Drop City

This was my first time participating in the newly name Ravellenic Games. I joined with high hopes and big ambitions. To accomplish that I entered the following events and projects.

1. WIP Wrestling - Buttercup
2. WIP Wrestling - Belted Cardian Jacket
3. Scarf Hockey, Single Skein Sprint & Synchronized Stash Busting - Drop City

I got everything ready and made sure I wasn't missing any additional supplies such as stitch markers, rulers and the things that generally go in a knitting kit. I started my main project, Drop City, during the Opening Ceremonies and after several froggings and restarts the stage was set. Regardless of how hard I tried it seemed that this was the one time I couldn't knit and watch TV at the same time.

I'm one of those people who really gets into sports with all the hollering, screaming and sometimes not too clean language that goes along with it. I said to myself that since I didn't get much done on day 1 I would make it up on days 2 & 3 because it was the weekend. Wrong! Let's just say that I love the summer OG's, but hated the delayed broadcast and the senseless chatter that was unnecessary and interrupted the events continually which lead to many late nights watching the recaps. I was glad that it was streamed live via cable even though I couldn't watch it at work. It was one of the few times I've been pleased with Time Warner Cable.

As time passed I realized that I wasn't on schedule and would never be and I'd be lucky if I finished the scarf during the OG's. I decided to save them for another time. I did finish the Drop City scarf with one day to spare

Pattern: Drop City by Kitman Figueroa
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock
Knitted: 47/27/2012 - 8/11/2012

Knitting the thinner version I weighed the yarn and divided it equally into 2 halves but still had yarn leftover. This is the first design by Kitman Figueroa that I've knit and I found it to be a well-written pattern. I liked the pattern so much that I plan to use it for some of my Christmas presents.

Niagara Falls - The Canadian Side

Someone once asked me how I felt and I replied that I wasn't feeling well at all. My mom overheard this and said that I should always say I'm fine regardless of how I felt. Needless to say I took a very strong objection this and have always been honest about how I'm feeling. The funny thing is that these days she doesn't hesitate to say how she's feeling.

I've said all that to say that this still has not been a good year for me. I've had the type of year where as soon as you get control of one problem another creeps up. My knitting has and still continues to suffer from the inability to work long and consistently on any one project. I joined the Ravellenic games with high hopes of finishing two WIPs and one new project and it looks like I'll finish my new project but neither one of the others.

In June I took a wonderful trip to Niagra Falls,CA. It is one of the most beautiful and cleanest places I've ever been. I admit to walking around most of the time with my mouth hanging open. I've been recommending visting there to everyone I know. I also recommend staying on the Canadian side the views are jaw-dropping and you won't get a good view of Niagara Falls if you can't see them front on. You've be warned that this is a picture heavy post.

Niagara Falls, New York

Horshoe Falls, Niagara Falls, Ontario CA

Words cannot describe the awesome power and beauty of the falls. I was so close to HorseShoe Falls that I could almost reach out and touch the water. To fully understand the falls one needs to not only see them but hear the thundering roar of the water as it goes over the falls and crashes on the rocks below. Take a ride in the Maid of the Mist to the base Horseshoe Falls and feel the power of the hurricane-like winds swirling around you and the force of the water as it hits you. See the boulders that are completely hidden by mist that cloaks most of Horseshoe Falls.

I left inspired with my heart filled with a new found respect for the magnificent planet on which we live. We all should take the time to get away from the hustle and bustle of our industrial society and stop to notice nature's beauty all around us. Sometimes all we have to do is look out our front or back door.

The Road to Recovery

Spring has sprung around here. Last weekend's rain got rid of the pollen deluge we had going on around here. It was so heavy that when the wind was blowing there was a pollen storm that you could barely see through.

Everything is blooming early. Our gladiolas are up and will bloom in April instead of May. The dogwoods are blooming as are the azaleas. It seems that the rather warm winter has aided the profusion of blooms.

I have been working on my weekly and monthly goals. I've found that setting goals and having a plan to do them helps me tremendously. Most of the items I've completed have been the smaller knits such as hats and socks. A lot of the knitting and time has gone into working on the Master Knitter Level II program. I seem to be more focused finally and if all continues as planned I'd like to submit it in June.

