German and Czech yarn

Here are some pictures of the yarn I picked up in Germany.

This is a linen blend that was in the 1 euro bin at Tirschenreuth's LYS.





And so is this. I also picked up some black and white linen, but it quickly turned into washcloths for the German relatives, and I forgot to get a picture. I did knit them continental, which was good for me to learn. And there's something rather appropriate about knitting continental when you're actually on the continent.
This is a wool blend, enough for a small sweater, also in said euro bin.





This is some cotton I picked up in a family owned department store somewhere in Bavaria at absurdly cheap prices.




This stuff was in the 1 euro bin in Nuremburg. It's kind of funky, not sure what it will become. Maybe something for my sister.




This is a skein of the famous Opal sock yarn. It was on sale. Maybe, just maybe, it might convince me to go back on speaking terms with socks. I'm not sure though.



And here are a few magazines I managed to pick up at the regular grocery store. They had about 10 knitting and 10 crocheting magazines, as well as needlepoint, quilting and all those other crafts that just aren't as a cool as knitting. Grocery stores around here really need to do that. I had to get the one with my name on it, even if it is mostly ponchos (blech). I got a sock magazine to further fuel my attempt to get back on speaking terms with socks. By far the coolest one is the one that just lists interesting patterns with sketches and measurements for some actual garments. Even with the German translating problems I've had in the past, this I can handle.

And then there was Prague. I've already chronicled my shopping adventures, but here are the photos to prove it. Much of this is the Czech brand, Mar Len, which has some really intersting combinations. Not to mention absurdly cheap prices, even in the center of Prague.
Here's some bamboo I got at Galanterie. I'm thinking a little tank top, even though summer is nearing the end. (Maybe the Lotus Blossom tank on the cover of summer's Interweave knits. It calls for bamboo anyway, and I should have enough.)


This nifty blue stuff actually has a piece of leather running through it. Not sure what that's going to be, but the swatch in the store looked awesome.




This green yarn is a souvenir for Amanda. She recently changed schools, but this is in our school's colors, so she better make a scarf for herself and not forget us.




These are souvenirs for Nancy and Veronica at Fringe.






This purple cotton tape was in a bin that worked out to about 1 euro (though in Czech kroners). There's more than enough to make myself a Ballet T, so that's the plan. I need more purple in my wardrobe (also red, and kelley green, but that's beside the point). It will also match these cute little flats I got at Goodwill for $2.99.
I'm not really sure what's going to become of this pink stuff, or the blue stuff. I think there's enough of either to go for a Ballet T. Why not one in every color? I probably have enough pink in my wardrobe already though. And I'm sure my mom would like the blue. Anyway, cool stuff, really cheap.
Well, big post, but lots of pictures in it. There's really nothing more satisfying than walking out with a huge bag of yarn and having spent less than 20 euros on it.

Spinning extravaganza

Was it the fact that I had seen this in a castle just days before that led me to buy one (maybe two) spinning wheel in Germany?
No, I lack self control in any environment. The truth is, I had been wanting a spinning wheel for some time. I wanted one of the beautiful old-fashion Kromskis. (On some level, I still do, actually, but that's not going to happen unless 1. I get a much bigger place, 2. I have a lot more money and 3. I get really good at spinning.)
I was all set to come home with a duffel bag full of German yarn (like I did last time) and rejoice in that. I would have been happy. Estatic, even. But then, driving through the small Bavarian town of Tirschenreuth, I saw several spinning wheel in a shop window. I had to go look at least.
The store appeared to be closed, but there was a sign in the window with a phone number. I tried calling, but it was aparently the wrong number. I asked at the little pub across the street. They called the number too, but it was still wrong. Then, a guy came into the pub that lived or worked in the same building as the store, and he managed to help me out. (Bear in mind, this all took place in German. My command of the German language is feeble at best.) He let us into the shop, and told us to wait while he called the owner.
There were only a few wheels, but I was amazed. There were several toy model that people who like to put that sort of thing in their houses would love. But there were also several that would clearly work. There was also one of the giant star-shaped wheels that I had only ever seen in photos of Ghandi spinning.
Well, I knew I was buying one. The price was really quite good, much cheaper than the other ones I liked.
When the owner, Herr Schmidt, arrived, he was an ancient little old man. He was missing his fingers on his right hand, and shook our hands with his left (with no embarrassment or apology, good for him). He had hand-made almost every piece in the store, including the spinning wheel I was going to buy. That cemented my decision more than ever. How could you pass up a spinning wheel hand made by a cute little old man in Bavaria? He was thrilled that I was actually going to spin with it, and kept giving me little wooden animals as extras.
As my dad went and got the car, I sat and eyed another wheel, the Ghandi one. My mother and the owner conversed through me, both assuming I spoke fluent German (I don't. In simple situations, I'm maybe 60%, but that didn't stop either of them). He had lived in that town over 50 years, and this beautiful Ghandi wheel had come with him. It was probably over 100 years old. It was only 45 euros. My mother bought it, though I fully intend to use it.
When my dad got back and found we had purchased another wheel (a really large one), he basically wouldn't speak to us. We went back to my cousins' and disassembled both wheels as much as possible. That bench was going to be a huge problem.
We looked all over for a box big enough, and finally found one at the local hardware/kitchen store where my other cousin's wife works. (The owner, probably about 35 with a young daughter, was totally hot, but that's beside the point.) As it turns out, yarn is an excellent packing material. The box was just over regulation for the aircraft in size and weight, but we didn't have to pay extra. It was a pain to lug, but it's so worth it.
Finally, back in the US, we got the wheel assembled. I really owe my dad big for that one. He should get something out of the first quality handspun (though I don't know if he'll appreciate it). The big wheel actually works! I've learned several things about it. Aparently it's a double-drive Saxony wheel, not that I knew what that meant two days ago. The star-shaped wheel, well.......not so much. I don't even know what it's called. I know it can be spun upon, I know it! I've seen a picture of Ghandi. But googling Ghandi and spinning only gives the boxed charka wheel (which is cool, but not particularly useful to this application). Well, I'm a big fan of things that still function while broken (ie. escalators just become stairs) that I'm going to use it as a swift until I figure something else out. I've got plenty of time to practice on my big wheel first.

