St. George's Day Dragon Scarf Done & WIP

I am feeling accomplished. I got two things off my waiting to be completed pile so there isn't anything waiting now!

St. George's Day Dragon Scarf

Cast On:

April 24, 2008

Off the Needles:

May 21, 2008

Finished:

June 4, 2008

Generated by Flickr Album Maker

There are more pics in my flickr set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/akkasha/sets/72157604706892854/

Pattern:

Puff the Merino Dragon Scarf by Morehouse Merino

http://www.morehousefarm.com/KnittingKits/Scarves/Dragon/

Yarn:

Morehouse Farm Merino Merino 3-Strand

2.5 skeins = 350.0 yards (320.0m)

Needles:

US 8 / 5.0 mm Bamboo dpns

Cast on for St. George's feast. grin

I ordered another kit as it was on sale. I had figured I would cast it on at some point. Then my hubby read me something my mother-in-law wrote him. She was wondering what dragons do on St. George's feast day. *laugh* I love the woman.

So it seemed only right to cast on the scarf.

I recall why I like the pattern. It is actually pretty simple once you understand the basic repeats.

I really think the pattern was designed for a small child because it turns out way too short if you follow the pattern as is.

I still miss my first one, Dracul. *sniffle* I lost him on the PATH train last fall. The problem was he was too short. So he kept falling off me.

This time I picked up an extra skein of the yarn. I have done more repeats & making it wider at the top. It really wasn't to challenging to tweak the pattern to get it wider. I went out to 15 stitches for the garter edge. I also did the 12-14 stitch spikes 3 times each. And then I did the 15 stitch spike 5 times to get it long enough that I can wrap it around my neck.

With the modifications, it is 77" total. A good length for me. I don't think this one will get lost.

I had to tweak the decreases to the head a bit, but it wasn't too bad. Since I increase to 15 stitches for the garter area, it gave me 2 extra to decrease. So I did the spike decrease at 10 stitches instead of 8 as the pattern suggests. Then I did a 5 stitch bind off spike instead of the 4 in the pattern. This means I removed another row. I did the final spike as a 4 stitch decrease spike as the pattern said.

I also am doing it on size 8 needles this time. I did my first one on size 10s because I was knitting so tight that that is what I required to get gauge. However, I want this one to be tighter, thus more dense.

Though I have to be careful… This yarn breaks...a lot. In the first 2 repeats, the yarn has broken three times. I loosen up on my stitches but there was still some breaking. The good news is that wool sticks to itself. So I just rejoin the yarn. But it does mean working back to get enough to join the yarn together.

I confess I don't see how this yarn is three ply. I find it is very loose and there isn't much twist to it at all. Guess it is just my tight knitting coming back to bite me. *laugh*

I really love the pattern. I found it was pretty easy as you get used to the repeat. I really enjoy knitting it. And I am glad to have a longer scarf so hopefully this one won't get lost like my first one!

I got the eyes from Suncatcher Eyes - http://www.suncatchereyes.net/ . I bought several different pairs to see which I liked best. I decided the copper looked the best.

I am happy with the way he turned out for certain. And hopefully with the additional length, this one won't disappear!

Scarf for Paul

Cast On:

May 24, 2008

Generated by Flickr Album Maker

Yarn:

Handspun Kid Shetland from Unique Designs by Kathy

http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com/

1 skeins = 160.0 yards (146.3m)

&

Bernat Cashmere Natural Blends in Colorway 16040

4 skeins = 412.0 yards (376.7m)

Needles:

US 4 / 3.5 mm for the handspun

US 8 / 5.0 mm for Bernat

I wanted a super simple project to knit at a Memorial Day weekend BBQ.

I really wanted something that would feature the yarn I bought at Unique Designs by Kathy. But I knew it wasn't enough to make a scarf for my husband. And he liked the yarn.

So I decided to make a scarf for him by adding another yarn.

I figured the handspun would really be best featured by something simple. I decided to just go with garter stitch. Super simple for knitting at the bbq.

I cast on 80 stitches on the size 4 needles. However, after a couple rows it was turning out 12” wide. My husband's ideal scarf width it 8-9”. So I ripped it out and cast on 60. That gave me around 9” which was ideal.

