Totally Insane

Hello:

These incredibly ugly blanket squares are for a yarn bombing.  The first Quidditch Game in the Winter Term for the HPKCHC just ended at midnight.  The game is to craft for charity.  We had a week to make as many charity items as we could.  Of course I don't have any time for this nonsense as I am already making so many long term projects.  I have to keep up with my schedule, or nothing will be finished on time.

But, I just couldn't resist.  I had to drop everything and crochet afghan squares.  One of the members of Gryffindor works at a winery.  They are having a charity Yarn Bombing.  The idea is that they will take these 8 in. blanket squares and Yarn Bomb the winery, then after the event, sew all the squares into blankets and donate them to charities.

Anyway, The points were for sets of 5, so I made 26 (when you started the next 5 you got bumped up to the next point level.)  Also, everything had to be at least 50 yds.  I couldn't make a 50 yd afghan square in the 8 in. size.  So I made the squares, weighed them, then added "embellishments" until they weighed enough to count for the 50 yds.  Sometimes I added bows.  Sometimes I just hooked a circle and then sewed it on.

Sometimes I just got a contrasting color and hooked on top of the square.  Needless to say these squares are pretty funny looking.

I could have made more (the maximum you could make to get points was 40), and was shooting for at least 30 but I had to finish altering Moogie's sweater.  She and Himes left today.  Himes starts school this week (Univ. of Arizona), and Moogie has gone down with him to spend the week visiting family before she has to fly back to New York for her last semester.

The sweater I made her last fall was too big and too short. 

I ripped it back to the underarms, and took it in about 6 inches, then I lengthened it about 2 inches. 

The neckline was too big and didn't lie down correctly, so I cut that off, picked up the stitches, and knit a new neck ribbing.  That wasn't entirely successful, as it is a bit higher than she likes.

I told her that if the neckline is too high, I can take it down a few rows.  Since I picked up the stitches and knit it up, that is a super easy fix.  The other thing I can do is sew it down so it is half the height.  That would be an even easier fix.

The sleeves are too long, but she asked for them to be that way, and swears that she likes her cuffs rolled up.

Anyway, I think it fits her pretty well now.  She wore it on the plane to Arizona, so she must like it at least a bit.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a violet sweater.

Eastside Stitchers Meet on Wed

Hello:
The above photo is of fog on Lake Samammish in the morning.  The next one is of the fog yesterday evening before I left for knitting with the Eastside Stitchers at Crossroads in Bellevue.

We've been having some "dead air" where there is no wind.  This can be a huge problem with air pollution.  I have to admit that I like to fog, though it makes driving scary.

We had a nice group again knitting near Half-Price Books.

Tara1682 was finally able to make it again. (works stinks).  She brought her latest Linen Stitch Scarf.  It's the teal one at the top.  ReadnitDream also brought a linen stitch scarf!  Hers is the bottom one in red, green and the variegated yarn.  It was really fun to compare the two.

NightOrchid was knitting her husband a hat.  He must be really knitworthy because it is black, fingering weight, wool/cashmere blend.  She repurposed yarn from a thrift shop sweater.  It is knitting up beautifully.

When I say that Tara1682 brought her latest Linen Stitch Scarf, I mean it was actually still on the needles, but she was on the very last row and ready to cast off.

Sorry, GwenS for the horrible photo.  But this is GwenS's most recent hat.

WireKnitter brought her Travelling Shawl.

She was wearing a new shawl, Pure, by cabinfour.

ReadnitDream brought her Linen Stitch Scarf for show and tell, but she was knitting a Brioche cowl.

Brioche is one of the techniques that I am going to try this year.

BlueBerryMary brought her latest child's sweater.  The smocking on the bodice is really lovely.

DomesticShorthair brought 2 finished pieces for show and tell.  The top one is her Concentric Shawl.  And the bottom (bad photo) is a Twistin' The Night Away headband.

I brought a new scarf that I am knitting for my son, Himes.  I'm using Seahawks colors (Lime Green, almost Navy Blue, and Light Gray).  I'm using a tweed stitch with applied icord on the sides.  I like how the icord finished the side neatly and hides the yarn colors that I am bringing up the sides.

You can see the icord bettern on the back side.

This is a really easy knit, and it looks awesome.  I will definitely be writing this pattern up.  It is very addictive knitting.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with Seahawks colors!

Planned Pooling

Hello:

I know I posted the above photo a couple of days ago, but I just love it.

On Sunday, under the direction of VanesaPolo, we started a Planned Pooling project.  We all own beautiful variegated yarns that we just don't know how to use.  Somehow, the pooling of the colors is just weird.  What if you could plan how the colors would pool and use this to create an intentional design.  You can with Planned Pooling.

VanesaPolo has read some books, and we have watched a few shows on Knitting Daily on this topic.  Basically, for every multicolor skein that has a regular repeated order of colors, you can make the yarn pool in specific ways.

Vanesa and I are making cowls.  We are changing the stitches for the different colors.  Also, we have worked with the stitch count so the colors stack.  They should form vertical stripes (more or less.)

