Stupid Alpaca

Two weeks ago I sat down to start the Andean Chullo Hat kit from KnitPicks. I was going to make it for N, so I called him over and asked him to help pick out the patterns for the different bands. I told him I was going to use the alpaca ear flaps and he said "I don't want stupid alpaca on my hat". So the hat is not his, but Darin and I will wear it instead. It took only about a week for the knitting part. I love how Palette knits up in the color work. I couldn't stop, I had to see how the next section would look. My original kit had the substituted colors (navy for bark, sky for pool ,and turmeric for masala), but I was able to get the original colors before starting. I ended up using all of the colors I had.

I got some pictures of the Sarah cardigan today as well, so here they are.

In spinning news, I finished the socks-that-rock sheep-to-shoe kit I got a few years ago. I ended up with 413 yds in the big skein, 280 yds in the smaller skein and 71 yds of 2 ply in the smallest skein. I hope it knits up as nice as it spun.

End of Summer

Summer has ended and the school year started!!! We got back from a camping vacation where I finished 1 sock. I still have the second one to do, but I got one done in a week.

I have also been knitting on the Sarah cardigan kit I got at MS&W2009 from Selridge Farms. The color between balls 2 and 3 is not as noticeable in person, but you can still see it.
If you hold the balls of yarn next to each other it is not noticeable, but when knit up and photographed it is very distinct. I wonder if over-dying the whole sweater when done will fix that. Any one have an opinion on that?

I have also done some spinning and finished the 3 singles for the Socks-That-Rock Sheep-to-Shoe kit I got a few years ago. Maybe tomorrow I will ply them and see how many yards there are and if I actually want to make socks from it.

I finished 2 projects

I have only worked on 1 project at a time for a bit now. I finished 2 projects and have started a third.
First is a baby present:
Pattern: Baby Blocks by Ann Norling (in The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber)
Yarn: Vanna's choice, 8 skeins
Needles: KnitPicks size 8

The second is a shawl from Knitted Lace of EstoniaPattern: Miralda's triangular shawl
Yarn: Briar Rose Fibers, Sea Pearl, Laceweight
Needles: KnitPicks size 6

The new project is the Sarah Cardigan from Button Up your Top Down. It was a kit I got from Shelridge Farm at MS&W this year.

I am still here.

Here are some finished projects:
First the ski sweater I promised a photo of.
Now the Crew Crew socksI also finished the Aran Afghan. Actually it is more of a throw being only 3'x5'.Yarn: Lion Brand Fisherman's wool (I can't remember how many skeins
Pattern: based on a pattern from Knitty Gritty, but with other blocks. There are 12 different blocks. The corner blocks are the same (and my favorite one).
Time: Too long, over a year.

I have also done some spinning. A few years ago I got a Sheep-to-Shoe kit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in the raven color series. I started spinning 2 weekends ago and I have gotten 2/3 done. Last Sunday I spun up 1/3 in about 9 hours. I can't do that much spinning in one day again without taking more breaks. Here is part of the first bobbin worth:


I still haven't photographed my purchases from MS&W2009, but I didn't get much. I got one sweater kit from Shelridge Farms, a sock kit, and 2 bits of wool to spin. I want to start something new, but I have a baby blanket I started that I must finish first.

Almost MS&W 2009

I am headed to MS&W again this year. Before I go I got several items finished.

First, Ski Sweater. No picture yet, it is on the other camera. The sweater is wind-proof and warm.

Second, Lyra:
Pattern: Lyra by Herbert Niebling
Source: Lacis
Yarn: JaggerSpun Zepher silk/wool in Mushroom
Needles: US size 3, KnitPicks
Finished weight: 143 g or 4 7/8 oz
Time: Too long, it sat in time-out for several months.

Third, tofutsies socks:
Pattern: from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Tofutsies, about 2/3 of a ball
Size: women's size 10
Time: again, too long.

I started a new pair of socks. These are Nathaniel's Crew crew socks.
We are fans of the Columbus Crew MLS team, so he needed socks to wear to the games.

Next time it will be pictures from the festival and pictures of the finished ski sweater.

Sleeve 3 is finished

I finally finished the other sleeve for my ski sweater now that the weather has decided to be spring. Oh well I can get it all ready for next year. Here it is blocking (soaking it really helped the puckering of the color work). Now to do the sewing up.While I wait for that to dry I am back working on Lyra. It is taking about 45 minutes to knit one round. I am on on round 145 of 180, so the end is in sight.

Yesterday we went on a spring salamander hike at the local park. We did get to see one:
It was fun, but a little chilly. At least it is a sign that spring is indeed here.

Shouldn't I be done yet?

I am almost done knitting the second sleeve of the ski sweater, but I am not almost done. I have to knit sleeve #3. This is because I like my elbows to bend when wearing a sweater. I got the first sleeve done and decided it was too tight and too short, so I ripped what I had on sleeve 2 and started it over again with bigger needles. I also re-wrote where the increases were and increased the length by 1 inch. I have already ripped the "finished" sleeve and washed to yarn to remove the kinks.

