Dear Knitting,

Why do I love you so when you frustrate me so much sometimes?

I cast on for Citron last night, 4 times that is.  I even held off on that pomegranate martini before casting on so that I wouldn't flub it up.  No matter, I just couldn't get it right.  I kind of got it, finally, on the 4th try, knit a few rows, and decided I had the wrong needle size.  Of course I didn't have the right one with me.  I decided to have that drink after all.  That, along with good conversation with friends, distracted me from my knit-fail, as well as from the Giants' first loss in the series.

Then I was back at it this morning.  First, I spent 30 minutes looking at finished Citrons on Ravelry and doubting my yarn choice entirely.  I couldn't find any FOs made from 100% silk like my Claudia Hand Painted Yarn.  Hmm, maybe it's the halo of the animal fiber yarns that is part of what makes the Citron so pretty. 
I decided then and there not to cast on for Citron this morning after all.  Maybe, if I finish more of my current WIPs first, which I should do anyway, I would have a clearer idea of which yarn I wanted to use.  But, against my better judgement, I still got up and found a smaller circular needle.  Again, I tried 3 times, and failed, 3 times, to get the shawl started.  It's like I was all thumbs!  I looked at Ravelry again.  There are over 5,200 finished Citrons!  I am not a beginning knitter!  And besides that Citron that Angie was wearing the other night was so beautiful!

So . . .
I kicked the cat off my lap.
I poured myself another cup of coffee.
I brought a bright lamp over and put on my reading glasses.

Finally . . .

Oh yeah, look how beautiful you are, that's why I love you so much.

FO Friday - Dionysus Socks - Happy Birthday Karen!

My so-called stealth project was finished this week and gifted last night, so I am free to blog all about it:

Pattern:  Dionysus Socks, a clever pattern by Abby Frelich
Source:  free Ravelry download
Materials:  Malabrigo Sock in "Rayon Vert"
My Modifications:  I knit these toe-up starting with a provisional cast-on, and continuing with short-row toes and heels.  I still followed the chart as printed even though I was knitting in the opposite direction, which means the lace panel is reversed.  But I think the design works both ways, don't you?

I say "so-called stealth project" because Karen chose this yarn herself, and knew these socks were on the way.  I maintained a small element of surprise by selecting the pattern to use for her birthday gift.  I have thoroughly enjoyed knitting these for Karen.  She is one those people that you can't help but admire when you get to know her.  She works full-time, keeps up with her two kids' busy schedules, runs a multiple-pet household (cats, dog, chickens, etc.), still finds time to volunteer, and does it all with a sense of humor! 

Happy Birthday Karen!

[I am linking this post to Tami's Amis FO Friday list, where you can check out more pretty FO's!]

WIPW - GO GIANTS!

I haven't been knitting for my family much lately, but I'm always on the lookout for a chance to do so.  I have plans to start on a sweater for my husband as a Christmas present, so I've been asking my son every so often, "Is there anything you would like me to knit for you?"  When he was younger he loved it whenever I knit something for him, but lately he isn't as excited about the handknits, and hasn't asked me for anything.

That changed Saturday night.  We don't have cable TV, but we are baseball fans.  Saturday night's game of the Giants vs. the Phillies was a good excuse to have fun going out as a family to a local pizza place with a big screen TV.  As soon as we were done celebrating the Giants' win, my boy turned to me and said "I know what I want you to knit for me. . . a black and orange hat that says "GIANTS" across the front."   Well, how could I resist that request?

First, I picked up some yarn and came up with a plan:

Then I knit my boy a hat:

The lucky kid will be wearing it tonight at the game.  I made him promise to take pictures.  Maybe I will write up the pattern and put it on Ravelry, meanwhile . . . GO GIANTS!

The boys are on their way to San Francisco, and I'm off to check out some other WIPS!

Hats on my mind

It seems I just can't manage to check a couple of FO's off my list without wanting to cast on for 6 new projects.  At the moment, my mind is full of hat patterns I would like to knit.  Here is one example of how the obsession goes....

I listened to the new Stash and Burn episode as I ate my breakfast this morning.  I usually like to browse the knitting-related links attached to each episode, but this latest one just covers Jenny and Nicole's visit to the new Artfibers store in San Francisco, and the links aren't up yet.  But they did mention a cabled hat that sounded interesting so off I went on a Ravelry tangent. 

