Annual Pilgrimmage

Every year I try to go to the Spinrite Factory Outlet tent sale, in Listowel. It's just under an hour from Orangeville, but a very boring drive. This year, I took my niece Allie who was staying with us while we got ready to move. Heading out from Orangeville, she saw the LONG, straight road ahead and asked if we have to go all the way to the end. "Further" I replied. Everyone groaned. LOL. We've been going to Listowel every summer (almost), since Huey was a wee infant, so small he got weighed in the old-fashioned scale they use in the store for the mill ends that are sold by the ounce. There is a really nice park/playground/wading pool, and we had a great time this year. I don't know how I'm going to get there next year :(

Since I've been going for so many years (gasp), I've gotten very picky on what I buy. My stash has reached the point that I don't need to buy yarn 'just because' it's a good deal. I passed by all the bagged yarns and headed straight for the 'tangled skeins' bins at the back. They are $5 each, and buy 3, get one free. I didn't really see 3 or 4 that I wanted desperately...some were okay but I wasn't excited about the colours, or they wouldn't work on the knitting machine.

These skeins are great for the knitting machine because I can wind HUGE balls and have very few ends to weave in. Also, with having huge balls (LOL!!!!!) I don't want to carry them around with me when I take my knitting places. The three skeins going counter clockwise from the top left are worsted weight yarns, not cotton, probably Bernat Satin or other. I didn't recognize the colours of the two on the left. There were also many skeins of Handicrafter Cotton, which I can use for making dishcloths on the machine, but I didn't want 500 dishcloths of one colour, LOL. The cone in the middle is possibly a wool or wool blend. Spinrite also spins yarns for the garment industry, and these are great for the standard gauge machine.

The pink/yellow skein is poorly dyed, so it will be interesting to see how it works up. The green/blue/purplish one also had some dye issues.

I almost missed this skein. It was hanging between the bins, and was the only one like it. It's huge! There is some colouring on it, like it was set against a wet skein, or maybe it's dirt. Won't know till it's washed. Wonder if I can wash it gently like it is? What worries me about it though, is that it appears to be 'over energized single' ply yarn. The yarn curls back on itself and kinks. This usually causes the knitting to bias. I wonder if I knit it with two strands...one going in each direction...if that would cancel out any biasing?

I got to work winding the first skein. It wasn't nearly as tangled as some in the past. In fact, it was a piece of cake, although I got a little dizzy going round and round the two chairs I used to stretch/hold the skein.

But then. Disaster. "Someone" wanted one of the chairs. Without warning, I was left with this:

Yup. Uh huh.

At first, it still wasn't too bad. It wasn't knotted, I just had to keep flipping it over and over.

But gradually it got worse and worse. I started winding from the other end as the kids needed a ball of yarn for a craft and all my yarn was packed. I hoped it would take some of the tightness off, but I hadn't gotten enough wound from that end to do so. I cut that ball off, and shortly after the main ball came to a break in the yarn where it looked like the yarn had gotten caught in a greasy machine. So I had to start a new ball, which is fine, because it's easier to pull through the tangles. Eventually though, the ball got too big, and the tangles too tight to allow the ball to pass through, so I had to cut it. Then it was smooth sailing. I ended up with 5 balls, including the small one I cut off for the kids, that they ended up not using. I still need to weigh it, but no matter, for $5 (or less, taking into account the free skein), it's still a great deal!

W

Remember this, from two years ago? Go back and read the full story please. I really like the design of this tank, although I still question the use of a bulky yarn (wool). Bulky, textured yarn, and garter stitch all add up to unflattering addition to my girth, LOL. I don't think I ever wore it in public. I kept saying I'll get around to dyeing it again. I really wanted it to be shades of brown like I had intended. I got some brown dye, but it really didn't make a difference (think I had too little dye for the amount of fabric; I was also dyeing pants).

So I bit the bullet and tried some green dye.

The feel of the yarn is a little funny now (wasn't great to begin with). It's better, for sure, but I don't have anything to wear it with, and a heavy, knitted top doesn't seem right in the summer, even if it is part rayon and a tank top. And I don't care for it over a shirt (did that 25 years ago, don't need to do it again). So, it's still sitting in my closet, LOL. I did get some info on how to re-work the pattern with lighter yarn though!

Idle Hands...

