RRRRRiiiipppppp!

Before I get on to today’s topic, there are a couple of loops I need to close.  You see, I recently went back and re-read all my previous posts!

First, last time I talked about my new slippers.  I also mentioned slippers back in March 2010 – should I darn the hole or make new ones?  Well, to clarify, yes, I darned the green ones back then and they made it another nine months.  Last month the time had finally come to make the new ones which I am happily wearing right now.

Next, I’ve shared several photos of gorgeous yarns I’ve bought and I realized I’ve not followed up with things I’ve made.  There’s a reason – most are still safely sitting on the shelf waiting for me to do something with them!  I have gone back to the photo of the yarns I purchased over the holidays and promise I will post updates on everything made from those!

So what about ripping?  Well, coming out of this week’s ice storm, I thought it was finally time to make myself a pair of Bella’s Mittens.  This pattern is based on the mittens the character Bella wore in the Twilight movies (at least that’s what the description says).  I made a pair last fall for the fundraising project at the Geocaching Fall Picnic and I’ve wanted a pair ever since.

I chose the green Saphira yarn I got at the after Christmas sale and dove right in.  After a few rows I decided that a single strand wasn’t going to make a thick enough fabric and ripped it out to begin again.  Much better!  These are really thick and should be very wind-proof.

Breezed through the first mitten.  The only change I made was to go up one needle size for the hand.  When I tried on the other pair I made I thought the hand was just a tad short, my middle finger was right up against the tip of the mitten.  By going up a needle size the stitches became just a pinch bigger and it provided enough wiggle room without having to change the pattern.  In most patterns, I’d just have added a row or two but due to the cabling it would have thrown the pattern off.

Started the second mitten and was rolling right along when I noticed something. Because this is a variegated yarn, the two strands I held together for the first mitten were rarely the same color giving an overall tweedy appearance.  On this mitt the colors were running concurrently so the bottom was very dark and shading lighter as I went up.  I kept going but it was just bugging me.  Well, I finally made the call.  I wasn’t going to be happy with the finished product so 3/4 of the way through, I tore the whole thing out!

Rewound some of the yarn and was much more strategic on how the two strands were held together and begin again.  It’s not that I want the two to be in any way identical but there was just too much difference in shading for my taste.  Just finished them and the look much better!

On the keeping warm front, I’ve made two Gaptastic Cowls.  I mentioned earlier that cowls are hot right now and this pattern was quite easy.  The first one was out of the Saphira in grey I got at the after Christmas sale.  I was originally going to use it for the soles of the new slippers but I missed the word superwash on the label – it won’t felt!  So, I thought I’d substitute it in for this pattern.  Now that I’ve done my mittens in this yarn, I think I had the same problem with the cowl – the yarn’s just a bit too fine, I should have doubled it here, too.  So while I like it, I knew I could do better.  Went out and bought the Wool-Ease Thick & Quick it called for and made another in cream.

The Grey Cowl
And the White one!

Finally, I had one ball of Cashmerino I got on clearance down in Asheville at Yarn Paradise and had no idea what to do with it.  The book Cowl Girls (which was ironically purchased at the same shop) came to the rescue!  The ‘Need for Tweed’ pattern is a three tiered cowl and the top part was made out of just this yarn!  Four repeats of the pattern and I had a super-cute neck warmer that will look great with my office coat.  I find it interesting that I really wouldn’t have looked twice at the complete pattern but this one section suited my needs perfectly!

A Cashmerino Neck Warmer

What’s next?  Bruce wants a pair of fingerless mittens and I found a perfect pattern from the 1940s!  But, that story is for next time . . .

Knit Notes

I was nosing around Ravelry (the online site for knitters) last week and ran across the group 52in52. Essentially it’s a group for knitters who pledge to make 52 items in a year. Yikes! It’s interesting to see photos of all of the things flying off of people’s needles but I sure don’t want or need that type of pressure!

Another group that I think is much more realistic is one I actually learned about from the Lion Brand Studio Store’s Twitter Feed – the stashbustarmy. This Ravelry group is dedicated to people who are committed to using the yarn they already own rather than going out and buy even more yarn for projects. This is much more my speed!

I took this idea to heart when I wore a hole through the slippers I made myself two years ago.

Holey Slippers!

