Progress is Being Made

Multnomah Shawl - I am on the 3rd feather and fan repeat. Five more to go.


Feather & Fan Atomic #6 - I have mixed reviews on this one, I think it may end up being a Christmas prezzie for someone.


Lapis Sock - as usual I love all of the colors in this Blue Moon Fiber Arts colorway. I would buy solids in all of them - just gorgeous. I turned the heel and finished the gusset decreases last night. Then I put the sock away and started turning the heel on the Gingerbread Dude sock. I finished that one too late for photos.


I am starting to miss my sweaters. I signed up for the 2010 Ravelympics Starmore team, but if I finish the sweaters I have three other kits to choose from for the Olympics: the Leo Scarf, Seaweed Wrap and Lismore. I think I am going to work on H8 tonight for about 5 rows. I am on the neck decreases on Glenesk. I want to finish that off this weekend and "cut" the armhole steeks to start the sleeves. Not sure I have the nerve yet. We will see.

Replacement Project

The Feather and Fan pattern is a great fall back option. I love the Luscious Single Silk yarn and there are some amazing colors running through the Atomic #6 colorway. So I am making a scarf instead of the cowl.

Current WIPS

The Lenore is knitting up into a beautiful Multnomah.




















It's so wonderful to have socks on the needles again. They seem to be going super fast too. I am already turning the heel on the Lapis sock.

I ran into two problems with the Eyelet Cowl. The circumference was too small and the eyelets were too large for maximum warmth. I would only want a cowl for warmth and the holes were so large that a lot of air would undoubtedly get in. I frogged it. The yarn is wonderful though and I love the way it knits up. I am going to knit a feather and fan scarf instead. Depending on the length I end up with I might run a seam at the half way point to make a hood.

Blue Moon Cast On Crazy

I am doing a little Blue Moon Fiber Arts (BMFA), Socks That Rocks (STR) stash busting. I am up to two plastic totes of yarn from BMFA so . . .without further ado. Today I am casting on the following:
1. Socks - Gingerbread Dude colorway STR Medium weight
2. Socks - Lapis colorway STR Medium weight
3. Multnomah Shawl designed by Kate Flagg at http://helloknitty.net - Lenore STR Light/Fingering Weight
4. The Eyelet Cowl in Vogue Knitting Holiday 2009 ed.; Pages 58, 95 - Atomic #6 Luscious Single Silk (LSS)

I needed a break from Henry 8, I want a transportable project for the Thanksgiving week. It should be quiet at work and then there is the 4 day weekend. I needed some instant gratification projects, although the projects list on my sidebar looks ridiculously long now - whew.

I have received the following DVD collections to keep me company, now and during my recovery from surgery the first two weeks of December.
Rome - the complete series

Millennium - the complete series

Ironside - Season 1

Bones - Season 4

Dead Zone - Final Season

Pretender - Season 4

I have pre-ordered:
Tudors Season 3

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

Angels & Demons

Lost Seasons 4 & 5

H8 Moving Along

I have finished the first 88 rounds of the H8 Sweater. Very pretty. All done with 24 Season 7 and Dexter Season 3 as well. Both good TV series. Looking forward to the next season of each. I really need to cast on some socks. I need some instant knitting gratification!!! I bought some new books today, Knits for Barbie Doll by Nicky Epstein, The Knitted Rug by Donna Druchunas, More Big Girl Knits by Jillian Moreno and Amy Singer; and Zen and The Art of Knitting by Bernadette Murphy. There is one thing about getting new books, it makes for a very heavily italicized post 8-} cheers!

Lost It

I have lost my knitting mojo. I knit on my black merino dimple shale scarf all weekend, but I have not picked up the needles since Sunday. Have I lost my knitting mojo? Now is really not a good time for it. I am having another cyst removed from my right hand in a few short weeks - now is the time I need to be putting some stitches on the needles. Heavy sigh - hoping it comes back this weekend!!!!

Henry VIII Today

Glenesk Today

It's October

Did you know that 50% of my family was born in October? Even three of our God-children were born in October. Aren't we lucky all these balancing Libras in our lives??? I have been reading reading reading. I was reading 5 books at one time, I finished 3 and started another. You know how it is when one of your authors book comes out, you must start on it right away. I also mis-remembered my magazine renewals, and I am still getting Vogue Knitting - which I thought had surely expired and Simply Knitting. I am working on the Henry VIII sweater, but at 372 stitches in two color strands per round it is going pretty slow. I took a break from it over the weekend and added another couple of inches to my Dimple Shale scarf.

My poor sister, she is still off work with her broken foot. Have I mentioned how many people I know who keep falling down and hurting themselves? Mom - wrist, Sister - foot, friend Peggy - wrist & shoulder, friend Alma - arm, friend Alison - clavicle and other vital parts. I am being very careful these days!!!!

