State Fair '09

Usually by this time I've posted the news about the State Fair. The Palmetto Purlers, my knitting guild, gave their demo on the first day which was Wednesday the October 14th. Earlier that day the results of the competitions were finally posted. I won two blue ribbons, two red ribbons and the sweepstakes.



Blue ribbon for Vine and Lace Beret and Blue Ribbon and Sweepstakes for Vilai socks.


Red ribbons, Second Place, for Noro Silk Garden Shawl and Belted Wrap Jacket.

This marks the third time I have won the Sweepstakes and each time it has been in a different category.

My knitting has been all over the place. I finally finished the Aestlight Shawl.


Specs:
Name: Aesthlight by the Shetland Trader (Gudrun Johnston)
Yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca Fingering (2.25 skeins out of 4)
Needles: Addi Turbo Lace 6 US
Started: August 14, 2009 Finished: October 13, 2009

I started this in August and got tripped up on the eyelet section. I put it down and picked it back up in October. I frogged what was already done and had no problems at all completing the eyelet section this time and zoomed right through to the finish. This is an excellently written pattern and I highly recommend it.


On Friday I started a pair of Knotty Gloves for Mrs. Rainey our family friend in Maryland who we visited in September. I'm knitting from a large cone of Henry's Attic Tennessee which is a sportweight superwash merino. It feels fantastic and the gloves are looking great. I'm toying with the idea of dyeing them once they are finished.

Today I picked most of the remaining tomatoes. The majority of them are still green so I'm going to put them in a brown paper bag to ripen. I still have quite a few remaining on the plants as well as several bell peppers. I hope that the coming frost will kill the plants so that I can begin to clean out the area.



I'm focusing most of my knitting time on gifts with the exception of some fingerless gloves for mom. Her hands and wrist have been hurting lately and they get worse as the weather cools down. I may also make some for my brothers time permitting. I have the beads and am impatiently awaiting the arrival of the braid to make several beaded bracelets. I've completed two kits I purchased from earthfaire and love the way the look.

That's it for the updates. I'm heading back to the needles to work on the gloves.

Baby It's Cold Outside

I had great hopes of having Skyline completed before the cold weather struck. I've been plagued by several frogging episodes during the knitting of the first sleeve and front secton. The pattern depends on maintaining precise stitch counts at areas indicated on the schematic. Now that I've worked my way through the right side the left should proceed at a slightly better pace.


Monday I was in need of a little project break so I cast on a sweater for my mom. It's the Belted Wrap Jacket from Interweave Knits Winter '05. I've had this sweater on my radar ever since. I was trying to keep the cost down since I plan on making one for my mom and another for me. Elann.com had the perfect subsitute for the Filatura di Crosa Zara. The yarn is Filati Italian Collection Tebe Extrafine Merino.


In order to satisfy my need for a mindless knitting project I also cast on a pair of basic toe-up socks. The yarn is Regia 6fadig Marokko Color. They are knitting up quickly, but I doubt that they'll fit in any of the shoes we wear due to the thickness. More than likely they'll be used for some nice comfy and warm house socks.



And last but not least, I'm waiting on the arrival of a package from Webs. I want to knit the Sideways Spencer from IK Fall '04 as a Christmas present for one of my nieces. I started it in orange but decided to go with a more neutral color. I wouldn't have a problem wearing a loud orange sweater but that doesn't mean that she wouldn't, so when I doubt take the past of least resistance.