tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89901411871347940962024-03-13T03:12:50.483-04:00Tightly KnitYes, we're obsessed with knitting. Not so much with blogging. Even so, once in a while we've got something to share that just doesn't fit on Ravelry or Instagram.Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-5788388569250224262020-08-10T14:23:00.000-04:002020-08-10T14:23:45.008-04:00Convert Stairsteps to a Smooth 3-Needle Bind-Off Shoulder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoNHAWmBtlIA2Y9spt8PCYC8QG2qg_SnAv4j8UB1FbLKqkq3_g_bLkgguArWJD6UbqLcy_zqvEYs7iScSRrZn2XBrjzl24InxLxxE33z4Hyp2giW4oCLZI9CMG7ZmpJlfQCvD4p-VEtI/s2048/IMG_0876+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoNHAWmBtlIA2Y9spt8PCYC8QG2qg_SnAv4j8UB1FbLKqkq3_g_bLkgguArWJD6UbqLcy_zqvEYs7iScSRrZn2XBrjzl24InxLxxE33z4Hyp2giW4oCLZI9CMG7ZmpJlfQCvD4p-VEtI/s640/IMG_0876+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div>This summer, I've knitted two simple tees that feature shoulder seams that extend down into cap sleeves. After finishing up the first project and finalizing my project post on Ravelry, I saw that someone else who had knitted the same design had converted the shoulder seam stairstep bindoffs to short rows, which allow the shoulder seams to be finished with the 3-needle bind-off technique. I've done this before and immediately realized that it would have been preferable, mostly because it is so much easier to bind off that seam than to sew it.<br />
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So now, working on my second project, I'm adopting this approach and documenting it here in hopes that typing it up will fix it in my memory as something that is not difficult and AVOIDS SEWING SEAMS!! These long shoulder seams are very visible, and the 3-needle bind-off is easy to do and provides a basically perfect result.<br />
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The primary thing to keep in mind is that the decreases in the short rows happen at the end of the row rather than at the beginning. So if the instructions say to bind off X stitches at the beginning of the row, you simply replace that by leaving X stitches unworked at the end of the short row.<br />
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The pattern I'm working on right now is the Simple Tee by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. In this pattern, the shoulder shaping starts before the neck shaping, so for the first few rows, you can just do the needed decreases on the opposite ends of the row. Once the neck shaping kicks in, if the pattern calls for decreases at the beginning of a right-side row, you have to execute those decreases instead at the end of the following wrong-side row. And likewise, if the pattern calls for decreases at the beginning of a wrong-side row, you execute those decreases at the end of the following right-side row.<br />
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It probably sounds confusing, but once you have your pattern in front of you, it's much easier to visualize.<br />
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Here's an example doing traditional wrap-and-turn short rows where shoulder shaping is taking place before neck shaping begins:<br />
PATTERN SAYS: Row 1 (RS): Bind off 5 sts, K to end. Row 2 (WS): Bind off 5 sts, P to end.<br />
INSTEAD: Row 1 (RS): Knit to 5 sts before end, wrap and turn. Row 2 (WS): Putl to 5 sts before end, wrap and turn.<br />
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This does get a bit complicated once the neck shaping kicks in, but it's worth it.<br />
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Once all the decreases have been made, knit (or purl) across the final row to pick up the wraps and then put the stitches on holders to bind off once you're ready to join shoulder seams.<br />
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<br />Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-28704413451403698502020-01-26T19:26:00.004-05:002020-02-18T23:17:25.309-05:00Italian/Kitchner Cast Off - Better than Tubular!I'm grateful to the folks who have posted videos on the Italian or Kitchner cast off for 1x1 rib (especially, <a href="https://youtu.be/zmqCMX3W_5I" target="_blank">Suzanne Bryan's video</a>) but I find written instructions easier to reference.<br />
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Here are mine:<br />
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<b>Setup</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Cut yarn to 4x the length of the bound off edge.</li>
<li>With tapestry needle, pull tail of yarn through the first stitch on the left needle (a knit stitch) purlwise, and leave the stitch on the needle. </li>
<li>Insert the tapestry needle between the first two stitches on the left needle from back to front and pull needle to front; turn Needle and go through stitch 2 (a purl stitch) as if to knit; pull tail through. </li>
</ul>
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<b>Cast Off</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Bring the needle through the first stitch on the left needle knitwise and drop stitch off the left needle; before pulling the tail through, turn tapestry needle and insert through next <i>knit</i> stitch as if to purl; pull tail through.</li>
<li>Bring the needle through the first stitch on the left needle purlwise and drop the stitch off the needle; before pulling the tail through, insert the tapestry needle between the next two stitches on the left needle from back to front; turn needle and insert in 2nd stitch on needle (a purl stitch) as if to knit; pull tail through. </li>
<li>That's it!</li>
</ul>
Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-67015141396924205872017-02-11T19:22:00.002-05:002022-02-08T13:13:06.764-05:00Another New Pattern - This Time for Humans!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2Bb6kuKhXXcg6lCVjzmS-jML6W9q8PvFas26-mf1-ph4awf6e31Pfd_uV0fnfyoq0P-e_4tSW0NKxq-fN5iBfdiQMpJhF9qiR5n9LefR7pL_Cass2ZD4B_lmu5oBNMnMRsVXfyBIDUw/s1600/Stirrup-Footed+Leg+Warmers-5.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2Bb6kuKhXXcg6lCVjzmS-jML6W9q8PvFas26-mf1-ph4awf6e31Pfd_uV0fnfyoq0P-e_4tSW0NKxq-fN5iBfdiQMpJhF9qiR5n9LefR7pL_Cass2ZD4B_lmu5oBNMnMRsVXfyBIDUw/s200/Stirrup-Footed+Leg+Warmers-5.JPG" width="200" /></a>Tightly Knit Design is happy to share another free knitting pattern with our hordes of readers. Our Stirrup-Footed Leg Warmers are stylish and practical! We do a lot of dog walking in wintry weather, and we were finding the prospect of changing out of our skinny jeans into something that could accommodate long underwear underneath just a royal pain. Clearly, leg warmers were needed, but we'd tried boot toppers before and found them fiddly to arrange inside our boots. We considered the idea of super heavy tall socks, but our boots fit just right with our regular hand-knit and Smart Wool socks, and we didn't want to have to buy new boots to accommodate warmer socks. And so, the idea of stirrups was born.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1D7bEUGa-aLD5pYvK5C2fNt52vUCzNFKYvbDkr_0z_c5-biksUn4-XVDwDRauj-ajiKhtrsNEms9D8l8sijtpNUZhZqGGgV-i3NdtDEhF95IDULnDzg41PkQj88gaC1wV-XdHCQHhcs/s1600/Stirrup-Footed+Leg+Warmers-3.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1D7bEUGa-aLD5pYvK5C2fNt52vUCzNFKYvbDkr_0z_c5-biksUn4-XVDwDRauj-ajiKhtrsNEms9D8l8sijtpNUZhZqGGgV-i3NdtDEhF95IDULnDzg41PkQj88gaC1wV-XdHCQHhcs/s320/Stirrup-Footed+Leg+Warmers-3.JPG" width="320" /></a>These work great and look good. We made ours pretty tall (12 inches) for warmth, but they would be cute a few inches shorter, too. They pull on in a jiff, pulling on your boots is a breeze, and everything feels snug without being tight or uncomfortable. They keep our legs warm all the way down to our ankles (and keep out the snow) in our pull-on Bogs and work equally well in our taller, lace-up boots. These were great stash-busters, using just under half a skein of Cascade Yarns Ecological Wool that we had leftover from a striped pullover we made years ago.<br />
