Monday, October 30, 2006

WIP and FO.

So, I have been knitting.Red Scarf Project - one done.
Irish hiking scarf
Knitpicks Decadence Winter Berry(alpaca- yum!)
Really enjoyed making this. It went fast! I tried cables without cable needle.
Hated it.

Hat- dedicated to Di Gilpin, who gave us the Scottish tweed and encouraged us to knit with colors. (Courtesy of Rowan) The hat is Coronet from knitty. The yarn is Rowan Scottish Tweed DK in unknown color names (no bands). I call it free form Fair Isle for Fall. Say it 5 times fast… very pleasant to knit with, and softens much after bath. Nice and warm.
Tried the cable without cable needle here as well; thought different yarn would do the trick. Hated it.
Ribbed Cardi in Knitpicks 100% Wool of the Andes in Firecracker. At $1.99 a skein (you need 10-11) you can’t go wrong. (It does not split but it does have these little annoying splices) Fun, fast, fab! Almost done with sleeve # one, which I am knitting in the round. When I started the sleeve, I had only one skein, so I did not make two at one. So sue me… I LOVE this pattern. Now I want to make it in the Rowan Scottish Tweed.

Getting ready to knit the next installment from the Petal Collecting. Toe up, lace. Just what I need to learn/ practice. Can't wait to start it!
As you can see, I have been practicing my lace, Seasilk in blue, in the wave pattern. It does not smell like seaweed to me. Maybe when you wash it and block it.
And that little bit of blue in the back? Austerman Step glove! Brilliant. If it has Aloe and Jojoba oil in it, it’ll be perfect for dry hands. Will I make it a full glove or not, I am not sure. It moisturizes as you knit. How does it do after a few washes? Anyone?

Friday, October 20, 2006

More London

Ok, so blogger is not very cooperative today, but I'll try in two posts. I obviously bought some yarn... but I also received some yarn in London. Sigrid gave me a very lovely kid- mohair which I will pair with some alpaca/ cashemere to make a hat for my son (double knitting to make it warm!) Ingrid gave me a lovely Regia in boyish colors when she found out the socks I made for my son two months ago are already too small. Thanks guys! And when we took classes, Rowan generously provided yarn for our classes with Di Gilpin and Sasha Kagan.

So, how was London?

Fantastic! Greaaaaaat! Amazing! Awesome! I had a great time. Meeting Sigrid (from Sweden!) We had SUCH fun! Mary, (from Texas, it might as well be a country, its big enough...) who is soooooooo funny! Nic, (she dyes Fab yarns!!!!) Ingrid, (with whom I sat and knit sat night at iKnit, and had fad dinner) Yvonne of London, who organized the Relax & Knit area, Sarah of Cambridge, (helped me shop for yarn...) and Gerard of iKnit London (he of the famous Knit a River project! please send him a blue sq. 6"x6") was the best part! ( read more adventures on their blogs)
Or was it High Tea at Liberty? Or was it the class with Di Gilpin? Or Sasha Kagan? Or the one with Lucy Neatby? Or was it the absolutely gorgeous weather we had? I don't know anymore! It was all super fantastic! (I know, I know- maybe it was the stash enhancement....!)
Did I mention I had a really good time?
It was great meeting everybody, and I hope we'll get to do it again, soon!!

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Off to see the wizards of knitting!

On my way to the airport (ha ha ha) I thought I'll just show you my first socktoberfest pair of socks and my Noro log cabin pillow. These are the razor shell socks in yarn from Curious Yarn in color Autumn Earth, knit 2 on 2circs Addi us1. The Noro log cabin was knit in two days, once I started, I could not stop, (16"x16") with odds of Kureyon I found when I raided my stash to look for Kureyon for the Lizard. Addi us7, to make it tight. The colors work, don't they? That's Noro magic!
A splash of color on the trees, finally!or:If you are going to Ally Paly, London, say hi! I'll be the one with the I love to knit t-shirt...