I also spent some time spinning. I want to try a cabled yarn. I have 8 oz of a superwash undyed wool that I split into 4 even pieces. I am spinning each as a single, then will ply them. I will to cable, but if it doesn't work, I should have some nice 2 ply.

February blahs

January ended with a snowstorm and closed schools. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow, but I hate having to take a vacation day for closed schools.

I have gotten lots of work done on the ski sweater, but had to take a break. I needed to make some baby booties for a woman at work.Pattern: from 50 Baby Booties to Knit
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto 4-ply (same as the traveling stitch legwarmers)
Needles: Knitpicks 3mm dpns
Time: about 4 hours


Then I went back to working on the Lyra lace. I still am chomping at the bit to start either the chullo hat or the Sipalu bag pattern or one of Knitspot's lace shawls I have everything for.

The big reason for the knitting lull is the wii Fit. I have been trying to spend at least 30 minutes each night doing the yoga, strength and aerobic games. This is part rehabilitation for my ankle, part staying in shape. I am still not fully dancing yet, but it has only been 7 weeks. I can point my bad foot about half as much as the good foot. It will get there, but I am sick of waiting. I just don't want to push it and end up in worse shape than I am now.

It is a new year.

I got to spend 2 weeks on crutches. Fortunately this got me out of doing any driving to and from Illinois, but unfortunately I could do as much helping with the cooking as normal. I have since been walking on my ankle and it is much reduced in size and color, but still bits of purple remain. I did much knitting on Lyra during the Christmas break, but ran out of room on the needles for the stitches. While I waited to place my KnitPicks order with longer needles I worked on the Ski sweater. I have gotten a good groove with that and I am ready for the neck steek.Now to get these done so I can start in on the many other projects I have yarn, needles and pattern for.

Christmas Week

Well I have no pictures of knitting today, but I have been doing a lot of work on the Lyra lace. It just looks like a wad of string. I got quite a bit of knitting time this week by being a klutz. I twisted my ankle in Ballet class monday night. After a trip to the urgent care on tuesday I had an air cast and crutches. I have spent much of the rest of the time on the couch with my foot up. I hoped to be done with the crutches by today, but I still can't put all of my weight on that foot. Fortunately it is my left foot so I can still drive, but work is a lot harder since I don't normally sit at my desk all day. I called in lame on wednesday and friday and left early tuesday and thursday. I do have to work tomorrow and them I am off for the rest of the week. We are headed to the grandparents for christmas unless the weather really puts up a fight.

2 full weeks before Christmas!

I had a wonderful day baking yesterday and plan to do more today. Here are yesterday's goodies:

Dresden Stollen, Basler Lecherli, and English toffee.

I have also finished some Christmas knitting:
These are scarves for the women I do Irish dance with. I used 2.5 skeins each of Araucania Nature wool in green and Cascade 220 in a tan color. I wanted similar scarves, but not identical, so they all stripe, but in different directions.

I also got the green romney wool spun for my sister and have continued the knitting on both the entrelac scarf and the ski sweater. Both of these knits had to sit in time-out while I did the scarves, but I will get back to them later today or tomorrow.

Lots of knitting going on here

This would be further along if my guage swatch hadn't lied to me. It is the Telemark Ski Sweater from KnitPicks. I was about 6 rows more than what you see here when I discovered it was about 4 inches too big. The guage swatch said 6.75 sts/inch, but I was actually getting 6.25 sts/inch. Out it came and I have re-started.
I would have gotten further, but I had to go to a lace knitting class. I had a class with Anne Hanson of Knitspot. We worked on a little "sampler" for the advanced lace knitting part of the class and then got to see a trunk show of her designs. I got the sampler mostly done in class, I just have to graft part and then block.

I also got some new yarn. I got the chullo hat kit and the palette warm sampler from KnitPicks. I think they sold out again.


I also finished the legwarmers


Pattern: Traveling stitch legwarmers, Interweave Knits, Spring 2008
Yarn: Debbie Bliss, Rialto 4ply superwash, 3 balls
Needles: US 4, 3.5mm
Modifications: added 10 rows of rib at bottom to make the stirrup part
Time needed: 2 weeks!!!

These were a fun knit. I was afraid they would not fit my 16" calves, but they did just fine. I have worn them for a ballet class and I think I will need to run a piece of elastic through the top to keep them up.

Here is my basic knitting project. I loved the Jojoland yarn, but it wouldn't work for the legwarmers, so I had to find a new project for it. I think the entrelac shows off the color changes quite nicely. I have 3 balls, so we will see how long it takes to make this scarf.

Finished sweaters

Here is a picture of the linen sweater I finished a while ago, but didn't get a good picture of until last weekend. This is what I have called the Kohlrabi linen sweater.
I also finished the brown V-neck.
Pattern: The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd
Yarn: My homespun from Coopworth and a mix
Needles: US 9 circ and dpn

I also finished a second mouse from the Simply Knitting pattern by Alan Dart.

Wool Festivals

Two weeks ago we had a huge wind storm (thanks Ike) and lost power at my house for just over 1 day. We were better off than most of central Ohio and definitely better than Texas. I didn't have much of a problem as spinning and knitting don't use electricity, but the hot water heater did need power. This also closed school for 3 days, but not my work.