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The legs are done in Brioche stitch, and we came up with what we think is a clever approach to make them seamless. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxKAJv-lUsbQNjhMZGR0YkswUWs/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-OlYvTnJjLwXbEG1qg2f2eg" target="_blank">Check out the pattern </a>to see how we did it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaUefbhxUGYxdL1xBdvKfuRHKAiR9V_D3jW6ljFHlcPJgqrgqhdYyVnYlgQZuYrL7Bm3paYPK5h6DZDP5FyeNHE5fHqk6_mJSkyuK_JFq36Qui5qqfXRX2xevvo7yYU9ui85Ph29vg2c/s1600/Stirrup-Footed+Leg+Warmers-4.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaUefbhxUGYxdL1xBdvKfuRHKAiR9V_D3jW6ljFHlcPJgqrgqhdYyVnYlgQZuYrL7Bm3paYPK5h6DZDP5FyeNHE5fHqk6_mJSkyuK_JFq36Qui5qqfXRX2xevvo7yYU9ui85Ph29vg2c/s320/Stirrup-Footed+Leg+Warmers-4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-49519940419413694302016-08-07T17:12:00.002-04:002018-01-05T10:54:38.963-05:00<b>Our First Pattern!!</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKaGVs8l3GMqQcszSkRlSeLAVzXyixErve-0wnhPPNT1WoBRc4K0XE5VB8Vb3B4xfbkAFT9Qq0s3YOz7k2gZ9RbL1yQ6Kpw1kdxgMsv_1S6ox0coW-n1006pqe85mFH8TsgCHgyfkwpI/s1600/Image+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKaGVs8l3GMqQcszSkRlSeLAVzXyixErve-0wnhPPNT1WoBRc4K0XE5VB8Vb3B4xfbkAFT9Qq0s3YOz7k2gZ9RbL1yQ6Kpw1kdxgMsv_1S6ox0coW-n1006pqe85mFH8TsgCHgyfkwpI/s320/Image+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I finally finished a toy project that I've been working on for over a year. It's a "Little Prince" doll from the Arne & Carlos book Strikkedukker, or Knitted Dolls. I've got <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JudiP53/1-the-dolls-body">extensive project notes on Ravelry</a>, and if you're thinking of making this pattern, I encourage you to take a look.<br />
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The little guy's outfit had to be customized quite a bit because I wanted to match the look of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's illustrations in the The Little Prince book. One thing he needed was black shoes. Nothing fancy, but the shoes in the Knitted Dolls pattern book didn't look like they would stay on, and the recipient is a baby, so I didn't want shoes that would fall off and get lost forever. An existing pattern for "Uggs" didn't really meet my requirements of actually looking like shoes, so I designed my own.<br />
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I'm pretty proud of how they turned out. Here's the free pattern for <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-G5x6WcysE8zaCCk-ehv7K41dXOT7PUc" target="_blank">Strikkedukker Boots with Toppers</a>. Make some!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwaA3lyC509HPdVqetj7isTBdcu7WZzC_FPNw89CUTNJjspMKW142TcvRcPEBHDROFm6C7RUMmnEJyde2B9mVNL5DChGr1bI75ypTw_ErORchqmb1HncZKthi-l5o3CulmkoEDnt1Tkk/s1600/Image+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwaA3lyC509HPdVqetj7isTBdcu7WZzC_FPNw89CUTNJjspMKW142TcvRcPEBHDROFm6C7RUMmnEJyde2B9mVNL5DChGr1bI75ypTw_ErORchqmb1HncZKthi-l5o3CulmkoEDnt1Tkk/s320/Image+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-36785299042725441882016-04-10T15:18:00.000-04:002016-04-10T15:18:03.102-04:00Swatching ... socks???<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXlY4fKec6hgaL3BOavN2lKg7P3eJWXv3eI28cI3zbraqVmNp3o39xEkO7cIezcDeZaHsFjiK9w-jntfruYrSJVJWLJmxSltiTG2pau_ixTIKi7fPUDei2UAQTqm60i_oW1_naCwAN54/s1600/Sock+Swatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXlY4fKec6hgaL3BOavN2lKg7P3eJWXv3eI28cI3zbraqVmNp3o39xEkO7cIezcDeZaHsFjiK9w-jntfruYrSJVJWLJmxSltiTG2pau_ixTIKi7fPUDei2UAQTqm60i_oW1_naCwAN54/s320/Sock+Swatch.jpg" /></a></div>I have pretended I was swatching for socks in the past, but I don't think I've ever really done it in earnest. Instead, I've cast on the number of stitches the pattern specified, or when a number wasn't specified, a guesstimate, and unless things looked waaay off, I'd just keep going. Such is the nature of socks. They're such a small project, that even when your better judgment says, "I don't think this is working out," the voice of knitterly inertia counters with, "Oh, just keep going. You can always rip this out and start over." Another problem has been that I wasn't working toward a clear goal in terms of size. I have a fear of too-tight socks (commercial socks that were too tight at the top of the leg is what caused me to be interested in hand-knit socks in the first place), so I've never really been a believer in negative ease for socks.<br />
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Not too surprisingly, I have knit a lot of socks that don't fit very well. But I'm inspired by Kate Atherley's new book, <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Custom_Socks.html?id=AZMqCgAAQBAJ&source=kp_cover">Custom Socks: Knit to Fit Your Feet</a>, and determined to break the curse. Naturally, this does not necessarily mean that I am following her advice. Yet. Instead of starting by taking all the measurements she recommends, I'm starting with swatching. Because that's what I feel like doing. I will take the measurements -- I promise. I realize that a good set of measurements is one of the keys to success.<br />
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I've cast on a random number of stitches -- somewhere around 60 -- using the wonderfully round and squishy <a href="http://716knit.bigcartel.com/category/hxc-stripe-sock-yarn">716Twist</a> (can't believe this is 2-ply) and I've knit a 1x1 cuff on sz. 0 and now I'm working in plain stockinette on sz 1 needles. Once I know what my gauge is for this project, I'm planning to start a pair of simple socks with arch shaping for myself. These are for practice. <br />
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Later this month, I'm going to spend a few days with my parents in Florida. I've bought some OSU striped BFL from <a href="http://shop.selfstriping.com/">String Theory Colorworks</a>, and I'm going to make a pair of socks for my dad that fit HIS feet. This is a project from the heart because I've learned that a pair of socks I made for him a few years ago as a Christmas gift are his favorite socks. I find that amazing, and it puts Dad on my extremely knit-worthy list, which is short! He also raves about the felted clogs I made for him even longer ago. The great thing about gifting Floridians with hand knits is that they are so grateful to have them when they need them, but they need them so seldom that they last forever!<br />
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Note to self: remember to take a tape measure to Florida.Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-36928463610730647632013-10-22T18:26:00.001-04:002016-04-10T15:37:43.393-04:00Our First TimeLibby and I went to Rhinebeck for the first time this year, and it was wonderful. We saw more knitterati than you can shake a <strike>stick </strike> knitting needle at, and had fun, short chats with Clara Parks, Stephanie Pearl-McFee and Kay Gardiner.
We indulged in purchase after purchase and were still talking about what ELSE we wanted on the way home.
Today, I saw <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R78v6DyiuL8">this video </a> by Gayle Zucker and it brought tears to my eyes while I was laughing at how silly it is.
Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-59613270386631296092012-01-15T15:33:00.003-05:002012-01-15T16:06:08.179-05:00Audiobook Recommendations from The Yarn Harlot's CommentersRight before Christmas, as part of her series of great gift suggestions for knitters, <a href="http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2011/12/21/dark_times.html">The Yarn Harlot </a> suggested audiobooks. Her commenters proceeded to suggest dozens of authors and titles they've enjoyed listening to. I thought it would be great to have the whole list for easy reference. So I put it into a table, which took quite a bit longer than you might think, and now I'm going to try to make it available <a href="https://public.me.com/judip53">here</a>. This link to iDisk may not work after June 2012. If you have trouble, leave a comment.<br /><br />So how many of these have you listened to or read? I count about 95 for me so far, including other titles by the authors mentioned. <br /><br />I was inspired by The Harlot's post to subscribe to Audible, and I'm looking forward to working off this list for a long time!Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-14266553039046057212011-10-19T14:55:00.001-04:002011-10-19T14:56:57.111-04:00Our little girl is all grown up!Mom, did you see Laura's newsletter for River Colors yet? It's her very first try and it's way better than many newsletters I've seen from a variety of shops! Good job, darling sister! <br /><br />~LibbyLibby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-89841967932254832832011-03-05T10:50:00.008-05:002011-03-05T12:01:13.284-05:00Wedding Shawl MusingsMom suggested I put something up here about the shawl/stole I am planning for the wedding so you guys could see what I'm talking about. The one I like best so far is called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tibetan-clouds-beaded-stole">Tibetan Clouds Beaded Stole</a> from The Knitter's Book of Wool. So here's a picture from the book:<br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtR1l24rhm5PxHLK4rqSKtAzFUz41uWtFt8ioVY3CCSd_uQhqlE-RSnDFqALcGcICyHU0Ud5ynv4600BqhX874zFUVHlEzZK9co7Sb5zXVB80QLYJqx47bgXyxbfHvDKAz5_rb4SRqzUA/s1600/tibetanclouds1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 318px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtR1l24rhm5PxHLK4rqSKtAzFUz41uWtFt8ioVY3CCSd_uQhqlE-RSnDFqALcGcICyHU0Ud5ynv4600BqhX874zFUVHlEzZK9co7Sb5zXVB80QLYJqx47bgXyxbfHvDKAz5_rb4SRqzUA/s400/tibetanclouds1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580630113856131906" border="0" /></a><br />The stole is a rectangle knit in stages, starting with the central square which grows from the center out and then stitches are picked up on two sides and knit down for the sides. I imagined us knitting this as a trio, me knitting the center and then sending it to Cleveland and you guys each knitting a side section, it that appeals. The piece calls for beads but I'm not sure they're necessary, we can decide that together.