Thursday, June 30, 2005
SP5 - My Secret Pal
I thought I'd mention, my Secret Pal received the package I sent. Oh good. I was a bit worried it got thrown off course during delivery. So glad she's happy with the treats I chose. I went with a theme. I'll share a picture of it when the SP5 is finished. 'Cause I think I made it too easy for my SP5 pal to find me. Shhhh...
Month 2. Time to start my next treasure hunt. Oh. So much fun...
What should I pack this time? sugary treats? yarn? Maybe something unexpected? Hmm...
BGK
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Baby Girl WIP
So here is how the sweater is looking so far. The color is a deep pink. It will be a nice compliment to any of the pastel pink tops she would likely be wearing.
BGK
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
A Pink Vest
I spent the weekend focused on the little pink sweater. I finished the body last night. It is so cute. It looks like a vest without the sleeves and collar. My daughter thought it was hers and wanted to keep it. I had to hide it quick.
Oh darn. I forgot to garter stitch the waist edge with smaller needles. So it's too wide and does a little ruffle going across. I'm going to pick off a line of stitches. About an inch above the cast on and knit down from the body. Hate to have cold air going up baby's tummy.
BGK
Friday, June 24, 2005
WIP
I swatched up for the Baby Luxury set. Pink merino superwash. What a pleasure to knit. I'm psyched to work on this pattern because I'd like to present it in less than a month to the new parents.
So the socks are on hold for a bit. I have to check how tall I need to make them. Hmm.
My lace shawl is shaping up. I'm still on the Van Dyke and rib part. I got a little lost when I started this part. Until I realized they were 12 stitch repeats. It gets easier to correct when the pattern reveals itself.
BGK
Switch to Two Socks
Socks: I like to knit idential items at the same time. Like sleeves. So I thought I would test drive the 'knit two socks on DPNs method. http://www.keyway.net/crafts/MagicSox1.htm I had already knit about three inches on the first sock. So I worked up the second sock to match.
I put both socks together onto the DPNs and started knitting from two balls of yarn. I haven't fully gotten the hang of it. Still reading through the directions. I'll figure it out sooner or later.
In any case. I cancelled the 5-needle order and instead I ordered a set of extra long circular needles and will be using the Magic Loop method. It would be easier to pick up and put down this project without loosing my pace. Both socks to be knit at the same time. http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/mloop.html. I think I prefer the two socks on two circulars but these needles were on sale.
BGK
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Baby Baby Baby!
This year is an exciting year. I'm an aunt three time over. Two new nephews and one new neice. (Not triplets). Of course I have to knit something pretty and soft for these little ones. I'm racing against time. These babies won't stay little for long.
I've joined the 'Baby Knitalong' 'cause I love company.
I went to the library found the perfect baby set. It's called 'Baby's First Luxuries' in the Knitter's Stash book. A newborn outfit. I'll probably knit it a bit bigger so it can be used this winter.
I have a bunch of superwash merino yarn that would be perfect too.
BGK
Monday, June 20, 2005
The Sock is Born!...Helpful Tips
The first sock is under way.
Tip #1: I heard mention that when using self-patterning yarn. I should check if both skeins of yarn begin with the same coloring sequence. I found that mine did not. I had wound off yarn about the size of a 1 inch ball from one skein before they matched. Not sure if I should knit from the center pull or from the outside. Since I matched the sequence on the outside. That's where I'm working off of.
Tip #2: I've worked with double pointed needles before and fell victim to the dreadded 'ladder effect' . To prevent a gap like drape of yarn between each group of stitches. Pull the yarn to tighten the first two stitches knit off of each group of needle stitches.
Tip #3: Using a 5-piece set of DPNs is better in my opinion to knit socks. The stitches are divided evenly on four needles so that would help 'mark' where to shape the heel parts. The fifth needle is working needle used to knit the stitches.
I only have the 4-needle set, I've ordered another set. By the time I get to the heel I can work with 5 needles.
Not too difficult yet. It's like knitting a mini sweater so far. I've finished the ribbing and am on the plain stitch part.
I'll hold onto any progress pics 'til the end.
BGK
Sunday, June 19, 2005
SP5 and KBS
Secret Pal: I received my secret pal package today. Oh what a treat. Yarn from KnitPicks and a heart shaped zipper pull. The colors are yummy. My secret pal sent it to me for a future lace project. How thoughtful. And I have just the perfect project (on my 'to do' list) for the zipper pull.
My little one grabbed the bag of yarn and ran off with it as soon as she saw it. Had to bribe her with Graham crackers to get it back. ;-)
KBS:
I've arrive at row 61. Did I say it was 10 rows to get here. I meant 18. Mostly plain stitch so I knit most of it while riding in a car. And during bits of time here and there. This is one skein of yarn worth of knitting.
BGK
Friday, June 17, 2005
KBS Grows a Bit. A New Sock o Be Born
Okay. I've fixed the quarter panel. Ever notice when you re-knit partially the yarn is either too short or too long. Had to pick at the stitches to even out the yarn displacement for each row.
Now I'm on row 43. Ten more than yesterday. I'm still working on the same YO pattern in the center of the shawl. Only ten rows away from the Van Dyke and Rib pattern portion. Can't wait to get to that point. It's already large enough to switch to one circular needle.
I'm still dropping YO stitches from time to time. But I just need a crochet hook to pick them up. Whew. Don't want to go through the big frogging again. Luckily it's more obvious on the knit fabric where the stitch is missing.
For the socks I thought I might do a contrast yarn for the heels and toes. I'm hoping to use some superwash stash yarn with maybe a 'Wooly Nylon Thread' to reinforce those parts. The thread is strong and stetchy, used mainly to (sew) serger the sides of bathing suits. It's going to be some time before I knit to those parts. So I have time to find it. Unless if someone suggests something better to pair with my stash yarn.
