30 Day knitting challenge: Day 7

Day 7:  What is your least favorite piece that you’ve knit?

There are plenty of times I will start a project and then rip it out because I decide I don't like it before I get to completion.  And there are lots of completed projects that I don't like for myself because of the fit, but I am able to hand off to one of my daughters.  If I have to pick a least favorite, I guess it would be my Sea Lace Necklace:

I have finished knitting it (thank goodness), but I still haven't made it into a necklace.  I really think it's pretty, but knitting it was a nightmare:  TINY metal needles and beads--not easy.  When I originally started this, I had hoped to make a few of these as gifts.  I have all of the materials, but I just don't think I have the energy!

30 day knitting challenge: Day 5

Day 5:  Do you have any other WIPs (works in progress)?

Okay, so these are the projects that are waiting to get finished, that I have not yet decided to recycle.  I will get to them eventually!

1.  My cashmere sweater.  This WILL be completed this fall!

2.  Always working on my Beekeeper's quilt:

3.  Eric's scarf:  Great yarn, boring project.  I will finish this scarf some day...

4.  Serendipity Stole:  Not sure why I haven't worked on this (in years).  Love the pattern and the yarn, just haven't spent the time.  Maybe next summer?

30 Day kntting challenge: Day 4

Day 4: What is currently on your needles?

I have lots of projects going at any given time.  You need different projects for different moods and situations!  There are the projects that are very portable and I bring in the car with me, projects that are easy, but too big to transport, projects that require uninterrupted time (like lace), sit-in-front-of-the tv-projects, etc.

The "On my needles" widget on the right side of the blog is almost everything I am actively working on, but here's a summary:

1.  Baby doll cover up:  So close to done!  The body is totally complete, and so is the i-cord tie (over 4 feet long).  Just working on the sleeves.  The first sleeve I did was too short, so I have started again.  This will be done soon:

2.  Appledore:  I love this project (and the pattern was free), but I can only work with cabled-cotton for so long.  I have completed both sleeves and the back and now I am working on the first half of the front.  I try to do at least a couple of rows each evening:

3.  My last active project is not posted on the widget because it is a new design I am working on but it's not quite ready to be revealed yet.  Here's a hint:  it's cashmere and goes around you neck...

Sheepy Socks

I told you that I have been busy knitting this month!  Not only the 2 stockings, but also a pair of socks have been started:

Sheepy Socks by CountryWool

Aren't these so cute!  I love these socks and have been planning on knitting them for many years.  I was inspired to get started after a lovely weekend with their designer, Claudia of CountryWool.  The moon and stars must have aligned just right because I was finally able to get back to another of Claudia's Knitting Retreats this month.  In the past her knitting retreats have resulted in the lovely nordic sweater:

(Click here if you forgot the details of my favorite sweater)

And another of Claudia's wonderful designs, my Faroe Vine Cardigan:

(Click here for details on this lovely sweater)

So I managed to sneak away from this retreat with only a pair of socks on the needles.  Haa!  If you believe that, you do not know me very well.  I can't go into details about what I began on the retreat because I am blocking it from my mind so I can finish the kids Christmas stockings.  But here's a sneak peek until I can get back to it in December...

Aeolian Shawlette update and tips, part 3

So summer is nearly over and I am still working on my Aeolian Shawlette. I have finished the Final Agave chart and moved on to the Alternate Narrow Edging. Here's a quick picture before I started the edging:

There are only (only!) 35 rows to complete the narrow edging. If I complete 4 rows a day, I will be done by the end of next week. That is my plan, so I can pick up some WIP sweaters to finish before the snow falls.

Some notes on starting/setting up the alternate edging:

*Symbols on the alternate charts have changed from the original
*I have used 40% of my Sea Silk so I should have enough to finish the shawlette with only 1 skein

Rows 1 (and continuing through Row 22)
1. 2 border stitches
2. Row 1 of Main Edge chart (alternate-not the chart in the original pattern)
3. Row 1 of Center Edge chart (note this stitch is no longer tbl)
4. Row 1 of Main Edge chart (alternate-not the chart in the original pattern)
5. 2 border stitches

Rows 23 (and continuing through Row 34)
1. 2 border stitches
2. Row 23 of Right Edge chart
3. Row 23 of Main Edge chart
4. Row 23 of Center Edge chart (note that you will need to move stitch markers here, adding 1 st 1 on each side of center stitch)
5. Row 23 of Main Edge chart
6. Row 23 of Left Edge chart
7. 2 border stitches

Row 35=BO Row!

