I hope your holidays are going great. Sorry for the pics, but it is very overcast here. These are my Christmas presents, in addition to my big present that I received 2 months early(my car).The skeins are Opal on the left, Schaefer Anne on the right, Colinette Jitterbug in Blue Parrot on top, and another Schaefer Anne on the bottom.
With all the Christmas stuff going on, there has not been much knitting. But now that we are in college bowl week, I predict things will be changing. :) I just love knitting while I am watching football.

My final package for the 2006 Rockin' Sock Club arrived on Saturday, and I was one of 5 winners for the 20 questions contest! It's embarrassing how much time I spent filling out the sheet, but it was worth every minute. My prize is the skein on the right - it's Seduction (their 50%merino/50% tencel blend) in the Puck's Mischief color. I love the sheen and color on this yarn. And the feel... oh my, it's soft.
The middle skein, a Rare Gem, was the bonus for signing up for the entire year. I don't know how they did it, but I absolutely adore the one I got. I know I say it every time, but this is definitely my favorite. ;) I love looking at it so much in the skein, I don't know if I will be able to knit it up. Especially since I can't get another one! I loved being a part of this club and I think they did a fantastic job.

Alright, I am obviously out of my mind. I went to Lawrence and KC this weekend on the pretext of getting my friend to try on her socks. You know, so I could officially get them off the needles. Well, apparently a few yarn stores got in the way and I came home with these new sock yarns. Like I don't have enough for the next few YEARS. The top one is the new Colinette Jitterbug. I had heard about it on the Knittyboard, but wow! It is so vibrant and squishy, a lot like STR on first glance. I'll have to knit this up SOON. The bottom ones are more Koigu I picked up at The Studio. I also had another friend with me who insisted on buying for me a sock yarn I was eyeing, but had put back:
This is J-Knits (Superwash Me-Light Sock in the Amesbury color), which I had not heard of before. The Studio had several different colors of it and they all looked pretty interesting. Oh, and I got the Colinette at Knit-Wit in Olathe. So now I'm really in the mood to knit some socks.
And the socks I knit for my friend...they fit! Woo-Hoo! So I kitchenered (is that a word?) the seams and they are ready to go.

Okay, I admit I was a little hasty in casting on for H's argyle vest. When I first cast on for this vest I hadn't even done a gauge swatch. A friend of mine mentioned that wasn't like me, but I just wanted to get going with this project.

Well, when I discovered that the designer (my daughter, H) did not want ribbing in the bottom band and had to rip back anyway, I went ahead and did a gauge swatch. So now I have the correct gauge, everything is going great right? It would have gone great if I hadn't made a stupid math error in how many stitches to cast on!
So, after a few false starts, I finally have the bottom band to this vest started and I meet with a knitting buddy of mine. She kindly points out that I can't do intarsia if I'm knitting in the round (which I am). I take the Scarlett O'Hara approach and decide I'll think about that tomorrow. Or whenever I get to the point of having to knit the diamonds.

Well, my first attempt was NOT pretty. I was winging it and doing some kind of weird stranding. I realize there has to be something on the internet and I come upon this site which is perfect! Using the last method she describes, I finally have something close to the desired result:

I actually finished the felting on this bag on Tuesday last week, but it took me awhile to do the sewing. I needed to sew the backpack strap to the bag, a couple of D rings the tie the strap to, and the front pocket. The pocket on the front had to be sew on twice because the first time I had sewn it on crooked. I thought I could eyeball it but I was wrong. I know it still looks a little crooked in the picture, but that's just the way the bag is sitting (or so I hope!).


My daughter loves it so that's all that matters. Now she wants me to work on her argyle vest so I have cast on for that in some Tahki Cotton Classic in a grass green.With all the snow recently I am really feeling the need for more socks. I think I need to go check the stash...

Thanksgiving was very good for knitting since I managed to get a lot done. First, I have an almost finished pair of socks:I just need to kitchener the toes, but I am waiting until the recipient can try them on before I do that. I am afraid they will be too snug, but if that's the case my little girl will have some new socks! So in my mind, these are done before the deadline of the end of the month.

