UFO Friday - progress on Two Items...

Well, the Serenity Stroller Snuggie is struggling along. I figured out the weird increases that made it all work so that all my leaves "finish" at the eyelet edge, and I'm officially 1.5 rows away from the final cable twists, then a row after that, the color change and the eyelet rows begin. Which, of course, will have to be re-charted, since my Snuggie is vastly different now from the Actual Serenity Blanket... but I'll make it work. The thrill of being able to start the new yarn (matches in tone beautifully, may be a bit thick... but that'll make the edge fluffy, right? Right?) Anyway, here's the edge as of the end of lunch hour today:


I've also been working on Clapotis, and have determined that it may actually just be the two balls of Coral Whatever that will make up this shawl. (This is cool; that way the Dragon's Whatever can be something else fun.) I'm almost to the center of the shawl (as slightly widened from the pattern), and I'm still on my first ball of sock yarn! Who knew 400 yards was so much yarn? Here it is at the beginning of Vacation Day last friday:


... and here it is as of this morning. I've hit the point of six dropped stitches, and I'm really looking forward to blocking it:


The only downside to this project is that I forgot to fix the dye in the yarn, which, yeah, I know one is supposed to do, even with Bought Yarn, so my hands are turning a rather violent shade of red at times - luckily, it *almost* all washes off with a wee bit of Mary Kay Silkypaws (I can't remember what the product names actually are - it's what I call the hand cream, sloughing cream and cleanser all combined together).

Can I just add how difficult it's been to NOT start the Pacific Northwest Shawl this week? I'm being SOOOOOOOOOO good!!

Yarn on Thursday: Ribbons!!

As part of the running around this past weekend, I wandered into In Stitches on Route 1, and found some ribbon yarn. I planned to use the new ribbon yarn to make another one, but the first skein on size 13 needles (don't want to go any bigger with the needles, or it'll be a "cover" not a "shirt") didn't yield quite enough area. (Yes, I knitted up an entire ball of yarn to discover this. I'm SUCH a process knitter!) So, I've got lovely yarn, and need something do do with it.

Thus, this week - what, really, *can* you do with ribbon yarn?

First, what is ribbon yarn? Usually "not natural fibers", and frequently glittery, shiny, and sparkly. Here's a color card for one sort of ribbon yarn:
And here's a photo of a ball of Nu-Mei Luna:
Who could resist knitting with Louisa Harding's Glisten? I may be hunting some down.
About.com has a section on Ribbon Yarn, with a brief primer on what it is and its pitfalls, as well as links to patterns that use it, including this little beauty from Crystal Palace:

Of course, there's lots you can make from ribbon yarn. I've made at least one top:

	I winged the pattern, and call it "Hot Tamale" for the colors. I really should write it up; it came out cute!
Vania (ACraftyVegan.Blogspot) made a cool ribbon yarn scarf for her Dad:
Barb made a cool bolero out of ribbon yarn;
I believe Emily designed this beautiful Solomon's Knot Shawl:
You can make a ribbon yarn vest for summer by Knit One, Crochet Too out of Tarlette, pattern available at yarnmarket.com:
Skeinscene has entire online pattern books to buy; the one linked includes this cute little summer top:

Now, even though I said "who could resist this yarn?" up above, I know some people really don't like using artificial fibers (or fiber-like stuff) to knit or crochet. Never fear - you can also find some pre-made items. That way you can have them, without having to *make* them.

	The Accessory Lady has many beautiful and amazing accessories for sale in her online shop, including this lovely necklace. (I also like the Moulin Rouge cuffs.)
	Bonnywear.com has some scrunchies made out of ribbon yarn - I think this is my favorite, I'm all about the bright metallic ribbon yarn. (My hair isn't quite long enough for scrunchies yet, though.)

Now, since I have fun zooming all over the internet looking for links and photos to share here on Thursdays, I sometimes stumble across unexpected goodness. If you're in or near Babylon, New York, check out classes at The Village Knitter. This came up under a search for "made with ribbon yarn" - and while I couldn't find a photo that for-certain contained ribbon yarn, it looks like a great little store, with a great range of classes.

Now up at the top of the post, I mentioned stumbling into In Stitches and getting ribbon yarn. This is what I got: Two skeins of Prism Flirt! The photos on the site really don't do justice to the depth of the actual colors, so here's a photo of mine in the sun:


I think it's going to turn into one of Emily's Solomon's Knot Shawls... I think. Although... wouldn't a Clapotis made of sparkly ribbon yarn look cool?

