Countdown

I'm knocking off yet another post before leaving for Bendigo. My mind is simply whirling with all the preparations. I'm pretty sure there are weddings being held all over the world that required less thought and planning than this 6 day excursion. I started a "Things to take and To Do" list on the computer, and I'm already on my third page.

It's slightly less than three days now until we leave. I have been hemming new pants, scouring patterns and starting projects to take on the road with me. There's an ever growing pile of books and notebooks next to the computer here. Books I MUST have with me...just in case. (Just in case what? I wonder. Just in case I'm lost in the jungles of Victoria and need paper to start a fire with???)

Knitting wise, I have finished the my "Go Go Bendigo" hat made with Bendigo Woolen Mills Alpaca in the Oceania shade. (Stuck to the theme, didn't I?)



It matches well with the Alpaca Jacket I made, both in color and in stitch, and I wore it for a couple of nights to work, but it's a bit scratchy to my forehead, so right now it's taking a soak in some wool wash to soften it up a bit. I'll take it out before leaving for work tonight, and it BETTER be dry in time for the trip. If not, it's coming along wet and can dry at the cabin.

I found a simple pattern on Ravelry for Basic Fingerless Mitts, which I want to make with the rest of the Bendigo DK alpaca before I REALLY need them at the Rav Brekky next Saturday. Pictures and pattern are found here. Trouble is, I haven't even started them yet! I plan on doing that tomorrow, hopefully, but with only 7 days to go, I really need to get crackin.

NOTE TO MOM: You can see pictures of these specifically on that link, but there are many many prettier designs out there. This pattern is the one I found that best matched the stitch pattern on my jacket and the size yarn I have to use for the project. But it is plainer than most. There are some pretty cable ones that Feisty Wench mentioned in a comment on my last posthere that I plan on making for the shoots, or lovely lacy ones here. Of course, there are many many more besides these, and I'll email you more links if you are interested in "browsing" for some.

I've decided on a sock pattern for the boaty "socks ahoy" socks I'm making with the Koolaid dyed Patonyle. It's called Widdershins. After much searching on in my sock pattern books, searching Ravelry pattern browser, and even considering designing some of my own, I finally decided on this pattern I found on Ravelry. It's ropey design seems "boaty" enough, and it looks like a fun, but not TOO complicated knit. However, the size on the pattern is too small for my chubby feet, so I'm going to have to add knit stitches along the sides (at least four..perhaps more..I'll see as I go) Still, they are quite pretty.

I have them cast on, and have now almost finished my increases at the toe. It should be a fun knit, and a good "traveling" knit.

My other active WIP, the "Peace in the Hood" hoodie/cardi has been going to work with me. It has been seeing fairly slow but steady progress, and I'm now about halfway up the right front. I imagine I will start on sleeves during the trip, unless I get too fully into the socks. Who knows. No pressure, at any rate.

Well, this post was more words and links than pictures, but I'm rather waiting until the last minute (probably Monday morning, as Monday afternoon I'm sleeping, Monday night I'm working, and Tuesday morning at 0900 we are leaving) to take pictures of my WIPs. Then it will be easier to judge any knitting progress made during the trip.

That's the plan anyway. If nothing upsets my applecart, I'll post the final "Pre-Bendigo" post Monday morning.

Preparing for the best

Again, I've neglected my blog. Work has been more or less exhausting, and...shock and awe...I've actually been doing some knitting.

After the historic fix (mentioned in my last post)I went on to finish the back of the "Peace in the Hood" cardigan. In all honesty, you can't really tell where the fix was, unless you look very carefully, and I'm still feeling rather proud of myself over that bit of magic. I'm confident now that whatever little evidence of the fix is still visible, it will be virtually unnoticable once I block.



Once I finished the back, I moved on to the left side. It went pretty quick, being naturally half the size of the back. There will be a button band added to each side peice, although I suppose I need to read ahead on the pattern and figure out exactly how that will be knitted on, as there are some odd saved stitches next to where the button band goes that I don't quite get.



I've got a workmate who asked me quite some time ago if I would make her a hat. I told her sure. She kept saying she would buy some yarn, but never got around to it, so she finally asked me if I would get her some, in a cream sort of color. I told her I could probably "suffer" thru a shop for yarn, so I stopped by Spotlight on my way home from work and bought some Basics Entwine. It's reasonably priced, 50% wool, 30% acrylic and 20% alpaca. She specifically asked for warmth, so some alpaca content seemed a good idea.

She wanted a simple rib hat with a fold up edge, so I looked on Ravelry and found a nice hat pattern called "Noodle Cozy", a rib hat knit in the round. It only took me a couple of days to make, and turned out quite nicely. I took this picture of her this morning before coming home. She wore it in to work this morning, and is quite happy with her new "boggen".



