Gratified

This is the first of the almost-instant gratification projects. I started a week ago, and did not knit at all on a couple of days.

I was warned that the yarn would stretch so I used  a #4 needle instead of the #5 or #6 called for by the pattern. It did relax quite a bit after wet blocking and pressing with a bare warm iron.

This afternoon I plan to buy some Euroflax linen for a table runner and visit the quilt show.

Almost-Instant Gratification

It's not as though I've been working on big projects. Here is the soaker, which took about 2 days to make:

Here is the Baby Kina that took 11 days to finish:

Even the baby blanket took a month to finish, but 2 weeks of that was vacation time, with some work on Sparrow:

But now I'm craving even quicker projects. I just downloaded this pattern to make with a skein of Araucania Ruca Multi that I bought in Hawaii. There is no real connection to Hawaii except that the yarn is made from sugar cane, and we did see a lot of sugar cane growing on Maui. Hawaii was great, but not for yarn shopping.

 Next up in the instant gratification queue is the Las Palmas table runner. The pattern link is not working, but a Ravelry member shared her recollection of the pattern with me. I hope Really Knit Stuff has a good color of Euroflax in stock.

 It's said to be unlucky to take lava from Hawaii, but I took the risk and shipped myself some smooth lava stones from the Big Island and Maui. My plan is to get some of them fitted with little crochet covers soon.

Failed Experiment

As you can see from the last post blogging from the iPad is not quite ready for Broadway. It might be better than communicating by crop circles but only a little. Anyway here are the pictures and links that should have been in the last post:

Here is a link for making these blankets.

This was the original city quilt. I will use the same pattern but add fabric paint to the "windows".

You can see the "fronds" in this picture along with the beads.

So Sew

The new sewing machine has inspired lots of quilting and related projects. On July 4 I finished a baby blanket with Jetsons-style trees. It gave me a chance to try out more stitches for sewing the layers together and attaching the binding.
The bright squares on the gray background are going to be another city quilt, but I think I'll add some fabric paint to this one.
Last night we watched "Another Year" and I began applying beads to my first "art" quilt. The beading isn't as tedious as I anticipated; it should only take another 3 or 4 sessions to finish. The movie began slow but got better but in a lot of ways it is too realistic to be entertaining.

Projects Done and Begun

For a while I had wanted to make something to organize and store all the double-point needles that were stashed in a box with crochet hooks, stitch markers, and assorted small tools. The cases for sale on Etsy are beautiful, but I wasn't sure they would be big enough, and I really wanted to make one out of fabric and supplies I had on hand.

This is what I came up with. There are 2 pockets (short and long) for each size and the pockets are 2" wide. I forgot that I have a set of #1.5 needles, so they are living uneasily with the #2s. I had no idea I have so many #0 and #1 needles, especially since I hardly ever make socks.

This is Baby Sophisticate, knit for Creations for Charity--Tallahassee, FL. I used yarn that Ilona had sent from Germany several years ago, and have enough left to make another sweater just like it.

Not much to look at, but this is the beginning of a soaker for DGS. He is reported to have outgrown the first batch. The forecast is for temperatures near 100 this weekend, so it looks like a good time for indoor projects. Cleaning the sewing room (I can't call it a studio) should be first in the queue.

I Got Distracted

Is there any other explanation for abandoning this little effort for almost a year and a half? It is not as though my life took a turn for the exciting, or that I gave up knitting. Most of my knitting projects are on Ravelry, if you want to see what I've been working on. A few months ago I decided to replace my old, unreliable sewing machine with a Brother Project Runway model. It is wonderful to know that the sewing machine will actually work when I want to make something. I finished the skirt in picture last night and am pretty happy about how it turned out. If I had to make all my clothes I would have a lot fewer, though, and I understand why old houses had such little (or nonexistent) closets. The next sewing project in the queue is a case for storing double point knitting needles. The pieces are cut out and marked, but I have to think through the order to assemble them, since I'm making up the pattern. What else has been going on? I read and loved Bowling Avenue and have joined an art quilting group here in Tallahassee. I feel like something of a fraud when see what these women create, but I really enjoy hanging out with them every month and learning about their projects. Last fall I took a quilting for beginners class and have made several small quilts. Who would have guessed how much fun it is to cut fabric into pieces and sew it back together again? DD2 let me know that my grandson is outgrowing the soakers I made him at Christmas so I picked up some wool (Ella Rae worsted) at Wooly Bully today and will get started tonight. It makes me happy to make something that my kids have asked for.

Head 'em up, Move 'em out

 
Two scarves on wires, what a beautiful sight! The Lace Ribbon scarf was begun in spring 2008, shortly after the pattern appeared in Knitty. I used a skein of Pro Natura wool and bamboo sock yarn. I'm not sure it was the best choice for the yarn or pattern, but by the time I decided that it was way too late to start over.

The smaller scarf is the Rising bubbles pattern that started as a test swatch and grew into a small scarf to tuck into the neck of a coat.
  Lace Ribbon Detail
 

I had ambitions of a Modern Log Cabin crib blanket, but as the blanket grew it got too hard to move on the needles, so I declared victory and bound off. It is a seat cover for the little kittle's favorite chair.
I have finished a couple of baby projects and am almost finished with a long-deferred pullover. By the end of the week my needles will be saying "Free at last, free at last!"

Summer of Scarves and Shawls 2010

How I spent my summer:

Annis made with single ply Faroese wool purchased in Walsenberg, Colorado.
Leaf Lace Scarf, pattern and silk-mohair yarn purchased at the Silk Studio on Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C.