I grabbed a leftover skein of Lanaloft from Bruce’s slippers for the inner soles (the color is ok but just not my preference), grey Cascade 220 that I used to make wings for the Mochimochi bats and the yellow Cascade 220 that I’d used small bits of on several projects.  They knitted up quickly but I did run out of the yellow about 3 rows shy of being done with the second slipper.  No problem – I just switched to the grey early and now I’ll always be able to tell the right from the left!

Here are both pairs. The new ones haven't been felted yet so they're much bigger and 'floppier'. You can see the bigger area of grey on the one on the far left.

Tossed them into the washing machine with the towel load earlier today and they’ve felted pretty well.  They’re in the dryer as I type so the fabric will firm up even more and soon my toes will be warm again when I putter around the house!

Here they are after being felted. Just out of the washer so they're wet and cold!

2011 Knitting

Since Bruce has broken his New Year’s Resolution about publishing on time, it leaves this space open for me to to talk yarn!

Here's all the yarn I'll be playing with in 2011!

Yes, I’ve gone a bit bonkers.  In the past week I’ve been in five different yarn shops – four in Asheville, NC and one here in Indy that was having a year-end sale!  This doesn’t include the couple of things I recently ordered online and the things I got at the Stitches & Scones Sock Retreat in December.

The reason I was in so many yarn shops in Asheville was I discovered a brochure in our hotel lobby for the Fabric Fiber Bead Trail – uh oh!  Actually it’s a wonderful reference and introduced me to a couple of new places I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.  It’s sitting right here on my desk and will get put away for our next trip to the area!

Spent some time yesterday photographing and organizing all of this new stash and figuring out what I’ll be making in 2011 so I thought I’d share.

Of course there are socks.  I finally finished Bruce’s ‘Back to School’ socks over the holidays and am getting ready to cast on the next pair.  You can almost see the yarn on the left side in the photo it’s stripey in nice, muted browns.  I’m also doing a pair for myself in the red and white sparkly yarn at the back – figure they can do dual duty for Christmas and Valentine’s Day!

Cowls are a hot fashion trend this season so I’m doing one out of the sky blue I got (on sale) at Yarn Paradise in Asheville and another out of a really chunky variegated black/grey yarn by Tahki.  Those two should go with about everything.

I’m also going to finally do a pair of Bella’s mittens for myself (you Twilight fans should get the reference) I’m debating between the lime green and the charcoal – we’ll see what happens.

The list goes on, but I’ll leave it there for now.  Watch for progress updates later on. Time to knit!

Hoosier Hills Fiber Fest

Last weekend I went down to the Johnson County Fairgrounds to the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival.  Saw many wonderful fibers but still left with my usual issue – I didn’t have specific projects in mind so I only came home with a single skein of hand painted yarn.  In actuality it’s a good thing because I really don’t need any more yarn.

Also, I’ve resisted learning to spin so was able to pass by all of the spinning wheels, drop spindles, fleeces and rovings without a second glance.  Well, that’s not quite accurate – I find the process fascinating and enjoy watching but have decided there’s still a lot to master with knitting.  Maybe someday, but certainly not now.

There were animals, too – some adorable lambs and very hot looking long-haired bunnies.  Always cute to pause and look.

One reason I went down was work-related.  The Northside Knitting Guild was doing a fundraiser on our behalf.  They had many cool things in their booth – their members are so talented.  I bought a bag recycled from a cashmere sweater – very clever!

The booth I found most interesting though was a woodworker who makes crochet hooks, knitting needles, and accessories.  I picked up some handmade buttons, a darning egg and a lucet.

What is a lucet you ask?  It’s the wishbone shaped thingie in the photo below.  They have been used for centuries to make cording.  I learned how to do it in a class ages ago . . . now where’s that project I never finished?

My treasures from the Hoosier Hills Fiber Fest

In other news, I finished the Super Scarf for the 2012 Super Bowl project earlier today.  It always feels good to get something done!

Here are a couple of photos of the final steps:

My autographed MINI-50 Years book just happens to be the perfect width for fringe.
I did alternating 2 blue and 1 white & 2 white and 1 blue.
Fringe!
After finishing the fringe it was time to trim it with the rotary cutter.
All ready to be turned in.

