December 23, 2005
Turtleneck Shrug
I received my lovely Turtleneck Shrug from Rosa more than a week ago and have been very negligent in taking a decent picture and posting about my scarf/shrug. I received my shrug as part of the SYNO scarf swap.
The shrug is made with Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed in Bark. I love how soft and tweedy it is and Rosa did a wonderful job. The sleeves are quite long, but I like long sleeves. Rosa ran out of yarn on the turntleneck, so it is 2 inches shorter than called for in the pattern. The Wool Shack has another ball of yarn in the same dye lot. What do you all think I should do? Leave the neck at the length it is, or add another 2 inches as per the pattern?
I'm going out of town for the weekend. I will try to post, but it may not happen. If I don't talk to you all before, have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hannukah, and a wonderful time with friends and family. Be happy, healthy, and safe in whatever you do. I'll leave you with a picture of my Christmas tree.
September 26, 2005
A Long Post
As promised, I have blocking pictures of Backyard Leaves.
And now she's all bundled up and ready to meet her mom. She's off on her journey today, and should arrive by the end of the week.
I debated for quite awhile about the "best" way to sew the 2 halves together. After some research in a couple of knitting books, I decided plain ol' matress stitch was the way to go. I hope Blossom is happy with that decision. If she'd prefer something else, I've included the extra yarn in the return package, so she can do what she'd prefer with the seam.
The back of Frieda is finished. Speedy knit, that one.
And I've started the cables on the front.
This cable business is a little tricky until you get the hang of it and those cable stitches are tight! I was very nervous because when I'm knitting the cable stitches there appears to be a huge gaping hole next to the cable (is this normal or am I doing something wrong?). I was pulling my hair out over those puppies. Then, much to my amazement, they closed right up on the next row - well, they're still there but you can't see them. One of those knitting mysteries I suppose. I hope that I get into the rhythm of the cables and cruise along on the front. It'd be nice to have this sweater in the next few weeks because we are fast approaching sweater weather around here. I have to tell you, as much as I love the feel of the Alpaca Silk, I've been quite annoyed with the yarn. I have run across three major knots so far - 2 in one ball and 1 in another - and a lot of twigs and little bits of stuff.
Of course, these knots show up in the middle or end of a row and require tinking back and cutting off a fair amount of yarn. Did you notice all the new yarn spots on the back? A lot from having to cut knots out. I'm worried that I'm not going to have enough yarn and am going to have to order another ball to finish. You'd think Debbie Bliss could produce a bit better product, especially for what this yarn cost!
I've been thinking about Butterfly a lot over the last few days. I'm intrigued by the pattern, the yarn, the colors, and the technique used to make such a lovely garmet. A while ago, I ordered a dvd on the two-handed fair isle technique. I watched it this weekend and it was quite good. There was also quite a bit on steeking and finishing, which I found helpful as well. I ordered some needles a few weeks ago and they arrived on Friday.
These will be debuted on Butterfly. In reading the Butterfly pattern I noticed that the finished measurement for the small (the size my sister bought for me) is 105.5 cm (about 41.5 inches) at the underarm, which is much too large for me. The petite size is a much better 96 cm (38 inches) around, but is too short. I sent an e-mail to Virtual Yarns explaining my problem and asking for advise. I got the nicest e-mail from Jade Starmore herself explaining exactly what I should do - knit the petite and make it longer - with specific instructions for how to do that. I do so love a company with a wonderful product and outstanding customer service! Very impressive.
Finally, I had a lovely weekend knitting, but also had to dedicate some time to reading my new book.
If you don't have this book, go get it. It's hilarious. I wish I had Stephanie's talent for making the every day things so interesting. I do believe this one is even better than the first (and I wasn't sure that was possible).
As you can see, I had a lovely weekend and today is my birthday, so today should be good too. Have a great day. Happy knitting.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:58 AM | Comments (25)September 23, 2005
I'm An Airhead
I did exactly what I said I was going to do. Backyard Leaves went for a swim in the sink and is now on the blocking board. Do you think it's important that the directions said to steam block? I'm not a big fan of the steam block for wool, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Anyway, I digress. So, I thought to myself, "I'll wait until morning to take a picture because the light will be better." Makes perfect sense, but I kind of forgot to actually take the picture. I know. I'm sorry. I'll take one tonight in the crappy light in my dining room - that'll have to do. I have to tell you, it is a really pretty scarf. It blocked out beautifully. I sure hope Blossom likes it.
Frieda is really coming along. I like the yarn a lot and it's nice to be knitting a sweater with something other than cotton. I just started the increases on the back, and considering I've had basically no knitting time in the last couple of days - that's good progress. Stupid work getting in the way of knitting.
Have a great weekend and happy knitting.
Posted by Stephanie at 10:36 AM | Comments (13)September 14, 2005
The First Half
The first half of the Backyard Leaves scarf for SYNO is finished and I've cast on for the second half.
The pattern is so pretty, look at those little leaves. I understand blocking it flattens them out somewhat, but I think I'll still love them.
And the end - the end is simply brilliant - it's divided into 2 parts and each one is its own leaf.