Working this program is a great way to learn knew things. The first swatches have you demonstrate your knowledge of seaming 3 different knit fabrics and I am failing miserably at seaming reverse stockinette. The upside is that once I get it down pat I can put together my Noro vest that I started in January. I've also been sharing my knowledge with my knitting guild, the Palmetto Purlers, in our monthly programs. These are just a few of the 20+ swatches required. All of the seaming techniques require 2 swatches.


And then there's March Madness. I've been watching basketball almost non-stop. I watch both men's and women's games so it's safe to say that there have been some long nights around here. I love it when it gets down to the elite eight because most of those games are during regular viewing hours. Some of the games have been very exciting and others have been blowouts. My only favorite is Baylor women.

In other news, I had problems for month with my left leg below the knee and finally found out after almost a year of pain that I have patellar tendonitis. It is now much better but I took a bad fall a few weeks ago and after severe continued pain an MRI revealed that I had a tear in the left tendon attached to my pubic bone. I found this out Friday morning and to make matters worse I also developed pain and clicking in my left thumb and found out that afternoon that I have trigger finger. This has been a rough 3 months and being unable to exercise for such an extended period has resulted in my gaining back all the weight I had lost. I can't wait to get back into the gym and get moving again.

There has been a lot going on around here but things are finally looking up so I'm going to keep looking on the sunny side. I have some finished knits that I need to post but since I still havent' photographed them I'll save that for another day. Happy Knitting and enjoy this great spring weather!

Setting Goals

Sometimes the time really does fly by. I intended to start the year off by posting more often and have already failed miserably.

At first I was distracted by the Kindle Fire I got the end of November and there was far too much game playing and movie watching and not enough knitting, beading or any other crafty diversion. I seem to have adjusted to it as I no longer spend hours at a time on it.

In an effort to get more knitting done I started prioritizing my projects and setting goals. This is how January started...

January Goals Week 1:

1.Finish Mermaid
2.Finish a pair of socks from Drip Candles, Dizzy or generic toe-up
3.Cast on a sweater for me
4.Finish Fugue
5.Knit Bosc hat
6.Design a pair of men’s socks

and this is how it ended.

January Goals Week 5:

1.Finish Mermaid - 1/16 need to do right collar side.2.Finish a pair of socks from Drip Candles, Dizzy or Opal Tiger socks 1/10 - 1st foot done, 1/3 of leg started, 1/27 - 1 sock finished, cast on second sock3.Cast on Knit a sweater for me - Belted Cardigan Vest 1/10 - half of back done, 1/19 - back done, left front started, 1/20 - left front finished, 1/21 - right front cast on, 1/26 right front finished, 1/30 - blocked sweater.
4.Finish Fugue
5.Knit Bosc hat - Finished 1/23
6.Design a pair of men’s socks - Picked out stitch pattern 1/4. 1/30 - Ordered Cascade Heritage Silk Vandyke Brown from Jimmy Beans Wool. Will swatch this weekend.

My original plan was to knit my brother's sock from stash yarn since he wanted a pair of gray socks. He changed his mind and decided he'd rather have brown socks to go with his new boots. He's so knitworthy that I had to oblige him. I'm making these extra special by designing them myself.

The sweater I cast on for myself is the Belted Cardigan Vest from Knit Noro. I'm knitting this with Silk Garden from the stash that was purchased during one of the Hook N Needles sales. This year I'm making the same committment to knit from stash as last year.


I was picking up the sleeve bands when I admitted to myself that I didn't like the short-rowed shoulders and three-needle bind off and ripped it all out. There's no point in finishing something when you know good and well that you won't like the end result. I'm going to try and have this finished by tomorrow night so that I can wear it to the Knit-Inn in Greenville this weekend.

I've already created by list of goals for February but my main goal is to knit a lot more than I did last year. I'm focusing on not only using the yarn I have stashed, but also the books and patterns that are in my library. I would also like to design a few items using the stitch dictionaries I currently own.

This year is about setting goals and achieving them. Pushing myself beyond my comfort zone and sharing my talents aand gifts with others. I'm pushing myself to become healthier and stronger in 2012.

Out with the Old and in with the New

As the year comes to a close I think about all that happened or didn't happen this year. I've felt more close to my family than I have in a long time. Yes, some of them still get on my nerves and we disagree from time to time but there is no doubt in my mind that I love them and they love me.

