Pischi Days

DuhCapo... Oh, I Meant DaCapo

I can't quite remember when I first discovered the Hanne Falkenberg sweater collection. I think that I saw the Mermaid Jacket  written and pictured in a Woolworks catalogue. Anyway, I was in love. I trawled the internet and found a treasure trove of Hanne sweaters at a Danish company that shipped overseas. I found the DaCapo and was stunned at the range of colours on offer. I couldn't resist the pink/orange/red combination. It seemed very daring, so, decision made.  Ordering from Denmark turned out to be far less expensive than buying a  kit in the US.

I remember when the box arrived and I unpacked a clear tote filled with yarn and a 2 page instruction booklet. The presentation was minimal and the yarn was  thin and coarse. I loved the packaging but was still so naive about yarn and insecure about my skills and started to wonder if I were  foolish in spending so much money on a garment that I would have to make. Did I have enough know how?
The package sat on the buffet for several weeks while I shopped for the proper size circulars. Once the needles arrived, then I procrastinated some more. One day I just decided to cast on and be damned. The sweater starts in the middle of the back with 5 stitches and grows in a mitered triangle while incorporating a clever knitted I-cord  onto the bottom edge. After countless fits and starts I was on my way.

The jacket back grew quickly in the beginning, but slowed as the triangle grew to almost 300, tiny, tiny stitches. Garter stitches galore grated on my nerves. Soon other yarns and projects seduced me and I set the jacket aside. Early on I had it on display in a variety of containers, kind of like art. It would receive some attention and then be tossed back in the bowl. I would experience guilt every time the bright colours caught my eye. Soon I jumbled the jacket and the yarn into a closed basket.

As months passed I would pull it out and in a burst of energy, knit. Soon I was at a point where the geometry and holding needles came into play along with colour changes. Setting the jacket aside for long periods caused much confusion as to where I was in the pattern. At one point I was so lost and confused that I called the company to ask for clarification. They referred me to Hanne herself. I was shocked when the phone rang and she answered. She was gracious and patiently answered my frazzled questions. The jacket was momentarily back on track. I had knit a sleeve and joined it with the rest of the jacket and knit the placket. Then, fool that I am, set the whole thing aside again. By now a few years had elapsed. I was so close.
A few weeks ago I pulled to jacket out of its basket. This thing had been on my WIP list on Ravelry for far too long. I didn't want to move it the  ZZZ section at the bottom of my projects page. I wanted to finish, no matter what. I took the jacket to our group at the bread store. I received a few skeptical looks as to the size. It looked tiny. Mary Beth had me slip on the jacket, needles, holders, and all. It looked a tad small but not hopeless. I fed off the encouragement that my fellow knitters gave me. I sped through the placket and cast on the last bit, the orange band around the collar. Once I cast off, I cheered. Unfortunately I was the only one to hear. I sewed up the sleeves, the only two seams in this ingenious design. Then I tried it on. It fit! 

Yesterday I gave it a bath and spun out the extra water in the washer. I laid it out on my butcher block and hand blocked it into shape, trained a fan onto the surface and let it dry. By dinner time it was ready for a trip through the garden.

My model is a tough critic  and her approval was all I needed to top off my pleasure. I still can't believe that I am done. Don't get me wrong, there are mistakes. I read some of the instructions incorrectly, but only an experienced Falkenberger would know.

In my haze of accomplishment, I purchased a colour card for the entire Jamieson & Smith yarn line. According to several bloggers, the Spindrift Shetland 2 ply is the perfect match in fibre and weight to knit a Falkenberg. Is there another DaCapo in my future? Who knows, they say love is better the second time around.