It has gotten wet and chilly, I feel like doing some Christmas shopping. Baby Aragon stopped by for a visit last Friday. He is beyond precious. OMG, he still has that new baby smell and he is soft and warm and OMG, don't you just love miniature people? As an added bonus his Daddy made Flan for Mom, delicioso. It is the best flan I have ever had, so carmelly. YUM!!!

I have been wearing my socks and sweaters, however I have decided to give two of my handmade sweaters to charity. One is the crocheted pullover in that beautiful multi blue yarn, just too hot. I am also getting rid of the grey nightmare Makes Tracks Cardigan, I remember burning the pattern? Someone will get some use out of them no doubt.

Got Socks!!

I found my Zauberball socks - YAY!



I finished the hemline of H8 - Chart A - I start the body today.

Zee Swatch

Henry's In The House

I finished my swatch and cast on Henry VIII. I am using the original chart A from Tudor Roses for my hemline and cuffs. I did not like the chart for the original sweater or the new one. Little boxes - not my thing. I took pictures of my swatch with the chart I am using, I will post pics tonight. I lost my Zauberball socks. I took pics of my finished projects, but I could not find them. Hmmmm. 50!! 'nuff said?!?

Well. . .

I received a reply from Virtual Yarns and they advise against converting Henry VIII to a cardigan. They feel it ruins the look of the pattern motifs. There is one on Ravelry and I rather like it, although I was planning to switch charts C & D so that what is currently the center - main pattern would appear on each side of the buttonband. The only consolation of not trying to make it a cardigan is that I can dive right in and start knitting. I wound every single hank of yarn into balls Saturday. I am so glad I bougth the electric ball winder!!!!! I cannot imagine having to wind over 30 balls of yarn by hand. I used the face mask I bought also. There were fine fibers all over my work table, laptop, desk, comforter, and the dress I was wearing. Thankfully I am no longer inhaling that - the mask kept it out of my nose and mouth. I found some hanks mislabeled. Two large hanks of Corncrake and three medium-small hanks of Calluna. It was the only Calluna in the kit, so I am confident I have the right amount there. But there were other hanks of Corncrake correctly tagged, I hope I have not received it instead of the amount of Golden Plover I should have gotten.

I had gone through all of the cardigans in Tudor Roses, and the Katherine of Aragon was the style I had chosen for the H8 Cardigan. Maybe after I finish the sweater I will knit it again as a cardigan in a different yarn. As if I don't have enough projects in my queue ;-}

I finally took pictures of my socks and wash cloth, I still have to post them. I cast on the swatch for H8 and got through row 6 of 37 rows. I am listening to a kind of depressing audiobook while I get the charts entered into excel, and knit the swatch. All the good guys keep getting killed.

Once my swatch is blocked and measured I will begin watching the Tudors Season I as I knit H8. I am really looking forward to it.

What?

I am being so indecisive. What's up with that? I always have a plan. There is one thing I know about me and it is that I get too hot in pullover sweaters. I am starting the Henry VIII KAL but I want to make a cardigan. I have very little experience altering patterns, and less than zero ideas on how to alter a fair isle pattern. So I am going to do two things, I am going to e-mail virtual yarns and ask their opinion on using the cardigan directions for the Glenesk with the charts for Henry VIII. Glenesk was originally a pullover. If they say, "what girl, are you crazy, that will never work" then I know I will have to ask the Ravelry experts what to do. There is a completed project on Ravelry that is a cardigan. Hopefully the knitter will be willing to share her knowledge.

The second thing I was going to do was take the directions for both sweaters and replace the numbers from Glenesk with the numbers from Henry VIII and see how far off the pattern charts fall. I have not looked at Henry VIII yet - wouldn't it be lovely if you cast on the same number of stitches, decreased at the same spots, started the armhole steeks in the same row? ? ? I am still winding yarn into balls. I will swatch this weekend, I am hoping the yarn knits smoothly with my new acrylic Knit Pick Zephyr needles. I love them.

I really wanted to finish Glenesk before starting Henry VIII (H8) so I could see how it all works. I have way too much left to knit, I want to be a part of the H8 KAL so I am going to have to cast on this weekend. Hmmm, just thinking, I also have the Lismore Kit, which is a cardigan too. I can look at those directions and see if they are basically the same as the Glenesk cardigan. If Virtual Yarn handles neckline decreases the same on both their patterns, then surely it would work with H8 - right ??!!?? Then all I would have to do is see where the chart patterns would fall on either side of the steeks.

Stieg Larrson's The Girl Who Played With Fire was an excellent follow-up to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I look forward to the third and last book in the series with great anticipation. It is such a tragedy that he has passed on and will never write another.

The Millennium Trilogy novels -- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and Castles in the Sky (working English titles).

Samurai Sudoku is taking up a ridiculous amount of my time. I am hooked. I even solved two "Evil" ones. Check them out if you dare, the archives will provide you with puzzles from each level. www.Samurai-Sudoku.com Samurai sudoku puzzles consist of five overlapping sudoku grids. The standard sudoku rules apply to each 9 x 9 grid. Place digits from 1 to 9 in each empty cell. Every row, every column, and every 3 x 3 box should contain one of each digit.