Aeolian shawlette update and tips, part 2

Moving right along on my Aeolian. Here it is after completing the Yucca chart:

After the Yucca chart, I moved on to the Transition chart. Nothing tricky there. Now I am just finishing up the final 2 rows of the Final Agave chart. A couple of notes:

1. When knitting the shawlette you do not do the regular Agave chart; you move directly from the Transition chart to the Final Agave chart.

2. The first bead of the Final Agave chart row 1 should be directly above the first bead of Transition row 17. If it is not, something is wrong. Most likely you did not notice the bold double decreases (the SSSK and K3tog). The double decreases should frame the the nupps from Transition row 17. So the SSSK should use the 3 stitches to the right of the the first nupp, and the K3tog should use the 3 stitches after the second nupp.

I decided to work the nupps and not add a different bead there. I like how it is turning out. Once I finish these last couple of rows, I will try to post an updated picture. Also, there will be some notes about moving onto the Narrow Edge charts. Until then...

Aeolian Shawlette start up

So I have started my Aeolian Shawlette, but haven't had a chance to post because I knew this first post would take a while to organize. Most of the information I will share I found by spending a lot of time reading through the Ravelry group: Aeolian KAL. I recommend checking it out if you are knitting along.

Here is the summary of what I think are the important points for knitting the shawlette with 1 skein of SeaSilk:

1. To make sure you do not run out of yarn, only knit 4 repeats of the Yucca chart. It may seem like you have a lot of yarn left at that point, but you will use an estimated 65% of the yarn for the edging.

2. Elizabeth Freeman has also designed an Alternate Narrow Edging for the Aeolian. It is 12 rows shorter than the original Aeolian. I will probably add a lifeline before I start the original edging so I can rip back if I run out of yarn. Or I might decide to just use the narrow edging. I'll let you know when I get there!

3. If you do not want to do the nupps, use a bead instead. If you do want to do the nupps, here is a great YouTube video on an easy way to do them: Easy Peasy Nupp. I am leaning toward using beads only because I love beads in lace shawls--nothing against the nupps.

So now on to where I am with my shawl. First of all, it took 3 attempts for me to get the cast on/set up correct. As usual it was just a matter of doing exactly what the pattern says, even if it looks weird at first. Once I got the set up going, everything was going along just fine until I realized you could not see my beads because they matched the yarn a little too well:

They really are there, here's a close up:

So I stopped knitting and ran to the bead store to get some different seed beads. I didn't bother starting from scratch because you won't be able to notice the green beads anyway (and I didn't want to attempt that start-up again)! This is how it looked after I completed the Set-Up chart:

I was a little confused when I started the Yucca Chart so I will explain it here in hopes of sparing someone else.

1st 8 rows of Yucca chart: 2 border sts (Sl1, K1) + sts before red line + 2x area in red + sts after red line + center st (Ktbl) + sts before red line + 2x area in red + sts after red line + 2 border sts (K2).

For each Yucca chart repeat, there will be an additional repeat of the area in red (so 2nd time through Yucca chart, repeat 3x before center stitch, 3rd Yucca chart, repeat 4x before center stitch, etc). Make sense? It really does once you are there.

I am working on my last (4th) repeat of the Yucca chart right now. I will post some pictures once I finish this part up and move on to the Transition chart.

WIP: Zum Dirndl

I have picked these back up after a nearly 2 year snooze. They were originally started on May 17, 2008. Can you guess my goal?....You got it, finish them before they are 2 years old! Here is where I left the lonely first sock:

I'm not sure why I put these down. I LOVE the pattern and I'm having a great time working on them again. This sock will be finished in the next day or 2 and then I will cast on its mate.

Will I finish...

...these socks in time to gift for Christmas?

I am just starting the heel of the 2nd sock. I'll let you know after I recover from the holidays a bit.

Merry Christmas to those that celebrate. Happy holiday season and New Year to everyone. I'll be back in 2010!

Ambitious

I have big knitting plans for July. Here goes:

1. Start and finish SKP 2009 Sock 3 (to be released today). The only thing I know about the sock is that it is a mosaic pattern. Want to finish this by the end of week 1.

2. Finish Girasole. The plan: Chart F week 1, Chart G week 2, and edging weeks 3 and 4.

3. Finish Hanami. Haven't made an attack plan yet...

4. Finish Lady of the Lake. Really, it is almost done and I need a mindless knitting project mixed in here...

I'm off to knit!

Zur Lederhos'n, Take 2

Remember these? Probably not since I started them last year. They were a test knit for Yarnissima and got put on hold as she tweaked the pattern. Well, the pattern was totally re written, so I ripped it out and started again and I just finished the first sock:

I love the pattern, of course. It is challenging and I did need to rip back a couple of inches, 2 separate times, but sock 2 should be easier. I have already cast it on!