Dilemma

Here's the thing. I hate to not blog. Since I read a lot of the blogs, it really bothers me when people don't update. How else am I supposed to waste time on my computer? I know there are only about four people that read my blog regularly (hi, Aunt Elsie), but it's a matter of principle. However, I also hate to blog without pictures. If I write the content first, I know I won't go back and post pictures later. And I'm fully capable of getting pictures, just not for a few days for most of my German/Czech purchase because I lazily left them at my parents' house.
So, here's my compromise. A list of things to come.
1. A spinning wheel I purchased while in Germany
2. Another spinning wheel purchased in Germany, obstensibly by my mother
3. Both spinning wheels in various states of assemblage
4. An incredible hand knit lace sweater I got in the Czech Republic (also, the few words I've learned in Czech)
5. The hand knit, striped (not self striped, striped with all ends woven in) socks I bought in Nuremburg for a steal.
6. The German yarn I got at absurd prices. Some linen and cotton, and enough wool blend to make a little sweater. Most were in the 1 euro bin.
7. The Czech yarn I went wild with. Some are souvenirs for knitting friends (what other kind of souvenirs would I buy?), some are just cool, and I even have one project planned (Ballet T in some cool purple cotton tape)

Also, I have to remember to take pictures of the things I've finished here. I finished a red mohair shawl for the shop, but forgot to get a picture of it.

Today I'm off to a dyeing workshop at Fringe. I should take the camera there too. I think it's still in the car....

Prague

So I diligently followed All Tangled Up's guide to yarn shopping in Prague. Now, I love shopping. And even more, I love yarn shopping. But by far, the best part about yarn shopping in Prague was the two hours it afforded me away from my family. I'm much better behaved when I get some quiet time to myself, especially if it involves yarn.
But as much I appreciated her guide, I'm afraid I have to disagree with some of observations.
First, right as the tram drove past it, I found the Textilni Galanterie Trzište 6, 118 00 PRAHA 1. Although it had yarn, I was pretty disappointed. It was mostly acrylic, there wasn't even one yarn that was 100% wool. It was also all behind a counter. I also don't speak Czech. However, I still managed to buy a few skeins of bamboo yarn in a light pink. It came out to about $3 a skein for 300ish meters, so it was still quite a good deal. I have some hot pink bamboo yarn at home languishing in a UFO (that I'm going to frog) and maybe get something interesting.
The next one I found was StarBeads,Passage Palac MetroNarodni 25,110 00 Praha 1. I was not particularly impressed with that either. I had visions of beautiful Czech glass beads, but despite having pretty good prices, I didn't see anything I couldn't get at home. A much better idea would be to buy one of the very long necklaces that all the vendors sell for about $10, and just cut it up for the beads.
I was thrilled to find the one called MarLen, Karolíny Světlé 12110 00 Praha 1. Well, that's what All Tangled Up called it. Now it's called something like Tingle Tangle, but they still have that sewing machine out front. It is utterly fantastic. But, dare I say it, the yarn wasn't even the best part of the store. The place seems to be primarily a fabric store, with beautiful exotic silks and other fabrics. That didn't stop me from looking at the yarn. They had fantastic soft wool, blends and cotton, interesting novelty yarns that included leather, and a bin that worked out to about a $1 a skein. I picked up some souvenir yarn for knitting friends, and some other interesting things for myself. I'll post photos of all my loot when I get back.
Sadly, there was another shop in the Old Town that looked utterly fantastic, but they were closed for vacation.
I've also bought some fantastic yarn in Germany, but I'm in Prague now and it's fresh in my mind. Still, yarn prices are incredible here, and even basic department store owned by oma and opa have yarn. I guess you trade that for the 24 hour convienience. Yet there is really nothing better than a 1 euro bin when it involves some lovely linen.

Things I Love about Germany

Things I love about Germany:
1. Beer
2. Potatoes. Seriously, this country knows how to do potatoes.
3. Half-timbered houses
4. An obsession with ice cream concoctions
5. That really interesting yarn/world clothing store I'm going to have to go back to.
6. Swiss army cards
7. The seemless blend of old world and ultra modern design.
8. Cute and clever little cars.



