Knotingale's Needlings

Bluebonnets, up close--you can click it for larger:



We continued on into the Texas Hill Country, and almost immediately drove past the LBJ Ranch.  After a brief discussion, we turned around and went back.  Why?  For one thing, the weather was about as perfect as it gets in Texas.  For another, I declared that when we see something interesting, we will stop saying "We need to stop there one day." and start saying "Let's stop there now."  Not that I was greatly interested in a bus tour of the ranch where Lyndon Baines and Lady Bird Johnson entertained politicos, but it was a safe bet that I would find something to enjoy there.



Like an Angora goat?  Doesn't that just change your view of mohair fiber?  Did you know that Texas is the largest producer of mohair and wool in the U.S.?  This creature was in a pen on the LBJ ranch.  He (?) was quite friendly, but I didn't pet him.  I thought I knew what mohair felt like.  It is itchy, or so I thought.  

Since we spent so much time at LBJR, we spent the night in Fredericksburg, TX.  We've been there before, so we had seen most of it.  It is a fairly small, touristy town.  I hadn't been to the lys, so I made a quick stop:



StoneHill is primarily a spinning store, but has some of the usual knitting yarns.  Mountain Colors attracted me, but I really didn't have time to buy anything.  They close at 5 pm, and I arrived there at 4:50.  No problem, I left the store at 4:55.  I took a very quick look, indeed.  They did have local yarn, but at $20 for a 120 yd hank of a wool/mohair blend, I was not interested.  I still thought mohair was scratchy.  

We took a stroll down main st., and I shopped a little.  I found some cute little lambs in one store, so I went in.  There I found an exact replica of the Angora goat, all woolly and grey and with long curled horns.  It was so cute, I bought one with a black face.  (I know, the one I saw had a white face, but the black-faced one had a better expression.)  To keep him company, I also got a lamb, which is made out of cornhusks or corncobs or something.  So now I'm thinking mohair is cute, on goats, but still itchy.

The next day we drove over to San Angelo, one of the Texas towns where we have spent the night while traveling.  We have found a hotel and a restaurant there we like, and just about anything else we might need while traveling.   On the way, we drove through Eden.  I gasped, "stop, go back!"  I had seen one of those places about which I used to say, "We need to stop there one day."  It was a Wool and Mohair broker/supply store.  They purchase the fleece from the local farmers and sell it, usually overseas.  Most of the wool and mohair goes to Africa now, where it is processed and milled.  They had a selection of the finished products, including pelts made into rugs, steering wheel covers, etc.  Of course, I was interested in the knitted items.    I bought a wool and mohair blend blanket, heddle-loomed, with a deep fringe for my daybed.  It was a bit scratchy, but I knew it would be warm.

Then I took a leap.  I bought mohair socks.  I had my doubts, but they were cheap--$5-$7 for various styles of wool and mohair blend socks.  They are Texsa brand (made in West Africa, of course), and I like them.  The itch does not bother me, and the socks are just as knitters describe, warm, not sweaty-making, and comfortable.  I'm glad I tried them.  Now I'm considering the sock class my lys is planning.

That is, if it doesn't interfere with my next trip.  I'm going to visit my daughter, and we are going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  That's why most of my knitting time has been spent on her Picovoli.  However, I'm down to the waist on it, and I'm afraid it is too small.  I think I should put it away for now and have her try it on when I see her.  I may need to rip it out, up to the armscyces, and add a little.  That means I can cast on something else, right?  Never mind the two dishtowels and two scarves I have on the needles--those are small.  I'm casting on for a sweater this weekend.

 Last week we drove over to the Texas hill country to meet with a friend/business associate.  On the way over, we speculated about the possibility of seeing the famous Texas wildflowers in bloom.  We were in luck.  These are the white Prickly Poppies, one of our favorites.



There were flowers all along the roadside once we left the Houston sprawl.  The Texas highway department plants and maintains them, with fabulous results.  In spite of the splendor on the way, I still wasn't prepared for what we found when we arrived...

We found the driveway, and I volunteered to open the gate.  A big mistake, since the persimmon trees which hung over it were draped in catapillars.  They were dangling from little silken threads, and had soon draped themselves over me!  yuck.  But it was worth even that to see the approach to his farm:



The bluebonnets were very pretty.  I was amazed at the profusion of them, considering that they are growing wild--no one planted these.  They would have photographed better if it had been sunny, but a huge storm had just passed over the area.  It was cloudy and damp. 

But then we turned the corner and saw:



I never did ask what that was about.  I figured it was a Texas thing.  Anyway, the conversation focused on work and a tour of the newly acquired farmland.  We rode around in the 'mule'.  (Not the animal.  A mule is a small 4-wheel drive vehicle, similar to a golf cart, but much more powerful.  My cousin has one and once used it to pull out my husband's truck when he stuck it in a mudhole--couldn't do that with a golf cart.)  We really needed the mule.  The rain has an immediate effect on the normally dry hill country.  Can we say flash flood?



That is the 'road' our host constructed at the 'low water' point of his creek.  We drove through the water -- without getting wet, either. 

Texas hill country is very scenic.  Our friend is considering several sites for his house.  He's got to consider the need for fairly level ground, a driveway, sun and shade, of course.  The view is what has him stumped.  He's not sure which of the several lovely sights to choose--the hills, the bluff, or the creek.  Here's one of the candidates:


This is the creek we drove across, viewed from the bluff above.  You can see some bluebonnets coloring the fields in the distance.  

Our trip continued from there, but I think this is more than enough photos for one entry.  I'll continue later, with (as you expected) wooly things.  I don't have knitting for you, since I used the trip to give my hands a much-needed break.  I'm sorry I had to give up so much knitting time--we were in the car for hours each day.  However, I had  the scenery and an audio book to console me.  

