Extravayarnza

When I was at the trade show a month or so ago I found the perfect fall project.
Black Purl has a jacket pattern with a lotus blossom and leaves on the back. It was simply stunning in person. The kind of thing that just halted me mid step in the midst of a knitters paradise (it really took something special to catch my eye like that with so much to look at). Later that day I found the perfect yarn to knit it out of, Malabrigo Merino Worsted. Well, the pattern come in a couple of weeks ago & the Malabrigo showed up yesterday... now it's just a matter of making myself wait till it gets cooler to start knitting!

I also handspun some gold to use on the tips of the flowers and for highlights. I am really simplifying the intarsia for the back. They used 10 solid colors. I'm using 4 variegated colors plus the gold. When I saw it in person I thought it was just a variegated anyways, oh, and trust me their photographer is...umm.... not great. Their patterns are stunning in real life!

This has been a hectic weekend. I started a big knitting project with a ridiculous, but meaningless, deadline. My final day of classes is tomorrow, Monday the 31st. I still had 2 small papers & a report to finish up this weekend. Plus, one extra writing project that I'm not going to talk too much about quite yet. Then today was the big day of visiting relatives & going to see Stephanie!
Okay, lets start with finished object A: Somersaulting Moebius Bowl


This was a fun one skein project. The new colors of this fun yarn came in this week.
Andes is 100% wool, 165 yards per 100gm. It's neat because it's dyed 1/2 & 1/2 in the skein.
If you know this fact you can use it to your advantage to knit in some neat effects.
The sides of my moebius basket spiral down into the center of the base.
The pattern I followed was basically the black & white bowl from the Second Treasury of Magical Knitting. I used a single strand of Andes, size 10 needles, and finished in one skein with left overs!
**hint, hint for all of you one skein swappers who need to knit for next month...**
Next I had this wonderful delusion Friday morning that if I worked really hard that I might be able to finish Flannel Garden from the last Knitters to wear on Sunday.
Yep
This insanity was the big reason you have not heard from me for a couple of days.
I knit and knit... and did manage to complete the knitting about an hour ago. Tomorrow I'll finish the crochet edging and the embroidery. I'm pretty happy because this is a very tiny gauge project and I did finish the knitting in 3 days.

Just to refresh you all as to which pattern this is. I'll give you all the vital stats and a good finished pic tomorrow with any luck!
Yes, today was the big day of the Yarn Harlot visit!
I don't know the official count, but I'm comfortable stating that over 200 knitters all gathered in one place to hear funny stories about knitting.
I saw many of you bloggers there... you know who you are...
We actually filled up the big room they have for talks and many of us ended up in the 4th floor conference room watching Stephanie in a movie theatre like atmosphere. I found a comfy spot of the floor, pulled out my knitting, and attempted not to **** it up to much while I rolled around in laughter.
Once the audio & video problems were worked out I didn't mind being in the video section. The room we were in was much cooler than the room downstairs. Many people mentioned that it was too hot to knit down there. Luckily when we all lined up for the signing they turned a bunch of the lights off, and the temperature dropped noticeably.
Stephanie signed my book (btw I love the 'obsession is normal' message).
We presented her with a gift from our store (a mini knitters messenger bag & a skein of our 'A Good Sock' yarn)
But she graced me with an even better gift.
She knew who I was. She read my name, said hey you have that blog... extravayarnza. Then when she saw the bag she knew it was a mini-messenger!
How fab is it to have some one famous (if even just in your world) know who you are.
Thank You Stephanie!

Okay, now to finish up a 4 page technical report of blocking.
I can't not show you this picture of Siouxsie before I go... she fell asleep on the couch with the TV on & the remote in hand.(no I didn't pose her... I walked in on her like this in the middle of the night)

First I want to say a big thank you for all the comments. Have I ever mentioned that I love comments? Fill my inbox anytime. I think I did get back to all of you...

