeve cardi. I have to say that this project was really worth the effort. The cardigan is very flattering. I tried it on at knit night and my knitting girls were all very complimentary. Can't wait to actually wear this and have it as part of wardrobe.

Ok, I will be back soon with modeled pics.

What Had Happened Was . . .

2009-05-25T01:49:00.000-06:00

I guess I took an unexpected break from blogging. I have thought about it frequently, but all the good intentions do not a blogger make. Anyhow I am not making any promises for when I will next blog, but I am hoping to be able to blog a bit more. I have been online quite a bit, but mostly on Facebook and sometimes on Twitter.

School has also been pretty crazy the past couple of terms. However, I decided for the summer to take a short break. I thought this might be good for my sanity. It doesn't mean that I am or will regain my sanity, but there's hope? lol

There has been knitting and more knitting. I finished a pair of socks, but don't have a FO pic to share. I need to take more pictures soon.

An impromptu photo session at my LYS with photos taken by Mary-Kay display my latest FO. For NanKniSweMoDo, this is my third sweater. A bit behind with the count, but still plugging away.
My third sweater for the NaKni blah-blah-blah is Hanna. The yarn used is Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Brushed Alpaca. Since the yarn is alpaca, although the photos are not the best, I am going to use them for now to call this FO done. In the winter, I will try to get some better pictures, but going into summer, I'm not too interested in modeling alpaca right now

Project Details (on Rav)

Project - Hanna

Yarn: Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Brushed Alpaca , 5 skeins

Needles used: size US 10.5 (6.5mm) needles

Modifications: none

I got suckered by the quick project idea, which never really works out for me. Unless I am knitting a cowl or a hat. Otherwise, they don't knit up quickly. It wasn't bad and I really like the end result. It's just a cardigan knit in one piece and that's a big slog. Not as nice as working in the round, of course. I do feel like it was worth it. I may even purchase the shawl pin pictured in the photo above. I used one at the shop for the photo. I think it looks really nice. Overall, happy with the sweater.

I have another project that I hope to complete tomorrow today. I just have to find some buttons and knit two tabs. Seems doable. Perhaps I will start that now, since I can't seem to go to sleep yet.

Knitting, Who me?

2009-03-31T23:16:00.000-06:00

Hi all,
Wow, I have really been remiss with the blogging. No blogging occurred in the month of March. Oh wait, this is the last day of March, so this may count. Ha!

I have wanted to blog, even while I was on Spring Break, but at the end of a term, I'm apparently no good to anyone and can't be bothered to blog. While I was away, much knitting has ensued. Still no FOs though. My NaKniSweMoDo goals are still in place; however, I am working on two projects, one of which I hoped to complete this month, but it's still not finished.

I may have not posted about the http://www.cocoknits.com/knit/garments/women/hanna.html , mainly because my pictures of it look like a crumpled blob. It still looks like that as the cardigan is knit in one piece, back and forth. I am at the stage where I am working the sleeves, as it were, so at least I have some (short) sleeves to show. I hope to complete the sleeve in the next few days and then it will be time to join the sleeves to the body.

I also cast on for the Aleita shell out of my new favorite yarn, yes more Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, in February. I had hoped this would be my Vest-uary project, to be completed in February, but seeing as how I didn't cast on until the middle of an already short month, well, it's obviously still not completed. I am at the part where I will need to pick up the underlap stitches and I'm kind of stalled at this point. I can probably figure it out if I sit still, but haven't had the brain cells to do that part yet.

At least during all of the busy time, my sock knitting has picked up again. While I'm reading boring class topics, I work on socks. It seems to be the only way I can continue to do my required reading without completely and totally losing my mind. I love how these Trekking socks are turning out. The color is 101 and I purchased them almost four years ago at Estes, from a UT vendor. Also, my instructor allows me to knit in class this term again, so I knit to my heart's content. Sweet. I like it when my instructors let me knit in class. It helps me to pay more attention while they are lecturing and my hands and heart are happy.

The past couple of weeks we have been installing hardwood floors throughout the first level. I did not have access to my table, the primary surface for picture taking, or really any flat surfaces. I have mostly been in hiding downstairs, trying to drown out the sounds of hammers, air compressors and nail guns. At least the floor looks good.

M has done a great job with the floor. We still need to have it sanded and possibly stained. At least most of the current round of home improvement is at a standstill. Till M gets new inspiration, hehee!

I will be back soon-ish, with more updates. It's time for bedtime now and I would like this blog post to be put up before April 1.

Back with another FO

2009-02-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

It could almost seem that I was that impressive with back-to-back FOs, but I finished this sweater well over three weeks ago. I'm a bit ambivalent about the finished result. I like how it looks, but I had some problems with the pattern. Even though I reknit the neck, it is better, but the neck doesn't sit properly on me. Once I put on the sweater, I have to adjust a bit to make it sit right and fumble with it all day to keep the neck/shoulders up. I think it's a good pattern, but I must have made some errors when I knit the pattern. I also chose to knit the sleeves plain.

Enough with the blathering and on to the pictures. I could never get the timing right to have someone take photos of me at home. I had a presentation tonight in one my grad school classes and I wore my sweater with a skirt and felt comfortable enough to give a presentation, so I think it was a winner in that sense. Unfortunately you get bathroom shots. Sorry about that, but I thought that was better than waiting awhile longer. Soon it will be too late to wear this sweater at all.

Full-on frontal view:

On the side:

And a couple photos just because I liked them. I went to the extra effort of rolling my hair for the presentation, so I wanted to document the hair. Silly, I know.

Project Specs

Pattern: Ribby Pulli by Bonne Marie Burns
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm)
Length: October 2007 through January 19, 2009

This project really shouldn't have taken me this long. I was going strong on it initially, but in January of 2008, I put it aside to work on the Everyday Tweed sweater. Once that happened, I did not come back to this sweater until November of 2008. After my previous neck debacle, I had to rip it out and start over with picking up of stitches around the body and reknit the ribbed neck. This time the amount of stitches seemed correct, but I think that I could have decreased it by eight stitches for a better fit. Whether or not I want to do it again, eh, not so much.

The high point to all of this is the yarn and the color. I absolutely adore Silky Tweed and have already added enough yarn for 3 projects to my stash.

Thanks for reading this far along, if you did so. Hope you all have a great weekend. I'll be back early next week with a new post.

FO Report: Back to School U Neck Vest

2009-02-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

I finally have a finished garment that I can show on the blog. You might be surprised to see that it is the Back to School UNeck Vest by Stefanie Japel, instead of the Ribby Pulli, but pics will be coming.I finished the Ribby Pulli first, but have not yet had a chance to get modeled shots.It is super comfortable. I have already worn it twice.

Now on to the Back-to-School U Neck Vest. This project was very easy, as evidenced as I knit it in just over a month. I would have had it completed by the month's end if I hadn't screwed up sewing the seams. This vest is knit in the round, until you get to the bust area. When I needed to seam the shoulders, I ended up seaming them to the wrong sides. And then I wove in all the ends quite well. I was not able to find the ends and had to wait to take it to my LYS to help find the end(s), so that I could seam the correct sides together.

Now, for a couple of shots.

Project Details-

Yarn used: Cascade220 in a blue-green variegated color, 3 skeins

Project: Back to School U-Neck Vest by Stefanie Japel from Fitted Knits

Needles: US 7 (4.5mm)

Length of project: started January 1, 2009 and completed February 7, 2009

Mods: I didn't make any modifications to this project and knit it as written. It was an enjoyable knit and I liked the addition of bust darts in the vest. Very quick and easy even with loads of 2x2 ribbing. I love how the vest turned out and it looks great with my teal shirt or I can wear it with a white shirt. The vest was the perfect amount of warmth too. While wearing it, I never felt too hot, which is always a concern for me. All in all, a great project. Here's to NaKniSweMoDo!

January Knitting Goals Progress

2009-02-08T23:20:00.042-07:00

So dear readers, it's been awhile. I have been meaning to pop in and blog and it just never happened. I've been thinking about this alot and that I will have a goal of blogging at least once a week. While I haven't been blogging, there has been plenty of knitting going on. I even managed to make most of my knitting goals for January too.

The first goal was to knit myself a hat. Finally did that:

It was made using my Malabrigo leftovers from the Ruffles scarf. Oh, so yummy and soft. The hat pattern is the Amanda Hat of Sleepy Eyes Knitting. This hat went very quickly and I had just enough Malabrigo leftover to knit the hat. Good way to use up leftovers!

Second goal was to finish up M2's candycorn socks. Done! They have been washed and blocked and given to M2. And they have already been worn a couple of times, so it appears the socks are a success.

These socks were made from Red Rocks Fiber Works , hand-dyed by my friend Mary Kay. Very nice base sock yarn. I am scared for M2 blowing out a heel, but of well. There is plenty of wool for socks in my house.

Third goal was to continue to make progress on my vest project, the Back To School U Neck Vest. I did pretty good with progress for January.

Actually this picture is not the most accurate of progress. The vest is now completed. I finished the picking up the stitches around the neck and armholes just earlier today. I hope to block it early this week and wear it soon.

I also ripped and reknit the neck for the Ribby Pulli. It has been completed and blocked, but I have yet to wear it. Once I finished the sweater, it took about a week to get around to the blocking. However, the weather in Denver has not been cooperating for me to have a photo shoot or even wear it. The weather the past week has been mid-to-high 50s into the 60 degree temps. Sorry I wasn't willing to wear wool to get a photo op! :-)

I hope to have some FO photo pics by next week of the Ribby Pulli and the Back to School U NeckVest.

Talk to you soon!

'09 Knitting Resolutions

2009-01-09T00:00:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned last year, I'm no longer doing knitting resolutions, as I am doing monthly goals instead. This year I signed up for NaKniSweMoDo . Yes, I know a collective gasp of shock has rippled through the crowd. Although I didn't finish a ton of sweaters for 2008, I'm using NaKniSweMoDo to motivate me to turn many of the sweater yarn amounts I have into sweaters. One of the main points of this idea that I embrace is turning WIPs into FOs, as well as counting vests and tanks for adult-sizes as finished objects as well. These points work well for me and I'm motivated to do it. I've been planning some various sweater projects.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the fastest knitter around, although I do okay. But I am fairly persistent with knitting and even enjoying the long slog of some sweaters. My main goal is to end up with more sweaters that what I started with. My goal is 12, but if I don't make it, I won't beat myself up about it.

I started out the New Year with casting on for a vest. Last year, I got the bright idea to knit a few vests, as I do actually like vests. I cast on for the Back to School U-Neck on the first of the year and have been making good progress so far. I started out on a 32-inch cord, but it was too long and had to move down to a 24-inch needle. Once I did that, the 2x2 ribbing started flying.

That's the first project on the needles for NaKniSweMoDo project. Here we go!

January Knitting Goals/December Knitting Goals Wrap-Up

2009-01-07T00:00:00.001-07:00

In December, I postulated what I expected to complete that month. Those results were semi-satisfactory. 50% of my goals were accomplished.

As mentioned in the previous post , I completed the Sister scarf, as well as the Good Luck cowl. The Ribby Pulli sweater is still going strong. I worked on the yoke, but realized that apparently my row gauge was different than the pattern called for. After I completed my decreases, I still had 4 inches of knitting to do, for the sweater to fit correctly. Once done, then I had to pick up a zillion stitches around the neck for 2x2 ribbing. However, I did not pay attention to the amount of stitches I was supposed to pick up. With Bonne Marie's patterns, I should already know that she is very thorough. I just picked up stitches and didn't count the number that I had. I'm sure I had far too many. When I finished the neck, I was so happy that I wove in the ends, my first mistake, and tried it on Big disappointment, as the neck is too floppy, which makes the sweater not wearable.

Darn it all, but I'm sure once I get the rip the neck and redo, I'll be on the right path. This sweater really does not want to be completed. Or rather, I guess I get the pleasure of knitting with Silky Wool a bit longer.

I never even made it to working on a hat at all. I really need to get on it. It's been pretty cold here lately, so you would think I would be motivated. Lately, I've been in a mood of casting on. Startitis has been going around in these parts.

Knitting goals for January:

1. In the spirit of keeping warm, I should knit myself a hat. Hopefully with leftovers from my Malabrigo Ruffles scarf.

2. Finish M2's candy corn socks. I'm on the second sock and have finished turning the heel and picked up the stitches. I've finished the increases and just straight knitting on the foot. Hopefully I should be able to finish them this month. I'm ready to cast on a pair of socks for me.

3. Continue to make progress on my new vest project.

4. Cast on for a second Ruffles scarf.

The End of 2008

2009-01-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

A lot of people are doing end of the year round-up posts. This year, I don't really feel up to it. I've been off work since Wednesday evening and haven't done much except knit. If the spirit doesn't move me, I decided to just not worry about actually doing it. I have a couple of projects that were finished in 2008 and thought I'd blog about those instead.

None of these projects is actually modeled, but at least there are photos and that'a saying a lot right now.

I was working on a scarf for my sister. It has been completed, but still not sent out. Bad sister, I know.

The pattern is Tipsy Rib scarf, pattern here , courtesy of Flint Knits

Yarn used, Knit One, Crochet Two Camelino

I love the pattern and the yarn. The yarn felt reasonably soft in the ball, but knitting it was an even better experience. It has a very pleasurable hand. I think my sister will be pleased with the yarn. And what made it better is that my sister didn't want a very long scarf, which made knitting it go much quicker for me. I like scarves, but the monotony of scarves gets to me after a time.

Next up, a couple of cowls were finished. I'd mentioned the Good Luck Cowl before. It's been completed, as well as blocked. I love the finished product and the yarn that I used for this. I do feel that I should have widened it by adding a repeat to make the circumference bigger. If I get to making another one, then I will do so. With this pattern, I used Lonesome Stone Mountain Feat yarn in the Shimmering Desert colorway.

The last cowl knit was the Gloria Cowl . This is obviously a simple and easy pattern. Just stockinette and using sock yarn doubled. I used more of my sock yarn "collection" of Red Rocks Fiber Works in the Blasted colorway. Love this colorway. Not so sure of this cowl. Actually, I don't like the cowl at all. I cast on the amount of stitches the pattern called for in version 1, but then increased to 110 stitches. This would have been fine, if I were still knitting in sockweight yarn. But once I doubled it, I did not need it to be this wide, so it's too wide. I may rip it at some time and reclaim the sock yarn for socks. Once I knit with it, I really liked the colors. For now, the yarn can "rest" in the cowl, until I'm ready.

I'll be back soon with status on my December goals, my January knitting goals and resolutions, if any.

FO: Just Enough Ruffles

2008-12-08T00:00:00.002-07:00

Other than knitting feverishly on the Ribby Pulli, I managed to start and finish a project in less than 48 hours. While it was not big needle knitting, the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf is knit up in some lovely Malabrigo, which feels like butter when you're knitting it. I started it a week ago on Sunday and knit all day Sunday, then came home on Monday and finished up the scarf. I want to knit a couple more. They go so quickly and so much fun to make! I love the ruffles, which make me feel all girly, but not too twee, just right.

Pattern Specifications:

Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles by Laura Chau

Yarn: Malabrigo yarn in Chestnut colorway, 2 skeins (used about 1.5 skeins)

Needle Size: US 9 (5.5 mm)

Modifications: None, knit as written, including short rows. I guess it's true, if you (read: me) do short rows and it hasn't been a year, it's a lot easier for me to work them. Although I did have to make an emergency call to my friend Susan for so some short-row help.

December Knitting Goals

2008-12-05T00:00:00.003-07:00

Yes, it is that time again. I do find that having knitting goals helps to keep me more focused, as opposed to just knitting willy-nilly and casting on for tons of projects.

1) To finish the Ribby Pulli- should be doable. I'm fairly close .

2) Finish my sister's scarf. I finally cast on for the black scarf of doom for my sister, as a replacement for the scarf my sister lost last year. I'm about halfway through, so I really should get crackin' on this thing. I sort of hit a lull, but it's about time this scarf accompanied me to work again for my lunchtime knitting breaks. I'm using the Tipsy Rib scarf pattern (pdf) by Flint Knits and I love how it's working up. I gave my sister a choice of patterns and the Tipsy Rib was my favorite and she picked it as her scarf-to-be.

3) Finish the Good Luck Cowl . Should be very do-able.

4) Possibly knit a hat out of the leftovers from fingering weight yarn I used to knit the cowl.

With Christmas coming, I don't think I will tax myself with too many goals for December.

Happy knitting all.

NaKniSweMo Wrap-up

2008-12-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

NaKniSweMo came and went. And while I was "unofficially" participating, I did try very hard to finish my Ribby Pulli, but I did not complete the sweater. I did get much further along than I started and I'm pretty happy about that. I finished both sleeves, attached the sleeves to the body and began working the body back and forth and split for the neckline.

I'm assuming that my row gauge is different or I am not completely following the pattern correctly regarding the decreases, because I have still have about 4 inches left of the body to go. All in all though, it's not a bad go.

There's been a lot of progress since the picture above and I feel like I am in the home stretch. I'm really loving the Silky Wool . This yarn knits up so wonderfully and the garment is very lightweight, but has a nice amount of warmth. Not too hot, just right. I can't wait to wear it.

