tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75152836180708868952024-03-18T19:49:46.338-07:00Rayyna's KnitsRobin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-26652793152126741152014-06-30T09:28:00.000-07:002014-06-30T09:28:10.624-07:00Clair de Lune CardiganIt's been a long time since I've posted in here, but I suddenly had the urge to share. And as my life has been a whirlwind for the first half of this year with the divorce, moving, and re-settling, it's no wonder that my knitting got put on the backburner. I had thought that when the divorce first started up that I might look to knitting as an ultimate relaxer to keep me calm. But I didn't. I think it allowed for too much introspection.. or it was as simple as I just didn't have time. I spent a lot of my first months after the move getting OUT there, making friends, and keeping busy. And it's been good for me. But, now I'm starting to slow down again and take up my knitting again. And remember that oh yeah I love knitting too! Hehee. Now it's a matter of finding a good balance of everything :)<br />
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Anyway, I've got two Major projects sitting on needles in my project bag. The first one I've talked about previously - the <span id="goog_1780791487"></span><span id="goog_1780791488"></span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/in-dreams-mystery-shawl">In Dreams shawl</a>. I did work on that a lot while I was recovering from surgery (Appendectomy), but I never did take updated pictures on it. So it's a bit further along than the prior pictures suggest.. and maybe I'll get around to pulling it back out for some updated pictures again soon. I'm pretty much past the big beaded stage, and down to almost just straight lace knitting. So, yeah, progress.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br />
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<a href="http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/rayynea/Knitting/IMG_20140630_093157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/rayynea/Knitting/IMG_20140630_093157.jpg" height="230" width="320" /></a>The other big project I'm working on is a lacy cardigan. <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/clair-de-lune">Clair de Lune</a>. It is a very pretty pattern. The floral section below will be the front portion that will hang down the front on one side. The bars at the top will go horizontally across the back once it's completed. The lacy edging/selvage will continue throughout the piece. I love the color and the pattern, and can't wait to complete it. Now that I've gotten into just the bar-knitting, it's going Much faster. The floral lace took me quite a while to get through, because it was just difficult to get the pattern down. It also took me a while to get used to this yarn, because it's pretty slippery. But now that I'm working this portion of it, I almost don't have to think about the pattern itself (other than a quick glance for the selvage stitches). Benefit of the selvage pattern though is it makes it Real easy to count how much I've done! I'd say that I did about a third of what you see here yesterday. I doubt I'll have very many days where I devote that much time to it, but if I devote at least two hours to it every few days, I'll make serious progress on this thing really quickly. And I really want to wear it. I can't wait. I'm about 7 rows from starting on the shoulder work for it. Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-9199458506594851862014-01-16T11:59:00.002-08:002014-01-21T07:29:29.076-08:00Twined Knitting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Okay, so I've done three evenings worth of work on the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/ultimate-twined-hat">Twined Knitted</a> hat for my brother, and thought I'd post pictures and give my initial assessment. </div>
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First thing when it comes to twined knitting -- you are supposed to knit from a single ball, one strand from the inside of the ball and the other from the outside. Which, since I'm knitting with two colors like is most frequently done with this style, I had to create a dual-color ball. Not a big deal, but since I'm using worsted weight.. the ball was HUGE!! I think it was at least 6" across.. I put a scrunchy around the outside of the ball to hold the outer-thread in place and not let it unwind unless I want it to. This technique does work really well. The two strands naturally twist around each other as I knit this project, so every now and then I have to untwist them. And because of the scrunchy holding the outer yarn in place, I can just hold the whole thing up by the yarn and let it naturally spin to untwist. Super easy. </div>
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This is actually a picture of the work after two nights of work. Last night I added another 7 rows or so, as I didn't spend quite as much time on it the third night, but I have completed a full repeat and then some. This picture is just a little short of a full repeat. I'm actually surprised how well the pattern shows in this picture. Obviously, lighting helps strengthen the pattern visually, because in my semi-poor lighting that I tend to knit in.. it's sometimes hard to see. Isn't it awesome though? Below is a picture of the backside of this, where you can see it just switches colors every stitch. I actually really like how that comes out as well, it just looks so clean.</div>
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This pattern is a little odd in it's initial creation. You knit this tube like you see in the picture, but it's basically creating a quadruple layer of knitting that will be the main band of the hat. When I've done 8 repeats of the pattern, I'll graft the finished end to the cast-on edge to make a loop. I'll then attach the crown of the cap to the top of this part. No wonder it makes for such a warm hat..with such a thick layer!</div>
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So far? I'm impressed with twined knitting. I think it's actually REALLY clean looking (when not mixing in a pattern), although the pattern itself looks cool as well. But the tight color changes just look pretty amazing to me. And the resulting fabric is really stiff, which has benefits and downsides. I'm glad I'm learning this technique, though, and can say that I might be convinced to do it again for a pair of mitts for my brother or for me. </div>
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<br />Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-343326950100219722014-01-14T13:55:00.000-08:002014-01-21T07:29:13.207-08:00January Knitting - Drowning in WIPSI have determined that January is the month of too many cast-ons. My eyes grew much larger than my time allotment allows for!! <br />
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<a href="http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/rayynea/Knitting/CAM00050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/rayynea/Knitting/CAM00050.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>It started with that <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/in-dreams-mystery-shawl">In Dreams</a> shawl. (and here's some updated pics of it). I got all the pieces together and just couldn't help starting it up over the Xmas break after I finished up my holiday gift knits. I'm up to 95 rows complete on it, and close to done with the main portion of the beading work on it. <br />
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-----As an aside on the In Dreams shawl.. This shawl had it’s first hiccup this past weekend. It went for a stroll out in the yard, enjoyed the leaves and played in the wind. My dog apparently thought the tupperware I was keeping it in was tasty and dragged out the whole tub, shawl, yarn and all. Luckily, the dog didn’t seem to chew on the knitting itself and just dragged it out into the leafy yard. And I believe the shawl is still okay, once I picked out the leaves and dirt. No chew marks on it or the ball of yarn. Apparently I need a new place to put this work in progress.<br />
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I also still have the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/strangling-vine-lace-scarf">Strangling Vines Scarf</a>, which is pretty much my go-to piece for traveling knitting, because it requires almost no thought to work on it. It's still going.. about a ball-and-a-half left of yarn to go on it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amigurumi-reindeer---marley" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images4-d.ravelrycache.com/uploads/PatchworkMoose/200663795/Marley_Final_small2.jpg" height="200" width="196" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/rayynea/Knitting/CAM00047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/rayynea/Knitting/CAM00047.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>But pretty early in the month, I decided I just HAD to try making a softy. I fell in love with this little guy. <---- But I didn't have the yarn right away. I did order some good yarn to use on him though. But until that came in.. well, anyway, instead I found another softy that would still look <br />
great on my desk during the winter months ---> My cute little snowman. He's sitting next to a couple candles on my desk now, making my office look and smell quite cozy. He also only took a couple days to complete. I do, however, want to do this reindeer this year. Maybe in February.<br />
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Then my husband found this scarf.. and while I don't think he's really wanting it, I did have a couple friends beg me and offer to throw money at me to make them this scarf <--- So now I've got the yarn to make two of these. Each skull crochets up super fast.. so it's a good filler piece when I get tired of working on the bigger pieces. But it's hard to get myself to stay focused on it. I'm almost halfway done with one scarf though.<br />
