Sock Flat

I finally knit up one of my sock flats from this summer. It's always a surprise what comes out. I did these toe up and because my bind off is so tight, I used a picot cast off which is not only looser it gives the socks a very nice finish. As you can see it only takes about 2/3rds of a sock flat to make socks for me. I'm working up an idea of the remainder - film at 11!

It's Been a Christmas!

After my last blog entry, I had to rush down to Phoenix because my step-father was not doing well (he seems to be better now) and my mother was overwhelmed. It was a bad week to be gone, weather-wise, and I had some real concerns about getting back in time for some work commitments just prior to Christmas - but I made it. Unfortunately, my oldest cat, Hans, was not pleased that I left and gave me the cold shoulder upon my return. He can never keep it up long, because all I have to do is come close and he starts to purr!

For the first time in my life, my mother did not make me guess what she wanted for Christmas! She has a couple feather pillows which my grandmother made for her. I wove covers for them soon after I graduated from college and they had finally worn away (gives you an idea how long I've been out!) I only had a few weeks, but I made these out of Sugar n' Cream and included a zipper so she can wash and dry them. I used a pattern from one of the Harmony Guides for the pillow on the left and the cable one is from the new issue of Cast On. I sized them for my grandmother's pillows as "standard size" was not part of her vocabulary! (At least the pillows were both the same size.) Anyway, my mother was pleased with her presents.

Here's the scarf I made for my son out of the yarn Hans enjoyed a few entries ago. I wish the cable pattern showed up better. It was my first foray into Reversible Cables and I used the Palindrome pattern available at:

http://www.cometosilver.com/patterns/palindrome.htm

Rescue Chair Update

The cold weather has limited the amount of time I can work on my chair - but I've still been working on it - slow, but sure. I'm down to the last coat of paint in most places and down to the wood in others - like the seat. What has bothered me about the chair is that while it's as sturdy as the Rock of Gibraltor, it looks like it leans. I couldn't figure it out. At least I couldn't figure it out until I got most of the finish off the seat. The seat is not symetrical! So it's part of it's charm and it's not structural. I was very concerned that I would get to the last coat of paint on the chair back and see glimpses of rosemaling, but no, it's just wood. I'm may give up and get it dipped or have the rest of the finish stripped professionally since I'm kind of an instant gratification kind of person.

Biloxi Blues

When I purchased one of the hand spindles I wrote about a few months ago, I received some wool batts with the spindle. It's the Biloxi Blues colorway from Maine Woods Yarn and Fiber (www.mainewoodsyarn.com). I finished spinning and plying a week or so ago and here it is: About 278 yards of double-plied at about DK weight. I haven't figured out the wpi on it yet to be sure. It weighs in at 4.8 ounces, so it might be closer to worsted weight instead. I really like how the colors work together and the white just makes the whole skein pop!

Rescue Chair

I rescued this chair this afternoon. Okay, I really didn't "rescue" it in the true sense of the word. But it has been severely abused and neglected. It's solid wood and probably the sturdiest chair I've ever encountered. I'm not sure yet what kind of wood it is because it has so many coats of paint on it. It appears that in addition to its original dark stain, it's been red, gray, off white and it's current coat of white enamel. It's going to be a challenge, but given it's strengths, I think it will be well worth.

It's biggest positive (which is almost oxymoronic - if that's a word) is it's size - it's small, so it fits me perfectly. Not that I'm a little person, but let's just say I'm small for my age. Because of it's smaller size, it is very comfortable and will be great for spinning. The best height for spinning on an Ashford wheel (of which I have two), is 17 inches. This one, once I get the paint off the seat will be 16-1/2 to 16-3/4 inches high. It appears the seat is contoured, as is the back; but again, given the layers of paint it's a little difficult to tell.

I'm not sure of the period of furniture or when or where it was built, but given the color of the stain, I'm guessing it's from the early part of the 20th century.

