Another pair of mitts...

This is the new pair to replace the pair that went MIA. A new design, taking different elements from different graphs in Lizbeth Upitis' book and putting them together. In fact, if you notice anything about them, let me know. If you compare to the original pair that I made (from my post listed on Oct 13th), I think this one moves the colors at a more pleasing gradation. In order, the school's colors are blue, gold and red is a last, not-very-well-known color. I added the white because the teams wear white shirts at home games... er, sometimes. But I thought the white gave balance to the others which can be so strong.

In the first design, I started with the red and blue and gradually worked to white before getting into the blue and yellow main section. IOW, a total turnabout from red/white to blue/yellow. This one changes one element with each design and ends up with the blue as primary "background", so I think it works better.

Anyway, those are done. So I have those, the mitts for youngest daughter and the shawl for my mother-in-law completed. I'm hoping to finish the shawl for Aunt Lois this week.

Then I went out last weekend and bought some Shetland to make Hubby a pair of socks. I took all kinds of measurements of his feet so I can work up a basic design that will fit. (My Mom also wants the measurements because she wants to make a pair of socks for my brother and his feet are almost the same as the DH, just a wee bit smaller - size 10 as opposed to a 10.5 - so I'll pass those over to Mom as soon as I work up the first sock to see if it fits correctly.) Hubby has always told me not to bother making him a pair of socks, but he gets so cold when he's out shoveling or plowing or -- God forbid -- has to do a tow in the middle of the night. This wool is a bit rough, so I'll warn him not to wear them right next to his skin, but they should keep him nice and toasty when he's outside in the elements if he wears them as an oversock.

Course, if I do this, I might let loose a monster. He never wanted to go to a hockey game either. Now I can't leave him home...

I'm going to try to post again tomorrow. I have a sock that I'm working on and it's absolutely delicious. I found a free pattern called Garden Trellis and I'm making it up in Gypsy Girl's Ice Cream Sundae colorway (www.stonebarnfibers.com). This is beyond gorgeous. Another example of perfect yarn with perfect pattern. I did 8 pattern repeats and I'm curious if I'll have enough yarn for the foot. So I ran a lifeline at the end of pattern 7, but we'll see. I'm pretty sure I'll have enough, but you never know.

New Pics...

Here they are! I'm doing this because I highly doubt that youngest daughter reads my blog. I know my Mom does, but I doubt my kids wonder what I'm up to or what I'm working on. Though the youngest flirts with knitting, she's more interested in the concept of creating and designing things than actually making them...

Anyway, these are the mitts she's getting for Christmas. I took graph #92 (I believe) from Lizbeth Upitis' book on Latvian mittens and adapted it to the fingerless design. I added the thumb gusset in plain purple and then added the braiding at the top of the gusset and the top of the hand for stability. I'd love to say that I'd planned it perfectly to get the braid at the top of the thumb gusset, but it was sheer luck that the bind off row coincided with a plain purple row in the actual hand design.

These still have to be washed and blocked, but I'm going to do all the projects at once on some weekend (probably after Thanksgiving while the rest of the world is doing the mall crawl and I avoid it like the plague ). I plan to cover my bed in towels and pin everything down for an entire day to give them a chance to dry. It helps that I have an overhead fan to keep the air circulating nicely. But I'll close the door (and prop it to keep kitties and dogs from saying "Ooooooo! New bedcover to rub all over!!!!" ).

Let's see if I can drop a second picture down here or if it will rise to the top of the page.... Oh well, it's also at the top of the page, but it's obviously the one on the right. Cherry Tree Hill in Indian Summer done in Jeannie Townsend's Cascading Leaves pattern. I don't think the pattern shows as much as I'd like, but I like the symmetry of Indian Summer and Cascading Leaves... I would never think of purple as an "Indian Summer" color, but the colorway is gorgeous. The bronzes and coppers and browns with the purple were simply too pretty to leave orphaned at the store.

I don't know what it is, but I'm in a "brown" mood lately. Not one of my favorite colors, which is dumb because it really does go with everything, but I've been knitting a lot with brown lately. I tried the magic loop method for the first time and did a headband in an Icelandic design from Dale's 92 Albertville flyer in brown, red, orange and peach with two single lines of sky blue. Came out really nice. Once I get that inside seam put together, that'll be another present for oldest daughter.