Now, that NaKniSweMo is over, I will still be working on finishing the Ribby Pulli. I also cast on for a new cardigan, but I haven't made much progress on it. For December, I really want to focus on some accessories. A cowl has been cast on using fingering weight yarn and it's going pretty nicely. I'm pleased as punch to work on a pattern that my friend, Chris , designed. It is the Good Luck Cowl and I love how it's turning out. I'm about halfway through, but I do hope it fits. I am wondering if I should have added an additional 10-20 stitches, but we'll see what size it turns out when completed and blocked.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure did here. I cooked most of the dinner and my favorite part of the meal was sweet potato pie. It took a good amount of time to prepare, but oh, so worth it.

And that is all for me tonight. Talk to you soon. . .

FO Report: Artemis Socks

2008-11-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I'm happy to be back and with a finished project. A pair of socks using MaryKay's yarn. I really adored the pattern, although I opted to not make a pair of fraternal socks, but identical socks. Of course, I loved working with MaryKay's yarn. The colorway, DrinkMe, is beautiful and I couldn't wait to cast on with it. But after casting on for the first sock and making great progress, I let the sock linger.

I finally finished up the socks a week or two ago. When I knit up these socks, I think I should have made a smaller size. The foot on one sock is larger than should be. Or I suppose I could have knit the sock a bit tighter on a smaller needle, hmm don't know, but I love the socks. They're a bit large. I could always give them to someone else, but I doubt that will happen. I may try to intentionally felt them, we shall see. I did love the pattern. I'm sure I will knit them again.

Project Specs:
Pattern Artemis Socks by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Red Rocks Fiber Works Snowmass Sock Yarn in Drink Me colorway
Modifications: none, knit as written using 64 stitches

I'm happy to have knocked a project off the needles. I am still working on the Ribby Pulli. Both sleeves have now been finished, now to join them to the body so that I can begin yoking! :-)

Please be sure to check out my friend Mary Kay's new yarn shop. You've heard me talk about her yarns before. They are so beautiful to me. She truly has an eye for color. Now, she's not just available locally, but worldwide. You can find Mary Kay at her Red Rocks Fiber Works online shop. Mary Kay doesn't just do yarn, but also does fiber. You won't be disappointed!

Sweater Knitting Weather

2008-11-10T00:10:00.000-07:00

With the advent of cooler weather, I've gotten the fever for knitting sweaters. I decided to unofficially join NaKniSweMo. Unofficially, because the moment I sign up for these things, I seem to not follow through. I've made progress on my Ribby Pulli finally. For some reason, when I started this sweater last year, I put it down for awhile, when I started a different sweater. Then I seemed to have sleeve aversion, as the Ribby Pulli is a bottom-up raglan and when I cast on for the sleeves, I kept screwing up the ribbing. It's actually a simple 2x2 ribbing, but it starts off as P2, K2, P2 and since the amount of stitches isn't a divisible by 4, I kept getting hung up on my ribbing. Really silly, but at the time, I wasn't in the right frame of mind.

Here's a pic of my Ribby Pulli in case you might have forgotten it, heh!

and now with added sleevage:

So I've got one sleeve down, one more to go. I can't wait to join the body altogether.

And if that wasn't enough, I also started another project, a cardigan, the Meringue Yoke Cardigan by Ann Budd. A sweater project which I'd queued in Ravelry awhile back and egged on by Joan , I felt the urge to cast on for this sweater. The yarn was a purchase from a fellow blogger who was destashing, using worsted weight black tweed silk. I'm loving the yarn, but as I have cast on for the entire body, each row is a bit slow going for now. My first priority is finishing the Ribby Pulli though.

Thanks everyone for all of your well wishes. I made it through the procedure and actually have no recollection of the procedure, which is nice. I'm just waiting for the lab results now. I'm also happy for the election results, obviously.

I'll be back with more blogging and even a FO post.

Election Day

2008-11-03T22:47:00.001-07:00

Hi all,
No time for a knitting post today, but hopefully a bit later this week.

Lots of things have been going on in the background, some of which have been health issues. We (meaning the GI doctor and myself) believe it may be a lactose intolerance peppered in with acid reflux. Tomorrow I will be having an upper endoscopy procedure in the afternoon.

Many things are on my mind. School is always busy, but this term is much better in terms of subject and teacher, a happy mix. But what I'm most concerned about is the state of our country. This is a time for a change and I hope that everyone who has the opportunity to vote will get out and vote. Help others vote if you can and make sure your vote is counted.

I voted early on Thursday and tomorrow I will anxiously await the results of this election. I pray the time for change is really happening.

Post with knitting coming soon, I promise. I even finished a pair of socks during Socktober.

Remember to get out and Barack the Vote!!

Sockin' Away

2008-10-20T00:37:00.001-06:00

Hey peeps,

It's been a minute since I last posted. I thought I would pop in before the next term of classes start today. This past term was really hectic and I didn't exactly enjoy my instructor. The class is now over, which is good and I finished all of my deliverables for the class and passed with an A, so I suppose it's all good? Hmm, well, whatever, now it's time to study Employment Law, something which is really interesting to me.

I've been knitting socks like a fiend lately. It might have a little something to do with Socktoberfest, which is once again hosted by the lovely Lolly. There is also a Mystery Sock KAL hosted by Kirsten of Through the Loops over on the Ravelry group. Of course, I started a new pair of socks, to now have 3 pairs of socks on the needles. That number is a bit much, even for me! However, I'm working to complete at least one pair of socks this month.

Clockwise (from L to R): Artemis socks in Red Rocks Fiber Works in Drink Me colorway, M2's candycorn sock in Red Rocks Fiber Works in Jeni's Choice colorway and the Mystery Socks in Claudia's Hand Painted in Caribbean Blue colorway.

Here's a closeup of the Artemis socks. After my last blog post, I determined that I jacked up the lace and had to rip back to the ribbing. Now I'm at the heel flap of the sock, so this one is moving along very well.

Last up in the current sock trifecta are the Mystery Socks KAL hosted by Kirsten Kapur of Through The Loops. I really like how the socks are turning out. This mystery is more of my speed than lace.

I'll be back soon with tales of yarn acquisition. Bye for now.

Not in a Blogging State of Mind

2008-10-02T00:02:00.002-06:00

Whew, it feels like September just flew by. I know I said it in my last post that I was busy. I'm sure everyone else has been busy too. I just didn't think I'd be away from the blog this long. I have been missing the blog and feeling the need to reconnect with my peeps. I just never seemed to have enough time to get everything done.

Even though the blogging has been scarce, there's been knitting aplenty! I've really been hitting the squares (for the Barn Raising Quilt). I think it's time to slow down on the squares and finish up some sweaters. I still don't have a finished object to show and that is starting to wear me down, because I'm close, but not yet done with anything yet.

Flutter Sleeve Cardi is still going. I'm finished with the body knitting; however, the cardigan band stitches are held off to the side while you knit the front(s). Afterwards, you knit the stitches that were on hold up to the length of the cardigan. Dude, this part is so boring. It takes all of my energy to keep knitting it. I'm just wondering why the heckfire I didn't just knit it with the front altogether, instead of as an additional step. I have a feeling that I will not be knitting the additional flip of the cap sleeves to allow it to be turned up and tack on a button in the center of it. I think I will just do the seed stitch border on both sleeves. I'm getting to the point where this sweater needs to be finished soon.

Hey Teach is moving slowly, but I'm close to being finished with the first front. When I cast on for this cardigan, I read many others' comments of making the sweater a bit longer, as it is a bit short for my taste. I added more length (than was necessary for my short stature and even shorter torso) and now the sweater is a bit too long, but oh well. I guess it will have to be ok, because I'm way too lazy to go back and rip the back. If that happens, this sweater may never be finished.

Although my sock knitting mojo hasn't up and left me, I feel like I'm barely making progress on my socks. Probably because all of my knitting with tiny needles has been on the barn squares. Hmm, things to ponder. Anyhow, the Apollo and Artemis socks by Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops are moving along. I initially started out knitting the Artemis sock. While the idea of fraternal socks is cute, I'm more of a pair girl. But (and there's always a but), I did not take into consideration while I was knitting the second sock that I did not pay attention to the directions. The directions start off with Artemis and then there is a spot for the Apollo socks. I knit the first sock following the Artemis sock pattern. The second sock, I read the pattern, but I didn't pay attention to which one I was knitting, until I knit a repeat and thought how different the sock looked. It turns out I was doing the second pattern and not the first. Hence, I am now knitting fraternal twin socks. I thought about ripping them out to begin again, but really it might be sort of fun to go against my nature, every now and again. Besides, I actually really like the look of it.

The second pair of socks are for M2 in Red Rocks Fiber Works colorway, Jeni's choice. I have taken to calling them candycorn socks. These socks are knitted in stockinette. They are moving a bit slowly, but there is no deadline for these socks, so they'll be done when I get them done.

For Socktoberfest, Kirsten (of Through the Loops) is hosting a Mystery Sock KAL on Ravelry. I've signed up. Because really, what's one more pair of socks?! Ha!

Well, that's it for me today, but I will be back soon.

The One Without a Title

2008-09-11T00:45:00.000-06:00

I've been away for a little while, not physically, but mentally, I took a bit of a blog break. I kept thinking about blogging, but the physical act of actually blogging wasn't really happening. As a quick catch-up, since last we conversed, I've become a year older, visited with a blogger friend in town (Deborah) who was here for the DNC, had unexpected visitors in town for the DNC, watched Obama give his acceptance speech at Invesco Field, started a new school term and M2 is now a sophomore.

So yes, life is quite busy, but the knitting, the knitting is easy. Heh, well, maybe not all of the knitting being quite so easy.

I finally picked up the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan again, in an attempt to actually finish something soon. I am now on the second front, about halfway through it, although I am currently screwing up the short tows. Once I get that resolved, I hope to to get this sweater squared away. I would like to finish this before fall is over.

During the Ravelympics, I cast on for a new project. I was never an official participant of Ravelympics, but I had high hopes for finishing Hey Teach. Hmm, that wasn't possible. While I do love the look of this pattern, I prefer for the designer to spell things out. I know this is a manner of personal preference. However, I am not one of those knitters who can look at my lace pattern and not follow the pattern. I don't love charts, I like it written out. When it comes time for armhole shaping, the pattern requires you to figure it out on your own. When I am forced to actually graph out the lace pattern, let me just tell you, I was not a happy camper. The graphing made it easier to see the decreases, but my poor, addled brain did not appreciate having to do it.

I'm currently on the first front. The piece pictured is the back and it was the longest. This one is not as simple as the Flutter Sleeve Cardi, which actually has the sleeves built into the fronts, which eliminates the need to knit sleeves separately.

I have still been working on Barn Raising squares, albeit a bit more slowly than the frenetic pace I maintained during the summer road trip.

Socks are on the needles too. I finally kitchenered in the toe on the first Artemis sock and have started a pair of socks for M2. Both socks are knit out of Mary Kay's yarn. Hopefully I will have some pictures toshare with you next time of the socks.

Now, I go back to the crazy life of a midterm and assignments to prepare for and a college friend in town that I haven't seen in over15 years. Back to go stick my head in the sand for a little while.

Bring on the cuteness!

2008-08-15T00:00:00.000-06:00

So I don't have a whole lot of pictures of my nephew, but I did get this video of my nephew dancing. Too cute, so I had to share.

Squares Squared

2008-08-14T00:00:00.001-06:00

I was knitting like a madwoman on vacation. Mostly in the car. Although I did help drive, M did the most of the driving and I got to get a lot of car knitting done. In the car, I worked on squares. Whee fun, but it is easy portable knitting. I did finish the first Artemis sock too, but that was the only sock knitting I did on the trip and I didn't have that much to do on it.

For Stacey's squares project, I knit 3:

For the squares exchange, the rest of the squares I knit out of one skein of Colinette Jitterbug, for a total of 5 squares (2 were already exchange):

So far, my stack of squares is small, but this is just the beginning of my squares:

I'm still knitting on squares, but the obsessive knitting on the squares is taking a backseat to a new project, to be discussed soon.

Have a great weekend all.

Where I've Been

2008-08-12T17:47:00.004-06:00

Whew, it's been a minute since I last posted. I got back in town last Sunday night and then right on in to work the next day. I thought I would get back here sometime last week, but it definitely did not happen.

The road trip was awesome. We stopped along the way and visited with one of M's cousins in Tulsa,OK. Our first destination was Atlanta. The family reunion was great and we all had a wonderful time there. While in Atlanta, we visited The World of Coca-Cola, took a tour of the CNN Center, went to the King Center and went to the top of Stone Mountain, stopped by Knitch and took in a Braves baseball game for M's birthday.

A pic of all the family at the World of Coke

At each family reunion, they typically occur over a long weekend. On Fridays, we have a bbq or picnic. We spent Saturday at Stone Mountain, had a sack lunch there and then attended a banquet. Amazingly enough, I even managed to get a picture of my mom, sister, nephew, bil, M and M2.

After Atlanta, we headed on towards Greensboro, NC to spend a few days with two of M's sisters that live there. Then we spent a lot of time here

on the road on the way home.

We stopped along the way, the first night's stop was in Memphis, TN. A trip to Beale Street was in order, since we were so close and all. We stopped by the Riverfront the next morning before we left.

En route to Tulsa again for another visit with M's cousin, we stopped in Little Rock, AR at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and also visited with one of my former college friends there.

I think the success of this trip was that we took our time driving and didn't try to do too much driving in one day. When we arrived home, we weren't terribly tired. Since then, we've just been getting back into the swing of things. There has been some knititng happening and I'll cover that in a subsequent post.

2008-07-22T23:18:00.002-06:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, I had you all spoiled with pre-blogging. I love blogging in advance. But this past week, I was barely able to keep my head above water. Work picked up the past couple of weeks, as it is audit season and I had many class obligations. The least of which is finishing up a paper as we're driving to Atlanta today in just a few hours and will be gone for ten, eleven days.

I can't wait to see my nephew Chason, and visit with my mom and sister. We're having a family reunion in Atlanta, so it will be lots of fun. And then we'll head on to Greensboro, NC to visit two of M's sisters. Good times with family, I can't wait! I think I need a vacation. I'm even excited by the road trip.

With all of that said, a good friend of mine is getting married in August and I had a bridal shower to attend. Because the groom and bride had been living together, as well as having established households prior, they were not registering anywhere. However, the theme for the bridal shower was wine. The bride and groom both have Italian heritage and they wanted a wine collection. I had no problem giving a nice bottle of wine and we put a tag on it for the deemed special occasion we signed up for. This is a friend that I knit baby socks and a hat about 3.5 years ago for. I know she likes it when I knit something for her, so I went searching for a wine bottle cozy pattern! Later I thought this might be bizarre, but once I started I was committed to finishing it. The bridal shower was on a Sunday afternoon and I started it on Saturday morning, worked on the ribbing for a few hours. Went home did some other chores and then worked on the cozy for the rest of the night into the early morning.

The wine cozy was really simple. It was just working a tube or the cuff of a sock down for 8-10 inches and doing a bind-off. Just lovely and fun and it was worsted weight yarn knit on size 5s. I opted to do stripes, as a way of using some scrap yarn, of which I have tons. It was super simple. I also decided to knit it in the round. Because I was knitting this with tight time restrictions, I didn't want to worry about having to seam it up and weave in a million ends because I striped the cozy.

I used a Knitty pattern, which as I stated before, is just real simple.

The bride was quite surprised and happy and loved it. That's all that counted in my opinion. My gift was one of the first to be opened and during the rest of the gift opening ceremony, everyone kept commenting that theirs wasn't a knitted winebag, but . . .It was pretty funny.

Lastly, I was the recipient of a lovely gift from Senorita RosiG just for commenting. She makes some of the best soap and sent me a bar of her handmade soap, which I was sad to use all up because it smelled so good. M wants to buy more, but sadly Miss RosiG makes it for her consumption and not for sale anymore. I just feel privileged to have had a bar. I also received some handmade balm and a skein of Morehouse Merino laceweight. That was a lovely mail day, as I hadn't expected anything, so it was nice to receive it. Thanks again Rosi!

Well, peeps, I'm outta here. Need to get some shuteye before the big drive. I'll be sure to take some pics from the ATL.

Summer of Socks

2008-07-11T00:00:00.000-06:00

I thought I signed up for Summer of Socks this year and it turned out I didn't. Oh, well, no big loss there really because it's not like I would win the contest for the most socks knit during the 2 month time frame. I'll just consider myself a member in spirit.

I don't know if you all hadn't noticed, but I was missing my sock mojo for a few months. It might have possibly been related to knitting the boring black/grey socks for M forever, or so it seems. I'm so happy they are done. I think I am saving these for his birthday (at the end of the month) or I may give them to him sooner, just not sure. He even asked me the other day who the socks were for and I told him they were for me. He mentioned that he liked those socks and they were close enough to black that he would wear them. I wonder if he's been reading the blog again, hmmph.

They may end up being a surprise or not, either way, they are done and now I'm happy to knit something fun again.

Project Specs:
Pattern: Men's Sock, using basic sock pattern, upped stitch count to 68 sts for M's foot
Yarn: Trekking XXL
Project start date: February 2008
End date: June 2008
Modifications:
Considering this is a basic pattern I've been using for years, no real mods, just changed stitch count from my usual 64 to 68 for M's larger feet. I still love using Trekking, although it's not as soft as other merino sock yarns, but it blooms wonderfully after washing and is a good workhorse sock yarn for socks that will get a lot of wear. And trust me, M is hard on socks.