Things I don't love about Germany:
1. Being with my parents 24/7. Seriously. Something like 4/2 would be much more manageable.
2. Everything is closed on Sundays.
3. That darn exchange rate.
4. It's cold and rainy right now.
5. Coke Light
6. According to the rental car company, I'm not old enough to drive. (Nevermind, the German autobahn is not the place to learn to drive stick shift anyway. Ask me how I know.)
7. Wet cobblestones on a steep hill.
8. Everything is closed by 8pm.

This will be updated every time I have internet access. That may not be too often. However, I'm lobbying for about 4 yarn shops by the 'morrow, so hopefully I'll have some good loot when I get back.

Yarn shopping around the world

Well, tomorrow I leave for Germany and the Czech Republic. I'm thrilled of course. And besides packing obsessive compulsively (packing list, organized clear plastic bags for each type of clothing, etc) and planning my travel knitting, I thought I'd run a quick Google search on what sort of yarn shops I expect to find.
We're going back to visit my cousins, and I already know about two good yarn shops near them. One is in their tiny little town of Tirschenreuth, the other is nearby in Wagner's home town of Bayreuth (a really beautiful little German town, btw). Those are already on the agenda, whether my family knows it or not.
We're also going to stay a couple of days in Prague, so I thought I'd Google "yarn Prague". I wasn't expecting much, but then I found this. Could I ask for more? I printed it out, complete with map, and expect to hit every single one of them. Well, I suppose I could skip the bead store, but then again, there might be Czech glass....
The only remaining question mark, the three days I might be without a yarn shop, is when we're in Nuremberg. I found a mysterious post on the Yarn Harlot site mentioning a Hermann Wolleckla in Nuremberg, but searches for that, even in German, have yielded no results. Any suggestions? So far the plan is to ask the concierge when we get to the hotel.
As for finished projects, my cousins are multiplying at alarming rates, so I made a Big Bad Baby Blanket in white for one of the ones spawning. I haven't posted a picture of it because 1. I'm lazy and 2. It looks exactly like the other Big Bad Baby Blanket in white, only this time minus the pink ribbons because they're having a boy. Lots of travel knitting (and crocheting, actually) on the needles. Hopefully much of that will be done when I get back. What else am I supposed to do for 8 hours on a plane?

Bootie-licious

Continuing my adventures in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, here are the angora baby booties, as modeled by Albert Einstein. They're in the one-to-two hour gift section. In all honesty, it probably took me three hours, but that was because I was having some trouble with the construction at the cuff. She does give really detailed directions, but I was having brain farts. Now that I get it, I think I could probably do them in two.
I just barely made it through with one skein of Belangor angora that I picked up at Sheep's Clothing last weekend. It's 100% angora, which is ridiculously soft and fuzzy. We're talking kitten's tummy soft and fuzzy. (I guess technically bunny's tummy, as that's what it is, but I relate better to cats than rabbits.) The entire toe part of the bootie is double knitted, which is a fun technique. I'd started a scarf in double knitting before, but it really wasn't as well constructed. This went quickly, and was a great way to make a little pouch for the toes. You do a three needle bind off up the heel flap (another one of my new favorite techniques), then do some ribbing for the cuff. And there you have it, really cute little baby booties.
Paula, the owner of Sheep's Clothing, mentioned her concerns about babies and the angora hair. She thinks that they might suck on the booties and swallow some of the fuzzy angora hairs. She probably knows better than I do, having raised infinitely more children (I think two) than I have (zero). Einstein is being fairly well behaved about them, but then again he is a genius. These are probably going in my hope chest. (Don't mock the hope chest, some things are just too cute to give away.)
I tried to get Worfy to model the booties for me, but this was the best picture I got.
Pattern: Angora baby booties from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, in the collection
Yarn: Belangor angora, 100% angora, 1 skein (33yds) at $8.00
Needles: Size 5 dpn, in the collectionPrice: $8
Time: About three hours, a repeat performance may sneak in at two. Despite the speed, this is not a beginner pattern. Tricky techniques include double knitting, three needle bind off, knitting in the round, and reading really complicated directions.

Hoodie-lem

The last couple of times I have been to Germany (okay, every time I've been to Germany), I've gone on a yarn-buying extravaganza. It's new, it's exciting, and it's often very cheap. My German cousins are well aware (as is everyone that knows me) of my knitting obsession. So when we were there last Christmas, their Christmas gift to me was a big bag of yarn. Very clever, those Germans.
It's not actually a yarn I would have chosen myself, but it's good to expand the horizons. It's Schachenmayr nomotta (excellent German yarn brand) Bravo Baby, 100% acrylic sport weight yarn. I don't usually go for acrylic, but I'm not going to turn down free yarn. In the band it looked white with blue flecks, but the overall effect knitted up is a speckled light blue. My cousin bought me a bag full of yarn, specifically enough to make a sweater.
This was over Christmas. I'm going back next week. Therefore, I had to have something completed in that yarn. It had to be for myself since it was a Christmas gift, and I don't really knit for myself that much. It also had to be a sweater, since that was the amount she had insisted on buying.
I pored over pattern books. I considered designing my own. I ran from that idea and went back to pattern books. I scoured the internet. I had to find a pattern that fit this small gauge and still looked good in a varigated yarn. After much frustration, I found myself back at my favorite knitting book, Stitch 'n Bitch, looking at a sweater I had planned to make at some point anyway. It's called Under the Hoodie, and it's shown in the book in mohair with red and pink stripes. It's cute in that pattern, but luckily I saw the basic shape and realized there is nothing more comfortable than a hoodie.
The gauge was perfect, and it fits really well (see what happens when you do go check the gauge?). The hem wants to roll on me, I want to block it into submission, but it's acrylic. But then, it's a hoodie, so I don't think a little roll on the hem is going to bother me too much when I'm in a hoodie kind of mood.
It's a lot of stockinette. It's a whole lot of stockinette, and most of the sweater is a really basic shape. The pocket and hood, both new to me, were pretty fun to knit though. The pocket was picked up at the bottom and knit together into a row at its top. The hood just kind of continued from the neck, with a really cute pattern at the neckline, and ended in a three-needle bind off. Even the ribbing at the edges is really cute, because it's a broken rib pattern that minimizes the frustration of actually ribbing. Overall, I'm happy with the finished product. Go go gadget gauge swatches!

