So many yarns, so little time.

I have been knitting.  Some might call it obsessively.  but the wools are so gorgeous.  How can I stop? I want to see the next combination!    What has me enthralled?    The Edwardian Cardigan.   My version thus far:

I have completed the second tier of blocks.  I am using three colors of Misti Alpaca, two skeins of Cascade Heritage, and one each of Estelle Sock It To Me, Marks & Katten Fame Trends and our own Never Enough Wool.    This project had been in the offing since before Christmas, but I hadn't been totally happy with my original colour choices.   Having swapped out three of the original colours for what you see above, I am totally in love.   Aside from being fiddley, this is a straight forward entrelac knit.  It's the three colours in each section that make it so interesting. 

What else have I been doing?   The Elsebeth Lavold Ylva is completed and drying after it's bath.  I used four skeins of Silky Wool and a 4.0m needle.  Can't wait for some warmer weather!    

As an aside, can you believe this weather?  I don't know about you, but I am over winter.   Give me some sunshine, fresh air and warm breezes.  Please.

I am working on a pair of mystery projects, destined for the 2015 N.E.W. Calendar.   Here is a peek at the second project:

I'm such a tease, aren't I?

Finally, the Building Blocks afghan.   I have completed six squares, with the seventh class and square scheduled for the second Sunday in April. 

I am pleased that my class is enjoying the project and are mostly right with me.   It is such pleasure to teach, especially with willing and happy students.  The afghans are going to be marvellous.

Not much else happening in my life right now.  Just waiting for the ice to go out from the lake, for biking season, scheduling my next visit with family in Michigan and down south, and knitting.  

The Bandwagon

Wow.  It is far too easy to fall off the posting bandwagon.   I did so well, and then there were eight days between posts.  Nine, ten.  And then there were 14 days.  Or close enough.  I am not going back to count.  Just going to clamber back up and try again.  

Since our last visit, I finished up the test socks.  There are from Katia Cotton Stretch, knit on a 2.75m needle.  I quite like the feel of the fabric, as did the ladies.    

We have twelve colours ordered, just in time for summer socks.  The pattern book (which we did not order) shows a bikini as well as a little pair of shorts.  Not so sure about the bikini, but the shorts have possibilities.  In my spare time, of course.   

I also finished up the Sugar Grove Shawl, from the newest KnitScene.  

I used a 4.0m needle and five skeins of Sirdar Flirt.  I was none too sure about this design originally, and ended up frogging and starting over.  The key is to cast on loosely over doubled needles.   Then the first row basically triples the stitch count, followed by a multitude of short rows.  This gives the shawl a really delightful curved upper edge, which means it will stay put on your shoulders.  I like!

I am also working on a couple of mystery projects destined for next year's calendar.  I have photos, but one is only a ball of yarn at this point.  The second one is, as promised, a pair of socks.  Want to see?

Not much to look at yet, but the design is improving.  I'm using some Malabrigo sock yarn! purchased for me by my friend, Morag, and 2.75m needles.  Just in case you were wondering. 

The Building Blocks Afghan continues apace.  Sunday we will have our sixth class meeting, which means we are halfway through the project.  Where does the time go?

The final project on needles is the Elsebeth Lavold Ylva top, using her suggested wool, Silky Wool.  I love this wool because it knits up so light and wearable. 

Can you see where I am?  Yes, that' s right.  I'm casting off!   Tonight this will get a wee bath and then to dry.  Success!    And this means that my 4.0m needles are (temporarily) empty.    Edwardian Cardi -- I'm coming for you next!   Maybe my group of intrepid knitters will have the first finished projects on Ravelry!

Distractions

There has not been as much knitting as I'd like.  When I came home from my visit to my son, Doug really wanted to go skiing.  So did I, to be honest.   I ignored the ice underneath the wee bit of snow on the sidewalk, and off we went.  

