Nuts Again socks to be frogged

My Rav Link.

Previous blogposts

Lessons learned: gauge swatch, read a pattern carefully and notice the size, trust my instinct and stop knitting sooner rather than later, a good design is a good design regardless of my knitting mistakes, and it's acceptable to frog a project.

Mary Ann Crago

I walk around the Visual Learning: Connecting Readers to Art display by a co-worker and great artist, Mary Ann Crago.
She has a blog I think you should visit. Go ahead and click the link. I'll wait but please come back.

What did you think? I am inspired by her process. I'm lucky because she encourages me to make some "art" and has recommended a few books to help overcome the blocks preventing me from creating. She might even be willing to trade a piece of her work for some of my knitting. That makes me feel really good and I believe she would value the knitting as much as I would value her art.

I have Mary Ann's permission to post the photos I have in a flickr set. Enjoy.

Backstage Lavender Shawl Update

I'm backstage before the first performance Saturday with an update on the lavender shawl. I made a mistake by not keeping the center back stitch plain. I involved it in the YO, k2tog lace pattern. 

Here's a close-up of the error. I'm trying to fix this while I have time duringyoday's performances. I'm not sure it will work but I'm going to try.


Update:
I tried and I didn't work. It looks like extra stitches will be added. I'm going to pull out the fishnet lace pattern and start this section over with a bit more attention on what the lace should be doing.

Lavender Shawl

A friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with cancer and I'm knitting her a shawl.
It's based on the Boneyard Shawl (rav link) by Stephen West but I'll be adding a fishnet lace as one of the last sections.

She wanted lavender. Here are the color options I gave her:


She has very good taste and selected #3 (going from the left). It's cashmere.

This is the first cast-on attempt. I was not happy so I pulled it out.


Here's the progress by Sunday's second show at the theatre.  I made good progress.


I don't think I'll get it finished by Friday. I don't want to shorten the shawl simply because I'm out of time. I know I'll have it finished by Monday.

Tahoe Vest Completed!

Hooray!  It's finished!

I used a handspun yarn I purchased at Lofty Lou's in Placerville, California and a purple yarn that reminds me of Silky Wool (held two strands together).

I blogged about this vest previously here and here and maybe here where I reference this item as the Placerville Vest.

Thanks for the great video on the bind-off from KNITFreedom.

Here's a picture of some of the ends I had to run in.

And the finished object!

Tahoe Vest Steeks

Hooray! I completed the crochet part of the crocheted steek last night. It went well once I added the light yellow yarn to guide me. It took two incorrect attempts before if put in the guide yarn. I may be a slower learner but I'm happy with the result. Steek cutting will happen this afternoon in full sunlight so I can see and I'm not tired. Steek cutting when tired is not recommended. Let's not talk about that.

Sweaters from Camp published by Schoolhouse Press is out of print. 
Jared Flood's Alberta vest pattern is available on the BrooklynTweed.nethttp://www.brooklyntweed.net/ website. Here's the ravelry link.
TECHknitting blog post and 2X2 version by Revknits

And I invite you to watch me cut the neckline steek, if you're so inclined.  What I want to know is if you cringed when I cut into the knitting.  Did you?

I don't have US size 8 16" circular needles to use!  Looks like I'll have to use the magic loop method. Ack!

Tahoe Vest Update

This is a vest I've been working on for 4 years.  I've lost the pattern notes and I'm using the Elizabeth Percentage System as the pattern basics. But I've lost my pattern notes and years have past so I'm taking stock of my progress and moving forward. I think all that's left is joining the sleeves and accomplishing the steeks. To finish, I need to put the edging on the armholes and the v-neck. Progress report later. I am using the Alberta pattern by Jared Flood as my help.

I shared my knitting with Cat on knitrific.

He's using DPNs?

Shocking!
(or would that be SOCKING!)


A bit of humor.
warning, the hands give me the finger.

This unnamed knitter is using dpns. Unheard of! He usually knits with the magic loop.
I'll just say that his is EVIL for not letting me film him casting on for a SOCK. It's GENIUS for him to try to branch out.