Let me tell you, there are A LOT of cabled hats out there.  But I like the new pattern search capabilities on Ravelry.  I used the filters:  "Has photo",   "Craft:  Knitting",   "Category:  Accessories - Hat",  and finally, "Attributes:  Fabric characteristics - cables".  (Sorry if I'm boring you with the particulars of the search . . . it's the former librarian in me that appreciates these little details.)  Anyway, that search still left me with a list of 1,099 hat patterns to browse.  I narrowed down the list as I listened to the podcast. 

Here are a few I'm considering knitting as gifts:

Ski Hat by Irina Dmitrieva - I like how this comes together at the top to look like a flower.
Rachael by Chrissy Fletcher - A cute hat from a designer whose blog I enjoy.  It is "designed to show off the subtle variations in semi-solid yarn".
My Ligneous Cable Knit Hat by Elizabeth Carls - The pattern has nice all-over cables.
Slable by Woolly Wormhead - This would be a good one for using up some sock yarn.
Bubbles also by Woolly Wormhead - What a cute child-size hat!
Morel Imperative by Elizabeth Witt-Trzebiatowski - How could I resist?  It's named after a mushroom!
Sarah's Cabled Hat by Sasha Stavsky - Nice, basic, cabled hat . . . and it's free.
Flowing Locks Cable Cap by Jennifer Hagan - Another pretty all-over cable pattern. 
Urbane by Katya Frankel - One of several pretty hats from her "Cabled Hat Collection".

With this list I can get some gifts made and use up some of the single skeins of yarn that are hanging around in my stash. 


However, before I can start cabling, I need to create one 14yr.-old-boy-sized-hat in the colors of the San Francisco Giants.  My guys are going to check a big item off their bucket list when they attend the first game of the World Series this Wednesday!  Lucky them!  I'm not going along but I'll be there in spirit.  As soon as the Giants won their last playoff game, my boy put in his order for an orange and black hand-knit hat. 

By the end of the Stash and Burn podcast, I decided the new Artfibers store sounded pretty wonderful.  Hmm, maybe I should tag along on the boys' San Francisco trip. . .

FO Friday - 3 FOs checked off the list!

I go through phases of casting on projects, and setting them aside when it comes to finishing.  Let's face it, finishing is not knitting.  I love knitting . . . but sewing seams and sewing on buttons . . not so much.  If you saw my last post, you know that I let the sheer number of WIPs get a little out of hand recently.  But gift-giving season is approaching, and the weather is finally cooling off here in Northern California, so I am motivated to get back to those languishing UFOs.

Participating in these WIP Wednesdays and the FO Fridays is really helping me along.  So if you are in a finishing funk, go over to Tami's Amis and join in!

1) Ana Bandana: This one is going into the holiday gift box. I had my mother-in-law in mind when I cast on for this scarf-like hat. She wears scarves instead of hats for warmth during the winter. I think she will like this color, as well as the silky feel of the yarn.

 Pattern:  Ana by Perl Grey
Source:  pdf download from the Perl Grey website, where you can also find beautiful pewter stickpins and brooches
Materials: 1 skein of Handmaiden Fine Yarn Silk Maiden in "Stardust", and US 6 needles


2) Next up:   Another one for the gift box, even though I'm not sure who it is for yet.  I think just about anyone would like this scarf.  It is light, but still adds warmth.  I will probably make a few more as gifts, as one scarf only takes 1/2 of a ball of Kidsilk Haze.

Pattern:  Airy Scarf by Brenda Overstrom
Source:  Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson - This scarf is from the "Two-To-Four-Hour Gifts" chapter, and it truly does knit up quickly.

Materials:  Rowan Kidsilk Haze, and US 10 needles

3) And finally . . . Emily:  A cardigan for me, knit out of yarn purchased at Stitches 2010.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pattern:  Emily by Jenny Watson
Source:  Auracania Collection,  Book 1
Materials:  8 skeins of Malabrigo Yarn Twist in "Velvet Grapes", and US 6 needles
My Modifications:  I basically followed the directions except for the fact that I was knitting at a different gauge than the pattern required.  The Twist yarn is a little bulkier than the original yarn called for in the pattern.  I just adjusted for this by following the directions for one size smaller than I really needed.  I also avoided some seaming by using a 3-needle bind off on the shoulders, and knitting the sleeves top-down on circular needles.  I still had to sew side seams, which why this sweater has been stalled for awhile.  But it's finally done, and it is warm and comfortable.
 