I didn't succeed at not buying yarn but I didn't purchase nearly as much as I normally do and neither did my mom. This year saw a drastic decrease in the number of items knitted mainly due to health issues and in November the arrival of a new gadget... my Kindle Fire.

I've loaded a bunch of patterns and no longer will be carrying around paper patterns unless absolutely necessary. I've spent most of the time since it arrived on November 28th watching movies, playing games and reading instead of knitting like I should have.

I completed only 10 items this year. When I looked at them on Ravelry yesterday I was surprised. I can't recall a recent year when I've knitted a lesser amount of items. I plan to do much better in the coming year. I'm still planning to knit as much from stash as possible but I also plan to limit my purchase of books, magazines and patterns. I have a very large stash of those also so I need to use them.

I joined a gym in November and up until recently was working out regularly. I'm having issues with my knees again and hope to get that all sorted out the first of January. I've seen changes and I'm really anxious to get back to working out. I've also had problems controlling my blood sugars and I know that getting in shape and getting some of this weight off will go a long way to helping with that issue.

As part of getting back on track I also plan to be more frugal and evaluate the purchases I make. Even though I bought relatively little yarn and had a lot of other purchases such as beading materials and clothing. I really would like to get to the point where I'm purchasing more out of need than want.

Well that's it. A wrap up of how I plan to spend the new year so I'll end with ...

Happy New Year and God Bless!!!

A Brief Interlude

After a few error laden rows, I decided it was time to take a break from Mermaid and cast-on with some of the Regia Unicolor I recently purchased.


Front

Back
This is Dizzy a free pattern on Ravelry.

I'm not sure who these will fit but they are intended for my mother. I making my first pair of knee-highs! She's always cold so these should fit the bill. I bought the unicolor with colorwork in mind so I've been spending a lot of time looking at patterns for this type of knitting. I'd like to make hats, mittens and/or gloves and socks using this technique. I'm doing these as a prelude to knitting a sweater using the stash of Kauni Effektgarn I purchased a couple of years ago.

The nephews, Jaylon and Isaiah, spent the weekend with us. At the time I asked their parents if they could spend the night I had no idea I would end up with sick children. Needless to say, I ended up with a respiratory infection compounded by asthma. Thank goodness for Z-Packs. I feel tons better compared to yesterday when I saw the doctor and have told their parents not to send their sick kids to our house. I'm home until Thursday and hope to really feel like myself by then.

Snapdragon Tam

Specs:

Pattern: Snapdragon Tam by Ysolda
Yarn: Madelinetosh tosh DK Candlewick
Needles: 4 US & 6 US
Knitted: September 11, 2011 - September 18, 2011

Perfect! This is the only way to describe this pattern. The only change I made was to knit the band on size a size 4 instead of a size 6. The hat is gorgeous and the Madelinetosh was a dream to work with. I will use this yarn again.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

Slowly but surely progress is being made. I'm trying and mostly succeeding at not knitting for long stretches of time. I've spent all of my knitting time working on my mom's Christmas present Mermaid by Hanne Falkenberg.

I have professed my hatred for garter stitch, but each time I knit a Falkenberg design it vanishes. This particular pattern has so much variation that it never gets boring. I tried it against mom and it looks great. I'm hoping that it doesn't grow during blocking like my Skyline did.

We did our yearly demo at the fair last Wednesday. I checked my entries and I received blue ribbons for my Snapdragon hat, Ziprelaxagon socks and Greenleaves fingerless gloves. My Adamas shawl received a second place. When I got to the socks mother and I burst out laughing so loud that everyone was looking at us. We were laughing because even though I didn't win the sweepstakes this year I won the second highest award which is given by my guild, the Palmetto Purlers. It consists of a ribbon, a membership in the guild and a $30.00 cash award. I paid my dues last month so I guess I'll get a refund at this months meeting.

The hat is Ysolda's Snapdragon tam from Whimsical Little Knits Book 2.


I love everything about this hat. The design is incredible and this picture doesn't do it just. I used the yarn the pattern called for, a rarity for me, and the Madelinetosh is too die for. It is so soft and the color is gorgeous. This was one of my yarn splurges for the year and I'm certain there will be more of this in my future.

