All Knit and No SheepDesigns by Counting Sheep Studio

I've Moved!

2009-01-20T16:09:00.001-05:00

This Blog has a new home. Please bookmark it and check back with me soon!

Elizabeth

Wrapping Alison in Comfort - Blanket Project

2009-01-13T13:24:00.011-05:00

Hi Friends,

I'm writing this post to ask for your help. A very dear, sweet knitterly friend is very ill and in need of some comfort. Her name is Alison Hyde, she is the author of the wonderfully beautiful & inspirational book "Wrapped in Comfort". She is one of the most selfless knitters I've met, it seems she is always knitting a gorgeous shawl for someone else. If you know her, you know what a sweet, loving person she truly is.

Of course Alison herself best sums up the powers of a selfless gift, this excerpt is taken from her blog, posted on Dec. 7th, 2008:

"After all, just think of someone who went out of their way to do something uncommonly nice for you, and doesn’t it lift your spirits years and years after the fact? That teacher who believed in you. The friend who gave up her time to listen when you needed it. The stranger who smiled hi in passing on the day you most needed it. That provides motivation, years after the fact, to go and do the same for someone else.

We knitters have an edge in all that. What we make and give is a tangible reminder of how we feel about someone, a way to bless them over and over and over, bringing a smile to their face as they put the shawl to their back or socks to their feet, feeling warmed and thought about.

That’s powerful."

What I'd like to do is to wrap her in comfort by sending her a blanket created with loving stitches made by some of the many people/friends whose lives she has touched in some way. If you would like to participate, please do the following:

1) Drop me an e-mail to either countingsheep@bellsouth.net or elizabeth@countingsheepstudio.com and let me know you will send a square.
2) Knit OR crochet a square. The only requirements are to use something washable and to make it a finished size of 5". Please use whatever color/pattern you like & think Alison will enjoy, however, please do not use very bright colors. You can use a fingering weight yarn doubled, a dk or worsted weight, as long as you make it to size.
3) Deadline: Please send me your completed square by January 31st (or let me know it's on the way!), as I'd like to get this to her as soon as possible.
3) Mail your square to my LYS (where I am employed):

Purl's Yarn Emporium
Attn: Elizabeth
10 Wall St.
Asheville, NC 28801

After I receive your e-mail of interest, I will respond back to let you know you will be included in the blanket. Thanks for listening, please also send prayers and good healing thoughts to Alison & her family.

You can read updates about what is happening at
Spin Dye Knit, Alison's blog.

'Kathy's Shawl' from Wrapped in Comfort

The Knit Goes On....

2009-01-02T17:00:00.011-05:00

And on. Well, we’re back from our vacation to Philadelphia. It was David’s first time back since we moved down the NC nearly 3 ½ years ago. I was joking with him on the turnpike, “it’s your LAST CHANCE to turn back honey!” and things like that. He survived just fine and even had 2 nights of wonderful hoagies, which they just don’t have here in Asheville.

I’m finding I like the city better as a tourist, and I played the part, taking pics just about everywhere we went. We spent a day downtown and I really enjoyed it! I love the old architecture and the interesting play of old with new. The Art Museum was amazing as always, I only wish we had had more time to spend there. I did visit one yarn store in downtown Philly, called Rosie’s Yarn Cellar, and the name is serious, it is in an old cellar. It was a good thing I had the address or we never would have seen the sign. It was a nice shop, a good selection of higher quality yarns, nice displays. I purchased some Koigu for the Lotus Leaf Mittens, and then sadly left since I was with 3 non-knitters. I recommend it if you visit Philly, there are 2 others in the downtown area I have yet to see. Maybe next time.

Our visits North are always like Disneyland for Sydney, and of course this was no exception. She had a blast and was pretty sad on the long ride home. As was I, but it is what it is. I’m still hoping for those teleporters like the ones they had in Star Trek, since it seems most things from those shows comes true at some point. (Remember the gigantic cell phones they had??)

Of course there wasn’t much knitting that got done on the trip. The main thing I worked on was the Morgan cap for my brother. I was planning on knitting Mars for him, but he specifically requested a ‘Jeff’ cap. This is an incredibly clever pattern, it really keeps you on your toes and there’s no ‘mindless’ areas, as far as I’m concerned. The construction is just brilliant! I just need to get a plastic thingy to fit into the peak, then to wash and block. I just hope it fits!!

I was working on Sylvi on the car ride home, just cruising along with the seed stitch front. I got a little too smug, thinking, ‘wow, I’m almost done this front already!’, then realized the next day that I had forgotten to slip the first stitch on the right side. Then I thought, well I can just seam it up and no one will know. Looked at the pattern. Yes, there is a reason for the slip stitch, of course. Mari Muinonen (the designer) actually has the seam showing on the outside. Oh, drat. Then I think about it some more and I’m hoping I can just drop the stitch and carry it back up the right way. The only confusion is how I get it to ‘skip’ a row. Hmmm….any thoughts? This may be on its’ way to the frog pond.

I’m back at designing a new sweater, and just decided to dive in headfirst yesterday. I think I like the way all the different elements are coming together now, after all my swatching insanity (see pics). I’m just about to the point where I can do the actual knitting, and I’m getting excited! She’s going to be a beauty!

Let 2009 be the year you find your true Self, and live up to your own standards.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T19:16:00.004-05:00

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Holiday Season. We're away in Philadelphia right now, be back soon with more projects to share with you! Since I think it's worth a repeat and because I'm away, here's Sydney's Santa photo from last year.

Blessings,

Elizabeth

5 Minutes of Fame....

2008-11-18T18:54:00.002-05:00

My Green Man Beret got a mention on Lime & Violet's blog!! Squee!! If you don't know Lime & Violet, they are a hilarious podcasting duo, (often joined by friend Karin), that talk about knitting, yarn, life and just anything that happens to them. Be warned, listening to them is addictive! You can download their podcast here.

Thanks, ladies!!

Green Man Beret

2008-11-15T20:03:00.007-05:00

At long last, I present you with the Green Man Beret! This one was a while in its' creation, but it was a very enjoyable process. As I've mentioned, he seems to be all over here in Asheville, in many incarnations. I'm sure most designers are inspired by nature, it's rather hard to not be here in the gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains.

Here's a bit on the inspiration, as adapted from Jack of the Wood's website, a local bar and overall good time hangout.
The face of the Green Man, or Jack of the Wood can be found adorning churches over much of Europe. Very little is known of the Green Man. It is said that he represents the male counterpart to the Goddess of the early European pagans. Fertility, nature, death and rebirth are strong themes of the Green Man.
The Green Man stares down on us from the boughs of trees and the spires of cathedrals reminding us that nature is ever present and we are always at its mercy.
This is my knitted interpretation, to bring a little green into your life.

Materials:

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed (192 yds.), a dk weight wool/silk yarn - 1 skein each of colors #45 Forest (MC) and #54 Coffee Bean Brown (CC)
Needles: US size 4, 16” circular needle and US size 4 dpns, or size needed to get gauge
Gauge: 24 sts x 36 rows = 4” Please note I’ve used a smaller needle size than recommended for this yarn, since I liked the slightly denser fabric it produced. If you substitute yarns, keep this in mind.

This is an intermediate pattern, you will need to be able to follow chart, as well as create basic cables. You can purchase this pattern from my website, following this link: Green Man Beret at Counting Sheep Studio, or as a Ravelry download: Green Man Beret on Ravelry.

Thank-you for your support and comments, they mean so much!

Attack of the Hungry Geese....

2008-11-12T09:11:00.005-05:00

You know…deadline knitting is just not fun. I’ve decided. The owner of Purl’s and I are trying to finish up something really neat for the store window, for the Holiday contest. The problem, it needs to be done by this Saturday!! Yikes! I’ll leave you a little teaser…it’s more of a ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe’ kind of holiday theme we are going for…..

In spite of that, since my poor hands were hurting from all that cotton yarn on teeny dpns, I decided to start my future SIL’s shawl. (Yes, I know I’m insane, thank-you very much.) I had wanted to have this finished my Christmas, since that’s when the shower is, after several hours yesterday, I only have, ahem….8 rows done. Wow, this is going to take a little bit, huh? On top of that, there are BEADS, about 500 of them, throughout the shawl. Sorry, I know I shouldn’t be doing all this chatting about projects with no pictures! Soon, I promise. You can see the shawl pattern here: Sivia Harding Moonshadow. Plus, the yarn that I’m already in love with is here: Little Knits Indie II.

I will give you a couple shots here of a super quick cabley hat you can finish lickety-split for someone special over the holidays. It’s called Twisted Lattice Cabled Hat, by d-made. She has several other nice, free patterns on her site, go check them out!

Sydney was off from school yesterday, we went over to Lake Tomahawk, over in Black Mountain. This is a beautiful small lake with a playground, only about 5 minutes down the road from our house. Well, we got there and it was fr..ee..zing!! I let her play for nearly an hour, then we tried to walk around the lake but it was just too cold. We were accosted by hoards of geese and ducks, of every kind it seemed, and all I had were some measly crackers and bread crusts from my lunch.

This bunch started running at me when I whipped out my camera, and would have eaten that if I let them, I'm sure.

The duck families showed up too to see if I had anything for them.

Sorry guys! Next time I'll bring you a whole loaf of bread, I promise.

Day Tripper Bag - Free Pattern!

2008-11-04T09:38:00.008-05:00

This is a simple knit bag meant to hold just those few things for a fun time out on the town; it also works well as a nice small project bag. I wanted to showcase some of that fun ribbon yarn you see at your LYS, it’s also perfect for using those bits of precious handspun yarn we all tend to accumulate.

An easy knit, the main body is a knit in the round, the pattern is created with dropped stitches. The shaping happens when you add a drawstring at the end. The bottom of the bag is picked up and knitted with dpns.

Materials
Ribbon Bag
-2 skeins Louisa Harding Sari Ribbon yarn, Color #16 – 66 yds. per skein
(Note: I used very little of the 2nd skein, you could use an alternate yarn for the bottom of bag/handles if desired.)
-Size US 8 (5 mm) 16” circular needle, size US 7 (4.5 mm) dpns
Handspun Bag
-130 yds. of an aran weight/bulky handspun yarn, my yarn was approx. 9 WPI
-50 yds. of matching yarn for bottom of bag and handles, if desired
(I used Urban Silk, an aran weight 80% silk/20% cotton yarn, 92 yds. per ball.)
-Size US 10 (6 mm) 16” circular needle; size US 8 (5 mm) dpns
-Stitch marker
-Optional decorative button

You can follow this link to Ravelry download: Day Tripper Bag - Ravelry

Or you can follow this link to my website and I'll e-mail you the pdf:

Day Tripper Bag at Counting Sheep Studio

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoy it!

Twistin' & Shoutin' on Abbey Road

2008-11-03T19:29:00.003-05:00

It's finished!

Pattern: Twist & Shout by Robynn Weldon; published in Knitty, Fall 2008

Yarn: Classic Elite Waterlily, color #1925, Abbey Road (this is the same yarn I made David's Koolhaas out of, see last post)

Needles used: size US 7's

This was one sweater I just had to cast-on for as soon as I saw it. My LYS owner kindly said I could make one 'for the store', and I quickly agreed. She let me use this amazing Waterlily yarn, it is an incredibly soft and plush wool yarn that has these subtle color variations that I adore. The color is like a soft rose, a bit closer to red than pink. It definitely had a much 'woolier' smell to it after washing, which I like.

The actual knitting was fun and relatively straighforward, you just need to pay attention to where you are with all the shaping that is going on throughout the pattern. I decided I would get more use out of it with full length sleeves. The tops close with two buttons, one inside, held with a button loop, and a more decorative one outside. Robynn includes a link to a very smart technique using crochet to stabilize the inside neck area, to help hold up the jacket a bit. Which I needed, because this jacket got quite heavy with all 20 balls of yarn that I used!!

Overall, I'm thrilled and I think I will wear this a lot once it does it's trip to my LYS. It also looks very lovely with the fronts open, and it will never go out of style!

And a Good Time was had by all....

2008-10-28T08:54:00.007-04:00

I got to visit SAFF this year and it was great! We made it a family event, so the hubbs and the kiddo came along with. I could have easily spent the whole day there if they weren’t with me, but it was probably better for my pocketbook that hubbs was there!

Some highlights:
This absolutely *adorable* little pygmy goat that was but a foot off the ground, prancing and hopping about outside the front doors. Her name is Star, go figure!

Petting the angora bunnies, and seeing and petting some of the sheep. I was particularly impressed with the Jacob sheep, they are all very unique.

There was WAY too much beautiful yarn to take it all in with the limited time I was there. I did manage to snag a couple skeins from Brooks Farm, and it is quite lovely.

I also found these cool free-form pottery buttons from Annie’s Sweet Handspun; I loved these and had a hard time picking just 3!

I stared and admired all the spinning wheels; I have to say I think the Kromski wheels are the best looking…someday! Though as far as what people were actually spinning with, the Lendrums seemed to outnumber any others.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. I met some super nice people and my only hope is I’ll have another day to go next year!

Closing in on my Twist & Shout jacket, look for the photo shoot this weekend!

Here's a couple of fall shots from our hike.

Then this morning, we woke up to an early greeting from Old Man Winter…..

Chocolate Covered Pear aka The February Lady Sweater

2008-10-21T19:04:00.000-04:00

Hi! Yes, I know, all these sweaters lately. Well, I suppose that's one good thing about being a non-monogamous knitter, is all these projects get DONE, eventually. I started this one a while ago, after Flint Knits so kindly posted her 'grown-ass woman' version of the beloved February Baby Sweater by knitting icon Elizabeth Zimmerman. I hopped, jumped, leap-frogged right onto that bandwagon with this amazing hand-dyed merino wool I'd had in the stash for a little while, just waiting for the right pattern. This was it, baby.

For anyone contemplating this sweater, I think it's possibly my favorite thing I've knitted yet. I....Love....It. After a false start, (yes you really DO need those stitch markers to tell you where the increases go at the top), it was pretty smooth sailing. I also think I'm in love with top down sweaters. A note about making it, go for smaller than you would normally, since this will grow on you when you block it. Mine grew a LOT. About 3" in length. Luckily, I had made it a wee bit too short, and I was thrilled when it grew all on its own.

Once you hit the lace bit, all zombie knitting from there. Really, you just need to remember two rows, the WS rows are all purl. If you're wondering where I purchased this lovely yarn, visit Knitted Wit. She's wonderful, I'm looking forward to a future sweater colloboration with her amazing dying talent!

I highly recommend you go out & buy some yarn and make this sweater!

Seascape

2008-10-12T16:51:00.000-04:00

This sweater is worthy of its own post, if a bit overdue. Seascape by Fiber Fiend was my sweater project for the Ravelympics, which started while I was still up in Philly. Considering my first sweater (the good ol' Sienna Cardi) which was finished over the course of 6 months in February of 2007, I think creating this one in a bit over 3 weeks is pretty darn amazing.

So, what was it like?? Well, first of all, you've got to love Malabrigo merino wool yarn. I don't care how allergic people claim to be of wool, if they touch this stuff, they'll be cured. Putting on this finished sweater is like giving yourself a big hug, incredibly buttery soft. Most of you know how lovely it is, if not, go get some!! I'd also love to try their Silky Merino someday....

The actual knitting part was fun, fun, fun! The sleeves are stockinette in the round, but they have this traveling cable that curls all the way around the arm, which kept it fun. The body proved a bit more challenging. A lot of my frustration came from my Denise needles, which weren't the best for the large amount of yo's I needed to put on to achieve the dropped sts. I would recommend a more slippery needle choice, of course it also depends on your yarn.

There is waist shaping, then you create this huge, open sort of 'looking glass' piece in the back, flanked by more cables. The front cable is easy and basic, you just need to pay more attention when working the back pattern. Parts of the pattern are intuitive, but there were definitely times when I just had to trust the designer.

For me, the most difficulty came after I joined the yoke, and I just had to really think about what I was trying to achieve. There wasn't anything I couldn't figure out, just a couple of 'huh??' moments. Then it all came back together and I had this gorgeous sweater there!! The saddle shoulder was an interesting technique, I just love the way it looks. I went with a bit of negative ease, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, the fitted shape is very flattering.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to an adventurous knitter, looking for something different. I don't think you'll see too many of these around! I also think it's a nice pattern for showcasing those variegated yarns that many of us have. Way to go Margit! Thanks for a great pattern!!

Autumn Shivers....

2008-10-03T20:09:00.000-04:00

Hmm, that kinda sounds like the name of a sweater! Well, I'm still here. I've actually been knitting a LOT, and I'm very close to finishing both the February Lady Sweater and the Twist & Shout sweater from Fall Knitty. Both have been tremendous fun and I would highly recommend either pattern. Looking forward to finishing and doing my photo shoot!

I'm also close to finishing the knitting part of my latest pattern, which I will call 'Green Man Beret', for the obvious reasons. There is a great bar/restaurant here in Asheville, called 'Jack of the Wood' - the green man seems ever present here in the mountains.

Jack of the Wood one of those places where you always make a new friend. The music is great, mainly bluegrass, but it's just people who wander in and just start playing together. The last time I was there they had 3 different fiddlers! Too fun. It just makes you want to get up and dance.

In spite of all that, I couldn't resist pulling this yarn out of the stash and casting on for a 'I don't know what it is yet'(see photo at top). I'm playing around with some lace patterns from my vintage Vogue book, thinking perhaps a vest?? The yarn I purchased nearly a year ago from a wonderful company in TX, called the Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Co. I wish they would get a website, they have some amazingly soft yarn in equally amazing colors. I was able to get it as SAFF, which is a wonderful fiber fair that is coming to Asheville this month.

I'm loving fall. The nights are so chilly here, there's nothing better than bundling up in the morning in my fluffy robe with a cup of coffee and standing on my front porch as the steam rises off. My 6th wedding anniversary is coming too, on October 20th. I'm going to do the Koolhaas Hat for the hubby this year, the 3rd year in a new traditional of anniversary hats!