I'll be casting on my first stitch tonight. Whoo hoo!
BGK
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Gone Yarn Shoppin'
I've been matched up with my Secret Sock Pal. Hooray. Now where did those other #1 needles go?
I haven't any sock yarn in my stash?! Now I've got an excuse to go yarn shopping. I'll keep it simple. Since this is my first pair, I'll go with some self patterning yarn and a basic pattern.
I surfed the internet to get an idea of what kinds of sock yarns are out there. So many to choose from. I also stopped by my LYS. I found the yarn I think my sock pal will really like and bought it.
I went surfing some more and bought got some yarn for my SP5 pal. She loves merino yarns. Just like me. I don't want my secret pals to figure out I'm the pal so I'll wait until the exchange(s) are over to post the pictures. So I can hug these yarns for a little while until I have to let them go. ;-)
BGK
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
A Step Backwards
I lost some progress on the KBS. Last night I figured out I missed a YO about 7 rows back. I fixed it but then the rest of the quarter panel still didn't look right. When I looked at KBS a little more carefully I found I somehow managed to pick up an extra stitch which threw off the pattern. That was 14 rows back. Aargh.
So here is the fix in progress.
So here is the fix in progress.
BGK
Thursday, June 09, 2005
The Lace Adventure Begins
Okay, the results are in. The Mauve yarn got the most votes here and at the Knitting Forum. Lucky for me it's a fingering weight yarn and should not be too hard to work the first few rounds. It seems I was mistaken about the fiber. No alpaca. It's 100% wool. It's still a great color.
I tried the Emily Ocker circular cast last night. Seen here (http://bagateller.tripod.com/tips/circular.html). I got the hang of it after the second try. It turned out great. What a nice neat circle. Just pull the tail to tighten the cast-on stitches together.
There's something new on the sidebar. I'm getting familiar with blog design. What do you think of the WIP area I added? I played around with the HTML code which can be a bit scary. I do like how it came out.
BGK
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Sockapal-2-za
Okay, I'm going for the socks thing. I hope I'm up for the challenge since this will also be a first for me. I've made a couple of pairs of booties before. But never socks. The sign-up for the KAL is ending this week. I signed up here Sockapal2za so I'm committed to doing it now. Hopefully I'll do a good job. I'm eager to start. But have to wait and find out who my pal is. :-)
BGK
Monday, June 06, 2005
Falling off of the Wagon
I must admit that I broke down and started on a swatch for the Japanese outfit. I couldn't help it. All those wonderful yarns were calling to me.
I'm using larger needles to help size up the outfit. And to ensure it would fit. I'm writing the directions to knit the pattern top-down. That way I can add on some length as needed. With the gauge I'm using the width should be big enough for use this winter and possibly for next winter.
I'd like to clarify that I'm not really translating the written pattern but interpreting the charted diagrams. Here is an example of a Japanese knit chart.http://www.clearwaterknits.com/charting/jpchart2.html
That site has a nice tutorial on interpreting the chart. And this is another great site that has a Japanese-English knit dictionary.http://www.tata-tatao.to/knit/graphchart/e-index.html
BGK
Friday, June 03, 2005
Help Me Choose a Yarn
I dived into my stash and found the following yarns I could use for the Kerry Blue Square Shawl (Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman). I like them all. So help me choose. I'll go with the one that gets the most votes.
This is the first lace shawl I'll be knitting. I've been warned not to use colors like black or beige in lace weight. It would be difficult to correct any mistakes. I'll need at least 1600 yards of yarn or roughly 16oz worth.
I have...
A. fingering weight marled burgundy/gold alpaca wool yarn (1lb cone?)
B. fingering weight marled black/gray alpaca wool yarn (1lb cone?)
C. lace weight? purple 100% mohair (5 full skeins) Paired
with fingering weight wool yarn (I've got peach, pistachio and white)
D. lace weight recycled pale yellow cashmere sweater yarn.
(a size small cardi. Not sure how much yarn it yields, I have not unraveled it yet.)
E. fingering weight-mauve alpaca wool blend (10 skeins, 1600+ yards)
F. fingering weight-peach alpaca wool blend (10 skeins, 1600+ yards)
(This next one falls into the category of yarn not recommended for use. )
G. 500 yards - very dark brown lace 100% alpaca (too dark? too slippery?)
Paired with a 1 lb. cone of black/gray alpaca since I need a total of 1600 yards. (tempting...)
I plan to keep this project for myself and wear it with a black dress.
Thanks in advance for the input.
BSK
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Little Hands
My little one was roaming around the room and got her hands on a ball of worsted cotton yarn. I figured I was watching the initial bloom of a future knitter. She held it in her hands. Stared at it intently. Then began pulling on the ball until bunches of it came off the ball. She continued until most of it landed on the floor in a heap. So there it was. Her personal mound of yarn. And just to show how interesting she thought it was. She started to dance on top of it and giggled a spell. I've never seen yarn being "cuddle" in quite that way before. When she finished, she picked up a handful to hand back to me. With a grin on her face no less. Oh such innocence. At least she didn't claim the yarn like she does with most things that interest her.
Last night I was relaxing and working on translating the Japanese knit pattern. I have to resize it from a 12 month to a bigger than 2-year old size. And converting from cm to inches. It's progressing.
BGK
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Secret Pal
My reply to my secret pal's comment.
Hi Knitty Secret Pal:
Thanks for the kind words. It's hard keeping off the needles.
I look forward to your visits. Take care.
Happy knitting,
BGK
