Stashbuster Scarf and Hat

Mr. Carebear agreed to model the stashbuster scarf and hat even though brown is not his color, but I had to loan him my iPOD shuffle. I got this iPOD for Christmas and it is the cutest darn thing. It holds about 3 CDs worth of music and plugs into the USB port of my computer. Since my son rebuilt my computer as his Christmas gift to me, I now have one right there in the front!

I was obsessing on what I could do with the tan Inca Tops, and then I remembered I have two other brown yarns that have reached antique status, and I thought, well if two wrongs don't make a right, maybe 3 do. I had some Berocco Glace and Dante from way way back, and also threw in a little Reynolds Slique. I thought I had enough tail to cast on the 151 stitches I had in mind, but ended up with only about 115. I think the scarf is a little short. Glace is a rayon ribon, Dante and Slique cotton and viscose. According to the Dress King, viscose is : "The most common type of rayon. It is produced in much greater quantity than cuprammonium rayon, the other commercial type." I figured the alpaca silk would make the hat and scarf warmer. I used size 15 needles for the scarf and 13 for the hat.

Looking at and trying on the finished product I can see what the real problem with the yarn is. It's just not my color. I was probably going through some identity crisis way back when I bought it and thought, okay no black and no blue....and chose brown, since I wasn't ready for green, orange or purple. I still have more yarn left, too. It is hovering every so much closer to the Goodwill bag.

The Final Days of 2005

Broadripple sock number two is a little over half done. I must say, I love the Koigu KPPPM. It is so springy and durable, but then maybe I mentioned that already. This colorway did not stripe much and bring out the patterns chevrons, but I do like it anyway.

Did you every have a yarn that just didn't know what it wanted to be when it grew up? My sister gave me 3 balls of Inca Tops 50% Alpaca silk yarn as it did not sing to her . I tried knitting a scarf when I first got it, and then the fingerless cabled gloves in Holiday Knits. It didn't want to be any of those. The latest effort is Twosheep's helix scarf. This yarn really feels wonderful. It is very soft, but I think it is too drapey to show off the double helix pattern well. I did discover that the K1P1 seed stitch looks nice. Maybe a plain, daintier version of Seaman's scarf is what it wants to be


I ordered some yarn sight unseen to knit Rogue. Scary!


It is a cool, sunny, dry winter so far. The vog is pretty thick somedays. Venus and Mars are putting on quite a show in the sky. It's a good year for avocados and citrus. Guacamole anyone?

Lush Cardiagan, Final Chapter

My sister the intended recipient of Lush Cardigan came, and just as I feared, the sleeves were too narrow. She refers to her arms as baby alligator wrestling arms that are the result of wedging clay and lifting those 75 lbs kiln shelves. She has semi-retired from pottery but the arms remain. It fit her beautiful daughter who swears she can wear it while studying in the cold depths of the law library. She is just about 10 inches taller then my sister and I and quite svelte, so it is almost like a shrug. She declined to have a button, so even better :)

Being sucked in at work sucks rocks and is seriously interfering with my knitting of purple broadripple socks. I had to let down stitches to correct an error and the larger holes left behind are glaring at me. I am trying to convinvce myself that the springy and lovely Koigu KPPPM will even out the pukas (holes in Hawaiian) after washing and blocking. This is a fairly simple lace pattern and I know the stress at work is distracting me. That's my story and I'm sticking it to it.

Cookie Day turned into a 7 hours marathon of sugar, chocolate chips, gingerbread smells and coffee. I'd show pictures but I ate it all, err, I mean I gave it all away.

I really loved the gingerbread recommended by tsogb.

Maybe the last needle case

The next project for me will be the purple Koigu for my purple loving best friend. I know there is a good chance her dog Ebony will find them tasty, but I love Ebony, too. They live in Seatlle near the Troll under the Bridge. I am trying to decide whether to do Ann Budd's Woman's Fancy Rib Socks or Knitty's Broadripple Socks, and am leaning toward the Broadripples.