I got KITS in the mail!

To continue on from yesterday, after we ran a gazillion errands last night (including FINALLY mailing in my TKGA homework!!), I was able to come home and finish stitching up my little Lizzie*Kate kit. Here it is about 3/4 done:


... and here it is finished. Yay!


As an extra added bonus yesterday, there was also a package waiting for me at the house, from Nestucca Bay. My Midnight Sun Tam and Pacific Northwest Shawl kits are here!!


Kits!!


Yarn for kits! It's so pretty!
I'm going to be good and finish the Serenity Stroller Snuggie and Clapotis before I start the shawl, and at least two other UFOS (from the list, not new ones) before I start the Tam. That should be pretty good encouragement, because I REALLY want to start the Tam!!

Quick patriotic cross-stitch break...

As part of the running around this weekend, I wandered into In Stitches on Saturday afternoon, and found this adorable little Lizzie*Kate kit:



During the race on Monday (Memorial Day in the US), I started stitching. I got quite a ways before I realized that the light blue flag-pole and bright-red masts weren't going to work for me.


So, I frogged out the flag-pole, and replaced it with light brown, and did the masts in light brown, and made the boats red. I like it much better:


I should be able to finish it up tonight, assuming (a) I get back from the post office and L.L.Bean at a resonable hour and (b) can find my beading needle to attach the embellishments, and I figure I'll frame it up and give it to my mom, who sails. It's a fun, quick little kit!

UFO report, and "What idiot printed this canvas?"

UFO Report: Last Thursday evening, knowing full well that the Serenity Stroller Snuggie was going to be the Featured UFO for UFO Friday for the forseeable future, I picked it up and knit a lot. Friday morning, I discovered that something had gone horribly, horribly wrong about six rows back... so Friday night, I frogged. And wept a bit, since at this point I was looking at something on the order of 400 stitches I needed to pick up, in a lace pattern with cables. I persevered, and got THAT done. THAT could have been another four hours of knitting time, but NOOOOOOO, I had to spend it ripping back and very carefully recasting, all while keeping my energy positive and upbeat - since it's effectively a baby blanket, and I don't want any bad juju near a baby. It wasn't easy, but I kept watching my favorite video podcast, and it kept me happy and sane. (PS, there's a new episode up, if you didn't already know.)

Anyway, it's cast back on, and by Sunday, I was cursing it as I attempted to fall asleep, and my brain insisted on figuring out what increase/decrease combination I needed to alter the pattern to do what I wanted it to do.

Luckily, I figured it out, and I'm about 12 rows from where the eyelet edging begins:


Now, ask me how often I've picked it up. Go on. I dare you.

I should add that Clapotis, which many people have deemed Quite Dull through the center bits, is a pleasant change from intricate re-scaled what-the-hell-let's-wing-it-completely lacework. On the upside, I'm getting a lot of Clapotis done (up to the straight part now), and I'm at the point where I could design my own fairly intricate lace & cable thingy. Which is good, since I'll be doing some of that in the Masters, right?

And about the canvas I've been playing with. Lots of folks have questioned me about my usual insistence on hand-painted canvases. "So let me get this straight - you're paying hundreds of dollars for a hand-painted piece of art, and then you're going to cover it up with yarn?" Um, yeah, that's it exactly. This is one of the few kit pieces I've bought (ever), and the reason I don't like them is this:


I'm maybe 30 stitches from the corner, and the thing is already so far off-register that if I didn't have the chart, I wouldn't be able to stitch this thing. The paint might as well not be there, and the canvas *is* kinda cheap. If I had been paying more attention when I got it, I probably would've NOT started stitching on this bit of canvas, getting a blank piece instead and working on that. Since I'm already worried about running out of blue wool, though, I'll keep going here - but definitely just using the chart, and remembering not to pay any attention to what's on the canvas. Here's what I've stitched so far:


I figure I'll count out the stitches for the "frame" and get that in place, and work inward from there. I think there may be rules against doing that, but whatever. This is gonna be a totebag someday, when it grows up, btw.

Techknitting.Blogspot.Com

Check out Techknitting. Seriously. If you haven't seen it yet, GO. It all starts here. This has been your Yarn On Thursday, because there's enough to read over there to keep you busy until next week!!

Also, because I like entries-with-pictures, I give you this:


I love playing Bookworm. Does anyone else tend to look for fiber-related words when they play?