Now, next up are a pair of socks that I am just loving! I am using a pattern, Apollo & Artemis by Kirsten of Through the Loops, which gives you two sock patterns for the price of one. I'm using some of Mary Kay's Red Rocks Fiber Works sock yarn in the Drink Me colorway and I am in love. The pattern is simple, but has a pretty lace insert on the sides. I'm knitting the Artemis sock pattern and the yarn and pattern are a perfect match.

Boy Colors?

2008-07-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

So M2, the now 15yo, has selected sock yarn from my stash, no less, for the two(?) pairs of socks that he is requesting. I used to be able to get by with quick socks for him. A little ribbing, barely any cuff, turn a heel flap and get on down to the business of knitting a foot and you were done. The socks were done before you barely knew you got started. Now, his feet are growing (aargh!now we're up to a men's size 10) and wants a pair of shorty socks and a tall pair, read long and tall like his father's socks.

To be fair, I really don't care what color socks the boy wants to wear. If he wants to wear the crazy colors, then it's all on him. I will wear them, so I guess why wouldn't a boy wear them? I dunno. It just strikes me as odd, that he chooses the colors that I've picked out and love and really are for me, as opposed to the more sedate colors that I would assume a boy would prefer, and that M, his father, prefers.

M2 even selected my CampWannaKnitKnit colorway and I told him that I just couldn't bear to part with that one, so he has chosen two other Mary-Kay colorways. I do have to say that the boy has good taste. And the black and blue socks will be shorties, so perhaps there will be enough for me to get some anklets out of them? ;-)

Just Like Potato Chips

2008-07-06T18:45:00.000-06:00

These squares are so addictive. You can't just knit one. They're even more addictive than beloved cotton dishcloths, if you can imagine. I'm knitting them for the Barn Raising Quilt. My knitting group has decided to exchange squares as well. I have to knit at least 9 squares to give away, but I keep using sock yarn leftovers that I don't want to give away! These squares go so quickly, I've decided to have two on the needles, one for leftover yarn for me and one for squares to give away.

The two that are pictured are squares 2 & 3. The first square, I gave away to Cynthia, since she was here from out of town and all. But I'm currently on squares 5 & 6. It will take me some time to finish this quilt, especially because I will be making the quilt larger than the pattern calls for. It looks sorta small with only 40 or so required squares, so I'll just keep going bigger until I have a size that's satisfactory. I'm enjoying using my leftover sock yarns in this quilt.

I've got to hurry up and get one square to Kim. I want my beaded skully square. Aren't they awesome?

Here and back again: a recap of 4th year Camp

2008-07-03T21:42:00.002-06:00

Many people attend various knit camps and learn techniques from knitting instructors. In my circle of friends, camp takes on a different significance. Each year we head for the hills (or also known as mountains out here in CO) and with several knitting projects in tow, we prepare for camp.

Stacey is usually the ring leader with planning Camp, which includes oh-so-fabulous swag.

This is the house we stayed in for camp this year:

Pretty nice, right? Yeah, I agree. We had 15 ladies this year, including Stacey's niece, Miss Mimi.

I believe it is safe for me to say that we all had a ball. The time spent with good friends, relaxing, hanging out and knitting is unbeatable. We had lots of wonderful food prepared, including a traditional Hawaiian meal prepared by Kim, yummy crepes by The Knitty Professor and a southern breakfast with an egg/sausage casserole and cheese grits by the Beach girls! :-) Good food, good company and yarn, how can you go wrong?

Mary-Kay dyed a whack of yarn and after her orders were filled for stores, she had a lot of yarn leftover and what better place to sell it than to a group of women at camp who all love her yarns? I don't know how many of you could pass up all of that beautiful yarn waiting to greet you when you walk into the house. Lovely stuff and I believe everyone walked away with at least one skein.

This year's campgoers were treated to some wonderful swag, as per usual camp standards! :-) We had the pleasure of MaryKay dyeing yarn for us in an exclusive Camp WannaKnitKnit colorway. Isn't it purty? In addition to receiving Red Rocks Fiber Works yarn, we also received Piddleloop bags, yay! I've never had one of their bags before, so I'm excited to have one, with a pirate theme no less. If you didn't peep it on the pic of all the camp attendees, we had special shirts made up this year for camp with a logo. Sweet! I love my shirt and will be wearing it often.

We did something new this year, working on a group craft project. It was quite fun and I really got into it. We made dpn holders and as I typically knit socks with dpns, I use dpns a lot. These were fun and easy to make and I already have a set in use!

This was the laid-back, relaxed attitude that camp inspired. Shouldn't everyday be like this?

Estes Sheep and Wool 2008

2008-06-17T00:00:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, I managed to escape the daily grind and hang out with my knit sisters. A lot of fun was had by all. We took off work on Friday and drove up to Allenspark and spent the night, so we were prepared to be up and early for Estes Park Wool Market. Estes was a lot of fun, as always. Some of the best times are seeing old friends.

This year wasn't all about the shopping. It was more for companionship, although a little shopping was done.

The Estes haul was small-ish in nature this year, although of course, I didn't attend Estes last year. I did a little shopping at my favorite vendor, Plain & Fancy Sheep and Wool booth. A couple of skeins of the sport weight were purchased for a shrug.

And this year, I also picked up some fingering, which I didn't recall seeing in previous years.

This year I bought my dream yarn. More Elsa Sheep & Wool cormo yarn. It might be nice if I knit with the laceweight I bought over 2 years ago. The yarn purchased this year is a natural, undyed color. I love it!

We stopped at Oskar Blues for lunch, as per our custom. We all like to stop for the wondderful sweet potato fries, yum!

That's it for now. I'm still working on the M socks. I was getting close and found a huge mistake and had to rip back quite aways. But still I keep pressing on.

Knitting (Somewhat) Merrily Away

2008-06-15T20:24:00.001-06:00

Lots of work, between the real-paying job and school work, there's been some knitting.

I started on a Persephone scarfby Mim of MimKnits. The yarn I'm using is Handmaiden Sea Silk in the Midnight colorway. I'm loving the yarn and the pattern, a perfect combination.

I have been working on the Flutter Sleeve cardi as well. I finished the back of the cardigan and am up to the left cardigan. However, I'm a bit stuck with the short rowing this pattern requires. Hopefully I'll get some time to stop at the LYS get some help. If anyone has any videos, links, etc., I'm appreciative of all help.

Lastly, I started a scarf sometime in March. The pattern is Trekking is for Necking, a pattern designed by Jenn Jarvis. My friend, Kim, finished a scarf in Trekking. I opted to use some of my sock yarn stash and make a scarf using Colinette Jitterbug in the colorway Raphael.

I really like how it's turning out, but I tell you what, you do feel like it will never end. But hopefully I will have it done sometime by the end of the summer, or early fall.

June Goals

2008-06-09T00:26:00.000-06:00

Reminiscing on my May goals momentarily, the success rate was pretty poor.

1. Knit three dishcloths. I might have to start changing this goal altogether from three to possibly two, because I have yet to accomplish this goal in two months. I did manage to knit 2 baby bibs and two dishcloths. The basic dishcloth is sort of my favorite, with a basic eyelet pattern in garter stitch. One was actually finished this month and the other in May. For these, I like to use the leftover scraps from other dishcloths, bibs, etc. They are pretty eclectic, but I like to call them rag cloths and they are easy to knit and good for using up the odd bits of cotton.

2. Finish the Caribou Cherub Thujas. I'm actually pretty close with finishing this pair of socks, but it looks like the first sock is a bit short. I'll have to go back and rip out the toe and reknit a bit longer.

Heh, no ripping, I say. I finally finished the second sock, but honestly it was not as pleasurable as other knits. I was merrily knitting away on the second sock, when I ran out of yarn. What I mean is that, of the yarn I purchased, each skein is 200 yards. Since the yarn is sportweight, I cast on fewer stitches than normal and used less yarn on the first sock. I was able to knit the second sock down to the heel flap before changing to the second skein of yarn. When that happened, the two skeins were markedly different, although it didn't appear to be so when I moved to the second skein. I looked down on the foot of the second sock and it appeared much darker than the first. That was really a bummer, especially as I really liked the first sock, but these socks are a bit heavier to wear with regular shoes, so they will be house socks or with clogs. Since I'm behind in blogging projects, this will serve as my FO report as well.

3. Start a Barn Raising square. All of my friends are doing it, why shouldn't I? Heehee. Nope, didn't happen. I do need to start at least one for June.

4. Pick up either the Hanami stole or the Enchanting Juno stole. Or perhaps start something new? :-) Hmm, I did pickup the Hanami stole again, but promptly put it down after a couple of rows because I realized I was reading the pattern wrong and need to rip back. Haven't gotten to that yet. But I did start a new lace project and decided to rip Enchanting Juno. Perhaps I'll start it again at another time or not.

June goals

1. Start a Barn Raising square. Since members of my knitting group are knitting squares for each other to put in our individual blankets, I need to have one completed by the end of the month to pass on to a special friend.

I won't even mention dishcloth cotton this month. The dishcloth cotton stash is getting low. I think I'm down to five actual skeins and I have scraps to knit two additional dishcloths, but that's fine.

2. Finish M's second sock. I finally kitchenered in the first sock and after more than a month, cast on the second sock yesterday. Since school is back in session starting last week, I managed to make some headway on the first sock with a mega-reading session tonite at a local cafe. I'm going out on a limb to finish the pair by Father's Day. I think I can, I think I can!

3. Continue working on my Flutter Sleeve Cardi (oops, haven't mentioned that one, getting stuck at the short rows currently).

That's about it for now. Life has been busy and blogging has been taking a back seat. My theory is life to be lived. I'll catch you all on the flip side.

Dishcloth Cotton Jag

2008-05-28T08:15:00.000-06:00

Hey all,
Thanks to anyone who was able to help out my dear friend Mary-Kayand her yarn sale. I am sure she's thankful and glad there was demand for her yarns. I think she such a talented dyer and her colors are swoon-worthy.

As for me, I was in a bit of slump for a week where I didn't touch any knitting. Part of that was just that I spent my evenings either blogsurfing, spending time on Ravelry, or doing nothing. I didn't even feel compelled to cook or any other home duties. Now that my "break" from classes is coming to end, I'm starting to feel more refreshed. Also, hanging out with my girls tends to rejuvenate and fuel more knitting desires.

The weekend before Memorial Day weekend, I remembered that we were having a baby shower for a co-worker who's having a girl. I rustled up a couple of baby bibs and even managed to sew on buttons too. It must have been the short tie frame and I knew I wanted to finish them on time. Once the deadline passes, my enthusiasm for a pattern or project tends to wane, so it's best to strike while the iron's hot and all that.

Both bibs are from Mason-Dixon Knitting girls.

1st baby bib=knit in Peaches & Creme Country Garden colorway

Second bib knit in Bernat Cottontos

Both together now, say aww! :-)

And last in the cotton jag, for the moment, is another dishcloth. I found it on the Harvest Moon Designs blog quite awhile ago, and it was a free pattern. Now, I am not able to locate the actual pattern. This was also knit in Peaches & Creme in the Desert Sunset colorway. I really liked the pattern and how it turned out.

I also recently cast on for a simple dishcloth pattern. I like to use these especially for the leftovers from dishcloths and I just knit 2 or 3 leftover skeins into a dishcloth. As they are for my kitchen, I don't mind if it's not a fancy pattern. Nobody in the house seems to care one way or the other as to a fancy pattern or plain garter stitch. I figure I might as well do brainless knitting on those dishcloths.

I cast on for a new sweater, a summer cardigan too, but I keep forgetting to take pics. I will have to do that soon, as I have finished the back of the cardigan and have cast on for a front now

That's all for now. Must dash to work!

Yarn Sale!

2008-05-24T11:48:00.003-06:00

No, not mine, but Mary-Kay of Red Rocks FiberWorks has dyed up some beautiful yarns, primarily sock yarns. If any of you are in the market for some sock yarn, or even if you're not, you should check her out.

We, as in all her friends, and locals in the Denver metro area have happily purchased her sock yarns at local yarn stores. However,for the first time, Mary-Kay is selling her yarns through her blog. She's a bit fearful that her yarns won't sell. But check out these beauties on her blog and let her know they will sell.

I've already scored four myself. Why don't you help her out with the rest? :-)

Oh, yeah, and the shipping is a flat $6 fee no matter how many you order. So get to buying, you won't be sorry!

I'll be back with some blogging later on today.

FO Backlog & May Goals

2008-05-12T00:52:00.000-06:00

Whew, the second term of school is winding down. Tomorrow is the last class for two weeks, when I start again. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Besides school, work has been keeping me crazy busy. The days when I used to read blogs and surf them in between doing some work, hmm, yeah, don't even have that kind of time at the new(ish) job anymore. Which is good, because the job is hugely rewarding and satisfying. But the backlog of blog reading, hard to catch up on, that's for sure. Sporadically you see me drop in an leave a comment. Often I'm reading, but not as much time to comment on everyone.

I have been doing some knitting, although there was a period for almost two weeks where multiple days passed with no knitting, except for Friday Night Knitting group.

Just to let you know, this post will be a long one, so sit down with your cup of coffee and get settled in.

I've got a backlog of FOs and I decided to put them all in one post b/c I didn't want to keep up a FO parade before I could even get to current knitting.

As part of my April goals, where I wanted to knit 3 dishcloths, I did manage to eke two. The first is the Blissful Moss Rib Cloth pattern using Peaches & Creme in the Green Apple colorway. Pretty easy pattern and I loved the colorway as I knit it up. I just wanted more of it. I also enjoyed this pattern. Very easy and simple and I know I will use it again.

The next FO to be displayed is the Seabreeze Kitchen Towel(alert, pdf download)by Kraemer Yarns. I used Peaches & Creme in the Seabreeze colorway, hence the name, and it calls for Kraemer's Tatamy Tweed, an acrylic and cotton yarn. I haven't yet used the yarn, but now I know I will be buying some for future towels. The yardage is great and the price very economical. I am sure I will knit this pattern again, although I may just use the stitch pattern and make a dishtowel that doesn't have the button. The button is cute, but not very functional for my use, but I do like the stitch pattern and would like it as a full size dishtowel to hang on the refrigerator.

Next up is the Sideways Garter Stitch Scarf from Alison of the Blue Blog. It's a ridiculously easy pattern and it took no time for me to finish. I knit this scarf out of leftover yarns and I still have plenty leftover too. I'm thinking of knitting the Yarn Harlot's Traveler's Life Afghan, pattern/recipe from the Casts Off book by YH. I used Araucania Nature Wool in 3 colors and the leftover Cascade 220 from my Ariann sweater. I finally finished the fringe on this scarf and I do like it. I've actually thought about making myself a striped hat to semi-match. It doesn't bother me to be matchy matchy, so I will probably do this.

Lastly, the Jaybird hoodie has finally been finished. I've knit this pattern before. This time it was for a bigger child. It is from Knitting Pure and Simple, Children's Tunic #232. I knit this for my friend's 1 year old son, who is pretty big for his size. I gifted the sweater on Friday and his mother was very excited. I hope to have a picture of him in it soon. And I even sewed on the button on the sweater, finally!

Finally made it through the fo backlog. In the past week, I've really gotten my knitting mojo back. I also noticed it came back as I started reading again. Weird how that happens. I was starting to get burnt out from school and felt like I needed a break. Once I started reading for fun, my stress levels reduced again.

Because this is getting so long, I'm going to quickly list my May knitting goals.

1. Knit three dishcloths. Hopefully I can manage this goal. I'm trying to knit down the dishcloth cotton stash.

2. Finish the Caribou Cherub Thujas. I'm actually pretty close with finishing this pair of socks, but it looks like the first sock is a bit short. I'll have to go back and rip out the toe and reknit a bit longer.

3. Start a Barn Raising square. All of my friends are doing it, why shouldn't I? Heehee.

4. Pick up either the Hanami stole or the Enchanting Juno stole. Or perhaps start something new? :-)

It's getting late and this post is going on forever. Suffice it to say, I don't have many goals for May. See ya soon.

April Goals revisited

2008-05-01T00:00:00.002-06:00

In a follow-up to April's goals, let's see how I fared for April.

1) Finish the Everyday Tweed sweater. Done

2) Finish Jaybird hoodie. Yep! Even finally got that button added. Sweet.

3.Add fringe to sideways garter stitch scarf. Now that puppy is done. It's been patiently waiting for over a month.

4 & 5) April, sadly, has not been the month of socks. I finished the first sock of M's pair, but I have hardly touched my Cherub Thujas. I really do want them done. Must focus on this for May. No pictures, sorry.

6) My goal for knitting many dish cloths, well, three for this month, was not quite met. But I did knit one dish cloth, and a handknit kitchen towel (with a button tab closure), which used up 2 skeins of dishcloth cotton.

I'll cover all the specifications of the FOs in a post, soon to follow. The April goals were quite challenging and even though they weren't all met, I'm pretty happy with myself for staying focused on my goals. Now to see what May will bring. :-)

Nacho your Hacho Everyday Tweed

2008-04-30T00:18:00.000-06:00

Finally a finished object around these here parts! I know some of you have been waiting for me to finish this sweater and show you the FO. I am still a bit reserved on the sweater, as I may rip out the bottom hem and make the sweater a tiny bit longer. Other than length, I really love the sweater and have already worn it twice. Just as I worried about finishing the sweater during the spring, we had a freak snowstorm and I wore it and then during cooler weather last week, I was able to wear it again.

