A surprising thing happened...

   Last night, at some random point in the evening, I became aware that I heard counting... "24, 25, 26..." Then I realized it was my own voice! Gradually the cloud lifted and I could see that I was in the middle of the cast on for the purse that has been calling to me so seductively. 


   My subconscious knitter had made me get up, get the yarn out of my stash, find the right size needle, and start casting on the stitches I needed to begin making the purse. I was completely shocked. Never-the-less, I kept going and worked on the purse base last night, then finished it this morning. Clearly, the subconscious knitter has gotten her way. It seems she is very strong willed.


    After finishing the base for the medium sized bag, I picked up the stitches along the other three sides of the base, and knit one time around. This whole time, I had been muttering to myself that it's not big enough. That one time around verified my thoughts. After this thing in it's current state was felted, it would be way too small. It looked to me like the base was already the size it was supposed to be after felting. I also felt that the needle was too small.


   So.... I frogged it. I then searched through my needle collection, and realized that I didn't have the bigger size 13 circular needle that I desired. I remembered that I have some straight needles in an old knitting bag, so I looked in there and lo and behold, I found two short size 13 needles. The don't match, one is plastic and the other is metal. But that doesn't matter at this point. They are usable. I didn't find any long needles. So the short ones are what I went with.


    I cast on the stitches for the bigger purses base at Bonny's house. They barely fit on the short needle, because the pattern calls for two strands of yarn. Either way, I'm using them until I can get to a craft store and purchase circular needle of at least 32 inches in length. I just can't work on it too much. Hopefully tomorrow I can get to a store and make the purchase. I'm hoping to find more wool, as they didn't have enough when I made the original purchase.


    Hubs just read this and is shaking his head... now I'm not sure it's gonna happen..... Oh well. I will keep you all updated!   

Project Updates

    1. Remember the great garter stitch monster blanket I was knitting for Owen? This morning I frogged it. I just wasn't into it any more, and it was too big anyway. I re-wound that yarn and have started on a different project. I am making him a double knit pad to lay on. I'm using the Elizabeth Zimmermann one yarn version. It's unbelievably awesome.


    2. I took the Pi Shawl with me on Friday when I babysat for Owen. I got quite a bit done on it. At least I'm through the next set of lace holes, at round 36 of the 48 rounds before the next time the stitch count doubles again.


    3. I am making some progress on my own double knit lap blanket. It's getting harder to do. I'm beginning to change my mind about making a big one for the son-in-law. I think it'll just be too much work. Those of you who know me, know I'm not a big fan of work. So it's back to rethinking a crochet pattern for his blanket. But he doesn't want holes....


    And lastly, 4. I'm still thinking about recreating my notes for my story. I just haven't decided yet.... and I have gotten encouragement. Thanks to those of you who have given it to me.



   

   

Disappointment leads to frogging

    I finished the first legwarmer last night. Let's just say that it shall be frogged. I am currently swatching for a knitted version. I have decided to give the knitting another chance. This time I will knit it flat and sew or crochet up the seam. I know that some people never swatch, but this time I need to know how many stitches in ribbing will go around my foot.


    I was severely disappointed about the legwarmer fiasco. At least there will be more than enough yarn from the crocheted version to make the new and improved knitted one. I have a plan, as mentioned above. I hear that you learn something even from failure, but I can't figure out what I learned from this one.

Leg Warmer Progress

    I have to admit, I started knitting a legwarmer. I got through the bottom ribbing, which is long because it goes over my foot. Then I started the body, and I wasn't happy with it. I decided I needed to increase a bunch of stitches right after the ribbing. I actually frogged back to that point, then was unable to pick up those ribbing stitches. I ended up frogging the whole thing.


    That's when I got my crochet hook out. I used the same mm size hook as I had knitting needle. The yarn is a heavy worsted weight. And it's bright pink. LOVE IT! I chained a bunch of stitches, then started back across with 13 or so single crochets, then did doubles until the last 18 or so stitches. I did maybe 3 rows like this before I decided it wasn't long enough. So I frogged that too. Made it longer and started again. This time, I'm happy with it. I think.


    I laid it out on the floor, all nice and flat so I could take a photo and you could see what I was talking about. When I got the camera out, I discovered that the battery was dead. Since we hadn't been plowed out yet, I couldn't go get a new one. That may have to wait until tomorrow.  


    In the meantime, we have other family news. My youngest child, my baby, has asked his long-time girlfriend to marry him. I'm very happy for them both. My eyes keep leaking, I'm a little emotional. after all, he is the youngest. This will be a long engagement, as her sister is set to get married next October, and other events are happening in her family even before that. But everyone is happy, and it will be worth waiting for.