I also bought some yarn from Cathi at www.stonebarnfibers.com in her Gypsy Girl colorway of Cattails. Oh, what rich colors!!! My monitor didn't do this colorway justice. Course, I knew it would be better in person than on the computer, so that's why I ordered it and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I can't wait to cast that on.

But first I have to finish more projects. I'm into the second repeat of the pattern on Aunt Lois' dropped garter stitch shawl. It's slow work because there are two dropped stitch rows for every 12 rows of simple garter. All those yarn overs take time. I might end up taking that one to work with me so I can make some noticeable progress. After all, I knitted up my mother-in-law's shawl (the Wool Peddler's Shawl) in one week. I could probably manage this one in a week also, but I haven't carried it with me yet. Maybe this week once I finish the second pair of fingerless mitts.

Would probably be a good idea also. The second pair are for oldest daughter to replace the pair I'd made her that were either lost or stolen. She saw the first pair and I want these to be a surprise. I took several elements from the graphs in Upitis' book and combined them for my own, switching out the colors hopefully in a logical progression. I'm only into the third color change so I don't know yet how the whole project will work yet, but my fingers are crossed. So far, so good.

Let's see what else is new...

I also ordered fiber from Cathi at www.stonebarnfibers.com . Some gorgeous merino in a colorway called Daffodil. I've been trying to spin with merino/tencel and wondering why I was having some trouble. Damn stuff was slippery as all get out. Well.... Duh! It's got tencel in it. So I ordered plain merino to see if I could handle it easier. I was thinking of taking the colorway and plying it with a solid, so I ordered another 4 oz. of her solid color "Spice", thinking the contrast would work nicely. She was out of Spice. So she wrote and asked if I had a second color choice and I asked her to pick one. Her sense of color with her hand-dying is sooooo exquisite that I totally trust her judgement. And she sent me 4 oz. of the most gorgeous Ruby. Wow! I know I received it a week ago, but I haven't been able to touch it. Too much work and other obligations that kept me from being home much in the last ten days. But today is definitely a laundry and spinning day and my fingers are itching already. (I can't forget the laundry, though, or I won't have underwear to wear tomorrow... I bet you'll sleep better tonight knowing this stuff... LOL!)

I also got smart. I received my check for October on the second part-time job and I've decided that some of that money will go towards a "cleaning lady". A friend of mine's daughter is trying to save to buy a nice used car and she hires out for $15/hour. Yes, I did do some cleaning yesterday, but I'd much rather pay someone to do it for me and spend my time spinning, so I've hired her to come over and help clean and organize my mess. Her mom says she's wonderful and I'm more than happy to contribute to her car fund if she's willing to do the stuff I can't stand doing. (Give me a yard and I'll work for hours and hours. Bring me inside and I resent every single moment with a sponge or a broom in my hand... )

Oh, btw, remember I was trying to write for Harlequin for their new Spice Briefs line? Well, they don't like my stuff. So to heck with them. I'm going to investigate more with my knitting and spinning. I'm thinking of going for the Masters Certification with The Knitting Guild of America. I heard an interview with Ann Budd on the Knitpicks podcast and she says that she wouldn't recommend it for everyone because it's very time consuming and very detailed. She actually did get her certification and she said she learned a lot, though she doesn't use a lot of the new techniques with the kind of designing she does.

I was thinking that it might be something I could look for. Lord knows, I have the time at work. Maybe if I can get through some of the projects I have lined up, it might be worth it. Especially if I want to teach knitting. I think I'd make a good teacher. And I'd learn more new techniques and might find a way to incorporate new ones into what I'm already doing. I can already cast on in about six different ways, though I'd like to learn more ways to bind off. I can sew a seam so it's practically invisible (though no sewing at all is even more desirable... ). I can set in a sleeve and pick up stitches. Increase and decrease. Why not get the certification to go with it? It's a thought. I'd love to hear opinions on this.

Okay, off to start more laundry and hop in the shower. Have my "cleaning girl" coming today and have roving in the other room that's tired of being ignored. Have a wonderful week!

No pics this week...

Because what I've completed is stuff that I can't flash around while youngst daughter is home. Yup, I finished the first of her fingerless mitts and they're simply gorgeous! I took one of the patterns from Lizbeth Upitis' book that doesn't have a picture and did my little adaption into fingerless and this pair really came out spectacular. (I'll try to sneek a pic in about mid-week when she's burrowed in her room with the phone.) Course, I might be able to finish the second mitt tomorrow since it's knitting up really fast, but more projects also OTN so we'll see who screams the loudest for attention when I get to work in the morning.