Spinning Update

In addition to all the top secret knitting I've been doing for the holidays, I have been doing quite a bit of spinning. I've completed the gray-overdyed-with-blue I purchased at North Country Fiber Fair. It ended up as a 1 pound, 13.5 ounce/1142 yard bouncing ball of Navajo-plied wool.

As for the Vulcan & friend spinning, it wasn't consistently working out the way I wanted to so now I'm spinning the alpaca and wool separately and then plying them together. It took a little bit to get used to how slippery the suri alpaca is, but it's fine now and I'm loving the results.
For a little bit, I was wondering why I bought so much; but now, I'm really glad I did.

Spinning Vulcan

Sorry, this caramel swirl is not edible: It's Vulcan's fleece and that of some of his sheep friends swirled together in this delictible combination of suri alpaca (that's Vulcan) and wool. Since suri alpaca is slicker than black ice, Vulcan's owners combined his rich brown fleece with wool for easier spinning. Fortunately, I bought a lot of this because I keep changing my mind how I want to spin it up. Right now, I'm thinking three strands of as closer to barber pole as I can get it in one strand. In case you aren't familar with the term "barber pole" that's with the white and the brown spiralling separately like, you guessed it, a barber pole. What I've done so far has kind of a tweedy effect on the spool and it's keeping the rich brown color with just little flecks of white. What I wanted to avoid was having it blend into tan. Whatever garment it turns out to be, it'll be nice and warm.

Incidentally, Vulcan's photo is on his owner's website at http://www.rachalpacafarm.com then click on alpacas - his photo is near the bottom.

Wool Kitty

Here's the yarn I spun from Sally Sue, who belongs to a friend about 75 miles north of where I live. The fleece was just beautiful and just about spun itself. Since it had a bit more suint than I like to knit with, I washed it in Dawn before setting the twist. The photo to the right shows what happened to the yarn after the twist was set. I hung it over a chair before winding it. Neither of my cats was particularly interested in it up to that point. As I walked into a nearby room, I caught both of them heading to the chair with the yarn. I heard their chatter and thought they were getting ready to play - wrong! When I walked back into the room, Hans was all rolled up in the skeins and making little noises. Greta, his partner in crime, was watching from a safe distance with a look on her face like she couldn't believe that's why he wanted her help getting the skeins down.

I found a new knitting mystery series!

I've been reading Maggie Sefton's series for a few months now - unfortunately, jumping around enough that I'm a little confused as to chronological order of events. Recently i discovered another knitting mystery series, this one by Mary Kruger. I wasn't blown away by the first in the series, Died in the Wool. There were a couple of things that I felt were technical errors and unfortunately, it bothered me. I really liked the characters though, so I read the second in the series, Knit Fast, Die Young. I am so glad I did!

The main character in the series (and the unintentional sleuth) is Ari Evans, who is a divorced mother of a school-aged daughter. She owns a yarn shop in a northeastern state and has a widowed mother, a well-intentioned aunt, a close friend who is a spinner, a grumpy ex-husband and a potential love interest, who happens to be a detective with the local police department. Ari comes across dead and dying people in very unlikely places and circumstances, who die in very unconventional and contrived ways and means. But it doesn't matter! It's still fun, fast-paced reading!

This time, a publisher of knitting magazine, who is known to be very critical of just about everyone, dies in Ari's arms with a knitting needle stuck in her back at a small wool festival in the New England town where Ari lives. Ari had met this woman earlier when she lived in New York. The cops decide to hold everyone at the wool festival who knew the victim; personalities and tempers flash and flare, but eventually Ari flushes out the murderer.

Unless there is a category for knitting mysteries, this book isn't going to win any huge publishing awards, but for a fast-paced read and interesting characters, it's a winner.

Sugar Maple Socks

I just finished another 2-at-a-Time Socks pattern by Melissa Morgan-Oakes - Sugar Maple Socks. Although in the Kaffe Fassett sock yarn, they don't look too sugar maplely. These worked up quickly and the while the pattern looks like a cable, it is just two stitches, one over the other, so no cable needle is needed. So okay, technically, it is a cable. As you can see, it's a great pattern for self-striping yarn.

