Calorimetry for the knitters slump

Matching headbands for the mittens. Now I will definately have to finish the other mitten....Just hope I haven't used too much yarn for the Calorimetry. Had to go double strands to make it work and I reduced the number of stitches cast-on (92 & 88 respecively). I also changed the short row interval to 6 stitches (rather than 4) on the second one to make it a bit narrower. Both are perfect on the girls and I could even borrow if I wanted to. I guess I'll have to get some more Noro to make a matching one for me. Or if you have any other fun yarn ideas for me, please share!

The Mall

Took the kids to Bertuccis for dinner tonight and had to stop in at Talbots to check out the sale items. Well, I fell in love with this top. I looked at it and said, I can make that.....then I tried it on and said.....I have to have it NOW!. Of course I didn't buy it, but I am so tempted to quit knitting, get a job and buy it. So much quicker, less mistakes and the yarn is already chosen, I am useless at picking out yarns. I just had to share that, oh and one more thing, this sweater is beautiful as well. Comfortable (not itchy) and no work involved :-). And actually probably less $$ than if I were to make it myself, and no pulling my hair out. All kidding aside, the photos don't do the sweaters justice, they really are lovely, and the first knits I have seen since starting knitting that I actually like. Do you think I am cured of my knitting obession? Maybe stranded knitting did me in.... Any suggestions for something to get me back on track? I'm bored with my current projects and overwhelmed with mittens. lol!

And now back to my real life....

OK, I spent too much time on this, and there is one glaring mistake (kids won't notice), but one mitten is done and I do like it. (oops not quite done, still needs a thumb). Although this is all the knitting I can do today, I just had to post after all that hard work.

It is funny how the rose pink looks red, but it is the same pink as the previous mittens. These will be the warmest mittens ever, with 3 strands all around the hand.

Pattern: My own, sketched on graph paper. to be scanned at a later date.
Yarn: elann.com Peruvian Highland Silk, Antique Blue, elann.com Peruvian Luxury Merino Superwash in Regency Rose & Devon Cream.
Needles: size US3 40" circular needle for cuffs, finger tips and thumbs. Size US4 32" circular for stranded hand.
Construction: One Mitten on one circular. 42 stitches around (21 on each side). Worked from cuff to finger with an afterthought thumb.

Running: good for the sole

Running is good for many things, but today it was good for my knitting. Check out this mitten. I designed it myself and it is gorgeous (if I my say so myself) :-) But, working 3 color stranding is a pain in the bumm. I have been concentrating on the stranding so much I forgot to put in the thumb..... Arghh. I spent the morning thinking of all the alternatives I could take to avoid doing these 4 extra rows all over again. Even to the point of ripping out to the cuff, and making this a striped mitten. Then I went for my morning run. Now I feel invigorated and ready to continue tackling this mitten. I will frog the 4 rows, put in my thumb and get right on with it.

I always enjoy a challenge, which this is, but I like it to be fun as well. 3 color stranding is not fun, BUT the results ARE fun. So I will persevere. At least it's not a sweater, lol.

First I must hit the showers and get some breakfast. Good day to all!

Something New - Mittens

Pattern: My own.

Yarn: KnitPicks Telemark in Mineral Heather.

Needles: size US3 40" circular needle.

I tried something new. The first pair I just started as if I were doing socks, starting at the cuff. Then stuck in the waste yarn for the thumb. I did these one at a time and learned new things all along the way. I even grabbed some graph paper and sketched a diagram for the stranding work on one mitten.

-------------------------------------

Next I had some yarn that I ordered for the new pattern on Six-Sox-Knitalong, the Black Diamond Socks. I was having trouble with these socks and opted to save the yarn for something else. Pat mentioned that the yarn would be nice for mittens. Hmmmm. Well, I searched and searched for a pattern, and found this one. I had to make modifications to size for my children and for the DK weight yarn.

Pattern: My own modification of Corazon (see chart below).

Yarn: elann.com Peruvian Luxury Merino Superwash in Regency Rose & Devon Cream.

Needles: size US3 40" circular needle for cuffs, finger tips and thumbs. Size US4 32" circular for stranded hand.

Construction: 2 Mittens on one circular. 38 stitches around (19 on each side). Worked from Finger to cuff with an afterthought thumb.

These went so fast. After I discipline myself to finish the collar on my Mom's sweater, I am going to do another pair of mittens, but adult size. I think I will do this pattern but convert it to mittens rather than fingerless.

Here is the chart I drew up: It is 19 st by 25 rows. I placed the thumb between rows 8 & 9 (if working from cuff up) or rows 17 & 18 (if working from fingers down)

Question: Any other blogger users out there? Can you tell me, why does blogger allow some photos to be enlarged and other not? i.e. the 2 mitten photos above, are the same size, but only one can be enlarged with clicke on.

Feeling Down...

After the "high" of knitting like a madwoman for 2 days, packaging up the socks, mailing them, and then saying goodbye to my Mom (who was here for 2 weeks helping out), I feel down. I'm sad to see the socks I worked so hard on go, isn't that weird? So instead of rambling I think I will post some photos of what I have been up to the last week.
Ahhhh...wait.....wait....wait......there we go, that's better, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a coors light. Much better, now back to blogging. :-)

First I made a bag with a pattern and fabric I had purchased more than a year ago. Ugh. silly non-functional bag. Felt more like quilting than making a bag. So, I decided to make something more useful. Using an old bag, some things I read on the web and scratch paper, this is what I came up with:
Oops forgot a photo of the matching tissue holder.
Then I went on to knit some doll sweaters:

Ignore the sloppy heart, as the pattern was written bottom up (I did top down) and I don't have much experience yet with lace work or travelling stitches. And the cardi on the right is still missing buttons.