Pattern: Under the Hoodie from Stitch and Bitch
Yarn: About 6 1/2 skeins of Schachenmayr nomotta Bravo Baby, sport weight, 100% acrylic. (I still have just under 4 skeins of it left.) Christmas gift
Needles: Size 7 (4.5mm) straight, Size 8 (5mm) 24" circular . Had to buy the circular, but that's okay, as I promptly picked it up again for a baby blanket
Price: $14.95 for the needles, the rest was in the collection or a gift
Time: Once I started knitting, it took about a month of farting around. Had I focused, I think it could have easily been done in two weeks.

Note: Please ignore the devil eyes and crazy hair in the photos. I had a long day and it was raining.

Sunburst Sling Bag

The truth is, I actually finished all the actual knitting for this bag some months ago. I just hadn't finished. That was partly because I'm lazy, but also because I could decide what kind of lining I wanted. There are so many rich colors in this bag, it didn't seem fair to pick just one. I tried, I even picked out some Indian cotton in a deep red, but when it came time to sew it up, it just didn't look right. I decided the answer was just to sew up the bag and worry about the lining later, by which I mean if I do decide on a lining, make my mom do it. The fabric actually seems dense enough that it's not going to be a problem. And the bag is large enough that I could fit a small European country (say, Luxembourg) in it.
The pattern was really fun to knit. It's the Sunburst Sling Bag, and it's a bunch of wedges made by short rows. I'm in love with short rows because they're easy enough that you can knit them in public, but not so boring that you want to chew your own arm off. It's a little stretched out in the picture because I've actually been using it, which is a bonus. I probably should have checked my gauge and not made it this big, but I really like it.

Pattern: Sunburst Sling Bag by Just One More Row, bought by a friend off eBay for $3
Yarn: Recylced Sari Silk
Needles: Size 8, in the collection, but clearly was wrong for the gauge. I maintain that this is a happy accident.
Price: We're not going to talk about that
Time: A few weeks of sporadic knitting, several months before seaming

Cupcakes!

I didn't think I was the type to knit food, I really didn't. But then I saw these knitted cupcakes in One Skein, and they were too cute to pass up. I'm mildly impressed with the people that seem to be able to turn any shape into a knitted item (see Knitorama) but it didn't really seem like my thing. But behold the cuteness. Don't look directly at it, it may be so cute it burns the retina. From left to right, we have a plain cupcake with white icing and blue (button) sprinkles, German chocolate, marble with white icing, and plain with lemon icing. I think there's something slightly wrong in the actual pattern though. When I first made them, the bodies of the cupcakes were way too tall. All but the German chocolate here were doubled over before I attached the tops. And the tops could be bigger in proportion to the base. I even used larger needles than recommended. Perhaps I just feel that the tops of cupcakes should be overstuffed, as they are clearly the best part. Either way. Great way to use up scrap yarn, and would make an adorable part of a birthday gift.

Pattern: Knitted cupcakes from One Skein
Yarn: Various scraps
Needles: Size 5 and 9 (though I used 11) dpn
Time: About an hour or two per cupcake