Here's our fall window display at Purl's, Lindsey got this great idea to knit a bunch of leaves and string them up in the windows, I think it looks great!

My 4 year old, Sydney, has actually started school. It's a very strange and wonderful thing, and she seems to be thriving! I'm quite happy about it and the house is very quiet when I'm home and she's not there. The good news is that hopefully with the bit of extra time I can design more! I have some great ideas up there in the noggin.....

If you need a smile today, check this out: Free Hugs for Obama. It was filmed here in Asheville, NC, I love it!

We Interrupt this Friday Evening....

2008-09-26T20:54:00.001-04:00

To present you with a very serious individual:

Enough said.

A Little of This and A Little of That....

2008-09-21T19:09:00.000-04:00

Hey Blog,

I'm writing this one on the fly. It's been crazy, but such is life, I suppose. Here in Asheville, NC, the gas prices have been as high as $5 recently, due to hurricanes in the southern states, affecting us up north. The food prices have climbed to the point that we plan where to shop and when. There are layoffs galore, thankfully my husband has escaped those for now. Yet, I don't feel that bad. I mean, look at the other countries in the world, what they are going through. Look at it....I won't say anymore.

I am grateful. I have my family, I have my health (mostly), I have my life, such as it is. A small life, filled with little bits of joy, joy that is often sprinkled in from the most unexpected places. Often days I find joy in a cup of coffee. This is one of the areas in which I get the good stuff, I don't settle for whatever is the cheapest. That nice hot cup of sweet, bitter goodness just makes my day, a simple joy. I hope you are finding joy in the simple things as well.

My husband is forced to work for this guy, see his sign at left. I won't tell you what he does there, it's top secret and I'd have to kill you. Suffice it to say it isn't pretty....

Of course, I also find joy in my knitting. I decided I HAD to cast on for the Twist & Shout sweater in the new Knitty. I'm using Waterlily from Classic Elite yarns, in a lovely rose color, this is my calm retreat right now, battling off this nasty cold I have. I'm also knitting a donkey. This will be for the front window of the yarn store I work at, Purl's Yarn Emporium, to support the Obama campaign. Think what you will, it is adorable either way. I've also completed a couple of hats, one which I'm showing here, the 'Turn a Square' Hat by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed. A great, quick, knit, I definitely see more of these in my future. I may be a Noro fan yet....

We've been hiking again, as you can tell from the pics. These are some strange nuts we found last week. Actually, I think they are seeds, called California Buckeye, a member of the Horse Chestnut family, beautiful, aren't they??

This is a picture of a strange caterpiller David found, I thought perhaps it had a strange fungus growing on its' back. He took it to work, to find it erupted into tons of little tiny babies!! A truly amazing world we live in. I wonder if this was the male or the female of the species.

Take care of yourselves and your loves ones, they are what is precious in this world!! I am welcoming Fall to the states this Monday, I am MORE than ready!! Hooray for Autumn!!!!

Full Circle...

2008-08-31T17:37:00.000-04:00

I never thought when I started knitting how it would change my life. Literally. I also never thought I’d get to the point where I could actually teach others how to knit and write my own patterns. It just started simply enough as something I enjoyed doing. A lot.

Some of the many things I’ve come to learn about knitters is that we are a very generous bunch. I’ve met some of the kindest, friendliest people, always ready and willing to help each other with advice, laughter, tears, whatever. I’m awed by that. We spend our precious time creating things with our own two hands, simply because we can. Because it makes us feel good, it makes those we knit for feel good (most of the time!), it creates calm in the storm and at times, lets us think of the deeper meaning of things.

I’m lucky in that I have a very supportive husband who has never thought I’m a crazy woman for the time and effort I spend on my knitting exploits. In fact, he thinks it’s great. (Note to self, he needs a new hat for our upcoming anniversary….)

It’s been a hectic few weeks. I really had wanted to finish this beret pattern I’ve been working on, but life as it is means it’s taking longer than expected. Trust me; it’s going to be great. No teasers yet, but I will tell you I’m making it out of Elsebeth Lavold’s Silky Tweed. I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to try this yarn.

One of the problems with creating my own designs is that I have less time to take on other designs. I tried and failed miserably at the Ravelympics, definitely bit off more than I could chew. Nearly complete is my Seascape sweater from Fiber Fiend, having some issues with the yoke, unless I’ve really goofed somewhere, her stitch counts are way off! This is one for the adventurous knitter, its one crazy looking sweater!!

And what else is one to do when you have too many projects going at once? Start a new one, of course! This is the Estes Vest from the Fall 2008 Interweave Knits. The main change I made is I’m using a different cable for the center back, will also use different cables for the front. After Seascape, I’m all Horseshoe cabled out! The yarn is a new one from Araucania, called Aysen. It’s a blend of merino, alpaca and silk, I love working with it. This colorway (812) reminds me of Smores. Ah…fall will be here soon, hopefully with some camping in it for me. Be back soon with more projects updates!

A Flying We Will Go!

2008-08-02T10:28:00.000-04:00

We're going to Philly! Sydney and I are going to visit my parents and other family/friends for the next week, we leave tomorrow morning! I'm glad, we haven't been up there in over a year. The only bummer is that we're going at just about the hottest time of year. I really need a break though, and I'm looking forward to it.

Here's the latest pattern I'm working on. It's pretty funny, actually, since I've always avoided Noro completely. Until they came out with sock yarn, and I was just...drawn to it. I wanted to make something out of it that wasn't socks! My plan is for this to be a little cardigan/wrap type garment. I'm loving the cool stitch pattern I found in one of my vintage books. Debating about making the sleeves fitted or raglan style.

I'm still making progress on my Chocolate Covered Lime Sweater, aka the Feb. Lady. I found the most perfect buttons at my LYS, little pinecones! How great are there?!? It's a hard choice to decide what to bring with me on my trip.

As if THOSE projects weren't tempting enough, I'll be away at the start of the Ravelympics, where I'm slated to knit both Seascape, an amazing cabled and drop stitch sweater and Very Terhi, some gorgeous cabled mitts. Yikes! Guess I should bring these with me too. Maybe if I'm lucky, there will be room left for my actual clothes!

Seascape Yarn - yummy malabrigo

Very Terhi Yarn - superwash merino hand dyed

Gillaspie Gothic Gauntlets Pattern

2008-07-27T14:01:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my wonderful test knitters, I'm quite pleased to be able to offer this pattern for sale. As with any of my patterns, please contact me with any questions: elizabeth@countingsheepstudio.com

These gauntlets were inspired by my husband’s love of medieval armor, in particular, a design by James Gillaspie, in a style that was popular in the 15th century. Though real armor gauntlets were made of steel and worn with a leather glove underneath, I thought this knitted version might be more practical in today’s world.

This is an intermediate pattern, you will need to know the basics of knitting, there will be increasing, decreasing and picking up of sts. There are no cables in this pattern; the chain mail look on the bottom is achieved with slipped sts.

The gauntlets are knitted in the round, at a smaller gauge than suggested for a denser fabric. There is subtle shaping throughout the pattern for a fitted, detailed look.
Size is achieved by using a lighter yarn for the women’s version.
Men’s Gauntlet – 11” long (27.9 cm), 11” at base, 8 ½” at top
Women’s Gauntlet – 10 ½” long (26.7 cm),10” at base, 7 ¼” at top

Materials
Men’s version 1 ball (219 yds) Ella Rae Classic yarn – 100% worsted weight wool
Women’s version 3 balls (110 yds each) Louisa Harding Grace Silk & Wool yarn – dk weight 50% merino, 50% silk (you will need approx. 260 yds)

Upon receiving payment, you will be e-mailed a PDF copy of the 8 pages of detailed instructions for making your own gauntlets.

To purchase, please visit my website, Counting Sheep Studio.

Bitten by the Bug

2008-07-18T15:26:00.000-04:00

Alright. I'm not usually into fads and whatnot, BUT then I saw this sweater: February Lady Sweater. If you're a knitter and a lady, you've probably seen it already. Remember how I swore off wool for the summer?? (At least I THOUGHT I did.) All I could think about was this sweater, with it beautiful garter yoke and this squishy hand dyed merino I'd been saving for a special project. Add that to a major case of startitis lately, and here you go.

I'm loving it so far. Nothing like garter for some movie watching knitting. I'm doing four buttons and I'm just about to the armpits, ready to switch to the lace. Had to stop since I'm waiting for the rest of my yarn to show up. (Had more dyed for me since I didn't have enough!) Don't wanna wait!

So what's a girl to do?? Start another project! Nevermind all those hiding in the corner waiting to be finished. We'll just ignore those for now. This yarn may look familiar. It's Cotanani by Mirasol, originally intended for the Dayflower Camisole. Now it's hoping to become the Kaftan Dress, only I'm going to shorten it into a better tunic length.

Back to the camisole. I kept hearing Stephanie Pearl-McKee laughing at me in the background, and remembering one of her stories in Knitting Rules. You may remember it, I think the heading was "Denial Ain't Just a River in Egypt". Yes, I screwed up. Big time.

Got gauge for my swatch like a good girl. Cast on and started the Dayflower Lace at the bottom. It seemed all good...at first. The longer I knit, I started thinking, 'hmmm, this DOES seem a bit BIG'. Ignore, keep going. Hours and days later. Think, 'this is too big'. Ignore, keep going. Finally, reason crept in and I thought, 'I really should just take this thing off the needles to see how big it is'. Yeah, it was pretty close (insert sarcastic remark here). Do you like how I'm wearing it like some sort of 'World's Worst Knitter' ribbon?? I know you're laughing. That's OK, I'm sure I will too....someday.

It’s a BIRD…it’s a PLANE….it’s a…..BEAR?!?

2008-07-12T15:20:00.000-04:00

Yes, a bear. I’ve been dreaming about this little girlie, I guess I just can’t go too long without a cute toy in the making. She’s one of Ysolda’s designs; she and her designs are just too cute. I kind of have a thing for bears. Over the years, I’ve collected quite a few, and in the recent years, they’ve pretty much all been packed away, since there’s no room for them in my shoebox house. Growing up, I always slept with one. I would alternate, so each would ‘get a turn’. Now, I find that I can’t go to sleep without having something in my arms. That something has turned into Pearl, a stuffed octopus, whom you may know from the movie “Finding Nemo”, one of my favorite Pixar movies.
Well, Pearl has gotten pretty ratty from 5+ years of nightly use, and this little bear may be the next runner up. Although I don’t think she’s quite big enough. We’ll see. At any rate, my PB is going to be adorable and I already love her! You may recognize the yarn, my leftovers from the Beryl sweater, Queensland Pima Fresca.

I’m trying to finish up my pattern for the Gothic Gauntlets; it’s very close to being ready for public consumption. This women’s version is being knitted in Louisa Harding Grace Silk & Wool, nice, nice yarn. I’m knitted it on US size 3’s to get a denser fabric.

I really like the way the silk shines and shows off those stitches. The color is gorgeous, a deep copper. I had envisioned these in a deep, shiny red, but once I saw this one, I knew it was right!

Of course they look much better on an actual hand…they just needed to step outside for a breath of fresh air. I expect next week I’ll be asking some kind souls to test-knit these for me.

Last night I went to an auction, here in Asheville. Tommy Tuten & Johnny Penland are some good ‘ol boys who run a great little show! I think some people just go to be entertained; they are quite the comedians, making fun of each other and at times, themselves. They had a ‘real’ Tiffany lamp, which I had never before seen in person. It was beautiful, and sold for over $8000, a deal I’m sure. I walked away with an old piece of Cole pottery, made here in NC, as well as an antique print of a girl with a harp by Richard Smythe. I think I made out pretty well.

Have any of you signed up for the Knitting Olympics?? I did over on Ravelry, I’ve got some REALLY lofty goals: Very Terhi, a pair of wristwarmers with a neat allover cable pattern, AND if that wasn’t enough, Seascape, a gorgeous sweater with dropped stitches and cables, which I don’t even have yarn for. I’m nuts, but that’s OK. As long as I finish my gauntlet pattern by then, which gives me nearly a month.

Hope you are all enjoying the summer! Me personally, I’m biding my time until the cooler weather comes back again.

Walk in the Woods Cabled Baby Blanket Pattern

2008-07-07T19:02:00.000-04:00

Walk in the Woods Cabled Baby Blanket ~ A design by Elizabeth Helmich
This heirloom quality baby blanket was inspired by a desire to make a handsome cabled blanket that was a portable project, to work on anywhere! I choose to use cables that have a rather geometric effect, for a decidedly masculine look, though this could just as easily be a girls blanket as well.

This blanket is a great traveling project, since the sections are knit in strips. Use the colors shown, or switch it up for a baby girl or even a lap blanket.

FINISHED SIZE: About 36” square (91.4 cm), after blocking.

MATERIALS Yarn: Berocco Comfort, a wonderful worsted nylon/acrylic blend chosen for its great stitch definition and easy care for new parents. 2 balls each of Color A # 9703 (off-white), Color B #9747 Cadet (med. Blue), Color C #9744 (sage green), Color D #9762 Spruce (dk. Green), 1 ball of Color E #9741 (dk. Brown) – each ball is 210 yds. Needles: US size 8 (5.0 mm), adjust needle size if necessary to obtain gauge.

Notions: Cable needle, you may want to use stitch markers to distinguish between stitch patterns.

A full, detailed 10-page printable PDF of this pattern will be sent to you via e-mail shortly after your purchase is complete. Cable instructions are written, as well as in easy-to-read chart form, for whichever is your preference.

Click on this link to purchase, it will direct you to my website:

Walk in the Woods Cabled Baby Blanket.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-05T12:15:00.000-04:00

Walk in the Woods Cabled Baby Blanket

2008-06-29T17:56:00.000-04:00

Finished!

Pattern: Walk in the Woods Cabled Baby Blanket

My own design, available soon

Needles: U.S. size 8

Yarn: Berocco Comfort in 'baby boy' colors

This was a wonderful chance for me to design a special heirloom baby blanket for some good friends who were expecting. The cables came together easily enough, with only a couple of changes. I really had wanted to put a roman numeral IV (the baby is a 4th!) in the middle panel, but couldn't get it to work out without looking weird, so I nixed it. I'm thrilled with the final outcome and excited to have something tangible that I designed. Even better, the parents love it!

I wanted to use more geometrical cables, as opposed to overly swirly ones, for a more masculine look. The cables are all pretty straightforward, the most challenging one for me time-wise was the argyle center panel, since you are constantly crossing. I would say this is an intermediate pattern, though you could do it as an adventuresome beginner! Also a good travel project, since its knit up in strips, no heavy blanket on your lap the whole time.

Of course, my only hope as a knitter now is that this blanket will share in teddy bear picnics, sleepovers and some good old-fashioned tent making! Now, that's a good wish.

WWKIP Day

2008-06-16T14:04:00.001-04:00

And a good time was had by all….
Saturday, Sydney and I went Knitting In Public! We joined the legions of others across the world who decided to take their love of knitting out of doors on June 14th. Our gathering was small, in a sweet little park in North Asheville, NC. Sydney found a friend in a six-year-old girl named Charlotte and got soaking wet when we all got rained on, which helped with the heat for sure! I met some nice people that I hope to see again.
I brought my Everlasting Bagstopper, and finished it last night! This was a quick one for me, only took me two days of knitting, though I did have two movies worth of knitting time last night. I totally copied off of Jennifer, and had to run out and get the Araucania Ulmo with the gorgeous colors, just look how pretty the pooling is! This to me is a good example of pooling. I used only one skein, stopped an inch short of the 10 ½” the pattern called for, and had just enough yarn. Since I got two skeins, now I can make another! (The first bag is in the lighter colorway, #707.)

Made some zippy little vintage elephant fabric handles for my bag this morning, and off to the park we went! Oh, I’m such a convert now, I see lots of these in my future…too fun!!

Of course yesterday was Father's Day, here's a shot of my cute little family. Aren't they sweet? Sydney and I found this great Lego game at a yard sale on Saturday morning, and her and her daddy have been playing that a lot.

Have a great week everyone, stay cool out there.

Just in Time for the HOT weather....

2008-06-04T10:21:00.000-04:00

I’ve finished the Ruffled Jacket!!

Pattern: Ruffled Jacket, from Vogue Knitting Fall 2007 – 25th Anniversary

Yarn: Colrain from Webs (http://www.yarn.com/) in colorway Grape Jelly

This was a really fun one for me. A year ago I doubt I would have thought I could not only change a patterns gauge, but re-calculate and fix the sleeve caps, which on this pattern are way too small. But I did it!

I didn’t want to make the pattern in the bulky yarn it calls for, since I don’t have many opportunities in NC to wear a thick sweater. My brother gave me a Webs GC for Christmas and the Colrain is what I bought, I’ve been dying to try this since I love tencel.
Colrain is a 50% merino 50% tencel blend, and it is lovely. It has a very soft hand and drapes beautifully. I will use this yarn again. My first ball had a few knots, but that was only a problem with that ball. I use 13 balls for this jacket. I also wanted to mention the yarn does bleed a good bit when washing, but comes nicely back to gauge.

One warning about this pattern…it will test your patience with seaming. There is A LOT of seaming. The little cable on the front is a strip that gets sewn on all the way around. I found it easier to knit a little, seam a little, knit a little, seam a little, until it was the perfect length. The gorgeous ruffle that for me ‘makes’ this jacket is knit in 4 separate pieces and then sewn on. I had to adjust the last ruffle to size, since I had a smaller space left than I was supposed to.

After those warnings, I highly recommend this for an adventurous knitter! It will teach you a lot, it did for me. The last shot is my sad attempt at posing like Vanna White. Hmm, I don’t think she’s in any danger of losing her job =;)
Then I got to go on a button hunt. I went to my local fabric shop, Waechter’s Silk Shop in Asheville, NC. The ladies there are wonderful and know I’m the ‘button girl’, since I rarely buy fabric anymore. The two I found are gorgeous; I think they are a carved bone or shell. I got to wear this a couple times in the last couple of weeks, and it’s very flattering and pretty.
I’ve also finished this lacy scarf for a friend out of Berocco Seduce. This stuff is amazing. The texture of it is fabulous, the silky smell, the colors it comes in, this is a winner in my book.

