Knitting or Something like it

This blog is on the move!

2005-09-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

This blog will not be updated here any more because it is moving house!
Its new address is

http://homepage.mac.com/kiramoff/knittingnutter/blog.html

Everything looks very similar, and all the archives have been copied over. So please head on over and see what's new!!

Isis is finally complete!

2005-09-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

Whoo Hooo I've done it, and I have actually knitted something that is the correct size, feels very comfortable and that I will really wear (in fact I am wearing it as I speak).
As I am a novice in the knitting blog "take a picture of yourself" department here are the various shots that I took before I asked Boo to take picture of me this afternoon.

You can't really see in these thumbnails that I was hiding all the yarn ends that still needed to be woven in!
These are the much better shots by five year old Boo with all ends woven in!

Project details:
Pattern: Isis Wrap from IK Summer '05
Yarn: Knitpicks' Shine & Shine Twist in Grass Updated later (approx 5 balls)*
Needles: US #3 3.25mm

Notes: Pattern gauge: 17sts & 24 rows, my gauge: 21sts & 32 rows. Adjustments to the number of stitches cast on and the sleeve and front shaping.
Three needle bind-off used for the shoulder and top sleeve seam. Virtually invisible (!) side-by-side seaming used for the under arm seam!
Next time need to make sure that the lace pattern repeats will join up at the seams!

Did I say that I love this short cardigan, also known in this house as the Green Thing. It feels just the right weight/warmth for the foggy Santa Cruz days that we are having.
This weekend we went camping at the beach with some friends about 20 minutes from home! It was cold at night with really heavy dew, making mornings not much fun. I wish the kids could sleep in a bit, but usually they are just too excited to stay in bed!
We had a great beach day on Saturday and it actually wasn't foggy at all first thing. The new project was knitted on a bit, but I couldn't work out whether sand really added much to the texture of Rowan Kid Classic! I wonder how Janine manages, as she says that she knits on the beach quite often. Mr KN and the kids had a fantastic time in the water, but for some reason I only got a picture of him on his own

And to round off a lovely day there was a fabulous sunset

*This is very approximate because I don't really know how many balls I started out with! How embarrassingly flaky is that?

Phew, that was close!

2005-09-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

I was getting quite annoyed by the fact that the Isis Wrap was still there waiting to be knitted and finished; it feels as if I have been knitting her for ever. Looking back, I started her in July, but as she is lace and has sleeve shaping built in and because I must be quite stupid, I have had to rip the front sleeves back at least three times between them due to various mistakes being made along the way. Also I chose to make her with a totally different gauge of yarn, so the pattern needed some big time Maths to make it work.

So imagine my dismay when finally performing a three needle bind off this evening I dropped a couple of stitiches. These were complicated ssk & yo combination stitiches, and it looked as if the Isis Wrap was actually disintegrating into the Isis Rag before my eyes. Arrgghhh! I tried to be patient and work out what was wrong, but the more I tried the more confused I became. This wasn't helped by the fact that I had background music of my darling MrKN practising/learning mandolin (the same tune over and over).... After a few (badly placed) words the result was MrKN in a huff in front of the computer, but at least I had 5 minutes quiet to work out what on earth I had done....

I am not sure that I recovered everything alright, but by this stage I just want the damn thing finished. And I am almost finished; two seams and a ribbed neck to do, a few ends to weave....

I meant to put in my Broadripple Sockpal socks from KittyKitty, but I am too tired.... Maybe tomorrow???

First Meme

2005-09-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged with a meme by Carola and these are the rules:

1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or 13th, modified by Jaqueline).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five/some other people to do the same.

So here are mine (more or less). If I were entirely accurate my 13th post only had 3 sentences and the sentence would be:
Post #13, sentence 3: Now I just have to work out a way to be there and bring my kids who will be 14 & 12 by then - WOW!!
Referring to the London Olympics in 2012

The alternative more knitterly sentence would be:
#13 Once I get used to a flapping needle on the "resting" stitches everything seems to be going quite well.
Referring to knitting socks on two circular needles

And the original 23rd post version is this:
#23 It's amazing how over half a scarf went into about 6 rows of the bag!

New projects

2005-09-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

I have been swatching for two of my next projects. Both of them are with Rowan yarn bought while in Edinburgh.

