Knitting: Staying on top of 'things'

I'm starting with this photo because, A. I love spider plants and B. this one is looking great! Cath gave me a few little starter spiderettes way back last year sometime. I potted them and recently a month or 2 back added a few more from my mom's plant (the darker green). So now with the 2 of them together, this plant is just flourishing and I love it. It's a little bit of happy on my work desk!

This past weekend, much time was spent knitting and much time was spent organizing.

After work on Friday, I did some errands, went home and had a nice nap. Got around and headed west to Hilliard to meet up with Cath for dinner at Joey Changs. While my meal was okay, I didn't love it. I branched out and tried something different and while it wasn't BAD really, it just wasn't what I really expected and therefore didn't like as much. It was edible, but on the blah side. I think I would try the place again and get something that I typically get at other places to give it a true test. Cath had the Pad Thai which she enjoyed.

After dinner, we headed back to her place to do some knitting. I got quite a bit done, until I ran into a snafu with one project, so I picked up another... and then, well I cast on for a new sock because I needed something that didn't require paying attention. She also assisted me with measurement taking and now I feel quite able to try my hand at just casting on any ol' sweater and making mods so that it will fit ME. More to come on that, I do have a project in mind... but other things need to be done first. I'm talking to you Vivian!

And you to Every Way Wrap.

Anyway, we also watched some True Blood (season 1 - Cath is catching up) and the latest episode of Merlin (on syfy - LOVE it).

Saturday morning we had breakfast at First Watch. I had a great meal, eggs and a waffle - yum all the way around. Cath had some amazing french toast and fruit, it was very pretty.

Next I met up with Audra and we did some knitting and chatting. We moved on from coffee shop knitting to lunch at Baja Sol (Lennox area). While I did not enjoy my meal, cheese enchiladas... very bland and lots of spice, like pepper, but no actual flavor (weird I know). But the chips were good and I made my own salsa concoction. I will go back and try the tacos, they sounded good and I probably should have ordered them, but I love cheese enchiladas, so I had to try. Obvious mistake.

We did quite a bit of chatting on FB, old friends, crazy friends and family and everything else. We also discuss that we are both in a similar state with our CLUTTER. We want to get rid of things and organized, so we discussed starting a plan, some sort of tracking worksheet to map out what we need to do. We want to share with each other and hopefully motivate each other to finish our projects. Hopefully we can come up with something. Maybe we need to have an incentive, like one person buys/gives the other person something like a reward. Who knows, sometimes friendly competition spurns motivation? It could work.

Then I went home. I had the urge to WORK on things. I had boxes in hand and I cleared the book shelf in the computer room. Brian helped and carried the boxes to the basement. I threw some stuff away. Then I got the sneezies and was pooped anyway, so I took some allergy meds and relaxed with some knitting.

Sunday, I woke up much too early. Met up with Cath downtown because I forgot my shoes and she was in the area. Then I popped out to Easton. Brian had an appt at the Apple store, his phone was coming apart at the seams... and drum roll please... THEY FREAKING REPLACED IT!!!! I have had so many problems with Apple Care over the past 2 years, I cannot even tell you. So much so that we had to BUY him a replacement phone awhile back because they wouldn't honor anything... so now they replace the phone. Well, I'm glad and was shocked and glad. Then he went and bought a HOPEFULLY better case so his phone will last longer. It has little covers for all the "open" spots. We are hoping this will prevent so much dirt and dust from getting in.

While he was doing that, I popped into the container store. OMG, I could be in there for days figuring out ways to organize things and spend money!!! I did buy a few little basket type things to help organize my pantry. So often, I don't know what I have because things get shoved to the back. This basket has a handle sort of like a pitcher, so you can just pull it out. Handy, I think. We'll have to see if practical or not. Next I travelled over to the trash can area. I knew they were expensive going in, so I had an open mind.

Brian caught up to me, so I showed him the cans. There was one I really liked that was on sale. There was another I liked even more, but it was $50 more and NOT on sale! Anyway, we walked out with hopefully a new DOGGIE PROOF, slightly pretty trash can. This one will sit flush against the wall, it has a removable liner and an air vent is stainless steel and has a foot pedal with a slow close mechanism and a little switch you can flip to keep the lid open. Basically everything I wanted in a trash can. If it was a little bit taller, I'd be even happier, but that's all. Oh cheaper would have been nice as well, but it's done. And I shouldn't have to buy another one in a very long time!