Next, I have the backpack I have been working on for my little girl, H. H has been wanting this for awhile and now I am almost done. As soon as I get the top edge done I can toss this in the washer for the felting.


The pattern,"Kick It Up" Kid's Backpack, is out of the Knitting pattern a day calendar from 2005. The yarn is Plymouth Outback Wool in color 996. I am hoping to get this one done by the end of the week and then I can start on an argyle vest H has requested. We picked up the yarn for it on the way to Grandma's house, so I need to get started soon.

Well, I did finish my Clapotis on Monday night, but trying to get my computer from the Warcraft- playing members of my family has been difficult. So here is the picture, finally. I couldn't get the whole thing in the picture without it being kinda far away.

I did start working on the socks and realized that the pattern I was working on can't be done with the two-socks-on-one-needle technique. Or maybe I'n not smart enough to figure out how to make it work, so my socks are on separate needles now. I had a moment of panic when I tried on the socks to see if they were long enough and I could barely get them over my heels. So I called the recipient and she assured me her feet are much smaller than mine, so hopefully there should be no problems.

My DD also has me working on a felted backpack for her, so those are the current projects. But I am feeling a huge need to cast on for something else. I'm not sure what, but the need is there.

My yarn arrived today! Sorry about the dark picture, but mail didn't arrive until 5:15. Here is the yarn before I ripped into it:And After:
This is Claudia's Handpainted yarn in Just Plum on top and Purple Earth on the bottom. I love the yarn and the shipping was really fast considering Saturday was a no-mail day.

My clapotis is almost done. I predict late tonight. I actually finished yesterday, but I misjudged my yarn amount and did one too many straight repeats. So I ripped back and reknit. Then it's socks!

I came to a realization when I was watching football yesterday and my son had my computer to play Warcraft; I get a lot more knitting done when I'm not surfing on my computer!

Do I really need a title?

I haven't blogged in a while because there hasn't been much to blog about. I have been knitting on my socks and Clapotis and that's about it!


I am almost done with the straight section on my clapotis and so far I have plenty of yarn left. I was really worried about having enough yarn after reading about everyone's issues with it; then, I see that Knitty even changed the pattern to 4 skeins of Lion & Lamb. This, of course, after my DH had already given me the three skeins. So I did some research on the ol' internet and came up with this site that tells you how to see if you have enough yarn to complete your clapotis. I just started my third ball so I should be fine.

Also, I just ordered some yarn from The Loopy Ewe and I can't wait! My self imposed yarn hiatus is over. I have been wanting to try some Claudia's Handpainted and now I have some on the way.

It's almost over

Here are pictures of my sock club kit that arrived today. You know I'm always excited to see my Blue Moon package with the rest of my mail, but I couldn't help but be a little sad when I got this one. You see it's the next to last shipment in my membership, so it's almost over. I love having something to look forward to and knowing yarn is on the way! I think I have to sign up for the next year. It's like the best magazine subscription ever.

Late to the Party

This is a progress pic of my clapotis. I'm doing it out of the recommended Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in Sandridge. Sorry the picture is a little dark, it has been overcast for awhile here.

I was reading an interesting discussion over at Knitter's Review about the popular patterns and if the popularity influences whether you knit them or not. My feeling is that if I like the pattern, it doesn't matter what everyone else is doing. The clapotis and birch are both really popular patterns on the internet, but I really liked how they looked. Also, just because something is popular among knitters doesn't make it ubiquitous among the general population because the percentage of knitters is not that large. The figure I've heard is about 15% of Americans are knitters or crocheters. So even if everyone knit the same thing, it's not like picking it up at the Gap or something.

A little bit of spinning

Here's my spinning progress so far:

I finally sat down and just started spinning. There are a couple of sections where I had the tension set too tight and didn't get enough twist, but I finally got it set right and things were pretty smooth after that.Now I'm just worried about how to ply it since I love the colors and don't want to muddy them up. My navajo plying stinks, though. Well, I have a little bit more until I need to worry about it.
On the knitting front, my clapotis is coming along. I'm still in the increase section, but I have also been working on these socks:


I feel guilty about how long it has taken me for these socks. They are a gift for a good friend of mine, but I got wrapped up in knitting Birch and now Clapotis. I will finish these socks by Thanksgiving, if not sooner!

