Extravayarnza

Gosh do I feel loved.
Today I found out that I do have an SP8 pal & she didn't forget about me *smiles*
& Stephanie rocks and mentioned me on her blog!
So a big hello to the couple hundred of you who've already stopped by!
If you are looking for the Knitter's Messenger Bag you can check them out here.

I'll be back later to tell you all of the latest on the Dragon Shawl...
Plus I've decided to put away the Whiskey sweater for cooler weather & swapped it for Glampyre's New Simple Knit Bodice in Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK (yum!)

Hello All,
I was feeling in a cheery mood today. The sky was lovely, so here's some Saturday Sky for Sandy.
Mid day through the Wisteria Bush~

Plus a gorgeous sunset from my porch~

I finished the first ball of Alpaca Silk DK on my Knit Bodice. It's a top down raglan which makes for some interesting photography. I'm really happy with the fabric & the color. I'm moving the v to be a bit higher... I'll let you know how that turns out.
Here's a front & a sleeve~

The dragon shawl is also working along. I needed to find a new way to lay out the chart. Currently the chart is about 29" across and will soon be closer to 40" wide. That's a lot of chart!
But you can really see the dragon shaping up~

This was the only light color floor in the house. The shawl isn't even close to this color. It's a much lighter & more intense red. But.. can you see the wings? Aren't they awesome?
Mine definitely will be Emerald Green out of fingering weight Merino/Tencel. I know Audra will love this one.
(for those of you who have been asking for the pattern... it is now available directly from the designer Sharon Winsauer; we should have them in the store fairly soon. I will warn you that I'm still finding typos in the pattern, nothing that you couldn't easily see and know what to do. Mostly some funny looking symbols.)
Row 215 finished.

I'm needing to do a few more mods to the knitted bodice than I expected to make it fit me.
1~ I moved the v-neck up about 1 inch by only knitting 6 rows between every other increase instead of 8.  (so I knit 8, then 6, then 8... and so forth). This brought it up to the lowest possible point that will not require me to wear a shirt under this sweater.
2~ I added about an inch worth of short row shaping to the front a few rows after the joining. (I did 36 past center on both sides, then 30, then 24).

The back now measures the just about 1/2 an inch shorter than the pattern recommends before starting the lace section. I have quite a few knit rows between the v neck and the lace for the sake of those who will endure me wearing this top (see note 1 above).
I placed half the stitches on another circular and tried it on to see how close I was to making the purl ridges not be on my bust...

I still need about 2 more inches to make this work. The good news is I've only used about 2.5 balls of yarn out of an expected 10.5. Not too bad.
I think I may add another inch of short rows since the front is where the extra length is really needed.
Big question:
I know I'm not the first to notice this, but there is no correction yet on the Stitch Diva site...
Has anyone figured out what rows to repeat on the bottom of the body. Is it 1-6 or 2-6?
All I know is that you can repeat 3-6 till your fingers fall off and never increase 20 stitches because those are all plain knit rounds.
Any suggestions on this point would be appreciated!
(oh and I'm just a row or two from finishing chart group 3 on the dragon! The face looks so cool~And the spines of the wings are about the neatest thing I've ever knit.)

Hi,
I guess before I stun you by showing a bit of starteritis I'll distract you with massive progress on a current one!

I've knit from the bottom of the vee to almost the end of the body in 3 evenings. I was discouraged for a little while and stopped working on this... I tried it on when I though I was ready to start the purl ridges & was quite surprised to see that I needed at least another 2 inches in the front to keep them off my chest. So, here's my changes for the ladies who are large up top~
~In the increases for the neckline, do the increase at the neck edge after 6 rows rather than 8 every other time... (remember to keep track of stitch numbers so you know when to move the arms to the holders, I totally missed this point & had to rip almost 2 inches...) On mine this moved the lowest point of the vee about 1 inch higher.
I knew this would mean I'd have some knit rounds before starting the purl ridges, but due to the fact that they needed to be below the chest & mine is perhaps a bit larger than the pattern was intended for I needed quite a bit of knitting to reach this point.
~Short rows to help shape the chest.... I knit a total of 12 rows of short row shaping. I started by placing a marker in the center front, then I knit 36 past the marker, purled 36 past the marker, then 30 both ways, then 24 (doing wraps & turns and knitting the wraps in the next round). Next, I knit about 4 rounds and did a second set in the opposite order (24, 30, 36). This added almost 2 inches of extra fabric in the front.
I tried it on when I switched to the big needles after the lace section, everything is where it should be and fitting correctly. The neckline is barely decent, but an inch or so of edging is going to help that out considerable.
I love this top & despite my lack of good instructions I found that my simple alterations really made it fit me well. I can totally see lots of wear for this top in the Fall.
Oh, and I'm only about 1/2 way through ball 5 of an estimated 11... I think I may have some yarn left...

