Playing Catch up

We'd missed Diane and Mary for the past couple of weeks, so it was nice to catch up with each other's project's and lives and not necessarily in that order

Diane has put her Lima sweater in short-term parking and she's going to start a hat for herself in the Mini Mochi yarn. She spent the morning working up gauges. Oddly enough she got a looser gauge as she went down needle sizes. I still haven't figured out that one!

Lois did what I call a "healthy" gauge swatch for the Minnowknits, China Doll sweater she's knitting in Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed. She tried several different needle sizes till she got gauge and was satisfied. I'm certainly satisfied as the designated swatch police.

Mary caught our attention right away wearing her cocoon scarf. It is really cool looking.

She said everywhere she goes people ask her to make them one!

She brought her spiral hat in with a few questions as how to measure and finish it. Her main question was how to measure the length.
I've gotten this question several times, so I took a picture of it with the measuring tape to show that you measure it along the brim edge. I love the color of Koigu she chose.


Mary swatched in the Arucania Ruca for this adorable baby sweater. The book is also by Arucania.





Having been away for a couple of weeks there was "damage control" on a couple of knits to retrieve dropped stitches. This is her Soft & Drapey Shrug knit in Cadiz as the main yarn and she's alternating the same color of Artyarns, but one stripe is Silk Pearl and one stripe is Beaded Pearl & Sequins. Beautiful!
Her linked crocheted flower scarf is coming along nicely and is a great way to use all her different colors of cotton yarn.
Margarita finished her Malabrigo basic cowl within the week. She loves how it keeps her neck warm. She started a Simple & Easy Hat to match. There may even be enough yarn for fingerless gloves.
I finished sewing the buttons onto Michelle's crocheted notions bags. (We bartered. I sewed for her and she's testing a pattern for me - it's all good!) She's giving them as holiday gifts. The Moving Mud buttons are an outstanding accent.
Speaking of which, here's the sample square for her hat (pattern in progress). She's using Misti Alpaca Chunky as the variegated yarn and Torino Bulky as the solid.
Oh! And here's Margarita's diagonal Silk Garden scarf. She's past the halfway mark and I expect will be done with it by next week.

There was a whole lot of knitting (and crocheting) going on!

Finished!

I am happy to share my finished Lace Cardigan by Syvia Raider and featured in the

S. Charles Collezione, Fall/Winter 2008 booklet. Yes, started it last winter, then put it into parking over the spring/summer.

I knit it with Ritratto and Kamelsoft. I'm happy with how it came out. The pattern calls for a hook/eye closure, I think I'm going to use a shawl pin instead.

The Holiday Countdown Begins

Just as I was feeling remotely confident about finishing my planned holiday gifts, I decided to add one more. Gluten for punishment or making unreasonable goals or placing myself under undue pressure???? All of the above it seems!

Every year we go to a friend's holiday party and bring a gift. After first bringing ornaments for a couple of years, I switched to holiday entertainment pieces. This year I just can't bring myself to buy her more holiday chatkes (stuff). So I had an aha moment, I would knit her my Starry Lace Scarf in Artyarns Silk Pearl. And yes, there was a little voice in my head saying, "WHAT?? are you crazy??"

I'm bored with my holiday knitting and am looking for valid procrastination projects. I sent a picture text to my daughter and my friend's daughter for a color check.
While waiting, I asked the input from other shoppers. The red was the unanimous chose both literally and virtually.

So my husband's "Cinderfella Socks" will go on the back burner.

The hard part is done, I'm past the gusset/heel (which took several trying on's - thus the "Cinderfella" name).

I made these slipper boots for one of my daughter's last year.

Now, the other 2 want the same exact thing, color and everything. I didn't love this the first time. And yes, I've had a year to work on this. Oh well, to coin a phrase of my sister's with regards to gifts, "With Lateness, there is Greatness". Works for me!

On top of this, 2 of my kids called me with knitting requests. One was if I happened to have a ready knit scarf that I hadn't given to anyone that she could give to her Secret Santa. Me, of 11th hour fame, have a ready made spare scarf. Seriously?

Then my oldest called to say her girlfriend admired the hat/gloves I designed/knit for her and could I make a set for her. Now flattery goes a long way, and I've been granted an extension to January, should I decide to take on this mission.

The reason I consider these outlandish deadlines and requests...
Moments like this.

Infinity Cabled Cowl

After 58 stitches of Kitchener, I completed the Infinity Cabled Cowl by Dina Mor. I brought it in for show and tell today at Knitting Central. In showing it to staff and customers, I kept trying it on and after a while I just got comfortable wearing it. (It's actually not for me it's a gift for one of my daughters.)
The pattern requires 400 yards of worsted weight yarn. Because Torino has 94 yards, I used 5 colors or 470 yards. I expected to come out longer than the store sample that was made with 400 yards (4 skeins) of Lobster Pot Cashmere.

It turned out to be approximately the same length. It's like a weird yarn magic trick. I know that some dyes can weigh more so that balls of the same yarn can weigh the same and have slightly different yardage. The lobster pot scarf averaged 11" sections. On my cowl, the cream section was the longest at 10" and the black section the shortest at 8.5". The other colors averaged closer to 9". Very interesting!