When I added the Bernat Cashmere Blend, I knit one, then knit 2 together. This way I decreased to 40 stitch to get it around the same width. It isn't perfect but I think I can block it and they should look pretty even.

I am doing a basketweave stitch pattern for the body of the scarf. I handed Paul my first scarf which is a sampler scarf and told him to pick the pattern he liked. I find the basketweave is very simple. I am doing k4, p4 for 5 rows & then p4, k4 for 5. That way it seems to come out roughly square.

This is half done currently and about 37". So it should be a good length.

Punny Knitting Humor

I am not a fan of puns as some of you know. But I figured some of you are.

http://www.limenviolet.com/blog/?p=1894

Much silliness.

Bat Pillow Complete

Just wanted to share the pic of the completed bat pillow:



I think it came out okay. I should have used a much finer gauge of yarn for it. But other than that, I like it. Turns out the image is actually a Gorey drawing. Makes it all the more fun.

I need to tweak the pattern and then share it.

Trouble with Tomtens

(I am hoping this has some clarity. I am struggling with the crud from Hades. So I might not be completely clear.)

Who would have thought the Tomtem sweater pattern could be such trouble. Only for me it would seem.

The thing is basically garter stitch. With some very basic shaping.

Yet, I made a mess of the first one I did. I won’t rehash that one as I posted about it already.

So I am figuring I am smarter now. Of course the second one will be easier. I understand the basic intarsia I am doing. It will all be simple.

Yah. Right.

Lesson One:
Don’t intarsia in the dark.

I was watching some Battlestar Galactica at my sister-in-law’s. I didn’t want to have the lights on. I would be fine. Ummm. Not quite. Got to rip back 5 rows of work because switched the yarn at stitch 5 instead of 6. Whoops!

Lesson Two:
Just because they aren’t socks doesn’t mean you can’t create mobius strips

Yes. I managed to make a mobius sweater! *laugh* It was where the sleeve was supposed to go. With the pattern, you knit the body, then cast off stitches. You knit the tow front strips & the back separately. They are then reattached for the hood.

Seems when I reconnected them, I managed to twist one of the front panels. So there was a mobius strip along the front panel. Doh!!

When did I realize this? *After* I completed the hood & bound it off. This was also after I worked in all the ends. There were a lot of pieces dangling and thus I didn’t notice the mistake! I know. Not my brightest move. *laugh*

I *really* should have taken pictures!! It was that funny!

Lesson Three:
Pay attention when you pick up stitches

The sleeves are created by picking up stitches along the edge. Thing is, I picked up the stitches on the first sleeve at the bottom and back of the sleeve. It should have been the front and back. I got all the way to the end of the sleeve before I realized what I had done.

I pulled the sleeve off the body of the sweater, bound off the edge and will have to seam it to the sweater. I am knitting the second sleeve flat to match the first now. It will just mean a lot more seaming work which is my least favorite thing. *sigh*

I am truly blessed that I was in Maryland visiting my in-laws when the mobius section happened. My sister-in-law, Tee, is a knitting goddess!! When I went to see her, I cried “Heeeeeeellllllpppppp” and held out my knitting. *laugh*

I will confess, she took one look and laughed heartily. And I don’t blame her one bit!

(Though I was not laughing earlier in the day when I discovered the problem. In fact, I would have been swearing up a blue streak, but I was a guest in my other sister-in-law home. And she was sitting read not a few feet way. I really curbed my desire to throw it across the room and swear a lot. Though Jennifer is also an amazing sister-in-law. She gave me some of her high end chocolate to help me in my hour of need.)

Tee patiently sat down and asked about the pattern. When I explained, she suggested ripping out the hood. Being the lazy, I mean, ummmm, slow knitter I am, I wanted to avoid that. She warned me it would mean cutting it. I told her at this point, it was going to go on the frog pile if I had to redo it completely. So she went to work on it.

She placed a needle above and below the center point of the front section. She patiently snipped the yarn. Only to discover that I had woven in ends where she cut. It was why she chose the area, because it didn’t look quite the same! So she didn’t need to cut at all but I didn’t realize that I had woven in the ends there. Ooops.

She knit back the rows and then tried to bind them back together. However, when she did the standard Kitchener stitch, it left a gap. It appeared as if there was purling on a row that should have been knit with garter stitch. So she pulled it out and redid it in the garter binding. It looks really great! I am so happy with it.

