RIP my first UFO sweater

RIP my first UFO sweater, a photo by knittingbrow on Flickr.

This is a picture of the first sweater I almost finished knitting. The color is perfect for me; however the fiber is not. It's mohair.

As a new knitter, I quickly acquired new yarns mostly because I enjoyed the colors and price. I found this yarn for $12/hank and purchased an obscene amount intending to knit many projects for friends. I didn't know how much I disliked knitting with mohair. It gets in my nose and is scratchy.

I finished all the pieces to this sweater fairly quickly after I started but never seemed it so I could finish the collar and start wearing it. I started it almost 10 years ago.

I've had the best intentions of finishing it but I haven't succeeded. It's time I let myself out of the obligation to finish the sweater. I'm going to use it for bedding for the dogs. They will love it!

And I can move on to completing other UFOs.

Tintern Abbey Socks update

Tintern Abbey Socks
link to my Ravelry project page

Sothia Update...a bit of frogging

knittingbrow's quilting adventure

I recently visited my sister and quilted for the first time. I took my friend Connie who is already a quilter.
Here's a picture of the fabric before I started.


Here's a short video about me starting my adventure.


I cut about 595 2 1/2" squares. A few of the squares were made from four 1" squares.
I was really organized.


I turned those squares into this very long strip of fabric. It was a lot of knitting sewing. 


And the morning after video.


I didn't get the quilt top completed like I hoped but am pleased with the results. What do you think?
 

I give you my video about my experience.



Overall, I really enjoyed myself.
I've spent the last week denying that I have a new addiction. 

What's in Kare's Knitting Bag?

Neighborhood Fiber Company
The Fiberists I love the color of that yarn.
Knitter's Pride Symfonie Cubics DPN
hiya hiya circular needles
Zauberball in color 1963 I think.
I'm putting together a blog post about my weekend quilting adventures.

I got Urshuz

While visiting Chicago for business, I stopped at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum store had this interesting display of shoes that you put together (think Legos). I bought myself a pair of green soles called OG Ur Green, flip flops called Derek, gray uppers Race in Cement, black Vern (currently not found on their website.) They are comfortable, easy to put together and very stylish.

Here are my combinations: Race























Derek 

Vern

I got great customer service from from UR Shuz because my Vern lace was snipped and I didn't notice it while at the store. The response was quick and they replaced my Vern uppers. The problem with the replacement uppers is the attachment is off slightly on the left upper. Notice in this picture how odd the shoe looks?

I snapped this photo of the u rings and you can see they are incorrectly aligned. They should go around the round u locking channel. The replacement upper didn't.

I think my next parts will be soles in Baltic or Sunburst with White Race or Sienna Brax uppers. What combinations do you like?

author edits:
I realized I wasn't clear. If you like the idea of these shoes, go out and buy a pair! I am glad I got mine and enjoy wearing them. They are stylish and comfortable.  I might actually be on the cutting edge of footwear for once.  ;)  Read about them on their website, especially for sizing. The FAQ section gives a lot of useful information. I noticed they don't have women's or children's lines yet.  Sad for you...but it's weird to me to have a line for men first (and kinda cool) 

If you buy a pair, tell them knittingbrow sent you. LOL!

Ambitious Projects

In response to this tweet from SpaceCadet Stephanie, I talk about ambitious projects.




I ramble about:
intarsia
Lucy Intarsia DVD review by Knitter's review
Kaffe Fassett Persian Poppy Waistcoat
(but stone circles as a vest would be wonderful)
Designing a vest scares me a bit

Tintern Abbey Socks

I started my pair of Tintern Abbey Socks Friday night (my Rav link)

I learned this pattern while taking Brenda Dayne's Tintern Abbey Sock Class in Chardon, Ohio at Knitting on the Square.



I'm using Gypsy Girl Creations Transitions fingering weight yarn. It transitions from white to green to brown. Here is the yarn cake.

And the completed Sherman Toe. I found the toe easier to knit the third time I worked one. I knit this toe on size 2.0 mm DPNs because I like a firm toe. Once I completed the toe, I went to size 2.25 mm for the foot. It's lovely.