This is for the Greek Pullover from IK. which has been on my side-bar all summer. I was waiting for our trip home to get the supplies. Most of the things that I have knitted recently have involved gauge changes for different yarn, so I chose to buy the yarn called for in the pattern - Kid Classic, and even chose the same colour as the example in the magazine! I like it so far. But for whatever reason my gauge is way off 20sts & 26 rows instead of 17st & 23 rows on size 8 needles. I don't want the sweater to be knit any thinner, so I will still have to do some maths!

And this is for Mr KN It is from the RYC Classic Winter book and the yarn is Soft Tweed. I'm not sure of my feelings on bulky knitting; I will reserve judgement until later. For this one I got stitch gauge, but the row gauge is also 3 rows to many per 4". The pattern is a fair-isle zip-up cardigan/jacket, but I am considering altering the neckline and the collar, maybe to a half-zip sweater, or maybe no-zip at all. I just hope that it isn't too warm to wear here!

So, those are the reasons I want to finish my Isis wrap...

Getting back into it

2005-09-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

The start of the school year for me feels like running straight into a brick wall. Especially when the kids started back 36 hours after arriving back from Britain. Phew!
I think I have worked out the after school stuff; 2 kids' soccer practices, piano and gymnastics, but unfortunately, no swimming. Can't fit it in! But I still haven't really added anything to this blog since July!
So if anyone out there is interested, apart from my Sockapal-2-za socks, I have been knitting the Isis Wrap, started ages ago for what seems like forever. This is knitted in three pieces with the back and the fronts having half sleeves cast on as you go. I like this method, but have found it tricky with lace to get the increases the same on each part.
I thought that I was almost through, but earlier this evening I was lining up the back and the left front, and saw that there was no way I could join them together without gathering the seam! I worked out that I had cast on 7 stitches too many on the half sleeve for the front. I had been hoping for a 3 needle bind-off (even though the picture shows that I have already bound off). I was screwed.

Time to rip back to the last increase.

I was really hoping to finish this and get on with the 5 new projects that are itching to go. I have the yarn and everything...

Socks to go

2005-09-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

A long break in the UK with no inclination to blog, but time to knit, resulted in finishing my Sockpal's socks.

The photo isn't great, but I wanted to show location as well.
I had a few problems with finishing the first, mainly because I did not bring my tape measure on the plane to London, and had to guess where to start shaping the toe. This turned out to be wrong, and some rework was required.
The second was nice and quick, and the pair was completed in my parents' house in Edinburgh. They then travelled south to Staffordshire, and then Berkshire before getting the plane back to San Francisco. Back in Santa Cruz, they are taking a well earned rest before being parcelled up and sent on their way to their final home.... Well travelled socks!

New Felted finished things

2005-07-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

Here are the results of the great felting experiment. I knitted the laptop case from IK Fall 05; it was a fast 5 day knit. The stripes are knit as usual, then the bag is made by folding the fabric in half top to bottom, sewing up one side and along the bottom. The triangles formed when the bottom is flattened are sewn also, giving the bag some depth.
Here it is complete with the resident laptop:
I like the overall effect of the felting and the feltings effect on the stripes; the single row stripes almost disappear into the colour next to them. I have not cut the handles yet - I have a fabric cutting phobia - but I am a bit concerned about the strength! I can feel the weight of the laptop pulling the fabric southwards! Once there are handles will the stretch get worse?? I am not sure about carrying the bag and laptop around by the handles too much. My plan for its use is more as a cushioning bag so that it won't get scratched inside my backpack.

Having done the laptop case I knitted a cell-phone cozy - in one evening!! I based it on the pattern in Stitch n Bitch, but made it bigger for felting. I estimated about 20% on top of the regular size and things have come out OK (a little too cozy, but the phone fits!). It came out of the felting experience like thisAs usual I was so eager to get the things felted that I forgot to take before photos.
The flap on the cozy gave me a few problems, because I did not want it square. I tried casting off to make a round flap, and ssk & k2tog, but somehow they did not work; so I used short row shaping instead, and it seemed to work out fine.
I then added an I-cord loop and button made from leftover yarn from Boo's stripy Christmas present which makes it look like a kid's play phone!! I love it!
On Tuesday the kids and I are off to Blighty for our annual month of British-ness absorption! I have no idea if I will be able to download photos with the grandparents dial-up connections. So I have a slow and tortuous few weeks ahead!
I have my knitting projects to take and others to purchase for while in the UK. So there will be lots to keep me busy even if I don't write about it here.