On the plus side, she discovered a mistake I had been making. Zimmermann suggests slipping the first stitch of each row. Thing is, I was slipping it purlwise, but then wrapping the yarn around the back of the edge. So, I wasn’t getting the nice little V’s along the edges that the correct slip stitch would get. So the bright side is that I now know how to do that correctly. I have been practicing it with the sleeves and can see the difference. It will definitely come in handy when I go to tackle the alpaca cardigan. (Which I hope to cast on while on vacation.)

I am hoping the knitting woes were at least in part due to the crud affecting my brain. But heaven knows, I have made my share of mistakes before and will again. *laugh*

Advent Knitting Calendar!

http://www.garnstudio.com/julekalender.php?lang=us

Too cool!

Two Xmas Pressies in Progress

I have two Xmas pressies in the works. One is for grand nephew who will be a year old in February. The other is for my sister-in-law.

Tomten Jacket

Cast On:
Sunday, Dec. 2nd.

Pattern:
Modular Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann
From Knitting without Tears http://www.amazon.com/Knitting-Without-Tears-Easy-Follow/dp/0684135051/
Need to buy this book (and probably all of Zimmermann's books). Took it out of the library.

Yarn:
TLC Heathers Teal (though really looks blue) & Barn Red
http://www.coatsandclark.com/Products/Knitting/Medium+Yarns/TLC+Heathers.htm
Picked up at Smiley NJ sale. Was $4 for 3 skeins. Cheap, but hey, it is machine washable. Good for a baby

Needles:
US 9 Knitpicks Options 32"

Made for:
Denny aka Littlest George

Size:
Aiming for around 2 years old, but plenty of flex on size

I am making as an Xmas present for Littlest George who will be one in February.

The pattern doesn't have a lot of seaming which definitely appeals to me. It is pretty straight forward yet cute.

I am using blue for the body & red for the edges. The label on the blue says teal, but it really isn't. It is pretty blue.

I cast on the 112 stitches as the pattern says. I decided to just use 6 stitches on each side in the red rather than having to add a button band or such. I like the way it looks.

It is my first time with intarsia. It is interesting doing two colors. This is pretty straight forward. Though I wasn't doing it correctly in some spots. So the yarn peeks out where it shouldn't. Live and learn.

I didn't think anyone would notice other than me. However, Paul did. So I am overstitching it along the bad edges. But on the bright side, I have learned how to do intarsia now. Not sure I want to do it much. But it is good to know I can.


Modified Rushing Rivulet Socks

Cast on:
Saturday, Dec. 1st

Pattern:
Generic Sock Pattern
Pattern taken from Rushing Rivulet (Riverbed Architecture) by Cat Bordhi
http://www.amazon.com/New-Pathways-Sock-Knitters-Book/dp/0970886969/

Yarn:
Sarah's Yarns 100% Bamboo - Hand dyed Undertow
http://www.sarahsyarns.com/SY100PctBamboo.html

Dye:
Dharma Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes
http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/3796-AA.shtml?lnav=dyes.html

Needles:
US 1 1/2 / 2.5 mm Knitpicks Options & Harmony
2 socks on 2 circs method

Made for:
Jennifer

Size:
7.5

I am taking the Rushing Rivulet stitch pattern from the Bordhi book. Given I don't have Jennifer's exact measurements, I figured it is safer to work from a more standard pattern.

I was going to do a toe up sock so I could use all the yarn. However, Jennifer has a high arch. So my sister-in-law, Tee, who has made Jennifer socks suggested doing cuff down with a heel flap. She said it fits better for a high arch. So I am going with her suggestion.

Also, I am still not sure how much stretch/memory the 100% bamboo yarn will have. It feels like it will work well given the swatches I have done. I really should have made a pair for myself first in the 100% bamboo yarn to check the elasticity. But I want to complete these for Xmas.

I cast on 56 stitches. My swatch was 8 stitches per inch. So it should be 7 inches wide.

The weird thing was that it seemed smaller. So I figured I would increase my needle size. But after two repeats, it looks to be right around 7" wide. So I think it is okay. *crosses fingers*

I really hope they turns out well. I definitely like the yarn and I think she will too.

