Skyline

Finished and field tested.



Specs:

Pattern: Skyline by Hanne Falkenberg
Yarn: Hanne Falkenberg Shetland No. 2
Needles: 2.5 and 3.0 mm Ebony Holz & Stein, 3.0 addi Turbo Lace
Size: Large
Started: October 4, 2007
Finished: February 21, 2008

Modifications: None. Prior to blocking I had entertained the idea of lengthening the sleeves. They grew significantly in the blocking process and are 2-3 inches too long. I may attempt fulling it slightly to see if I can reduce some of the length. One side is not longer than the other. I did a bad job of adjusting it when the photos were being taken.

This weekend I was at the beach for the VFW/Ladies Auxiliary Spring Conference and the drawing for the shawl. Remarkbly I won my own shawl and before I could say anything a member of our post had donated it back and a new drawing was held. The winner lives right here in Columbia and is a good friend of my mom. I'm glad to know that it is going to a good home. I was a little agitated at first, no a lot agitated, but truth be told I can always make another.

I finally made it to Knitting Up A Storm in North Myrtle Beach. Dianne the shop owner was very nice and kept the store open since we were on the way. I purchased some summer weight yarns for shells for mom, a skein of sock yarn and a Lantern Moon bag. Mom gifted me with another style of Lantern Moon bag which was a big surprise. If you're in the area be sure to pay a visit.

Rush

There's a strange feeling that comes over me whenever I finish a project. I'm not sure if it's the joy of finally being finished or the fact that I can search through stashes, pattern and yarn, for the next object to satisfy my knitting fancy. If truth be told this sensation washes over me at several points in the knitting process.

The first occurs when I decide on the pattern and which yarn I'm going to use. The second occurs when I can see the project beginning to take shape. The third when I've finished all the pieces and the fourth once I've blocked and put the garment together. Tonight I get to feel the thrill of blocking twice.

My beloved Skyline is complete. After numerous misteps and re-starts, all due to operator error, this sweater is complete and blocking.


I hope to christen this sweater this weekend while the cold front passes through.

Last week I completed all the pieces for the Ribbon-Edged Cardigan from Special Knits. I still haven't found the ribbon, but I have the cutest flower buttons and may just omit it altogether.


About a week and half ago I did an inventory of the number of wip's that are currently on the needles. Including projects that were cast on by me or adopted from my mother, I have a staggering 14 projects in progress. I've identified those that will be frogged and those that I'll see to completion. Over the next few weeks there'll be lots of early spring cleaning on this blog in preparation for the fruits of summer.

Whoop, Whoop!

Can I get a whoop, whoop! The body of the Skyline sweater is complete. I won't be wearing it this weekend, but the monkey is finally off my back. This sweater was becoming my Albatross and what I really needed to do was take a step back and re-group. I'm on to the seemingly endless rows of garter stitch trim which marks the home stretch.


It's easy to determine which direction to go in on the knitting front. My co-worker's baby was born yesterday morning so I'll need to get moving and finish the baby sweater. I need to knit the shrug for my niece and finish the Belted Wrap Jacket for mom. At some point I need to throw some socks into the mix. It's been months since either of us has donned a new pair.

This weekend I'm attending the knit-in in Greenville and I'm looking forward to hanging out with some knitting buds I met last year. There will definitely be some stash enhancement, imbibing of beverages and lots of knitting all around though not necessarily in that order. Details when I return.

Progress

I'm making good progress on the Skyline jacket. Both sleeves are done and joined and if I hadn't left my contrast stripe yarn at work I would have finished the left front. Not one to be discouraged, I picked up the arm band on the right sleeve. I'm thinking that I'll need to add another half inch or so. This weekend I'll devote my time to knitting the band that surrounds the jacket. Next weekend I'm attending a knit-in in Greenville and would love to have this finished so that I can wear it.


My office knitting is now the baby sweater since the jacket is no longer a portable project. I'm using that time to concentrate on knitting and finishing the baby sweater so that I can deliver it by next Friday.