Okay, now all those pesky new projects...
One is already about 1/4 of the way done & I just started it at noon!

This is the class project for the intro to Entrelac class I'm teaching this fall. I needed a sample of the actual project, so I'm just busting through it. The class is based on a blanket I designed, but for times sake we're learning on a matching throw pillow. I was feeling like some fun yarn so I'm using SWTC Karaoke. It is fun!

Second new project...

These amazing colors of Baby Cashmerino showed up today. Don't get too excited about the brown, we only got one bag & I snuck off with it... I'll reorder a couple of bags of that color.
They were sitting there so perfectly & I have been itching to design a Fair Isle sweater with in the round set in sleeves. Yes, not raglan, not yoke, but set-in sleeves all in one piece! I worked out the math a couple of months ago & was just waiting for the right application.
The sweater will be mostly brown with bands of the contrasting colors in Fair Isle.
*I pledge I will finish the bodice first****I pledge I will finish the bodice first***I pledge I will finish the bodice first***I pledge I will finish the bodice first**
easier done than said as the needle I need is currently in use on the bodice ; )

I knit my fingers off today and finished up with the body of the knitted bodice!

The measurements all look good. I'm skipping ahead to finishing off the neckline so I can try it on and get an accurate picture of how it fits. Then I can weave in some ends without worry & start on the sleeves.
I really need to work on the dragon shawl as the wedding is really soon, but with the hives on the back of my hands I just can't do the small needles...
Odds and Ends~
I was taking photos today for my fall classes & that prompted a bit of finishing.
My crochet felted bag was done months ago except sewing in that pesky zipper! But look how fab it is now~

Gotta love those rhinestone zippers.
I was photographing my sample for thrummed mittens that I knit last November or Decemberish... Apparently I never got around to weaving in all the ends!

Note: weaving in ends around thrums is a bit of a challenge... especially when the mitten has been tried on a couple of hundred times and the thrums had felted together a bit. The join for the thumb looks way better now...
We also got these super cute mini crochet hooks~

It fits in my emergency notion kit. Perfect for picking up dropped stitches. It's about the size of a regular chibi. Super cute, Super useful!

Yes, I'm officially finishing up my SKB. I pulled it out today & knit about 6 inches of the first sleeve. I don't think I ever did post a photo of how it's fitting. I hope you all enjoy the photo because of course as soon as I put the half knit needles hanging out sweater on & had the camera ready with the timer.... the first customer I'd had for over an hour walked in & I was stuck wearing it for about 20 minutes. (answering questions like..."How much for this poncho here?" "Do you have a catalog?" "Where's the fabric?") So without further ado~

At this point I had knit the lace, but hadn't done the purl ridges yet. I finished those up right before my class. I like the way the sweater is fitting. I was quite worried that the sleeve would be too big above the lace & way tight in the lace section. No fear, it fits really well. I also took time to weave in the 16 or so ends that I had so far. I am a big fan of weaving in ends as you go (once you're pretty sure your not going to rip the whole thing out).

I also finished the first Candy Dragon Sock~

Just a quick review, the yarn is Blue Moon Sock Candy. 96% Cotton, 4% Elite (for stretch) in Carbon.

It takes 2 balls for an average pair of socks.

I knitting the scaled up version of the Here Be Dragon Socks designed by Teresa at Keyboard Biologist.

The pattern is wonderful, she carried the stitch detail into the heel & the toe shaping. Very clever! I've mentioned before how much I enjoy knitting this yarn. I wore it all evening & it still felt pretty snug, then I tossed it into the washer & dryer before putting it on temporary display (until the second sock is finished... then they're all mine!)

Speaking of sock yarn... how about a little yarn porn?

Yum! This is the "Karma's a Bitch" 100% merino sock yarn I picked up over at Scouts. The green just pops. She's had a tough day... go buy some yarn! It's for a good cause ( how can a blogger live without a car or a laptop!)

Tonight walking to my painting class I decided I just had to have some hand/wrist warmers that covered my fingers better. Luckily Bev gave me a lonely single skein of Koigu in the KSKS swap. I split it in two & pulled out my favorite needles, size 1 Rosewood double-points. I'm just knitting them as long as I can...

The theory is that I can wear them down when walking outside....

And then flip the ribbing up when I need more use of my hands (i.e. knitting....)

Now I just need to finish these by my next class on Wednesday...

So, you know, back in September I said I'd finish my Simple Knit Bodice. I think that tomorrow I may finally accomplish that. Here's where I am after 2 days of pretty constant attention...

Back in September I left it off without a sleeve to be seen...

The lace is the hard part (due to needles & gauge way too small for this yarn) and I finished that up on both sleeves. The rest is easy (and quick) sailing...

BTW: If you have a few minutes to kill I recommend checking out this blog: f5.6 photographer Journal. Its the blog of a photo journalist. Absolutely breathtaking!