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<a href="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/mairi/204303995/twined_hat_2_small2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/mairi/204303995/twined_hat_2_small2.jpg" /></a>And then.. I somehow came across this hat pattern ---> and learned that it was made with a special knitting technique developed in Sweden called.. tvåändsstickning. Yeah, I don't know how to say it either. But it means "Twined Knitting." And what THAT means.. is you knit with two yarns that are constantly twined around each other to make for a super warm double-layer of knitting. I immediately knew I had to learn this technique and knit this hat for my brother, who moved to Canada. I found this hat.. during the peak of the Polar Vortex that was sweeping down through the nation, dropping temperatures to somewhere near -30 degrees Fahrenheit (or worse) in portions of the continent. While I'm sure he was keeping as warm as possible, another item or two to help with those extremes would certainly be welcome. I showed him the picture and he really liked it too. So.. I ordered some yarn for this project. Turns out, it is easier to do twined knitting if you do it with "z-twist" yarn, as opposed to "s-twist". Most yarns are twisted in the direction of the "s-twist", but some are done the opposite direction. So i found some suggestions.. and ordered some <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/beaverslide-dry-goods-merino-mohair-90-10">yarn from Montana</a> (yay for keeping it in America.. as opposed to going to Sweden for the yarn...). I just got the yarn in yesterday and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/ultimate-twined-hat">started </a>working on this hat last night. I was a little intimidated about the new technique.. but once I got myself all set up, the directions with the pattern were super simple to follow and I quickly got the hang of it. After doing two rows, I think I've done just about every stitch the pattern will employ, and nothing about it is hard.. just fiddly. I can definitely do this. I'm looking forward to seeing the pattern emerge as I get more rows done. I just hope I can get this hat done before February so he can get some value out of it this season!!<br />
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And to top it all off... my good friend is having a baby shower the first weekend of February. And I really want to knit up a pair of booties and a tiny hat for the baby to have in time for that shower. Luckily..booties and tiny hat will knit up super fast once I get started on them. It's just one more thing to add to the pile of items that I want to do in January.Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-64141303561245162852014-01-03T08:07:00.000-08:002014-01-03T08:08:47.024-08:00Holidays are DoneProgress Report:<br />
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<a href="http://images4-d.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/201159661/CAM00031_medium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images4-d.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/201159661/CAM00031_medium2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/recipe-of-the-month--align-mitts">Align Mitts</a> - finished! Gave them to Kim (my coworker) before the Xmas holidays, and she loved them :)<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/perfect-fit-dog--cat-sweater-pattern-generator-top-down">Sweater for Lizzy</a> - finished! Got this done just before Dec. 25th and she wore it for about a day before we took it off to bath her. Since then, she's worn it for a day here or there but it hasn't been super cold for her to wear it. This next week she'll be wearing it again.<br />
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<a href="http://images4-b.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/117269509/photo__2__medium2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images4-b.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/117269509/photo__2__medium2.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/primrose-path">Primrose Path</a> - finished! Completely! Ends are weaved in and it's blocked and it's actually hanging in my closet! I'm super excited about this, although I haven't yet worn it. And really, it's something of a spring sweater anyway.. so once it warms up again some and the winter gray starts to disappear under the bright warming sun, I'll wear it out. And it'll look fabulous. (This isn't the final pic, but it's what I've got at the moment.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/strangling-vine-lace-scarf">Strangling Vine Lace Scarf</a> - Onto my last two balls of yarn for this one. I want this scarf to be long, and I tried it on after finishing my fourth ball and decided it had to have the 5th ball, and since I want it long it should just have all six. This is my super easy no-thinking knit that I can do in the car, on lunch, or anywhere. It'll be done before too much longer.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/in-dreams-mystery-shawl">In Dreams</a> - I've made real progress on this shawl. I started it Christmas eve, after I'd finished my holiday knits, and focused on it for those two days I had off from work. I kept plugging away for the next week on it, and with very minimal hiccups made pretty good work on it. These pictures show both the pattern and a pretty view of the beading on it. BEADS! So many beads! But I LOVE what they do to it, and I find them pretty easy to put on too. Beading may be a new obsession of mine. I took a couple days off of this project over the new year, but intend to dive back into it this weekend.<br />
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<br />Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-69093340831453699972013-12-16T08:22:00.002-08:002013-12-16T08:22:39.130-08:00Knitting AgainI've gotten back into knitting full force once again. I do seem to be struggling to keep up with it, but I think I've been able to determine the cause of that - and it was quite simply, a lifestyle that was too busy to allow me time to do so. While for quite some time, that focus on other things was pleasing to me, I have since determined that I just don't have the interest in all that other stuff anymore. Perhaps its growing up, perhaps it's the forced changes in my life, but nevertheless I have moved on. It was a conscious decision - I wanted to focus less on roleplaying fantasy games with people I only partially enjoyed, and wanted to focus more on myself (and my husband). I wanted to focus on my spirituality again, as well as focus on knitting again. So, here I am, refocusing.<br />
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Since I made this decision, I have nearly finished this scarf: <br />
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I took it on a plane with me to visit my family for my grandmother's 100th birthday. And during the day I was there, and the two 1-hr plane trips, I got about this much done of it. I have since about tripled it's length as shown in this picture. I think I have two skeins left of the yarn to add to it (having gone through four so far). And having done that much of it.. this scarf has hit the "okay, bored with this single project, need to add a few more" syndrome. I just simply don't do well with only a single project at a time. <b>Project # 1.</b></div>
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<i>Oh, I also made Ryan two hats during this time. They look like this one, but in black and brown. He wears them ALL THE TIME. :D</i></div>
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I then decided I needed to go through my stash of yarn and determine what all I had and what I should make with all of it. I've got a three-drawer cabinet stuffed full of yarn, and while I probably had plans for it all two years ago, I've since lost track of most of those plans. Soooo.. it's pattern shopping time :) I updated my stash on ravelry to make sure I had accurate record of all of my yarns, then went searching. I have two yarns in my stash that I *desperately* wanted to use, because they are just so beautiful they need to be used. One was a malabrigo lace yarn in tonal greens called verdes. It's lace and I've got about 1400 yards of it, so it's gotta be made into something big and shawl-like. The other is a blue-variegated berocco worsted weight. </div>
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I'm still looking for something to make with the berocco, but the verdes.. i found the perfect shawl. It's a HUGE semi-circular shawl called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/in-dreams-mystery-shawl">"In Dreams"</a>. It also uses beading. I could ignore the beading, but I've been wanting to learn the technique of adding beads, and I really really like how they are used on this shawl - so I'm going to dive in and learn. Of course, it uses something like.. 5000 beads... so by "dive in" i mean.. dive in head first into a strong current with a waterfall on the horizon >____>. But I've never been one to shy away from challenges. I think I do better with those situations anyway. <b>Project # 2.</b></div>
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Well, while knowing this pattern was going to be my next "Big project", apparently just adding that one project to my queue wasn't enough. I also started digging through my knitting bag to determine what i was working on some year or more ago. Two projects started: a red <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/dancing-cranes-stole">dancing cranes scarf</a>, and a sweater for Lizard, our puggle. While the red dancing cranes scarf does need finishing and it is pretty, I'm already working on a scarf as well as starting a lace project, so that one can sit a little longer. But Lizzy's dog sweater really should be finished. So I pulled it out to start it up again. Ryan wrinkled his nose, though, when I showed it to him.. he didn't think it looked girly at all, and would just look wrong on the poor girl dog. I asked if he'd rather I start it over with a pink yarn instead, and he agreed. Yay! Permission to go yarn shopping! It took me a while to find the time to hit the LYS, but I eventually did, grabbing some Ella Rae superwash wool. It's a lovely light rose color that'll make a really pretty sweater. <b>Project # 3.</b></div>