I also finished the first sock using Jeannie Townsend's Cascading Leaves pattern done in Cherry Tree Hill's colorway called Indian Summer. It satisfies my sense of "order" that I use that pattern with that colorway. And it came out looking really nice. I'm halfway down the cuff on the second sock and that should be done this week if I don't get tangled up in the new shawl.

Yes, I received my latest order from Knitpicks and I started Aunt Lois' shawl last night. Got their Wool of the Andes in Forest Heather and I'm also adding a single strand of Alpaca Cloud in Moss Heather. It's looking terrific together and that will be turned into the Sarah Blanche shawl from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls. I worked for about 3 or 4 hours and only got halfway through the 5th row (which is where I'm putting my first dropped stitch row), so this will be a long process, but it's going to be wonderful.

In the shipment, I simply had to order a ball of Palette in the Golden Heather. Wow, what a gorgeous color. A bit of red to soften and tone down the bright yellow of the normal Palette. I won't be able to use it in the older daughter's mitts, but I'm thinking of a way to use it in Dale pattern that I bought about 15 years ago. Yup, I was digging around downstairs and found a few patterns that I'd bought a LONG time ago when a LYS was going out of business. (No, not from lack of patronage, but because they were closing the complex where they rented space.) They'd put everything on sale and I actually bought more patterns than yarn. Got a wonderful pattern for an Icelandic sweater that I wanted to try my hand at. Considering my fear of colorwork until lately, I'd ignored it. Then I stumbled over it a few weeks ago and now it's calling my name with a vengeance.

Considering this would be my first sweater-sized colorway, I'm intimidated by the thought of actually knitting it up in Dale of Norway yarn (which it was designed for). The cost would be well over $100 and closer to $150. OTOH, I was looking yesterday and I think I could knit it up in Knitpicks Palette yarns for about $50. AND (and this is what has me itching to get moving), I could work that gorgeous Golden Heather into the design. Course, I'm thinking of trying the hat first. Just to see for gauge and suitability and if I can actually do it. If I like what I turn out, I can order the yarn and go for the whole shebang in a full sweater.

And that would give me the opportunity to test my color skills before tackling a Philosophers Wool Timber Framed for my brother for his birthday in Feb. Plus I can test steeking (YIKES!!!! Scissors to knitted fabric?!?!?) before I do something that's going to be a gift.

In the meantime, I have MIL's shawl all done. I'm going to wash and block that one right after Thanksgiving. Yup, I'm a smoker and the last thing I want is the smell of smoke to come tumbling out of the gift wrap before she even sees the shawl. So I'll wait and block that one when I get the Aunt-in-law's shawl done and get them washed (iow, get rid of smell), blocked and wrapped after the turkey holiday and with plenty of time before the Christmas holiday.

Sounds like a plan and the next few months are basically all mapped out on what projects will be one the needles....

OH!!! Before I forget. I got a shipment from Cathi at Stone Barn Fibers. I ordered some hand-painted yarn for socks (what else? ) in the colorways Cattails and Ice Cream Sundae. Hmm... yummy and gorgeous, so I'm sure they'll be on the needles as soon as I can get done with the Cascading Leaves and Textured Argyles. I also ordered some gorgeous merino to try to spin for socks. I ordered 4 oz. of her handpainted merino in Daffodil (which is yellow with streaks of red and green and even a few others) and I'd wanted to try plying that with a solid strand of Spice. Course, this being Oct and I totally forgot that anything orange would be gone in a heartbeat, I wasn't surprised when Cathi wrote to let me know that she was out of spice. Oh well. So I wrote back and said to pick something to go with the Daffodil and surprise me. Lo and behold, she picked this stunning ruby red. Can't wait to get my fingers on that fiber today.

And not only are they gorgeous, but I opened the bag so I could fondle the fiber and the scent that wafted out of the package was simply divine. Clean and sweet. I don't know what she uses to wash her fibers, but it's heavenly. The scent was even in the yarn. Working on the fiber and the yarn is going to be yummy indeed.

