Mmmmmm....yummmmmmmy

I've already picked out the yarn for my next sweater; I've been yearning for this yarn forever, and I finally broke down and bought it. I didn't have a pattern in mind, so I just popped over to Knitting Fool and asked "How many skeins?" The Fool recommended 8, so I bought 9 to be safe.

How about an extreme closeup?

It's so soft and wonderfully squishy; I can hardly wait to be able to wear it. If it was in hanks instead of center-pull skeins, I'd probably walk around the house with it draped over my shoulders.

I was looking at the aforementioned issue of Knit 'n Style, and my eye was caught by this pattern:

Not because I liked the sweater, but because it is knit from the top down. That's the direction I want to go in for my next sweater, so I was looking at the instructions, and wondering if I could substitute my yummy, plummy, Silk 'n' Wool. It would be a tough conversion, since the pattern uses a gauge of 8 stitches = 4 inches, and my yarn recommends 19 stitches = 4 inches. I was doing some ciphering, when I noticed something. Checked a few numbers...aha! They used Elizabeth's Percentage System! Well, shoot, I don't need a pattern for this; what was I thinking? I'll just refer to EZ and use the yarn I want with the gauge I want. After all, it's just a raglan sweater with a simple rolled edge for the neck, cuffs and hem. EZ generally worked from the hem up, but she did cover top down construction in Spun Out #7. Once again, I'm glad I sprang for all the Spun Out designs; they just keep coming in handy.

So, my second sweater is poised in the starting gate...ready to start any time...but I have to finish the first one first! Well, I suppose I don't have to, but I want to, so I can evaluate decisions I made about length and width. I have to work Saturday, so I hope to make some progress on those sleeves.

Wool, glorious wool

The dorm boots are done, ready for their bath and then to be added to the Warm Up Box for Cheyenne River Reservation. These were made with Peace Fleece Rugged Yarn in Bedouin Blue--took less than 1 skein. I expected this yarn to be rough, since they recommend it as a rug yarn. My only experience with rug yarn has been Aunt Lydia's rug yarn, which is just slightly less scratchy than fiberglass. But this yarn wasn't scratchy at all; not as soft as merino, of course, but I wouldn't hesitate to pop them on my feet. In fact, if I could wear them, I would be sorely tempted not to send them off! I'm really looking forward to seeing how they feel after a nice washing.

I've started a pair of socks for The Box, using my standard 32-stitch sock pattern. I plan on doing the Sherman heel, though, instead of the usual flap-n-gusset heel. This yarn is a light worsted, thinner than the Fisherman's Wool I usually use, so they'll probably be baby-sized. I wish I could remember where I got this yarn; it's so soft! It's superwash wool, and I'd love some socks made with this yarn for my own self. I thought I got it from Herrschner's, but if I did, they don't have it any more. Bummer.

I've been playing around a little with the dyepot (actually, the dye-Crock-Pot), and made this:

I mistakenly set the Crock-Pot on high and it started to boil (eek!). I was sure this would be a felted mass, but it turned out fine. It was just regular wool, not superwash or anything-whew!

Here it is wound into a ball. It came out a little darker than I intended, but I'm sure someone will like the colors. I plan to make another hat to go into The Box. Looking forward to seeing how this knits up.

Our weather has turned cold, and I am loving my wool socks, and thinking how much I need to make more (and in colors that I can actually wear with my work clothes). Pretty soon, I'm sure I'll get up the nerve to fix the error in my ILG socks so I can get back to work on them. After all, I could have ripped out the whole thing & reknit it by now! Just have to screw my courage to the sticking point.

Pretty soon.

Lotsa goodies

I received lots of nice stuff in the mail today--some knitting-related, some not.

After considering it for months, I finally broke down and bought a new camera:

A Nikon D40; I was strongly influenced by this review. Old camera (a Nikon Coolpix 800) still works fine, but one of the big selling points for me on the D40 is no shutter lag. I have almost no pictures of Yitzhak because she won't hold still; I get a nice shot all framed, press the shutter, and she walks off before the camera takes the pic. I can hardly wait for the battery to charge so I can start snapping away!


I also received my KnitPicks order:



The long-awaited CotLin (Nightfall and Linen), some Essential sock yarn (Black Tweed and Carbon Twist), plus three books: Top Down Sweaters, Simple Socks Plain and Fancy, and The Magic Loop. Some fun reading in store!


Before I try a sweater from the top down, though, I want to finish my Weekend Sweater from the bottom up. It's going slowly:



Once I got a few inches done, I found that my right arm started hurting after a few minutes of knitting. I'm experimenting with different ways of holding the needles, hoping to find a position that doesn't cause pain. Otherwise, I can only do a round or two a day; that's slow even for me!