I used a miniature leaf pattern that I found on Purl Bee’s blog. This was a pretty mindless project after the first couple of repeats, and I love the finished project! It was very well received by my friend.
I'll put the pattern here for your convenience. It tooks me 2 skeins of Seduce to get a nice sized scarf, over 60"(forgot to measure after blocking!)

MINIATURE LEAF LACE PATTERN, VERSION 1:

Cast on a multiple of 6 stitches, plus 1.
(I cast on 25 sts., for about a 6” scarf when blocked, using size 7 needles.)
Row 1 and all odd numbered rows: Purl.

Row 2: K1, *k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k1; repeat from * to end of row.

Row 4: K2tog, *yo, k3, yo, slip 2 knitwise-k1-p2sso; repeat from *, end last repeat ssk instead of sl 2-k1-p2sso.

Row 6: K1, *yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k1; repeat from * to end of row.

Row 8: K2, *yo, slip 2 knitwise-k1-p2sso, yo, k3; repeat from *, end last repeat k2.
Repeat Rows 1-8.
Lastly, I wanted to give you some shots of how Beryl looks when worn. I’ve decided I really love this one now since I sewed up the buttonband. The pink is great and the yarn is super soft.

I'll leave you with a shot of the view from my friend Martha's house. Ahh, the joys of living in the mountains! Have a great week and be well.

Why, yes, I'd love to go buy some yarn....

2008-05-20T18:31:00.000-04:00

Hi Blog,

How are you? I’m doing just peachy. Sorry I haven’t been here as of late, a lot of changes are going on right now. Changes like a new babysitter for my daughter, along with a new job, along with a new husband….just kidding about the last part. Things are good. I must have been putting out some good karma, because I’m getting it back!

May is a great month for me. Not only do I have this lovely holiday called Mother’s Day, I also have my birthday on the 28th. I’m going to be 30! I’m so excited about 30. It seems like a new era, a new chapter of my life is about to unfold. I’m noticing the start of little lines and age changes, and it’s good. (We’ll see about 40!)

Not sure yet what we’ll do for Memorial Day / my Birthday. I really, really want to go fishing! I’m a fisherwoman, and I miss it. The hubby had never done it before he met me; I’m trying to bring him around to loving it like I do. Having a 4 year old who likes to throw rocks in the water is still not enough of a deterrent for me!

Back to the knitting, since that’s why you’re here anyway….the Ruffled Jacket is VERY close to completion! I have to sew on the last bit of the back ruffle tonight, and then all I need to do is find the right closure! Yeah! Unfortunately, it’s a bit warm now to wear it, maybe we’ll get a little cold front….isn’t it funny how you wish for things like that as a knitter?? Fashion show coming this weekend, of the Ruffled Jacket AND poor Beryl, she looks so much better since I sewed the buttonband closed. The never-ending baby blanket is coming along slowly, because of all the cables. Here's the dark green strip, there will be two of these, going in opposite directions. I can't WAIT until this one is done.
Sooo…you know where this is going with the Birthday month, right? I bought yarn! Webs is having their Anniversary sale, and I found a couple of great deals. There’s the Ella Rae Silkience, is a lovely dusty purple that I got for the Wakame Tunic in the current IK. Then, there’s Madil Eden, a 100% bamboo yarn that I bought for the Spring Vines Vest, in a chocolate color. I’ve been on such this brown kick lately.
A post isn’t complete without a cute kid or bunny pic, right?? Have a great week, enjoy Spring!

Doing the Funky Llama

2008-04-27T21:50:00.000-04:00

Designing is a lot of work. This may be more obvious to some, less thick people than me, or it could just be that I’m approaching the whole thing in a crazy, haphazard way and that is why I’m driving myself crazy. But it’s all good. I’m learning and that’s the important thing! It’s a labor of love at this point. Here’s my progress on the armor inspired gauntlets I’m making at my husband’s suggestion. My husband is like, ‘well, the rivets need to be at the sides of the arm’, ‘this will overlap here’. You’d think I was making the real deal. It’s good to be authentic, I suppose. I actually have a better understanding now as to how this thing actually functioned in real life, amazing. All I have to do is make the knitted stitches!

I decided to do the little bobbles all around the bottom, to mimic the rivets that would be on a real metal gauntlet. I’m using size 4’s with worsted weight wool for a nice, dense fabric. I really hope these are going to be super cool when finished. I’m also wondering for sanity’s sake if I can get away with using a thinner yarn for the woman’s version, to avoid writing all the line by line instructions out again. We shall see.

What’s that? Of course we went hiking again this weekend! Here is Sydney under those huge crazy vines. David took a couple shots of the Rock Towers, there are different ones there each time. These reminded me of mushrooms! We worked up a sweat this time, it was pretty nice and warm this weekend in NC. Please don’t hate me since my daughter was modeling my Chardonnay I had Saturday night. It’s called “Funky Llama”, I couldn’t resist. It was really good, and I don’t usually go for Chardonnay.
In lieu of the modeling shots, here is my finished Beryl sweater. I’m pretty happy with it since I sewed up the button band. The cotton was just not laying right and the buttonholes already wanted to get gapey. So I just sewed the buttonbands together and viola! Much better. I think I’m becoming way too much of a perfectionist knitter. At least that’s what my LYS owner (Lindsey at Purl’s Yarn Emporium) tells me. The Queensland Pima Fresca yarn is very snuggly and soft, I do think I’ll get some use out of this one.

We watched the movie “Click” with Adam Sandler on Friday. What’s with his movies now? Why do we need the sad serious part in the middle? What’s wrong with just funny? I don’t get it. I think I’m in need of some seriously good comedy, suggestions welcome.

Hope you have a great week, be back soon!

Knitting Wit De Fishies

2008-04-24T20:02:00.000-04:00

Awww…..crap. I’m running out of yarn, again. You would think I’d learn by now, shouldn’t 1000 yds. of worsted weight yarn be enough for a baby blanket?? Well, granted, I’m making a big baby blanket, aiming for a size of about 40” square. Called my LYS, they don’t have it. Called the one across town, they don’t have it. Argh! I will find it, oh yes, I will. Just wait and see. I know, enough talking….how about some pics?? I’m doing this is 5 colors of Berocco Comfort, strips of cables that will get sewn together.

I picked up my Ruffled Jacket last week with renewed determination to figure out those darn sleeve caps. Let me just tell you, I couldn’t have done it with my “Sweater Design in Plain English” book. Great book. If you’re planning on designing any sweaters, I highly recommend it. So I plunged ahead and finished the first cap! Now I’m on the second sleeve. I would say I could post a tut on how I figured it out, the only trouble with that is I’m knitting the sweater on an entirely different gauge, meaning it wouldn’t work for anyone following the pattern straight from the magazine.

I’m craving garter. Is that weird?? Today and yesterday I’ve been swatching for possible sweaters in garter stitch. Could be the fact that I’m in the process of cleaning out my closet and found some luscious little yarns I’ve had tucked away =;) Naah, I’m sure that had nothing to do with it at all. One of the sweaters I’m considering is the Shawl Collar Tunic by Mari Lynn Patrick, from the Fall Anniversary 2007 VK. It’s a cute striped pullover with a big kangaroo pocket in the front. Seems like it might one of those great transitional sweaters for me.

I bought the Dayflower Lace Camisole pattern from Knititude. This is one I saw a while ago and I still love it every time I see it. I’m thinking I’m going to make it in Classic Elite Wool Bamboo, happened across 2 balls of this in my LYS clearance chest, this is some lovely stuff! Great sheen, and I’m sure it hangs like a dream. I need to finish this blankie so I can work on other stuff!! I need to on other stuff!!

We went hiking again last weekend, gotta love this Spring weather. There were these huge gnarly vines hanging all over, they were cool. We saw this neat tree that looked like it had a built-in planter. Then Sydney found the ‘tree seat’, a perfect child-sized spot!

Almost too Gorgeous to Knit

2008-04-12T17:06:00.001-04:00

I said "almost".
You would think these pics were from last fall, but they were actually from our hike last weekend. Some mushrooms that have hung on until now. (Or do some last all year??) I don’t know what is with my recent fascination with fungi, but I think they are so cool. The flowers are my ‘birth’ flower, Lily of the Valley, for the month of May. I believe they are relatively scarce, they have a few bushes of they here outside of the Folk Art Center and I couldn’t resist taking few shots of them.

Well, the plant life seems to cooperate better than the knitting as far as camera ops. Here is my Beryl cardigan in progress; this is a shot of the shaping at the side. The lovely pink that I’m so infatuated with seems to be a bit camera shy, as I can’t quite capture the detail of it.

Finished one of the Spiraling Leaves Fingerless Gloves by Lynne Vogel. This is a fun pattern that produces a gorgeous result with sock yarn. I’m sure I will get a lot of use out of these, and I hope I can finish the other soon.

Lastly, here is a shot of the gauntlet I’m working on designing for men, inspired by the armor patterns in my husband’s blacksmithing book. I’m using Ella Rae Classic in a steely blue gray, this one is a real challenge for me, and the design is constantly changing. Hopefully it will turn out well.

Hope you are all enjoying this Spring weather. Be well.

Mmmm, mmmm, Good

2008-03-30T18:34:00.000-04:00

Up to my knees in babies…..and to think I was complaining about not having any to knit for. Is it awful that I want to sneak in a couple of knits for moi before I tackle this other blanket?? I’m making good progress on Beryl, the body is all knit in one piece, I just have to make it through all the stockinette. It shouldn’t be too difficult considering I’m still in love with the Pima Fresca yarn by Queensland, in all its Blush colored goodness. I’m hoping I can give cotton a good name again! I’m knitting it pretty tightly and making a smaller size, we’ll see how it goes.

I also started a new project!! The Spiraling Leaves Fingerless Gloves by Lynne Vogel. If you think you know that name, it may be from the new Knitty. She designed the Spirogyra mitts; they look like Pomatomus for your hands. It’s kind of funny how I’m loving making these mitts with tiny needles & yarn, yet I still haven’t finished a pair of socks. At any rate, they are a nice distraction from the sweater and the aforementioned obligatory ‘blanket that I’m supposed to be working on’.

For dinner, we’re having some baby back ribs…yum. Not sure yet what sides, probably rice & broccoli. Need some healthy stuff in there somewhere, right?

I made some super awesome ham & bean soup on Friday night, here’s my not 100% clear recipe: (Ummm, yeah, my ham bone's sticking out....)

Super Awesome Ham & Bean Soup
- Leftover ham and bone – cut off as much as you can from the bone into chunks (no, I have no idea how much I had left). Mine was Gwaltney and it was a Brown Sugar Honey Ham. I’m totally sold that the spices on the ham added a lot to the flavor of the final soup. If I didn’t have the honey ham, I think I’d add some brown sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg to get a similar flavor.
- 1 lb. of large white lima beans (because that's the kind Grandmom used)
- 1 ½ medium onions
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 tspns. Poultry seasoning
- 2 tspns. Dried parsley
- 2 tspns. Sea salt
- 1 tspn. Black pepper
- 1 tspn. Dried mustard
- 1 tspn. Garlic powder (bet fresh garlic would be even better!)
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 4 medium potatoes
* Take the beans and add about 6 cups of very hot water to them in a saucepan. Bring to a rapid boil for 3 minutes. Let sit for 1 hour in the water.
* Drain beans. Put in a large soup pot. Cover with new water to about 1 ½” above the beans. Add everything listed above, EXCEPT for the potatoes. You want to add the ham bone last, after you’ve gotten everything nice and stirred up. Turn up stove to high until you get a boil, and then reduce to a low simmer.
* Let simmer on low for about 1 ½ hrs. Skin and dice up your potatoes and add them. Cook for an additional 30 minutes or until you can stand waiting. Enjoy!
* I’m sure you could add some extras….I bet carrots or peas would be really good!

Here are a couple of pics of the little skirt I made for Sydney’s 4th birthday. I started off with a simple twisted rib at the top, added an eyelet row for a drawstring, and then double my # of sts. for a lacy traveling vine pattern down the length, changing stripe widths as I went.

She likes it, but I think I need one of those little plastic thingies to hold to drawstring closed up for her. I used Cascade Luna, a cotton yarn that was fine to work with, but somewhat annoying with all the knots in it! Bet you can't guess her favorite color....

I’m also designing some fingerless gauntlets for my husband. He loves armor(yes, the metal kind), and I’m attempting to create an armor looking pattern in knitted stitches, which is proving to be a challenge. I’ll give you some pics next week.

Namaste,
Elizabeth

Creating for what is To Be.....

2008-03-16T17:23:00.000-04:00

A Lace Blanket for a sweet baby girl to be named Lelia, eta April 20th, 2008.

Yarn: Berocco Comfort, in colors #9712 (Buttercup), #9736 (Primary Blue, though my colorway wasn’t as bright) and I’m not certain of the third colorway, an off-white.

Needles: Size US 8 used throughout

Finished Dimensions: 42” X 38” after blocking, since I like big blankies!

This is a blanket I have designed myself, playing around with my wonderful stitch dictionaries. It was originally drawn out to be much different, but as many of you know, patterns don’t always work out the way we imagine they will. (Or at least not at this point in my designing….) What came to be is very serendipitous, and I’m quite happy with the results. If you’re interested, I may write up the pattern….let me know.

Now, the parents went the non-traditional route of a color palette for this baby girl, since they already have a blue room, they decided to keep it and add yellow. Hence the color scheme is not what I myself would have picked, noting my penchant for pink. (Pink, who me??) I think they will be pleased.
It took some amount of figuring to get all these patterns to play nicely together. I primarily used patterns with all purling on the WS rows, though some have patterning on both sides. I think the most difficult one was the tulips, since it was a 36 row repeat. I used the Lilly of the Valley pattern for the top left corner, since that is the mother to be’s name.

I’ll also throw in a quick shot of the last minute hat & baby booties, found here, I love these! (Since the blanket wasn't finished in time.) They remind me of little fortune cookies the way they are folded up. Umm, I ran out of yarn for the blanket. (Hey, I thought 1000 yards would be enough!) Yes, this is me, being driven to the shower and seaming up the second bootie literally until we pulled into the parking lot. Why do we knitters drive ourselves crazy?? Why, of why can’t we just go to Target and get SOMETHING ELSE until we finish the ________. (Insert item you’re driving yourself crazy trying to finish here. Feel free to add any explicative you see fit as well.)

What else is going on? Uhhh…..a lot. I felt like this blanket deserved its own post, I have plenty more to show you soon. Sydney’s birthday is this week, she’ll be 4. FOUR. Holy moly, how on earth did THAT happen? Time goes on…..

‘til next time, knit on.

Swooning is Good

2008-02-23T19:31:00.000-05:00

If you are not addicted to yarn & knitting, read no further. The following message contains unabashed, nonsensical yarn adoration. It all started simply enough. I went to my LYS, Purl’s Yarn Emporium here in Asheville, for another ball of Berocco Comfort for one of the 2 baby blankets I’m working on. I kinda/sorta wanted to browse for yarn for my upcoming Beryl top. After much contemplating, I came home with this: Queensland Collection Pima Fresca, a 100% Pima cotton yarn, hand dyed in Chile. I LOVE this yarn. It’s SO pretty, if you’ve never noticed before; I am a huge fan of the color pink. They have it in lots of summery colors, there’s a bright coral, a gorgeous turquoise and several shades of blues that would look great with jeans. But then, there it was. I kind of noticed it out of the corner of my eye, way up there in the corner. The perfect shade of pink. That dusty, subtle pink, that girly pink that makes you hear “She’s a lady. Whoa Whoa Whoa. She’s a lady.” by Tom Jones. (Alright, I made up that last part, but you get the point.)

Now of course, if you loathe the color pink, then you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about. Suffice it to say I came home and swatched immediately while watching Sopranos Season 6. Washed and dried the swatch and was surprised to find no change in gauge at all! Interesting. I’m knitting this up tighter than recommended, getting about 5 sts. per inch on US size 6’s, instead of the 4 sts. per inch using 8’s, this obviously will give you a more flowing fabric. For Beryl, I think I need a little tighter. The yarn is very textured, which produces a great fabric, interesting and very fun to knit with, the hand dyed nature gives it beautiful tonal variations. I’m in a pink shaded heaven!

Ummm…have I mentioned I have these baby blankets to work on??? So after the swatch, I did NOT cast on, I worked on the blanket for my friends whose baby shower is in 2 weeks. Yikes. That one caught me by surprise too; I thought I had until the little munchkin popped out. This one is coming out very pretty; I’m using several different lace panels, in an asymmetrical blocks design. They are decorating the baby girl’s room in non-traditional blue & yellow, that is my color palette for this one.

Baby blanket #2 is for William the 4th, my husbands’ co-workers child. His blanket will be in 5 different colored strips of cable patterns. The center panel is an argyle pattern in a taupe color; I am so slow at cables. I can see this one will take much longer than the lacy blanket.

As for the Ruffled Jacket, I think it’s on hold until I get further with blankie #1. I’ve gotten a couple of suggestions on my sleeve cap issue, I will prevail!

Knit on!!

Knit & Sick & Knit & Sick

2008-02-10T17:11:00.000-05:00

I’ve pretty much spent the last week in a cloud. You know, the kind of sick where you feel like your head is floating above your body?? That’s the one I had. Bleh. The only good thing about it is I was able to get a good amount of knitting done, since I could barely move off the couch without getting dizzy.

I’m working on the Ruffled Jacked by James Coviello in Vogue Knitting Fall 2007. It’s coming along pretty quickly, even though I’m using a smaller gauge than suggested. I’m used a worsted weight merino/tencel blend, called Colrain, by Valley Yarns. This yarn is a lovely color, called Grape Jelly; a rich burgundy that I can’t seem to photograph for sh%!*&@!# This is the first project where I’ve actually re-worked the math to make my gauge work with the pattern. How liberating!