Trust me. Get fingers over to www.stonebarnfibers.com and get yourself some sock yarn and some fiber. The computer monitor does NOT do justice for her handpainted fiber and yarn. Her sense of color is exquisite and the yarn is to-die-for. Bouncy and soft and unbelievable. Picking one over another is difficult and there isn't a bad mix in the bunch. Try one skein of yarn and you'll be tearing your hair out to simply order two of each. (Yes, you do need two skeins to make a pair unless you make socks without cuffs.)

A few months ago, my mom had ordered a dozen colors, two skeins of each. I balled them all for her and put each colorway into a qt. ziploc bag. Then put all the bags into one big brown paper bag. She's had more fun simply reaching into the paper bag and taking out whatever ziploc comes to hand. Each one is a new surprise and keeps her knitting happily on new socks. I don't think she's halfway through her stash and is already itching to buy some more because there's so much pleasure in the surprise she has each time she reaches in for a new project.

Yup, I definitely need me one of those big brown paper bags...

Okay, off to do fundraising tallies and get rid of those white roots.... er, not in that order. Do roots first so I can hop in shower and then go play with a calculator for a few hours. Then home for laundry and finally the ability to play with my new fiber while the machines do their thing.

I'll get pics up this week when I can make sure youngest daughter is stashed in her room with phone to ear and distracted from seeing her Christmas present.

Textured Argyle and more...

Here it is. The infamous Textured Argyle. I haven't had a lot of time to work on it (well, duh, since you still have needles sticking out of it! ) but I'd promised the pics last week. Oops...

• I don't know if you can tell in the pic, but the first row of diamonds (with the red twisted with a blue) are purled rows, then the dark red (believe it or not with a green) is stockinette st, then the yellowish diamonds are again purled and so forth. Each section is offset by small one stitch cables. This is how the diamond definition is set up.

• I did that to the bottom of the cuff and then simple straight stockinette for the rest of the sock with a short row heel. Let me see if I can get that other pic to upload here also. Woohoo! Yup, I can upload. Now I have to learn how to set them where I want them and I'll be ready to roll. Youngest daughter promised me that she'd help me do that, but she's still in bed. So maybe next time.... Why? Because I'll have more pics to upload.

• Why again? New paragraph, that's why... I finished the MIL's Wool Peddler's Shawl. I got my order from Knitpicks last Saturday. I can't tell you how excited I was to come home and find that box sitting on top of my mailbox. So I whipped it open, checked out my yarn and put together my new Options interchangeable set of cables. Put together my size 7 tips on a 24" cable and cast on Saturday night. It's funny because I thought the garter stitch beginning would be SO simple. Well, it took me 3 tries to keep that center increase row both centered and straight. But once I got the hang, yes, it whipped up pretty darned fast.

• Now, my MIL is tall. She's 5'10" or thereabouts, so I did add one more row to the lace bottom section. And, boy, that was slow knitting cuz you're working about 300 sts in each row. But I also experimented some and I can now knit "continental" even faster than I can knit my good ole 30-yrs-of-experience American. It took a while to get somewhat easy on the purling, though. That one slowed me down a lot because the first row I tried purling, I got it backwards so all the sts twisted when I went to knit. So I knitted the next row through the back and then regrouped. Took a while, but I figured it out and can now purl in the continental manner a bit faster than molasses...

• Anyway, so I got all excited. One shawl down and 9 whole weeks before.... Oh, wait! I have to reveal two other things during the making of this shawl. I've written to Knitpicks because I can't believe it, but my cable pulled right out of the connector. Luckily, I had just knitted my last row and only had to cast off, but I went to turn the work and BOOM! I'm sitting there with my knitting in my lap and my needle in my hand. Thank goodness it was the last row and I didn't have to try to pick up 300+ stitches. So I pushed all the stitches together on the good end and continued to cast off. Whic leads me to another thing I learned.

• New paragraph... I don't know about you, but my cast off stitches are never in tension with the rest of my work. They're either too loose or too tight. And the ends never lay flat. They either pull or ripple. Yech! Yeah, yeah, everyone tells you to cast off _loosely_. That never works for me. It's still different than everything else. So I tried something new.

• Please note that this will only work if you work this last row on a cable needle and you'll see why. I knit that last row and then moved back to the beginning of same row. IOW, I haven't turned my work at all. I simply move from the left side where my yarn leader is dangling back to the right side where I began that row. Then I simply slipped my first two stitches to the right needle and slipped the first stitch over the second. Slip another stitch from the left needle and pass the "first" slipped stitch over the new one. Etc, etc. Knitting is already done. You're just passing the stitches for the bind off. End result? That edge lay flat and true like never before. Not too loose. Not too tight. Perfectly in sync with every other row I'd knitted.