A rainy day sometimes means a day off for me.  With so much yard to work, days off are rare.  Today I'm enjoying the rain to catch up on paperwork, cook a little, and, always, puzzle out my knitting projects.  Since I have the time, I can't resist posting a follow-up to my last post, to explain some of the details about my cabled points cardigan project.  

Here are some of the things I learned from this project, with pictures.  This was my second time knitting an applied i-cord edging, but it was way more successful than the first.  The cardigan pattern is from Knitting Beyond the Edge, but the edging is from Knitting Over the Edge.  I didn't think I appreciated Nicky Epstein's patterns, since my tastes tend toward simple designs.  However, I'm finding that her attention to detail results in clear instructions.  What a difference it makes:



I didn't understand picking up stitches as well as I do now that I have followed her instructions.  The edging not only went on well, it was easy and fun to do.  I have been using a crochet hook to pick up stitches, then knitting them with two needles, juggling the hook and needles for each stitch.  It was nice to just use the two dpns to knit the i-cord and do the picking up.  Having the larger, slipped stitches to pick up through helped, too.  I did make one error in the design here.  I should have made the edge stitch a knit, not a purl.  I had to rip out the garter stitch button bands because they folded forward over the cable, following the turn of the purl stitches.  Having a knit stitch on the edge would have let them lie flat.  

The collar attachment was another puzzle.  I think now that a collar should be picked up and knit on, not sewn on, to produce a neat join.  As it was, the sewn seam provided much-needed shaping for the neckline of this loosely-knit sweater, but it was ugly.  I hid the seam by sewing the lining down over it, backstitching through the bind-off row.  This made an invisible attachment:



I had orginally thought I would knit a narrow length of the cotton, like a seam binding, and sew it over the seam.  That was when I thought the 'ugly' would be on the inside of the neckline.  Instead, the seam edges sit against the right side of the sweater, so I wanted a fully lined collar.  The only problem with it is that the collar is thick and does not lay the same as it would if there were only one layer.  It stands up a bit more, so I should have made it longer.  The pattern sample collar ends at the shoulders; mine is about an inch shorter than that.

The cuffs are lined, too, so they are thick.  You can see the bump where the lining ends under the sleeve, but some of that is smoothed out when I'm wearing it.  The bump bothers me, but I don't think there is a solution.  Hems and linings are usually visible under the knitted fabric.  I wouldn't have needed the lining or the i-cord edging to straighten out the curl, if I had used a yarn which could be blocked.  The cables and points don't curl much, so a wool yarn (as recommended) would have solved the problem.

The pattern is a bit skimpy in instructions, and I was disturbed to find that the instructions for the fronts say to put the stitches for the cables on a holder and bind off the stitches after them, but say nothing about what to do with the stitches on the holder.  I looked for errata online--no good.  I did find a review which complains about this oversight and maintains that these stitches should be sewn to the collar.  I agree, that's what it looks like in the picture in the book.  But if that's what you do, why not bind them off?



I found all this confusion before I got to that point in my knitting, but I put them on holders (actually just safety pins, as you can see above) anyway.  At least I have the option of continuing the cables along the collar edge, or knitting a cabled neckband instead of the collar.

I orginally knit garter stitch button bands on the fronts because I didn't like the way the pattern had the sweater close.  It just uses hook and eye closures behind the cabled edge. Then I ripped them out.  You can see in the picture above that I pleated the points a bit, hoping they will be less pointy.  Who needs flare at the hipline, anyway?

That brings me to my final learning experience--my yarn choice.  It was cheap yarn, bought on sale.  The sweater yarn, all of it, cost about $18.00.  The MilleFille, which I used for the lining, is probably one of the better mercerized cotton yarns.  Knitting with it was hard on my hands, but the yarn is smooth, soft, shiny and very colorful.  I'm hoping it won't fade when I wash the sweater.  It is not expensive, but it is a good yarn.   The main yarn is Lion Brand Cotton-ease.  Besides the problem I had with the two different dyelots in the same skein, there was an entire skein that was a different color than the others.  Same dyelot, just different.  The result is that the right front is a different shade than the left front.  I'm hoping it will fade in the wash and not be noticeable.  So this was not a quality dye lot.  I'm not sure about the quality of this yarn, either--although I know a lot of knitters like it.

This is the third sweater I've knit with Cotton-ease.  The first one I frogged.  It was too tight.  Too tight a fit at the shoulders, and too tight a gauge.  I've found that if I go up a needle size, to a size 9, I can get the recommended stitch gauge of 17 st/4".  I knit the second sweater, Sonnet, at that gauge, but there's a problem with it.  I was just beginning to figure out why it kept growing so much wider, when I literally dreamt the answer.

I was reading Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman (EZ).  Here's what I dreamed:

The central figure in my dream was a knitter who resembled EZ.  She lived in England, with another woman, who may have resembled Meg Swanson. They had an 'inside' joke about Knitting Sideways Spencers.  The abbr. was KSS  (notice similarity to SSK).  It was meant to point out how ridiculous it was to do certain things.  I.E. if you were attempting a task that was doomed to failure, you were knitting a sideways spencer.  In my dream, these two were laughing and making fun of anyone who would knit sideways.  Their explanation was that knitting any sweater sideways results in a fabric that stretches out to be wider, rather than longer.  This makes the sweater not fit. A sweater can be longer than it was intended and it is not a failure.  Too wide, and it looks awful and is a failure. These knitters had an embroidered 'sampler' or motto that said "KSS".  I think it was also a play on the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) motto. 