Jazz Vanillia Socks Update

Knitter's Handy Book of Knitting Patterns by (St.) Ann Budd. I wonder what Ann would think about my referring to her as a "saint." I mean it in good humor. If you see her, please let her know.

I'm using Twisted Sisters "Jazz" on size 3.0 mm dpns.
Next time I need to decrease a needle size for the cuff. It says I should do that in the directions. I just didn't read that correctly.
On this pair of socks, I've dropped to size 2.25 mm for the heel flap, heel turn and toes to help give them some strength. That is a drop of 3 needle sizes.
Argh. I ran out of yarn for my socks.  These skeins have (about) 163 yards per skein. I could have made the leg length shorter, but I like the length, so I'll have to keep some extra yarn.

(You'll notice the hacking sound in the background.  That's Hugo chewing on some grass.)

Fiberworks Acquisitions

Arlene Graham's Fiberworks is located at 1350A North Fairfield Road Beavercreek, OH 45432. It's an easy drive from Columbus. Road trip anyone?



Yep. I got yarn. Not a lot, mind you but still...it's yarn.
3 skeins of Lamb's Pride Superwash in Sport weight in color Lemon Ice
3 skeins of Queensland Collection Rustic Wool in a nice green (color 04, Olive) I think they will make a nice simple pair of socks. A quick knit for certain!
You can see information about the Schoppel Wolle Zauberball here.

And I picked up a Yarn Keeper Bracelet , made by Humes of Delaware. I'm not sure I'll use this a lot but it's an interesting option for walking around and knitting. I'll be using this for my next "car project." You know what a car project is, right? It's that project that lives in the car that gets pulled out when you're waiting expectantly.

Lace Error Alert!

While knitting on the Flower Basket Shawl, I've discovered a few errors that I consistently make.



Can you see the problem in this photo?
This is the YO on my purl back row. The YO before a decrease on the right side row can wrap around the decrease when working the wrong side rows, in this case, I'm purling back. By paying attention to my knitting, I've been able to notice the problem quickly and can fix it. When I miss this, I end up an st short on the right side rows because I purled the YO with the st before (really making an unnecessary decrease). It is an easy thing to correct simply by paying attention to the knitting and using a finger to release the YO and working the sts correctly.
Here's the photo with the correction.

This is the YO on my purl back row after it has been separated from the decrease. It is an easy thing to correct simply by paying attention to the knitting and using a finger to release the YO.

A funny thing happened that I share on the knitrific blog.  Go watch and comment :)

Plumbing can be fun

Especially when it is planned. This adventure wasn't planned. Thanks to PhotoSteve for his help. It worked out fine after three trips to the hardware store.  The last trip was to see if I could find a different size connection so I didn't have too many connections as part of the plumbing. I do know that the more the connections, the more likely a weak point in the line.


The scarf I finished was made using Kidsilk Haze, size 13 16" needles. Cast-on 50 sts and go until enough yarn to bind-off is left.  Photos later.




Sorry about the reverb in the sound.  I'm not sure what happened. This is a short vlog update.

Fun Movie Pairings

I love it when I get together with friends and an idea takes off and becomes a lot of fun. We talked about movie pairings at knitting tonight. This is something that I've done before with Songferret and it took on a life of it's own last night.  Some of these ideas were from people on plurk. That's another social networking site, similar to twitter.  Go here to find out more. Here is the link to the plurk and everyone's comments.

I hope you laugh when you hear these. We all did!



If you have a pairing that you think would be a perfect fit, please leave a comment!

Serpent Mound

knitSB and I traveled to Serpent Mound on Sunday for a nice day together. The mound was enjoyable, the weather pleasant and the company wonderful.
The video sound is low, so you'll need to turn it up a bit.  Sorry about that.  :)

A message from KnitAmy to Jeremy

A quick video from a knitting friend to another knitting friend. Can you feel the love? Last night's knitting was great fun. Much laughter, good food and Yarmando finished on of his mother's day gift socks.

Socks Appeal Boxers & Temptations

Somewhere on the internet I spotted a picture of the Socks Appeal boxers.  Rav Link.

