Sunday, July 29, 2007

And so it ends



I just put down Harry Potter 7. It really is an amazing book and end to the saga - filled with much more action and emotion than the others. The end is wonderful, the book is wonderful - but I have this overriding sadness that the trip is over. No more to read. I also think the book is very dark in sections.. not so sure its that good for young ones but this senior (or close to be a senior) loved it. Good bye Harry - we all loved you!

And I did do more Kauni this week. Was too tired to read much after work but I could slog thru some Kauni stockinette. I'm past the start of the neckline so I see the end of the body ahead.



This is another activity that I will miss... it is so much fun seeing the colors change. Enough that I decided - some time in the future I plan to do one like Jeannie on the KAL. She is mixing Rainbow Kauni (EQ) with Teal Kauni (EZ) and is using her own pattern instead of the boxes.. So pretty:

See this:

I've been bad this week - ordered three kits I have really wanted for a long time:
A Wild Apple Bohus - go here and click on Nyheter and scroll down

and this Poetry in Stitches kit

and this !Henry VIII by Starmore

My hot flashes have subsided and I decided I want pullovers. So that is that for me and yarn this year.. No more until I work my stash down some. Except for my "sock of the month club"! Heh, heh,.. joined the one at RedKnits.

Have a great week!

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Potter Break!

Well - I worked REALLY hard this week to get as much done on Kauni as I could - since as soon as my "chatty" mailman arrives (he LOVES to sit and talk to all the neighbors) I will be taking a Potter break.

Here is my cardigan. I am REALLY happy with the color combinations now. I get to a "2 color difference" for awhile which changes to a "1 color difference". So now I am at a "blue/violet" section. So pretty!



And here is a closeup showing my current section:



I have decided - once I get to the sleeves which are done from the top down - to reverse the yarn direction so that the colors change in the same direction when you are looking at the sweater. Subtle difference but I think it will look better. Not sure if I have enough yarn to start them at the same place - I'll see after I finish the body.

So... I had a bout of vertigo this week (my dr said its from allergies and the "stuff" dripping into my ear canal) - was at the grocery store to get a Singulair RX filled.. and saw the latest issue of KnitSimple. I fell in love with this and had to get the pattern! It is a Louet pattern called Madisson. They suggest Louet Merlin Worsted - but its very pricey. Not sure what I will use.



I thought it was so pretty.. the lace, the shawl collar.. not so sure about the peplum. But why or why - do they not show an entire sweater when they advertise a pattern? Why does she have her arms covering half of the front? Geezz..Of course my imagination took over and that didn't stop me.

I think tho - I will go back to socks for awhile after Kauni. I'd like to try one of the fancier sock yarns this time.. I ordered some Socks That Rock yarn which I am anxious to try.

Once again. so much yarn and so little time to knit! I need to retire soon!
Well - it may be awhile before I'm back. I'm not about to leak out the ending but I may be tempted to peak.

Ricki

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Pushing through the uglies

Well - yesterday I almost tossed my Kauni. I hit an orange-red violet combination and frankly - it was pretty disgusting. I almost tossed (in fact I ordered 2 new skeins of the yarn which I have since bequested to my sister). After a pep talk from my KAL buddies - I closed my eyes and pushed thru the ugliness and came out through the back door only to find this pleasant surprise:



This sweater takes a lot of "blind faith" and stamina. But I think it will end up to be a masterpiece. Maybe? I have about an inch to go before the armhole steeks and there's no turning back now. And note that the corregated ribbing is still curling despite the German twisted cast-on. Oh well - hope that some steaming will take care of that.

Also wanted to flaunt another new addiction of mine - Vera Bradley Java blue.. In the last month - I have purchased a Lindsay, cosmetic bag, wallet, and checkbook. All but the last on ebay. Can I say I LOVE this print? Here is my collection:



These items are so nicely made. Very sturdy, can be washed in the machine. I think I can use them all year round. The print isn't too summery. LOVE THEM!

I am trying to kick a stomach bug this weekend. Who knows where I picked it up - maybe at the doctor last week (had my blood drawn for cholesterol test). Some days I think I need to just stay home.

Have a great week! Since next week is the Harry Potter book 7 release - I need to get lots done before then. I will be immersed in HP once it comes and Kauni will come second!

Monday, July 9, 2007

Moving right along!

I thought I would post my progress on Kauni. This yarn is amazing.. it just winds its own path thru the shades of color. I started with blue/green in the ribbing (1 color difference) - and I found myself eventually at green/orange ( 2 color difference) and now I'm back to yellow/orange (1 color). Isn't it gorgeous!



And I wanted to also show how I'm weaving the yarns in and out (if only for the steek). This is the Philosopher's Wool technique - to weave a new yarn in 6 stitches before it is needed - and to weave the old yarn out 6 stitches after it is not needed anymore. When the sweater is done - all I have to do is to clip the ends with a scissors. No weaving ends in. Love it:



So back to work tomorrow - and much slower progress! But someone has to pay for my yarn habit!