When we got back home, I started in on my room. I had to make space for the bookshelf to come in. While doing this, I realize the yarn tower, might have a better location on another wall. I measured it's depth and the depth of the space I wanted to put it. It was perfect and I even had a couple of inches to spare! So I slowly moved that over to the other wall. And re-orged some of the yarn while I was at it. Then I got the bookcase in, went through magazines and put them in order. Pulled out pattern sheets and pamphlets and put them somewhere else. Started stacking the knitting books on the shelf. And then I had other areas to clean up and get laundry started. SO I did not finish the bookshelf, but most of the books are on it although they will need to be sorted into the appropriate areas. But it's a start and because of this switch, I have much more usable floor space in my room, therefore making that area look very clean! YAY!

Since I started the post with a pic, I'll end with one 2. This is a not so great iphone shot of the yarn tower. FYI, each section contains 7 wire baskets. And they are probably 2 feet deep from front to back, so in a nut shell... a LOT of yarn here. There is some roving, too. Oh and guess what.... this isn't the entire stash! Oh yes folks, I have a lot of purging to do... be ready for a sale sometime in the near future!

Knitting: What?!

So, I've been meaning to write for days and days... but been too lazy to do so. That being said... I felt like I had a lot to say and now sitting here typing, I can't recall a darn thing. And I have no photo updates either.

So, let the random purge begin.

I read a good book a week ago... it is still sticking with me and I can't get it out of my head. I even took the time to go back and read some of the chapters. In the end, the book is basically about a woman that ends up "finding" herself and healing old wounds when she moves to Ireland to research and write a book about KNITTING. So, not sure why it has stuck with me so much except, it was a pretty good story and had a happy ending and all that, so maybe that is what I'm looking for or yearning for? Who knows... what this book has also done is made my feelings for a fisherman gansey resurface with a vengeance.

I've done research all over the place... 2 of the most notable books (from every website I surfed) happen to be in my Library. I've been pouring over patterns and cables and ropes and moss stitches and more. There is no real "pattern" that I am using, it's kind of make it up and go.

I had planned to be a good knitter and swatch out all the pattern motifs I was planning, but then on Sunday... I grew restless and silly and c/o 264 stitches to start this sweater in the round from the bottom up. I'm using EZ's almanac instructions, but with different panels. I really liked my chosen stitches, but after doing 1 1/2 rounds, I realized one of the panels was NOT for me. So mid-round, I stopped knitting. I grabbed my 2 books, Gladys Thompson and Shelaugh H(something) and looked for another pattern with a count of 20 stitches. I couldnt' find one! Then, I pulled out a couple of BW stitch dictionaries and of course, after looking at several possible motifs, I chose one. It's a pretzel braid and will fit in nicely I think. So I finished round 2 with that stitch by dropping that section back to the edge and going forth.

Another thing I decided on was to do a provisional cast on using the crochet method. I did this for several reasons. Mainly because I am impatient, but 2ndly because I wasn't sure how these patterns would actually fit together and also because I don't know how long this will be. So, I figured I could get it where I want and after having done a significant amount of knitting, I can go back, pick up that edge and do some ribbing. My other reason, is I definitely want to do it in a size smaller needle and I have no idear where the 7 is right now.

Moving on... Details: Using Cascade Eco Wool in the natural colorway on a US8. I'm getting 3.77 stitches per inch. This sweater will def be huge, but I'm modeling it after a fave sweater of mine that is big and baggy and one that I love the fit of.

I have no idea what will happen when I get up to the chest area and I need to start thinking about sleeves and stuff. This will definitely be a practice in patience, skill and learning new things. I think I am a good knitter, but I rarely WING it to this extent, so we shall see.

In other knitting news, I'm taking a class at the merc and learning about Cat Bordhi's "new" technique of toe-up sock making. It's called Peronal Footprint. And basically you are making notes as you go, trying on as you go and making a patter of your foot, as you go along knitting. It's pretty interesting and I'm enjoying the progression so far.

I did have a bit of a set back though. As this is a learning sock and you have to be able to READ your knitting, the yarn I picked was the IMPULSE colorway from the February Hazel Knits sock club and not really a good idea for this venture. So, around Saturday, I decided to switch over to a lovely green yarn that was newly acquired. I can definitely "read" my increases much better and it didn't take me long to get back to where I was with the Impulse as well as continue on. I'm not sure of what the leg of the sock will be yet and if it will be plain or if we make something from the book, but if we can pick our "own" thing, I'm definitely planning on making some shamrocks or celtic rings on these socks... it's THAT green.

Maybe I need to take a trip to Ireland, soon!