Here's a view from the front:

The back:

and the side:

Project Specs:
Everyday Tweed
Yarn: Mirasol Hachoin colorway 303 Coral Reef
Needle size: US 6 (4.0 mm) Addi Lace circulars
Dates: 01/01/08-04/06/08

No modifications were made and I followed the pattern as written. I do think with top-down raglans, I am going to have to start trying on the sweaters are regular intervals and perhaps not increase as often as the pattern calls for in the chest area. I have a bit of gapping, extra fabric on the raglan increase/decrease lines at the shoulder, but it's ok. In the future, though, I'd like to alleviate it. I did alternate skeins every two rows, but I don't know that it made a major difference. The yarn is variegated and it did pool/muddle in places, so I'm not sure what the alternating did for it. But once I started, I felt it best to remain consistent with alternating the skeins.

Yarn Harlot Tour

2008-04-22T07:59:00.001-06:00

On Friday, April 4th, Denver was able to experience the whirlwind wonder that is the Yarn Harlot. News of the Harlot tour did not seem to buzz across the local Denver blogland this time, but people were definitely in the know. Now that I think about it, it was probably discussed more in Ravelry.

Either way, it was a wonderful experience, one that I was most fortunate to experience a second time. For many of my friends, it was the first time they were able to hear and meet the Harlot. Stephanie is very down-to-earth and has no illusions about her rock star status in the world of knitdom.

Here's Stephanie blogging us at the Tattered Cover in Highlands Ranch:

I arrived early for the event and managed to snag a cool second or third place spot. We couldn't sit on the front row on the left side, as it was reserved, but I was happy, nonetheless. You can see me on Stephanie's blog in her wrap-up of the Denver leg of the tour. I'm in the first picture on the second row in green and knitting up a storm. The Harlot is always funny and very insightful. I believe a good time was had by all. Over 200 knitters were in attendance, much to the bemusement of the other shoppers and some of the TC staff, who were not knitters. One of the bookstore's staff was overheard saying, "And the knitters are in the back. Those knitters tend to come in packs." Hahaha! That made me laugh so much. Hilarious, but true.

And lastly, another shot of the Harlot, which most of you already saw. But I did think it was a cute way to show progress of my sock at that time and who better than the Harlot? Although I have to say, the sock has not seen much action since then.

Toodles all and Go Obama in the PA primary today!

Shh . . .Don't Disturb Me

2008-04-08T00:00:00.000-06:00

I'm blocking. Soon to follow, a finished Everyday Tweed.

April Goals

2008-04-07T00:00:00.000-06:00

Hmm, there were no March goals. It just seemed like life was way too busy to make any challenging goals for myself for this month.

For April, I will try to push myself a little bit, but not too much. School is still busy, but good.

1) Finish Everday Tweed. I'd like to see this done and perhaps get a wear or two out of it.

2) Finish the Jaybird hoodie. Actually all the ends are woven in, just need to sew a final button on it and call it good.

3)Add fringe to sideways garter stitch scarf.

4)Finish Caribou Cherub Thujas. I finally picked them back up again and have been working on them, slowly. They are knit on size 3s, so they go a bit faster than regular sock yarn.

5) Knit at least 3 dish cloths. We're getting low on the dishcloth supply. Actually we have dishcloths, but the Sugar 'N Cream and Peaches 'N Cream cotton yarns are not colorfast. Some of them are worn out and it's time for new ones.

6) Finish the 1st sock of M's pair.

I guess that's about it. I'm tempted to list more, but I don't know if that's a good idea or not. Hee.

WIP it Up

2008-03-30T22:02:00.000-06:00

Dear Readers,
I didn't mean to leave you for so long. Even when I think I will post more frequently, such as Spring Break 3 weeks ago, that's when I didn't post at all. Life just feels so busy most days that it's hard to sit down and post, especially with no pictures. I can only post sporadically, so it seems. I guess I can only do my best and post when I can, however infrequently that may be.

Thanks to everyone for the votes and comments regarding my Charlotte post last week. I appreciate all the thoughtful comments. I always like to hear people's reasons and theories behind their choices. Currently, I believe I will go with Set 3 v2. The first set definitely screams my colors, but I also love those two skeins of Trekking (purple & orange) and I think I would like those to be socks instead. And I think I will like the set with blues/turquoises towards my face and the brownish-blue-green and purples/greens towards the bottom. I haven't cast on yet, probably not until a bit later in the summer.

I seem to have quite a few things on the needles lately. Some of which is bugging me, because it feels like too much. The past 10 days or so, I've really not been feeling the knitting love. I felt like everything on my needles was boring and I didn't want to knit anything. I was still knitting, but it was more a labor of love than anything. Especially because I cast on for a few new items without getting close to the finish line on any current projects.

One I cast on for the beginning of the year, but it's barely gotten any love, is a pair of socks for M. I recently told myself I could finish them for a deadline, but as the time is approaching, it doesn't appear that will happen. Although the socks don't look too far along in the picture below, I have turned the heel and knit past the gusset increases and am well into the foot on the first sock. Since they're for M, I have more stitches than my usual 64 and the cuff is at least 8 inches in length. The colorway is variegated shades of grey. M wanted black socks, but I'm too young to go blind, so this is our compromise.

In the vein of lemming-like behavior, I recently cast on for the Trekking is for Necking scarf using some stashed Colinette Jitterbug in the colorway Raphael. I love the colorway, and of course, am enjoying the yarn. I made my scarf a bit wider than the original pattern, by 2 repeats wider. I love using my sock yarn for something other than socks, because I have so much sock yarn. But alternately, I don't love knitting a scarf on size 4 needles. That part gets old quick, especially, where it feels like I'm not making any progress. I have knit more on it, so it's a bit longer, though not much. It's all Kim's fault that I cast on. After seeing her pretty scarf, and then Michelle also cast on for one and it sealed the deal for me. I like the scarf and I'll continue to knit on it, but there's no hurry.

I've also cast on for Hypotenuse, a Knitspot pattern, but there's not enough progress to show right now.

One project that's never seen the light of blog is my Everyday Tweed sweater. I'm using Mirasol Hacho in color 303, Coral Reef.

The body of the sweater is actually finished now. The neckline of the sweater is a deep scoop neck, which requires picking up of many stitches around the neckline. I finished the body this past week, but haven't worked up my nerve to sit still and pick up stitches yet. It will happen this week though.

So perhaps, just in time for spring, I'll have a finished wool pullover? Haha, that's how it goes. Besides it'll be right on time for next winter. If I thought I could deal with knitting wool in the summer, I'd really think about knitting sweaters and other cold-weather accessories. That whole lack of a/c kills that for me though. This year I'm not much into knitting summer tops for myself. I have a couple of things I want to knit this summer, mainly because I have the yarn in my stash and I'd like to rid myself of the rest of my summer garment stash. I do wear a number of my knitted tops during the summer, simply because I work in an office environment and I assume at my new job, it might be chilly in the summer if I wear a sleeveless tank. However, once outdoors or at home, the tops feel too hot with no a/c to cool me off. Anyhow, enough of a ramble for now.

Until next time . . .

Charlotte Choices

2008-03-18T07:39:00.001-06:00

So I've been wanting to knit a Charlotte's Web shawl for quite some time. The more I think about it now, I think it would be perfect to use various sock yarns that I've "collected" over time. I've combed through my sock yarn stash and put some combinations together. I've got a poll on the sidebar to the right. If you're reading this blog post through a feed aggregator, please select the link and visit the site to vote. Please take a look and vote or leave a comment as to why you selected a specific color choice.

Charlotte's Choice 1

L to R: Trekking XXL (orange), Fearless Fibers Merino sock yarn colorway Brick House, Trekking XXL (purple) and Red Rocks Fiber Works in colorway Jeni's choice (yellows, oranges, reddish-orange)

Charlotte's Choice 2 v1

L to R: Mama Llama wool/tencel sock yarn, colorway Jenn, Red Rocks FiberWorks Honeymoon colorway and Mama Llama wool sock yarn in color Vino

Charlotte's Choice set 2 v2

L to R: same as the first, with the addition of Colinette Jitterbug Florentino colorway

Charlotte's Choice set 3 v1

L to R: Spirit Trail Fiber Works Turquoise variegated, Claudia's Handpaint Caribbean Sea, Ball and Skein Sargasso Sea, Dream in Color Smooshy Cocoa Kiss and Colinette Jitterbug Beech colorway.

Charlotte's Choice set 3 v2

L to R: 1st three same as above, with Socks That Rock Nodding Violets colorway

The points to remember are that the original Charlotte's Web consists of 5 separate colorways of Koigu. I don't have a Koigu collection, nor do I want to begin one. I, um, have enough of a sock yarn collection as it. Besides, I'd rather use some of my sock yarn for something, such as a shawl.

I look forward to hearing your suggestions!

Spa Special Swap

2008-03-16T13:12:00.000-06:00

I have to tell you that I have been a slacker all week. Many apologies to Deb, as she was my Special Swap partner. I received her package early last week, but didn't get around to posting until today. Although, I did of course, thank her properly in email, I just didn't have the time or energy to sit still, take pictures and write a proper post. Last week's time change really did a number on my energy levels this past week.

This swap's theme was a Spa swap. This was my first time participating in a Special Swap hosted by Lynne. It was quite a bit of fun to come up with ideas for a swap for my pal. I really enjoyed shopping and finding things for someone else. I'm sitting out the next round, but hope to join back in as I found it so fun.

Deb was a most wonderful partner. She emailed me shortly after we were assigned partners and she told me that she'd already come up with ideas, whereas I am always a bit of a procastinator. I did start reading her blog, but the two weeks leading up to the deadline to mail the package, I was dragging my feet. Especially, because for part of the package, I'd decided to knit a face cloth for my pal. I thought since we were doing a spa swap and the purpose of spa days to me is to entirely pamper yourself. As women we tend to do so much for others, I thought something handknit for another knitter is something a knitter would truly appreciate.

Deb really spoiled me. I don't know how she knew that I planned on knitting the Honeybee Stole this summer. She gifted me with a kit from Wooly Wonka Fibers, which contained yarn in Wooly Wonka Fibers merino laceweight (1400 yds) in Buckwheat Honey, along with the pattern. The picture below also shows some samples of Soak, which I've never used before and potpourri from the Body Shop.

Back in the day, I used to be a huge Body Shop groupie. I always loved body and bath items, but I've found that I'm allergic to many ingredients in body gels and things, so I limit the body items I buy to being all natural or using essential oils. The Body Shop bag full of goodies was just perfect! This reminds me to get out and get some more things to pamper myself and that I can use a lot of the Body Shop products, yay! In addition to the bag, there was a headband, perfect for washing your face and keeping facial cleansers out of your hair, an eye mask, Body Butter, one of my personal faves! I've heard of Knitter's Balm, but never used it, but now I get to try it and some Satsuma Lip Balm w/shimmer. Very nice. I've already started using the lip balm.

Last weekend before I received Debby's package, I was lamenting that I wanted some new lace yarn and wanted something hand-dyed. I really wanted to buy something but was having a hard time finding exactly what I wanted. I'm glad I made myself wait till I received Debby's package. The Buckwheat Honey yarn suits the bill. Just beautiful.

Thanks again Deb!

I'll be back again soon, hopefully tomorrow with a question on color choices for a Charlotte's Web shawl.

Looking Back - February Goals

2008-03-06T01:28:00.000-07:00

Things have been so busy. I have to apologize for not getting back to many of you on your comments on my last post. It is quite a relief and thrill to be done and have the diploma at hand and resting atop my fireplace mantel.

I finished my first Master's level class this week and of course, there was a paper with it. Uikes, the school work never stops.

On to February's goals. I'm gonna make this post short and sweet, as it's late and I'd like to post ~~today~~ tonite, erm, morning, whatevs.

1. I was to finish the Jaybird hoodie. No such luck. Actually the knitting is all done, but I have yet to weave in the few ends and sew on the button. I should get that done this weekend or next weekend

2. Finish the second Mary Kay sock. That is done, yay! I have a pair of socks, with ends woven in and the whole nine. Whee! This is yarn dyed by Mary Kay with her yarn, colorway Grasshopper. I'm happy these are done.

3. Working on Thujas. Well, I wove in the ends on the first sock. That's about it. Cast on for the second sock, but haven't been too interested in casting on the second one right this moment. Oh well, there's always this month.

4. The goal is to finish both sleeves for the Everyday Tweed sweater. It is done, but I forgot to take any pictures. Hopefully soon.

Well, although those were my goals, I also finished a couple other items. I knit a facecloth for my Special Swap partner. This go round was a spa theme. In addition to the package, I knit her a face cloth out of Mission Falls 1824 Cotton. I don't know if I would want to knit a garment out of it, but definitely nice for something small. Or perhaps a garment for a little one? I dunno, but nice stuff to work with.

And lastly, Maryse spearheaded an effort to knit squares for Elisa's dad, who's currently residing in a VA hospital with no familiar items of his own. I read a lot of various concerns that befell knitters and I always want to make something or do something, but circumstances don't always allow it. Sometimes time is a factor and I just don't get to doing those things, but somehow I made the time for this and I felt better for it and I hope when the afghan is completed, it gives Elisa's dad a lot of comfort and love, while he recovers.

I knit both squares following Lucia's basketweave scarf. I just knit the squares. One with the original pattern and the second with the variation. They were quick and fun and were easy to complete in an afternoon.

And that's it for me now. I'll be back by the week's end with my March goals. I'd like to get them up a little sooner than the middle of the month this time.

Guess What Came in the Mail

2008-02-26T08:49:00.001-07:00

yesterday? Hmm, a Bachelor of Arts diploma from my alma mater in International Relations. Whee-hee! I'm a happy girl!

Ok, back to my little hole. Gotta run off to work now, but more really soon!

Thanks guys for all your support, it was and is still very much appreciated.

February Goals

2008-02-18T23:51:00.001-07:00

Now you might be thinking, what is Wanda thinking? Posting her goals when more than half the month has already passed?

Well, I'm definitely a bit behind with keeping up with blogs and my own blogging. I still wanted to post my goals because it helps me to keep with them and what I wanted to focus on. Going back to school has definitely cut into my knitting time (even though many of you seem to think I get a lot of knitting done), so some of my knitting projects just won't be that complex right now.

1. Finish the Jaybird hoodie. Shouldn't be too difficult as I'm very close now.

2. Finish the second Mary Kay sock.

3. Working on the pair of Wool in the Woods Cherub Thujas for me. Yes, another pair of Thujas. But sometimes a pattern is just right and why mess with perfection?!

4. Finish the sleeves on Everyday Tweed. This pattern is another top-down raglan (you know, my fave) and one sleeve is done, now on to the second. Should be doable by the end of the month, I hope.

By the end of March, I want to have the sleeves done on Ribby Pulli too. It may take me forever to get that one done, but at least if I get over my sleeve phobia, I'll have all the sleeves that I was avoiding done on my sweaters, yay! I'm halfway through them now.

I also wanted to thank everyone for their comments on my last post. Please don't worry that I won't keep knitting socks with Opal. I love Opal sock yarn and this one example of aberrant behavior will not keep from it. Opal has been very good to my handknit socks and I'm not sure what happened with that yarn, but honestly I had so many feelings of self-doubt and wondering if I would finish the paper and get it done, that I'm ok letting all those old, negative feelings disappear into the trash and move on. Out of all of the socks that I've knit, this is the first pair I've ever had that happen and you know, I'm always knitting socks for myself, so I figure one pair of socks that I didn't particularly like can bite the dust. I just knit them partly because I felt I should, since the yarn had been sitting in my stash for so long. Perhaps i shouldn't force myself to knit things I don't like? Just food for thought.

That's all for this time . . .

Throwback Tuesday (or whatever-Day-This-Post-Lands)

2008-02-12T23:23:00.001-07:00

Just under the radar for Tuesday. This is a segment that I've wanted to do for quite some time. I didn't really feel like talking about my current knitting. Nothing wrong with it, although my time is a bit limited. I'm just not really inspired by my own knitting, so instead I've been trolling the blogs in the evening.

Some bloggers have discussed their older knitting projects and how they've held up over time. I've always found this refreshing and while this is something I'd like to do occasionally. It's a feature that won't be every week or on any regular schedule.

Today's segment will feature a couple pair of socks. Socks, you might ask? Not really very exciting and yet it is relevant. A pair of Opal socks I finished in July of last year have already bit the dust. And no, this was not some 100% merino yarn that bit the dust, but Opal. Opal is my steadfast, go-to yarn. It still is, but these socks did not hold up.

I got the yarn many years ago. This was when Opal was very hard to get and a couple of friends and I all chipped in and bought a "surprise" box of Opal sock yarn on eBay. A German seller sold nine skeins of Opal sock yarn in various colors and we paid about $20 a piece and each got 3 skeins. I think this yarn was in my stash for about 5 years. Perhaps it "aged" a bit too much.

However, after the socks were finished, I noticed a hole in one sock. It looked like a dropped stitch. I was a bit mortified, but I finally sucked it up (like 2 months later) and grabbed some of the leftover sock yarn and attempted to mend the hole. I put away the socks and happened to pull them out over the holidays. Now the second sock has a hole, but it isn't a dropped stitch. It's as if the yarn had a blowout and the stitch "burst" or it was ripped. If you look in the picture below, you can see what I mean.