If there are any of you out there who can recommend yarn shops in Edinburgh, Derby, Reading/Newbury, that would be great.

More felting on its way

2005-07-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned I am in love with the process of felting. The FMB turned out so well (despite me not reading the pattern properly and the handles being a bit off)
and I still had a lot of Peruvian Highland wool left, that on Saturday I started the laptop case from IK Fall 05. Its knitted dimensions are 44" by 20" which means that I have to knit Boo's height in varying thickness stripes, which means I am about up to her hip at the moment:
That would have been perfect with a picture of a girl and a hip too wouldn't it? Too late - she's fast asleep!

Of course the problem with stripes is all the colour changes invariably lead to twenty thousand ends to weave in!
I must admit it is a lot of straight knitting, and although very fast, its extremely boring. I can't wait for it to be finished!!

Isis is my challenging long-term project, which I have finally got to the point where I can start casting on for the sleeves.

The Sockpal sock is coming along steadily, because it is my take-along project so it has "been" to swimming and gymnastics this week. Next week it will venture much further afield on a European vacation. I hope that it will find is partner over there, and they will have a great trip before coming back here to be posted off elsewhere in September! I might even be able to update the blog with its/their travels!

I am a Wharf to Wharf Survivor!

2005-07-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

Today I ran the local 6 mile race from the Wharf in Santa Cruz to the Wharf in Capitola. It is a great event with 15,000 runners and walkers, dogs, kids, strollers, bands, beer kegs etc etc. The start is interesting because it takes at least 5 minutes to get to the start line, and probably another few minutes until you can actually start running. I have not been running as much as I should have in the last few months, and so I was a bit nervous about today. Also the fact that yesterday was at least 95F, which for here is unusually hot. Luckily, at about 4pm yesterday the fog started to cool things off, and it was thick and cooling this morning. Add to that, excitement and adrenalin will always help! Overall I think that I did better than in previous years and ran my (just under) 11 minute miles to get to Capitola in 65 minutes. Mr KN brought Boo and Moose to watch at two points along the way which was a great boost. A little bit tired but very satisfied tonight!

No photos, as I didn't want to run with my camera, and I seemed to have no time. I was concentrating on something else for some reason! I may display the official photo of me crossing the finish line later in the week, but last year they didn't seem to get me, which was sad.

In knitting news, the FMB has turned out really well although the fluffy bits look more like a lilac drowned cat after the felting. (Pictures tomorrow??)

I enjoyed the process of felting so much that I am almost half way through knitting a stripy laptop case from the IK Fall 2005 edition (20" of very speedy stocking stitch!). I hope to finish by Friday so that I can felt it and use it to transport my laptop in luxury to the UK next week...

FMB, Isis & a cool trick!

2005-07-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

FMB has gone a little fluffy, a little "bobbly" at the top. See if you can find the close-up.....

Nona has details of this trick on her blog!
The fluffy blobby bits were gained from the frogging of this not to be scarf which I somehow could not deal with last year
I don't really like knitting with fluffy yarn like this; it is a nightmare to unravel too, and a lot of tugging was going on last night while I ripped it to pieces. But I like the effect on the FMB. It's amazing how over half a scarf went into about 6 rows of the bag!

The Isis wrap is green and made of Knitpicks Shine etc. The gauge in the pattern is 17st & 24 rows to 10cm on large #9 needles (I think). Because its so holey I am knitting on #3 instead at 20st & 32 rows to 10cm. The problem for me is counting lace stitches for the swatch. Do I count the holes too? I have also had to do some very hard maths to work out how to increase the sleeves which are cast on and knit horizontally with the back... Here's what I have so far (with a hidden close-up!)

Can you see how the 1x1 rib leads so well into the pattern? I love it!

What kind of knitter are you?

2005-07-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

I love these, and its almost true! I am currently trying to work out what to take with me in my suitcase to the UK in two weeks!!

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.
http://marniemaclean.com
What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I am getting slightly concerned that I am actually a total obsessive. Boo complained today that all I do is knit, and nothing else... Poor girl.

Sockapal-2-za finally underway!

2005-07-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

After finishing my first ever pair of socks last week, I was anxious to get started on the next and here they are with the heel turned (already!) & this LL yarn is fantastic.
Being modelled. (I was a bit concerned about the ethics of this, but it gives a better idea to see in 3-D)

I love knitting socks on the Addi Turbos, it is definitely much easier for me than wrestling with a hedgehog. I was knitting my FMB on an bamboo circular and got so fed up with the stitches sticking, that I went off and bought a 5mm Addi on Saturday, and things have gone much faster since.
Then, I discovered something interesting (to me at least!) regarding Addi needles; in Britain they cost less than half the price I paid here in the States. I couldn't believe the difference. So I am writing my list and will be stocking up on them while back home in August!!