I'm done!

My Birch is blocking on my DIY blocking board from Home Depot. This is my first time using blocking wires so please excuse my less-than-straight edges. And here's a close up:
The horizontal lines are the ones I drew on my board to grid the blocking board.
So here are the stats on Birch:
Started: August 30, 2006
Finished: October 15, 2006
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Smoke, 2 3/4 balls
Needles: Size 8 Knitpicks Circulars
Modifications: None!
In case you were wondering, yes, I immediately cast on for my Clapotis last night. My Knitpicks order still hasn't arrived, but I think it will be here today. You know, now that I'm done and don't need the needle tips! It's alright, I'm sure I'll need them at some point.

Nothing Much

Well, there's not a whole lot to blog about for me. Still working on Birch, I'm now on row 160 with 99 stitches left on the needles. I know I'll make my deadline of Oct. 20. Now I'm anxious to finish so I can cast on for my Clapotis. And this time it's not my self-control keeping me from casting on, I need the size 8s for Clapotis. My DH did say, "Why don't you use your Denises?" I admit it freely, I'm totally spoiled by my Knitpicks needles and I want to use them for Clapotis. So I ordered additional tips so this can't happen again! And you can't just order one thing from Knitpicks, so I ordered some of their new wool/silk blend sock yarn, Gloss.
I did go to Cottage Fiber in Kansas City. It was wonderful. The owner was very friendly and she offers Spinning classes. I've never been to a shop that was exclusively spinning. And she offered a sampler pack that I bought so maybe I can get an idea of what I like to spin. I can't wait to go back.There has been a little spinning going on around here. Just working on my beautiful finger roving from Crown Mountain Farms. I think I have about a third of it left. Pictures soon.

In Sickness and in Health

Alright, I have to be the worst person to be around when I am sick. Any little sniffle and I am complaining to anyone within range. My poor DH must be pretty grateful that I don't get sick often! So other than sniffling and feeling like a zombie, I managed to get some knitting done. This is my square for Grandmother Purl ready to be shipped off.


It's just a simple basketweave pattern made with some Sugar and Cream cotton. My Birch is coming along; I'm on row 68 now so maybe I'll make my deadline. I'm going to take more medicine and wallow. Hope you have a good weekend.

My new love

Meet Giles, my wonderful new Mini Cooper. I am so in love! I have been having a ton of fun driving him and my DH predicts I'll get a ticket within 6 months. We'll see about that.

My spinning class was ok but we only spun during the last 20 minutes. I'm on row 34 of Birch and am now a little worried that I'll get it done on time. The wedding I want to wear it to is on Oct.20. So, now I'm getting serious!

I also signed up to knit a square for Grandmother Purl and that needs to be done by Nov.10. But I'm not too worried about getting it done on time since it's only an 8" square.

Insane Surprise

Okay, I haven't posted because I have had the most incredible week! Over the weekend, my DH said he needed to talk to me. I said okay and sat down at the kitchen table with the kids. He says, "We have decided on your Christmas present, but we need a little help. We are giving you a key."

Big pause. I'm thinking,"What? A key to my own room?". We had been talking about making a room in the house my craft room, so that's what I'm thinking.

He continues, "It's a key to a Mini Cooper, but we don't know what color you want." I'm sitting here thinking, " a little model car? He can't be serious! There's no way!"

He's still looking at me, not laughing and saying OK, joke's over. It slowly sinks in that he is serious. OH MY GOD!! I start crying and laughing at the same time. I don't remember much after that. So on Monday, we drove down to Oklahoma City to pick up my Mini Cooper. Oh wow, I love this car! Don't get me wrong my old car was great, but this is so much fun! I will have pictures soon.

