I'm back after my tryptophan coma

I hope you all had a happy turkey day! My mom and her friend Allison came up from California and we had such a nice time. It was really fun to have our first holiday dinner in our new house. Despite my absence from my blog, I did do some knitting. I was just too busy entertaining to take any pictures.

Since I last posted, I started knitting the ruffles scarf and then ripped it all out. With the baby cashmerino it was looking much too much like a corkscrew and it didn't have any of the flowiness that the one pictured in the book did. So after a few more swatches I finally settled on this stitch pattern.I didn't think I would ever decide on a pattern that I liked but I'm over half done with this scarf and I think it's a keeper. I don't know I was being so picky.

I've also been working on my fog sweater. I really like it now that it's not just ribbing. It's going to be really warm, which is good because it's super cold here! It might snow tonight. I kind of hope it does. I don't have to do anything tomorrow and it would be nice to see snow out the window. I just walked outside barefoot and now my toes feel like icicles.
I'm almost done with Mike's flame sweater. I keep getting distracted and can't seem to finish. He's gone this evening so I think I'll work on it. I really am close to finishing and I do want to get it done.

Still Knitting

Since I last posted a few things have happened. My car got broken into last Tuesday. We were at a bar and came out to find my window smashed. It was pretty upsetting but luckily nothing of mine was stolen. My friend's briefcase was in the car and that's all they took. He didn't have anything too valuable in the briefcase but some personal things that can't be replaced like a scarf his grandma had knitted for him. (Even my break in is knitting related!) My car still has glass in it- the window broke into a million pieces! The window is fixed now but I hated spending the money to do it. It sucks to spend money because someone else comitted a crime! It shouldn't come out of MY pocket but it did.

In other news, I bought some lovely baby cashmerino in a pretty soft pink color and started knitting gloves from the book Handknit Holidays.
The picture is so pretty and I thought they'd be great for my stepmom who is very classy and likes nice things. I got about halfway done with the 1st glove and decided to frog it and find a new idea. I tried it on and it was really loose around my wrist. Gloves should be more snug. I thought about starting over with fewer stitches around the cuff but I was also scared they wouldn't fit her hand because they were knitting up to be not very stretchy. I didn't want to guess on the finger lengths and then have them not fit. I got cold feet (or cold fingers?) and scrapped the idea. It was a hard decision because I want to make my stepmom something nice and had the gloves worked, they would have been perfect. Oh well. My new idea is to make her the ruffles scarf from Scarf Style out of the baby cashmerino. I'm a few inches into it but haven't really committed yet.
That's all for today. I should have pics of my finished flame sweater soon. Well, as soon as I finish sewing it up.

My socks are done!

Ta da! Here is my very first pair of knitted socks! I was happy to have finished the 1st one but a complete pair is much more exciting. I wore them for a few minutes last night but then put them away because they're a Christmas present. I will miss them but (hopefully) they will be loved my my mother in law. It's exciting to finish projects. Now the only thing I'm knitting is a sweater for myself. Mike's flame sweater needs blocking and then it'll be done. I might just have to start something new.

Here's the info on my socks:

Pattern: Dublin Bay Socks- a free pattern found online. I have a link to it on my sidebar.

Yarn: Lorna's Laces shepherd sock. The colorway is called watercolor. This was my first time using this yarn and it feels really nice! It's 4-ply, though, and can be splitty.

Knit for: Diane, my mother-in-law since she often buys me cute socks.

Changes I made: I decreased a few extra stitches so the foot was 4 stitches smaller then the pattern called for. I tried them on when I'd knit the "correct" number and they felt loose around my foot. They feel perfect now so I only hope Diane's feet are the same as mine!

What I learned: How to knit a sock! It was easier than I imagined and much quicker than I thought knitting on size 1 needles would be. I need to make another pair, this time for me.

Gyrid is all finished!!