The trail had ice too, but it was relatively flat.  I can ski on flat.  Then there was a little hill, but I can handle a little hill. After all, there are big hills in our regular route.  Except that this time the track was icy and fast.  Down I went, landing awkwardly on the ski pole and my hand.  I noticed right away that there was a significant loss of grip strength ...  Three more falls and I was done.  The first was the hardest, and I managed to sprain the thumb on my right hand.  Not a problem since I am left-handed.  I can assure you that the world is right-handed, and being left-handed helps only marginally right now.

While I CAN knit, a little at a time, there just hasn't been much progress.  Instead, let me dazzle you with a photo essay:

"No thanks, Mom.  I'll pass."

"Well, perhaps a little taste."

"Wait--is that the Olympics?"

 "Grandma has a camera,"

"Should I smile?"

Ok.  I'll smile, since Grandma is only here for a short while.

"Mom, can I stop smiling now?"

Not much knitting

So there isn't a lot of knitting going on in my life right now.   Why?

Because I can not resist the smile!  Baby T is rolling over now, grabbing his toes, playing with his toys.  And he popped a new tooth through this week. 

I have a plain pair of socks with me, and am almost at the toes.  Then I am going to start an experimental pair of socks.  Provided Baby T doesn't smile at me, of course. 

I did manage to score a copy of Interweave Knits Harry Potter Designs though, from a nice little shop called Yarn Cloud.   It is a smallish shop, almost as large as N.E.W., and quite friendly.  There was a class in progress, but it wasn't intimidating to me to walk in.  My son was a bit reticent, but we were welcomed warmly.  Perhaps it was because we had Baby T with us ... Anyway, the shop was quite nice, with some of the same yarns we carry, and some others as well.  I managed to resist the siren call of yarn, and escaped with only the magazine in my bag.  It is definitely worth a return visit on my next trip.  

OnLy three more sleeps until I return home.  Sigh.  Already I'm trying to plan a next visit.  I sure hope the kids don't get tired of seeing me!

Another week, another ski

Despite feeling overly busy, I did manage another ski outing yesterday.  It was cold, but I exert a lot of energy when I ski.  I am getting better at gauging the wax on my skis, and getting a better feel for what is "right" when I ski.   I might have to redefine what I consider to be a fall -- currently it is when my bum hits the ground, or all hands and knees.  The last three skis have managed to be fall-free under those definitions.  Even changing the definition to one knee touching, all these outings have resulted in only one fall each.  Things are improving!

In knitting news, there has been improvement as well.   My chunky vest is currently drying after it's vinegar bath.

I am hopeful that the excess dye has rinsed out now.  The first blotting towel turned a nice shade of sky blue.   Turns put that I am a wee bit short of wool to finish the collar.  It was supposed to be eight inches tall, but I only managed five before running out of wool.  I think I am going to pull some similarly coloured wool from my stash and do the underside of the collar in it. The colour is close enough that even if it shows, the change in wool won't be glaringly obvious. 

February's class at the shop is socks.  I worked diligently on my current project ...

Done!    Another gift to be scratched off my list!   

And the afghan project continues apace.  Remember two weeks ago when I mentioned --  you are right, I complained --about the bobbles?   I listened to Barb talk a student through a bobble and realized that the problem was mine alone.   I pulled my square out to look at, and Barb instantly saw my problem.   I not-so-graciously frogged back to the first bobble row and redid it.   It looks much better now. 

I have to get the next square underway so that Barb will have it to teach the next class.  Why am I not teaching it?   Because I will be visiting my grandson!    Hurray!

With the absence of both the vest and socks in my knitting bag, I needed a traveling project.  Doug has been muttering about his need for new mittens, and even threatened to take up knitting himself to rectify that shortage.   To protect my stash, I cast on a mitten project.   

This is a double-knit mitten using an Aran weight wool on a 4.0mm needle.  It looks huge, and I have wrapped it around his hand several times to be certain it fits.   This wool was spun by Briggs and Little, down east, and I hope that it retains the B&L reputation for durability.  

