Adventures in Tanis Gray's Short Sleeved Cardigan, (ATGSS)

Yipee! I already have an update! Knitting to work this morning on the Metra was a wonderful. I successfully knit 2 rows. The stitch markers worked like a charm. I wish the idea had popped in my head sooner.

And Ms. Gray responded to my post. How cool is that? Wow! Thank you!

Pictures to come!

Adventures in Tanis Gray's Short Sleeved Cardigan

Summer Vogue Knitting 2009 is on the stands and I love it. I settled on Tanis Gray's Short Sleeved Cardigan. It is beautiful and sassy. It's dreamy.

It's also a tongue twister and a riddle! Let me qualify that by saying it is for me. As Prince would say, "It's the Beautiful Ones..."

I don't have pictures to show of my progress because I have been knitting and ripping for about 1.5 weeks add to that another week of trying to get gauge and master the repeats triton lace pattern and the gauge on the wavy lace pattern which is the heart of the tongue twister. It is series of yo's and SKP and S2KPs that if you aren't careful...Arggggh!

But this is a lesson in patience and hard work and I'm ready, I think. This post is an official encouragement to me. Keep it moving Kaye!

The pattern calls for Jade Sapphire's Silk Cashmere. I'm using Debbie Bliss' Prima, which is 80% Bamboo and 20% Wool. The color is this amazing teal, 35715. The yarn feels soft and the color is rich. However, I realized that I don't really like knitting with Debbie Bliss yarns because I always experience splitting. My gauge swatch has several areas where the needle went straight through the yarn and only caught a part of it coming back through the loop. And, as I knit this piece, which is a series of K3tog and PSSO and SKP, well you get the picture, it is slowing me down as I try and avoid and/or fix splitting fiber. It's the Beautiful Ones.

Now, when I did my gauge, I knitted the wavy lace pattern at 29sts/26 rows at 3.5" instead of 4." However, the garter stitch was exactly 4" as the pattern calls.
The triton lace pattern, the other pattern for the sweater (there are three total), came out to 4" as well. Since the bodice is sewn separately to the front, it was recommended to me that I knit the wavy lace pattern portion at the larger size and in so doing, that part would actually come out to "size." The hiccup came when the pattern uses the same number of cast ons for the first four sizes! Add to that the work, when completed, will be turned 90 degrees so the knitted x-axis is actually y when completed. Arggh, the beautiful ones.

So, off I went, and ripped out it was, five times over. Last night I got my pencil and tried hard to figure out the math. The pattern repeat is 15 stitches plus 1! I decided to decrease from 91 cast on to 76. I think it is working, but I can't tell because I keep messing up the pattern repeats! As I muttered to myself walking to work after another frustrating rip out on the Metra train this morning, I had an idea...try placing stitch markers at the end of each pattern repeat so if I make a mistake I can see where it was. It worked. Tonight I got see that I messed up the second repeat. Dang.

I'm going to get this sweater finished. It's the beautiful ones.

Wound and A Wound I'm Bout to Go

Whooo Hooo!

My birthday was last Wednesday and my mother gave me a great gift! A swift and ball winder! It was finally delivered Tuesday and I had the opportunity to bust it out and wind one skein this evening. I'm about to be a ball winding fiend! I have a gaggle of skeins waiting for me.

She bought both through Amazon. The swift is through Franklin Crafts, it is plastic. It works pretty good, the stop tab isn't heavy duty firm, so I'm curious to see how it holds up with bulky yarn. The swift can easily mount to the dining room table. It came with a plastic carrying case, which I think is fantastic. It was very easy to use, it's like opening an umbrella pretty much.

I wish the ball winder had a carrying box. The ball winder is through JoAnn Fabrics, though I wonder if it is similar to the one that Knit Picks is selling. The impetus is to wind fast, but each time I picked up the pace without guiding the yarn, it got tangled on the bottom. Because the handle is so light, it is Mercedes Benz CLK350 gas-pedal easy to start flying through (LOL). But, when I took my time, it worked like a charm. Overall, I like them both and am very thankful.

Isn't my first skein cute! This skein is actually special. When I visited New York last year I went to School Products. This skein was given to me as a "gift with purchase." I've wanted to knit it up for some time.

Thanks Mom! I'm feeling like I'm going to be saying that all weekend. Just in a knick of time.

UFO Landing

I made it to the finish line twice since I last blogged. Maybe blogging brings back the knitting mojo? I'm very happy with the socks I knit for my husband. I like the colors and how the variegation came out. It's just a simple knit, but as he would say "me likey!" I lost my tag so I don't know what the color is, but the yarn was purchased last October at Chicago's Yarn Con

The yarn is called Sophie's Toes. It was the first time I purchased indie yarn. I like it. The color held true throughout, no heavy pooling or fading and the yarn was sturdy. It didn't ply apart. I would buy another skein.



I knit the socks together on circulars, thanks to the class I took last summer at Nana's Knitting Shop. I'm really digging the two at a time on circulars.

I also finished my habu kusha kusha scarf. Pictures to come on that. I'm very close on the Nikki Epstein bag.

This weekend I started my gauge to make the Tanis Gray sweater in the latest Vogue Knitting. I'll blog on that when I get some pictures.

Happy to be back. Me.

Runaway Bride

I haven't purchased a single skein of yarn in months (mind you I used to go to the yarn store at least once a month). I don't know what is. Overall, I really love knitting, but I can count on my hand the number of projects I've finished and enjoyed. Maybe I pick bad projects, ones that take too long, that might not really enjoy, those that seem interesting at the time. Or maybe I'm a knitting flake?! I need help. How do you pick projects? How do you get them finished?