This weekend I'm headed to the mountains for SAFF and beading. We're planning to hit SAFF on Friday and the beading store on Saturday. Mom is joining us on this trip. The leaves are starting to show their colors so it should be beautiful up there. I'm going to try very hard not to add to the stash, but I'm not going to prevent mom from doing so!

Back in the Saddle Again

It feels good to finally be able to knit for periods longer than 15 minutes. Between the nerve problems and the high blood sugars I haven't been able to knit much lately.

I still experience problems from the nerve compression and going 17 months without an injection didn't help the situation. I did pretty well for a while, but as the pain begain to increase I wouldn't heed the signs and schedule an appointment for one. The last 2-3 months have been a hell of intermittent and sometimes debilitating pain. I finally took my mom's advice and scheduled an appointment. I had the injection on Wednesday and I have already experienced a lot of relief. I will never wait this long again.

After years of good control, I have been experiencing high blood sugars fasting and throughout the day. I can always tell when my blood sugar is high because it adversely affects my eyesight. I've been told that this is a good thing because I will know when I don't have good control. I pay close attention this because the relatives on my dad's side including him tend to have diabetes-related blindness. I tried an injectable, Byetta, but was unable to get any control with it. I'm on a morning and evening dose of insulin and this is working. My vision has normalized and my highs have begun to come down.

I had grand ideas of putting a lot of entries in the fair but that didn't work out either. I did manage to enter 4 items which is better than entering nothing. I'm also serving as one of the co-presidents of the Palmetto Purlers knitting guild for the 2011-2012 year along with Boykin Exum. There's  much work to be done coming up with a schedule of programs and hopefully a big weekend knitting event. It has been quite a while since I was an officer, but I'm looking forward to serving this year and possibly the next.

I'm not committing my self to making many Christmas gifts but one that I have gotten started on is the Mermaid jacket by Hanne Falkenberg. It is a present for my mom and after a couple of false starts I'm finally on track.

This is my second Hanne Falkenberg design. I have another Mermaid and Pagoda kit to knit after this one. Her instructions can be a little cryptic so you really have to pay close attention. My earlier mistakes were from not reading the entire pattern and misunderstanding what I had read. I've set a personal goal of finishing this by the end of month in case I do decide to make a gift or two or three. Nothing is set in stone for me when it comes to knitting.

I hope to update this blog more often now that my health issues have settled down and I can enjoy the crafts that I love.

Seeing America

Tomorrow I head back to work after 12 days off. This is the longest I've been off work without being ill and I loved it all except for the part where we had to run from TS Lee. San Antonio was a hot 110 when we arrived but the temps dropped to the 90's for the first time in months when we were there.

The VFW and Ladies Auxillary convention was in full force. There were approximately 10,000+ in attendance. We fulfilled our delegate obligations and took some time to see more of San Antonio and get in some shopping.

Despite the heat we did some touring and saw some fascinating points of interest. Of course I visited the Alamo again and we stayed at the Marriot Rivercenter on the Riverwalk and took the riverboat tour but this time they are doing a great job promoting other sites. Even though I've visited San Antonio before I saw much more than I did the first time because I was ill during that trip.

We road the Alamo Tours trolley to see some of the selected sites in order to choose those that we wanted to spend more time visting. The next day we used our "hopper pass" to visit the following sites.

                                                         The Tower of the Americas

The Museum of Texan Culture

Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, one of five missions in San Antonio and the best-known mission in Texas

Market Square  One thing that really caught my eye in San Antonio is the architecture.

This building was used for the movie Ghost Busters...

 and a lot of the older buildings have the "Uglies" or faces believed to drive away bad luck or evil. The Museum of Texan Culture has 26 flags representing the countries or ethnic groups that have infleunced the development of San Antonio and it clearly shows in the architecture.

We left Texas on Friday heading to New Orleans and straight into the path of tropical storm Lee. The bellhops at the hotel were keeping track of the storm and tried to convince us to go around but since we already had reservations we continued as planned. The closer we got to New Orleans the worst the weather became and by the tame we arrived at the hotel that night the winds where high and the rain blinding. We spent the night, cancelled the remaining days when we got up that morning and hightailed it out of there. At that time they were expecting the storm to remain stalled until Monday and even though it didn't turn out that way we were glad we left.