Second. I pretty much finished up the Flannel Garden sweater. I decided to skip the embroidery for the time being. A couple dozen bullion stitch flowers just wasn't working out for me. I might try again with ribbon embroidery in the future... I actually know how to do that.
So without further ado~


This sweater may be the perfect sweater for me. I love the shaping, I love the neckline, the lace panels are very flattering, and the sizing fits me just right!
Several more of these may be in my future for this fall. Now that I know I can knit one in less than a week...
Vital Stats
Pattern: Flannel Garden from Knitters Summer 2006
***the chart has an error! please check the XRX site for corrections if you are going to knit this, I had to drop down each lace section 24 rows to correct them***
Yarn: Hempathy from Elsebeth Lavold
5 balls Color 09
34% Hemp, 41% Cotton, 25% Modal
50g= 153 yards
Needles: size 2 crystal palace bamboo circulars for the body
size 1 crystal palace bamboo circulars for the edging
Size C crochet hook for the dreaded crab stitch
Time Elapsed: Started Friday morning, knitting finished that Sunday!, finishing finished on Monday.

Pattern Changes:
~I knit the body in the round where possible. To do this knit to bottom sections to the last row of increases. When it tells you to cast-on 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows (end of bottom increasing) knit across the first bottom, cast-on 1, knit across second section, cast-on 1, join in round. I did a slip stitch every other row to help create a faux seam. This worked really well. Just remember when you start the arm shaping that you have 1 fewer stitches for each side (you only cast on 1 stitch between the front & back rather than 2).
~My row gauge was 8 rows per inch instead of 9. Since this pattern is written row by row (rather than knit to ____ inches then do this). I figured out key measurements and made sure all my shaping happened by the same point as the original.
~I added a total of 8 rows of short row shaping to the front just before the arm shaping. This helps the front and back look the same length when I wear the top. You can all figure out why...

Other comments:
I love this yarn. More enjoyable to knit with than 100% cotton. Once washed it is the most amazing fabric. It looks all hard and open/meshy even at this tight gauge. The water makes the yarn super soft and fills it in. Wash your gauge swatch in the washing machine... you'll see what I'm talking about. Yep, it's machine washable and dryable too. I've been washing and drying it in a mesh bag so it doesn't distort. Then pulling it out of the dryer when it's still damp and laying it flat to finish drying. This keeps it all nice the smooth, but easy to care for.
I just can't recommend this yarn enough.

Next up?
I celebrated by starting this sweater

In this yarn

100% Alpaca, super soft
I'm using color 111.
There will be lots of alterations to this pattern, so stay tuned!

So, first up... what can you make with a single lonely skein of Koigu? Only the coolest pair of handwarmers!

One down, one to go.... These each only take 25g of fingering weight yarn.
Size 1 needles, cast-on 48 sts. 1x1 ribbing, switch to knitting flat for a few inches to leave room for the thumb. Bind-off with single crochet to allow for stretch. Simple...

Lately I've been knitting to make me happy. I noticed how cold my fingers were walking to class; I feverishly knit long wristwarmers. I decided that 'I' needed thrummed mittens (not just the display pair); I go all out luxury & make a pair in wool silk and cashmere...

I've been having this annoying nagging in the back of my head that I need a cardigan. I ignored this little voice all last winter & knit pullover after pullover. Well, I'm ignoring that voice no longer!

I set the yarn aside for this cardigan/jacket in July for cooler weather. Gosh I wish I'd just started it when it arrived. The yarn is so silky soft. However, when I picked out the yarn I didn't find quite what I wanted for the CC2 which makes a raised cord between the border & the main color. From knitting the mittens I realized that the new Louisa Harding wool & silk would give me a soft & shiny cording.

I'm knitting the Wrapture Jacket from Black Purl Designs.

Modifications? Of course~

I generally knit sweaters at 38" and cardigans at 40". The smallest size on this pattern is a 46". Changing the stitch numbers won't work due to the chart on the back. My solution is to knit the pattern at 5 sts/inch rather than 5.5. I'm currently measuring the back at a touch over 20" so I think this plan will work!

Despite the fact that I found bobbins absolutely necessary for my argyle socks I decided to go with the rats nest method for my cardigan. (BTW it's now officially a cardigan not a Jacket. I measured it today & it will have a finished bust of 40" and the fabric feels fantastic!)