More Finished Project Pics

Project:
Bulky Baby Kimono Sweater for Trinity

Cast On:
Monday, Nov. 19th

Finished:
Saturday, Nov. Dec. 1st:



Pattern:
Bulky Seamless Baby Kimono by Jacki Kelly
http://thecompletefabrication.blogspot.com/2007/11/bulky-seamless-baby-kimono.html

Needles:
US 10 Knitpick Options from Kit

Yarn:
Lion Brand Chunky USA in Napa Grape

Made for:
Trinity for Xmas

Size:
6-9 months

I have been looking for a free baby kimono sweater for while. I have looked at the Mason Dixon one, but there isn't anything else I want to knit in the book! So I was glad when I found this pattern.

This worked up really fast. I am hoping it will be a good gift for my grand-niece Trinity for Xmas.

I may add some of the crochet flowers I got in my Etsy Truck Sale bag to it. I think they could look cute. I will just use pins so they can be removed for washing.

Project:
Recycled Silk Drop Stitch Scarf

Here are the pics of the recycled silk drop stitch scarf:

New Project & Pics of Finished Ones

I cast on a bulky baby kimono sweater on Monday.

The pattern is very cool and free!

Pattern:
Bulky Seamless Baby Kimono by Jacki Kelly
http://thecompletefabrication.blogspot.com/2007/11/bulky-seamless-baby-kimono.html


Yarn:
Lion Brand Chunky USA in Napa Grape
http://cache.lionbrand.com/yarns/chunkyUSA.htm
Bought a NJ Smiley sale in NJ - 3 skeins for $4! Already made a hat out of it.

Needles

US 10 Knitpicks Options from kit

I am already 75% done. Woohoo.



Pics of completed projects:

Jaywalkers -

Only the one pic so far. Will have to take some on my feet tonight.



I really didn't do a good job tweaking the color either. But the original photo was really dark so I am surprised I got this much out of it.

Cupcake Purse -



Took some pics of the scarf, but they didn't come out. *shrugs* Have to take some more with the sock pics this weekend.

I also finished Paul's Xmas socks!! Woohoo! I am thrilled they are done. I will have to post some pics of those too when I get a chance to take the pics. Long story, but the camera is broken. So I have trouble getting the pics off the camera. I will try some with my camera phone when Paul isn't home.

Going to the Smiley sale in Manhattan! I went last year and it was much larger than the one in NJ I went to earlier this month. Time to scoot! I had planned on getting there way earlier in the day, but work has been a beast and I haven't been able to leave til now.

Free Vintage Patterns

Found on Lime & Violet's Blog:

http://www.agoodyarn.net/PT_Main.htm

Some great vintage patterns from the 20s. They are all free! Woohoo!

Event to Check Out

There is an Etsy Truck Show on Friday, Nov. 16th. It is in Brooklyn. I might need to go. I do love Etsy.

The start of my work conference was shifted from Monday, Nov. 26th to Tuesday, Nov. 27th. I was excited as I thought it meant I could hit the first day of the Smiley Yarn sale in Manhattan. No such luck. That is Tuesday - Saturday. Ah well.

I did get to the one in NJ. But it is a lot smaller than the Manhattan one. So I would still love to hit the one in the city. Might have to beg Paul to go and see if he can get some Lana in navy. I want to make some mittens with it but I need a contrasting color to the stuff I already got. And the yarn is discontinued. *sigh*

Ah well. I know, I have enough yarn, right? Nah... never. *grin*

Knit Serenity!

Someone actually knit up Serenity!

(Also posted to my LJ)

Top Down Cardigan Pattern

There is a site called spincraftpatterns.com that has a free Top Down Cardigan Pattern.

Though I admit, I dislike it that the site requires a credit card to get the pattern. They don't charge anything to the card, but still. I really don't like giving out the info.

Their patterns are set up so you can create a custom piece with some measurements & gauge. It will then allow you to calculate how many stitches to cast on, etc..

I have put it into a Word document that is linked to an Excel spreadsheet. I figure this is much easier than having to do the calculations each time. I suspect it might be useful, so I would share it.

I think I have set it all up correctly. But please, if you give it a try and see an error, let me know.

The Word document is linked with the spreadsheet. So you will have to have both the Word document & the spreadsheet for it to work correctly.