Happy Friday everyone!

Work-In-Progress Wednesday: The List Goes On...

 I just checked Ravelry and counted 9 projects that I have labelled as WIP's.  (There are 4 more that are currently in that black hole known around Ravelry as "hibernating" . . . most of these will probably be frogged when I get around to it.)  I thought WIP Wednesday would be a good day to air out the list.

Here they are with links to their pattern pages.  I updated my own Ravelry links in the side bar.
1.  Ana Bandana by Perl Grey.  (I just need to weave in ends and block it.)  Finished  Oct. 20, 2010.

2.  Airy Scarf by Brenda Overstrom.  (I just need to weave in ends and block it.)  Finished Oct. 20, 2010.

3.  Emily Sweater by Jenny Watson.  (I just need to weave in ends, sew the side seams and sew on buttons.)  Finished  Oct. 22, 2010.

4.  Equinox Yoke Pullover by Michelle Rose Orne (I just need to weave in ends and sew seams but I'm not sure if/when that will happen.  This project is in limbo because I went ahead and knit this before I knew anything about color knitting; and I never knit a swatch so I am afraid to block it.  But I love, love, love the pattern, and if I end up frogging it, I will eventually re-knit it.)  Finished 11/19/10.

5.  Elizabeth Zimmermann's Green Sweater by Sunday Holm.  (This is one I am currently working on, and I am about 25% of the way along.)

6.  Fairly Easy Fair Isle by Kate Watson  (I'm half-way done, but I haven't worked on it in over a year.  But I refuse to label it as "hibernating" because my hibernation list is really my to-be-frogged list, and I do plan on finishing this one.)   Finished Feb. 11, 2011.

7.  Monkey by Cookie A.  (A pair of socks for myself, to be finished once my gift socks are done.) Finished  Nov. 7, 2010.

8.  Ribby Cardi by Bonne Marie Burns.  (I set this aside because I didn't feel like sewing in the zipper.  Now I've decided to add an I-cord with buttonholes, and I plan on finishing it soon.)  Finished Nov. 11, 2010.

9.  Stealth Project  (I can't say anymore but will show off the FO in a couple of weeks.)  Finished Sept. 30, 2010.


It is obvious that I enjoy knitting more than finishing!  The irony is that I made a similar list of 7 items over a year ago, with the hope of finishing or frogging them all before the last Stitches in Feb. 2010.  Out of the 7, I finished 3, sent 2 to the frog pile, and 2 of them are still on the WIP list above. 

I will say that even though I didn't reach my goal back then, I still think that making the list in the first place motivated me on the 3 projects that did get finished.  And besides, I have to remember that I finished quite a few other projects which were newly cast on since then. 

Sometime I will have to write a post about what makes an item go from "must cast on right now!", to "umm, yeah, maybe I'll finish that".  Meanwhile, what about you, how many WIP's do you have hanging around?


(P.S.  Be sure to check out some other WIPs by Ravelry Blog Hub members by visiting the links hosted by Tami's Amis.)

Finished Object Friday: Embossed Leaves Socks

These socks have been a special project for me because they are a gift for my friend who gifted me with my first set of knitting needles and taught me how to knit.  I knit these leafy socks in honor of her completion of her PhD. 
Congratulations Tera, on a huge accomplishment!

Pattern:  Embossed Leaves  by Mona Schmidt
Source:  Interweave Knits, Winter 2005; also published in Favorite Socks
Materials: 1 skein of Schaefer Yarn Company Heather, and US 1 circular needles
(Note on yarn color:  The label did not list a color name, but all of the Schaefer yarn colorways are designed and named in honor of strong women.  I think that makes this blue-green yarn even more perfect for Tera.  She has worked hard to complete her doctoral program so that she can continue to help others through the field of counseling.)