The Elsebeth Lavold vest has not really progressed.   Truth in advertising requires me to confess that I have not even touched it.  Something about the idea of a sleeveless shell in the middle of a cold winter just doesn't feel right, you know?   It might become the travel knitting next week, but my son's family is experiencing a fair bit of winter themselves.   Who knows, eh? 

Still learning

I didn't really make New Year Resolutions this year.  Nor last year, for that matter.  What I DID do was to publicly declare that I was going to try to be more faithful to this blog; to capture my endeavours more faithfully.  I have heard that it requires 21 times to establish a habit.  Since this is only post number five this year, I expect I have a ways to go yet. 

In any event, my regular posting brought up a conversation about said posting.   Didn't I find seeing my projects not changing in my bag cause me to be discouraged?    Not at all; in fact, I was actually enthused to see how they were growing and evolving as the weeks went by.    Hopefully I will continue to feel this way as the year progresses. 

I am working on the same socks as last week, with one small change.

See?   Now it's a sock and a half!   I've even completed the gusset shaping, so now it's a straight shot to the toe.   Since February is sock class, these will be done in the blink of an eye.  One. Ore holiday gift off the needles!

This is the Begere de France vest from last week.  I'm over half done with the front already!   As I (hopefully) mentioned previously, this is a yarn that I dyed myself.  I'm very pleased with the tone on tone look I achieved.  Sadly, though, the excess dye didn't get cleanly rinsed out.  My fingers turn a strange shade of blue when I work on this.   The collar and arm bands are knit separately and then sewn on.  Consequently, this will get a little vinegar rinse, followed by a bath with Eucalan before final finishing.   I seriously hope that I don't lose a lot of colour when I rinse this. 

One thing I noticed when taking photos last week was that I had not worked on my Elsebeth Lavold project much in the preceding week.  I vowed to remedy that, and promptly started knitting on it. 

The back was finished up in no time at all.  I even cast on the front.  And got about eight rows into it when the siren call of my hand-dye lured me away.   It's silly, because I really love the Silky Wool as well as the design.  Perhaps it is the instant gratification of the 6.0mm needles.  In any event, I'll be back onto this project fairly quickly. 

The afghan project hasn't been touched since there was no class last Sunday.  Instead we went and spent an afternoon with my daughter ... Did the full Ikea shopping trip and had dinner.  I was ridiculously excited to see the girl, especially since I had had a delightful visit with her over the holidays.  I really enjoy visiting her at her home and seeing her as a Grown-Up I guess. 

Before going to see Carrie, Doug and I zipped over to Walker Woods and had a great ski.  The wax wasn't as perfect as my previous outing, but it was still great.  Lots of freshly fallen snow and early enough in the day that hikers had not had the opportunity to wreck the trails.  With all the snow we have had this week, I am looking forward to another ski Sunday morning, followed by another afghan class. 

Have I mentioned that I have five projects lined up, ready to be started?   The only thing that stops me is that my knitting bag weighs about 20 lbs.   I can't haul any more projects with me.  Guess I better get knitting again!

Winter Wonderland

Winter. has been brutally cold in these parts.   While I have been known to proclaim that I LIKE winter, what I really mean is that I love snow.  I want enough snow to go cross-country skiing on a regular basis, without any pesky freezing rain to mess up the trail.   I want cold temps, but not brutally cold.  Monday, things fell together nicely, and Doug and I went skiing.  It was the best ski I think I have ever had.  Doug nailed the ski wax, and I was able to get up most of the hills without the constant use of the herringbone maneuver.    In fact, Doug and I were about even in our use of herringbone which has never happened before.   Providing my partner can open tomorrow, I'm off to the trails again!

In knitting news, it has been an interesting week.  I finished up the second set of "Spiced Nutmeg" from "Love of Knitting" Winter 2013.   