When I woke up from this dream, it still seemed real to me.  I couldn't shrug it off as an odd dream, I thought that there was more there.  Later, a quick google told me that the Sideways Spencer is a pattern in the '04 IK.  A spencer is a short, close fitting jacket. I didn't remember looking at that pattern; I don't even have that issue of IK.  I suppose that I remembered the pattern name from the internet and that the dream springs from my realization that my Sonnet will continue to grow in width, not length. Sweaters knit sideways are easy to fit initally, but become ill-fitting over time.

This sweater is knit in the 'right' direction.  If I'm not happy with it, I'm not knitting another sweater with the remaining Cotton-ease I have.  I'll use it for something, but not a sweater.

First off, I confess that this time change to daylight savings time has knocked me off schedule, as usual.  Add to that Saturday night, when someone ran into the light pole near our house.  The road was blocked off; our electricity was off for 9 hours.  I got NO sleep that night.  I mean, if you had freight trucks turning around in your driveway, would you sleep?  Then came the time change, which always makes me miss a couple of hours of sleep.  So I'm quite groggy this morning.  Which is my excuse for hitting the enter key and accidently posting an entry with just pictures, no words.  Oops.  It's deleted now, but who knows if the feeds will pick it up or not.

I've been fairly busy lately, resulting in actually having something to say.  I've got decent pictures to post.  I have new-found hope that my new camera may work out.  The really good pictures?  Not here.  I think I'll post those later when I'm more awake.  But I do have some others I took a few days ago.

Guess who's been sitting on the stick in the pond?



One of the herons that stop by to fish tried it out!

I was sitting on the patio, watching him walk around the pond.  He was looking for fish, but hadn't much luck.  Then he took off.  I thought he was leaving, but he just flapped down into the middle of the pond.  I was surprised, since I figured if he landed there, he would sink--it is pretty deep.  He flapped back up, then back down, repeating this process, and I realized he was trying to land on the stick.  He made it, and I spent a few minutes stalking him, trying to get close enough to get a decent picture as he floated about.  I finally got too close....



Oh well.  I did find out that part of the reason he looks so unfocused is his color.  All that white is hard to photograph.

As I said, I was knitting when I saw him.  I have been able to knit more and more as my wrists get stronger.  I have made good progress on the cardigan, having finished two sleeves, and the now the back:



I'm not sure how those points on the bottom edge will work out.  I may regret putting them in, but I hope that I can crochet the edges to reduce the curl, and they will look ok.  I've started the left front, which looks like half a back.  

Part of the reason I've made good progress on the cardigan is that I've put aside the mosaic scarf.  I'm stumped on that one.  I can't figure out how to knit the squares mirror-image.  I even sketched it out, but I'm still confused.  My left-right dyslexia is the villian, I'm sure.  I will get back to it, but it's all about the cardigan right now.

They ride around on it as it drifts, feeling perfectly safe as they sunbathe.  I suppose they are.

I feel rather safe myself, in these warm sunny days.  I sat out and knitted for hours, resulting in a finished sleeve which fits.  I started the second one, and hope to start the back of the cardigan soon.  My mosaic scarf is so long that it bothers me when I knit on it, being all twisty and in the way.  I need to bind it off soon and start the other half.  That's half vertically, to make it wider, not longer.  The second half is knit mirror-image.  I can't quite see how it will work, so I am eager to try it.  Knitting makes much better doing  than reading.  

However, I am enjoying reading EZ's Knitting Without Tears.  Now I know what all the fuss is about.  She's really good.  I want to get her other books.  Funnily, while I was reading it, the hub-man asked "Do you usually have tears when you knit?"  No, I don't.  I read about those knitters who cry or throw things in a fit of anger, but knitting is the one thing that doesn't make me cry or feel angry.  Thank goodness.

Regarding how one's feeling, most of my friends are interested in health issues, so I thought I might give you the link to Healthline.  I've been calling it the Medical Minute, but actually it is Phil Ranier's Healthline.  I watch it on tv, mostly, but you can watch the video on your computer and be up on all the latest medical news.  I suppose they have this feature on most news stations.  I think I've seen one version or another when I travel.  I know it isn't unique, but if you don't have it locally, you should check out the link above. 

To pass the time, I've knitted, felted, and shopped a bit.  The hub has begun work on the porch again.  I'm excited to have the porch and equally excited that when it is completed, I will be able to set up my hobby room.  The porch will hold the extra furniture and the spare room can be cleaned and painted, and filled with yarn, books and needles.  That just sounds lovely.  Not yet, but it is coming.

I finished my big 'swatch', the sleeve of the Cabled Point Cardigan (from Knitting Beyond the Edge).  I'm glad I knitted the sleeve first.  I'm sorry I have to frog it.



Putting pencil to paper, I learned that the cable has a gauge of 7 st/in., as opposed to the desired gauge of 4.5 st/in, making the sleeve cuff narrow to 7".  Oy.  I thought I could live with a tight sleeve, but not that tight.  I can get it on my arm, but when I turn my arm, the sleeve moves with it.  That's not right; it makes the cable twist around and look funny.  It needs more ease so it can hang properly.  Not a lot, just an inch, I think.  Now, I'd be hesitant to frog all this knitting, just for that.  I think I need to redo the cap, to make it wider and shorter, but that does not mean I would have to rip out the entire sleeve.  Nooo, but this does:



I know it doesn't show up very well, but if you look (and your monitor and my picture cooperate), you can see a color change, right about where the cable begins.  Exactly right where that loose strand of yarn is, by the red arrow.  That's where I was when I noticed a knot in the yarn.  Now, I've come across knots before in skeins before.  I've learned to back up to the edge, leave enough to weave in, and cut the knot out.  What I didn't know is that the knot could join two different pieces of yarn.  From two different dyelots.  In the same skein.

It's cheap yarn, it's been discontinued, (Lion Brand Cotton-Ease), so I can't complain.  However, if I see another knot in another skein during this project, I will check the color of the yarn carefully before I continue knitting.  With this color change and the poor sizing, I am motivated to rip the sleeve out and knit one that fits.