<br />The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn knit at 21sts to 4 ins. in center pattern after blocking which is fairly loose for fingering weight. I bring this up because I see a bunch of these on Ravelry that look HUGE and I don't like that idea, I want it to be manageable, both to knit and to wear! I think the solution there might be going down a needle size or two and choosing a yarn that will have memory.<br /><br />I have been looking at silk blends because they are so pretty and shiny and the wool content will help with memory. Specifically, I like the idea of Handmaiden MiniMaiden because it is a little lighter than fingering but not yet a lace so it would work well with slightly smaller needle size/gauge. Color is another big issue, I can't decide if it should be "wedding themed" and be knit in a neutral color like those below or if it should be bright, perhaps reflecting choices we make for flowers or even bridesmaids dresses. Here are some colors I do like, if I decide to go neutral.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDIu8PklQva7W44CeoiUgwFkMkKCpmfTc9jCJb3iHGl4YSDtMYQKubYa9KY3AwyKkoBjiK6S_Ph6CgmPcGHxk4F36kEaTkgQ_uQxBLKTleExKDwTGVZqgdBy0TAB9xaP24jwVHjvLKyA/s1600/minimaidenivory.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 324px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDIu8PklQva7W44CeoiUgwFkMkKCpmfTc9jCJb3iHGl4YSDtMYQKubYa9KY3AwyKkoBjiK6S_Ph6CgmPcGHxk4F36kEaTkgQ_uQxBLKTleExKDwTGVZqgdBy0TAB9xaP24jwVHjvLKyA/s400/minimaidenivory.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580630257660212066" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltlQN21g1AarVIqgUrvg4B_2RsiKeOXmrQFOhLcS3LDg0SkVoWZG4g3Ojk4IkguhFCT3gUjqUvNvgeNSiO7MD2lvKGdSQrUC8DjMsGunxR1Kz3Uj255FCbyyOAaR_dtDtyf1kUmt3bGk/s1600/minimaidenstraw.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 324px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltlQN21g1AarVIqgUrvg4B_2RsiKeOXmrQFOhLcS3LDg0SkVoWZG4g3Ojk4IkguhFCT3gUjqUvNvgeNSiO7MD2lvKGdSQrUC8DjMsGunxR1Kz3Uj255FCbyyOAaR_dtDtyf1kUmt3bGk/s400/minimaidenstraw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580630457324630242" border="0" /></a>Mom mentioned the other day she had read a lovely review of Swiss Mountain Silk Cashmere which sounds delightful but it's a little hard to find and this colorway isn't in stock at the only website where I found it. It is also very spendy!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mO89aursYXyaoxJJdf7cxHIu9szCPbxasQrofVjapTWH_e7qYXu_r2i1SVTM8IuMn7HTZbYDe9QsW9vcG0xgfDCxU894c5GpgE2Utx_vXoVf6SarBsHp5IfykoGVbY4UpmNXBDiJF-o/s1600/swiss+mountain+silk+cashmere+ivory.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 324px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7mO89aursYXyaoxJJdf7cxHIu9szCPbxasQrofVjapTWH_e7qYXu_r2i1SVTM8IuMn7HTZbYDe9QsW9vcG0xgfDCxU894c5GpgE2Utx_vXoVf6SarBsHp5IfykoGVbY4UpmNXBDiJF-o/s400/swiss+mountain+silk+cashmere+ivory.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580630572040447234" border="0" /></a>Another yarn I thought of is Madelinetosh Pashima which is is a wool, silk, cashmere blend and which people seem to LOVE. I like a bunch of the colors, but again, not sure what's right yet. Here are some pictures:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYoSYILRheoAoO8sFYVq0IopqDVL3pf2EUALeJCEPmd_ChivcZAdJAUjqpZFZc3TmeZ0huJyJHlAh_4zXLAu1DmZccmpLw2a-DhoS5hdVo1x7Db7c-mHlTunml36xLObS700ay15sV-g/s1600/pashmina1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYoSYILRheoAoO8sFYVq0IopqDVL3pf2EUALeJCEPmd_ChivcZAdJAUjqpZFZc3TmeZ0huJyJHlAh_4zXLAu1DmZccmpLw2a-DhoS5hdVo1x7Db7c-mHlTunml36xLObS700ay15sV-g/s400/pashmina1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580638302782446578" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4J9yaeDKwzGv-rmpDsj0fSrsF602ugRSlE7jEsNa1a1GvdPXUqyuai5EeSeqfbWY3ZP8n7zWMTUUCF_OWDOwHUnaZ0QVb5mRuBfsX5VsnP0XD31fuR5iDA21Wk_PaF-MXbEtvNiW2yQ4/s1600/pashminablue.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4J9yaeDKwzGv-rmpDsj0fSrsF602ugRSlE7jEsNa1a1GvdPXUqyuai5EeSeqfbWY3ZP8n7zWMTUUCF_OWDOwHUnaZ0QVb5mRuBfsX5VsnP0XD31fuR5iDA21Wk_PaF-MXbEtvNiW2yQ4/s400/pashminablue.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580638433932665602" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZxp_xXp2XgJslZV6fjsn_iL-u6wzca9tNAddiLUkG6_NTZ2S-n8HZ9Wc6k_JwKoBGLKrT94SXJaRJBjnYxWHhMl7f9TfV9qDho8bdUjVPlNpbbqQh0I-XXIxFe5QZbM5TNiA4GihipQ/s1600/pashmina+mineral.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZxp_xXp2XgJslZV6fjsn_iL-u6wzca9tNAddiLUkG6_NTZ2S-n8HZ9Wc6k_JwKoBGLKrT94SXJaRJBjnYxWHhMl7f9TfV9qDho8bdUjVPlNpbbqQh0I-XXIxFe5QZbM5TNiA4GihipQ/s400/pashmina+mineral.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580638635181493810" border="0" /></a>So there you have it, my thoughts so far. Any of you have thoughts?Libby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-60203672909437221392010-04-18T10:21:00.019-04:002010-04-18T12:45:17.035-04:00Blogging Summery Olivia Jacket<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFYUyCFTrlhdK8PtDMgAj2qcE2XDMpXDwPVOmHHRBPY4YfNy7yxf0OU8PwW0s0e_zTZ1wnR32eCpOdLE8FG4a_Q3j1ux98fQfyxJxpO8UibbfpTjxO9xNSujvSj2da_p2_l4nBZo-rQ4/s1600/Summery+Olivia+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFYUyCFTrlhdK8PtDMgAj2qcE2XDMpXDwPVOmHHRBPY4YfNy7yxf0OU8PwW0s0e_zTZ1wnR32eCpOdLE8FG4a_Q3j1ux98fQfyxJxpO8UibbfpTjxO9xNSujvSj2da_p2_l4nBZo-rQ4/s320/Summery+Olivia+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461515214591848018" /></a><br />Libby was here last weekend to help out at Knitter's Fantasy (and she was a HUGE help - I might have managed the Caps for Kids table OK, but I never could have had such a successful Magic Loop class without her - and we had FUN!!). <br /><br />We were looking at Ravelry for some reason (who needs a reason?) and she commented that my comments on my projects were more like blog entries. And I was struck once again that it's true, Ravelry has done a lot to provide the kind of outlet I wanted to document and share what I'm knitting on. But hardly anyone reads my Ravelry entries, including the girls, in part because they're so darned long. So I thought maybe I could use the blog to enter thoughts about projects (just the big thoughts, like what cast-on to use or other enhancements/deviations from the pattern) and on Ravelry, I'd stick more to pickier stuff. <br /><br />I haven't totally figured it out, but I'm going to use my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JudiP53/olivia">Summery Olivia Jacket </a>as an experiment, blogging say, no more than a couple of times a week and using Ravelry to record the details and between-blog-post minutiae. This way, maybe Laura will find this of value, too, some day, once she gets her knitting mojo back.<br /><br />I started Summery Olivia on Friday night, made rather stunning progress (even with a fiddly new-to-me cast-on) and had an impressive three inches to show the ladies at the Knitting Fantasy wrap-up party on Saturday night, where I ended up frogging all those inches and that beautiful cast-on. I'm blaming it on <a href="http://www.kimhargreaves.co.uk">Kim Hargreaves</a>.<br /><br />I'm doing a lot of math on this baby because I'm substituting an aran-weight yarn for a DK-weight yarn. The shape and style is quite simple, and this shouldn't be much of a problem (shut up - I know). So anyhow, I come up with the multiplier to convert Kim's stitch count to mine (it's .7) and happily do conversions for the first piece - the back. After knitting afore-mentioned three inches, I decide to do a gauge check (very much out of character, but apparently even a stubborn old delusional optimist can learn) and I realize my width is 2.25 inches wider than the schematic. Assuming this is my old nemesis, the lying gauge swatch, at work, I begin measuring my stitch count and my original swatch, and discover to my great surprise that everything is exactly as it should be and the source of the problem is that Kim's original stitch count does not jive with the schematic. Her original stitch count results in a piece that is two inches wider than the schematic.<br /><br />So I debated. Do I just follow the stitch count and ignore the schematic or do I knit to the schematic? I'm redoing all the math anyhow, so either way is about equally difficult. Then I put Summery Olivia in time out and worked on finishing my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JudiP53/bla-skimmer---blue-shimmer-cuffs">Blue Shimmer cuffs</a>.