• Seriously, give it a try. You'll be surprised.

• Okay, next note. I pulled out the swift and ball winder yesterday and balled up the lace weight merino and alpaca skeins I'd bought for the Aunt-In-Law's shawl. Funny, when you put the balls next to each other, it's not that pretty. But start casting on and the alpaca in Moss Heather adds a really nice subtle contrast to the darker Lost Lake Heather in merino.

• Anyway, I get upstairs last night and begin to cast on. Yarn leader is too short for 240 sts. I tear back and cast on again. Yarn leader is too short by about 10 sts. So I tear out and cast on a third time and this thing is looking mighty short. 240 sts or did Cheryle Oberle mean 340? I pull out the book again and look. Yup, 240 sts. Problem is that the yarn is supped to be DK weight and not fingering as I'd read (about 5 times). Actually, I think my problem is that I kept looking at so many different patterns that I forgot what yarn was needed for which project... So here I am with yarn that can't be used for the pattern I want or, if I switch to another pattern, I don't have enough yarn to complete it. I was thinking of switching to the Bird's Nest Shawl, but I only have half the yarn to complete it. I'll figure that one out and keep you posted.

• In the meantime, I can start a pair of fingerless mitts to replace the ones that Shelby doesn't have anymore. I don't want to say that she lost them or accuse someone of stealing them. I think it was more a combination of both. She put them down and forgot to grab them and they were gone before she could retrace her steps. Course, as I told her in no uncertain terms, the design is 100% unique. So if she sees someone wearing them, I expect her to run them to ground and tackle them.... LOL!

• Now, before I interrupted myself, I was about to say that, as of this Tuesday, we have nine (count them, NINE!!!!) weeks to Christmas. At least three projects in the hopper to be completed prior to then. And I simply have to figure out something for the Hubby. He keeps complaining that his feet get cold, so I want to make him a pair of socks. I have a reason now for him not to be suspicious. My mom wants to make a pair for my brother and, considering he's in North Carolina, it's a bit difficult to measure his foot. But my DH's foot is a bit longer and a bit bigger than my brother's. So if I measure Mark's foot and subtract a quarter inch in length and a half inch in diameter, it should work. And I'll have Mark's measurements also. Maybe that's what I could use that merino and alpaca for. The merino would add memory and "bounce" and the alpaca will add warmth. And the two shades of very subtle green will be nice and conservative compared to my socks in loud parrot and "fire"...

• It's a thought.

• Have a wonderful week! Nine and counting... Yikes!

Fingerless Mitts

Before I get into things, let me begin with an apology. I seem to have lost my ability to paragraph correctly, so rather than have all of my paragraphs run into each other like a multi-car wreck, I'm bulletting all the paragraphs to keep them separate. That said....

• Let's start with a picture. I finally got one. The main school colors are navy blue and gold, so that's the main part that goes over the hand. That navy "blob" is a thumb gusset. I was going to keep it in pattern, but it was so small a piece, I simply couldn't wrap my head around how to work the math to keep it in pattern. So... blue. Then I was worried about how the end at the fingers would roll back on itself because it's double-stranded, so I just finished it with a braid and then blocked to keep it straight. Funny, I've never owned a set of lace blockers in my life, so I just took the needles that I'd used to knit the mitts and laced them through each side to block it flat. Now, I doubt that would work for a large piece like a shawl, but it worked beautifully for the mitts.

• Now, here's the kicker. I gave Shelby the mitts on Wednesday morning because she needed them for last night's Midnight Madness. Well, she's searched high and low and can't find them for the life of her... Argh! I'm sure she feels really bad, but she figures she probably took them out of her messenger bag to grab something and then forgot to put them back. We checked with Lost & Found on campus, but, yup, they're gone. The good news is that, I don't know why, but I'm not mad. I think it's because there were a few things I would have changed once it was all done and I looked at the total overall effect. Now I have a chance to do just that. I'll have to order more yarn to accomplish this goal, but I'm going to do it and make her another pair.