In other news, I signed up for a spinning class (yes, again) and it starts this Saturday. I haven't spun on my wheel because I don't want to ruin my nice roving until I know what I am doing. Still knitting on my Birch, I'm on row 28, so I'm making progress, but I found a mistake way back on Row 1. No, I'm not going back. I'm learning to live with it.

Mail surprise

My not-at-all -suspicious husband came in and asked, "What did you order this time?" I am innocent I tell you! I was not even expecting my STR club shipment. Here is the club packet:
And a closer look at the yarn



This time they included 2 patterns; one that is more challenging and a regular one. Well, back to watching college football. Go OU!

I need to stop buying yarn

Okay, I don't think this should count as me getting more yarn, because this actually was ordered before the yarn crawl. I couldn't pass up the 30% off sale that Knit Happens was having a couple of weeks ago. The reason I hadn't posted about the yarn was that I was missing a skein of Koigu in the original shipment. The people at Knit Happens were very quick and kind about getting the lonely skein her buddy, so now I can post what I got; 2 skeins of Fleece Artist, Cherry Tree Hill in Peacock, and the 2 skeins of Koigu, p524.
For the 2 of you out there who might be wondering, here is my wheel:

Yep, I got a Lendrum DT and I didn't realize how lucky I was that I didn't have to wait for a backorder. I absolutely love it. Here is a pic of the first yarn I spun on my wheel. It's the free 8 oz. of Welsh top that I received with my order.
The hank in the front was plied normally, but the hank in the back was my feeble attempt at Navajo plying. Definitely can't do that one to save my life. And in my defense, that isn't all just my spinning. Of course, my DS and DD had to take a stab at it when they saw how much fun I was having. I only have one tiny little strip of roving left and my trip to Lawrence got canceled, so what am I to do? Yeah, I ordered some roving over the internet on Tuesday around 3:00, pretty soon after I posted. I can't believe that I received my order today! I ordered some pencil roving because I read that it is good for beginners, and now I can't use it. Just look at how beautiful it is!The little white bit is Blue Faced Leicester top just so I can try it. Based on how gorgeous the roving is and how fast it got to me, I can't recommend Crown Mountain Farms enough. So I think I need to go spin.

Now what?

Yes, I got my wheel on Friday about 6 pm. No, I didn't get any pictures because I was too excited and forgot. I have spun all 8 oz. that came free with my purchase and now I am sitting here wondering if I can wait until Thursday to get more roving. I'm going to Lawrence on Thursday for a friend, but since the Yarn Barn is there, I might as well go. :) Well, I have to wait I guess because if I ordered anything now over the internet, it wouldn't get here until Friday at least. I'll have pictures soon of my first yarn, I even plied it and everything. It feels like rope, though. I think I have to work on not so much twist.

On the Birch front, I was doing okay until I realized I had an extra stitch and the whole pattern was a stitch off. I ripped back 3 whole rows and now I'm back to knitting.
Gotta get back to it!

Anxiously waiting

I seem to be forgetting a lot of things in my posts lately. I forgot to mention that both The Woolie Ewe and Yarns2Ewe were both nice places, but I think because of the sheer size of them, they just didn't have that same intimate feel of Simpatico Yarns and Yarn Palette. I have been to Carol's Knitting Studio before, so I knew I liked it and I had some idea of what she carried. She has expanded since last Christmas and now the store is twice the size it was and she carries Malabrigo. I hadn't seen Malabrigo before and it is gorgeous. I also love the way that Carol's Knitting Studio smells. I don't know what she does, but the smell is wonderful.

Ok, I haven't mentioned the big news yet, but...I ordered a spinning wheel. After my time in Dallas, I decided that yes, I think I would enjoy spinning. So, here I sit, waiting for the UPS truck and trying to decide if this was a good idea for my knitting or not. I have tried to curtail the time I spend on the internet, but now I keep trying to find links to help me learn how to spin. So, if you don't hear from me for a little bit, it's because I have been sucked in by my spinning wheel.

