Eiffel Tower Shawl

Another one of those projects that is so cool that it has to be started immediately. This is also a knitalong on Ravelry during the Tour de France.

The shawl can be found on the designer's website.

Here is the yarn I found in Lexington.

Knitting Treasury Blog

fancable
Originally uploaded by planetdyann

Melissa and her friend Paige want me to knit laptop covers to protect their laptops while they carry them back and forth to college classes, so I started looking for really cool cable patterns last night.

During this search I ran across this awesome blog that is recreating swatches of the stitch patterns in the Barbara Walker Treasury of Knitting books. Some of these stitch patterns are take your breath away beautiful. Now I need to try to find these books.

Local Yarn Shop Finder

No more searching for local yarn shops when I travel. Not that I travel often, but when I do it's nice to know where to find yarn for a souvenir.

http://www.knitmap.com/

Pink Christmas Scarf

This year for Christmas I'm knitting scarves for everyone. I really liked this pattern, but didn't want it quite so wide, so I changed the pattern.

I cast on 41 stitches and worked the first rows according to the pattern. For the lace part I created this chart to make the design work out.


KEY:
K=Knit
O=Yarn Over
/=Knit 2 Together
\=Slip Slip Knit
I misnumbered the rows as well. These are the right side rows, the wrong side rows are purled. So the actual lace pattern has six rows.

The end result is here blocking.

Knitting Obsession

Members of my knitting group just watched this video.
Here's their response:



"She reminds me of Jackie for so many reasons - obsessive knitting, knitting wherever she is, she's literally on the edge, she's determined (read stubborn)and I've even seen Jackie's hair look like hers!"

I haven't decided yet if this is good or bad.

Just When I Think Life Couldn't Get Any Crazier

Laugh of the day.

I carpool to work most days which gives me the luxury of knitting while Beth drives. This morning I got in the car like normal and about 1/4 mile down the road picked up the socks that are almost finished, but something felt wrong. Why was the yarn heading out the car door?

Sure enough the socks were in the car, but the baggie with yarn in it was somewhere out in the road.

Thank goodness I was almost finished with the socks and not just beginning. Otherwise I would have had a trail of yarn going all the way back home. Hopefully this is not an omen.

Finishing Knitting Projects

Since realizing just how many knitting projects I have started, I've been working hard to finish some of them.

The yoga mat bag was the easiest to complete once I resolved the not enough yarn issue, so I ripped out the strap and used that yarn to finish the bag. Instead of knitting a strap, I braided one from the Navaho rope directions in Shear Spirit. So one project is finished except for the drawstring around the top and that doesn't count. Sorry for the blurry photo and the cardboard tube used as filler, but that's what was available.

Then I started on the couch pillow that was mostly finished, only now it isn't. I learned the proper way to make a seam and got excited, but when I put it on the pillow form, I was even more dissatisfied with the flap that buttons down. Since that was the first part knit, I refuse to rip out the whole pillow, so I think I will try unraveling it at the color change, pick up stitches and reknit the flap differently. Isn't the right seam so much prettier? Well at least it is neater.

From Other Blogs

I picked this up from Eastside Farm Chronicles and want to keep it where I can get back to it, so here goes.

The Wolves Inside You

A Parable

An elder Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith."

"This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too", he added.

The Grandchildren thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied... "The one you feed."

And from Rosemary-go-Round my next knitting project. I have the yarn in my stash and this one's a keeper.

Knitting Has Gotten Out of Hand

When I woke up this morning the first thing I saw was yarn and knitting needles. Then I started counting works in progress. Yikes! There were seven projects within reach and 5 more that were hiding in a box just out of sight.

Granted 4 of these projects just need to be sewn together and have the ends woven in to be complete. For one I need a larger circular needle than I have right now. One I ran out of yarn and am trying to figure out how to work around that; the dye lots I can find are way off the original, so the handle may get a new color. I cast on a pair of socks for Ashley to knit this weekend that somehow ended up back in my pile of knitting even though I'm positive that I gave them to her and showed her how to do it.

For some reason there is something in my head that just can't wait to start the next new project. Who cares if there are a dozen in varying stages of completion waiting my attention? It must be a sickness, but is there a cure? Help!