Mother and I were stuck in a hotel in Orlando in 2008 during a TS that stalled and shut down everything and we didn't want to relive that experience.

We had a wonderful trip. Nothing beats driving through and actually experiencing the country you live in. There is a lot still to be done in Biloxi, where we spent our first night of the trip, and New Orleans. There's also a lot of work to be done in Texas with the drought and fires but I love visiting and seeing the USA.

Picking Up Where I Left Off

I've given up hope of posting regularly here. I'm having trouble with the left hand, arm and shoulder once again so my crafting time has been limited. I've been unable to do much of anything for any significant length of time. The state fair knitting is started and I'm currently working on a women's pullover. It will, along with the other knitting for the fair, remain a stealth project until after the fair in October.

I finally got back to beading this past week and made three bracelets with one or two more to go. The pattern is Bump in the Road from Step by Step Beads which is now Beadwork.


The top one is for my co-worker Tammy's birthday, the second one is for my mom and the third and unfinished one is for my sister. I had to modify the instructions for the toggle loop since it came out way too big on Tammy. I redid that one and finished my sister's Sunday night.

I'm participating in the Westknits Mystery KAL on Ravelry. We are currently knitting clue 2. I finished clue 1 yesterday and will work on clue 2 this evening. The first two clues are quite short but he has promised that the knitting will pick up drasticly with clue 3. This is my first Westknit pattern and so far I'm enjoying it.

I resisted the temptation to purchase yarn for this project and after much searching I came up with a combination I like. The yarn is Dalegarn Tiur in colors I call Mossy Green, Antique Gold and Brick Red.


In keeping with earlier plans I've been working with the knitting machine in hopes of using up some of the sock stash. I've got casting on ribbing and circular knitting down. I'm having some issues with the main bed. The stitches will knit fine for a while and then all of a sudden some of them don't knit anymore. I'll switch out some more needles and play around with the weight to see if that solves the problem. I'm also having problems with the short-row heel. Jan did a refresher for me at our meeting on Saturday some I confident that the more I practice the better I will get.

I still haven't had time to take a spinning class so that has been on the back burner for know. I've got a pretty full plate is it is so I'm going with what's already in the works for the time being.

Feeling the Family Love

My great-niece turned 1 earlier this month and her birthday party was Sunday. Due to family issues, I hadn't seen her since my birthday party in September. Madison is a sweet, happy and loving little girl. It was a great party and we enjoyed meeting the rest of the family.


Megan (mom) & Madison

Parents, grandparents and great-grandparents
Obviously I'm not cut out for project monogamy. I do really well until I see a project that hits the sweet spot and then all bets are off.

I was sailing right along on Buttercup and making great progress after having to rip out most of the sweater and then I decided to take a look at the "New and Popular" patterns on Ravelry. I'm not sure if it was at the top then as it is now but I couldn't resist Catkin. This gorgeous cape/shawl/poncho has created all kinds of problems. I initially started knitting it with some Miss Babs from the stash but not liking that I lost all resolve and ordered the delicious Madelinetosh Merino Light that the pattern called for. I ended purchasing 5 skeins of yarn instead of the 2 I originally intended. So much for Cold Sheeping.


After I getting over my original feelings of guilt I love the work in progress.


This is for my mom's birthday this month and the plan is to finish it before she leaves for Hawaii at the end of the month.

July 1st is the opening day for submitting your request for the state fair exhibit tags. I was considering not entering this year since I have won the sweepstakes 4 times including the last 3 years in a row. I thought about it and decided that I shouldn't punish myself by not entering because I keep winning. I have worked really hard to improve my skills to get to this point so I don't feel that I am being unjustly rewarded. Each time I win I remember my first entry many, many years ago that didn't qualify for anything because some of the buttons fell off. I may have been in my late teens or early twenties and my main focus at that time was crochet but the failure had such an impact on me that I didn't enter anything else until I was in my early forties.

I compiled my list of categories that I plan to enter and decided on the projects and the yarn. This year I will enter something in the "Infant and Toddler" section. I have two babies, a great niece and a goddaughter, that I'll be able to pass the knits to once the fair is over.

That's it for the update. I keep saying I'm going to do better at blogging but I know if life gets in the way that won't happen so I'll say until the next time.