Now, I'm just over the pair of socks. I had a lot of problems with the socks to begin with and frankly, I'm always knitting socks. Losing one pair of socks isn't a huge deal. I think I have about 16-18 pairs of hand knit socks in my sock drawer and none of them had worn out yet, considering that I've been knitting socks for over 6 years.

Also dusted from the archives are a pair of socks knitted by Sockapalooza pal in 2005. The socks are absolutely beautiful. However, they were always a bit tight through the heel. I've really never worn them out. I have worn them once or twice around the house, but never out. I never wear the socks, so these are going to my mom. Pink is her favorite color and they should fit her just fine.

And I've been the lucky recipient of one of the latest awards going through the blogosphere, a Make My Day award:

Kat,Amanda and Sarah all nominated me. I was really touched by it.

There are so many bloggers that make my day. I know I'm behind as usual with this {meme}, so I'm not tagging anyone, nor am I listing any blogs. Really everyone makes my day!I love reading knitting blogs.

Ok, now, I'm off to bed. I mean, really, does anyone want an even longer post than what's already posted for today.

Happy Knitting all until next time.

A Little Bit of Everything

2008-01-31T21:45:00.000-07:00

Boy, howdy, I keep thinking I would make it over to ye olde blog, however, I can't access blogger at work, so unless I get the post written up at home, no blogging will ensue.

Thanks everyone for the comments on Juliet. I do like it and have worn it a few times since it's been finished. School has been slowing my knitting down. Some nights after class, I am so tired, I just surf blogs, but can't actually sit down and knit or post. Mentally, it's exhausting. Probably that combined with my new job, a lot for my poor little brain to handle at once, but both are going well, so that's something, right? :-)

I do have another FO to report, but the ends haven't been woven in yet, so that might take a little time. Just a garter stitch scarf I whipped up with some leftovers. I'm pleased with it.

Right now, I've been working off and on the Jaybird hoodie for my friend's son. After I "completed" the body and knit a sleeve, I realized I was running out of yarn when I started the second one. Although the yarn has 687 yards, b/c I made the body far too long (after the sweater was on hiatus b/c I didn't want to rip back), now I'm running out of yarn. So I ripped the body back to the right point, but worked the second sleeve as far as it will go. Now I have to find my place in the pattern for the body and finish it, so I reclaim the rest of the yarn to finish the second sleeve and sew on a button and I'll be done. Sad, but true. This sweater is trying to become the death of me, but I won't let it. I really want to be done with it.

Socks have seen a lot of the precious knitting time that I have of late. I can knit while I read, so a sock is ideal for this type of knitting. I really felt the need to cast on for something new. I wanted a "quick" pair of socks, really instant gratification, but I'm not sure why, you know, since we knit and all. Not much is quick. About a month ago, I picked up some Wool in the Woods Cherub yarn, which apparently produced by Cherry Tree Hill. It's pretty stuff and 100% wool, but a bit thicker than fingering. I'm knitting it with US 3 needles on 48 stitches. It's working up well in the Thuja pattern (from Knitty). I've been using the eye of partridge heel flap and that turns out so pretty with hand-dyed yarns. It's a wonder to me that I haven't used it before.

The Mary Kay socks are moving right along too. I finished the first one and gave it to her a few weeks ago. Since she had foot surgery right before Christmas, Mary Kay has been wearing a walking cast. I felt bad for her the night I saw her at knititng as she was wearing a short sock on the foot without a cast. Since I was kitchenering the toe of the first sock, I gave that one to her. So this pic really is of a second sock, really! Although it looks pretty similar to another pick I put up of the first sock.

In between all of those, I'm also working on a new sweater, Everyday Tweed in some Marisol Hacho yarn. Really gorgeous stuff. Right now, I'm at an awkward part, so I'll put up a picture when it doesn't look so strange.

I was recently tagged with a cute award. I'll be back with that by the week's end.

Happy Friday everyone!

Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore Art Thou?

2008-01-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

It's Juliet, here to greet you. This one's been a long one in the making, which is pretty sad, because I knit it fairly quickly. Then I outsourced the finishing (haha!), which was just to have some crochet done around the neckline and armholes. But I let it sit for months before I crocheted two loops for buttons and sewed on two buttons on the sweater and called it good.

Because I knit the body of Juliet in stockinette and not garter stitch, the sides tend to curl. The neckline did lie flatter during the day, but by the end, it wasn't as flat. When I took this picture, it was around 8 or 9 p.m., so I was pretty tired, which is why my head is cropped out of the last photo, b/c it just wasn't a good picture.

Project Specs-
Pattern: Juliet
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Taupe, 7 skeins
Needles: US 10 and 10.5
Project Length: Sept 2007-Jan 2008
Mods:Knit body in stockinette, not on purpose, but when I realized I was supposed to do garter stitch, I'd already gotten pretty far with it and decided it was a "design element". Also, I didn't put the garter line right underneath the girls. Didn't think that line of demarcation would be that flattering, so I put it closer to my natural waist and I'm pretty happy with it. At first, I thought I would have preferred my Juliet to be longer, but honestly after looking at pictures of myself in it, I'm very pleased with it. I put the buttons on last weekend and wore it twice. My only thought now is to make one in wool. It's perfect as a topper and I'm surprised at how much I like it.

Ok, just one more FO to go, but honestly, it's so simple, it'll probably get thrown in with a regular knitting post a little later.

FO: January One Monkey Socks

2008-01-21T01:55:00.000-07:00

The first FO of 2008. I tried to get it done by the end of 2007, but got tired of trying to meet an arbitrary deadline. In the end, I finished these socks very early on in January, but with time constraints, it's taken me a bit to getting around to photographing them.

I absolutely adore the colorway! These socks, when I worked on them, really flew off the needles.

Knitting with Socks That Rock was a most pleasurable experience. I can tell that I will be knitting with this yarn again.

Not too much say about the pattern because I've knit them previously. I just opted not to knit the pattern on the foot this time and I'm pleased with this decision.

Project Details:
Pattern - Monkey
Yarn - Socks That Rock in the January One colorway
Needles used: size 2.5 mm
Project Length: October 2007-January 2008

Modifications: none, other than knitting sock foot plain. I love my January One Moneys! Sweet!

Oh and Happy MLK day! Don't forget to take a look at the stash sale I'm having.

Next up, a finished
Juliet. Betcha you all forgot about that one. Heehee.

Stash Sale, first for '08

2008-01-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry, you may see this post pop up in Bloglines as I update the post for changes in status to various items up for sale.

Hmm, the more I go on, the more I want to reduce my stash. It's still a good size in my opinion, but I've got some goodies up for sale.

The rules are:
1. Please send me an email, not leaving a comment if you want to purchase something. Email is awandaATgmailDOTcom.

2. Price includes shipping. Preference is mostly to ship to the USA. If you're out of the country, feel free to send me an email and we'll discuss shipping prices.

3. All purchases will be conducted through Paypal.

4. Shop early and often! :-)

There are a lot of pics, so sorry to anyone who may be on dial-up.

First up, a skein of Spirit Trail superwash 100% merino wool sock yarn. The two pictures below show the yarn and a sock that was begun from it, but it was ripped. 1 skein, 400 yards. Sale price $19

9 skeins of Reynolds Sedona, 100% mercerized cotton. 111 yards each, light worsted weight. A real steal, pretty plum color, selling it for $15

Patons Kroy sock yarn, two colors. The first is a color, midnight mix, which has greens and blacks. 85% superwash wool, 15% nylon, 203 yards each. 2 skeins is enough for a pair of socks. Price $7

Second set of Patons, color is chocolate brown. Price $7

~~Elann Lana Cash, 70% wool/30% cashmere. Sport-weight yarn, 256 yards each, 8 skeins total. Price $34~~ SOLD

Hand-dyed sock yarn, 400 yds, 100% wool. I don't recall much about the yarn, except it may not be superwash. A friend dyed it for me, but the colors came out more pastel than I would have liked. I thought it might work, but it's not my style. Price $10.

Cascade Eco Wool+ 1 Skein, please note the picture shows 3 hanks of Eco Wool, but there is only one for sale. The color is a wine, burgundy color. 478 yards, 100% wool. This is a bulky yarn. Price $13

2 skeins Lang Jawoll, 45 g each of solid blue color, 75% wool/18%nylon/7% acrylic, 210 m each. Each skein includes 5 g of reinforcement thread dyed to match the yarn. 2skeins enough to make a pair of socks. Price $8

1 skein of Brooks Farm Acero (again, I know the picture shows 2 skeins, but one was traded to Mim for another skein in a different color to finish the giant Clapotis). Acero is a "sock yarn" from Brooks Farm, which is heavier than normal sock yarn. It contains approx 60% wool, some silk and rayon. Pretty stuff and the color is a wine red. Price $13 SOLD

It's sweater weather and I have a sweater's worth of yarn here. Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran wool, 85% wool, 10% silk, 5% cashmere 93 yds each, 15 skeins total. Worsted weight yarn in color ricepaper. Price $60 SOLD

Cherry Tree Hill, one of a kind, superwash 100% merino wool. The colors are vivid pinks (fuschsia), purple, turquoise. One skein 400 yds, enough for a pair of socks. It's very pretty, but it's not for me. Price $17 SOLD

Okay, now this picture shows only 2 skeins of Zephyr Wool/Silk, there are 3 skeins for sale, 50% wool/50% silk. color: burnt sienna. Each cake has 630 yards. I started Mystery Stole 3 with it, but true to my form, I didn't finish it and ripped it. One skein was knitted and frogged, but it was only a small portion as I never got very far with the mystery stole. Price $21

Austermann Step sock yarn. One skein over 400 yards. This is the sock yarn that has aloe in it. It's great to knit with, but I sort of oversaturated myself with this stuff to the tune of 3 skeins, so I'm over it, but it's your gain. Price $14SOLD

~~Ball and Skein sock yarn. 75% merino sock yarn/25% nylon. Different shades of purple. Very pretty stuff and very soft. Price $16~~ SOLD

Spirit Trail sock yarn in a yellow, maize color. 400 yds, superwash yarn, 100% merino wool. Price $19

Cherry Tree Hill solid sock yarn, bark (brown color). 400 yards 100% merino wool. Price $16

~~Opal UNI sock yarn, one skein 420 yards. 75% wool/25% nylon. Price $11~~SOLD

Please remember to send me an email at awandaATgmailDOTcom and that all prices do include shipping in the US. If shipping out of the country, please be advised that the shipping price will be additional to the price listed.

If you don't see anything here you like, but you're in the mood to shop from other's stash, go see my friend Jeni's stash sale.

I'll be back, perhaps tomorrow, with an FO.

An UFO makes a re-appearance

2008-01-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

Since the New Year began, I decided to cast on for a new project. It only seemed appropriate, however, I also put another project on hold. Ribby Pulli just wasn't holding my interest right now, though, I know, I will love the finished project. So off to a project bag, to hold it, till I get back to it.

However, a friend's son was turning one this past weekend and I realized I had this children's tunic hoodie that was never completed. I think the length of the hoodie is a bit long, but I figure I'll just knit the sleeves a little long and hopefully he'll get an extra season of wear out of it.

I think it was last January that I had project ennui and put this down. How fitting, that it has now been picked up again in the New Year. I'm working on the Children's Tunic #232 for my friend's son. I started last December in a yarn that I haven't seen before, Filtweed. It is a 65% wool/30% acrylic/5% viscose in a dk-weight. Still has enough wool weight, that it feels fine to knit with and it's a tweed yarn. It runs about $14 or $16 for a skein, but each skein has a put up of 250g for 681 yards. I really like it. I may get more for M2 to make him a sweater. Something machine washable just makes sense for him.

For the skimmers, well, you know I am always verbose, so here's your picture:

Where I left off on this project was right at the turning hem. I realized I'd knitted longer than required for the length and was loathe to rip it, so I stowed it. Good policy huh? I guess it's a good thing that kid's knits go so quickly. I went ahead and just finished the garter hem and am almost done with the hood now. Hopefully I'll get to the decreases done and kitchener (graft) the hood. Then, once I'm done grafting the hood, I'll kitchener the foot on the second January One Monkey sock, as well as the first of the
Mary Kay socks.

As much as I think that I'd like to post more often, with my new job and school starting (tonite, yikes!), I know that's just not possible. I told myself that I wanted to post at least once a week and that's been helpful to me. I do like to blog, but sometimes let other things keep me from blogging. My once weekly schedule seems to be working, thus far, so let's hope I am able to keep up with it once I have assignments and deadlines to meet.

Till next time . . .

2007: Knitting Year in Review

2008-01-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year, to take stock of the year that has passed and think about what is wanted out of the new year.

Looking through my blog records, I found that of the projects documented, I completed 25 projects, in 2006 I completed 31 projects.

At first, I was a little disappointed that I didn't complete more, especially in the way of sweaters. It seems I only completed one sweater, Ariann. But of course, there was the sweater debacle, which brought down my sweater total.

In case you want to see the run-down of knitting projects:

2 baby burp cloths
4 dish cloths
2 fingerless mitts
4 scarves (Fair Isle Jazz, Farrow Rib, Chevron and My So-Called Scarf)
2 tanks (Ballerina Camisole, Lacy Rib tank)
1 sweater (Ariann cardigan)
8 pairs of socks
1 hat (Rasta hat)
1 lace scarf/shawl(Diamond Fantasy Shawl)

Of course, this year I also went back to school to complete my bachelor's, which cut down on knitting time on bigger projects too. Oh well, I'm not sweater it. It's definitely not a race to compete against myself. And my productivity will probably drop again this year. I'm starting a Master's program in Human Resource Development next week. Fun times, eh?

I also knit a whack of dishcloths and didn't think that anyone wanted to see a bunch of them, as some are quite plain, but they were useful at home, and that was the main purpose.

Looking back on my 2007 knitting resolutions:

1)Knit more socks. The sock yarn stash (as well as other stash) has been thinned throughout the year, but more keeps joining in. My main focus is to continue to knit socks and mix it up with more patterned socks this year. Done, done and done! I knit 8 pairs of socks this year. Pretty good and I'm very happy. Of course, now my sock drawer is getting full, but I'm not complaining.

2) Knit more lace, which should not be a problem as I love it. Eh, not so much. I still love lace. But lace is not intuitive for me, so it goes slowly. I did complete Diamond Fantasy Shawl last year. However, this past year I also cast on for Juno Regina and Hanami, but as the weather gets colder, I'm less inclined to knit laceweight.

3)Learn more techniques, primarily short-rows. I did learn short-rows with Ballerina Camisole, but it can be perfect.

4)Focus on the structure of garments and really learn what looks best on me and not fall for every project which looks bad after. I feel I'm better in this department that I used to be, but sometimes still fall prey to this. Also, just working more on the fit of an item. Each time I knit a garment, I learn a bit more and that's always a good thing. Hmm, not much to say here, still a work in progress.

5)Knit more from stash. It looks like this goal was 50/50. Not too bad, I think. The knit exclusively from your stash for 6 months didn't work out at all.

5)Enjoy knitting, it's not a race and just have fun. Shouldn't be a problem there.

I decided to drop the knitting resolutions for 2008 as I am doing monthly goals instead.

I hope to be back soon with a finished object, or at least WIPs.

See you on the other side . . .

One last FO for the '07 record book

2007-12-31T00:14:00.000-07:00

I managed to finish the second mitt of the pair of
Snow on Cedar Mitts. Now, if left to my own devices, I might not ever knit such a lacy design for fingerless mitts. However, I do love anne's patterns. It was truly worth the extra effort.

Although I've purchased several of anne's patterns, this was the first pattern I've knitted and completed and I'm very pleased. Her thoroughness in pattern writing is a boon to me. I also love that she uses charts and written directions for lace. While I can get through a chart, chart-reading is not intuitive to me, so if there are written directions, I tend to go for my crutch.

I love my mitts and can't wait to wear them often. The longer length will be perfect at the office. Maybe now I will knit another pair or two of the other fingeless mitts patterns I've purchased from anne. :-)

Project Specs: Snow on Cedar Mitts
Yarn used: Blackberry Ridge Silk Blend Lace Weight 75% wool/25% silk in color: Willow
Needle used: US 1 (2.25 mm) wood dpns
Proect length: mid-October to mid-December.
Mods: none, knit as written
This is a fairly quick knit. However, I test-knit the first mitt for anne. After I finished it, I just never went back to finish the second one. Once the weather got cooler and the office temperature dipped, I decided it would be easier to just finish the second one and I'd have new mitts. I love the longer length too.

I am working on my second January One Monkey sock, but I don't know if I will have a pair before the year's end though. If you don't hear from me before then, Happy New Year!

Finale: FO Ariann, Finally

2007-12-23T22:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, I finally sucked it up and got some pictures of me modeling Ariann. My photographer was a bit unwilling, but I ~~cajoled~~, ~~wheedled~~, talked him into it.

After wearing Ariann a second time, I've decided the sweater is a "qualified" success. Yay! I adore the color. Everytime I see it, I fall in love a little more.

Project:
Ariann by the fabulous Bonne Marie
Yarn: Cascade 220 The Heathers, color #2450 5 1/4 skeins
Project length: end of August thru mid-December '07
Needle size: US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 6 (4 mm) needles
Mods: First, not really a mod, but a mistake. I knit the wrong size to wear as a cardigan. I knit my usual 40" for a pullover, but whoopsie, Ariann is supposed to be a cardigan.