Texas-sized Yarn Stores

To continue on my yarn crawl through Texas, my next stop was The Woolie Ewe in Plano. The Woolie Ewe is a HUGE store. There was a ton of variety; Artful Yarns, Noro, Rowan, Debbie Bliss, it just goes on and on. I was totally overwhelmed and wandered around for about an hour. In the end, I left with only these 4 skeins of Lorna's Laces. That's River on the left and Jay Pond on the right. After a little talking that night, we decided to drive to Houston in the morning and go to Yarns2Ewe. My DH had been there earlier in the year and purchased some of the Mother's Day yarn. So he thought I should at least see it. Yarns2Ewe was another massive store, but here they had Koigu! I found two other colors I really liked, but they only had 1 skein of each, so I left them behind.

We decided that was plenty of yarn stores for the time being and went to the Museum of Natural Science to see the BodyWorlds exhibit.

Carol's Knitting Studio in Oklahoma City was the final stop on my whirlwind yarn tour. This is where I picked up my Lantern Moon bag along with just a bit of Lorna's Laces in Watercolor and some Blue Sky Cotton.



So...That wraps up my yarn tour!

Wichita Falls and DFW

Alright, the first stop was Yarn Palette in Wichita Falls, Texas. This store had the best setup for relaxing with your knitting that I have ever seen. There were three big, comfy sofas all positioned around a coffee table that had snacks and magazines on it. There was even additional lighting all around this sitting area.
I found this Rowan Cashsoft Aran on sale for 25% off. I couldn't believe the yarn selection this store had (plenty of Rowan!) and the owner was incredibly friendly.


The next stop was in Bedford, Texas. Bedford is a small suburb on the Northeast side of Fort Worth. Simpatico Yarns was hands down the friendliest store I have ever visited. The owner, Mary Jane, made me feel welcome and at home as soon as I stepped in her store. I wandered around for awhile before I heard my DH calling me over. I walked around a small display and there was a spinning wheel sitting there in all her beauty. It was fate! Mary Jane graciously offered me a mini-lesson and she was such a wonderful, encouraging teacher! I, of course, was totally uncoordinated; couldn't keep the wheel going and have my hands work at the same time.
I totally wished I lived in DFW so this could be my LYS, but oh well. The yarn is Soxie in Nantucket Blue by Great AdirondackYarn Co. I also picked up Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. I will continue with my visit to one other yarn store in the DFW area next time.

I forgot

I almost forgot! I loved seeing the skein all laid out on Tapmouse's blog, so I thought I would do the same thing to show all the beautiful colors of STR's Love-In Idleness. If you like it, just call or email them and ask for it.

Yarn Crawl

So my kids are visiting their grandparents in Oklahoma and what do you think I want to do with all this free time? Yarn Crawl!! My DH is a great guy and he was game for it so off we went.

Guess where I went on my yarn pilgrimage? That's me at the base of the statue of Sam Houston. Yep, we went to Texas and all the yarn stores I visited were in Texas except for one in Oklahoma. We had a great time and visited 5 yarn stores over 2 days in 4 cities. My big dilemma before we left was what projects to take with me. I just took 2 projects; socks and my first attempt at lace.

This is the beginning of a Birch shawl in one of my new acquisitions, a Lantern Moon bag. And here are the socks:
I have plenty of pictures, but I want to make them last so I'll add a few on each post this week along with my opinions on the various shops.
Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

First Finished Sweater!

It's dry, the ends are woven in, and I am finished with my first sweater! I did the large size on the pattern and I can't believe that it fits me so well. I love it. I went to the KAL a lot for the modifications to the pattern. Here are the specs:
Yarn: 2 1/2 skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Robin's Egg Blue
Needles: Size 4 and 6 KnitPicks 32" circulars
Started: July 26, 2006
Finished: August 28, 2006
Modifications: Added extra waist decreases and spaced them out over 5 rows. Added hip increases and added 3 rows of stockinette before ribbing on sleeves. That's it!

I really liked how easy this pattern was, but the rounds of stockinette did get kind of tiring at the end. And like many at the KAL, I screwed up the lace pattern a couple of times and had to rip back. The only thing I'm worried about is if it will ride up too much when I'm wearing it. If it does, I'll just add another inch or two to the bottom. Now I need to find another sweater project.