To preserve my sanity as soon as a got a few rows knitted I went back and tucked in my ends. I also an using my new skill of backwards knitting for the section with the intarsia because I can deal with it better if the right side is always facing me.

I also pulled out a new toy from my stash... Removable highlighter tape! It is making following the chart so much easier. Especially since its on over sized paper, so I'm working off the original.

I'm finding it really hard to only work on one shawl at a time... I know that's all the brain waves I have, but my next shawl project came in today & I'm really eager to start.
It's one of the new Candace Eisner Strick kits. I choose the Adagio Shawl in the Blueberry colorway. The kit is the top one in the picture...

Not only does it contain 8 colors of the softest merino lace weight. You knit with 3 strands at a time & that makes 24 possible color combinations. These kits just do this incredible color shift.

So I'm making it a challenge to myself to finish up my Peacock shawl. I knit 16 rows today (considering the number of stitches per row this was quite a feat!). I have 8 more rows until I finish with the medium size feathers & a new chart = new momentum. I love the way it's turning out so far & am looking forward to wearing it.

I haven't forgotten about my SKB. It's getting knit on little by little. I need a mindless knitting project for this weekend because I'm working on Jesus Christ Superstar. I think sweater sleeves will be the perfect pick up & put down knitting.

Okay,
I took a night for myself last night & decided that I'd skip blogging for a night. Which means I've got a bit to cover today because for the first time all week I've really been knitting!

First off, I finished the sweater for the Dutchicans. We'll have to convince Kristi to give us the cute baby in sweater pictures in a few months. In the mean time here's the not so exciting baby sweater sans baby pictures...

& the little button I added along the waist band.

The buttons are all for show. They are very securely sewn on & the two closest to the neck have snaps behind them that open up the neck line to expedite the stuffing of the child into the sweater.

Now I just have 2 hats & a pair of booties to knit in about 2 weeks...

I also started my second Iris Garden sock the day before I got hurt. So, today I picked it up and almost got through the end of the foot.

I figure with the new year approaching that it's the perfect time to reincarnate an old unloved project.
When I started my Harry Potter Scarf over a year ago I hadn't even read a single of the books... I still haven't. (after the last book comes out I'm planning on picking up the series, so I'll read them eventually) I have seen bits and pieces of some of the movies. I just thought it looked like a cool scarf. Unfortunately it's a scarf with a lot of labor and for me it just wasn't a labor of love. I just was wishing that I was knitting a sweater with the yarn, it was so pretty & soft...
So yesterday the scarf became well... it unbecame...

I swapped out the yellow for a pretty pink ball of Louisa Harding Impressions. Then I pulled out a pattern from my cue line... The Perfect Sweater!
This also works with my Resolution of knitting myself some basic wearable sweaters.
I love how the contrast works with the picot hem!

My only real change to the pattern so far is my usual routine of knitting in the round as much as possible. I'm also planning on knitting the V-neck version.

Happy 2007 Everyone!

I don't know about you all, but I'm done with 2006. Ready to move on...

The number 6 in particular has been giving me lots of trouble lately. Remember my ripping out of my Harry Potter Scarf & starting the Perfect Sweater?
I spent last night loading music onto my iPod & knitting away at my sweater. I kept having this nagging feeling of it being too small. Then I kept checking my gauge & going on... Eventually I pulled it off the needles to lay it out flat & guess what? It's a whopping 6 inches too small!
Like an idiot I cast-on for a size too small...

Then there's a sweater I dug up that I knit last year. A lovely Silk Garden cardi. I think it's time to give in and rip this sweater too. Why? it's a big 6 inches too big!

So my New Years was spent making these...

This yarn is still going to be the makings of 2 perfect sweaters, but I planning on letting them sit & to focus on a new project for the new year.

So, this afternoon I started the Pentagon Sweater from Nature Knits. I had this perfect color of Lana Grossa Merino Big (color 653). It's a medium Olive Green, yum!

I got just a bit knit while enjoying the A Prairie Home Companion special.

This project will be pretty boring to blog about for a couple of days, but I'm zipping through it pretty quick. I love just knitting stockinette in the round.

