September 5, 2010

I'm a Shameful Blogger



DD (Alcariel on Ravelry) decided to come home for the Labor Day week-end. After church this morning, I changed clothes and came out with knitted socks. DD said, "When did you do those?" When I told her that they were from TLE sock club last spring, she then said, "Well, you haven't blogged in a couple of months." My reply was, "I didn't know that you read my blog." Her answer was a resounding, "YES, I do!" So, I guess I'd better put the completed socks up. These are March Mosaic Socks by Wendy Johnson in the spring chill colorway from Fiesta Yarns Baby Boom. I did the pair toe-up (yes, Deb Barnhill, another pair of toe-up socks) ml on Addis #1 and #2. They were started April 27 and finished May 12, so a quick knit for me.

An FO this summer was the New Shell scarf from Jamieson's Ultra fw shetland yarn, a gift from Hreow in an RSE. I had started it May 16, 2009, but didn't finish it. Then when the snows of 2009-10 came about every two weeks, it was my project ... but I did finish it until July 15 ... this summer. The pattern only called for two balls of the yarn called strawberry crush, but Hreow had sent 3 since I like wide, long scarves. I knitted until I thought I just had enough left for the bind-off ... and I just did ... about one foot was all that remained.

I'm also working on another Gail shawl, this a Christmas gift for a friend ...from Kraemer Yarns Sterling Silver and Silk yarn in the tuxedo colorway. I hope to do 12 pattern repeats and am just starting the 9th repeat. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of September.

My knitting has slowed a lot due to an unfortunate accident the day before classes began at school. I was bringing the last of my "stuff" on a small AV cart when the wheel caught on a crack in the sidewalk sending my "stuff" and me forward. Not wanting to meet up with the cement sidewalk, I pushed my hands down onto the side of the cart and that saved my fall. It did, however, leave me with a severly strained left knee. I have been taking physical therapy and am starting to feel some relief. I haven't missed a day (actually just the morning), but have come home to the cold packs and tylenol. Just haven't seemed as enthused about knitting. That will change ... I guarantee that!

Happy knitting! TLGB


June 27, 2010

Blogging Apology

I have been a terrible blogger lately.

Dd and I went out to Estes Park for the Wool Market again this year ... June 10-13. We took an Orenburg lace class from Galina. Yes, we spent two days learning the motifs and then putting them together for an "original" design. In the afternoon of the second day, Galina asked if anyone needed help with a knitting problem. I asked for her to show me continental knitting which she graciously did. I heard that it was easier on arthritis ... I have basal joint arthritis in my right thumb. Well, it doesn't help with mine ... I've started a scarf and will complete it, but don't know if I'll be able to do it until I have the surgery. The scarf is our of Manos de Uruguay in a silk/merino blend ... absolutely divine to knit. Don't have the pic on my laptop yet, so that will come. We were able to preview/purchase at the vender barn Friday after classes were concluded. Dd and I exhibited extreme control. Both of us made yarn purchases from Galina's booth, Skaska Designs. Dd was able to find a couple of sheep fleeces.
The entire time was rainly ... from a gentle shower to a downpour on Saturday when we went out to the fairgrounds. Sunday morning we packed the car in a heavy rain and drove in rain most of the way across Nebraska.

These are my completed Eunice socks by Cookie A for the KAL that dd hosts on her videocast blog here. They were knit with Sockissima Colori Socka Color 100 in the colorway 09 (blue, purple, green, dark gold). I knit them 2AAT on #3 Addi ml ... started in early June and finished late in the month.

I've started my next pair, Hermoine's Everyday Socks in Wollmeise Supersocke in the Saumi colorway (red, yellow, blue, white).