Monogamy and the Polycrafter

Let me start by saying that knitting, spinning, quilting and the other things I do make it harder to remain monogamous than it has been for me to remain monogamous in the main relationship in my life. That's probably a good thing. Most things I've read and heard lately stress the term "monogamous". Everywhere I turn, some asks, "Am I a monogamous knitter?" Well, since I don't have every set of needles occupied with yarn, yeah, I am a monogamous knitter. I finish one knitting project before I start another. No, I'm not crazy - I'm cheap. While I have all kinds of knitting needles in lots of sizes, it seems that whenever I stray from the one project, it encompasses buying another set of the same size, I'm already using. This really didn't hit home until I did a needle inventory and realized how many circular size 2 needles I have. Given the cost of needles these days, I'd rather spend my money on yarn or fleece.

While a lot writers, bloggers and podcasts emphasize "monogamy", I think the magic weasel word is "polycrafter". By no means do I have just one project going, so I'm not strictly monogamous. I have one project per art/craft! So, right now I'm knitting a pair of socks (Sugar Maple pattern from 2-at-a-time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes in Kaffe Fassett sock yarn by Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line); spinning Sally Sue (yes, she was sheared first); long-arm quilting Tesselating Cats, designed by Jinny Beyer; and piecing another quilt. Again, I rationalize with weasel words and differentiate between long-arm quilting and piecing a quilt as separate arts/crafts. I don't think monogamy is supposed to involve this much rationalizing or the use of weasel words. So the magic word is polycrafter, not monogamy.

February Lady Sweater

I recently signed up for a KAL (knit-a-long) on ravelry. I've always avoided knit-a-longs because I tend to get competitive and get mine done first! I don't know if I did this time or not, but it didn't take me very long to make this sweater. It's an enlarged version of a baby sweater designed by Elizabeth Zimmerman for the Knitter's Almanac (it's for February, hence the name). I used a merino, alpaca, cashmere blend I bought on sale at a yarn shop about 50 miles from here. It's nice and warm, which is a real plus because it snowing outside my window right now!

Lace Scarf

I just finished this lace scarf using the yarn I won at the North Country Fiber Fair about a month ago. I also won a pattern, but I really wanted to use my own pattern "Reversible Lace Scarf" and see how it worked with lace yarn. This is a lace-weight merino used double-stranded. It's a combination of pinks, browns and little yellow. Despite all the holes, it's will be warm, soft and snuggly - not at all itchy.

Two New Friends

Here are two of my new friends. They have many of the qualities for which I strive: They're attractive, lightweight, hardworking and well-balanced. The spindle with the folk art is from Maine Woods Yarn and Fiber who use the name "mainewoods0418" on eBay. The other is a walnut hand spindle from Aubeline's Spindidley who use the name "spindidley" on eBay. I have other hand spindles, but these two are my new favorites. Incidentally, as much as I'd like to, I can't take credit for the fiber - that too is from Maine Woods Yarn and Fiber.

I had a horrible experience on eBay this spring and so I haven't used it much since. Now, when I do, I am very cautious about the people and shops I do business with. The sources for my two new friends really went "above and beyond" to restore my faith in eBay. For example, the post office delivered the walnut spindle in a water soaked package into my post office box - at least I hope it was water. Anyway, the finish appeared ruined. This spindle is so well-balanced, even though Spindidley offered a refund or a replacement, I really wanted this spindle and just wanted to know how to make the finish look as great as it did when it left their hands. They were happy to comply and now it looks great!

I'm really looking to start making my own spindles at some point and I only hope I can do as well as these.