• I also have plans to make a pair for youngest daughter. You know the one... she sits by the hour with a phone superglued to her head and IM'ing on the laptop simultaneously. Other than cleaning the litterbox twice a week, she can barely manage to make soup for her Dad on the nights I work, but for some reason I'll make her a pair of mitts. She deserves a smack instead of a present, but I'm WAY too nice for the good of both of us. My one consolation is that I know -- I mean, I KNOW!!!! -- some day she'll have a daughter just like her... Payback's a bitch and she'll get hers... LOL!

• Now for the good news. Yarn has arrived for the two shawls I'm making for Christmas. One a lovely rich burgundy called "hollyberry" from Knitpicks for the MIL. This one will become the Wool Peddler's Shawl. The other two yarns are both lace weight, but I'll combine them to make the Sarah Blanche shawl for the aunt-in-law. Two shades of green that will create almost a tweed effect, but one of them is alpaca, so that will add some wonderful warmness that straight merino might not with such a "holey" shawl. I want to do the Sarah Blanche because it's a dropped stitch garter and years ago I made a crocheted "broomstick lace" afghan for Aunt Lois and she loved it. This is almost the same effect, so they will match in a very strange and weird sense.

• Oh, and I have to mention. I took the pic from above of the mitts sitting on the stool for my Kromski because the wood is deep and rich and would blend into the dark background so the mitts would really stand out. I did get a complaint from my Mom that the other few pics I'd uploaded were way too busy with background, etc. So I figured just the stool. And I aimed my Ott light at it so the colors would show true (another problem I have in my house). Damn if it didn't work out well.

• I have to take a pic of the Textured Argyle sock. I'm almost done with the first and the cuff came out really nice. Hopefully, I can get that today and upload tomorrow. I can place one pic, but I have trouble if I'm uploading more than one. They tend to bunch up. I asked youngest daughter about that and she said, "Oh, you just type in blah, blah, blah, wakka, wakka". huh? I just smiled and said she could stay off the phone long enough to help....

Just Keep Knitting...

No new projects to report... er, yet. But I'm cranking along on the ones I posted in my last venture. I've completed one of the fingerless mitts for Shelby. Considering she needs them for this coming Saturday night, the second is coming along well and I expect to be done with them by Tuesday. (Okay, really, by Monday, but I need to wash and block, so it'll be Tuesday before I can give them to her.) The Pep Band will be at the Midnight Madness rally at the university, but that's held in the old basketball court so I doubt she'll be cold. OTOH, the hockey team has their first game on Saturday, so I want Shelby to have them handy if she needs them. (It's an exhibition game, but I don't care. Hockey is hockey and I CAN'T wait to have my butt in my season seat... )

The Dimple Shale Lace Scarf is coming along slowly. I figure if I do a couple pattern repeats every day, I might be done by Christmas. But I'm not worried about that one. I'll probably keep it for myself since I have presents lined up for everyone else. (hmmm... a present for one of the girls? Maybe. That's a thought I should probably write down or I'll lose it entirely. )

The Textured Argyle is almost done on the first cuff. I think I have about 4 rows left until I can start the st st for the heel, but I'm also thinking about how to decrease this baby. I'm working the pattern in 72 sts. Let's be real. I normally use 52-56 sts for my socks. I did more on the cuff for this one because I don't want the pattern to stretch around my calf. I want it to lay flat and show the beauty of a pattern I actually figured out for myself. (YES!!!! Finally, right yarn for the pattern!) But I'll have to decrease before I get into the heel or these socks will end up sized for Mark. There's 9 pattern repeats, so, in the last row before I do my usual 5 rows of st st before I start the heel, I'm going to decrease one stitch in each pattern (in the purled sections so it's less noticeable). That will bring me down to 63 sts. I'm thinking of st st the next row and then another 3 or 5 sts decrease to bring the stitch count down to 58 or 60 sts and then work the heel. I haven't decided yet on that one, but I'm leaning more towards 58 sts total. It'll still a bit larger than my usual 52-56 sts, but I'm also using a slightly smaller needle, so I surely don't want it to end up too small.

If I'd had half a brain, I probably would have cast on 64 sts instead of 72 for 8 repeats instead of 9. But the day I cast on for the socks was one of those days where not a coherent thought passed through my mind between the time I woke up and the time I went to sleep. It didn't even dawn on me until about two days ago that I cast on too many sts from the start. I'll try it on once I turn the heel and, if it's really too big, I can always frog. I'm getting used to the sound of frogs singing around my needles...