Happy knitting! TLGB

May 17, 2010

Cozi's Cabled Sweater


On 12-17-09 , I started a new sweater for dh's Brittany. Dd (Alcariel on Rav) had knit a bright orange sweater 3 years ago, but it has shown its use and wear even though it is covered with a neoprene chest protector when the dog is hunting with dh. This is her new, "going to visit" sweater. It is Garnstudio's "Cabled Dog Sweater" in Plymouth Galway worsted wool, on #6 and #7 KP Harmony circ. The pattern called for sport/dk wt and the largest size given was for a "medium" dog ... about 6 inches short in the body and 5 inches in the burst (chest). With the medium size adjusted for length where needed, it fits the 40 lb. Brittany perfectly. Finished earlier this afternoon.

May 3, 2010

The Loopy Ewe Sock Club

DD, Alcariel on Rav, convinced me earlier this year to try get in the sock club from The Loopy Ewe. She did tell me, though, that it was a lottery system so not everyone that applies will be accepted. Well ... I got in and received the first shipment in March ... love it, but had to wait to finish two pairs of socks on the magic loop already. Both a sock and scarf pattern came, but I chose the socks ... and then discovered that they were toe up. Both dd and I took Deb Barnhill's class at Sock Summit last summer, "Toe-up for the Stubborn." I finished my pair of socks, but dd decided to frog hers since she wasn't enjoying the knit but liked both the stitch pattern she chose and they yarn. Well, here's how my socks look so far.

Pattern: March Mosaic Socks by Wendy Johnson
Yarn: Fiesta Yarns Baby Boom - Spring Chill colorway
2AAT on magic loop - Addi #1 2.25mm

I'm also trying to complete a wip each month. For both April and May, however, I working to complete a scarf from Jamieson's Sheltland wool, an exchange gift from Hreow here on Ravelry. The pic is at the halfway mark, but I've finished the first two balls of light fingering weight, so am at the two-thirds mark. The pattern was also included New Shell Scarf. Can't wait to block it!

April 15, 2010

An FO and some SAM socks

I decided to complete a WIP over Easter week-end when dd was visiting. I chose the Hemlock Ring Doily Throw that I started about 18 months ago. I found the knitted edging to be very slow going for me with the arthritic joint at the base of my right thumb ... heavy knitting tends to aggravate it a lot. I did, however, finish knitting and did the blocking earlier this week. It ended up blocking to 56 inches diameter.
Just completed my April socks. These are Cookie A's Glynis socks from Sock Innovation. The yarn was the March shipment from the Unique Sheep's Sip 'n Stitch Club - Footprints in the Quechua colorway. I did 2AAT on #2 Addi ml.

March 15, 2010

Kai Mei Socks ... done!

After knitting dd socks from Cookie A's Sock Innovation, I decided that I'd like a pair, too. I picked the Kai Mei in STR's colorway Lucky. I've have knitted most of my socks on magic loop in the past 3 years, so that's what I started until it came to the gussets. I just couldn't make it work, so I took each sock off, frogged what little I had done, and ended up working them individually on dpns until I was ready to knit out the foot. When placed back on the circ, I place the lace pattern gusset with the instep on one side, the "plain" gusset and sole on the other. That way, I would work a m1 on the sole and do the dec at the edge of the pattern to make it "travel" across the top of the foot. When I was finished with the pattern, they fit my size 10 foot perfectly. Here's a close-up of the stitch pattern.
Happy knitting! TLGB

March 1, 2010

I'm Still Alive and Knitting!



Once again, I'm using the same title for my knitting. I have really been neglecting my blog along with the "busy-ness" of the professional development requirements for school this year. Retirement in another year appears most attractive.
DD and attended the 2010 Knit-In of the DSM Metro Knitters again for some "get-away" time from the midwestern winter ... this year an especially snowy one. We both had knit a Fiber Trends Huggable Hedgehog for the two dd of our knitting instructor from Sock Summit. The first thing we did after getting to the room was to add the eyes and nose to our creature and stuff them. DD had purchased some plastic pellets in the doll supply section at Hobby Lobby for a weight in the "bottom". We enclosed them in a fabric "sack" made from some scrap material and that worked quite well to give each one enough weight in that area to sit up well. DD is planning on shipping them to the girls very soon!