On a more productive note, I felted the red beret and the swatch of Boku I had knitted in mitered squares.  I'm relieved that the beret felted at all, since the wool was plied with a nylon thread.  It took 4 times through my ancient washer on the heavy duty cycle.  This washer is no modern easy-does-it front loader.  It realllly washes.  We use it for washing rugs, work clothes filled with mud and sweat, and other yucky things.  I have a new washer I use for regular washing, so I decided to risk the old one to the felting process.  I did put the beret in a bag, but after a couple of washes, on hot, with detergent, with first a rug and next some tennis shoes, it didn't shed much, so I took it out of the bag and put the Boku in.  The Boku felted right away, but I ran it through again just to make sure.  The Boku is still itchy, but it feels much softer and has no stitch definition at all.  It is rather thin, but I didn't double strand it, so probably that's why.  It will work fine for a pillow cover.

The beret is smaller now; it measures 9 1/2" across, instead of 11".  I still had to use elastic thread in the brim to make it fit, and I increased too much--it has gathers around the edge.  However, it is much thicker and softer, with a little more body.  I'll pronounce it wearable, and continue work on the matching scarf.  

I swatched for Thermal, with disappointing results.  The Koigu KPPPM is too thin.  I should have known.  Sock yarn won't sub for fingering weight.  I read through the Thermal Knit-a-long, but didn't discover any yarn that I really wanted to buy.  This project is on hold.

The project I'm working on the most, besides the cardigan, is my mosiac scarf.  I don't know which I like better, the pattern or the yarn.  I ran out of one of the colors, so I let myself go yarn shopping at the 'cheap' places--Michaels and Tuesday Morning.  If you have a Tuesday Morning nearby, here's what you might expect to find there now:

Yarn:  mostly fun fur nobody wants, some Lion Brand discontinued acrylics, and Bernat Boa.  I did find one skein of Manetto Hill Yarnery's Chorus, enough for a hat.
Needles:  Singer knitting needles, aluminum 10" straights, in packs of three different sizes that don't go together (6, 10 &13) for $3.99 (for all three)
      Singer 29" aluminum circular needles, in packs of 2, (8 & 10) for $2.79
      Singer scissors, various sizes, various prices.
      A pack of 5 pairs of bamboo straight needles from China, about $1 a pair, with a couple of crochet hooks thrown in.  (The quality is  poor, but I am amused that the size 3 is actually a British size 3, not U.S.  The other sizes are U.S., I think.)
Books:  Hollywood Knits by Suss Cousins (a beginner book, but pretty) and Beyond Wool by Candace Strick (high-end fibers, fairly complex but nice patterns, a little passe, but still usable)  The hardbound book was $10, the softcover was $8.

I also went to Michaels and loaded up on my new favorite yarn, Patton's Classic Wool.  It is a joy to knit, soft enough, good colors, and reasonably priced.  I got another skein of the Natural, which was the same dyelot as the one I bought in Arkansas (go figure), another skein of the dark grey (the wrong dyelot, so I might buy another later if they have the right one), and enough for a hat for the hub and a gaiter for my brother.  I have until Fall to finish these, but I thought I'd try the yarn to see if it works out as I'd like.  Men can be picky, and they have told me exactly what they want.  *shudder*

Back to the Mosaic scarf:  the juxtapostion of the yarn in the pattern affects the way I see the colors.  I mean, if the natural is next to the dark grey, it pops out.  If it is next to the light grey, it blends.  If the light grey is next to the dark grey, the light grey looks blue.  All of which demonstrates the rules I read in The Knitting Experience: Color.  

It is time for lunch here, and then we have to go buy lumber for the porch.  TTFN!

The Mission Falls/Big Bang placemat is an FO.  One down, five more to knit.  I'm making these for our Colorado house, so the fact that I don't have enough Mission Falls 18/24 cotton to knit another one doesn't bother me much.  I don't know when we will get back up there, and can get more there if I don't want to place an online order here.

I will say that out of everything I'm working on now, I'm probably the happiest with this placemat.  I wouldn't change a thing about the design.  It blocked well; it's colorfast; and I'm sure it will be durable.  I look forward to knitting the others this summer.  In the meantime, I've got several little projects in progress right now.  These placemats can wait.

finished one dishtowel, which was based on a slipstitch dishcloth pattern.  I knitted it to test the concept--I'm planning another placemat design.

 

There are two advantages to this pattern--first, the garter ridges run through the repeats, so I can use a simpler border than I did for the one based on the Big Bang pattern; and second, it works well with ombre yarn, which is what I have--the Diamond Fantasy multicolor with some navy blue Sugar and Creme cotton.   

I've got yet another dishtowel on the needles that is based on the Big Bang pattern.  I'm loving this one.  I just mixed up the colors that I used on the first one, replacing the dark brown with a blue-violet and using the blue for the main color rather than the teal.  Both this one and the one above will be mailed off soon to an Alabama friend.  

On other projects, I've got another dishcloth in brown and blue, using the ball band pattern--it's for my La. kitchen.  I'm reunited with my two lace scarves, each of which is halfway done.  Tomorrow, I hope to reclaim my hat knitting book from my brother's house, which will let me start another hat.  Then there's the sweater patterns I'm dithering over.  I've got yarn for three or four sweaters and can't decide which one to start.  It's nice to be so awash with possibilities that I'm indecisive.

When we left Colorado, I was pretty much out of yarn.  I finished up what I had, then begged for a fix.  We stopped in Fort Smith, Arkansas for the night, and I made a quick trip to Michael's.  I had just found a pattern online I wanted to try out, so I bought some Paton's Merino Wool, and knitted it up while visiting my brother in Arkansas.  It is either a big swatch or a beret.



