Did You Blog Yet?

Ever since I got back from NYC on August 25th Joseph has asked me "Mom, did you blog yet?" I've been so busy trying to get Joseph ready for grade 9 and when I went back to work on Tuesday the madness really began. I had tons of work waiting me for.

I don't have much time for blogging this morning either so I am going to leave it all to pictures. I've got a picture of some FOs. The second Flower Basket Shawl I did for the Ravelympics 2008. The first one is in NY with my daughter. Yarn used is 4 skeins of Malabrigo Merino Silk in colour Indiecita.

I also finished the knitting on the oval doily. There is a version of this doily in the Japanese book Knitted Lace Vol. 1. There is a version in Anna January 1998 and Muestros y Motivos Tricot Hogar 1 - the Spanish lace book I have. It still needs blocking but I haven't had the time. Hopefully that will get done this weekend. I used 2mm needles and 4 balls of DMC Cebelia No. 20 in red.

The rest of the pictures are what I was able to get of the grandchildren.

Oval Doily

Flower Basket Shawl

Liba

Shimon

Moe

Mati

Elisheva

Happy Mother's Day

As readers of my blog might remember from last year, Mother's Day is not the easiest day for me. I lost my mom too long ago. I miss her more than words can say and I really seriously dislike this day and can't wait for it to be over. Mom I love you and I miss you.

On the knitting front, I've almost finished the second of the Noro socks. This is the first one all done. As I mentioned before, I hope that these socks are going to soften up after a few washings. Right now it isn't soft at all. The socks are a little stiff but that's probably because I usually use 2mm needles for my sock knitting and I probably should have used a 2.25mm or 2.5mm with this yarn because of the thick/thin parts that are in the yarn. I do love the colours but I will wait until they come out with the Noro Silk in a sock weight yarn before I use this yarn again.

Then I had some decisions to make. The next lace project I wanted to do is this oval doily. The one on top is the Japanese version and the one below is the Spanish version. According to Nurhanne this pattern is called Krokus. I have wanted to do this doily for some time. QueerJoe, on Ravelry, started it and posted some pictures. That was enough of a push to get me to really start this project. The problem was, which version to do. I've finally decided that I will do the Spanish version for one reason and one reason only. I have problems with my hands at times. Many years ago I broke a bone in my left hand and when I try to graft it is seriously aggravated. If I do the Japanese version I would have to graft the two A charts together. my hands can't handle that. Grafting toes causes incredible pain. Chart A would be 72 sts worth of grafting. I don't think I want to tackle that. I'm only on round 21 now so I will post progress pictures after I make more progress.

December 4, 2007

Snb night was fun as always. I delivered the puzzle scarf to Shannon. I am glad the length was fine and, yes, I did have a chance to block it before I gave it to her.

I have to say thank you once again to Jennifer for my scarf. It really came in handy tonight. It was pretty cold out there when we left Starbucks and the scarf helped me stay toasty warm while I cleaned the snow off my car.

Almost There

I am almost finished with the scarf I am doing for Shannon. I love this pattern so much. It can be tedious as it gets longer because it tends to twist in the skinny sections but I still just can't get over the construction. I just have the blocking to do and I just hope I can get around to that before our next snb. If I don't, I am going to be really disgusting and give it to Shannon without it being blocked. The weather is getting colder and I don't want her to have to wait for it just because I couldn't find the time to block it.

The yarn is Rown cotton glace in colour SH723. I can't get the colour to show properly but it is a lovely lavender.

In other knitting, I've finally picked up the Campanula socks once again. I am past the heel and since I know what I did wrong the first time, the same mistake will not happen again. I should get the first sock done this weekend. I am liking the Harmony needles a lot for the Tofutsie yarn. It is much easier and I am not having as much problems with splitting as I was with the regular Options needles.

Harmony

On Tuesday the postman brought me my Haromony set. I think I've been spoiled. Knit Picks is an amazing company (NAYY). You can get yarn that is good quality for a fraction of what you pay for it elsewhere and the same holds true for needles. I can't even begin to say how much I love their nickle plated and Harmony wood needles. I used to be a huge Addi Turbo fan. I have a lot invested in their needles and I would trade all of them(except the really long circs like 40cm or longer) for Knit Picks needles. The other day I was trying to knit the mini socks for Sparkle and I decided to try using my 2.5mm Addi lace needle. You know that even with cable on the lace needles being more flexible than the regular Addi's they still can't hold a candle to the Knit Picks cables. With the addition of their wood needles to the line I don't think I will ever get needles from another company.

On the knitting front, I'm working on the puzzle scarf for Shannon. I've almost completed the first 9 sections but I will definitely have to make it longer. The yarn is a Rowan cotton and I'm using 3.25mm needles because I wanted to make sure the cotton wouldn't stretch out once the scarf is done.

Puzzle Scarf

Three days and three days with bad news. My boss found out this morning that a friend of his passed away last night. My mom always said things happen in threes. I am hoping that's true and this is the end of it for a long time.