An Almost Disaster

Newly enamored with Last Minute Knitted Gifts, I decided to try the silk camisole. Only I decided not to make it with the recommended silk because 1. I'm cheap, 2. according to Knit and Tonic it pills the minute you sweat in it and 3. I'm cheap. So I hopped around the LYS and discovered some beautiful sock yarn in exactly the right gauge. The colors were rich and subtle. The feel was soft and smooth. Yes, Cherry Tree Hill, you had clearly gotten something right. I, however, had gotten something drastically wrong.
Actually, I had gotten several things wrong, but we shall see which is the most glaring. The first was gauge. I hadn't checked my gauge, was a needle size too big, and was knitting something that could have just about fit my dad (a 6'2" 220 lb ex-marine), when I was making it for me. Okay, minor setback. Ripped it out, checked the gauge dutifully, and I was back on track.
Then I couldn't read the first part of the pattern. As I was casting on, it gives instructions, then says place marker and repeat. I had not repeated. Well, at least it was the right gauge this time. Ripped it out, gave it another go.
Then came the lace border. The camisole itself has a little lace edging at the bottom, which is not the prettiest lace I've ever seen, but I was going to give it a try. Somehow, I kept getting the wrong number of stitches. I tried to fudge it, but the right number would never come out. I toyed with the idea of just skipping the lace entirely, but no, I said to myself, that would be lazy and wrong.
I checked the errata. I had already checked the errata when I first bought the book, but I checked it again just to be sure. Nothing wrong with this pattern in my edition. I tried the lace again. Still no luck, I kept getting the wrong number of stitches. I emailed the author. She told me to check the errata. I wrote out the lace pattern explicitly for my size and counted. No, it should be right. This time, armed with an army of stitch markers, I was going to get it right.
As I ripped back the yarn this last time, I marveled at it's beauty once again. And such a good deal, I thought to myself. All this was just one skein of sock yarn, enough to make a tank top.
Then it hit me. I had bought sock yarn. If you are a knitter, your ears (or eyes, or whatever part of you that's supposed to perk up when you're reading) have perked up at this point. Why yes, the very lovely Cherry Tree Hill Supersock.
Supersock. I had almost knit lace with a superwash. Lace, which must be blocked within an inch of its life, with a superwash, designed to defeat my every blocking effort.
Well, fine. I'm still going to make the tank top, just without the lace pattern, which was my original plan of retreat. The lace pattern really isn't that pretty anyway, and I can just echo the picot edge on the neckline. I'm just really glad I caught it now, before I did finally get the lace pattern right, and had no way to save it.
Although the way this tank has been going, other disasters may lurk in the future. So much for a six-to-eight hour project.

Wedding Pictures

Yes, I know. The wedding was a month ago. But I finally got around to taking the red eye out of the pictures, and here they are. Here's one with a nice closeup of me in my shawl, and one with me and the bride. I think the professional photographer got a really nice picture of Cassie in her shawl, but I haven't seen it yet. Sadly, I don't have a picture of my whole outfit complete with awesome shoes. You'd think, being 5'2", that it would be fairly easy to fit all of me into the frame, but I don't control my mother's camera. Well, I assure you, the shoes were stunning (if somewhat dangerous).
I also want to point out that I got a lot of teasing about wearing a watch with a semi-formal dress, but 1. I feel absolutely naked without a watch and 2. it matches! How could you pass up wearing a watch that matches? I stand by my decision.

Comments

So I wondered for a while why I never had any comments on my blog, I figured everyone who read it just talked to me in person or emailed me. Turns out I had "moderate comments" on the whole time. I apologize to everyone who posted.
And I call myself a geek.....

Baby Bolero

The latest knit for the shop is the Baby Bolero from One Skein. The shop got in a new yarn, Ultra Alpaca from Berroco. It's a nice 50/50 blend of alpaca and wool. This little sweater took well under a skein, so I made another mini sweater for the millions of naked dress forms in the shop as well.
It has a cute little lace motif at the back that is supposed to be good luck. Whether or not that's true, I think it's really cute. I do, however, need to stop taking pictures of things while they're blocking. You can still see soaking wet patches. The yarn itself does have a nice even tone and is quite soft to work with.
The pattern was really quick, I had most of it done in one evening. The only thing that took me longer was picking up all the stitches for the border. I'm pick up challenged for some reason. It finally turned out okay after two really hideous attempts. The first time I was distracted by the belly dancing though.
The mini sweater is again the one from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which is a lot of fun and takes less than an hour. I can see this little guy on handmade cards, as a part of a wrapping on a gift, strung together as holiday garland, and of course, on all sorts of cute little dress forms at the shop.
But the summary for the bolero is:
Pattern: Baby Bolero from One Skein
Needles: Size 8, any kind (in the collection) and size 9 24" circular (borrowed from the shop)
Yarn: Ultra Alpaca, regularly $8.95 for 216 yards, 50/50 alpaca wool blend (available in lots of colors)
Time: Could easily be done in an evening if you can pick up stitches better than I can

Sweater seen in the wild

Look, here's Nancy, the owner of Fringe, wearing my hourglass sweater at Veronica's birthday party. The party was pretty awesome, btw. Not only was it a party in a yarn shop, but there was also lots of food, cake, beer, and belly dancing. Yep, belly dancing. I'm so going to learn.

Mini Sweater

So after I finished the marathon sweater, I wasn't quite done knitting sweaters, or with that yarn. Also in Last Minute Knitted Gifst is the really cute mini holiday sweater. I made it in the same yarn and changed it to a boatneck to match the hourglass sweater. Here it is on it's own, and with the mama sweater for scale. It went really quickly, probably an hour or hour and a half including seaming. I plan to make one of these little guys in about every yarn I use. This is convienient, since the LYS has lots of little wire dress forms that need covered. So 1. buy this book and 2. make this sweater.

I'll take that challenge!

