I Too Can Knit!!

I picked up my knitting needles and knit away! I was done in a few days. I did not do this according to the pattern though. I cast on only 100 stitches and I don't think I knit as many rows as it said too, so it is not as wide. I still like it though, I am thinking of maybe making a couple small ones for my nieces, it would be great for fall and winter.

Dyeing to know you . . .

Some of you know that I went to a dyeing workshop mid-August at the Michigan Fiber Festival. It was a blast!! Anyway, I didn't bring my camera, but a fellow dyer let me use her camera to take some pictures and has just shared them with me. Here is a picture of almost everyones finished products.




Okay, you see right were the lady's hand is caressing a yarn? Well, that one isn't mine. My two that you can see are right above the yarn she is caressing. They are the completely obnoxious Crayola Crayon handpainted (yellow, red, dark red, blue, green) and the green fluffy one right next to it. I did a purplish, blue one as well, but that one was still in the works at the time of this picture. I have already knitted that one up into another calorimetry and will post it here as soon as I get a button.

Another WIP finished!

I've created a monster! I made a pair of hand knit socks for my husband and now he expects me to keep making socks for him! That's not SO bad, except that he has big feet and likes them tall. AND he likes colors that seem to suck the life out of me (namely, gray). But he's a good and helpful husband so he gets socks (and other knitted things, which he greatly appreciates and wears with pride). So--I started socks for him using TrekkingXXL using the Fingering Weight Toe-Up Socks With Gusset Heel (pdf) pattern from WendyKnits and knit both socks at the same time on two circular needles. It's been a struggle to get them done. I'd sneak off and start this project or that, avoiding the work that needed to be done. Not sure if it had to do more with the colors or that is wasn't for me (I don't do well with sharing, I guess). :) At long last, they're done! And here they are:

Another finished Calorimetry

I didn't plan to knit one of these, but I just can't stand to be left out--so I cast on yesterday afternoon and sat down to have a nice little knit while I caught up on some podcasts. I started a swatch with some Lana Grossa Mega Stoppino.

That was way too thick and the gauge was WAY off, so I tried again. I had some leftover Baabajoes that I thought would be enough. I did a quick measure, using the nose-to-fingertip measuring tool to get a rough estimate of the yardage. Hmmm...it seems to be just about 90 yards (I thought). Not a scientific measuring tool, as I would find out later. So, I cast on and started knitting.

The pattern itself is quite easy. I read Sarah's notes on Ravelry and decided to cast on only 100 stitches and to knit fewer rows. That idea was a good one! As it turns out, I got fairly nervous about running out of yarn , so I fudged the short rows at the end. That changed the shape a little bit but as it turns out, it's OK. It serves to make a shape that is narrower at the back when buttoned (which works with my head). I cast off and had a mere 2-3 yards left. I don't like playing it that close! But I feel good about not wasting any of that nice yarn. It's a little coarse compared with the soft yarns I love, but it's springy and warm. So...it's done. I wove in the ends and sewed on an olive-colored bead I made instead of a button. It'll be warm, but as I suspected, I look like a total dork in it. Oh well.

Another Done!

Done! It is a little bigger than I would have liked, but I did not choose the right yarn, but it being 100% baby Alpaca, it should be warm... and it is SO SOFT!

I like the pattern and I will do it again when I find a yarn to use for it.

I'm done!

Here is my Calorimetry, all done and on my head. I really, really, really like it and already have the yarn picked out for another one.

KAL - Headband!

The new format for IBM knitting/crocheting club is Knit-a-long. There has not been great attendance at the bi-monthly meetings, so the officers have decided to do a knit-a-long.

For the first project:

Head Band
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/PATTcalorimetry.html

If you do not knit or this project does not interest you... the second KAL/CAL is going to be:

Items for the ECCC auction! Anything you want!

Progress of KAL project will be posted here.

Come On!!

Hurry up and knit, knit, knit. I really want to finish these up so I can start knitting one of my painted yarns up. But first a story . . .

Once upon a time there was a mediocre knitter who decided to knit two socks at once on circular needles. She liked uniformity, so she center pulled each ball of yarn, and pulled and pulled and pulled, until she matched the toe colors. Then she started knitting. Low and behold! The patterns did not match. She was devastated. She cried. She broke things. (Not really, but a story needs drama.)

She decided to keep knitting and not care a whit about the non-matching patterns. And then one day, she completed the pattern repeat on the socks. And what do you think that poor knitter discovered? The balls were wound from opposite ends of the pattern repeat by the manufacturer! So, it wasn't her mediocre knitting skills that made her not able to match up the patterns! However, despite the horror of the non-matching pattern, she decided that she quite liked them and would just continue on as is.

My "Other" Handpainted Yarn

While my mom was visiting, I decided to show her how I hand paint yarn. (Like I'm a professional. It's only my second skein!) So I made this. It was a lot of fun to do it with my mom watching. She refused to comment in any way shape or form. She was afraid that I would use her suggestion and the yarn would end up sucky.

I really do need to start knitting this one up. It isn't self-striping, so I have no idea how it's going to turn out. But I don't want to cast them on until I finish up my other socks!