1. I'm sewing together a baby sweater, and I find the seaming really stressful.
2. I still have no pictures of anything I'm knitting.
3. I have several blog comments to which I have not replied. Here are my replies:
a. I have no strong opinion about the yarn shop in Winchester, because I really didn't pay that much attention to the yarn that wasn't from the Plucky Knitter. The staff seemed super friendly though.
b. I'm not a member of Pinterest. I really don't know what it is, but hope to have time to figure it out soon.
4. My time is currently being taken up by my obsession with reading everything possible about Rhinebeck and backing up all the photos on the laptop.
5. I finished knitting the back of the CPH last night. I will cast on for a front tomorrow. It will take me the rest of the day to finish sewing up the baby sweater in #1.
Happy Knitting!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Time Warp
I've been watching a friend's daughter the last couple of days. Today it was raining, so I took the girls to the indoor play place at Burger King so they could play and I could knit. I brought my CPH (you can see a picture that does not do the color justice here). The girls played for over 2 hours. Unfortunately, an hour and a half in, I realized I had a crossed a cable the wrong way. I tried to only drop down the 6 stitches involved and fix it, but I wasn't successful. I had to rip back.
So, I went into BK with 21.5" knit, and walked out of BK with only 21" knit.
Ugh.
Tomorrow's another knitting day.....
So, I went into BK with 21.5" knit, and walked out of BK with only 21" knit.
Ugh.
Tomorrow's another knitting day.....
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Stashed!
As you can see from the right of the blog, I've created a Twitter account. I really don't know why, except it seemed like a better idea than dusting today. Although, Twitter and Firefox don't seem to get along very well, but if you're viewing this in IE, you should be able to see my Tweets.
As part of my "Plan for Rhinebeck" (yes, it has a title. I'm totally obsessed with planning this trip), I'm saving money. That means I'm not spending money. I'm particularly not spending money on yarn.Ergo, I must knit with the stash. Also, storage for my stash is limited to one dresser drawer, one medium-sized bin, and one under the bed bin. I don't have room for a lot more yarn, and I want to be able to buy a lot more yarn at the Sheep and Wool Festival. Ergo, same conclusion, knit with the stash.
Although I often have projects in mind for the yarn in my stash (almost exclusively single skeins), those projects often get pushed aside for "bigger" projects, and I go buy the yarn I need. Then, when the need for a "small" projects hits, I start to dig through my stash and knit something up. I've decided to be a bit more organized this year. Today, I put most of my stash up on Ravelry (I lost steam towards the end, and didn't feel like searching for the skeins of sock yarn hiding in my backpack), and I spent a little bit of time matching some of the yarn to specific projects in my queue (ain't Ravelry grand?).
I have two large projects to work on the rest of winter (my Viking Hoodie, which really, I will show a picture one of these days, and the Knitpicks Bohus-style sweater I started last year), at least three skeins of sock yarn, and a couple of nice one skein projects planned, I think I'll be able to keep myself busy until October.
At least, I hope so.
Happy Knitting!
As part of my "Plan for Rhinebeck" (yes, it has a title. I'm totally obsessed with planning this trip), I'm saving money. That means I'm not spending money. I'm particularly not spending money on yarn.Ergo, I must knit with the stash. Also, storage for my stash is limited to one dresser drawer, one medium-sized bin, and one under the bed bin. I don't have room for a lot more yarn, and I want to be able to buy a lot more yarn at the Sheep and Wool Festival. Ergo, same conclusion, knit with the stash.
Although I often have projects in mind for the yarn in my stash (almost exclusively single skeins), those projects often get pushed aside for "bigger" projects, and I go buy the yarn I need. Then, when the need for a "small" projects hits, I start to dig through my stash and knit something up. I've decided to be a bit more organized this year. Today, I put most of my stash up on Ravelry (I lost steam towards the end, and didn't feel like searching for the skeins of sock yarn hiding in my backpack), and I spent a little bit of time matching some of the yarn to specific projects in my queue (ain't Ravelry grand?).
I have two large projects to work on the rest of winter (my Viking Hoodie, which really, I will show a picture one of these days, and the Knitpicks Bohus-style sweater I started last year), at least three skeins of sock yarn, and a couple of nice one skein projects planned, I think I'll be able to keep myself busy until October.
At least, I hope so.