I finished the needle case for my straight needles and here it is in all it's purple glory. (And yes, and a blue Totoro did join the crowd because the others wanted to be in the picture, too)

The pattern is ginkgo leaves. The Ginkgo appeals to me because of it's fan shaped leaves and the fact that it has survived from prehistoric days. And, it's supposed to be good for the memory and grandma used to put the nuts in her nishime.

Well, enough of purple, except for those socks!

I wonder what candsmon's favorite color is?

Helmet Liner

Cascade 220 was a fun knit, although knitting black is hard on these ole eyes. After I retire I was contemplating either going into bank robbing, as crime pays, or becoming a ninja, 'cuz and I got the hat. Yes, I'm that tired of my current job! It will pass, I hope.

Officially though, I can retire at the end of this year. The only catch is I still need income to pay the mortgage, sigh.

Keohinani, I can come work your store, or what?

The Mailman Cometh

Just as I was beginning to lose hope that my yarn from Knit Happens had been kidnapped, the much stalked mailman came through. I wound all the Cascade 220 into balls, getting a thrill out of watching the yarn swift spin round and round, and admired the 3 balls piled up and rolling around. I started my helmet liner. I have never used Cascade 220 before although I have read about it a lot, and it is very soft and not scratchy at all. It is a fun knit for the me who actually likes mindless stretches, especially with size 6 and 8 needles, cuz I can see it grow before my very eyes and watch movies at the same time. Just don't knit black in the a darkened room without wearing night vision goggles.


My first Koigu also came. It is purple for my purple loving best friend. It is wonderfully soft and lucious. I think I'll just fondle it for a while.

The second skein of another first, my Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock yarn in camoflague, was in the package, too.

While I don't have serious yarn porn like Knittin' Mom's 250+balls (or was it really 503?), what I have is all mine to play with. gna ha ha!

I have cut out my final needle case for the straight needles. I have 3 sets of really long needles, but decided to leave them out and just make it for the 10 inchers.

The last thing the mailman brought was more of these plastic pillows from Amazon.com. I had just managed to reuse or give away most of them, and okay, I admit I popped some and threw them away, and today I got a very huge box of them again. There was gift I ordered for my ex in there, too. Now I have to have guilt about what I do with all of them, sigh. At least the box can be recycled.

While trying to fulfil some of my Christmas list, I stopped by the new Border's at Pearlridge and picked up Sensational Knitted Socks, by Charlene Schurch.

Rolling and Ramblin'

It poured rain for about 30 minutes today, I mean really poured! Then it stopped and this was the beginning of sunset tonight.


I left early today to do some shopping and avoid the crowds. I have mostly unfussy boys to to shop for. I found some shirts...boring;) I also ran into a friend who was ogling the water massage at the mall, so got her a gift certificate. YAY! That thing looked pretty weird to me. The client gets into this humidor face down and and is covered with what appears to be a large garbage bag. Jets of water move up and down, pummeling the poor soul. I hope she enjoys it. I'm not a good judge of these sort of things. I avoided massages for years and since I went for my first one, I'm now hooked. I had had enough shopping by noon, so after a stop at the grocery store went home. Once again I avoided any major housecleaning, although, I did move things from the hall back into the closet.

Thanks to Kimberly and her neat circular case, I got an inspiration for my own circular needles. I figured I needed about 20 pockets, and I would leave out the cat, but was afraid it wouldn't roll. It was also going to be quite large as the pockets had to be deep enough so the circulars wouldn't pop out the side. Well it doesn't quite roll, but I think it has to do with cardboards I slipped in the pockets for identification. I'll try making them smaller.

I decided to go partially pink and use up the pansy fabric from my pansy period.