After this, I started knitting the right side of my Peace in the Hood cardi, and got most of the way thru the ribbing:



Then I decided I needed another hat, one that matched my alpaca jacket. I made the alpaca jacket with two different colors of Bendigo Woolen Mills alpaca, Pistachio (a light green) and oceania (a seaish blue with green specks). I still had some of the Oceania left, so I'm now knitting away on a hat for myself in that color. It's about 1/3 done, and I'm calling it "Go Go Bendigo".




Next week I'm leaving for Bendigo, for the Sheep and Wool Show and the Ravelry breakfast get together, which is in the park at 8:30 in the morning, midwinter, and bound to be terribly cold. Thus the need for the matching hat. Originally, that's what I made the "Copper Topper" hat for, but it doesn't cover my ears well, and this pattern and yarn will match the jacket much better. If I finish this soon enough, and I feel froggy, I might use the last of the Oceania alpaca to knit me some mittens, or fingerless mitts. We'll see.

I'm so excited about my upcoming woolie holiday! Only 9 days away now! I'm already doing some preparations, digging thru patterns and writing down the amounts/meterage I might need for this or that. The last time I went to Bendigo and visited the woolen mills, I went in rather blind, with no idea of what I wanted to make, much less how much wool I would need. It worked out in the end, but only after careful pattern searching...trying to find patterns to match the amounts I had, rather than the other way around.

This time, with the wool show and the woolen mills on the agenda, I'm NOT going to go unprepared. Hubby is already discussing "taking the trailer to haul all the wool back in". I love the way that man thinks!

I've also cast on a pair of socks with the white Patonyle that I splash dyed with red koolaid, creating a white with red blotches effect.



I've always planned on that lot to go for some socks that would match my favorite summer boating outfit, so that's the plan. I'm doing them two at a time using the magic loop method. I wanted to get them cast on, as I still have trouble with the provisional cast on, and didn't want to be attempting that while on the road. And I wanted a small project to work on during my travels, so of course, socks are the best. I haven't quite decided on a pattern yet, but something fairly simple I reckon, to make for easy travel knitting. Besides, they are to wear on the boat. Anything too lacy or intricately stitched would look silly.

Ahhh, but back to the Bendigo trip. I'm super excited about the breakfast as well! I wish I'd had more time to spend on Ravelry lately, but it will be so great to catch up with some of the folks I have met on there. There's a few I will be particularly glad to see! I suppose I'm a bit nervous too. While I know everyone in "internet land", that's not quite the same as having met face to face, so I revert back to high school and wonder "Will they like me?" Silly me, but that's the way of it.

But anticipation and "saving" for Bendigo did not completely keep me from buying any "stash" in the past couple of weeks, but I did limit it to one small purchase. My LYS here in MB had Sirdar Ultra Denim Tweed at half price. It's a blue denim colored cotton/wool blend. She had 3 balls left, so of course I got them all. It's super bulky stuff and will be great for whipping up quick easy Christmas presents. Or that's my excuse anyway.



After the Bendigo trip, I plan to start working on some Christmas gifts in earnest. Yes mom, that means your jumper, among other things. It may mean I have to hibernate, or simi-hibernate, a couple of my WIPs, but that's ok. I'll still keep the "Peace in the Hood" on the needles, but it's all for me at any rate, so there's no deadline. And I should have lots of time to work on the "Socks Ahoy" and the "Peace in the Hood" over this holiday. Yippee!

I will try my best to make one more blog entry before leaving for Bendigo, although it might be short one. But when I get back from Bendigo, I want to dedicate the entire first post to my woolie holiday, so I want all the loose ends tied up in advance.

Till then...

A Cross to Bear

I don't know if anyone looked very closely in my last post at the picture of the back of my "Peace in the Hood" cardigan. On the last cable on the left, very close to the top in that photo, there was a mis-crossed cable. Here's a cropped closeup of the disaster.



I was about to start the shoulder shaping. I had lay the peice on my measuring boards and determined that in two more rows, I would begin the cast offs on the shoulder. Almost there! Another few rows and I could plop the back peice into the "done" bucket and move on to the frount.

But, to my horror, I saw my error! And I was another 20 rows further along than I was in the picture I posted, so it was not nearly so close to the top of the work. My mouth went dry...panic rose. I have never, ever had to redo cables. I'm usually so careful, and I'm not a big time cable knitter. It had just never came up, and I was at a total loss as to what to do.

I came and got on the computer immediately. I went to Ravelry, went to forums and typed in crossed cables (or something like that...as I said...I was panicing). Up came all the discussions on the subject. The first that caught my eye was all about cutting one strand and sort of fake grafting the cable in the right direction. I immediately ruled that out! It's ok if you have that kind of nerve...to cut...CUT..like that..but not for me. I'd rather frog back to the error and reknit it all.