The yarn is Loyal, colour 935, from Naturally, and I used a 3.75mm needle.  The pattern suggested 13 pattern repeats for the hat brim.  Twelve was plenty long enough.    There are four lovely young ladies in my life, and one of them will be receiving this as a gift.   "Which one,". You ask.  I'm not entirely certain, and I just might make another set.  One never knows!

I'm plodding along on a pair of socks, also destined to be holiday gifts.  The finished sock has had the heel and toe reinforced with a second strand of 2-ply yarn. 

I am using 2.5mm needles and getting a nice, tight knit.   I hope the extra body in the heel and toe doesn't irritate the unknown recipient. 

It turns out that I haven't knit much on the Elsebeth Lavold top.   Apparently other things have had me distracted.   I did, however, manage a better photo of the armhole shaping and detail. 

It's just a four-stitch cable, but very effective.  Now that I have looked at it again, I don't know why I haven't been more devoted ...

There is a funny story about the next two projects.  I hardly ever knit with 6.0mm needles.   When I saw a vest pattern requiring that size, I thought that it would be a nice change to use that size.   So I did, using some alpaca/wool yarn that I had hand-dyed myself.    (The pattern is "Alaska Sweater" from Bergere de France.) 

I did the ribbing on my 4.5mm needles, no problem.   Then I opened my Addi case and discovered to my utter and absolute horror, that my 6.0mm tips were missing.  Who did I loan them to, and when?  how would I ever get them back?   I fretted all afternoon, and came home and pulled out my set of regular Addi 6.0s and continued on.   I fretted all day Thursday, and Friday, and Saturday.  I made a Facebook post about the missing needles.  

On Sunday I pulled out my afghan project in preparation for teaching my class.   And stood there dumbfounded and open-mouthed as the realization hit me.   My "missing" needles were right there, in my afghan project.     D'oh.    All my ladies and my family have had a good laugh over this little experience.   I have learned to check ALL the projects in my bag before declaring needles missing!

Speaking of the afghan project, here is a photo of its current state.

Square Two is on the right, and Square Three on needles.   So far the ladies are liking the project and are quite enthusiastic.   The design, by Michelle Hunter, is well thought out and written.  So far I have seen only one little thing that I would have done differently, and it is a minor thing.  (The final step of the bobble leaves the finished bobble on the left needle after you turn the work to finish the row.  I would have added a row so that the finished bobble was on the right needle.).   We'll see how the ladies fare in two weeks. 

Barring any unforeseen mishaps tomorrow, my knitting will continue apace.  This year I kept the Christmas stockings out with the intention of filling them through the year.   I have two things for two stockings, and half a pair of socks.  And eleven months until then.  Hopefully I'll have everything done in time this year.

In two weeks and five days I get to go visit my son, daughter-in-law and grandson.  I'm already planning and plotting as to which projects will travel with me.    I can't wait to see them!

Another week ..

It has been a busy week around these parts.   Sunday the shop hosted a yarn tasting party, complete with yummy food and desserts.  (Thanks, Liz, Morag and Rene!)

We sampled a total of 14 yarns of various weights and from different manufacturers.  I wasn't totally surprised to see that Cascade yarns was the hands-down winner.  And one yarn that I loved at the warehouse show was totally disliked by my patrons.  Good thing Barb wouldn't let me order it. 

Projects I am working on include the fingerless mitts and hat for our class.  

I worked on these rather devotedly last Wednesday, to the point that my carpal tunnel acted up.  Not a good thing when one enters a knitting store and sees the owner wearing braces on both wrists.   I've taken a wee break on this project.

Remember these socks?   I have used a reinforcing thread for the heel, which you can't see here.   I hope the recipient likes it. 

The afghan project didn't make any progress as there was no class this week. 

And look at my top!  I am heading towards the shoulders now.  You cannot see the cables around the armholes, but they are there. 