I feel like I've had a good run of matching patterns to the yarn lately. Even when I worked on something that DIDN'T work out, I could accept it, rip it, and move on. So, once I finished Gail, I wanted to start another shawl. There are a few patterns that I've wanted to make for awhile, and always new patterns showing up. Trying to match up patterns with a suitable yarn (and my lace yarn stash is not very abundant) has been a challenge. What a yarn looks like when you knit it, is sometimes nothing like what you imagine from the ball!

To start the process, I laid out all the lace yarns and took a picture.

Clockwise rom top left--Wellington Fibers, SweetSheep BFL, Merino Lace, GrandRiverYarns, Elann Baby Merino Lace (?), SeaSilk (that I used for Gail), Headwaters Wool, KnitPicks Shadow (?).
For some reason, the SweetSheep BFL won. I bought this at the K-W Knitter's Fair last September, for $20, because it had some dark purple dye spots that shouldn't have been there. As I wound it up, I also found some flubs, some tiny knots, and then the yarn broke. There might have been a loose knot that came apart as the swift spun and I pulled. After winding the second half, I decided that the two balls were small enough for my electric ball winder.

Well, the first one was a little too big :(

Without flash, above, and with flash, below. There was still a lot of the yarn to handwind onto the ball, spoiling the pretty ballwinder look.

This yarn looks SO different wound up then in the skein!! Much more subtle! I have started a swatch, and even blocked it, sort of, LOL. I'm looking forward to the shawl, although I'm still not sure what I'll do when I get to the purple bits. I'm not sure they'll even show up!

For more pictures of this yarn, go back to last September when I posted about it. I don't seem to have those pictures anymore.

You Knew I Would!

When I mentioned a little while ago that I wanted to cast on for a shawl, I had a couple in mind. One of them, I even had the suggested yarn and had been YEARNING for the perfect pattern to do it justice. It was just what I was looking for in my next shawl--a large motif that is repeated, instead of a main panel and edging, or a repeating small motif.

But let's back up a little and take a look at that beautiful yarn!

Purchased at the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair, September 2007, when I went with Cindy. I really wanted to try HandMaiden SeaSilk and thought, at that time, that I could make a delightful nightie to wear on our cruise. For which we were leaving in under a month. LOL. I had some bikini top patterns and tried repeatedly to crochet a bikini top, while at the same time, search for a matching fabric to provide some body coverage. Nothing was working, there was too much else to do...

Then along came the Montego Bay scarf. Once I realized that I had the suggested yarn for that, I decided to go ahead with it, even though I was not enamored with the pattern, knew it would drive me crazy, and that I probably wouldn't wear a 'scarf'.

That's how far I got. I put in the life line and tried to morph it into another scarf pattern that goes the other direction and has 'medallions'. Didn't work. It sat for awhile...that picture was taken July 28 2008. So, about a year. I ripped it out awhile ago.

And here is the new shawl in its early stages. Shortly after this, I made an error by forgetting to start another repeat in the center. I didn't notice it till much later and had to rip out quite a bit!

This is the shawl, all done, getting ready to have a soak. There is seven repeats of the motif, and for the edging, I think I did one repeat plus one row or so. There is a mistake in the edging chart, and it is NOT the lack of a double YO at the center. On row 3 (I think) there are YOs missing; it's pretty obvious how every right side row has yarn overs at the edges where the edge pattern meets the tip of the last leaf, but this row was missing the YOs. The next row won't work without the stitch created by the YO. You can see the small ball of yarn I had left. I could have done a few more edging rows, but I didn't want too much edging.

This picture should have been rotated! It's the center column, showing how the leaves branch off from a double YO.

There she is, being blocked on my floor. Of course, I'd like her a little bigger, it's more scarf than shawl (although at these times, being short helps). But man, what a stunner for under 500 yards and, get this....July 18 to August 1!!!!! That's like, two weeks?! Once I got those charts drawn up, and understood how it all worked, it actually became quite intuitive, despite being a large motif. Of course, it helped that we've had a lot of driving time lately, LOL. When I made the Heartland Shawl last year, I thought I might make it again, and I haven't, but this one, I think I will, only even bigger!!

Just a Little Thing

It hasn't been much of a summer for sun hats. But I wore my 'new' one on the weekend and realized I STILL hadn't blogged about it! I had it finished back in May!


It's from the old Family Circle Easy Knitting and Crochet, Summer 2005. I had tried it back then, but just couldn't seem to get it to work out. Blame it on pregnancy brain.