A Little Blue Swallowtail

The first weekend in November is always reserved for Pioneer Days in Barberville, a two day celebration of everything that is old time Florida. The Florida that was once home to sprawling cattle ranches, pineapple fields, and orange groves. We always go on a Saturday morning and get there right at 9:00 AM, just in time for the first batch of biscuits to come off the wood fire. My husband slathers his with home made apple butter and I always go for the country smoked ham.
Then we make our way to the old homesteads to admire the weavers, caners, lace makers, and listen to the sounds of the cracker cowboys snapping their whips.
This year I found a group of spinners on one of the front porches. In the background was a large rack of home spun wool of many breeds. What caught my eye was a small skein of teal blue. It turn out to be finely spun silk. I introduced myself to the spinner and told her that I really admired her work. At first she was cordial and then I showed her my knitting. Cordiality turned to mutual admiration and that we shared Ravelry. That was the magic that it took for her to sell me the precious hand-spun.  I know that I didn't pay enough. It took a few months to find just the right project for this special lace weight.
After plenty of Ravelry browsing, I chose  Evelyn Clark's Swallowtail Shawl. It is the currently the number one lace weight shawl according to Ravelry's pattern browser with 1856 shawl on and off the needles and ready to knit in 2052 queues. After I blocked my shawl and gave it a test twirl around the garden, I can understand why.

As lace goes, this is an easy and a rapid knit. I used a US 3 Knit Picks nickel circular, 32" in length. The yarn was fairly easy to knit with. As it is a hand made yarn it was filled with lots uneven thickness. This was a something that made knitting the silk special. I imagined how the yarn must have been difficult to spin and how difficult it must be to maintain and even thickness. I love the way the colours stripe and close up the ply is also subtly different.  This time I was successful in blocking points. Casting off as loosely as possible is the secret. I learned my lesson the hard way when I knit the Icarus Shawl and the points along the apex didn't point .

I am keeping this shawl for myself and plan to wear it at Pioneer Days this year. I just hope that Elayne will be spinning at her spot on the front porch. 

Forget Me Not, Forgot Me Not Me Shoes

I haven't knit cotton socks using anything other than Cascade Fixation. So, when Bonnie added some Panda Cotton to her stash and started to knit her daughter a pair of sock with it and raved about the experience, I was intrigued. My Christmas gift from her were a couple of skeins to become acquainted with. I chose to knit a summer anklet. Something I could wear to the gym.

Forget Me Not Socks are simple to knit and can offer a new sock knitter a  new technique to add to the knitting arsenal.The cuff has a subtle folded picot edge and is turned in and neatly finished. I didn't follow Laura' s instructions to the letter. I knit my cuff by casting on using the long tail method and once the cuff was knit, folded when asked to and picked up a stitch and knitted the two together to  result in a finished edge. The Panda gets a bit splitty and I had to be careful to pick up the right stitches.
Once I completed the round, the rest was easy. The lacy pattern was easy to memorize and the flowers stagger and stack in a predictable fashion. This was great because I didn't want to consult a chart, perfect travel knitting.

How do you like my new shoes? I tried on a pair of the clear Chuck Taylor's but I couldn't  get past the $60.00 price tag for a pair of novelty sneakers. Then, I read about these on Ravelry. They are Skechers Cali Surfer Girl and are available on the web site, free shipping, no tax and I paid $15.00. While they are cute, they can be hot. I wore them to work yesterday and had to shed the socks at lunch. Condensation was beading up in the toe. Not cute. They will be come in handy this summer when we're on the boat. When they get filled with ocean water, that's condensation I can live with.

A Week of Small Accomplishments

If Ravelry gives me anything, it's accountability. In the not so distant past, some of the projects I started were never completed. In the heady moments after finding that perfect pattern, the perfect yarn and after casting on, there were times when the romance ended quickly and the project was cast aside. This is a bad habit that I share with many knitters. When I found Ravelry I never thought that I would actually take the time capture each skein, hank, or ball of yarn digitally and then catalogue it with minute details. That went for my projects as well. Soon I found myself hauling out the yarn, projects completed and in flux. I remember spending several weekends taking pictures and raking my brain as to when I cast on, where I found the pattern, looking for old ball bands. Thank goodness that I had a blog to fall back on.
It's been almost a year since my Raverly marathon. I'm pleased with my progress and I feel that I finally have some oversight over what I knit and the supplies that I own. I don't think that I've ever stuck with a program for this amount of time.
In the spirit of celebrating my accomplishment, I've completed three very small items in the past weeks. Two of these items lingered in the snooze pile far longer than they should have.

Heart Sachet

My aim was for  Valentine's Day with this one. I was looking for a project that would eat up some of the many of the sock yarn remnants that I've managed to collect. My aim was off. I finished this last week. The yarn is STR's Fairgrounds, the pattern is a freebie found on the Interweave site. It took months to finish this up. Although I would not knit this again, I'm pleased with the results and filled it with sweet smelling balsam. It hangs off a knob in my kitchen. 