Magic Loop Toe-Up Socks, Pau! (Pau=done)

The toe-up socks are done! And, they fit. They aren't blocked yet, but I'm so glad they are done. My wonderful Addi turbos are still in one piece although the cable part is a little curly and bent. This technique has been a little hard on it, poor baby. It was nice having only one needle to deal with and the yarn tangling was not really ever an issue. The Fortissimo had an unusual smell, that I got to like eventually. The striping went berserk at the heel, so I had one join, and as the leg progressed, one ball became about half a needle behind. I purposefully made the socks short, as I am short (see how I carefully cropped them out ;) and because of the weather, I don't really ever need longer ones.

The toughest part of this project was the heel. There aren't any holes but there are inconsistencies and one mistake.

Now if that darling mailman would only bring my other skein of Lorna's Laces, Koigu and Cascade 220, I can knit on! I want to try and make a helmet liner with the black Cascade 220. I don't know what sock pattern to try next. And Yikes! I am no where near done with the holiday preparations.

Another Needle Case and Sock, Still in progress

I loved the way the dp needle case came out so I decided to make a crochet hook case. Once again I used some scraps from my purple phase. In the decluttering I have promised to throw away small scraps...really, I have to let go of the idea that I will ever make a postage stamp quilt. I need more immediate gratification then that! But I still have a ton of fabric in my stash.

In imagining this crochet hook case I thought that 3/4 inch would be enough for most of the hooks and I would have two rows. Well it's a tight squeeze. Then I forgot to sew the bottom edge of the top pocket down before sewing on the bottom one. So, I ended up have to shorten the bottom pocket so the hooks wouldn't disappear into the pocket.

So, this crochet hook case may have a twin one of these days. Still have to figure out a plan for the circulars.




The Magic Loops two socks at once are progressing slowly. The heel was a real challenge. I ended up have to frog the heels anyway due to the hole problem discussed everywhere, so I joined the yarn to try and match up the heels. I was kind of cool to have unmatched heels, but I wanted the ankle portion to match a little better.

The short row heel did not come out perfect, but I decided to move on. This project is going ever so slow, and the impatient knitter I am is so praying that Cascade 220 I ordered will come soon.

Revolt of the Self Striping Yarn

I had a little trouble following the heel instructions from the tostetoes site, and decided to try Wendy's short row heel. After frogging it once, it started to make sense and I ended up with what looks like another toe. So I confidently knit up the other heel only to find, "the horror, the horror" the Forstissima self striping yarn which so perfectly matched decided to go off on it's own and make a red and yellow heel.

Yikes! I'll have to sleep on that one!

Knitting Needle Case

The decluttering has resulted in my targeted areas looking more cluttered. I suspect that things have to look worse before they get better. One thing always leads to another and I took a break to make a needle carrier, as I had become obsessed with one while sorting my patterns and remembering fondly the project called the Traveling Quilter, a pattern by Patricia B. Campbell, put out by the Heart and Home Pattern Company. (I'm not sure they are in business anymore). This lead me to look for some Hobbs Thermore and to The Calico Cat. Scroll down on the page to read a little about Carol Kuniyoshi. She is always so gracious and helpful. She shared with me that she used to work at the Liberty House in Ala Moana back when they sold yarn. In my early knitting days I used to love to hang out at the vast and probably only yarn store in Honolulu, the downtown Liberty House. This is my first needle carrier and I made it for my double pointed needles. I discovered that I have at least 3 sets of number 5 and some other duplicates. I want to make one for the circular needles, but I'm still thinking about how that one will look. Who knows maybe I'll make a traveling one, too, although I usually use my Traveling Quilter for that.


I have gotten stuck on the two socks on the circular needle. I'm at the part called "shaping the heel". Somehow I can't visualize it. I'll just have to think on it for awhile, but the stripes are coming out pretty cool.

