Monster Sweater

I call this my monster sweater after the Monster Sock Group on Ravelry (no, it's not a monster to make). I used my leftover sock yarn - so I have a pair of socks that goes with each of the colors in the sweater. Once I completed it, I thought I would have space in my sock yarn tub, but I swear sock yarn is like linguini noodles - the more you use the more it seems to grow!

I finished the sweater around the first of the year and wore it once. It was a little long from the shoulder to the armpit. Usually, I have the opposite problem. I discovered I wasn't wearing it as much as I thought I would and decided it was because of the extra length. Recently, I frogged back to the where I connected the body of the sweater with the sleeves and re-knit. I'm much happier with it now.

The bottom of the sleeves and the body have cabled ribbing. After I re-knit the top, I added about a 1/2-inch of 2/2 ribbing to the bottom of the cabled ribbing. This has helped the bottom from rolling up. I've never had that happen with a cabled rib before, but it may be because I staggered the cables.

Gneil Gnome

One of the fiber guilds I belong to decided to use gnomes as our holiday theme. I thought a variation on the Sven Scandinavian pattern by Cottage Creations just might be an easy way to do that. I was right! I used sock yarn and smaller needles, as opposed to sport weight yarn. I also sized down the lengths, so he's not as tall as a Sven. He's a fun project and looks gnomish enough to fit the requirements.

Given the little bit of white in his eyes, spooks my cats. I love moving him around the house when I know they'll run into him. It didn't take Hans and Greta long to figure out I was behind it!

Entrelac - Mission Accomplished!

Entrelac - The Adventure Continues

The main part of the bag is now complete! The i-cord handles are also done and waiting to be felted. I decided to knit two interior pockets that will be felted at the same time. I like having a couple pockets in the bag for those smaller items that like to hide in the bottom of the bag (i.e. ringing cell phone). I can't wait to felt this to see how it comes out. I found this project challenging, yet it went quickly enough to hold my attention - I couldn't wait to see what it looked like once the next tier was on. I put a ruler at the top to show how big it is before felting. Right now, my large male cat likes to crawl inside. All of him fits and all one can see are his amber eyes! I think he's going to be disappointed when he can't fit in it anymore. At least, I hope he won't be able to fit in it after felting!

Entrelac

Many years ago I mastered this technique. Recently, I decided to re-explore it. I thought I could just pick up the needles and go for it - I was wrong. In the intervening years, a few links in the intellectual chain fell out. So, I've had to re-learn.

After a number of false starts, I discovered Linda Cyr's "Market Squares" bag in the Summer 2001 Knitter's Magazine. I wish I had the colors she had in my stash, but even so, I am very pleased with the results. I have a plethora of Green Mountain Spinnery Double Twist and this pattern really shows off the wonderful colors. The instructions for entrelac are the clearest I've found - even though I did some personal tweaking. I can't wait to finish and felt this!

Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton - A Book Review

One of my knitting friends from our local fiber guild lent me Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton a couple weeks ago. What a fun read! Even though it's a murder mystery, it's the sort that Agatha Christie would write with Miss Marple as her main character. Maggie Sefton's main character is much younger than Miss Marple, but every bit as tenacious. There's another difference between Kelly Flynn and Miss Marple - Miss Marple could already knit, but Kelly learns in this first in the series.

Kelly is flanked by her new-found friends at the House of Lambspun, who have a wide variety of interests and professions beyond their interest in knitting - all of which come in handy.

There's a few little picky details that are in error regarding ranching and law, but these are easily ignored in this fast-paced mystery. I like cozy mysteries that keep me thinking and this one fit the bill. I can't wait to read the second in the series.

"Must Have Cardigan" Completed!

Wa-Hoo! It's done and it fits! This was so much fun and it fits so well, I think I "must have" another! I chose this photograph because it shows the detail, although the rich red-violet color is a bit washed out. In the spirit of using the stash I have on hand before buying more, I found the little pewter buttons in my knitting/tackle box. Usually, I don't find these things until I've spent money on other ones that I can't return.

In searching through my stash I found an off-white worsted weight which would look more like the traditional Aran - but maybe not until next fall - just in case I really "must have" another!