Another Test Knit

This past month I had another top-secret test knitting project. It was another sock pattern for Kirsten of Zeks Lite. The pattern, Short Row Shuffle Socks, is now available on Ravelry.

I tested two versions of the pattern. The first is a top-down 4-stitch shuffle with a welted cuff

and the second is a toe-up 5-stitch shuffle with a ribbed cuff.


This pattern is designed for yarns that have defined and regular repeats of color.

I love Kirsten's patterns. They are always challenging and inspired. Each one exposes you to a new techinique or way to look at knitting. I love the short rows used in this pattern.

The family issues have calmed down. They haven't been resolved but we are more back to normal. I must say that I didn't get much done last month. I had to rip out most of the body of Buttercup due to split threads and got started back on it a couple of days ago. It's all stockinette so it is going pretty fast and should be finished soon.

A Raveler was destashing an amazing 14 Hanne Falkenberg kits and after looking at them I couldn't resist buying two of them. This is my first purchase since December so I didn't feel too bad about it plus the price was unbeatable. The Mermaid kit is for my mother and the Pagode for me.



When I opened the box I was surprised to find enclosed enough yarn to knit 4 pairs of socks. Two skeins of Colinette Jitterbug, 2 skeins of Regia Design Line and 2 skeins of Regia 4fadig plus I didn't pay for the shipping or insurance. This is the first purchase I've made from a Raveler and it couldn't have gone better.

Adamas Shawl

I didn't mean to take so long between blog post but life has been hectic and demanding. You think that everything is going well in your family life and a bomb drops. I can't go in detail except to say that this has been one of the most devastating events our family has had to endure and we are still trying to recover.

I finished the Adamas shawl the first part of last month but didn't get around to blocking and taking pictures until over a month later. This was our guild kal project that started in January.





Specs:

Pattern: Adamas by mimknits
Yarn: Karabella Lace Merino
Needles: 5 US
Knitted: January 26, 2011 - April 7, 2011

I increased the size in order to use up the full 4 skeins of yarn on hand. I'm glad I did since this made it the perfect size for me. Graciously modeled by my mom.

A Sweater for Me

I've been searching for the perfect sweater for me for quite a while and finally found it. I'm making Buttercup.

This sweater has been in the top 10 of my queue for a long time. I've been hesitant to cast on given the bad luck I've had the past 2 years making sweaters for me. They either turned out to be not flattering on me or I outgrew them before I was even close to finishing. I've seen this sweater on many different body types on Ravelry and for the most part it was very flattering.

I've finished with the yoke and most of the body and have started on the sleeves.


The first sleeve is finished except for the fan and feather lace trim. I really love the feel of this sweater and since I've knitted with Hempathy I know it will soften up even more when soaked.

I'm still working on beading projects but not so much lately. I've been spending a lot of my time getting my knitting machines up and running again. To that end I attending a knitting machine seminar in Raleigh, NC this past Friday and Saturday. It was hosted by the Carolinas Machine Knitting Guild and Featured four instructors from the US and Canada. I learned a lot, got some things refreshed and met a lot of new people. I really want to learn to knit circular socks on the knitting machine and I now feel more empowered to give it a try. My stash of coned yarns is as large as the handknitting stash so I really need to get busy and put it to use. I also own four electronic machines and they are being wasted so it's time to get my ducks in a row.

Time is at a premium these days. I'm on the Women's Day choir at church and we meet on Monday and Wednesday, I attend exercise classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and most Saturday's I have something going on. I'm also test knitting another pattern so I've replaced my regular knitting with that. I'm always amazed at how things are so slow and calm during the winter time and as soon as spring arises everything picks back up.

Beads, Beads Everywhere

Our beading weekend was fantastic!!! We had such a good time that we are already planning the next one. Nancy graciously invited us to her cabin in Chesnee for the weekend. We headed up on Friday after I got off work.


Nancy has been a beader for years as well as an accomplished knitter and painter. She has also been waging a courageous battle against several types of cancer for the past few years. Millie another knitting friend who started beading last year was our driver and co-coordinator of the trip. I rounded out the group of three.

