I did it again!

I started another new project, while still having bags of UFO’s.  I am trying to start one, finish one, doesn’t seem to be always working.  When we went on our knitting retreat, I convinced my car mates to stop at Wool & Company in Geneva (not hard to convince knitters to stop at a yarn shop).  I wanted to go there, as I saw online that they carried the Isager yarns. I loved the Volt shawl that I made from the book The Fine Line, and wanted to make one more shawl from this book.  Then, I think that will be it with my kniting projects form this book.  They are all variations on 2 themes, and I chose my faviortie 2 shawls, which are both very different in feel.

The pattern that I chose for my second shawl is Dusk.  Here is the photo from the book:

The printed colors in the book seem to be a bit off from the actual color-ways by Isager.  Here is my shawl in progress, next to the colors that I will work with next.

I think that I might substitute a dark purple at the end of the blue sequence.  It will be difficult to photograph this as I go along, since it is basically a big sack on the circular needles right now.  I need to order longer needles to finish the project.  This is a very big shawl, and will be a 52″ square when finished.  My major problem has been missing a yarn over, and then I need to find it and add a stitch back in, or rip back.  I need to do the increase rows when I have not had any wine!

Had a fabulous Thanksgiving with my sister Jill and her husband Madhur.  I cooked a 19# turkey, so we have yummy left-overs for quite some time.

Too Cute!

I made these for my brother and his wife who are expecting their first baby.  His favorite color has always been orange, and I think that these would fit either sex.  They look like little moon boots to me.  I had to wait and post these until they received them, in the off chance that they would see them on this site.  Made of Baby Ull, my favorite baby clothing yarn.  The pattern is Christine’s Stay-On Baby Booties, a pattern submitted by a 90 year old many years ago as her favorite baby bootie pattern.  I will be anxious to hear if they really fit well.  I had forgotten how tiny baby feet are.  I did compare them to a pair of Sofia’s knitted booties, and they were right on target.  I wish that I had had more time to knit when my own kids were babies and I could have used these things.

3rd Lap Blanket

I finished my third in a series of lap blankets.  This one was made for the Charity knitting project that my SnB group is working on.  We are making lap blankets for a group home in Chicago that serves developmentally disabled adults, many of whom are wheelchair bound.  They wanted 2′ x 2′ blankets for the persons in wheelchairs.  I have one other on the needles, but I think that I am going to rip it back and make something else out of that yarn.  3 is enough.  3rd time ins the charm, on to other things…

Zig-Zag Shawl

I finished up my Zig-Zag shawl (the pattern Volt from The Fine Line by Anna Grace Farrow) last week, and blocked it over the weekend.

I love the soft feel of the wool, and the transparency and lightness of it, yet it’s wonderful warmth.  I can’t wait to wear this.  I have my 2 shawl pins purchased to go with it.  I really like how my turquoise substitute worked on this pattern.  Since that was a slightly thicker yarn, I went down one needle size whenever I worked on the turquoise part.  And it blocked out just beautifully.  I need to get a photo with someone modeling it, that will have to wait one day for my daughter.

 

Retreat Weekend

Our SnB group organized a weekend retreat at Esther’s Place in Big Rock, Illinois.  Myself, 3 others from the group, and a friend of one (who is a weaver) joined together for some fun fiber this weekend.  This shop focuses on featuring and promoting wool grown in Illinois, and local production in general.  It is not only a shop, but a B&B, which is how we came to stay the weekend out there.  We started by shopping for yarn (what else) along the way at Wool & Company in Geneva, and visited The Fine Line in St. Charles.

When we arrived at Esther’s Place we were greeted with appetizers and cool drinks.

After a very nice dinner (which they graciously tailored to the special diet needs of some), we started our evening class of needle felting.   We worked on Needle Felting sheep shaped sachets (say that fast 3 times).  I have never been interested in pursuing needle felting, but I must admit that it was fun, and a great stress reliever.  Natasha, one of the owners, had some amazing creations that she had done with needle felting.  While ours look rather elementary, there are amazing things that can be accomplished with this process.  I don’t think that I will ever be at her level.  Too many things to knit…

Here are the finished projects from the 5 of us, mine is the one with the multi-color curls all over.  I think that I was channeling Lloyd:

Then, we stayed up knitting, drinking wine and talking.  In the morning, after a wonderful farm style breakfast, we sat down to learn to spin wool using the drop spindle.  This was the real reason that we went all the way out there (a good hour drive from Oak Park assuming no traffic).  It was challenging, but really fun.  I need to master this, then move along to getting a spinning wheel.  This is something that I have wanted to learn for a very long time.  I think that I can convince a couple of people to join me in driving out there to take a spinning class this winter.

And my first attempt at spinning, we used wool from the Fresian Milk Sheep, very soft with long fibers (to make it easier for us beginners).  2 hours work for a few yards of spun, uneven yarn. Shown in a ball before being plied, and hanging to dry at home:

I’m hooked!

82,950 Stitches, that is how many are in this shawl so far.