Honeycomb Scarf

 

My friend, Kathryn,  agreed to model the scarf.  She said it makes her feel like Samantha Jones.

I have a dear friend, Terri, who has a shop that sells all manner of vintage things. She clapped eyes on my Lantern Moon knitting bags and had to open an account. She offered to order items of my choice at cost. I decided to treat myself to Leigh Radford's Silk Gelato. I received the Honeycomb Scarf pattern with it. Knitting on giant hot pink US 35 needles was cumbersome and not portable. The stitches kept slipping off the needles. After revisiting other Gelato projects on Ravelry, I pulled this chestnut out of the  recesses and completed it in a few hours.I finally finished this and am really pleased with the results. While looking for links, I noticed that Lantern Moon now offers a box of Gelato in small "scoops" for embellishing. Maybe I need to consider another order.

  

Klee Scarf

 

This was a guilty splurge and I didn't drag my heels quite as much as with the aforementioned projects. This was a quick and simple knit using tiny balls of pure cashmere. I plan on knitting another using some of my leftover sock yarn scraps.

Another Wee Sock

There is a great Ravelry Group whose members are committed to swapping more tiny socks.The original swap took place a few months ago. It seems that it was so much fun knit a tiny sock, pop it in an envelope,  send it, and in return receive a small sock in the mail.

I still have several WIP's in that stare me in the face when I click on my projects page. Old habits are hard to break, but I can say that I've made peace with my habits and can control the chaos a little bit thanks to a little site called Ravelry.

Merry Month of May, I Hope...

All in the merry month of May,
When green buds they were swellin',
Young Jemmy Grove on his deathbed lay,
For the love of Barbara Allen.

Enjoy this little snippet from a favorite movie, "Songcatcher".

It has already been a whirlwind Month' O' May. To begin, May 1st was not only "Tag der Arbeit", but the beginning of my 50th year on the planet. OY. Thanks to my wonderful friends and my kind husband for the lovely surprise party. In lieu of gifts all the food items, 10 bags full, were donated to our local North Brevard Charities. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I received a very special present from my aunt in Germany, a lovely Morgan silver dollar minted in 1884. I love that it has been passed down through the family. I feel you're with me when I hold you in my hand. 
Thank you Krista for the fabulous stiletto needles and the Noro. Where have you been all my life! You, dangerB, not the Noro...
My May 1st Thursday started out with knitting on the group, upstairs in the bakery. Susan, my friend and knitting ingenue, was having another tiresome tumour removed from her lung so we filled her spot with the lads from the flight school. They became tiresome and begged for cashmere and complained when we wouldn't share provisional cast on techniques. Come back Susan, they're not staying!
My month was further enhanced with a last minute trip to ever lovely Alabama and a trip through the Wellborn Forest plant. I processed much information on kitchen design, rift cut oak, as well as drink mixology prior to 10 AM. Some of us had the good fortune of flying back home in the corporate plane . Nutkins took a ride too. This method of travel superseded the six-hour car ride there.
I was hardly unpacked when Lisa whisked me to New Smyrna Beach and our favourite fish camp for real crab cakes, boiled shrimp, and pinot noir. Naughty Nutkin is stealing the lime light. We watched the dolphins play and the sun set before we headed back down US1 south in the old lime green del Sol, topless of course (the car, not us).
For the last surprise, a present to myself arrived, a new swift and woolly winder.
The only shadow on my reverie is the sale of our little shop to new owners. Nancy and our canine companions will be sorely missed. I am treading water and trying to conform into new environs and culture. The next 50 years will be telling...

