Some updates...

So, I had a pretty uneventful weekend, other than geeking out over the Oscars last night. I have to say, it was much more entertaining than in years past, however I still found myself losing focus and wondering how much longer it could go on. I was pleasantly surprised that the Best Actor Oscar went to Sean Penn, because I thought Mickey Rourke had it in the bag. Not that Mickey didn't deserve it, but I was glad for Sean Penn, although I was expecting a far more raunchy acceptance speech and was a little disappointed that they didn't once have to use the *bleep* button.

Anyway, on to more imporant things...here's the lastest on what I've been working on...

Remember my February Lady Sweater that was pretty much finished? Well, I had a moment this weekend when I finally realized that it was not anywhere near how I wanted it to be so I did what any (in)sane knitter would do and I completely unraveled it. Of course, I documented it all in photos...

Here it is coming undone onto the ball winder. I took a sick pleasure in watching all those stitches (and all those hours) unravel so quickly. It was oddly therapeutic.And here it is all stacked up in center pull cakes of heathery goodness.

And, finally, here it is double stranded for a bulky version of the Hemlock Ring Blanket, just like the one I've been making for my dad.
Speaking of which, here is an updated view on the progress of dad's HRB. It's going super quickly, although I'm getting a little bit bored with it. I'm already to the suggested end of the chart, however I'm definitely going to be working the extended version and maybe even beyond that, if I can do the math to get all the repeats correct. I know it's supposed to be a lap blanket, but my dad's not a small man and if I knit it the size it's supposed to be, it would look like he was trying to cover up with a washcloth!

Hemlock Ring Blanket for Dad

I've been eyeing Jared Flood's Hemlock Ring Blanket for awhile and I have finally decided it was time to cast on. Besides the two enormous orders of yarn in January, I have decided that the rest of 2009 will be dedicated to using up yarns from my ever increasing stash. There is no way that I could ever justify buying more yarn when I have enough in my spare room to keep me busy for years.

So, I rooted through my large container of worsted yarn and found some Paton's Classic Wool Merino in a beautiful deep olive. Since the recipient will be my dad, I thought it was a sufficiently manly enough color. I also love the sponginess of the yarn and that it's fairly soft for a feltable wool.

These pictures were taken after work yesterday, when I didn't have a whole lot of it done. I managed to knit up quite a bit of it during bowling last night as well as some afterward. I LOVE knitting lace patterns with chunkier yarns and I'm so excited to see how this will turn out.

As you can see, Bobblehead Dwight is my project manager for this pattern. And I love how the project currently looks a little bit like okra.

P.S. Mom, if you're reading this...don't tell Dad it's for him!

Wynter's Flower

Now available in pdf format!  Click the download now button next to the Wynter's Flower pattern in the sidebar --------------------------->.


Last weekend our friends' daughter, Wynter, turned two so I set out to make a quick last minute gift for her. I've been going through a bit of a felting phase lately, as well as a granny square/circle phase, so I wanted to incorporate both of those things. I began rummaging through my stash to find the perfect colors to make a small felted flower purse.

This is what came out of the wash, and I was so excited by it that I just had to share Wynter's Flower. (Click to to be taken to my Ravelry site!) I love how the granny clusters create such a cool texture once felted.

The details:

1 skein Paton's Classic Wool in 00227 Taupe (a deep chocolate brown)

1 skein Cascade 220 in 8885 Dark Plum (a beautiful rich rose)

Substitutions: Any worsted weight feltable wool will do.

Needles: Size G crochet hook; size 7 dpn for I-cord

Notions: Magnetic closure, tapestry needle

Pattern

Small circles:
Base round: 5ch, join with sl st.
Round 1: 3ch, dc2tog into ring (counted as dc3tog), [2ch, dc3tog into ring] 5 times, 1ch, sl st into top of first cluster.
Round 2: 3ch, dc2tog into arch formed by 1ch & sl st(counted as dc3tog), *2ch, work [dc3tog, 2ch, dc3tog] into next space, rep from * 4 more times, 2ch, dc3tog into last space, 1ch, sl st into top of first cluster.
Fasten off.

Large circles:
Base round: 5ch, join with sl st.
Round 1: 3ch, dc2tog into ring (counted as dc3tog), [2ch, dc3tog into ring] 5 times, 1ch, sl st into top of first cluster.
Round 2: 3ch, dc2tog into arch formed by 1ch & sl st(counted as dc3tog), *2ch, work [dc3tog, 2ch, dc3tog] into next space; rep from * 4 more times, 2ch, dc3tog into last space, 1ch, sl st into top of first cluster.
Round 3: 3ch, dc2tog into arch formed by 1ch & sl st (counted as dc3tog), *2ch, work [{dc3tog, 2ch, dc3tog} into next sp, 2ch, dc3tog into next sp]; repeat from * 4 more times, {dc3tog, 2ch, dc3tog} into last sp, 1ch, sl st.
Round 4: 3ch, dc2tog into arch formed by 1ch & sl st (counted as dc3tog), *2ch, work dc3tog into next sp; repeat from * to last space, 1ch, sl st.
Fasten off.