I'm All About the Shiny

So, yesterday, I bought something off the internet. I'll show you when it arrives. It's not exactly yarn-related - but it could be, and if I ever make it to any of the big Sheep & Wool festivals, it's totally what I'm wearing!!

Having discovered I had my credit card on me (I'm not supposed to - really, I have no idea how it got in my wallet), I was a bit startled. Could I get the Midnight Sun Tam & Pacific Northwest Shawl kits? Had I saved up enough in the Magic Change-Counting Bank?

Turns out I had, and I could, so I did. From Nestucca Bay Yarns (http://www.nbyarn.com/). They have a Pay With Money Order option, and were sweet to check that was really how I wanted to pay. (It totally was.) I got my money order at lunch, and, having some cash left over, I treated myself to a yummy lunch at Johnny Rockets.


I huddled up at the counter and read my new Knitting Mystery, "While My Pretty One Knits", by Ann Canadeo:


Then, I wandered into the mall. There's a Very Dangerous Store there, called Fire & Ice, which has all sorts of shiny. But I still had cash left after mailing my money order and getting lunch (quite unexpectedly) - and I knew I had some coupons left on my account at the store, so I got something. See here? Notice anything missing?


That's because I got it! For cash, and not much at that, since all my coupons applied. It's Dichroic Glass, and looks like it has nordic runes on it (which, if it did, spell "R-NG"). I really like it, yay!


Since I was already on the correct floor of the mall, I dropped by the bead store and got more beads for the Peacock Feather Scarf I'm making, which will likely be the next UFO up for UFO Fridays.


Pay no attention to the spangly coin-things with them. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but since I still had cash left, and they were shiny, I got them. I'm all about the shiny, as you can probably tell!

$20 a YEAR yarn budget??

Coolest idea that I don't think I could actually handle: The Used Yarn Chronicles, one crafter's journey on a $20 a year (yes, you read that right) yarn budget, found via Max's Blog.

Because it's been raining for a long time in the afternoons, I haven't had a Knitting with George up for a while, so here you go:


Clapotis with George, May 18, 2009
Progress report: Sure enough, stating that I would keep reporting on the Serenity Stroller Snuggie meant that I picked up a lovely peacock pillow kit (canvaswork) that I tracked down a few years back. (Actual tracking was required; it was out of print, but I managed to find a needlework clearinghouse that had one. It didn't have the main/background color, though - but it's a Bucilla kit, and they're a class act, and sent me some, free of charge. Yay! This is what it will look like, eventually:


I've got the left side blue border 2/3 done.
I've managed to figure out a technique for getting continental/basketweave stitch going without having to have a hand at the back of the canvas - this is making it go MUCH faster than before. Of the area that I've done over the past two years since I got the kit, I'd say easily two thirds of that was finished Sunday evening, when I was trapped in my magic chair. (I'd hurt my leg, the chair helps. A lot.)

Knit, knit, and re-knit...

So, as of Friday evening, I had my little swatches all ready to measure, sort of. You see (and you can see) that the lovely merino wasn't really blocking flat all that well. (Don't get me started on the "hey, these aren't rustproof pins!" debacle.)



Anyway, I got actual worsted weight Patons Wool on Saturday, and, thanks to my right leg/hip deciding to Not Cooperate on Sunday, I reknit all six swatches. Three blocked overnight, three will block tonight, and then, maybe, finally, I'll be done. (I can only block three at a time, you see, because I only have eighty stainless-steel blocking pins. I am taking no chances with Edge Curl on these swatches.)

So maybe, just maybe, I'll get this turned in THIS week. *Sigh.*

At least my consistent-tension knitting speed is getting a lot faster?

UFO Friday - the First Attempt

Well, I clearly need some sort of focus to keep myself going on projects. And keep an eye on my needles, too...


Ooops.
Heaven knows, Yarn on Thursday keeps me scouring the internet for information I can share, and in the case of yesterday, made me get off my tail-end (finally, Wednesday evening) and finish up my homework for TKGA. So, you get to see things on UFO Friday from here on in (until I get distracted by something more fun to post, of course).

I will pick one of my UFOs - not necessarily knitting, and eventually, it won't be, since my UFOs are mostly cross-stitch (cross-stitch outnumbers all other crafts combined by at least 2:1). I will then report my progress on this UFO every Friday, starting today. This will *make* me work on no more than two projects at a time. (If the UFO isn't portable, then I still get a portable project. You don't want me going crazy while commuting because I haven't got some sort of needle/hook in my hands.) The photos will (I hope) be the same size and same resolution, so you (and I) can see progress from week to week, etc., etc., yadda yadda.