I'm completely enamored of knitting up shop samples for my new LYS, Fringe. The owner set me up on another shop sample and challenged me to have it done in a week. This was last Thursday evening. I'm blocking it now. Hopefully it will be dry in time to take to the shop tomorrow.
The challenge was the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts in Knit One, Crochet Too's Paint Box. The book itself is divided into sections based on how long each knitted gift will take to make. It's a good thing this sweater was in the More-Than-Eight-Hour category, or I would have been really cranky. It should have been in the Way-The-Hell-Longer-Than-Eight-Hour category. I have worked obsessively on this since last Friday, and I just finished hemming it. Yes, hems.
Now, I thought I would be cranky about the hems. It's knit in the round, so there's no side seams to sew (except for a small underarm section). However, the entire thing is made with a hem on every single edge. So take a pattern with no finishing, and add more finishing to it than you would put on any sweater, ever. But like I said, I thought I would be cranky about this. It actually turned out so cute that I'm not the least bit mad, I actually kind of enjoyed it, and will definitely do it again. It's an unexpected look for a sweater that turns out looking really nice.
The part I was really cranky about was the yoke. The first few rounds where you attached the sleeves to the body were really tight to knit. I wound up using my smaller needle to sneak them over sometimes. After that, it went pretty well. The neckline worries me. It seems a bit floppy, and that's what I had read on lots of online reviews. I even knit a few extra rounds as some of the knitalongs had suggested, and it still seems floppy. Hopefully I can whip it into shape with blocking.
The yarn, as it turns out, had me alternately mesmerized and cursing. The colors are beautiful, and it's really great to watch the changes as you're knitting. For a large part of the pattern, it's the only change in miles of stockinette. However, it's single spun, which means it's fairly weak. I found that the yarn tore apart on me as I was knitting, pretty much any time I pulled back with a lot of tension. Now it is 100% wool, which means you can split splice it back together, and to join a new ball, but it was still a hassle to have to deal with. It will felt, which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you want. It makes me a little nervous in a sweater. It will run a little bit too. When I was washing it, the blue seemed to leak in particular. Once I squeezed it out, I left it on a beige towel to dry (stupid, I know, but I have no other color) and it was okay. It was scratchy to work with, but I'm told after using a wool wash it softens up nicely. We'll see. I had a free sample of a wool wash called Eucalan, maybe that will do the trick.
That said, I really do think I'll make the pattern again. The miles of stockinette were really boring at times, but it's a great movie sweater. The fit is really flattering, even though I tried it on before blocking. I have some delicious malabrigo yarn that I plan to make it in for myself. Hey, I already bought the needles, right?
The jury is still out on the yarn. We'll have to see how well it softens up. For me, it was a bit too scratchy, but I think it would felt really well. It would make an awesome bag, I'm just not really sure I want to work with it again. I'm the kind of person that would sleep in cashmere sheets if it were at all affordable (and it isn't, especially after last month's credit card bill), so softness really matters to me. And if it's too bright for you, don't worry, this is the brightest colorway, a #19 that doesn't seem to be listed on the website. There are some nice muted blues and purples or pastels.
In summary:
Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, in the collection.
Needles: Size 7, 32" and 12" circulars, had to buy the 32"
Yarn: Knit One Crochet Too's Paint Box, about 9 skeins to make the second smallest size, regularly around $10 a skein. Damn. Good thing it's a shop sample.
Time: 5 1/2 days of obsessive knitting and finishing, and a rare wool wash and block from me. The blocking was totally worth it though, look at the difference in the two photos.

Renaissance Faire

So yesterday, my mom and I went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire. You can see the pics here. It's mostly just entertaining to watch the shows and see all the interesting costumes, but I also got to pet a zebra, which was very exciting.
There was also a woman who did a demonstration about how to fold a kilt, and did various spinning related things. Here's a picture of me pretending like I can spin at her spinning wheel. I learned all about how to process and spin flax. It looks pretty much like straw when it's unprocessed, and then you kind of beat the heck out of it to turn it into to linen. You have to keep it wet when you're spinning too.
I also learned all about how to dye things with natural plant dyes. Queen Anne's Lace gives a lovely light green. There was a skein dyed with real indigo. There's a root that gives a reddish color. You can use black walnut to get a dark brown. Aparently there's a fungus that gives you purple, but I didn't see that. And if you want different shades of black, brown, or grey, you just get it from that color of sheep. Although I've dabbled in spinning, I really don't ever see myself going farther up the production chain than that. Still, it might be interesting to try the organic dye sometime.
Sadly, her yarns were not for sale since she used them as samples. I really wanted some nice handspun. You'd think at a Renaissance faire there'd be at least something knitting related, but that was it. Aparently last year there was something, but they cancelled this year. I was a little cranky about that. I even heard some other woman in one of the little bookstores asking her friend, "Did you find knitting?" Clearly, they're missing their market here.
Well, I still had fun. And I got to pet a zebra.

On Display

Here I am, on display at the Local Yarn Shop. That's the Ballet T from Loop-d-Loop and several of my hat designs, all in Brown Sheep Company's Cotton Fleece (80% cotton, 20% wool).
I was so excited to walk in and see my stuff hanging right next to the professionally knit sweater. The picture's a little bright, but it does fit right in. I'm going to have to take better pictures of the hats for the pattern.
This may possibly be the best deal ever. Not only am I not spending my own money to knit, I'm even getting something back for it.
But to summarize:
Ballet T:
Pattern: Loop-d-Loop, in the collection
Needles: A fun size 15, in the collection
Yarn: Brown Sheep Company's Cotton Fleece, no cost to me! Two skeins, regularly $8.50.
Time: About 4 hours for the larger size
Total Cost: Nothing!

