Angee Revisted

For reasons which shall forever remain unknown it has taken me this long to get a photograph of these socks. I rarely repeat patterns but this one deserved an encore.





Specs:
Pattern: Angee from Sock Innovation by Cookie A
Yarn: Sandnesgarn Lanett hand dyed using dye in the skein method
Needles: 1 US Inox dpn's
For: 9.5 womens
Started: September 4, 2009 Finished: March 21, 2010

No mods needed for this pattern. I enjoyed knitting these. They took so long because other projects kept getting in the way.

For Madison

Yesterday we went to Aiken for a baby shower for the girlfriend of my oldest nephew. They are having a girl and will name her Madison. I knitted what may well be my favorite baby/child sweater.




Specs:
Pattern: Cardigan with Eyelets and Daisies from Baby Bamboo Knits by Sirdar
Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly DK Sage
Needles: 3 & 6 US addi Turbo
For: Madison, size 6-12 months
Started: May 12, 2010 Finished: May 28, 2010

Modifications: The only change I made was to use iron-on appliques in place of the embroidered daisies. In the future I will change the armhole and sleeve shaping to decrease 3 stitches at the beginning of the armhole on each side and then do 1 decrease at each end of every other row for the next 6 rows. The shaping was really awkward and made the sleeve difficult to set in.

Getting Organized

The craft room was so out of control that I've spent about a week bringing order to the chaos. I decided that it was a good time to create some project kits.

Sweater kits...

From left to right top row:
1. Heavenly Blue Cardigan - Plymouth Indiecita Alpaca Sportweight
2. Tokyo Topper - Interlacements Tokyo
3. Toreador Jacket - Koigu KPPPM
4. Hedera Jacket - Cascade 220 Wool
5. Marta Jacket - Reynolds Lite Lopi
6. Sigridur Pullover - Reynolds Lopi
7. Additional yarn for Lopi sweaters

From left to right bottom row:
1. Cerisara Cargidan - Classic Elite Bam Boo
2. Flyaway Cardi - Debbie Bliss Merino Aran
3. Tiny Tots Cardigan - Sirdar Snuggly DK
4. Heartfelt Sweater - Tess' Designer Yarns Microfiber Ribbon
5. Brigitte & Eric - Reynolds Lopi
6. Elka Cardigan - Reynolds Lopi

Shawl kits...

From left to right top row:
1. Brandywine Shawl - Knit Picks Gloss Lace
2. Trellis Framed Leaf - Jojoland Harmony
3. Seashell Silk Shawl - Ivy Brambles Pure Silk 20/2 Laceweight
4. Haruni - JaggerSpun Zephyr
5. Echo Flower - Hand Maiden Sea Silk

From left to right bottom row:
1. Laminaria - Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace
2. Olga's Indinski Shawl - Skaska Designs 50/50 Merino Silk
3. Flower Meadow - Jojoland Harmony
4. Gail (aka Nightsongs) - Hand Maiden Sea Silk
5. 198 Yds of Heaven - Blue Heron Rayon Metallic (not pictured)

Accessories...

From left ot right top row:
1. Miss Sophies Hands Gloves - Zitron Trekking XXL
2. Hopper Sock - Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino
3. Gretel - Cascade 220 Wool
4. First Lady Mittens - Cascade 220 Wool
5. Lacunae Mitts and Hat - Cascade 220 Wool

From left to right bottom row:
1. Spiralicious Mitts - K1C2 Ambrosia
2. Rainbow Socks - Online Supersocke 100 Fun Color
3. Eshter Socks - Inca Sportlace
4. Mayrose Hat - Cashmere Merino Silk DK
5. Delft's Blauw Hat - Classic Elite Arcadia (not pictured)

Purchased kits...

Clockwise starting at top:
1. Halo sweater kit
2. Woven Yoke Wrap
3. 7 Scarves and a Shawl
4. Mariposa Shawl
5. TNT Beaded Scarf
6. Bumblebee Jacket

I still have some summer sweater kits to get together but this should keep me busy for a very long time.

Old Habits Die Hard

Last Saturday I went to the market at Stitches South in Atlanta. I made a short list of what I intended to buy. It didn't work.

I was easily seduced by the abundance of yarn, patterns and other knitting-related goods. The fact that I was traveling with the great enabler aka Mom didn't help the situation. My favorite purchase is the yarn bowl. I put it to use immediately in the hotel that Saturday night.


We met up with two of our Palmetto Purlers, Millie and Brenda, and some of our Greenville knitting guild friends. Needless to say we had a blast. I also took a continental knitting market session and have been practicing regular since then. I was having a problem with the purl and tension but have worked both of those out since then.

Shirley Paden the author of Knitting Design Workshop is doing an online workshop in the form of a KAL for her Ravelry group. She gave us a stitch pattern which we are to use as the basis for a sweater or scarf. I've elected to do the sweater and this weekend did my swatch.


It is Circles and Butterflies. I'm using Katia Austral from the stash in a nice rose color. I bought this when it was discountinued at my lys several years ago. I've been waiting for the right project and this is it. I still need to have my measurements taken so that I will be ready for the next session in which will be calculating all the parts of the sweater based on our individual measurements. I'm really excited about these workshops and hope that I can use them to work up some of the yarns I have in the stash for which I haven't been able to find that perfect pattern.

I'm so close to finishing the Summit Shawl.


It seems that I'm never going to finish the little ball that is left. I haven't been working on it regularly or anything else for that matter. I've been trying to bring some order to the craft room. It was out of control before I went to Stitches. In order to tame some the of the chaos, I created kits using the yarn already stashed and some that was acquired prior to Stitches (couldn't resist the Webs sale). There are sweater, sock and shawl kits. I like the idea of just walking in and picking something out of one of the bins to work on. I was getting overwhelmed and I think this will eliminate some of that.