I really enjoyed meeting Brenda. By this picture, I think she liked meeting me.

I am a 15 year old boy

I am a 15 year old boy, a photo by knittingbrow on Flickr.

I saw this handspun yarn while at the Great Lakes Fiber Festival a couple of weeks ago. I read the contents twice to make sure I read what I read. I put the yarn down quietly and walked away.

Then my inner 15 yr old boy showed up. I giggled and had to walk back and take a picture. I share my adolescent, sick humor with the world.

Wait for it.
Wait for it.

The adult in me thinks it is probably CVM, whatever that is... but the kid in me laughs that is it hand spun yarn.

Carry on.

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.

Knitting tips and proof of the dark side

I thought everyone knew these knitting tips but I guess not. My snarky side too this video. You would still want to come knit with me, right? I'm not mean all the time.

Yep, the dark side has a visitor.


Here's a picture of the ruffle from the Sothia. I didn't like the brown Opal yarn for the ruffle but I like it in the garter section with the colored yarn.

I really enjoy knitting the Sothia by Robin Ulrich but I hated the way the Opal sock yarn was knitting up. It looked splotchy at best and the yellow/orange was too light. I frogged the ruffle and am over-dyeing the yarn with purple and blue to make it a richer brown.
Here's a poor picture of the offending yarn.


My hope is for a rich chocolate color with purple undertones.

Yarmando tests drives the dark side

And I got a surprise of yarn.



Here's the evidence of Yarmando and the spinning wheel.


This photo is purposefully grainy, just in case he denies this happened...

This is the yarn Yarmando gave me from handwoven by Tina

Great Lakes Fiber Festival Finds

Hilltop Heritage Farm
Briar Rose Fibers
I saw Anne Hanson from knitspot and baby knitspot's mom picking up some amazing Briar Rose.
I flirted briefly with a male knitter at the Briar Rose booth. We were both looking at the same yarn so he had great taste.
I regret not buying this yarn

From Handwoven by Tina. I am really attracted by the color. I don't have anything in my stash that's yellow.
Josh helped me with my drop spindling.

I need to practice 15 minutes daily to create the muscle memory. Tour de Fleece will help with this.

I also regret not buying Twist & Knit when I saw it at the Fiber Optics booth after I first arrived. She was sold out by the time I came back to buy it.


Apparently, it's a difficult to get. I found it on Amazon and added it to my wish list bought it because it was almost sold out.
edit 5/29/2012 I didn't order from Amazon. I'm going right to Miriam Felton's website to order it so I can get a digital copy.

Sideways Stories Props

Back in March I helped with Sideways Stories from Wayside School. I'm sharing photos of a few of the props I created.



One of the characters brings on a shopping cart full of stuff. It was great fun putting this together. I found lots and lots of things to include and the stranger the thing the better. The actor (Kate) pulled the props she needed for each scene. And she maximized the fun factor based on what she used.



This is a piece of rutabaga cake with crunchy noodle topping. It looks yummy, doesn't it? Of course, I had to sample it.



Did I forget to tell you it was a huge piece of cake. It wasn't very tasty.



Mr. Gorph didn't like it much either.


I enjoyed my work with this show a lot. Making odd props is surprisingly satisfying.

I created this post back in March and just found the draft. I thought I would finally post it. It was one of the things that kept me busy and not blogging.

Tintern Abbey Toe Up Sock Class

I enjoyed the Tintern Abbey Toe Up Sock class I took from Brenda Dayne at Knots, Knitting on the Square.
Being a knitter who finds patterns more of a suggestions rather than rules, the Sherman Toe and Heel will fit my visual style. I like to read my knitting. I think after I knit the second little learning sock and my own pair, I won't need the directions anymore. This is empowering.

This is my finished little learning sock. I think it looks good.

Brenda passed this sock around for us to see the finished toe and heel on an sized sock. She said we could try it on so I did. I like the fit. I now know what size sock Brenda wears. Perhaps I could knit her some pink socks to match her pink pajamas.

Thanks to Knots Knitting on the Square for bringing the Cast-On 2012 to Ohio!