The other ‘issue’ with this sweater is that the armscye was clearly not well planned out. The armhole on the back measures 9” in my size, and the cap for the sleeve is only 5 ½” – too big of a difference not to fix. Thanks to the help of “Sweater Design in Plain English” (which should be called ‘Sweater Design for Dummies’!, which is me) by Maggie Righetti, I was able to figure out how to plan the decreases. At least I say that now, I am pretty bold considering I haven’t set the sleeves in yet. This one will hopefully be finished soon!

I also completed a hat for a friend out of the herringbone stitch used in the infamous ‘so-called scarf’ pattern. This is the only stitch pattern I have used at least 5-6 times now, in various objects, I love the way it looks. The yarn is ‘Miski’ from The Mirasol Project, 100% baby llama, extremely soft and yes, very warm. I told my friend Lili she would be ready for the blizzard when she wore this one. I believe that llama fibers and alpaca fibers are along the same line (well, they are cousins after all!), about 5x warmer than wool.

This was a funny incident. My friend called me from a LYS downtown in Asheville (Purl's Yarn Emporium). Friend, "Hi, Elizabeth?? I'm at that yarn store you told me about downtown. My friend is off getting a massage, so I came here. I found some yarn I like, actually, my husband found it, it's "baby" llama and he liked it because it's called "BABY". (Mind you, she's pregnant, obviously their FIRST!!) Ummm, and it's pretty thick, umm, I'm not sure what I should get. Me: "Is Lindsey there?" Friend: Asks......"No, Lindsey is not here." Me: "Well, talk to whoever is there, tell there you want to use this as a double-thickness yarn for a hat". Friend: "O.K." So she comes back to me with this super-duper warm thickness of beautiful, baby colored yarn in a lovely mauve and a burgundy. I love it but I'm afraid.....we've hardly had a winter here in N.C., not enough to warrant a blizzard-like hat for freezing temps......Well a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. This is my friend and she wants a pretty hat....so I made it. I just hope she get to wear it =;)

On the horizon/semi-in progress is two baby blankets out of Berroco Comfort. I happen to have a friend, and my husband has a friend, who almost live directly across from each other (and yet they don’t know each other, I think an introduction is in order!) in a more rural part on N.C. who are both expecting children, one boy and one girl. Lucky me! Two babies to knit for!!

I hope all are well and knitting like crazy!!!! I’m listening to Norah Jones and drinking some red wine and hope you are doing the same or equivalent!! Peace & Blessings to you.

Presenting...The Russian Coat!

2008-01-27T19:42:00.000-05:00

Pattern: In Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2007, Designer Norah Gaughan

Yarns used: Plymouth Boku, colorway #6, Berroco Peruvia, color Granito, #7106

Needles used: US size 7 for most of the body, size 6 on skirt hem and size 5 for collar

Well, it’s done. Am I happy?? Mostly. There are a couple minor issues, which are MY fault. It’s a great pattern, one of the most fun things I’ve knit so far. Even if it didn’t fit at all, I’d still be happy I made it.

I learned really well how to do a p2tog tbl! It’s a little tricky at first, but not hard once you’ve done it a few (thousand) times. I learned how important it is to check your gauge while making your project. (That’s important? Go figure!) Here’s a breakdown on how it went.

The top: this was tremendous fun making all those hexagons and triangles and such and taking a leap of faith that this will indeed be a wearable item. With the Boku, I found it has a tendency to break about easily when pulled, for seaming up the hexagons, I had to put more twist in the yarn, and then it was fine. I liked that you picked up sts. to keep working, therefore eliminating a lot more sewing there.

I heard some folks were having issues with the sleeves being too long, so I blocked my pieces when I had all but the last sleeve extension finished. It was too short, I decided to go ahead and make the last piece, only I did it in garter, so it would be reversible. This worked out great and I do turn it back to make a cuff, I love the look of this last piece and I’m really glad I made it. (Well, it would have been too short for me otherwise.)

The skirt: a LOT of sts. to cast on here, but you have the happy thought of knowing it will only get smaller from there! I realized I started off with my size 7’s, when I needed 6’s, so I switched over after the first row. I used quite a few of my Denise cables to accommodate all the sts. The knitting was fine, my problems came after blocking. My overall height of the skirt was off by 1 ½”, and silly me, I didn’t realize what an impact that would have. (Apparently I did too many decreases.) The sides of the skirt need to overlap the top by 3” on each side, which seems like it would have been a tight fit already. Well, I tried to sew the top & bottom together many times and it just didn’t work, there was too much bunching at the top. (We won’t even mention the happy two hours I sewed it thinking, ‘wow, this is going so much easier now!’, then to discover at 11:30 at night that I had sewed it upside down!! No, we won’t mention that.)

I finally realized I had to compensate for the missing 1 ½” and only left a 1 ½” overlap on each side of the top. It was still pretty tricky. Many more boo-boos later, I had done it! Steam blocked that seam.

I tried it on. Oh no! I’m wearing a tan colored bikini top on my sweater! Why, oh why, had I not realized that the lighter colored Peruvia I had chosen would mean I was making triangles right over my ta-tas?? (Perhaps because the model in the photo doesn’t have any??) Great. I was almost defeated at this point, but I wouldn’t give up. I went ahead and did my smaller collar with no trouble. I went and found some great clasps at Waechter’s Silk Shop, here in Asheville.

THEN, I decided to do some embroidery on those dreaded little bikini triangles. It worked. (At least I think it did, if I’m deluding myself, let me know!) Of course, once you get going on something, it’s hard to stop. I added more embroidery to the sides, still wasn’t enough. Decided to do some on the back.

It’s DONE. Finished. Finito. Fertigstellen. I love it. It’s pretty, it’s unique, it fits great, it was a lot of fun, I learned a lot! Hooray for me!!

ETA: Also finished: The Jane Crossover Sweater! This sweater was a real pain in the #*&!@#!*#%!!!! I wish I could recommend it, but I’d have a hard time. The main issue with this pattern was the fronts, which are left ‘up to you’ but in the M/L size, you may have a hard time. (I used all but about a foot of this yarn!) I found that I needed to sew the fronts together to get them to quit moving around and looking all wonky. I added 3 ‘faux’ buttons on the top seam, I also put a 5 seed st border on the panels, I have this strong aversion to rolling stockinette!! (Just ask Allison!)
The Fleece Artist Hand Maiden Ottawa yarn was nice enough, honestly, it was what kept me going on this pattern, with all the miles of stockinette. I would definitely buy more fleece artist yarn, just not for this pattern. I plan on wearing this to work tomorrow. Hooray for FO's!!

Progress....and a little Quick Fix

2008-01-14T18:50:00.000-05:00

Yes, I’ve been making progress! Here is a shot of the Russian Coat’s skirt; the top section is finished, except for the collar I will add after sewing the skirt on. Now with the top I was a bit nervous, after hearing about the length of the sleeves being WAY too long. I blocked it after I had finished all but the last sleeve piece. It was way too short, so I felt confident adding that piece on. I decided to do it in garter stitch. Besides looking really cool, it’s great because I can fold back that pointy part and then it fits perfectly on my arm.

I still kind of wish I’d used the Berocco Jasper that the pattern called for, it’s just an obviously nicer yarn. Having said that, I’m still happy with the Plymouth Boku, I think it will wear well, and I really like the tweed effect. It also blends wonderfully with the Peruvia (the lighter sections). I debated for a while about using the lighter color, but I think it works.

I’ve been so good at just working on the coat; I kind of needed a quick fix. A couple of the girls at work have been wearing these cute little caps with brims, and I found this pattern: Urban Cap and found some yummy stash handspun from Yarn Ahoy, and went for it! I watched Terminator 3 and Bourne Identity while making it.

Have a great week!!!

Whew! It's all over....

2007-12-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

Until next year. I always find myself a little relieved and a little sad after the holiday madness. It wasn’t too crazy for me this year. We had a budget, and we stuck with it! Nice!
I’ve started a new project! (Go figure.) It’s called “Iceland” from the Rowan magazine #42. I like it. I’m using RYC Soft Tweed, which they currently have on clearance over at Webs. This is some NICE stuff, people. Hey, we all need a little chunky knit sometime! Lucky for me, my brother (wonderful man that he is!) gave me a G.C. to Webs, so I had to go back and spend more $. I got Valley yarns Colrain to make the Ruffled Jacket from Vogue Knittings Anniversary issue (#44). (A gorgeous pic of it in that link!!)

Here’s a sweet stuffed fox I knitted up for Sydney. Yes, he looks so cute showing off my Iceland in progress, doesn’t he? You can hardly even notice the fact that I’m covering him because…he has no legs! Sorry, I tried on Christmas eve but couldn’t finish him. If those fingers weren’t so darn fiddly, I’d be done. Lucky for me, Sydney’s too busy with her 50,000 OTHER toys she got for Christmas. I’ll finish his legs up soon! (And yes, I did finish my Biking Cardigan by Deborah Newton, what a fun pattern!)

I'll leave you with a little after holiday poem I wrote this morning, whilst drinking the java that sustains me. Hope you have an excellent weekend, filled with everything you like!!

Its two days after Christmas, and the presents are done.
There are lots of new games to play, there’s still a lot of fun.

The ‘heart attack in a dish’ is all gone now.
I kind of feel like a big bloated cow!

The house is a mess, I can barely get dressed….
Boy was I a bitch on that night I was stressed!

The kiddo is playing with her new kitty cat.
Could care less about new her mittens & hat.

Hey, I waited almost a week before I spent my G.C.,
To Webs, of course, hooray for me!

Still have some knitting to do for a friend….
I’ll knit some for me, then her, it will get done in the end!

I want to drive to Barnes & Noble, need to return that book,
Oh, but the mall is crowded, I think I’ll stay home and cook…..

Maybe some yarn might find its way into my lap,
I might even take a short little nap.

Bring on the cold! Bring on the snow!
Bring that biting winter wind that makes our cheeks glow!

I’ll stay nice and toasty in my cute little home.
Alone, ‘cept my bunny, my kiddo, my little hanging gnome.

I hope you are all grateful for this coming New Year.
I hope it brings you joy, inner peace, and much good cheer!

Kid's Candy Hat & Mittens Set

2007-12-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

A free pattern for you! I hope you like it.

Kid’s Candy Hat & Mittens Set

This hat and mitten set started on a whim after my daughter was a ‘Candy Fairy’ for Halloween and obsessed with all things candy (well, what kid isn’t!). I had this pretty candy colored yarn is my stash, and I whipped up this little set for her. It fits her little 3 ½ year old self perfectly! In this case, the ‘candy’ is actually a cute little stitch pattern with bobbles. Knits up quickly with worsted weight yarn.

To fit ages 3-4 yrs., hat is sized for an 18” head and is 7” high. Mittens are 6” in total length, with a 1 ½” thumb and cuff.

Requirements:
- Worsted weight yarn 200 yds. – (I used a custom dyed Peruvian wool yarn from Phoenix Fiberworks Etsy shop.)
- Sport weight yarn, 50 yds. or less – (I used Knit Picks Andean Treasure, if you use a worsted weight yarn, be sure to go down a needle size for mitten cuffs.)
Size 6 needles – can be straights or circs

The stitches I used are not my own design, the Acorn Rib is from my Vogue Dictionary of Knitting Stitches, and the ‘Candy’ pattern is adapted from the ‘Bouquet’ stitch in the new Vogue Stitchionary Volume 1.

Bobble: K into front and back of next st. twice, sl 4 sts. back to LH needle, k2tog twice, sl 2nd st on RH needle over first st.

To Make Hat:
Cast-on 87 sts, using long tail cast-on method.
Link: http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/cast-on
Work Acorn Rib as follows:
Row 1 & 3: *P2, k1, rep from * to last 2 sts, p2.
Row 2 & 4: K2, *p1, k2; rep from * to end of row.
Row 5: *P1, (p1, k1) into next st, (k1, k1tbl) into next st; rep from * to last two sts, p2.
Rows 6, 7 & 8: K the k sts and p the p sts.
Row 9: *P2, sl.1, k2tog, psso; rep from * to last 2 sts, p2.
Row 10: K the k sts and p the p sts. (See note below.)
Note: In row 10, you want to increase two sts spaced apart from each other, to get a total of 89 sts.
Now you will start the “Candy” pattern:
Row 1 & 3 (RS): K1, *wyif sl 5, k7; rep from * , end last rep k1.
Row 2 and all WS rows: Purl.
Row 5: K3, *insert RH needle from below under 2 loose strands on RS of work and k next st (hook 2 strands), k11; rep from *, end last rep k3.
Row 7: K3, *MB, k11; rep from *, end last rep k3.
Row 9: K2, *[MB, k1] twice, k8, rep from *, end last rep k1.
Row 11: Repeat row 7.
Row 13 & 15: *K7, wyif, sl 5; rep from *, end k7.
Row 17: K9, *insert RH needle from below under 2 loose strands on RS of work and k next st. (hook 2 strands), k11; rep from *, end last rep k9.
Row 19: K9, *MB, k11, rep from *, end last rep k9.
Row 21: K8 *[MB, k1] twice, k8, rep from *, end last rep k8.
Row 23: Rep row 19.
Rows 25-36 – Rep rows 1-11.
Rows 37-40: Work in stockinette, ending with WSR.

Finishing
Cut yarn, leaving a long tail to sew up top and side seam of hat, using mattress stitch. Make 2 tassels for each corner of the hat in contrasting color, sew on to hat.
Tassel links: http://serendipity.gpvm.com/tassel.html - http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3213109

To Make Mittens:
Cast on 26 sts, using long-tail cast on method.
Start Acorn Rib as follows:
Row 1 & 3: *P2, k1, rep from * to last 2 sts, p2.
Row 2 & 4: K2, *p1, k2; rep from * to end of row.
Row 5: *P1, (p1, k1) into next st, (k1, k1tbl) into next st; rep from * to last two sts, p2.
Rows 6, 7 & 8: K the k sts and p the p sts.
Row 9: *P2, sl.1, k2tog, psso; rep from * to last 2 sts, p2.
Rows 10-12: K the k sts and p the p sts.
Switch to main yarn and work two rows stockinette.

Start thumb gusset and Candy pattern
For Left Mitten
Row 1: K12, place marker, m1, k1, m1, place marker, k to end (13 sts.).
Row 2 and all even rows: Purl.
Row 3: K 12, sl m, m1, k3, m1, sl m, k4, wyif sl 5, k to end.
Row 5: Rep row 3, inc. 2 sts between markers – you now have 7 sts between markers.
Row 7: K to marker, sl m, m1, k7, m1, sl m, k6, insert RH needle from below under 2 loose strands on RS of work and k next st, k6.
Row 9: K27, MB, k to end.
Row 11 (work thumb): K12, remove marker, k8, kfb of next st, turn, p across 9 sts, pfb of next st, turn, work 6 rows in stockinette on these 11 sts.
Dec Row 1: [K1, k2 tog] 3 times, k2.
Dec. Row 2: P2 tog, k1, p2 tog, k1, p2 tog. Cut yarn and pull through remaining 5 sts, leaving enough to sew up thumb seam.
With right side facing you, pick up and knit 2 sts at the base of the thumb and continuing with Row 11: k5, MB, k1, MB, k5.
Row 13: K17, wyif sl 5 sts, k4.
Row 15: Rep row 13.
Row 17: K19, insert RH needle from below under 2 loose strands on RS of work and k next st, k to end.
Row 19: K19, MB, k to end.
Row 21: K17, MB, k1, MB, k to end.
Top Shaping
Row 23 – Decrease Row 1: K5, k2tog (twice), k6, MB, k2, k2tog, k2. You now have 23 sts.
Row 24 – Decrease Row 2: K4, k2tog (twice), k5, k2tog, k5. You now have 20 sts.
Row 25 – Decrease Row 3: K3, k2tog (twice), k4, k2tog, k5.
Row 26 – Decrease Row 4: P10, p2tog, p6.
Row 27 – Decrease Row 5: K2, k2 tog, k6, k2tog, k5.

Finishing
Draw yarn through remaining 14 sts and pull tight. Leave enough to sew up side seam of mitten. Weave in ends and give to child!

For Right Mitten: Reverse shaping, you will have 13 sts on your right side instead of the left when you place markers. You will start the candy pattern after k4.

Please let me know if you have any issues with the pattern or find any errors. Enjoy!!

Knitting, Eating & Boobies

2007-11-24T10:39:00.000-05:00

Alright Norah, you got me. I resisted the Tilted Duster, lovely as it is. I resisted the Cabled Coat from Vogue’s 25th Anniversary mag. Then, thanks yet again to Ravelry, I found the Russian Coat from the Vogue Holiday issue. Must...make....this....coat. I can’t really justify buying more yarn for a new project right now……but…..well isn’t it nice that I make the Christmas shopping easier on my hubby??

I’m using Plymouth Boku in the colorway #6; the colors are tan, black, gray, rust, and deep purple. Lovely. This yarn does behave nicely after washing, and softens up, and you can see in the hexagon on the left. This is a really fun knit. It’s kind of like potato chips; you just want to keep eating (knitting)! My only concern with this yarn is that it’s not spun very tightly; in fact it comes apart quite easily when you pull on it. I have to take extreme care when sewing the seams. I just hope it holds up well in the long haul.

On a funnier note, after I finished the second hexagon this morning, Sydney asked me if I was making boobies. I had to crack up laughing! Maybe it's because I kept refering to the gathering in the middle of the hexagon as a 'nipple'. Too cute. (Yes, Sydney, Mommy is making a long coat with LOTS of boobies on it.) Ahh, to be 3.
For the main body, I’m going to use the Peruvia recommended in the pattern. Lindsey at Purl’s is ordering just the right brown for me. Also in progress is the Fun Cardi, almost done with the first side, also Farmer Fox is slowly coming along. Christmas knitting is coming soon!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving at my in-laws, turkey with all the trimmings and I made a pumpkin roll for dessert. I’m avoiding all the stores right now; I have absolutely no interest in the whole Black Friday thing!! I prefer to either make gifts or support other individuals who make things as well. Etsy is one of my favorite places to shop online, though I have a number of indie artist links. Copacetique, Cut + Paste, Orange Button, Indie N.C., and Trunkt are just a few! Happy Holidays to those in the U.S. and I hope you all have a great week!!