Animus Pomatomus

The danger of starting a sock in December and then putting off the second sock until months later the confusion that accompanies folly.
I have long admired the clever design that is Pomatomus. Thousand have knit this pattern since it first appeared in Knitty Winter 2005. That was also the issue that contained the famous Mrs. Beetons, Thuja, Tempting II, and Danica.
But I digress, this is about my adventures in Pomatomatry. With knitting up my stash at the forefront, I pulled out some of my older sock yarn, two skeins of Cherry Tree Hill. The blue skein was made up of such vibrant blues, green, and purples that they were destined to become a pair of socks named after a Blue Fish. Sock one went swimmingly and I was surprised that I finished in a little over a week. The holidays got in the way and I started some other projects, fully intending to cast on the mate. When I did, disaster came in may forms. I bungled the heel turn several times. When I finally got it right I put the socks side by side and realized the  unfinished one was smaller. I revisited page 2 of the pattern only to realize that, in my haste, I grabbed the wrong size needles. The socks were to be knit on a size 2, not a size 1!  I unravelled, yet again. At least I can speak up for the fortitude that the sock yarn had shown up to this point. I cast on with my old dusty, trusty DPN's and knit like a fiend.
Here are the results. I think they are the finest pair of socks that I have made to date. I love the clever pattern and the colours in the photos don't do the socks justice. 

So what do i have on my needles now?
I'm working on Nutkin, the second of the Cherry Tree Hill skein bought so many years ago from Seattle's Little Knits. This is also a sock fraught with disaster, this time involving the trails and tribulations of the short row heel. The heel had so many holes in the gusset that I had to correct to problem. Again, many hours of knitting and reknitting until I decided to let go of the intended heel and just knit a simple heel flap. I am knitting the gusset and plan on an early April finish.
I have more knitting to share, in the form of two delicious knits, one of which arrived in the mail last week. The other one is still at large. This will have to wait for another post.
To cap off the week, Yarn Miracle is hosting the Wee Tiny Sock Swap. I couldn't resist. I am knitting up my little sock as we speak and sending it, Monday, to my swap partner on the Pacific Coast. Never mind, done.
Here is my completed Wee Tiny Sock...

Icarus, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros

I started the Icarus Shawl to show solidarity for my friend Bonnie, who has taken up the needles with full force.
For those who have followed my adventures, she and I traveled north to SAFF last October. In the midst of all the yarn surrounding us, she was smitten with an Icarus shawl knit in a fingering weight merino in the Knitting Notions booth.  The yarn and the pattern were quickly purchased. She convinced four of our Thursday morning knitting group to kit along. I groaned and complained. There was no lace weight in my stash and I didn’t want to buy any yarn since taking a vow of yarn abstinence. Not wanting to be left out, I traded two skeins of Spunky Eclectic sock yarn for eight skeins of Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud and Shimmer in various colors.
I chose the Alpaca Cloud Tidal Pool and cast on. After a few false starts and recoveries, I was off and knitting. Those cute  dangling stitch markers were quickly replaced with boring plastic rings. The lace weight tangles too frequently. 
I first heard about the Icarus and MimKnits on Knitty D and the City podcast. I never thought that I would knit lace, especially a shawl. The pattern can be found in the Interweave book ,Our Favorite Designs From First Ten Years. As books go, I could knit my way through every pattern.

Here is the result. It is truly a wonder how lace transforms from a spongy clump until washed and pulled into shape. I blocked this morning using the puzzle piece mats that lay in front of my washer. This is a perfect blocking board. Thanks, Julie, for giving me the idea. Koko is very helpful. Here she is pulling out the pins after the shawl has dried.

So, here is the final finish. I am pleased with my efforts. The shawl will be a donation to a silent auction for a local educational foundation that pays for private school scholarships. I can only hope that it fetches a high price and gives a young person the wings to fly high, but hopefully not too close to the sun.

Möbius Trip

Möbius strip |ˈmōbēəs|
noun
a surface with one continuous side formed by joining the ends of a rectangular strip after twisting one end through 180°.
Origin early 20th cent.: named after August F. Möbius (1790–1868), German mathematician.

While on a yarn crawl in St. Petersburg, I found these two skeins of Kid Slique in the bottom of a cardboard box in a small shop on Central Avenue. The yarn was so pretty that I couldn't resist buying two skeins. I was surprised that this yarn was from a local company here in St. Pete. Prism puts together some gorgeous custom dyed yarn combinations. This one is composed of a variegated tubular strand of rayon coupled with a strand of kid mohair.
The yardage is fairly short, only 88 yards, and the yarn is pricey so finding a pattern to show off the colors and yield a practical garment was a bit of a quest.
After much Ravelry searching, I found a link to the DIY Network and a Cat Bordhi pattern call the Mobius Cowl. Perfect, I had just enough yardage and this was going to be a departure from the plain old scarf pattern.