Top Down Raglan

I took the top down raglan class with Brenda on Saturday. It was a great class and provides me the information I need to design sweaters!

Extra Yarn Book Review (sharing)

Wendy sent me a rather cute book. I wanted to share it with you.

Perhaps a library near you has the book? Check Worldcat.org here.

Cascade Colorwheel

Last Friday, I visited Loopy Yarns in Chicago. During my visit, there was a customer selecting yarn to make a colorwheel of Cascade Yarn so she could knit a knock-off version of an Adult Surprise Jacket. I wandered the store, enjoying the yarn options I don't have at my LYSs while listening to her struggle with getting it "right."

You know I used to work at an LYS, right? I'm really good at color. I'm also a good salesperson when needed. I believe the staff had helped her as much as they could before I arrived. I listened to this customer struggle and decided to find out where she was stuck. There were two colors she wanted to get in the circle and couldn't make the transition smooth enough...a bright yellow and bright blue.

I like a challenge. I ended up taking out two colors and adding four. I went lighter to help transition instead of brighter. She was thrilled. I'm pleased with the result. What do you think?




I count 35 skeins of yarn in my (poorly) photographed result. The customer spent over $350 for this yarn. She was shipping it back home to the UK. She knew she has more than enough yarn for her sweater. I think she could knit each of us a sweater with all that yarn.

I wonder if the staff were glad to have me help.

I walked out with three skeins of Miss Babs Yowza I intend to use for a vest.



The dark skein is called Black Bird and is dark blue, almost black with hints of navy. I think it looks right next to the white based yarns with the black, gray (Ansel) and red (A Day atPowells), black and gray.

note to self: design a vertically striped vest, write up the pattern and become a well-known and wealthy knitwear designer.

A Fanboy Prepares

I'm taking two classes with Brenda Dayne this weekend and I'm looking forward to it. I've blogged about Brenda before. With any luck, I'll vlog some over my classes.

Cheers!

Tag, You're It!

Tag, You're It!, a photo by knittingbrow on Flickr.

This is Matt.
He was in the Sideways Stories from Wayside School production I did props and ran backstage. During one of the performances, I asked Matt to help me "tag" my friend Trixie.

Matt's character wore a clipboard around his neck. He put different things on the pages for different scenes. It was a lot of fun to watch him figure out what to write.

Trixie and have been playing "tag" through the mail for almost 20 years. It's been fun.

So the night Trixie came to the performance, I had Matt "tag" Trixie. It was early in the performance and Trixie saw it. She laughed.

And yes, Trixie is still "it."

Lacy Baktus Backstage

I'm knitting on a lacy Baktus backstage using Marks & kattens Fame trend in color 653 Party lot S5320.

Mike's Thorpe

I finished a hat for my brother Mike in January. It is the Thorpe Hat by Kristen Kapur. (ravelry link) I recommend the pattern.

Mike wanted a hat that covered his ears. This one does that! I snapped these photos of me wearing the hat. They aren't the best picture of me but I kinda look like my brother here. It's weird thinking I'll look like him when I'm his age.

this picture shows the true color of the yarn. I think it is perfect for him.

I'm wearing the flaps up in this picture.

Trisha Mitts completed!

Knit using the Berroco Jacoby pattern.

The yarn is Just Our Yarn Travelor (Ravelry link).

I thought I was knitting them using a US size 1 (or 2) but i was using two zeros and two ones. Ugh. I think they fit beautifully.

Modification: I extended the thumb to please the recipient. I wish I had trusted my instinct and put the thumb stitches on holders and knit them longer. Instead I had to pick up the bind-off edge and knit more ribbing. There were a total of 14 thumb stitches but I picked up 18 stitches to close the gap and to allow me to follow the 2x2 rib correctly.





I have some yarn left and will keep it to use when I knit with the other skein I bought at Maryland Sheep & Wool.

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.

What's Different?

Can you see what is different in these two pictures?

I'm not wearing my wedding band in the second photo. My 5 year relationship ended unexpectedly in December and the final move out happened Saturday. I feel very sad about this because I thought it was different than it was. I cannot say horrible things about knitSB and I wish him well. We'll still see each other because of the puppehs.