<br /><br />At the party last night, I held up my work in progress, and everyone agreed it was way too wide, even taking into account the a-line shape. So I just pulled out the needle and started frogging. Then I tried to remember what I did to alter the instructions for the Alternate Cable Cast-On, couldn't, and put Summery Olivia back into time out and worked on trying to do a tubular cast-on in totally inadequate lighting. You can imagine how that worked out. <br /><br />When I got home, I looked up the <a href="http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/cast-on">Alternate Cable cast-on directions </a>(scroll to bottom of page - this is that great cast-on I discovered from the free <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hermiones-cable--eyelet-hat">Hermione's Hat </a>pattern which, by the way, is really cute) and realized just doing it exactly as written would work perfectly, and now I'm working again and I've got more than an inch to show already this morning, which isn't bad considering I only got up an hour and a half ago. <br /><br />Moral of story - always work on aran yarn and size 8 needles. Three inches is nothing!Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-46345021757442201842010-03-20T12:35:00.004-04:002010-03-20T12:46:05.298-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSejOxo4HzvmO38MWe6zcPeXajQJ60VNgs6JiIGpiNba9pIh1p_CiEUEOv-PBuLY5s9mt0Qgl0js4ptglabFelwHZJ-oxy0q6KwqqA_xpxBmpLLQhyphenhyphenJJYspUZpAkaO-woT5Q1GLvTEKG8/s1600-h/noodle+and+the+new+curtains+027.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSejOxo4HzvmO38MWe6zcPeXajQJ60VNgs6JiIGpiNba9pIh1p_CiEUEOv-PBuLY5s9mt0Qgl0js4ptglabFelwHZJ-oxy0q6KwqqA_xpxBmpLLQhyphenhyphenJJYspUZpAkaO-woT5Q1GLvTEKG8/s400/noodle+and+the+new+curtains+027.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450757339698603602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This photo, besides depicting my silly, sleepy kitty (and the funny white patch on his, ahem... tummy...), contains my newest knitting project -- one of <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dream-swatch-duo">these</a> which starts by casting on a bunch of stitches and then joining in the round, carefully not twisting. This is a loop shaped scarf and the pattern is completely reversible so I had briefly considered making it a mobius but decided against. I'm sure you can see where this is going... I did in fact twist the cast on, despite multiple checks on the joining row, the first, second, and third patten rows. By the fourth, I found the problem but had just, JUST reached the point from which I could not happily consider starting over. Oh well, mobius it is. Sigh.<br /><br />P.S. you should enter the comments give-away at Rainey Sisters. It's their anniversary.<br /><br />~Libby<br /><br />What? You want more kitty pictures? Oh, alright. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWi4f9xVy0DNK95BRO8LOx4r1tOsfrYYPzJS3LcHFdiZVGzyW_B4W2H1RyEZ0pwsE0EW_83TyeWbashwf6uwWALvfLe_OuPCI9JoaNXyDQh-ng5ASQHpKk1bRkp9skJUXi-aqFPl_2Ov4/s1600-h/noodle+and+the+new+curtains+025.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWi4f9xVy0DNK95BRO8LOx4r1tOsfrYYPzJS3LcHFdiZVGzyW_B4W2H1RyEZ0pwsE0EW_83TyeWbashwf6uwWALvfLe_OuPCI9JoaNXyDQh-ng5ASQHpKk1bRkp9skJUXi-aqFPl_2Ov4/s400/noodle+and+the+new+curtains+025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450757856887830962" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OImM5vAKkQOvpdIra36ldaxkbzTwmWmqfVcTm6Ut28hyphenhyphenndQaqb49cNwOXCr4TmBhvBxLxqGyV5xE22lYD9dbvhnuX4KoIV1VV5wk6WfeC8HptalEghH5kMDXVY0PInLaAbSWv8kMus0/s1600-h/noodle+and+the+new+curtains+016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OImM5vAKkQOvpdIra36ldaxkbzTwmWmqfVcTm6Ut28hyphenhyphenndQaqb49cNwOXCr4TmBhvBxLxqGyV5xE22lYD9dbvhnuX4KoIV1VV5wk6WfeC8HptalEghH5kMDXVY0PInLaAbSWv8kMus0/s400/noodle+and+the+new+curtains+016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450758177545234930" border="0" /></a>Libby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-36112001319296774312009-12-19T10:15:00.007-05:002009-12-19T12:32:37.125-05:00Grandpa's Getting One Sock<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZ3lSNILi6lyTnYBQoGVuGp00bsu3Z0StctjGJBb9oHIvbPNQkcbDhMdw101om1y8g93nTIKE7Usqj_M_i4rwSfzuwab7EeepJgk163BWcMtIpFMUoZdcAiZ8gOf_8gL_U3MlxrNkCNk/s1600-h/Oliver+Sock+Toe-On.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZ3lSNILi6lyTnYBQoGVuGp00bsu3Z0StctjGJBb9oHIvbPNQkcbDhMdw101om1y8g93nTIKE7Usqj_M_i4rwSfzuwab7EeepJgk163BWcMtIpFMUoZdcAiZ8gOf_8gL_U3MlxrNkCNk/s320/Oliver+Sock+Toe-On.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416982746832570034" /></a><br />A Christmas Story: It's late on December 18 (actually, early on the 19th) and the only creature stirring in the house is the crazy knitter in the rocking chair. This crazed individual realizes that even Lands End is warning that the remaining time to ship holiday packages is more-or-less non-existent at this point. But that doesn't worry her. Her mother's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JudiP53/clapotis">linen/cotton clapotis </a>wrap is done, blocked and beautiful. And <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JudiP53/oliver">her father's socks </a>are so close to being done that there is no worry about them being washed, blocked and sweetly wrapped and everything packaged for delivery to the Fed Ex counter on Monday. <br /><br />The crazy knitter is finally getting sleepy and in the time-honored tradition of knitters everywhere, stops to take stock of the evening's progress on sock #2 before dragging herself off to bed. Holding said sock, upon which she has just finished the really fun gusset section (she loves this Oliver pattern) up against sock #1 to see about how much knitting she has to go before toe shaping, it hits her. Sock #2 is a little bit narrower than sock #1. <br /><br />Keep in mind that she has been comparing sock #2 to sock #1 at regular intervals. She checked to make sure the legs were the same length and that the striping was coming out matchy matchy. (It was.) That the heel flaps were the same height. (They were.) And that her new, documented (on a Post-It) technique for ensuring no hole at the top of the heel gusset didn't create a distinctly different look than whatever she had done, but by now forgotten, to accomplish the same goal on sock #1. (It looked great. More on the genius technique below.)<br /><br />In all this comparing, she had not one inkling that the circumfrence was different. No reason to consider why this might be so. And not the slightest clue that she had FORGOTTEN TO SWITCH TO THE SZ. 1 NEEDLES AFTER DOING THE TOP RIBBING ON SZ. 0s. <br /><br />On Monday, she will be shipping the one sock with a long note of explanation and regret.<br /><br />The good news? I can start Laura's present now!!<br /><br />Knit on with love and optimism,<br /><br />Judi<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihm-Qc5DCbWKqPxujF_cUSA4yrQU4TYuGT6xTRjU8gpYVauy5E73-fVvxJVZdbgeyBJ-5d525nPTWhDgRKfLoWpKbiqx3aU_hcYlzYVaOVoekGrrEjcU1xBDS1MsYv78mFRRo5nXxIMS8/s1600-h/DSCF1889.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihm-Qc5DCbWKqPxujF_cUSA4yrQU4TYuGT6xTRjU8gpYVauy5E73-fVvxJVZdbgeyBJ-5d525nPTWhDgRKfLoWpKbiqx3aU_hcYlzYVaOVoekGrrEjcU1xBDS1MsYv78mFRRo5nXxIMS8/s320/DSCF1889.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416983100439079714" /></a><br />P.S. So here's the trick at the top of the gusset. Between the picked-up stitches on the heel flap edge and the instep stitches, pick up two stitches by snagging the sides of the two stitches to either side of the "bar" of yarn that spans the gap. (Check out Charlene Surch's Sensational Knitted Socks for a better explanation.) These two extra stitches belong to the gusset, not to the instep. Then, when doing the first decrease row, do your K2tog on the right side, then K3tog, then knit the instep stitches, then K3tog, then SSK on the left side. You're now back to your original stitch count. The result is beautiful and doesn't mess up the stitch patterning on the instep one little bit.Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-34203379787689118962009-07-29T12:39:00.003-04:002009-07-29T12:48:10.432-04:00For Wussies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysplhW1s-sur9oa7tI_h3ymbfSGY3QLwuGrbHMmIKKq3gyZDB9EP5TP2cyC4feh2m5koh1FkSdT5_6y1Vmex99oQbId1Huv9BK_9aGSrPCU7-uMTqq8FFrwstjXQNO98OtReCSgTHcpQ/s1600-h/paid-for-by-the-making-shitty-sweaters-association.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysplhW1s-sur9oa7tI_h3ymbfSGY3QLwuGrbHMmIKKq3gyZDB9EP5TP2cyC4feh2m5koh1FkSdT5_6y1Vmex99oQbId1Huv9BK_9aGSrPCU7-uMTqq8FFrwstjXQNO98OtReCSgTHcpQ/s400/paid-for-by-the-making-shitty-sweaters-association.