I finally got a chance to take a picture of one of the red Hannah's I knitted over the holidays. My co-worker who received a red one brought hers to work so that I could photograph it. This color is my favorite of all of them.


The younger boys told me this weekend that they want knitted hats. My youngest nephew is three and his mother says that he has taken possession of the hat I gave her for Christmas. I let him wear one that isn't quite the right size, he has a big head, and he didn't want to take it off. He's only three, but he understands that I make things when I knit and he can wear them.

The other one is eight and he's seen me knitting for so long that he isn't fazed by it anymore. When he was much younger he was amazed by the fact that I was always knitting or reading something knitting related. When someone would ask me what I was doing his immediate replay was "some knitting." If someone asked what was I reading they received the same reply. Most of the time I was, but on a few occassions I wasn't. He was so used to that being the case that he didn't even bother to check anymore.

This past weekend I had both of them over and the knitting was at a minimum. They'll be expecting their hats soon since they've already put in their requests. I don't think they'll be affected by the sweater curse in the future.

Br-r-r-r

I'm normally not one to wait for natural light to take pictures. My photography skills are nothing to brag about, but the hat and scarf begged for just the right condition. I finally got around to blocking them Thursday night and realized that the crown could have been a little less full, but overall I'm pleased with the set and I'm sure Nicole will enjoy it.



I was going for an artsy shot, alas the wind was not cooperating. It's been bitterly cold all day and I'm sure it's even colder in Charlotte so I'm anxious to get this to her.

I also got out my dye pot for some dyeing experiments. Nothing major at this time given the breathing issues. I've purchased a lot of natural colored fingering weight skeins when the lys has been having sales with the sole purpose of dyeing them. This round I'm using Lanett Superwash 100% Merino. It's been a pain in the ass to wind them into hanks and I didn't tie them tight enough prior to putting them in the pot so I'll have a mess on my hands in the morning.


In the good news department, I'm knitting the left front of the Skyline Jacket. Tomorrow is a holiday for the state and I hope to have it finished by then. After that its' miles of garter stitch trim and finally another FO 2008. I'm picking out the next projects and for now I think I'll stick to cardigans with the flakey weather we have around here that may be the best option.

I still have some hats to make for the boys. The first one will be one for me. The Strudel by Woolly Wormhead. Vera has done several styles and the Strudel is my favorite. Even though I haven't made any of the hats, I highly recommend "Going Straight - A New Generation of Knitted Hats". The tutorials alone are worth the purchase price and it comes in three versions.

Re-Starts

A late "Happy New Year". The hat saga is finally over and I'm back to regular knitting. All were well received even though I did have to explain how to use some of them. I made a total of seven Hannah's including two for co-workers and 3 headbands. Somehow I still managed to be short one gift so I'll be working on remedying that situation.


Hannah
The Retro Redux Shrug from LaceStyles was a wonderful project to knit. I finished it in time for gift delivery. That process has been delayed by the fact that I forget to remove it from the machine after spinning it dry and by the time I remembered it had been agitating for a while. The laciness kept it from felting completely but it ended up being way too small so I've passed it on to my sister's friend. I asked my niece what color she wanted the new one to be and she likes the original color so I've already purchased the yarn for a new one.


I've never knitted much for people outside my immediate family. This includes my best friend. During the holidays she asked if I would knit her a hot pink scarf. I decided to knit a scarf and matching hat. I have enough left over to make some matching fingerless mitts but I'm nut sure what hand size to make so I'm going to pass on that for now. I used the Cable and Eyelet Rib Pattern from "The Harmony Guide to Knitting Patterns Volume Two". This is the original guide and not the recently re-issued versions. The pattern was easy to remember and fun to knit. I still have to block both of them before packing and sending them on their way.




The cold weather arrived and the only person left without a hat was me. I knitted another Odessa with gold beads. This hat is perfect. I wore it to work on a bad hair day and didn't get overheated. It is one of the most comfortable hats I've ever made. Big ups to Grumperina.