But I kept reading, and I finally came up with the goods. The Yarn Harlot (for those from another planet, that is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee) had a solution that suited ME in her blog.It required securing all the other stitches, besides the 6 in the cable, and dropping the stitches back to where the mistake was, and then using three DPN's to "reknit" them back in the proper order.

So I held my breath and dropped (or rather, picked out row by row)the stitches and cable:



Then I lay it aside. This was yesterday, at about noon, and I simply was so sleepy and so tired and so nerve-wracked I couldn't face it. I knew I was off tonight, so figured waiting another day would be my best option.

In the meantime, I cast on stitches for the front of the peice and began working on the ribbing. This is what I took to work with me last night, and I did get a couple inches done, although not as much as I had hoped.



This morning, while I was still fresh (fresh being relative, I AM a night shift worker, so my fresh and your fresh might differ), I finally managed to finish the repair job. It took me a couple of hours, but I think I achieved fairly decent results:



My stitches are a bit whacky, gauge is all over the place, and I'm praying I can pick, block and otherwise force the stitches back into shape. The Yarn Harlot assures me I can, so I believe!

On a more happy note, I recieved anothing lovely gift from fellow Raveler Neekie. She sent me a bag of hot chocolate and two balls of Grignasco Bambi Extra fine Merino wool. From her account, it makes "squishy, comfy socks". I'm stoked. I really didn't think these dang presents would make an old jaded bird like me so happy, but they really, really do! THANKS NEEKIE!



Oh, and before I go, I just wanted to post "Mom's Rose" for her. It was blooming when she was here in Australia three years ago, and when I saw it blooming the other day, I just had to get a picture and post it here. Here's your rose mom. I love you!

Beautiful June

I don't mean the month. Here in South Australia, June is rather a bleary, bleak month compared to most of the other times of the year. It's been cloudy, drizzly, foggy...well, just about anything but beautiful.

No, I'm speaking of my lovely MIL June. We celebrated her birthday Saturday a week ago, and she was, as usual, a kind and gracious hostess. I presented her with the Sudden Storm jumper, and she was quite pleased with it. It fit her well, even her "oragatang arms" (her words, certainly not mine). Apparently, while June does not knit, her mother did, and used to complain about her long arms. From my perspective, I find that quite lucky, as I tend to knit arms too long as a rule, so in this case, I actually, if accidentally, got it right.


(Pardon the blurry photo. My FIL took the photo, and hasn't quite gotten used to his camera yet. MIL hates to have her picture taken, obviously).

She was pleased with it, but it was my FIL, who was almost in tears (how much wine did he have anyway?) and thanked me profusely, telling me how much it meant to June, and how grateful he was that I'd made her so happy, and well, it's every knitter's dream to have their work so appreciated, but I was left more or less speechless by his reaction, which was entirely unexpected.

I did finish the "Copper Topper" hat in no time flat. In fact, I finished it in about 24 hours all together, but I was home sick at the time, with DH waiting on me hand and foot, so I had plenty of time. The only trouble is, it doesn't cover my ears. It ends about halfway down them, with the earlobe sticking out, and I can't bear for a hat to not cover my ears. I even added a cable repeat, because as I was making it, I could already see there was going to be a length problem, but even that didn't quite fix it. I reckon I'll wind up making myself another one, with perhaps an extra inch to inch and a half of ribbing for the bottom border. That should fix the problem. Meanwhile, someone with a smaller head than mine will likely get this one.


I also picked up Chris' vest, and finished the neckline trim. It was so frustrating working with that fuzzy, messy yarn again, and I don't even like the way it wound up looking after all that. Disgusted, I put it right back down again...and didn't even take a picture of what "progress" I made. I have half a mind to chuck it out (no, not frog it, I don't ever plan to touch that yarn again) and start a new vest for him using REAL yarn.

I'm not exactly on a yarn diet, but I have cut back quite a bit from my regular yarn and accessory purchasing habits. The Sheep and Wool show in Bendigo is just a few short weeks from now, and I must have a bankroll to take there. I did however do a tiny wee bit of shopping this fortnight, and picked up a couple of balls of Grignasco Strong Print. As IF I needed more sock yarn! Still, I liked the colors, and I got it for a good price. I also picked up some Addi's, 4mm this time, because I'm not trusting the 4mm size in my Denise set, which doesn't agree with my gauge at all.



Also, at DH's suggestion, I got some new storage bins for my yarn on sale at Kmart. It's a neat little plastic job that rolls around easily, so I can move it here and there. Right now it's here with me in the study, where it fits neatly between the filing cabinets and the computer (when fitting in yarn, you have to be creative).