You might need to reset the links. I know Office is fussy about the locations.


Custom Top Down Raglan Sweater Word Doc

Custom Top Down Pullover Sweater Word Doc

Top Down Sweater Spreadsheet

I should see if I can create a pdf to handle the entire thing. However, I am really not up for tinkering with it any more today. I do loathe MS Office. But it was the quickest way I could think of to do it.

Too Fun for Halloween

A Saw scarf?!!

Too funny...

Swift Pics & Yarn Dyeing

At last, as promised, yarn swift pics. Woohoo.

My darling husband Paul built the swifts for me.

Detail:

The sweet thing is that they are fully collapsible. The cross pieces come apart. They detach from the upright as well. So they take up a lot less space when not in use. Very nice.

Paul built me two swifts in hopes I could use them for creating a long skein. However, I am not sure it will work for that. I tried and it didn't seem to work correctly.

The long skein on the two swifts had the same issues I had when I did the two chair method. If you pull the yarn too tight, it is stretching it. If it is too loose, it is longer than the pieces around it. So it isn't even overall. There are some parts that hang down longer than others.

I found that meant that the pattern in the socks were different in different areas which was a problem with the self-patterning. Not a deal breaker by any means, but it did have some problems when I knit the Bruise socks.

I will probably try using them for reskeining dyed yarn sometime though. I heard it can work well with dyed skeins. Though I can only see the point of reskeining if I decide to sell the yarn. And I don't really see that happening. But I never say never.

Still, the single swift is great for skeining and unskeining the yarn. The cross pieces are about 4 feet long. The holes are an inch apart. So it is very adjustable. It can range from a small skein to a very large one.

It also worked well for creating a skein. I wound the yarn on it from the smaller skein to get a larger one. That seems to have gone pretty well.

I do admit, there are some modifications that need to be made still. I definitely want ends on the posts so the yarn doesn't slip off. I am thinking some wood door pulls glued to the end would work well.

Paul also suggested something about drilling through and having a piece at the back so they won't come out. Not sure how that will work exactly. They can be a bit loose and slide out sometimes.

The materials for the two swifts ran about $30. Not bad at all. The holes are about an inch apart. So it is very adjustable. Pretty cool.

I used the swift with the ball winder with my Schaefer Lola & the massive 8 oz skein of the Peruvian alpaca. They both worked really well. So much easier and quicker than wrapping it around something and doing it by hand. Pretty thrilled.

The yarn on the skein is Sarah Yarns 100% bamboo yarn. It started in the natural color. I used the Dharma Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes on it. I used the forest green. But I also mixed two other greens. I added some Azure Blue patches as well.

I should have taken some close ups of the yarn. I will try to remember to take some pics of the yarn when I get home. Though I did already make it into balls so it won't show all the colors.

I dyed this batch for my sister-in-law Jennifer. I am hoping to make her socks for Xmas. But if not, maybe her birthday. Or there is always next Xmas. *laugh* I figure we will see when they get done.

I *have* to find a better way to reskein/make balls out of the dyed yarn. This skein wasn't a long one. Still, it was super tangled in spots. I had to wind the balls by hand in order to untangle it. Took two hours to detangle it and make it into balls. *sigh* I can't think that is normal.

I do think part of it is about the fact that I tied all the skeins together. In future, I really need to separate each skein from each other. I think that should help with the tangling issues. I am sincerely hoping that will resolve it.

I got so frustrated with the tangles yesterday I was thinking about just giving up on dyeing. It is sad because I really do love the way the yarns come out when I dye them. It is so delightful being able to dye them and knit the yarn. It really is great. But the tangles are driving me batty. Got so pissy about it yesterday that I yelled at Paul. I apologized about a dozen times. But still. Not good. (Mind you, it was also the nasty PMS demon taking me over as well.)

I really do love the way the yarn looks. It is so wonderful the colorways I can create. And having it in yarns I like.

Though given I can probably wear some superwash wools, the dyeing issue isn't as critical. But I would still really like to do it. So I am hoping to figure out what to do better next time.

Superwash Wool & Allergies

My allergies are about itch factor. I find it itches and I get red bumps in the area where I am wearing something that affects me. I don't have hives or trouble breathing. It isn't that sort of thing. It is mild. But it is too irritating to actually want to wear anything made with wool.