Just What I Need

This post is for reference for an upcoming trip to Athens, GA.

The Cat's Meow
2141A w. Broad Street
Athens, GA 30606
+1 (706) 316 2130
Owner: Heather West
email: thecatsmeowyarnshop@hotmail.com
This is Athens' first yarn store. The Cat's Meow is a full-service shop with frequent classes, weekly knit-ins, and helpful, friendly and knowledgeable staff. The yarns carried here are high quality (Noro, Debbie Bliss, Brown Sheep, Elsebeth Lavold among many others) and there is a large selection of novelty and baby yarns as well. Different brands of needles in a wide range of sizes (Clover, Crystal Palace and Addi Turbos) and knitting notions, books and patterns are also available. This store is a must for any visitors to the Athens area.

Knitting - Lessons Learned (Maybe)

A friend of mine is extremely precise in everything she does. She checks and double checks to make sure she has the right materials and processes before she starts anything. I could learn from her.

I found a pattern on Ravelry for a scarf that I wanted to make as a Christmas gift. It was knit in lace weight yarn which I have plenty of since I ordered a sampler package from Knitpicks. I picked a color I though would be good (a baby alpaca/silk blend), cast on and started knitting. At the end of the first repeat I looked at what I had knitted and was not at all satisfied with the result.

Time to rip it out and pick another yarn, this time a merino with more loft than the alpaca. I finished the swatch and again it looked terrible.

I ripped it out again and moved up to a fingering yarn. I had some sock yarn leftover that I thought would be enough to make a scarf. Again after the first repeat I still wasn't satisfied with the result. It was better, but still didn't look right. At this point I stretched the fabric and compared it closely with the photo in the pattern.

Aha! The problem was that my yarnovers didn't twist. It totally changed the look of the fabric. So once again I ripped it all out and pulled out my trusty Readers Digest Guide to Needlework. It stays on the table beside my bed, so I can refer to it when I have a how-to question. I was working yarnovers for a purl lace, exactly backwards of what they should have been.

Last time was a charm. It looks, well, like it's supposed to look. When I got about halfway through the scarf, I laid down the knitting needles and read the size. My short blue needles weren't size eight, they were size ten. The lace weight yarns probably would have worked perfectly with the proper size needle.

Ultimate Relaxation

Sitting in a canoe in the middle of a lake, knitting and drifting. I wish I could do this every night. If only I could turn my pond into a lake, I'd have it made.

Knitting Two Socks at One Time

After knitting two pairs of socks, I thought I'd try two at the same time, so I don't have to force myself to knit the second sock.

It took knitting for several inches before I got control of the two strands of yarn and cables and could easily pick things back up when I put down the needles. In fact I had to take out several rows because I started knitting backwards and didn't catch it until it was time to change needles. The heel didn't work exactly right, it was very awkward, but I'm past that now, just need to finish the foot and toe.

I do like the idea of having both socks done at once, but I'm getting bored with them, so I started a lace project too.

This weekend was spent fixing strawberries, working in the yard and knitting lace. We went to Marcum Farms and picked seven gallons of berries. They were great, but I noticed later in the day that another farm less than a quarter mile up the road had berries for $6 a gallon rather than $9, just in case anyone wants to pick strawberries.

Here is a quick picture of the lace stole I'm working on. It's like knitting a cloud. The lace is so light and soft. The yarn is Kid Seta by Madil Yarns from ReBelle Girls in Lexington. It is 70% kid mohair, 30% silk and it is luscious. My new camera is on the blink, so none of these pictures are very good. I apologize for that.

Knitting Socks

Knitting has never been my thing just because it was always soooo slow. But thanks to Learning 2.0 I found a couple podcasts that talked about techniques to increase speed. Eastern offered a Knitting Class which Debbie, Beth and I all signed up for and I've now completed my first ever pair of socks.

Actually before this the most I had ever made were some little Christmas ornaments and a washcloth. But I guess I'm hooked now, because I'm almost done with another pair of socks and about half done with a sweater for my great-niece.

Just what I needed was another hobby.

Cat Bordhi demonstrates Judy Becker's Magic Cast-On

I'm learning to make socks and this video shows a really easy way to cast on the first row for the pattern I'm using. Since I had a hard time finding it again, I thought I would post it here.