I just could not get a nice picture!

I don't really like the two shades of beige. Looked better in my dim living room than outside.

I made mine pretty much perfect on the first try. It was a little big on Meg, so I made her one, had a few attempts, but it ended up too small. Try to make one for Lucy and it ended up too big (fits me, but it's purple and pink).
It's a nice enough hat, but I don't care for the construction of it. You have to start with a chain of about 95 sts, then work the shell sts upwards, and then the decreases to the top. Then go back to the chain and work the brim downwards. The increases in the brim are offset on each row so it was harder to keep track of where to put them. I think I'll stick with my other pattern that just starts at the top and goes down, all in one pattern. I couldn't find it this spring, but I've found it now.

Oooohhh My Brain

Math....graphing...geometry...don't know where this falls in. Figuring out a lace knitting chart.

I can read charts. I can knit lace; I can knit lace from charts. I don't create my own lace, but I have taken lace from stitch dictionaries to use in items like socks and even a fancy baby blanket or two.

But this? Trying to figure out someone else's lace chart for a shawl. Many knitters on Ravelry have said the original chart is misleading and hard to read. Some provided their own solutions. Nothing was 'clicking' for me. I got up to row 33 and just could not figure out what to do next. The repeat is 33 rows, but a new repeat starts on row 17 as well. That wasn't hard the first time, but trying to start the new repeat once the first one ends? That's where the chart leaves off.

I printed out some knitting graph paper, got some coloured pens, and got to work. Drew in the first 33 row repeat, then the off-set one on either side. Now, I had to go fill in the second repeat above the first full one. It ended with a YO, K3tog, YO, which results in 3 sts. The repeat starts with a YO. But there was something cryptic in the instructions about only the first and the edge repeats starting with the YO. And, according to my chart, I'd start a new repeat on the outer edge on row 17 of the off-set one, but the 'inside' repeat (the next one to start over the original full repeat) still wasn't finished.
Coupled with this the designer's instruction to repeat rows 3-33.....

Then I realized it! At the top of the first repeat, don't do the YO (not quite sure of this, have to see how it fits in with the repeat to the sides), which leaves one stitch (the K3tog)....which is technically the same as the outer repeat starting with row 1 which is a YO. Basically row 33 of the first, and central repeats, IS row 1 of the next motif heading north!

Just got to see about those YOs, they might be needed for the dec on the edges of the edge motifs. Just like the designer says, it's only the outer repeats that start row 1 with a YO, basically, once in the interior, you just start again at row 3.

Now, if only I could knit it like intarsia, each repeat a different colour like my chart, LOL.


And Marie, to add to my last post....the second group "In Waiting" are the things hidden in the bottom drawer, in the basement, etc. I still know they're there....and there's probably a few things I've forgotten...I have good intentions, especially regarding sewing on buttons and purse handles...but I'd just rather knit most of the time, LOL!

Song Sung Blue...

...weeping like a willow...

Can't get that out of my head these days. I seem to be in a blue streak lately. One of my current 'projects' is re-knitting the foot of an old pair of blue socks that I love. I originally knit them around the time of Huey's birth. They were still in the early days of my sock knitting, and they were knit perhaps a tad too small and too tight of gauge. I replaced the foot on one a while ago, and knit it slightly different than the original, LOL. Now it's its mate's turn. I was halfway down the foot when I decided last night that it was too tight. So I ripped. I also went up a needle size. Might as well be happy!

I also have a felted slipper in the works that a blue/green striping yarn. And I've got some blue fingering weight yarn that I really want to work up, maybe into a loose sweater.

I really want to start a shawl, but I don't think this is a good time for it. Too much going on.

Right now, on the needles:
1) "Fixation" socks; two at a time, toe up, on one circular. Not to the heel yet.
2) Old blue sock foot re-knit
3) Felted slippers
4) Chenille teddy bear
5) Fiddlesticks "Enchanting" shirt

Is that it? Also waiting:
1) tree skirt
2) mohair sweater--likely going to get ripped
3) assorted squares for bunny assembly
4) three purses needing handles; some are older than Meg
5) Mom's Whirling Stars cardigan that needs a style overhaul
6) several BSJ that need sewing/buttons

And now, the "want" list:
1) shawl. Actually, about 3-5 shawls
2) dishcloths (machine knit)
3) Noro/Peace Fleece Sweater
4) a couple more Celestine star balls
5) some Cookie A. socks
6) afghan for a gift
7) crocheted hoody
8) crocheted cardi
9) crocheted pullover

I did finish a cardigan in Patons Divine that I'm not totally thrilled with. It still needs some sort of closure, but I think it's too close fitting for such a textured yarn. My shoulders look huge! LOL. I'm sure there's other things for these lists that I'm forgetting. Did I post about the sun hats I crocheted? Oh yeah, a couple more things for the 'want' list....