This is Vanesa's project.  The stripes aren't perfect, but I think you can already see how the fabric is striping.

Here is my project:

I'm using yarn from WireKnitter.  I started with a provisional cast on.  I knit until my yarn hit the first color again.  I have 3 colors: yellow, black and white.  The black and uellow are in the skein twice so there are 5 different colors.  Here is my project with the waste yarn and the beginning of my notes.

I hope I have at least a bit of the project to show you by the weekend.  It is really addictive.  I keep wanting to see if the colors are striping.

Peace,
f1berct
shaping the planet with variegated yarn.

Full Day, but Too Late to Talk

Ugh, I think I left my camera in the car.  You are getting photos from yesterday.

I had such a big day today, but now that I have waited until midnight, I will have to make a quick post and try to write about today in tomorrow's post.  I really need to get to bed as I have work tomorrow.

I am still on track with my There and Back Again Story Scarf, but behind on everything else!  Ugh.  Why do I have to go to work?  If I could spend all day tomorrow knitting and crocheting, I might catch up.

O well.

Goodnight,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with lots of things on the needles, and not a lot of progress.

St. Distaff's Day, Lake Stevens, WA

Hello:
Today the sun was rising at about 7 am.  There is nothing more beautiful than the sun rising over the Cascades.  Although I can't wait for longer days and more sunshine, I love that I don't have to wake up early to see these beautiful vistas.

I was up and running early today because I went to spin and chat at St. Distaff's day.  This was the NWRSA's (Northwest Regional Spiners' Association) 31st Annual celebration of the Patron Saint of Spinners with a Spin In.  It was up in Lake Stevens at a local high school. 

I looked up Saint Distaff's Day in Wikipedia, and there is no Saint.  The day is named after a tool, the distaff, women used in spinning.  I was wondering who in the heck Saint Distaff was.  The day was the when women went back to work after celebrating Christmas.  So it is kind of a celebration of women who work and traditional womens' work which was mostly fiber related.

I went to Wajio's house early with my wheel.  She helped me oil it, then we loaded up her van with my wheel and 2 wheels from her spinning guild that she was bringing to sell on the Used Goods table.  ReadnitDream joined us for the drive.  We got there at about 9 am and grabbed some chairs in a "Spinning Circle."

By the time we got to spinning, it was pretty full.  We were joined by JitteryKnitter, truespark and Puzan.  Some had come to knit and some to spin.  One of my goals this year is to spin one skein of yarn every month and actually knit/crochet something from my own yarn.

It's only $3 donation for admission and you get a raffle ticket.  You can buy other raffle tickets and put these in buckets for specific prize baskets.

Some of these were full of fiber and some had a mix of fiber and yarn.  I was determined not to buy anything as I am really really trying to use up my stash.  For a very occasional spinner, I have way too much fiber.

I was able to spin about 1/2 - 2/3 of a spool of corriedale that I bought from Paradise Fibers last year.  I was happy to see that I mostly remembered what I was doing, and it felt great to get back to spinning.

I was sitting next to a friend of Wajio's, named Jenniluigi, and the most fun thing happened.  I can't remember exactly what we were talking about, but she stopped and looked at me and asked, "Wait, are you f1bercat?"   When I said yes that's my Rav name, she said, "I read your blog!"  ha ha ha ha ha I almost felt famous! 

We talked a bit about Knitted Knockers.  The Eastside Knitters Guild is going to make these for our Guild Charity of 2015.  The group had a booth at the Spin In, and Jenni bought me a ball of the cotton yarn needed to make my first knocker.  I hope to cast on tonight.

Anyway, I didn't win any of the Raffles, and of course I felt like a 5 year old cheated out of a present.  I always want to win.  Even though I don't need any yarn or fiber.

I did buy myself a new niddy noddy.  That is my Christmas Gift to myself (other than a hot shower).

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a niddy noddy.

First Cast On and FO of 2015

Hello:
The sunrise was awesome today.  I'm sorry I didn't grab a photo, but the one above is the sunrise from yesterday.  It looks like it was cloudy over the Cascades, but that cloud was in the middle of Lake Sammamish and otherwise the sky was mostly clear.  Not so today.  We had clouds and rain and sleet today.  It didn't matter much to me as I spent almost all of the day inside knitting.

I started with 10 rows of the There and Back Again Scarf.  I am still on track, which is great.  I am close to finishing the 2nd chart so I'll post a photo then.

Yesterday, on the first, I took a short break from the scarf (after knitting my 10 rows) to knit a quick hat for Pookie.  I used a new pattern by VanesaPolo that has not been published.  I tested it for her, and it knit up super quickly.  I used some Malabrigo Rios and size 9 needles (7 for the border) and I just can't believe how quickly I was finished.  Pookie is in a play set during the Vietnam war and has to get his hair cut off very short.  He wanted a hat to keep his head warm in New Jersey.  The Malabrigo is so soft.  The hat looks really good on him.  I forgot to ask Vanesa if I could post a photo, so it will have to wait.  She might want me to wait until she actually gets the pattern out.