When I posted to a dyeing group about my allergies, a woman told me that superwash wool should not set off my allergies. She explained they are treated with a polymer to coat the wool (thus making it machine washable). This coating should allow me to use superwash without the response I normally have.

I was certainly willing to give it a try. There are some beautiful superwash wools out there, especially a lot of hand dyed ones that are amazing.

My mother-in-law was kind enough to give me some Sockotta yarn. It was leftover from pair she did. I made a swatch in the round a couple days ago. I wore it around my wrist for all of about 10-20 minutes before I took it off. I found it was scratchy and not good for me.

I check online and read some reviews. It seems that people without wool allergies have also had some trouble with that yarn. A lot of people complained it was rough, scratchy & hard to knit. One woman even said it was so scratch she threw out the yarn. So it may not have had anything to do with allergies.

So I knit a test swatch of Sarah's Yarns Superwash Merino/Bamboo/Silk Blend. It is 65% super fine grade merino, 20% bamboo and 15% silk. Machine-wash-and-dry which has so much appeal. I wore the swatch for about 3 hours yesterday and another 2-3 in the evening. It didn't seem to affect me at all! Woohoo!

So it seems I may be able to wear some superwash wools. But it seems to come back to *some*. Not all. So I need to feel it & do a test swatch before committing to it.

On the plus side, I can always check out some of the superwash wools at NY Sheep & Wool this weekend! Woohoo! I definitely want to feel the Socks That Rock yarn after hearing so much about them. I don't know if I will buy any there. I will see. I have heard the Fold is the place that sells them. And last year the wait to pay was 30-60 minutes! That seems way too long to wait if I can order them online. But I will see.

I suspect I should limit my superwash purchase to enough to make 2 pairs of socks for me. I can always pick up wool yarn for others. But in case it doesn't work for me, I would rather not have a bunch of yarn I can't knit for myself.

*wiggles happily* In less than 24 hours I should be there!

Cthulhu Knits

http://sockpr0n.blogspot.com/2006/08/fainting-in-coils.html

Too much fun.

Though scary thing is, there are a bunch of cthulhu knits!

http://www.redwolf.com.au/column/opinion/2006/06/cthulhu_scarf_k.html

There are more:

http://www.squidoo.com/gothknit/

Too funny...

Learn Something New...

I just read the most recent Yarn Harlot post. It is about a yarn she purchased on a cone.

I never knew that cone yarns are generally sprayed with oil. So the yarn tends to fluff up & expand when it is washed. Huh.

The cone yarn I have is from School Products. I have only used it for my fist scarf & some donation hats. But I would be very curious to see how it changes.

It is good to know this before I ever attempt something like a sweater with it.

Learn something new every day if you are lucky. *grin*

Misc. Knitty Bits

I am glad I caught up on my knitting project babble & pics. That is progress. Now for the various babble bits.

Swifts!

Paul made me two swifts. I need to take pics when I have them set up. They are pretty cool. They are the windmill type. I figured that would work better. He did a really great job though of course, he isn't happy with them. *shakes head*

Carrie/Dharmafey from the Socks in the City podcast mentioned on Ravelry that she uses two skeins to help with her dyeing. I figured I would give that a try.

I was hoping that it would work for creating a long skein. It didn't honestly. I tried but it was not working for the long skein. They work beautifully for a typical hand dyed skein though. It just doesn't work for creating a super long skein for self striping yarn. I really think I need to create a warping board that is bigger to see it that will help.

I dyed a smaller skein batch of the Sarah Yarn's 100% bamboo yarn during my vacation. I did it in various greens with a little bit of blue. The thought is to make my sister-in-law Jennifer some socks for Xmas. She doesn't like wool as she gets too hot.

Thing is, my sister-in-law Tee is making her some socks already with some Panda Cotton in Roses. Which is actually my fault! *laugh* Jennifer mentioned that Tee *might* make her some socks. I thought Jennifer said Tee *was* making her socks. *chuckle* Ooops.

Tee is a super-experienced knitter. So of course, the socks she is making are looking really good honestly. So I am hesitant. I also feel like I have been taking on a lot of knitting for the holidays. I will see. If they get done, great. If not, no worries. *smile* Or hey, give Tee the yarn and she can make them for Jennifer? *laugh* (Just kidding if you read this Tee.)