On the Ravelry front, Handmadam, a fellow Raveler who is from South Australia but now lives in Canada, sent me a pair of clear plastic shoes she found on sale. They are perfect for showing off handknit socks, and should be a hoot to wear when it warms up a bit. I love them dearly, although DH looks at them as if he's not quite sure I (or my Ravelry friend) are exactly what one might call sane.


But I suppose the big news of the past couple of weeks is that I finally got started on my "Peace in the Hood" jumper. It's about time! I just couldn't wait another day, and got it off the ground on June 13th. I'm almost done with the back now, and it's looking great. I love the way the Peace Fleece Zarya Fog colors look knit up, and the cables form an interesting pattern without being overly complicated, so I can still knit on it "on the go". The only drawback is needing to keep accurate count of my rows, pattern rows, etc. But between my "Peg it" knitting counter and a small notebook, I've kept on top of it very well. It's beautiful knitting, and I love the feel of the Peace Fleece. Fair enough...it is a bit scratchy, but it's nice none the less, and not "delicate" like the Noro was. I'm loving it!



However, my spinning is going NOWHERE. I do plan on getting out the wheel soon, and promise that I will. I do have time, as nothing very pressing is going on. I'll have to start mom's jumper soon, and I would like to get more spinning done to see if any of the stuff I spin up might be suitable for her jumper.

Till next time!

Detours and Roadblocks

For the last few days, since finishing my MIL's jumper, I have been working on the "Hirohito's Revenge" scarf. I'm so glad to be finished with that blasted Noro. I will NEVER buy that stuff again. Maybe I'm a bit heavy handed, but still, one wouldn't expect the stuff to fall apart quite as easily as it does, and I've never had that problem with other yarns. I can only imagine the stuff was made for delicate little Asian ladies, certainly not a roughneck like me.




But I'm reasonably pleased with the results of the scarf. I think it looks pretty good, considering I mixed the two colorways, and types, of Noro. I'm hoping it will soften up after a good soak in some wool wash.

One would think, at this point, I would have dived into the "Central Park Hoodie" project, as eager as I have been to start, but I haven't. I ran into a bit of a detour, deciding instead to start on a hat for myself to wear to Bendigo. I decided this for two reasons. I need a decent (ok, fancy) looking hat to wear to a 8AM breakfast in the park where a bunch of us Ravelers are going to meet and greet, and I thought it might be great to get a feel for knitting with the Peace Fleece before committing to the larger project.

So I have started the hat, which I found on Ravelry under the title of "Cabled Force", but I have retitled my version to "Copper Topper". I'm using the Sheplova Mushroom colorway of the Peace Fleece I ordered thru the co-op. This colorway is absolutely smashing when knit up, and I'm thinking it would make a great color for a jumper or cardi, or even a jacket. I'm loving it so far. It's definately knitting I have to concentrate on, but fun nonetheless, and the pattern is so fun to watch grow. I'm thinking I'll have this baby finished in no time flat.



I must pick up Chris' vest as well, and I promised I would before I started the hoodie, so I'll likely get to that very soon, and work on the Fringe jumper in the meantime.

I'm sort of placing some roadblocks in my way, I know, but in a fashion I'm trying to use my impatience to start on the Central Park Hoodie to inspire me to finish some projects that are well overdue for completion. Like dangling a carrot, so to speak.

I also recieved a lovely package in the mail this week. Awhile back, I sent one of my Ravelry buddies some Koolaid to try out, and she in turn sent me some silk caps that she had died with it, in pretty pinks and blues, for later spinning (if I ever get around to spinning agian!!). It may inspire me to get to my spinning, as I'm incredibly curious to see how these colors will spin up.





Well, that's it for now. Until next time...

Better than the Airlines

At least I can make deadlines! Ok, I'm not exactly there, but I'm calling the jumper for my mother in law, June, complete. I still need to do a bit of blocking, and a bit of work on the sewn in ends, but otherwise, it is finished, and 5 days ahead of schedule, which gives me time to block it properly. I'm quite happy with it overall, although the sleeves look a bit tighter, particularly around the armpits and wrists, than I had anticipated, but proper blocking will fix that right up I reckon, and all in all I'm massively pleased with the results of my rushed efforts. It's quite a decent looking jumper already, even without the refinement of blocking.




Now for the difficult thing. Where do I go from here? I still have two projects actively on the needles right now. My Fringe jumper and my Short row scarf. I want to at least finish the scarf before I begin the project that my fingers are so itching to begin. I'm trying to show some discipline here, I really am.

Add to that, Chris has been not so subtely asking me what ever happened to that vest I was knitting for him. It's been in hibernation now for months...my excuse being it wasn't the proper season to be wearing it anyway. Alas, the short, cold days of winter are here, and I would be proud for him to wear it to the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show next month, so on one or another of my days off in the near future, I plan to drag it out and begin the mindnumbing process of picking up the hundreds of stitches it requires to do the trim for the neck and arms. That's all it likes, and being it is novelty, fluffy yarn, I don't even have to be exacting and "perfect" about it, but I hate picking up all those stitches. Still, I will do it, and do it soon.