I have got to get some pictures of my finished objects posted. My Ravelry projects list just looks silly with balls of yarns, or sock cuffs on finished projects instead of a pair of completed socks. Heavy sigh, so much to do, so little time.

Still Going

Not a lot to blog about. The Glenesk sweater is much of the same. I am working on the last 44 rows before the neck area. Decreasing in front for the V-neck of the cardigan and creating armhole steeks. But that is it. Just knitting and knitting. I have almost finished the Zauberball socks too. I have two KALs starting the 15th which I have not swatched for yet. Maybe I will get to that today. Every few days I add a couple of rows to the Adult Surprise Jacket - 30 more rows to go before the back flap.

My paperback copy of Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting arrived.

Not so exciting. Off to knit . . .ciao.

Oh Dear

I spotted a knitter out in the wild a couple of days ago. She was knitting a hat out of what looked like Noro Silk Garden, very pretty. I was so overwhelmed by actually spotting another knitter that I just started babbling at the poor woman. It turns out geographically she does not live far from me. She told me about another knit group in Pleasant Hill, I told her about the one in Antioch. I gave her my card with my Ravelry user name. Then I had to rush off to the vanpool. I have not been friended by her in Ravelry - I fear I scared the poor knitter to death being so enthusiastic about her hat and asking all those questions!! 8-/ Well at least I did'nt make her drop a stitch ;0

Swatch Patch and Cast On

I have been forced to set aside the Glenesk Sweater. It is in the mid 90's here and I must keep a fan running. Unfortunately the fine fibers on the Hebridean yarn is blowing in my eyes, nose and throat. Very unpleasant, so I have put that project away until the masks I ordered from Amazon arrive.

To keep up with things, I swatched the Adult version of the Baby Surprise Jacket (ASJ) that I am doing in a SF 49er theme. I was able to buy a patch on eBay and I already had the yarn in my stash. I joined the ASJ KAL beginning in September, even though I am already signed up for the AS Henry VIII Kal. SO, beginning the ASJ early is a bonus.

Truly Lovely

The Knit Picks Zephyr needles were released a little early, the end of July instead of early August. I know because I ordered them and they came today. What can I say, they are gorgeous. I have a set of acrylic crochet hooks that I love - although I did have to stop using the ones under a size J because I kept breaking them. So - of course I wanted the acrylic knitting needle tips!!!! DUH!!! You know I am going to have to break my monogamy and cast on something just to use these new needles. Yes Yes Yes!!!

I also ordered "almost" all of the new palette colors . These yarns are beautiful! I have some ideas in the back of my mind about creating a tapestry. We will see. I have one more Sipalu pattern to knit, then I will restock any of the palette colors from the two sampler kits that I may be running out of. I will have almost every colorway then. Once I have them all in hand, I will start designing my master piece. I also ordered 20 balls of the silver palette to knit another feather and fan wrap, this one for myself.

I have 5 more rows to knit on the body of the Glenesk before I delve into the armhole steeks and edge stitches. I don't really get that next step, but I will put a shout out to the folks on Ravelry if I get really stuck.

eta: I completely forgot to post - I finished the Wollmeise Candle Flame Scarf and it is truly lovely ;} cheers!

Another Pair

I finished another pair of socks. The Dream in Color Smooshy pair. I have so much yarn left over that I wish I had used this colorway for a larger project. I don't want another pair of socks, but I might be able to make a small bag out of the rest. For now it just goes back into the stash. I am really looking forward to the Zauerball socks, they are so pretty on the website. Crazy colors!!! I will be re-joining Glenesk this weekend. I bought 24 Season 7 DVD set to keep me company. Happy Knitting!!!

Knitting News

I finished my washcloth and the Duet socks. I went through all of my wips and found four or five swatches and kals that I had completely forgotten about. I frogged all but one of them. I reclaimed those needles and actually sorted and boxed up my circular needle collection. I put all the tips back where they belong and created a neat drawer for stitchmarkers. I highly recommend the book Pints and Purls: Portable Projects for the Sociable Knitter by Karida Collins and Libby Bruce - I want to knit almost everything in it. I got the Knit Picks Deep Sea lace sampler kits in Atoll and Riverstone with the Chinook shawl pattern. I cannot wait to knit those up. I watched Knitting Daily TV Sunday and found the best bag liner hookup www.bagsmith.com. I ordered a bunch of those and the straps. No more iCord for me, I am going to finish off my Sipalu bags at last. I am looking forward to trying the new Zephyr needles from Knit Picks. All I need are the tips, but I will take whatever comes in the set 8-}

I have not been on Ravelry forums in weeks, I have only been updating my projects. I am totally slacking on photos - again. So time consuming to take them, edit them, post them, yawn, and so on and so on. I need to be knitting. I have just a few more days of lollygagging on socks and such before I return to my Glenesk Cardigan. The plan is to finish it before starting Henry VII in September. That means being monogamous in August.

I think that just about catches me up, cheers.