As part of my 2010 knitting intentions, I want to complete socks each month for the SAM group here on Ravelry. My arthritic right thumb isn't causing too many problems, so I've made it through February now. I used the Wollmeise Socks by Monica Jines to knit with the gradient colorway Coffee House Reef from the Unique Sheep's Stitch 'n Sip Club, a gift from dd. I didn't use the 4th color, however, since it wasn't needed. I hadn't checked the US's website for beginning the new color until dd suggested I do so. I had to frog about 6 rows of colors 1 and 2. To change colors, I knit 2 rows color 2, 4 rows color 1, 4 rows color 2, and 2 rows color 1 ... then just continued with color 2. It really "blends" the colors together quite well.

I've also been working on several WIPs ... the cabled dog sweater for dh's Brittany, the New Shell scarf (part of a swap package from Hreow in the RSE), socks for dh, and started the socks for March, Holidazed with some OnLine sock yarn from my stash.

That's all for now ... wow, spring is only 20 days away and we still have about 3 feet of snow on our yard. We have received 5+ feet this winter. That's enough!

Happy knitting! TLGB

January 7, 2010

More snow ...... more time to knit!

No, I haven't disappeared ... I have just been neglecting my blog. This is partially to keep Christmas gifts a surprise partnered with a very busy fall in my job - teaching Spanish 1 to 80 students, all but four freshmen.


Early in fall, I asked dd to pick a color of Wollmeise from my stash for her Christmas socks. I then asked her to choose some patterns that she would like .... from Cookie A's Sock Innovation. She marked 4-5 different patterns. As she was choosing, I heard her say, "These are stockinette on the foot which would work in my nursing shoes." So ... I chose that pattern "Sam" with Wollmeise 100% merino in the True Love colorway, 2AAT on ml. Started them the end of September and finished them in a month (I do have 2-3 pairs of socks ON most of the time).
Then, as a surprise, I decided to knit the Gail shawl (aka Nightsongs) . I chose a colorway that I had received as a member of the Wollmeise sock club last year, the colorway Okzident, a blend of blue, green, charcoal. I finished the edge with STR lightweight in the Thraven colorway, it blended quite well. I followed the pattern using US #7 harmony circ from KP, but didn't care for the tightness of the bind-off. The pic above is with that bind-off. So, after Christmas when dd had opened the present, I frogged the bind-off and did my usual loose bind-off. It had a lot more stretch to it and should bring the points out farther. DD said that she would block it, but if she doesn't want to, I can get it from her later this month and do it then.



When dd and I were at Sock Summit in August, I purchased a some Krazy Zauberball in the U boat colorway (navy, green, light and dark gray) especially for dh since he is a WW II history nut. When I started knitting the socks in October, it was really overcast ..... hardly had a sunny day all month. In November when the sunny, colder days came, some purple appeared in midst of the navy .... dh doesn't like purple. Well, I continued on and only let him know they were his socks when I had him try one on after the heel turn, just to make sure it worked for his high instep. His comment, "They're so soft and beautiful." Well, he really likes them. The dd of a coffee friend is a full-time elementary teacher as well as mom to three children (15, 12, 7) and her husband has been deployed to Iraq since last summer. She has been having a tough time around the holidays, so I decided to knit her the Magic Shawl from Rav with Noro Silk Garden in colorway 251 on size 10.5. Her dh surprised her by coming home for 10 days, arriving the Sunday after Christmas. I've finished the shawl and each of the coffee ladies will write a little message to her to include with the shawl. She can choose to read them all at once or read one whenever she needs a little "hug" from her dm's friends.

Oh, an explanation about the title ... in the past two weeks, we have received three substantial snowstorms complete with blizzard winds and very cold wind-chill temps. We are in the midst of the third one right now. The two previous ones each dropped about a foot of the light fluffy snow that hasn't ever settled or crusted over .... each little wind we get blows it around. That is the case today and tomorrow. The ditches are full in the countryside, so that a danger for those traveling ... the highway east of town is blocked by several semi trucks. I do like winter and the whiteness of the snow. Hope I still like it after the next two months .... usually a time when we get a lot of snow.
Happy knitting. TLGB