My Modifications:  For the body of the sock, I did follow the directions for the charted lace pattern of leaves, but I changed almost everything else:
Cast on and cuff:  The pattern calls for starting with a 1x1 rib method of casting on, and a twisted rib cuff on US 2 needles.  I started the socks once following the directions exactly but I hadn't completed a gauge swatch.  I soon realized the socks were going to be too big, and that I needed to go down to US 1.  Given the opportunity to start over I decided to use the nice stretchy Old Norwegian cast-on and a plain 1x1 rib stitch.
Heel and toe:  I used my favorite short-row heel, and I am especially pleased with the changes I made to the toe.  The all-over lace pattern creates a series of overlapping leaves so that a whole leaf is never completed.  I decided to use decreases to shape the top of the toe that would create finished leaves where the lace pattern ended as you can see here:

Even though Tera lives in another state, I think of her as part of my knitting circle of friends. She is a big sock knitter, and I know that along the course of all of her studies, she has knit a fair amount of socks as gifts for other people. I thought it was only appropriate that someone should knit some socks for her, and as she loves the outdoors, the pattern was an easy choice.

Tera, Congratulations!  Happy Graduation! Hope these socks help to keep you cosy this winter.

[Edited to add:  After starting this FO Friday series of posts, I realized other members of the Ravelry group The Blog Hub had the same idea!  You can visit Tami's Amis for links to see more Friday FOs.]

Socks-In-Progress Summary

I'm nearing the end of one year of working through my own self-imposed socks-for-knitters gift sock club.  (Not 1 pair every month like Yarn Harlot...I don't know how that woman gets it all done!)  But by the end of this month I will have, on average, knit 1 pair of gift socks every two months, plus 1 pair for charity thrown in for good measure.  Before this morning, I hadn't been keeping notes about the last couple of pairs, but I do plan on writing more about the experience, so I think it is time at least for a quick review:

The next pair in line to be finished are these Embossed Leaves Socks which I am knitting for my friend Tera:

You know I love any knitting patterns with leaves on them, so I've had this pattern in my queue for some time.  I just have to complete one more lace repeat and knit the toes.  I am going to stay up late if I have to for this pair to be this week's Finished Object Friday item so you can read more about these tomorrow.

After that, I will have a couple of weeks to finish the pair I started for Karen's birthday.  They are technically a stealth project.  Karen picked the yarn herself, but not the pattern.  To maintain an element of surprise I'm just giving you a peek of stockinette to show you the beautiful color she chose.  I will say that I think I found a perfect pattern match for the Malabrigo in "rayon vert", and I think they will be as beautiful and unique as my friend Karen:

Lastly, I do currently have a pair of socks on the needles for myself.  I started these Monkey Socks after getting this yarn at Stitches West this past February:

This is one of my favorite Cookie A. patterns, and I love the Peppermint Mocha colorway of Lorna's Laces that Jimmy Beans Wool released especially for Stitches West 2010.  This color is pooling differently on each sock so they are going to turn out kind of wild and crazy.  On other projects the pooling might bother me, but I think "wild and crazy" is appropriate for socks that will always remind me of that fun weekend.  I figured out how to up-size the pattern which was originally written for size medium only.  Finishing the socks and writing up the sizing notes will be my reward to myself after finishing the gift socks.

Of course, my non-sock projects are calling to me as well, but you can bet this last pair of socks will be on my feet at least by Stitches West 2011!

A Woolly Nest

Those 3 words could describe my yarn storage area, but in this case I mean it literally.  I found this nest recently while walking my dog on a trail near my house:

I found it on the ground, so I'm assuming it fell out of a nearby tree.  It took a few moments for me to recognize it for what it was, but once I did, I was very excited.  I used to spread my leftover yarn scraps around the garden and pasture in hopes that they would be gathered by nesting birds.  I stopped the practice only recently because I didn't think the scraps were being used.  What a treat to see that they are being used after all! 

I am pretty sure the red strands you can see in the picture are pieces I set out.  Also, what I originally thought was something akin to dryer lint is actually raw wool.  Our sheep is a Dorper, a breed with a mixture of hair and wool which naturally sheds.  Her wool ends up on fences, on the ground and stuck to trees as she sheds in the spring.  There are other sheep in the neighborhood too, but I love the thought that the wool might be from her.  The nest also has very small twigs, grass, and quite a bit of lichen.  There is a small hollow inside which is lined with tiny feathers.  It is otherwise empty, so hopefully it fell out of the tree after some baby birds were successfully fledged.