Anyway, here is the first UFO of this little experiment:


The Serenity Stroller SnuggieAbout the UFO: It's the Serenity Blanket (click on the button on the right of the linked screen for the pattern). The center (up to the eyelet band) is in a custom color of Purled Llama 'Dulce'; the outer edge will be the green stuff you can sorta see in the bag (can't remember what it is right now, and the bag is at home). Pumpkins and pine needles, but muted, quiet versions of both so the eventual recipient's mom's eyes wont bleed just by looking at it. I cast on at the end of March (see here and here). I'm changing up the pattern a wee bit so that all the leaf cables end at the same level (after the 3rd row of leaves so there isn't a half-row at the bottom), using the short eyelet version, and otherwise fudging so it's not a full-sized blanket, but something that would work to keep a tot of, say, four months, warm in a stroller in November. I've moved up to the largest of my Addi Clicks cables - tried to add one on, but I need to do the warm-water cable smoothing trick before I try that again; the shorter cable looped oddly and annoyed me, so off it came. The longest cable *is* long enough; I just look like I'm knitting a really big russet-striped bag.

Anyway, let's hope this internet-based prodding of myself works. We'll *all* know by next Friday, right...?

And just because:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Yarn on Thursday: The importance of Gauge

Gauge. It actually is very important. SWATCHING is way more important than I thought.

I freely admit that, until I did Lesson #3 of the TKGA Basics, Basics, Basics course, I was not a swatcher. "It couldn't make all that much difference," I reasoned. "I mean, the stuff I knit still mostly fits."

Well, sort of. And most of it could fit a lot better, really. (I attribute the fact that my socks fit me to sheer, blind luck and the stretchiness of sock yarns.) Some of it, like my first Celtic cabled sweater, would have fit the Octomom while she was late in her most recent pregnancy. Some of it had to be gifted to my smallest relatives, since it just wasn't gonna fit me, no way, no how. The largest misadventure was a sailing sweater (there were little sailboats on the yoke) I knit for my mother, which she deemed "too big", so she frogged it and re-knit it... and it wound up fitting her toddler godson.

So, clearly, the not-swatching thing really hasn't been working out for me.

My eye-opening moment? This photo (also posted last week, yes, you've seen it before) - it's of swatches. Identical yarn, identical needles... and they're 28 stitches wide by 32 rows high. Swatch #4 has 4 extra rows, and Swatch #6 was actually 27 stitches, just to be accurate, but STILL. Here are six different patterns, and there are some VERY different results!!


So, this swatching thing? It's actually a really good idea. If you'd like to get started, or read more: The brief overview can be found on CJ Wyche's site, here - basic nuts and bolts, specially targeted to beginning knitters. Faina Goberstein has a comprehensive Why and How To on gauge and swatches - go check it out. She also has pointers to Jenna Wilson's article on gauge and Marilyn A Roberts' article on swatching, both in Knitty. Purlwise has a whole bunch of stitch swatch pictures on her blog, which is fun to poke around anyway.

And just in case you were thinking "Hey, how much difference could you get in a swatch, anyway? This swatching thing - if you use the yarn and needles, it'll be close enough, right?" lookie here. These were knit with the same needles and the same yarn, and there's a vast difference in gauge.



Garter Stitch Swatch

Seed Stitch Swatch
I mean - that's a pretty huge difference - I was just knitting the larger ones, without doing anything special, and for the smaller ones, I was trying to knit tightly and evenly. Same needles. Same yarn. A sweater done with the bigger swatch tension would fit me; the smaller might not even fit my smallest niece. Since I'm (once I finish at least two more projects, really) going to knit myself a cabled biker jacket (got the pattern from a library book, then found it here using Google Books), I really want it to fit, since my two ACTUAL biker jackets are either too small or too large right now!

Not quite the entry I had planned

So today was the day I was going to tell you all about how I re-swatched and measured everything and actually got all my homework ready to turn in *before* Friday night. Sadly, the stuff I was going to tell you about didn't happen. I did re-swatch, and I did print out the labels for my tags, and everything is in its binder, and... I still haven't measured my swatches. *Sigh.* But here are the do-overs:


These are SERIOUSLY about half the size of the first ones. Same yarn, same needles, different tension.
Instead, there was a three-hour-long Biggest Loser finale that required watching, and some Clapotis got knitted:


Indoors. Yes, I'm using paper clips as stitch markers again.