Stash addition

My yarn from Blue Moon arrived today! I asked for color #2, Love-in Idleness, since the one I named, #6, is the next choice in the club. I absolutely love this color. Even more than Peaseblossom. I am thinking about ordering 2 additional skeins to, maybe, make a clapotis out of it.

And I am still debating whether or not I want to learn how to spin. I know my personality ( I tend towards obsessive/compulsive), and I am afraid if I started spinning it would cut into my knitting time. Right now, surfing the internet is the big competition for knitting. You know, looking at blogs, looking at yarn stores, finding new patterns, all eat into my knitting time.

Well, I am almost done with my Green Gable, just the sleeves left. So a new post and pic in the next day or two. Have a good weekend!

Knitting Injury

Today is my son's 12th birthday and I can't believe it. I know it's trite, but where does the time go? He is so funny, he's telling me he's bored! So I better make this quick...

I have been knitting on my Green Gable because I really want to finish it and wear it before the weather turns cool. My new Knitpicks needles have been great, but I have fallen back into my habit of pushing the needles. I now have a small hole in the tip of my right index finger that hurts like a *&%$#%@! I've been benched!
So I have to take a break until I can get one of those nifty finger protectors at Hobby Lobby or Michael's. I have actually knit about 4 more inches since I took this picture, so I think I'm about 60% done.
Since I can't knit, I am on the internet. I might as well look at yarn, books, patterns and blogs. Well, stores should be open soon. And maybe that will relieve someone's boredom.

Can't leave well enough alone

Wellllll... Remember how I finished my Cedar Creek socks and I was so happy to be finished? After wearing them a couple of times and looking at them A LOT, I realized I just wasn't thrilled with the way my picot edge had turned out. You see, originally the pattern was written for top down and I wanted to do them toe up. So I had to improvise on the picot edge and I ended up with an edge that flared out a ton. This was also my first try with EZ's sewn cast off and that ended up both too tight (on the first sock) and too loose (on the second)!

So, I ripped it out and redid them because, YES, I am that picky! This time, though, I did plenty of research on the internet and found out how to do them properly. My first mistake was making the cuff too short, so the revised edition has a 6 round cuff before the picot round. On the picot round, I went up a needle size (size 2) from what I had used to knit the leg (size 1). Then, on the private side of the picot edge I went down a needle size (size 0) from what I had used for the leg. I gave up on the sewn cast off that was too difficult for me to tension right. So, I followed the advice from this site and picked up stitches from the beginning round with an extra circular needle and did a 3 needle bind off with the bigger needle (size 2) for a wonderfully stretchy cuff that doesn't curl over! Yea! I love them!

I WON YARN!

I can't believe it! I won a Rockin' Sock Club contest! I will definitely post a picture as soon as I receive my yarn, both here and at the KAL. Talk about getting me out of my funk! Thanks to the wonderful ladies at Blue Moon and all the wonderful people at the KAL who voted for my choice of names!

I think this is a record for the number of exclamation points in one post, but what the heck.

Ugh!

My kids have been ill, so this has not been a fun week. Also, not a lot of knitting going on. I have been crazy tired trying to keep things going. And my grandmother has been ill and is now in a nursing home. So now I'm on marathon phone calls with my mom back in Texas. So so tired. I'll post more when I have actual knitting content.

It's always good to come home

Okay, now that I'm back home I can blog and show y'all my new shoes. These are the ones I chose to show off my socks and I think they look pretty good with jeans. The added height is a nice bonus, too.

I had a great time in Texas and visited the yarn shop I like down there. I picked up one new sock yarn and the yarn for a sweater I thought I could handle, Green Gable. I casted on immediately since I finished my felted bag for my class. Here is the bag all felted but without the zipper. The DH is going to help me with putting that in, since he sews. I'm thinking of using it as an accessory bag for my knitting.


Since I'm in a pic posting mood, here is the progress shot on my green gable.
This is my first sweater done top down and I have to say I really like it. I love trying things on as I go. The only problem is that I try it on entirely too much. Oh, well!