Rolling Right Along...

Back to the Blues, LOL.


I'm trying to finish up projects as my project drawer was getting a little full (okay, there's a few things in there that are older than Meg...).

Back awhile ago, someone on a blog I read posted a picture of items she got in a swap. Included was a card with a picture of a really neat knitted many-pointed star. Immediately I knew I had to knit it! The first place I looked for a pattern was the website of a childhood schoolmate. I didn't see it there, so I sent her a message on Ravelry. Indeed, she knew what it was, and was even working on one at that very moment! LOL.

The Ravelry link, and the actual source. According to my Ravelry message book, I had already started by April 28. I used some Bernat Lollipop and Bernat Baby Sparkle from my stash--leftovers from Huey's baby blanket!! At first I thought I'd alternate each point, one light, one dark, blue...but there's 5 points going around a center point. So, alternating doesn't exactly work.

I did the first point fine. The second point was fine. But the third point? The instructions tell you to cast on X sts, then pick up along the left side of point 2. Well, these are five sided shapes. How can there be a single left side? There's a top left, and a bottom left....finally, with the help of my old friends at about.com I was able to figure it out and keep on going. Till I got to the 6th point. I am certain there is an error in the pattern. I tried what they said, and it created a very odd shape. I tried it my way, making the 6th point fill in the 5th side of the ring going around the center point, and it worked. But, then I got working on other things as I set it aside to wait for me to read how to make the second half. LOL.

Had a hiccup on the second half when I wasn't paying attention. But, got this half finished quickly. It takes me about an hour to make one point. So, 12 hours for the knitting. Then, I used the yarn tails and tightened up the corners where the points meet. I didn't weave any ends in--it's a stuffed toy! LOL. The kids loved it, and don't want it to go in the gift box. I whipped up the ball, alternating the two blues, so it looked intentional, LOL. I might make another shaped toy or two, to make it a more substantial gift--but as there are no babies expected in my family/friends, I'm not in a rush :)

And Now for Something Not Blue!

Meg still uses a (cloth) diaper at night (she is the heaviest wetter in two Yahoo diaper sewing/wool cover knitting groups), and we use wool covers, just like in the good old days. Recently, when Rob was home for a day, we went up to Camilla Valley Farm and I got some more Peace Fleece to make Meg some "shorties" (soakers are just a diaper cover, shorties are a combination shorts and diaper cover, longies are full pants that are also a diaper cover). I couldn't decide on a colour, but she agreed to this green, although it seemed brighter in the store.

They were knit on the LK150. It started out great, but the first version was way too large. Well, the rise was too long. Ripped it back, re-knit, but kept doing stupid mistakes. I was trying something a little different with the crotch.

There is ribbing up the center back and front, like the Spare Ribs Shoaker and has to be hand manipulated on the machine. A little time consuming, but in general, it's still faster to knit these on the machine. I had extra ends to weave in though cause I kept making mistakes, LOL.

Meg won't get the diaper on before she goes to bed, so I have to wait till she's asleep. So that makes it hard to get an action shot, LOL.

Wow! Another Pair!

Well, imagine that! Two pairs of socks in a row. And both are blue! And the one still on the needles is also blue (but an old sock; I'm just re-knitting the foot after it wore out).
These are the "Spring Thaw" socks, by Cat Bordhi, in Knitter's Magazine, Summer 2008. I got the magazine after Sandra recommended this issue (I'm not sure if she was recommending for the socks, or the shawls, or some other items...). Then I saw Monica's pair of socks
and I knew I needed to make them. I'm fascinated by the idea of different architecture for socks, but lack the time and energy to explore on my own. Books are expensive for me, but I had the magazine!

