August 2006 Archives

I'm sure I'm tempting fate here by planning a wool sweater for Rhinebeck, but I can't seem to stop myself. Apparently I'm not alone.

Lee Ann thinks it's best to be safe and make both a sweater AND a tank top. Just in case.

She's my kind of girl.

And I just might have pushed Kellee into making a sweater too. C'mon Kellee...misery is so much sweeter with company.

As for my sweater, I'm still unsure about the yarn. More on that in a minute. A few of you have asked what I have planned. Here's the center motif I was talking about.

I played around with several tribal tattoos until I got the look I wanted. I've converted it to a knitting pattern with KnitPro and I started a swatch last night.

So, the yarn. I revisited the balls of Whiskey that I picked up and I've changed my mind. It's definitely a DK weight. I knit up a small swatch on 3.75mm needles and it was perfect. So, I'm swatching a portion of the motif to see what I think.

I'm still very hung up on color though.

Sometimes I think I want a neutral sweater and colorful motif (it'd be safer and I could probably wear it for many more seasons without it going out of style or my growing tired of it). Like maybe a dark gray and a black motif. Or a coppery brown with a turquoise/green motif.

Other times I think, go for something like a bright pink with a black motif and make a statement. It's at this point that I wonder if the statement I'm making is knitter trying to recapture her youth.

On a positive note, my travelling companions wouldn't ever be concerned about losing track of where I was. On a negative note, with that sweater on they may just want to ditch me.

Maybe not though, since I will be the one driving.

So what're your thoughts? Neutral and safe? Bright and bold?

Oh, and to add to the mess, I think I'm dyeing my hair a dark black cherry for the fall. So it all needs to coordinate.

Seems like everyone has Rhinebeck on the brain this week.

I've missed it the past 2 years but this year -- I'm going, damnit. And I'm gonna wear a new sweater.

even if it kills me

I think I know what I'm going to make. I've sketched it out. I've charted the center design motif. I just have to pick the yarn.

I bought a couple of balls of Reynolds' new yarn called Whiskey. It's a pretty, tweedy wool. But, the front of the sweater is going to be stranded and I think it's too heavy for stranding.

So, I want to use a tweed yarn in a DK weight. I'm considering Rowan Felted Tweed. It's tweedy, it's soft, and I've wanted to use it for a while now.

It seems like it would be lightweight and comfy. I'm a bit concerned about it being extra-warm because of the 25% Alpaca content.

If you've used it -- what did you think? Or, any other suggestions (other than *not* attempting a DK-weight partly-stranded sweater 9 weeks before Rhinebeck)? I have a good 6 weeks before that kind of reasonable logic sets in.

Guilt got the better of me and I decided to cast on for my Mom's jaywalker-knock-off-knee-highs over the weekend. I had the yarn from this year's MDSW so there was no reason to delay any longer.

I'm doing them toe-up to make the knee high fitting easier, and to make sure I don't run out of yarn.

I wound my yarn, dug out my needles and cast on. Too big. I cast on again, still too big.

Cast on a third time, just right. I knit several inches and realized -- it was pooling awfully.

No problem! I have 2 hanks, I'll just alternate skeins. Wind up the other ball, add it to the mix.

do i need to state that i've also upped the complexity from knee socks to knee socks and battling alternating balls of yarn? not my idea of fun, but it is for mom.

Apparently, I was too good at picking out matching skeins because even their pooling is the same. I even started the second ball halfway into a repeat, but then the pools just happened on opposite ends of the foot and alternated. Not good.

I wasn't sure what I'd try next so I let it sit for a while. And then it dawned on me. The perfect way to resolve it. So simple, and so, so pretty. I don't know what took me so long!

I've been meaning to do this for several months, but necessity finally made it happen. Looks like my Natalya pattern is pushing the bandwidth limit of my typepad account, so I'm moving itover here.

While I was at it I've added my version of a basic toe-up sock. It's the handout I created to use when I teach the class. Overview:

• toe-up on 2 circs
• figure 8 cast-on
• modified round toe
• short-row wrapped heel
• detailed explanation of how to calculate for any size foot

Both patterns can be found over in my sidebar. As always, if you notice any errors or have any questions, please let me know. Enjoy!

Please note I am going to remove the Natalya pattern from my old typepad site.

After the 100+ degree weather we had this week, 91 degrees today seems bareable -- at least, in the shade.

I've spent most of my day on this chair under the canopy of trees. Even the little blue berries that keep falling onto my head aren't enough to sway me. This is the first weekend since July 4th that I haven't had to work, and I'm soaking up every minute of it.

Betcha can guess what I've been doing with my precious spare time today. It's lounghing on the chair. Let's have a closer look.

It's my newest project -- a little lace stole that I'm making up as I go. I want to design a more complicated lace piece, and I think this one will be a good tutorial in designing lace. I've just completed the border and am going to start the main panel. I've swatched already so I'm crossing my fingers that I've done my homework and this is all going to work out.

The yarn is Schaefer Andrea -- 100% Cultivated Silk -- in the Rosa Parks colorway. It has a lovely sheen and a real silky scent to it. When the sun peaks through the trees and hits the yarn I can smell the silk, and this pleases me much more than it should.

Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

brooks farm four play duet*

I have 500 yards of this yarn, and NO IDEA what to do with it. I love the colors, I love the fiber content (55 mohair / 45 wool), I love the way the yarn is plied (2 plies, very loosely).

But, I cannot find a stitch pattern to do this yarn justice. I've tried several lace motifs and nothing's worked. The poor yarn is looking overworked and abused. You know how it is. * Knit a couple repeats, frog * repeat

The yarn is gorgeous. Any ideas? Please help SAVE THE YARN!!!!

*this poor yarn doesn't have a chance! i can't even call it by the right name! thanks, ann, for setting me straight!