But soon, very soon now, I will begin the Central Park Hoodie (fondly referred to henceforth as CPH). I have ordered the pattern. I have made several copies of the pattern. I have highlighted one of the copies in the proper places for the proper size I have intended to make.



I have wound several balls of the Peace Fleece Zarya fog on my beloved ball winder, and plan to wind even more in the next day or two. I plan to wind all but three, as I'm almost certain I will use that many, but I always seem to use less than a pattern calls for, and in case I want to resell or trade the leftovers later, I want to keep them in their proper "new" condition.



In short, I'm almost prepared to start knitting. But, as I said, I'm showing some restraint here, and determined to knock at least 1 of my 2 WIP's off the list before I do. BUT there's nothing wrong with doing a gauge swatch or two, now is there? Nope, nothing at all. Maybe that will take some of the itch out of my fingers.

The problem with the Short row scarf is that it demands excessive amounts of counting, and I'm prone to losing my place, particularly at 3 in the morning when I usually have an hour or so at work to knit...but constantly get interrupted. So I will, most likely, take the Fringe jumper with me outside the house, and finish the scarf here, when I have more liberty to count uninterrupted. Not bad, as it means I will get some progress made on the jumper, but it does mean it will slow me down as far as finishing the scarf.

I'm also keen to get a nice, small, easy portable project on the needles, most likely another pair of socks. I have sooo much sock yarn, I'm not sure where to start, but most likely either with the sock yarn I bought from Moseley Park (a pretty blue/green solid color, or the white Patonyle I splotch dyed with red Koolaid, the "boat socks" I've been wanting to make.

I always look in the Australian "Destash" thread on Ravelry, and the other day I saw a gal who was wanting to get rid of some Peace Fleece. Frankly, I would have been willing to buy it all off of her, but I'm trying to be conservative money wise these days, so I only bought two skeins. One was in Peristroika Pink and the other is called Mir Atalantis Periwinkle. In other words, bright pink and purple. I'm thinking of perhaps making a hat from these, perhaps for Jessica. I haven't really decided.



See, these decisions never seem to end. Sigh.

Sad Days

My little grandson, Michael Ralph Hooten, passed away in his sleep sometime Monday night or Tuesday morning. I mentioned his birth with great joy in a recent post, and feel I need to mention his passing here as well. It has been a tragedy for the entire family, and we are all indebted to friends and aquaintences who have been so kind during this time. The cause of death is being attributed to SIDS.

We are also indebted to Shelton-Hunt Funeral home in Humboldt, Tennessee, who performed the services and donated the casket free of charge, a service they frequently provide for young families faced with such a loss, so that during their grief they are not also faced with financial hardship as well.

The person who sold my son the grave plot for a fraction of what it was worth should also be mentioned, although I'm not sure of this persons name. All Occasion Florist of Humboldt provided a discount on the flowers and help with the service as well.

While tragic, this experience has reminded me of how truly kind, generous and loving human kind can be, and I thank everyone for their comfort and support.

The booties I was making this darling child will be wrapped up and kept as they are, as a rememberance. I will soon resume writing more about my knitting, but today I felt it best to leave this post to the rememberance of little Michael, and the lives he touched.

Deadline 19 days

Just when I thought I had pulled it all together, something comes along to throw a spanner in the works. Ahhh, but I'm getting ahead of myself here, so I'll begin at the beginning, and take it from there.

After finishing the solid black socks for hubby, a labour of love most certainly, I thought I would work on the booties, and perhaps the fringe jumper, until I became more certain of what I wanted to start next. I was tempted to start something else, mind you, particularly as I had Thursday night off before going away Friday and Saturday to a Western Action shoot on the other side of Adelaide. But I resisted, and decided I would work on The Fringe jumper while away. Even though it is a HUGE project size wise, it is, for the most part, mindless knitting.

We drove over Friday afternoon, arriving at our rented cabin in Bolivar, SA at around 5:30. I knit on the jumper all the way over. I was talking to Chris about the project I would do next, and he mentioned his mom's birthday which is coming up on June 10th. Now, I've been wanting to make a jumper for his mom, and was thinking about trying to rush one before Mother's Day, but decided I didn't have enough time. Hearing about her birthday, which I had totally forgotten about, I was kicking myself for not realizing this when I was thinking about making a jumper for Mother's day, because if I hadn't finished it, well, I could have just kept knitting and surely would have been finished by her birthday. So, sitting there in the car, I starting mulling over the possibility of getting a jumper finished by her birthday. I had a pattern in mind, and even the yarn to knit it with, but of course, had brought none of it with me, so the earliest I could start would be Sunday. That would give me about 21 days to finish a jumper. Tight, but if I lay down everything else and concentrated strictly on the jumper, it would be done.