I used Lang JaWoll Cotton, Superwash (49% wool, 35% cotton, 16% nylon) and 2.75mm needles. I started the first sock last August. They're worked toe up. I got up a ways, to the point where you have to do a bit of math to figure out how much to knit before starting the pattern. I got paused here because the gauge was hard to measure in the dark yarn, and I needed a calculator and never had one. Then, at Christmas, I learned to knit two items at once, on one circular needle. I knew I had to finish the socks this way! I got started on the second one, and knit the same number of rows as the first one. I put them both onto one circular needle, and got started again. Then, I noticed that the first sock was actually shorter than the second!! Argh. Took it off the needle and worked it separately till it was the same length as the other. Back on the needles. Did the gauge and math, and got to work on the pattern part.

It takes a bit of keeping track, when you increase on the bottom of the foot, and when you start a new purl column along the foot edge. Not terribly taxing, but just needs a pencil and the chart.

I turned the heel and worked the back of the heel and then started the leg.

There is an error in the pattern and Knitter's will NOT acknowledge it. If you knit the socks as written, they will NOT look like the picture.
On the right sock, when you get to row 19 of the little leaf, you count over 6sts and start row 1, so that the bottom of one leaf and the top of the other are worked on the same rows. On the left sock, you count 6 sts before the motif, and it says to work the row 1 in the st 5 stitches before the row 19 of the ending leaf. Well, that stitch is a purl st. Why would you put the marker before the 6th st, work that stitch, THEN start row one in the NEXT stitch? Anyway, this is done differently on each sock so that you get a mirror image pair.

Actually, that is not the major error. After the heel, you are to start a new leaf in the 4th last st of the heel. On the right sock, this means the resulting two lines of leaves are half a sock apart and spiral around the leg. The is no separate instruction for the left sock. There is a leaf being worked just off to the left of the heel, on about row 16. If you start a new leaf 4 sts from the left edge of the heel, it will totally throw the pattern and nice symmetry off!! You'll have two lines of leaves, about 10 sts apart, instead of half a sock apart. And then when you get to row 19 of the existing leaf and need to count 6 sts before it to start it's next one....At this point, I emailed Knitter's Magazine, and their response was that lots of folks ask this question, but the "pattern writer" insists the pattern is correct and to just have faith. I had faith for about 6 rows. My sock looked nothing like the pictures, and I knew Cat would NOT make socks that were mirror images on the foot, but then totally wacky on the leg.

The remedy to this mistake is to start the new leaf four sts AFTER the right edge of the heel stitches. This makes them 1/2 a sock apart. Shame on Knitter's for not admitting to this error!


The left sock is actually the one on the right, LOL. You can see where I started a new leaf just in from the right edge of the heel 'flap'.

This is also the left sock, and you can see the leaf that is worked at the side of the heel flap. Imagine if I had started another one at the top of the flap, just in from the left edge!

Totally crappy picture!

The fit of these socks is great. The heel flap was in the right spot on the first attempt! I liked this heel better than the one from www.wendyknits.net that I used on the last pair. I'm not sure what it is--the math made for a better placement perhaps. The toes are a little square looking (but so is my foot). There is some ankle bagging, which might be because of the cotton. I think you could do one more leaf on the one line with only 3 leaves; it would continue up into the rows of plain ribbing, but then there wouldn't be the big gap of patterning.

The yarn is a little rough, but I hadn't washed them. Warm enough for inside with the air conditioning on! I'll probably use this architecture for another pair, maybe just plain ribbed like others on Ravelry, without the leaves. I'm not sure how it would fit without ribbing, but I'm sure it could probably be figured out. I definitely want to try more of her patterns, so I'm saving for the book!

Perserverance

Well. Having a yarn in the stash for 2 years before getting a FO is not uncommon. Nor is working on a project for 2 years before getting a result you like. Right? It might seem a little crazy to non-knitters to struggle to find 'the perfect' design, to work hard at versions that only get ripped out, but you knitters understand, right?
Two years ago, after my breast reduction, a local knitterly friend dropped by with a ball of beautiful Socks That Rock lightweight, already wound up ready to knit. For awhile I let it brew and steep, usually on my desk where I could admire it frequently. STR (at that time) was not easy to get in Ontario, and I'm not a big internet yarn buyer. My attempts at perfect socks with other high end sock yarns did not turn out as desired. So, I was cautious. I spent hours looking at patterns. Finally, the day came when I dropped a tin of apple juice on my toe and headed for the ER. I printed up a pattern, grabbed the yarn, and went off.
The pattern I picked was "Drunken Bees". It took me only a couple rows to realize it was not right with this yarn, and I did eventually knit it as the olive Kroy socks I posted here and on Ravelry. I ripped out the few patterned rows and kept knitting in the ribbing, as I was still at the ER. I was enjoying the yarn, the easy pattern, and the way the yarn striped diagonally.