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363922838698933890" border="0" /></a><br />hehe. nataliedee.com she is funny :)<br /><br />Luckily, the things I am working on currently are going well and I will not be needing to rant about gauge for a while. Making toys as examples for a toy class is super fun, the finished size doesn't matter AT ALL!!!! And the featherweight cardigan I started for myself is going well and has not done any wild fluctuation. I will upload pictures soon, I swear. I am not doing it now because <span style="font-style: italic;">right this minute</span> I have to stop writing this so I can pack a bag so Colin and I can leave after work to see Kate and Chad who are in the US for a short visit. We're going up to DC to see them and Patrick and Emily who are kindly hosting us all. I hope. I called Patrick yesterday to confirm plans and offer to bring something and the poor guy thought this was happening weeks from now. Oh dear. I'm sure we'll still have lots of fun, it will just be more um... chaotic. <br /><br />Ok, seriously, going now, pictures tomorrow!Libby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-28306947801435354012009-07-10T11:44:00.008-04:002009-07-10T11:52:12.572-04:00ARGHGrrr...<br /><br />Why do swatches lie?<br /><br />I just ripped out a lot of work. Because this sample sweater was WAY too big. I couldn't figure out why. My gauge swatch was perfect. Except then I checked the gauge just to rule it out and....it was bad. Very bad. So I ripped. It's a sample. It needs to be right. And this is Karmic punishment for me telling people repeatedly that to get sweaters that fit they have to be willing to rip things when they're wrong. Sigh. So a week's work is reduced to a very large ball of crinkly. And, no, I didn't break rule 1 and rip in the middle of the night. I am jumping right back in, time is money with samples.<br /><br />Anyhow, just needed to vent a touch...knew you guys would understand.<br /><br />Love you,<br /><br />LibbyLibby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-53638099156254201642009-06-09T18:55:00.002-04:002009-06-09T19:17:47.912-04:00<div><div><div>Hi blog!<br /></div><br /><div>I'm back with a request for opinions. While I'm working away on existing projects, I have started to think about what I would like to start next. This is new for me, ususally I just start things, not really bothering to think of what I would like to do BEST. Being the summer, I think I would like to work on something rather lightweight and have been meaning to make another triangle shawl because I acutally get a lot of use out of my Icarus and Silk Kerchief. </div><br /><div>I read a blog called <a href="http://throughtheloops.typepad.com/through_the_loops/">Through the Loops</a> and she has been publishing lots of fun patterns in the last several months, but I've really been taken with <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ulmus">Ulmus</a>. I love the color combinations I've seen on Ravelry (they're worth looking at, go ahead, I'll wait). So I got out some sock yarn to look at potential color combinations for myself. I have photographed them and would love to hear what you think. </div><br /><div>Option One: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in a medium blue with Prism Saki in a blue and brown varigated.</div><div> </div><div><a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2422/3611589317_10799a336a.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 500px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 375px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2422/3611589317_10799a336a.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Option Two: Ella Rae Merino Lace in varigated pinky brown with Impulse of Delight Summit Sock in Blackberry, a deep purple mix.</div><br /><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 500px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 375px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3611/3612403366_d25f1112fa.jpg" border="0" /></div><p>Option Three: Two shades of Koigu, one a sky blue mix, the other a redish brown mix.</p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 500px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 375px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3601/3612403004_139a0508ab.jpg" border="0" /><br />Option Four: Two shades of Dream in Color Smooshy, Go Go Grassy and Wisterious.<br /><p></p><br /><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 500px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 375px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2479/3611588957_99bd43391b.jpg" border="0" /></p></div></div><br /><p>Those were my favorites and the best combos as far as texture combinations go too. What is your favorite? And why of course! Let's see what you guys have been working on!</p><p>Oh, and I added some pictures to Ravelry today; one showing the progress on the log cabin blanket (significant!) and the other showing a completely new and finished project, the Spidery Tank. Check them out!</p><p>Love you guys! </p><p>~Libby</p>Libby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-20276775164889510942009-05-25T02:42:00.004-04:002009-05-25T02:51:58.969-04:00Porom GaugeHi everyone, but Libby specifically, I was wondering if you had made the Porom hat yet, and if so, if you had any trouble finding a yarn with which you could manage the proper gauge. Mom and I just bought a dk weight yarn because the Blue Sky alpaca silk (I know you were wondering what the content was before Mom, so there you are) stuff that you generously gave me wasn't working out for this pattern. (I made a different floppy hat instead, it's still pretty neat.) Anyway, if you have the pattern handy, could you consult with me on maybe increasing the number of stitches so that I can make a smaller gauge without making a smaller hat? I think it could just be any number divisible by twenty (because that's how many sts there are in chart B), but I'm not sure how the crown shapping will work, obviously with more stitches there will have to be more decrease rows. I know you're busy and I may be able to figure this out on my own, but if you get a chance I'd appreciate a consult. Also, do you think you could email me the Thermis pattern? Please and thank you.<br />Love to everyone,<br />Laura Annericketsthehipohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05692523370589561712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-2620645388511566742009-05-24T19:18:00.003-04:002009-05-24T19:21:57.022-04:00I love this, I couldn't really tell from the picture what you were talking about...you and laura crack me up sometimes! I think we should post the rules in the sidebar to keep track!<br /><br />Very soon I promise to post photos of the blanket in progress and soon after that I promise pictures of the apartment and my stash organization efforts. After THAT I will indulge in a discussion (monologue perhaps?) regarding what I want to cast on (or rescue from UFO-hood) to provide a bit more stimulation than giant garter stitch rectangles. Consider this post a placeholder for those more interesting posts to come!<br /><br />love you~Libby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-11344669434623141242009-05-20T09:50:00.012-04:002009-05-20T10:47:45.532-04:00No Mother/Daughter Blog Would be Complete Without This<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5IODJtCPN_uhTMUaGcX2-ddi6UaOEtdPFO9pZnYcCu8NqEIF-p0QTJqn4DB1UPlwbPvHCP8ISvk5Cz45kWp4HJZTglBCM-QGlTX7etHlVqRzWxiww6A540PBlTejSK2YmZmCEB5UE-o/s1600-h/Rule+Number+One.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 117px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5IODJtCPN_uhTMUaGcX2-ddi6UaOEtdPFO9pZnYcCu8NqEIF-p0QTJqn4DB1UPlwbPvHCP8ISvk5Cz45kWp4HJZTglBCM-QGlTX7etHlVqRzWxiww6A540PBlTejSK2YmZmCEB5UE-o/s320/Rule+Number+One.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337915922516834562" /></a><br />A list of rules! Granted, I don't have a whole list for you today. Just a rule that I applied (uncharacteristically) last night, and I'm so glad I did. So here it is, (ta da!) rule #1 in the Tightly Knit Rule Book:<br /><br />1. No frogging after 11 p.m.<br /><br />While I'm at it, here's rule #2:<br /><br />2. Always, always, always have an unfinished scarf or sock (or three) handy to make it even conceivably possible to adhere to rule #1.<br /><br />This morning, I see that the hideously stretched out edge stitch on the right front of my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JudiP53/solstice-retro-jacket-with-collar">current project</a> is not the result of a mistake in laddering, reladdering and then, for good measure, laddering again both of the twisted stockinette stitch stitches adjacent to the slipped edge stitch all the way down to the cast-on edge. No, my dear daughters, it was the result of being stretched out. And as every modern knitter (post <a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/Stitch+N+Bitch+(Audio+CD+-+Abridged)_BD31069.html">Stitch and Bitch</a>, that is) should know, it is in our power to wrestle stretched out stitches into submission.