Ricki

Sunday, July 8, 2007

So glad I'm petite!

I have been struggling with the start of my Kauni.. multiple issues. My rib curled horribly. I steamed it and it didn't look too bad - but then I found out that I should have used a German Twisted cast on technique. I also didn't like the way the green color seemed to last forever (maybe it was my imagination) So... I proceeded to rip this off my needles (I'm saving it in case I need the yarn - but I figure the pattern calls for 480 gm, the 2 skeins add up to almost 600 gm and I am making the smallest size- which is why I'm glad I'm petite - so there is a LOT of room for error):




And then I spent 2 hours trying to learning how to do a German Twisted cast on. I watched U-Tube, read Sweaters from Camp - but couldn't figure out where to pull the loop thru. Then I dug out my Knitting Glossary (EZ and MS) DVD - put it on SLOW and knit along with it. The lightbulb FINALLY came out - that I had to tip my hand forward (not just the thumb) and from then on I was plugging away. Don't you love learning something new. I also decided to put more contrast into the color combinations and try a K2, P2 rib (the pattern calls for K1, P1) . Here are the results:



Well - pretty - but I didn't think I wanted a Red/Yellow combination which was the next section - and I decided that I needed to go down a size on the ribbing. So... I ripped this one out too.

This AM - I started over again on size 2 Addis.. and went back to K1, P1 and back to combining colors one shade away from each. I started with blue and green. I think I will like this better.. and for some reason the green didn't last as long this time. The green section at the top started out as blue. The yellow section started out as green. Go figure. So this is where I am now and I like it. I think I like it!



One more day off work so I should FINALLY make some progress tomorrow!
Ricki

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Endings and Beginnings!

Well - despite the fact that my neighbors kept me awake last night due to firecrackers (I was glad I didn't have to go to work this AM) - I accomplished a lot today - knitwise!

Finished my second pair of socks. One seems smaller than the other - which doesn't make sense since the colors are in synch.. maybe its my imagination:



But they are done and I love using Step - except that it splits easily which is a problem when you drop stitches!

And then I did the koolaid thing with my melon shawl. Well - its still variegated - but a brighter color. I like it.. Here she is blocking on my sewing room floor - the only place it would fit!




So with all that behind me - I decided to dive into the Kauni Cardigan. The yarn comes in these HUGE skeins - but I thought - lucky me I have an electic yarn winder. So I started doing the first skein - and should have known better not to put too much onto the holder. Heh, heh... it wouldn't come off. So - that ball will just have to stay on the holder, I will need to knit that one from the outside in - so that pretty much determined the order of colors for all the balls. In the photo below its the one on the lower right.

And from then on - my electric winder just didn't hack it. It created this messy lump - so I found my manual winder and started to wind the yarn on that. Of course - some of the yarn that was already off the swift got tangled - so I had to untangle them (my poor dog thought I was being Blue Meany Mom). So now I have about 8 balls all different sizes - and I need to figure out which one starts where another ends. I really thought I had been organized and put them in order - but after some consideration I realized that for some balls ( to maintain the correct order of colors) - I will need to pull the yarn from the inside out and for others I will need to pull yarn from the outside in. I'll figure it out! Pretty colors!



So I did a gauge and had to go down one size.. Using my 32 inch Addi circulars (3.0 mm for the ribbing and 3.25 mm for the body) Then I started casting on. Long tail which I have grown to love. BUT - not three times. TWICE I ran out of tail. The third time I only had 12 more stitches when I ran out.. and I was so glad I had seen Lily Chin 2 weeks ago - give a tip to cast on purlwise if you run out of tail - since I had no intention of redoing another 200+ stitches. But I've started and this IS going to be one pretty sweater! Here is the start. I added 7 steek stitches. Doing corrugated ribbing right now - not my fav - but it is short so I can handle anything for 1 3/8 inches.. right?




More tomorrow. I WILL get past the corregated stuff.

Ricki

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Number two shows improvement!

Even though I had to work the toe of the first sock twice (it was too short) - I'm pleased with the final result. I think the fabric using size US 1 (2.25 mm) is much better suited to socks. Ta-da!



So - I really wanted to get a better idea on how much yarn it took - I weighed what was left and figured I had used up a little more than a third of the skein (460 yds originally) - so I figure I needed about 153 yds. I can surely get a pair of socks out of 360 yds. That is reassuring. And I think the next time I want the leg a bit higher.

I also realized I could chew up yarn in order to start the second pair at the same point as the first.. which I did .. and here is the beginning of the second pair:



Not bad.. not bad at all.

But to be honest - its getting kinda hard having to frog and redo these socks to fit my weird feet (my toes are about 2.5 inches long and with the number of stitches I am using. I run out of stitches before I run out of toe. I also don't like the pointy end - I may try to find something more rounded.

And maybe its time to try something with more of a pattern. I bought some neat Opal Crazy yarn which looks like fun to knit. But then there's Kauni. One of these days I will make a dent in my stash. Maybe when I retire?

I will blog more this week with my time off.
Ricki