I've been working on my GBF socks, too. Finished the gusset yesterday. I have to work tomorrow, so I'll save that pic for then.

Whaddaya think, Yitzhak; is this camera faster than you?

Sweater Makin's Have Arrived!

My order from Knit Picks arrived! Look at all that wooly goodness; I'm so excited! Here's the sweater I plan to make:
It's the Weekend Sweater from Spun Out #46, a seamless, yoked pullover with some simple purled bands in the yoke. I have a little bit of concern over how I'm going to bind off the neck stitches. I'm going to have to find something stretchier than what I used with the Lopi vest; it has a bit of a scoop neck and it just fits over my head. If I use the same method with this smaller crew neck, I don't think I'll be able to put it on! I might convert this to a neck-down sweater, since my cast on edge is stretchier than my bind-off. Decisions, decisions. I'll ponder that while I swatch tonight.

Daisy sez: "If I position myself between her cell phone and the mail she needs to post, maybe she'll take me with her instead of leaving me alone today!"

FO, fresh produce, chair-stealing cats...

Several items today to report on today:

1. Mittnz #4 complete! I used Regia 6 Crazy Colors and Elizabeth's pattern (the larger size). Since this is a sport-weight yarn, the gauge is a little tighter than the 5 stitches/inch called for, so the mittens fall somewhere between the two sizes. For the next pair, I'll use up some of the tapestry wool I was gifted. I plan to use it doubled, so the mittnz will be thick-n-warm.

2. Today I harvested the first tomato from my garden:

It was very tasty. I'm pleased to report the tomato plants that were munched on by deer have pretty much recovered. Now I have to worry about birds pecking the tomatoes; last year, the birds ate more tomatoes than I did!

3. My sample order arrived from Knit Picks this week; I spent some time petting the soft wool, then put each skein next to several items in my wardrobe, deciding which I'll get the most chance to wear. And the winner is....Charcoal Heather! (That's the one on the right.) I placed the order today. I'm really looking forward to using this yarn; it somehow feels both soft and crisp in the skein. Does that make sense?

Before I could place the order, tho', I had convince someone to vacate my desk chair:

Hilfy sez, "Whaddaya mean, your chair?"

Happy Birthday to Me Part II

I finally spent the rest of my birthday money (thanks again, Mom & Dad!). I've been wanting to try some bamboo-blend sock yarn, and the Panda Wool at Little Knits looked sooo yummy. Two skeins would just finish up my b-day money; perfect! Only thing is, they have a $25 minimum order, so I just had to buy two more skeins. Such a burden.

I'm really looking forward to trying this yarn; it feels so silky, and the colors are just lovely. That's Aquamarine on the left, and Bluebell on the right. I'm itching to cast on right away, but at the same time, I want to finish my Work Socks. I've finished the gusset on Sock #2, so I'm on the home stretch. I'm planning on working on them tonight, but I might take a little time out to swatch. Swatching isn't the same as actually starting a new pair. It's really quite different, in fact. I'm sure you agree.

I finally finished the Lopi vest this morning; the last stitch has been waiting to be cast off for a couple of days. I took care of that one stitch, wove in the final end, and gave it a nice bath. It is now drying in the spare bedroom; I should be able to show it off in a day or two. I think it's a good thing that I'm planning to do a seamless sweater next; getting around to doing seams and all those last little fiddly bits doubled the amount of time it took me to make this vest!

This morning, I'm told, all three cats ventured outside while I was still asleep. Hard to believe that even one of our scaredy-cats went outside, but the b/f was still cleaning up muddy paw prints when I got up, so I guess it's true. I don't know what got into them, unless it was the fact that the weather was absolutely beautiful this a.m.; sunny, cool breeze, not a cloud in the sky. Beautiful enough to conquer the gravest of feline fears.

One of the intrepid explorers

Not what I expected

I've been reading instructions and planning a sweater for myself. I've pretty much decided on the Weekend Sweater from Spun Out #46, and I picked Peace Fleece DK in Kamchatka Seamoss for my yarn.

The picture on the left is from Peace Fleece's web site; the pic on the right is what I received. Now, I know that colors show up differently depending on monitor settings, video card, etc., and I don't know how things look on your screen, but to me the yarn I received looks darker and greener that the sample shown on the web site. It's not a big color difference, but rather than a greenish bluish aquamarine-type color, it's definitely mostly green. And I don't really want a green sweater. *sigh* One of the downsides of ordering yarn online. I'll probably put this in my eBay store and start looking some more. Schoolhouse Press' Canadian Regal sure has some nice colors. I'm thinking about going with grape, or maybe dark gray. Maybe this time, tho', I should get a color card first.