I haven't blogged in some time, and a lot of it has to do with not knitting. I decided today that I would knit and write something on my blog, so at least I have a step towards making a change, beginning anew! But...everytime one tries to make a change, resistance and its bootleg friend discouragemenet steps up their game...listen to this.






1. I wanted to work on my Nikki Epstein intarsia bag. I really want to finish this bag, which has been on the needles for 2.5 years! I took a class a Nana's Knitting Shop in the Winter of 2006. This is an example of project that has been daunting. It's a large felted bag, so just miles of knitting and intarsia with a way too many colors for a newbie. Since it is a mammoth project, it isn't portable. Now, I can't find my magazine with the instructions. It was in the bag, but now I can't find it and I want to finish this bag. Boo Hoo!





2. Then I look at my Kusha Scarf and I'm ashamed that my last post in August was about this scarf and it is still not finished. Now this one, looked beautiful, seemed like a good idea, but I quickly learned that the whole dental floss knitting is not for me. My relationship with this scarf is dragging. It's not just that it's miles of stockinette, I'm really not feeling how it is turning out. It could be the color, I've come this far, probably have about 5 inches to go.






3. Socks - at least I had the thought to learn how to knit two at a time on circulars. I literally have about 3 inches before decreasing for the toe. I've been working on these for months too. I bought the yarn for my husband. He agreed to go to YarnCon with me and the least I could do is make him some socks, I'm sure it was painful, but he was a good sport. YarnCon was in October by the way.






4. Finally something finished! I finished this darling Side Cloche from Boutique Knits. Love this hat, made it in 2 nights with malabrigo to match a scarf my husband bought me for Christmas. Unfortunately, the hat didn't match the scarf once all of the variegations came a calling. That sent me back to square one to make another hat with a different yarn. But, I loved this hat and wore it anyway. Now....the hat is lost! I can't find it!

I don't know what is happening to me and knitting! Does love really hurt this much? Somebody share some ideas with me on how to get a project that I love and can finish. I feel like the runaway bride.

What's On My Needles

kusha_0802
Originally uploaded by k_purls2

Hi, right now I'm working on a mini KAL with Crimson Purl and Adrienne. Yes, Adrienne, press on my sister! Ok, this started in June after I read one of Crimson Purl's posts about a visit with Adrienne and her habu score. Off we started. Who knew that knitting with habu was like a giant trying to play footsies with Thumbelina! Man, it has been quite an adjustment to knit with this dental floss. LOL But, the yarn is so beautiful, I've been determined. I started knitting it with straight needles which drove me straight crazy. So, it sat for a few weeks. This week I switched to circulars and I'm soaring! Now I made a few adjustments primarily to the width, so we'll see how it goes. I'm determined to get this baby completed this month because I've already prepared a Fall/Winter knit list!

I'm also working to finish my first pair of socks on two circulars. I'm about 75 percent finished....

Still working on my Nikki Epstein purse...

Birds of a Feather

Flock together! Yes I have yet another lone sock!



Meet Birds of a Feather, from Sock Pixie. The yarn is Plymouth Sockatta. Once again, I shortened the length of the cuff. One day I'll knit a taller cuff. This pattern was very easy, my first time doing a slip stitch for color work. I really enjoyed it. The only problem is...the sock is too big. I keep knitting big socks and I don't know why! Unfortunately, as I may have mentioned in an earlier post, this sock was supposed to be a gift and the receipient's foot is smaller than mine. I'm going to have reallocate the gift to someone with a larger foot and wider ankle. I'm trying the sock again, but this time, instead of casting on 64, I'm casting on 56 and see what that yields me.

I'm also tickled to say I'm learning how to knit two socks at a time on two circulars! Yipee! So far I like it. There's a lot of tangling, but it works out. I'll get some pix uploaded soon. Last, but certainly not least (it's actually the real reason I'm posting today)... tagged me! I like reading Kris aka kniftyred's blog. She knits beautifully and her family tales crack me up! She and her daughter did some gardening recently and I'm totally jealous. On the sock tip, she's got some really cute FO's!

Anyhoo, here are my responses

I was tagged by Kris at Kniftyred to play in a meme.

The rules: Are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Standing up in my friend Jessica's wedding. I'm going to post a picture because I think I totally look like a Supreme with that frosted make-up and dress. Oh to be young again, my hair was so thick and luscious. Sadly, I was also spending precious last days with my grandfather, PawPaw.





2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today - not in any particular order? Work, work , work, laundry, knit some baby socks for a shower this weekend, go to the post office, wash dishes, send out thank you cards from my birthday, call some people about my friend's baby shower, work on my two circ socks (see why I'm overwhelmed? Always packing the day too tight)

3. Snacks I enjoy: cupcakes, twinkies, lemon squares, dried apricots, gala apples, tortilla chips and guacamole, snickers, skittles, cookies, pretzels

4. Places I've lived: All Chicago neighborhoods: Morgan Park, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Justice, Rogers Park, Lawndale

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: figure out how to share it with others, get a Ph.D. in art history, buy a home on Longwood Drive in Beverly, spend a month in Paris, set up a trust fund for my grandchildren (which I don't have yet) oh and given the current climate, see if I can't buy me an oil refinery. Buy Rowan and Karabella Companies. Establish a scholarship fund for cake bakers. Yes I would.

I'm tagging
Bravebird

Passionknits

Breeanelyse

SHEILAZ CROCHETZ, THREADZ & KNITZ

Niksknits

Shopdaughter