There's a Time

Anyone remember the song from the 60's or 70's "Turn, Turn, Turn"?  It was by the Animals, I think. I haven't checked on YouTube. But the song was based on Ecclesiastes 3. "For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven."
My knitting went like that yesterday.

I went with Hubby to get a set of tires in Muskegon yesterday. I took along my sock project and made a lot of progress on it. The yarn is from Yarn Hallow. It is a merino and tencel blend so it has a great sheen. the color is Spoumi and I love it. Bright and cheery.

If you look closely, the needle is positioned just above the ribbing. I ended up ripping back to the ribbing and starting over. No fault of the pattern or yarn. It was an user interface error. The textured pattern I chose didn't show up in the busy yarn. So rip it back and change to change plain vanilla generic socks. Much more suitable to this yarn.
All this happened after I had begun the lace bind off on the SWestie Shawl.

I loved how it was working,but after some analysis of the rows knit with the first ball, I was afraid I would run out of yarn before finishing. That's the trouble using stash yarn. This is a discontinued color of Gloss from KnitPicks.

So......
I deliberated some more after packing it away and this morning picked a shorter stitch count with a better chance of not running out of yarn. And once again I ripped.
I'm glad I didn't wait until I ran out of yarn.
Yes, there is a time for every purpose under heaven. That old Preacher was pretty wise.

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Winter Games Knitting

I have been knitting along on my SWestie Shawl.  I love the colors of the Noro and I have started the second color repeat.  I haven't weighed the skein that is left yet, but I judge that I am about half way through that skein.  After going through the stash, and laying several skeins of sock yarn with the shawl, I decided against the green as I mentioned before.  I decided on this lovely skein of Knit Picks Gloss, in Winter Night. I have two skeins, so that will give me about 850 to 900 yards total.  I think it will make a wonderful shawl.

The Winter Night isn't an exact match, but very close.  I don't like things too matchy-matchy anyway.
Now, the Winter Games.  The Olympic committee had a hissy fit before when knitters around the world celebrated the games four years ago by have Knitting Olympics. So I probably won't actually much of the real Winter Games, but I have decided to try to have my private Knitting Winter Game.

My ex-boss, but still friend, had purchased this sari silk at a fiber festival in West Branch one year.  With my enabling, of course.  I mean, after all...what are friends for?  Anyway, as the end was nearing on my job, and I was trying to cheer her and myself with talking about all the knitting time I was gaining, she asked me to knit her a shawl out of this.  Just a plain old rectangle, easy peasy.  I think the biggest problem will be the fact that my largest needles are almost the same colors as the yarn.  I will do my swatching tomorrow and then try to figure out stitch count.  I am planning on garter stitch.  I don't think any fancy stitches would show in that yarn anyway.  Just large needles to show off the yarn.
And then Friday, I can cast on and start knitting.  I better find out how long the real Olympics last so I know when I need to have this finished.
Then I can return to my shawl and continue on my Duchess of Cambridge cardigan.  I am on the second sleeve!

Plodding On

I finished the Black  Cotton Cardi with glee.  And, although surrounded by WIPs (Works In Progress), I still feel the need to cast on.  I have been intermittently working working on the Silver Dove socks, started eons ago.  When I picked those up, I was barely past the cuff on the second sock.

As you can see, I have turned the heel, and since this picture have gotten about half way to the toe.  

I also cast on for the first doll sweater.  This is for a girl at church.  After stash diving I found plenty of this minty green heather.  It is also 100% acrylic, as is needed for non-fibery people.   That one took me about 2 days to finish.  I haven't changed it to finished on Ravelry only because I still need to sew on the sweet little buttons I found.  I hope to do that after posting here.

I also promised the so-called "glamour shot" of the Black Cardi.  I'm not sure how glamorous it is, but I do like the sweater.

