Weekend Update

There isn't a whole lot of knitting going on around here this week. Frankly, I'm too tired to even knit a row at night. I started Cherry Fizz, but I'm calling it Pink Lemonade. This is as far as I got before I "fizzled" out. Maybe next week I can get back to it.



I've been making Easter favors. I used this tutorial from Indie Fixx.



It's time for my son and I to hide the eggs for his little cousins. I hope you have a wonderful weekend with family enjoying the traditions of your holiday!

Tangled Yoke Cardigan

Tangled Yoke Cardigan
Eunny Jang
Interweave Knits, Fall 07
String Theory Hand Painted 100% merino sport wool, 4 skeins, Squash
US size 5, 4, and 0 needles

Things I learned:
1. Bobble - I have never done a bobble before.
2. 5-into-1 decrease and 1-into-5 increase.
3. Short row shaping for a yoke
4. Kitchener stitch to graft underarm stitches.
5. 3-stitch 1-row buttonhole - it makes a really nice buttonhole.

What I love about this sweater:
1. It's a classic sweater, but with a little updating.
2. I loved all the finishing details that Eunny Jang added to the pattern.
3. It is knit seamless, but made to look like there are seams.
4. The horizontal cable and Celtic design of the yoke.
5. Pretty much everything about this sweater.



The one thing that I didn't like: When I got to the end of the seventh row on the yoke chart. The one with 404 stitches and 84 cables. I had 4 extra stitches at the end of the row. I hate when that happens. And no, it couldn't have been in the last repeat that I did. After counting stitches and recounting, and then counting again, my mistake was at the beginning of the row. I had to rip back 400 stitches of 84 (count 'em) twisted cables. That was not fun. Nope. But alas, pain has no memory, and it is all behind me now. This is quite possibly my favorite sweater - ever!

My life....my life...

Just dropping in to give you a quick glimpse of what it is like to live with a sixteen year old who thinks he is a comedian.

Me: calling home on my cell phone
Son: Strategic Air Command!
Me: Can I speak to your father?
Son: I'm sorry the General is not here right now.
Me: Is he at Lowe's?
Son: That is classified information.
Me: I'm authorized to hear classified information. (Might as well play along at this point.)
Son: Oh, um yeah, he is at Lowe's.
Me: Thank you.

I promise to update on knitting shortly! =)

The Week from...

You know that place that is terribly hot and has lots of fire. Yeah, my week was terrible. It started on Sunday. I was driving home from Maine with a fever and chills and I stopped at our usual rest stop (the one with nice clean bathrooms and a Starbucks coffee shop), and somehow locked my keys, purse, phone, money and dog in the car! After an hour and a half, a tow truck came and opened up the car for my son and I, in about twenty seconds. I was hoping I only had one of those 24 hour bugs, but no, it was a four day event, and I was having Realtors come to look at our house, so I still had to clean the entire house. So you get the idea. It was really bad. Well, on Friday I had the afternoon to myself, and decided to use it for some sewing. I made a new knitting bag. The pattern is from Anna Maria Horner's new book, Seams to Me. The pattern is called the I'll Have One of Everything Bag. You can use scraps of fabric for this bag which is great. I used fabric from Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks line. The fabric is so pretty in person. It is a quick project. I love the results. I have the elusive Tangled Yoke Cardigan inside it now. I finished the second sleeve, now onto the yoke. Have a wonderful weekend!

I've got nothing...

Well, I don't have much, but I wanted to check in and say hello. Friday was a teacher's professional day, so we headed up to Maine on Thursday afternoon for an extended weekend. On Friday I made some cookies. Peanut Chocolate Chunk. They were so easy to make, because they were one of those scoop and drop tubs I bought through a school fundraiser. Just keeping it real. That is my Marilyn's Not-so-Shrunken Cardigan that I made a year ago. Does that count as something? Anything? No.



For dinner I made Rachael Ray's recipe for Citrus-Soy Pork Stir Fry. I'm not a good cook, so it is a good sign when my family wants seconds which they did. I added a handful of cashews just because I like them.

I'm working on the second sleeve of the Tangled Yoke Cardigan and making progress.



Enjoy your weekend!

Spring is coming...

Spring is coming. I can feel it. It's in the air. The days are longer. The sun is brighter, the ice is gone, and the snow melts faster! We are enjoying 60 degree temperatures after a really harsh winter. I love snow as much as the next person, but come on. So to honor Spring, I made a few hats.

Porom
Jared Flood
Brooklyn Tweed
Rowan Felted Tweed(148)
Us 8 circular needle

See that sky? I did not edit it. It really looked like that!

Chunky Knit Beanie (pdf)
by Leslie Friend
A Friend to Knit With
Rowan Polar (peach/pink) in my stash
US 15 needles

Another fun knit from Leslie.

Was anyone else as excited as I was on Saturday night waiting for the new Twist Collective? I was like a little kid on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa. The new issue did not disappoint either. There are a lot of beautiful patterns. I really love Cherry Fizz by Kate Gilbert. That will probably be next on my queue. I am working on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan too. I finished one sleeve. I love this sweater, but for some reason I just need to take little breaks from it!

Cabled Bolero

Cabled Bolero

Norah Gaughan

Vogue Knitting Winter 2006/2007

Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo, 6 skeins

US sizs 6 needles

Even after reading all the problems knitters were having with the Cabled Bolero, I still went for it. I even decided to use a different gauge yarn that had more drape. I also used a smaller needle size because of the yarn change. It was a total recipe for disaster. I was intrigued by Norah Gaughan's design (she is a genius). The sweater is made seamless except for the collar. You knit a cabled pentagon, and then you keep adding pentagons to make a shrug. I don't know how she thinks of these creative designs, but I'm glad she does. I never would have attempted this pattern a year ago, or even six months ago, but Wisteria really boosted my knitting confidence and I wanted to try something challenging. I followed Hisknits modifications (Ravelry Link), and used Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo. What I ended up with was more of a lace shawl type shrug with sleeves. I really like how it turned out. This shrug benefits from blocking, because the pentagons tends to make some funky pointed shapes, but the blocking takes care of that problem. It was fun knitting the pentagons, but the whole time I was knitting, I was thinking to myself, "I'm never going to wear this thing." Luckily, I was wrong.