In order to knit this Mobius strip, I needed a circular needle 47" in length and not an easy find. Fortunately, Krista had a set of Denise needles that, when connected, made the perfect size. Now to cast on. Reading the Bordhi instructions were not quite enough to execute this cast on correctly.If this cast on stumped the Yarn Harlot, I knew that i needed extra help. I found a great video on Adorabubbles blog where she demonstrates and explains the technique, albeit with the left hand. After viewing the video, success! It was fascinating to watch both sides, right and left, emerge simultaneously.

The rest of the cowl was a breeze to knit and knit I did. At the hairdresser, in the pedicurist chair, and at a birthday dinner that evening. I finished in less than 24 hours. Here is the result. This Mobius is going to be making its way to Germany where it will warm the neck of my favorite aunt. I hope that she will feel the warmth of Florida yarn fashioned into a beautiful shawl whose pattern is grounded in German mathematics.

Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Shop

I had treated myself to a couple of sock yarn subscriptions, one being the Sundara Petals Club, last year. As of this writing, I have used up two skeins of that clubs offerings . I knit the Lenten Rose socks last year, a wonderful pattern in a neutral shade. The second installment was rather more colorful. Bird of Paradise is a bold mix of orange, yellow, and green. The pattern was not one that inspired me to cast on. What's a knitter to do? I turned to Ravelry and browsed the many socks that knitters have made before me. I wanted to use my yarn and  fulfill the requirement of the Sock Knitters Anonymous on Ravelry. I was successful in both endeavors.

The yarn, a soft merino, knit up quickly following the Monkey sock pattern found in the Knitty archives. These are the second pair of Cookie A. designs that I've knit, with a third, Pomatomus, on  the needles. I have become an avid fan of the Magic Loop and the Monkey socks stitch count divides up perfectly.

How am I doing on my stash busting goals? I fell off the wagon for a mercy buy at a local LYS. I recently went shopping with a friend and had to stop in to say,"Hello." Stopping in was my first misakes. I left with three skeins of "Lamb's Pride Bulky" that were not on the agenda. I do have a copy of the Fiber Trends "Felted Clogs" pattern, but I had no intention of making clogs any time soon. I just couldn't leave the shop without making a purchase. I find it much easier on the conscience when I browse the online shops in complete anonymity. I can load up my basket and never complete the sale. It's a guilty pleasure to log off and leave the filled cart in the virtual shopping aisle. How many of you are guilty of this? I would love to know.

So, what's next? Julie helped me wind a skein of Cherry Tree Hill for "Nutkin," another pair of socks for the February Stash Down challenge.

Sunshine at Marina Picolla

While my little black cloud hasn't entirely lifted, I appreciated the kind comments that were made in response to my bleak post the other day. Your kind thoughts helped me over the hump. I didn't mean to communicate that I was wallowing in self pity but the events as they played out were just so unusually timed. This morning's email let us know that Tom's cousin, Jean, (in the black and white skirt) passed away last night. The photo on the last post was that of her bedside. I had just met Jean at her sister's wedding last year. We had much in common, including that we brought our socks to knit. I regret not having met her sooner.
Onto a new day and looking forward, I present my first finished object of the new year.
Marina Piccola is a sock design by the talented Kate Gilbert. The name was the impetus to knitting these socks, that and the opportunity to try some of Scouts Swag merino sock yarn with the same name and dyed especially with Kates' design in mind.

The socks name derives from the beauty of the water and a Marina in Capri. Erik and I spent several weeks traveling through the Lombardy region in Italy. We took a trip across Lago di Como and stopped in Bellagio among other lakeside towns where we experienced a jewel like water coupled with lush foliage. The food wasn't bad either.

The socks were knit using size 1 circulars and the magic loop method. Unfortunately, l experienced yarn shortage toward the end of the second sock. The gracious Scout mailed out a scant 100 yards, enough to finish the sock and have some yarn leftover. The difference in color is indiscernible to the all but myself. A suitable background for these socks was Veteran's Park (made famous, courtesy of Bob Allen) and the Indian River. It's not the Lake District in Italy but has its charms.