NY Sheep & Wool

I am excited that NY Sheep & Wool is so close! *wiggles happily* I am going up this Saturday. Spending the day, though not staying overnight.

I really do hope I don't get too overwhelmed. It does seem like there is so much to see.

I have been reading the Ravelry boards about it. Getting lots of helpful hints for the NYS&W newbie.

The consensus seems to be:

You can't see everything so don't stress it.

I know I want to see everything, but good to know I probably won't.

Buy things you like when you see them.

They probably won't be there when you go back.

Bring cash.

Not all the vendors take credit cards. (And hey, it is probably better not to get into too much trouble frankly!)

Wear mud resistant shoes.

It is a fair ground. So if it has rained at all recently, it will be muddy.

Take lunch & snacks with you.

The food lines can be really long. So it helps not to spend time online. And hey, more money for fiber. Though I may not be strict about that. I love lamb and all. And you can rarely get it. But I heard the lamb burgers are like hockey pucks. So I will definitely skip those.

The fried artichokes are worth the wait.

Might have to find out... *grin*

Get there as early as you can.

Things sell out throughout the day. The later in the day you get there, the less vendors have. Though I know Paul isn't getting up at 7 am no matter how much I want him to!

I am sure there is more.

I want to go to a couple of the after parties. Seems that Morehouse has one. They are the people I got my nifty dragon scarf pattern from which I love.

The Ravelry folks are talking about having one. But there haven't been any details posted yet. I doubt I will go as Paul will kinda want to do other things with the evening.

He will probably spend the day at the Aerodrome museum. It actually looks cool. Though they won't have the air show this Saturday. It seems that stopped this last weekend.

Missing the Yarn Harlot

I am sad. The Yarn Harlot and a bunch of other authors will at NYS&W on Sunday, but not Saturday. I am going on Saturday so I won't get to see the Yarn Harlot speak. On the other hand, more shopping time, right? *grin*

I do want to see her speak sometime. But she has just finished up a new book so I suspect she will be doing the rounds again when the new book is released. Her publisher really does seem to have her working hard.

The Never-Ending Scarf

I really think the cable scarf for Kyle is the bane of my knitting. I am knitting at least 8 rows a day. It is my homework. And it takes about 15 minutes for the 4 rows. I am guessing I am a very slow knitter. Thing is, I was praying it would be long enough at the 4 skein mark so I could use the last skein for a hat. No such luck. I can't recall if Kyle wraps his neck once or twice. But either way, it just isn't long enough to wrap. It would be fine without a wrap. But I know how he wears his scarves. So I have started #5. *sigh*

Mind you, it isn't terribly challenging. It is just taking soooo long.

There should be a link on the side with a pic and such so long as I am working on it. *Love* that I have my works in progress from Raverly in my side bar. Soooo cool.

Teaching a Coworker to Knit

I spent my lunch hour trying to teach a coworker to knit! I really hope I explained things well. I am not sure if I did.

She ordered a cupcake kit from Etsy. I have the same kit which I am planning to do for my neice for Xmas. Thing is, the vendor shipped the completed purse. The coworker's daughter loved it so much she didn't want her to return it. Mind you, she isn't sure if she could have gotten the order wrong anyhow. And given it was a Friday at 5:30 when I was talking to her about ordering it, it could have easily been mixed up.

Instead I am doing a hat with her. She has a 4 month old son who is wearing 24 month old clothing! He is a big boy. He was 10+ pounds at birth. She doesn't have little babies! All three of her kids have been 10+ pounds. Wow. *shivers*

So I figure we can do a rectangle that will become a hat. I mean, I found a scarf a good starting project. But the Yarn Harlot and others say that is a lot for a beginner to take on. The hat should be small enough to be manageable.

I hope it comes out alright. I took the measurement for a 24 month old head, added 1/2-1" and did it according to the gauge. She is knitting kinda tight. Which I so get as I did too. But I think it should still work. Hey, we can always add a panel if it comes out too small and say it is a design element, right? *grin*

Okay. I think that mostly catches me up with any new stuff. Not sure but I am heading off very soon either way. The NYC Homebrew club is meeting tonight. Paul and I haven't gone in ages. So I figured it would be fun. Off to that.