I continued knitting on the Fringe jumper that night. If you don't remember, the Fringe jumper is knit from cuff to cuff, and I was on those long rows that reach from the waistband in the front, over the shoulder and down to the wasteband in the back. I realised Friday night that I was getting close to the point where I must divide for the neckline. So I knit like a mad woman, wanting to get the neckline divided and start knitting on the back before the shoot tomorrow, as trying to do all that "on the run" so to speak, would be difficult. I did finish, but with Chris already in bed and glaring at me.

The next morning on the way to the shoot, I broke one of the tips of a cord to my Denise needle set, which is what the Fringe jumper was on. This distressed me greatly, but thank goodness I had extras with me, and also extra stitch holders, so I got all that fixed up on the way to the shoot. I was, however, in a nasty mood about it.

I won't go into too much detail about the shoot. It had been a long time since I'd had any practice at all, and my shooting was abysmal, but then, I shoot for fun more than worry about scores anyway. It was rainy, muddy, cold and yucky and the day went on until it was nearly dark. Standing in the bad weather in cowboy boots for 9 hours...well, I'll let you use your imagination, but I wouldn't call it fun. Still, I wore my knitted pancho, and I did look pretty cute :)


(sorry, old pic, but I couldn't find a newer one)

Sunday was not much better, weather wise, but it was of shorter duration, and after the awards presentation we were on our way home. I continued to knit on the Fringe, and by the end of the trip, I had made an admirable amount of progress on it, and it was a really fun knit all in all.




Now, let me explain a bit about this jumper. Actually, my first idea was to make her a cardigan. There's a pattern in my "Knitting the New Classics" book that is made with bulky mohair. It comes with instructions on making a cardi or a jumper in the same pattern.




I have two lots of bulky mohair that should be enough to make it, but one is in light pastels, which I don't think would be appropriate for a woman her age, and the other is in darker "stormy" blues and mauves and greys. Really pretty yarn I found on sale at Spotlight and bought with last years (or was it year before last?) birthday money. I had actually chosen it for myself...but I can't be greedy here.




The trouble is, it's varigated yarn, and varigated yarn doesn't make good cardi's. It's hard to get the color strips lined up for the two front sections. There's a picture of one in Ravelry, and when I saw that, it dawned on me that with this type of yarn, the jumper would be the best option. It also helps timewise...no button holes or buttons to sew on.

Sunday night I started on the jumper, but I was so exhausted, I admit I didn't get far. Monday morning, I realised that the gauge was coming up too small, so I ripped it out and started all over again using bigger needles. Now, I'm getting a good gauge, and all is going well. I had my two days off Tuesday and Wednesday, and after copious amounts of knitting both days, I'm about 2/3 done with the back. I could have done better, but I did have housework that seriously needed to be done, and today is payday, with the subsequent errands to run. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish up the back by tomorrow, or Saturday at the latest.



So every other project has been lain aside for the moment. No pictures or updates are to be expected for awhile. Nineteen more days until deadline...maybe a few more if Chris can delay the "party" until the weekend after the actual day.

On the good news front, my Peace Fleece arrived today. I was shocked. I wasn't looking for it for another week, but they had sent it "priority" post, so I expect that sped it up. It feels great, on the one hand, to have it here safe and sound, but on the other hand, it's a bit frustrating not to be able to get started with it for at least another couple of weeks.



Along with the yarn I needed, I also ordered a pattern. It's called the Coup D'etat Cradigan, and was only $4. I thought that I might like it down the track, but it's not for this lot of Peace Fleece. I have to see, first, if I can easily alter it to be a bit bigger, as the top size is a size smaller than I need. If that doesn't work, I'll use it to make something for someone else. But by getting the pattern now, I'll know how much Peace Fleece to order for it down the track.

I also got these nifty Peace Fleece sew in labels, just for fun. They were like .30 cents each, and I doubt they added much weight to the package :)



Truthfully, I might delay knitting the Central Park Hoodie even longer. While working so dilligently (and actually seeing progress) on the Fringe jumper, I got a bug to get it finished asap. It is winter here, and it would be nice to see it finished in time to wear this year. Diddo the short row scarf. Then, I MUST get something finished for little Michael before he outgrows them.

So maybe..just maybe...I'll be a good girl and finish more of my WIP's before starting on another project. Maybe.