Velvet Curtain Cabled Gauntlets

This is my version of Kirsten Hipsky's Velvet Curtain Cabled Gauntlets. I used yarn I spun from dyed pencil roving. I am still intrigued by the dyeing process that was used in the roving, combining green and turquoise in various amounts throughout. I also came up with a much different gauge because I tend to spin on the fine side. So, instead of the 30 stitch cast on, I used 56 stitches and then increased to 60 after a 1/1 rib. Even with the finer gauge these knit up quickly. Since my office/studio is on the northwest side of the house on the lower level, it gets cold. I wear fingerless gloves in the wintertime to keep my hands warm, even while typing, sewing, spinning or knitting.

Frost Warning

The weather report this morning included a frost warning for tonight. Given how cool our summer was here, some of my glads are just now starting to bloom, while many of my black-eyed Susans are almost finished. I went out first thing and photographed my favorites, just in case we run out of sheets to cover everything up this evening.

Last fall I bought a multi-pack of different kinds and colors of glads. There must have been 100 bulbs because I was starting to consider digging up the back lawn to accomodate all of bulbs. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to (after all he went through to put in the lawn, I'm not sure what my spouse would have done had I dug it up!) I have them sorted (sorta) by color and these in the photograph are on the pink mound that is shared with a pine tree and a cedar tree. Whenever I see glads I think of my maternal grandmother, who had rows of glads in her garden - there were always plenty for bouquets.

Since I am a black-eyed Susan, I'm more than a little partial to those flowers. This year I have three different kinds in the garden. The one I have photographed below was a gift from one of our neighbors who didn't have room for it in her garden and she was afraid it wouldn't survive the winter in its pot. I am always ready to provide a home for black-eyed Susans and promised to give these a good home.

North Country Fiber Fair

I had a wonderful weekend at the North Country Fiber Fair in Watertown. Here are a couple photos of my winning entries. I took two firsts, the Booga Bag with Nicky Epstein flowers and the yell0w-orange skein of handspun from a roving I painted. The yellow-orange skein also took best of show, which is called the Kay Cheever award.

The two third place ribbons were for the Aran knit sweater and the bluish skein of handspun from my painted roving. (Incidentally, one roving of each winning skien is on my Etsy site - http://sheepishhandknits.etsy.com). I've never received any ribbons before, but that's probably because I never entered anything, anywhere before!





Even better than receiving ribbons was the time I could spend renewing old friendships. People were there whom I haven't seen in a number of years and conversations just seemed to continue from when I saw them last. It was truly a winning weekend!

Belle Epoque Socks

When I saw the pattern for these socks in "2-at-a-time Socks" by Melissa Morgan-Oakes, I knew I had to try them. I don't buy a lot of solid-colored sock yarn and this pattern would be completely lost on the multi-colored yarn I usually chose. While light blue is not exactly my color, it was on sale at my local yarn store and I figured that these socks would at least go with jeans.

The picot edging on the top (you can barely see it in the photo) is what initially caught my eye. It was super easy to do and a nice departure from ribbing at the top. The cable is not really a cable and the pattern is so much fun, these socks go by in no time. I am really sold by the "2-at-a-time" method. At first, it seemed like it took forever to get a pair done, but not anymore. Plus, I really like that both socks match.

The Mystery of the Missing Sock

I'm always a little sad when there is one lone sock after I fold the clothes. I'm usually confident that eventually the dryer will cough up it's mate. At least that's the case when it's a commerically-made sock, not one of my handknit ones. I got home from an overnighter on Friday of last week. I dumped the plastic hotel bag of laundry in the laundry basket without even opening it. My spouse is really great about doing the laundry - he even air dries my superwash wool socks, rather than putting them through the dryer! I had nothing to worry about - or so I thought.

Saturday night I went to put some of the laundry away (he doesn't do everything - but I'm not complaining) and there was ONE LONE HANDKNIT SOCK on the table, just one. I panicked. It was from one of my favorite pairs. I looked in the dryer. I re-folded clothes, thinking it stuck to something else. I looked in the pack where I had the laundry bag. I looked in the space between the dryer and the washer - just in case it stuck to something and was erroneously dried. I looked everywhere - no sock. I even had a little trouble going to sleep that night. During all of this my spouse was blissfully sleeping, content in the knowledge all was well in his domain.

