Progress

It's Good To Be King!

As the great Mel Brooks once said, "Ahhh, it's good to be king," or at least, in my case - it's good to be knitting socks again. After a VERY long hiatus from sock knitting I'm back at it again, only this time it's not for me. It's for a friend of mine from work. I actually tried to teach her to knit socks last summer--she still has the yarn, but no socks. She asked me last week if I'd make her a pair of socks, so I've got her unused yarn and I cast on last night.

I'm going to knit the Knotty or Knice socks from Interweave Knits, Fall 2008. I was originally going to make Pomatomus, but when I saw these, I just had to knit them up. I think this will be only my 3rd toe-up pair and the first time I've ever knit socks for anyone other than myself. I'm a little worried about the fit since I've never knit socks for anyone else (& she lives about 2 hours away - so she can't try them on in progress), but hopefully it will all work out.

Photo courtesy of Interweave Knits, Fall 2008

I used Judy's Magic Cast On with a lot of difficulty (in fact one toe was cast on using the Magic CO and the other toe was cast on with the Figure 8 Cast On since the Magic CO did not work out the 2nd time around). It's the first time I tried the Magic Cast On and it is just not clicking yet. BUT - I just went to YouTube and lo & behold, what did I find, but Cat Bordhi's video of the Magic Cast On!. Hooray!!! Wish I had seen this last night...Oh well. The toes look OK, so I'll just keep on going.

THE STATS
Pattern: Knotty or Knice by Chrissy Gardiner
Source: Interweave Knits, Fall 2008
Date: Cast On 09.22.08
Yarn: Sandnes Mandarin Petit, 2 skeins; Pink; 100% Cotton
Needles #1: Size 1 US (2.25mm); KnitPicks Harmony Options, 40"
Method: Magic Loop; 2 Socks at Once

Baby Knitting

Wow - It's been about 2 1/2 months since I last posted. I guess I had better get caught up. I've completed 3 more knitterly items since I last posted:

• Jester Hat (Ravelry link). The pattern, by Wooly Workhead, can be found as a free download directly from ravelry or from here.












• Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman (Ravelry link). I knit this for the Ravelympics & I am happy to say I made it to the finish line!!!!





• Pinwheel Blanket (Ravelry link). This project was also entered in the Ravelympics but did not make it to the finish line on time. I missed it by just a few hours - oh well.... The pattern, by Genia Planck, can be found here.











All three of these are gifts for April at work. She's having a baby in early January. A the time when I was knitting them, she did not know what she was having, but liked browns so hence the colors of the sweater and blanket. We now know she's having a girl, although she's not big on pink, so I'm not sure any of the above would have been in pink anyway. Well - maybe they would have been - I LOVE pink.

27 or 30? - that is the question

My Voyager Lace Stole is coming along quite nicely. I'm just not sure yet whether I am going to knit just the 27 pattern repeats called for in the pattern or knit a few extras (I'm thinking 30 total repeats). I've finished 26 repeats so I'll check out the length after one more repeat and see how I like it.

Based on the pattern as written, I am 94% complete, having knit 15,102 stitches. If I increase the total stitch count and add 3 additional pattern repeats, I'll be at 85% complete. At either rate, I should be finished within a few days, depending on much knitting time I get in the evenings.

Voyager Progress & Ravelympics

Well, after almost a month hiatus from knitting (I just have not been in the mood), I've picked up the needles once again and have worked on my Voyager Lace Stole. Here's where I am at:

• 47% complete; 7,555 stitches
• 127 pattern rows complete
• cast on edge - picot edge complete





I decided to knit the picot edge before completing the entire stole first because the extra yarn I left at the cast on was beginning to get too splitty. And, the little ball I had rolled it into was getting annoying, anyway. I unzipped the provisional cast on & picoted away!!! I did not run into too much difficulty with the unzipping - anticipation of having to do it was much worse than the actual unzipping.






