Learning My Own Lessons...Dye Lot

I spent 5 hours today waiting for my vehicle to get repaired at the repair shop. I didn't have any gadgets to occupy my time. Thank goodness I had two knitting projects with me...that's all I could do was to sit and knit and wait.

I was cruising along on my cabled vest when I almost finished the cake of yarn I had. Okay, not a problem. I have another hank or two sitting in my stash. I had paid my huge car repair bill and had enough time to run home, grab the hank of yarn, and head to work.

I was getting ready to wind the yarn when I noticed it was a shade off. Like one shade lighter than the vest I was working on. Yikes! It was more noticeable in natural light. I've already knitted the back and front left piece and was halfway finished with the front right. There was no way I could integrate this lighter colored yarn.

Lesson learned? Yes! Always buy an extra hank of yarn in the same dye lot.

So, now my denim vest is sitting in my knitting bag...waiting. I'm off tomorrow in search of the last hank that I need. I'm hoping one of my LYS will have one left in the right dye lot.

I'm still on target to get the vest done by the end of this weekend. The weather has gotten cooler and I would love to finish this last 100% cotton project.

No House Cleaning, Just Knitting

Yes, that's what I've been doing. Knitting. I've gone back to my denim cabled vest and finally finished the back piece. I've started knitting the front left and hope to get back on track with this project. My goal is to finish this vest by next weekend. I can be hopeful, can't I?

I'm thinking about getting a subscription to Rowan International. Their designs are so beautiful! The magazines or pattern books come out twice a year and they include on average 30+ patterns per issue. Funny thing, I don't have any Rowan yarns in my stash. I can substitute yarns. No problem. That's the fun part of being creative.

I'm waiting for some yarn to arrive. I plan on knitting a few more shoulder scarves in various colors. It's catching on as I have several friends who are interested in making one or two. This scarf is a winner.

I've been thinking about shawl pins. Not buying them, but designing and making my own. Several times, I've had the need for one. Something not too heavy and not too large. I have a lot of ideas, I just need to sit down and do some creating.

I hope you have a fun filled knitting weekend. Remember to make some time for yourself.

Happy Knitting!

Back from The Homestead

We are back from our trip and I'm busy uploading pictures to my various blogs, website, and Face Book. For those of you who are waiting (Hi Becky!) for my pictures to appear on my personal website, it may not happen anytime soon. Looks like my web hosting server is down. To see a few of the Homestead pictures, you can visit my 2BPhotog blog. I also have a link on the left side of this blog.

I did manage to get a few hours of knitting time during our weekend getaway. I'm finishing the sleeves of my shrug and will continue to knit the body. I'm going to keep knitting until I run out of yarn. Which will be interesting to see how long this shrug will be since I'm on my 2nd cake of yarn and have the 3rd one waiting.

I did find the the rocking chairs that I mentioned in a previous post. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to sit and knit in one of those chairs like I had wanted to. The one and only time we had a break, most of the chairs were taken. On the last morning before we had to check out, I was able to capture this moment:

The Homestead front porch...complete with rockers and chaise lounges and do you see me anywhere in this picture?

We had a great time here and I am blessed to have made new friends.

A New Project in the Works

Ever since I knitted that quick and easy shoulder shawl a few days ago, I've been itching to knit another quick project. So what did I do? I casted on for another Shrug This! This Malabrigo Chunky yarn has been keeping an eye on me and finally screamed out to me when I was sorting through my yarn stash the other day. The color is Noviembre. Unfortunately, I'm in a rush to post and of course the colors are off in this picture.




This is the true color of Noviembre:



At the rate I'm going, I think I might have this shrug done before I get back home. lol!

I'm also bringing my JoJoland yarn and will try to knit a swirl or two for my swirl scarf. Hopefully, I can remember the "magic loop" technique and give it a try.

I mentioned that I was sorting through my yarn stash. It's that time, where I move my summer yarn out of my room and bring in the wools. Kind of like rotating your wardrobe when the season changes.

Happy Knitting!

Shoulder Scarf - Completed

I love knitting a quick and easy project. Especially, when I'm stuck knitting two garments that seem to take forever. That's my fault as I can't put one project aside.

I saw a shop display model of this shoulder scarf at one of my LYS. The display model was knitted in a red/raspberry/purple variegated color. It was a beauty. I ended up purchasing the Rayon Boucle over the Internet and I chose a blue/teal/purple color yarn. I love this color.