Outdoors - actual colors of the yarn. Sooooooo pretty!!
Oooo! I almost forgot!! I finally (FINALLY) got Deb her Wedding Sampler.


She really liked it!! Yay!!

The Podcast Made Me Do It.

Thanks to the video podcasts at http://letsknit2gether.com/ (well, through 2007, anyway... I just downloaded the rest yesterday, and haven't had a chance to watch all of 2008/2009 yet), I have thus far:

1. Gotten vindication that yes, the "weird way" I was doing the long-tail cast on is, in fact, the way at least one other person (CAT) does it.
2. Learned a much easier way to do a multi-stitch cable without cable needles. I don't use cable needles anyway, but using every available tooth and finger wasn't working well. The new way works better - and given that I'm doing seven-stitch full cables in the Serenity Stroller Snuggie, it's saved a lot of fellow commuters from having to listening to the crazy lady with the needles cussing out her yarn.
3. I have discovered that I really, REALLY want my allergy shots to work, so I can someday go to Rhinebeck and Maryland Sheep & Wool. They look crazy fun!
4. I am recognizable at a distance - in the 2006 Stitches East episode, I spotted myself in the upper right corner of one of the shots of CAT looking at a booth in the lower left. I tend to wear orange, and was that day, and had a very Vulcan haircut. And I tend to flail a lot when talking excitedly. *Sigh.*
5. The biggest discovery: I am a herd animal.

Let me explain that one. I'd heard of Clapotis. Everyone in the knitting community has probably heard of Clapotis, and I've seen at least one in progress that was very pretty. But I resisted, because - hey - everyone was doing it, and I'm a rebel, right?

Yeah, turns out I'm not. CAT had photos of several, including her own, in the Podcast... and I caved. Like a soufflé, I caved. See, I had this lovely yarn, but only 1,200 yards exactly, and it's sock yarn, so it's a bit springy. It'd need something kinda loose and flow-y to make a good shawl.

Like something with drop stitches running through it. That would be perfect. And, as I am easily hypnotized by video images, the ease of finding patterns through Ravelry, and I really, really want to use this yarn, I wound all three skeins into a happy little ball last night and cast on. I'm not counting it "Started" until tonight, though, since I'm going to frog what I did, find my bloody stitch markers, and start again, properly this time. Anyway, here is my ball of yarn:


... and here is what it is:


Yeah, the not starting new projects thing is going SOOOOOOO well....!

LambCam and Oat Bag!

Okay, so, lately I've been finding cool internet fiber-related video through my Twitter Knitting Twibe and Ravelry. Today's is Hudson Valley's (or Martha's Vineyard's) Fiber Farm LambCam!!

Also, I should stay the heck out of the Ravelry Store. I totally "accidentally" bought some Fiber Animal Buttons, some Bob & Logo button packs, and a fun new "Oat" bag - sort of like two t-shirts put together. Since I haven't sized-up my Bob Yarnpile t-shirt yet, and it's still with the pink t-shirt I was going to size it with, I think I'm gonna make me another tote-bag!!


So cute!!

Crossing the line to the Swatch Side of the Force...

It has recently come to my attention (okay, yesterday) that promising myself that SOMETHING will get posted every day M-F, unless I'm unavoidably ill or on vacation, the latter of which will be announced in advance), I'm... actually getting something posted here every day, Monday through Friday. I'm quite proud of myself for this. And, what the heck, it gives all y'all something to read. On to today!!

So, I was getting ready to block my swatches Tuesday night, and I noticed that, for the most part, my stockinette swatch sucked. It had kinda lumpy rows of stitches on the front:


... which meant there were gutters on the back.


Having read a lot written by people doing the Master Levels, I know that Gutters Are A No-No. (So is having holes in your seed stitch, but I seemed to be OK there.) So, I reknit. This second try resulted in fewer gutters, but man, oh, man, were my first two rows loose. Really, really, horribly, badly, loose compared to the rest of the swatch.


Yeah, this one looks like it should have gutters...
but they're really evenly spaced on the back.
Sigh.
If the first two rows weren't so danged loose, I'd turn it in.
So, I frogged that one, and began to reknit a THIRD time. (I figure this is practice for the Masters. Getting everything passed on the first time is rare, and since there's a limited amount of pre-research I can do that I haven't already done, I'm not expecting that I'll be one of the lucky few.) Finally, third time, I managed a swatch with very little guttering. Trying to achieve perfectly smooth stockinette while knitting flat is *not* easy for me! I'm such a knit-in-the-round-whenever-possible sort of girl.

