September 2004 Archives
Klaralund is such a fun and easy knit. Silk Garden is a dream and I like the drape it gives at the looser gauge (4spi).
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| a finished front! | a sleeve can you see what's different? |
I've decided to bell the sleeves with some decreases. All that fabric would start to annoy me and I think it would make me look like I'm wearing my big sister's sweater. At 5'2" extra fabric just looks frumpy. So I'm decreasing and then gradually increasing back up to the 66 sts before I hit the garter stitch.
Starmore Cushion
A big thanks goes out to Christina for suggesting Jamieson & Smith as a good substitute to the AS yarns. The color palette is gorgeous! The catch? The cushion is done in 3 ply and the J&S 3 ply palette is far more limited. So, I'm considering doing it in the 2 ply and maybe adding an extra border. If I didn't, a 16 inch pillow would become 12.5 inches. I'm going to ask Kelly though. If she'd prefer the smaller size then I'll just run with it.
BTW, J&S has been very friendly. I emailed them some questions yesterday and they replied back promptly with all the answers.
Lace Knitting
I'm in love! I've never done any substantial lace knitting before. I've been playing with charts and colors and it's great fun. I'll post about it in detail tomorrow but here's a sneak peak if you're curious.
I asked my sister-in-law Kelly to pick what she'd like me to make for her this year. I enjoy making things for her but I end up picking "safe" colors and designs because I don't want to make her something she wouldn't like and would be stuck using it regardless.
When I asked her for ideas on what she'd like she said something celtic. I immediately thought Alice Starmore. I sent her a link to the site and let her look around. She picked the Lismore Cushion. I think it will be lots of fun! Of course, to keep things interesting, she wants me to find more red/orange/yellow shades to use in place of the blues. I'm considering suggesting greens instead of more warm tones because I think the design needs some of the contrast. But she's got a good eye and knows what she likes, so if she says no I'll go with all warm tones.
A question - should I go for it and buy the AS yarns? Or should I substitute? And if so, what? Jamieson Spindrift DK is probably a good choice, but it looks to be just as pricey. Any ideas?
Klaralund is just sucking people in! I always thought it was a pretty pattern. When I saw Alison's I said "ooh, I really like that". Then, Stella mentions the same thing to me, and poof, Silk Garden yarn comes home with me. Then, Wednesday night I was showing it to Kim and she gave in and ordered yarn too!
I'm almost done with the back. I'll post pics on Monday - this week has just not worked out for pics. So I shamelessly updated my blog skin to distract you.
Diet
I'm down 1.5, so a total of 11.5 since Christmas. I had hoped for at least 3 by today, so I suspect I ate some hidden carbs somewhere. No worries, I'm committed to this right now. It just feels right and I know I will succeed :)
Weekend
Tonight I'm going to New Hope to kick off the weekend. Saturday, a close uncle is visiting and then Sunday is the Philly Knit out and dinner with Stella in Chinatown! I'm totally booked but I should get in some good knitting time on Sunday.
I've been planning to try something new for fall. Typepad doesn't make everything super-easy so while it's close I'm not totally done.
What do you think?
It's finally arrived! It seems like overnight the weather changed from hot and humid to dry and breezy. Rustling leaves and roaring fireplaces will be the norm for the next month or two. This weather even makes waking up in the dark acceptable. It's just perfect!
Shawl
So I did some more thinking about the shawl. And I ordered some yarn -- Jaggerspun Zephyr in Copper, Dianthus, and Mulberry.
I'm planning to do a triangle shawl that's knit from center-top down, so I can have the colors radiate. I've looked at Rowan Birch (I even have the pattern) but I'm not sure if it's what I'm looking for. I checked Fiber Trends and this one stood out -- the Lace Leaf shawl.
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| hmmm....beads at the edges? |
I have a company Christmas party to go to sometime in December and I would love to be able to wear a black dress with this wrapped around my waist. The yarn should be here by Friday at the latest so I can play with it over the weekend!