I'm trying to use the Blogger app. for my I-Pad, and I do find it interesting, to say the least.  I like the idea ... some of the interface works quite well, and some not so well.  What I find works best, and somewhat defeats the purpose of blogging from the I-Pad is to do the quick post via the Blogger App. and then log on from a desk-top computer to finish.  As I said, clunky but do-able. 

Anyway, happy knitting everyone!

Eh, oops.

Don't know where Monday went; Tuesday was a marathon, and now it's Wednesday.   Better only two days late than more.

In the last week, I finished the CoBaSi socks --

I used a standard heel flap and then finished them off in my usual length.  In the wearing, they have stretched a bit, as most socks do.  The next step is to toss them in the washer with the rest of the socks and see how they come out.  I'm hopeful, but not overly so.

Having finished up one pair of socks, it was time to refill that little project bag.  

A pair of non-descript socks destined for the gift corner.  I am using Regia Hand-Dye Effect, colour no. 6560.   I have knit previously with this wool, and it seems to hold up well. 

What else do I have in the bag?   

This is the class project for the store -- Spiced Nutmeg from Love of Knitting, winter 2013.   One mitt, sans thumb, is done and the second started.  I would generally have finished up the thumb before starting the second mitt, but I wanted to show my students the value of using string for a stitch holder. Am I the only person who doesn't like to use a standard stitch holder to hold thumb stitches?

Speaking of classes,  I taught session one of the Build a Block Afghan, designed by Michelle Hunter.  The first block seemed like it wasn't going to give my students grief.  Hurray!    And since I am supposed to stay ahead of my students, I took the second square to the 90% stage.  

So far, so good.  I think everyone is enjoying the class, but it is still early days.  There are 13 more sessions, so we'll see how it all goes. 

Finally, there is something in my bag just for me!  This is Ylva, from Elsebeth Lavold.   I adore the simple elegance of this design, plus that little cable design at the centre back. 

The cables really show well in this light.   I'm using Elsebeth's Silky Wool, colour no. 21.    I'm past the armhole shaping (denoted by the orange stitch marker), and have just started my second ball of wool.   This will be a four-skein project -- easy on the budget!  

Can you see those little stitch markers on the needle?   

These were gifted to me by my friend Cnristi, as a "stay well" gift after my surgeries a while back.  They are working well as all my recheck visits with the endocrinologist, surgeon and doctor have been great.  Thanks, Christi!

New Year Resolutions

With the advent of the new year, I thought about resolutions.  Even made a couple -- to pay more attention to the blog, and to use up some stash.   These resolutions work nicely with the business plan that Barb and I drafted for the next couple of months. I think I can keep them for a little while, anyway.

With the Plan in mind, over the holidays I went upstairs, took a deep breath, tied a life line to my belt loop, and went stash diving.  I went kind of deep, and was reminded again of the lovely, lovely yarns awaiting inspiration.  

What I did find, however, was this:   Two partial skeins of CoBaSi from Hikoo. These were purchased to be test knit to see if we want to bring them into the shop.  They are half skeins because I already knit some ankle socks for my daughter-in-law back in September when I was meeting my new grandson.  

I was planning to make this second pair in reverse, but just got frustrated fighting with the yarn, the needles, and my customary winter allergies.  So they have become this:

Barb will claim that the problem was the Addi needles.  Much as I hate to admit it, she could well be right.   There just wasn't  enough sock to make turning the heel comfortable, the needles were slippery, and my fingers were clumsy. Anyway, I've turned both heels now so the hard part is finished.  I have a wee bit of the rose yarn left and I will make up a little flower to decorate the socks--rose for the yellow, and yellow for the rose.  This way they will still be a pair.  Folks on Ravelry seem to love this yarn; I don't particularly like it though.  I find it splits easily and is a real challenge to pick up and repair dropped stitches.   We'll see how Barb likes it, and how it wears before making any final decisions.

What else is in my knitting bag?   I'm teaching an afghan class beginning this month, and it seemed like a great idea to have some samples made.  So I started the first square from Michelle Hunter's original Building Blocks book.