And lastly I made more bags, stitch markers and then along came the SockWars. Wow, what an exciting mind game. I was busy most of Saturday and just when Mom was going to take the kids out of my hair for few hours I got a message from my assassin that she was ready to mail my socks to me. Well, that took the wind right out of my sails. Talk about Psyched out! A dead stop with only the cuff and 2 scar repeats done. Then a couple of good friends encouraged me to continue, and I realized that I really wanted to send the package to my target myself. AND, here it is Monday afternoon, I have not yet been assassinate, and my personal package has been sent express to Texas! That feels good.

Fall has arrived, so has the PostMan!

Well, the leaves are changing, the weather is cooling and the rain has come.....Fall is here. I also got my delivery from KnitPicks. Awaiting a box from Elann.com too. But that has not yet arrived. I have just swatched the yarn from KnitPicks and it is perfect gauge. It also looks and feels great. I was really surprised as I knit this up, that I was falling in love with it. It is Telemark in color Mineral Heather, knit on the new Harmony 3.25 circular needle. I received 3 balls, I hope that is enough.

Saturday is coming up soon. And my LYS, The Fiber Loft, is having it's Fall sale this weekend.....Oh the choices we must make. I usually cannot do much knitting on the weakend as I have to care for children. But my Mom is here and can help me out.....although; now I have to choose between knitting socks and buying more yarn.....Hmmm. I think it will have to be both.

My husband says "stay focused! Knit Socks!" I say....multi-task? my husband is a WOW fan, and when he is on a mission, he stays focused, even if it takes all night. I must say, I cherish my sleep way too much to sacrifice, so all I can do is my best, and dream that I am the winning assassin. LOL :-)

Noro Scarf

This was an enjoyable carry-along project.
It is a shorter scarf, which works well for me, as I am not into all the wrapping, just grab and tuck and ready to go. I had purchased a ball of Noro Kureyon on sale and added the purple stripes and viola. The inspiration is from brooklytweed, Jared's Noro Striped Scarf.

Pattern: k1 x p1, slip 1st and last on even rows only. 4 rows alternating between yarns.

Yarn: 1 Skien Noro Kureyon color #102, 1+10g Skien KnitPicks "Wool of the Andes" color Amethyst Heather.

Needle: Size 8. I used Denise circular, although this is (obviously) not knit in a circle.

Now just need to wait till winter. Next .... a pair of mittens.

Started Red Sweater

Lets call this "Simply Red".
This one will take me MONTHS to make. But I think it will be gorgeous. *fingers crossed*. I am using Karabella Vintage Cotton at 26 sts/ 4" with a US3 circular needle. Pattern is Knitting Pure & Simple # 9726 "Neckdown Pullover Tunic". Converted to accomodate the different gauge. The interesting part has been the row gauge. I have converted stitch gauge before and had no issues, but when I started this pattern it was evident immediately (about 10 rows in) that it was not going to work. So I frogged it and instead of increasing every other row, I am increasing every 4th row. This seems to be working much better. Since the pattern does not give a row gauge, I am going by guesswork and crossed fingers that it will work. I am hoping that when I get to the point of dividing for the sleeves, I should be able to tell if I did right or not.

Finished "I Love Gansey" Socks

I really enjoyed making these socks and will most like make another pair. Now I am just dying to make my red sweater to match these red socks.

Pattern: I Love Gansey from Six-Sock-KnitAlong

Yarn: Jawoll sock yarn in Red

Needle: 2.25mm circular 40"

Construction: Followed pattern mostly to the tee, shortened the leg a bit as I don't care for a high leg.

Some fun stuff

Well, these days are just about over. This was a lovely warm sunny day, and Fred (female) is loveling every minute.And a new ball winder (actually a few weeks old now). This has been the best childrens "toy" I have ever purchased. We all have so much find winding cakes of yarn. They have gone through the house and wound just about every ball there is. This is a new skein that needed to be split into 2 balls to make a pair of socks for my Mother. They will be my carry along socks as I will let the yarn do the work and I will just simply knit. When I saw this yarn I thought, ick, but look how nicely it is knitting up. It's wonderful! And she got it at 60% OFF!

And the bear rug is just too cute to not keep in the post. I won this little rug in a raffle at a Race at Mount Ascutney, VT. Great run and lots of prizes. I had forgotten all about this win. As I usually don't win anything. It doesn't really fit in my homes decor, but I'm proud of it none the less. And it sits at the sunny back slider, welcoming home playful feet of all kinds.

Finished Firestarters

My favorite part of this pattern is the gusset. It is quite unique and I will use it again. But I am really dissapointed with the yarn, not what I imagined when I purchased it. Still luxuriously soft and wonderful to work with, just not thrilled with the striping effect. And can you believe I have 50g of this yarn left over? Anyone want a pair of socks? Probably only an anklet or short leg, but I could probably get a pair of socks out of this......definately a pair of child size!

Pattern: Firestarter by Yarnissima

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Sock, Safari

Needles: knit 2 socks on one 40" circular needle size 2.5mm (with later increase to 3.0mm)

This week I plan to finish the ILG socks and work some more on Mom's sweater. Then I want to start a cotton v-neck sweater for me.

Hey, get this, Mr "I don't like handknit sweaters" has asked me to knit him a sweater! Can't believe it. We started (didn't finish....too boring) watching the film Secret of the Cave and there was a sweater design that the fishermen were wearing. I was admiring it. And Mr. Says "you can make me one of those; as long as it is not itchy". I got all excited and started looking for some nice yarn. When I realized I will need a LOT more yarn than I do for a sweater for me. Well, all in good time, because I would love to make an Irish Fisherman sweater with a nice soft yummy (washable) masculine yarn.....all in good time.