Pulling it Together

A few things have happened to bring my scattered "ADHD" knitting back into some sembalance of order. I wrote to Peace Fleece to see if they had any more Zarya Fog Worsted in the dye lot that I needed, and in fact they said they had plenty. When I estimated in my last post that I would be "a skein or two" short to do the Central Park Hoodie, I grossly underestimated. In fact, I will need 5 skeins to safely complete that project. But I have quite settled on it, and so, my decision is made. I have ordered the yarn from Peace Fleece, but I have yet to order the PDF, although I'm feeling there is really no big hurry there. It's only $5 and can be sent via email, so it's not as though I have shipping time to worry about.

I'm not sure why I'm procrastinating about ordering it. I suppose it's because I reckon if I get the pattern in my hands, I will want to start right away with the Peace Fleece I already have, and really I had rather get started when I: a.)have finished a couple of my WIP's currently on the needles; and b.)have all the Peace Fleece required safely in my hands.

I started a pair of baby socks for Micheal Ralph, my newest grandson over the past week. I'm at the point of turning the heel on the second sock. It's silly. I could have finished the both of them in a day or two easy, but there really isn't any large enough areas of "mindless knitting" so I can only devote the time when I can pay strict attention to detail...and for me...that isn't much. Even when I find I have a few minutes...it just seems too hard to pull it all out and work on it. But I need to get it done soon. I have Tuesday and Wednesday off next week, and I plan on getting them done then.




I ordered and recieved some soft grey English Leichester wool tops to spin up, and some gorgeous teal green sock yarn, from my buddy Jane at Moseley Park online shop. She's a great gal that I met on Ravelry who lives over in Kimba, SA, and her shop is something special. To check it out, see my links.




I also went to Spotlight this week. I didn't really have anything specific knitting wise I wanted to look at, but I was curious about "pattern designing" paper. That is, paper with HUGE grids like mega graph paper. I had seen before, in the quilters section, a green cutting mat type thing with a graph on it for some incredible price ($100 or something like that for the largest size), but never the paper. Instead, I found something in between those two. It's cardboard, it's huge, and since I don't need to do any cutting on it, it's perfect for my needs. Best of all, it was only fifteen bucks. So I grabbed it up. Now, I can use it for designing, or just to lay finished peices of jumpers, cardis and the like on it to make sure that gauge is good and the peice is the size it should be. I can see myself getting good use out of this new "toy".



There is some BIG news. Finally, after what seems decades, but in fact was only a bit over a month, I finished the "Sacrifice Socks", the jet black Patonyle socks I was making for Chris. I still need to block them, but otherwise, they are looking pretty good, or at least as good as solid black men's socks CAN look.



I want to get another pair of socks on the needles, but I don't plan on getting in any sort of hurry to finish them. It's just neat to have a sock project handy for travel purposes. Most likely I will start making my "boat socks" with the Patonyle I dyed red and white on my last dyeing expidition. I think I'll use a pattern out of Bordhi's "Socks that Soar on Two Circular Needles" book called "Cable Top Socks". It uses the turned toe, which I've never tried before, and the foot and leg parts are stockingnet, with a nifty little cable at the top of the leg. I don't want to use this yarn for anything lacy, and don't want lacy "boat socks" either, so it works for me.

But I'm being strong, and I'm NOT going to start on the "boat socks" just yet. I really need to get the baby's stuff finished. I may do a hat to match the socks, or a baby blanket with my blue and white Wendy's Velvet Flake. I am definately going to do SOMETHING else as soon as I finish the baby socks.

This weekend, however, is not a good time for either. In a couple of hours we are going to leave to go over to the Two Wells area (Northwest of Adelaide) and get a cabin for tonight (Friday) and Saturday night. Saturday and Sunday the Adelaide Pistol Club hosts the "Winter Roundup", arguably the largest Western Action Shooting event in Australia. I've described Western Action Shooting before, so I won't go into details here, but suffice it to say it requires you to don circa 1800's garb and shoot at targets following a set scenerio.

It ALL takes place out of doors, and this weekend it is supposed to be raining buckets. Now we need the rain, but I'm not all that fond of the idea of standing around in it. They will, I'm told, make some concessions for the weather, but these generally make the day longer (and standing in high heeled western boots, longer isn't good for me), but they will not cancel.

So, it appears, I'm to be looking forward to two days of soggy misery. The knitting I'm taking along to console me is "The Fringe" (which desperately needs my attention at any rate) and "Hirohitos Revenge" the Short row scarf I'm doing with the Noro. Both have been on the back burner while I worked desperately on those damnable black socks, so I'm glad to be getting them out and hopefully will have some progress to show for my efforts when next I post.

Till then...

Knitting ADHD

I think I'm going into knitter's overload. My mind flits about from various projects I want to do, to others that I "need" to do, and to the massive amounts of yarn dedicated to projects in both of these categories. Balls and skeins of yarn are nestled in the chest, crammed under the bed, and stuffed in various other places too numerous to mention right now. Still, I think I hear them crying out for some attention, some action on my part to see them reach their destiny.

