Stranding like crazy
What a weekend. My car didn't even move and me and the kids spent all weekend at home. We were somewhat hibernating, I guess? I was enjoying the weather and sat outside most of the time with my knitting in my lap and a glass of ice tea next to me.
I got the yarn for my latest test knit in the mail more than a week ago and started working a swatch. Yes, I do swatch, when it comes to KP. Good thing I did, because when I got the pattern, almost a week later, I found out that I had to go down a needles size (again). Not being able to cast on as soon as I got the yarn was like a kid staring at a cookie jar and not being allowed to touch them. It was torture, I tell you. So as soon as I got the pattern I cast on and for the rest of the weekend nobody could talk to me. And this is what I came up with.
Pretty, isn't it? I'm very partial to the clematis heather anyway and the fact that I can strand away without having to cut off yarn and start with a new color all the time makes this one go pretty fast. I also only have the two balls of yarn to drag with me (and the pattern page of course).
I'm still working on my lace scarf and on the baby blanket, but since I am knitting these for my own enjoyment and without anybody in mind I'm working on them whenever, like in the car, waiting for the kids, during tea kwon do class, cub scout meetings or even on a red light. Guilty, I know. Hey, what are some of the weird places you've been caught knitting? I think that would be interesting to find out.
I'm on the roll
Today I might have to show you a couple more pictures than usual. But what fun are blog entries without pictures, right? Ok, here we go.
Remember that "smallish", but very colorful project from Knit Picks just before I moved? The one with those little alpacas? It can be found on the
website now. It's a new kit they offer.
It has interchangeable charts so it's really up to the knitter on what ear flaps you want, what colors to choose or which bands you want to put where. I, as a test knitter didn't have that choice, but that's ok. I think it turned out really nice.
Next is my finished scrappy scarf, modeled by my trusty pup. She was the only available model at the time :)
I showed to our local bookstore/yarnstore owner and she wanted to keep it for now to hang it in her window. How cool is that. And I still have plenty of scrap yarn left over to make a couple more.
This little stocking is something I whipped up last night in a couple of hours. It's a little dark, but the colors are very bright. I found this pattern in the book "Knit Christmas Stockings" by Gwen Steege. I also used stash scrap yarn and 3.5 mm needles. Now I'm working on the matching little ski sweater ornament from the same book.
And here is another little peek at what is going to be my next test knit. I have the yarn, I had the chance to swatch it over the weekend, but I'm still waiting for the pattern. It feels just like looking at the candy in the store, walking out with a bag full of it, but not being allowed to have some. Now what's up with that!
This is Knit Picks fingering weight Palette in Cornmeal and Clematis Heather, just in case you were wondering.
Now back to the little sweater. And I had a brainstorm last night. Another little thing to use up some more of my sock yarn left overs. You'll see, once that egg hatches. Hi, hi, I know, I'm so mean sometimes. Happy knitting.
Labels: FO, KP
Scrappy Scarf
Wow, I've been blogging more than usual. Don't know why, but I guess I'm taking a break from opening boxes and knitting a little more. I guess that was the bad thing about getting internet connection and my stash back and finding my needles. :)
I've been running into my leftover box and was wondering what to do with all of that yarn balls. Thanks to our trusty
Ravelry I found inspiration for a lengthwise scrappy scarf
here,
here and
here. Now how could I hold myself back from all that scrappy goodness, especially since I had to take a break from too much pink, before I started to get sick of it. I have to tell you, so far it's turning into a very addicting project. Check it out and tell me what you think.
It's hard to put it down, because the look changes with every row and you can't really make a mistake with this one. That's the best part with it.
It's just a simple seed stitch pattern and the beginning and the end of the row makes your frindge. Easy pleasy. I was planning on making some more and donating them to the
Scarves from the Heart Project. You can find info on Ravelry
here.
Right place, right time
So I did another drop at our thrift shop on post again. I found that I didn't really have much toys to give away, since we already went through them before the packers even made it to the house. Then I got to my cook books and got rid of a couple of those. Most of them looked brand new which just proofs, that I didn't use them much, if at all, so it didn't hurt to give them up.
Just then I found this:
Somebody must have just dropped them off, because they weren't even marked for sale yet. The one lady wanted to just give them for me, since I just dropped things off, but the other one said they couldn't do that. Bummer, but guess how much I end up paying for all three sets? Anybody? Can you say 50 cents? Yup, what a steal. The Brittany alone are originally priced 6.50, the
Bernat with 1.75 and I know those rosewood needles aren't cheap either. And best of it all is, I didn't have those sizes in
DPNs and I was just thinking this morning, that I'm tired of knitting the little lace scarf with those long cables. I guess the knitting goddess heard my cry for help?
I found them!!!
Yes, I did find the rest of my needles. It was in one of the many book boxes. Now I can sleep better.
We had a bad storm here in Northern Kentucky on Sunday. From what I heard on the radio we were cought in between two weather front that made this area here seem like Ike's little cousin. We had 50 mph winds that snapped trees, which broke powerlines. Half the day on Sunday we were out of power and I rearranged boxes inside the garage, bringing all my beloved yarn boxes into the house, so I could put my husbands car inside. I have about 2 inches between front bumper and a wall of boxes and 4 inches between back bumper and garage door. How is that for exact measurement!!
I also did the good deed for the day and donated 4 boxes to our local thrift shop. It was long overdue and it sure don't miss them and I love those two empty drawers in my dresser. And that was only clothes. I still need to go through toys and those many boxes labeled "Closet item". Hmmm, that is a very grey area. You should know how many closets I had in my other place.
Did I mention I hate moving? It's not so much the moving part, since we have people to do that for us, but the part where you have to find a new home for every single little thing and if you don't then to determent wether you really need that perticular thing or if you could part with it.