I finally finished my gyrid top! Here it is! I didn;t mean to not show my face in the pictures but I was using the self-timer and that one happened to be the best picture of the shirt but I didn't have it lined up right to get my face.
The finishing was the hardest part because a lot went wrong! Nothing I couldn't fix, though. I seamed the sides and knitted the neckline a few nights ago and then tried it on, expecting it to be fabulous and was very disappointed to see that it bunched a lot around the bottom of the waist. It was pretty bad. That was the biggest problem and it was totally my fault too. I discovered after I had knitted a fair amount of the front that there was an error in the pattern and instead of knitting for 3 inches before starting the waist shaping, I should have only knitted 1 1/4 inches. I didn't want to start over, naturally, so I assumed it wouldn't really matter only to discover that it really did matter. So, when I thought I was done I had to go back and rip out the first 15 rows on each piece, and reknit the bottom edge. The result is that it's about an inch shorter than it was originally but it's okay. I also had to knit the neckline 3 times because it was too bunchy and scratchy and then it was bound off too tightly and didn't stretch enough but I finally got it right!

Here are the details:

Pattern: Gyrid from Elsebeth Lavold's book 'The Viking Knits Collection'
Yarn: Silky wool (actually the same yarn the pattern was written for- that hardly ever happens!)
Knit for: My lovely mother
Changes I made: I made the armholes 1 inch shorter that the pattern was written and added 1" to the body to keep it the same length. I also knit the bottom edge and neckline with size 5 needles instead of size 4. I picked up way more stitches around the neckline than the pattern called for because it was too bunchy with the 'correct' number of stitches. Finally, I added a cable detail on the back because it was too boring for my taste. The cable pattern was from the same pattern book.
Lessons learned: Look for errata BEFORE starting a project! That was a hard lesson. Because of my error I unravelled from the cast-on edge for the 1st time. I learned that it's much more tedious but less difficult than I had thought it would be.

That's all, folks! I hope my mom appreciates it come Christmas!

Off to the coast!

I'm off to the coast this evening! My church home community is going on a retreat in Lincoln City. It'll be windy and rainy but that's fine with me. That'll just leave more time to sit inside, knit and hang out with friends. I'll be bringing Dublin Bay sock #2 (cast on yesterday morning) and my new project! I just got my order of knitpicks yarn in a pretty gray color (called fog, perfect for a weekend at the coast!) so of course I had to cast on and start knitting. I'm making this sweater my Adrienne Vittadini.
It's beautiful but I'm making some changes. I'm eliminating the eyelets to make it warmer. I'm also knitting it in the round and am making the ribbed section at the bottom a little shorter and so far, I've just about finished knitting it (the ribbing that is). I haven't forgotten the flame sweater. I ran out of yarn (again!) and haven't been able to get to the store to buy more. It's close to completion, though.
Have a good weekend everyone!

Happy All Saints Day

Socktoberfest is officially over and I have 1 sock to show for it! Being my very first sock ever (a knitting milestone!) I am pretty happy. I actually didn't finish sewing the toe until today but that's close enough for me. Here is sock #1. It's a little loose around my ankle but it doesn't matter because it's not for me. Hopefully my mother in law's ankle is a little bigger than mine but if not, it's still super comfy! These are going to be hard to give away.

I hope you all had a great Halloween yesterday! I handed out candy to trick-or-treaters and it was fun- my first halloween in our new house. Here's a picture of the pumpkins we carved.

As promised a whie ago, here's Phoebe minus a lot of fur. She doesn't really hold still so it was hard to get a non-blurry shot.While I'm showing off my pets, here's a picture Mike took. It's a rare occurance because my cats hate each other. Well, it's really just one that hates the other but we rarely see them both in the same place at the same time. Here they are, though, both sleeping on my bed. The top one is Ramona and the bottom kitty is Gatsby.