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But even that isn't enough. Because with our last week of work before the holidays upon us, I realized I really really wanted to make a coworker a pair of fingerless gloves. She's been super kind to me all year, and I want to show my appreciation. And.. she's often cold in the office - soo, perfect gift. I did some yarn store hopping this past Saturday, and while I was at one of the new ones I'd never visited before, I picked up some beautiful variegated madelinetosh in a color I think she'll like. I spent all afternoon Saturday and much of Sunday finishing one of those gloves. Ryan had suggested I work on her gloves first, because they were the only one that had a "deadline" (Lizzy won't have any idea which day is actually gift-giving day, so she won't mind if it's a few days late). I had wanted to get farther on them, but I tried a new bindoff method for the ribbing that took me a try or two to nail down. So for now - I just have the one done, and the second cast on. <b>Project # 4.</b></div>
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Heheh, so I'm a bit ambitious. But it's energizing to know I've got such great beautiful projects just waiting to jump onto my needles and soar into their beautiful finished state. Plus, having multiple projects means I can switch between them when I get bored with one or the other. Both Lizzy's sweater and the almost-done-scarf will likely be welcome relaxing projects to give my hands (and brain) a rest from the massive In Dreams beaded shawl. AND I have plenty to work on over the coming holiday break (during which we aren't traveling anywhere!). </div>
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Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-63518035034234339832012-08-24T09:49:00.002-07:002012-08-24T09:49:13.800-07:00Primrose Path<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/primrose-path"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Primrose Path</span></b></a></div>
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I have a sleeve! Just one, but one is better than none! </div>
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I had started this project in January 2011. I worked on it sort of steadily for about two months. Got through the torso, and knit one sleeve. Got to the point where I was supposed to attach that sleeve to the armhole..and slid to a skidding halt. The sleevecap did not seem to match up to the armhole at all. I could not figure out how in the world the two were going to match up.. and obviously I did something wrong. I don't remember the reason, exactly, but something kept me from sitting down and focusing on it at that time.. and I put it off. And then i think the bubble of "holy crap I screwed up and I don't know how to fix it" just kept getting bigger and I never went back. And then it sat..and sat.. and sat. Granted, I did take some several months off from knitting in general once summer hit. Which kept it sitting for even longer. <br />
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Recently, while bored at work (new job that swore I wouldn't be bored.. and i'm bored..), I started perusing knitting blogs again and decided to pick up my knitting again with some serious attention. And yesterday, I decided "I'm going to finish that sweater!" I looked up a couple tips on armholes, watched a video or two. And then I pulled it out and just looked at it. Putting on the two pieces.. yeah, still had no idea how the hell they were going to match up. But I decided, what the hell, lets just try to sew these together and see what happens. Really really wish I'd tried that 18 months ago. I had to do a little easing of the armhole to the sleeve, but seeing as it is a ribbed pattern that wasn't actually difficult at all. And now - the sleeve is attached!! Teach me to let a little thing stop me from working on a project.. I should learn to just trust the pattern and keep going. <br />
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I started work on the second sleeve last night as well, and hopefully in a few days I'll be able to attach that one as well.. and then.. the sweater will be done!! Cuz, I mean, holy crap, how cool is that.. to be able to wear a full sweater that I knit myself! I still really really like this one too. Its just such a pretty color and pretty pattern. I gotta re-research how to take care of it. Its cotton, so i don't think it needs blocking, but I'll probably still want to take care of it gingerly as it is a hand-knitted piece. Can't wait to wear it though. Its inaugural wear will be as a late summer piece, rather than the early spring it was intended for.. but somehow I think that'll be okay.<br />
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Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-41826596447854815842012-08-23T14:05:00.000-07:002013-12-16T10:16:58.530-08:00Project InspirationBored at work today led me to looking over long-neglected knitting blogs I follow. Also found a few more to add to my long list of subscribed blogs. And oh my, so much inspiration!! This is why it is dangerous to browse knitting blogs... I'm currently plugging away at a huge afghan with no clue as to how long it is going to take me to finish (80 rows done so far and its maybe a little over a foot long?). The reason I set it aside in the first place was a want to do other projects that were more likely to have a finish date and thus satisfaction. And now i've done about the same amount of work as I had the first time around.. and now i'm itching to do other projects again. Maybe it's just the curse of this afghan.. haha. Honestly, I need to spend some time finishing up my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/primrose-pathhttp://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/primrose-path">green sweater</a> too - its about time I get over my fear of armhole seaming. And i've also got those two lace scarves sitting in my knitting bag, only partially done..<br />
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But... <a href="http://www.knittedbliss.com/2012/07/modification-monday-omelet-sunbrella.html">THIS</a>!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3zlqdgnqK8W0vZH57OsNU75R_gsvEORigg-cU5ntnXC1OO3l_MlRY7nL5lAKk9y4lgFmTJ9GZPUjEZ4QB7ubxoO8VlihqfEwK5AV4oFpxFE1H3YB-CLOnUIprXtEypEYdnC19P-6rteW/s1600/sunbrella.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3zlqdgnqK8W0vZH57OsNU75R_gsvEORigg-cU5ntnXC1OO3l_MlRY7nL5lAKk9y4lgFmTJ9GZPUjEZ4QB7ubxoO8VlihqfEwK5AV4oFpxFE1H3YB-CLOnUIprXtEypEYdnC19P-6rteW/s320/sunbrella.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
You can't tell me that isn't amazing. And somehow, I think i could do that. I've done one lace shawl that came out really well. And I've been wanting a pretty parasol that can go with several costumes. I'd never thought - Hey, I can KNIT one!! That's just too cool. I'm going to *have* to try this.. eventually. <br />
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Edit: This pattern is called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/omelet">Omelet</a>. <br />
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I also recently bought an online class from craftsy.com that could help me with fitting my sweaters. Not that I've made more than one sweater yet, and even that one is still in the works. But the class includes a bit about armholes, so I'm hoping it might give me some pointers to finishing up my current sweater. And I do *love* a lot of sweater patterns..I just get scared about the enormity of those projects. And they always require soooo much yarn. But i've got some stashed away for big projects.. I need to just set to those and make myself a couple more sweaters. Practice will just help me get better. At fitting as well as all the other techniques. Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-7314724046198537312012-08-15T14:10:00.004-07:002012-08-15T14:11:30.499-07:00AfghaneryWhen I first started knitting, after doing the requisite straight scarf and attempts at small glove and hat projects, I tackled an afghan project called Lover's Knot Afghan. It was all cables. It was really a beautiful pattern, and it was a great way to practice this knew found skill of mine (and cables) so.. i picked up some gray cotton yarn and set to. (Turns out, gray yarn is perhaps not the best choice for this pattern, but oh well...its a soft yarn and I'll like it anyway.) I got about 1 full repeat in (which is about 24 rows), maybe a little more, and then said "wow..this takes forever.. i wanna do more fulfilling projects I can actually finish!" and immediately dropped it onto some scrap yarn and buried it in my yarn drawer. <br />
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Two years later...<br />
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After slowing down on my knitting a lot, no longer racing through projects like there's no tomorrow, I'm looking at my pile of unfinished pieces and deciding what to work on. I finished up the noro scarf - very pretty. Frogged the sluagh Ipad bag - my first attempt at self designed fair island (also my first fair island bit.. probably should have done someone else's design first, huh?) did not go so well. Looked at the two lace scarves I had started - one red one pink - and decided I wasn't in the mood for lace yet. What else did I have out there? Well, there was the lime green sweater I never finished... but the only stuff i have left on that is the difficult sleeve set ins, and I'm not ready to tackle that. What about that afghan I put off way back when?? Dig around in my drawers and pull out this beautifully soft supple afghan bit and get to work. <br />