What shall I do next?

2005-07-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I listed all my prospective "Want to Knit" projects. Now that I have finished Jasmine and the Go with the Flow socks, I can (finally) start my Sockapal-2-za socks which are going to be Broadripple in the lovely Lorna's Lace that I bought ages ago. Also on my list is the Premier Pullover from Summer 05 IK but I am now having second thoughts about it, because it will be a LARGE cabling project that will take lots of time and probably take me until winter! So instead of that I think that I will make the Isis Wrap from the same issue, adapting things so that I can use Knitpicks Shine instead. Any thoughts?

Hi, I'm back!

2005-07-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Hi, back......

Ooops, sorry, I thought I was still in Cub Scout Camp; the land of SHOUTING, songs, skits, swimming in 58F water and about 100,000,000,000,000 mosquitoes. A lot of fun was had by all, but not much sleep!!

We were at Camp Pico Blanco which is in the bottom of the valley below, right beside the Little Sur River. It is south of Carmel, and turn left.

I did manage to get a bit of knitting done on my Go with the Flow socks, and last night, once we were back, I finished them!

The great acheivement is that the first was my first ever sock, and the second was my first sock on two circulars. With the first I had a problem with the Kitchener stitch and seemed to end up purling instead of knitting (although I am not sure if it comes out well in the photo)

But last night I seemed to work out what went wrong, or maybe its because I found this article with photos on Knitty. I always work better with photos.

So sitting there with my laptop perched on my lap, this is what I got:

and I must say that I am pretty chuffed! What a great sense of achievement to have a pair of socks that fit me, that I actually made!

Project details
Pattern: Interweave Knits Summer 2005
Yarn: Patons Kroy Socks in Paint Box
Needles: US #2 bamboo DPNs for first, then #2 Addis Turbos 24" circulars for second

Notes: Learned sock knitting, joining to knit circular-ly, Kitchener Stitch, that the lace pattern would look better with a plainer yarn.

Oh, and some of the links to photos in previous posts are going to be broken. I am trying to tidy up my folders (or actually have more than just one for storing photos). I will have to go through everything though, so I apologise that I might affect your reading pleasure!

This week I 'ave mostly been

2005-07-09T00:50:00.000-07:00

going around and around and around....

After the distraction of the last two days' blogs here is a knitting one!

My French Market Bag is going well, but my original hope that it would be a quick project that would be completed last weekend was very off! There is a lot of knitting to 8 circular inches of 200 stitches each!

This is the latest picture:

It has changed colour, but that won't last long as I have only one ball of that yarn, which is a shame as I prefer that colour to the stronger lilac waiting in the wings.

The Go with the Flow Socks are soaring now! Circular needle sock knitting is good. I am a convert (although I did lose 10 stitches off my Addis just now through over exuberant switching of needles!)

I have done my 20 repeats of the lace-y leg and am just about to get on to the heel. That's tomorrow (or actually, looking at the time, today). Although what I really have to do is organise our stuff for Moose's cub scout camp, 15 miles inland from Big Sur. The whole family gets to go! Dib Dib Dib.

Its interesting how the red is going zig-zag in a similar way on both socks.

London

2005-07-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

I feel in shock, and so far away. My brother-in-law emailed us saying he was OK, but we had not heard anything about it before that (being 8 hours behind). He lives in Stoke Newington. After yesterday's celebrations over the Olympics, it's just unreal to have this happen. My thoughts are with all those affected.

London gets the Olympics!!

2005-07-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

Being a Brit I am totally blown away by the news that London is going to host the Olympics in 2012. Absolutely fantastic! Now I just have to work out a way to be there and bring my kids who will be 14 & 12 by then - WOW!!

(Not too sure if my) socks soar on 2 circular needles

2005-07-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Finally my Addis arrived so that I can knit my second Go with the Flow sock. The first one has been feeling very lonely, and I have think that I must look a bit (more) odd wandering around with only one on.