I looked at the Berroco Snowflake Pattern, and thought it would be a quick fun exercise in intricate cables.  I didn't get what they meant about using it to decorate your home and gifts during the holidays.  For one thing, it doesn't look that much like a snowflake to me.  For another, I'd never put several days into knitting something just to tie it to a gift.  

They said it would knit up to 8 1/2 inches across, so I thought it might make the top of a hat, perhaps a pillbox or a beret.  Since I started knitting it from the brim up, I was committed to the design.  Had I knitted the snowflake first, I might have figured out how to better use it, but then I would have had to pick up stitches or sew it together someway.   I calculated gauge, cast on for a brim that I thought would fit me, knit an inch and a half of ribbing, then increased to the 158 stitches required for the snowflake.  I knit the sides of the hat in the waffle stitch used in Thermal, so it's kind of a big swatch for Thermal.  Just in the wrong yarn, haha.  I will probably have to use two different colors of yarn for Thermal, and I wanted to see how the stripes looked in the stitch pattern.  

As it is, the beret is 10" across.  It should fit.  The ribbing just doesn't hold tightly enough.  I'm going to put some elastic through it and see.  If I like it enough, I'll post a modeled pic later.  (If you ever think of knitting a beret, you should read Grumperina's blog.  She's done a series of entries about a beret for her grandmother that she knitted and reknitted.   I'm sympathetic--I've had my own beret woes.)

Nontheless, I enjoyed this little "swatch".  I learned:  first, I'd prefer 4-row stripes in the waffle stitch, as opposed to the 2-row stripes I used here; second, the snowflake is only 6 1/2 inches across, unblocked, so it would probably be usable as the top to a regular hat; (I just can't figure out how to go from less than 100 stitches for the hat to 158 for the top.) and third, the snowflake is fun cabling. 

I finished the gloves and blocked them, just to even out the stitches.  They are from Jane Davis' book, Knitting with Beads...



I'm surprised that they look a good bit like the sample picture--I used yarn with a different gauge.  I showed them to the local knitting group Saturday.

I love this pattern.  The cable is engrossing--I could hardly put them down when I was knitting it.   I didn't much like knitting the fingers, but that is mostly because I'm not totally comfortable with dpns.  I made myself knit a finger each day, and I got them done.  Thank goodness I only have 10!  

The yarn is one of the JoAnn Sensations yarns--Bellezza Collection Tesoro, and I recommend it.  It is soft, not itchy for a wool (and I'm sensitive), elastic, and blocked well.  After blocking, the yarn feels even smoother, but is still elastic.  It's so elastic, you can't see the beads very well, so here's a better picture for that:



The yarn is a heavy worsted, and  the recommended needle is a size 10, to produce a gauge of 4.5 sts per inch.  The pattern does call for worsted weight yarn, but recommends a size 4 needle to produce a gauge of 6 sts per inch.  I didn't like it knit so tightly, so I used size 6 needles for the ribbing and the cable and size 5 for the fingers.  

Remember that beaded knitting class I was thinking about taking?  The lys staff had told me that the class would probably use a kit, and showed me a beaded scarf.  But that was NOT what they ended up doing.  They are using the book I have!

I learned this in knitting group--I've gone to two group meetings now.  I noticed when I looked at the class list they list a "Group Therapy--bring your own project/problem" event twice a week.  I thought this was for consulting with the staff, but it's not, it's just how they list their knitting group.  I joined the weekday group, which was fun, and decided to go back on Saturday to see who else was there.  

The lady who teaches the beaded knitting class was there, so I was happy to show her my gloves and talk a little about the patterns in the book I have.  She's using the book for the class, and has (so far) explained some of the techniques in the book.  She only has one student--that's why I ended up not taking the class.  I was looking for group interaction.  Once I learned that no one had signed up for the class yet, I lost interest.  I didn't want to be the only student--that would make an excellent learning environment, but would not be a good way to meet other knitters.   The knitting group has satisfied my curiosity, allowing me to see other women knitting, and talk about their projects.  I don't know if I will be able to attend any more group meetings in the next few weeks, but I thoroughly enjoyed the two I did attend. 

Our phones have been busy this morning, and it looks like some family, personal, and business concerns are all coming together at the same time.  We will be tied up with these tasks, but I'm sure I'll still find some down time for blogging and blog and journal reading.  I have knitting to work on, too.  I finished the first placemat, using the same pattern I used for the dishtowel.  I have to weave in the ends, and block it before I can show you, but it came out great.  I have another dishtowel on the needles, but I want to switch one of the colors--must go to Hobby Lobby for that.  

Yep, I finished the dish towel--it took less than two weeks. 



In spite of the cheap cotton being hard to knit, I'm ready to start another one.  

I'm not kidding about the second one.  I have a lot of yarn left over, and I could use a second one.  We actually use them to dry our hands on in the kitchen--I just let the dishes drip dry or dry in the dishwasher.  Before I knitted a plain one over a year ago, my hub was going through a roll of paper towels every few days.  You know, wash hands, dry them on a paper  towel, throw the towel away.  What a waste.  Now I keep the knitted dish towel on the countertop and we both use it.  

I knitted a second towel for our second kitchen using the ballband dishcloth pattern, the one that became popular on Mason-Dixon knitting.  That was pretty fun to knit, but this one was more fun, and is much prettier.  I really like the pattern, and the result.  There's just a couple of things I would change.

First, color.  These colors are nice, but I plan to switch them around a bit for the second one.  Although I like the brown, it is too dominant.  That's because it is dark.  The other colors are mid-tones.  See, I'm learning a lot from the "Color" book.  The ideal color set up for this one would have been to use the brown as the main color, instead of the soft teal.  The blue could be a bit lighter, but it's not as much of a 'pop' as the brown is.

