Month: February 2006

The computer/dsl modem went kaput on me Saturday morning so there would be no WWW activity for me! Instead I finished Tracy’s second trekkingxxl sock! Yay! Done!! I will let her do the honors of photographing them & posting pics.

I also used some handpaintedyarn bulky merino wool in verde esparanza (out of stock right now) to make the one skein scarf out of the new Happy Hooker book.

I had enough yarn left over that I decided to make myself a hat to match. It is a typical single crocheted beanie but I started the top with a bit of an open shell pattern.

 Then I moved to the single crochet for the main body of the hat. For the last row across the forehead I used the shell stitch in half double crochet, moving to double crochet around the back half of the hat. Then I worked back and forth for three more rows in shell stitch to make the back long flap.

I love how it comes down to my collar!

I did start the norsk sweater and I am working on the ribbing. I also realized that I had promised one of my sisters, Christi, that I would make a blanket for her living room. I sent her the yarn samples to choose from in January & then we both kind of forgot about it. So since we are seeing eachother in 2 weeks, I thought I would get on it & finish it so she can take it home with her. Using size 11 needles, super bulky cotton chenille in a brick red,I am making the pinwheel blanket pattern. It’s super simple and fast with such thick yarn! I have a picture but for some reason it won’t load, eventually I will get it up. Maybe after it is finished!

 

 

Okay, so the crazed cast on phase continues! I received my yarn from knitpicks to start the norsk sweater. what I am so retarded and didn’t notice was the fact that the merino style yarn and the merino dye your own yarn have different gauges. So I had to totally finagle my way through the swatching last night to make the 2 yarns work together. It was a simple enough solution. By doubling the dye your own merino (the cream, main color) it came out to match gauge exactly! So today I will cast on for that beauty!

I am allowed to cast on because here is the finished back of the Brocade, unblocked, loose/tight floats and all.

I can’t say that I am overly pleased with how the intarsia turned out. I hurried through some sections, tried different float wraps on other sections. Finally about 1/3 of the way through I had the yarn & pattern all figured out so the rest went well. Not too much puckering that is irreparable. I have cast on the front & the ribbing as well as a few rows of the pattern are done. I will work on it slowly while working on other projects, namely the norsk sweater.

I can’t make it to the Java Station knitting group tonight. George has his manly get together night. They meet the last Thursday of every month so I will be missing that one night. Lame! But those weeks I am planning to go to the Mojo Coffee group on Tuesday nights. Melissa, Suzanne & I crashed their group this week & it was fun to meet other knitters/spinners/crocheters. There were only 6 of them meeting & I think we overwhelmed them just a bit with our loud talkiness. Random coincidence (which I don’t really believe in), the people that started the group, Molly and her husband Josh, live 3 houses down from me & we had no idea! Funny, odd and rather entertaining. We spent a good bit of time going over the neighborhood gossip. Just goes to show you how involved I am in the neighborhood, we have been here years, they have been here about a year and we had never met or just bumped into each other. We didn’t even recognize eachother! Kind of sad but hey that is just the way life is nowadays. At least here in California for the most part. It is nice to meet one more neighbor though, even if it’s at a completely unrelated event like a knitting group.

It’s now noon, I haven’t done my apad yet and I need to get some cleaning done. So I suppose this is goodbye for now. Hope you all have a great night at knitting & I will see you all next week!

I will admit, I was dreading this book a little bit. I loved Stitch ‘n’ Bitch the original and was radically depressed with SNB Nation. Now, the Happy is back! It’s set up like the original Stitch ‘n’ Bitch with all the tutorial info in the front, projects and patterns in the back half.

I actually think this would be the perfect reference book for new hookers. Debbie Stoller does a great job at teaching, obviously with how well SnB sold. So I highly recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in the art of hooking. New or established hookers welcome!!

 I didn’t get nearly as much knit this weekend as I had planned. I am only 16 rows away from being done with the back of Brocade but I just don’t have the motivation to knit reading a chart & watch the olympics & deal with the kids all at the same time. Once I get back inside I will take the hour to finish it completely before I have to get the kids from school.

I did finish one of Tracy’s Twin Rib trekking xxl, color 100, socks using the magic loop method on size 0’s.  Very nice yarn & pattern from the book Sensational Knitted Socks. The second sock is already 2.5″ long. It’s simple patterns with the body of the foot all stockinette. Since Tracy will be wearing them with clogs I decided to do the foot without the pattern on the top of the foot body. No worries about it rubbing wrong that way.

Restraint has been my mood of late. I am in a cast on mood. I could start  a dozen new projects today & be very pleased. But I won’t. I will control the dark side in me & stick to my simple plan. Once Tracy’s socks are finished I will cast on for a pair for myself. And once the yarn gets here for my norsk sweater I will cast on for that. So the 2 big projects will be the brocade and norsk. And of course there will be socks, the vogue cardigan that may possibly end up being my mom’s and any other smaller items that strike my fancy. I do have to finish the second leg warmer. One isn’t quite cutting it. I do love it so!

peabrain has become my new favorite sweater. I can wear it, wash it, wear it & no worries about wrecking it in the wash. That is probably the only PRO about acrylic blend yarns. The biggest CON is the piling. Lame little pills, the sweater shaver will get a workout with this sweater.