Knitting report, snow photos

    I have now had my required two cups of delicious chocolate truffle coffee, and I'm ready to face my day. Yesterday, I frogged the hat that I was making to match my sweater. I had decided it was too big. So I started it again, with twenty less stitches. Here is how it looks now:

    And it has snowed, as many of you know. Here are a few photos of the snow. It does look pretty. I'm very glad I don't have to drive in it.

    I hear it's supposed to change to rain, but that hasn't started here yet. The roads look a little slushy, but the cars don't seem to be traveling very slowly.

A knitting disaster and more

   I had one of those yesterday. Remember that sweater I was knitting with Malabrigo sock yarn? "Boxy" it was called. Well. There I was sitting at Karate with my good buds Kim and Jan, knitting away. I stopped to straighten out my knitting.


    You see, it's very curly, and sometimes I think I may have twisted it when I joined it. I was very careful when I joined it, I laid the whole thing our and made sure it was straight before joining.


    Well. It turns out that it wasn't straight. I've been wasting my time, this whole time, knitting away on something that now needs to be completely frogged. Kim was horrified. Me, not so much. I really wasn't in love with it anyway. But now I still have four skeins of black Malarigo sock yarn, and one called Azules.


    I went trolling on Ravelry, looking for sock yarn sweaters. I only got six pages. There were a couple I liked, but I am soooo not in the mood for knitting four flat pieces and sewing all those fracking seams.


    Then I went to Knitting Pattern Central. They also had a couple of interesting looking sweaters. But in order to see each sweater, you have to click on the name of it. As I was looking for sweaters made exclusively with sock yarn, the going was difficult to say the least. I was paying attention to the yarns called for in each pattern.


    I now embark on a mini-rant. WTF is with these designers? Not a single one tells you what weight yarn they used. That's all I want. Oh, and a large range of sizes is good too. That's for my friend Kim, that's her current beef. There was even one sweater that the pattern was only in ONE SIZE, and it was small. I mean, in reality, how many real adult, mature women are a fracking size small??


   In desperation, I went back to Ravelry, and widened my search to all sweaters. I looked at sixty four pages before gving up. Even there, there were patterns written for only one size. To be fair, one was written for an XL. But still.....


    OK, now I feel better, thank you. Well, this changes things. Now I will go back and work on Sara's sweater again, hopefully I will be content with that.

Progress and V-day report

    Once again, I had to frog the pink sweater. Somehow made a big boo boo on it, and I wasn't that far into it that I couldn't just frog it. So I did, and started all over. Again. This time, I think I got it right...

    Pink and purple are my favorite colors, the pink, as hot as possible....


    As for V-day, Hubs was away, and got home late last night. It turns out that he brought me a present. My very favorite sparklie thing, in a pendant. It's very pretty. And since he wasn't home for the holiday, he took me out to breakfast this morning. We had a really nice time. I've spent the whole day with him, not even going on the Internet all day. Until now, anyway. I figured it would be OK,  since he's gone to bed. He has to get up early for work tomorrow.

progress report, with frogging

    Recently, I decided to frog the beginnings of both sweaters that I had started. Mine was too big, so I will use a smaller needle and make a smaller size. Sara's was too small, it looked on track to fit my 5 year old granddaughter. Not a good thing. So I upped the needle size, and I'm trying a larger size. My fingers are firmly crossed.


    I went to Fishkill yesterday, to visit my mom, so of course I had to go to the LYS down there, Out of the Loop. Theresa was very friendly, as usual. It never ceases to amaze me that people remember me. I went in looking for needles, but she was out of the size I was looking for. She is expecting a delivery any time now.


    I ended up browsing through all the yarn. She has expanded her selection, and now has lots of Noro. But what caught my eye was Cascade Yarns Eco Duo. It's 70% undyed baby Alpaca, and 30% undyed Merino. It is so very soft, I couldn't believe it! I finally decided that two hanks would make a delicious cowl. There was a good selection of color ways, and I ended up choosing a black/gray/white. I love the fact that it's undyed.


    I made sure to do the itch test, by placing the yarn on my neck, and gently rubbing it there. No itchies, I'm pleased to report. I decided to use a big needle for the cowl. Ideally I wanted a size 11, but the only one I have is 16" long. So I settled on a 10.5. I think it's 32" long.


    Now, I have in mind to make a real cowl, not those things that are popular right now, that are just long scarves with the ends connected. By my definition, a cowl is a tube that goes over your head, on your neck. It's long enough to pull one end up over your head for extra warmth, and still have enough to pool around your neck. So you could wear it either way, just around your neck, or up covering your head too.