Second, the gauge of the border is different than the gauge of the slipped-stitch houndstooth part.  That's why the border and the ends are curling up a bit.  I tried to block it flat, but there's too much difference.

The only other quirk is easy to fix.  The blasted ends.



In this picture (above), you can see how dominant the brown is.  Also, you can see a little of the curling.  But look on the right side.  The pattern instructions say to carry all the colors up the side.  I did, but I didn't like the effect.  The pattern, which is for a wrap, not a towel, has you crochet over the edge to hide it, and make the curly border a design element.  So I did nothing wrong, but I think I'll just weave the ends in for the next one.  I could crochet or i-cord over it, but really, it's just a dishtowel.



Or it could be a placemat?

Actually, I have another pattern in the "Color" book picked out for placemats.  And for another dish towel, I'm considering using a different slipstitch pattern.  I found this one, wich is quite nice, and more complex than the houndstooth.  I might change the border, too, if I can find a slipped stitch pattern that will work.  I'm hoping that using slipstitch throughout will make it all the same gauge

Marnie MacLean has some  very nice new patterns:   a hat  and matching gloves

And they're slipstitch.

I finished my luxe yarn shawl--



I also finished my ratty Picovoli.  Thank goodness. 

The shawl was my project for the Grey's Anatomy KAL.  It was a fairly quick knit, so it didn't last the season.  I used Cosmic Pluto's Simple yet Effective Shawl pattern and these bulky-weight yarns:



Berroco Pleasure, an angora/merino blend 
      This yarn has since been discontinued and is on sale at Webs for about a third of what I paid for it.  I've decided not to buy more, even though the only color available is a good one for me, a medium brown.  This yarn feels a bit rubbery and light weight.  The feel is hard to describe.  130 yards for a 50 gram ball of bulky weight yarn is a lot of yardage, and the yarn is too airy.  I guess it's the angora.
Karabella Margrite Bulky, a cashmere/merino blend.  
     I like this yarn a lot, who wouldn't?  However, it's expensive.  I bought it for another project but didn't need it.  Then I HAD to buy the other luxe yarns to go with it.
Uruguay Chunky, an alpaca/merino blend.  
     This was my favorite.  It's super soft, plump, and elastic.  I'm not happy with the color selection for this project (I wanted a grey), but I'd use this yarn again.  

With two skeins of each, the shawl took 560 yards.  I used every bit, knitting until I was out of the blue-gray angora and then using the black for an applied i-cord edging along the top and for two tassels.


Blocked, it measured about 30" deep and 64" across.  It's a little smaller now that I've been wearing it.  I stopped knitting after only 5 rows of the last garter stitch section.  After I bound off, using a crochet bind off, I decided that the bind off was too loose, and the last section was too narrow.  I had enough yarn left to add two rows of crochet chains.  That and the blocking smoothed the edge down and made it a little more balanced.  The tassels on the ends provide enough weight to help it stay on my shoulders.  I can tie it around me, but I hate to do that.  I feel like I'm crushing my nice, soft wools.

I'm happy with this project.  I can't say I'm happy with the Picovoli, but I'm glad to see it finished.  After frogging and reknitting it twice, I'm tired of it.  Also, the microspun was difficult to knit--no stretch.  Actually, I think the main thing I dislike about it is the fit.  It "fits."  I know it fits as the designer intended, because my daughter loves it on me.  That means it's tight.  In my opinion, the current fashions have confused "fit" with "tight".  The 'style' shows are all about 'fit' as in, "Your clothes should fit."  and "That doesn't fit."  and "The fit is awful."  All they mean is the clothes are not skin tight, buttoned or tied under the bust, clinging to every curve and bulge.  I'll be glad when this trend is over.

I didn't model the Picovoli for you.  I guess that's no surprise.   The blocking helped even out the stitches a little.  You can't do much with Microspun.  I will wear it this summer, because it looks ok, and is comfortable.  If I'd had more yarn, I'd have made it a bit longer, with the increases and the hem the pattern calls for.  However, I was once again running out of yarn, so I opted for a split hem with a seed stitch border.  I got the hem from a Magknits pattern for an off-shoulder top.  In another month or so, after I've forgotten the trials of this project, I have to start my daughter's Picovoli.  At least it's in a nicer color, and will be the smallest size--less knitting.  A final note--if you knit Picovoli, knit it in the smallest size you think you can squeeze into.  Even in a non-stretchy yarn, it stretches a lot.  I ended up knitting the small, which was 4" of negative ease for me.

My current knitting projects are going well.  The dishtowel I just posted about is turning out almost as I wanted.  I thought the blue would be the dominant color, but it blends beautifully with the teal.  The color that stands out is the brown.  Exploring color combos is fun.

The slippers are fun, a soft, cushy knit in Cascade Pastaza (a great heavy worsted weight llama/wool blend), doubleknitted.  When we drove our granddaughter home a couple of days ago (an hour's drive), she sat behind me in her car seat.  I was knitting a slipper.  After a long 20 minutes (for her) of riding, we had this conversation:

she:  "Are you knitting?"
me:  "Yes, I am."
she:  "No fair, you've got something fun to do!"

I'm glad she thinks it's fun.  I hope to make her into a knitter someday.   

Bianca's Jacket;  Airy Scarf

Branching Out;  Corkscrew scarf;  Seed stitch hat

sweater swatch; Spring Fling

Cowl;  beaded glove

Camisole; Midwest Moonlight scarf

Sonnet;   Flower Basket Shawl; Multidirectional scarf

links will bring you to more details of each project.

I wore the sweater yesterday for one of our little Christmas things, and it was much praised.  It's actually red, not orange, as it appears in the picture in my poster above. 