So out comes my Cat Bordhi book and I started knitting this sock with two circular needles for learning really. I hadn't realised that I should join the top of the sock by transferring the first and last cast-on stitches before, and that made starting much easier. Once I get used to a flapping needle on the "resting" stitches everything seems to be going quite well. But I'm not sure that I am going much faster because the transition between the two needles seems to take (me) quite a while, unraveling the yarn from the needle, and moving the stitches up. However, whether it is faster or not, it is a lot less awkward for me to handle, and I am not poking myself in the hand all the time.

So here is current progress on Sock #2:

And here is Boo yesterday taking it easy after two late nights

Not sure why but bloglines hasn't found that this entry has been added yet; not sure why or what I can do about that.

Quick One.

2005-07-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

A quick post while the kids and Mr KN are out of the house for 20 minutes. Here is the Boo trying on Jasmine for the first time over her pyjamas. She loves it and yesterday picked it out to wear to a fantastic BBQ at our friends' house.

After finishing Jasmine, I needed to get a new project going, but I am still waiting for my Addis Turbo #2 circular needles to arrive so I couldn't start my sock project.
Having read knitting blogs far too much recently I found a picture of a French Market Bag here and always being very late to the party I decided that it would be a great thing to knit. My first felting project too.

Then, on Friday afternoon I looked at the Ribby I had abandoned in the spring and decided that if I finished it I would probably never wear it because the gauge was all off and would never fit. Also the Peruvian Highland wool just seems too scratchy to me for a cardigan. I ripped out what I had started of the sleeves and decided that they were just the right colour for the French Market Bag instead.

So off I go and here is the result so far:

and the very tricky (at least for me) 8 stitches on 4 cable needles start:

The colours are going to change soon as I am knitting my 9 rows with no decrease and might even get a bit stripy; we shall just have to see.

Finished!

2005-06-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

I have a finished object to show! I finished seaming and sewing on the buttons just now so I had to get the camera out to record this. My first FO since starting the blog!

Introducing Jasmine, unblocked but done!

Project details:
Pattern: Rowan Junior Jasmine
Yarn: Knitpicks' Shine & Shine Twist in Blush
Needles: US #3, 3.25mm (for ruffle trim also)

Notes: Cast on using cable cast on because I could not work out how much yarn I would need for 360 stitches. To take account of the different yarn used, the number of stitches were reduced by 20%. The decrease shaping for the shoulders and neckline was re-jigged also. The waist-shaping was not used due to the belly of my 5 yr old Boo! Seaming was done following the directions in the excellent book "The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques" by Nancie M Wiseman.

I also took pictures of the amazing invisible seams; can you spot them at all??

Tomorrow I will get Boo to model it.

Off now to sort through that list of new projects and to work out how to add a Done & Dusted gallery to my template

Next Projects

2005-06-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

I have a large number of possible next projects buzzing around in my head that I need to get out of it so I can do my proper job! I also need to plan this carefully. In just under 5 weeks time the kids and I are off on our holidays back to the UK. With ticket prices for the summer rather high we like to make the most of it, so we are going to be there for just over a month. But because of this it will be difficult to know what knitting take with me. I know that I will have quite a bit of time to knit; more than usual at least, so I need something fairly substantial.

So here is a list of all the things that I would like to do:

Premier Pullover
The Go with the Flow partner sock
Sockapal2-za socks - the new IK has a nice cable sock pattern that I am considering now
Tivoli from Grumperina (because I want to try it too!)
A Cozy for my m-i-l's birthday
Finish up my ChicKnit Ribby
Socks for the family
Felted bag(s) - French Market maybe??
Fair Isle sweater for Mr KN

Not too much really.

Weaving about

2005-06-28T23:09:00.000-07:00

I am working hard on seaming Jasmine. The sleeves are sewn on to the shoulders and now I am "weaving" up the sides. For a long time I think that I just guessed how to seam knitted garments. Sometimes I would use back stitch, other times I think that I made up my own side-by-side method. Not any more. I have a book (The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie Wiseman) that has pictures of how to do it properly and it's fantastic that it actually makes a difference. I will post pictures tomorrow of this break-through. I actually had to work hard to find the seam at one point this evening!

After swimming lessons today we went to the Golden Fleece where Boo chose her 7 buttons for Jasmine. So we are all set for a FO in the next few days if my neck can hold out. ( I find seaming requires much more neck strain for me...)

The kids are at Horse camp, run by a couple of the parents from school this week, which involves much more than just horses. Today they were catching salamanders in the pond when I arrived to pick them up. Needless to say they don't want to come home with me!