Super Scarves – 2012

“IN FEBRUARY, 2012, INDIANAPOLIS WILL WELCOME THE WORLD AS IT HOSTS NFL SUPER BOWL XLVI AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM. Staging this game – and dozens of related community events – will require the efforts of nearly 8,000 energetic volunteers. In an effort to show appreciation for each volunteer’s good work, the Indianapolis Host Committee is asking the community to hand knit a scarf for each of them. This personalized memento, aside from being part of the Official Volunteer Uniform, will serve as a warm “Thank You” for their service, and provide an instant connection between the scarf makers and volunteers. Indianapolis has a rich tradition of volunteerism so let’s continue that history with the Super Scarves Project!”  Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee

This announcement was made just before the 2010 Super Bowl and it sent ripples through the Indianapolis knitting community.  Each of our local yarn shops, as well as the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, are serving as suppliers of yarn and collection points.

No matter how you look at it, 8,000 is a lot of scarves!

Of course I committed to doing my part and have been working on a seed-stitch submission which is almost complete.  While people select and work their own patterns, each scarf must be in the standard blue and white of the Colts and be at least 6×76 inches.  To get that much done, the scarf has been with me quite a while – it’s been to Las Vegas, Chicago – twice!, down to North Carolina and the Dragon, to the Geocaching Spring Picnic and back and forth to the office numerous times.

And it’s finally in the home stretch!  At lunch today I finished up the last of the white stripe so only have about ten inches of blue and some decorative fringe left to do.  Whew!

Here's my progress so far!

If YOU have interest in participating in this project, check out the link above.  You have until November 2011 to get yours done!

Knowing I’m almost done with the scarf, I started a new pair of socks for Bruce over the weekend.  Had some wonderful Jitterbug yarn in Slate we picked up at the Garden District Needlework Shop in New Orleans over Christmas.  It will be perfect for ‘back to school’ – better not say that too loud as today’s the first day of summer vacation! : )

Jitterbug - Slate.

Mystery Shawl – Complete!

It’s done! After a couple of months, I’ve finished my first big lace project – the Mystery Shawl project through Stitches and Scones! In my last post, I previewed the yarn I used – Happy Feet Sock Yarn in red! Knowing I wear a lot of black, I thought red was an appropriate choice.

It was a mystery because every week or so, a clue was posted to the user group.  And, in most clues there was a choice of two different patterns so it was almost a ‘choose your own adventure!’   I was on track for about the first clue and a half but then we went away for Spring Break and got behind.  Actually this turned out to be a good thing as I realized that I wanted to increase the size of the shawl!

You see, as part of the project, the shop also held a session on blocking – something I’d not done before!  While at the class, I saw the finished size of several shawls (pre blocking – but more on that later) and decided I really wanted something larger.  So, after seeing what the magic of blocking can do, I went home and knit and knit and knit.  Because each row of the shawl added stitches, it took longer and longer to finish a row and I started to regret this decision but am really glad I stuck with it!

Fourteen extra pattern rows later it was time to do the border – another place I could choose between two different options.  I was again glad I was behind because I had been able to see both options complete on other people’s work and made the appropriate choice for my shawl.

Finally it was time to bind off and I was very lucky – after adding all the extra rows I ended up with a mere 5 yards of yarn left!

Now, about blocking:

In a nutshell, it consists of getting the project wet and pinning it out into its final size and shape to dry.  What it also does for lace is to provide stitch definition and opens up all the little holes that took so long to do!  My shawl was 21 x 48 inches at the widest points when it came off the needles.  After blocking, it’s 31 x 63 inches!

But, what you really want are photos so no more typing . . . here it is!

Here it is just off the needles - pretty scrunchy!
At the end of blocking - had just removed the blocking wires and pins!
Having its 'official' photo taken at Stitches & Scones to prove it was done!
And, finally, a little detail of the lace!

What was I thinking?? Mystery Shawl Project!

My LYS (Local Yarn Shop), Stitches & Scones, sent out an e-mail back in February announcing a mystery knit-along lace shawl project and, of course, I joined in. What was I thinking? I have plenty of yarn and projects – not to mention work, travel, etc. etc.  Yikes!

This is my first bigtime lace project and have to say, while not done, I’m learning lots!  So, while not the best timing, it’s probably a good thing that I took this on.  Counting and ripping out have been a big part of the process and I’m finally to the point where (knock wood) there’s been no ripping in at least 20 rows!

Right now I’m about 1/2-way done with clue 3 (of 4) with the deadline for completion being May 6.  But, not being able to leave well enough alone, I’m altering the pattern just a bit which is adding 14 more rows to the whole shawl.

This is the yarn I’m using – but you’ll need to wait until it’s done for more photos!

There’s lots more going on, too.  In fact, there are about ten things I’ve noted down that I’d like to chat about but that’s all for another day!