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I had to find the program I'd used to organize the rows (the two different block sets repeat at different rows, so you have to use some sort of marker to know which row your on for which pattern.. or write the pattern completely over as a 48-row-repeat rather than a 16-row and a 24-row repeat. Its confusing.) I then found a better version of the program and input it better.. making it easier. And now I'm on row 62 or so, almost triple what I'd had set aside. Its not going to be as wide an afghan as I might would have liked, but it'll be nice enough. And the yarn is sooo nice, I think it'll be a great cuddle blanket. It'll just take.. y'know.. forever..to finish. But hey, tons and tons of cable practice!!<br />
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<br />Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-49894887982444357842012-03-20T12:26:00.000-07:002012-03-20T12:26:44.064-07:00Boho Dice Bag Finished<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zaPslRQHZwg1aV3CBq5dYz5y3t7r0RpAZc-OeVimfLB4I5UFZjfEhdcNQG4W8EqHyc-GnGQQvc_mDZSx-MBs8HgZDnZD8N9K3VZ1Oq90B-P6_Je9bdpIJ4lBr5Anpv-bubJ3vsQT2jE/s320/photo+4.JPG" width="320" /></div><br />
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I finished the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/boho-bag">Boho Bag</a> last night and shoved my dice into it.. and you know what? I like it, I like it a lot. I still have a million ends to weave in, but figured i'd do that during this week's game; and for now..it holds dice (and loose ends) just fine.Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-87121930617519779562012-02-24T09:23:00.000-08:002012-02-24T09:23:50.894-08:00Knitting again11 months.. has it really been that long since I last posted? Wow. I will admit, I took a break from knitting for something like 6-8 months. Probably March of last year was about when I took my break.. and I didn't pick it back up with any seriousness till about Christmas...on a trip up to Boston to visit Ryan's family. But, that did the trick of reminding me that I love knitting :)<br />
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We were all packed and ready to head out on a plane that evening, and I head off to work for the day. While working.. I realize that I didn't pack anything to do for the trip other than a single book.. and that just won't cut it. So what would be better? I must find a knitting project I can take!! A quick inventory of my ravelry projects reminded me that I didn't have anything in progress other than my big sweater that made me take a break from knitting in the first place.. so I needed to figure out something else... something that I could do with what yarn I had in stash. And probably a scarf of some type that would ease my way back into knitting again. I also remembered that I had a couple balls of Knitpicks' Aloft yarn.. and that'd make a beautiful scarf! So I did a really quick search on ravelry for a nice scarf pattern that would play up the mohair of the aloft yarn.. and found <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dancing-cranes-stole">Dancing Cranes Stole</a>. Beautiful pattern in mohair aloft? Yes please! <br />
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I'd say I got about 1/3 of the way through during my trip to Boston. Its *red*. I knit on both plane rides, and pretty much all day Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So glad I was smart enough to think of that. :-)<br />
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So, since the holidays, I've been working on different projects here and there. I have sort of worked on the Dancing Crane scarf.. but not enough to make much progress on it. Sometime in January, my local yarn store held a giant sale.. with everything 50% off. Call me a sucker, but it drew me right back in..even though I have lots of yarn already. But I never had bought any of the more expensive yarn since it was all just so..well.. expensive! *grin*. So I went in.. intending to get <i>something</i>, but having no project in particular in mind. I waffled over some gorgeous cashmere.. but decided in order to get enough to make anything, it would still be too expensive (damn you cashmere!). Instead, I settled on some Noro Silk Garden. I grabbed 10 skeins of colorway 319, which goes from black to gray to purple to green to mustard back to green back to purple. Its really pretty. <br />
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Still having no real plan on what to do with it.. i did some noro project searches..and found a pretty scarf that I would like to do.. so I started working on that. Its <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/noro-bias-lace-scarf">Bias Lace Scarf</a>. Simple, quick, and shows off the colors great. That used up 3 skeins. So now I have 7 left. I seriously considered making a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lanesplitter">Lanesplitter skirt</a>, which might likely use up all of my remaining 7 skeins, but decided I'd likely never wear it. And I wasn't absolutely certain 7 skeins would be enough. Plus, I found this pattern for a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/boho-bag">Boho Bag</a> which was just amazing! I needed a new dice bag and have always wanted to try entrelac... soo, 3 skeins have been dedicated to my new Boho bag :) I'm currently a little more than half way through my first skein of the Boho bag, and I think I've really gotten the hang of entrelac - Yay me!! And it looks so awesome. I think I ended up choosing too large a size for this bag to really satisfy my dice-bag needs, but seeing as I have more skeins left-over, I can always make a second smaller one if this ends up being too big..and have this bigger bag for other uses and/or giftings.<br />
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I'm very glad to be back to knitting, and find it oh so relaxing. I'll try to take some pictures of all these projects soon to share.Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-53473359364044431422011-03-30T14:57:00.000-07:002011-03-30T15:30:21.480-07:00WhirlwindThis past week has been something of a whirlwind for me. I haven't felt like i've had much slow-down time in quite a while. And not all of its been good. <br /><br />And I had written an entire post about this.. then realized that I don't really feel like screaming and yelling at people I consider friends so openly. So I deleted it.. and posted it on my more private blog. If you are one of those friends, and have the wish to learn the nitty gritty not so nice parts of my opinions that may or may not include you, ask me to send you a link to that other blog.. and I will. But I don't feel like being quite so open where everyone can read unless they are prepared for it.<br /><br />In other news, that I will share... Ryan's grandmother passed away yesterday. She went easily, though unexpectedly, and I know we will all miss her. I packed Ryan off on a plane this morning so he can attend her funeral services. I decided to stay home, as I did not know her very well and he is going to be there for quite a few days - that it'd just be better if I stayed home. Besides, we've got a kitty recovering from surgery and my parents are also coming up to visit.. and the other cat..and the dog.. and the fish..and the turtle... we have a lot of animals - lol. <br /><br />But, that's a while without Ryan. I'll miss him. But him going up there is good for him. I know losing his grandmother was hard on him. I will miss her as well. Rest in peace, Therese.<br /><br /><br />And here's hoping to a better weekend this week.Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-38339676196006222452011-03-21T14:28:00.000-07:002011-03-21T14:44:21.581-07:00Lacking in the knittingSo yesterday was my first time to pick up my knitting again in a little over a week. Ever since I had to rip out 20+ rows in my Primrose (Friday before last), I sat my knitting down and didn't pick it back up. I took a week off. Honestly, I can also lay the blame on a new game the hubby has been trying to get me to play with him - Rift. Its another mmo similar to world of warcraft. Less players, and a major story-event-based game. I've pretty much just played that when I get home. Although there was my Idol nights.. where I sat on the couch and watched them sing their flu-infested hearts out.. when I would normally be knitting.. and I just didn't. I think I just haven't gotten up the nerve to try the row-counts again on that sweater. Its intimidating me. I just that I'm going to lose track of what row I'm on because I'm watching tv.. or doing something else.. and lose track and have to start that section all over again. Its like I <span style="font-style: italic;">need</span> a pattern as a basis to count with in order to not lose my place. Basic stitches are somehow difficult for me to count. I dunno why. Grrrr.<br /><br />I did work on my sock last night though. Still absolutely love the malabrigo sock yarn - and the colors of Abril are <span style="font-style: italic;">gorgeous!!