Baby Hats:
Pattern: Mine! And you can get it at Fringe.
Needles: Size 7, in the collection
Yarn: Brown Sheep Company's Cotton Fleece, again, no cost to me. Two skeins will make 6 hats.
Time: About 2 hours per hat, three of which I did while on shift.
Total Cost: Nothing!

And while I'm at it, go see the absurdly cute JackRocketWear. You may hear more about them later.

The First Pattern!

Well, I've finally done it. I've written a pattern. An incredibly creative, awesome pattern, if I do say so myself. I've been knitting baby hats for years, mostly donating them to charity. I've based the hats off a couple of different patterns, but made many a modification along the way.
Now, for your knitting pleasure, all those possibilities are in one booklet - Choose Your Own Baby Hat Adventure.
It's written in the style of the choose-your-own-adventure books I read a lot as a kid. You know those? "You come face to face with fire-breathing dragon. What do you do? If you run and hide, turn to page 5. If you slay the dragon with your hero's sword, turn to page 17." Well, I would turn to page 5, get burned crispy, and that would be that.
However, knitting is an entirely different subject. For this hat, you choose each type of brim, body, top, and extras that you want for you hat, making the decisions by turning pages along the way. It winds up being 24 pamphlet pages, including charts and instructions. It was a bit tricky to figure out how to print that, let me tell you. But the prototype looks good, and I think all it lacks are a few more pictures.
The best part about this pattern is that I'm actually going to sell it at my new local yarn shop, Fringe. Friends who ask nicely may have a copy, but everyone else will just have to get it there. And on the pattern, I do highly encourage the knitter to make at least one of these hats for charity.
Start knitting!

Which do you prefer?

In the midst of shawl madness, I took a little break to make these sweet little baby booties. It took about one evening's worth of TV, and I've had them done for a little while. The trouble was, I debated for a long time on how best to show them off on the blog. Should I show off their tenderness by posing them delicately next to a flower? Or should I instead put them on a plush Albert Einstein?
I think this could be a new personality test. And I think I prefer the Einstein.

Pattern: From Simply Knitting, a fun little British magazine in the collection.

Needles: Size 4, in the collection

Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull, leftovers

Time: One evening of TV.

Total cost: Nothing! Take that, all ye who mock the yarn stash!

Master Knitter - Part 1

Well, the Master Knitter packet Level 1 arrived the other day, and I tore into it.
It's pretty serious. There are sixteen essay style questions, a one-page report on blocking, and 16 swatches to knit. So far.....I have one swatch knit and the questions mostly answered in my head. The questions cover gauge, casting on, binding off, increases, decreases, cables, yarn size and type, and joining. Two swatches involve ribbing and basic stitches, one has seed stitch, three kinds of increases, three kinds of decreases, three with yarn overs and decreases, three with cables (including one you pick), and one using two colors.
Suprisingly, I'm having a really hard time with ribbing. I hate ribbing. I've hated ribbing for some time now. Not only is it irritating, it's not coming out neatly. No matter what I do, it still winds up coming loose between the ribs. Normally I would let this go, but I know they're going to be scrutinizing it, in exactly the way that a baby throwing off a hat I'd made them wouldn't.
Then, all of this has to be organized in a binder with page protectors and sent off to them.
And this is all only level one. It could take a while. Then add 4 - 6 weeks for review, possibly sending more than a few items back to be reworked.
Just as well. I can't afford level two yet anyway.

Marathon Lace Knitting

So I finished Cassie's wedding shawl a few posts back. Oh, I thought to myself, now I need a shawl too. And since I have more time, I can make something more interesting, in a yarn that really shows off the stitch pattern.
What the hell was I thinking?
Intricate = looking at the pattern every row
Shows off the stitch pattern = rip out every mistake
Luckily, I realized in time that I was going to have to finish it today to block and dry it before the wedding on Saturday. And when I thought I couldn't do another pattern repeat without throwing the shawl out the window, I took a break and made a little matching purse. Stockinette stitch in the round has never felt so good.
The shawl is soaking wet in these pictures, the purse is the color it will be when dry. And more importantly, it matches the amazing dress and shoes. The dress could look more flattering in that picture, but it's hard to take a picture of something while wearing it. It's actually strapless, those are the just the hanger straps. Just wait two more days before you start critiqueing. I'll post better pics from the event itself, including the wedding shawl in action.

At any rate, I'm incredibly glad to be done with it. I probably could have squeezed one more pattern repeat out of the yarn, but I'd hate to run out, and I'm too tired. I want to give this bad boy as much time to dry as possible.

The next time I plan to do something like this 1) slap me upside the head, and 2) make sure I give myself a little longer to do it.

In summary:

Pattern: Free Lacey Stole from Lion Brand

Needles: Size 7, in the collection

Yarn: Karabella Vintage Cotton (100% mercerized cotton), 6 skeins for shawl and purse at $6.75 a skein.

