Again, look what came in the mail!

My blocking board arrived today! I'm still waiting for my blocking wires so I can't play with it yet. The board is big--it's almost the width of my queen-sized bed. Here's my mom's lace scarf (about 18" long) so you get an idea of how much blocking space I now have. It'll be good for sweaters and other smaller things but my shawls will hang over a little.

I did a book discussion today at work so I didn't get much knitting done. In fact, I always get nervous beforehand and I managed to mess up Branching Out--not once but twice. (Thank God for those lifelines!) Lesson learned: Don't try to knit lace when you're distracted. I spent more time ripping out than I did knitting... The book discussion went well though. I highly recommend After You'd Gone--it's even got a little knitting in it. ;)

Questionable felting...

I finished knitting my Fuzzy Feet Redux slippers. Right now they look like this:


I decided to felt them while my husband and I watched the Oscars. I figured I could pop in and out without missing too much so I got my zippered pillow case, my mild detergent, and the gigantic socks. I put them in the washing machine with hot water, high agitation, and the smallest load setting possible. I checked on them and they didn't look like they'd shrunk much so I put them back in. The next time I checked they looked pretty good so I took them out. I tried to put them on to shape them but.......they didn't even remotely fit on my feet!! They'd shrunk length wise, but were way too narrow.

We tried putting water bottles in them to stretch them out enough for me to wiggle my feet into, but nothing was working. I threw them aside in disgust (I've been knitting them for quite a while and would really like to wear them around the house tomorrow--more snowy weather has me hoping for a snow day or at least a delayed opening!) and tried to decide if I should throw them out or find a small-footed person who they would fit.

Instead of either of those options, I soaked them for a few minutes, tugging on them while they were under water. After stretching them as much as I could, I pulled them (with quite a lot of effort) onto my feet and shaped them as best I could. I took them off carefully, stuffed them with plastic bags, and they are now drying in front of the boiler. I'm hoping for the best so wish me luck!

Look what I came home to!

My shipment arrived from KnitPicks. I got three hanks of Alpaca Cloud in Sunlight Heather, two skeins of KnitPicks Essential in Dusk (bluer than it looks in the pic), and some blocking pins. The Alpaca Cloud isn't quite as yellow as I thought it'd be, but I still think it'll look nice as Icarus. It'll go with more, too. The blue yarn is just going to be plain old socks.

I did order the Sew E-Z blocking board and I can't wait for it to arrive! When I opened my box of goodies and saw the hanks, the first thing I wanted to do was get on the computer and buy myself a swift. *sigh* I think I have the shopping bug (probably because I'm making myself work almost exclusively on Branching Out) but I won't let myself spend any more money on knitting stuff until at least early March.

I never thought of myself as crafty until I learned to knit, but now I'd love to learn how to sew, quilt, and crochet. I'm going to learn how to crochet on Monday. My friend's mother--who made the white afghan--is going to teach me and I'm very excited about it. I catalogued a beginner's sewing book today and that peaked my interest but I mainly just want to hem curtains and pants so I think I'll just look into one of those little portable ones. ;)

New digital camera!

My semi-blurry camera phone pictures are a thing of the past because we got a new digital camera!!! I love it. Just love it. :)

I had last weekend off, which was great. I went to a two hour meeting on Saturday but it wasn't too obtrusive. The last time I had a free weekend--with the exception of Veteran's Day when I was packing--was August 27-28. How ridiculous is that?! I worked yesterday but next weekend is gloriously free, and I plan on doing nothing but relaxing, reading, knitting, and watching TV. I can't wait.

I've been anxiously awaiting my KnitPicks purchases and shopping around for a blocking board. I know I can make one on my own (I’ve seen directions online and people have told me how they’ve done it) but I might be better off just buying it. JoAnn.com has a 50% off coupon right now and I’m thinking of buying the Sew E-Z board (larger one) instead of the Spaceboard that KnitPicks and Patternworks have. Sew E-Z is originally $99.00 and the coupon would make it about $64 after tax and shipping. It’s a good deal but I feel bad buying so much knitting stuff in one week, especially since I got such a nice Valentine (not the camera). We'll see.

I got just over one pattern repeat done on my mom’s scarf at lunch yesterday. I sat in one of the out-of-the-way comfy chairs and the sun was coming through the window, warming me up and giving me excellent light to knit by. I still mumble the stitch combinations to myself as I go, but it seems to help me keep track so I don’t plan on stopping. ;) I’m putting a lifeline in at the end of each repeat because it’s taking me quite a while to knit this. It’s starting to look like something though! What originally looked like a blob is taking on some form and the leaves are clearly visible now. I really want to finish this thing while it’s still chilly out. With any luck we won’t get any more nasty winter weather, but I’d rather it not be August when I give this to my mom. I’m not allowing myself to knit anything else until it’s finished—-if you don’t count the felted slippers that I'll work on in the car today on the way to Hoboken. I think I mentioned that the first slipper is completely done and I’m waiting for my lovely husband to hold the second skein for me à la the art article in the most recent issue of Interweave.

This post is a little delayed because my computer wasn't recognizing the camera...

really not so bad...

I just flew through about five repeats on Branching Out. It just took me a little practice to understand what was supposed to happen when. Wanted to share. :)

Surprise = Branching Out

I think it's safe to assume that my mom won't be reading my blog anytime soon so I'm going to go ahead and divulge what "Surprise" is. It's Knitty's Branching Out scarf. I bought the yarn back in November, cast on, struggled, gave up, ripped it all out, and have now decided that I'm going to make it work. On Sunday I cast on and did one and a half repeats before bed. Go, me! I know it's a beginner lace project but I was so proud of myself for getting that far. After the first pattern repeat, I put a lifeline. And it's a good thing because I'm still struggling a bit. I'm only on my third repeat now and I'm sure it'll get easier, but for now I have to really really concentrate to do it right.