Last weekend was A Wool Gathering at Young's dairy. I went and got not as much as I really wanted, but had tons of fun and then ate some great gelato. I got KnitSpot's pattern for Lacewing and some of the KnittingNotions lace yarn in a berry color, the current issue of Spin-Off and about 4 oz of alpaca fiber.

Yesterday was National Alpaca Farm Days. I went to Windy Lane Alpaca's farm here in central Ohio. I got to pet them, watch them, take their pictures, and buy some fiber. I got roving from Sienna.

This little guy, IncaGold was so cute.

As to knitting, I am working away on a basic v-neck pullover with my handspun coopworth 3-ply. I am following a pattern from The Knitter's Book of Sweater Patterns. I am still amazed by how even my handspun is. I can't wait to finish the sweater so I can wear it. I am also making a second ballet mouse for a little girl's birthday present.

Summer almost gone.

At work we are mostly done moving 3 labs. It was a lot of extra work and eliminated the need for a gym membership for a bit. I have gotten some knitting done. I can't show one item as it is a stealth project. I really liked working with the KnitPicks Swish yarn. I can't remember if it was the DK or worsted, but it was really nice to knit with. I hope it washes well.

I also finished block 5 of the Aran Afghan. I really liked this block. The 24 row repeat made the pattern fly. The other blocks have had either 4 or 8 row repeats and I was getting bored and didn't want to finish them. I think most of the rest of the blocks will be a larger pattern.

Last night I decided to start a new project. I found out that Lacis was selling the Lyra pattern by Niebling, so I ordered that and 2 other lace knitting books. I started Lyra last night with the mushroom Zephyr I had purchased a few years ago and knit 2 mystery stoles with.

I also got a book of Amigurumi, mostly for the duck pattern, but there are lots of others I want to try. I am still learning how to do crochet well. This duck was worked on while watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and in the car. He/she/it looks funny, but cute.

I also signed up for the Mystery Stole 4 (by PinkLemon's mother). I will probably not knit this as the mystery unfolds as the last 2 mysteries I did were not much to my liking at the end. I am a process knitter, but I am running out of people to gift lace knitting to.

Time flies when you are having "fun".

I have been working on spinning more of the brown coopworth, but I don't have any pictures to show. The only knitting I have gotten done is on a secret project that I can't show.

The next few weeks will hold less knitting and spinning time. I will be working more hours at my paying job. We have to move 3 labs to another part of the complex and move some offices as well. At first I thought this would be easy, until I realized that we were not moving into an empty room, but instead moving 2 labs worth of stuff into a room that was currently being used as a lab as well. This means that we have to take the "empty" space and try to get our stuff to fit. I also have to move my office. I have been in the same "office" space for about 9 years now and I really like it. To get this all accomplished while still doing extractions and analysis it going to take extra hours and lots of patience.

Now for better news, N decided to "get" swimming. One day he had issues putting his head under the water and the next he was actually moving across the pool with a swimming motion. He is also enjoying the gymnastics class he asked to take.

I am back.

I have done some spinning. Here is about 775 yds of a 3-ply made from 2 ply of coopworth and 1 ply of a mohair/llama/merino blend. Unfortunately I think I am allergic to the blend part. My eyes started itching every time I worked with it. I still have more of the coopworth that I can spin to a 3-ply to add yardage to this.



I also finished one mouse from the Alan Dart Circus mouse pattern in Simply knitting. I decided to make a ballet mouse instead of a juggler. I still need to figure out how to put ballet shoes on her feet. She is about 7 inches tall including ears.

This past week we spent in Holly River West Virginia camping. Here is the campsite after the rain finally stopped. Note that the big white shelter is tilted. The rain the first night overloaded the tarp part and bent 2 leg parts and the ridge pole.


While camping I worked on Egeblad. I decided to follow BrooklynTweeds' idea of using thicker yarn and a doily pattern to make a throw size. I was using Lion Brand's Fishermans wool and 5.5mm needles. It finished up to be about 36" diameter. A little to small, but still looks good.

Where does time go?

Since I posted last, I have competed in another Feis (got 4 medals, danced 5 times), had a ballet dress rehearsal for the recital, mostly finished a sweater and got frustrated trying to design a lace shawl. The sweater is the Inverted V kit I bought at MS&W this year. I just have the crochet edging and blocking left to do.
This was a fun easy knit with shaping only at the shoulders and armpits. Now to stop the curling at the bottom.

I have been trying to design my own triangle lace shawl. I found a pattern I thought would work for the last part before the edge and then tried to find patterns to go in the big open space before that one. I charted several things in Excel and they tried to knit them. The first one I tried was just too much solid knitting, not enough lace. The second one I tried, I had the increases for the triangle wrong. I give up. It is way too hard for me. I just don't have the patience to see this through. I will just continue knitting other people's patterns. I didn't even take pictures of my trials, they were that unsuccessful.

I got the newest available Simply Knitting and just love these mice. I need to make them all, but I have to get the next issue to get the rest of the patterns.
I haven't figured out how tall each is, but I need to make them.