New Yarn

New Yarn
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Yesterday I had the chance to hit the LYS solo, so I went and picked out some yarn for the shrug's I've been wanting to make. For Maya's, although I wanted to use a wool yarn, I bought Stork. It really is a nice yarn that is machine washable in a beautiful cadet blue color. Maya likes it and thats all that matters. I worked up a gauge swatch there in the store and fortunately got the exact number of stitches necessary! When I got home to finish the swatch (ya, that's right, I'm gonna wash it and everything) I realized that while I got the right number of sts per inch, I was getting 3 extra rows/inch! Normally I would blow this off and think, I'll just have to knit a little longer. But this time I stopped. The Teen Top Tragedy has taught me a valueable lesson about gauge all around. I considered how row gauge figures into the sleeve shaping. 11rows vs 8rows per inch. Hmmmmm. I did some mental calculations and I think I'll be okay sticking with her instructions but I'm going to sit down with the knitting notebook and write it all out so I don't screw up another project.
For my shrug I bought Berrocco's Touche. Wow. I didn't realize how freakin soft this yarn was! I looked a little thicker than what I imagined the yarn should but I bought it anyway thinking if it didn't work I could return my unwound hanks. I knitted up right gauge on the first try (again) on size 7's. The yarn was even nicer feeling knit up. Plus, it is machine washable.
The last thing I needed was more yarn, but I think knitting these will take the edge off the excitement of the Disney trip a little bit. I've been x-ing days off the calendar and its a little like torture. Now I have some new projects to start on and the outside of a house to paint. Good luck to me. Maybe I should have that second cup of coffee....

yarn chaos

yarn chaos
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

In other events…I decided to clean our room. Or, at least, clean up the yarn chaos that has been wreaking havoc on our lives lately. I piled up the majority of what was lying around my bedroom on shelves and dressers. This picture is only about 95%. I found a lot of stuff I had already forgotten about (I really love all my yarn babies, really I do!). Also notice the purse and basket on the dresser in the backgroung; both full. It also helped me figure out what projects I had going and what I should pick up next considering the Teen Top tragedy. I’ve also bought myself a notebook so I can start a project journal. Sound dorky? I thought so. But while I read Stephanie’s latest book I realized she was right about the project journal. I’ve made things that I now look back and wonder about yarns and gauges and such…
So I already have a few entries in it. I’m going to make Maya the Girlfriend Shrug out of another yarn. I frogged the one I had started so long ago. The yarn felt coarse and even itchy so I decided that if I choose a wool yarn, it will have to be a blend or something very soft. I’ve found a few good subs, but I’m torn between wanting to use cotton or using wool! So in my queue there is
1. Orangina
2. Openwork Shrug
3. Girlfriend shrug
4. Carroll bag
5. Knitting Tote
6. Kitty Pi
7. Aaron’s Sweater
Nope, never finished that Carroll bag I just had to have. Sigh….I’ve also bought the pattern for the felted sheep tote but I don’t have the yarn for it. Maybe I could look for something suitable in Orlando? Hmmmm.
Also on this list (because this is the list of the projects that have already been started) is Mon Petit Chou.

I don’t know if I’ll finish this one though. I think I’d rather knit the 1930 design. I fear I’ve lost my toothpick-like figure forever.

Teen top?

Teen top?
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

The bad news is that I had to completely frog the Teen Top. I was looking at it and the measurements just were not right for the pieces that I had. The width was right, the length was not. I decided to do something I should have done when I was knitting the front piece the first time: check my gauge. The pattern called for a gauge of 5.75sts/7.75rows to 1”. I had 6sts/10rows=1”. Uh huh. The good news is that the beach party is on the 30th which is the Sunday after this one so there is an extra week. The question is, should I stick with this yarn? Or forget it and buy something closer to what is called for? Just when I was feeling hopelessly knitting-handicapped, I realized that I had woven my end in so well I couldn’t find it! It took me all afternoon to get that sucker! So now here it sits. Four small balls of yarn. What to do with all this Wick?

bedside basket

bedside basket
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Continuing the documentation of the craziness, this is the basket that is on the floor next to my side of the bed. Notice the sheep. He likes to be close to the wool. His litte bro spends his time on the sock yarns. I have lots of good sock yarn to start socks for a very special person in my life…my husband. Poor guy. I’ve knit him nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip. I did start that necktie for him but its taking for-e-ver to finish that sucker. It is lovely though. He has requested socks and socks he shall have. I just wish I knew how to do 2 at once, toe up. Then I could just bust ‘em out. Ya right. I’m thinking of first knitting a practice sock toe up to get it down. Then there is the mastering of the 2 at once on the magic loop deal. There are actually good free tutorials out there on all this I just have to take the time to do them.

Also, in new news…Stitchy has a new site and soon a new book!! What have we done to deserve such knitterly joys?!