</span> And I turned my first heel last night!! I even slipped it on my foot and it fits great :D So now I just have to take the cuff up as high as I want it..and I'll have my very first sock done. Yay! I only screwed up on that heel once - cuz I didn't read the instructions right the first time. Looking at it a second time and I knew what I'd done wrong, and it was simple enough to fix. Works for me. I can definitely do that again a second, third, fourth + time. For, y'know, that next pair of socks I do. Toe-up (where I knit the toe first then continue from there, as opposed to cuff-down) is definitely an easy way for me to do it. Dunno why you'd ever do cuff down and not use magic loop :D<br /><br /><br />On to other news - anyone else loving this season of American Idol? They are all so damn good!!! I was a little sad with the performances this past week..but half of them were really sick. And so their voices didn't carry as well, of course. Though Lauren belted through her flu and did a fabulous job anyway. And I can't help it, but I'm in love with Scotty McCreary. He may sing country, but that deep voice just has me hooked. Of course, I also really like Casey - and his performance of Smells like Teen Spirit just has me shell shocked. I am also impressed with James Durbin - his rendition of Judas Priest was really good too. Who knew we'd have such amazing and varied talent this year. Although I think Pia has them all beat just by pure vocal skills. She's like the new Whitney Houston/Celine Dion/Mariah Carey all rolled up into one. Damn that girl can sing. I hope every single one of these people make records when they get off of Idol. They all deserve it. <br /><br />Well, okay, I don't think Ashton deserved a record..she was too "overdone". We've seen her like before, and she didn't have anything special to bring to it. Boring. And Karen, although she had some potential, was just outshone by everyone else in the competition. I think my next choices for voting off are: Naima, Paul and Thea. Once we get down to .. what is that.. Top 8? Then those will be the real stars. I've been voting for like five of the contestants each week. I have no idea who I'll vote for when it gets tighter than that.<br /><br />And that is my Idol experience :DRobin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-41436585050042048322011-03-14T13:58:00.000-07:002011-03-14T15:13:37.263-07:00A perfect day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.experiencechocolate.com/images/chocolate1.gif"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 288px;" src="http://www.experiencechocolate.com/images/chocolate1.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Saturday could only be called one word: "Perfect".<br /><br />The morning began by getting picked up by D&W to head out to a Chocolate Festival. That's right - a <span style="font-style: italic;">chocolate</span> festival. $15 and you get 10 samples of super-special super-delicious super-decadent <span style="font-style: italic;">chocolate</span>. Count me in! It was a bit of a drive to the festival, but that was okay, because I always like catching up with D&W - the one couple that actually still likes hanging out with us. Only thing that could have made the day better was if the hubby had had the day off from work, but work with what you got.<br /><br />By the time we got to the festival, the next "wave" was sold out, so we bought tickets for an hour later, then set off to enjoy downtown Grapevine shopping. And let me tell you, downtown Grapevine is incredibly quaint, especially considering its proximity to the greater DFW metroplex. And that was when we got to enjoy the absolute bestest part about Saturday - the absolutely gorgeously breathtaking..75 degree weather!! It was sunny, a little breezy..and 75 degrees of beautiful. Couldn't ask for better weather, and it just made everything better. I love spring. Love love love it.<br /><br />So in our escapade around downtown Grapevine, we stopped at a few stores..but one in particular had us entranced. It was the Grapevine Olive Oil company. They make all these different flavors of oils and vinegars. And they had bread available so you could try them all!! I fell in love with a "Cinnamon Pear Balsamic Vinegar" and D fell in love with a "Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar" - appropriate for the festival we were about to enjoy. So we just had to buy them. And then we find out we can get them refilled at a lower rate in the future - nice!! We'll just have to get back there when we run out..which I'm sure will be soon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAkSQrGDEVZa1s5Eqq5CnANeU09K02zWJWmoKppPYAKPmiGTsbHDh5IAKk4vW3JaKy6LkMTeWiNbU5Jbyx1YJ6L3NGkyoXqHZlOV35QIBdA0Qz7OqKsGvPhIJ75KVGmPxBNh-X8ljClY/s1600/toffee.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAkSQrGDEVZa1s5Eqq5CnANeU09K02zWJWmoKppPYAKPmiGTsbHDh5IAKk4vW3JaKy6LkMTeWiNbU5Jbyx1YJ6L3NGkyoXqHZlOV35QIBdA0Qz7OqKsGvPhIJ75KVGmPxBNh-X8ljClY/s200/toffee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584047384399636754" border="0" /></a>After dropping off our finds at the car, we headed back to the festival. We got our little trays..and headed in. So the room with all the chocolate had waaay too many people in it..but.. the chocolate was well worth it. I know I had some tiramasu of delicious, a chili chocolate pudding of the yum, several chocolate chip cookies, an orange tart that was quite orangey, and some <span style="font-style: italic;">toffee..</span>of <span style="font-style: italic;">zomg!!</span> The toffee was sooo good..that I just had to go back and buy more. Sigh. I'm a sucker for toffee - grin! The rest of it was uber delicious too.. just the toffee beat out all the rest for me. I think most people really liked the chili chocolate pudding though.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.foodmayhem.com/uploaded_images/California_Pizza_Kitchen-733842.png"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.foodmayhem.com/uploaded_images/California_Pizza_Kitchen-733842.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />So after the chocolate.. we headed over to California Pizza Kitchen - my favorite pizza place - because, well, we were in town, and its otherwise hard to make it there cuz there is only 2 in the entirety of the metroplex!! You may ask - how the hell could we eat after all that chocolate?? Well, see, we were smart, and planned this lunch, so that we would <span style="font-style: italic;">know</span> not to eat all our chocolate. No no, we took a tupperware full of chocolate home with us. For later enjoyment - and so that the hubby could have some too. And the pizza was a very nice break to the day.<br /><br />We then headed to a miniatures store/warehouse that is semi-nearby to that part of the metroplex..because, well, we were on that side of the metroplex, and we normally aren't. ((And for those not used to the DFW metroplex..let me just say that it is enormous. It'll take you 1-3 hours to cross the whole thing, dependent upon time of day. We try not to cross the whole thing very often.)) Anyway, I picked up this mini. I picked up another one, with a bad-ass elemental cloak looking thing... but I can't find a picture of her. Not sure why. D's going to paint them for me - in exchange for some fingerless gloves. Need to start looking for a pattern for those for her.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.reapermini.com/graphics/gallery/4/02551_w_1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 172px;" src="http://www.reapermini.com/graphics/gallery/4/02551_w_1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Following the miniature buying spree (on D&W's part, more than mine), we headed back to their place to wait for my hubby to get off work so we could play games. We played a new game they bought.. Mansions of Madness. The game seemed near impossible to beat. I hate games like that.. I get that Cthulu games are supposed to be all about the horror.. but I still like to <span style="font-style: italic;">beat</span> games. So not sure how I feel about that one yet. I didn't enjoy my time playing it that night. But it may just have been first-try vibes. I ended up grabbing my sock that I'm knitting to help keep my anger in check. Yay for knitting calmingness. <br /><br />But, all in all, the entire day, was just <span style="font-style: italic;">perfect</span>. Hang out with my best friends.. enjoying gorgeous weather..eating chocolate... playing games.. Perfect.Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-64570605732398957882011-03-10T11:52:00.000-08:002011-03-10T13:09:09.729-08:00Birthday Present from HubbySo my birthday is next Tuesday, but hubby decided to get me my birthday present a week early. We both have bad habits about doing that. I haven't taken a picture of it yet, probably should.. but.. he basically bought me between 10-15 skeins of yarn (some very weird stuff.. including chinchilla and fancy fuzz stuff), and he "hung" them up on the wall in the middle bedroom with these hook things. It was quite cute, really. But he said that I get to have that wall - and we're going to build some diamond shelves all along that wall so i have it for yarn storage!! I know the shelves are the *real* gift, and the extra yarn is just fun stuff to try, but I really appreciate all of it. I can't wait to hit Home Depot and buy the materials so we can try working on the shelves soon. But I'm doubly happy that he considered my knew yarn love for a birthday present. It is definitely warming. And I must say - he doesn't have the worst taste in yarn, even if most of it is acrylic since it came from a big box store. <br /><br />In other news, I'm doing my darndest not to cast on yet another project. I keep itching to, mostly cuz this sweater really does go on and on and on and on and on... as sweaters tend to do. And I keep wanting to work on something else. Well, in truth, I did cast on another project... my first pair of socks, done in gorgeous malabrigo sock in Abril. But I did that cast on mostly to learn a new knitting technique so I could try working on his ipad bag... Not my fault that the sock technique turned out to be a piece of cake and now I'm loving loving loving knitting the sock!! Probably has something to do with the absolutely luscious yarn in the most perfect of colors. >_> <_<<br /><br />So the ipad bag has been put back on the waiting list. I need different needles. The two pattern ideas I had for the bag just did not end up working out.. at all. The first pattern simply didn't work when I shrunk it down to ipad size. The second idea (the magic loop idea, which is why i cast on the socks first to learn the technique) requires a much longer and more flexible cord than the one I have currently (in that size needle). So, that pattern is back on hold till I can get to the Woolie Ewe. At least he can't much complain about me needing yet another set of needles..since its for him XD. <br /><br />I'm pretty sure the next pattern I pick up is going to be my attempt at colorwork. Its the last major technique that I've been wanting to learn, and I have the pattern and the yarn to do it.. just need the time in my queue to get it going. But there is this other shirt thing I would like to work on too... I also get this feeling that I'm going to be knitting this Primrose sweater forever!! And not because the one that is almost done will never get done..it will.. but because I think I have two requests by others for that exact sweater. Lol. We'll see how quickly they buy the yarn I suppose for me to start on it.Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-21784412910113164222011-03-05T22:19:00.000-08:002011-03-05T22:37:09.370-08:00Ethereal Final Pics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/56479189/004_medium2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 640px; height: 575px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/56479189/004_medium2.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>And here's my best post-blocking picture. I've got pictures of it blocking and more of it finished <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/ethereal-triangular-shawl">here</a>. Its absolutely perfect and beautiful. The above color is also just about accurate as well. All my little knitting holes are mostly gone now that its blocked.. And it came out to 58 inches long, and 24 inches wide - a great size. <div><br /></div><div>Definitely plan to wear this on Monday and show it off. Yay!!! Done!!</div>Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-83974852330607597852011-03-04T09:08:00.000-08:002011-03-04T09:20:31.250-08:00Its DONE!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/56313532/006_medium2.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 478px; height: 640px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/56313532/006_medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">There it is! My very first ever lace shawl, completed completely by me! <br /></div><br />I'm not shrinking that picture, because its hard to see much smaller than that. Plus, damnit I'm proud of that thing. I must show it off in all its glory!! Hehehehe. Anyway, that's an unblocked picture. I plan on soaking and blocking it tonight (a process that is supposed to help even out stitches, as well as stretch it out so its full glory is appreciated forever in the future). I'll post more pictures once I've done that. And hopefully one of me wearing it.Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-49708553115287636952011-03-01T09:35:00.001-08:002011-03-01T09:47:04.258-08:00Almost there!No pictures yet, but I'm 7 rows from being done with my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/ethereal-triangular-shawl">Ethereal</a>! I know I won't be able to finish it tonight, as I have DnD taking up my evening, but I'm hoping between tonight and tomorrow night, I'll be able to bind off the last row of work, and set it to blocking by Thursday. I'm so excited!! This has been one hell of a project, and its taken me pretty much the entire month of February to complete it (couple extra days still counts since its a short month, right?). But it is very fulfilling knowing I've worked hard on this piece and it is coming out absolutely beautiful. I still can't tell exactly how big its going to be. Really hard to tell while its scrunched on the needles. We'll just have to see in a couple days.Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-39492973396124516982011-02-24T13:42:00.000-08:002011-02-24T14:45:42.887-08:00Clapotis ThieveryI'm gonna steal my blog space for a bit today to make some comparisons for one of my readers. My mother has requested that I make her a shawl - and she even picked out the pattern - <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/clapotis">Clapotis</a>. Its a lovely pattern, and well-loved by the knitting community. Hell, I want one of these for myself one day. Its also a wonderful choice for Texas, as it can be light and airy as well as warm. Anyway, I'm stealing the blog space so I can show her some color options and get an idea of what I can get for her. So don't mind me - nothing to see here - unless your mom - or just curious.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/SusieQc/clapotis"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 157px; height: 210px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/SusieQc/45025161/DSC03409_medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sansi-bar/clapotis"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 152px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/sansi-bar/24944975/033r_medium2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>So this is in Noro Silk Garden - that stuff you liked at the yarn store, with the long color runs. This is in a lighter weight yarn, so I'd only need 2 skeins of yarn, running somewhere between $10-$20 per skein (depending on sales). The one on the right (in browns) is also Noro, just a different type. Very pretty too.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Savitar/clapotis"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 175px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/Savitar/36116078/clapotis-1_medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/SueC/clapotis"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 168px; height: 175px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/SueC/8427223/img_5522_medium2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This is just a fingering-weight yarn that I actually can't get. So I'd need to look for a replacement - BUT - I *love* the color of this. The variegation of the colors in this yarn are very subtle (light blue to dark blue) and I think it adds a lot to this scarf by having that extra bit of variegation in it. Compared to...<br />this pink, which is pretty as well, but has a little less depth to it, imo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/prairiemama/clapotis-2"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 251px; height: 193px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/prairiemama/34052379/IMG_0051_medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Of course this is for you!<br />Here's another example of a single-color option that did come out quite beautifully (the yellow).<br /><br />And if you go with <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/carenq/clapotis-2"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 165px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2535/3931819209_8759481de6_z.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>variegated yarn, of course we'll need to be careful we don't end up with something that has *this* much variegation --> as that is just way too overboard, and a little ugly in my opinion. Subtle is better for this pattern.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rambleonrose/clapotis"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 207px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rambleonrose/54907227/019_medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And I just needed to add one more picture - this one is done in Chroma (that stuff I talked to you about that is <span style="font-style: italic;">like</span> Noro, but cheaper ^_^) which I think I can get the shawl done in 2-3 skeins at $9 a piece.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So that gives you some ideas about effects depending upon style of yarn that we choose. I am pretty sure I'm going to do this in the lighter-weight yarn. I'll get the size but keep it light, for less money - all good things. I also have the most choices in that lighter yarn as well.<br /><br />I just need color preference and style as per above (either long-run colors, variegated yarn or single color) and I can start the process of hunting the actual yarn!Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-58936163345230730252011-02-24T08:40:00.000-08:002011-02-24T09:05:05.587-08:00Bored out of my mind!I don't know why..but for whatever reason, for the past week I've pretty much had absolutely nothing to do at work. Sure, I'll find some miniscule project that will occupy about half an hour of my time..then go a couple more hours with nothing..then get another small 15-minute project.. and that is the cycle of my days for the past week or more. Yesterday, I don't think I did a single piece of work all day. It makes the days *extremely* boring, and downright painful. The only reason I go to work it seems is to sit at my desk..and answer the 10 or so phone calls we get during the day, only to transfer them to their respective recipient. Really - my entire purpose there is superfluous. To be honest, its gotten me a bit depressed this week. Hell, last night I decided that if they fired me, and replaced me with 4 additional licenses of the time-keeper program, they *really* wouldn't need me, and they'd be saving money to boot. *Sigh* Guess its time to look for a new job - one that needs me - since it seems this place just doesn't have the business to use me anymore. I'm not saying they are firing me, that's just my depressive state talking, but they could.. if things don't get better.<br /><br />What I really wish I could do was knit while at work. If I'm just sitting at my desk doing nothing but answering the phone once an hour.. that's eight-plus hours I could be knitting!!! But yeah, somehow I think that is just a bad idea, no matter how great it sounds in my head.