We stopped for dinner and picked up some goodies along the way and once we got to the cabin we settled our things, took over the dining room table and immediately started working on our projects. On Friday we visited Horsefeathers Bead Store in Campobello, SC which is right up the road and dropped some cash. It is off the beaten path but worth visiting. They have an excellent selection of Delica beads.

We also visited North Woods Farm Fiber and Yarn Store in Inman, SC. They have a wonderful selection of yarn, books, needles and bags. In addition to these items they also have an alpaca farm and process their own fiber. I was tempted several times to purchase yarn but managed to stick to the no yarn buying plan. I did purchase some ChiaoGoo needles to test since I have heard such good things about them and this is the first store I've been in that had them. They also sell KnitPicks and Blackthorn needles. I forgot to take my camera with me so I didn't get pictures of either place. I would have loved to get pictures of all of the alpacas especially the babies.

Once we got back and had dinner we began beading in earnest. I started my most time consuming project having found the perfect beads to complete the design at Horsefeathers. I purchased some Rivoli's from Fire Mountain Gems before we left and the colors were not what I expected when light reflected on them so I found some beads that coordinated better at Horsefeathers. This was my first time creating bezels but I was anxious to try the new technique.

We resumed work on our projects Saturday and I finally remembered to get out the camera. The first picture is Nancy, the second Millie and the last me.




I finished two projects and only need to add the button closure and loop on the last.


From bottom to top: Rivoli Square Dance bracelet, Triangle bracelet and Wave Ring


My favorite project is the rivoli bracelet but I learned from all of them. I feel the need to challenge myself with each project and I'm driven to learn all that I can about this new hobby. I'm sure that I'll eventually settle down with some favorite methods but for know I'm having fun trying new ones.

I did manage to get a little knitting done on the way up and back. My Adamas shawl has reached the point where I have to decide if I want to make it bigger or work the final chart. I have two full skeins of yarn remaining so I can easily make it larger. That's it for now. I'm off to put together some beads for some more Wave rings.

Finishing

This past week has been all about finishing. For the most part I'm really good about finishing things once they're made but every now and then I hit the wall where it can take me weeks or months to get something completed.

October 2010 was when I had my first beading lesson. Millie wore a fringe bracelet to our knitting guild meeting that month and also brought several other bracelets that she had made for show and share. I asked her if she would teach me how to bead and we've been meeting to bead since then.

Our first beading project was the fringe bracelet I had admired. I used 11/0 emerald silver-lined AB seed beads for the fringe and 8/0 emerald silver-lined seed beads for the core. It's funny but what I just typed made no sense to me at all a few months ago and now I am totally immersed in bead speak.



This weekend three of us are going to Nancy's cabin in the mountains to immerse ourselves in a weekend of beading, good food and friendship. I've been planning my projects and can't wait to get away.

Thursday I finished the first installment of the sock club.




Specs:
Pattern: Split Reed Socks from Think Outside the Sox
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot Elderberry
Needles: 1 dpn's
Size: Womens large (10N)
Knitted: February 28- March 18, 2011

I made these for me and they feel fantastic. The only modification I made was to knit these toe-up.

Next up are two hats that had been languishing in the finishing line. First is the Cabled Chapeau which languished while I tried to figure out what to use to shape the brim. I purchased a hat kit at the Greenville Knit-Inn which contained a craft foam visor to use for the brim. I immediately went to AC Moore when I got home, purchased the foam and attached the visor. It then took me over another month to attach the strap and buttons.



Specs:
Pattern: Cabled Chapeau
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted Deep Sea
Needles: 8 US
Knitted: December 1,2010 - March 20, 2011

I made this for my mom's friend Velma. It is part of a set with the Saroyan shawl/scarf made with the same yarn. She has seen it, tried it on and loves it.

Last up is Limpetiole which I originally was going to knit as part of a Wooly Wormhead KAL.


Specs:
Pattern: Limpetiole
Yarn: Wool2dye4 Merino Silk Undyed
Needles: 5 US
Size: 20 (medium)
Knitted: January 2-10,2011

I knitted this for my oldest brother's friend Anne. I was a real slacker on this as I didn't get it blocked until this past Friday. I love the hat. It has wonderful drape and feels luxurious. I'm sure she'll love it even if she has to wait most of a year to wear it.

That's it for the project round. I always feel relieved once I cleaned up some of the loose ends.