The yarn is old, old Red Heart -- back in the days when it wasn't half bad.  And it had been gifted to me, so it was an excellent choice.  There are five more skeins, so that will be plenty for the afghan.  Actually, I'm contemplating making two crib size afghans, and donating them to the Durham Crisis Pregnancy Centre. 

But wait!  There's more!  

A long time ago, I scooped up seven skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, with no particular pattern in mind.  Turns out that we needed a sample at the store ... And since I had the yarn AND the book, it seemed like a good idea.  I really, really, really like this yarn.   The design I'm making is Ylva (pg. 28 of Book #9), and so far I am enjoying it immensely. 

As if three projects weren't enough, I am also teaching a class in making cables without a cable needle.  The project is a set of fingerless mitts and hat called "Spiced Nutmeg" from the newest Love of Knitting.   I made a sample ...

I find my students like to have me knit along with them, so I'll be making up another set.  Fortunately the young ladies in my life seem to enjoy receiving hand knits from me.  

The down side of having completed a stash dive is that now there are lots of yarns screaming at me that they are ready to grow up and become something.   I have the next five or six projects lined up, just waiting for me.  Does anyone know how to warp the time-space continuum so that I have more than 24 hours in a day?

Squeeee!

I've gotten into the habit of knitting socks for my immediate family for Christmas.  By immediate family, I mean my husband, our four children, and their assorted partners.  I try to start in January and do one pair a month.  Generally, this plan works -- providing I actually hold to the plan. 

This year I did not.  The result was that I spent December knitting frantically in an effort to finish in time.  Then I started knitting in the order in which I would see people.  This meant that I had an extra week to finish up the socks for my eldest and his family.  Whew!

Behold the socks for my eldest! Nice manly socks.  The yarn is Fortissima Socka (col.no. 0040).  I worked a  six-inch leg because I wanted to be certain that I had sufficient wool to finish the pair, as these are for a large foot.  No problem. 

Next up were socks for my daughter-in-law.  

The yarn is a discontinued On your toes from SRK.  Too bad, because it really is a decent sock yarn.  I didn't find it at all difficult to work with.  These got a seven-inch leg because the foot part was smaller.  Still have plenty of wool, actually. 

Remember that these two blessed me with a new baby in August?  Baby Panda needed some Christmas socks too! 

These socks are the cutest, tiniest things I've knit in ages.  32 stitches, and you're off to the races. Notice that they match the daddy socks?   Just makes 'me even more cute.   And talk about a quick project!  Maybe one television show per section.  And that's being generous. 

Anyone care to guess how I'll be using up my leftover sock yarns?

Planes, trains and automobiles

When last we talked, I was looking forward to a visit with my new grandson.  Yes,that was way back in September.   One plane ride (uneventful) and my eldest met me at the far end airport.  the timing was absolutely perfect.   next we traveled via the metro (the train part of our ride) to his automobile, within which we traveled to his home.

I got to snuggle wee Panda, and kiss his little head, and fingers, and toes, and generally anything that came close.  I had a delightful visit with the kids.    I was very sad to come home.  He is a beautiful little boy, and his parents are enjoying him immensely.

Upon my return, I was busy with the store and life in general.   I still can't believe that it's December already.   I don't have nearly enough holiday knitting completed!     

The store was asked to teach a class at the Scugog library again.  This is a fund raiser for the library, and we were happy to oblige.   The ladies are so enjoyable, and the setting is really quite nice.   While at the class one day, I solved a mystery:  How does this happen?

One of our regular customers had done this, and both Barb and I were perplexed as to how it happens.  Now I know!   When casting on, using a knitted on technique, be sure to put your stitch marker in behind you, not in front.   I created my usual möbius twist, so I didn't have to break the stitch marker out.  Whew!  Now I know why I love my Clover markers so much!

There has been lots of knitting in the past two months ... I'll track down my projects and pictures for you.  Soon.  I also promise not to be gone for so long next time.