I'm waiting for the sun to come out so I can get some pictures of what I'm working on. Every time I've done something inside the house, the pics turn out way too dark. So I want to try outside with the natural sunlight and it might help with showing the true colors as well as picking up the light/shadow to show the Textured Argyle and the variation in texture. I learned this one from my wonderfully warm alpaca shawl. It's a three-ply yarn with each ply in a different color (dark, med, light all in the natural animal colors), so I kept the pattern a very simple basketweave of knit and purl. Unfortunately, between the variation in color and the small varitation in texture, I couldn't get a decent picture that showed anything more than a big rectangular blob... The biggest part was probably because I was trying to take the pic inside. Being surrounded by trees, I don't have a lot of natural light streaming in my oversized windows. And being a Cape Cod, I should definitely have more lamps in my rooms... So now I'm going to try photographing outside with natural sunlight and see if that solves my color/texture problems.

Anyway, I'll try to be back tomorrow. I have to post the ideas for the Christmas shawls I'll be making this year. Since the recipients don't spend much time online --one doesn't even own a computer and I can pretty much guarantee that the other doesn't even know I have a blog, let alone read it -- I won't be spoiling any surprises by making this announcement.

Have a wonderful Saturday! I've got my fingers crossed that the sun comes out. I'm almost positive it will make an appearance since there's no hope of rain anytime soon.

Stashes -- Half empty or half full?

Yup, it's the next weekend and I'm actually back. I want to thank Kenn for the nice note! Two weeks and I'll be in my seat in the arena and my withdrawal will be over. I could definitely use a hockey fix real soon...


OTN are several projects. I have some gorgeous Mega Boot Stretch by Lana Grossa in red that's going to be that textured argyle sock. This is definitely the right yarn for the right pattern. I started the first sock last night and only got the cuff done because the girls had taken my car to the Durham Fair and where is my notebook? Yup, sitting in my backseat. The family teases me that I live out of my car. Now it's truly everyone who knows this...


Also on the needles is a scarf in a simple lacy pattern. Mom had some Knitpicks Shimmer lace weight yarn in denim. She tried several times to make a lace shawl, but she can't stand counting those darn yarn overs. So she gave the yarn to me and I've had it bouncing around for about a year now. I originally started the pattern in single strand, but even with only a size 4 needles, it was too fine. I was thinking along the lines of an Irish Wedding Ring lace where, when you're all done, you can pull the scarf through a wedding ring because the yarn is so fine, but that wasn't going to work with this particular yarn and this particular pattern. So I doubled the stranding and that solved the problem. What's amazing is that it's a variegated yarn with several shades of blue and I happened (this was sheer chance and not design) to begin the skeins at just the right place so the color changes are working together. The colors change at almost the same time. Now, maybe by the time I reach the center of the scarf, they'll be out of synch, but they're working together now and it's coming out very nice.


Let's see... Shelby's fingerless mitts. Started one pattern. yech. Started another. Nope, not that one either. Finally went back to the very first pattern that I'd worked in the Latvian style and mixed up the colors of navy blue, yellow, red and white. Finally got a match. Style is working. Color changes are working right up to the base of the hand. I went from a background of white with the first design in blue and the second in red and then changed to the main part of the mitts in an intricate design of blue and yellow. But the change from red/white to blue/yellow was so sudden, it was jarring. Hmm... how to fix it? Easy. I frogged back all the blue/yellow and began the section with a braid to frame the design. Whew! Easy fix. I'm now at the point where I'm adding the plain blue gusset for the base of the thumb. Yup, it's not Latvian anymore, but I think it's going to be perfect for what I'm doing. I figure enough rows to get the thumb in there and then either one whole pattern or a pattern and a half to reach over the knuckles and a bit onto the fingers and then I'll finish it with another braid, again to define the design. So keep your fingers crossed that the end result matches what I see inside my head.


I think that's everything that's on the needles right now.


Took a vacation day on Friday so I could beat most of the crowds at the Durham Fair. Spent about $200, but I got most of my Christmas shopping done. And even a few birthday presents since my MIL's birthday is this coming Friday and oldest daughter will be 18 before the month is over. The only person I didn't get anything for was my darling hubby... I'm still trying to convince him to let me knit him an Icelandic sweater, but he's been adamant about rolling his eyes at me. No, I can't see him wearing one either, but that's besides the point... LOL!