I've decided that aside from swatching for Frieda I'm going to finish this project before I start on another. I really have too many things going on to start another - Ronnie is still hanging out and I have that blanket to start. So, really, starting Frieda while I'm still working on Backyard Leaves might just fry my little brain. I am hopeful that I can get the scarf finished by this weekend, but really I need to learn to be flexible on such things.
Have a great day.
Posted by Stephanie at 1:45 PM | Comments (15)September 12, 2005
Whirlwind Weekend
What a crazy weekend. We went to Travis' parents house to help them build fence. Not exactly my idea of a great time, but they do so much for us that we always like to help them with their projects. Fence building went as well as to be expected when you're building fence right next to a river - lots. of. rocks.
Aside from fence building, my mother-in-law and I picked out new carpet for her house (that's my idea of fun!) and rearranged her living room (again, fun!). I got in two runs while we were there and they went pretty well. I also finished the back of Ronnie - I knit on the drive up - about half of which was in the dark, but you gotta love stockinette stitch for travel knitting. I had a couple of row to finish up when we got there and managed to finish a piece of knitting! And Christmas knitting at that. I kept the stitches live because I want to do a 3 needle bind off for the shoulders and I don't really know why I'd bind off the neck stitches just to pick the same number back up later - so they're live too.
Pretty exciting stuff isn't it? Yeah, not really, but I'm on my way to being able to start on Frieda, which is exciting. Backyard Leaves came back out to play yesterday on the way home and we seem to be getting along famously again. I am on the eighth of eleven repeats and things are coming along nicely - this is a fun pattern, even though I can't memorize the pattern - my brain can't handle a 20 row repeat.
Have a great week.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:39 AM | Comments (9)September 1, 2005
More Leaves
I'm on the third repeat of the Backyard Leaves pattern and I am in love. I can already tell that I'm going to have to make another one of these lovely scarves. Yummy.
The green is really hard to photograph - it's a lot greener and prettier than it looks in my subpar photos. Trust me. I'll have to try to get a natural light shot this weekend so you can really see.
I'm still working on the zipper saga, although I think I found 2 teal zippers from Zipper Stop that might work (and I'm gettting a color card too - for next time).
I did my first run last night. I ran for 5 minutes, walked for 3 minutes 3 times. My new shoes are good (I think) and my legs aren't sore today. So, run #2 tomorrow night. Riley was so excited he was barking and running around before we got out the door. Do you think the dog needs some exercise? Wow.
Have a great day. Happy knitting.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:00 AM | Comments (11)August 30, 2005
Backyard Leaves
I started Backyard Leaves for Blossom yesterday and I'm having a lot of fun with it.
The pattern is very addicting - I want to see what happens on the next row and than the next row and the next... I didn't have a lot of time to work on it yesterday - maybe an hour total, so I think it's going to be a fairly quick project.
I ordered two zippers from Zipper Stop last Thursday and they were shipped on Friday. I hope they arrive in the next day or two and that one of them is close to the same color as the Zip Cardi. After doing a bit of reading, I've decided to try to sew my zipper in with my sewing machine. Jacqueline assures me that it can be done. So, I'm game to try anything once - zipper installation with a sewing machine is up for the weekend (assuming one of the zippers is acceptable). Since I will be home for this attempt, I will take pictures and share them with you all. Additionally, grafting (with pictures) will happen one night this week,or maybe over the weekend, depending on how my week shapes up.
Have a great day.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:43 AM | Comments (7)August 12, 2005
Stitch Ya Neck Out
I got my SYNO yarn from my swap pal. I do so love getting yarn in the mail.
It is Karabella Aurora 8 in the loveliest shade of green and is destined to be a Backyard Leaves scarf from Scarf Style. Now, are you ready for the best part? I get to knit it for Blossom! Isn't that cool? I think it's pretty fabulous myself. I'm excited to knit the Backyard Leaves scarf because the pattern looks very interesting and there's a chart - I do love a good chart!
So, guess what else came in the mail. Yep, my yarn to send on to my swap pal. Finally. It was here at the beginning of the week, but I just got Travis to pick it up at the post office.
This is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed in Bark from the Wool Shack - a wonderful shop in Australia. This is my first package ever from Australia and I must say, it's a great one. The yarn is destined to be a Turtleneck Shrug from Scarf Style and is really soft. I don't think there will be any itching around my neck with this. So, first thing tomorrow I'm sending it along to my swap pal, who has been most patient waiting for my yarn to arrive. I'll have to find a couple of goodies to put in the package as a thanks for being so patient.
I believe the verdict from all the great advise yesterday is to block the Zip Cardi and see if that helps the wonky right side. If not I can always take it out and redo it. Either right away or sometime down the road. Thank you all for your compliments. This sweater was my most time consuming project to date, but overall I'm happy with how it turned out. Now, I'm starting to plan my fall knitting and I believe I'll start with Frieda. Adele's is looking fabulous and I do love a great turtleneck and I'm considering Rogue. For those of you who've knit Rogue, and I know there are a lot of people out there, what was your overall impression? Is this a pattern that I should be able to work my way through or is it too difficult and something I should hold off on? I'd be grateful for your thoughts.
Have a great weekend - I'm staying home and finishing my Sherbet Socks (I only have 1 1/2 cm of ribbing left) and starting my shrug. It promises to be a nice relaxing weekend at home.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:15 AM | Comments (9)