I think I might have too many expensive hobbies between knitting, beer & bellydance. Though have to say, it has been ages since I have gotten to bellydance class, much less spent money on it. Ah well. Maybe I will get to class *this* week!

Drop Stitch Scarf in Recycled Silk

I cast this on last Wednesday, the 10th.

The color on the pic isn't great. Hard to get the depth of color. I really shouldn't take pics with my camera on my phone. They always come out more grey and dark. I tweak them as much as I can, but it is still not really great.

Pattern:

Double Dropstitch Scarf Pattern

http://freshgroundknits.com/patterns/drop-stitch-scarf/

Yarn:

Recycled Silk Yarn

3 skeins - 150 grams (0.33 pounds)/approximately 85 yards per skein

https://shop.theliteracysite.com/store/item.do?itemId=25528&siteId=2001&sourceId=2001&sourceClass=StoreSearch&index=4

Needles:

Size 8 of the Knitpicks Options circs. Love those needles.

Have to say, the yarn is pretty rough and gets twisted pretty easily. I chose the pattern as it would mean large areas that I had to knit less with the yarn overs.

I cast on 48 stitches as I wanted a wider scarf. Though I think it may be too wide. I am nearly done with the first ball and it is only about 12-14" long. Whoops... *frown*

I don't think I will have enough for a full length scarf unless I get more yarn. I suppose I could make it as a table piece or something. I really don't know.

There are some people on Ravelry that are willing to sell their recycled silk yarn. I should check to see if any have it cheap enough that it would be worth grabbing. But the theliteracysite.com has increased the price to its normal price. And for $9 a skein, it is not worth buying it.

I started this as a project that I could give away for Xmas. I was thinking it would be good for my sister, Millie. I suspect it will go to her. Not sure if it will be this Xmas or not. Kinda depends on if I can get more yarn or what I suspect. It is an easy knit so I can't complain about that.

Oh, the totally bizarre thing about this yarn?!! It turns grey under the yellow lights in the tunnel on the way to Baltimore!! It was so bizarre. Paul was fascinated by that. *grin* I really find it bizarre that all the color vanished. Really weird.

More work to do. Still have a couple more things I mean to post about today. Hopefully, I will have some more time. But maybe it will wait til tomorrow.

Drops Socks with Cables in Alpaca

I cast a new pair of socks on last Sunday, the 7th.

Pattern:

Drops Socks with Cable pattern in Alpaca

Yarn:

Catalina Baby Silk in Claret

4-ply Worsted

70% baby alpaca/30% silk

2 skeins with 100 grams (3.5 oz)/218 yards each

Needles:

Knitpicks size 5 & Boyd size 5

Doing it two socks on two circs method

Front:

Back:

I am hoping to complete these for Raverly Sock Knitters Anonymous Oct. sock knit along. Hope to finish in time. Though the good news is that the deadline for the knit along is Nov. 30th. Just has to be cast on during October.

The pattern is definitely interesting. It is originally in Danish or another Scandinavian language. It took me nearly an hour to transcribe the chart & lay it out in Excel. I think it will be worth the time.

I was a bit intimidated but the complexity, but once I got used to it, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Though the cabling in the pattern on the front is a bit odd. I have never done single stitch cables with it moving between knit and purl. So that has been interesting.

The pattern is really beautiful. I really hope mine will come out well.

I think there are a couple flaws in the pattern. In the M.3 chart, it says 16 rows. In fact it is 18, just like the M.1 pattern right beside it. It also appears that in the 11th row from the top of M.2, one of the knit stitches is in the wrong spot. It should be one over from there.

I should post the chart & the written out directions I made soon. It might be helpful to others. Though I am guessing that if a knitter doesn't bother writing out charts, they would probably be fine with the pattern as it is. I just don't work that way. I like it written out.

I have about 21 1/2 cm out of 25 done for the leg. They are close to knee high. Something I hadn't done before, so it is interesting as well doing calf shaping. Though it doesn't require as much as I feared. So that is nice.

I am going to change to a size 4 needles for the heel flap & the bottom of the foot. I do worry that these won't wear very well. I am hoping the silk will help the wear, but I am not certain if it will. But hey, they are attractive and I like that they should be warmer.

Best get some things done for work. I hope to post more later today.