My goal to knit from my stash is has been very satisfying. I have two pair of Cookie A.'s socks on the needles. The Monkey socks are made from Sundara's Bird of Paradise sock yarn while the Pomatomus sock is knit from Cherry Tree Hill. I calculated my current sock stash to yield at least another thirty-five pair of socks. I had better quit blogging and get knitting. After all knitting is the best therapy.

Bring on the New

The grand scheme for 2008 is to produce fabulous knitting from my stash. I have joined a trio of stash busting groups. The Ravelry Stash Knit Down 2008, Stashalong II, and Socks from the Stash equal triple accountability.
On that note, I have finished a sock that should have seen completion far sooner. The Lacewing Fixation sock from the prodigious Hurricane Party, thrown every year by Cristybelle.
I started the second sock right after Christmas while taking to the couch with a cold. Upon near completion and my near recovery, we took the sock for a trip along the Indian River towards the Haulover Canal. The manatees were grazing in the warm water and pelicans enjoyed the 80 degree weather as did we.
I have a nice pair of anklets to start the New Year with.

On the needles and, hot on the heels of Lacewing are a pair of Pomatomus socks knit using Cherry Tree Hill from my stash.
I started on the Icarus Shawl using KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud that I traded two skeins of Spunky Eclectic sock yarn for.

I am still plodding along on DaCapo. I can report that I have knitted the second sleeve and really just need to knit through gritted teeth. I am so close to completion. Completing this sweater is one of the goals that I have listed. There are several sweaters that I purchased yarn for in 2007. Among them are the Kauni Cardi, Sunrise Circle Jacket, the Rouge, Arwen, and the Tilted Duster. So many choices and only twelve months until another  year heralds new challenges.
Here's wishing every one a productive and happy new year!

Let the Korknisse Breathe

Seldom has a project yielded as much satisfaction with so little effort. Better yet, no shekels were spent in the manufacturing these little cuties. I'm starting my yarn diet early.

I first saw these little guys on Ellies site. I couldn't wrest my eyes from rainbow of little Korknisse. The original pattern stems from Manne in Norway. The instructions are here, translated by Saartje. The results translate into all languages as CUTE.
I have a mother load of corks that I had no idea what to do with. These are ideal. A few could be let out of the the giant test tube and dress for the holidays. The yarn is Knit Picks Telemark leftover from the Red Light Special beanie. I searched high and low for little jingle bells, to no avail. After some thought, I took a dive into the craft bins and came up with a little bag of Ultrasuede scrapes. Perfect. Just the thing to make tiny holly berries and leaves.

My little guys came to work with me and had their photo session on the railroad tracks behind the shop. It's a good thing that I haven't gotten busted by the FEC...yet. Say cheese...kaas...Käse...fromage...сыр!

Koolhaas

Knitting the Red Light Special hat was such a joy, that I had to try another hat. I have been an ardent admirer of Jared Flood's knitting. I saw his new beanie, Koolhass on his site and was pleased to see it included in the Interweave Holiday Knits magazine. I was determined NOT to order the yak yarn and use up something in out of my stash.
After rooting around in all my baskets, I came up for air after finding a couple of skeins of Elann Peruvian Highland Wool in dark grey heather. It was the perfect weight.
I was able to complete this hat from cast on to completion in less than a week.
As always, Connie stuck her head out for the photos.

Lost, One Red Light Special

Lately, I have been misplacing things or the house just eats them. Red Light Special is the first Christmas gift off my needles. I was so proud of my progress and had plans of photographing the colorful strands that make up the interior of the hat. This is my first attempt at color work and was eager to block but now it's missing in action!

Trusty Connie is my favorite model. She has great hat hair.
The pattern is Brooklyn Tweeds creation and was a fairly easy knit. I followed the recipe to a tee using the same Telemark colors that the pattern called for. I used Andean Treasure alpaca for the soft lining.
As always, I'm several beats behind. While most of the Jerrod's hat knitting fans are already wearing Koolhaas, I have just manage to finish and now lose this hat. I am hoping that the house elves will have mercy and Red Light will turn up tomorrow.