Ahh, daylight savings

I've got three things to share with you this morning:

1. Daylight savings sucks for me this year. I went to the store this morning to get some breakfast on my way to work (yes, I have to work on Sundays) and was surprised that the store was closed even though the signs said it should have been open. So I went to a different store that was open and thought I was going to be late for work, and was getting stressed out and driving faster than I should have when I realized that I never set my clocks back last night! So, here I am, an hour early for work on a Sunday. It sucks but at least I have my sock with me to knit!
2. I've been doing some frogging! Speaking of my sock, I have successfully turned the heel (I don't know why that scared me so much). I couldn't tell from the pattern what was going to happen to my sock when I started knitting and turning my work but miraculously, a turned heel appeared! This sock thing isn't so hard after all. I did frog several rows lastnight, though, because it was a little loose around the foot and I wanted to decrease a little more. I'll post a picture tomorrow- I'm going to a comedy club tonight so that doesn't leave time for posting pics. I also frogged about 8 inches of the last sleeve of Mike's flame sweater because I realized that 8 inches back I somehow switched knitting needles and so my gauge was all wrong! How do I do things like that? Does anyone else make such dumb errors and not notice?
3. About comments: I know you're out there reading my blog but nothing makes me happier than comments from you all. I know you've got something to say! A reader of another blog said that she didn't know that bloggers really appreciate comments so if you're like her, I'm here to tell you that they do! I never realized this myself until I became a blogger.
4. Okay, I know I said 3 things but here's a 4th. I haven't forgotten that I promised you a picture of Phoebe post-haircut. Once I finished cutting her hair I didn't want to immediately torture her more with a flashing camera so I decided to wait a few days. It will come tomorrow.

Meet Phoebe!

Check it out- 2 posts in the same day!
Meet Phoebe! She's my hybrid German Angora bunny. Isn't she beautiful? I have tons of her fur saved and really want to learn how to spin it. Nevermind that everyone says angora is hard to spin. I have dreams of mittens with super soft cuffs made of Phoebe's fur. I started giving her a haircut tonight. It takes a long time since her fur is so thick so I'll finish tomorrow and post an after pic later. Here's one of her getting a haircut. I gave her a giant chard leaf to munch on to keep her occupied.
Here's a Gyrid update. I finished the back and added a small cable design just below the neckline to spice it up. It's blocking on my bed. My bed isn't usually covered with black plastic. Mike painted the bedroom today (see the pretty grey-blue wall in the background?) so that's a tarp to keep paint off the bed. It still smells like paint in there so we're going to sleep in the guest bedroom. In the meantime, the bedroom's a pretty good place to block some knitting, don't you think?
And . . . Here's my sock. It just keeps growing because I don't know when to start the heel! I think I'm going to have to soon. I'm just scared I'll mess it up. But it's pretty so far.

Socks and Pumpkins

We went to a pumpkin patch on Sauvie Island on Friday and it was so much fun! We got lots of cool pumpkins, went through a hay bale maze and saw cute farm animals. They have a big corn maze too but we're waiting to go through it with some friends next week when it's haunted. Bradley was very well behaved at the pumpkin patch (except for peeing on a pumpkin) and he liked sitting in the pumpkin cart.
I'm plugging away on my dublin bay socks. So far, my 1st sock is almost 7 inches long. This being my first pair of socks, I'm not sure when to stop. How long do you like your socks? I'm using Lorna's Laces sock yarn and I don't know exactly how much they'll stretch lengthwise when they're on and I'm knitting them for my mother-in-law so it's not like I can try them on and knit until they fit me well. How long should I knit it before starting the heel? Advice is appreciated.

New Addition

I added something new! Check out my links on the right to free patterns I've used. There are so many free patterns on the web that I could spend all my time looking at them. If only I had time to knit them all! As I use free patterns I will add them to my list.

I also found this link to a good cast-on for socks. It's called the twisted german cast-on. Unfortunately I came across it AFTER I started my first sock! My sock is going well, though, so I will probably knit another pair and then I can use that cast-on. There is always something to look forward to!

Socktoberfest!

I discovered socktoberfest over at Lolly's blog. Click on the button below to check it out.