Until. It changed. Suddenly there were vertical pools of colour. I kept knitting, hoping that the change was only temporary. These pictures are of one sock, 'front' and 'back'.

You can see how each colour area is actually made up of one row stripes of two colours. I liked the two shades of blue/turquoise, and the blue/fuchsia, but the yellow/lavender wasn't doing it for me.

RIP!

I had an idea to try entrelac this time, and started off based on those cover socks from Interweave Knits a few years ago. Gauge was a bit of an issue, but I didn't want to alter the pattern too much. Getting the heel in the right spot was a bit of an issue. I started changing needle size as I felt I had started off too small and tight. The 'pooling' was really neat at the beginning, but then suddenly changed. I kept going for awhile, hoping it would change. But coupled with all the other issues (I hadn't kept track of the needle changes, size wasn't perfect, they felt too lumpy and not stretchy), I gave up again.

I felt a little defeated. I'd knit a whole leg, ripped it, knit a whole foot, ripped it. There definitely seemed to be something funky with the dye job that changed how the colours patterned partway through the skein.

But, I wasn't giving up. This time, after learning two at once on one circular needle, I started toe up; both on one needle. I just knit plain. And loved it. I did a few increases on the top of the foot--and both socks were the same now, LOL. Then it came heel time. I don't really like short row heels, but I thought the adding the extra sts to the top of the foot would help. But I suddenly changed my mind and thought I should try one of the toe up, heel flap style heels out there; many found on www.wendyknits.net. I picked the slipped stitch heel because it was most similar to the top down heel flap I do, and the stitch numbers matched mine. I worked the heel on both, then started up the leg. I had tried it on right after the heel, but it's hard to tell exactly how it'll fit. After a bit more, I realized the heel was clearly too big, so I ripped them both back again. This was at Easter. Or was it March Break? I was at my parents....let's split the difference and call it end of March, LOL.

Because of the type of heel, and adding gusset increases, the colour patterning does change. The socks had looked totally different than what I had been knitting the other two times!

I switched from the slipped sts of the heel to ribbing those sts to go up the back of the leg for some interest.

And again, the yarn suddenly changed!! You can see on my calves where it goes from little stripes to an arrow shape. Oh well! LOL.
To blend the back ribbing in with having ribbing all the way around, I gradually shifted the ribbing over two sts on each edge. I did it like doing a two stitch cable--without a cable needle. I had envisioned the whole ribbing becoming angled, for some reason, but that didn't happen; it just moved over on an angle. I did increase needle size as I went up the leg instead of increasing sts, but the colour changes happened before that anyway. I don't know if you can click to make the picture bigger? You can certainly see the colour change on the legs! Oh well.

The feet are still a little long, and I do have some ankle wrinkles, but I'm not changing anything now. They are warm, and cosy and soft and squishy. They've actually been done for a month or so. The feet look so different than the other two attempts! I love them!

I think next time I try toe up, I will start with the full foot sts as a provisional cast on. Then, after doing the heel and some of the leg, I will go back, and knit the toe downwards, for a perfect fit. Then go back and finish the leg to use up all the yarn. With these socks, I had just a little butterfly of yarn left; hopefully I won't have to use it to darn, but I'll keep it just it case.

Thank you again, Cindy, for the great yarn, and the great memories of trying to get the perfect socks. When I wear them, I think of you, the surgery, the apple juice, the second cruise (worked a little bit but I didn't have the right page of the pattern with me), time at my parents...and that it IS okay to change your mind, and that it IS okay if you still don't get exactly what you expected, LOL. If you're not happy with a project, rip it out and try again! I'm glad I did!!

Blankies!

I wanted to post about a new pair of socks that have been two years in the making, and continue the theme of perseverance and unpredictability of variegated yarns. But I don't have the pictures ready, so I'll show some blankies I've done recently on the LK150.

