Thanks to all of you
I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of you that left me those great comments for my Rona Lace and for all the other things. Unfortunately, with blogger, I get the notice on my email, but the name shows as a non-reply message, so I can't leave you a personal reply to the comment you left for me. Sorry. I can check your blog, but some of you don't have and email link on there. Has anybody advice for me, how to get those addresses to show? I know it's a common curtesy to answer to comments in blogland, but I could only leave comments on your blog then, instead of an email. Plus I finally got to see 11 of my very first comments left for me back in august. Thanks again for those. It was like looking at old pictures, even though it was only a couple of months ago. I guess I'll never stop learning. I'm working on another hat right now, but somehow I can't get my tension even this time. Maybe I need to relax before I knit with two strands.
I love the mail lady
I just got this in the mail today. It's from my sister this time. She sure knows how to keep me knitting and she is supplying me with sockyarn from Germany, whenever she finds it on sale somewhere. I guess that's a hint for me to knit her some more socks? I also love the Giotto and the Santa, even if he is a little late. That's ok, he won't have to wait to see next christmas, hi, hi :)
Drumroll please!
May I present:My very own Rona Lace Shawl. This took me about a month to finish it, but now it's done. It was a generous christmas gift from Keri, thank you very much. The pattern is from Knit Picks and it was knitted with 3 skeins (about 1 oz was left over) Knit Picks Shadow in Vineyard on amerikan size 5 (3,75mm) interchangable cables from Knit Picks in 24 and 32" size and a size D crochet hook. Don't ask me how many stitches there are all together, but I know there were over 1,000 stitches on the cable by the time I was at the end.
Here are some close up pics:
Now I was knitting a couple of rows on my Kimono Shawl and they seemed to just fly off the needles, since the rows are so much shorter. I was going to work with my knitting machine today too, but since the Rona is so comfortable on the floor in front of it, I guess that's not going to work today and will be delayed for a little bit. Maybe that means my husbands hat will have to be knitted by hand, just like the light blue one for my son. Can't let those needles cool down and I gotta keep you on your toes and checking back in with me. I hope the finished shawl is an inspiration for all those that wanted to knit it, but have been to scared or who left this project slip into the UFO box. It's absolutely doable and the crochet edging is a little different for me, but not really a problem at all, just a little time consuming. So, get to it and let me see yours, since I showed you mine:)
Labels: FO, Rona Lace Shawl
Merry belated Christmas to me
Now how is this for a belated christmas present? I see purple. Somebody sure knows me. I finally got the package from my coworker/lawyer I was working for/with in Germany. This is one of the reasons I didn't want to leave Germany and my last job, but that's military life for you. Anyway, it took about 6 weeks for this goody box to make it across the big pond. Either it got held up with all the christmas mail or it had to swim. No matter, it's a great box. As you can see I got a couple of packs of snowflake yarn to make a nice fuzzy scarf, a couple of packs of Regia, Four Seasons and Lana Grossa sockyarn as well as a couple of packs of Jawohl. Those things have spools on the inside! Also a pack of yarn to embelish the socks and make some fuzzy cuffs and to top it all off a nice pound of coffee to enjoy while I'm knitting. Thank You Susanne. Now you have officially been mentioned on my blog. PS: 148/153 another round of those darn holes to knit. :)
Counting down
I just wanted to let you know that I'm on round 144 of 153, so we are getting to the end. I just took a look at the very last round, as in the edging, and there is no cast off, instead I have to chrochet the border onto it. Hmmm, that needs some more thought, but I'm sure when I have the stitches in front of me it will all be clear to me. I'm pretty confident about that, after all I'm told I'm pretty multitalented and good at most of the things. Enough with padding my own back and back to knitting the shawl. Check of the final pics hopefully soon, because now I can't wait to be done and I'm knitting on it every second I can spare. Labels: Rona Lace Shawl
First FO of the year
My first finished Object for this year is done and it only took me 4 days! I can't believe how fast this hat was knitting up and even though I was using smaller needles than recommended, the hat fits perfectly and is officially claimed by my oldest son. Another one is in planning for my husband and a coworker. Maybe I'll make one for me too or change the pattern for the snowflakes into something else. I don't want to get bored with knitting the same exact pattern a couple of times in a row. All in all it's a success and instant gratification. Erica, make it happen! I don't have much of a update on the Rona Lace. After finishing the hat in the car I got to knit a couple of rows on the shawl, but it's not worth a new picture.
This afternoon I took a trip to Jekyll Island with my family and we went combing the beach for seashells.
We also drove through the historic part of the island and looked at a couple of the nice old villas they have there.
