Anticipation-Coming Attractions....

I have finished the front and back and am well underway with the first sleeve. So my question at this point is put out to you out there in the knitting universe. Do any of you want me to attempt to publish this pattern in more than one size (that is the size that fits me.. a medium 37 inch bust, finished to about 40 inches). I could do it with small, medium and large (to fit 34, 37 and 40 inch bust, with a usual, not too tight fit)??? I would love feedback on this, as I finish up the sweater, and start to gather all the pertinent pattern details... Still anticipate publishing on Sunday March 2. Email me, or leave a comment (even without registration - I will get it!).



In other news, one of our StG&CC Knitters has had a bad fall and broken her arm and has been put on the injured reserve list... SHE CAN'T KNIT! It breaks my heart and makes me wonder.... if it were me, could I somehow figure out how to duct tape a needle onto the cast and work the yarn with one hand. Hmmm. Let's hope I never have to find out. Let's all have thoughts of quick recovery and return to the needles and yarn for our friend in stitches, Brenda!

Me Knitting, Me on the Phone, Me Knitting on the Phone!

I like to knit. I like to knit while I watch TV. I like to knit while I chat with friends. Ask my Tuesday Knitting Group,

they can't shut me up, yet I don'e miss a stitch. I like to knit while I read. (yes read). I like to talk on the phone with my sister, we giggle together for an hour at a time, and until recently, the only regret was the lost knitting time....
So here is me knitting.... (above)


and here is me talking to Kim on the phone. (below)

Notice the similarities? Clever me, I found a headset for my phone (love technology), and last night managed 2 inches of sweater front while catching up on all things in Kim's world!

More Dying this Weekend

Quiet weekends call for yarn dying. I had some balls of Cashsoft Baby DK, from Rowan, and it is a yarn I LOVE in a colour I HATE. It was a sort of pinky beige, neither rose or tan, but kind of yuck. Of course the price was amazing and on the website it looked like a rose, but in person, meh. So I finally skeined the 7 balls on the swift and dyed the lot a wine and denim colour, and this is what it looks like now. I like it now, and will have to decide what to knit with it....





Here also is the photo of the sock yarn from last week, in the dried state.





Our Golf Club Knitters are reviewing some books (fiction) about knitting. There is the Knitting Circle, the Friday Night Knitting Club and Knitting under the influence. I will keep you posted as to how many needles up or down they are rated!

I have also joined the HUGE community of Ravelry, and enjoying the groups, reading what everyone else is knitting and the photos of all the wonderful finished projects. What a great site.

Silk Garden with Cables

This is the newest project. I had 5 balls of Silk Garden Lite(Noro), and decided to mix them with Superwash Double Knit in black (Emu). I got the Silk Garden from Ram Wool, and the Black DK from the LYS, Kismet Wool Shop in St. Catharines. The pattern is what you see, stocking stitch, with a cable at the junction of the colour change. Nice so far. The pattern will follow when I have finished the sweater.... Pullover with round neck I think, but I will wait to see what the yarn tells me to do!

Fleece Artist Lace Shawl, Free Pattern!

This is the amazing yarn that appeared under my tree last Christmas, a thoughtful gift from my Dad and Barbara, who live in Nova Scotia (aka; home of Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden yarns). They took a trip to Gaspereau yarns, and found this shawl pack, two yarns twisted together, one a mohair lace weight and the other a boucle lace weight, both hand dyed in the purple-blue colour. I decided to make a simple triangle shawl, light as air and easy to knit. It uses broad stripes of one yarn, then the other.

Pattern:

Yarn: Lace weight mohair mixes (one type or two or more!)

Needles: 4.5mm circular needle (the bigger the better-I use Denise needles, so I can make it bigger as needed!)

Gauge: not needed to be too accurate, but mine is 10 sts = 4 inches.

Starting at the center back neck: cast on 9 sts. K3, K1, place marker, k1(center st),K1, k3

Row 2 and all wrong side rows, k3, purl to last 3 sts (slipping marker as you pass it), k3

The first and last 3 stitches for the whole thing will be k3 (garter stitch edging).