Gobble Gobble

2007-11-18T19:04:00.000-05:00

And here we go again….with another spinning wheel! This one is (yikes!!) from eBay, I know, I know, it’s such a gamble getting a wheel there, but I couldn’t resist this handcrafted one. It was made by a very nice man name Joel Pellani, and he even made an extra bobbin for me! After some ‘getting to know you’ pains, I’m making some nice, even yarn (well, as even as a newbie can!).

Here are also some pics of a couple of scarves I’ve sold recently from my website. Pretty, pretty! The one with the brown yarn was my first attempt last year at a drop stitch pattern. It’s a great way to stretch those special skeins of yarn!
I’m making a hat & mitten set for Sydney, since the weather has finally turned chilly here. It’s called the “Candy Hat & Mittens Set” since she’s still stuck on Halloween. The yarn looked kind of ‘candy colored’ to me anyway, so I modified a bobble stitch pattern to kind of look like little candies on the hat. The hat is done, mittens hopefully this week. Pattern to follow!
What else, let’s see. I’m working on Farmer Fox for Sydney for Christmas. Other Christmas gifts will be a hat for the bro to match the scarf I gave him last year, and a second Droplet Hat from Knitting Nature. I’m also plugging away on my ‘Biking Cardi’ (Deborah Newton design), and I know I will love this one.

Then, just when I thought I had enough sweaters in progress, I fell in LOVE with this: Russian Coat. MUST MAKE THIS COAT. Now, so far I’ve resisted the Tilted Duster and that gorgeous cabled coat in Vogue’s 25th Anniversary mag, but Norah Gaughan has snagged me with this one. After mulling around my LYS yesterday, I’ve decided to do it in Plymouth Boku, rather than the Berocco Jasper, mainly for cost reasons. I need to find a solid color to compliment the Boku, and the YS owner wasn’t there to help me.

Other than that, I’m just working hard, looking forward to having two Thanksgiving celebrations this week (one being at work). Should be a great week! Hope you all have a good one, I'll leave you with a link to a cute little turkey.

Presenting....The Stranded Shedir Hat!!!

2007-11-08T07:50:00.000-05:00

Woo Hoo! It's done. Hubby loves his new hat. I'm VERY glad the thing is off the needles, 'twas a wee bit tense there at the end.

Saving Jane......

2007-11-03T09:19:00.000-04:00

Well, let’s see. Life in general has been really great the last couple of weeks. Hubby and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary on Oct. 20th; we went for a weekend away to Hot Springs, NC. I can’t say I was too impressed with the little (tiny) town of Hot Springs, but our cabin was nice and private and had its own hot tub, which we enjoyed immensely! It was so weird getting there after running around so much that week, then we where like “OK, now what?” It was just nice to reconnect with that man I married.

Then, my parents came down from Philadelphia for a week long visit. Sydney and I got to spend a lot of time with them doing all sorts of different things, including a gorgeous fall ride up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I dragged my mom to SAFF on Friday, and it was wonderful! I am definitely getting a wheel as soon as I can. OH yeah, that was my other news, I MADE YARN! It was awesome. The instructor, BJ, at my Earth Guild class was great. At SAFF, I got to try out some different wheels, including a beautiful antique one I decided to pass on. It took me the longest time to buy any yarn; I was just sort of overwhelmed by all the beautiful fibers/yarns/wheels/stuff to buy there. I eventually decided on a few skeins, two handspun and two commercially spun from a merino farm in TX called Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Co., really lovely stuff.

The bummer for me about SAFF was that I was REALLY looking forward to seeing the animals, and I can only guess that most people don’t bring them on Friday, since there were only a few alpacas there. If my parents weren’t in town, I would have gone back on Sat. or Sunday. BUT, it was fun and I highly recommend going if you can get here.

It was kind of good that they left on Halloween, since I had to work, then run home and take the kiddo out that night. It kept me from being too depressed that they left! Sydney was a Candy Fairy for Halloween, the only costume she liked in the costume store, and she’s been wearing it every day since then.

On to the Jane saga…..knitting has seemed to suck lately, here’s why. I worked hard to finish up the Jane Crossover sweater by Fleece Artist to have it in time for SAFF. (Was too warm for a sweater anyway!! I saw someone wearing the Lotus tank from IK!) It’s good to have goals anyway. I finished it, and I’m not happy with it. The neck is too high and tight, and it will be a pain in the butt to rip out the seams for it. The other issue is gaping at the armpit area, which you really need to see the pattern to understand this one; it’s quite an unusual construction. The other thing that irks me is the rolling stockinette!! Why, oh why, do designers insist on these designs where half of your knitting is rolled under. That’s one of those things I’ll never understand. Bleh, bleh bleh. I can sew up those underarm areas easy enough. I CAN undo the seams, I’m sure. I just think I’m not that happy overall with the design, for me. I think the yarn could be something more beautiful. Ugh, not a trip to the frog pond!! All that work! I’ll give it a couple weeks and see what I think then.

On top of that, the two-toned Shedir has been having its own issues. The top came out way pointy, like to fit a giant-headed gnome, maybe. Rip, rip rip, I re-worked the top last night and made up my own (shorter) ending. Then onto the cast-on edge, which is too loose. I couldn’t figure out how to take this out other than cutting it off to where I needed it. Now I have a million little pieces and I’m trying to find the loops that aren’t cut to get back OTN. Argh! It’s the week of the lousy knitter. Live and learn, right? At least I got him to try it on last night and he really loves it, says it feels great on his head.

I’m going to make a huge batch of cabbage soup today, for the Cabbage Soup Diet, and oldie but goodie that was revamped in Good Housekeeping magazine recently. This one seems a little easier to follow, since you can have regular (small) meals in between. Wish me luck! I’m hoping to drop a few before Thanksgiving.

The Black & Gray Stranded Shedir

2007-10-16T16:09:00.000-04:00

Here is the hat in progress for my hubby, for my Knit Talk friends who aren't on Ravelry. I'd like to tighten up the cast-on edge, it came out too loose once I started stranding! Any suggestions?? Back off to the couch feeling crummy.....darn head cold.

Make a Lil' Pumpkin Pin!

2007-10-16T11:17:00.000-04:00

Lil’ Pumpkins Pattern

I made up some cute little pumpkin pins for some fall fun! This is a great pattern for using up your little leftovers!

The Goods: Worsted weight yarn, size 5-7 needles, either circular or DPN’s
Yarn used: for smallest pumpkin, some Malabrigo and green handspun; http://www.handpaintedyarn.com/ – I used their Colonia yarn for the larger pumpkins.

This pattern is pretty adaptable to just about any yarn. I recommend a worsted or heavy worsted, I like the way handspun gives it more ‘character’, though any commercial yarn will be just fine. Once you’ve made a couple of these, you can vary the pattern as you see fit, make them bigger or smaller! With this pattern (the Malabrigo pumpkin) the pumpkin came out to be about 2 1/4" wide and 2" high not including i-cord.

Directions:
CO 7 sts. on either a circular or DPN’s.
Row 1: (K1, P2) twice, end K1.
Row 2: Work sts. as they lay.
Row 3: Inc. in first st., P2, Inc.1, P2, Inc. in last st. – you now have 10 sts.
Row 4: K1, P1, K3, P1, K2, P1, K1
Row 5-6: Work sts. as they lay.
Row 7: Inc. in first st., K1, P2, K1, P3, K1, Inc. in last st. – you now have 12 sts.
Row 8-11: Work sts. as they lay.
Row 12: K2tog, P1, K3, P1, K2, K2tog – you now have 10 sts.
Row 13: P1, K1, P2, K1, P3, K1, P1
Row 14: K1, P1, K2tog, K1, P1, K2, P1, K1 – you now have 9 sts.
Row 15: Join green yarn (or yarn you want to use for top), K across.
Rows 16-17: BO 2 sts., K to end.
Rows 18-19: BO 1 st., K to end.
You should now have 3 sts. left.

Now you can make a little i-cord with remaining sts. You can also make the i-cord smaller by binding off one more st. When you decide the i-cord is long enough, BO remaining sts. and pull yarn through. Tie a little knot at the top and cut yarn. Weave in ends. Give a quick lukewarm wash and pull into shape. Lat flat to dry.

At this point you can make the pumpkin into a pin if you like. What I did was cut a piece of green felt to fit the back. Then with an invisible thread, I hand sewed the felt to the back and added a flat backed pin. If you do add a pin, place it close to the top of the pumpkin so it doesn’t ‘hang’ over. You could also just sew it onto a hat or sew one onto a tote for a cute little Halloween candy bag! Wear it on your sweater for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Please let me know if you have any difficulty with the pattern.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

2007-10-14T17:49:00.000-04:00

And then there was spinning….or at least trying to spin. My class last week was less than awesome. I tried to spin on a very lovely wheel that I can’t remember the name of now, and….well….I suck. I absolutely suck at spinning. I was seriously over twisting my yarn until I had gobs of a kinky mess. Well there’s always next week. I can’t possibly be any WORSE, can I?? I sure hope not.

There’s been knitting. I’m trying to finish my Jane Crossover in that lovely Fleece Artist Ottawa. I’ll tell you though; the only thing keeping me going on this one is determination. I love the yarn, but I’m too bored with the miles of stockinette. It’s almost over!

My Biking Cardi is much more interesting to me. Those little purl sts. I have to keep up with in the pattern, along with the pretty subtle stripy effect of the Ella Rae Palermo are keeping me going on that.

But that’s not enough! Of course I had to add another project. It was my huge mistake of asking the hubby what hat he wanted for our anniversary. HUGE. He’s Mr. Picky from now on. Here’s a link to what I’m making for him: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/knittingheidi/shedir - if it looks familiar, that’s because it’s the Shedir pattern from Knitty. Only it’s stranded, for a cool two-tone effect. Found this version on Ravelry, and he loved it. I mean, he’s actually *excited* about this hat. Now, I just need to pray that it fits!!

Dwelling in All Things Fiber....

2007-10-07T13:55:00.000-04:00

Where have I been? Well let's see....I started taking a spinning class last week at Earth Guild; it was great! We (all 7 of us) were brought into a room and introduced to "Moses", a Cotswold sheep fleece, laid out on the table in front of us. It was about as close to a farm as you could get without actually being there. I'm very excited about the class. We talked about types of fiber, and learned about washing and carding. We each took home 10 oz. of Moses to wash and card and get ready for the next class. I hope I can learn this!! (Warning: Graphic pics ahead!!) Here are the shots of Moses 'before' and 'after' cleaning. Wow, what a difference! There's still lots of grease and I'm getting to the point where I can card without drawing blood. (I kept hitting my knuckles...ouch!)

Today, I had the chance to go to an Alpaca Farm called Venezia Dream Farm; named so because the owner, Star, and her husband used to like to drink wine (I'm guessing Italian wine??) and dream about having an alpaca farm. As you can see, they have a pretty rough life here in Western NC. She's from CA, her hubby, Joe, is from New York. (David and I were a little closer geographically speaking, being from Phoenix and Philly!) It was great to speak with someone who is doing what we dream to someday. Sydney got right in there and made herself at home on the farm. Check out the great old tree at the edge of their farm, it's estimated to be at least 300 years old! It's days like these that I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place every day.

I've still been knitting! I'm plugging away on my Jane Crossover sweater, really enjoying the nuances of the Ottawa yarn. I'm afraid I may run out, and I'm hoping this will be a 'super ball' of yarn, you know the kind, you knit and knit and it never seems to get smaller. I'm also working on the Biking Cardigan, which I made a whoopsie and have to rip back a few rows. Have a Great Sunday!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

2007-09-23T19:01:00.000-04:00

Blog Anniversary, that is. Well, my goodness, how time flies. Today is my Blogiversary; I started doing this one year ago! Now, I am up to 3 readers! (I do need to get one of those nifty site counters one of these days.) It’s amazing to think back over the last year and all the things I have learned. I can say I’m much braver than I was and I don’t get as easily intimidated by patterns. (Wish I did, then I wouldn’t have so many things going on!) I’ve designed a couple of things and I’m really enjoying that process. Hats are easy, I feel confident making them now. Sydney’s little jumper dress was pretty easy too, thanks to the Stitchionary.

Right now I’m working on a mermaid. Sydney is in the princess phase (when does THAT go away??), and her favorite is the Little Mermaid, aka Ariel. I’m hoping this will be a pattern that I can sell. How to you know that it’s ‘good enough’ for sale?? There is still so much I don’t know, I’m afraid someone who’s more knowledgeable than myself will think “why did she do it like THAT?” when they see my pattern. Hopefully I’ll have some test knitters that can help me out.

What else am I doing? Well, let’s see. I have 4, yes 4 sweaters in progress. All for me. Boy am I getting selfish. The poor Wicked sweater has been in limbo for a while now, but it’s still there. The cool thing is that they are all constructed differently, there’s a top down (Wicked), the fitted sleeve colorwork cardi (Arietta), the origami wrapped odd construction (Jane), and lastly, the one I started yesterday with no good excuse, the semi-fitted (not a cap sleeve but not a drop shoulder) cardi with some great texture stitches (Deborah’s Biking Cardigan).

Part of the reason I’m doing so much knitting for me is that I’m getting more and more confident learning all these different techniques, and I like to practice on things that aren’t gifts. I’m already thinking back on some of the gifts I’ve made and cringe. Oh well.

I’m also going to be taking a spinning class for 4 weeks during the month of October, I’m so excited! It will be interesting to understand the whole process is yarn making.

Hope you are all knitting and making beautiful things, thanks for reading!!

Pics are as follows: some cute shots from the Western North Carolina State Fair last weekend (since when are there camels in a petting zoo?); the "Bainbridge Scarf", a cute free pattern; the mitered purse I finally got around to putting in a lining for made from Peace Fleece; lastly the aforementioned cardi 'I don't need to make'.

Feelin' Kinda Mellow

2007-09-21T16:28:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday. It's a gorgeous day here in the mountains, there's a breeze, the windchimes are blowing out front and the kiddo is napping. Ahhhh. Went to the playground this morning, by the library, we checked out some books. Got this really good gem that I wasn't expecting to be anything great, it's called "Knitting Today's Classics" and it was put out in 1997 by Classic Elite yarns. There's some older (obviously) Norah Gaughan designs in here and a super cute cardi I like by Deborah Newton. I love the Library. My own problem is I usually want to keep all the books I take out and there's this sinking feeling when I have to drop them in that little box again.

I'm on a yarn diet. It stinks! We really need to buy another vehicle, which we may we doing next week. Also, a house would be nice someday =;) My wrist/hand have been bugging me, so yesterday I did something I used to love doing....sew. I've been weaving, weaving, weaving in ends, ends on the two finished sleeves of Arietta, which are still not done. I also finished the 50's Lacy Shrug I posted about ages ago. The knitting has been done, I just needed to weave and seam the 'sleeves'. Boy, do I like it!! It was perfect wearing it last night with the little chill in the air.

Tried calling Tangled Web up in Philly to get the rest of the yarn for Arietta (I think buying for an UFO doesn't count on the yarn diet). Oh no!, they don't have the brown. They are getting an order in soon, and may have some them.....I sure hope so. I've spent so much on this cardigan it's pretty silly. I already know I'm going to love it when it's done, I get happy every time I see it.

Looking forward to some hiking this weekend, I'm ready for fall!!

How 'bout a little Eye Candy??

2007-09-15T20:48:00.001-04:00

New Knit Picks Harmony needles, DPN's size 4 came today. I just had to order some and try them out. I LOVE these needles! They have a nice grip, are smooth and lightweight, are a true joy to work with. They are my new favorite, and I don't even think I've really HAD a favorite up until now. Try them, you won't be disappointed!
It seems the colors are not as bright as on my monitor when I bought them, a good thing, I think. They are just absolutely beautiful, on top of their other good qualities. Ummm, can you tell I really like them??

They are pictured with Shine yarn, which is much brighter than the actual needles. Now, go get yourself some!

Now all I need is a Wedding....

2007-09-14T08:23:00.000-04:00

So I can wear this beautiful shawl!! Will some get married please? And invite me? I bring great gifts! Seriously though, this baby hasn't had it's proper photo shoot with a model yet (that would be ME) since hubby works all kinds of crazy hours and I went to knit night at Purl's last night. (Will you look at that, I finally figured out how to make a 'small' link! Woo hoo.) Aside from the fact that Alison Hyde is a super nice person, her book (Wrapped in Comfort) is great for anyone who has wanted to knit shawls. I can attest that they do indeed stay on the shoulders extremely well (it's not going anywhere!) and are beautiful as well. Don't forgot to click on the pics for enlargement. I preferred the line by line instructions, but found myself looking at the chart when I got to the end of the row. The Silky Tweed was a pleasure to work with, just know that you have to be very mindful since it wants to split. It was amazing to see how pretty it is once blocked, my final measurement came out to 18" in height (the one in the book is 22", but I only did one repeat of the edging). Lovely, if I do say so myself. I think I'll do a scarf with this pattern, I enjoyed it so much.

The other pics are a couple of vintage pattern books I acquired from hubby's Grandma when her friend passed away. I'm debating on the little cardi in the middle on the Bernat book or the Pixie Hoodie on the Wonderland book for my Sydney, what do you think?

A Temporary Distraction.....

2007-09-12T20:18:00.000-04:00

In the form of a kid's two front teeth. Now granted, she' s only 3, therefore not due to get her permanent teeth until the age of 7 or age (warning, graphic pic ahead!). Then there was a little accident at her school last week and BOOM! my little sweety almost got them knocked out. She's such a little trooper and is doing really well a week later. Here they are after a visit to the dentist to push them back up and apply a little 'splint' on them:

After all the drama, of course I had to give her this little elephant that was supposed to be for Christmas.....oh well. She likes him for now.