In between all that, I also started to knit up my Extra Credit swatch. It was the "Twisted Rib" (from p. 147 of the Barbara G. Walker Treasury #2), but I changed it up a wee bit, because knitting to a pattern doesn't seem to work well for me, unless it's Gryphon's socks (and even then, I tend to wing some bits). But it looked pretty in the book, and since I'm using the identical yarn and needles I did for it and my FINAL stockinette swatch, I could give both gauges in my directions. Made me feel very professional. Of course, I started thinking of an entire sweater done in this, with the twists staggered every two rows so there would be a "swirl" effect going up and around... until I looked at the second pattern repeat of the first attempt. There was just something WRONG with the first knitted stitch of each twisty-bit. (See photos of KarenK's twilled socks, here [Ravelry link]; that's how it's supposed to look.) It should be a pretty swatch, too, but... it just wasn't working!! By the end of lunch, I'd started that three times, too!!

So, I either had to find another cable to try, or give up on the Extra Credit idea. (Hint: I'm stubborn, and don't give up easily.) Thus, I cast on one more time at home, and FINALLY it worked!!


See, it is pretty! Hopefully, the pattern I write to go with it will make sense. After that, I tried Swatch #2 a final time, this time making sure my cast on was nice and even (and tight), and making sure my stitches were nice and even (and tight), which made this swatch a good bit smaller than the others - but there are NO gutters! It's a nice, even, rectangular swatch of perfection!! (Well, as close to perfection as I can get with my knitting without going mad.) Look!


front
back
After that, everything got carefully pinned out, sprayed, and left to dry. They should be dry by tonight, so I can write up my answers, my pattern, and otherwise get everything ready for mailing early next week. (I still have a few loose ends to weave in!) But the tricky part - that's done!


Six little swatches, all 28 stitches wide and 32 rows tall.
The stitch/pattern you use REALLY makes a difference in what your gauge is gonna be!!
Thus, I grudgingly admit: Swatching is important.

Yarn on Thursday: Lookin' at the REALLY small stuff...

Attention, fellow knitters: there's more to the fiber-world than just yarn. (Okay, okay, stop hyperventilating. You can handle this.)

Let me introduce you to the wonderful world of really thin, usually not-wool yarn. It's called "thread". Yeah, like the stuff used for sewing, only (IMHO) better. Since I had a really good excuse (my BFF leaving town for the next really-long-while) to go shopping, I headed to Scarlet Thread in Great Falls, VA. This is something I've been doing for, oh, fifteen years now (since I moved back to the area), following the store through an owner change and two location changes, and making sure all my cross-stitching friends knew about it. Also IMHO, it's the best cross-stitch store in the mid-Atlantic area (and I don't give a broader area because I haven't been there yet). Anyway, I bought stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.

This is everything.


This is everything from another angle, mostly so you can see my middle-room floor, which you'll notice is a Greek Key. Like my Theseus & the Minotaur socks. See, Gryphon? I wasn't kidding about liking Greek Keys.


Here's the list of what I got, and, yes, I have NO craft budget left after this for the rest of the year. No, this probably won't stop me from getting anything I actually *need*, but it's going to put an end to the impulse buying until some time in 2010.

Charts:
Easter Parade - Blackbird Designs	Post Stitches: "He Sees You When You're Eating" - Sue Hillis Designs	Seasonal Garden Series: Spring (chart), Summer (kit), Winter (kit) - From Nancy's Needle
Twisted Heart - Ink Circles	April (Book #152) - The Prairie Schooler
Canvas:
Canvas: four 6"x6" black ornament squares; two 5.75"x6.75" green "squares"	Hand-Painted Canvas: Four tiny animal-in-the-snow ones: Grey Cat, Black Cat, Marmalade Cat and Bunny.
Cloth:
1 yd. Zwigart Chashel Linen (28ct) - metallic/opal/yellow dust

Findings:
Mill Hill Beads: 2 - 00330 (copper clear); 2 - 02023 (copper metal); 1 - 122223 (blue crystal stars)	Five stitcher's travel charms (juniper seeds) for gifts (one already given)
Threads:
Carrie's Creations:	3 - Antique Gold	3 - Bay Breeze
	3 - Blueberry Pie	5 - Citrus
	4 - Emerald	4 - Fall Splendor
	2 - Fat Tuesday	2 - Garnet
	2 - Garden Green	3 - Gator Green
	3 - Glory	1 - Halloween
	1 - Harvest Moon	2 - Hearts Afire
	3 - Highland Hills	2 - Holly Days
	2 - Irish Kiss	5 - Jewel of the Nile
	3 - Joy Noel

For hand-dyed cotton floss, my favorites are Carrie's Creations, which I first discovered at Scarlet Thread. I have no idea if anyone else carries them, so I bought everything I could that might be used to stitch pumpkins, peacocks, autumn things or that just called loudly to me.

