Saturday Sky March 31, 2007

It's been gray and rainy since Tuesday, but it's been a nice gentle rain-the kind that soaks into the ground which we need after a dry winter. Temperature today didn't get to 50.

Keychain Sock Blocker Sock

Isn't this just too cute? The blocker and pattern is available from www.feltupdesigns.com. The sock blocker is beautifully made and is made by Debbie Jennings and service very good and personal. The sock is from left-over sock yarn on size 0 needles. It took me just over an hour to make this one, but I'm sure the next ones will be faster. The sock is knit in the traditional sock pattern!

Heere Be Dragone/Addi Lace Needles

I am giving up! This is start of the Heere Be Dragone Shawl by Sharon Winsauer. It is the most challenging pattern with several new stitches, horizontal stitch, belly stitch, and wing stitch, with twist stitches. (Just now in reading the pattern, I discovered I was doing twist stitches on the wrong side instead of slipping-DAH!) When I first saw the pattern, my first comment was that I don't like dragons, so why would I make a shawl with a big dragon on the back, but reading the pattern and the pictures and posts on the Dragon Knit A-Long I decided I love a challenge. Well, after many hours I got only this far and found I would have to start over as I don't like the edge slip stitches and there are several glaring -to me- mistakes. So I made a list of why I want to make the shawl and why I do not. The do not reasons won. Basically, I don't want to spend as many hours as this would take to the detriment of my many other UFO's. If I came up with a different border, I also might reconsider. The border is attached by picking up stitches along the edges and knitting the edging on. I do not like the looks of picked up stitches on delicate lace projects.

The needles I used on the shawl are the new Addi lace needles. I have expressed my opinion to several people who were all shocked that I do not like them. To clarify-I am not a fan of any of the Addi needles-being a bamboo/rosewood snob. The points are sharper that the regular Addi needles, but not as sharp as the Colonial rosewood needles (which are my favorite.)

Sheep Sweater

March 28, 2007

Raindrops on the windshield.

March 27, 2007

Red Hat Bathroom

Saturday Sky March 24, 2007

The sky was cloudy all day, but when I drove home from the LYS, a little blue peeked through. Temperature reached about 60.

Sublime Yarn

This is the nicest yarn I have ever felt-the kind you want to place on your pillow and sleep on and the items I've seen and felt made from it have wonderful drape and feel! I have only gotten two balls to make a hat from this book for a class I'll teach. The hat has the same stitch pattern as a sweater from the same book which I've been drooling over since I saw it. Hope I don't wear out the store sample petting it! The yarn content is 75% extra fine merino, 20% silk, and 5% cashmere. More later on this yarn.

More New Books

Two new books I discovered wandering my favorite bookstore!

KnitKnacks, Much Ado About Knitting, forward by Kari Cornell, the editor of For the Love of Knitting, is a compilation of short articles by various authors about knitting. Some topics include, How to Tell When You've Crossed the Line from Recreational Knitter to Full-fledged Addict, Knitting on the Road and Beyond, and True Confessions of a Yarnileptic. Obviously, it is a humorous book, but the pictures are priceless-vintage yarn company pictures, pattern book covers/pages and historical pictures about knitting. A fun, fast read.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Knitters, An Emergency Survival Guide by Marion Edmonds and Ahza Moore has so many elements it is hard to classify it as a certain type of book. There are basic techniques from casting on to Kitchener stitch. It talks about gauge, yarn and needle choices, reading a yarn label, reading a pattern, shaping, and finishing. (This list is NOT all inclusive.) Interspersed are questions and answers about problems that can occur with knitting. As much as I don't need another technique book, this one has good content which I am sure I will use in my teaching.

Tuesday Sky, March 20, 2007

I missed Saturday sky last week, but it was just a blue sky. This morning's sky was much more interesting.

Jodi Picoult

Instead of drinking green beer on St Patrick's day, many people waited to hear Jodi Picoult read from her new book, Nineteen Minutes, and answer questions.

She autographed books and posed for pictures, too. The book is excellent-as all of hers are-about bullying and a school shooting. She really gets into social issues and emotions of people involved.

Red Hatters Go to Fuddruckers

TOFUtsies

Leave it to South West Trading Company to come up with this sock yarn. It is 50% superwash wool, 25% soysilk fibers, 22.5% cotton and 2.5% Chitin. Chitin is fiber from shrimp and crab shells which the label claims is antibacterial. No, it is not sharp and scratchy, but a nice soft yarn. As much as I want to try knitting with it I am restraining myself because I already have 2 socks on needles (plus many other projects!) and don't want to buy more needles.

Circumnavigate Sweater

When I bought the Taos yarn for the Pinwheel sweater, I purchased enough for a 39 inch sweater. When that sweater went to Frogtown and I started the Circumnavigate Sweater, I began to think I wouldn't have enough yarn. My LYS did not have any more, but one of the employees thought she had 2 extra balls at home. When she checked, it was not Taos, but Spirit by Twilleys of Stamford. They look identical so I bought them from her. Here is a picture of 2 balls of each. Can you tell the difference?Answer: Top row left to right-Spirit, Taos.

Bottom row-left to right Taos, Spirit

I did not like the way the yarn was pooling in the sweater using just the Taos, so a little before the armholes I added the Spirit doing 2 rows of Spirit and 2 rows of Taos. (There is a pin at the spot I changed, but it didn't really show up.) I think it works just fine and I can't even tell the difference when I am working with the yarns.

Saturday Sky March 10 2007

A little less snow than a week ago? We've had about 3 days with temperatures in the 40's and more predicted so the snow is going fast.

Norwegian Sweater Class

Sweaters of four of my students in my Nowegian Sweater class. Next class we cut!

Bay of Fundy Sweater

I broke down and started the Bay of Fundy sweater from the yarn and pattern I purchased in New Brunswick. Instead of doing a gauge swatch, I started the sleeve hoping my gauge was right and the sweater would be started, but if it wasn't there wouldn't be much to take out. It actually worked out better doing the sleeve first as there is only one repeat of each pattern so was easier to figure out the design and it will be easier to do the body.

Saturday Sky March 3, 2007

A beautiful day today after 2 days of snow after last weekend's storm. I think we have broken the draught!

Circumnavigate Sweater

One of the classes at Arnhild's knitting camp was the circumnavigate sweater by Medrith Glover. (I could not take the class because I was teaching shadow knitting, but wanted to make the sweater again as it is fun to do.)The pattern was originally available in Knitter's #10 Spring 1988 and is available from her at www.ample-knitters.com/pricelist.pdf . It can be made from any yarn, any gauge, and sized to fit anyone. The construction is an engineering miracle with no seams to sew when finished. In the picture I've just fused the pockets to the body.

Yarn: Taos (the yarn from the pinwheel sweater I frogged.)

Needle: Size 8