Next row: K3, Yarn Over, K to marker, YO, K1(center st), YO, K to last 3 sts, YO, K3

Repeat last 2 rows, increasing with a Yarn Over, inside the edgings and each side of the center stitch. (4 increases every right side row), and Purling these yarn overs on the wrong side. this makes a row of lacey holes at the edge and at the center, which you can see in the photo at the bottom....

If you have more than one yarn, change yarns at the edge every 4 inches (or whenever you want). End with 6 rows of garter stitch (knit every row) then cast off all stitches.
Weave in loose ends.

Wet with cold water, and block on towels, gently stretching the edges to lie flat and open the stitches. There, done.

What did Chris do on Family Day?

This being the first Family Day in Ontario history, I have an extra day off (two in a row instead of the usual one in a row...) Since it was a lousy rainy day out, the afternoon was spend dying sock yarn... I took 2 balls of sock it to me yarn from elann, in natural cream, and wound it onto my swift to make a loose skein. I attach the end of one ball with a knot to the other so that the skein is 100 gms and one skein will make 2 socks any size (usually I have some left over).

I got some liquid dyes and powder dyes, (Rit) to see which are easier and I think I like the liquid best, but it is harder to find the colours. I use plastic cups (left over from Christmas) and mix one tablespoon of powder or 2 tablespoons of liquid to about a quarter cup of fairly hot water in each cup. There are good instructions on the Rit site. I used 8 colours for this sock. After I soaked the yarn in very warm water, I wrung out most of the water, and laid it in a circle on a plastic bag (big garbage bag split open). Then I drizzeled the dyes at two or three spots randomly around the yarn, leaving a small white space between the dye spots. After using all the dyes, I covered the wet yarn with the sides of the plastic bag and let it sit for about 20 minutes. At the end, it looked very muddy, but upon rinsing the separate colours emerged and softened, and some mixing of colours where they met made many more than eight colours around the skein! I like it.

I know some kids would expect their mom's to be baking cookies on Family Day, and cooking a big meal or something, but my son, who was visiting from Toronto as he had a day off, looked at the yarn floating in the kitchen sink, then went for leftovers in the fridge. All was normal.

Silk Hand Maiden Wrap

The cabled silk wrap is done! I purchased 2 skeins of hand dyed Two Four Silk, from Ram Wools. The colourway is blackberry, and although both skeins are labeled that, you find with the hand dyed yarns, the skeins can be quite different. So if using this yarn, you must work with both skeins and alternate 2 rows from one, then 2 rows from the other, throughout the project.

Pattern for Silk Wrap.

Yarn: Two Four Silk, 100% silk, blackberry, 2 skeins, 400m, 200gm per skein.

Needles: 4.5mm

Gauge 20 sts = 4 inches (after blocking)

This yarn will have distinct cables while knitting, but will soften and relax after a cool wash and block.

details......

Cable left: place next 3 stitches on cable needle and hold to front, knit 3 sts, then knit 3 sts from cable needle.

Pattern: With 4.5 mm needles, cast on 120 sts.

Row 1: (right side) p1,[k6, p1]17 times.

Row2: (wrong side) k1,[p6, k1] 17 times.

Row 3: as row 1,

Row 4: and all wrong side rows as row 2

Row 5: p1, k6, [p1, cable left, p1, k6] 8 times, p1

Row 7: as row 1.

Continue on the eight row repeat, work until the length of the piece is 21 inches.

Split for neck: Work across to middle block of 6 stocking stitches. Cast off these 6 stitches. Work now with only one side (put other 57 stitches on a holder.)

Continue in established pattern on 57 sts for 5 inches.

On next row 5, Increase into the center front edge stitch by knitting front and back of that stitch. Increase one stitch at every cable row on the center front edge only, until 7 stitches have been added, making them match the pattern (stocking stitch 6, with P1 edge). Continue even until same length as back. Bind off all sts.

Pick up held 57 sts, and work as for other half.

Wear it staight over the shoulder, or as I have in the photo with the wide part (back) over one shoulder and the two narrow parts thrown over each other over the other shoulder.