Second, when knitting the sleeves, I neglected to read the instructions that advise you to incorporate the increases into the lace pattern. Hmm, so it became a "design element" in my sleeves. I have the lace pattern, with a stockinette panel in the back. It works for me. And actually in the pictures, it's not visible, but I'm happy with it. I embraced the mistake (heh-heh!)

Other than that, my buttonholes were all jacked up, but since they're not really functional, since the cardigan is not large enough to actually be useful, it doesn't really matter. I am not a fan of the open cardigan. I tend to like them buttoned up or tied shut, so it's different, but I am getting used to it. I like the sweater too much to not wear it.

The sleeves are a bit too long, but once again, the fault of myself as I realized I knit it a bit long, but honestly, ripping back in the lace pattern just was not appealing to me. I knew I'd somehow lose my place and it would just be ugly.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Drive-By Blogging

2007-12-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

I'm writing the post I hate to write, which is one without pictures. Sorry about that, but time has gotten away from me so much this past week, I wanted to go ahead and post while there's still time.

Regarding Ariann, it's a mixed bag, but I will get some pics up this week. I wore it on Friday and well, it's not a qualified success, but it got done and that's something?

Not much knitting has happened this past week. Mostly because I'm still trying to get my Christmas cards out. I haven't been much in the mood for Christmas this year, but after shopping on Saturday, which wasn't too terrible, I started to get into the spirit. Also a certain knitter's holiday party hosted by Stacey this weekend, really helped to imbue the Christmas spirit this year.

I'm still working on the mate to Snow on Cedars and it is coming along. I"m on the gusset part, so it's finally beginning to look like something.

Other than that, work on Ribby Pulli has been stalling, no real reason, but I've been kind of meh. Maybe because I wasn't as thrilled as Ariann, I dunno. Ribby Pulli is to the armholes and now I have to cast on for the first sleeve, so that's where it's at.

I have yet to start my sister scarf, but I have thought about it, does that count? :-) Yeah, not so much. But that will probably start in earnest in the New Year.

December Goals

2007-12-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

Now that we've entered the month of December, I want to get back to setting some goals for myself. I'm still trying to be gentle on myself. Even though it's December, I have no Christmas knitting goals this year, which is a relief.

I think I can get a few finished objects this month. That's because there's been a lot of casting on for projects, which means something must come off the needles, right?

1. First goal is to finish the second Snow on Cedars Mitt. I finished the first one and the second has languished while I'd been focusing on Ariann. I think this project is definitely doable for the remainder of December.

2. I really would like to finish the second of my January One Monkeys too. I love this colorway and the yarn is so soft and squishy, it's just wonderful to work on. Again, it was dropped during November and now it's time to pick it back up again. Just the second sock to go and I think it's doable too. I made the first sock with the Monkey pattern on the cuff and made the foot plain. Part of it was that I didn't want to knit the pattern anymore, I was sorta unsure how well the patterned foot fits in with shoes. Secondly, since I have this love/want more/can't control myself feeling with STR, I decided that I need to see how it looks knit up before buying more than my current two pair's worth of socks. I was pretty pleased with how it pooled, so I would probably be ok with trying this yarn again.

3. Another venture in the sock world is a pair of socks for Mary Kay. This is part of the "I knit her a pair of socks, and then I get some of her beauteous yarn to knit myself another pair." One might think that I still have to knit myself a pair of socks, but I look at it as another opportunity to knit with her fabulously dyed yarn. I love it and I'd be knitting socks anyway. In all honesty, I'd knit her a pair of socks, regardless of free yarn, so there you go. I'm starting to feel that I don't mind knitting socks for a friend who would love and appreciate them, b/c I'm not overloaded with socks, but I really have lots. I counted in my sock drawer the other day and there are at least 16 pairs of handknit socks and I have enough yarn in my stash for 30 more pairs.

4. The last goal for this month, isn't to finish a project, but to cast on and find a suitable pattern for this yarn. My sister called me last Friday to ask me if I would knit her another scarf. Of course, I have no qualms knitting her a new scarf. She lost the scarf I knit her about 5-6 years ago and I'm happy that she loved the last one so much that she wanted another one. The first scarf I knit for her was out of Avanti, a fingering or sport merino yarn that had a bit of grey mixed in with it and I combined it with another thin black yarn knit in double moss stitch. Well, my sister has requested another black scarf. Other than the fact that she wants another scarf, why does she hate me? Black yarn, so hard on the eyes, but oh well.

I've chosen some black Cascade 220. Thrilling huh? I'm going to search through Ravelry for some scarf patterns. If anyone has some suggestions for texture or stitch patterns in black yarn, I'm open. Because I'm using black yarn, I think some patterns would not show up as well, such as cables and I'm not sure if lace would show up well either. One thing I won't be doing is more moss stitch. I'm not a fan of it and won't do another whole scarf in it again.

Ariann Preview

2007-12-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

For the month of November, I let the goals slide. I knew I was starting a new job and wasn't sure what to expect in my first few weeks. It turned out the first couple of weeks were sitting with others for on-the-job training. However week 3 started out with all day training, so I've been pretty pooped.

In an email conversation, Margene suggested that my goal for November should be to focus on finishing Ariann. While I did work on other projects too, I did make that a priority. While I did not finish in the month of November, I am almost to the finish line.

I'm actually pretty relieved to be almost done. Anything that could go wrong, did.

The sewing on of buttons and blocking will commence tomorrow and hopefully a FO picture by the week's end.

Pay It Forward

2007-11-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

is a lovely concept. I've seen others that have done this or are doing it, but I've happened to comment on Lynne's and didn't realize I was signing up for Pay It Forward. Then Lynne announced on her blog that I was a recipient of her generosity!

I received a beautiful package and the most thoughtful card from her. I loved the cocoa and the day I received it was my first day at my new job, so it was a welcome package. As the days have gotten colder and morphed into fall/winter, cocoa is a perfect accompaniment to the changing weather. Tootsie Roll Pops, a package of White Chocolate Macadamia cookies (my fave) and a copy of Folk Knitting in Estonia rounded out the package.

Thanks so much Lynne for the lovely package. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry I didn't acknowledge it sooner, as the transition to the new job is going well, but not leaving me much free time in the evenings.

Now, in order to pay it forward, (and the text is lifted from Norma's blog b/c I couldn't find it anywhere else, sorry Norma, but no hotlinking, see?!)

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Thanks for playing!

Transitions

2007-11-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

It's pretty hard for me to post without a picture. It feels a bit worse to post a recycled photo, but really Ariann is really all I've been working on. It is coming along slowly, but it ever boring to knit right now, with the super-long rows. I keep thinking that with all these decreases, it will get shorter eventually, it just doesn't seem to be happening yet.

I'm really a bit bored with the sweater, but I know I will love the outcome, so I continue to slog on. Plus, I've also got Ribby Pulli (scoopneck version) on the needles and if I keep switching to knit on it, I will soon be at the point where I will have to cast on for sleeves. If I finish both sleeves, then I will be joining more stitches to the yoke and knitting and slogging through an unbearable amount of stitches again. Gee, does this sound familiar at all? ;-)

What I'm really looking to sink my teeth into next is the Gathered Pullover from the latest Interweave Knits. It also starts as knitted in the round, bottom-up and then split at the armholes. I really want to make this. The pattern calls for sport/dk weight yarn to be knit at a larger gauge for drape and fluidity. I know this is supposed to work, but really the sportweight yarn I have, I swatched up to size 8s and still didn't have the right gauge, but the "openness" of the fabric was a bit too much for my liking. I'm just having a hard time believing this would work for the sweater and not be too open. I dunno. I'm thinking of just using a worsted yarn that would knit to this gauge and calling it good. Perhaps I would lack fluidity or drape, but I think I'd be ok with it as it.

The other issue with this sweater is minimal, but the sweater has rolled edges, which I don't love. Those sweaters tend to roll up too much for my liking (gee, picky much, it seems). I can't decide on an edging, seed stitch, ribbing, but it just dawned on me to preserve the style of the sweater that I like so much, to hem it instead. Hmm, there must really be something to writing things out, eh?

The job is going well, btw. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes. I'm really happy to receive them and will try to thank people personally in email. I just have access to my home email when I've left work and with the transition to a new job and work environment, I'm pretty tired when I get home.

You may have noticed that I didn't put up a November goals post. There are a couple of reasons for it, some of it was because I felt I was too ambitious last month and part of it was because I knew starting a new job and didn't know how that transition would affect my knitting projects. The first couple of nights, I was too mentally drained to even knit. But slowly I started picking up the needles and a few rounds here and there have happened.

I did finish the first Monkey socks. Haven't cast on for the second sock, but plan on doing so shortly. I also cast on for a different sock (stockinette) in some of Mary Kay's fabulous yarn. This is actually a pair of socks for her. The deal is I knit her a pair and then she gives me enough hand-dyed sock yarn for a pair of my own. Lovely deal, eh?

Well, that's enough blathering from me for one post. Next up, a fabulous concept of Paying It Forward. Soon, I'll be paying it forward to a ~~couple~~ few of my blog readers.

Fall Bouquet

2007-11-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

A pretty fall bouquet given to me by my sweetie, M, for my new job and promotion, with a bowl of ripe fruit

Ribby Pulli in repose, a beautiful fall sweater

Ariann, sleeves done, and fully joined, working the yoke, ready to become a cardigan

Fall, it is good.

October Review

2007-11-01T20:52:00.000-06:00

Remember, those October knitting goals?

As I was telling Chris in email a few minutes ago, was that as soon as I posted my goals for the month, I almost immediately lost interest in my goals and cast on for a new sweater. Haha, so much for goals, huh?

But all was not lost. I've done pretty well, considering.

1)Finish the Farrow Rib Scarf. check

2. Finish the first of the Tofutsies socks for the shop sample. double check

3) Start a new pair socks. check

4) Get to the armholes of Ariann. done and one sleeve done too

5)Start the Corrugator scarf, erm, not so much. I was a bit scarfed out after the one for my BIL, but I will start soon.

6)Some test knitting for anne Oops, didn't mention that one

7) Casting on for Ribby Pulli (scoop neck version) in Silky Wool

Overall,a great month for goals. Next, November's goals.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T14:52:00.000-06:00

From me and my nephew Chason to all of you!!

1st pic is him with his first carved pumpkin. He was seriously excited, can't you tell?

And earlier this month, a "Boo at the Zoo" program, Chason was Spiderman! He looks a bit mean here, but I take it as Spidey looking fierce, right?

Ariann . .Somewhere in the Middle

2007-10-25T11:06:00.000-06:00

I can't really call this, Ariann, the beginning, because really I've been knitting on it since the end of August. We had a crisp day and I was ready to cast on. Ariann has been getting some love off and on. Lately I've had a lot of startitis, so some things gets worked on more than others and eventually enough is done so that it's finished.

One of my October goals was to get Ariann to the armholes, so that I could get started on the sleeves. That goal was met about 2 weeks ago. Finally last week I cast on for the first sleeve and over a long weekend, that sleeve was finished. One would think that I would cast on for the second, but I was kind of bored and instead worked on Farrow Rib a bit more instead.

The yarn I'm using is Cascade 220 Heathers in color 9453, I think. I really love how the yarn is knitting up, the color keeps entrancing whenever I put it down. Since I've finally knit with a beautiful purple that I know I will wear, I've been in a purple yarn buying mood. Hmm, things to see later down the road.

I hope to cast on for the second sleeve this weekend and once done, I'll be ready to join the sleeves to the body and get this sucker done.

Diary of a Knit Gone Wrong

2007-10-20T12:54:00.000-06:00

Of course, this is the weekend of Rhinebeck. For those of us not going, maybe you will see my meager blog post offering. (hee!)

Today, I thought I'd talk about a project which was on the needles for quite some time, my Classic Elite '03 Tweed Neck Down Shaped Cardigan (scroll down to see pattern pic). After several attempts with this project, I had to put the needles down and declare defeat.

I started this project sometime in January of this year. Thinking it would be an easy knit, lots of stockinette and oh, yeah, I have to pay attention to the seed stitch. The thing is, this is a simple project and one that should have been a success story.

The great tragedy with this knit, was not with the pattern, but complete and simple user error. This knit turned out to get a lot of play when I was on the telephone at work in the busy, busy months of call center world in January/February. During one of those days, in between phone calls, I somehow managed to select the wrong count (in a multi-sized pattern) for the sleeves/body. Somehow I believe, I was knitting one size for the body and a different one for the sleeves, but not bigger/smaller, i.e. bigger for chest area and smaller for sleeves, but the opposite. The body fit was good, however, the stitch count for sleeves was just off.

As you can see in the pictures below, the first two pictures show the left sleeve, which was the first sleeve I worked. After I finished it and was about to start the second one, I tried it on and a had a lot of bulk under the arm. Didn't really like how that worked and looked at it again and again and had my expert friend (Susan)take a look. She and the LYS owner both agreed I had picked up too many stitches.

They advised of how many stitches I should pick up and ignore the pattern. I tried that suggestion, cruised along, took it by for a look-see and no, I had a different bulge under my arm this time on the right sleeve. Some referred to it as a goiter(that would be the bottom two pictures here. And please ignore my bathroom shots while in my pjs. It was either with pjs or no pictures and no pictures = no post, so there you have it.

I tried once more and I still had bulges, in all the wrong places, and finally I admitted defeat. For, you see, I was knitting a top-down raglan, and to get those sleeves corrected, I'd have to at least rip back to the armholes and probably a bit before that, to get back on the right track. While I do like this pattern and expect that I'll try it again, now is not that time.

This project has been ripped and the yarn is awaiting another time on the needles. I guess the best thing is that I'm getting a lot of knitting enjoyment out of this yarn, right? ;-)

'Til next time . . .

Stash Sale

2007-10-14T20:07:00.000-06:00

Friends,
I guess it's that time of year again. I've been culling the stash a bit and there are a few gems that while nice, just aren't for me anymore.

Hopefully some of you will be able to help me out with it. Please be sure to send me an email for anything you are interested in. Sales are on a first come, first served basis. Email to : awandaATgmailDOTcom with subject title: STASH SALE

Prices do include shipping.

First up, a skein of vintage Opal. This skein does not show up on the Opal web site as part of any collection. My best guess is that it will knit up in some type of striping, but not as a regular sequence. Approx. yardage=420 yds 75% wool/25% polyamid Price $9 SOLD

Berroco Uxbridge Tweed, now discontinued. 11 skeins, 92 yds each. 33% wool/46% acrylic/9% polyester/8% cotton/4% nylon, all skeins same dyelot. 1 skein was partially used to start a swatch and is included. Price $29 SOLD

2 skeins Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, 80% wool/20% nylon, 210 yds each, color: Vera
Price $13 SOLD

9 skeins Reynolds Sedona, also discontinued, this is a lt worsted yarn, 111 yds each, 100% mercerized cotton. Most skeins are wound, however, one ball had an explosion and I've never corrected it. Pretty plum color, Price $20

~~2 skeins Handpaintedyarn.com Laceweight, colorway unknown. 100% wool, has olive greens, blues and peach 850 yards each. Price $8~~ SOLD

~~3 skeins Mountain Colors Weaver's Wool, 100% wool, 250 yds each. Colors: blues/greens/purples. Price $21~~ PENDING

Thanks for looking

FO: Opal Caterpillar socks

2007-10-13T08:32:00.000-06:00

I managed to finish up a pair of Opal socks this month. I started these socks while at Camp WannaKnitKnit in July, as I was also finishing up my Sockapalooza socks. As these were plain stockinette socks, they lingered around for a bit, but they are done and I still really like them. Very fun!

Project Specs:
Opal Caterpillar yarn from the Rainforest Collection
Started: end of July 07
Completed: beginning of October '07
Needles: US 1.5 2.5 mm Pony Pearl needles
Mods: None, just my basic 64 stitch stockinette socks, cuff down, with heel flap

Next up, a sample sock for the shop in Southwest Trading Company Tofutsies yarn. I knit it using the Fanny sock pattern. OMG, I really hated how this yarn pooled. Pink and green colors on the front of the sock and purple/blue on the back. Very weird. I didn't enjoy knitting with it at all, but I finished a sock. The second will be done eventually. One good thing to note about the sock yarn is that it softened up after a wash and dry though.

Now, on to new socks.

October Knitting Goals

2007-10-04T13:52:00.000-06:00

With a nod to Polly, I've decided to start a list of my knitting goals for the month. I find with most things if I have a list, it helps me to prioritize what I'd like to work on, even if I don't get it all done.

1) I'm going to be go out on a limb here, to finish theFarrow Rib scarf I'm working on for M's brother, also known as the BIL scarf. What Farrow Rib Scarf you ask? Well, it's this one I started around the first of September, you know, back when I was taking that blog break? Yeah, thought that would jog your memory.

2)to finish at least a sock from the Tofutsies that I'm working with, which is really irking me, but it's best to get it all done now.

3)Start a new pair of socks, in honor of Socktoberfest, although it's doubtful they will be finished during the month of October

4)Get to the armholes of
Ariann. This sweater I am knitting out of Cascade 220 in a lovely heathered purple, that I adore knitting with.

5)Start the Corrugator Scarf with some of my stashed Colinette Jitterbug.

Thanks to everyone for the helpful information in the last post. I am exploring several for more information and tips. You guys always come through!!

