Yarnmageddon

I decided to try to organize my “yarn stash corner” so I can actually see what I have. This would be quite helpful in preventing me from going to my LYS, the Sheep & Wool Festival, and the Wool Arts Tour and buying the same thing I bought the previous year.

First, I had to measure the space in the corner. Since it’s under a sloping ceiling, that made it a little more difficult. But I used a tape measure and did the best I could.

I bought five pink stackable plastic milk crates, figuring I could do a column of two and another of three. I could put them open-side out so I could see the contents.

I should have taken a picture of the corner as it was, but I was so excited to get going, I forgot. Just imagine a towering pile of plastic and paper bags, containing goodies not seen since the dark ages.

I did, however, take a picture of all the “keeper” things I pulled out and put on the bed. Unfortunately, it came out blurry. But it’ll give you an idea of all the loose skeins of  yarn, books, needles, unfinished projects, unSTARTED projects, and knitting bags that were stuffed in that corner.

I also pulled our four bags of yarn scrap odds and ends, a huge pile of old magazines, and a decorative bird’s nest. Hmm.

By that point, I was thoroughly weak and exhausted, so I took a lunch break. Who knew it would be such a tough job? I think I burned off at least three hundred calories.

After the nutrition hit my system, I returned and started organizing, which involved storing yarn by weight, swearing, stacking started projects, threatening the milk crates when they made suspicious creaks, and a lot of eye-rolling.

And at last, everything was in place. It’s still crowded and not easy to see everything, but it’s a vast improvement. What do you think?

I’ve learned that I have enough lace yarn, virtually all in pink, purple or blue, to make shawls for the entire Radio City Rockettes. My favorites seem to be Cherry Tree Hill yarn, and Ball and Skein yarn, based on how many skeins of each I have.

I have enough sock yarn for three or four pairs of socks, which sounds about right. And a few skeins of various sport and worsted weight yarn.

And I also have about ten unstarted or unfinished projects. I’ll certainly never run out of things to do.

There! I feel so much better. I think I’ve earned a little snack! Tomorrow, I  may open my own yarn store…

Lovely Sweater

That’s even more impressive than knitting it myself!

When Good Knitting Goes Bad

NH Sheep & Wool Festival 2011

Last weekend was the yearly much-anticipated New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival. My daughters and I always look forward to it all year and can’t wait for it to happen. We had a wonderful time as always, and because of having a few years’ experience under our belts, we made it through in record time.

Here’s a photo of my goodies:

From left to right, here’s what I got:

1) Sonatina Laceweight from Mad Color Fiber Arts, 80% merino wool, 20% Tussah silk, 1125 yards, www.madcolorfiberarts.com . Soft and plenty of yardage for a large shawl. You can’t tell it from the color I chose, but most of their yarn was, well, Mad Colors.

2) Ariane Lace from Ball and Skein, 70% alpaca, 20% silk, 10% cashmere, 875 yards, colorway “The Blues,” www.ballandskein.com . Last year I bought some of their Arequipa and made a gorgeous scarf. This yarn is SO soft, I just want to stroke it! They’re on my “must buy” list every year.

3) Estrellita handpainted 2-ply lace from Mocha’s Fiber Designs, 75% superwash merino, 20% silk, 5% silver stellina, 875 yards, colorway “Starry Starry Night,” www.mochasfiber.com . Also very soft, and the sparkle really makes it special. Will have to find exactly the right pattern to show it off.

4) Glazed Chenille from Decadent Fibers, 100% rayon chenille, 1000 yards, www.decadentfibers.com . I’m a sucker for chenille. Reminds me of the chenille bedspreads of my youth, so I think a large comfort-shawl is in order.

Did any of you attend? What did you snap up? Do tell!

Free Pattern: Magic Loop Eyelet Mitts

Here is a free pattern I hope you’ll enjoy. Please don’t sell the pattern or sell the mitts…it’s for your personal use only.

These came out pretty nicely and were easy to make. Let me know if you have questions!

MAGIC LOOP EYELET MITTS
by Elizabeth Delisi

Materials:
1 ball Jojoland Melody Superwash fingering, 220 yards
40" circular needle size 2

Size:
One size

Eyelet Lace Pattern:
Multiple of 8 sts.
Row 1 (right side): Knit.
Row 2 and all other even rows: Knit.
Row 3: *K6, yo, k2 tog, rep from *.
Row 5: Knit.
Row 7: K2, *yo, k2 tog, k6; rep from *, end with k4.
Row 8: Knit.
Repeat rows 1-8.

Directions:
Cast on 56 stitches, divide in half on both sides of the needle. Join into a round.

Work K2, P2 ribbing for 16 rounds.

Work rounds 1-8 of Eyelet Lace pattern, then work Rounds 1-4 once more.