Working on Girasole...

And absolutely loving it. I have completed Charts A-D. The cast on took a few attempts, but once I got through that, I was flying. Here's what we have so far:

Knitting will be slower this point forward: the last round I worked doubled the amount of stitches...

Block-a-Month: February

I finished this a few weeks ago. Here is the MA (Monthly Adventures group on Ravelry) February block:

This block was designed by TwinsMama; thanks Paula!

Faroe Vine cardigan update

I have dived back into my Faroe Vine Cardigan. I finally finished both sleeves and attached them and am now working the shoulder/collar decreases. I am so excited to finish this! Over the next week I should have all of the body knitting complete. Then I will need to do the steeking , neckband and hem, and then the front button band. And I just ordered some buttons...Here's how we're looking:

SKP Sock 5 underway...

The pattern was released Nov 1 and I have started. It is a pretty lace and cable pattern and knitting up quickly, but I haven't had much time to work on them. Here is the yarn I am using:

And here's what I have so far:

Hopefully over the weekend I will have these both finished through the heel and gusset. I also need to finish a scarf this weekend for a swap. Can't show you pictures of that until it reaches its destination!

Alligator Scarf

So here is another project I am working on:

This is a kit from Morehouse Farm, knit with their Morehouse Merino yarn. Right now it is my "carry-in-the-car" project because it is an easy knit. Hopefully it will be done before the snow flies (which they say will likely be next week)!

Fixation Anklet

Now I know that I have a lot of WIPs going right now, but I didn't have any mindless knitting that travels well. So, I have cast on a quick pair of anklets using Fixation yarn. Here's the pretty yarn:

and here's my progress (unblocked):

The pattern is my own and I will post it as soon as I finish the second sock. I hope I have enough yarn to make two pairs, reversing the heel, toe, and cuff colors. I wear lots of anklets in the summer and have never knit myself a pair of anklets. One down, three to go!

Seaglass bag

I have started my beaded bag (named the "Seaglass Bag" because of the colors). It was a frustrating start--I could not get the beads to work with my yarn regardless of what method I was using to attach the beads. I ended up buying new beads (the exact same colors) with a larger hole and now I am happily knitting along:

It is about 7 inches across and there is a design on the back. I think the beads will look better once I have finished knitting and I block everything. Now that the beads are working, it's a pretty easy and fun knit. I hope to have the knitting done before this weekend and will work on the liner and straps next week.

A new project: Zum Dirndl test knit

So I started a new project this past weekend. I am helping test-knit a pattern for Yarnissima, one of my favorite sock designers. The sock is "knee high, Bavarian-style, toe-up, with lots & lots of twisted stitches, combined with an easy, pretty lace". It is designed to be knit with Wollmeise yarn by Claudia, to cheer her up as she goes in for knee surgery. I, of course, will be knitting it with Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 (colorway: olive), since I have that on hand...

So far, so good. This was my first short-row toe--normally I would use Judy's Magic loop cast on for toe-up, but I wanted to follow the pattern as written since we are testing it. I liked the short row toe and will be interested to see how it feels on.

How fast do you knit?

How much knitting can I get done while riding from Rochester, NY to Portland, Maine?

I can cast on a toe-up sock and work the toe, foot and gusset. This will help me guesstimate how long it will take to knit a pair of socks using an intermediate -difficult pattern. Let me explain.

I am not a speed knitter by any means, but I am not slow either. I knit because I enjoy it and it relaxes me. But last week when I was catching up on my blog reading, Purl Diva had to show me this: the SKP: Sock Knitters Pentathlon (click button below for Yahoo group).

The basic idea is to "challenge yourself by knitting in ways you don't normally knit and in the process become a better, stronger knitter". We will knit 5 different pairs of socks over the next 9 months. The patterns will be released at predetermined times, each about 2 months apart and will be intermediate -challenging in difficulty rating. As you finish a pair, you are given a number (first person done = 1, second = 2, etc). At the end of the year, the person with the lowest score wins the Pentathlon and some fun prizes. So far there are over 500 participants from 30 countries. Do I expect to "win a medal"? Of course not, but it will be fun "racing"!

Here is my yarn for SKP Sock 1 (needed to be solid/semi solid). It is "Jitterbug" from Colinette (color: Velvet Damson 118) which I have not knit with before, so I will be checking my gauge this week.

PS...I think it will take me a minimum of 1 week to knit a pair of socks and not neglect the rest of my life.