Sunday, I couldn't think of a way to address the missing sock without it sounding like an accusation - after all, I really appreciate the fact he does the laundry and I don't want to take that job back. Every so often, I would peek in the laundry room to see if the missing sock returned, it hadn't.

Just before bed, I went down to bring up more laundry - both socks were neatly placed together. Long story, short - I still don't know where the sock went, but it's back, washed and neatly placed in the sock basket.

Felted Cabled Bag

I finally finished knitting the Felted Cable Bag from the Nashua Handknits Designer Bags! Calling it the "Felted Cabled Bag" is a bit of a misnomer at this point because I haven't felted it yet. It's made out of Green Mountain Double Twist. My big guy cat Hans is next to it eyeing it up. Green Mountain Double Twist is Hans' favorite yarn. He loves to lay on it, roll on it and sleep on it. I haven't had the heart to tell him that it's not made any more. The other Green Mountain yarn just doesn't quite meet his criteria - whatever that is. I hoping this bag shrinks a lot in the felting process because it is huge! I've put a ruler at the bottom for reference.

I've Become a Podcast Junkie

I love to knit and spin while watching television. This summer, there's only been one program I watch regularly and a couple others I try to remember to watch - not enough to get much knitting or spinning done. Then, I discovered podcasts. I am downloading to my iPod right now. I started out with one, the KnitPicks podcast. An acquaintance of mine was interviewed earlier this year and when I found out about it earlier this summer, I thought it would be fun to hear her podcast. I was hooked. In addition to the KnitPicks podcast, I subscribe to 11 other knitting and spinning-related podcasts! Fortunately, a couple seem to be taking a few weeks off right now. But this week alone, the download consists of nine different podcasts! And the crazy part is - I keep adding because at least one of the podcasters mentions another one she just discovered! At least this is a constructive addiction - because I am getting a lot of knitting and spinning done!

For some solid information on knitting and yarn, my favorite is the KnitPicks podcast. When I have a little more time and want a good laugh with some information thrown in, I really enjoy limonviolet's podcast. Then there are a few by some very busy moms: Brown-Eyed Mom, Knaked Knits, knittingatnight and She-Knits. I doubt any of these women sleep, because not only do they have time for their children, work or school and knitting, but they podcast regularly too! Pretty impressive! That's my short list of podcasts. I listen regularly to more and frankly, if they weren't good, I wouldn't listen!

I Dyed!

Here's my first attempt at space dyeing (as opposed to dying in space). I used chemical dyes and the cold pour method. I am still very surprised at how vibrant the colors turned out. There's yellow into orange, into vermillion, into teal. The next time I'm thinking either omit the teal or the yellow - but who knows, maybe once I knit this up, I won't feel that way!

Small Felted Purse

This is the Small Felted Purse designed by JoAnne Turcotte and made out of one skein of Plymouth Boku yarn. This was a free pattern if you purchased one skein of the yarn. There is a slight shift in yarn - it's a single ply, slightly overspun yarn - so it's no surprise. I love the colorways and the purse is a great size for essentials and slips into my computer bag or briefcase.

Easter Egg Socks

We travelled to San Francisco a couple weeks ago for a few days. I decided to take one of my sock blanks along and knit up a pair of socks. I used the toe-up two-at-a-time pattern on KnitPicks.com website and just about completed the socks during the trip - of course, getting our flight cancelled in Denver helped provide the extra time to do that! I guess there's a silver lining in every cloud! I'm calling these my Easter Egg socks because they really look like the colors on Easter Eggs - maybe that's what I get for using food color and vinegar to dye the sock blank!