Wow, I haven't posted for a week! I really needed the time though. Between the poison ivy and the crazy schedule I didn't get much knitting time in last week.
I did, however, join the Klaralund Along. Like a bad blogger I don't have a pic though. Tomorrow - promise!
Weekend
I had a wonderful weekend with Christy, Stella, Evelyn, Danielle, and Heather. They all came over on Saturday for a day of chatting, eating, and knitting. It was so nice to just chill and catch up. In fact, I hardly knitted. I just enjoyed sitting there catching up with everyone.
Yesterday I had the day off and Stella and I went to a few yarn stores. I picked up some Interlacements worsted weight (I think it's called Oregon?). I'm not sure what it's going to be yet. And I also bought Meg Swanson's A Gathering of Lace. I've really wanted this book for a long time and I've been thinking I needed a long term lace project as well. I'm still deciding what I'll make. Any suggestions? I think I'd like a triangular shawl, although my favorite one is a spiral. I like to tie them around my waist at an angle so I'd have to fold the spiral one in half. Seems like I'd be hiding the knitting that way. What do you all think?
Diet
I'm officially back on the diet. Seems like the signs were strong last week that I should get back on it. I heard a statistic that 95% of the people who lose weight gain it ALL back again. And that dieters who lose/gain/lose screw up their metabolism and end up making it harder to lose. I surely don't want to be either of those people! So as of yesterday I'm back on again. I gained back 10 pounds of the 20 I lost and I plan to undo that plus lose another 10. I'm telling you all so you can kick me in the butt when I stray. I figure the more public I am about this the harder (and more embarassing) it will be for me to fail. So you're all officially on notice that you're allowed to give me a little tough love if my actions warrant it. And, an occasional "wow you really HAVE lost weight" would be OK too (but only if it's true).
I'll post tomorrow with progress pics...honest!
I can't believe how many people responded to my little cable needle survey. 18 comments - I think that's a new record here!
I learned a few interesting things:
- Knitters are ingenious - Vicki has used a nail and Kathleen has used a Q-tip!
- Michele mentioned that a friend uses a big plastic yarn needle tied to the cast on tail so she never loses or forgets her cable needle!
- Many people like the grooved or plain dpn as their favorite cn. I haven't tried either but I'm tempted to add one to my order next time I get something from Patternworks
No Progress!
I have no progress to report. I (finally) spent the whole weekend working on the garden and yard. Things are looking pretty good but my hands are quite sore from all the work (not to mention all the little cuts - damn that holly tree!). I have a very busy week at work so I may post sporadically. I do update blogrolling though, so if you link to me that way you'll know when I updated.
Gerbera Yarn
I bought my Gerbera yarn. I hope to fit in a swatch sometime this week to make sure I like the color combo.
New Knitty
I love it! My favorite designs are:
Oh, for those of you considering Clapotis. I've heard lots of talk about how expensive the yarn is. I'm considering making it with Cloud 9 from eBay. It will be less than $30 for the whole thing, with about 400 yards left over! While I've never ordered the Cloud 9 I have ordered her sock yarn and the quality is great and the service is fast.
I've tried 'em all. The common cable needle (looks like a small DPN with a valley nudged into it), cabling without a needle, and the "J" type cable needle.
I really dislike the first kind. I find it hard to control and I have more trouble keeping the stitches on that type of needle.
I sometimes cable without a needle. Usually when there are 4 or less stitches involved in the cable. But more than 4 and it just seems to be more trouble than it's worth. I know a lot of knitters swear by this method but it seems to break my rhythm more than increase speed.
By far, my favorite way to cable is with the J hook. I never worry about the stitches slipping off of it, and it's easy to store it in the project's yarn without getting lost. I just nudge it midway into the ball and it stays put in my bag.
The other thing I do that I think is different is that I slip the stitches from the cable needle back onto my left hand needle before knitting them. I've tried knitting directly from the cable needle but it seems to wiggle and struggle more than it's worth.
I've often thought that this way is not the norm, but I'm curious. Which method do you use?