Orangina

Orangina
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

I’ve been furiously working on 3 projects: the Teen Top, Orangina and Kitty Pi. Okay, maybe not furiously but steadily for sure. Problem is, there hasn’t been too much progress on any one of them because I keep jumping around between them and swatching for this. The Teen Top front had to be ripped out after I realized I knitted too far on width and the left side was 4” instead of 7”. Hmmmm. That wasn’t too bad of a set-back considering the yarn is so fun to knit up and its so pretty. So I re-did it and I think it still came out off and I’m not too sure if I should re-rip it and try again. The beach party is this weekend so I’m unsure if I’ll have it done in time. Going back over the pattern, I would also have inserted some edge sts for seaming up. It’s gonna be really hard for me to get these edges to look neat when the piece is knitted diagonally. It also seems a bit short. Like showing your belly button short which is NOT what I wanted. The whole reason I chose these tops was because I thought it would cover my stomach. I’m sure I could knit an extra long border on the bottom…I’m tired of thinking about it.
Orangina has been coming along surprisingly well. I hated the yarn, did a sorry excuse for a gauge swatch and just cast on. I took the kids to the park and did a few rows there (mistake). I was sure I had screwed up the lace and shoved it down into my bag in disgust. When I got home and took it out, I realized I hadn’t screwed up at all. The yarn is still acrylic, and I’m wondering how well it will drape and wear but it’s looking okay so far. The 2” I have knitted are looking A-OK!! On the KAL site, I saw that one girl knit both front and back pieces simultaneously. I had briefly considered knitting the whole thing in the round (once again…..not liking the seaming) but ditched that idea because it required more brain power than I was willing to exert at the moment. Now however, I’m reconsidering. I’m only 2” in for crying out loud!!
Kitty Pi is coming along. I’m at the part where you knit your desired circumference. I am using Patons Classic Wool (I love it) and its gotten rave reviews for its feltability so here’s to hoping. I really hope that
1. The kitty likes it
2. My mom doesn’t think it’s too ugly to have in her house.

I’m holding 2 different color strands together. We’ll see. I’ve got a very strong itch to throw all this stuff down and begin something new!! But what? An old friend is expecting baby number 2 in July. Definite potential there. Meanwhile, gotta do about 12 home improvement projects and finish our homeschooling year. Only 2 more weeks, only 2 more weeks. I don’t know why I’m saying that. I plan on doing Five In a Row with BOTH of them through the summer including a lot of worksheets, readers, and science experiments. Sigh. I have to make sure she is at or ahead of what is expected for first grade public school. Aaron is so sweet. I was planning on doing pre-k here at home this fall with him, but if there is free pre-k I’m gonna have to really think about it. Anyway, That is my life lately. Hopefully there will be some fo’s for posting in the near future.

Well, once again, a day went by without much knitting. But there was knitting excitement had. After a grueling week at home with the kids (I keep telling myself only 4 more weeks of homeschool, only four more weeks of homeschool…..) I figured I deserved a little sit and knit at the LYS. By a little, I mean a little. Approximately 30 minutes to be exact. Mike didn’t get home until 7:30pm. Takes me half an hour to get there, and it ends at nine. Anyhoo. It was well worth the trip! Her spring yarns are amazing!! There were some incredible handdyed cottons that I came very close to snatching up for no other reason than they were the most beautiful cotton I’d ever seen in my life. She had Elsbeth Lavold’s Hempathy which is what I originally went to see. There were only four colors: pink, turquoise, white and brown. I didn’t like any of them so I bought only 2 skeins of white to play with. The nice guy who works there (yes, a man – a very nice young man!) showed me some interesting bamboo which I briefly considered for the Mason-Dixon after Dark Robe. But it wasn’t machine washable. There was all the mercerized cottons ever (I think) and I spent a lot of time comparing sheen, yardage and price for another project I want to make: Joseph’s Blankie of Many Colors also from the Mason-Dixon book. (Really cool book) I figured I should get out before I lost self control and left with only the 2 balls of Hempathy. I’m saving my yarn $$$ for our vacation. We are going to spend 4 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando. There is a yarn store not to far from there I found called Sip and Knit. Since family is coming in for this and there won’t be any time for yarn store side trips, my plan is to leave very early and cruise by there before we hit the Lodge. Our meetup time is noon. It takes us roughly 2 hours (less on a weekday morning I hope) to get to Orlando. If we leave at 8am, that gives us plenty of time to get to the Yarn store, shop then drive to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Since my vacations are usually more work than vacation, I figure we can indulge mommy and let her shop some Koigu and Brown Sheep before we hit the Disney parks. The clincher here is that my aunt is coming who is a new knitter and I know she would LOVE to get away and hit this store. Maybe if the knitting goddess smiles upon us, we may get to take a field trip. Here’s to hoping.

You know you're mindless hours of surfing pay off when...

WebTurquoiseShrugntube
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

you stumble upon this little gem. Un-freaking-real! This woman is a crocheting genius!!
I didn't get to knit at all yesterday. Gasp!
I've ammended my knitting to-do list a little bit to include some easter knitting for the kids and one of my mom's cats. In the "planning for" project list, I added 4 projects from the Mason Dixon book and a sweater for Maya from the latest Family Circle Easy Knitting mag.
Meanwhile, I think I'll go sit down for a minute. I'm in a daze after looking at those designs.

Christmas in April

Christmas in April
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Oh Yay! Christmas in April! Once I read Stephanie's review of the Mason Dixon book I HAD to have it. Of course I've been waiting for weeks for hers to come out. They are both brilliant from what I've seen so far. First thing I saw when I opened Knitting Rules was the page about how to identify a yarn by how it burns!! HA! Brilliant I tell you! Now if only I could get that reading and knitting simultaneously thing down...
I've been working between the teen top back and Orangina which I cast on for on Sunday. I'm not thrilled with the yarn choice but it seems to be working out okay so far.

Orangina week 1

Orangina week 1
Originally uploaded by samuraisqurl.

Well, I....er...ended up buying some Red Heart Luster Sheen (shudder) for my Orangina. Oiy. Hopefully, this doesn't offend Stefanie. The yarn is actually kinda pretty and easy to knit with. I may just have to avoid open flame while wearing this top. I'm frustrated that I didn't look harder (like at my kitchen shelf for my Patternworks catalogue) for a better substitute yarn. Since the KAL started on Saturday, I felt pressured to start that day too even though there is no time limit or anything. As fun as yarn shopping is, the trip to Joann's was a little deflating considering they didn't have a copy of Interweave's newest Crochet mag and I left with 100% acrylic yarn. Ugg.