It was just too windy and a bit too cold to stick around for much longer, so we headed back early and had a nice dinner at Captain Joe's Seafood Restaurant. Yummy. I guess you could call this a productive day.
Labels: family trip, FO
Out of necessity
Can you guess what this is? This is what me and my son came up with out of necessity. It's a generic yarn swift made of KNEX! I'm not quite done with my second ball of yarn for the Rona Lace yet, but since my son had to take a time out from his computer games and had nothing better to do, we constructed a yarn swift for me. How do you like it? It's not very stable and it got taken apart again after I was done winding my ball and used for something else, but it did the job. Next time I will try one made from LEGO. I've seen a winder made of lego on somebodies blog and I thought that was cool.
Next is a picture of what I started on two days ago. Since the temperatures started dropping here to nearly freezing (no more capris for me for now) I desided to give the traditional hat from Bea Ellis a try. I guess I'm not doing so bad, but I need some more practice on the tention. I still think it looks pretty even and my husband or one of my boys is going to be the victim for this project. I guess I'll have to make another one, before the weather warms up again. After all it's january and I'm used to other temperatures around this time, so this is nothing for me. 
Pictures to justify
Have you noticed, that I don't knit a lot of socks lately? It's just too warm here. Yes, I know, I need to quick making everybody feel even colder, but it's a fact. I got tons of sock yarn and don't feel like knitting socks right now. Here is another reason.
These are the socks of my beloved children just from this weeks laundry. Do you see why they run out of socks and do you understand, why I don't want to knit any socks for them? How do you get holes in your heels? I don't know, but they are able to do it anyway. The only thing those are still good for is either dusting or playing with the dog.
On a nicer note now, I broke down and tried to capture my progress on the round shawl anyway. It's really hard to spread the shawl without it coming of the needles and still show off some of the design. And the other one just so you understand why people think I'm knitting a bag.
New update
Sorry about not posting a picture again, but I don't want to bore you with them, if they don't look much different than the one before. I'm currently working on round 121. I'm getting there. It just seems for ever now to get around just once with 768 stitches in each round. And yes, there is another ribbing and I'm working on it now. I'm still on the second skein of yarn and I'm wondering if I need the third one, but with that many stitches I'm sure I will, because after all, somebody designed that pattern and knitted it and I'm sure they know what they are talking about. Today was a rather warm day here in GA. I actually wore carpi's and walked around barefoot outside. That really clashes with my next project I have in mind. I wanted to knit some hats for my two boys and this kind of temperatures really don't put me in the mood for winter stuff. But I think this is only temporarily and the colder weather will have us back in a few days. Hopefully by then I will be able to show you a finished masterpiece all spread out. It's also kind of hard getting a good picture of the round shawl, since the cable will only go so far. It looks more like a bag right now and I had enough questions about it going in that direction. No, it's not a bag, it's not a table cloth either, it's a round shawl!Bare with me.Labels: Rona Lace Shawl
Be patient now
If you are expecting to see more purple pictures I must disappoint you. Since I had to take an unscheduled break from the Roan Lace I picked up the Kimono Shawl again for a while. I made it to repeat 19/25 right now. Yesterday I had to knit back about 5 - 6 rows, because I forgot part of the repeat and made a mistake. Today I got around to winding the first of the two skeins of now dry Shadow Vineyard, but I tell you, now more than ever I am considering buying a yarn swift. It wasn't pretty and everybody in my house left me alone, even the dog, because I made us huge mess with the yarn. Eventually I got to wind it into a nice manageable ball which got wound up into a center pull ball and is now awaiting it's faith. Too bad it's gotta wait a little longer. It's like bait for me. I want to knit it so bad, but I'm afraid the poor kimono is going to be the step child again so I vowed to finish at least the ball of cashmere yarn I'm working on right now, before I continue on the Rona Lace. It's kinda like sitting in front of a plate of brussel sprouts and the only way you are going to eat it, is thinking about the dessert you'll get when you finish your plate. So I'll update you further, when my dinner plate is empty :)Labels: Rona Lace Shawl
Houston, we have a problem
I guess somebody is giving me a hint that I need to take a break and work on something else. I have an unscheduled delay on my Rona Lace Shawl. Why? Well, I got to the end of my first skein or yarn and wanted to pull out the second one and had to find out that one of our windows wasn't shut all the way during this mornings rain and the bag with my yarn was sitting right under that window. Do I have to say more? The bag and the two balls of yarn got wet. There is no way I can knit with wet yarn, so I ran through the whole house trying to find something I could wind my yarn onto, that was easy enough to slip it off again. I guess a short hand rail on the stairs had to do the trick. Now my two skeins of yarn are drying while I'm writing this note. I guess my Kimono Shawl needs some attention? You got it. Let's see how far I get, by the time the first skein is dry.Labels: Rona Lace Shawl