Thumb Gusset:
Round 1: M1, K2, M1, place marker, knit across round as established in pattern.
Round 2 and 3: Knit to marker, slip marker, continue in pattern as established to end of row.
Round 4: M1, knit to marker, M1, slip marker, continue in pattern as established to end of round.
Repeat rounds 2-4 until there are 20 stitches before marker, which should end on row 5. Do rows 6-8 in pattern.

Knitting Hand:
Place first 20 stitches on holder for thumb. Cast on 2 stitches, continue in pattern to end of round 1. Continue in pattern for 15 rounds, ending on knit round. Work 8 rows of K2, P2 rib. Bind off.

Knitting Thumb:
Join yarn, knit 12 stitches in first end of needle. Knit remaining 8 stitches with other end of needle, pick up and knit 4 stitches across open area of thumb. You now have 24 stitches. Work 8 rows of K2 P2 rib. Bind off. Weave in loose ends.

Copyright 2011 Elizabeth Delisi

 

As promised, here's the free dishcloth pattern. I just ask that you not sell or redistribute the pattern, or sell finished dishcloths made from this pattern. It's for your personal enjoyment!

Liz

Pi Openwork Dishcloth

Pattern by Elizabeth Delisi


Materials:
Cotton worsted-weight yarn (I used Peaches and Cream, color 130 Shaded Pastels)
Size 7 knitting needles
Crochet hook or tapestry needle to weave in ends

Finished size:
Approx. 9x9" square

Gauge:
Not important

Pi Openwork pattern stitch:

Multiple of 3

1st row (RS): K2, *YO, K3, with left needle pull first of 3 st. just knitted over last 2 and off the needle; repeat from * to last st., K1.

2nd row and all WS rows: P.

3rd row: K1, *K3, with left needle pull first of 3 st. just knitted over last 2 and off the needle, YO; repeat from * to last two st., K2.

Repeat these four rows for pattern.



Dishcloth pattern:

Cast on 43 stitches.

K 6 rows in garter stitch.

Row 7: K5, follow Row 1 of Pi Openwork pattern over next 33 stitches, K5.

Row 8: K5, P33 (Row 2 of Pi Openwork pattern), K5.

Row 9: K5, follow Row 3 of Pi Openwork pattern over next 33 stitches, K5.

Row 10: K5, P33 (WS row of Pi Openwork pattern), K5.

Repeat rows 7-10 until piece is 3/4" less than desired length, ending with WS row.

Next 6 rows: Work in garter stitch. Bind off, weave in ends.

Variation: Use seed stitch for border instead of garter stitch.


Questions? Contact me at elizabeth@elizabethdelisi.com.

Have fun!

Copyright 2007 Elizabeth Delisi

 

Kitty Helper

And to add a little written knitting content…I’m going to my LYS today to yell for help. The hoodie I’m working on is coming out way off gauge. No, that’s not right. The gauge seems fine but it’s still going to be way longer than it should be when the side shaping is done. So I’m going to go whine and cry and see if there’s an option beyond starting over! Wish me luck.

When Good Plans Go Bad

Kitty Knitting

Just add a couple hundred Christmas lights, and you’ll have the Griswalds’ Christmas vacation! Hah.

So, on the needles. Or to be more precise, on the hook. I’m almost done with the crocheted project “Zaubertote” from the book “Sock Yarn One Skein Wonders.” Only problem is, one skein of the Zauberball wasn’t enough despite the book title, and it costs $19.99 per ball, so now instead of a basic $20 tote, I’ll have a $40 tote! I’d better get lots of use out of it.

At least I’m having fun crocheting for a break from knitting. And the yarn color changes are awesome, shades of purple, pink and orange.

Once the tote is done, I’ll return to the shawl I’m knitting, the Water Turtles Shawl from the book “Wrapped in Comfort.” It’s going slowly as each row is so long, and it’s hard to see the pattern yet as it’s only 6 or 8 inches long. It’ll be a challenge to block, I suspect.

What’s on your needles…or hook?

Beware the Soul Stealer

Just had to share this:

 

Free Cowl Pattern

I decided to get my hair cut on the spur of the moment. Since it would be my last visit to my hairdresser before Christmas, I wanted to give her a gift. But what?

I browsed the shelves at my LYS and found a bulky weight yarn I really liked—Plymouth Yarn “Multiplicity.” At first I thought it would make a nice scarf, but then I opted for a cowl—a little more style than a plain scarf.

I didn’t have time to search my books and Ravelry to find a pattern, so I just cast on and started knitting. It came out great, only took a few hours to finish, and my hairdresser absolutely loved it. So I figured I’d share the ultra-simple pattern with you! Enjoy.

BULKY COWL

One size fits all

1 skein Plymouth “Multiplicity” yarn in color 3167 or your choice

1 pair size 15 knitting needles

Cast on 20 stitches.

Pattern: K1, *K2tog, YO. Repeat from * to last stitch, K1.