Farewell STR 2006...Hello 2007

My last pair of socks sent courtesy of the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club 2006 has finally been completed. Just in time to cast on the first pair of this year's club installment. I have loved every pair...so far.
"Winters Eve" was cast on with one of the lightweight, semisolid colors called Mustang Sally. I purchases the intensely colored raspberry beads from an online source, Earthefaire.
My guilt in not keeping up with the shipments was assuaged once I joined Revelry and a group called Socks The Rawk. The amount of clubbers that hadn't knit from their STR stash was huge. An entire thread is devoted to those giving up their spot as a coveted STR club members. I am in great company. For the amount of money two years exclusivity cost, there was no way I wasn't knitting these.

I regret that I rank among those not renewing. I can purchase more skeins of STR for the amount that it costs to be a third year member. There are no regrets. Every skein and pattern were a delightful surprise. The pattens, all by talented designers, stretched my skills and had me knitting socks with stitches and styles that I may not have chosen otherwise.

The latest installment is the lovely Lenore, a pattern written by the Yarn Harlot. The yarn is a coveted skein from the Raven series that is making a November debut. I already anticipate several purchases based on this months color. Those black muted tones are just my style.
Meanwhile I bid fond farewell to the club and make room for other rabid sock knitters who will be sure to enjoy a years worth of socks and surprises.

A quick "footnote", I found the perfect shoe to show off hand knit socks and worth every penny. My new Fluevogs are comfortable and allow me to show off knitted heels as well.

Lady and the Tramp

I first saw the Lady Eleanor shawl on Fig and Plum’s web site. The colors in the shawl were beautiful, especially against the backdrop of a city in winter. I knew that I had to take the time to knit one as well.

My first foray into entrelac was knitting the Kaleidoscope scarf as a present for my aunt. The recommended yarn was Noro Silk Garden in a now discontinued colorway in various shades of the rainbow. I enjoyed the feel of the yarn along with the variation of thick and thin. Every now and then a totally foreign object would crop up, a bother to some, an unexpected surprise for me.
I chose Noro for its rustic appeal and the chance to knit with this yarn once more. Unfortunately as the project grew in size, the portability decreased and so did the time that I spent working on it. Ravelry really makes me aware of how long it takes me to finish a project. I was determined to finish this scarf and take it with me to SAFF in Ashville. I hope that the weather will be cooperative so that I can wear it.

Lexie, my lovely model, agreed to show off the shawl. She is our newest addition to the cabinet shop. Lexie was a rescue from our local ASPCA, a mixture of Golden Retriever and Great Pyrenees, and is all of 7 months old. She is the most docile dog that I’ve encountered in quite a while and let me pose her outdoors in the 80 degree weather. Thanks, Lexie. You’re a trooper!

Mission Smidge: Complete!

My Smidge is off the needles and ready to wear. Ready to wear if it ever gets cold enough . After the photo shoot I clawed it off my neck and flung across the room. Our temperatures are still in the 80's.
My thrifty "Pidge Wanna Be" was knit from three poufs or  30 grams of ACA Supreme 100% Pure Angora in the Pecan colorway. Thanks for the yarn Elizabeth. I still have three little bunny poufs left. I could make another scarf.
I used the "My So Called Scarf" stitch to simulate the originals stitch pattern, carefully keeping count because a mistake spelled DISASTER. Frogging angora ranks up there with frogging mohair, almost impossible. My choice of buttons changed. I love these old carved balls of ebony. The whole look reminds my of a little cartoon furry animal wrapped around my neck.
For those of you on Ravelry, there's the Smidge Along group that inspired me to knit this.

I'm down to four active projects on my needles. After having broken a self imposed yarn diet, I bought another 15 skeins of DB Cashmerino Aran in Navy, a bargain at $5.00 per ball. In my queue went Arwen. I am trying to stop twitching and diving for the needles. I promised my self DaCapo by Christmas!
The reason to stop shopping...

 

this is just what I dare display in full view...all the baskets are filled to the brim. I'd better stop blogging and start knitting!