<br /><br />So why am I displaying the "wrong" side of my edge? Because, dear girls, that is where the slipped edge stitch rolls to hide in this ingenious edge treatment. And don't they all look remarkably even and under control? It is wonderful to have this power. And I'd have never felt such joy if I had done what seemed like the only logical next step last night when it was past my bedtime and frogged the damn thing. I'm not saying these are the world's most even stitches, but they are fine.<br /><br />And just to leave you with a little eye candy, here's what the front side looks like.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJjX5RdgyPr7mY3n-pKzumH2YTVx62zZ-gHceZUdSG1AEHJL3AX59Hz3GsGEp8c0-cCMG2QPGSIWEqIQigbi04RXeBX43lQ-KXhD2sXfgnWyBSFr77eRuI7Vbz81wctgoghQvLVOUZ7E/s1600-h/Rule+Number+One+-+Reward.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJjX5RdgyPr7mY3n-pKzumH2YTVx62zZ-gHceZUdSG1AEHJL3AX59Hz3GsGEp8c0-cCMG2QPGSIWEqIQigbi04RXeBX43lQ-KXhD2sXfgnWyBSFr77eRuI7Vbz81wctgoghQvLVOUZ7E/s320/Rule+Number+One+-+Reward.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337917118057755378" /></a><br /><br />Knit on!<br /><br />JudiJudi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-52196070706337167572009-05-19T15:39:00.012-04:002009-05-19T16:10:15.502-04:00Another Great Knitting MagazineDear Girls,<br />Have you been holding out on me? I just randomly clicked on an ad on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/">Ravelry </a>(hardly ever do that unless I'm seriously interested, since I know it costs the advertiser half a penny or something like that) and am now in love with <a href="http://www.knotions.com/">Knotions Magazine</a>. How come I didn't know about this? I think it replaces MagKnits, which I never knew about, either, until it was history.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.knotions.com/patterns/magknits/picovoli/directions.aspx"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHKi72MP0WSveRnMf1CxqXQTbZJTivqrDHAABGZdC-b8kTZ12Byf4NXIcxF0unPGgPjS8RqDBTOeMZQNESZTKUwUPq13pZDId2lRQtwwjGEKNf6bp1K63gNEezkcbkfKkkAMTenBebfI/s1600-h/picovoli_01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHKi72MP0WSveRnMf1CxqXQTbZJTivqrDHAABGZdC-b8kTZ12Byf4NXIcxF0unPGgPjS8RqDBTOeMZQNESZTKUwUPq13pZDId2lRQtwwjGEKNf6bp1K63gNEezkcbkfKkkAMTenBebfI/s320/picovoli_01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337628353999489058" /></a></a><br />Here's the reason love Knotions so much. I've been searching hard for a shell to make to go under my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JudiP53/solstice-retro-jacket-with-collar">current project</a>. I've done several really serious searches on Ravelry, and even though I saw this, it didn't stand out from the crowd for some reason. I'm sure I can modify this a little to echo some of the design elements of the Retro Jacket. I'm so excited!<br /><br />JudiJudi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-36986719218076801272009-05-14T18:11:00.008-04:002009-05-14T18:58:33.014-04:00From Judi: And Here We Are Again!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5jGAva1uJ2WglX_hFziqJMcAZAA9woqmPUIIv9bjkK74BrK2yzBMZCsoLq_HwAW_tA19oZmquL6MbNe5oibNfXAPbnMI3LJ4qV0cIIgYrq5Rts9kFvkhbBaMZVpjgNXPjI1S51rMK8M/s1600-h/Drop+Stitch+Scarf.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5jGAva1uJ2WglX_hFziqJMcAZAA9woqmPUIIv9bjkK74BrK2yzBMZCsoLq_HwAW_tA19oZmquL6MbNe5oibNfXAPbnMI3LJ4qV0cIIgYrq5Rts9kFvkhbBaMZVpjgNXPjI1S51rMK8M/s320/Drop+Stitch+Scarf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335816788265474194" /></a><br /><br />Well, my dear Libby, Baltimore doesn't know how lucky it is to have such an accomplished knitter moving in. And Cleveland's knitting community is a diminished thing without you in our midst.<br /><br />But I am not sad because we are Tightly Knit! And even though you only semi-officially moved out this morning (leaving a shocking amount of stuff behind in some very unexpected places), I have a knitting dilemma and need your advice.<br /><br />As you know, last night I started the Drop Stitch Scarf, #13 from VogueKnitting Spring/Summer 2009, and even though it is mega fun to knit the triple-wrap stitches to get the cross-wise "ladders," I'm dying see how it looks with the dropped stitches laddered, too. The pattern doesn't have you do this until the end. There's no way I can wait 'till the end. I know we freely laddered Jeanie while in progress, but I can't remember what we did with the top stitch. Just pick it up (as in a M1) and knit into it on the next row? Will that work? <br /><br />After Judy G's experience with The Clap, I suddenly have a deathly fear of knitting an entire scarf only to find out the drop stitches won't drop! Tried to Google this question and got nothing I could use. You are my only hope. Am praying you took your computer to Baltimore!Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-14483930035078821592008-01-05T10:28:00.000-05:002008-01-05T11:39:30.911-05:00From Judi: This Was Such a Great Idea ...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgbE5blVG7JIH4tBeAGu0rMCzfb3z_XsLiY7hSfnM_mW__jpSe9G7m_-IrP6ZLU6dp3rjAIMwaD6dQYY5HZKwBJ-Ehl2nlMTSH3kglGVHtTglUgV0c6IyjmT5jEoO2QSAs-7VGAEqf3k/s1600-h/Forethought+Afterthought+Heel+Sock+in+progress.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152029221109624050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgbE5blVG7JIH4tBeAGu0rMCzfb3z_XsLiY7hSfnM_mW__jpSe9G7m_-IrP6ZLU6dp3rjAIMwaD6dQYY5HZKwBJ-Ehl2nlMTSH3kglGVHtTglUgV0c6IyjmT5jEoO2QSAs-7VGAEqf3k/s400/Forethought+Afterthought+Heel+Sock+in+progress.JPG" border="0" /></a> ... and then Libby graduated, moved home, and suddenly the whole motivation went up in smoke! We both still like the idea of blogging about knitting, but since we talk with each other about knitting almost constantly (when we're not working), we don't really <em>need</em> to blog about it any more.<br /><br /><br />And Ravelry is filling a big need to show off our knitting to others. (I'm JudiP53, and Libby is LibbyP. Laura, who really does knit, is not obsessed the way Libby and I are, so she doesn't have a Ravelry account and I think she thinks we're a little goofy, but we're living with that.)<br /><br />So where does that leave Tightly Knit? I'm not sure. Frankly, I'm hoping that Libby will move out soon (I mean that in the nicest, most supportive way and her continually ursurping my spot in front of the computer and in the best knitting chair hardly enter into the sentiment at all) and then we'll need Tightly Knit again. In the meantime, I'm making a New Year's resolution to try to blog at least <em>once</em> in a while if for no other reason than to have a good place to document knitting learnings and insights for posterity.<br /><br />My most recent learning has to do with the forethought heel I'm using in the Kureyon socks I'm making. Lib, Laura and I all got skeins of this yarn for Christmas (one smart Santa, eh?) and Lib shot ahead with her sock and used a flap heel. I convinced her to frog it because the flap really messed up the gradual transiton of colors on the instep. (Actually, she made me frog it for her. I really enjoyed it!)<br /><br />We decided to do afterthought heels but to make things a little easier/less scary by knitting in a "zipper" of scrap yarn that we could take out to create the opening. I swear, this was the day <em>before</em> <a href="http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2007/12/28/an_afterthought.html">Stephanie documented her afterthought heel revelation</a>, which She had for a totally different reason. Crazy coincidence, eh? Actually, this isn't the first time that She has blogged about a topic at almost exactly the same time I was dealing with the same issue. I think we're like cosmically linked or something, but I'm sure She doesn't know it 'cause I almost never even have the nerve to post comments on <a href="http://www.yarnharlot.ca/">The Yarn Harlot</a> (the standard for amusing comments is outrageously high over there), so even though we "met" at her signing in Cleveland, we don't exactly have a relationship.<br /><br />Anyhow, I digress. Stephanie mentioned that <a href="http://www.schoolhousepress.com/">Elizabeth Zimmermann </a>had discussed afterthought heels, although I can't find a mention in any of her books. (Afterthought pockets, yes.) So I'm sure Elizabeth Zimmermann also invented what we're calling the forethought heel, but I can't prove it.<br /><br />In the process of knitting in the zipper, I made one dumb mistake and learned (or was reminded of) something about my knitting personality. But I balanced this by having a small but I think important revelation.