In other knitterly news, I have finished "Kathy's Shawl" from Wrapped in Comfort!!! Well, it's nearly finished, it's blocking on my floor now. I couldn't resist taking a couple of pics, even though it's still super wet:

Still not sure if I will keep it. I'm seeing my very special Aunt Michele wearing this. Hmmm...... Well I do have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this shawl and will certainly make more from Alison's book. The shawl won't budge while wearing it, it's such a great design for staying on the shoulders. I'm just not completely sold that it's for me! But I do love that pink. I'll let you know what the finished size is after it's blocked. I ran out of yarn and just completed one repeat of the border. I think I'm more of a process knitter, because once it's done I have no trouble giving it up!! It that silly?? Well, if you have any fear of shawls, you need to try one of Alison's patterns, all but the very newest of knitters can complete these, with beautiful and amazing results. I'm looking forward to seeing the other shawls that people are making. Have a lovely night.

Now what??

2007-09-01T15:16:00.000-04:00

Here's the story. It was Saturday morning, September 1st. I packed up the kiddo to go look at some yard sales, in hopes of finding treasures I could sell. Instead, I found what I hope is a treasure I can use!

The woman who owned this wheel knew nothing about it. She had only displayed it and had bought it from another woman in New York who also had it displayed. Does anyone out there know what kind of wheel this is? It's a total mystery to me. I just thought it was so beautiful, I couldn't pass it up. I got her down to $45, so I have no clue if this was a 'good buy'. I just want to make some yarn! It measures 44" high and the wheel itself is only 12" in diameter. The only other thing I can tell you is it spins!

Anyone know anything to help me?? Thanks so much!! (Click on pics to enlarge.)

A Rainy Sunday

2007-08-26T15:36:00.000-04:00

I finished up the triplets hats yesterday. I was inspired by the fact that their grandfather was visiting my MIL (her brother). SO I finished them up and here they are! The little sweet peas are names Colin, Quinn and Rhys. I loved the Touche yarn and am already knitting up a little stripy elephant with the leftovers, since I'm so creative and all. (Not really, I got the pattern on Ravelry.)

Sunday is always a day on reflection and contemplation for me. Today is not different, especially with it being all rainy & dreary. I've just been trying to enjoy all the little moments that make up my life. Some days are good, some days not so good. All are a gift. As knitters we are forced to 'live in the moment'. What a blessing!

Namaste,

Elizabeth

P.S. In the picture, Sydney is 'reading' to Zuki, our bunny.

Will this Heat never end???

2007-08-25T14:09:00.001-04:00

Alright, I’ll admit it. I’ve been slacking on my blog. Wanna know why? The answer lies here: http://www.ravelry.com/ . Yes, it’s an evil, evil place. And a whole lot of fun. You should join in the fun! (I’m such an enabler.) If you’re already there, drop me a line! My user name is CountingSheep.

SO here’s what I’m working on. The second sleeve of Arietta is nearing completion, should have it done today. I messed up a bit on my decreases for the sleeve cap last night, was a bit distracted by the scantily clad men in 300 parading their 8-packs around. (On another note, someone at work the other day mentioned they were wearing boots in the movie, and I was like ‘oh boots? I hadn’t noticed.’ Guess my eyes never made it down that far =;) SO last night I looked, and I think they wear their sandals the whole time.)

I’ve also been working on a little sweater called Jane: http://www.colorsongyarn.com/jackets_sweaters/jane_crossover.htm . I think $55 for a sweater kit is not bad, especially when it has yummy Fleece Artist yarn. I think they should have called this colorway “Berries and Chocolate”, because that is what it looks like to me. I love the little ‘snow’ flecks in the yarn and the fact that it feels so much like handspun. Think this will be a ‘live-in’ sweater this winter.

The Kathy shawl from Alison Hyde’s book “Wrapped in Comfort” is near completion. I just need to get my butt over to my LYS and grab one last ball of the Silky Tweed. I’m so bummed I missed out on Webs having the Silky Wool closeout; I want some of that stuff!!

Just when you thought I was behaving myself, I bought another pattern for this cute little guy named “Farmer Fox”: http://www.ariadneknits.com/index.html . I see some toy knitting in the near future. Here’s an interesting toy designer on Etsy called hansigurumi: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5162135 – I love her octopi!
Hope you all have a great weekend! I’m looking forward to an end to this 95 degree weather in NC, that’s for sure. Oh and a pic of the Lucky Grasshopper found on my house. I know, crickets are supposed to be the lucky ones, but I thought he was cute. Hey, maybe I can knit one.....
TTFN.

And then there were 3......

2007-08-05T17:03:00.001-04:00

Here are the 3 cuties I am knitting for. They are my hubbo’s cousins’ babies, if you can follow that! I’m making up my own hat pattern for them, using Berroco Touche yarn, a lovely cotton/modal blend that is machine washable. I’ve learned how to knit jogless stripes in the round, after a botched first attempt. Thank-you Meg Swansen! Then I am using the ‘Hugs & Kisses’ cable (just two cable repeat) for the border. I really wanted to do the raglan decreases at the top of the hat, but I have three cables, so I did a triple decrease instead. Lastly, a duplicate stitch "C" for little Colin. I have 5 different colors, so they will all be different. I’m hoping I’ll have enough left over to make some matching booties. I really love this pattern I saw over at Brooklyn Tweed called ‘Saartje’s Booties’ (http://members.home.nl/tdpj/Patronen/Bootees/Saartjes%20bootees.pdf) We’ll see how much I have left over.

I really like the new IK for fall. Of course I love the Norah Gaughan pattern on the front cover; I’m getting to the point now where I just know it’s her pattern when I first see it. She loves those geometrical shapes! Also the Norah pattern in the new Vogue is just gorgeous! I’m sure it’s not quite as complicated as is appears. Can’t decide which one of those two I prefer (of the two swingy coat patterns).

Overall, I was kind of disappointed with the new Vogue. I only like one of the patterns in the ‘Top 10’, the one that was a sort of short cardi with circles in the back of it. I really like IK better, it has a homier feel to it. However, there was one pattern I felt like I wanted to knit in Vogue, the lace hoodie in the chevron pattern. I liked that a lot.

Anyway, we’re trying to stay cool over in the mountains of Western North Carolina today. It’s pretty darn hot. Sydney is sick so we’re trying to keep her happy. Hubby is kind enough to be grilling steaks so I don’t have to heat up the kitchen. I’m trying to sew handbags, but want to be doing other things. Like blogging!

Oh, I looked up my Ravelry spot; don’t you love how the link to that page is called ‘antsy’ and the end of the link? Too funny. Well, antsy me looked and is said I am #9,266, there are 1,539 people in front of me and 13,495 behind me. Only 33% of the list has been invited! Wow, that is going to be one big happy party in there!

Confronting Fair Isle

2007-08-02T17:02:00.000-04:00

I will not be afraid, I will not be afraid.....actually I feel much more confident about tackling stranded knitting, aka fair isle, I'm not a stickler for the exact term. Arietta has helped me realized I can do anything! I am going to conquer knitting with two colors at a time. The pattern is found here: http://www.halcyonyarn.com/newstemp/knitscene_fairisle.html - I think this is the best picture of it online. The name of it is "Road to Golden", by Lisa Shroyer, who is the editor of Knitscene magazine, where the pattern is found. I love it! I like the way it looks like a cap sleeve T-shirt with a longer shirt underneath. So cute!

I'm using Valley Yarns Northhampton, which is a newer part of their own line, of course the link to them is http://www.yarn.com/ . I've decided I wanted to throw caution to the wind and pick my own colors. I've included my swatch here, what do you think? Please be gentle, it's my first stranded swatch. It's definitely going to take some getting used to. At least I don't have to purl over this sweater, since it's knitted in the round. I'm using a chocolate brown for the main color, mainly to help camoflauge the arm area.

On another note, this reminds me that I owe a post about the color help recommendations I've found/received from my friends at Knit Talk. Here they are, there's not a whole lot, but it may help some of those who are wanting to step into color knitting:

-Here is a great blogger who plays with color a whole lot: http://knittingincolor.blogspot.com/ - this blog is a treasure trove of good articles and resources.

http://impulsivearts.typepad.com/knitting/2007/03/playing_with_co_1.html - this post tells you about a great photo editing software (free!) and then proceeds to teach you how to do cool things to your pictures to get interesting effects.

-The link below brings you to a cool website where you can play with colors, there are many lovely color palettes to get the creative juices flowing!

http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes/search?sortType=rank

-What would we be without Knitty? Of course there are some great articles there:

http://www.knitty.com/issuewinter06/FEATcolortheory.html
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/FEATcolor.html
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/FEATtechnicolor.html

Some advice from Knit Talk friends:

-“What I do is take all the colors I am thinking about using and find a way to put them in more or less the proportions I would use them in...more on that in a minute...and put them at least across the room. Further than that if I have a long unobstructed view of them together. You can see things at a distance you don't always see right up close.”

-”Okay, the best way I have found is to take a long narrow strip of cardboard and wrap the yarn around it to make "stripes" of the colors in more or less the proportion and order in which they will "appear" in the item I am making.”

-”Putting one ball of each color in a pile only works if you are using the exact same amount of each color. If something is only an accent then you need very little of it in your sample.”

-”Or if it is something that I will investing either a lot of time or a lot of money on then I will make something small from the choices. Mittens, a hat, a headband, something large enough to see what I am doing but small enough to get done.”

Meanwhile, in other knitterly news, I am still plugging away at my lace shawl from Alison Hyde's book, the "Kathy Shawl". I haven't forgotten about Arietta, I'm working on the second sleeve and I need to order the rest of my yarn. I've included a couple pics that I wanted to try to show the texture of this pattern, it is so cool. I love Lana Grossa Cool Wool!! Awesome yarn, such a treat. Wish I could get the great shots Jared over at Brooklyn Tweed gets. Guess I need a better camera. Alright, need to run and take care of that kiddo. Have a great weekend.

Life of a Knitter

2007-07-26T09:59:00.000-04:00

Hey there! It's Thursday, which means I'm at home with the kiddo. Still plugging away on the shawl from Wrapped in Comfort, it's looking very pretty. I'm thinking about my poor Monkey socks (Cookie A. pattern). I really need to finish those so I can see if all the hype about hand knitted socks is really true. There are just a TON of great sock patterns out there, I must be missing something big.

I'm wanting to do one of the sweaters from the new Knitscene magazine http://www.knitscene.com/ . I really like the Cactus Blossom Pullover by Kate Jackson and the Road to Golden Pullover by Lisa Shroyer. David of course doesn't like either of them since they have colors in them. (He's a dark, solid color type of guy.) Well, phooey on him. Am I really ready for Fair Isle?? I don't know. If I had any type of willpower I would finish poor Arietta first. We'll see. Plus I need a substitute yarn if I do Road to Golden, since the yarn used would be over $120, and I can't really justify that right now.

I have this huge, beautiful Rose of Sharon bush in my backyard. It's blooming now, and that means I've been back in NC for almost 2 years. It's blooming earlier now, since it was in bloom when we moved here on August 19th of 2005. Boy, was it hot that day, I think it was over 90, which is high for these mountains. Wherever our first home is, I want to plant on of these bushes. It's amazing how the birds/bees/butterflies all love it.

On another note, I finally got to teach David how to knit....look at him!! Isn't it great?? I figured I had to take a pic in case it was a one time only event. So I taught him, he picked it up right away, his stitches were so even and nice it really looked like he was a seasoned knitter! I'm sure my first attempts did not look that good. The best part was that he took a break to take a shower, then when he came out, he picked it up again! We'll see if I can convince him yet of the wonders of being a knitter =;) At least I have a picture.

Pink Shawls, and Lace, and Bears, Oh My!

2007-07-21T15:43:00.000-04:00

Yes, it’s another shawl picture. Oh, Kathy’s Shawl, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. The funny thing is, I don’t even know who this pretty pink shawl is for….if it’s for me, (since Alison Hyde http://spindyeknit.com/ and I are the only people left who love the color), or someone I haven’t met. We shall see. I’m just enjoying the process so much. Every time I finish a row I feel like I should be pushing a button with a little cheering section at a baseball game or something. And NO, I’ve not had any wine today, in case you were wondering. Here’s a little pic of the progress, I’m nearly done with the first body repeat. Each row takes, well, a while. It’s 381 sts after all. I just hope the DK weight yarn wasn’t a bad idea.

As if I wasn’t already in over my head, I’ve been repeating the “I will not buy yarn” mantra all week. Which is crappy, since I joined my LYS sit ‘n’ knit night, and c’mon, I just HAVE to buy yarn from her! I rarely go to her store, since it’s in the center of town and a little hard to find parking to go there. Bleh. Well I have to get SOMEthing if I keep going to this thing.

So I was being a good girl and all, resisting the sales that are seemingly everywhere online…..then….. (big dramatic pause)….I found this: http://knitspot.com/?cat=18 - OH My. Went right over and bought the kit. Oops. I found this through http://www.januaryone.com/ – another knitter whom I bow down to, with her awesome knitterly powers. Alright, now I PROMISE I’m going to go on an OFFICIAL yarn diet…..right after I buy something from my LYS. I need another project like I need a hole in the head. Yet, I am admitting this right here and now, I like lace!! A LOT. It’s really cool watching your knitting progress.

We had a black bear running around in our yard today, so I may be hiding out. I mean, do they actually attack people? Don’t they need to be provoked first or something?? It’s just weird, we saw a mama bear with 3 cubs when we first moved here, and it was always at nighttime. I thought it was odd that this bear was out wandering in a public area in the middle of the day. Phooey. I wanted to see Sydney doing her karaoke with the hose again in her little pool. Now that’s a funny sight.

Great Summer Knitting.....

2007-07-15T15:02:00.000-04:00

...is a shawl from the very sweet Alison Hyde's new book, "Wrapped in Comfort". If you don't have one, you should get one, if simply for the stories and beautiful pictures alone. I'm venturing into the world of knitted shawls, and I'm so NOT a shawl person. We shall see. Don't knock it 'til you try it, right? I do love long flowy dresses, and what better compliment than a lovely hand knitted shawl.

I'm very happy with the way it is turning out so far. I'm knitting "Kathy's Clover Chain Shawl", using a DK weight yarn, which is helping it to progress fairly rapidly. It's Silky Tweed by Elsebeth Lavold, recommended by a lace lover at my LYS. She also was recommended that hemp yarn (Hempathy maybe?) that I was surprised and the nice feel and look of that. (She had both yarns OTN in her knitting bag and whipped her progress out to show me.) My only concern is the yarn making the shawl too big.

Went for a nice hike this morning along the Blue Ridge Parkway, close to the Applachian Trail. Saw a poor Luna Moth on it's last day. We moved it out of the path so it wouldn't get crushed, since it couldn't fly anymore. Noticed lots of really interesting trees, ever notice how they sometimes look like they have faces? Pretty cool. Sydney hiked and talked a lot and did her little happy girl thing. A nice day, there is nothing better than doing the things you love and spending time with those you love.

In which she spends the day wasting time......

2007-07-05T20:41:00.000-04:00

Alright, I’ll admit it….the housework isn’t really getting done today =;) Today is official “goof off on the internet day”. At least for a good afternoon, c’mon, you deserve it!

Anyway, if you can’t do that and are all being good and doing what you’re supposed to, I’ll share some things I’ve discovered today.

First of all, http://www.knittingdaily.com/ - is a new site you can sign up for that has a hilarious moderator named Sandi Wiseheart. She’s going to soon post a tutorial about bust darts, specifically for the pattern from “No Sheep for You”, called Tomato (free download when you sign up.) They have new free patterns every week.

Blogs. My goodness, there are so many great ones! This post over at http://www.crazyauntpurl.com had me cracking up today as she states her evil arch nemesis is the ice cream man. Boy, do I miss having one of those! (Not too many coming down my gravel dead end road.)

Interweave is having a sale on their back issues, buy 4 get a 5th free. This includes all their different publications. I also discovered some free patterns when you click here http://www.knitscene.com/back_issues.asp - and check out the table of contents.

If you have a little boy you have to knit this sweater: http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/freeKnittingPatternPondemonium.asp - they have a monthly pattern contest and this is last month’s winner! How often do you see a sweater with frogs, FLYS & WORMS on it!!

MagKnits – not quite as big and popular as Knitty, but they do have some great patterns over there! Check out this new one: http://www.magknits.com/July07/patterns/jellyfish.htm - a really cute, lacy shrug.

On a more serious note: Annie Modesitt – who I’m sure the vast majority of you know of, since her patterns are seemingly everywhere – is selling a pattern and asking for donations for her husband, who has Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer. It’s a lovely corset to gown pattern, and Annie seems to just be one of the sweetest people in the knitting community. Here’s the link: http://www.anniemodesitt.com/patterns/rcc.html.

I’ve started the second sleeve of Arietta, imagining by some miracle that I could actually finish this in time to submit a photo to the Knitty calendar contest: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer07/2008contest.html . Surely, you jest! Well, a girl can dream!! My online search for others making Arietta didn’t prove very successful. I’m curious to see some other color combos.

Yet another knitting thing to get addicted to…..podcasts. I realized that you don’t even need one of those little ipods, I can listen with my old fashioned Windows Media Player just fine. Here’s one I found that I really thought was informative AND funny: http://www.stashandburn.com/.

So what do you think of my Double Scoop sweater?? Sydney looks pretty happy in it. She loved her 'photo shoot'. It's a great sweater for summer/fall since we still get some of those chilly moutain evenings here in Asheville NC.

I’ll leave you with a link to some really dreamy yarn. Someday….someday….. http://sundarayarn.typepad.com/sundara_yarn

Have a great weekend.

Got Intarsia? Check!!