Gratuitous Pet Picture

Tweedy came out today, old man that he is. He was such a great flyer and singer in his younger days. He still gets a kick out of hopping around and flies about a bit, although I'm not sure he can see where he is going. Here is he is posing by the Japanese fishing float.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Laa, Laa-laa's cousin from Hawaii is showing off my current project, knitting two socks at once on the 40" Addi turbos. Laa is a past project of mine, shamelessly put up here for lack of new finished projects to show. I knit Laa from (gasp) Red Heart and was short finishing up the curly-Q on top of her head.

This current project, every so small yet, is one of many firsts for me. After realizing that I only ordered one skein of the camoflague Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock yarn from Knit Happens even though it clearly states I need two, I decided to go with the Fortissimi colori socka.
While ordering another skein of that Lorna's Laces, some how, I also ordered black Cascade 220 and color 305 Koigu KPPPM. Funny how that happens!

The Addi turbos, size one, are really great, but oh so tiny and it took me forever to have any stripes.

The pattern I am using is, Knitting Basic Toe-Up Socks Using the "Magic Loop" Circular Method, Two Socks on One Cirular, with support from Purlwise for the figure 8 cast on.

Now while this is not a great feat like keohinani's sock within a sock, it's plenty challenging for myopic me!

The sock pattern is all stockinette since the self striping yarn is the real star, but after only 3 stripes I'm flirting with other patterns.



I eliminated the step about tightening up the cast on stitches and. I kind of like the ridge, but having never done this before I wonder if it will matter. Also, I started with a slip knot in an effort to start the yarn at the same place, but I think it can be undone if I need to attempt to tighten up the cast on row later.

My other thoughts on the one long circular needle technique is whether or not the needle/cable join will take a beating and break soon.
I have new respect for veteran sock knitter's like candsmon and january one who whip through that sock yarn and tiny needles with such speed!

No cooking for me today as I am taking the family out to celebrate my mom's birthday. So... time to blog and comtemplate all that I have to be thankful for...great country, great food, great friends, great family, great yarns, and great music, just to name a few (in no particular order)

Lush Cardigan

I graduated high school in a class of 607 students. The great thing about graduation is that when the diploma is given and the tassel passed over the cap, it is over. It is time to move on to bigger and better things. I can't say I really enjoyed high school. Perhaps it is because I experienced and ended my first "true love" in high school. Perhaps it was because I felt awkward and self conscious about who I was and where I was going. For me, the most memorable thing about graduation was Yvonne Elliman singing the Janis Ian song, "Society's Child".

The thing I'll remember most about the Lush Cardigan, is that I loved yarn, the way it felt so soft and warm, the color, the way it knit, the smell, and the cool way it fluffed up when "fulled". I suspect I might be allergic to angora, as my allergies took a slight turn for the worse, but then again it could just be the weather.

It still needs closure. I have some possibilites, but for now I think I'll put it away with the high school memories, at least until my sister comes to try it on. I am toying with the idea of some sort of clippy thingy, like the chains people put on their beepers. I have also toyed with some wonderful lampwork buttons made my the the talented Karen at Bella Beads

Sushi

Well I hate to give candsmon more quilt but some mommy's make Cute Bento for their children's school lunches. But maybe she is blessed with children like mine, with more simple tastes. I was able to get away with peanut butter and jelly and, cold cuts and cheese (no mayo) for years. I actually attemped more healthy lunches, but they wouldn't eat them. They are cheese/meat/carb kind of people, just like their dad. I once had a major argument with my oldest about tofu, and I am still haunted by the experience.

BTW, a bento is a prepacked lunch. The Japanese have turned it into an art form, and even have special boxes for them. Sushi is a generic rice "sandwich" that is now made with all kinds of additives and shapes, including raw fish (sashimi) and spam (yikes!) and traditional vegies like pickled radish, shiso, and gourd. Ideally the lunches do not contain items that spoil easily as the bento may not be refrigerated for a while, but since California invented the California roll, refrigeration is more common.

I hope my first skein of Lorna's Laces comes in the mail soon with my long Addi turbos. I want to try the magic loop technique for my next project. I am stalking the mailperson, but so far no luck :(

I am contemplating a closure for the Lush sweater. It looks very nice, but I am not sure it will fit my sister. The fulling made it all a little more solid and this yarn is very, very warm!