This has been an easy knit, but a massive amount of it.  I decided to see how fast I knit on average in both a knit and purl row on this.  So, I timed myself for 3- 3 minute segments on both the knitting portion and the purling.  I did it at different places on the shawl so that it averaged the amounts of increases/decreases, and slipping of stitch markers.  I did not race, but kept my normal pace.  Of course, these times do not account for mistakes, ripping back, or just taking a breather.

Knitting speed was 49.22 stitches/minute.

Purl speed was 46.67 stitches/minute.

Average speed for knitting and purling was 47.94 stitches/minute.  Since there are about equal knits and purls (the accent row is actually a garter stitch row), I calculated that this scarf has taken 1,730.29 minutes (28.84 hours) to knit thus far of just knitting time.  Not including the cast-on, breaks, mistakes, etc.  I would have thought that it was more, given that I have been at it for 3 weeks.  I have, however, slipped in parts of a sock or two also.

Now, onto a tubular bind-off, and tubular edging on all 3 other sides.  That will take a bit!

Free Viking Boat Sweater Pattern

SandnesGarn, the makers of the yarn Peer Gynt, have decided to make the pattern for the Viking boat sweater available, both for free and with an English translation to boot!  You won’t have to make the same mistake that I did in my pathetic attempts at translation of a language I know nothing about.  I blogged about this earlier.  Here is the link for the pattern, available as a downloadable PDF:

http://www.sandnesgarn.no/Strikkekurs.aspx

 

Now, this makes me want to finish up my sweater that I put away last year.  Here’s my last photo for inspiration to you and myself:

Chugging along

I am still knitting away on my lace shawl.  Almost to the last color, and then the I-cord edging, which will take an eternity in itself.  I had hoped to have this done by Halloween, it was the 25th anniversary of my husband’s & I first date together.  We went to a nice restaurant to celebrate, and I would have loved to wear this.  It is an easy knit, just a lot of stitches at 395/row!

I also cast on for another pair of socks, using Malabrigo, the color is Impressionist Sky, and it is a beautiful semi-solid blue..  I am making the Gentlemen’s sock with Lozenge Pattern by Nancy Bush.  I think that I will have to purchase another skein of this yarn.  It is knit up on size 0 needles.  I love the color, and will give these to hubby for Christmas.  Good thing he never reads my blog!

RAK

I joined the Ravelry forum RAK last month.  I have gotten a couple of good patterns there, and this week recieved a gift, all the way from Denmark, of some Dale of Norway Falk yarn.  This is the washable version of Helio.  I have never worked with it before.  (The blue-green at the bottom is a Helio that I had left over)

I originally thought of making mittens, but decided to make a Christmas stocking instead.  I have wanted to make one for years, and got this pattern book last winter for Dale of Norway yarn:

The RAK forum has been fun.  I have sent out several packages all over the world, from Michigan to Canada to India, England and New Zealand.  Also a great way to look and see what others are asking for, and thin out my stash of yarn that I probably won’t use.  I had been saving the sock yarn remnants for years.  Sometimes I use them in a toe, or heel.  But, by and large, was not ever going to knit with all of those, and just couldn’t throw them away.  Along came several people who are make sock yarn blankets out of the scraps, and problem solved.

I am going to make the Stocking pattern on the right, using the yarns shown above.  Will start this over the weekend.  It will also be eligible for the Sock Knitters Anonymous October challenge.  I had not started anything for that yet.

I’m a small needle & wool snob

I admit it.  I really think that items knit with a small needle have more definition, greater drape to the fabric, and usually (not always) better detail.   I also prefer wool above all else, and wood needles.  So there!

I am just finishing the third of my doily lap blankets.  Using a size 10 1/2 needle was like knitting with baseball bats for me.  Not my preferred option.  I will have to adjust that thinking when I start the Sylvie coat next year though (waiting until January to order the yarn for that, I can’t wait).  The 2nd and 3rd doily lap blankets were made with a lighter weight yarn and size 7 needles.  That seemed so much more civilized to me.  At my  recent visit to stitches in September with my sister, there was a woman demonstrating size 50 (yes 50!) needles, and the merits of them.  Now those really were like baseball bats.  Jill tried them out, but I took a pass.  Size 1 and 2 are more my cup of tea.  I guess that is why I like socks and Fair Isle so much.  Even with mittens, they just seem to need to be knit with the smaller needles to get the proper density to make them wearable in the cold Chicago winters.  And, speaking of mittens, here is my latest pair of Fair Isle mittens, using the Postwar Mittens pattern by MaryAnn Stephens (www.kidsknits.com), and featured on Twist Collective.

Notice the date on the inside part of the thumb.  I love it….

The right hand mitten is tight at the hand.  I was working on it while at my SnB group; the lighting was not good, the conversation was lively, and my floats and stitches are tighter than I would like.  Good lesson, keep the knitting simple during those 2 hours.  The length on the cuff is good, will cover my wrists during the cold months.  I had to add one additional repeat on the hand to get the proper length for my big long hands.  I can’t say, however, that I am anxious to wear them.  It has been a beautiful past 3 days with sunshine and 60-70 degree weather, and gorgeous fall color.  My favorite season.