Sock Blanks

I recently purchased two sock blanks from Knit Picks. I also purchased dye, but I knew at least one of my cats would likely participate (there's just no shutting these guys out), so I used food coloring adapting Julie Theaker's "cold pour method" described in her Knitting: Spring 07 article "Color to dye for." The photographs show the "wrong" side, but I thought that side photographed the best. The top photograph features my helper, Greta. I also relied on the McCormick Neon colors - the purple in the bottom photograph and the lime green in the top one are particularly striking. I wonder if any of the colors glow in the dark? Now to see how these knit up into socks!

Needled to Death, by Maggie Sefton - A Book Review

I just finished the second in this series, Needled To Death. I liked this one, even better than the first. The characters are now getting more dimensional - particularly Jennifer, one of Kelly's friends. This entry in to this series is a page-turner and even though I guessed the outcome correctly early on, there were enough clues to make me unsure of my guess. For those of you who haven't delved into this series, I'm glad to report the heroine, Kelly, is making progress in her knitting!

Two Socks/One Circ - Done!

I tried to upload the photograph of these socks in progress yesterday. Today, I finished and had better luck in uploading. The only challenging aspect was using the reinforcement thread on the heel bottoms (I wish I knew why I wear socks out there!) and the toes. Four strands tended to tangle - but it's possible! I used the Zane Grey colorway in Wildfoote by Brown Sheep and I think Granite would have been a better name for it because it looks like granite. I'm so glad I learned this method!

Two Socks/One Circ!

As I think I've written earlier, I decided this year to take my knitting up a notch and explore some new techniques. I've tackled knitting one sock on two circulars and really enjoy that method, so my next step (no pun intended) was to try two socks on one circular. I used Melissa Morgan Oakes 2-at-a-time Socks book and really appreciated the clear photos. I'm not done yet, but I'm close.

The first thing that disappointed me was the time it took to get to the heel flap. Then, I remembered I was knitting two socks at the same time, not one. Now, it seems as though it's going faster. I really like this method too.

My only complaint with DPNs is that if I'm knitting in public, they tend to escape. My most embarrassing escape was in a town meeting situation that was held in a theater. I like to sit in the back, so I don't disturb anyone. But this night, at a quiet moment in the meeting, one of my DPNs escaped and I could hear it roll down to the front of the theater. A couple other people heard too and turned back to look at me. I tried to look as innocent as possible. I retrieved it at the end of the meeting and of course, an acquaintance said, "Lose a needle?" I don't think that will happen with either of the circular methods.

Swizzle Socks

I just finished these socks. I used Swizzle by Reynolds Yarns for the first time. I really like knitting with this yarn and the hand of the finished sock. They should be very comfortable to wear. I also liked the striping - it's flashy, yet I can wear it to work. Plus, the repeat is frequent enough that I didn't feel I was wasting yarn by starting at the same repeat for the second sock. I have a hangup about my socks matching exactly.

Quivit

A few years ago, a friend dropped off a bag of cleaned quivit at my office. What a gift! Not only was it quivit - but she'd picked and washed it too! It has sat in the bag it arrived in hooked on to my spinning wheel until this past week. Now look at it!

About a week ago, I fixed the drive band on my wheel and found the "10 Minutes A Day" site on Ravelry. I can't just spin for 10 minutes, it's usually for the duration of whatever I'm watching on television or the pile of fleece in my lap.

This skein is 396 yards of lace weight/2ply/16 wpi, weighing in at a little over 4 ounces. I'm thinking scarf - stay tuned!

Jean Frost's Tremont Jacket

I'm hoping this jacket looks better once it's blocked. It has a little slit up the back and I hoped the crocheted edging would keep it from flipping up. It does help a little, but hopefully, blocking will help it a lot!

This was a fun jacket to make. I'd never made a jacket before. The crocheted edging gives it a Chanel look; however, I don't think Coco ever had her back edging flip up!

I also made it smaller than the pattern and it's still a little wide on the bottom. I need the width through the shoulders, but no where else.