Hodge Podge Knitalong

A lot has happened at Chez Claybaugh over the past few weeks. I hadn't thought so until I sat down with my next door neighbor who had been on an adjacent trip to Boston and then jetted off to Europe. After listening to her adventures, I used all my fingers on both hands to give her a rundown of happenings in our atmosphere. I'll bore you only with the fiber portion of my life.
My knitting has revolved around WIPS these days. My goal is to only have about four things on the needles at a time. A garment, a scarf or shawl of some sort, a pair of socks, two at the most. Ravelry has helped me gain oversight in what I have in my stash and what's on my needles. This coupled with a newly discovered podcast "Stash and Burn", I hope to keep my knitting life more manageable.
Here is the latest rundown.
Recently completed,  Victorian Lace socks, the summer sock recipe from the SixSox KAL. The yarn I used was Lorna's Laces Baby Stripe. I liked the pattern, although if I never have to knit another melon stitch, I'll die happy. The yarn was from Olgajazzzy's stash that I had purchased last year. It was not my color either, but I found a friend who loves the socks and has the Ked's to wear with them.

On the needles, the Smidge Pidge in 100% Pure Angora, also bought from another bloggers stash. The stitch is hard to discern due to the heavy halo of bunny fur.

I am pleased to announce that I am at the halfway to completion of the last of the 2006 Socks That Rock yarns. This is by far the new favorite, Winters Eve, knit in the Mustang Sally colorway. It is with a heavy heart that I am declining the 2008 invitation of both Socks That Rock and the new Sundara Seasons yarn clubs. I have a veritable treasure trove of sock yarn that I want to use or destash.

My two languishing projects that have jumped back into the limelight are my never ending Lady Eleanor and the Hanne Falkenburg DaCapo jacket. Both are not portable any longer due to the size. This means that they are nearing completion. I'm ashamed to admit that the DaCapo has been in progress since November 2005 and Lady Eleanor was started a year later in November 2006. Hmm, I wonder what it is about November that prevents me from completing those projects. I have taken both to our little knitting group that meets upstairs at the bakery. I have the luxury of arriving at 7 AM, after dropping my son off at the pool, and knitting in solitude until 9 when the others begin to arrive. Total knitting time on Thursdays, five precious hours.

What up for 2008? This will be my year of destash. I loosely calculated, based on my Raverly inventory, that I have 7 sweaters, 5 scarves, and 20 pair of socks to work on. My latest addition to the list is Kraemers Silk and Silver. After reading  Clara Perkins review, I had to have it. So, enough already, I still have to make it through the SAFF weekend!

On a purely personal note, my son attended his first dance, Homecoming. Here he is in full regalia squeezing one of his swim teammates. Ah, to be young again.

In the Pink

I took Marble Arches, a Rockin' Sock Club 2006 shipment, on our May trip to Hawaii. My hopes were to finish the socks and post my holiday knitting much sooner than this. Instead, I cast on new items and worked on other things that were of more immediate interest.
I am pleased to say that I finished sock two this evening. I rushed onto the porch out to photograph my small accomplishment while there was still some light left.

The socks are knit using Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR medium weight yarn in the Pink Granite colorway. I used the recommended 2.25 mm needles. The resulting fabric is dense with little give.  That's alright, the socks fit and are comfortable.

The pattern has you cast on 144 stitches and knit and purl them together to create the ruffled edge at the cuff. Three sets faux cables put me in mind of Cookie's Tatania sock that I finished earlier this year.
My progress on keeping up with the bi-monthly shipments has been abysmal. I have another pair socks, Winter's Eve, left to knit to finish out the year 2006. Then on to 2007.
I'm not sure that my feet smell that badly, Koko!

My new skein and pattern, a lacy design and loud colorway, has already arrived. I just keep on knitting...

Not So Stormy

Warning: Picture heavy post ahead.
View at your own risk.

I cast off my Storm Water Shawl last night. At the risk of gushing shamelessly, this was one of the most satisfying knitted items that I have had the pleasure of making. From the texture, scent, and fabulous color of the Sea Silk to the ingenious pattern, this shawl was a breeze to knit.
I soaked the completed shawl in a lukewarm bath of water and a drop of Dawn dish soap.

After draining the water, I wrapped it in a towel and used my feet and the tile floor to remove excess moisture, then to the blocking board.

The shawl was strung onto blocking wires and pinned into shape.

I'm an impatient girl so I hauled our fan into the room and set it up to blow dry.

The shawl was completely dry by lunch.

A quick call to my favorite neighbor and we were speeding off to the banks of the Indian River and Cocoa Village for a photo shoot and a spot of lunch. Here are the results.