I will definitely be putting my wool scraps outdoors again.  Do any of you spread your yarn outside?
Also, I would love to hear from you if you have a guess as to what type of bird builds a nest like this.

Finished Object Friday: Fair Isle Felted Tote

I've actually been finished with this project for awhile.  I've been saving it up for an FO Friday.  Is that cheating?  I'm not sure if it is or not, but I'm still amazed that I actually finished it, so I think it is worth it's very own FO Friday:

Pattern:  Fair Isle Felted Tote from Crystal Estelle Designs
Source:  knitting class at Boll Weaver Yarns
Materials:  5 skeins of Lamb's Pride Worsted ( 1 each of the following colors:  15-Aubergine, 14-Sunburst Gold, 13-Sun Yellow, 177-Olympic Bronze, 97-Rust) and US 13 circular needles

I knit the entire project from start to finish (as did each of my friends in the knitting group who also attended the class) in 3 days!  I wouldn't usually expect to be able to do this much knitting in 3 days.  It was a special treat that the 4 of us were able to get away for the weekend and devote ourselves solely to the class.

Just out of sheer curiosity, and maybe because I'm kind of a knitting geek, I wanted to know how many yards of yarn we each knit that weekend.


I used this kitchen scale which has fast become one of my favorite knitting tools.

I took out the scale and the calculator and totaled the yardage of my leftovers to figure it out.  I realized that each of us knit @ 475 yds that weekend.  It doesn't sound like a lot to me right now, but if we could keep up that pace for 1 year we would knit over 32 miles of yarn!  That would take care of my stash in a hurry! 

More importantly, I'm grateful for how much we learned and how much fun we had.  Crystal Dobbs, who wrote the pattern and taught the class, shared tips and tricks related to multiple topics including choosing colors, knitting with two hands, reading charts, seaming, and felting.  It was wonderful.  I look forward to stopping in to see her during Stitches West, where she will have her selection of Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks yarn.

And what's that peeking out of my new tote?

Yes, it is 5 more skeins of Lamb's Pride for yet one more Fair Isle Felted Tote!

Instant Karma

I thought today's post would be a gifts-in-progress summary, but I haven't been able to resist the lure of the Shelter yarn.  So, let me just start off with a note to the Knitting Muses and Yarn Gods in an attempt to keep my yarn karma in good standing:  I did make progress on both pairs of gift socks I'm currently knitting, and I dug yarn out of the stash for some charity knitting.  I promise to work on them more this weekend!

This is what my kitchen table looked like last night after dinner:

I wanted the making of this sweater to be about the process as much as the finished product.
Well, I'm already learning new skills.  The gauge in my first swatch was off.  It was enough to effect the finished size of the sweater, but I was pretty sure I didn't want to change my needle size.  I looked at the pattern again and realized it is meant to be knit in the round and then steeked into a cardigan.  (Yay! No purling, and I get to use my new steeking skills later.)  So, I used the ever-handy Google and found these instructions for knitting a "fake" circular gauge swatch.  It worked!  My gauge is now spot-on, and I've knit the first couple of inches of the sweater.  The yarn is just beautiful.  More pictures to come when I get a little further along.

Meanwhile, let me tell you how the rest of my day went after my last post. . .I knew the universe would find a way to kick me in the butt after I talked up my good yarn karma.  It wasn't yarn related, but it was instant!  Right after I clicked "pubish post"  I went out my back door to feed our animals.  This is what I saw:

Half of our property, along with the rest of our rural neighborhood, receives flood irrigation every 10 days during the summer.  I thought we were all done for the year, so I was surprised to see that I would be wading to reach our little barn.  Feeling grateful for my water-proof muck boots, I made my way out.  First I gathered the chickens' food and water dishes that had floated away, and refilled them on higher ground near the coop.  I gave the sheep a treat in the barn where she was hiding from the water in her pasture.  Then I went to feed the pigs.  To my dismay, I saw that their feeders were underwater.  I was going to have to move the feeders to higher ground.  Before I could do that, I was going to have to undo the wires securing the feeders against the fence.  And in order to do that, I was going to have to get 2 hungry pigs out of my way. 

