Here we are a week later. I spent every spare minute and a few evenings cranking out the knitting. I finally cast off the last few rows this morning, and I’m planning on starting to piece it together next week, when I get back to the burgh. I’m currently in Michigan. I even brought the back on the plane to work on.

While I’m here, though, I started a Red Light Special. I’m into colorwork at the moment. I also have a stash full of the same yarns in random colors, perfect combo, I think. I’m using Rowan Cashsoft DK, in 3 shades, and one skein of the same that I overdyed awhile back. Since I’m using a heavier yarn, (the pattern calls for sportweight). I’m using smaller needles, 3.25 mm for the lining, but for the body I think I’ll be okay using 4 mm, since my fairisle is always on the tight side. There are some beautiful examples of this pattern in the flickr group. Some great color combos too.

Speaking of flickr groups, I finally got it together and started one for things knit using Vesper Sock Yarn. I’ve long wanted to put up a gallery of knitters photos, when it occured to me flickr would be the perfect forum. So go here, and knock yourselves out! If you don’t have and don’t want to start a flickr account, feel free to email your photos to me, knitterlythings AT gmail DOT com, and I’ll post them for you.

Filed by Julia at 10:02 pm under Knitting,Right Light Special,Whiskey Sweater
9 Comments

Thursday night I finally cast on for the back, and the last key piece of the Whiskey sweater. I’m actully gung ho to get this done already. I made time every evening this weekend to work on it, cause who wants to go out at night is this weather? Not. Me.

As of Monday night I had 85 of 108 rows done on the first section of the back, the cable and lace part. I was really sailing along, having a good time getting it done. Then something occured to me. The waist shaping was coming on pretty regularly numbered rows. On 33, then 38, then 43, then 48, and so on. I remembered having to think about the row numbers a little more on the fronts. Indeed. I checked my pattern, I was supposed to work 5 rows, then work shaping. NOT work shaping every 5th row. I thought I might be able to get away with it, then I compared it with the fronts, no go. I was off about 2 inches on the shaping. Gah. So. I ripped.

I accept ripping as a part of knitting. Sometimes it all works out beautifully, and everything comes together the first time round. Sometimes you make a bonehead mistake too far down to fix, smack your palm to your forehead, sigh a big sigh, rip it out and move on. Thems the breaks, live and learn, it’s only water, spilt milk and all the rest of it. I accepted my error, sucked it up, and ripped.

The part that made me mad, made me want to spit and swear, (I couldn’t, I was at work) was that I ripped back to row 21. I only needed to rip to row 32.

*sigh*

Filed by Julia at 9:22 pm under Knitting,Whiskey Sweater
16 Comments

So I crocheted something. Crazy I know. I’m usually firmly located on the knitting side of the fence. I only crochet if it’s an edging, which in that case is never, or if I’m using a chain stitch to set in sleeves. However. I was flipping through the book One Skein a couple of weeks ago and saw this little number. And I wanted it. Bad enough to crochet for it.

I figured, how long could it take? A little pouch, just the ticket to get me out of my never ending project slump. I wasn’t disappointed. It didn’t take long to crochet (it’s funny to type that word). Just a few nights, working on it on and off. The fabric is very firm, and it’s all done in single crochet (that word agian), around and around increasing on every other round, until a bunch of rounds are worked and it’s big enough. It’s only about 5-6 in in diameter. The yarn I used is Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK. Left over from this project, and I still have a crazy amount of this yarn left. I love the colors together.

This was also the easiest zipper I have ever installed, hands down. I had a bunch of 7″ zippers laying around, I found an off colored, kind of rosey pink color, and it’s perfect. After blocking, I lightly basted in the zipper, and stitched it in by hand. There wasn’t even any need to match up each side of the pouch. It’s a circle! Easy! The hard part was the lining. I had already sewn the whole thing up when I decided I did want a lining. I couldn’t, for the life of me engineer a way to get that lining in the thing without having to cut the seam. So I did. I still had to wrestle it in a little bit, circular linings are not fun. Again, I stitched each half in seperately, and from the right side, then I sewed (is that even a word?!) the lining halves together, and then the pouch seam agian. I used some fabric from a fat quarter I had in my very small fabric stash, I’m very happy with it all, and I’ve been carrying it everywhere.