Work in pattern until you’ve used up all or nearly all the yarn, and ending with a stripe of the opposite color than you started with.

Bind off. Flip one end over to put a twist in the cowl; sew or crochet ends together.

Can be worn around the neck, or pulled up over the head as a hood.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Knitting

I'll bet, like me, you're up to your eyeballs in Christmas knitting. That makes this time of year fun...and dangerous.

Dangerous? Because you can't talk about your knitting or you might let something slip. Can't show it off to the wrong person. And you certainly can't post a picture of your progress on your knitting blog!

I've never been the best at keeping secrets so I'll say I'm making a ______ for ________, a ________ for ________, and ________s for the ________s.

There! I feel so much better now that's off my chest.

What Christmas knitting can you talk about...and what do you have to keep mum?

Blogging with Windows Live Writer

I’m trying out Windows Live Writer to blog. Since I have several blogs, I figured I’d check to see if this was easier.

First, you have to set up all the blogs you want to use by providing the website URL, user name and password. Then you can create a blog post and just click “Publish” and it does the rest. The blog you wrote stays on the screen until you close it, so if you want to post it more than one spot, there’s no cutting and pasting or rewriting involved.

Adding photos is easy, too. Here’s one of some semi-recent knitting:

I adjusted the photo using Windows Live Photo Gallery, just using the auto-correct feature, and it did make the colors stand out more.

I’m sure there are features I haven’t found yet. Anyone have any tips? I do like the ease of posting to more than one blog.

Tied Up

I've been all tied up too! But I hope to have new knitting content to post soon.

What I'm Knitting

Now that I've had a cortisone injection, I'm working my way back up to knitting a normal amount again. (Normal = a lot.)

First, I'm nearly done with the Penelope Blouse by Oat Couture. It's coming along great, I just have to finish the lace edging on one armhole and it's finished.

Two things. First, I'm knitting on that edging rather than knitting separately and sewing on. The latter leaves a real possibility there might be too much lace, or too little, when I reach the end of sewing. And second, I hate weaving in ends!

Second, as you can see in the picture, the neckline rolls, due to being stockinette with no ribbing. I'm not positive I like that. I know it's fashionable, but heck, I'm not. I considered doing the same lace edging around the neck, but realized it would flop down as it's about an inch. I don't want to choose a different edging that might work better but wouldn't match the rest of the sweater. So I may just leave it as is.

I hope to have it done in time to take on vacation. Hubby says, "You're going to wear a sweater in the summer? You're crazy. It'll be too hot."

I said, "But it's cotton. That's a summer fabric."

He said, "Cotton, schmotton, it's as heavy as a sweater."

So we left it at that. I guess only time will tell!

As if I don't have enough shawl yarn on hand, or shawls begun, I ordered two more shawl kits from Knit Picks this week.

First, the Seasons Shawl Kit in the spring and summer colors. The shawl has a rainbow of colors, which makes it casual rather than dressy, and it should go with any color I choose to wear. I especially like the graceful scalloped edging.

Second is the Baltic Lace Kit. It includes enough yarn for two shawls: the 60" x 50" Karukell Shawl, and either the 8½"x 60" Catkin Scarf or the 20" x 60" Catkin Stole. Both are Estonian patterns, the Catkin a bit simpler and more straightforward, but I don't think I'll have trouble with either one.

Then, as if all that weren't enough, while at my knitting group at my LYS, I picked up a copy of Socks From the Toe Up from Wendy Knits. I've knit a number of pairs of socks from the top down, but I've always wanted to try toe up. Great instructions and lots of lovely patterns; I especially like the Butterfly Socks with a delicate lace pattern.

There! I think that will keep me busy. What are YOU working on?

That Spill

Too funny not to share!

Mother's Day Sheep & Wool

As usual, I went with my two daughters to the annual New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival. This year we went on Saturday instead of Sunday for a change. It was pouring rain...sigh. But we still had a great time and came home with lots of goodies. Here's what I picked up.

First, this lovely turned wood shawl pin, created by Cynthia Ellis at Wood by C. She had a display of the most gorgeous shawl pins, crochet hooks, knitting needles, pens, thimbles, seam rippers, and just about every kind of little gadget and gizmo you could imagine, all beautifully turned and dyed. This shawl pin is smooth as glass and will make a perfect accent to my hand-knit shawls.

Next is two 600-yard skeins of "All Wool Lace Twist" lace yarn from Ball and Skein in the shade called "Lupine." It's absolutely gorgeous, subtly changing shades of purple and will make a gorgeous shawl. They had so much beautiful lace yarn, it was tough to narrow it down! I bought some of their Arequipa alpaca and silk lace yarn last year, so this year I'm giving their 100% wool a try. Now I just have to find the perfect pattern.