This guy is actually pretty tame but he does outweigh me,
and he's not shy when he thinks it's feeding time!

Fortunately, I had some old bagels and leftover fruit and vegetables to tempt them with.  Walking around the outside of the pig fence, I called to them so they would come eat their treats on some dry ground far away from where I would need to work on their feeders.  I knew it wouldn't take long for them to come back so I hurried into their pen, completely forgetting that the pigs had dug a deep hole just inside the gate.  Splash!  My right boot was full of water.  There was nothing for me to do but slosh over to their feeders and keep working.  I untied some wire knots, and tried to pull the feeder away from the fence, only to discover that my wonderful husband had also secured a 2nd wire at the bottom of the fence.  . . a 2nd wire which was now underwater.  Now with one wet foot, and my hands covered in mud, I kept undoing knots in the wire.  I was able to free up the feeder and move it to higher ground just as the pigs had finished their treats and were coming to investigate.  I rushed to get back out the gate as the pigs splashed their way toward me and guess where I stepped with my left foot?  You got it, right into the same deep hole:

With two wet feet, I finished feeding the pigs.  Then I calmly went back to the house, poured the water out of my boots, and found the camera. 

The great thing about blogging is that when the universe does decide to play a joke on you, there is absolutely zero time lapse between the moment when it is mildly frustrating and the moment when it becomes a funny story to tell.

Good Yarn Karma

Recently, I've knit a couple of projects during which I was sure I would run out of yarn before reaching the bind off.  Luckily, I was able to finish both of them with a few inches of yarn to spare.  My knitting group friends said I have good yarn karma.  When I posted about my last FO, the Woodland Shawl, I didn't mention that it was the 3rd such project.  Finishing the shawl required completing a 16-row repeat, and then knitting another 8-row edge section.  When I started the last repeat, I doubted I had 24 rows worth of yarn left, but I forged ahead because I wanted the shawl to be as long as possible.  I made it, and here is all of the yarn I had remaining:

I didn't mention this before because I
didn't want to jinx my good yarn karma!

 I'm throwing my yarn karma caution to the wind to tell you about a special package that just arrived in the mail.

About two weeks ago, I wrote a post I titled Synchronicity, about my joy in discovering that a pattern for EZ's Green Sweater had been published.  As soon as I was done writing that post, I ordered the pattern and headed over to Ravelry to add the sweater to my Favorites list.  I didn't actually put it in my queue because I planned on waiting to find just the right yarn.  I wasn't in any hurry, and I thought the right yarn wouldn't show up at least until February (when I'll die early and go to that yarn heaven known as Stitches West). 

The thought of putting off buying yarn lasted exactly eleven days.  I knew I wanted to knit the sweater with wool that had all the heathery flecks of color as in the photos of the original sweater.  If you're a knitting blog reader, you've probably already heard about Shelter, Jared Flood's new line of yarn.  When I read the announcement on Brooklyn Tweed, I knew that the perfect heathery yarn for EZ's Green Sweater was just one trip through the mail away.  I've been sticking to a monthly budget, and fortunately for me the announcement was made at the start of a new month. 



Do I care that I blew through my discretionary
budget on the first day of the month . . . .?



Not at all.



I felt like I was a little late to the party when I finally found the published pattern for the sweater, but now I know I was just waiting for the right yarn.  Synchronicity after all!

I'm going to try to hang on to my good karma by keeping up with some gift- and charity-knitting through the Fall prior to starting on the Green Sweater.  But that is another blog post. . .

Finished Object Friday: Woodland Shawl

Pattern:  Woodland Shawl by Nikol Lohr
Source: free pattern published in The Thrifty Knitter
Materials: 3 skeins of Rowan Pure Wool 4ply, and US 5 needles
Modifications:  I actually followed the directions on this one!  (But I did go down in needle size.)

You all have already been hearing about my black walnut dyeing adventures in my last two posts.  Now I'm happy to be done with a project using my hand-dyed yarn.  I highly recommend this pattern.  It is one of those with enough stitch detail to hold your interest, but still easy enough to knit while watching a movie (or sitting at a red light)!

As a bonus, I think it works as a scarf too, and the "wrong" side looks good as well:

I love those leaves, now I just need to make a hat to match!