On the shopping front, I bought lots of fun stuff today: Lace blocking wires, Fork Pinks, Alpaca Cloud (in Sunlight Heather--for Icarus), Essential (in Dusk--for socks). Up until the last minute I had a book in my cart but I decided my total was getting a bit high. I'll just get it out of the library. Did anyone else have trouble with KnitPicks webpage today? I had trouble placing the order online--it wouldn't let me sign in even though the password reminder was emailed to the email address I was typing in the box and I was copying the password straight from their message. Oh well. The woman on the phone was very nice and it only took a few minutes, even with an address change. She did warn me that the shipment might be a bit delayed due to the weather they were expecting and tonight I see that their warehouse is closed "due to severe winter weather conditions." They're always surprisingly fast so I'm sure it'll come in no time. :) In the meantime, I have my mom's knitting to attend to!

By the way, someone responded to my inquiry about yarn for Icarus. She told me about a webpage called www.ColourMart.com, and (as you can see from the link) the prices are really great: $32 for 2300 yards of yarn! She has bought from there before and was even kind enough to answer my question about the difference between 1/14 and the 2/28 yarns. Alpaca Cloud was easier for me right now because I wanted to buy all that other stuff from KnitPicks, but I plan on using Colour Mart the next time I make a shawl.

Vegas done & what's up next

Started: January 26, 2007
Completed: February 9, 2007
Yarn: exactly 2 skeins of Plymouth Encore Worsted; 1 in Deep Burgundy (color 999) and 1 in Nightgrey Heather (520)
Pattern: 1.5" stripes in garter stitch
Finished dimensions: 57" long after blocking & 8" wide

The scarf was 53" long before blocking, but Dennis said he wanted it a little longer so I just stretched it out a bit while it was drying. (Actually, I kind of made it more compact as it could have been much longer if I wanted it to be.) Those two original balls of yarn just kept going and going; you get some yardage out of Encore Worsted, let me tell you. I'll put my two leftover skeins in my stash for future use. I dreaded weaving in all those ends, but I did it every once in a while while I was knitting it so it wasn't too bad.

Sweater

I have ripped out what I had of Pullover Flair. The yarn just wasn't working; even though it was the same gauge, it didn't have the right drape and it made a big difference. I'm definitely going to knit this pattern, but first I have to figure out which yarn to make it with. Any suggestions?? Buying 10 or 11 balls of Artful Yarns Olympic at $8 a ball is just too pricey for me right now.

I think I'm going to design my own sweater and knit it up with the yarn I was using on Pullover Flair. I looked at the sweater generator, The knitter's handy book of sweater patterns, and The knitter's handy book of patterns but I really want to find my notes from the FIT class I took last summer and do it myself from scratch. I thought I lost them, then I found them, and since the move I have lost them again. Tonight I plan on digging through stuff until I find them. I just want to make something that I can wear to work or with jeans. I'm considering a yoke sweater or a raglan, neither of which is too fancy.

Icarus

I'm really really thinking about buying yarn and starting Icarus. I've been eyeing that project for a while and since my first lace shawl went well, I have a little more confidence for this one. The original pattern uses Suri Elegance and Miriam's re-worked pattern uses Jaggerspun Zephyr. Someone else used KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud and I'm thinking about that one in Sunlight Heather. Another option is the Zephry in Daffodil. Last summer I bought this really cute dress and I think a yellowish/gold-ish color shawl might look nice with it for the wedding I'm attending in early June.

"WIP"?

Ha! I haven't worked on Surprise in ages. In fact, the last thing I did with that project was rip it out. I have promised myself that I will re-cast on this weekend and try to get at least a few pattern repeats done. At this rate, my mother is never going to see this as a FO. What a bad daughter I am! Her birthday was January 10.

it's cooold

It was 8 degrees when I left for work (with a wind chill of -8) and my body does not like it. I work in an old building and when it's windy outside, it's very drafty inside (ie: very cold). I wore two layers plus my Flower Petal Shawl and my hands and feet were still freezing. I've gotten quite used to wearing my shawl in public, and am happy to report that I can pull it in all kinds of directions and it's still in one piece. I have this fear that all of my knits will fall apart with use but the shawl has withstood all variations of knotting and plenty of tugging. I plan on re-blocking it in the next couple of weeks so the points look a little better, but other than that it looks perfect. (The points always needed a little help.)

We went to friends' house last night to watch the Super Bowl and amazingly some people didn't know I'm a knitter. In early January, one of the hosts found out when he spotted my "learn to knit & crochet" DVD. Last night my knitting came up and there was much surprise by the other guests, all of whom have been to my home and somehow missed the evidence of my, um, mild obsession (something I'm still amazed by). Anyway, the two hosts went on to show off the scarves her grandma had knitted for them, and I wonder if the manly brown one isn't what prompted Dennis's second request for a scarf. (The hostess's scarf is pink with sparkly silver, gray, and white mixed in.) Plain old garter like Dennis is getting, but his is wider and has stripes.

With this weather, I've dropped my other projects to try to finish the Vegas scarf and, if I'm watching TV, to work on my felted slippers. They're coming along nicely and the first slipper is about halfway done. I've knitted the cuff and the leg, divided for the heel, knitted the heel flap, turned the heel, finished the gusset, and am now knitting the body of the foot. Quite a lot of inches of that (about 9.5") then I decrease for and knit the toe. Since I'm going to felt these, everything is gigantic which is kind of good because I can really see what I'm doing.