On the knitting front, here are pictures and more information about the scarf I made for my partner for the International Scarf Exchange 5. Since I have no idea if this pattern has a proper name or not, I am going to call it the Puzzle Scarf. The scarf is from the Japanese knitting book called Let's Knit Series 3. The ISBN number is 4529042758. I bought my copy from The Needle Arts Book Shop. I am not affiliated with this website in any way. I am just a very satisfied customer. I got a lot of help working on the mechanics of this scarf from the KnittingInJapan Yahoo group. I don't think I could have done the scarf without them (but then I have said that before).

Yarn is Schoeller Esslinger Merino Soft, in case you missed it. Scarf started on October 13, 2007 and finished October 21, 2007. I used 3.5mm needles and 3.25mm crochet hook for the crocheted edging.




The scarf is worked IN ONE PIECE from beginning to end. I have never seen anything constructed this way. It's pure genius if you ask me. I did change a few things when I did the last section and edging. The edging is a crochet edging where you chain 7, single crochet in the next stitch, skip the next stitch, chain 7 etc. I did two rounds of the edging instead of 1, doing the single crochets in the stitch that was skipped the first time around. Also instead of keeping the entire scarf stitches live after finishing chart D I chose to cast off each D section and single crochet around to the next section where you would pick up the stitches to work another D section. For me, this was much easier than working it with all the stitches live. I would have gone nuts and this way I was able to do the double row of edging.

I must admit, I am very pleased with the final result. I am still a little nervous about my partner. I hope she is going to like it. I was going to use an alpaca yarn in a black with red tweed but I decided against it because if the yarn was a dark colour the pattern would have been lost.

Now I need some ideas on what to send along with the scarf so I can get this out in the mail this weekend.

Next up, I am working on a sock design but I can't really go into that right now other than it's toe up.

Puzzle Unraveled

I have been busy all week trying to get the scarf for my ISE5 partner worked out. The pattern is from Let's Knit Series 3. It's on page 25, I think. When I saw this pattern I just knew I had to make it for my ISE exchange. I was going to use the elann.com 100% aplaca but it didn't work. Instead I am using Schoeller Esslinger Merino Soft. I'm pleased to say that since the two knots in less than 6 inches, I have not encountered another knot in the other 2 balls I have used so far. I'm about to wind another ball and I might need one more after that to complete the edging. I have to admit I am very pleased with the results so far. I just hope my ISE partner will feel the same way. I really do need to thank everyone on the Knitting In Japan Yahoo group. I never would have been able to get this scarf done without them. I am now in the middle of chart D. I've changed the way the pattern tells you to do it. You're supposed to work chart D in that hollowed out section between B and C and then pick up the stitches at the beginning of C until you get around to the next "hollow/arc" section. All sts are supposed to remain live on the needle. Since I've made this scarf longer than it stated (15 sections instead of 9) I didn't want all those sts to get in my way as I worked around. So I am casting off D instead and using single crochet around B till I get to the next D chart. Confused? I think it will be a lot better for me this way. I hope I can get all the D sections done today and then finish this scarf either today or tomorrow.

Yesterday I went to The Black Lamb to change the drive wheel on my Little Gem. The drive wheel that was on the wheel when I bought it was warped and very wobbly so Laurie ordered a new one for me. The drive was much more pleasant that I thought it was going to be. As many of you know, I am not a fan of driving even though I do it all the time. I left home just after 9. I got to Laurie just after 10 and left around 11:45 and was home just after 1 (with a stop at wally world) You would not believe the amount of fibre I saw there. Incredible. You know the saying "The one who has the most yarn wins," well Laurie wins in the fibre department. I can't go there and come home empty handed. I bought 3 bags of pencil roving. The one on top is lipstick the other one is a gorgeous olive green and the one on the right is an off white/taupe colour. I could have bought much more but I also bought a cone of merino/nylon in off white for some baby blankets I have to do so I was maxed out by the time I left. The wheel is working great now. I just have to be able to stay awake at night so I can get more time to spin, knit and anything else I want to do to relax and have fun.

Unravelling Puzzles

I've been hearing and seeing pictures of the Mountain Ash Shawl for quite some time. I joined the Yahoo group and finally caved and bought the book. When I ordered the book, I couldn't just order one so I went through the books that Marsha has at The Needle Arts Book Shop. After much consideration, I ordered the Let's Knit Series 3 and Series 11 at the same time I ordered the New Style of Heirloom Knitting. (No affiliation just a satisfied customer). I received the books on Tuesday and ever since I've become obsessed with this scarf pattern in Let's Knit Series 3. It is on page 25. I joined the Knitting in Japan Yahoo group and I am now trying to unravel the puzzle that is this scarf. I would like to make it for the ISE5 partner. That's if I ever figure it out. I understand the charts now. It's how to get from chart b to c that will be the challenge, I think. I've started knitting a sample out of some scrap yarn I have in the house to see if I can figure out the construction. This is SO MUCH FUN it should be illegal. I just love a challenge. I just hope I can figure it out soon or I might just lose my mind. Thank you to everyone on the Yahoo group that is helping me unravel the puzzle.