Caron Collection "Snow"	3 - Fiesta Red	3 - Fire Orange
	3 - Lime Green	3 - Mango
	3 - Canary Yellow	2 - Cedar Green
	6 - Black (shot with royal blue)	2 - Royal Blue
	2 - Sky Blue	3 - White

I hadn't seen the Caron Snow before, either. Love the depth in the colors, and hey: it's SHINY! I'll be using the blues and greens, definitely, on the tiny dragon-defending-a-castle ornament I'm making for my husband for a Christmas surprise. (And no, I don't think he reads this blog. He might, but he's never mentioned it, or the vast amounts of tote-bags and yarn that he would have seen here, thus knowing that they were hidden in the grand piano in the house somewhere.)

Gentle Art - Simply Shaker:	1 - Butternut Squash	3 - Harvest Moon
	6 - Bay Berry
Gentle Art - Sampler Threads:	5 - Bittersweet	6 - Kiwi
	6 - Daffodil	7 - Orange Marmalade
	5 - Huckleberry	3 - Spring Grass
Rainbow Gallery "Fyreworks":	2 - soft sheen copper (FT26)	1 - metallic sheen copper (F9)
	2 - The Lavenders	6 - Black

I hadn't seen the fuzzy chenille before. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to use it on yet, but, given the colors I have, it'll be... fuzzy. Actually, the black would be an excellent background for .... hmmm....




Lookit how rich the colors are!!
Lastly, the Really Good stuff. I got some Gentle Art sampler threads (A, listed above) and a LOT of Thread Gatherer Silk 'n' Colors (B). Silk. Hand dyed. Yeah, this was the EXPENSIVE stuff, and counted for about one-third of a really huge bill. ("C" is the Carrie's Creations so you can see the difference.) Again, I got peacock, pumpkin, autumn and what I think of as "renaissance" colors. I usually can't justify more than a few skeins of this, but it's not easy to find, and I refuse to buy it if I can't see the actual colors and touch it. The internet just doesn't work.

Thread Gatherer "Silk & Chenille":	1 - In the Reds	2 - Peacock
	1 - Pines	2 - Autumn on the Cape
Thread Gatherer "Silk & Colors"	2 - SNC 204 - Amethyst Anaconda	6 - SNC 197 - Brazzaville
	2 - SNC 210 - Elephant & Castle	2 - SNC 117 - Fairy Quilt Cottage
	2 - SNC 081 - Forget-Me-Not	3 - SNC 094 - Grape Melange Lt.
	1 - SNC 102 - Grape Soda	2 - SNC 090 - Green Leaves
	2 - SNC 085 - Holiday Greenery	2 - SNC 074 - In the Burgundy
	3 - SNC 199 - Orange Grove	4 - SNC 093 - Orchid (3 dye lot 1; 1 dye lot 2)
	1 - SNC 212 - Pudding Mill Lane	1 - SNC 191 - Vivacious Violet
	1 - SNC 140 - Vintage Violets

Now, the sad bit: at the end of June, the store is going to close. I got this notice last Friday, which prompted the trip, since the store won't be there when my BFF returns to the area, and I've been dragging her along for about as long as I've been going. I'll tell you a secret: Even though this is a knitting blog, and even though I'm primarily knitting right now... I still self-identify mainly as a cross-stitcher. Not just because I've been doing it longer, even though I have (started when I was three; didn't start crochet until I was six, canvas work until I was seven, and knitting until I was eight or nine)... but because it's what catches my attention the most. "Thread thrall", I think it's called - I can be intrigued by a sweater or blanket, but if you want me to stare at something for hours, put a Teresa Wentzler or a Chatelaine Mandala in front of me. So, the fact that this store, in particular, is closing... is really really heartbreaking.


I'm really going to miss this place, and Sarah Leigh (although I'll still see her online). There just *isn't* another store like it!

Found: Knitting VIDEO podcast!