After talking with a customer who finished her Lobster Pot Cowl, I decided not to knit it on a bigger needle than it calls for. I was considering it because I wanted it to fall a bit looser around the neck. She soaked hers in (cool) water, gently squished out the excess and then stretched it out on her swift. Ingenious. Since cashmere does stretch some, I'm going to knit it as it was written and block it out the same way.

Great Expectations

Things kicked up a notch when Linda arrived. She told us that getting to knitting this morning was like being in a video game with all kinds of obstacles thrown in her path. By the end of the drive, she wanted to get out a controller and blast them.

3 out of her 5 grandkids came in for Thanksgiving and she's going to forward a picture to me for the blog. We were all a little disappointed that all 5 kids weren't there for her, she worked so hard. Maybe we can photoshop the other kids into the picture. At any rate, they are done and she's now started a very simple, knit flat, baby sweater. I'm going to de-program her from her Wallaby state of mind. I think it's going to be harder than I think. I got to change her ingrained thought patterns!
Michelle brought in her finished Infinity Cabled Cowl knit in Lima. It is outstanding! The colors, the texture of the yarn, and the big fat cables make it truly special. She made it as a gift, I wouldn't be surprised if she made one for herself too.
She finished an adorable cotton baby sweater for her grandaughter. I sewed the buttons on because she totally hates sewing. We're bartering ...

She's test knitting a new hat design that combines knitting and crochet. She learned the sliding loop quickly and her crochet knowledge was creeping back into her consciousness!

Janine finished a Lobster Pot one skein scarf, this pink is even more beautiful knit up than it was in the skein. She commented how the one in the store looked different and I explained how cashmere blooms with wash and develops a soft halo. Janine is going to wash it before giving it as a gift. She started a purple scarf for herself and is loving it.
She finished her son's Flap Happy Hat knit in Cascade 128 superwash, complete with pom-poms. I like the added touch of the pom-poms on the i-cords. That was her son's idea.
Margarita started 2 new projects today. One was a stockinette neckwarmer knit in Malabrigo worsted. The second was a diagonal scarf knit in Noro Silk Garden. She was completely happy with both, loved the yarns, loved the patterns. A very happy camper. I love when that happens.
I was inspired by Michelle's completed Infinity Cabled Cowl and came home and finished the one I'm knitting for my daughter. I've pinned it and am blocking it overnight. In the morning I'm going to work the Kitchener Stitch instead of a 3-needle bind off. I may have to take her neckwarmer for a spin tomorrow! I used Tahki Torino Worsted.

Now that I've seen several completed Infinity Cabled Cowls I really really really want to start mine. I have 4 skeins of lobster pot sitting by my chair calling out to me. However, on the other side of the chair are my holiday projects and they are yelling at me.

Thanksgiving Knitting

Ninja knitter finished her Flap Happy hat over the Thanksgiving break. Instead of i-cords, she braided the ties. She knits really evenly. She used Tahki Torino Bulky.
I started the Giant Infinity Cowl in Torino Worsted (I'm using 5 colors). Normally I don't knit one thing at a time. I enjoyed the cable and before I knew it, I was onto the next color. I can't wait to finish my gift knitting so I can make mine!
I tried to work on my Starry Lace Scarf in between cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Not a good idea. I ended up having to take out a few row.
I decided to start a sweater for my favorite baby. I'm making it very simple with a rolled hem and rolled neck. I may put in a "stripe" of lace hearts on the front. Then I'm going to have it button over one shoulder. There are some Zecca buttons I've long admired for a baby sweater.

Three weeks till holiday knitting needs to be done. Otherwise, people are getting boxes of yarn and promises!

Holiday Knitting

In between basting the turkey and preparing out Thanksgiving meal, I'd knit a few rows of my Starry Lace Scarf, knit in Ellyn Cooper's Zohar's Sock Yarn. I got this at Rhinebeck last year and love this colorway.
We got this cool new yarn at Knitting Central that I fell in love with, Presto by Tahki. It's got all my favorite components: textured, variegated, and interesting colorways. Each shade has unique threads plied with the yarn. I worked all morning on an idea for a neckwarmer. Everyone I showed it to, from my dh, daughter and the women I work with had the same input. It was rolling over and under and took away from the cable.
I'm going to rip it out and start over. Aside from the rolling business, I got some interesting suggestions. After all the holiday knitting I've been doing I needed to play with some yarn that had no intended purpose as a gift.

Ninja knitter decided to knit herself another Flap Happy Hat. She knits really well and it's been a pleasure to sit and knit with her. Her Dad even complimented how neat her stitches were.

She's knitting it in Tahki Torino Bulky. She created a cool striping sequence.

Now it's time to begin knitting another gift. I have to choose between socks for dh, slipper boots for Thing #1 and Thing #2, and a Giant Cabled Infinity Cowl. I have a feeling it's going to be the cowl and/or socks. I don't like knitting the slipper boots so I'll procrastinate on that one.

I'm knitting it in Tahki Torino Worsted and have a skein of black to add to this. I just have to decide the order of the colors.