MS4 Clue 3 Done!

After a lot of tinking and frogging, clue 3 of the Mystery Stole 4 is completed. For some reason, my brain kept forgetting to put one or two yos in a row.... just about every right side row. The stole needs to be knit from both ends through clue 5 and then clue 6 is done on one side and grafted to the remaining clues 1-5. Well, ..... I even pinned the edges of the two sides together in hopes of not forgetting to knit on the second half. That didn't work ..... I ended up frogging about 12 rows, knitted it back up only to discover a dropped "falling" st about 10 rows below where I had frogged, so I just ripped that entire side down a total of 20 rows. I wanted to get it knitted back last night, but was about falling asleep knitting so stopped with only the last two rows of clue 3 to do. That was finished early this morning ..... dh's hunting dog started scratching in her "bedroom" (really a large travel crate) about 4:45 ..... don't know if Cozi was anxious to go hunting or just had to GO .... outside, that is. Dh and Cozi have taken off for the farm to hunt pheasants, so Toffee and I will hold down the home front.

This week-end I hope to co one of the two Christmas stockings I have to knit on commission. The pattern is from old Bucilla Christmas stocking kits. This family has been using knitted stockings for three generations now, so add another with each new grandchild.

Happy knitting! TLGB

Surprise Started!

Someone will definitely be surprised with what is going on my needles tonight. I'm not going to divulge anything about it .... not even on Ravelry! It's going to be a surprise.

I did a few rows on clue 3 of the Mystery Stole 4 this morning before dh awakened. The stole is knit from both ends through clue 5. Then, clue 6 is only done on one of the pieces. When completed, the grafting begins. I hope I can get it done before Thanksgiving.

I also have about 80 rows to do on Secret of the Stole 2 that I started back in January when I was home from teaching for most of a week with a severe sinus infection. I got it out about a week ago and saw a "goofy-looking" decrease about six inches below. Froggin' definitely took place. I picked up all the stitches and have done about 5 rows after that. It is definitely on my "to-do" list for 2008, so I'd better get busy.

Happy knitting until the next post! TLGB

Pics at last!

Clue One finished. I ran out of beads with just the last beaded row to do, so had to wait about a week without doing any more knitting. This is the second yarn I tried the Mystery Stole 4 with - first I used a navy laceweight yarn, but the beads I had purchased were too heavy for it. I had STR lightweight in the Motley Hue colorway. I like this color better with the beads. The above picture is closer to the actual color than the one below. The beads are a black rainbow color from Hobby Lobby.

Here are the pics of the Mystery Stole 4 through Clue 2.

The stole is knit from both ends and then grafted in the middle. I have both ends done through the second clue. This is the first knitted beading I've ever done, so have enjoyed the learning experience. After 48 years of knitting, you can still learn something new! Clues 3 and 4 are knitted with no beads .... some other participants that have finished those clues and I really like the look of this stole. There are only two more clues to come out .... with very little beads (9) on clue 5 and about 60 on the final clue.

Two weeks ago, our great-niece and her dh had their first child, a little boy. Well, I have a lot of sock yarn "leftovers", so decided to try making my own pattern for infant socks. CO 32 sts to begin The socks on the left are from Colinette Jitterbug in the popsicle colorway and had a 2x2 rib for 24 rows for the leg, a slip st heel flap of 16 rows, heel turn, 10 rows for the foot and then my favorite toe. Even kitchenered the toe of 12 total sts. The right socks are from STR Bella Coola colorway and are just 1x1 rib for 6 rows and then stockinette for the rest. Now I'm working with some Lisa Souza sock yarn in the gendarme colorway ..... doing 8 rows of 1x1 rib, then 6 k row, 2 p rows, to the heel flap, and plan to continue the 6k, 2p rows to the toe (except for heel). It is really turning out cute.

I've Been Lazy!

I have been knitting ..... just haven't been blogging. The Mystery Stole KAL is coming along .... I've finished Clue 2 ..... Clues 3 & 4 are out, but don't have any beading, so should be a faster knit. I have taken pics ... just need to upload them.