Way back last summer, when I took my LK150 out to the garage, I made one blanket that went well, so I tried another. I wanted a different tuck pattern and tried a few swatches/dishcloths. I picked something that I thought would be fairly easy. Well, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Then I had an issue with it falling off the machine, and something funky with the pattern. I tossed it in the 'finish up' box and ignored it for awhile. Finally, I decided it would be a quick project to either finish up, or rip out. It turns out the funky section wasn't a tension issue, but I had done something to the tuck pattern that would NOT come out with blocking, LOL. So I ripped it out, and went back to simple.

Every other needle, switch needles every row. Four rows blue, 2 rows white, as I had twice as much blue. Such a fast knit, even though you have to manually re-set the needles on each row (as opposed to the first blanket that had a plain row after each tuck row and the carriage would automatically reset the needles). I wonder what it would look like if you add a plain row too? This one lays flat, looks like rib on the knit side, and honeycomb on the backside. It's great for dishcloths as you don't need an edge; same for boy blankets.

The colours really blend on both sides; it's hard to see the striping. It's Bernat Co-ordinates. They say Sportweight, but compared to the other sportweights, this is more a light worsted. Plus, it's a crinkly, slubby yarn with a shiny binder thread.

This is another one I did a while ago, before re-doing the blue one, using Bernat Baby Soft (I think, again a sportweight) in "His Jeans" (again, I think, LOL). I'm not keen on purple (esp. light purple) in baby boy's items (I guess because I like purple, I don't think baby boys should use it, LOL).

Above, you can see the honey comb patterning on the purl side (the picture is sideways I think). It's great to blend colours.

Below, you can see how it looks like ribbing. Bernat yarns, as I've mentioned before, can do some odd things. Even with the tuck stitch (which is really just a slipped stitch, but you catch the float on the next row instead of leaving it like with slip stitches), it still created fairly pronounced stripes.

And a bit of patterning, but still random enough to not bother me, LOL.

This is a great way to use up baby yarns, but it does take a surprising amount. Basically, because each stitch is getting knit every other row, you need twice (?) as many rows to get it the length you want. But it's worth it to not have to put an edging on, which would eat up yarn anyway. For anyone that wants to knit baby blankets to donate, I highly recommend getting a mid-gauge or bulky

You Know....

....your dishcloths are too fancy when your family assumes the swatch on the counter drying is another dishcloth. LOL.

The Power of Numbers

Thanks for the compliments on the February Lady Sweater. Like other knitters, I sometimes get "PPLD".....Post Project Let Down Syndrome. You pour so much into a project, and then it's done. And gone. Truthfully, it's not a 'bad' syndrome, but it can take some time to recover from. I've been working on little things, things on the knitting machine, even a bit of crochet. Not much is interesting. But I'll continue to plod on.

I have posted in the past about how Bernat/Patons yarns can create some interesting patterning with their variegated yarns. I ran into this again this spring. On the Wool Soaker group I'm in, someone was looking for a baby earflap hat. Someone posted a link to one other member's website, and a really cute hat called "Elvish". I decided to 'whip one up' with some odd ball acrylic worsted from the oddball drawer. I'm not keen on acrylic for hats, but it doesn't bother some. I used Patons "Canadiana" in I Don't Know But Might be Equivalent to "Pampered Pastels". LOL. I'd search for the label, but I"m sure you probably don't care too much. I cast on for the toddler size, and got started. It didn't take too long until I realized something terribly funky was going on with the yarn. But I kept going. And going. Eventually, nearing the end, I realized that it was too funky, even for me. Rip.

I didn't think changing the needle size would have much effect, and the needle size had been quite fine already. So, I dropped down to the infant size, (it was either 6 or 12st less) and started again. I got sidetracked by the beautiful stripes and kept going a little bit too long, LOL. But here you have it. If at first your variegated yarn gives you pools, keep trying until you get rivers. I whipped up some i-cord ties on the knitting machine which took about an hour, and tied them to the ear points, which took about 2 weeks. I wish I had a baby head to model it on, but that's not happening. I posted this on Ravelry too; I'm TracyKM there, if you couldn't guess.

The next time I post, I will give another example of perseverance when colourful yarn gives you something icky. Although, one person's ick is another person's yum!

Introducing....

....February Lady Sweater!