Happy Knitting!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Two Things
Two things showed up in the Boston Area yesterday:
Winter
And the Plucky Knitter Trunk Show at Another Yarn Shop in Winchester.
Besides Plucky Knitter Yarns (and the Plucky Knitter herself!), Thea Coleman (aka BabyCocktails) was also there with samples of her patterns. I'm a HUGE fan of Dark and Stormy, and seeing it in person only makes me love it more. In fact, all of Thea's designs are gorgeous, and I have a few of them in my queue. Plucky yarns are just as gorgeous as you think they are, and I see why the shop sells out so quickly! Sadly, a sweater's worth of yarn was not in my budget yesterday (as it was, I had to break out my "Save for Rhinebeck" envelope, but I did snag one skein of Plucky Primo! Fingering in the color "Medieval".
I knew I would knit a hat or cowl with it, and I thought the gray was a good neutral to go with my various color coats and vests (purple, black, red, not sure about the light blue). I've already picked out this cowl, designed by the Plucky Knitter herself. But I have to wonder, is it wrong to knit Renaissance with Medieval?
Winter
And the Plucky Knitter Trunk Show at Another Yarn Shop in Winchester.Besides Plucky Knitter Yarns (and the Plucky Knitter herself!), Thea Coleman (aka BabyCocktails) was also there with samples of her patterns. I'm a HUGE fan of Dark and Stormy, and seeing it in person only makes me love it more. In fact, all of Thea's designs are gorgeous, and I have a few of them in my queue. Plucky yarns are just as gorgeous as you think they are, and I see why the shop sells out so quickly! Sadly, a sweater's worth of yarn was not in my budget yesterday (as it was, I had to break out my "Save for Rhinebeck" envelope, but I did snag one skein of Plucky Primo! Fingering in the color "Medieval".
I knew I would knit a hat or cowl with it, and I thought the gray was a good neutral to go with my various color coats and vests (purple, black, red, not sure about the light blue). I've already picked out this cowl, designed by the Plucky Knitter herself. But I have to wonder, is it wrong to knit Renaissance with Medieval?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Finishitis
I'm sure most of you have read the Yarn Harlot's blog entry about the case of startitis that seems to hit her every January. This year, I'm the complete opposite and have gotten a mad case of finishitis. Projects that have been hanging out for weeks, or even months, are finding their way out into daylight again to be finished. It's not a bad way to start off the New Year, although it is infringing upon my Central Park Hoodie knitting. (Hmmmm, I don't think I've blogged about the CPH yet. Remind me to talk more about that in a minute).
First up, I finished Baby Girl's Christmas stocking.
(This picture was taken before I put her name on it. Her name is on it now. Little Boy's name is still not on his, but if this case of finishitis continues, that will be taken care of soon). Two more stockings to knit - one for my husband and one for me. Hopefully, they'll get done by December....
The Oriental Lily also made it out of the UFO pile. This was kind of ridiculous. All I had left to do was purl 20 stitches, bind off a sleeve, and weave it the ends. For some reason though, I just didn't enjoy knitting this. Too bad, because it is SO cute!
This was a knit for the 4th Trimester ministry at my church. Hopefully, some pretty new baby will get to wear it soon!
I also finished a pair of mittens for Little Boy (sadly, no picture). One mitten needed a thumb, and both needed the ends woven in. Strangely enough, they're totally not the same size, despite using the same directions for each of them. I'm pretty sure the size difference has to do with me not counting correctly. Since Little Boy loses mittens on a regular basis, I've decided not to worry about it. At least one of them will be lost before I have a chance to knit a match.
Besides the Anniversary Pi Shawl, I think my only other UFOs are a fair isle hat I started a couple of years ago. That's on hold until I can order more yarn (it was a kit, and totally did NOT come with enough black yarn to complete the hat), and a sweater I started for little girl right after I learned to knit. I'm in no hurry to finish that one, because I don't really have anyone for whom to finish it. Maybe I should just frog it and find another use for the yarn.....hmmm......
In the meantime, I had decided to knit the Viking version of the Central Park Hoodie to be my Rhinebeck sweater, and my mom so nicely bought me some lovely green Cascade 220 Superwash for Christmas. I had a rough time with the back ribbing, but seem to be on track now.
What are you knitting these days?
First up, I finished Baby Girl's Christmas stocking.