While at the Durham Fair, I ran into my teacher, Laurie Sanford. She was co-chair for the Fiber Committee (new this year at the fair) and she yelled at me for not submitting something. I hung my head in shame and admitted that I don't get to spin as often as I'd like, but that wasn't an excuse for her. I did tell her, though, that I did look at the entries and was going to enter some of my yarn, but I hadn't gotten around to making that decision until the very day that all the entry forms were due. So I promised that I'd enter next year. A goal. That's what I need. I can enter some of my handknit items as well as some of the fiber I've spun and, maybe if I can get off my duff and actually knit up some of my own yarn, I can enter that as well. So I have some ambitious goals for this coming year.


Which brings me to a subject that I promised I'd discuss. Stash. What are they? How do we keep them from cloning whenever we turn our back?


I used to be really bad about stash control. I had huge 40-gallon Tupperware containers of stash. Worse was that I'd buy yarn simply because I liked it and it would sit there for years without even a project in mind. I don't know if anyone else can say this one, but I honestly had a stash of lavendar wool that I'd bought my first year of working (so we're talking around 1984 or so) because it was a closeout. It sat around with nothing to do and no project in mind for over a decade. I finally turned it into an afghan which I still have. Weighs a ton which is why I don't use it because it weighs enough to keep small children from breathing, but it's still in my house.


That was the yarn that turned me around. I no longer buy a yarn just because it's gorgeous. Frankly, there will always be gorgeous yarn. I'm a pain in that I have to fondle the yarn before buying. I venture into a yarn store and feel my way around the shelves. As I work more and more, I'm finding that I'm even more tactile than enticed by color. If it doesn't feel right, I simply won't work with it.


Oops. I'm meandering again, aren't I? Stash control. I don't buy a yarn if it doesn't speak to me about what it wants to be. If there's no project in mind, then I can't have it. Plain and simple. It could be the loveliest yarn since the Hope Diamond, but if it doesn't have a plan, it doesn't come home. Second is that I only allow myself so much. I usually buy in bulk as opposed to each project on it's own. When I buy, I spent $100+ or could be $200+. But, and here's the kicker, each yarn has a project and I have to complete at least 80% of the projects before I'm allowed to buy more. I might purchase yarn for a shawl or a sweater (I can't WAIT to start doing colorways in sweaters) and then yarn for 5 or 6 pairs of socks. All at once. Big bill. But then I'm not allowed to buy more until I've completed (not started, mind you, but completed) the majority of the projects.


It's hard. Don't get me wrong. I could escape to various yarn stores every weekend and drop $100 a week on yarn. But then when would I finish them? No, the purchase of more yarn is my incentive to complete the projects I've already got. And the quickest way to get more yarn is to complete the projects I've already purchased.


Example -- I have one "project" left from my old stash when I bought the yarn last weekend for the new projects. It's some lovely Lis Souza in Joseph's Coat that I know will be another pair of socks. I haven't decided on a pattern or if I'll even use a pattern for it, but I know this yarn will be socks. And I can make a pair of socks (if I really work at it) in 4-5 days. So it's time to get more yarn. Hence, my trip to Country Yarns and about $120 for new projects.


Last night, I saw a pattern for a dropped stitch shawl. I think this would be wonderful in alpaca for Aunt Lois and my mother-in-law for Christmas. Shouldn't be too time-consuming to make. A couple weeks at best. (The dropped stitch garter shawl from Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle) I made a shawl for Mom last Christmas, so it would be nice to make one this year for the other two ladies in our family. Anyway, if I want to get them made by December, then I have to get to work on the projects I just purchased. See? Incentive if I want to complete the shawls in time to wrap.


I don't see the restrictions of not being able to buy more yarn as a punishment. Rather, it's all in how you view it. I know that my reward for completing projects is the ability to fund new ones. And I knit away, happy and content, because I know that there are always new projects to drool over. And since I can't get to them until I finish the ones I've got, I just keep knitting because that's the only path that will get me back to the store (or Internet site)...


Think of Dorie in Finding Nemo. Her mantra was "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." Well, I've turned that into "Just keep knitting..."


To relate back to the title of this (yet again very LONG) post... is your stash half empty or half full? I don't think of all the wonderful yarns that aren't in my stash. I think of all the ones that will be there once I complete what I've got.


Comments? Any other topic I can cover? Write and let me know if any of this helps.