My new Shoulder Scarf in Alaska (blue tones) - Rayon Boucle by Fiesta Yarns


Here's my review:

Name of Pattern:
Shoulder Scarf

Designed by:
Fiesta Yarns

Pattern/Garment Description:
Shoulder scarf with rounded edge

Size(s):
One size fits all

Yarns Used:
Rayon Boucle by Fiesta Yarns in Alaska color (blues)

I used one hank with 240 yards

A beautiful yarn with (blue, purple, & teal colors)

The scarf drapes beautifully


Gauge:
Huge and not really important. The yarn label says 20 sts/4 inches with size 7 needle.

I used size 15 needles to get the open stitches

Knitting Tools Used:
Circular needles: 40 inch in size 15
Tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques I used/Things I learned:
Long tail cast on method
Garter stitch (knit)
M1 or increase at the beginning and end of each row. Used the two different M1 techniques to get the stitch to slant in the correct direction.
Kept knitting until I almost run out of yarn. I made sure I had enough length to bind off.

Changes I Made to the Pattern:
No changes were made

What I Like About this Pattern:
I love the drape of this scarf. I love the rounded edge versus a pointed edge that you see on most scarves/shawls.

No triangle shape in the back. Just a nice rounded edge.

What I Dislike About this Pattern:
Nothing to dislike

My Pattern Rating (Beginner, Easy, Intermediate, Hard):
I would rate this as Beginner/Easy.

Conclusion/Additional Comments:

As I mentioned before, I saw a shop display of this beautiful scarf. The LYS ran out of the Rayon Boucle, so I ordered a hank from WEBS. I had a hard time selecting a color. They were all so beautiful. I narrowed the decision, by selecting the colors that were close to monochromatic. Meaning, close in shade/hue family. It was a toss up between Poppies (reds) and Alaska (blues). I ended up with Alaska color as blue is one of my favorite colors.

On the inside label, they include winding instructions. They recommend placing the hank on a swift and hand winding the yarn. I wasn't in the mood to do that. I placed my hank on my handmade swift and then used my ball winder to wind my yarn. I ended up having to manually pull the yarn on the swift. Once I had a few yards pulled out, I would then use my ball winder to pull up the loose yarn. This method worked perfectly for me and I ended up with a beautiful yarn cake. I went ahead and placed the cake in its own small bag which I knitted from. For me, it's easier and I get consistent tension when I pull yarn from the middle while I'm knitting.

After casting on forty stitches and knitting a few rows, the scarf looked like a jumbled mess of yarn. At this point, I wasn't sure how this was going to look. Once I got going and knitted a few inches, the scarf began to take its beautiful shape. The weight of this yarn makes the scarf drape beautifully.

I bound off loosely and wove in the ends of the yarn. I can't tell you how many rows nor how many stitches I ended up with. I just kept knitting until I almost ran out of yarn.

Overall, this project took me less than 6 hours of knitting time. That is, 30 minutes here, an hour there. I'm not a fast knitter and I wanted to make sure I was knitting the stitches cleanly. Also, I had to make sure my stitches didn't accidently fall off the huge needles.

This shoulder scarf can be worn in many different ways, along the neckline as well as tied around the hips for a dressy or casual look. I'm looking forward to wearing this beauty for our upcoming dressy event this weekend.

Here's additional pictures:

How's this for a glamour shot?


I love playing with my new scarf


Could also wear it as a hip scarf

Must Be a "Blue" Month

If you look in my knitting bag, you will see some variation of blue yarn. That's what I'm currently using for my two projects. I just finished the shoulder scarf and that is blue as well. Interesting. I love the color blue. It's a soothing color for me. That's probably why I like wearing blue jeans. Plus, most colors go with blue. Just like the color black. Except black is a bit too warm to wear right now, under our hot and humid conditions. So, blue is my color and it looks like I'll be ending the summer month with that color as well.

I won't have a lot to post this week. I'm trying to check off my "to do" list which doesn't include any knitting items. DH and I will be heading to the Homestead Resort in a few days. DH is one of the guest speakers for the "In the Garden" series that is being hosted there. I'm looking forward to some quiet time there with my camera and my knitting needles. From the looks of this place, I found a picture of a porch with rocking chairs. This is what I call a great opportunity for "front porch" knitting.

I Started Another Project

Update 08/15/09: I've included a current picture of my scarf...now taking shape. It's turning out beautifully.

Halfway through my scarf


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Original post:

Last night, I casted on for my shoulder scarf. I've been itching to start this and decided that it might be a quick and easy project. It's taken me awhile to get used to knitting with size 15 needles. I'm using Rayon Boucle by Fiesta Yarns. Fiesta recommends hand winding the yarn into a ball. I can see why as the yarn likes to get caught up on itself. I went ahead and placed my hank of yarn on my handmade swift and slowly wound the yarn on my ball winder. It worked out great.