2007-06-30T08:47:00.000-04:00

I’m such a Fickle Franny, like my mother would say. Here I thought I didn’t want to do colorwork, now I’ve done mosaic, intarsia and I’m looking for my first fair isle. Or is it just a knitting thing? Once you’ve mastered something, you just want to move on and ‘do it all’?? I guess everyone is different.

My brother recently told me he thought the process of knitting would just “get old”. Well, those of us who are true addicts know the truth. It never gets old. In fact, I think it gets more and more interesting as you start to learn about all the different things you can do. I mean you could make nothing but hats your whole life and learn just about every different technique.

Jim’s (my brother) an artist too. He chooses to work in the mediums of stained glass and wood. Here’s his site: http://www.adelphiastainedglass.com/, which of course doesn’t begin to do justice to his work. Every time he finishes something, he’ll never make that same thing again. It has to be different. He can’t stay in one place long enough to knit something.

Am I just crazy? I even like the weaving in of the ends of the yarn and the sewing together of pieces, the whole process. I love the finished objects, but I’m definitely realizing it’s the journey for me.

About the "Double Scoop" pics, I'm terrible about showing my WIP's, usually just FO's, so here's the inside shot of my hopefully not too scary weaving in. I found that I had some pretty big holes on some areas, so the weaving helped a lot with that. Not sure why, I followed the directions I got from the video at knittinghelp.com. The yarn is Knit Picks 'Main Line', which I do like very much and I imagine I'll be going back for more of this one. The other shot is the little stripes I added to the back, since it was pretty plain, I love the contrast of the purl side of the stripes. I can see doing a project using the 'wrong' side in my future.

Little Sydney and I had our ‘girl’s day’ yesterday, first we went to Waechter’s Silk Shop here in Asheville, http://fabricsandbuttons.hostasaurus.com/, this is a wonderful fabric shop that is known for their button selection. We went to get a little button for her “Double Scoop” sweater. For some reason, the neck seemed a little tight, so I left the side open and will add a loop and button to it. We found a great button, matches the sweater wonderfully and also some for my Arietta.

Then we had lunch at the City Bakery next door to Waechter’s, a black forest ham and cheese panini with some great grainy mustard. Some Honest organic iced tea. Then off to the Library and park, where we played and got (guess what??) more knitting books to read.

Found this great one called “Nursery Rhyme Knits”, by Teresa Boyer. How cute is this book? Let me tell you….it’s adorable. One of these may be my first Fair Isle project. She’s incorporated not only designs from many favorite nursery rhymes, but even the words as well. My favorite has to be the “Mary had a Little Lamb”.

One of these days I’ll get back to sewing and making things to sell, for now I’m having too much fun exploring my knitting possibilities. Off to make some Carrot Cake for hubby’s birthday tomorrow. Yummy!! I’ll leave you with some pics of my 3 year old, what a little contradiction she is. I know, I know, it’s a ‘knitting’ blog. But she’s my kid, and, darn it, she’s pretty cute!!

Back Home from Vacation

2007-06-16T09:23:00.000-04:00

Aaahhh…..vacation. If only there could be more of them. Sydney and I had a great time visiting my parents up in Philadelphia, PA, for more than 2 weeks!! Some of the highlights were going to the Camden, NJ aquarium and the shore at Ocean City, NJ. Here's a pic of Sydney with her first fish, she was so proud! We got to see relatives and just went to lots of places and had lots of fun and ice cream. Had some quality time with both parents; Mom and I had a spa day, complete with a wonderful massage, then went fishing early in the morning with Dad, wearing his hip waders, next to 4 snakes on the Delaware River!

Some of the knitterly highlights including seeing 4 knitting shops, 2 in Philly, and 2 in Bucks County, PA. I got my new Arietta yarn! It’s Lana Grossa “Cool Wool”, 100% unshrinkable merino. This is some nice, nice stuff. The girl at the shop was making baby stuff out of it, which would be perfect, it’s that lovely. Hopefully, you all like the colors I picked out this time. I am finally happy with them. I’m just about done with the first sleeve. Already I’m learning a lot about how to keep track of increasing/decreasing with a chart, which is all new to me. I’m getting better and really examining the pattern to figure out where I need to be on the chart. I guess this gets easier with time.

I also had to start a new project, which was great knitting for the beach/pool. It’s the “Montego Bay Scarf” from the Summer IK, although for me it will be the "Ocean City Scarf". Lace, I like it! Just easy breezy knitting with a pretty hand dyed rayon boucle and my rosewood circs. http://www.interweaveknits.com/Galleries/bonus/summer_2007/montego-bay.asp

Back to work on Monday, ugh! Having a date night with the hubby tonight, it was really hard being away from him for so long. Maybe if he's lucky I'll make him that carrot cake he loves for Father's Day tomorrow. You all have a great weekend.

Up in PhillyLand....and the search for Arietta

2007-06-04T17:25:00.000-04:00

With no hook up for my digital. You'll have to wait for the great pics I'm getting. We (Sydney and I) have been having a great time staying here with my parents. We went to a really nice aquarium in Camden, NJ, and got to see lots of sharks! It was great. You can actually swim with them there....don't know if I'm quite brave enough for that.

We went to Chestnut Hill, down in Philadelphia, a nice area for shopping. Of course I only went there because there are 2 (!) yarn shops within a couple of blocks. The first one in called "Knit With", it's the oldest YS in Philly, it's been there since 1970 (older than me!), and it's pretty small. There are some lovely yarns there, it just feels pretty cramped inside. I do have to say the owner that I made was extremely helpful and informative, he was knitting the sweetest little baby jacket. He knew what LYS are in my area, even told me which one was better than another one! Unfortunately, he didn't have the yarn I needed for Arietta. He had some beautiful egyptian cotton for $9.99 for 109 yds., but I would need about 17 skeins on it...yikes!

So then we wandered down to "Tangled Web". Let me tell you, this is a great yarn shop. The two people who worked there that day were just great, very friendly and helpful. The shop is big, bright and airy, the kind of shop I'd want to go have a sit 'n' knit in. Let me also tell you that I switched gears. The girl who worked there was recommending this Lana Grossa yarn, I think it's either called "Cool Wool" or "Merino 2000". She happened to have two projects going with it in her bag, both were fabulous. I was sold. It is soft and light and sproingy, since it's a sport weight I'm sure I would use it in Spring/Fall as well as Winter. You'll just have to wait and see my colors, but I'm feeling really good about it this time. Arietta, here I come!!

Let's see....what else. We went fishing yesterday and I caught a decent sized Bass. My Sydney caught her first fish at 3, so she has me beat. (My first fish was caught at 4!) It's just nice to relax and be with my folks. OK, that's enough for now. Have a great week.

Color Madness!

2007-05-27T17:20:00.000-04:00

Here's a story.....of a little cardi....who wanted to grow up to be beautiful someday.

In case you're just joining me, here's the pattern: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/PATTarietta.html. I'm really starting to think I should have just gone with the original colors, which are lovely. But, no, I had to think I could make it a little more 'girly', and now I'm having some issues. I decided to use the yarn that is
called for in the pattern, Shine Sport by Knit Picks. The first colors I choose you can see in the

third picture, they were Willow(brown), Blush, Hydrangea, Silver Sage and Cloud (gray). I swatched on my 3's like a good girl and found that I got too tight of a fabric for my liking. I ended up getting gauge on 5's. Don't know if this makes me a tight knitter or the designer a loose one, but that's what I got.

Anyhoo, I wasn't liking how the Cloud (one of the contrast colors) was fading into the Willow (brown) too much. So I pondered and pondered and decided to order some Butter (yellow). Funny thing how a few balls of Main Line ended up in my cart as well......

So I thought the yellow would contrast nicely with the Hydrangea and the Silver Sage could be used for the Blush, since I always love pink/green combos. Well, you can see the start of my sleeve. I'm not liking how the Butter makes the Hydrangea look blue. The other thing that concerns me is just the overall brightness. Will I really like this when it's finished?? Will I feel like I need to go to a Garden Tea Party, or will the guests run away screaming from my hideously colored sweater?? What to do, what to do.

The other thought I had was to put the Blush and Butter together, which I originally didn't want to do since they are both 'brights'. That's the weird little swatch on the bottom, under the bigger one. I was trying to see if the Hydrangea/Sage and Blush/Butter combo would be better.

Argh! On top of it all, I'm sick as a dog with some flu type thing and can hardly walk across the room. My brother is in town and supposed to drive me back up to Philly, PA on Tuesday for a vacation. And....my Birthday is tomorrow! No fair.

Please let me know if you have any thoughts on this or how to make it better. Remember, I do still have the Cloud yarn as well, but I really can't buy any more colors right now.

Namaste,

Elizabeth

Frustrated in Western North Carolina

FO~Knitting Nature Shell Tank

2007-05-25T11:55:00.000-04:00

Yeah! A new FO I can wear! It's the 'Shell Tank' from Norah Gaughan's "Knitting Nature". I used Knit Picks Cotlin in Island Coral. It's a funny thing about this color. Originally, I bought it to make the Dollar and a Half Cardi from IK. I swatched and was not happy with it, plus I was concerned that I wouldn't like a whole cardi in this color. Then on Mother's Day I was knitting this tank in the car and again being concerned on the color.....then I realized I was wearing a camisole in the same EXACT color! How funny is that?? So I DO like it after all.

Anyhoo, I ended up on this tank, which I loved when I first saw it. Figured it would be an easy knit. Not so much! I learned a LOT on this tank. I learned to really take your time to read the directions, not just that, but you need to understand them too. I frogged the whole right front panel because I thought the shaping 'at the same time' didn't begin until the armhole. Whoops. The cable panel was really fun. Putting it together took a while and several tries on picking up the correct amount of sts on the armholes. (Realized quickly why too many is a bad thing...all wavy!)

The yarn was really nice, not great like the current Shine yarn I am using, which I just LOVE. There was bits of plant material which I picked up fairly easily, some I didn't bother, maybe it will come out in the wash. I'm curious to see how the top will hold up, since I heard linen gets better with age, I'm actually going to put it in the machine.

It's a little bit shorter than I would like, but I think it may stretch a bit when it's washed. Yes, I know, I didn't block it! I actually like the very organic look of the yarn and the stitches not being all perfect. Overall, I would recommend this yarn for summer tops, think it would also make great washrags.

I also want to mention that I've been VERY pleased with Knit Picks. I have ordered twice recently, both times my order came very quickly (the first one was 3 days). The Shine yarn that they have is a really lovely yarn, and machine washable too! I've started my Arietta cardi from Knitty, think I finally got the colors right. I'll post some pics of that soon. I'm also using the Options needles, boy are they nice! Very light, very smooth, you really feel like you are knitting faster. A bit slippery with the Shine yarn, also my joins came a bit loose, but then I used the tightening tool, so hopefully that will remedy that issue.

Colors!!

2007-05-07T19:11:00.000-04:00

Here's the pattern: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring07/PATTarietta.html - here's the yarn: http://www.elann.com/productdisp.asp?NAME=elann.com+Lara&Season,

so here's some options: What do you think? #1: Deep Olive, Turkish Blue, Marine, Toast, Cream, #2: Claret, Green Tea, Toast, Tiffany Rose, Butter, #3: Oasis, Claret, Toast, Butter, Cream, #4: Ballet Pink, Toast, Antique Blue, Green Tea, Cream? Thoughts?? Hope I can get this yarn for Mother's Day. Guess I'll have to give hubbo a not-so-subtle hint. As in, "here's what I want for Mother's Day". Well, I have a Birthday at the end of the month too, so I deserve it, right?

Progress on Summery Knits

2007-05-06T09:02:00.000-04:00

Progress is good....especially considering I still haven't ripped back Wicked yet. I realized after about a million rounds of increases, that I was forgetting to to the 'plain' rows, now I have to frog! That's OK, that just means I get to enjoy the Kimono Angora yarn a little longer.

Here's some pics of my current progress: first we have the asymmetrical tank from Knitting Nature in Cotlin from Knit Picks. This is a shot of the cable panel for the front. Just one more panel to do then I can seam it up!

Next there is the modular wrap from Spring '06 Vogue Knitting. This was the little technique section done by Iris Schreiber. For Mother's Day, then I realized I was going to run out of yarn, so now it will be late. Blah.

Lastly is a shrug from this lovely handspun that just hasn't been happy with anything I've tried to make with it. I think this design will work, a cute little shrug pattern from the 50's, with a crazy drop stitch design. When it's all blocked and done, I think it will be smashing!! (Is that a 50's word??)

Air Bear

2007-04-26T13:42:00.000-04:00

Here's a very quick and cute knit, a great 'last minute' gift idea: the Berocco Air Bear. Visit http://www.berocco.com/ for the free pattern. I used the Air yarn, it was very nice to work with. Webs (http://www.yarn.com) has it on on sale for only $3.49 a skein, and you only need one! This is the first time I've used the actual yarn called for in a pattern. He's knitted with basically a front and back, with smart short rows (I think that's what they are!) for shaping, very clever. Anyway, hope you like him!

A Kitty, A Bunny and a Small House

2007-04-13T21:14:00.000-04:00

Yeah! I FINALLY fnished my mother in law's scarf. It's *only* 4 months after her birthday, better late than never, right?? There is no way to capture the amazing colors in this yarn. It is called Cadenza, it's a hand painted superwash merino by Colinette. Lovely, lovely to work with, would highly recommend it. The funniest thing about it is the pattern is from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" by Joelle Hoverson and I'll let you in on a little secret.....ssshhhh......this scarf took forever!! There was not a thing 'last minute' about it. Just be warned.

I've also finished up another project from the beloved "World of Knitted Toys", this time a cat. It doesn't really look anything like the pics in the book I don't believe, not sure why, but this is what I got. The yarn is Knit Picks Merino Style, which was perfect for this project. Sydney has already named the kitty Alissa!

I'll leave you with a couple pics of the Biltmore House, which is here in Asheville, NC. I had the opportunity to go there a couple weeks ago with some friends. Every time I see it, it still takes my breath away.

We're Bloggin'....I Wanna Blog it with You!!

2007-04-05T18:15:00.000-04:00

I know I am so cheesy. This hat is so 'yah mon' I couldn't resist. (For those of you who are saying 'huh?', I am refering to the song Jammin' by Bob Marley. If you don't know who Bob Marley is....well that's OK.) A really fun quick knitted hat, pattern test knitted for Miss Kathy over at my Knit Talk yahoo group. I hope she thinks I did a nice job! The pattern was printed in a word document, so it was a nice surprise for me to see this is actually a 'tam' or beret type hat, depending on how you wear it. I had been wanting one, so here it is! The yarn is 100% merino, handspun by http://www.yarnrescue.com/, aren't the spring colors just great?? She's a really sweet lady who also makes super cute monster knitting needles. Thanks Kathy for a fun pattern!

I've also included a little swatch I made of the new 'Cotlin' yarn from KnitPicks. I am pretty happy with it so far, being relatively new to knitting and testing different yarns, I don't know that I am really qualified to give any advice.....*however*, I will give you my thoughts thus far. I has a nice, soft feel, you do have to pay attention while knitting with it, or you might drop a couple plies, there was virtually no difference in gauge or appearance after I hand washed/dryed it. There are little bits of plant material, which are pretty easy to pull out. I think it's a really nice yarn for the price. I'll post an update after my garment is done and has gotten some use. I'm knitting the asymmetrical tank from Norah Gaughan's Knitting Nature.

A Monkey for Me!

2007-04-01T15:35:00.000-04:00

At least half of a monkey. I finished my first sock, or I should say, the first sock I knitted "correctly". The pattern is of course, called "Monkey" from the Winter 2006 Knitty: http://www.knitty.com/issuewinter06/PATTmonkey.html

Now I'm going to be a good girl and cast on for the second one so I don't get the dreaded second sock syndrome.

It's so funny now how I look at knitting patterns. There has definitely been a progression from the 'knit it now, knit it fast' stage into the 'wow, this is great, it will take FOREVER to knit this!!' stage. Now that I've mastered the cable (tee hee, not really), I'm looking for more cable complex patterns. And I also have to admit that I'm actually becoming intrigued with colorwork. That's because I found the most beautiful book, which you can see here: http://www.w olleunddesign.de/Bucher/poetry_in_stiches/poetry_in_stiches.htm .

Even is you are not interested in colorwork at all, you simply must appreciate these designs, they are very inspiring.

Currently, I am working on the Wicked sweater (link is in a previous post), the assymetrical tank from Norah Gaughan's "Knitting Nature", and the dreaded scarf that is taking way to long for the MIL. (Oh, yes, and of course I'll be casting on for the other Monkey sock! Yes I will....)

Have a great Sunday!

My Little Girl's Birthday Fun

2007-03-21T10:46:00.000-04:00

This is a story about a little girl named Sydney..... She is 3 years old today and mommy is sad. Sad because my little girl is no longer a baby, it's official.
>She's pretty silly, isn't she?

Well, my little girl wanted her mommy to make her a monkey. Mommy was going to have the monkey finished by Christmas, but, alas, that did not happen. So Sydney got her monkey today. He got to relax with a nice book of poems about Nature before being thrown to the wolves. Oops, I mean Sydney =;)

This little monkey is from the "World of Knitted Toys" book. If you are so inclined to make him, I will warn you there is a lot of sewing pieces together, which I thought was pretty tedious. I also recommend making the 'easy' paws, instead of twenty fingers and toes (I only had to make the 4 thumbs, which was plenty for me.) I used size U.S. 3 needles and Suss nylon yarn for the face/hands, then combined the Suss yarn (dark brown) with Rowan Kid Classic (light brown) for the body and legs. The Kid Classic gives him a nice fuzzy halo. He is very soft and cuddly. Lots of great patterns in this book, I highly recommend it to anyone who is intested in making toys!

Then, I decided to make Sydney a little 'jumper' dress with this yarn I've been holding onto for over a year. Originally, I planned to make a sweater, but I just kept picturing a little dress, so I decided to go for it.

