splityarn

one stripe for each

Last May, the Husband and I flew up to Boston for a vacation. At the time we had no inkling that we would move here 6 months later, so we tried to make the most of the week. Like with any trip, I wanted to hook up with some knitters and have a social evening getting to know people that I'd only known previously online. Elisa was one of those knitters. She's funny, sweet and dude! she gave me handspun yarn. Definitely a kindred spirit. I wish she hadn't moved to California before I moved to Boston, because I'm sure we could have been fantastic partners in crime. I get the sense the two of us could have got into a lot of trouble if we lived in the same city.

A few weeks ago I took that gifted handspun and combined it with some Brooks Farm Tierra Blend and knit myself a striped 1x1 rib scarf. The creamy coloured Tierra Blend is loosely spun and works perfectly with the pinks and greens of the handspun. The result is a thick and gooshy scarf that looks like stockinette. It's soft and fuzzy and perfect for Spring. The absolute best part is I get to wear a scarf that's the product of two friends. One stripe for each of us. Thank you Elisa, I couldn't have made this scarf without you.

Project details on Ravelry.

in the meantime

Husband Sweater #2 is off the needles and blocking slowly in the guest room. The Husband is impatient to wear it and I'm impatient to get some finished object photos. Sadly we're both going to have to wait until Saturday morning when there's some decent daylight (and when the effin' thing is finally dry.)

In the meantime, I've kept myself busy knitting up a quick Alpaca Neckwarmer. I think this one took longer to block than it did to knit. Speedy! A proper modeled shot will have to wait until Saturday as well. All my efforts this morning came out myspace-like (mostly rack and hardly any FO.) It's time to invest in a new tripod and camera remote. Santa?

Pattern: Yarn Abuse's Cashmere Neckwarmer
Yarn: One skein of Elsebeth Lavold Chunky AL. 50% Alpaca, 50% Wool
Needles: Size 11 US (8.0mm) bamboo
Modifications: I was knitting at a slightly smaller gauge than called for in the pattern, so I cast on 19 instead of 15.

Ravelry project details

hanami is finished

I realized today that I haven't had a knitting FO since May. Time to fix that.

The Project Details

Pattern: Hanami Stole by Melanie Gibbons, Pink Lemon Twist

Yarn: 2 skeins of Handmaiden Seasilk in Ebony bought on eBay. I wish I'd had the option to buy this in person as the two skeins are different colours. The basketweave section has a pale pink running through it and the blossoms ended up with more orange than pink. If I'd noticed it sooner, I would have knit them with opposite skeins.

Needles: Size 4 US Addi Lace Turbos.

Started: May 21st, 2007
Finished: August 8th, 2007

Modifications: I only knit 4 repeats of Chart G, I skipped the ruffled edge and finished with a beaded bind off instead.

Final Verdict: The yarn substitution worked out perfectly. It has a beautiful drape, sheen and crispness to the stitches. Blocked out it is 21" x 70". The only drawback to the Seasilk is the smell. It's faint, but if the project spent any amount of time in a ziploc (for travel) the silk smell hit you full on.

To see the full length flat pic, click here.

amidst the chaos

You'd think that with all the airplane knitting time I had last month that I'd have made faster progress on Hanami. Throw in a weekend knitting retreat and it should be blocking right now, right? Yeah. Well. Not so much. I purposely put Hanami in the checked luggage to force myself to finish a much-delayed sock. The damn sock is still on the needles, but I have a full sudoku book. As for the knitting retreat, I made better progress on my liver degeneration than I did on Hanami.

This week I've been concentrating on trying to get this stole off the needles. I'm two dozen rows away from completion which means it could be finished in time for my next trip to Vancouver at the end of the month. Should be perfect timing as that's where its intended recipient lives. Did I mention I'm giving it away? I'm waffling about it, but I think it's the right thing to do.

under over under

The Hanami stole appealed to me for a few reasons, the primary being it's not a static pattern. Because it's asymmetrical, the charts change and you're rarely knitting the same thing twice. You knit through a chart and you're on to a different one. There's no time to get bored. The exception in this pattern is the basketweave section at the beginning. It's a 32 row chart, repeated 7 times. I just finished the 5th and I'm at that stage where I start to bargain with myself. What would happen if I only knit 6 repeats? Could I get away with 5? How long does it really need to be?

I'll suck it up, I'll be good and I will knit all 7 (because this stole is going to be GORGEOUS,) but I have to admit I'm already thinking about the next set of charts.

next up, more lace

For a moment I had thought once the bathroom was finished the house remodel work would be done. Really though, is work on an older house EVER really finished?

One of the last next projects is the floor in the patio room. The previous owners didn't tile under their crap built-ins (and how could they? Cute little mice had made nests there. Sheesh!) so that leaves me to repair their atrocities.

This morning I will set the tiles so I can grout when we return from Vegas. (Vegas baby!) I'm motivated to wrap this up quickly so I can get to my new knitting project. Are those beads? Is that Sea Silk? Could it be I have forsaken the sock and cast on for Hanami?

Oh hells yeah.

finished swallowtail

I'll try to let the pictures do most of the talking.

The Project Details

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark, Interweave Knits, Fall 2006

Yarn: Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer in Atmosphere. 60% silk, 40% Seacell. 3 skeins. I won't use this yarn again. I love the feel, the drape and the sheen, but each of the three skeins had at least one knot and one skein had three. Considering that Tilli Tomas is a self-proclaimed luxury yarn I hoped that their standards would have been higher. Next time I'll try Handmaiden's SeaSilk instead.