Book Review: Joy of Sox

A few weeks ago, I happened upon this book at Cath's house. I think I might have seen it online, but didn't pay attention to it. Anyway, after a quick perusal (is that a word?)... I thought it would be a good purchase.

So, with the book sale at KP, I decided to get it last week. I REALLY like a lot of the patterns in it. And there are tons of tips and of course different techniques, dpns, 2 circs, magic loop etc.

Another great thing about this book is; it's not just one persons design, it's a collection of different designers. So, you get a really great variety and many styles of patterns. Lace, cable, colorwork, thigh-his (REALLY!) and knee socks, anklets, even a pair of pedi socks. There are great photos, showing many angles of the socks, etc.

Now, I have not yet knit anything from the book, so I don't know how the patterns are written. Although, they do give both written and charted instructions. They also feature different toes and heels as well as doing toe up and cuff down depending on the pattern. Did I mention the tips??? Well yes, there are a ton, from different designers, knitters and fiber junkies. There are also a bunch of percentages, like X% of sock knitters do xxxx. Type of thing, so it's a fun read as well.

For me, the BIGGEST drawback to this book is some of the photos. I think they are meant to be sexy or intimate photos and many are of a man and woman. The woman is wearing the socks and the man is bare foot. Well there is nothing I like less than a freakin' bare foot....ewww!!! So it's really a distraction and a bit annoying. But so far that is the biggest drawback for me. One thing to mention though; he isn't in EVERY photo, but many.

All in all, if you like socks and books, I totally recommend the Joy of Sox.

ETA: oh and one more thing... it's a hard cove, but spiral bound book. LOVE that!!! So much easier to knit and fold and work from!

Knitting: Goodies and there's the seaming, too

So last night, I was UBER excited to start the seaming on the Verena Cable sweater. Much to my dismay... I was definitely not ready for it. See the plan was to do a three needle bind off for the should seam, pick up the still LIVE neckline stitches and finish the neck, then complete rest of seaming.

So, I picked up my handy books, BW, Knitting from the top and Nancy W's Finishing Techniques... well, the 3 needle bind off while a good THOUGHT, probably not the best to use because of the pull on the shoulders from the sleeves. And while lofty feeling this is a heavyish sweater and I know me and I pull on things anyway... so scrap that idea, which then meant I had to BIND off! So I did that, then I tried 3 different times to start seaming and I just did not like the way it looked. Both Nancy and Barb talking about lying the pieces side by side, which I did... but it just didn't look right. So, I went back to my sewing 101 experience. I put right sides together and did a version of Nancy and Barb's weaving seam stitch. Anyway... after alla that, I got the shoulders finished.

I did a trial try on and the neck opening barely fit over my head (whoops, guess the bind off wasn't so stretchy) and I sat there on the floor with my "smock" on for awhile... and then I noticed how WARM it was. Heaven. So I got out of my daze and removed the smock and started on the sleeves. This was tricky because I was attaching a bound off edge to a very neat knitted edge. Anyway, sleeve 1 done, then onto sleeve 2 where I got about half way finished. I was tired of seaming. So I will resume that tonight.

Now let us talk about the goodies... yesterday I received PACKAGES... not just one, but three!!! One-from knit picks (with gooey yarn and needle goodness oh and books, too) and 2 pkgs were from Amazon... more books (YAY!). So I felt a little spoiled. Here is the run down in bullets. Pictures to come soon.

-WOTA Worsted in Amethyst Heather (for Knitscene's Opulent Raglan)
-WOTA Kettle Dyed in Ivy, Spruce, Eggplant, Gold and Bordeaux (for Knit Camp project)
-Harmony options in 5 and 6 for OP Rag (see above)
-Needle sizer for Lisa (froggyknits)
-Vintage Knitwear (book)
-Cables and Arans (Harmony Guides)

So that was a great package! I was on fire to start the oprag and because I couldn't find my copy, the wonderous Cath (and hubs Jimmy) helped me out and sent me a copy via email. I still have one room to tear apart looking for this mag but at least I knew how many stitches to cast on, so I did. I did about 4 or 5 rows and it's going along nicely but then I got that icky knot in my stomach... am I doing the right thing?

Here's the deal on one of my trips to Pittsburgh last year, I bought this GORGEOUS Araucania Ranco (Solids) tealish yarn. Gorgeous I tell ya! Anyway, I bought plenty of yardage per the OPRag's yardage req's. Well I had a DUMBASS attack apparently because the guage is comeplely different. The oprag is knit in a worsted weight and the ranco is a dk weight. So I am looking at 19 and 24 stitches per inch difference. At first my thought is to just rework the design and do it to the guage on the ranco, which involves a lot of math. Well, last fall, I just wasn't ready for all that, so I set the yarn and pattern aside for a later date.