I love it. I want more!

Filed by Julia at 10:47 pm under FO!
36 Comments

This is some Hello Yarn “Tough Sock” yarn I bought awhile back. In the Indra colorway. The green ball on top is for the heels and toes, it’s more Brown Sheep Wildfoote in Deco Lime. I have been wanting to knit these socks forever, and have carried the yarn around at least once or twice, to start when I finish another pair, but I always ended up starting something else instead. Like my Crazy Socks. Instead of casting on for these right after finishing, I went and started a pair for a friend of mine. Although, I am knitting his in worsted weight, and they are flying off the needles, so I kind of justified them as a quick knit. Whoops. But definately, one of these days, soon, maybe, these will get cast on for. Probably.

Filed by Julia at 7:07 pm under Socks!
8 Comments

I finally finished my pink regia crazy socks, and it only took 3 months. Thank you Superbowl Sunday!

Specs:

Yarn: Regia Crazy Color, the new fingering weight variety.
Color 5402. I bought the it at Lettuce Knit, in Toronto, over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Pattern and Needles: My own usual pattern. Toe up, short row heel. This time I mixed it up a bit by adding a picot edge to the cuff. It’s not any trickier knitting a picot this way, you just have to sew down the facing. The inside doesn’t look as pretty as when it’s knit top down, when the cast on stitches are knit together with a new row to form the facing, but it works. I knit them using my beloved Inox US 1′s, magic loop style. I love these needles, and especially the pointy tips. The cable was giving me a hellova time though. It kept getting in the way. I’m very particular about the cables on my circs. So far my favs have been Addi cables, and recently, the Knitpicks cables, on both their options, and their smaller circulars.
Other Stuff: I started these in Toronto, probably the day I bought the yarn. I knit alot of the first sock in the car on the way home, and more on it while watching Steelers games on Sundays. I’m going to miss football season….I got so much knitting done! I think I finished the first sock a little before Christmas, but I’m not positive on that one. I know I worked on these a little bit in St. Thomas. I took them with me to a friends house and knit like hell until I finished them, somewhere near the end of the 3rd quarter. So nice to finish something!

Also: This weekend is the 3rd annual Pittsburgh Knitting Festival If you are any where near here, I think you should go. I have a feeling this is going to be a good one. No Maryland, and especially no Rhinebeck, but fun and fiberly none the less. It’s in the South Hills, and the entrance fee is $10, the website is kind of lacking in important info, like most of the proceeds go towards the Pittsburgh Waldorf School, and a map to the venue.
Go check out the vendors, there’s some good ones. Alot of the LYS will be there, including the one I work at. I will be there, spinning with the Butler County Spinners and Weavers Guild, on Saturday, and maybe Sunday too. Grafton Fibers will be there, they of the famous beautiful batts. I bought a small drop spindle from them last year, and totally missed them at Rhinebeck. This year I’m totally picking up a few batts!

And also: I got my copy of the new Interweave Knits today. While I love alot of the designs in this one, seriously, really nice job with the projects, I am feeling disappointed, and slightly confused by the new layout design. Not good. I prefer when they put the nice big pictures next to the pattern, not scattered all over the magazine, so you have to flip back and forth, and then all those teeny small photos around the pattern? Yikes. Let’s all remember this when we decide to fuck with a good thing.
On the subject of new mags, I got the new Rowan Magazine 41 on Tuesday, fresh out of the box. I love working on the days we get Rowan shipments. I really like it. Thumbs up to Rowan for this one!

Filed by Julia at 11:14 pm under FO!,Socks!
17 Comments

Filed by Julia at 9:20 pm under Spinning
22 Comments

These two babies are fresh off the wheel, and ready to be plied. This is the Sage Merino I bought in Maryland. I found out that this is actually from Ashland Bay, and Cloverleaf Farms carries it, or can order it. I divided the 4oz I had roughly into two parts, and spun each of those onto two bobbins. This is unusal for me, usually I spin it all onto one bobbin, and wind it into a center pull ball, and ply it from there. Works for me, but this time I decided to change it up a bit. Seeing as these singles are about lace weight, this is going to take awhile to ply…..

Filed by Julia at 9:42 pm under Spinning
9 Comments