Igot the buttons at JoAnn Fabrics.  I had planned on getting ones with an obvious Christmas emblem, but I really liked these.  I backed them with plain red shell buttons, cufflink style.  I put buttonholes on both button bands, a method which has two advantages:  I can switch to the plain red  buttons when these aren't appropriate, and I didn't have to sew on buttons.  

I noticed that the sweater stretched a little after a few hours of wear.  I'm surprised, since the other sweater I made with cotton-ease wouldn't stretch at all, no matter what I tried.  (It was a little too small, which was another reason I frogged it, besides the fading.)  However, I'm liking the looser fit of this one.  I may try wearing it over a white shirt next.  The pattern, as I probably said before, was Knitty's Sonnet, which I changed from garter stitch to a modified seed stitch.  It's too bad I didn't have enough yarn for long sleeves, but the short ones are working out well in the warmer weather we've been enjoying lately.

I'm knitting gloves, and they are fun.  I never liked cables before, but I love this one.  The beading is easy, too--you just slide the bead up between purl stitches.  I'm using a pattern from my Kniting with Beads book that I've been drooling over for months, and some JoAnn Sensations yarn in a very soft wool.  I've got to admit, a great pattern and luscious yarn really make me enjoy knitting more.  I'm thinking about using this cable in a matching hat, maybe like the one in this set.  With all the purls between cables, I could add some beads!

That last link is to the Berroco website, which I've just discovered has hundreds of free patterns.  I've really enjoyed browsing through them.  It's funny, the lead picture for their fall patterns shows the drop stitch scarf that I've seen on LJ Knitting.  I'm not sure if that's where it came from or if the Berroco designers read knitting!  Regardless, they've got nice patterns, and then there's this one, probably one of the funniest ideas I've seen!

I read a LOT of knitting blogs, but I don't see much on them about the knitting failures.  I know, sometimes there's mention of the failures, and the story of how they were given away to someone who liked them, or they fit better, or how they were frogged and reknit.  In other words, the failures became successes, and the knitter appeared all the more accomplished for having fought the dragon of a bad FO and beaten it into a good one.  However, the failures are never documented with the same degree of detail as the successes. 

Of course, it's not as much fun, exposing the ugly of knitting along with the pretty.  Consider yourself warned, and click me off here if you like. 

As a follow-up to my earlier post about the Bianca's Jacket pattern, I got a response to my questions about the pattern from the Interweave Knits editor.  She said the sleeve is slightly bell-shaped, and that there is a garter stitch edging on the pictured sample.  It's just hard to see the edging.  Based on that, I think my sleeves came out ok, but I might have misunderstood the edging instructions.  Regardless, I'm too happy with the sweater to change it.

The editor passed on my praise of the pattern to the designer, and mentioned that she didn't often hear from someone who had actually knit her patterns.  Well, I just think that's too bad.  I don't doubt her comment, but I think people should really communicate with the pattern designers more often to let them know they're appreciated.  Now maybe she was speaking of this designer in particular, who doesn't appear to have a website, a blog, or even an email--if that's what she meant it's a little easier to understand.  Regardless, everyone appreciates a little postive feedback, right?

Also on the subject of feedback, I found an interesting discussion on feedback regarding a podcast.  The podcaster got a 'negative' review on iTunes, and posted a 'rant' about it in her blog.  The reviewer then commented in her blog and apologized for upsetting her and tried to explain her review.  After I had listened to several of the podcasts, I actually agreed with the reviewer's comments, which were both positive and negative.  Nonetheless, the podcaster took offense to the review.

So, again, the obvious conclusion is that everyone hates negative feedback.  When it comes to my choice of podcasts, I've decided to vote with my ears.  If I don't like it, it gets deleted.  Now I think I'll post comments to compliment the ones I do like.

This was fun.  Here's the how--

I used size 7 needles and a heavier yarn than called for.  The Baruffa Aerobic is about a fingering weight.  The pattern I used (the free one that Interweave Knits had up on line last year--they've since deleted it) calls for 2 strands of laceweight, doubled on size 7s.  Since I didn't have to double the heavier yarn, I could have used larger needles and gotten away with fewer repeats.  The pattern says 7 repeats will produce a shawl 27" by 54".  I had to knit 10.  It didn't bother me, because by then I had the pattern figured out and was moving right along, although there were nearly 250 stitches on the needles.  I took about 7 weeks to knit this, and I was also working on other projects.

I really liked this yarn.  It's 100% merino, very soft, and only a tiny bit scratchy to sensitive me.  But boy it stinks when wet.  Kinda like wet dog with poop on it.

I used a blocking wire on the top, and pins on each point.  I wondered later about using the wires through the points.  Check out Grumperina's blog (second post down, titled Ends and Beginnings) to see what she says about that method.  I think the border on my shawl is a little more deeply scalloped because I didn't use the wires--that is, if I understand her explanation correctly.  

It helped a lot to have those lines on my blocking board to go by.   Now I know why some knitters use gingham fabric under their pieces when they block on a bed or on the floor.  I thought it was just to keep the piece clean, but I see now that they can use the lines in the fabic pattern to straighten the piece.

When I took it off the board, I was surprised at how heavy it feels.  It looks light, but it is not.  I used a little over 2 balls of yarn, so that would make it weigh about a quarter pound (110 grams).

I'm happy with this shawl.  I'd like to make more.  I like the Flower Basket pattern--I was surprised that it really looks like a tiny bud and petals in a basket.  If you're considering buying the pattern, I'd recommend it.  Evelyn Clark's patterns are well written, and I've heard that the pattern for purchase includes instructions for different weights of yarn.  

I'm looking forward to knitting more lace shawls.  They're interesting to knit, go quickly, and look impressive once done.  My hub told me he thought this was the prettiest thing I've knit so far!   I can only use so many shawls, and I already want to make Charlotte's Web and the Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style, and the other Evelyn Clark shawls in Interweave Knits, and this could get ridiculous.