The scarf is knitted in garter stitches. I'm also doing an increase at the beginning and at the end of each row. So far, I love the rounded shape versus a pointed shape scarf.

Right now (picture) my shoulder scarf looks like a jumbled mess of tangled yarn. I'm sure as I knit more rows, the weight of the scarf will start to distribute the stitches more evenly.

The makings of a shoulder scarf in Amazon color. Rayon Boucle by Fiesta Yarns

I'm still making some progress on my denim cabled vest and my violet lace panel cardi. I'm going to put one on hold, so I can get one project completed in the next few days.

I've been busy on Ravelry organizing my queue as well as looking for some Fall projects. I'm also rotating my yarns. I'm putting away some of my cotton yarns and slowly bringing out my wools for my next projects.

I'm Back!

DH and I had a fantastic time in Chicago. We learned a lot about leadership at the conference we attended. We did get a chance to head downtown for a few hours. A wonderful way to end our trip of the city.

I did managed to get an hour or two of knitting. Other than that, we were pretty much on the go from morning til night.

I've completed the front left piece of my lace panel cardigan. Here's a close up of the stitch pattern and the armhole area.



You can actually start to see a totem pole pattern in the lace. I have bound off the shoulder, but left 4 stitches on waste yarn. When I'm finished seaming, the 4 stitches will be used to continue an edging towards the back neckline. The armhole area looks a bit long because of the lace knitting and being close to loose knitting. I will have to deal with that issue when I seam the sleeves into the armholes. I have a trick or two up my sleeves (pardon the pun) that should resolve this issue.




August is turning out to be a busy month for me. I'm in the midst of getting a local knitting group launched, officially. I've been busy creating a schedule, preparing class topics, brainstorming project ideas, and finally, starting another blog for this group. Yes, this will be the 5th blog I've started. :)

This year has been an exciting time for me. Yes, there has been a few setbacks, but I've managed to overcome and move on. Just like my what my Yarn Personality test has confirmed..."I want to experience everything that life has to offer". Of course, it helps that I'm "delightfully driven".

Happy Knitting!

Knitting Updates

We're getting ready for our trip to Chicago to participate in a Leadership conference. I've collected a few things to wear and put them in piles. So, I'm not really packed...yet. The suitcase hasn't even shown its face. I'm getting ready to put my two knitting projects on lifelines and then I can pack the projects and needles in my luggage. I don't plan on doing any knitting while we're in transit to Chicago. That's what my iPod is for. DH and I will be watching a movie or listening to tunes. Thank goodness for my dual headphone adapter.

Once we arrive and get settled (outside of Chicago), I do plan on visiting one or two yarn shops in the area. I also hope to get some knitting done...an hour here or there. As to what we're going to see and do in Chicago...we're going to be spontaneous.

I thought I would give you an update on my current projects:

Cabled Vest in Denim

Yes. I've started another cabled vest. I couldn't help it. This Plymouth Fantasy Naturale in Denim Tweed called out to this pattern and now the two became one. The yarn is beautiful! I love the marled look. I can't wait to see how the cable (front pieces) will turn out. I plan on wearing this version right through the Fall season. I guess I've started knitting my transition garments.

Cabled vest in denim. Isn't the yarn color gorgeous?


Finished the increases @ the sides (M1s at each side, slanting appropriately) every 4th row, 6 times


Lace Panel Cardigan in Violet

I'm moving right along with this project. The back piece took awhile to finish. It's all stockinette stitches. Not too exciting. Once I got beyond the bottom armhole, the knitting seemed to go a lot faster.

Lace panel cardi in violet - back piece completed

I've started the left front piece. This is more interesting as I'm now knitting the lace pattern.

Lace panel cardi - front piece


Here's a non-flash picture of the lace pattern detail:

Lace pattern for front piece...pretty simple design

The only minor issue I'm having is remembering when to knit or purl the stitches. There are no charts for this pattern, just line by line instructions.

Both of these projects will be traveling with me.



Log Cabin squares

I managed to finish the last square. I'm glad I picked out two completely different color yarns. Interesting to see what I ended up with.

Second square


Both squares completed and waiting to be integrated with the other squares at work

That's what I've been up to.

Oh. I almost forgot to mention this. A friend of mine gave me some old crochet and knitting magazines and patterns that she had collected over the years as well as patterns given to her by friends. I was skimming through them and uncovered some wonderful finds. Vintage knitting patterns. Yes, I call them vintage as they are dated from the 1940s. There are a lot of cardigans and twinsets. Some plain and some with intricate details. I'm in awe. A nice surprise. I will do a separate post on these old knitting patterns along with some pictures when I get back.

Happy Knitting!