Well, I hope you all have a Happy New Year & that you made it home safe and sound last night.

I think I'm on the mend. Today I finished up my spinning marathon and actually felt like knitting a bit. I managed to stick to knitting for over an hour & didn't do anything terrible like connect my two sleeves together. I even have proof.

I'm determined to have this sweater done for my trip. It shouldn't be too hard, I have a week and a half to finish the 2 sleeves & knit the yoke. I'm starting to get really excited about the visionary retreat. I now know who a few more of the attendees are & were meeting at the airport and driving down now. Much better than the shuttle bus. It's going to rock!

The other improvement I made was I started the first of 2 exercise/dance classes I'm taking this spring. From now on Tuesday nights are for Belly Dancing (Monday nights are for something much more unusual, but I'll let you in on that in 3 weeks after my first class...).

Mum and I enjoyed our first class, though we were both a little lost attempting to keep track of our arms/hands/hips/knees/feet all at the same time. I think the trick to getting the exercise I need (esp during the winter when I can't bike) is finding fun low pressure classes like this. The students really reach a full age range & fitness level.

I even got something a little sparkly & jingly to show off my curves. Got to love coin covered hip wraps! (Mum even picked out a red one with a few less coins, how cool is that)

Off to part two of my exercise commitment... push ups and sit ups/crunches every night. I've done it before, I know I can get into that routine again.

Okay,
This is very new to me, so I'll see how it goes... I hope I can figure out how to add photos.

While I've been working on this whole design project I've also been knitting like mad. I've got about 9" of the sweater I started Thursday already knit! I'm really loving knitting with this yarn (Rowan Cashsoft) and the angora is starting to give it just a little halo.

(hey the photo thing worked!)
My favorite part of this sweater is that I'm just totally relaxing on it. I didn't swatch, my yarn is the wrong size for the pattern so I'm making it up as I go, I just am trusting in my instincts to knit a sweater that fits. I don't even know what the neckline is going to be yet other than it won't be a boat neck like the original design. I've done a few measurements & it looks like my instincts are steering me right and it will fit.
I've been lucky to receive several gifts this weekend. Erin stopped by and brought Robin a super cool bag of treats!

The cow's legs, arms, and head can be pulled off. Robin hasn't figured that out yet, but it has a squeaker & he loves da squeaker.

Robin says Thank You!
Then I arrived at work Monday morning a mysterious skein of huggable green yarn was sitting there with a note simply saying Rae. I thought it was simply odd till I found out that it appeared there between when the store closed Saturday & when it opened Sunday. It seems I have a yarn elf...

Robin & I took a very long walk today. I think it may have been upwards of 2 miles right at dusk. By the time the sun set (and we were still at least 1/2 a mile from home) it got quite blustery indeed & the temperature dropped about 15 degrees. I started to think it may start down pouring any moment. Luckily we made it home dry, if a little tussled from the wind, and relaxed on the couch for some knitting & a little Mythbusters. Robin loved tonight's episode, it was all about dog myths.

I'm working away at my sweater, it's not too much different from yesterday... I figured it was more interesting when Robin was helping show it off.

The bananas I picked up this weekend finally archived the perfect level of brown so I whipped up some banana bread. I am the Queen of banana bread. I basically use the recipe out of the Betty Crocker book. I don't use nuts (allergy) so I have a few other additions to zip it up. First, I use Olive Oil instead of regular vegetable oil. Then I add 1 tsp cinnamon & 1 Tbl honey. It is so good...

I've also hit that point each spring when I feel like signing up for a bunch of swaps.
I'm currently signed up for:
SP10
Handspun Keychain Swap(Signups open till March 23)
Tiny Pincushion Swap
(Signups open till March 30)
Dye-No-Mite! (signups open till March 21)
The last one is particularly exciting because we'll be swapping all sorts of hand dyed things, not just yarn. It's open to roving, fabric, etc... since knitting isn't my only craft I find this very cool.

I also have a neat idea for a swap brewing. But, I need something to get it really going.
Does anyone have a spare copy of the Alan Dart Gnome pattern? I know I could order it from England, but that could take over a month for the pattern to arrive & I'd like to finish him up for Spring... So, can anyone help me out?