<br /><p>I learned that when inserting the scrap yarn zipper, you should be really careful not to inadvertently catch up a stitch below. Which, honestly, I don't remember ever doing before, but I did do it while knitting in the zipper, and consequently had to frog a whole day's worth of instep, which was about three inches and really ticked me off at myself! I was even less happy with myself because I'm sure the better solution would have been to just snip the yarn and rip out that row and end up with exactly the same setup as if one had done the true afterthought heel (as She did). But one can be somewhat compulsive at times, and avoiding snipping the yarn was the whole motivation for the forethought heel in the first place, so I frogged. Good thing I enjoy frogging, although I found it was distinctly more fun frogging Libby's sock than mine.</p><p>Now for the insight: I realized that it would be a bit of a challenge to know where to start the toe (not that I'm there yet - I still haven't caught up to the point where I frogged the instep last weekend). Since all I had was a tube, my usual trick of trying the sock on to see how it was fitting might/probably would lead to ambiguous results. So, instead of waiting until the tube and toe were done to unzip the zipper, I realized I could unzip it whenever I felt like it (as it turned out, after having knitted only 3 or 4 more rounds after zipper #2) and try it on when the time came and have a very good idea of where the toe should start. In fact, if I want to, I can just put in the afterthought heel whenever I want - although not yet, because I haven't figured out if I want to use the Noro or find a solid color to use for the heel and toe, a look I really like. This insight actually led to a second, which is that when I pick up for the heel, I'm going to pick up at least four stitches in each corner. Trying on the sock with the zipper unzipped (actually, I watched Libby try hers on -- she finished with her first sock already) demonstrates that there's a <em>lot</em> of stretch needed at that point. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6siS05l3Qlh4CJWApjOPp3PdJpNgnyuqEniggCrvOMy5wR1IXms5iOX6AMB9_r99pyl6SvhZSaQCDSlf2HeYyTzsf14TDdNE236cK8VPyuRZnaHO0ap6RLPWVoQlbFUjz3P6gWIv5a8/s1600-h/Forethought+Insight.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6siS05l3Qlh4CJWApjOPp3PdJpNgnyuqEniggCrvOMy5wR1IXms5iOX6AMB9_r99pyl6SvhZSaQCDSlf2HeYyTzsf14TDdNE236cK8VPyuRZnaHO0ap6RLPWVoQlbFUjz3P6gWIv5a8/s1600-h/Forethought+Insight.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OoVieua1AtwXoTMa_FKPhgIM8eIUsxTd-r5JmDTd_agjoxOqRwKDKXkkCJX_4XAekvKKAq5HDXXAcrj830ExGYPJOF8NrXODnlngdFAoIVdaU1ZiFvIOGqYUpCmmrZEwr5Z1NsctwNQ/s1600-h/Forethought+Insight.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152030836017327378" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OoVieua1AtwXoTMa_FKPhgIM8eIUsxTd-r5JmDTd_agjoxOqRwKDKXkkCJX_4XAekvKKAq5HDXXAcrj830ExGYPJOF8NrXODnlngdFAoIVdaU1ZiFvIOGqYUpCmmrZEwr5Z1NsctwNQ/s400/Forethought+Insight.jpg" border="0" /></a>Which just goes to prove that seeing things with your own eyes can really make you a lot smarter!</p><p>Oh, by the way, if you've never done the zipper trick, don't do what Libby did and clip your working yarn to pick up on the other side of the zipper. Just side your new zipper stitches onto your left needle and pick up with the working yarn where you left off, knitting over the zipper stitches. I didn't figure this out for myself, but I did do a good job of reading the <a href="http://www.socknitters.com/lessons/afterthoughtheels.htm">tutorial </a>that, in all fairness, Libby actually found on the Web. Now all I have to do is stop gloating about it!</p><p>Judi</p>Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-69129922109581879312007-08-23T11:54:00.000-04:002007-08-23T21:24:11.638-04:00I'd Like to Do This More Often<div><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">I'd really love to post to the blog more often, but it seems the moon and stars have to align. First, I need to have interesting knitting to show. Then I have to have a decent photo of my interesting knitting. (Surprisingly difficult to come by.) And then I have to have a few minutes to pull it all together.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjka73HfDaa1sgVQEXgNM2MIlyDVwNXFQhOelhFCbU53rJkFinzwAUeLqMuPBa7rQ9H1BYaEx_0EU6K7-vb85k0jDB2iCd0hC-nhorZ0M87SNemGoi8DSU633jSkrkh2rXJEZGeUG2JFnY/s1600-h/Bathroom+mess.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102070122044740706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjka73HfDaa1sgVQEXgNM2MIlyDVwNXFQhOelhFCbU53rJkFinzwAUeLqMuPBa7rQ9H1BYaEx_0EU6K7-vb85k0jDB2iCd0hC-nhorZ0M87SNemGoi8DSU633jSkrkh2rXJEZGeUG2JFnY/s400/Bathroom+mess.JPG" border="0" /></a>I could blame my lack of time on Libby living at home now and Laura popping in at random intervals, but in all fairness, it's mostly because I finally took the plunge and began redecorating the guest bath. I chose it as a jumping off point to a total wallpaper purge. We've got wallpaper in eight rooms and our realtor says we have to get rid of all of it. I figure it would cost $10,000 to have it done by a proper professional, so I'm having a whack at it to see what I can accomplish myself. I think I could do it, too, if I didn't have a full-time job! </span></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">DH lacks the confidence to do much on his own, and I do agree it took some nerve to keep going after I saw what the walls looked like under the paper in the guest bath. I started there because it was small. Turns out small is a problem. You can hardly turn around, no one can fit in there to give you a hand, and every two feet it seems you run into a corner or crevice that requires infinite patience to get right. Anyhow, I've discovered that I'm capable of applying skim coat to smooth the walls. Now the next test is whether I'm capable of sanding it off to actually result in walls smooth enough to paint. I'm hoping that DH is capable of being trained to help with the sanding!</span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOziqA5_Uw7AeO5sO_a9ePHFO4Jr15lv6Pm0Vgw87Hmsv_T_kf0-FEQCP4a0HH5mVqfS2nlNo4tbq4LqJIWGJYqXpz8ptzqlWC3Q_53L1DjNAJM87MyTS7ugegaZGSy6F09tyGSEArj9Q/s1600-h/Cable+Maze+Cardigan+-+right+front.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102070396922647666" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOziqA5_Uw7AeO5sO_a9ePHFO4Jr15lv6Pm0Vgw87Hmsv_T_kf0-FEQCP4a0HH5mVqfS2nlNo4tbq4LqJIWGJYqXpz8ptzqlWC3Q_53L1DjNAJM87MyTS7ugegaZGSy6F09tyGSEArj9Q/s400/Cable+Maze+Cardigan+-+right+front.jpg" border="0" /></a>I am managing to do some knitting in between frantically trashing the bathroom and adjoining laundry room. I've got all the pieces done on my cable maze cardigan, and now only have to weave in ends, block everything, assemble, knit neck and button bands and sew on buttons. I just realized that my fantasy of wearing it to the department party on Saturday evening is pretty ridiculous. I'd forgotten about knitting the bands, I guess. And I don't have buttons yet. Not gonna happen in time. I am happy with how it's turning out. Of course, I still don't believe it will fit me, but that's only because every other sweater I've ever knit has turned out to have the flattering properties of a feed sack. I do love the Plymouth Royal Bamboo as a finished product, but DAMN that stuff is splitty! I'm not sure how durable it is going to turn out to be either, but it is SOFT and has a nice sheen. It reminds me a lot of rayon, but it's not nearly as slippery to work with. I spoke to a local LYS owner at the guild meeting last week, and he told me, "Everyone hates bamboo." Nice thing to say to someone in the middle of a bamboo project! I think to be a good YS owner, you need to have a better bedside manner than that!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2IsER6jxWeh817kHViKzfPu5f49xLNmj0Han7Vd2cghY_hnCJ9AwX4Z0oNmURtlxpHOS0joi4vkVNtdqOhdGCjlxFrcyb28N5jg2sgZkOaFjq-pa0pkfT8Y0SSzl96Of0PWLZFiJ9DY/s1600-h/600+Grams+of+Rust.