The mysteries of short row shoulders

2005-06-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

A frustrating, but ultimately successful knitting day. I decided that it was about time that I learned a 3 needle bind off as I dislike sewing shoulder seams. I had already cast off the body pieces for Jasmine a while ago with horrible stair-like steps. Having suceeded on the sleeves to work out how to improve on the "steppy-ness" of the stairs, I wanted to make the shoulders neater too.
In order to do this I needed to rip back the fronts and back, to before the shoulder shaping. I have never been at ease with ripping knitting back. It has always been a bit nerve-racking watching the yarn pull out and I have never quite trusted that fact that I could get all the stitches back on a needle. Today was to give me a lot of experience!

Short-rows on the two front pieces were a breeze, and I followed the tutorial that nona had so kindly written. It was when I wanted to use short-rows to shape the back shoulders and neckline that I became unstuck. I must have ripped out the same few rows at least 5 times trying to work out what I needed to do. I am still not sure that I managed to get exactly what I needed, but I ended up with two lots of 19 stitches on each shoulder to bind off. It was a fantastic feeling watching that perfect looking seam appear just by knitting two needle-fulls of stitches together! Although the photo does not do the beauty of it justice!
The button bands followed this evening:

Sockapal2-za

2005-06-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

Now that I have sorted out the strange invisible Sockapal2-za button (Thank you to gibsongirl on KR for that!) I feel that I can start thinking about the socks!

Boo & Moose had swimming lessons again today. Their lessons are at a pool that is right next to a great yarn shop! So after the required (discount) cookies from the equally close cookie bakery, we wandered in. I was in search of bright coloured sock yarn and the kids helped me pick out this:

Of course this was after they each decided that they would also like some socks. I have a feeling that this Christmas everyone will be getting socks!

So, do you like it? Do you think that my Sockpal will like it? The only problem that I have now is to work out the pattern. I have looked through both of my sock books and had a quick look on Knitty. At the moment, and given the tiny swatch that I knitted tonight I am leaning towards knitting Broadripple. It looks challenging enough to be interesting but not too much of a textured pattern that would be obscured by the varigated yarn. Unlike this:

which is a close-up of my first sock (Go with the Flow). I love it and its going to be great once I have its partner done, but it doesn't really do justice to the lovely pattern.

I have just looked at these sock photos and see that the yarn for my Sock pal does not look so different from my Go with the Flow sock at a distance. However, I much prefer the Lorna's Laces yarn colour. Much better to have purple than blue and green.

Meanwhile, back in the Golden Fleece, the kids & I had a lengthy discussion about buttons for Boo's Jasmine cardigan. The unfortunate thing was that all the buttons that we liked had only one or two buttons in the container. Also I have no idea how many buttons I need! So that will be a later trip to the shop! Its not really a problem because we are there twice a week anyway! HeeHee.

How I started, stopped and then started again (Part I)

2005-06-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

I learned to knit in my teens (I think). My Russian grandmother crocheted and knitted; I remember the royal blue cardigan that she knitted for me to wear to school when I was at Junior School and also the large crocheted square blankets that were around her house.

But I cannot remember if it was she or my Mum who actually taught me to knit. And I can't really remember now what I knitted at that stage, although my Dad has found some large black piece in my wardrobe at home. At some stage I knitted a Rowan yarn jumper for my boyfriend (now Mr KN) that was probably in the early nineties.

I then got stuck on a Jaeger chenille cable gigantic tunic. Clothes were worn much larger, and so the back piece that I still have has basically a large green rectangle. I think that that got abandoned in mid-1992 because I went off travelling in Africa for a few months.

Strange that this really doesn't photograph very well...

Zoom forward 14 years(!) Married (for 9 years)and living in Northern California with two kids I suddenly felt the urge to knit again. I have no idea why I did not do this before when the kids were babies, and I now regret all the potential tiny items that I could have created. At the time though, I think that I was too busy coping with the parenting part!! The decision was definitely brought on by the realisation that small people would require smaller sweaters; it would be much easier to finish children's clothes than a large green tunic!

You will notice that I have not mentioned hats, scarves, socks or other small clothing items. Maybe it was the time that I started knitting, or what was available in Scotland at the time, but I don't remember books or patterns for interesting small items, or eyelash yarn that produces a cool scarf; so I get bogged down with the enormous tunic!

No knitting today... just whining!