    For those of you keeping track, that was another mini rant. And now my second cup of coffee has gone cold. Dammit. Anyway, when I get further along with all three projects, I will post photos.

something to keep me busy

    I wanted a hat to go with my sweater, so I started one. I wanted a slouchy style, so I was going to begin with the Elizabeth Zimmermann model, and after making a wider ribbed band, increase a stitch every other stitch. Basically doubling my stitch count.


    I made the wide ribbed band, and was into the third or fourth round after the increases when I decided that this wasn't what I wanted. What I wanted was a hat with a rolled brim, like the neck, sleeves and bottom of my sweater.


    Remember, I'm making this up as I go along. So I frogged the first attempt. I got out my smaller 16", size 6 circular needle, and made a swatch. With that needle, my gauge was 5 stitches per inch, consistent across the whole four inches.  So I started again, after measuring my head. I cast on 110 stitches, and began knitting. Here is where I'm at right now:

    I am not really sure yet if it's going to fit me, but my hopes are high. It looks about right. I won't know for sure until it's long enough for me to try it on. Hopefully this project will keep me busy until this weekend, when I'm meeting my daughter to select a yarn for her sweater.


    I should mention that I'm not really sure yet how long the hat will be before I begin the decreases, or even how I will do those increases. Some of you know me, and know that I prefer not to make plans most of the time. I have always found that if you make plans, something usually happens to frack it all up. Hence my vigorous attempts to live spontaneously.


    However, there are some things that you just can't be spontaneous about, like doctor visits, and medical tests and the like. My greatest appreciation goes out to the lovely young lady who took my blood this morning, and made it darn near painless.

crochet disaster!

    I am, right now, very near tears of frustration. I had to frog nearly half of the nearly finished 2nd Gamer Glove. I had lost stitches somewhere.


    At first I thought the rows were shorter just because I was crocheting tightly. But I broke down and counted the stitches. It was difficult because of the small size, but I lost 2 or 3 stitches somewhere just before the thumbhole row. No matter how I stretched it, it wouldn't go. So I frogged it.


    I found the mistake, and am having to redo the stupid glove. Looks like I'll be in funkytown for a while. I wonder if casting on my sweater would make me feel a bit better? I hardly ever make promises to myself, just because I know I would probably not keep them. I like to think of myself as being flexible that way. Circumstances change, I should be able to change also. It's just so frustrating. These will be my last pair of the gloves, and I'm not enjoying making them. I just want it over with. It's a good thing I like my son-in-law!

Count, Count, Frog, Repeat

    In this blanket I'm currently working on, every 4 - 6 rows I need to count stitches to make sure I still have 151. Basically, every time I start a single crochet section. As I was working on it yesterday at Stitch n Bitch, I got to a counting row. I decided to stop, since I felt it would be rude to stop being social long enough to count 151 stitches as I do them.


     Later in the day, after Hubs left for work, I picked it up again. I'm getting close to the end, and I'm getting anxious to finish. I start counting as I crochet.... and at the end I have 148. Not 151. I screwed up somewhere. I do another row and count again. It's still 148. I count again, the row I just did, the number doesn't change. Crap.


    I decide to check the V stitch section to see if I can spot the mistake. I go back and forth all four rows, more than once. It all looked fine to me. I decide to count the stitches of the last row of single crochet, before the V stitch section I had just finished. Whew. That took a while to figure out how to say. But there were 151 stitches.


    Finally, I find the mistake. I had to frog the two rows of sc, and the row before them, of V stitch, and maybe two V stitches in the row before that.  I missed the second leg of a V stitch near the end of the row. I fix it, and quickly catch back up to where I was.


    I am currently working on the last V stitch lace section, then comes the pink border. After that I will carefully count the stitches as I sc across the top of the blanket. I will do four rows, the same as the sides. Hopefully I will remember how many stitches I make across the top, and can repeat it across the bottom. Then I can launder it, and it will be done! TAH-DAH!


    Since I wrote the above, I have been working feverishly all morning, and am currently doing the second short end. Two more rows of that, and I will be done!  Well, after I sew in the last few ends, anyway. I think I like it. Tonight I will take some photos, and wash it, then report tomorrow on how it turned out.

In Which I Go Stash Diving!

    Yup. Today I went stash diving. I was looking for something specific, a pair of crocheted pot holders that I had made for my MIL and that we got back when she passed away. I wanted to show them to Kim, my knitting buddy. I couldn't find them. I've looked all over this house and still can't find the stupid things.