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Socks History

Lolly encouraged all 1797 of us to write about our socksual history. Well, to cut it short, since you have to read the other 1796 socktoberfest participants... this is my very first sock. It will forever remain a singleton, since it was a test sock, knit with some leftover Koigu. My friend Barbara taught me how to knit socks, only a few years ago, and I have been knitting for "a few" before that. I was terrified of the heel business. Imagine that! I made only two and a half pairs until Jan 2006, and 8 pairs since Jan 2006, with the inspiration of my knitting buddies at my local knitting group, Sit n' Knit NYC. What helps is the Internet explosion of hand made yarns, patterns and all of you; your work is great inspiration! It is also your fault I have a VERY long list of socks to knit. As I said before, the list will be reviewed and updated from time to time........I have decided to air my WIP, bring them all into daylight, so it will inspire me to finish them sooner rather than later... I dare you all to flash your WIP! No more hiding in the dark...
Oh, and by the way feel free to leave a comment. It's nice to hear from you! Cause its all about the global knitters community, ain't it?!

Monday, October 02, 2006

Time is short and the fun plentiful!!

Ok knitters, the time is short and the fun plentiful!! Lots of work coming up in October and beyond. First of all, October is breast cancer awareness month. Don’t forget and make something pink (or pinkish). Maybe Chemo caps can be a great way to help. I am going to start one is a minute… I am thinking Odessa I am also going to finish Hopeful, for next year, but I want to finish it. Also Knitty has a special printable section for just this purpose. Check it out.
Socktoberfest. What a happening! So far (as of today 10/3/06) 1538 knitters have signed up! Knitters, we are becoming a global power! Its barely October, and already the Socktoberfest Flickr group is HUGE! I am not listing my socks to-do list here. Lets just say I'll see ya' all in Halloween with a much larger sock circle...
Now that my ISE project is finished, (My pal is Holly of HollYarn) I am ready to start the Red Scarf Project. I started the Irish hiking scarf, with some of the alpaca (I LOVE knitting with it) from the Olof. Maybe I'll also make Rain’s Infinity Muffler. I know I can find some yarn in the stash for that……. As a matter of fact, I am sure I can find some yarn to do both an we have until Jan 2007!


Speaking of Olof, it is coming along nicely! But I swear my son’s arms just grew longer (from last week…) Now I know why my grandmother had always knit items for us two sizes too big. By the end of the season, you outgrew it… I know how to cut the sleeves and make them longer, (thanks to my friend Barbra, who talked me through the process on the phone once), and, can you see I reversed the pattern on the sleeves? Not by design. That’s what happens when I knit late at night. It shouldn’t be allowed!! So I'll have to cut, and here is the first step.


And I MUST start, at least start, the Mermaid. It’s looking at me now everyday. I placed the bag in a location I have to see every day, and the mermaid song is loud and clear…
Also coming up to this blog soon, ribbed cardi in Rowan Felted tweed (in stash in color ginger (its orange, for October… ala sock pron) and the knucks in the Rowan Scottish Tweed 4 Ply (not in my possession yet, but keep an eye out for color #015 - Apple…) See Annie, I am tweeding too!
Here are some of my ideas for my Knucks, what do you think?
YARN DIVA
KNIT DIVA
SOCK DIVA
SEXY YARN
FULL MOON
FOOL MOON
NITE NITE
HPNY KNIT
KNIT HPNY
NICE YARN
COOL YARN
YARN PORN
COOL WOOL
KNIT PURL
These remind me of the Dr. Seuss books I read with my son now, like Fox in Socks, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Hop on Pop, etc.

And I’ll leave you with two new blogs I stumbled upon in my rainy Sunday morning blog hopping.
Green Knitters- all about organic knitting, natural dyes, etc. How to knit, crochet, or tat and make a difference in politics and the health of the planet at the same time. It may seem like a tall order, but I am telling you knitters, we have the global power to change the world one stitch at a time!
And The Daily Knitter. Check it out! They put together many resources! You’ll find it all at The Daily Knitter. Does this sound true: "Nothing is better at melting away the day’s stresses than a soft ball of yarn and the click-click of knitting needles." If so- check it out...

P.S London count down = 10 days! Mary is going as well!! Ya! And of course some of the London knitters I have cyberly met, who I am very excited to meet in person. My brother, computer Techie, ( who will take care of my son while I am away) thinks its very amusing (global knitters unite...) but when he heard more than 1500 knitting bloggers signed up for Socktoberfest in a matter of weeks, he is starting to have second thoughts… and ask for socks...