Category: Knitting
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Yesterday I spent some time creating more stitch markers. These are slightly different in that they are strung on a wire instead of on a head pin. The wire is bent over and both ends are strung through the beads then crimped together. I love these better than the other ones and I think they will work better for my lace project since the wire is much finer than the little bracelet hoops I was using and it will mold better to my needle. I didn’t get a chance to take pictures, but I will as soon as I have a moment to do so and I’ll post them.
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Thursday, May 29, 2008
Pattern: Jaywalkers by Grumperina
Needles: Size US1
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight (Barney Rubble)
It took me almost 3 months to get these socks finished. I started them at the beginning of March and finished them mid to late May. But they are wonderful. I lost one of my dpns just when I was starting the heel of the second sock, so I know that’s most likely why one sock is slightly looser than the other in the heel, but otherwise, they fit pretty good. I didn’t want to wait too long to keep working, so I switched from dpn to 2 circs to do that second heel and the rest of the second sock. It was my first time doing socks on 2 circs and I really liked it. I do prefer magic loop, but this wasn’t bad.
Although jaywalkers tend to run small with tight heels (as I’ve read in Ravelry), I knit the small size and since I have small feet, they ended up fitting perfectly. As I said, one sock has a slightly snugger heel that is a bit more difficult to pull on, but once on, I can’t notice it. I think once the weather turns cold again, I’ll definitely be getting a lot of use out of these socks.
Posted in Knitting, Socks | No Comments
Thursday, May 29, 2008
I’ve started the Little Arrowhead Shawl using Classic Elite Miracle. The yarn is so pretty, so soft and works up beautifully. This is going to be a gorgeous shawl. But it’s my first lace project. So I cast on and worked row one about 2 or 3 weeks ago, then put it aside to finish another project. I wanted to get my Jaywalkers out of the way so I could concentrate. I knew this project would require more focus than all my other previous projects. I finally finished the Jaywalkers (will show pictures in a separate post), so I thought it was time to try the lace. Besides I was getting the itch to do it.
Last night I decided to sit down and focus on the lace and see if I could make a bit of progress. I was going good and was really enjoying the work. It looked like it was coming out great. I got to row 7 and noticed that one side of my shawl had about 2 or 3 stitches less than it should. Go figure. I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention to my work. I definitely think I should use lifelines, especially as a beginner, but at only 7 rows, I just ripped the whole thing out and started over. I did make some progress though from where I started. I ended last night on row 2, so I managed to work one extra row. :)
I also need to figure out the best way to keep track of where I’m at in the chart. Last night I was just putting a checkmark next to each row as I finished it, which would work til I got to the repeat of rows 9-20. But I still need some way to mark the row so I can see what I’m supposed to do on that row. Like adding a sticky note directly below the row I’m on, so I can at a glance see the stitches that make up that row. It would be easier. I just need to get a magnetic board to put it on…similar to the one I use for my cross-stitch. But I need one smaller. Or maybe I need to input the chart into Numbers and blow it up a bit bigger.
I will try again tonight if I get some time.
Posted in Knitting, Lace | No Comments
Friday, May 23, 2008
I recently purchased more fiber. Yeah. I know. I have enough already to keep me busy spinning for months. But I couldn’t help it. I bought the same stuff as before (BFL from Sakina Needles in Woodstock), so I could spin it up and have more yarn available for the campfire socks. That way I can make socks that come up higher than just my ankles. I’m plugging away at the socks and although I don’t have photos yet, I’m make decent progress on the foot. So far they look okay although I think they will be a bit loose. I probably should have gone down to a size 3 needle, instead of going up to a size 5. I will post a photo as soon as I can.
I’m having computer issues. My battery is bad and I’m taking my laptop to the Apple store this weekend, in hopes of getting a replacement.
Posted in Knitting, Personal, Spinning | No Comments
Thursday, May 15, 2008
I’m such a bad blogger. I haven’t posted in months and I really don’t have a desire to post. But when I see my blog, I think, gosh, I should be posting something. Bah!
What have I been up to since the last post? A lot. My cardigan was finished. Yes, was. Until I started seaming it up. Then I realized I made the sleeves too small. Ugh! So I frogged them both and am restarting them. But I have no interest in knitting that right now. It’s hot, my office is an oven and it will only get hotter as the summer intensifies. So knitting an alpaca/cashmere cardigan just isn’t fun. I was so looking forward to wearing it at work, but then we moved to a new building and my new office is so hot, I have to work with a fan blowing on my face all day. If not, I start to get sick from the heat. So, no. I don’t particularly want to work on a cardigan at the moment. It might be in hibernation until fall. :(
My other project…DH’s afghan is going well, albeit slow. It’s fun to knit, easy and not too boring since I change colors every 46 rows. But I’ve got 6 strips to make that are 8 squares long. ha! The first strip is almost done. This one isn’t quite so bad as the cardigan. Mindless knitting for when I want to knit something, but also just want to vegetate in front of the tv at night. Done in strips means no heavy afghan on my lap, which is nice.
Let’s see. I’ve also got some Jaywalkers on the needles. Since March!! That’s another adventure. I was using my Lantern Moon sox stix and they were pretty nice to work with. I finally got used to the flexibility of these little things and the dull tips. I finished the first sock and started the second. Then just as I got to the heel, I lost a needle! Yes, I now have only 4 sox stix. It’s a sad, sad thing. So I had to switch mid-sock to circs. I’m now using 2 circs and somehow I ended up with an extra stitch somewhere in there. Oh well. Imperfect socks, but after 2 months of knitting them, I’m ready for them to be done, so I’ll continue on and pray the end arrives soon.
This past week I knit 4 dishcloths for Amelia’s daycare teachers. Next week is teacher appreciation week and I thought it would be nice to give them handknit dishcloths. I just need to weave in the ends and block them (so they lay flat for presentation), then wrap them up and do the notes. That will get done this weekend, so they can be delivered next week.
What else?? I cast on and completed row 1 of the Little Arrowhead Shawl (links to PDF). I really want to learn lace so I thought I’d start with something smaller than the Adamas Shawl. Of course, my neck and shoulders hurt so bad, I knew I couldn’t sit there and work on it. And I’d been knitting all morning and needed something relaxing to do, so instead of trying to continue, I sat there and watched tv without knitting!! Gasp!! But I do plan to get working on it pretty soon. I’m using a gorgeous green Classic Elite Miracle. It’s a single ply alpaca/tencel and it’s so soft and yummy.
So why do I not post here anymore? Maybe after blogging for 5 years I’ve got blog burnout. I don’t even read blogs anymore. I don’t update my personal blog either, except for maybe once a month. I really need to get back to it. At least the knitting portion. But I feel like everything is redundant, since I spend most of my online time on Ravelry. And since I don’t have a huge readership (with all of 3 comments since I switched to Wordpress a while back), I have no incentive to update.
Posted in Knitting, Projects | No Comments