I worked 2 small circles in the Paton's Taupe for the center of the flower (1 for each side and 10 circles in the Cascade Dark Plum for the flower petals (5 for each side of the purse). They're all pictured here to the right before assembly.

I-cord: Knit a 5 stitch i-cord to about 15" in length.

Assembly

Arrange 5 large circles in an overlapping circle. Taking tapestry needle, sew the large circles together from the underside. Then place small circle in center of larger circles. Sew small circle to larger circles, taking care to be sure that there are no gaps in between the circles. See pictures below to see how circles should be arranged and sewn together.

Repeat this process for the second set of 5 large circles and 1 small circle. You have now created the two sides to your bag. Taking both pieces in hand, lay one on top of the other so that the petals match up. With tapestry needle, begin stitching the outer edges of the flower together. Sew until there is one whole petal left open. This will be the opening to the purse. Attach I-cord to either side of the opening.

My little buddy, Josh, shows off the pre-felted flower bag!

Next, place the project into a pillowcase and toss into the washer, along with a dash of fabric softener, some jeans and towels or other articles that will create a lot of friction. Friction is our friend! Set the washer to Hot and wash the project on the Heavy Duty cycle. Repeat of necessary and block as desired.

And, voila, the finished project! Enjoy!

Tall Lacy Socks? Sure.

In all of my knitting life I have never really had the urge to make socks. It just never interested me in the slightest...until I saw the Lakeside pattern by Julia Vaconsin in the Winter 2008 Knotions webzine. And I started to drool. Wouldn't you?

I'm kind of weird about socks. They either have to be firmly above my calf and stay put just under my knee or they have to barely graze my ankle bone. Anything in between makes my skin crawl.

So, I think that is why the Lakeside was so appealing to me. It combined my love of lace with my love of tall socks. Perfect, right?!

I have gone back and forth with what yarn I want to use and I have (maybe) decided on Koigu PPPM in the most lovely shade of dark fuschias and wines. In this photo is it shown as double stranded. I had been planning to make a spongy Brioche scarf out of it, but have decided to make socks instead and am now in the process of turning this one double stranded skein back into two skeins. I have another one that I need to de-double strand as well, which would bring the total to 4 single skeins. Should be plenty, even for my big calves!

I think I will be putting in an additional repeat of the lace to account for the fact that this pattern was written for skinny girls. I'll keep you updated on the progress of it all...

A Scarf for Sarah

Doesn't that sound like a Lifetime movie? Well, it's not. It's one of the many projects I have going on, but this is the only one that has a due date. I told Sarah that I would have it finished for her by the time she got back to Skagway in April. It's been the project that I take with me to bowling to make bowling night not so excruciatingly slow. I hope it doesn't end up smelling like the Elks or dirty bowling hands. :(

Of course, because my camera sucks the color isn't exactly right in this photo, but you get the idea. I just wanted to post a picture to let Sarah know that I am actually working on it and not flaking out on her as I've done for the last two years. :)

Why not?

It has recently become my goal to submit some of my original work to the magazines and webzines that I so frequently read. I thought, why not?, I can always give it a try and see what comes my way. Growing up it was always my dream to get published somehow, but I always had novels in mind...however, for that you have to have focus, something that I am severely lacking in most areas of my life. BUT, I do have focus when it comes to knitting so this could possibly go somewhere. At the very least it's given me something to look forward to and work towards, and for that I am grateful.

Felted bags are my current obsession, so naturally this is what I am working on putting together in my submission proposal.

I can only show you snippets (I don't want to give anything away!) but here are a couple photos of the pre-felted products. I'm working on getting a few more things knit up to throw in the washing machine with these. I feel so wasteful when I only felt one thing per wash!

Felted photos to come in the next few days...

Knitting Nook

So, I've begun getting up a little after 4:00 AM to get to the gym by 4:30 for my morning workout. It's really the ideal time to go because I love to spend time in the weight room by myself when I don't have to fight over the equipment with a bunch of macho guys. Plus, I do love the feeling of being one of the only people in town awake and I relish those few moments of tranquility. It reminds me of college, when I would rise before dawn to head to the river to spend the next two hours rowing on the water with my teammates. I am a morning person at heart, but I seem to have forgotten that over the last couple years. I'm glad I've come to my senses.

Not only is this renewed habit good for me, as I get in a better workout in the morning, but it also creates a lot more time in the afternoon so that I can knit! After my self-mandated chore session, I snuggle into my little nook and revel in the presence of all the needles, patterns, yarns, and knitting books. Ahhhhhh, it makes me happy just thinking about it! Of course, this is only a very very small fraction of knitting paraphernalia. I have about 10 plastic containers upstairs hidden behind the stairwell...every so often I have to

Ahhhh, this is a photo of my favorite place to be. It may look a little bit messy (because it is), but it's my favorite place to be in our home.