I really like working with this yarn - Lion Brand Cotton-Ease. In fact, I may knit the Pinwheel Baby Blanket in this. April, from work, is going to have a baby in late December/early January (her 2nd one) so I have been perusing baby patterns and fell in love with this blanket. I'll start it August 8 to coincide with the opening ceremony of Ravelympics! I'm entered in the Baby Dressage as well as the Sock Put, so I'll be making a pair of socks, as well.

Voyager Lace Stole - a sneak peek

Ravelry Link: Voyager Lace Stole

THE STATS
Pattern: Voyager Lace Stole; (ravelry pattern link)
Source: Elann.com
Date: Cast On 06.17.08
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease, Almond
Needles: Size 9 US (5.5mm); KnitPicks Harmony Options
Note #1: Provisional cast on

Endlessly Long

My Endless Summer top is finally complete. It took about 3 months to complete because I had to redo the sleeves. After finishing one sleeve, I realized it was going to be waaaaay too big so I frogged it and recalculated it to a smaller size. And unfortunately, I had TWO sleeves to rip out since I knit them 2 at a time! Then, once I reknit both sleeves I just could not bring myself to finish the darn thing - knitter's block I guess....Anyway, I finally did - and voila!






Ravelry Link: Endless Summer Redux

THE STATS
Pattern: Endless Summer by Katherine Hunt
Source: Knitter's 87, Summer 2007
Date: Cast On 03.05.08 // Cast Off 06.01.08
Yarn: Patons Grace, black, red & pink
Needles: Size 6 US (4.0mm); KnitPicks Harmony Options
Note #1: Knit in the round

Ribbed Lace Bolero

I finished my Ribbed Lace Bolero. It was an easy, quick knit and I absolutely loved working with the Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I was amazed at how so soft & silky it feels! I'm going to use it again to make this (pattern link) - the Voyager Lace Stole (ravelry link).







Ravelry Link: Ribbed Lace Bolero

THE STATS
Pattern: Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher
Source: Kelly Maher - 10 Feet High
Date: Cast On 03.22.08 // Cast Off 03.29.08
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease, 1.5 skeins; Snow
Needles #1: Size 8 US (5.0mm) for ribbing; KnitPicks Harmony Options
Needles #2: Size 10.5 US (6.5mm) for lace; KnitPicks Harmony Options
Note #1: Ribbing: 3"
Note #2: Lace: 15.5"

Call a doctor....

I've got a bad case of START-ITIS. I found another project I want to start, the Ribbed Lace Bolero.

Photo & Pattern courtesy of Kelly Maher

I had cast on for Endless Summer Tuesday night but had to start over last night because I was knitting it in the round and I discovered I had twisted the join. It was the first time I have ever done that. You'd think that after all of the socks that I have knit that I would know better. Go figure. I'm working with Patons Grace, not the easiest yarn to work with, so I've decided to just knit the back & front separately as the instructions call for and deal with the dreaded seaming when the time comes. My first ES was knit in the round. I had used Lion Brand Micro Spun - a much easier yarn to work with.

I want to start the HoneyBee Stole NOW. And I want to start the Ribbed Lace Bolero. The bolero will be an extremely quick project. I just fell in love with it. And of course, where did I find it, but on Ravelry!

The buzz around town is...

I think I may begin the HoneyBee Stole soon. I was all set to cast on for another Endless Summer top (by Katherine Hunt) tonight (& I think I still will) but I was buzzzzzzzing around Ravelry this morning and couldn't resist the sweet pull of the honey bee. I'm thinking of using my stash of Claudia Handpainted Silk Lace in Earth. I was going to use this for the Swallow Tail Shawl but never really got going on this.

HoneyBee Stole photo courtesy of Knitspot.com Pattern Shop

For Endless Summer, I'm going to make it a size smaller this time because my first attempt came out a bit large. I'm also going to knit it in Patons Grace in black, red & pink, pretty much the same color combo as from the original pattern. The only difference is that I'm going to put the red where the pink is and the pink where the red is.