Well because I finished (almost) one sweater, I was very much in the mood to cast on for a new one. I wanted to do the Jackie O sweater and have the yarn for it, but I'm in disagreement with the pattern... and that's when the oprag popped back into mind. I ordered the yarn and I'm off.... here's the rub... or shalli say itch?! The knitted fabric so far is very rough. Now my thoughts are that I could keep going and SEE what happens, but this is a low-cut, form fitting sweater that you probably wouldn't want to wear anything under it. So do I keep going in hopes that the knitted fabric after a kookaburra wash feels soft and amazing, or will it be the itchy death of me and I won't be able to wear it?! What to do, what to do? And let me just add, that no matter how much I love a pattern, I'm not likely to make it twice, so if I knit it once and can't wear it, that is a huge waste of yarn and my time.

I wish I had more experience with the WOTA, granted I jusy used the bulky and it's pretty soft... softer than I would have originally imagined, however... the worsted weight WOTA I've noticed, seems a bit stiffer and scratchier. I think I may go ahead and leave my cast on as is for a moment. Do a little larger swatch, maybe a wrist wrap, to finish and wash and wear on my arm for a bit and see if I'm bothered.

My other idea is to go back to the original plan of the ranco and knit the sweater in a DK version. I've figured it out... between guage 19 and 24, it's a 20% difference, so I just need to use 20% more stitches right? And it's top down, so I'll be able to try on as I go. I'm thinking the ranco might work after all. :)

Goodie break... remember I got books from Amazon, too. They shipped in 2 pkgs because of differing locations.
-Traditional Aran Knitting (Dover repub of OLD book) LOVE IT!
-Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys and Arans by Gladys Thompson (also a Dover repub of old book) LOVE it, too!
-Mary Thomas's Knitting book (SUPER old book, also from Dover)

Jackie recently reminded me about this book on one of her posts. She obtained from the library and I've been wanting it since reading EZ's books because she refers to Mary Thomas and Gladys Thompson a lot. I started reading it last night. I figured I'd go cover to cover since she talks a lot about the history of knitting and so on. It's been a good read so far and quite funny too. It just amazes me at some of the things she points out because it was originally published in 1938! Anyway, it's a cool book and for $9.95, can't beat the price.

So I am in book heaven and ecstatic over the prospect of having a finished garment. One that I can actually wear and that people will see... oh and in other geeky news, the EDITOR of Verena magazine, left me a comment! She want's to see my finished sweater when done. I thought that was incredibly nice of her to say! I realize I am a big geek, but I think it is really cool when designers or in this case editors find you on ravelry and take the time to comment, it's just nice of them.

Shopping spree

Good lord, what is wrong with me. Didn't I say something about NOT buying any more yarn?

Yeah, well in theory, I have no willpower. I am SO good if I just DON'T go to the stores... but if I go...sunk! That being said, I am making amends that after my knitpicks order this week (9/5), I REALLY am not going to the LYS's or doing any shopping. I have far too many projects and a ridiculous stash to knit from. SO, yes, that is the PLAN!

The Imagination sock yarn that I want is back in stock on 9/5 which is the reason for the order. Oh and speaking of socks, I signed up for the Mystery Sock night at Temptations in Dublin. It's a free get-together and obviously the sock is a MYSTERY, more to come on that as it happens. While at Temptations and the reason for going is because they finally got in my Malabrigo that I had ordered forever ago. Took several months, 6 maybe to come in. So while there I picked up 2 more skeins of trekking bare sock yarn for dying. LOVE that stuff. I also picked up the fall issue of Knitscene. AND a fabulous book on Bags (can't recall the title at the moment).

Next I headed over to the Merc. I wanted to check and see if they had a Green color I'd like in the Rustic Tweed. I bought Blue the other day, but decided I might like green better. AND, the did have 2 greens, but I wasn't ga-ga for either, so I'll stick with the blue. While there I lucked out and Barb was in, so we chatted for a few. She told me about a new book out by Jane Ellison for the Queensland Collection. It's all Men's sweaters and accessories and is FABULOUS! I love almost all the patterns in it. SO I grabbed that. Will be knitting a sweater for dad (hopefully for christmas) as well as one for Brian and maybe John. Of course John's might wait until a b-day present which gives me until April.

So then I came home and just finished watching the bucks WIN a shutout 43-0!

NO MORE SHOPPING! I'm done! Seriously, I swear!