Rising Bubbles, One Skein Louet KidLin

Leaves on the Path 2 Skeins Alpaca With a Twist Baby Twist


Shibori Scarf One skein Kidsilk Haze

Knitting for Thrill-Seekers

Some people drive fast cars, some climb mountains, but for heart-pounding drama I suggest knitting Baktus. You can see just how much yarn was left over--those are very little cat's paws for comparison. I used Noro Kureyon Sock divided into 2 balls, knit on #3 needles. The yarn is very sticky and I often had to stop to pull the strands apart. It got easier when I put a split ring stitch marker on the ball of yarn on which the increases and decreases were worked.
Baktus was begun last summer and has been pushed out of the queue for several projects. Finishing it is part of my New Year's resolution about finishing all the works in progress. I have a dream of having nothing on needles sometime this spring and doing a complete needle inventory. There are 2 scarves, a pullover, and a baby blanket in progress now.

Another resolution is to revive this blog and keep it up with some frequency, at least to report finished projects and other knitting milestones. I took a quilting class last fall so a quilt may be included now and then. Here is my third and most recent quilt; It is 42"x42". I haven't made one much larger than that.

A Gold Medal for Me

I survived the Knitting Olympics challenge, completing the Estonian Lace Scarf (including blocking!) before the end of the closing ceremony. It was more challenging than I anticipated, but along the way I discovered a secret for nupps: work the purl 7 together with a small, sharp, flexible dp. I found that a size 0 Pony Pearl worked well. I had problems with the pattern for the border, too, but it was easier the second time around.
I used Buffalo Gold #11 yarn that I bought at the Calgary Stampede last summer, so the scarf will always make me think of Canada, and the wonderful time we had there.

Back From Atlanta

We got back late last night from a quick trip to Atlanta. DH was attending the annual AEA meetings, I went along for the wonders of Atlanta.

These are some of the wonders of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. It is not as well labeled as some botanical gardens (Fairchild Gardens in Miami, for example) but the greenhouse collection is beautiful, especially when the temperature outside is in the 20s. These are pitcher plants from the Andes, I think, but I didn't see a name card.
This is Dendrobium spectabile and it is quite spectacular: a totally frizzled orchid.

This orchid came with its own explanation, but I didn't smell the rotten meat scent.

The trip wasn't all plants, there were celebrities, too. I saw Merle Hazard perform (but I had to explain to my friends that his wife is the real celebrity)
and went to a luncheon in honor of Paul Krugman.
There was a little knitting, too. The Noro striped scarf is long enough now, and was put to good use in the in the uncharacteristic freezing Atlanta weather.

Things I Should Already Have Known

This was the year for learning (over and over)that technique is not a substitute for judgment. The knitting mistakes were not a matter of not being able to do something, but not knowing whether it was a good idea! I hope that by writing down (and publishing!) my mistakes I'll be able to avoid them in the future. In the spirit of self-examination, here are a few things I learned this year:
1. Size matters
Despite all my gauge swatches and self-measurements, I have a tendency to make things too large for myself. the Mission Falls cardigan is wearable but would be better if the sleeves were narrower; the bolero (from Feminine Knits) turned out so big that I gave it to a friend. Sizing in lace garments is particularly dicey. The remedy for this problem seems to be taking the work off the needles and trying it on, and choosing a smaller size.

The other lesson I learned from these cardigans it to knit both fronts and both sleeves simultaneously. Despite my efforts at row counting, I haven't found another way to make them match.
2. Scarves Should be Long
When I lived in a cold climate many years ago, scarves were often worn inside the neck of a coat, in my memory at least. Since then, it seems that the very long scarf has totally dominated the world of winter. I made 3 scarves this fall that were not long enough; 2 I'm adding onto and 1 will sleep with the fishes in the pond.

3. Even a Cotton Scarf is Too Hot for Tallahassee in the Summer
I love this scarf. It's my favorite light cotton (Paton's Grace) in my favorite colors, but its unwearable in the summer, which means until the end of October.
4. Knitting for Felting Hurts My Hands
Felting always seems like such a good idea! the knitting goes fast on those big needles, and the finished products are useful and sturdy, what could be better than these felted slippers? The sad truth is that, for me, knitting on those big needles requires a lot of pushing and pulling. I don't think I'll give up on felting entirely, but I must repect my limits.
That being said, this bag is one of my favorite projects. I use it as my carry-on bag when I travel, and always get compliments.

Looking Back Before Looking Forward

2009 has been a great year for family, traveling, weddings, and knitting, but not for blogging, obviously. Here are just a few of the successful projects completed this year. The unsuccessful ones have taught me a lot and really deserve their own entry.

The gray shawl was inspired by the Little Dorritt series. It is my own design and I used 1 skein of Malabrigo Lace in Paris Night. I'm thinking about making a larger, more open shawl in the same pattern. It seems a little goth!
These three are among the successful Christmas knits. I like the Noro Silken Garden scarf, but 2 skeins does not yield quite enough length. DH wore it as is in NYC over Christmas, but I'm contemplating adding 2 more skeins.
Here we have too much cat in the picture, not enough scarf! 2 skeins of Plymouth Happy Feet in a reversible cable Fisherman's Scarf. I loved both the process and the product!
For knitting purposes, it's great to have children who live in a cold climate. The cloche was made for DD1 from 2 skeins of Wisdom Poems, gently felted. The black band is knitted from stashed mystery sock yarn, and the flower was made by a Tallahassee fiber artist.

I hope to be back soon with wedding pictures, stories of travels, and lessons learned.