Then, of course, there's yarn I want, but have yet to buy..but that's a whole other story.

Just as a recap of my current situation: I have three projects I'm currently working on.

The "Sacrifice socks", those black Patonyle monstrosities for my DH, which are nearing completion. They travel well, and are getting the bulk of the attention right now, but now I'm afraid they aren't going to fit. Yes, I knit them from the toe up, in some misguided conviction that this would eliminate the possibility of a bad fit. Of course, toe up usually works, but only when the recipient is kind enough to let you try them on him/her as you go. He is willing, after a fashion, to allow this, but then jerks around painfully every time I try to slip them on. I had not factored in his ticklishness. I had known of it, but the severity of his afflicition was grossly underestimated. So all I can do now is knit and hope.




The short row scarf knit with Noro, Hirohito's Revenge, hasn't seen much action in the past week, so I won't bother with a picture right now. It would probably, however, be the quickest and easiest to finish when I pick it back up, so I'm not terribly worried about it right now.

Then there's "The Fringe", the jumper I'm working on with the 14ply Paton's Homespun. Seriously boring knitting over, at present, massively long rows, and I haven't touched it in awhile, so again, I won't bother with a picture. I do let it ride around in the boot of my car, just in case I get stranded somewhere without any other knitting. While it is, without a doubt, the best traveled of my projects, it's not getting any closer to completion.

In other UFO's, there's still the man's jumper that lacks a sleeve, and I DO have the yarn now to finish it, so it would be really easy to knock that job out of the way. The vest for Chris, likewise, would be simple to finish. A matter of picking up a bunch of stitches and knitting the border. Still, I can't be buggered, so they are in hibernation, packed away in the wardrobe until heaven knows when (although Chris has started asking about the vest.

Now, for the critical issue...my knitting agenda. The Peace Fleece is burning a hole in my stash. I wanna knit something with it, so bad I can taste is, and being the greedy bugger that I am, I want to knit it for ME. I've searced projects on Ravelry, and in books, until my eyes have crossed. I love the Central Park Hoodie designed by Heather Lodinsky, and it's been resized to fit plus sizes. I would have settled on it, but I'm thinking I don't quite have enough yarn to make it. All those cables use alot of yarn, and according to the yarn recommendation, I think I would fall a skein or two short.

I have pulled out my Twisted Sister's Sweater book (a knit to fit workshop), typed up a copy of their "Fitter List" as I couldn't get it to print off well out of the book, and attempted to draw their "sweater map". (Drawing is not an accomplishment of mine...not by a long shot.) I've even had Chris "measure me up". The idea here is to design my own, and I'm flirting seriously with the idea. It would be so nice to have my own design with the Peace Fleece. I love it so, and that would just add to our connection. But I'm finding the process difficult, particularly as I keep trying to work on it when I'm half asleep. I've copied designs before..in other words, made up a pattern from a design I had seen, but I've never designed from scratch.




One other option is a pattern I already have in a plus sized pattern book I purchased from Ebay. I love this cardi. It is simple, with only one small cable trimming the button bands. Unfortunately, the pattern is for DK (8ply) yarn, and the Peace Fleece is Worsted. Still, I could make it in a smaller size, and since the cardi is so loose fitting in the first place, it would most likely work.




While I've been wasting my time in my Peace Fleece obsession, I need to be casting on something for my newest grandson. I have the yarn (some Patons 4ply), and I have a vague plan of knitting some socks and a hat..perhaps a blankie as well. Today, by hook or by crook, I will cast on!

Still in the back of my mind, and needing to edge it's way a little closer to the frount, is a jumper I want to make for my mom for Christmas and a cardi for my mother in law, likewise for Christmas. Christmas seems so far away right now, but considering I have two large projects to tackle, and probably various smaller ones by the time I get a "Christmas Knit List" officially formulated, it's not something I need to put off for too long.

On the "fun" side of things, I have a coworker who wanted my help in figuring out what she could do with some yarn she had bought on a recent holiday to Tasmania. She knits some, but not as obsessively as I do, and wasn't sure. It's mohair, which can get confusing. I also told her I would wind it for her, and had the pleasure of bringing the beautiful stuff home and winding it on my ball winder.



I did discover that my ball winder is not terribly fond of mohair. After sorting the "tangle" issue, the second ball kept slipping off the cone when it was barely started. On my third try, I started wetting my "guide" fingers, and that did the trick.



The red and white koolaid dyed Patonyle finally got wound as well. I finally just buckled down and got after it yesterday. The first ball was the only one I had tangle troubles with. The other two wound on like a dream, so I'm ready to knit those "boaty" socks as soon as a "sock spot" opens up on my knitting agenda.




So, how confusing is all this? My knitting life right now resembles a kid with ADDH after drinking a pot of coffee. Totally out of control!