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102070912318723202" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2IsER6jxWeh817kHViKzfPu5f49xLNmj0Han7Vd2cghY_hnCJ9AwX4Z0oNmURtlxpHOS0joi4vkVNtdqOhdGCjlxFrcyb28N5jg2sgZkOaFjq-pa0pkfT8Y0SSzl96Of0PWLZFiJ9DY/s400/600+Grams+of+Rust.jpg" border="0" /></a>I also started swatching and dyeing main color for a housewarming gift for Laura's first apartment -- a set of placemats in her favorite colors - rust with navy trim. I'm using the felted trivet pattern from <em>Felted Knits</em> by Beverly Galeskas, resized to placemats. KnitPicks didn't have the rust color I wanted in their bulky, feltable stuff, so I bought "bare" and some of their Jacquard acid dye and took the afternoon off to dye it yesterday. It's not as deep a color as I'd envisioned, but it is pretty. I think she'll like it. I was surprised how much yarn 600 grams turned out to be! I had to do the dyeing in the washing machine because it was way too much for my stainless steel dutch oven. That required an extra 2 gallons of water (ideally would have used 4, ended up having to use 6 to fill the tub to cover the yarn), and of course I couldn't "cook" it in the washer, so that probably accounts somewhat for the light color. All things considered, I guess it turned out pretty well! Now all I have to do is untangle the hanks (I swear I cannot understand how it gets tangled the way it does even though it's secured in two places on the hank) and wind them into my hand-made flat center-pull balls for knitting. </span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">What is the "logic" that prompts me to start a new project just BEFORE finishing a prior project, I wonder. Surely it would be smarter to finish project one before diving into project two. I know I'm not the only knitter who struggles with "start-itis." And it sure is fun to get new yarn in the mail and play with dye and all that. It's a constant battle to maintain discipline, though! Ah, hell with it. I'm having a good time!</span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Judi Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246151669150092838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-71925935177888861852007-07-18T18:05:00.000-04:002007-07-18T18:08:02.954-04:00I love EZFavorite quote so far:<br /><br />"Carry yarn very loosely across the back of your work, otherwise your knitting will pucker, and be wasted and unloved."<br /><br />Unloved indeed, she cracks me up.Libby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-47494059378792523772007-07-16T16:49:00.000-04:002007-07-18T18:11:50.709-04:00What's going on over there?My copy of the Opinionated Knitter came today! I forgot it was coming, very nice surprise. Thanks so much. I'm excited to get to start on a real project here soon, I've been doing little things that leave me a teeny bit unsatisfied, I need something to sink my teeth into. Like perhaps a Fair Isle Yoke Sweater...mm what do you think? What have you been up to lately? How are the curved shawl and the sweater?<br /><br />I've emailed with Kate from Knitting on the Square today and I think the final set up will be the two of us tandem teaching the beginner sock class with me doing a more intermediate/advanced class for customizing fit, adding interesting patterns, and troubleshooting kind of stuff. I think that'll be a good fit for me, I was worried about teaching people to use dpn's and the really basic stuff that needs really good explanations. I also sent a picture of my BSJ and suggested she think about a class for it so cross your fingers!<br /><br />Some highlights of my week in review to entertain the masses:<br /><br />A finished internship application adds up to something like 46 pieces of paper that have to be fedex-ed. I'm quite proud of my little cover letter, with the enclusures listed and everything. :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9N2vwHHwd2WUXZuo0xFoVam1XAuLqB7Fva-9zycP3RUq9k183y8qN0OjnBZjzEpMSW60jV0n0F3s50cY4dwHSzdb6TOJsmvlFSjZy3c8op1hJtOIXcWMz8wwFH3reOIVbtdkDvXCC2TM/s1600-h/finished+app.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087999718059520802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9N2vwHHwd2WUXZuo0xFoVam1XAuLqB7Fva-9zycP3RUq9k183y8qN0OjnBZjzEpMSW60jV0n0F3s50cY4dwHSzdb6TOJsmvlFSjZy3c8op1hJtOIXcWMz8wwFH3reOIVbtdkDvXCC2TM/s400/finished+app.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I also organized my kitchen in anticipation of moving and as a result of being bored. Seen here, the top of my refridgerator and the inside of my tupperware cabinet. Nice huh? There was more, I just don't imagine that you want any more silly pictures of it. (Don't worry, I'm working on the paper every day, I just can't do it ALL day every day.)<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJP6cGeyH0XTebvN7qMTJdWH5H1SK56moKvaDoHR2evyae4ESg07B69BAKG8fLU72LOa-8Swkif7jXESInoCOTFqOrzYYpFaTgdlBsPOlvJrofQnVF6aB_6RnXHYuny00JISrzC9tBkEU/s1600-h/i+organize+when+i%27m+really+bored.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087999722354488114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJP6cGeyH0XTebvN7qMTJdWH5H1SK56moKvaDoHR2evyae4ESg07B69BAKG8fLU72LOa-8Swkif7jXESInoCOTFqOrzYYpFaTgdlBsPOlvJrofQnVF6aB_6RnXHYuny00JISrzC9tBkEU/s400/i+organize+when+i%27m+really+bored.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WRZuKDQ_WmtN-OG-tdGXLlHvFpq-tJqP7HHrj2HEg40gEwfAjw79HIxot-4UxA1wr7j5pIvM381JetkCDVfc2ojP7SdXYjMoBaaM9nTqf34wNAZsr05g7uR6fbmt8CLVhatb0ND6FJM/s1600-h/organized+tupperware.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087999730944422722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WRZuKDQ_WmtN-OG-tdGXLlHvFpq-tJqP7HHrj2HEg40gEwfAjw79HIxot-4UxA1wr7j5pIvM381JetkCDVfc2ojP7SdXYjMoBaaM9nTqf34wNAZsr05g7uR6fbmt8CLVhatb0ND6FJM/s400/organized+tupperware.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p>And there was some knitting as well -- This is a little market bag, a pattern from the <a href="http://www.purlbee.com/">purl bee</a> called <a href="http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2007/6/25/a-lacey-grocery-bag-from-italy.html">Elisa's Nest Tote</a> and took about three hours total to make, even the i-cord for the handles was done before I knew it. It's made of Sugar 'n Cream cotton I got for wash cloths but I think it's better as a bag. I've washed the washcloths I made myself a couple times now and the colors aren't holding up to the hot water at all. This will probably stay bright as a bag and it's fun for trips to the farmer's market.<br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087999735239390034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5kDrO1AnoGfK0wjlJA_WFbnjSynKuDg2YKoZC0LP1VKCRa8fXX6A7WwgBAX7RenwCzyRepB9PkgEH9d9uxNqhYCOTFh7IlaJKSOquRjx5QucaeG5B8l215vtLe87qc7Q2Utb8j0GKfQ/s400/elisa's+bag+001.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBonK6k3ev9iPRKhwn2BQpVyHvWM1u6NU2DpQvZqJwdHQejhIxv4A5B-E9PewlB_TH_wDJyyavhfOZMKVf4NHtv9Bv644aaW_kGiWKWfvwo7VlZE1aREiFIPErqIgPgHikrZfKR0SFTQI/s1600-h/elisa's+bag+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087999743829324642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBonK6k3ev9iPRKhwn2BQpVyHvWM1u6NU2DpQvZqJwdHQejhIxv4A5B-E9PewlB_TH_wDJyyavhfOZMKVf4NHtv9Bv644aaW_kGiWKWfvwo7VlZE1aREiFIPErqIgPgHikrZfKR0SFTQI/s400/elisa's+bag+005.jpg" border="0" /></a> I would put in a picture of the books I've been reading for the paper but I think the titles would cause you to pity me and we can't have that :) I also finished a sock but no pictures yet, they'll come when I can take a decent shot of it on my foot, it needs to be stretched out to look like anything. I need some sock blockers! </p><p>p.s. what's laura been up to? take pictures and post for her, i'm curious!</p>Libby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8990141187134794096.post-28687038003776403002007-07-11T22:25:00.000-04:002007-07-12T17:40:05.525-04:00BootiesOk, so, having gotten Mom's approval for impractical baby clothing when accompanied by practical clothing, I made some baby booties. They're <a href="http://www.saartjeknits.nl/archives/2007/05/">Saartje's booties</a>, seen first at <a href="http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/index.html">brooklyntweed</a> and I like them well enough. They aren't finished to a high degree of quality but they're still pretty cute. I think something about the buttons bother me. They make the booties look a bit like little frogs...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMYCkVcmKxI9zqT7kt5P_NGuaNecSSyztAUpfduJjuZyYyiIEJp48g1yFwMjJOaAZohzM1g6sKbz0E5ZQrtv8_fdzvzN064Wg4iMMa8KngyMtgkBS7lAv6-hzVVklOYZEHNFNt9lKPsA/s1600-h/sartjee's+booties+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086136801764684546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMYCkVcmKxI9zqT7kt5P_NGuaNecSSyztAUpfduJjuZyYyiIEJp48g1yFwMjJOaAZohzM1g6sKbz0E5ZQrtv8_fdzvzN064Wg4iMMa8KngyMtgkBS7lAv6-hzVVklOYZEHNFNt9lKPsA/s400/sartjee's+booties+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABYjqq1l2oTl9lBzgEtbyN1LzP6bmJeBZnAYVUyOaWZ93dL4erjCzryD6QiICPesTVn7dNiOCIJAEPiQ5FVNJ6F3WmdrAnrk_5NxGmh7k_Q-KlzqtOUg70e_vg96wwDxeMKbpLVukNP0/s1600-h/sartjee's+booties+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086136810354619154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABYjqq1l2oTl9lBzgEtbyN1LzP6bmJeBZnAYVUyOaWZ93dL4erjCzryD6QiICPesTVn7dNiOCIJAEPiQ5FVNJ6F3WmdrAnrk_5NxGmh7k_Q-KlzqtOUg70e_vg96wwDxeMKbpLVukNP0/s400/sartjee's+booties+011.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/62411234@N00/782234468/"></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Libby Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02374979213470265212noreply@blogger.com1