I've been away from the Skyline Jacket so long that when I picked it up and started again my row count was off. It's hard to tell where the mistake was so I've ripped back to where the first decreases began. I'm using the Ott Lite and plan to work on this until the sleeve is finished. That will take two or three evenings then I can get on with the business of putting it all together. The cold whether has left us once again and we are back to temps in the 60's and 70's. Maybe this time I'll get it finished before the next cold snap passes through.

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.

The Slow Down

I predicted 2 Fridays ago that I would be finished with this sweater. I didn't take into consideration that my eyes would get tired from Charcoal/Black coloring. I took a two day break and this past weekend I had a little visitor.

I ran into a couple of stumbling blocks in the interpretation of the sleeve directions which resulted in several frogging episodes. Mind you, not the entire sleeve, but in the upper arm section. I'm back on track and today I finished the right sleeve section. The fascination continues.


The sleeve is attached to the body section using a 3-needle bind off.

Once it is completely attached, you shape the remaining rows and once that is done proceed to the right front triangle.

The temps have finally cooled down and down we are below season normals. I should have this finished in the next week or so and hope that we won't rebound back into the 80's.

The sale at the Hook 'n' Needle was good. There was much stash enhancement which I hadn't plan to do. Besides getting things set-up on Ravelry which has turned into a major time suck, I've also been going through my books, mags and the stash selecting projects. I've yet to tackle any of the leaflets or individual patterns.

I've gotten a lot of inspiration from the projects and have some new and very interesting knitters. I'm going to tone things down a bit in order to get the few projects I plan to make for Christmas.

Monika of Smoking Hot Needles has created a gorgeous pair of fingerless mittens. The pattern for KYLA is free and available on her blog.

A Sweet Obsession

Row upon row of garter stitch rythmically taking shape. I've been hooked by the wonder that is a Hanne Falkenberg design.


The back is completed and Saturday night I started the right sleeve. I'm not quite sure that I fully understand the mechanics of assembly once the sleeve is done, but with a little patience and perserverance it will all come together.

A big thanks to Vera for the info on knitting shops in the Myrtle Beach area even though I was unable to make it to either one of them. By the time we finished shopping it was time to head back and get ready for the banquet and dance. I'll have to make that my number one priority the next time I'm in the area.


Specs:

Pattern: Velvet-Edged Jacket
Source: Special Knits by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: baby cashmerino Baby Blue
Started: August 12, 2007
Finished: September 8, 2007

Modifications: I opted not to add the velvet piping since this is a care intensive baby garment requiring either hand washing or dry cleaning. Little Eric now weighs over 8 lbs and is thriving and growing by leaps and bounds. The gift was delivered at the baby shower was on October 8th.

Skyline, Pumpkin and the Alps

Whew! I've been busy entering projects, books and stash on Ravelry and investigating the different groups. I'm trying desperately not to completely neglect my knitting pursuits.

I completed the last sleeve on the Pumpkin hoodie for my nephew Isaiah and rescued my long forgotten Hanne Falkenberg Skyline kit and casted on today. I've been unable to find a kit with this exact color scheme. Mine seems to have the teal, which looks more aqua in the picture, substituted for the orange. So far I've been pleased with the progress and will try hard not to get completely bored with the garter stitch and put it aside in the hope that we will have enough cool/cold weather to actually get some use out of it.



Tonight I casted on mom's Alpine Knit Scarf which took a trip to the frog pond a few months back. It's her Christmas present for last year and I can't let Christmas sneak up on me again without getting it finished. It doesn't appear that I'll be making most of my presents this year. I may get a few hats made, but at this late stage in the game it's not worth it.

Progress has been painfully slow on the Chain Rib socks. I'm doing the ribbing for the first sock, but working on them always gets deferred for another project. Even though my participation in the Summer of Socks was terrible, I'm participating in Socktoberfest. My pressure project is finished and even though I'm still driven to get things accomplished it feels less stressful.