Phildar Hoodie
I'm closing in on repeat 2 of pHoodie. Progress pics can sometimes be boring, but if you're curious you can see one here.
I've been anticipating this one since it came up on my Amazon recommended list. My local Barnes & Noble had a copy so I took a look at it this weekend.
I was quite underwhelmed. It's another of those Rowan/Jaeger books with limited sizing. The designs were -- "eh". I expected more creativity than I saw in the book. Honestly, there is not a single design in the book I'd want to knit.
The book had one noteworthy positive thing in my opinion though. It has the best illustration of the tubular cast on I've seen. Now, it's probably not worth buying a whole book just for that, but I felt I should share it since I'm being rather critical on the book as a whole.
This is my kind of book! When I first heard of the book I thought "How many edges can I possibly be interested in?"
But the title is something of a misnomer. It's full of decorative stitch patterns that can be used in a variety of ways. There are ribs, ruffles, lace, picots, fringes and cables. If you like the Stitch-a-Day or 500 Knitting Stitches type books you will LOVE this one.
I can see using some of the ribs around the waistline of a sweater to make it shapely. Many of the cables would be beautiful in any part of a garment -- not just the edge. Some of the stitch patterns would be lovely along a shawl or scarf -- making a gift really special.
The photographs are clear and the samples are large enough to really be able to see what's going on.
If I had one complaint it would be that there are no charts. I can see myself charting the more intricate patterns if I planned on using it in a design. I'm a visual learner -- charts help me learn and memorize a stitch pattern.
I'm guessing I'm not the only one who really likes this book. Amazon has had it for 3 months now and is still selling it at full retail price.
Like most Americans, I've been anticipating this weekend!
As an employee I've been looking forward to the extra day off.
As a home owner I've been looking forward to some more progress on the house.
And as a knitter I've been looking forward to the unofficial kick off of fall!
The wool knitting will now kick into high gear to make sure I don't have a repeat of my Rogue finishing (I finished it at the end of March and only wore it 3 times). I have Rogue to break out of the closet, and my Phildar hoodie and Gerbera pullover to knit on and look forward to wearing soon.
What projects have you been looking forward to in anticipation of autumn?
Fall knitting. Gotta love it.
As a way of saying goodbye to summer I thought I'd leave you with my favorite pic from our Cape May trip a couple weeks back.
I got my Spirit Trail yarn. It's lovely! I had a hard time choosing which one to keep and which ones to gift out. I ordered 3 different types of sock yarn and they're all wonderful.
The fingering weight (pinks) has 20% nylon in it for sturdy wear. The lighter weight merino (oranges) is more of an everyday kind of weight. And finally, the heavier weight merino (blues and greens) looks to me like it would make a lovely pair of heavier boot socks. All 3 colorways are beautiful. The colors are clear and crisp -- not at all muddied where they meet. It's obvious that Jen cares alot about the quality of her product.
I'll be stopping by the post office today to get them on their way to the recipients. I don't think they'll get there in time for Labor Day so I'll have to wait until next week to see what they think. I hope they like this yarn as much as I do.
Which one did I keep? I'm not telling ;)
Gerbera
Thanks everyone for your comments and input on Gerbera. I think I've made my decision. Tune in on Tuesday when I'll hopefully reveal my color choices by way of the beginnings of the sweater.
I'm such a tease, aren't I?
5 days til we kick off the Gerbera Along. I haven't been able to settle on a color combo.
Yesterday, it finally hit me why I was so indecisive. The 2 color area on Gerbera -- it will go right across my bust. It will not be flattering for me.
I still love the design though, and Dale Sisik yarn is wonderful to knit! So I broke out my Photoshop and played around with the design a bit.
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| original | busty |
I like the raised one much better for me! What do you think?
What Color?
Sisik doesn't come in alot of colors. There are 3 combos I'm considering right now:
- black with red
- blue with red
- blue with oatmeal
I'd love for the blue with red to work out, but I'm a bit concerned it will look a bit strange. What do you think? Which combo do you like best and why?