Needles: Size 5 US Addi Lace Turbos. LOVE the pointier tip on the Lace needles.

Started: April 21st, 2007
Finished: April 29th, 2007

Modifications: I knit exactly to pattern with the exception of the nupps. The first row was done as 5 stitches but then I started thinking that I wouldn't have enough yarn to finish, so the rest of the lily of the valley charts were knit as 3 stitch nupps instead. (k1, YO, k1 then p3tog on the WS)

Final Verdict: It's gorgeous. The drape is spectacular, it's soft and it spray blocked beautifully. I love the single knit stitch spine up the center. Overall I think it'll keep me in the Good Daughter-in-law column for a little while longer.

how about a Mother's Day gift instead

  While I was at Kid n Ewe in November, I bought some Brooks Farm Primero. It's a 100% kid mohair laceweight yarn with a soft, subtle halo and a vibrant colour that sucked me in. It's not quite red, not quite pink, but it has a gorgeous deep purple that runs throughout. I knew right away that it would become something for Mum for her birthday. (March 17th...that's right, I'm behind on birthday knitting for two of three parental units now.) I only bought one skein, so I had to be careful of yardage as I only had 500 yards to play with. Enter the Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style.

Knit on size 5 US Addi Turbo Lace needles, the final wrap is a touch small. While it's long enough to drape over each shoulder and hang granny-style, it's just barely long enough to overlap across one shoulder. I've taken it off the needles and blocked it, but I haven't decided if I'm going to frog back and try to add in another repeat (hence the unwoven ends.) I would be cutting it dangerously close to not having enough yarn anyway and realistically, one repeat would only add another couple inches. It is pretty and would be fantastic bigger, but the thought of getting all those stitches safely back on the needles is making it seem just fine the way it is. Bicoe seems to agree, she tried to eat the ends off so I wouldn't have to weave them in after all. Tasty!

not quite a new sweater

Our house in Austin has been a hive of activity since I got back from Minnesota. New replacement windows in our patio room, painting, preparations for the bathroom remodel, phone calls to contractors and landscapers. I'm excited to get everything done NOW because each item that I tick off the list means I'm one step closer to living in the same house as my Husband again. He's been in Minneapolis working for the last two weeks and while I can take care of the house stuff on my own, I sure as hell miss him a ton.

With the cold weather creeping into the mid-west last week and his birthday yesterday, I briefly flirted with casting on another Husband Sweater over the weekend. The first one has been such a roaring success that it's made his way into his everyday wardrobe. Stitchy told me her husband calls these Sci-Fi Sweaters. You know, "it's a sweater he likes so much that he wants to wear it all the time until it looks like he's been wearing it for years, through an apocalypse and robot wars and everything else." Exactly like you'd see in the Matrix. The only problem with knitting one now is that I just don't have the time. I could start it, but with the house and moving schedule on a tight time frame I know that I'd barely be able to finish a sleeve nevermind a man's sweater.

Thankfully sanity prevailed and rather than kill myself trying to knit a birthday sweater before winter is over, I killed myself and knit a scarf for him before he flies back into Austin tonight. I cast on Saturday night, bound off Monday morning and still managed to get the windows installed and paint a closet. Whew!

The Project Details

Pattern: Fiona Ellis' Campus Scarf from Scarf Style (I'm getting good use out of this book lately)

Yarn: 1.75ish skeins of Cascade 220 in colour 8400. Normally I find 220 to be a little scratchy, but the last few hanks I've bought have been really soft. Add in some Soak Wash and it's perfect.

Needles: Size 7 (US) bamboo

Modifications: I wanted this scarf to be a little more sophisticated so I didn't knit the coloured stripes.

Started: February 3rd, 2007
Completed: February 5th, 2007

Final Verdict: I'm going to pick him up at the airport right now, so we'll know soon enough!

vertes feuilles in winter

I love a short work week. I flew back from Minneapolis Tuesday night, worked for two days and I'm off again today. I finished up my last day of full time work in Austin yesterday and fittingly also finished knitting the Backyard Leaves scarf at the same time. I'd done the bulk of the knitting at the office, so I was happy to wrap it up there (I have the BEST boss in the whole world.)

Backyard Leaves had been on my to-knit list for almost two years, so I'm feeling particularly accomplished on this one. It seems the longer I think about knitting a project, the more satisfaction I get from completing it and getting it out of my brain.

The scarf is knit in two pieces and joined in the middle with a simple seam. This allows for the leaves to hang in each direction and finish in these gorgeous points on each end. I did 13 repeats on each half so the scarf lightly steam-blocked is 108" long. Nine feet is plenty long enough that I can wrap it around my neck twice (or three times) and still have enough to tuck into my coat. Good thing too, I'll need it when I get to Minneapolis (current temperature there is -19 C / -2 F.) Brrr!

The Project Details

Pattern: Annie Modesitt's Backyard Leaves from Scarf Style (Annie is moving to the Twin Cities too!)

Yarn: 1.5ish skeins of Brooks Farm Four Play in colour 10? (or EOY 4P? I can't tell.) It's 50% wool, 50% silk and feels like heaven.

Needles: Size 8 bamboo

Started: November, 2006
Completed: February, 2007

Final Verdict: I've been wearing it around the house with my PJs so I'd say it's already a favourite. I don't want to take it off. Ever.