Okay, more cool stuff from the internet today! I joined a Twibe (Knitting, natch!), and wandered through the other members, looking for Cool Blogs to Follow, and discovered something possibly even COOLER -Let's Knit2Gether Podcasts!! They're free. You can see them through the link there, or download 'em free through iTunes and watch them anywhere. Portable knitting TV! I mean, really. It doesn't get much more fun than that!!

I started by downloading the first podcast through the end of 2007. The topics included "Maryland Sheep & Wool, Parts 1 and 2"; "The Yarn Harlot in NYC to Represent"; "Stitches East 2006"; "If You Block It, Will It Fit?" and a bunch more about Actual Knitting. Since the 'casts are done through donations & sponsorships, if you like them, there's several ways to donate to keep them coming. (This seems to be a cool trend: the idea of shareware expanding to "sharecasts".)

Episodes vary in length, usually around 5-10 minutes, sometimes longer, and there are almost fifty of them now. (I grabbed the first two dozen.)

I should note: There's a Ravelry group, you can get DVDs of the podcasts if you don't have another way to watch them, and, of course, there are . . .


TOTEBAGS!!!! For Sale!! Clicky!!! Yeah, okay, I have a slight totebag problem.
. . . mostly that four of my bins that are supposed to hold yarn are full of totebags. ANYway, if you have an iPod and the cables that connect your iPod to your TV, then you don't even have to worry about "hold iPod and watch OR knit". You can do both!!

ETA: Squeeeee! CAT from the Let'sKnit2Gether Podcast commented!! Squeeee!!

Internet Resources (and a swatch)

Coolest Thing EVAH!!!

The Cable Chart Generator at sweaterproject.org!! Go!! Try it!! (Donate!!)

Ahem. Okay, having pointed everyone there, let's get back to MY stuff. To wit, Swatch #5 from Lesson 3 of TKGA's Basics, Basics, Basics course. This is the cable swatch, and this is where my first ball of Trendsetter Yarns "Merino VI" (color 7800-ecru - formerly "01", dye lot 17) ran out:


This yarn is OMG SQUEE soft and pretty, and a joy to work with. It isn't, however, worsted-weight - I think it's just DK. The Trendsetter site says it's:

MERINO
100% Wool - 50 grams/skein -
Motto-6ply 136 yards/skein,
5.5sts=1" #6
Thus, if DK - light worsted (per the Standard Yarn Weight System) recommends needle size 5-7, and gets 21-24 st per inch - yep, this is DK. Now I vaguely remember someone I was reading re: the Masters Program saying that DK was okay. I'm hoping this is the case; if not, I'm going to have a cute little ecru lace shrug to wear when it's not-quite-cold-but-chilly over the summer.

Boy, I'm glad I got two balls of the stuff on Saturday, since one ball didn't make my five swatches. I'll get to see how good I *really* am at weaving in ends this time!!

PS, everyone should go download the FREE pdf file of the Yarn Standards. It's a really, REALLY useful reference!!

Deciding to Go For It.

Wovenflame (aka Marlene, up in BC) has what's probably the best "okay, what going for the Masters in Hand Knits is really like" wrapped up nicely up in eleven every-Monday blog posts. By following her journey, I got an idea of the sorts of things I'll be doing, the sorts of things the reviewers look for (that I hadn't even know existed!), and an idea that yes, it is scary, but it is possible. Her journey begins here, and then continues over the next few months.

Monday 2 | Monday 3 | Monday 4 | Monday 5 | Monday 6 | Monday 7 | Monday 8 | Monday 9 | Monday 10 | TBC....

If you're thinking of going for Level I, it's worth checking out Marlene's chronicle.

Since I'm half a swatch away (and the Extra Credit) away from submitting Lesson #3 for the Basics, Basics, Basics course, I've decided that, yep, I'm going to do the Masters Program. I got my yarn for Level I (well, everything but the color-work) on Sunday:


It's some lovely Trendsetter Merino. All the same dye lot (that appears to be important), soft, nonscratchy, and works well with my needles (since I've almost finished Lesson #3 in it). Even if I have to resubmit for Lesson #3, I'm gona go for it! Yay!!

Bodes ill for men wearing socks:

Anyone know the story behind this one?
ETA: Evidently, socks are necessary for bicycle theft. Thanks to Max for tracking down the answer!

Happy May Day, drat.

No time to actually update today - I'm the only secretary here today, and despite me having everything done for *my* lawyers so I can blow out at 1pm to see "Wolverine" up the street, I'm betting the 8 that aren't mine are going to want something. Dammit!