It was funny, but as I designed it, the only thing I imagined differently was the length.  I always imagined it as more of a high hip length.  But as I knit, I couldn't believe the length was enough, so I probably could have quit a couple inches shorter and done fine.  But the yarn, Knit Picks Shine is so soft.  I really like it.  I have a couple skeins of the black left.  I had also purchased some pink and burgundy that will be combined with the black for a cotton shawl some day.
In the meantime though, before I cast on for another doll sweater, and the matching (or at least coordinating) one for Lil' Farm Gal, I want to finish the second sock of this pair.
Then I can perhaps start a new pair.  And cast on their sweaters.  And decide which WIP to throw into the rotation next.

And The First of 2014

Buttons are on and I have my first finished project of the year.

The yarn is Knit Picks Shine, in black sport weight, a cotton/modal blend (That's kind of like rayon.). It feels great.

Gertrude looks pretty good in it, now that the buttons are on. The sleeves may look really short, but they are a perfect three-quarter length on me.

I think I have also mastered the art of taking a selfie.

I just need to get better backgrounds.

 

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Perils in Knitting

While I have enjoyed the knitting adventure that has been my black cotton cardigan, there have been dangers I didn't anticipate when I bought this yarn.

The first problem came in the first incarnation of the black cotton, when I attempted a simple black cotton tee top. But, alas, trying to knit it with my dark Knit Pick multicolor needles was next to impossible, especially on size two needles.

After frogging back, and regrouping, I invested in some of the Knit Pick blond Sunstruck needles. I started over as a cardigan, with size five. The knitting went much better. However, sometime after originally purchasing the yarn, I had acquired a mostly white cat. A cat who loves to climb on my chair and walk over me as I knit....always leaving a few hairs as a reminder that he had passed. Can you see them?

And lastly, once the problem of dark yarn on dark needles was solved, and the white cat hair resigned to, there were a ton of stinking ends to weave in. Let me saw right now, for the record: I hate yarn that only comes in 50 gram ball, as opposed to 100 gram balls. They have twice as many ends to contend with.

There are at least eleventy nine ends to weave in.

But after that, the buttons!

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AWOL

Gosh, has it really been more than ten days? That isn't the way to build a loyal reader base. I have been busy though.

The wallaby sweater for Grace has two sleeves ready to join. And the body is growing right along. I have finished the pocket flap and another couple inches or so on the body before I join it to the pocket.

And I have started a new project with the black cotton sport weight.

I just love the feel of the the Knit Pick's Shine so I dug out my Knitter's Handy Book of Top Down Sweater Patterns. I am working on making a raglan cardigan with 3/4 sleeves and adding an eyelet row every few rows. With larger needles, and with lighter colored ones it is going well so far. I ordered some new needle tips fir my Knit Picks Options in the light color--Sunstruck, so I can switch to longer needles when needed. And still see the needles.

I like this project so much I even went button shopping: clear flowery ones, a tonal gray set, and some shiny little black ball buttons. I am leaning toward the clear ones right now. Whatever I don't use will be added to the button can.

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Edging Along

I am plodding along on the border for my Leftover Pi shawl. 
I am very happy with the way it looks so far.  I think I mentioned I purchased an extra skein of yarn, so the border would be all the same colors.  That yarn, Knit-Picks Stroll Handpaint in the County Fair colorway is delightful.  The colors are clear but subdued and I really like it.
But the border is still only about half done.
Eight stitches out, seven stitches back, then knit the last stitch with a body stitch for each body stitch.  That's sixteen stitches for each body stitche.    Hmmm.  There are 576 body stitches, so that means 9216 total stitches to complete the border..
Gulp.
Excuse me while I go ponder that revelation.

Almost There

I have just a couple more transition rows in my light gray shetland to go before I start the ruffled edge on my Summer Games  Rumpus shawl.
I decided I would be well served by a slightly longer needle before I double the stitch count when I start the ruffle.  So, just past the midpoint, in going from my 40 to 47 inch cables on my Knit-Picks Harmony needles, I capped the tips (in a brief stroke of brilliance) and lay it out on the bed.
See the picture below.  But let me just say, I love this!
And it has great length and drape.  I know, cuz I tried it on.  I hate a skimpy shawl.
And so, on with the Games.