Since I am a socktoberfest member, I thought I'd better start knitting my socks. So, 3 attempts later, here it is- My first inch of a beautiful sock! I started with a different pattern and then changed my mind. Then I read the pattern wrong and cast on too many stitches. When I cast on a third time, I counted wrong and cast on too few! I realized about 10 rows down. Oops. I was starting to feel stupid because I couldn't count but then I finally got it right.


The pattern I'm using is Ryan's free Dublin Bay pattern. It's a simple sock but has a small lace pattern down the sides. I'm excited that my stitches are starting to look like a real sock!

I also finished the back of my Gyrid top but couldn't get a good picture tonight.

Shopping!

I went shopping yesterday! My desire to knit my 1st pair of socks and my desire to knit Christmas presents led to a great idea. I will knit socks for my mother in law! This seems so simple that I don't know why I didn't think of it before. I've been thinking a lot about what to knit my mother in law since she lives in a fairly warm place and doesn't need scarves or mittens and I want to make something that takes less time than a sweater. She always buys me cute socks so hand-made socks for her will be perfect. So off to the yarn store we went (husband and I). I found some beautiful Lorna's Laces variegated yarn that will be perfect. Now all I need are needles and a pattern.

While I was looking at all the yarn (because who can go into a yarn store and simply buy what they came for and not look at everything else?), Mike sat on the couch and looked at pattern books and found a great holiday book- Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick.

He was particularly excited about the Aran tree skirt because we need a tree skirt and I'm Irish. It would be perfect! So when I came home, I bought it from Amazon. Now I have to wait for it to come to me but I have enough to occupy me until then.

Speaking of other projects, I have started sleeve #2 for Mike's flame sweater and am only 2 inches away from having Gyrid finished. Unfortunately I ran out of yarn! The pattern says 4 skeins. I had 3 and was hoping that would be enough since I'm making it a little smaller but I didn't quite make it. The yarn store I got the yarn from is closed today so I have to wait.

Knitting ADD

I am beginning to think that I have knitting ADD. I am knitting the flame sweater and the gyrid top, as you know, but I can't stop thinking of other things to knit. I really want to knit socks because I haven't done it before and I can't stop thinking about soft, warm socks made by my own 2 hands. Are toe-up magic loop socks too much for a 1st-time sock knitter to tackle? I also want a soft fuzzy hat to keep my ears warm since I work outside a lot and it's starting to get cold here in Portland. I also want to knit a pillow for my dad for Christmas and I want to start now so in case my idea (more on that later) doesn't work out, I have plenty of time to figure out another plan. I'm also jealous of everyone who's knitting a sweater for herself right now. Being in the "Christmas project" spirit means I'm neglecting myself and I really could use a new, warm sweater. I just need to finish what I've already started!! Self-control is so hard sometimes (okay, always)!

Gyrid front almost finished

The good thing is that I have done a lot of knitting lately. My husband is sick and we went to the emergency room yesterday (he's okay, the Dr thinks it's a virus) so there was a lot of waiting and knitting. A fellow knitter came up and showed me her project (a baby's dress- pretty, pastel and lots of eyelets). I love the way knitting brings strangers together. After coming home from the hospital, Mike took some medicine that made him sleep so there was nothing for me to do but watch tv and knit. I'm almost done with the front of Gyrid! (I must admit that while Mike was sleeping I seriously contemplated going to the yarn store to look at sock yarn but I decided against it.)

I found this sign of fall in the parking lot leaving work last week. I love the acorns still attached. Some of my coworkers laughed at me for picking it up and keeping it but fall is my favorite season!

Gyrid

After lots of attempts, I finally took some okay pictures of my Gyrid tank top. It's from Elsebeth Lavold's book The Viking Knits Collection. I'm knitting it with her Silky Wool yarn in a mossy green color and I really like it. I originally bought it for another project but I decided it wasn't really my style. With Christmas coming up (okay, it's a ways away but planning early never hurts) I looked through my stash and rediscovered this yarn and realized that it is totally my mom's style- earthy color, kind of tweedy. So I found this pattern that uses the same amount of yarn as I have so it's kind of like my mom's Christmas present will be free.