<br /><br /><br />I haven't done much knitting this week. I haven't even caught back up to the spot on my shawl that I frogged from sometime last week. I think I frogged something like 10 rows.. and its taken me more than a week to catch up to 1-2 rows from there. Yeesh. Part of that is I did focus on my Primrose sweater for a couple nights. While at the vampire game on Saturday, I knit on the sweater mindlessly for several hours. I knew I was getting close to the spot where the armholes start as the night started drawing to a close, and so I thought to actually check the chart to see where I was. Thank god I did!! I was on row 85, and I needed to break for the arms at 87!! Talk about cutting it close! So the next night, I decided I wanted to get those armholes started, so I could get back to the basic pattern without having to think about it before I set the project down again for mindless-knitting. That was only about 20 rows or so, so it went easy enough. I'm currently only knitting the back-side of the sweater, and will pick up the front to finish that after a while. Then to the sleeves...and then finishings... and its done!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/55462222/photo_11__medium2.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 286px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/55462222/photo_11__medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I also tried on the Primrose once I'd gotten the armholes put into place - because now I could tell exactly how long it was and how it fit on my torso. Turns out, it stretches around my torso just fine, looking exactly like I thought it would look. This picture's blurry..but it shows it, I guess. Anyway, that's promising. It is a little shorter than I had hoped for, but that just makes me *that* much more thankful that I added four inches!!Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-80603641459040485812011-02-17T13:00:00.000-08:002011-02-17T13:53:43.868-08:00Plugging along..All I've wanted to do this week is knit. I've *almost* been able to satisfy that craving.. at least in the evenings. I went to visit my parents this past weekend - mostly for the selfish reason of showing off my lace - and I got a decent amount of knitting time in while I was there. And I suppose I've just been on a roll.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/54712883/photo_1_2__medium2.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 391px; height: 292px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/54712883/photo_1_2__medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>I've made decent progress on my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/primrose-path">Primrose Path </a>pattern. I worked out the math and figured out what row I was on, and I think I'm about 35% through with this project. It'd go a lot faster if I hadn't decided to focus on the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/ethereal-triangular-shawl">Ethereal </a>this month - haha.<br /><br />I'm about 25 rows (i think) from starting on the sleeve holes and upper torso (front and back) sections. Once I get to that part, I think the back will be the only part that has any lace, and the front will go super fast. And then I still have the sleeves to do as well, obviously. Once I get this Ethereal done, I can actually *really* focus on this piece..and hopefully get it done before its too much into March.<br /><br />My Ethereal is coming along nicely. I'm on row 58 out of 78 of the second chart. So only 20 more rows!! Woo! The rows are obviously getting longer and longer and longer..but I can see the finish line - and its not too far off. I don't have a good picture at this stage, because its too wide now to stretch out on my current needles, and doing a small section just doesn't do it justice. Just trust me in that it looks good :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/54712806/photo_2_2__medium2.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 185px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/54712806/photo_2_2__medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I do have one little hiccup in the shawl..about 8-10 rows back.. where I forgot to put in a yarn over. (I do have a picture of that, at least.) So this stitch that is supposed to go straight up the shawl..jogs over and connects with its neighbor stitch, instead of having a big hole between them. I "caught" the mistake, when I realized I didn't have enough stitches to complete the pattern.. but rather than dropping it to fix it..i just added another stitch somehow (don't think I could explain how), and kept right on going. *sigh* Now..instead of being 4-6 rows..its 8-10 rows I have to fix back to. But I've asked my KAL friends for advice on how to fix it, and they've given me suggestions on how to fix the lace pattern by *just* dropping the stitches around the mistake down to the boo-boo, and picking them back up correctly. I'll be giving it a shot tonight - I really hope it works. <br /><br />In other news - I ordered the yarn for a bag that the hubby has been begging me to make him. It should arrive this Saturday, I hope. I'm making him a felted bag to hold his ipad. I've never worked with a felted project - and considering that this project will need to be of a generally specific size, I'm going to have to do some test knitting and math before I can actually start up on that project. Hopefully I can finish up the Ethereal fairly soon so I can get started on that. Oh - and I should make some more headway on my sweater first too. Haha. But then I'm also antsy to get going on my first pair of socks too!! So much to do..so not enough time in my day!Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-66665742329318026432011-02-15T14:56:00.000-08:002011-02-15T15:10:45.494-08:00Valentine's DayWarning - gushy lovey V-day stuff below. If you don't like gushy lovey vday talk, I suggest skipping this post :)<br /><br /><br />Hubby and I decided to make something of this year's Valentine's day. I told him sometime last week that I wanted a necklace for Vday. I real one - real diamonds, gold setting and chain. While the weather was bad, we thought we'd go together, as I always have the car. But he just asked what type of necklace I wanted. So I showed him some pictures from Kay that I liked. There was this one that I particularly liked.. and that was I think the first picture I showed him. He told me on Saturday that he'd gotten me my present (so to watch my spending - lol!).<br /><br />Sunday night, I give him his present - its a night early, but as we wouldn't see each other till 9:30 Monday night, I figured it'd be better to swap gifts early rather than late. So I handed him my gift - a nice card, and a box of ferrero rocher (those crunchy ball chocolate things that the "gods gave to man" from the commercials?) that he likes. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AgV_rwcmh6Y/TVsFrLEHgAI/AAAAAAAAADc/YEKLkwdpHus/s1600/photo%252810%2529.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 191px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AgV_rwcmh6Y/TVsFrLEHgAI/AAAAAAAAADc/YEKLkwdpHus/s200/photo%252810%2529.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574055203063693314" border="0" /></a>He gave me my necklace. And it was exactly the one I wanted!!<br /><br />Its 10k white gold (my favorite), with one side done in all white diamonds, and one side done in black diamonds. Its actually more meaningful to me that way. Hubby is a dark-haired Italian man, and always likes wearing black (and looks damn good in it, too). So in a way, the heart represents the two of us. (Not that I really wear white..but I can be white diamonds just fine XD.) <br /><br />He even posted on my facebook after I posted the picture of it that said "He was the dark half, only really made special by being attached to [me]." Awwww!!! He really was being a super sweety all day.<br /><br />So I decided close to the end of my work day that I just *had* to do something super nice for him. We'd been bemoaning the fact that we couldn't really go out to eat any time this week for V-day due to his work schedule. His only night off was Tuesday, but we already had plans to hang out with friends that night. So I determined that since we couldn't go out, I'd buck up and cook a fantastic dinner for him. I decided on shrimp - and it was just a matter of how to cook them. It took at least an hour of hard thinking to remember that I had a recipe for Shrimp Paesano - only the best shrimp dish ever invented! Its from this restaurant in San Antonio (called Paesanos), and the shrimp recipe was leaked after a family squabble, and I had it!! Couldn't quite decide on an appetizer (I thought prosciutto would be nice, but didn't really feel like doing asparagus with it), so I went to a favorite of his - Tomato Mozarella Campisi. Easy easy to make, and he always loves it. <br /><br />So even though it sounded all super nice and expensive looking, it was fairly easy to whip it all up. But *definitely* not something we can do all that often. That shrimp recipe tastes so good because the sauce is really just 3 sticks of butter!!! But hey - my hubby *loved* it. Seriously loved it. Hell, I loved it too. And I don't generally like my own cooking. But that came out divine. Probably should have opened a bottle of wine to go with it all, but it was still a perfect way to end a wonderful Valentines day.Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-78573090204093448182011-02-10T07:05:00.000-08:002011-02-10T07:26:23.831-08:00Iced inYesterday we had a shadow repeat of last week's winter storm, and I decided I was too scared to try driving with idiots again with more ice on the road, so I stayed home. Which meant I got an entire day for knitting. And that is exactly what I did. I sat on the couch, watched tv and knitted on my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/ethereal-triangular-shawl">Ethereal </a>. I had the goal that I was going to get through the first part of the shawl by the end of the day, including all the repeats of the current design, so I was starting on the very large border section, or at least prepared to start on that section by the end of the day. Alas, I didn't get that far. I knew how big I wanted to make the current section, and although I am really close, I didn't quite make it. I screwed up about three times yesterday - whether to not paying attention, or just the inevitable dropped stitch, but I'm something of a perfectionist, so when I find a big mistake that is noticeable, I rip it out and fix it. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at picking up stitches in a twisty-lacy project yet.. and tinking back a few rows generally doesn't work for me either, as I inevitably drop more stitches that way. So if I find a mistake, it means ripping out to the lifeline and starting over from there. I've been putting in lifelines every 10-15 rows or so, so its not a HUGE thing to go back and do them over. But it does take time.<br /><br />I worked on the ethereal on Tuesday night too - while at DnD. And it was going quite well. Till I dropped a stitch close to the end of the night. I had to rip out everything I had done that night, and had just enough time to get it back on the needles before I needed to put it away. *siigh* Losing two-three hours of work is always frustrating. I'm not sure I can even measure how much time I lost in my three rips yesterday, as I kind of lost track of time since I knitted All Day. But considering I was generally able to get a repeat done in 3 hours - and I only got two repeats done in all of yesterday.. I suppose that is sort of telling. Frustrating!<br /><br />But, I think if I can sit down and focus on it tonight, and pay enough attention so as not to have any mistakes, I can get the last life line in for the current section, and start on the large border. Yay!!<br /><br /><br />On another note, I did make it to the Woolie Ewe on Tuesday evening. I'd been needing to go to get new needles for this lace project. My interchangeables were snagging the yarn every RS row, and it was getting tiresome to pull each stitch over that bump in the needles. So I knew I wanted new needles - smoother ones. I did end up getting the Addi Lace needles for their super pointy tips. And yes, Lynn, they work like a dream.<br /><br />I also picked up some Malabrigo yarn in Sock and Laceweight. I decided I wanted to pick up some of this yarn since the Woolie Ewe started carrying it, and I'd only generally heard good things about this super soft loveable yarn. I'd also decided I wanted to try making a pair of socks. So I grabbed up a pretty Sock yarn in a purple-pink-blue mix (i think the colorway is Abril). then happened to notice this one skein I'd been fingering was actually Malabrigo laceweight. Its in a green, going from light light green to very dark green (colorway likely called Verdes - shocking, I know). It was so pretty and extremely soft. And it wasn't too expensive either..so I sucked it up and got the three skeins of that they had. The sock-weight was a bit more expensive than I would have liked, but I chose to suck it up and try it for this miracle yarn I'd heard about XD.<br /><br />I haven't added them to my stash on Ravelry yet, because I've really just been focusing on that Ethereal for now - haha - but i'll take pictures of them and get them added soon.<br /><br />I *will* get to the 2nd part of this shawl tonight, though. That is Goal Number 1!!Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-22423658703238659442011-02-08T07:37:00.001-08:002011-02-08T08:04:39.453-08:00I can do Lace!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/53757589/photo_9__medium2.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 553px; height: 413px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/rayyna/53757589/photo_9__medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Yep - that's the shawl, as far as I've gotten with it. And its all correct so far. I've got another couple of repeats to do to add two more rows of those leaves, then i'll start on the border, which is a very large border - probably about the size of what I have here for length(width?).<br /><br />Let me just say that I am blown away that I am making this. As I get through with each leaf repeat, I look back at the whole thing and just can't believe that I've done this. I mean, when I picked up knitting - I thought you made sweaters, hats and mitts..all of which are close-knit with few holes, sturdy fabric. I had no idea I could make lacy airy delicate things like this. The yarn I'm using is laceweight, which is pretty much a heavy thread. To think I'm knitting with it...it still seems weird. Its definitely a bit difficult to work with, just because gripping it and keeping tension is hard on something so small. The work barely weighs anything at all. I'm just - I can't believe I can make this :DRobin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-1793777204105739212011-02-02T11:31:00.000-08:002011-02-02T11:58:45.975-08:00First attempt frogged<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffcGl6yQwaVCXErHMgc9VA01vmsc25Bgpb-zMdz5cR7gftFosJ-vrItVwANTagC4lCwRFP-sdDUbegzdhui3nqABV5dWI1UdxBcepWZKdk6UPDD2arriQWUeLp9ZMobQDvPlN_hjtQaU/s1600/photo+2.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffcGl6yQwaVCXErHMgc9VA01vmsc25Bgpb-zMdz5cR7gftFosJ-vrItVwANTagC4lCwRFP-sdDUbegzdhui3nqABV5dWI1UdxBcepWZKdk6UPDD2arriQWUeLp9ZMobQDvPlN_hjtQaU/s320/photo+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569177883232678834" border="0" /></a><br />And I thought I was doing so good...<br /><br />I started up the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/rayyna/ethereal-triangular-shawl">Ethereal Lace </a>project last night. I got through a nice amount too - 40 rows or so done. Put it away for the night..wake up this morning.. and realized I'd done it wrong! *sigh*<br /><br />I was comparing my work with the FO pictures.. and noticed that I was only working one half of the shawl. The three motifs i have currently worked all go one direction..but the final pictures all show those motifs going two different directions... one way on one side of the shawl, and a different way on the other side. I'd somehow only worked the right side of the shawl! And I had no "center stitch" that is the turning point to going to the left side. In looking at the chart..to figure how i'd done that.. because I honestly thought I was reading the chart correctly.. I noticed that there is a "center stitch" indicator....AALLLLL the way over on the left side. Hardly part of the rest of the chart at all (easy to miss, that is). But where was the other side of the shawl on the chart? ((this is one of those moments where I felt a little dumb.))<br /><br />I did ask advice on the KAL forum for this pattern. And a few nice individuals helped me out. Turns out I'd skipped a row. When the instructions said "CO 5 Sts, then start up at chart row 1 with k2, yo, k1, yo, k2"... that was for both sides of the shawl. I'd read that as row 3 of the chart.. (which is exactly that notation, but for a single side), and ignored the 2nd side. So I'm supposed to knit up the chart, single knit stitch for center stitch, then knit the chart row again for the 2nd side. So simple!<br /><br />But really, I suppose that isn't all that intuitive for someone who has never knitted a triangular scarf before (read: me). The instructions didn't ever say "knit chart twice, once for each side of center stitch" or anything like that.. it just kinda assumed I knew how to make a triangular scarf. Which, in the future, I will. Its just a hurdle I had to get over to learn!<br /><br />But, it does mean I have to frog the whole thing and start over. *grumble*Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515283618070886895.post-23854512540326331932011-02-01T09:12:00.001-08:002011-02-01T11:02:40.245-08:00Catching upI ended up getting pretty sick the last few days of last week. Sick enough that even sitting up required too much energy most of the time. You'd think that staying home from work would give plenty of prime knitting time, and I'd certainly hoped for such. But as it turned out, I was nearly too sick for even that. *sigh* I did get some knitting in, in that hour or two just after eating or just after taking medicine, whenever I could stand to sit up for a while. Just not as much as I would have liked.<br /><br />I'm closing in around 10 repeats of the flower pattern on my sweater. I think thats about 10 inches of work. I just don't sit down and focus on it as much as I probably should. But one things for sure, I'm definitely starting to feel the weight of the piece as I work it. I'm doing this sweater in cotton, so it definitely has more weight than wool would have had. But I also know that once its on, the weight won't be that noticeable, or if it is..it will only be there to accent the drape of the fabric. <br /><br />On another note, I've decided that I want to dare lace. I don't mean simple lace mixed into a larger pattern, like the primrose path I'm working on now. I mean *real* lace. A shawl or scarf done in delicate laceweight yarn that will be silky and airy and delicate. I joined a group on Ravelry called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/beginning-lace-knitters">Beginning Lace Knitters</a> to see if they had suggestions about a good starting lace <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/outofideas/52149763/DSC_0258_medium2.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 347px; height: 129px;" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/outofideas/52149763/DSC_0258_medium2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>piece. The group does knit-a-longs (KAL), and when I went to look they were just voting on this next month's KAL - which turns out to be this absolutely lovely piece called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ethereal-triangular-shawl">Ethereal Triangular Shawl</a>. It is really quite pretty! I already have a lace-weight yarn in my stash, a bright blue bamboo called Azure, that I think will work just perfectly for this shawl. And since its a KAL, I can get help along the way as I get stuck. It'll be a challenging piece, but hopefully with the help of the others I can actually get through it. <br /><br />So here's to a third piece going on the needles! I really should try to finish that project bag...Robin MacAllisterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15136244839647786712noreply@blogger.com2