So, I've been neglecting blogging for a few days in favor of this...

I am so in love with this sweater. I still need to knit some sleeves, but I could help sewing the shoulders & adding in the neckband. It needs some major blocking (and sleeves...), but I was able to double check that yes, it does fit. By the end of next week I should have a new sweater! Another good thing, I've only used 4.5 balls of cashcotton dk so far. The whole long sleeved sweater should be just under 7 balls. That rocks!

I also had a rather eventful trip to my Dad's this afternoon. Robin got to have a long fun play session with Aspen.

Can you see where my love of herding/working dogs come from? I love this photo of Aspen, she's showing a classic Sammie smile. She also has the best coat right now that I've ever seen on her.
It's really interesting to watch Robin play with dogs of different temperaments. With puppies he's rambunctious, jumpy, and um... humps... much to my embarrassment. When we play with adult dogs he calms down and matches their temperament. Aspen is around 15 years old, so he mostly just calmly walks around with her. She was up for about a minute of chase & hide, but that's about it.
At Dad's I also picked a belated birthday present, my new to me laptop. It's a 15" powerbook G4, completely refurbished with mostly new parts. Considering that my old laptop had a 9" screen this is a mammoth improvement.

I will be sad to say goodbye to my old clamshell iBook, but he doesn't run most of the programs I use everyday, so it's time.

I can't believe how much of this I knit today. I don't think there's any worry of it not getting done by the end of the month... I have hit a bit of a glitch in the pattern, but I stopped & figured out how this misshapen blob becomes a sweater & I think I can figure out how many rows I need to knit before the last bit of shaping. Robin is so tired. We had a big evening at puppy school. He learned to look me in the eyes when I say his name. We got started with clicker training. We learned the gotcha game (grab the collar & say 'gotcha', helps with rounding him up easily later). AND most importantly, Robin did his first agility obstacle tonight! During our socialization session our teacher pulled out the tire jump. It was set so they pretty much walked through it rather than jumped, but Robin went right through twice! Yippy!! Now I need to get my tax rebate (or get you guys to buy some patterns) so Robin & I can get Agility in a Bag.
Okay, now for a whole bunch of pictures....
First up, the Baby Pearl Surprise Jacket (mostly done)...


Then Robin is learning how to be a couch potato...


There are a few more of those on my flickr page. Click on any of the above pics to go visit.

Wow, those last 6 rows are really really long. But I totally am in love with this pattern. Could you just see it in some fab sock yarn (maybe STR or Claudia’s)? I may keep playing around with slipping stitches. I don't like the vertical line I got when I picked up stitches near the bottom, or the line on the button band. I do love the slipped stitches in the body & sleeves. Next time I'll probably use a crochet cast-on so the whole thing has a tidy chain stitch edge.

Yes the photo is awful, my camera just wouldn't focus on it. You may see this again when I get a better shot.
For the record, I used 2 skeins of Louet Baby Pearl, on size 2 needles, getting 6 sts/inch. The buttons feature Beatrice Potter! So cute.
I've started several pairs of socks this week. Most are for classes I'm teaching so I could only go as far as the heel and stop. However I started some last night just for me! We got this incredible new yarn in for thick socks; 50% Fine Wool 50% Alpaca & machine wash and dry. Yep, machine washable alpaca socks!

They're just dreamy...
I also got started on another kit that arrived with that yarn. It's a felting kit that I had ordered because it had a great variety of colors to use for needle felting. However it also included instructions for this:

I'm making one up to hang in the store. It starts you out wet felting sheets of wool. My favorite flowers in the photo were the ones that were a different color on the inside, so I'm doing all my pieces of felt that way. They're a bit thinner than I usually make them because they're going to be flowers.

The colors are really intense, so my camera kinda balked on this one. However so far I have blue/purple, green/blue, and orange/pink. Three more sheets and I think I'll have enough.
Last little thought here... Robert Smith is a god! If you don't believe me you need to check out this clip from the Korn Unplugged special. Robert simply saying "make me bad" sent shivers down my spine.