Anyway, the hat was so fast that I am knitting a second one.  My brother asked me to make him a hat.  The one I knit for Pookie was plain.  I let the pattern and yarn do the talking.  For this second hat, I am using Cascade 220 in Navy and also a light blue.  I hope to do a bit of colorwork to make this hat more interesting.I will hold the different colors of yarn in each hand.  I hope it doesn't make things too confusing for me since in Double knitting, I hold both colors of yarn in the left hand.

I am also working on a scarf for Himes.  I bought 3 colors of Cascade 220 in Seahawks colors and am making Himes a scarf.  Sorry, no photos yet.  I'll try to get some soon.

Tomorrow is St. Distaff's Day in Lake Stevens, WA.  I am carpooling with Wajio and ReadNitDream.  I think Truespark, JitteryKnitter, and maybe Puzan will be there.  Also possibly BlueMoonWalking.  I am dusting off my Ashford Traditional and bringing it.  I need to get myself spinning regularly again.  I hope to do one yarn turn in for each month.

I finished the Vortex Afghan I was knitting for my oldest Goddaughter.  Here is a photo of Himes holding it up folded in half.

I don't have a full size photo of it since it is 5' x 6' (at least) and I need 2 kids to hold it up fully.  I really love how it came out.  I was asked to make one for my professional organization's (the Bellevue Association of Educational Office Professionals) fundraising auction this Spring.  I am going to use Seahawks colors.  It will be spring green, dark blue, and gray.  The background will be in the blue.  I am glad that I am not tired of making the square.  This afghan will be slightly smaller, 4x5, so it is more convenient to carry to games.

Ok, time for bed.
Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with 2 FO's for the new year.  The Diamond Head Hat (photo to come) and my Vortex Afghan.

Happy New Year!

Hello:

We have been having the most gorgeous clear cold days.  I'm not quite finished posting the Days for my 2014 Advent Calendar Scarf, but maybe I will finish that up tomorrow.

I have been having such a wonderful 2 weeks of break.  All my kids were home.  Pookie left today to go back to school, but Moogie and Himes are still home for another week. 

Along with working like a crazy person on the 2014 Advent Calendar Scarf, I have started a double knit scarf.  Truespark and Jitteryknitter gifted me a pattern for the There and Back Again Story Scarf by Frivolite Handcrafts.  This is a double knit scarf in laceweight yarn that tells the story of the Hobbit.

Along with the 2014 Advent Calendar Scarf, I am knitting this story scarf for my NEWT in the HPKCHC.  A NEWT is an "Advanced Studies" project that should take 3 - 4 months to complete.  Although I finished the Advent Calendar Scarf in one month, there were enough hours of knitting to easily last 2 months.  I just worked non-stop on it. 

There and Back Again might take even more time.  There are over 800 rows in the charts.  I figure if I knit 10 rows a day, I will finish by the deadline.  I am trying really hard over break though, to get ahead, and knit more than just the required 10.  This will give me some breathing room.

The actual knitting in a double knit project isn't that tough.  Because I hold my yarn in the Continental method, in my left hand, I just hold both colors.

Then I pick the color I need.  Anything knit will show up on the front and all purled stitches will show up on the back.  Of course, when I am on the wrong side, everything is reversed.  That is definitely the biggest challenge.  Not only do I have to read the charts left to right, but I have to think of the colors reversed.  When I see a dark square, I have to use the light color, and vice versa for the light squares.  I try to tell myself "Main Color" and "Contrast" instead of dark and light so I don't go crazy.  I have had to tink a bit because I forgot whether I was on the right or wrong side of the scarf.

Another trick I am using to help make this easier is the different colored stitch markers.  Since I don't have very sophisticated software, I used my Paint program to take a screen shot of the pattern.  Then I drew lines in black and red every 5 squares/stitches.  The green stitch markers correspond with the black lines, and the pink markers correspond with the red lines.  This really helps me know where I am in a row.  There are 90 stitches/squares in each row, so it is easy to lose my place.  The stitch markers and lines help me find my place quickly.

I also have only one row of the chart showing at any time.  I put the pattern up on my screen, then close up the window so I can just see the row I am on.  I enlarge the pattern as much as possible so the row takes up one width of my screen.  This helps my old eyes.  But I still need help with seeing the tiny stitches, so I have been wearing my magnifying glasses.  They help a ton.

So far I have finished 1 full chart, and am about half way through the 2nd chart.  There are 11 charts.

The first chart includes Bilbo's hobbit hole, the path, and most of the tree.

O, I forgot to say that I am using Cascade Alpaca Lace for the yarn.  I bought this yarn from Cultured Purls in Issaquah during their Going Out of Business Sale.  I planned to use it for an Advent Calendar Scarf some day, but I have decided that I like that scarf knit in fingering weight better than in lace weight.  So I am ending the year and starting this new year by knitting from stash.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a Hobbit's Journey