Booga Bag

Here's a very different look for a Booga Bag! I was surprised it looked this elegant in black. I bemoaned the fact I couldn't do it in the Noro suggested in the pattern. A friend has one in Noro and it's so cute and sporty; but I think I'll get more use out of this one. In my one departure from the pattern, I added a felted square pocket inside, so everything doesn't shake to the bottom and spoil the lines. I also made Nicky Epstein flowers for it, but instead of attaching them permanently (once I get them felted) I think I'll use pins. That way I change the arrangement occasionally or not have flowers at all.

Harry Bear

Meet Harry Bear! He's a Berroco pattern I got free with the purchase of a ball of Chinchilla yarn. He is a quick, one-skein project - it took me longer to make his scarf than it did to knit him! Chinchilla is a rayon, chenille yarn that is very soft to the touch. My cats have been checking him out all day!

The Wonderful Wallaby

I finished my Wallaby this week. Given that it's the last week of May I thought I would probably have it ready for this fall. Once again, I was wrong. It's been so cold here, it's just the right weight. This is the Wallaby designed by Cottage Creations and I used Plymouth Jelli Beanz for the yarn. I love the deep purple and given all the accent colors, I think it should go with everything.

Textured Socks

I'm still working on the written pattern for these. But I think I need a snazzier name than "Textured Socks"! The textured stitch gives the self-striping yarn a muted or air-brushed look. I can't wait to try it on a solid to see how it looks. I used Trekking (XXL) in color 108. The stripe does not repeat very often so I got almost to the toe of the first sock before the repeat, so I broke off and started the second sock so the two socks would at least be similar. In looking at the photo; however, it does not seem to be an exact repeat. If I keep moving my feet when I'm wearing them - no one will notice! Even so, if someone is that close to my feet to see that my socks aren't an exact match - they're too close!

The Friday Night Knitting Club, by Kate Jacobs

I just finished reading The Friday Night Knitting Club. I found it hard to believe this was the author's first novel. It is a finely crafted story revolving around the members of a knitting club in New York. While the main character, Georgia, the owner of the shop, is the star of book, I found myself wanting to know more about the other characters who attend the club. I hope that's a sign there may be a sequel to the book.

The Friday Night Knitting Club is a departure for me in my quest to read for pleasure. I generally read non-fiction, particularly history, or mysteries. When I purchased the book, I hoped it was a mystery, but no matter - it was still an excellent read.

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!

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Must Have Cardigan - WIP

I started this cardigan about March 1, even though I've had the pattern for a long time. The pattern immediately appealed to me because of the v-neck. One of the problems I have knitting cardigans is that the neck opening is too big. Conversely, the biggest problem I have knitting pullovers is that the neck opening is too small - go figure. The v-neck resolves this problem for both kinds of sweaters.

I'm using Green Mountain Double Twist in mulberry - kind of a reddish purple. I don't think Green Mountain is making Double Twist any more. I do hope they have kept the mulberry colorway - it's gorgeous!

Since I don't like to follow directions, I haven't made an exception in knitting this great design from Paton's. I have knit the body in one piece, instead of three, grafting the shoulders together. I am currently on sleeve one and instead of knitting it back and forth, I'm knitting the sleeve on circulars until I get to the cap. I love to knit, but hate to finish; so I go through all kinds of contortions to avoid any sort of piecing together. I will have to set in the sleeves in this one, but I'll sacrifice because of the great design.

One of the reasons I started knitting sweaters is because I could not find clothes that I liked in a small size. In fact, I recently made another cardigan and even though I sized it down, it just didn't look as good as the photo, sized down. I don't think I'm going to have that problem with the Must Have Cardigan. Since the body is pretty well complete, I have tried it on and it fits great!

Since a good part of my life is devoted to knitting and other needlearts, I thought it high time I started blogging. I thought for a long time that no one pays any attention to blogs, but then I found that I read blogs all the time and actually learn something. Hopefully, this blog will be helpful to someone!

Susan B.