So this little dress is my own design!! I took my Vogue "Stitchionary" and just tried to mentally combine different stitches. Then I swatched several times until I found a combination that I liked. Originally, I planned on adding the pattern for this dress, but I had to fudge the numbers a little when I got to the bodice, so the instructions are a little hairy. I found it interesting upon closer inspection that the lace pattern I chose for the bottom of the dress is the same one from the Lotus Blossom tank from last years Summer 2006 IK magazine(the tank is on the cover).

The yarn is a worsted weight wool that was hand dyed. I just love the colors on her. So nice to see a change from pink and purple!! So my little girl is 3. But that's O.K.

First Sweater Ever!!!

2007-02-25T20:42:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, I am SO excited. I've finished my first ever sweater! Woo hoo!! Does this make me an 'official' knitter now?? I'm so glad to move past the scarf and hat stage onto more challenging projects. The details....the pattern you can find here: http://www.interweave.com/knit/interweave_knits/Galleries/bonus/fall_2006/sienna1.asp the yarn you can find here: http://yarn.com/webs/0/0/0/0-1001-1294-1323/0/1075/3279/. The pattern is from IK Fall 2006, the Sienna cardigan, I knitted it wiih Lana Grossa Soffice yarn. This yarn was really dreamy to knit with, I have no compliants and enjoyed watching the subtle colors changes. It is actually machine washable yarn, though of course I will wash it by hand.

I am so amazed by this sweater and it's completion, I feel like I should put it in a frame and never touch it again. Too funny. Of course I had to wear it today to the movies, it kept me nice and toasty. Hooray for me!! I would recommend this pattern to anyone wanting a little more than basic cardigan for work/play. The pottery buttons came from here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=81891 - 6 pottery buttons for only $6!! Really nice too, I highly recommend her. Have a nice night.

Monkeys on the Bed

2007-02-16T15:41:00.000-05:00

My little munchkin is almost 3, it's so hard to believe! Here she is.....some life, huh? Must be rough. I whipped her up some of Aunt Maggie's slippers last weekend: http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/maggieslippers.html - aren't they cute? I embroidered a moon and a star on them. These went so fast, I'd love to make some for myself sometime.

Made some progress on "Wicked", here's a shot as well. I hope I like this colorway in a whole sweater! Hope I can get motivated to finish my Sienna cardigan before the winter is over. Well, have a great day!

A Scarf Grows in Asheville....

2007-02-15T20:12:00.000-05:00

For my brother. His birthday was *only* a week ago, and there is enough snow up there in PA now that he could use this. I got my hubby to model it for me....well O.K., so I just draped it over him while he was surfing. The pattern is from the beloved Vogue Stitchionary, it is such a cool pattern, you can't really make it out but it is a series of squares. Each square actually consists of two triangles. Very geometrical, and almost identical from the back side. Knitted with Rowan Tweed yarn. Hope he likes it!!

First Knitting Bag

2007-02-08T15:15:00.000-05:00

Oh, I almost forgot......looky what I got today! My very first "knitting" bag! This bag was recommended by someone in the Knitter's Review forum, and I thought, "this is the one!" It really seems perfect for my needs. I wanted a bag that I could use as a knitting bag AND a purse, so I don't have to lug two bags around, which I often do. So I got my Haiku bag today (http://www.haikubags.com) and I have to say I'm really impressed with the construction.

Oh course I could make myself a bag, but I don't know how to sew with leather/suede and I wanted something that would really 'take a beating'! This is the "To-Go" bag, it has two nice zippered compartments, so I can keep my makeup and whatnot in them, and lots of pockets for tools and anything else I can think of. The pockets on the side can even hold a bottle of water! Yeah, I'm excited to give this baby some use. Another cool thing is that the whole thing wipes clean, a great feature when you have kids.

I'll update when I actually start using it. I think I could carry just about any project in here, except for an afghan.

Baby Goodness

2007-02-08T14:55:00.000-05:00

Well now. Let's just start off by saying that I will NOT be making any more baby blankets, EXCEPT if one of my two best friends decides to get knocked up. Maybe they don't all take this long. In fact, I'm SURE they don't. I can safely say it will be a long, long time, if ever, that I use boucle yarn again. Ugh. Sewing this blanket together was a huge pain in the kisser. If I hasn't already spent so much time knitting up the squares (which was the easy part!), I'm sure I would have tossed the whole thing. But I preservered, and this is what the final result was. Oh, the pattern was the mitered squares run from the book, I think it was just called "Knitted Rugs". I would recommend if you make this to sew the squares as you go along so it doesn't seem so long and tedious at the end.

This is for my co-worker's new baby, sweet little "Ella Sandra", too cute for words already from the picture he showed me. I really wanted it to have a fabric backing, but the blanket was so stretchy and I was concerned about the shrinkage factor, even if I backed it with pre-shrunk cotton. You just don't know how it's going to hold up to multiple washings. So I went with no backing. Which means there is definitely a 'right' and 'wrong' side. But I really hope they like it and little Ella gets to play on it too!

The little hat was a 'last minute' addition, I just love making hats and who better than a newborn?? The pattern was actually my own, I just used a twisted ribbing for 1", then made a little lace heart panel all the way around (stitch pattern from my beloved "Stitchionary"), then simple decreases to the end. The yarn is a handspun, possibly the softest merino I've ever felt.

For the Love of Pink & Orange

2007-01-29T19:00:00.000-05:00

Well now. I didn't realize how much I liked this color combo, but yet these two yarns arrived at my house last week. Funny thing, huh?

I couldn't resist starting these "Monkey" socks (Knitty Winter 2006) with this Yarn Ahoy handpainted merino. The Louisa Harding Kimono is SO SOFT words can't even describe. I am in love with this yarn. Even though the ball band lies (I get 5 sts per 1", not 4), I can forgive you Louisa. Going to make "Wicked" from Zephyr Style with this yarn. http://www.zephyrstyle.com/catalog/item.cfm/2367447/3974522

Still plugging away on MIL's scarf (see pics in previous post) and have added a scarf for my dear brother in Rowan's Felted Tweed. So much knitting, so little time. Have a nice night!

This is your brain on Knitting.....

2007-01-19T14:37:00.000-05:00

Oh my. Now that we are after Christmas, I would have thought I'd be slowing down. Yet there just seems to be more and more projects lining up. I never really thought I has ADD, maybe it's just a knitting thing.

Here are some of my WIP's......top left, a square for a rug knitted out of some wool given to me that is so rough I feel like my hands get exfoliated when I use it. Don't know if I'll finish this one. Next to that is the scarf out of the navy blue Regia, it just killed me to buy that, but my Dad likes PLAIN, PLAIN colors. (I don't think it's too hard to tell from the pics that I am a bit of a color snob!) There are the Father/Son socks from IK.

On the bottom we start with the Grave Robber scarf from some handspun titled as such as it has little 'skull head' beads tied into the yarn, how cool! I'm knitting it into a small basketweave pattern. (Loving my Stitchionary!) I really think I can keep this one for myself. Next to that is another yarn by the same artist ("Feral Feminine", she sells her beauties on Etsy), this colorway is called "Electra", I'm loving the light blue and black mixed with hot pink. The pattern is a really fun lace pattern that I think looks great on this bulky yarn.

Next to that is a scarf for my MIL that is knitted in a great superwash merino, a joy to work with. Though it is taking forEVER on my size 5's, that pattern is from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts", note it is in the "more than 8 hours" section. (Which is MHO is NOT a LAST minute gift!) But anyway, she loves turquoise, so I believe she will be really pleased with this.

The last thing on the right is a strip for the baby blanket I am making for my co-worker. The mitered squares are all done except one. I think I'm going to line this with fabric for more longevity.

I really need to start of my brother's scarf, his B-day is February 7th. The pattern is the Phyllotaxis (?) scarf from Knitting Nature. At this rate, I'll never get back to my sweater! Need to slow myself down. Oh, but it's so much fun, isn't it??

I'll also leave you with a sweet photo of my niece's Koala bear I knitted her for Christmas. Oh, and as you can see in the pics, I am utilizing my new Denise set just fine. How are they? Two words, LOVE THEM. But you already knew I would say that.

Namaste, Elizabeth

One down...1,000,000 more to go......

2006-12-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

Woo Hoo! I finished the Celtic Cap (pattern from http://girlfromauntie.com) for my husband David. Mind you, this way supposed to be his anniversary gift (anniversary was October 20th), BUT we couldn't find the right pattern and yarn. He was super picky about the pattern and just loved this one.

I'm so glad I just went ahead and got the dark green yarn (elsebeth lavold Chunky AL, #016 Forest 82 yds., it took about a ball and a half), instead of the black or grey. He looks SO good in green with his red hair, wouldn't you agree??

Now he just needs a matching scarf. I figured I'd do the cable pattern on each side, and just a simple rib or something in the middle. YEAH! The pattern said it was for 'intermediate, with advanced cables'. Can you tell I'm really proud of myself?!? Now onto the 100 others gifts I need to make.

Christmas Knitting

2006-12-02T07:34:00.000-05:00

I'm in the throws of it now! I am horrible about knowing how long things are going to take. So when I decided what I'm going to make the fam for Christmas, clearly I wasn't being rational. (I won't post the list here, just in case anyone's reading!!) Just trust me when I say it's a lot. Well, I guess I must really LOVE these lucky people =;)

My daughter, Sydney, is totally obsessed with Christmas this year. She wakes up asking to see Santa. Every house we pass that has lights she says, "Look Mommy, Christmas!! I want to go in there!" Like she thinks there's some awesome party going on in every decorated house. It's too cute. Of course when she has her big moment with Santa last week, she wouldn't even go up to him. (I had to carry her.) When she got put on his lap, all she could muster was "I want toys" really soft. Too funny. No smiles out of her, but hey, at least she didn't cry.

Alright, I'm off to go fight with the coffee maker. More FO pics coming soon, here's a little hat I whipped up over Thanksgiving weekend that looks 1000x better in person.

Sick & Tired

2006-11-17T16:42:00.000-05:00

That's what I am today. Felt it coming on yesterday, but it's definitely got me now. Ugh. So I know I'm supposed to be making more needle cases by next week, but my head is spinning!! So instead of them up there.....I'm making this scarf......

I don't know how happy I am with it, I really LOVE the yarn on the right, but there's not enough, so I'm alternating with the other yarn. I'm not an orange person and I think that's what I don't like about it.

So, in an effort to keep my spirits up, this is what I ate......I know I shouldn't since I'm congested....but "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Oh, and here are some cute pottery buttons I picked up from Sanctuary of Stuff, in Woodfin, NC. Since I can't get the pics to go where I want them to, I'm sure you can figure out which one is which.

Off to get in the tub. Baths are so great when you're sick.

Thursday Rant

2006-11-16T14:49:00.000-05:00

O.K., so in an effort to have more 'beefy' content here, I'll tell you a little bit about my trip up to Philly. So I thought I would gets lots of knitting done on the 10 1/2+ hr. car ride with my brother. That would be possible if you didn't have a mini-tyrant (AKA 2 year old) sitting right next to you. And that idea to my the one-man band set for the ride was a great one! (I can still here the triangle clanging.)

It was a very short 4 days where we tried to do and see as much as possible. Of course a lot of people wanted to see us that didn't get a chance. I just wish I'd had another week or two, then I could really have time to just relax. But it's always good to go 'home', even for just a few days.

On a positive note, I actually looked forward to going back to work, oddly enough, I guess I really do like my job! It also helped throwing myself back in to not be sad about leaving family =:( Mom and I did see a really cool knitting shop in Bucks County called "Knitting to Know Ewe", which has some of the most helpful and friendly staff EVER. I got some Suss & Rowan yarn to make Sydney's monkey.

Here are some pics of the headband I knitted last weekend as a gift for my *very sweet* co-worker friend Lili. I used a Tussah silk handspun from *Castleman* at Etsy, and the pattern is in the latest IK, the cable & bobble headband. Have a great day!

Dancing in the Leaves

2006-10-20T18:05:00.000-04:00

That's what I'll be doing soon. Boy is fall coming quick! It's been strange though, these few spring like days we've been having. I'm looking forward to my trip up north at the end of the month. Today is my 4 year wedding anniversary! Wow, that went by sooo fast. Looks like this is the year of the knitted hat & scarf set for hubby. I'm ordering some Elegance from Knit Picks to do the job. Of course it has to be in Slate (gray). But that IS a compromise, if it were up to him, it would be black.

So here's some pics of my wristwarmers I finished last weekend. I'm sooo pleased with the way they turned out. The yarn is from "Twisted's" Etsy shop and was actually free (I was her 100th customer!). So this little splurge on myself was earned for all my yarn shopping. The pattern is from the new "The Knitter's Bible, Knitted Accessories." My first cables! They were easy!! They really do warm you up too, I love them I can wear them at my office job and still type.

I'm a good girl.

2006-10-13T21:43:00.000-04:00

I'm trying really, really hard to finish some projects that have been floating around. I needed a ribbon accent for both of these hats, so I went through the stash and found one new, one old. I think they came out pretty good. I'm going to miss Pearl the Octopus as my hat model, but I got this gorgeous new one from a great artist who sells her work on eBay. Isn't she pretty?

So the Step socks are really giving me a hard time...my hand keeps hurting when I work on them. This stinks since I wanted to make hubby some socks for our Oct. 20th anniversary. Looks like he'll have to wait a while. Off to work on second sleeve for Sienna cardigan.

Smoke in the Woods....Sock Yarn Score!

2006-10-05T16:53:00.000-04:00

No, no, Scampy, you can NOT have my sock yarn! Look what I got today from Fearless Fibers Esty shop....yummy sock yarns! I can already see this is going to be my new favorite thing. The colorways are "Smoke", for the Gray's Anatomy KAL and "Deep Forest" for my hubby's first pair of socks. They are both so lovely, my buddy Scampy couldn't resist snuggling with them!

Alrighty, off to be productive. Have a knitterly day!

Another Saturday Night.....

2006-09-30T20:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday night, and I ain't got nobody. Well, I got the hubby, but the toddler in the way kind of kills any romantic thoughts =;)

I've started my first pair of socks, woo hoo! They are in Step yarn by Austermann. It was really swell of them that they included the metric conversion on their free pattern for us Americans. So far, so good, but I'm working top down so who knows what surprises are in store for me. I just have to know what the obsession knitters have with socks is. I want to be one of the crazys' who spend 20 hours knitting yarn that cost $20 or more into something so basic as a sock. I'll keep ya posted on how that goes.....

I need to work on my sweater too. I have no clue how people can do one project at a time. I'm already planning my next three! I'm looking for a sweater pattern for my 2 year old daughter. I think I'm going to do the placket sweater from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts". I kind of like Haiku from Knitty, but I'm still not sure. I love Sherwood from the new Knitty, but I don't know if I'm quite ready for that challenge.

Well, I should be off knitting right now, but I thought I'd leave you with a nice picture of the scarf I finished last week. It's with my favorite merino/tencel handspun to date, spun by Houndscroft Farm. The fall colors of it are amazing!

What a Lucky Girl I am!!

2006-09-28T19:16:00.000-04:00

Looky looky what my Secret Pal from the One Skein SP swap made for me!! I know you can't see me jumping for joy! It is so pretty with the little flowers on the sage green background. I've never had a clutch before, now I get to look all coy and cute going out on dates with my hubby.

On another knitterly note, I am going to start the Step socks from Austermann(also a gift from my wonderful SP, thanks Dawn!!). This yarn is really interesting, it has aloe vera and jojoba extracts built right into the yarn! I guess this will spoil me forever now, considering this will be my first pair of socks!

I also finished the hat I'm adding to the end of this post. It's hard to make out, but I knit it in a sort of seed stitch/stripey pattern. It's a handspun I scored from Etsy. (LOVE Etsy!) Not sure what to make with the rest of the yarn. Maybe a little neckwarmer of some sort. Or maybe a small matching purse. Any comments?

Knit and be well.

Just another Manic Monday....

2006-09-25T19:13:00.000-04:00

Monday, Monday....why can't it stay Sunday forever? DH and I started off this morning with both of us being late for work since we missed the babysitter who had to drop off her daughter at school. Ugh!

The highlight was that I came home to this yarn, spun by Bees Knees Knitting. Isn't it fabulous? The one of the left is one huge honking ball of yarn. I put in my bunny friend, for reference. He is 9" tall and my yarn ball is nearly as big as him! What a fab bag it will make. The smaller blue yarn is also from Jenny at Bees Knees, it's only 28 yards, but still really big for the small yardage. Hope I can pull it off with my 13's....that's as big of a needle that I'll use.

O.K. I'm off to get something done before the day is over!

Hello out there!

2006-09-23T13:53:00.000-04:00

Oh, the pressure of the first post. I am doing this blog because 1) I need yet another creative outlet and 2) somebody out there has to care about what I think. Either way it's satisfying enough to know I can get out some of the musings in my brain. Whether or not anyone reads it is another story =;)

Well, I'm on a roll. I am working on *multiple* UFO's the last two days. Knitting has really cramped my crafty style. For those that don't know, I *used* to be a fabric artist, but as of late all I want to do is knit. It is finally started to evolve, as I move past the simple hats and on to ~gasp!~ my first sweater.

I'm knitting the Sienna Cardigan pattern in the fall issue of IK. I'm using Lana Grossa "Soffice", which the sales lady at my LYS told me was new. It's 62% merino, 10% cashmere and 28% acrylic. Boy, do I hate acrylic, BUT it makes this machine washable. Not that I ever will. Nope, this sweater will probably be sealed up and put in a shrine somewhere when I finish it. Well....maybe I'll wear it just once. The colors of this stuff are gorgeous, it's a deep red that intermingles with deep coffee browns and grays for a subtle striping effect. I'll get a pic up soon, I promise.

The pic I added is probably the project I've been most proud of thus far. It's the "Droplet Hat" from "Knitting Nature" by Norah Gaughan. Such an amazing book. This hat took forever, she didn't mess around when adding bobbles. Now I am a bobble making fool!

Well, off to be productive. Have a great Saturday!! Drop me a line and let me know someone's out there!!