(Yes there is knitting content below. I don't mind if you skip all the dog stuff...)

Robin & I had a very successful class last night. Every week the barking thing gets less & less of a problem. We actually went to the vet Tuesday & he only barked when we first walked in and when our name got called. Night & Day compared to the first visit. Same thing in class. I'm teaching him that it pays (in food) to pay attention to me rather than bark at the teacher/other dogs/invisible friends... As much as that thrilled me, it's not what's gotten me glowing with pride. That was our socialization time.
Each week in class they bring out different things for them to check out & learn not to be afraid of. Since this school also teaches basic agility they bring out a few agility things. This week they brought out the tire jump again. Robin loves the tire jump. We were doing run bys within minutes of him seeing it again. Then we got to see a pause table. Up him went & laid down for 5 seconds. Such a good boy. Then the second coolest thing was the wobble table. This is a precursor to a teeter totter, basically a big board with a pipe under it so it moves when walked across. This freaked him out a bit, but he was willing to walk across it with a bit of encouragement (food). The coolest thing was defiantly the little mini tunnel. All like 9 inches of it. A bit weird to walk on, but within a few minutes he was running right through! Yippy! My boys going to love agility. We start agility class in 2 weeks.
Before that I'm picking up a few things for us to practice on. Sunday I'm getting a tunnel from Ikea. Plus I'm going to order a practice chute to go on the end so we can start getting used to that too. Then probably next month I'm ordering the coolest set of training weave poles.
I realize this is complete gibberish for many of you. If you're curious to know what I'm blabbering on about here's a link to a cool site that's all videos of different agility competitions.

Okay, I promised some knitting content too...
First off, A big Thank You! to my Secret Pal. She sent me a neat package yesterday with some sock yarn, roving, and bath products that are fragrance free! I'm super allergic to fragrance, so I really appreciate these sorts of things. I even had to switch shampoos because my old one was making my scalp break out in hives! So Thank You!!!! (and Robin says Thanks too, he loves the bone you sent)

I've been kinda crazy about my knitting lately. I'm knitting on several socks for various class. Book projects that I can't show you. But, I also have been knitting on the little donkey sweater. I spent a whole night weaving in more ends than should ever be on one part of a baby sweater.

Then I pulled out my sewing machine & whipped up a lovely misshapen box bag.

Now that I've figured out what I'm doing on that I'm going to sew up a few more...

So, Yes I've been attempting to knit lately. My book projects have been begging for more attention & so is Robin, so bloggable knitting is a bit on the pitiful side.

So, sitting through 3 shows of Rent may seem like 525,600 minutes (I'm sure actually watching the show is much more entertaining), but I now have actual proof. Two socks almost entirely knit during those shows...

The sock in front is out of CPY Panda Cotton, the one behind it is in a machine washable Alpaca. I ran out of knitting half way through the 3rd show. I was told that the look of terror on my face was quite memorable. It didn't help that 2 of the guys in the cast continuously asked me out, over & over to the point I was considering a harassment complaint. I had to walk that thin line of being polite, but firm, so that I wouldn't get in trouble for decking one (or two) of the actors during the performance. Knitting was very therapeutic during all this, so you can imagine the down hill slide of my attitude toward them once the yarn ran out.

So, while not fending off unwelcome advances from horny guys who only wanted one thing (considering they were in town for only 2 days) I was working on my Little Democrat sweater. I'm down to only one sleeve left to knit.

I think this sweater is so cute. I decided to pick up stitches & knit the sleeves onto the body. I've realized some flaws in my plan to knit a little USA flag onto the other sleeve, so that is in a holding pattern till I work out a tiny but viable chart.

Now that I've gotten myself all upset again about this weekend I'm going to leave you with some puppy pictures. How can you be upset when these eyes are looking in your face?
(I took bunches more of these yesterday, click any of them to go to the flickr photoset to see the rest of the photos)

So, Wicked's over & I'm officially back.
Back to my shop, back to my blog, back to my life.
But let me tell you, I have a Wicked Hangover! (lol... that's to Sarah for that one)
I'm still a bit jet lagged from the long hours & lack of sleep. Luckily I went out for a celebratory drink with a few friends last night after the final show. This really helped me relax & unwind. Plus a bottle of Oberon really helped me sleep a good long time.