Temptations is one of my LYS located in Dublin, Ohio.  Karen is the owner and offered to call Skacel to order the pattern.  That was very helpful!  They have two more copies of the pattern available. Go pick one up and tell them that Gerald sent you!

The Mystery Sock class is a lot of fun and offers some very nice sock patterns. 

The Gams is from Knitty Spring/Summer 2010.  Please notice the horrid pictures.  It was the picture on this ravelry pattern page that show the boxers off better.  I purchased some Serendipity Tweed for my pair. I ended up getting a total of 4 skeins of yarn.  The colors are better in the video.

full disclosure: I might have been influenced to knit these items because of this project and this project.  I'm certain that if I wear my knitted shorts, I'll be thin (& 100 lbs lighter and 20 years younger :)

Gardening and Maddy

This is a post about my "colorful loops of daily living."
There is NO knitting content in this post. 


The weather in early March was quite pleasant here.  So pleasant that I started working in the yard.  One weekend I spent about 16 hours working on the yard doing the weeding and general upkeep of the flower beds.  Some people say at the end of the growing season they "put the beds to rest." Have you heard that phrase?  Well, I woke up the beds!  I raked, cleared away dirt and such and weeded a lot of day lilies.  I've got nothing against day lilies.  It's just that they take over. (kinda like my yarn stash)

You see in the video on of the beds I cleared. I've toss about a bunch of flower seeds in there.  knitSB & I picked up a couple of packets of flower bed seeds.  I'm excited to see everything growing!  The recent rain really helps. 

Maddy is the latest addition to our family.  Isn't she cute?

Multnomah, Citron and Feeling Good about my Job

Multnomah is an enjoyable pattern from HelloKitty.net.  It's a nice pattern. (and I just realized I've been mispronouncing the name of this shawl. **sigh** It's not a reflection of the pattern.) 

Teal'tron is my ravelry page with limited information about my version of Citron from the Winter 2009 Knitty.  (Rav link)

I've been enjoying listening to the Electric Sheep podcast. It's from Hoxton Handmade.  Have you heard it?

Today was one of those days when I felt that I was good in my job. I've been soaking up a lot of information about improving my communication with people.  I've been able to apply these new skills successfully at work the last couple of days. I'm helping to make a difference.

I learn to knit an Aran Vest

Yarn Harlot and the 2010 Knitting Olympics is a great idea started in 2006.  Also was created is the Ravelympics for those on Ravelry. 

Aran Knitting is quite beautiful. I haven't done Aran knitting before.  Yarmando tells me that it's just cabling and I've done cabling before.  So I cast-on and began this vest.  I'll give the details of the vest in a future blog post. 

While I was working through the twisted cable rib, I was okay with it.  Until I got to the beginning of the cable set-up rows.  I was 6 (or 8) sts off.  What the freak?!  I counted the sts several times.  So I simply added sts.

There are three charts in this vest.  Two repeat every 8 rounds, one repeats every 20 rounds.  I've got it figured out how track the rows.  It was kinda blah when I started the charts. It took more concentration that I expected.  After another two inches, I started to be able to read my knitting and know what was supposed to happen next.  I think that feels nice. 

I'm enjoying the knitting and will be at the armholes soon.  I won't make it to complete in the Knitting Olympics. 

Ram Club 3.2

Spoiler Alert

I share my new shipment for the Ram Club 3. Ram Club 3



The yarn is Verve, a superwash merino yarn that is a light fingering weight yarn.  There are 300 yards to each skein.  Two colors: Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice. The colors of these yarns are incredibly beautiful.  Winter Solstice has a teal to golden brown to raspberry.  Amazing dyeing.  A.maz.ing.  The Summer Solstice is beautiful as well.  Yellows into yellow green and gray.  I need to find a project to work these yarns to work together.
I don't like the yarns in the pattern.  I like the pattern.  I like the yarn.  I don't like the two together. 

I wonder if Akimbo or Daybreak would be nice.


Ram Club 4: Accessories I like knowing that I'm getting socks.  I'm thinking if it ain't broke, don't fix it.