Endless Summer photo courtesy of Knitter's 87, Summer 2007

J has started Track & Field and I figure knitting Endless Summer at his meets & invitationals will be much easier than knitting the stole. So during the downtime when he's not running, I can be knitting!

Hopping Wallaby

I finished the wallaby for B and she loved it. She was completely surprised by the gift and very appreciative which is always nice. The sweater is for her GREAT grandson who was just born last week.

















THE STATS
Pattern: The Wonderful Wallaby
Source: Cottage Creations
Date: Cast On 02.09.08 // Cast Off 03.02.08
Yarn: Bernat Berella "4", 2 skeins; Grey Ragg
Needles #1: Size 6 US (4.0mm) for ribbing; KnitPicks Harmony Options
Needles #2: Size 8 US (5.0mm) for body, sleeves & hood; KnitPicks Harmony Options
Note #1: Size 2 (Wanda Wallaby)
Note #2: For Joseph Michael Edward, GREAT grandson of Barbara M.

LB Hoodie & Wallaby

It's been a month - I know. I just haven't felt like posting. I haven't felt much like knitting either, although I did complete the Lion Brand Hoodie and I am just about finished with yet another Wallaby. This is for a little boy who is 2 days old. He was about 3 weeks early and is a GREAT grandson of a co-worker of mine. Hopefully, I'll have the Wallaby finished this weekend so I can give it to B on Monday.
The LB Hoodie was a big hit. I found the cutest little doggie buttons.







THE STATS
Pattern: Lion Brand Pattern # 60554A: Cotton-Ease Hoodie
Source: Lion Brand
Date: Cast On 01.29.08 // Cast Off 02.01.08
Yarn: Bernat Berella "4", 2 skeins; Grey Ragg
Needles: Size 8 US (5.0mm), KnitPicks Harmony Options
Note #1: Size 3-6 months

A Giant Leap for Knit Kind

Well I did it - I cast on for Arrowheads once again from Knitting out of Africa. I did attempt to go continental but found it too awkard so I'm back to throwing, just like in my first attempt. I am trying to knit this a lot looser, so hopefully things will work out better. We'll see.

You can read about my original trip to the frog pond a yeear ago with arrowheads here. Funny - I just looked at the date from my frog pond post - Jaunary 22, 2007. I cast on my second attempt on January 20, 2008, 2 days less than a year after I ripppppped her out!!!! Like I said - FUNNY.


I also just cast on for a baby sweater for a co worker. She's due in mid March. She's having a boy!! I'm using the Lion Brand Pattern # 60554A: Cotton-Ease Hoodie, although I'm not using Cotton-Ease. I was going to originally, but the yarn was not on sale and I was feeling cheap at the time and I am not real friendly with S, so I went with a cheaper yarn (besides I like the color better). I'm using Bernat Berella "4", a worsted weight in the Grey Ragg colorway.

Too cold on the shoulders...

Here's a picture of my Princess Wrap with the buttons sewn on. The sweater is a bit too wide in the neck line to the point where it falls off my shoulders if I am not careful. (...exactly what I feared would happen with this type of design...). I was thinking of knitting some kind of edging along the neck, but instead, I may just sew in a "thingy" in each shoulder that hooks around under the bra strap to hold the shoulders in place. I think that will be easier than trying to figure out an edging that will look right.



WRAPPING THE STATS
Pattern: Wrap Pullover by Cecily Glowik
Source: Classic Elite Publication #9084, Uptown Knitting
Date: Cast On 11.22.07 // Cast Off 01.10.08
Yarn: Classic Elite Princess, 8 skeins; Classic Elite Duchess, 2 skeins; Privileged Plum
Needles #1 - Sleeves & Body: Size 8 US (5.0mm), Clover Bamboo circular needles, 29"
Needles #2 - Hem: Size 10 US (6.5mm), Clover Bamboo circular needles, 29"
Note #1: Knitting sleeve/body two at a time
Note #2: Knit the smallest size for a smaller neckline, but added an extra inch for total width
Note #3: For bottom hem, knit the smallest size, but cast on 4 extra stitches (see note #2 above)