I needed a break from all the sock knitting that was happening during the show, so I knit a special little project over the weekend~

Isn't it so cute?!

I'm teaching a class on the Baby Surprise Jacket in August & thought I'd knit one more just so my students could get a better idea of sizing. Plus my other BSJ was in a solid color & the stripes show off the shaping so much better. (and it's so cute who could resist knitting one after another after another.... despite no babies to knit for)

I'm even quite thrilled with the buttons I found~

I love the elephant button.

You can get all the details over on Ravelry or I'll go over them again here:

Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket (Spun Out leaflet 1B)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto (DK) 4 balls total, one in each color (purely by coincidence the color numbers are 5, 10, 15, and 20)
Needles: Addi Lace in size 5 (I think it was a 24" cable) I can't even put into words how much I love these needles. They are simply perfect.

My rules for color in this sweater:
A: Each stripe would be either 1, 3, or 5 ridges
B: I attempted to use the colors as evenly as possible, that rule kicked into effect big time when I realized that I really did need most of all 4 balls to finish the sweater
C: I also tried to keep the stripes asymmetrical yet achieve a balance to the sweater. I personally think I accomplished that quite well, but that's just my opinion.

Mods:
I used a crochet cast-on to create a tidy chain stitch edge.
I also slipped the first stitch on each row to continue that chain stitch edge.
On the decreases I used a Vertical Double Decrease & slipped the decrease stitch on wrong side rows so I have that nice little diagonal chain stitch
On increases I slipped the stitch between the M1s again to continue the chain stitch. (I didn't do that on the last 6 ridges after the part where you work only the center 90 stitches)
I sewed the arms together with slip stitch crochet. I spent a lot of time this morning trying about 6 or 7 different seams & was having trouble deciding on one. My final choice left me with a purple chain on the right side of the sweater. This kinda sandwiched in the multi color chain with 2 purple chains (cast-on and crochet chain). I like the effect.

So, pretty much all I did was add in chain stitch detailing to finish off the edges & to show off the shaping lines. Other than that I followed the tried and true pattern.

Oh, one last bit, my gauge was 4.5 sts/inch in garter stitch. That gave me a sweater that should fit a baby 6-9 months old.

There are some points in life when you have to grow up a whole bunch all at once. I fear I've hit one of those points head on & seem unable to let go. Most of whats going on in life now is stuff that's too personal for the blog. I think that's a big part of why blogging has been so umm.. sparse... rare... nonexistent... lately. That and the fact that the big computer at home experienced SMEF (Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure, bonus points to those of you who know what this is a reference to...) and our switch to a new phone company at work was a little rocky leaving me with out internet access anywhere for a few weeks.

I've also been entrenched in the process of purchasing a building for the shop to move to this winter. The commercial loan process is a scary thing and very slow moving. I feel a little at a loss in the whole thing, but am still confident that we will emerge triumphant in the end.

Actually I need to be successful in the whole loan thing because I will be living above the shop & lets just say my current living arrangements will be no longer viable sometime in the next year.

A member of my immediate family is also getting married & moving half way across the country. I'm extremely happy for this (and no it's not me), but it's a little scary too.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg, but I hope you'll all understand my lack of blogging lately. I can't say when more regular blogging will happen again, but I'll keep doing the best I can. Currently I'm going to be aiming for once a week and we'll see how that goes. I have however been keeping up my ravelry account, so you can always see what I'm up to there. I also am hosting a group for my shop (Friends of Rae's Yarn Boutique), so if you live in the area & have managed to get a Ravelry account please join us there.

A lack of blogging however has not meant a lack of knitting. In fact when I get stressed out knitting happens in great abundance. Lets try to catch up...

Scarves
I finished up a cute little scarf that we have the kit for at the shop right now. It's a Shetland lambswool and cashmere blend & a very quick knit.
The scarf itself is ascot like & softens up a whole bunch when washed in Eucalan.