    However, while stash diving, I did make a very interesting find! I pulled out a skein of  > gasp <  black Malabrigo sock yarn! Then a second. Then a third! And OMG there was a fourth! I was in sock yarn heaven! Much to my surprise, I also pulled out a skein of AtKnitsEndYarns sock yarn too! I'm not sure which colorway it is, but as it's dark red and black/brown, I think it might be Tip It Ewe Lush. It's probably a skein she rejected as not "perfect", I am the luckiest minion on the planet, to know a dyer who gives you her "failures"!!

    This discovery got me thinking, I could make another Arachno Shawl, by Jennifer Dassau!! A black one! I think I could also work in the Ewe Lush, between the cobweb edging, at the beginning of the main body.


    So I got out my swift and ball winder, and started winding. I did two of the Malabrigos for now. If I can get the edging going without any mistakes, I will wind up the Tip It Ewe Lush. So there I was, casting on 301 stitches of sock yarn on a size 7 circular needle. I put stitch markers every fifty stitches, because hanging around with someone who can't count seems to have rubbed off.

    As you can see in the above photo, one of the little buggers gave me a harn time while I was winding him. That's why the left one is so small, and why I'm using it first.


   I have completed the first row of the cobweb edging. It's a bit difficult working with the black sock yarn, as it's hard to see the stitches because they're so small. This may take a while.

    I love going diving in my stash, I never know what goodies I will find! Somewhere in there are the two big hanks of Lace weight, one natural one back, that I bought at Rhinebeck last fall. And who knows what other goodies I've bought and forgotten about!! It really is like Festivus in July! So watch this space for photos of my progress, if I dont' have to frog and start over....

The Un-Crafting Report

    At the present time, I am not working on anything. That's right, not one thing. The secret project I started, I ended up frogging because something wasn't right. I was in the decreasing, but had waaay too many stitches left for the K3, K2tog round. I would like to start over, but I think I should use a smaller size needle, and then it would need to be shorter than 16". I don't have any circular needles less than 16". Perhaps you can see my dilema.


    When I go babysitting, I am taking my nook, so I can read while Malia naps. I am currently taking a break from Game of Thrones III (I don't remember the exact name of the book), and have started reading the Ann Rice werewolf novel. So far, it's good. I do miss crocheting and knitting. I have even looked through the newer patterns I have gotten from Ravelry, which I put on one of those stick drive things. There is another colorwork blanket which I might be interested in trying. At least, when I get some money ahead to buy the yarn.


    All I can do is hope that soon I can get together with my knitting expert friend so she can interpret what the great EZ means in the directions of the baby surprise jacket. I can't even call it a pattern, it's really directions.


    On a totally different note, I finally baked my famous walnut peanut butter chip brownies last night. I finally felt like baking! I used the metal pan, when I should have used the glass one. They are a little overdone on the edges. Next time, I will remember to use the glass pan. That's how long it's been, that I forgot which pan makes them come out the best!

The Trauma of My First Frogging

   For the first time, I've had to frog a WIP. I knew in my heart that it needed to be done, I knew that there was nothing to be done to fix it. This is my first lace shawl, my first knitted lace ever. One good thing is that I wasn't terrible far along, and another was that I was resigned to the frogging. I was only maybe 15 rows into it, and it starts small, in the center of the top, and gets bigger from there. I hadn't yet gotten to any color changes yet. That would have been worthy of tears!

   So I frogged, and wound the yarn back onto the ball, and took a deep breath, and started again. This time, I got it! I am remembering the YO, K1, YO before the last three stitches at the border.  I have even remarked to Hubs that now that I have this section down, wouldn't the whole shawl look cool done in this stitch? He told me that NO, I wasn't going to cheat, I was going to follow the whole entire pattern. He can be such a killjoy. 

   The rest of the pattern involves all these charts, and I am not a chart reader. I even hate crochet charts! Never use them! If it isn't written in words, I don't want to do it. This shawl pattern is written in words, too, but the words say to follow the chart! AARRGGHH. Guess I'm gonna have to learn to do charts. It's a really good thing I have very good friends who are expert knitters! I have their encouragement and support for this, I would never have wanted to do this shawl on my own.

  Now for the new photo! This I just took a little while ago, and shows my actual, up to the minute progress.

   This kind of makes me giggle, the stitch markers look like googly eyes, and makes the whole thing kind of look like a pink monster! It looked more like a monster when it was a bit smaller.  But I giggle anyway.  It doesn't take much to amuse me. Just getting the stitches in the right order can make me giggle too.