Juliet: The Beginnings

2007-09-26T23:44:00.000-06:00

The problem with quick knit projects is that they are never really all that quick for me. With that said, Juliet is moving right along. I started this project a couple of weeks ago, in a desire to use up some stash and because I think this project is ideal for the fall-ish weather we've been having. Right now, Juliet has moved to the top of my queue and on the needles for that very reason. Earlier this week, I had Monday and Tuesday off and I thought for sure I would have it completed. It is possible that I could have completed it, but based on the picture below, you can see that it is not finished.

As usual, on my long weekend that I was going to enjoy, things came up that prevented me from my true state of relaxation, but I did manage to get many things completed.

I do appreciate you readers that are still hanging around. I needed to take a break from blogging and focus on others things for a bit. I was really slacking on finishing up the editing and revision of my final paper that I had to submit to my former university in St. Louis. I sat down last week and tackled that beast, sent it off and the professor has already approved it. After I send in a petition to graduate, I should receive my sheepskin for December graduation of '07, sometime in early February '08. To say I'm excited is an understatement. That and working on lingering things.

Something else I'm really wanting to work in is exercise and lifestyle (read: diet) changes. Diet, as in a way of eating, changes. Part of my focus is to lose weight, but really to be healthier.

I'm looking at either joining some online health/fitness communities and looking for good online tools. If any of you have suggestions, I'm definitely open.

Back to Juliet, I'm on the third repeat of lace now and expect I'll probably get up to six repeats and call it good. I've tried it on twice and am pleased with the fit. Now just to get 'er done.

Birthday Goodies

2007-09-05T10:48:00.000-06:00

I hope you had a good Labor Day weekend. Mine was great. Very relaxed and relaxing. We hung out with some friends on Sunday evening for a bbq. Ate some Jamaican food, listened to some reggae and other Caribbean music and then came home and watched some movies. It was great to stay at home and spend time with M, just the two of us. And of course we were both off Monday and I have Tuesdays off, so it was a very nice, long weekend for me.

You would think on my day off that I would blog, but quite the opposite. I'm in fact, rarely motivated to blog on my day off. Instead I do fun stuff like laundry, washing my hair and twisting my locs. At least that was yesterday, but I truly cherish my time in the house alone. Hmm, lovely.

Thanks to everyone for your ideas about the tank. I'll probably pick up another skein of the yarn to see what changes I can make, esp. as far as picking up stitches around the neckline and armholes to perhaps make it more wearable for me. It is an ok top to wear, it's not horrible, but not loving it. So we'll see what can be done. It will probably be on the back burner till next summer, but that's a big deal to me.

On to my birthday, which passed over a week ago. All I can say is for the Birthday Card Exchange, you guys rock! My mailbox was overflowing with cards, which really made me happy! My mantle was full of cards. So much so, that I had an overflow station on top of the TV cabinet with additional cards. The musical cards that Del and Bron sent were too cute. And Michelle, that crafty girl surprised me with five, count 'em, five cards. So I had plenty o' cards for my birthday. My sister sent one from her and husband, as well as one from my nephew Chason with a new picture of him. Goodness all around!

Of course, some of my knitty girls had to hook me up with nice knitting gifts.
Nachaele gave me the gift of cold, hard cash which was to be used for yarn. But what the heck, I used it for me, so we're all happy! It's pretty much if I have cash, it's gone in a nanosecond. And Michaele provided the wine for the evening and a couple of bottles that came home wth me (as pictured in the mantle above).

Some Colinette Jitterbug in the Raphael colorway ::swoon::, more stitch markers! and a pair of Addi Lace turbo needles. Yay, I'm excited to have my very own pair of Addi Lace needles. There was also two skeins of Lacey Lamb laceweight in a beautemous red, which I forgot to include in this post. Sorry. But you can see it on Ravelry or Flickr.

And Joan, the Fairy Godmother indeed surprised with a lovely package. Sneaky girl, she is, asking for my address to send a card, which she did, but also included some neat things in her package. A bookmark in the shape of a buffalo (how did you know I keep losing book marks!-I've vowed to only use this book marker in my home library of books, so if I forget to take it out, it will only be lost in my house versus going back to the library!), a notepad with a knitting emblem from lantern moon, a wooden needle case with scrollwork on the case and two bars of Bison Chocolate (yes, I know there's only one pictured, the second is gone) in a milk chocolate bar with a truffle cream center. Yummy, yummy.
Thanks Joan! I loved it.

More knitting has ensued. A new project was cast on and has given me fits and starts with the pattern, but I will let you know about it soon.

Blogging might be sparse for a bit. I thought about taking a blog break, but I think I miss it a bit when I think of actually doing it. I'm working on some personal stuff, nothing major (and don't worry, no baby making is happening over here!), just doing some things for me, which may take away time from the blog. I do plan to blog, but it might be sporadic (which why is this really any different from the way I usually blog, I don't know).

Ciao,
W.

Analysis of a Pattern or Disappointing FO: Lacy Rib tank

2007-08-30T09:41:00.000-06:00

Today's installment is analysis of a knit gone wrong. In all actuality, I suppose the pattern is just fine. It's not a good fit for me, however. A friend, Aisha, finished one and it was so cute, I really wanted one too and the yarn was fairly inexpensive.

I did finish it (over two summers). The first side went much slower than I expected, but I don't knit stitch patterns as much in garments, but once I got used to it, the second side went very quickly. Once I seamed it and tried it on, meh. Really not excited by this one at all. I wore it to work one day and still pretty blah about it.

The biggest problem is it's not flattering to my body. It's okay, just not very figure-flattering. The first problem that I didn't notice b/c the first one I saw was on someone and then I haven't seen it in awhile, so it's based on my memory is just how low the front and back are. Now I've got cleavage to spare and then some, so not the problem. But the neckline isn't working the girls, it's just there. A nice plunging V would really benefit them, or a square neck or a round neck, but perhaps a smidge higher. The neckline is very open, which is okay, but I felt very exposed all day wearing it. Secondly the straps are too skinny. They barely cover my bra straps and cami (that was required with the laciness of the pattern). It was pretty annoying.

Thirdly, I should have known better since there was no shaping in the pattern at all. I learned last year that I really do prefer some shaping. However, because this is ribbing, it does cling to your curves, but I just don't care for it.

This is why you should really pay attention to the pattern and your body type. I guess for me, I do still have problems determining what is a good fit or not.

Pattern: Lacy Tank
Yarn: Schachenmayer Nomotta Rainbow 6 skeins
Needle size: US 5
Project Completion-August 2006-July 2007
Mods: None-super simple project to knit, no shaping, just a stitch pattern
Fit: D-
Wearablity: F
Overall feeling of this top: Meh!

And there you have it. Your thoughts on this project/pattern are welcomed.

I am still knitting, working on other projects. I'm down to one pair of socks on my needles. I decided to give the Opal Caterpillar socks to M2. Even though they are a bit high for him, he said he would still wear them. Next, I'll cast on a pair of socks for M. He's deserving of a pair, but man is he ever picky. I got him to agree to a pair of Trekking socks in shades of black/grey. I think he's scared I will give him some wildly variegated socks and expect that he wear them. See, this is why I buy lots of black socks in bulk! Boring man socks, but at least the man-friendly Trekking has something for me too. He thinks I will be knitting them in stockinette, but little does he know. I'll do the Thujas and see what he thinks. Or some other simple pattern, not too much patterning for him.

My computer is still actually working, so I'm not sure about the virus thing, but I've backed up everything to be sure. I'm sick of spending so much time on my computer lately, so I've just backed away from it for awhile. What you don't realize when you get a laptop and add WiFi is that you spend so much time on it.

While I love Ravelry, I've decided to use it as a repository to add projects to queue, look up projects instead of googling them and keeping stash up to date. I don't have the time to spend chatting on various forums. School has started again for M2 and now it's high school. I'm getting old when high school algebra is starting to stump me! Gah.

Okay, back to my cave.

p.s. Thanks again for all the lovely cards I received. I must post soon with my array of cards and a beautiful package from Joan. Thanks to Cozy and Bron for my singing cards!

FO Report: Lemon Ice Socks

2007-08-27T09:56:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to me! Yes, I am posting this on my birthday. This year marks 35 years on this earth. I'm very excited about my birthday. Not that there is much planned, but I'm always a bit happier and cheerful on my birthday, as well as I should be. :-)

A pair of socks has made its way off my needles, yay! Lemon Ice socks which were gifted by Kathy in my coffee swap package. The sockotta sock yarn did not sit long and immediately launched itself onto my needles.

A very simple sock, a k3, p2 rib. I used 60 sts on the first sock and realized it was too wide. 55 sts on the second one and it's a perfect fit. The socks are quite comfortable and cozy. Not much to say about these socks. The yarn was easy to work with. Not exactly my favorite, but definitely nothing wrong with it.

Project Specifications:
Sockotta sock yarn
Needle size: US 2 (2.75 mm) dpns
Started: mid-July 07
Finished: August 07
Mods: none really.

And because Beth asked so nicely, a couple photos of the finished DFS modeled by me.

Have a great day! I sure intend to. Oh and while you're at it, please wish my grrl,
Michelle, a Happy One year Anniversary!!

FO: Diamond Fantasy Shawl

2007-08-23T09:27:00.000-06:00

I posted some pictures a couple of weeks ago about the blocking of my finished Diamond Fantasy Shawl. Sorry it took so long. I thought I would get some pictures with me modeling it, but my photographer hasn't been around lately (too much working late) to get a good picture, but I was also too lazy to get out the tripod, so what you see is what you get, sorry.

Because I only had 500 yards of yarn, I planned to knit the scarf version, which I knit an extra repeat of the pattern. The I-cord edging uses up a lot of yarn, so I'm glad I stopped at one additional repeat.

This is a pattern that I would normally not knit, just looking at it, it's not the type of lace I was drawn to. However, I liked the idea of using some of those huge skeins of sock yarn as something other than socks. The pattern was a bit challenging, but in the end totally worth it for me. When I took the "scarf" off of the needles, it was indeed a scarf. Once I blocked it though, it really grew quite substantially. It's a good sized shoulder scarf/shawl now and I really like it.

Pattern:
Diamond Fantasy Scarf/Shawl by Sivia Harding
Yarn: Hello Yarn fingering sock yarn(wool/nylon blend) in color Staggering
Started: Mid-March '07 (during Spring Break)
Completed: July 29, 2007
Modifications: just knit an additional repeat of pattern to use more yarn and make a bigger shawl.

I also finished up the Lacy Rib Tank. I'll eventually get some pics of it up. I'm not pleased with this one at all. It's just ok. It might not get a lot of wear, we'll see. I wore it once and was less than impressed.

P.S. It might be a little bit before the next blog post. I was going through the blog blahs for the last little bit, but now my laptop has a virus and I'll be backing up stuff and doing a "destructive recovery" so says the HP support rep. So it's all fun and smiles at Chez WWK.

P.P.S. Thanks to those lovelies who have already sent me birthday cards, it really brightened up my day yesterday.

Sockapaloozed!

2007-08-15T09:49:00.000-06:00

In my last post, I talked about how I never receive good mail anymore, no cards, no letters. But I neglected to tell you that I did receive my Sockapalooza socks from my pal, Jun.

I received a lovely package from Jun. I absolutely adore these socks and the color too. I would have never chosen it and I'm quite happy with the choice she made. I ran around the house wearing wool socks in a very hot house and was quite happy to do so.

It is really great to receive something handknitted as I don't receive handknit gifts from other knitter friends and the others who don't knit, never seem to think of taking up knitting, even though they may receive handknit gifts. It really is quite special.

My socks were quite well-travelled. The yarn is from Jun's stash of Sweet Georgia Yarns in Willow. I feel really special. The pattern is Adrian's Cable Twist sock patterns. I don't think I would ever knit cabled socks, so these are perfect to receive.

And look Ma, they fit! They were a little tight to pull over the foot, but then they fit snugly, but not tight. Very nice socks and surprisingly, the short row heel fits better than I thought it might.

Thanks a lot Jun for the socks, I really appreciate it!!

Birthday Card Exchange

2007-08-12T10:25:00.000-06:00

So here's a little germ of an idea that started floating in my head yesterday after I went to check my mailbox yesterday. I used to love getting mail, fun cards and other packages here and there. Now picking up mail is just drudgery, bills and other junk mail. Rarely a card from a friend anymore. I hadn't checked my mail at all this week and on Saturday thought I should pick up the whack of mail I'm sure I'd accumulated.

When I checked my mail, I had a pleasant surprise, my Sockapalooza socks arrived (pictures and post tomorrow). As I have a birthday upcoming, I thought how said it will be to collect birthday cards this year in my mailbox, as I get very few cards anymore. In college and post-college, I was the person that had friends galore everywhere. I loved receiving cards and mail and sent them to everyone else as well. Over time, I've lost contact with many of my college friends. And at birthday time, I receive less cards and it's a bit sad for me.

What I propose (really because I love to receive cards and I'm hoping you do too)is that anyone who likes to receive cards, send me an email(awanda AT gmail DOT com) replacing the AT with @ and a . with DOT with the subject Birthday Card Exchange. In the email tell me your address and birthday and I will send you a card on your birthday. I'll send you my address and hopefully you will send me a card back too.

My birthday is August 27th and I would love to receive a few cards from my virtual, but also real, friends. Please don't think this is a way to ask for stuff, this is solely a card exchange. I'm not trying to hit up people, I just truly love receiving cards.

Let me know if you're interested! I thought it might be fun. If I get no response, that's ok too.

Knitting Camp: The Other Side

2007-08-10T10:38:00.000-06:00

Others have already documented the Knitting Camp experience, aka Camp WannaKnitKnit. Some of my favorite people and knitting buds all get together once a year and go to a cabin in the mountains, for a lot of girl time, knitting, eating and some movie-watching and a general chance to catch up with everyone. This year was our third year and every year, Stacey and some of the other girls put together a gift bag and this year they surely went over the top. What can they ever do to top this year's goodie bag, I just don't know!

This year's bag was a Colorful Accessories creation. Beautiful print, no? And a good size to carry a sweater or larger project in, perfect!

The contents of said bag:
Highlighter tape, which is awesome for lace, a skein of yarn dyed by Adrian, a mini sock blocker kit and stitch markers.

Sock yarn by Adrian of Hello Yarn in a Camp WannaKnitKnit colorway, Tres Campy (for our third camp year!), which is a heavier sock yarn, more sport weight, imo. 395 yds of lusciousness (my made-up word), these will be perfect for comfy house socks and will remind me forever of my camp time this year.

Thanks girls for a great weekend! Can't wait till next year.

With A Little Help From Our Friends

2007-08-08T09:08:00.000-06:00

Who hasn't needed a little help from time to time? If you read Norma, like I do, two things that you need to know.

One, the Red Scarf Project has some different rules for donation for 2008, as well as a donation fund to be given to students in need. There's also a button on the right-hand sidebar of my blog. Feel free to donate early and often. Norma's also running a contest for donations to the OFA/Red Scarf Project, so do send Norma an email if you donate.

Second, Norma's (almost son-in law) participated in a reality show for a 13-week contract on As The World Turns. He needs your help in voting here and you can read more about it on Norma's blog. Okay, enough from me today, 2 posts in one day? What is the world coming to? :-)

Shh, Pay No Attention to Me . . .

2007-08-08T09:01:00.000-06:00

Just blocking here. . .
Finally, a Diamond Fantasy Scarf/Shawl almost done. The beauty that is blocking.

A little closer now:

Look at those pretty diamonds and that point!*swoon*

And We're Off!

2007-08-05T13:48:00.000-06:00

I don't recall if I mentioned it that I signed up for Dish Rag Tag hosted by Emily of Yarn Miracle. I signed up for it in June, a bit of competitive knitting, if you will.

We're all on teams and and each team captain (that's me) receives a box from Emily with a dish rag, two skeins of dish cloth cotton and a little goodie. We take one or both skeins and knit a dish cloth, put in a new goodie, two new skeins of yarn and the new knitted dish cloth and mail it to the next participant. Earlier in the summer, I was having a dish cloth affair and was really into knitting my dish cloth cotton. Since my last dish cloth bender, I'm actually down to just 5 skeins, but now I want to buy more. Anyhow, enough of my "addiction" talk.

I received my box on Friday evening. M and I had planned to enjoy an outdoor music concert, but the weather looked shaky and M2 had all four wisdom teeth removed that day and wasn't feeling too well that evening, so we skipped it. I checked my mailbox and I had a package, yay! On the left is the dish cloth I received from Emily, a 4 Corners dish cloth. On the right is my finished Violets dishcloth (warning pdf!)

Then a finished dish cloth all by itself in Sugar 'N Creme Denim Blue. After I finished it, I was sad to see it go. I'll be needing to pick up some more yarn in this colorway (umm, yeah, back to that "addiction" talk).

And the box is on its way to the next contestant on the "Running Ragged" Team:

I really love the dish cloth pattern, Violets. The only problem is that when I see it, I think it's so pretty, I might have a hard time actually using it. I think that's why most of my dishcloths are plain, just garter stitch.

Ooops, gotta go check on a fully submerged DFS. Later all, hope you're all having a good weekend!

Sockapalooza Trifecta!

2007-08-02T16:55:00.000-06:00

Just in the nick of time, the Sockapalooza socks have been completed. While I was kitchenering the last toe of the second sock, I was also at the same point for my first Lemon Ice Sock. And I'd started another sock, so I thought, "Why not show all socks in some measure of completion?" So here you go. . .

The first picture shows the Sockapalooza socks (in red/orange/brown/cream jacquard), then the first sock in a colorway I call Lemon Ice in Sockotta sock yarn and lastly, a new sock started in Opal Rainforest colorway Caterpillar.