Then came four 300-yard skeins of "Little Breeze," which is silk and merino lace-weight yarn from A Touch of Twist. The colourway is called "Channel." Not sure what that means. But it's a stunning fuchsia shade, which is my absolute favorite color. (I was the kid who always wanted the "magenta" crayon out of the crayon box.) Again, it will make a wonderful shawl, light and warm and colorful!

Last but not least is a huge, 1400-yard hank of 50% merino, 50% tencel gorgeous purple yarn from Ellen's Half Pint Farm. It's not labeled as to weight, but it looks like either heavy lace yarn or perhaps sock/fingering weight. The color is a solid purple, but the tencel gives it a beautiful sheen that makes it look subtly variegated.

My two daughters each bought yarn and other goodies, including pattern books, kits, and a "learn to spin with a spindle" kit, each one choosing colors that suited her best. They know I always head straight for the pinks and purples. ;-) We had a lovely time, despite being constantly wet. We stopped for a late lunch on the way home, then had a celebratory dinner at home with Dan/Dad/Grandpa and the grandchildren. All in all, a marvelous day, despite being duck weather!

Hope That Yarn Wasn't Expensive....

because Kitty here sure intends to have it for lunch!



Source: LOL Cats

A Bigger Purse...Or Is It?

For the past year or two, this purse has been my usual winter purse. I like the shape, and the colors were something I envisioned in my sleep. (Not for a purse, though...for a sweater. But since they're not my usual colors, I chickened out in real life and went for something smaller and less of an investment in time and money.)

But I've had trouble finding things in the purse. It could be because it's not large enough overall; or it could be because the top is smaller than the bottom. In any case, I decided a new purse was in order. I found a pattern I liked and chose the yarn, and naturally couldn't resist casting on for the Mitred Stripes Felted Bag right away.

So here's the finished bag, and I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. It used two different yarns, Malabrigo and Noro Kureyon, neither of which had I tried before. I was surprised how scratchy Kureyon was, given all the raves I'd heard about it. It wasn't fun to knit with texture-wise, but I did like the colors. They blended nicely with the Malabrigo, which was soft and luscious-feeling in the hands.

The purse felted nicely, both yarns felting to the same degree. When it was dry, I added the buttons and then measured it against the older purse. Much to my dismay, it was a bit smaller at the bottom, though a bit larger at the top. "Oh well," I sighed, "It can't be any worse than the one I'm using." So I pulled all my necessities out of the old purse and put them in the new one.

To my surprise, while they fit about as tightly as in the old purse, they are much more accessible and easily grabbed. I suppose it's because the top of the purse is a bit wider. In any case, it feels a little more convenient, and I love the colors and design much more than the older one. Is it true love, or just the lure of the new?

In any case, I'm happy. How about you? Do you fall in love with each new project and shunt aside the old, or do you save your love for only the fortunate few?

Yarnirvana

One picture speaks a thousand words. Or skeins...

Gearing Up For Winter

Lately I've been on a winter knitting kick. Could have something to do with all the snow we got on Sunday! Of course, it all melted on Monday when the temperatures returned to the more seasonal 50s. But that, and the cold days we had the week before, encouraged me to make some small, warm items.

First, I whipped up a pair of wristers. Or fingerless mitts? At any rate, I had one skein of yarn and that seemed a perfect thing to use it on. They came out a bit large, so next time I'd either use smaller needles or cast on fewer stitches. But they are soft and comfortable, and I've tested them out while typing and yup, I can type while wearing them. Hooray!

The pattern was "Chunky Piano Mitts" by Michele Bernstein, and you can find the pattern here on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/chunky-piano-mitts or here on her blog: http://pdxknitterati.com/patterns/chunky-piano-mitts/

The yarn I used was Kona Bay Knitting Yarn Party. It's a 12-ply bulky yarn that's 100% nylon, in an eyelash type. It's very soft and was fun to work with, but frogging would definitely be a pain.

Next, I made a pair of slippers. I wanted something that I could complete with one skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease, again because that one skein was all I had in my stash. I came across the pattern for Two Needle Slippers by Dagny Lilley here: http://web.archive.org/web/20080101104155/http://www.theirishewe.com/mt-static/2006/04/two_needle_slippers.shtml and they seemed like just the thing.

Once I completed the first slipper, I tried it on. Fit well on my foot, but the garter stitch cuff was much too loose. I knitted the second slipper and made the cuff out of K2P2 ribbing instead of garter stitch. That worked better, so I frogged the cuff on the first one and reknit it in ribbing. However, they still slipped off my heels when wearing them, so as a final touch, I added a crocheted tie on each one. That seems to have done the trick.

Now, I'm back to working on my Applegate Shirt (pattern from Oat Couture) and hope to get it finished shortly. I'm on the second sleeve, then just have the placket and neck to knit, and of course the sewing.

What are YOU working on to keep you warm this winter?