(This picture was taken before I put her name on it. Her name is on it now. Little Boy's name is still not on his, but if this case of finishitis continues, that will be taken care of soon). Two more stockings to knit - one for my husband and one for me. Hopefully, they'll get done by December....The Oriental Lily also made it out of the UFO pile. This was kind of ridiculous. All I had left to do was purl 20 stitches, bind off a sleeve, and weave it the ends. For some reason though, I just didn't enjoy knitting this. Too bad, because it is SO cute!
This was a knit for the 4th Trimester ministry at my church. Hopefully, some pretty new baby will get to wear it soon!I also finished a pair of mittens for Little Boy (sadly, no picture). One mitten needed a thumb, and both needed the ends woven in. Strangely enough, they're totally not the same size, despite using the same directions for each of them. I'm pretty sure the size difference has to do with me not counting correctly. Since Little Boy loses mittens on a regular basis, I've decided not to worry about it. At least one of them will be lost before I have a chance to knit a match.
Besides the Anniversary Pi Shawl, I think my only other UFOs are a fair isle hat I started a couple of years ago. That's on hold until I can order more yarn (it was a kit, and totally did NOT come with enough black yarn to complete the hat), and a sweater I started for little girl right after I learned to knit. I'm in no hurry to finish that one, because I don't really have anyone for whom to finish it. Maybe I should just frog it and find another use for the yarn.....hmmm......
In the meantime, I had decided to knit the Viking version of the Central Park Hoodie to be my Rhinebeck sweater, and my mom so nicely bought me some lovely green Cascade 220 Superwash for Christmas. I had a rough time with the back ribbing, but seem to be on track now.
What are you knitting these days?
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Milo
I've had Milo in my favorites on Ravelry for a while now, but I just couldn't seem to find the right excuse to cast on.
Until I realized that my (excuse me while I take a deep breath) grandniece would be at my in-laws' house on Christmas Day. (Yes, you read that right. I'm a great aunt. There's an 18 year age difference in my husband's siblings, and his oldest nephew is only 2 years younger than me. This nephew has a one year old. We've already discussed that the only way this child is going to call me "great aunt" is to describe my awesomeness).
And so, I cast on for Milo using the Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere in my stash. (This was one of the best gifts ever! I received a bag and a half of this from a Ravelry friend, because she doesn't like purple and noticed that I knit a lot of purple. I love purple!)
This picture doesn't show off the pattern very well, but it does capture the color of the yarn much better than the other pictures.
I love this pattern! It's a seamless knit from the top down, and the designer provides several options for the cable down the front. I used this one:
(See, the color is totally off). I think it would be easy enough to swap in any cable or pattern that you liked. The pattern is sized for newborns through 6 year olds. I think I'm going to knit it in worsted weight yarn for Little Girl to make a slightly larger one for her. And honestly, I might even do the math to size one for me! I just think it's super cute. Here's a picture that shows off the final product:
Grandniece's mom really seemed to appreciate that the top was handmade, and even thanked me for including the wash and care instructions. I'm sure grandniece will be getting more handknit items in the future!
Until I realized that my (excuse me while I take a deep breath) grandniece would be at my in-laws' house on Christmas Day. (Yes, you read that right. I'm a great aunt. There's an 18 year age difference in my husband's siblings, and his oldest nephew is only 2 years younger than me. This nephew has a one year old. We've already discussed that the only way this child is going to call me "great aunt" is to describe my awesomeness).
And so, I cast on for Milo using the Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere in my stash. (This was one of the best gifts ever! I received a bag and a half of this from a Ravelry friend, because she doesn't like purple and noticed that I knit a lot of purple. I love purple!)
This picture doesn't show off the pattern very well, but it does capture the color of the yarn much better than the other pictures.
I love this pattern! It's a seamless knit from the top down, and the designer provides several options for the cable down the front. I used this one:
(See, the color is totally off). I think it would be easy enough to swap in any cable or pattern that you liked. The pattern is sized for newborns through 6 year olds. I think I'm going to knit it in worsted weight yarn for Little Girl to make a slightly larger one for her. And honestly, I might even do the math to size one for me! I just think it's super cute. Here's a picture that shows off the final product:
Grandniece's mom really seemed to appreciate that the top was handmade, and even thanked me for including the wash and care instructions. I'm sure grandniece will be getting more handknit items in the future!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Celtic Knot Stole
I had started this stole in the spring of 2008. I had hoped to make it for my best friend, and when she got engaged that Christmas, I was hoping to have it finished for her wedding.