More purple
Aren't you tired of looking at purple on my blog yet? I'm sorry, but I like to concentrate on one project right now to get it finished, before I loose interest on it. This hasn't happened with this one yet. The ever changing pattern keeps me going, even though one round takes a lot longer than before, now that I'm on round 94. I have no idea how big this shawl measures by now, because there is no way that I can stretch it out without having it slip off the needles. Thanks to Keri I am using the 32" cable now to keep all the stitches moving. How do you like the way the pattern emerges? I love it and I have to keep going, because I can't wait to see it's full beauty, once it's off the needles. I'm glad you are still interested in it and keep track of my progress. I finally have a day off today and until my kids come home I can devote my full attention to my knitting and CSI. I kinda enjoy those days, if there wasn't the pesky laundry again. Hey, it's the never ending story about that, unless you want to go out and buy new clothes all the time, but shopping takes up time too. Plus, wouldn't we rather spend that money on yarn? Labels: Rona Lace Shawl
Rona Updated
Here is my latest update on the Rona Lace Shawl. Isn't it prrrtty? As you can see this is what I have been doing every spare minute in the last couple of days. Even on New Years Eve, after a 8 hour work day, I still sat down and knitted a couple of rows. Don't worry, my husband was busy with a new XBOX game, so he wasn't complaining. Now I'm on row 63 and desided to split the stitches and put them on both cables, just to show off the pattern, which is emerging quite nicely. I just wish I could screw those two cable ends together with an adapter to use both of them. It's already getting a little crowded on there, so I can just imagine, how it's going to be in a couple more rows. Also I have a little website (sorry it's in german) to check out for you. Give it a try. www.drachenwolle.de. If you need something special, I'm sure she'll try to match your request. She dyes yarn to the customers request and ships to the states. She also does english, so don't be shy to get in touch with her. Her website seems very interesting and I'm so tempted to send out an order to her, to see how her yarn is. Labels: Rona Lace Shawl
Guess what - PICTURES!!!!!
A Happy New Year to YOU
Thank you for sticking with me and reading my ramblings for the last couple of months since I started my blog. This was all new to me and I'm still learning with every post. You have all been a great help to me whether on how to work this machine or how to solve my knitting problems. Your advice and your comments are always very much appreciated and even critic will be noted. Please keep checking in with me in the future.
Now how about those pictures? No, it's not the old mavica. I guess Santa cleaned out his sled when he got back from his Christmas trip and found another package addressed to me. I found a box on my kitchen table yesterday when I got back from work (yes, I had to work new years eve). It is a brand new (not hand me down) HP Photosmart M425 with printer!!!
I love Santa. I guess I was really good after all, or maybe it's just because I'm supporting him in getting a new bike, the gas burning one that is, instead of griping about the money issue. But that doesn't belong in this blog.
So now it's time to show off how far I got on my Rona Lace Shawl. Well, actually the picture shows about row 35, but after last night I'm already on row 43. Sorry for the poor focus on it, but I'm still experimenting with the new camera. I keep track of the pattern by putting a strip of masking tape under the row I'm working on, so I don't make any mistakes. I actually spliced the yarn at one point and I had to drop stitches to get to the mistake and knit it back up. It's getting kinda hard to get a good picture of the progress, because it's getting a little crowded on the cable. For the next progress shot I'll change over to a longer cable to show it off and hopefully the focus is better. I wish there was an adapter to connect the two 24" cables I have to make it one long one. I bet at row 100 or so I'll start having trouble keeping all the stitches on the cable, so I might have to send out for some longer cables and another set of tips. I really like the needles though. (Thank you Keri)
Now I have another request for all of you out there in blogland. See that scarf up there? I found it in the mall and even though I'm not too crazy about the colors, it's the pattern that has captured me and to be honest, it's driving me nuts that I can't figure out how it's made. I saw the same kind of scarf in Germany, before I left there. Everybody was walking around with them there last winter and I saw one hanging outside a store every day on my way to work until that one day that somebody bought it. Now that I found this one I had to have it so that dilemma wouldn't repeat itself. I would love to make one for myself in the colors I want, but, like I said, I can't figure it out. It looks the same on both sides and it's made the long way and each of the colors are four strands going up, not across. So this is where you come in. Any suggestions? I'd really appriciate if anybody could tell my how it's make of how to get the pattern for it. Thanks for all your help in advance.
It's time to get back to my shawl now, so I'll have something else to show of next time. Hooray for digicams.
Labels: Rona Lace Shawl