Well Used

It’s sad, over the weekend I discovered that I’ve worn through one of my green handknit slippers!   A while back I broke the thread that held a seam together and that was a quick repair – just a couple of minutes my feet were back to being toasty.  This is a real-live, worn out hole.

Now to decide what to do.  I could try to darn the hole – in issue #50 of the Gift of Stitching, that just so happened to arrive in my in-box today, there’s an article by Danielle Tebb about darning – complete with instructions about how to correctly do it!  There’s definite appeal in learning a new skill!

However, this could also be seen as an opportunity – I could make another pair!

Hmmmmm, have think about that one for a bit.

This does bring up the interesting point of usage.  I find I have very different thoughts about using items I’ve knitted and ones I’ve stitched.  Knitted items get used and stitched ones tend to be displayed and I have no idea why I have this bias.  All I can think is that I’ve always been taught that needlework must be done in a clean environment – wash my hands before I start, work on it in controlled environments, etc. etc.  Knitting, on the other hand, gets tossed in my purse, my briefcase, or luggage and is worked on in the car (no, not while I’m driving), on the lunch hour at work, or when I’m in ‘waiting’ situations.  Another point to ponder.

I’ve got one of my mitts done and have just cast on number two – very, very pleased with how it came out!  Look for photographs once I figure out how to best get the cabling to show up!

Keeping Warm

It’s February and we’ve got snow! Admittedly it is a few degrees warmer than it has been, but there’s still plenty of time to knit things to help us stay warm.

Bruce got his mittens a couple of weeks ago and I finally finished my “Hedgerow” socks today.  I am very pleased with how they came out.  There was one potential crisis yesterday – with just 17 rows to go (in the section where I was shaping the toe) I ran out of yarn!  Help!

Here’s how close to being done I was when I ran out:

Now what?  Went to the closet to see what I had that was the same weight of yarn and might not clash too badly and found another ball of the exact same yarn!  I had bought it quite a while ago and totally forgot that I had bought two balls!  Saved!

So, I was able to finish these off without further incident:

I look forward to trying them out in the next few days.  But, what to do next?  On the keeping warm front, my office is on the notoriously cold side of the building (which just so happens to be the notoriously warm side in the summer) so I’ve taken to wearing fingerless mitts while working at my computer.  The only pair I have is actually one of my first knitting attempts – a pair of reddish brown “Fingerless Garter Mitts” from the book One Skein by Leigh Radford.  I feel a bit like Bob Crachett whenever I put them on – just give me a green eyeshade and I’m ready to go!

Apparently, it’s time to upgrade to something a bit more elegant.

I bought some black fingering weight alpaca off the clearance rack at Stitches & Scones a couple of months ago thinking I’d use it to make a wrap or shawl but it’s perfect for the pattern I’ve selected – Alexandra Brinck’s “Linda K’s Yummy Mummy Wristwarmers.”  I’m 6 rows in and, so far, so good!

The Problem with Pairs!

All of my recent projects seem to have come in pairs – socks & mittens.

The problem with pairs it the simple fact that there are two of them! Finish a mitten or sock and then you’ve got to do it all over again!   The other big issue is making sure the two things actually match!

Taking meticulous notes comes in very handy with the latter.  For instance, on the purple socks I wrote down that I did ten rounds of ribbing at the top and ten pattern repeats for the leg.  Now doing #2, I know exactly where to switch to the next step!  I also have a nifty App on my iPhone called StitchMinder to help me out – it has four built in counters so I can keep track of my progress on various parts of a project.

I haven’t yet found a good solution to the former.  There is a method called ‘magic loop’ to do socks two at a time but I don’t think I’m not ready to try it just yet.

Bruce’s Troiclaux mittens are done so it’s time to share some photos.  Anyone catch the troi in the name?  Yes, these are mittens Mr. Spock would appreciate (and the reason Bruce thought they were so cool!).  As you can see from the fuzzies, they were grabbed and worn before there was a chance for photographs.

So, the only active project on my needles right now is the second of my two purple socks.  The leg is almost done and the plan is to have it done this weekend.  With the start of the Olympics, I think I’ll be getting a lot more TV (and knitting) time in over the next 16 days!

On a side note, in this week’s story Bruce talks about my 100 day geocaching challenge.  Yes, I finally succumbed – a number of friends have completed it and there’s even an event next month surrounding this accomplishment!  Today was day 74 so I’m definitely on the downhill slope.