And on the knitting front, which has been very much neglected, I finally finished the little pink baby hoody.
And while we are doing the picture thing here, this is another one of my KP testknits I found on the website yesterday. This was the one with all the cables and stuff. Looks pretty good on the guy and fit me perfectly too. It's called "Traditional Gansey" and can be found at
Knit Picks in the book "Cables, Diamonds, Herringbone". I knit that one with Comfy in the color Cashew. Some of you might remember this project, just because it's a pretty bland color to knit with, especially for such a big project, but I think in the end it fits the sweater pretty good.
These are some close up pix I took before I sent it off.
Labels: FO, KP
MIA
I dug myself out of boxes and packing paper and emerged halfway victorious. Halfway, because the inside of my house looks like a house now and not like a cardboard version of the New York skyline. I can walk around without stepping on things and having to manouver around boxes. I can actually see the floors again. The last room will be my younger sons room and that's where I have to do the most weeding through clothes, since I have to distinguish between too small, fits now and fits next year clothes from his brother.
Last night I found my sock needles, crochet hooks and straights. Score! Well half way, I was expecting to find my circulars right away too, but that's not the case. They were stored in a clear plastic zipper pouch on a different level of the shelf. Well, here I go digging through every box that has the word "Yarn" written on it. No luck. Well, how about the one with books, since I had knitting books next to it. No luck either. I'm still looking for those perticular knitting books too and I'm sure when I find them, I'll also find my needles. So instead of sleeping last night, my mind was still digging through boxes. So for my next Knit Picks project, which will be coming to me sometime next week, I hope that the one and only circular I brought with me, will be the one I need to use. Otherwise I'm out of luck, because most likely I'm going to have to order a new one. Darn. :)
Today is the day
Well actually, it's tomorrow, but today is the day when I try to turn into Superwoman. Today is the day that I'm up at 5.30 am doing laundry already. It's the day when I pack up the rest of my belongings into my car and clean this place out. Today is when I want to wash the sheets, the towels, clean the stove and the fridge and make this place presentable for the next people that need a temp apartment, while waiting for their permanent home for over a month. Man, that has been a long time, especially when you are told in the beginning that they can place you within 7 days. Yeah, in a really crappy, over 40 year old 8plex apartment that is not worth the rent they are taking from you.
Anyway, enough with the griping, because on Friday, literally one hour before the weekend and before the office closed, we finally got the keys to our new place. What a releave, because my husband had to leave to go to school the very next morning. Hey, at least we had the keys, right? Now it's up to me to clear this place here (I'm only staying here, because of the internet and the TV!), hopefully today, because tomorrow I have a sh**load of boxes coming my way. All weekend long I have been planning and organising in my mind and I come to the conlusion that I really miss that extra bedroom we used to have. It was my stash room. It didn't start out like that, but it turned into it. Now I don't know where to put all my fabric and yarn that is coming my way and that I missed so much over last month. I might just have to "rent" some space in my kids' closets. Or the other solution is to use it all up as quick as possible.
So, just in case you wonder why I can't blog for a while (again), you might want to send out a search party to find me trapped between boxes and packing paper. Wish me luck.
In the meantime, this is what my entrelac blanket looks like.
I'm on my 4th yarn change and it's coming along great. I'm following
Dave's pattern for his Garterlac Dishcloth and it couldn't turn out better. Thanks Dave.
Knitter interrupted
I wanted to make sure you know I'm still knitting. It's not my greatest or most complicated accomplishment, but it's what's been keeping me busy for 2 weeks. Here are some pictures of the baby blanket I made, since my stuff got packed.
I posted it on Ravelry, but didn't do so on my blog for all of those, that don't have Ravelry or don't check on their friends activities there. Anyway, I think it turned out rather nicely. It's made from Rhonda White's dishcloth patterns and I just put them all together in a blanket. Without having all my "tools" or my stash yarn available, I had to make do with what I could find at my local Walmart. I used one skein of each of Caron's Simply Soft in Light Yellow, Light Blue, Pink, Light Green and Orchid. I also had to buy a pair of Boye size 8 (5mm) 14 " needles to get me started. They were too long for my taste, but they worked out ok. I can't tell you exactly the finished size of this blanket, but it covers half of a queen size bed. I think this qualifies it more for a throw than for a small baby blanket. Any infant would get lost in it for sure.
I also got commissioned to knit a baby cardigan. You can find the free pattern
here. I'm knitting it with Bernat Softee Baby Yarn (I know, more acrylic) and had to invest in another pair of Boye needles, this time a size 6 29" cable. I'm not completely happy with them, but they will do for now. Of course I could have ordered some more Harmony needles from Knit Picks, but you know how it is, if you don't want to have to wait, even though nowadays it's cheaper to pay for shipping charges than to drive to the next yarn store and pay for gas.
Speaking of local yarn stores. I visited the
Knit Nook in Louisville, KY. I love this little yarn store and my husband appreciated the coffee shop next door and the comfy couches to sit on while he had to wait for me to be done with my exploration. It's not right around the corner from me and without my GPS I might not find my way back there, but it's definitely worth stopping by there whenever my husband has to visit his favorite motorcycle store, just a few blocks away.
Well, that's it for me so far for now. Keep your needles crossed that I will get a permanent address by next week. My husband has to go off to school and it'll be up to me to open most of the boxes to set up the house, so I might not be blogging for a while again. As long as I get it before he leaves, I'll be fine. It's going to be like early christmas, opening all those boxes. Yes, I know, I say that now, until I get fed up with it and don't want to see another box again. Right now, all I want is my stuff. I'm sure you can understand that. I've been without my stash for over a month now. Whhaaaa :(
Labels: FO