This sweater is over twenty years in the making.
Back in February 2008, we were visiting my parents for the very first "Family Day" (new Statutory holiday in Canada), which happened to fall on the weekend nearest my mother's birthday. While there, she was clearing through stuff that has been hanging around way too long. She came across a lace sweater her sister had knit for her, maybe 25 years ago. She really liked the lace, and she liked the colour, but the style was a bit dated, and it was a bit too small. I immediately grabbed it and started unravelling before we even left for home.I did think to snap a photo of the original lace pattern!
I wanted to do a top down cardigan, with lace. That's all I knew. I started off with 'designing' my own, but I wasn't keen on how it was turning out after a few tries. I then bought a Chicknits pattern, but when it came, found out it's not top down.
And then, in early June 2008, the February Lady Sweater . Instantly I knew it was the right choice. I cast on and got going. The gauge seemed a little stiff, so I went up a needle size, and as I went down the body, I increased needle size a few more times. I left the bottom on spare yarn, and worked the sleeves, then went back to the body. But I just wasn't sure about the fit.
At Thanksgiving (October) I had her try it on with her eyes closed. Yeah, I wasn't happy with the amount of ease. It needed more ease, and more length, and there was not more yarn. She peeked when she took it off and said "Oh, I love the colour, and the lace". Umm, yeah, I didn't change the colour :)
I immediately got shopping for some charcoaly-heathery yarn and found Bernat Wool Blends at Wal-Mart. Snatched up a couple balls and packed the project to get working on it on the flight down for the cruise. Well, I won't go back into detail about that fiasco. Look back to December or November if you really need to read it.
It was going well, but something caused it to go to time-out in December/January. Don't even remember what exactly.
I picked it up in earnest again, hoping to finish it for her birthday, however, Family Day was earlier this year, and left me shortchanged a week. Well, a week wouldn't have been enough anyway, LOL. She did try it on again, and I decided to rip the yoke back, or something, don't remember the issue (see, this is why I didn't blog about it right away. Didn't want to bore you with too much negativity!).


I thought I'd be smart when it came time to pick up the button bands. I measured the gauge of the garter stitch yoke, measured the length of the buttonband, and figured out how many sts to pick up. Of course, I couldn't remember what size needle I had used for the button band. I picked up the sts, but got two extras, I figured that was close enough. It looked good until the last couple rows and I noticed it was rippling. I left it, and started the other side, trying to pick up fewer sts. I couldn't do it, LOL. So I went down a needle size, finished that side. It was okay. So I redid the first side. Made "Better Buttonholes" a slightly more detailed way to make a buttonhole, but it looked great. Not sure off hand which website had the instructions, but I think they are also in Maggie Righetti's "Knitting in Plain English".

Just about done, in the above picture. Just needed the buttons, which we had picked out from Mom's button jar. I remember them from when I was little. I wasn't happy with the increases for the yoke, so after about an inch, I changed how I did them, and I thought it puckered out a little around the armhole.

I've written before that knitters are headless; well, so are their mommies :)

It looks better on her than on me! The striping on the yoke went right across my bust and wasn't too flattering on me. Despite what the picture shows, I am certain the buttons are evenly spaced. I made the sleeves that length on purpose. I ended up with about a golf ball size of yarn (loosely wound), but I didn't want the sleeves to fall in that strange spot where they look like either your arms are too long or you ran out of yarn and tried to make 'bracelet' length sleeves, LOL.

I'm so glad to have this finished, and gave it to her for Easter. There were SO many crazy issues with what should have been a quick, easy knit. But in the end, it worked out, and she loves it. I hadn't made my mom anything in a long time, so this was nice--knit a current pattern but with yarn recycled from a favourite sweater from my favourite aunt.

A Picture!

These pictures are for "Wise Hilda" who is going to swap me some Kroy 3 ply sock yarn. If there's anyone else out there still reading this blog, yup, another day you can skip me by.

The green in the top and bottom rows are the same shade (309) but different dye lots. I can't believe how dark these photos look on Blogger.

The large amount of blue yarn below, is shade 396; a marled shade. The beige to it's left is 391.In the bottom row above is 390 (light taupe), 335 (olive), 386 (chocolate) and 311 ("Midnight Mix; a marled dark green).

Top row above is a part ball of light grey and tan, then 308 (wine) and then dark grey. Bottom row is 374 (Navy) and more of the green.

I'd really like to knit some of this up! It makes great socks with texture details, or lace, but I can't really do colour work as the colours are all around the same value, except for the white, light taupe, grey.