The pattern is pretty simple except for the cabled part. She uses lifted increases that I've never seen in a pattern before but I think I've got them figured out. Here's my progress so far. I've actually done a lot in only a few days!

The color is kind of off in this picture but you can see how the cable pattern is turning out.

Lazy knitting days

I had a lot of plans for my days off (Fri & Sat) but then things got in the way. I really wanted to go hiking and finish painting my bedroom since right now only half of a wall is painted and that's nor exactly the look I was going for. Then I woke up to a torrential downpour and a hurt shoulder. What was there left to do but watch Smallville on DVD and knit? Good thing knitting doesn't use the shoulder muscles. I finished the back of the husband's flames sweater from the 2nd S nB book. Now all I have to knit is one more sleeve and then my LEAST favorite parts of knitting a sweater- blocking and seaming.

Knitting the flame on the sleeve was my 1st attempt at knitting intarsia and it was totally successful! I was expecting lots of frogging but after only having to rip out a few rows at the beginning, I got the hang of it. Here's a close up of my 1st intarsia motif. Pretty nice if I do say so myself.

As a reward for finishing the back, I started a new project.

The reasons I deserved a reward:
1) Knitting a large man's sweater is a LOT more work and takes a lot more time than what I have been knitting all summer- small women's tank tops for me.
2) Also, I'm knitting it with Lion Brand Woolease, which is not my favorite yarn. I started knitting it though when I lived really far away from a yarn store and only had access to Lion Brand yarn (well, Red Heart too, but I won't sink that low). Buying yarn over the internet didn't occur to me as I'm much too impatient to wait for it to arrive. So I wanted to take a break from the Woolease, though it's really not that bad.
3) Knitting miles of stockinette with a few increases thrown in is boring after a while. I love lace and cables and patterns- anything interesting.

So . . . The new project I started in the Gyrid tank from Elsebeth Lavold's book The Viking Knits Collection. I already have half the front finished and I must say that her cable patterns are not for the faint of heart but they are really cool! And her silky wool yarn is really nice to knit with. The finished top is going to be a Christmas present for my mom.

Last-minute flowers

Here's another project picture. Unfortunately, it began as a result of a big problem. Earlier this month, my mom-in-law called to inform my husband that he forgot her birthday! He, and I, felt horrible. After4 years of marriage I really should keep track of such things. So I immediately started these lovely flower washcloths from the book 'Weekend Knitting'. It took me less than a weekend, thank goodness and we sent them off with some lovely soap and the gift was a hit. Hopefully it made up for the forgetfullness!
They're knitted with cotten chenille yarn. It feels really nice but I didn't really like knitting with it. The finished project feels so soft though, I think I need to knit one for myself now!

Introducing . . .

. . . me! Before I get too far ahead of myself with pictures and knitting stuff (as good as all that is) I think I should say a little about myself. I live in the greatest city ever - Portland, OR- though I'm one of those people who was raised in California. I have lots of pets,






Bradely, all wet and happy after swimming.








one husband and 1 new (to me) house. The house, by the way, is the reason I missed going to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival this weekend! I got so caught up doing work on the house that I totally spaced on the festival and forgot it was this weekend! Of course I remembered too late to get there yesterday and today I have to work. Anyone buying an old, fixer kind of house should definitely weigh risks such as this. It's probably a good thing in the end, though, because I shouldn't be spending any more money on yarn right now. I have a lot of projects that need finishing.

As I mentioned yesterday, I sewed a great roll-up knitting needle case. Here are some pics. The print fabrics are cotton upholstery fabrics and the solid is a sateen cotton.




















































Now my needles can be neat and tidy! I just need something for those pesky circulars . . .

Yeah, blogging!

This is my blogging debut and I'm very excited. I love other knitting blogs and seeing what everyong is knitting up is so cool and inspiring that I thought I should join in the fun. Currently, I am super proud of myself for a lovely knitting needle case I sewed, loosely following the pattern from the 1st Stitch n Bitch book. I'll post pics tomorrow.