I also am working away on my Ravelry scarf exchange scarf. I had a bunch of false starts on this project and have finally found something that I know will work. The scarf is done in double knitting with Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran & will have a Diamond motif at each end. I'm a bit further than the photo (since I took these photos last week you'll hear that a bunch today).

Socks
I've finished 4 pairs of socks in the last couple of weeks. The first 2 pair though were super quick knits (each pair taking between 4 & 6 hours!).
These are knit in Nashua Snowbird and are so warm. I'll be pretty much living in these this winter. I liked how these came out so much that I wrote up the pattern & it's available free with purchase of the yarn here at the shop. Pretty much everyone on my holiday gift list will probably be getting a pair of these this winter.


I also finished a couple of pairs of fingering weight socks.
This pair is simply my basic sock pattern knit in STR waterlily.

I also finished up my test for my redesign of my Slinky sock pattern. That was my first published design and I really hated a few things I did in it. I love the new version so much more. This photo is from last week, I still need to wait for the weather to cooperate for a real photo shoot for these, and to get the pattern rewritten. (oh, and the yarn for these is JoJoLand Melody)

I'm currently just about done with the first of the "summer of love" socks from the last installment of the STR club. The new kit should arrive sometime this week, so I'm attempting to catch up a bit.

Sweaters
I also knit 2 sweaters in about 3 weeks. (like a said... a little stressed out lately = lots of knitting).
The first is a long hoodie cardigan out of Mirasol Miski.

This sweater was knit in the round with seamless set-in sleeves then steeked down the front. The baby Llama is super soft and warm. I know this sweater will get lots of wear this winter.

I also knit a Bohus like sweater (much bigger gauge than a real bohus). This is the Lite Lopi pullover from the Best of Interweave Knits.



I'm rather enamored with this sweater. It of course has been in the 70's since I finished it, but I'm really looking forward to wearing it. It fits pretty well (maybe a little oversized) and I just love the lime green hems. I also altered the colorwork a little at the top to bring it back to the reds & purple rather than more orange at the neck.

I'm also sadly overdue posting this questionnaire up for the No More Humdrum Mitten Swap. Sorry Pal!

1. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?
I learned to knit from my Grandma the one time she came to visit us. I was in 4th grade and she taught me during my brother's swimming classes.
2. Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Advanced
3. What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike?
Depending on the combination I can like almost any color. I don't like things to be too neon or electric. I prefer Fall tones, especially greens and purples.
4. Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?
I do like them, but I don't know them well enough to point to any specific pattern.
5. Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?
I totally desire mittens for myself. I did a mitten swap last winter and the mittens were awful and had to be donated to charity, I'd really like a nice pair of mittens to wear this winter though. It gets cold here!
6. What other things do you enjoy knitting?
Everything?! I can like just about every type of project, just depends on my mood. Socks are always a good bet though.
7. What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)
bamboo circs
8. What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?
I'm a big impulse knitter, so I don't yearn over any particular project for long, either I knit it or I forget about it I suppose. I've recently been finding my eyes wandering toward Clapotis and oddly enough knit pillow covers. Thicker socks have also been finding their way onto my needles lately.
9. What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?
I always am drooling over sock yarn from lots of the indie dyers out there.
10. What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook?
Spin, Sew, pastel painting...
11. Besides yarn, do you collect anything?
books, I love books! I think my next obsession with books is going to be Disc World series, or maybe to finish up the Harry Potter thing (only have books 1 & 2). I will often read a novel in a night if the mood catches me right.
12. What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?
I'm allergic to almonds. I am addicted to chocolate. Usually white or milk chocolate, but dark chocolate mint holds a dear place in my heart.

and because it's not mentioned earlier and I hope you'll take this into account. I'm severely allergic to acrylic yarn. Even 20% acrylic will make me break out in hives.

13. Do you have any kids? Pets?
No kids, but I have a kitty, Trent, and a Sheltie, Robin.
14. What is your favorite part of Winter?
Snow, the fresh fluffy white kind, not the brown slushy type we usually have.
15. What is your least favorite part of Winter?
Brown slushy snow and wet feet