I spent Sunday cleansing, cleaning, and rearranging the house to help it feel different. It will take time to get all of it finished, mostly because I have big ideas and only little time with work.

The blogging/vlogging will resume as I have knitting to share. Go hug the ones you love. You never know when they won't be there.

Curiosity Cabinet No. 7

I bought this piece of art on Tuesday. The gallery at work had new art hung on Tuesday with a display entitled "Art from the Other Side"

"Art from the Other Side" includes a truly remarkable body of work from artists who cannot easily be defined by a particular movement. We hope that viewers are moved emotionally by the raw and earnest offerings of this wonderful selection of artists."

I saw this piece and feel in love with it. Nikkie Rogers created this mixed media piece in 2011.

I like the size, the design and visual texture. I also liked the price, $35.00. I called immediately and purchased the piece.

I am an artist and know how important it is to be able to sell my work. When I connect with a piece of art, I consider purchasing it. When was the last time you supported your local artists?

Trellis Lace Scarf Bind-off Oops

Ever have one of those experiences when you thought the project was going to be perfect and then discovered a DROPPED stitch? Trellis Lace Scarf by Yellow Dog Knitting is a perfect simple project when I don't want to concentrate too hard but want to have relaxing knitting. I knit this using Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn on size 7 needles. I changed the pattern by casting-on 42 sts. I'm happy to say I fixed the bind-off. I will block the scarf before giving it away. I would knit another version of this scarf. BTW: The Lucy Neatby DVDs can be found here. I have most of them and learn from them each time I watch them.

Knitting at Dirty Franks

I took two co-workers to Dirty Franks for lunch today. The menu is based on hotdogs. The menu give lots of options for hotdogs and beer on tap.

I enjoyed a Sriracha Slaw Dog as a lettuce wrap. I don't recommend the lettuce wrap because it gets messy. I also had three pretzels with salt. They were delightful.

I'm knitting the Thorpe hat (Rav link), a design by Kristen Kapur, using size 10 DPNs with a bulky baby alpaca yarn. I'm supposed to be able to get the entire hat done with just one skein of yarn. Fingers crossed. The hat is a surprise gift for my oldest brother who wants something to keep his ears warm.

Knitter's Manifesto: Artist's Edition

I received the Knitter's Manifesto: Artist's Edition as my holiday gift. It's a lovely collection of essays from Brenda Dayne of Cast-On podcast fame. I've shared my love for Brenda in a previous (fanboy) post. The high quality recordings are excellent essays delivered by Brenda. It's like sitting down and having tea with Brenda. Tea with Brenda is something would I would enjoy. Here's a picture of the items that came with the Artist's Edition. Hurry, because there aren't many copies left. Oh, the oranges were not included. Thanks Brenda and Felicity for a holiday gift that will continue to give throughout the year. Go get your copy before they are all gone. Tell her knittingbrow sent you. :)

Recap Thanksmas 2011

My family celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas on the Saturday following Thanksgiving.(2010, 2009 blogposts) It works well and reduces stress because everyone is rested and not rushing between obligatory visit. I've blogged about it before. I rather enjoy the event. For those interested, we draw names for a gift exchange. This year I had my brother Steve and I knit him another pair of socks. I used Ella Rae superwash in navy. I finished these during the Annual Boy's Fishing Trip. Here's a photo of them after he opened them. I find the beer in the top right corner humorous.

My sister Terri had my name in the exchange. She got me a copy of The Knitter's Handy Book of Socks by Clara Parkes. I'm really happy about this gift. This book is filled with great information and a nice range of patterns from a variety of designers. I'm looking forward to reading the book and knitting a few of the patterns.

FO Gale Stole

I finished Gale Stole.
Pattern by knitspot
Yarn by Briar Rose Fibers, Grandma's Blessing. This yarn appears to be discontinued. Go look at the other yarn options.
used size 10 nylon circular needle
Cast-on 3 years ago.
for knitSB

I'll post a picture of the finished stole after I block it.
This was an enjoyable knit. A well-written pattern and a nice yarn. I do hope I'll have enough yarn to knit myself a pair of socks with the remaining yarn.