Clutter Treasure

I had a great anticlutter weekend. I threw out the partially disintegrated Weber grill and the despised recliner in icky brown. I was surprised to find that someone wanted the Weber Grill as it had been collected before the Bulky Item pickup. I also went through "The Closet". I packaged up the old cookbooks I'll never use and threw away all those used vhs tapes. Just threw them away just like that. The videos, mostly exercise, I have in a box for the next pickup by Savers or whoever calls first.

I started looking at my craft books and magazines and stopped at "The Official Knit-A-Dress-A-Day Knitting Book" by Joan Rattner, Women's Editor, This Week Magazine, 1968.

The knitting is done on Reynold's Jumbo Jets-a needle with a 3 inch circumfirence. There are some for sale on Ebay.



I was thinking I don't need this book, but there is something that made me pay a $.95 for it (original price was a dollar) and I think I'll have to keep it awhile longer as it just makes me smile. It doesn't really take up much room.

Maybe I'll find some Reynold's Jumbo Jets at the swap meet or a thrift store. Who knows?

Lush Moments

The instructions in this pattern say to full the pieces slightly by washing then drying the parts for 5-10 minutes on low heat. It doesn't say whether to weave in the ends first. It doesn't say what temperature water should be, or what kind of soap to use. I have never felted anything but I was encouraged by the 50% angora content of this yarn (I hope no bunnies were injured in the production)to go for it since angora does not felt, and just pray I didn't end up with a munchkin size sweater or the lint ball that ate Puunui.

Here the pieces are all laid out. I spied the error in sleeve number two, after the fulling process. I decided I would have to leave it. I just hope everything dries in this humid time of year. I'm beginning to dread the collar/neckline.

Knowing me, I'll be pointing out that error to everyone. So there it is! Right out in public.

The Ball of Yarn that Never Dies

While pondering the skimpy notes on how to "full" lightly the Lush Cardigan parts, I knit up the other bootie and a tiny hat with the yarn left over from Gone with Wind, formerly of Socktober fame. Here they are unblocked and posed for keohinani to animate them into a witty cartoon.

As I was in a vintage horror mode until the TV went goofy, and the fact that I still have yarn left made me feel as if this ball of yarn will never die! I'll try not to subject anyone who reads this blog to another project made from this yarn.

Multidirectional Scarf, FO

The Multidirectional Scarf using two skeins of Noro Silk Garden is complete. It was a fun quick knit. The picture is a little fuzzy, but I can see I can block it a little more.

Wish the Lush sleeves were going faster. I think it would be better if sleeves were knit from the top down, then they would go faster instead of slower.

And look what the postman brought. I had these on my wish list and apparently one dark night I ordered them in my sleep. That's the only explanation I can think of for them to show up at my front door.


On my short list of things to do (other then get up and go to work) I will put eyes and claws on the blue Totoro, and I will finish Lush Cardigan before my sister comes next month! And I hope to make some jewelry for gifts. I am also trying acupunture to balance my yin and yang. While I am not sure I entirely believe in these principles, it helped me before so I'm trying it again. Apparently I have too much yang, which is common in menopause.

And, if there is any time left, maybe I'll send a few Christmas cards for a change. I used to start at the beginning of the address book one year and the end of the book the following year so at least some people got cards every other year. Then when the kids where little, I made Holiday cards with their pictures, because of course they were the cutest kids ever! Now it's a real challenge to get them to pose for a picture and not act goofy, so it's actually been a couple years since I even tried to send cards. I admire people like my mom, who have a system and never fail to send cards. I guess email Christmas cards aren't universally accepted yet.

Fringe benefits

Multidirectional scarf is done. I have more then just a small amount of yarn left, so I'm contemplating a fringe. After that I just need to block it. Its a little short, but I love the colors.