Charlotte's Web Shawl

I finished the Charlotte's Web Shawl on Wednesday and blocked it that night. I wore it Thursday and received compliments everywhere I went.



Specs:

Name: Charlotte's Web Shaw1
Yarn: Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM) in 5 assorted colors
Needles: 6 US Addi Lace Needle
Started: 3/22/2010 Finished: 4/7/2010

In spite of the horrible chart I enjoyed knitting this shawl. I had to replace the color I chose for the last section and I love it. I'm considering making one of these in a solid color. I also added a border from my Haapsalu Shawl book. Even though I blocked it well it still curls a little at the bottom but it doesn't bother me.

This can be a quick project if you pick all of the right colors the first time. I would have finished it much earlier if this little faux pas hadn't occurred.

I finally got pictures of my oldest brother Billy wearing his Mars Hat & Scarf. We couldn't set up nice winter looking shot since he'd just got back from Spring Break vacation.




Specs:
Pattern: Mars Hat & Scarf by Veronik Avery available on Twist Collective.
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Stone Washed
Needles: 3 US addi Turbo
For: Billy
Hat Started: November 20, 2009 Finished: Neovember 22, 2009
Scarf Started: December 5, 2009 Finished: December 31, 2009

As I said about the first set I knitted this is an excellent pattern. All three of my brothers love them. They are the perfect manly gift. I have one more set to photograph.

Shawl Fever

My Charlotte's Web Shawl is blocking...


I have Summit on the needles ...


and my Aeolian is in temporary hibernation. It seems that I'm hung up on shawls for the time being. I've made two already this year. I love the look of shawls and they are perfect for my office which is always too cold. When I wear one I find that I don't have to run the heater as much.

I made another visit to my favorite online store Webs. I've had the "Best of Lopi for several years so I finally broke down and bought the Lopi to make the sweaters I marked when I first got the book while it is still on sale. Some of this is backordered so I'm not sure if they will hold it or ship. I had to call them today and replace one of the colors since it had been discontinued. These sweaters are part of my plan to start my cold weather knitting now.

Basketball is over but one of my favorite shows is back on tv. I love the Top Chef series and once again it is the masters. It's been over a month since I watched my regular shows which has resulted in a total disruption of my viewing schedule. I was glued to ESPN or CBS with an occasional foray to the SYFY chanel (hate that name).

I'm trying to organize a dye day for the guild. I sent out a survey yesterday so I'm waiting to see how many responses I get. This will be the first time that I've done something like this so I'm trying to make sure that I cover all of the bases. It won't be anytime soon because everything is covered in green pollen. Because we haven't had any rain it is horrendous. I don't recall it ever being this bad. Hopefully the rain that they are predicting will come through.

Time to go rest the shoulder and neck. It's been acting up again so I have to treat it with a little extra tlc.

Yarn Love

My order of Koigu arrived Thursday. It is gorgeous!!!


I've never had this much Koigu in my possession at one time. Of the colors I purchased two where really suitable for my Charlotte's Web shawl. One had more green and the other is a darker variation of the color I used for the fourth color change. I used the latter and am now debating as to how I shall finish it. This was a stash project until I needed an additional color. With all that Koigu calling for a new home I couldn't help myself!

Margaret Fisher taught Brioche knitting in her workshop "A Sampling of Stitches". I fell in love with the stitches and purchased Nancy Marchant's Knitting Brioche. In addition to containing a wealth of stitch patterns it also contains some beautiful projects.

Webs is having their Anniversary sale. I purchased yarn for two Brioche Knitting patterns and ChicKnits.com Cerisara. I received the announcement of the new Cerisara pattern by e-mail and immediately purchased it. The pattern has a three-quarter and sleeveless version. It is an open front cardigan with lace yoke accent. You can allow it to hang open or close it with a decorative closure. I will make both versions.

I am also working on Nina from the Debbie Bliss Prima Collection. I'm using Cotton Cashmere from the stash. My original goal was to knit a skein a day. At that rate it would have taken me 11 days to complete the actual knitting. Due to the arrival of the extra Koigu I've deviated from that schedule but I plan to pick back up this week when the shawl is finished. Since it is stockinette it will be my main travel project.

I've been giving serious consideration to changing my knitting plan. I typically knit heavier weight garments during the fall/winter and lighter weight garments in the spring/summer. This year I'm planning to knit more heavy garments during the summmer and vice versa. I hoping that this will allow me to get more use out of the seasonal garments. Since it gets so hot down here I'm not sure how this will work out but I'm willing to give it a try.

March Madness is almost over which means a significant portion of my life will get back to normal. I'm going to miss the games but there is a lot that I need to get done. It's time for spring cleaning and planting the vegetables. The latter may have to wait until more of our yellow-green storm (pollen) calms down.

Taking a note from some other Ravelers and bloggers I have started creating project bags. I'm sure this will help in the stash management. Since a lot of my yarn is in sweater size amounts I've started looking for patterns that will match the yarn and recording the info. The plan is that this will aid me in deciding what to make since I will know in advance what pattern to use. The jury will be out on this for a while so I'll have to see how it goes. In the meantime I'm going to work on finishing current projects and wips.

If you haven't already checked out the new Knitty. The Summit. This is a genius pattern. I have already ordered and received the yarn and cast on this pattern. I opted for the exact yarn used in the pattern Tess' Designer Yarns Raw Silk. At first I thought I wouldn't like it. The colors didn't appear to be what I wanted but once I started knitting I see that it is perfect.


It is truly great to live in an era of such inspired knitting.