I've been busy knitting baby socks for my great-niece's new son. I knitted a plain stockinette pair from STR mediumweight in the Bella Coola colorway (blue/green) and a 2x2 rib leg in Colinette Jitterbug in the Popsicle colorway (bright basic colors). I'm knitting them with the dps that came with my Wollmeise sock club this month. It's been a long time since I've knitted with dps ..... even considered magic looping two pairs at a time, but decided that the yarn would be a tangled mess. DH says that baby socks only take her about 1 1/2 hours per sock ..... mine are taking about 2 1/2 hours. I've never knitted anything so small. Yes, I did them with heel flap and gussets. Hopefully I'll have two pairs done before the end of the month for the SAM KAL (only one sock is left, about 3/4 of it), but I really want to do a couple more pairs before the end of the week when I'd like to take them to the new mom, dad, and son. Oh, this great-niece's dh purchased the acreage that was part of the farm where my maternal grandmother lived on when I was young .... what a coincidence. I'm anxious to see what changes have been made to the house, buildings, etc. Will post pics when I've finished the second pair.

Julie on Ravelry, the recipient of my angel scarf, sent me a lovely thank you box. Folded paper bookmarks (I'm already using three of them), some soap, a heart-shaped moisturing shea butter that smells minty, some lavendar body bath, and some lovely pics she's taken. Thank you, Julie!
Happy knitting, everyone! TLGB

Angel Scarf

Below find the pics of the Phileme scarf that I "angel" knitted for Julie on Ravelry. I found the pattern on Ravelry ..... it's actually a Google doc ...... was translated from French. The pics are ones that Julie took after receiving it. I'm using them with her permission. I used Daiketo yarn, a 100% merino from Japan. It contained most of Julie's favorite colors. Here's a close-up she took to show the lace pattern ..... the scarf ended up having "points" along all the edges. I blocked in on my new lace wires from KnitPicks ..... cut blocking time by at least half.


A close-up of the lace pattern



A fence ... the perfect place to display the scarf






I really enjoyed the experience .... even though I did some "power knitting" to get the scarf done in 18 days.... and that was with school starting. Three years from now I won't have to worry about that ... retirement looms!

The Mystery Stole 4 is coming along nicely .... I only have two rows left, but ran short on beads. When I purchased them, Hobby Lobby didn't have enough in stock, but was getting more. Tomorrow I will make a quick trip there to get the additional beads. I did change from lace weight yarn to STR lightweight in the Motley Hue colorway (gray with subtle blues). I really liked the beads and they really overpowered the laceweight yarn. They were, of course, a size larger to begin with .... the smaller beads are difficult to find here in northern Iowa. The next clue comes out tomorrow, so maybe I can finish before it's loaded on the Yahoo Group site. Will take pics when the clue is finished.

Happy knitting, everyone! TLGB

Mystery Stole 4

I joined the Mystery Stole 4 KAL a while back .... finally, Sept. 5th came .... time for the first clue. I thought that I would make the stole with some Zephyr laceweight that has been in my stash for a long time. Well, I started the stole today after returning from the last county fair held in my state. I had purchased the beads to use, but couldn't find them in the size stated, so got the next size up ... a little bulky for the laceweight yarn, so I frogged the first four rows and am going to be using BMFA STR lightweight in the Motley Hue colorway. The yarn works better with my beads, so I hope to start it again tomorrow.

Today was the "Day of the Frog" for more reasons .... I tried the Bubble Wrap socks from SockBug on while on the way home from the fair .... they were HUGE! I frogged 1.5 inches of 1x1 ribbing and two patterns repeats on the leg ..... of both socks! Yes, I knit two socks at a time on magic loop .... love the method. Since I started using ml, I haven't done any socks on dps. This is the first socks I've frogged, so I guess that's not bad ..... but I almost cried. I usually knit with STR lightweight ... but, the Rolling Stone colorway I chose was mediumweight .... I didn't notice when I started, so had cast on my usual 72 sts ....WRONG! Now I have the 64 I usually use with mediumweight, so things will come out better ...... or at least I hope so!

Happy knitting to all! TLGB