A solo picture of my sockpal's completed socks.

The yarn is Fortissima Socka Mit Bambou (a wool/nylon/bamboo mix). Since my sockapalooza pal likes her socks on the tall-ish side, I knit the leg to 7", after that I start to tire of knitting socks, truly. The pattern I used is Thuja from Knitty. I couldn't decide on a pattern for the longest time and decided to go with a known winner. As Polly always mentions on her blog that socks for an unknown person or someone you're unable to measure for, a sock with lots of stretch is best, that's how I decided on Thuja. It works well with the sock yarn and the pattern doesn't distract from the self-patterning nature of the yarn. Overall, very pleased with these socks. And I finished them fairly quickly for me, as well as having time to get started and finishing an entirely different sock.

On to the next sock, it is the completed first Lemon Ice sock. I love this crazy yarn that my Coffee Swap Pal, Kat, sent me. I actually am less in love with the content of the sock yarn, but love the colorway. It's very fun. It's just a K3, P2 rib, but I did learn that 60 sts for a slightly heavier yarn didn't work for my gauge. The second sock will be 55 sts. If I were to knit with this sock yarn again, I would definitely use about 54 stitches. And I knit the cuff in rib and the foot of the sock plain. Can't wait to finish the second sock, should be doable by the end of the month!

And certainly not least, a new sock! Whee! How I love knitting socks. And lately I've not had the mental capacity to do much more than do simple patterns. Just way too busy and feeling like I can't ever catch up and too hot when I get home, so all socks all the time it has been. The yarn is more from my Opal collection :-) This is from the Rainforest Collection, in the Caterpillar colorway. This yarn was gifted to me by Stacey. I was lucky to receive it, I really just adore this colorway right now. Not sure why, but oh well.

Next up, the "knitting camp update".

Lace Rib Tank

2007-07-24T12:50:00.000-06:00

That's a less than enticing photo below, but some of you may recall this project from last summer. This tank was started last August when I visited my mother in Atlanta and after I finished the first side, I put it down and didn't start the second side until I was leaving Atlanta this summer. Too funny, the circle of life.

Now, I'm finished knitting the body and one strap, just have one more strap to go. I'm at the point where I just want to finish it, but not really that enthused to do so. My head is being turned by many lovely new projects, but I feel a round of finishing coming up soon. This time the lace pattern and I really jibed and I zoomed through the body of it, but left the straps for 2 weeks. Finally this past weekend I picked it back up and worked on one side and finished it quickly. This project also requires seaming, but I haven't done that in awhile, so I suppose I'll have my chance.

Right now the knitting has been focused almost exclusively on the Sockapalooza socks. I did finish the first sock and am now on the heel flap of the second one. While this is no contest and I'm not the fastest knitter, especially with knitting socks, I think it's the Thuja pattern that keeps me going and I know that I need to finish these soon. The sooner I get them done, then I can move on to other sock patterns I want to try and the deadline monkey will be off my back.

Also, I finally got motivated to finish DFS and I worked on it for an hour or so two nights ago. I've only got this one repeat, 20 rows to finish. Now down to about 15. I'm trying to knock it out too. This knit has lingered a bit too long and while I desire the finished object, I'm also ready to finish it. The love is definitely not gone, but it needs to be on my shoulders and not smooshed in a bag. I also want to cast on for new lace and I have decided to allow myself to have more than one lace project, but I can have one shawl and one stole. I have yarn already wound for the next shawl, so I better get cracking on this one.

I'm sure you won't see a blog post from until next week as I'm preparing to go up with my girls to our knitting camp this weekend. Hopefully I can finish up a few things while there!

Mystery Stole Dropout

2007-07-18T22:19:00.000-06:00

In one of my joiner moments, I signed up for Mystery Stole 3. Hmm, it was sort of surprising that I did this, as it is totally against my nature. I love reading mysteries, but don't want to knit something that I don't already know what the finished item will look like. Because I had some lace gifted to me last year by my Lace Swap Pal, I thought this would be good to appropriate to Mystery Stole. But as I have about 1800 yds, I do feel I should use it on a shawl that uses a lot of yarn.

As I began knitting on MS3, so excited for my first clue, I was a bit surprised at how long it took for each row and these are not huge rows as it's a stole, not a triangular shawl that grows each row. I've gotten up to row 80 on the first clue, but I'm not feeling it. As I see others finished (up to clue 2 or 3), I don't really like the design. Nothing wrong with the design, it's just not my preference. M looked at one and labelled it a "table runner". It does sort of resemble one, but it just doesn't float my boat.

It's interesting on the list b/c someone said they didn't really like this design and decided to stop knitting it. Another list member said this was like a lace knitting workshop and that the person should finish it and give it to charity if they don't like the finished result and everyone had to determine what they wanted from the knitalong, her goal was to challenge herself. Obviously everyone can do whatever they want, but that response sort of chapped my hide. I totally disagree that you should just finish something because you started it, that's ridiculous in my book. It's a beautiful design, but not one that I would choose. Just because it's given to me, doesn't require my finishing it. Knitting Mystery Stole isn't for me to challenge myself. It's a more advanced lace design and I guess I don't feel the need to challenge myself with this. I actually feel like I challenged myself working on DFS.

So Mystery Stole is a mystery no longer. It's been ripped out and I'm ready to start some new lace. I'm in a mood for socks and lace right now, probably due to the heat. No desire for tanks right now, just lightweight, portable projects.

Above is a pic, but not a great one for Mystery Stole, as it wasn't pinned out. Sorry for the crappy shot, but I don't much care as it's all gone now.

Sock Knitting Palooza

2007-07-14T13:42:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

I've fallen off the deep end of the earth this week, reading more than knitting, although there has been knitting too. I'm on my second book this week and some nights have found me curled up with a book instead of knitting.

Lately, I've been a bit of a joiner. I signed up for round 4 of Sockapalooza, perhaps idiotically, but I participated in Round 2 and it was a good experience, so I'm chancing it once again. I've really be in a socks and lace mode as of late. My pal says that she prefers fall colors and I took that to mean oranges and reds. After further re-reading her information, I realized I didn't pay attention to the part that also mentioned her idea of fall colors was oranges, but also reds, blues and greens. Yikes! The colors I chose were more oranges and browns, so none of those other colors. I guess this should teach me to pay more attention to the full text of an email.

I contacted my pal to see what preferences she had in terms of cables, texture, stitch patterns or lace and she was pretty open to anything, which is good. I kept thinking I would do one of the new sock patterns I've seen on the web, but I also ended up switching yarns at the last minute. I started to use my Brick House Fearless Fibers yarn as socks for my Sockapalooza pal, but then realized that I think the yarn is pretty, but is very fine. I cast on for 72 stitches and honestly the love was not there to knit those socks and to also do it quickly as these socks need to be finished and mailed by the beginning of August and I'm casting on the 1st week of July. Yeah, a bit of a time crunch.

So new yarn to the rescue, Fortissima Socka mit Bambou. I saw this at one of my local LYSs and picked it up. Cast on shortly thereafter and by Monday of this week, I'd completed ribbing and started the heel flap. The colors in the skein were not indicative of a pattern, if any. I'm not 100% convinced I like it, but this is the final yarn as I'm not switching again. The bamboo gives the sock yarn a softer hand, but it is splitty like a mofo. No fun that.

I'm using a tried and true sock pattern favorite, Thuja. Man, do I love this sock pattern, so simple, but has a nice effect. I might even use this for socks for M. He's been hinting lately for a pair of socks.

Then, because I couldn't just have one pair of socks on the needle and for someone else, I had to immediately cast on for socks from my wonderful coffee swap pal, Kathy. I've cast on for a pair of short socks, not really anklets, but with a 4 inch cuff, some shortish socks with a K3, P2 ribbing (not exactly sure why I did that) with Sockotta. I like how the yarn is knitting up. I've dubbed them my Lemon Ice socks. I'm knitting them with 60 stitches on size 2 needles. This is really information for me, in case I forget by the time I cast for the second sock (ha!). Also, because it is the Summer of Socks, I obviously had to have new socks on the needles to count towards it, right? :-)

That's it for now chicas. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Ballet Camisole revealed

2007-07-09T08:35:00.000-06:00

Thanks for all the well wishes for M2. He really enjoyed reading them and was surprised that so many people that didn't "know" him would send him birthday wishes. He definitely enjoyed his 14th this year. And is attempting to act more maturely too! Yay for us.

The weekend went by too quickly as usual. A lot of time was spent on the Mystery Stole 3 (yeah, I signed up too this year). But I'm still so slow and behind. Anyhow, I've got something else to show you. FOs abound in this household lately.

Let me present to you a top I'm very pleased with. Knitting Ballet Camisole was fairly easy, but I decided to add short rows in the bust area.

If the pictures look a little wonky, sorry about that. I played around with the tripod and automatic timer feature on the camera. I took several photos and selected the best, as it were, but they are definitely not a substitute for having a photographer of the bf taking the photos for me.

A side view of the Ballet Cami, showcasing my faux "side seams"

Another view of the Cami:

Pattern: Ballet Camisole
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport
Needles used: US 6 (4 mm needles)
Start: end of May 2007
Finish: June 24, 2007

Modifications: for the most part, I knit this pattern as written. It was in the round, top-down, which is one of my favorite methods. However, another knitter on Ravelry admitted that she wished she'd added short row shaping at the bust. Since it's something I've wanted to try and understand successfully, I decided to incorporate it into this pattern. I also planned on having the knitting done up to the armholes before I went on vacation, but that didn't happen. I was forced to figure it out myself. Luckily for me, the internet is always open. Thanks to Bonne Marie and Lucia's tutorials, I was able to figure it out. I was ever so pleased with myself. I am typically not the the type to figure out things by pictures alone. I tend to prefer to have someone show me, usually just figuring out by a book method doesn't "stick" with me and I don't grasp the concept as clearly. I guess determination won out this time. So much so, I'm ready to incorporate bust shaping in another project soon.

That's pretty much it for this project. A quick and easy knit and it fits well, so I'm chuffed!

Happy 14th!

2007-07-06T07:31:00.000-06:00

Today marks the birthday of my stepson, aka M2. He is 14 today. A little older, a lot taller, perhaps somewhat wiser? I'm so proud of the person he's becoming.

Happy Birthday M2! Let the festivities begin!!

Opal socks finally completed

2007-07-05T08:02:00.000-06:00

Yikes, these Opal socks went on forever. Granted, they were my "to-go" project, that mainly sat underneath the passenger front seat and got a few rounds worked on while waiting at appointments and such, so it was never a high priority sock. Although nearing the end of the school year, I simply could not focus on anything other simple stockinette socks. I did a lot of wrong things on these socks, but in the end, I think they're ok. They pretty much comforted me through the semester and gave me relief from the stress of class and what ifs. When I couldn't concentrate on my research, it was easy to knit a few rows of stockinette, always so soothing to this tired mind. At one point, I thought I should turn the heel, as I usually knit socks with a 5 1/2 to 6 inch cuff, but not much longer than that. Instead, after the 6 inch mark, I kept knitting and knitting b/c I needed the stockinette. Turning the heel isn't terribly difficult and I've done a million times before, but once I knit the heel flap, turned the heel and then picked up stitches, I'd have to pay attention to my decreases for awhile, whereas if I kept knitting, I didn't have to think about it.

I finally turned the heel and went on finished the first sock while in Boston. I proudly showed my finished socks (one each of Horcrux and the Opal socks) to Julia, while having brunch in Boston. She happened to ask me if my feet were tiny, then I realized that I decreased for the toe about two-three inches too soon and the foot while snug, did fit, but not very comfortably.

I duly cast on for the second sock and knitted happily away and then lost one of my needles while in Boston. Cyn kindly lent a pair of her dpns and I continued on knitting away. At one point back in Denver, I decided I didn't want the metal needles anymore and I picked up a pair of wooden dpns and switched to them. Except what I didn't realize was the needles I'd used to knit the socks initially were US size 1s (2.25 mm) and the needles I switched to were US 1.5s (2.5 mm). I noticed the sock fabric was a bit looser than I normally like and wondered what the cause could be and then realized the needle size was different. All of this long story to say, I finally finished them and went back and fixed the first toe, so now I can wear that sock too.

Whew, here they are:

Pattern: Basic stockinette socks, no pattern
Yarn: Opal sock yarn (about 5 years in the stash)
Started: January '07
Completed: July 3, 2007
Modifications: every one in the book

A Wonderful Package

2007-07-03T22:10:00.000-06:00

I had a wonderful coffee swap partner, Kathy. This was quite the fun swap, actually knowing who your partner is. We kept in contact and I received my package from Kathy on Monday evening.

It certainly brought a smile to my face when I opened the package.

Once I opened it, I found lots of wonderful treats inside. A wild blueberry scone mix, a container of Hit Cookie, Creme Brulee flavored coffee (creme brulee is my favorite dessert, so I'm looking forward to having some of the coffee soon), a knitting diary and of course, yarn! Enclosed were two skeins of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (in a color I love) and it's so soft. And a skein of Sockotta. This is a cotton/wool/nylon mix and a sock yarn that I've not yet knit with before. The sock yarn is in colors I would normally not choose, but yet I was immediately in love with. These will make a great pair of summer socks!

Thanks again Kathy!

Vacation Knitting

2007-06-28T10:53:00.000-06:00

While I was on vacation, it wasn't all hanging out with the Neph and acquiring yarn. There was some knitting happening too, just not as much as I expected, but that's ok too. It was my vacation.

First up is the almost finished Ballet Camisole. In the picture, you see that it is awaiting a 3 needle bindoff. However, that has occurred and it's been shipped off to my favorite crocheter to give it a single crochet edge around the neckline and armholes. This was a fun knit and I learned short rows, bonus! The pattern didn't call for it, but Lise on Ravelry told me the only thing she would change would be to add short rows and thus I decided it was time for me to get over it and add them to this project.

After much searching online for various tutorials, it wasn't as hard as I thought! Yay!

Second, the Cafe Curtain socks are coming along, but they are not quite as fun to knit as other patterns. It is a beautiful pattern, but either I'm not into it as much as say Monkey or Thuja or I don't know. I like it and think that I want to finish it, but with the Summer of Socksalready started, this sock will be put down for awhile, to focus on new socks. Not that my goal for SOS is any huge number, but I'm not too motivated by this one right now.

Lastly, DFS looks even bigger than this right now. I'm on the last repeat of the shawl. I'm following the scarf pattern as I have 500 yds and the shawl version calls for 750 yards. I've decided to add one repeat to the pattern to see where I am yardage-wise. Right now, it looks good to add one additional repeat, but I haven't decided if I will go beyond that. I know another person that recently made this said the edging used up a lot of yarn and I really would rather not repeat running out of yarn on a shawl (Seraphim anyone?).

The Opal socks are still being knit on, but I'm a bit disappointed with them right now. It turns out I knitted the second sock on the wrong size needles, so the fabric is a bit looser than I prefer. I thought of ripping it out, but I do have one finished sock. However, I did a lot of wrong things on this pair of socks and I'd like for them to just be finished. I made the cuff much longer than I usually like, so now it's so long, calf shaping should have been added. Basically it's either rip and redo or finish what I've got. I'm with option B at this point, simply because while these socks are not perfect, they can be used as work socks. Because I always get cold and in the summer/spring, early fall, wearing either mules, clogs or open-toed shoes, my feet get cold. Nothing like wool socks to keep those toesies warm! Plodding along, I will get these finished, just because I'm sick of them. And then I can cast on for my Sockapalooza pal's sock. I really do need to get started on them.

That's all for now.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

2007-06-25T22:27:00.001-06:00

Back from the ATL! Yay. I'm happy to be back home and getting settled into my regular routine again.

The trip was great. I had a great time seeing the world's cutest nephew! (ok, he's my nephew, so he's exceedingly cute, but obviously doesn't negate other people's relatives and such). I was such a bad auntie, totally forgot my camera (camnesia strikes again). I guess that's what happens when you're packing at the last minute, something was bound to be forgotten.

I had a chance to bond with my nephew and he calls me "Tee Tee Wand-er(apparently getting that -da on the end of my name is difficult for him). It's close enough and I'll take it. I think it was hardest to leave him, than my mom and sister.

We ended up not going to Louisiana for my aunt's wedding anniversary, for various reasons, and hung out in Atlanta instead. We went to the Atlanta Zoo for an event sponsored through my sister's job, as well as heading out to Six Flags over Georgia with my sister, late last Sunday evening to get in a few rides before the park closed.

I did seek out a yarn store. Pixie was kind enough to let me know that Knitch was the store to visit. I managed to get myself there, driving through Atlanta's crazy traffic,, and hung out there for a few hours. It was a nice store and everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. I found there were other knitters from out-of-state that stopped in to the store and they were equally friendly with everyone. I guess because I hung out so long, one customer came up to me to ask my opinion and later on asked me if I worked there and I had to tell her no. It was pretty funny.

Of course I could not leave empty-handed, a colorway of Claudia's Handpaint, Caribbean Blue, was so beautiful, I had to have it. A couple of Blue Sky Alpacas patterns and a little something for my Coffee Swap pal, that will not be pictured here.

Hmm, and a little yarn to make this:

(yarn courtesy of Michael's -sale for $4/skein, definitely a deal)

That's it for now. Back later with knitting progress on those WIPs.