Pattern Source:  Bianca's Jacket, from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits
Yarn:  Artful Yarns Fable
Knitter:  Happy

I bought the yarn for this sweater last May, at the Yarn Garden in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  I had just started reading online about yarn, yarn stashes, and wanted to upgrade from the usual choices at Hobby Lobby.  I bought several different types of yarn, but had no clear idea as to what I'd make with most of it.  I saw this yarn and loved the color, an olive-green and golden brown combo with a blue highlight.  I told the clerk that I wanted enough to crochet a tank top, and ended up getting four balls.  
I've been studying this yarn for over a year.  I had it out in a basket so I could admire it regularly.  I've imagined using it in different ways, but finally settled on something for fall.  After I knitted Spring Fling, I wore it so often that I wanted another cropped cardigan.  Since my Spring Fling is white, I can only wear it in the summer.  I began looking for a short-sleeved cropped cardigan pattern.  I looked through every book I had, online, and even emailed knitting shops when I saw a possible candidate in a blog.  
I only had a little over 750 yards of this yarn, so I was having a hard time finding the right pattern at the right gauge.  Then I bought the Fall IK, and the first pattern jumped out at me.  I knitted this sweater to pattern specifications, with my only real modification being to shorten the sleeve length.  
II tell you, I am so happy with this little sweater.  It was worth waiting for the right pattern to come along.

It's a fairly easy pattern to follow, and is knit in pieces which are strung together and joined by the lace yoke.  After the yoke is knitted, you sew up the underarm seams, the side seams and the sleeve seam.  The last two are really just one long seam, and I mattress-stitched it.  Everything they say about mattress stitch is true.  It really makes an invisible join (Can't see the seams in the picture above, can you?) and is easy to do.  Then you pick up stitches for the button band and edging.  You have to pick up and knit 300 stitches, which is quite tedious--it took me two days to do it, but my picking up technique is much improved after all that practice.  Then you knit 3 rows for the band.  Since I thought the fit was a little snug for me, I knitted 5 rows.  I like the wider band--the 5/8" buttons wouldn't have fit on the narrower one, anyway.

I'm sure the sample knitted for the magazine photos skipped most of the tedious picking up.  It looks like they only picked up stitches in the lace part where they are needed  for the buttons and button loops and omitted the rest of the edging.  They were probably short of time.  Also, the sample shows the medium size on the model.  I don't quite understand that.  I'm sure she could wear the small, which is the size I knitted.  Neither do I understand the sleeves,  which have very little shaping.  I think the wide cuff would have looked strange on my narrow wrist--the 3/4 length falls at a more flattering spot on my arm.

The wonderful yarn is very soft and warm, and probably the perfect weight for the Louisiana winter (if we have one this year).  However, it's not the 100% silk yarn the pattern recommends.  I had to use much larger needles than the pattern suggests to get gauge, but the resulting fabric is not too open.  I was surprised to find that the yarn is actually made of 4 strands of 3 different colors plied together.  The strands separate easily, but I didn't find it too splitty during the knitting.  The resulting knitted fabric is more marled than tweedy. 

I started several projects about the same time, and now I'm finishing them all in the same week.  Of couse, the fact that I decided to finish them by the end of  August helped.

Teva Durham's Corkscrew Scarf, which is constructed of six short-row triangles.  The six triangles make a hexagon.  The repeated hexagons form the ruffles.  What engineer wouldn't appreciate the design?  I think my little engineer will appreciate the cuteness.  It will jazz up her black suit.  I used 2 balls of Trendsetter Yarns Pinot, which is a polyamide strand with tiny fringes and bobbles of fluff, and part of a ball of Kidsilk Haze Night, to sub for the suggested Berocco Quest.  Quest is a furry synthetic yarn, so I felt it had to have a bit of fur, but not fake fur (ugh!).  Hence the Kidsilk.  The "Night" means it has silver sparkles in it.  The black mohair and the metallic sparkles stained and scoured the finish off the bamboo needles I used, but they cleaned up ok.  I'll refinish them with shellac.

 Waterlily Top from IK.  As you know from all my earlier dithering  about what to do with the yarn, I substituted Giglio for the Colinette the pattern recommended.  I'm happy with the result.  This tank fits.  It's also very comfortable.  The nylon ribbon yarn knits up to feel like, well, like a nylon nightgown.  It irons flat, which is why it has that cute ruffle hem.  On the down side, it tends to snag on almost anything.  It will be a while before I knit with ribbon yarn again.  All that twisting!  I worked so hard to manage it, and still had to stop every 20 stitches to let it untwist.  I finally read a bit on knitting with ribbon, and learned to let go of the yarn after each stitch. 

As happy as I am with the tank, I'm equally unhappy with the camisole---

It's just too big.  For me.  It was supposed to fit my daughter.  Oh, well.  I can wear it.  I blame the poor choice of size on my lack of understanding of the amount of ease needed in knitted garments.  Also on the fact that the pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts had sizing for a 32" and a 36".  I probably needed a 34" for me.  I should have knitted the 32 for my daughter.  I knew it was looking big, but it's hard to tell for sure when it is on the needles.  I added ribbing on the sides to attempt some shaping--I should have decreased.  Once I realized how big it was, I just lost interest in the picot neck edging.  I picked up the stitches (the wrong way, so they don't look neat), and just bound off.  I can add a crocheted edging, but I don't feel like doing anymore to it until I decide how (if?) I will wear it.

I should explain that it's knit in Elann's Endless Summer Collection Lara, a mercerized cotton yarn, and that I double-decreased at the neck, in a vain attempt to change the v-neck to a scoop-neck.