Total investment: $40.56 plus tax (the dress was only $9.99 from Ann Taylor)

Time: Two weeks of fairly hard core knitting, especially the last few days

Master Knitter

Did you know you can be certified to be a Master Knitter? Well I didn't, but I do now. I was hanging out at the local knit shop talking to people, and it turns out The Knitting Guild Association has a program to do just that. You join, pay a lot of money, then they send you instructions. You follow the instructions, mail back your samples, and get critiqued. When you pass each level, you get certified. And when you pass Level III, which involves designing your own Aran sweater and hat (and paying even more money), you get certified as a Master Knitter.
Now, I like a challenge. Especially a challenge that doesn't have a time limit and involves me doing something I'd do for fun anyway. I have offcially embarked down the path to becoming a Master Knitter. I also get to be a member of TKGA and get all four yearly issues of Cast On magazine to boot. Marvel at my newfound coolness. Part of me wants to recommend this to people, but I realize that's not realistic. It's just an absurd amount of money to be spending to have someone give you a pat of the back for knitting. While I know this logically, I'm still also really excited.
I have no delusions about passing easily. I know full well how capable I am of screwing up a garter stitch. Well, I know reasonably well. I'm sure I'll continue to amaze even myself with my own ability to mess things up in new and interesting ways. However, I do think this will make me pay a lot more attention to detail (something I have a problem with in all areas of my life) and think critically about my knitting. (Is knitting something you should think critically about? This is one of the critical issues to consider.)
Don't mind those screams you hear coming from the direction of my apartment. That's called progress.

Cute Overload

Go forth and discover the aptly named www.cuteoverload.com .
Warning: do not look at this in the office as people will wonder why you're cooing and speaking in a squeaky voice.

Quizzes

Inspired by Kristine's country quiz, I wandered over to bluepyramid.org myself. They didn't really get the country thing right for me, I'm so not Vatican City. (Anyone who knows me will laugh until they get stigmata from that one. ) However, it did totally nail the book quiz.

You're The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!by Douglas AdamsConsidered by many to be one of the funniest people around, you are quite an entertainer. You've also traveled to the far reaches of what you deem possible, often confused and unsure of yourself. Life continues to jostle you around like a marble, but it's shown you so much of the world that you don't care. Wacky adventures continue to lie ahead. Your favorite number is 42.

I am, in fact, right now, wearing my high school volleyball jersey. My number is 42.

I love internet quizzes. They make my insomnia worthwhile.

Gifts delivered

This weekend both my mom and Cassie got their respective gifts. My mom wore the T to work Monday. She put it on inside out at first and didn't realize it. I'm just not even going to comment further on that.
Now I'm working on a shawl for myself for the wedding to match my pretty turquoise dress (from Ann Taylor, originally $129.00, purchased for $9.99. I think I deserve a pat on the back for that one). I'm using a random lace pattern that I found online, but it's looking pretty cute. Íf I'm lucky, I'll have enough yarn to make a little bag too.
In the meantime, everyone should go see these patterns, because they're ridiculously cute. Hello Kitty has just the kind of cuteness that posseses my body like a demon and makes me speak in a high pitched voice and mispronounce words. You know what kind of cute I mean. The little kid in the sweaterset totally qualifies.

Mom, Don't Look

I mean it. Stop reading, and don't look at this picture. You'll get it soon enough. I had been planning on making this for my mom's birthday for a while, but this weekend I needed a break from tiny lace weight and made this tee in two strands of worsted. Ah, instant gratification. Out of curiousity, I timed myself, and I made this shirt in exactly three hours. And since it's knit from the top down with no seams, that included all the finishing, which just meant weaving in ends.
It's the ballet tee from Loop-d-Loop, which is an odd book, but entirely worth it for this pattern alone. This is the third incarnation I've made of this tee, and now that I realize I can do it 3 hours with a mere 400 yards of worsted weight yarn (see here in Classic Elite Provence Egyptian cotton), they will probably start mulitplying like rabbits. Or at least chinchillas. I've also made it in hot pink for myself (and wear it all the time) and a shiny beige for my mom before (so I know it fits). I also ordered her some matching flip flops from Teva, one of her favorite brands. Strange coincidence, actually. The book is by Teva Durham and the sandals are from the brand Teva. I totally didn't plan that, but should try to pass it off as if I did.
Anyway, in summary:

Pattern: From the book Loop-d-Loop, already owned
Needles: Size 15 circular needles, already owned
Yarn: Classic Elite Provence, two skeins at $8.50 each
Total investment: $17
Time: 3 hours

Wedding Shawl Finished!

So after some hard work and recorded TV shows this weekend, I finished Cassie's wedding shawl.
Even though it's not very wide, I'm still proud that it's thin enough to fit through a wedding band. Admittedly, it's a man's wedding band (my grandfather's, which I wear on a necklace), but I can still say I did it. Hopefully I'll be able to see her this weekend and drop it off. The finished product is a foot and a half wide and four and half feet long. I tried it on to see how it fit, I might have pranced around a little, and it wraps nicely around the shoulders. It's not so short that it falls off, but it's not so long as to get in the way of things.

In summary:
Pattern: Feather and fan lace, free from Sheep's Clothing, and a little bit of math
Needle: Size 10 circular, already owned
Yarn: Two skeins of Kid Silk Haze (75% mohair, 25% silk) at $15
Total cost: $30, but totally worth it for a good friend's wedding
Time: About two weeks, including the time I was moving apartments