2005-06-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

The unfortunate thing about this blog business is that I am spending too much time tweaking the template, and no time either knitting, taking photos or writing witty entries! I have however, managed to get a fantastic project bar working on the right, with a link to a photo of the project too!

I am at the start of a marathon week. Mr KN is off in NC on a business trip. He left yesterday morning (Father's Day, poor guy) and won't get back until Friday late. This is the one week that the kids are not at camp too. To add to this fun, I will have two extra kids to entertain tomorrow and Wednesday. I will get go to work at the end of the week once I am totally shredded!! Ha Ha.

Although it's late, I think I should go and get my knitting fix in.

Night!

First Knitting photos

2005-06-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

It has taken me a few days to get my template looking as I like it. The banner is a photo of fungus taken by a river in March. It looks pretty great when faded a bit in Photoshop. It has nothing to do with knitting of course; I just like the picture!

Anyway. The project that I am working on at the moment as mentioned before is Jasmine from Rowan Junior in Knitpicks Shine & Shine Twist in colour blush. I love Knitpicks yarn because it appeals to the frugal side of me. I have enough cotton yarn from them to knit a cardigan for Boo and a sweater for me; all for under $50 including shipping, how can you go wrong??

The pattern gauge is different, so I have had to edit the stitches and increases somewhat; taking out a calculator and knitting graph paper. Having discovered the graph paper I am finding it much easier to follow for increases and decreases than written instructions. I must be a visual learner.

The stitch is fairly simple, but lovely to knit and to look at!

The other project that I have been working on recently is my first sock. I had some Patons Kroy that I bought during the winter, and when I saw the Go with the Flow socks from the summer '05 IK I wanted to give it a try. Remember, this was the first time ever that I had picked up DPNs and knitted in a circle. It was very tricky, but also fascinating. I love the engineering and structural architecture of knitting a sock. As I have only ever knitted large items, I appreciated the speed of finishing an item. Although I still haven't started the second sock yet.... I hope that I don't have this problem for the Sockapal2za.

I'm swimming in the rain.

2005-06-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, the weather has become strangely like (CA) winter again. We were out for the day at Monterey Bay Aquarium to visit the remodelled seashore part (very well done) and the clouds were threatening all day. On the way home it started to sprinkle, but by the time we arrived at the kids' swimming lessons the heavens were open and a full winter style rain storm started. The pool is outdoors and has nice tables and umbrellas on a wooden deck. The umbrellas were just about waterproof, so there we were sitting watching the kids swim in the rain! Quite fun for about 5 minutes. Had to come straight home afterwards and change!

The two knitting books that I had ordered from Overstock.com arrived today. Folk Socks and Socks Soar. I had found them in the library last weekend and felt that they were both worth buying. I am looking forward to trying my hand with the two circular needles technique. It seems to make sense to try it! As a novice sock knitter I found my first sock a bit clumsy with 4 or 5 DPNs. I could not get the hang of how to hold them. I did work it out by the time I got to the toe. I also need to work on my grafting which did not look as it should on the first sock; it seemed to have purl stitches where there should have been knits.

Virgin Territory

2005-06-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have over the passed months become slightly obsessive with reading the large quantities of knitting blogs out there. I enjoy reading them so much that I thought I would like to join in. This is not least because I happened to find the Sockapal-2-zer sign up on the right day and felt like I should jump on board. I had just started my first sock (Go with the Flow from IK Summer), so I was feeling (over)confident! I felt that the possession of a blog with buttons down the side would make me a bonafide member of the knitalong!

My current (pre sock) knitting project is Jasmine from Rowan Junior which I am knitting in Shine & Shine Twist. I love the laciness of it and the frill at the bottom of all the pieces, but not the casting on of 380 stitches to frill the back! The pattern is simple and very easy to remember. I have completed the back and the front pieces currently and am working on casting on the sleeves. I have used cable cast-on because I find it easier that I don't have to estimate how much yarn to use as in Long-tail cast on.

I am enjoying this so far. Let's hope that I can keep it up.

Now off to cook dinner and find out how to get photos on to this blog.

So, I managed to get a photo in and realise that because I was using Safari most of the options don't get shown in the editor. A quick change to Firefox and I can see clearly! Of course the photo has nothing to do with the blog, but it was one of the ones uploaded to my iDisk, so is suitable for linking to here.

test

2004-07-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

I don't seem to be able to publish my last post... but as it was huge, I am trying a small one