HA!
It turns out it is impossible to knit with laceweight yarn, or white yarn, when one has a newborn. I've worked a row here, or a row there since then, but it was no where close to being completed. I had decided that 2011 would be the stole's final year on the needles. It had to get done!
It also turns out that 2011 was a year that sucked eggs for my friend. Sucked right up until the end, when she finally decided to wait for 2012 by hiding under the covers, praying that nothing else came along for her to deal with. The sucky part of all of this for me is that I live 8 hours away from her, and I have 4 kids, and it just isn't possible for me to drop everything and go hug her, no matter how many times I've wanted to do last year. And believe me, there's been a ton of times.
2012 holds a lot of questions for my friend, and there's still a lot to deal with, but now, she can wrap herself up in a knitted hug, whenever she needs to. It's not quite the same as having your best friend with you, but hopefully all the love and prayers knit into this stole will make a difference.
I'm actually glad it took me so long to knit this - my chart reading skills and ability to "read" my knitting have improved quite a bit since I began this project, and that made knitting the bulk of it a lot easier. I'm thrilled with the final product.
My friend seemed thrilled too, and I felt quite complimented when her husband exclaimed: "Wow! You're good!"
I hope it helps my friend to have a much happier 2012!
HA!
It turns out it is impossible to knit with laceweight yarn, or white yarn, when one has a newborn. I've worked a row here, or a row there since then, but it was no where close to being completed. I had decided that 2011 would be the stole's final year on the needles. It had to get done!
It also turns out that 2011 was a year that sucked eggs for my friend. Sucked right up until the end, when she finally decided to wait for 2012 by hiding under the covers, praying that nothing else came along for her to deal with. The sucky part of all of this for me is that I live 8 hours away from her, and I have 4 kids, and it just isn't possible for me to drop everything and go hug her, no matter how many times I've wanted to do last year. And believe me, there's been a ton of times.
2012 holds a lot of questions for my friend, and there's still a lot to deal with, but now, she can wrap herself up in a knitted hug, whenever she needs to. It's not quite the same as having your best friend with you, but hopefully all the love and prayers knit into this stole will make a difference.
I'm actually glad it took me so long to knit this - my chart reading skills and ability to "read" my knitting have improved quite a bit since I began this project, and that made knitting the bulk of it a lot easier. I'm thrilled with the final product.
My friend seemed thrilled too, and I felt quite complimented when her husband exclaimed: "Wow! You're good!"
I hope it helps my friend to have a much happier 2012!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year!
Welcome, 2012!!
We've had a wonderful Christmas, and I'll post about it when we get home (we're at my parents' house until tomorrow.) My resolutions this year are short and simple:
1. Exercise more
I've lost about 20 pounds in the last 16 weeks. In fact, I lost or stayed the same every week except this one (and who doesn't gain a couple of pounds between Christmas and New Year's?) I'd like to lose a few more pounds, but really focus on getting in better shape this year.
2. Knit more
My mom and I have decided to attend the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck this year. I'd like to have one or two new sweaters wear, and I have some yarn for other designated projects I'd like to have knit up before the Festival in October.
3. Read more
This will be a lot easier, because my awesome husband bought me a Nook Color for Christmas! With the adjustable font, it's easy to knit and read at the same time!
Do you have any resolutions for 2012?
We've had a wonderful Christmas, and I'll post about it when we get home (we're at my parents' house until tomorrow.) My resolutions this year are short and simple:
1. Exercise more
I've lost about 20 pounds in the last 16 weeks. In fact, I lost or stayed the same every week except this one (and who doesn't gain a couple of pounds between Christmas and New Year's?) I'd like to lose a few more pounds, but really focus on getting in better shape this year.
2. Knit more
My mom and I have decided to attend the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck this year. I'd like to have one or two new sweaters wear, and I have some yarn for other designated projects I'd like to have knit up before the Festival in October.
3. Read more
This will be a lot easier, because my awesome husband bought me a Nook Color for Christmas! With the adjustable font, it's easy to knit and read at the same time!
Do you have any resolutions for 2012?
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