Something New

Last month I met with knitting bud Millie to learn how to make a fringe beaded bracelet. We had such a good time that we met again this past Saturday and was joined by Nancy another knitting bud and very good friend of Millie. She's been beading for years and is a wealth of knowledge where beading is concerned.

I learned how to do flat peyote stitch by weaving a narrow band bracelet using size 8 seed beads in black, teal and silver. I finished it Saturday night and even though it's not perfect I love the colors and plan to make some wider bracelets in other colors.


Before I left Saturday we decided on our next project and I left with a list of supplies to order. I wasn't planning to start or invest in another hobby but beading is something I've been interested in for a long time. I really like the idea of creating pieces to go with my wardrobe so I'm sure beading will pop up more frequently on this blog.

Yesterday I finished the first Woolly Wormhead hat I've made in months. I love her patterns and innovative designs.





Specs:

Pattern: Brownie from Twisted Woolly Toppers
Yarn: Cascade 220 Spring Granny Smith
Needles: 6 US
Size: Child's medium (17 inches)

I followed this pattern as written. No mods were needed.

I picked my Aeolian Shawl back up. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I last worked on it. I've already worked the first agave repeat so there's not a whole lot left to do. The slow part is adding the beads with the crochet hook. I need to reduce my wip list so this is a step in the right direction.

Burning Stripes aka Crayon Box Socks

Another fun pair down. I knew I would knit these the minute I saw Monika's. Four of her pairs are in this post.



Specs:

Pattern: Burning Stripes
Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball Kleiner and Regia 4fadiq Uni/Solid Black
Needles: 1 US Inox dpn's
Size: 10.5 women's for mom
Started: July 30, 2010 Finished: August 10, 2010

No mods needed. I enjoyed the twist on the short-row heel and felt like a kid in the candy store waiting for the next color. I only wish the color changes were as frequent in the first sock. I used most of the black but have more than half of the Crazy Zauberball remaining which means socks for me!!!

Kids in the House

Starting with last Friday we had kids in the house. Kids mean love, laughter and lots of noise. My nephew Isaiah and my niece Gina came Friday and my nephew Jaylon joined the gang on Sunday. After the weekend my sister took over. She asked if they could come for a week since she isn't teaching this summer.

Two or them are night owls and most of the time I was asleep before they were. Mind you Isaiah is 5, Gina is 7 and Jaylon is 10 which means they were a handful. We loved having them but when I came home from work Friday I was glad to enter a quiet house. The sad part is that we were so busy chasing and entertaining them that no one took pictures. Stephanie had them out and occupied during the day and when I got home I didn't think about it.

I cast on another pair of socks. They are the Burning Stripes available at 3 Sleeves to the Wind and on Ravelry.



After an initial problem with the start of the sock I'm sailing right along. These are for my mom and I'm using Crazy Zauberball for the contrast and Regia 4fadig for the main color. The repeats are so long that I may end up with one sock mostly one color. Disappointing, yes, but I'm going to see if I can knit four socks out of this one ball and mix the stripes that way. This pattern has some cool techniques especially the heel so I don't find it boring at all.

My guild, the Palmetto Purlers is doing a beaded scarf KAL. Guild member Millie is our host and instructor.


I'm almost halfway through but have run out of beads. I found one more tube at AC Moore so I'm waiting until more come in before I string these and continue. The pattern calls for us to knit to halves and use a three-needle bind off to join but I'm going to knit to the end and bind off to match the beginning.

My fair entry slips arrived last week. I still have yet to decide what and if I'm going to enter. Because I'm unsure of what I'll do I registered for a lot of categories. People don't realize that it takes a lot of work to enter. You want to be sure that your knitting and seaming is as perfect as it can be. I have a little over two months before entries are do so there is still time to get some things done if I decide to do so.

Marilinda

I finished these today and because I love them so much you'll have to pardon me for the number of pictures.








Specs:
Pattern: Marilinda by Cookie A
Yarn: Henry's Attic Kona Fingering dyed Grasshopper with ProChem One Shot Dyes
Needles: 1 US
Size: 9.5 Women's

Great pattern, fabulous socks. Nothing more to say.

Knitting Genius

No I don't have kankles but I couldn't resist taking a picture of the Marilinda sock heel. My model is out town so I had to resort to other measures. I stuffed the sock with a skein of Trekking hence the kankle.



This pattern makes me appreciate the genius that is Cookie A even more. From the 5 to 3 decrease worked into the center heel wrap stitch to the fabulous heel design the patterning of the sock is beautiful. Nothing beats a great knitting design that is also fun to execute.

KALS

I don't know why I join knit-alongs. I rarely participate in them fully. I start out with good intentions but somewhere along the line I get distracted by other projects.

I belong to six KAL's and the only one I'm active in is the Shirley Paden KAL. I joined the Summer of Socks again this year even though I didn't get a single pair done last year. Guilt started knocking on my door so today I cast on a pair of socks. I'm knitting Marilinda by Cookie A.


The yarn is Kona Merino Fingering that I dyed this year. It's hard to tell in the picture that it is a semi-solid done using one shade of Grasshopper Pro Chem One Shot dyes. I was going to add it to my Ravelry project page when I realized that I never got around to stashing this skein and several others.

I have 13 rows to go on the back of the Circles and Butterflies sweater. I'm debating whether or not to block it and put the front and back together or wait until the sleeves are done. The only reason I'm hesitant is that I may need to make some adjustments to the armhole depth. They seem too deep but I'm not sure they will be once the sweater is stretched out and blocked.

I delivered Tyler's sweater on Saturday. It was a hit but I forgot to take pictures before I packaged and delivered it. One of his grand aunts let me take pictures on her camera and she is going to send them to me. Much as I love knitting for my mother I think I love knitting for babies and children even more. The sweaters are so tiny and cute!

There's one more baby on my list and a special sweater for my youngest niece. I mentioned earlier that I was considering making fingerless gloves for the girls this Christmas. They were here two weeks ago so I checked with them to see what their colors are and they've all changed! Since I already dyed some of the yarn I'm debating whether or not to continue with the colors I currently have or start over. Decisions, decisions!

Summit

A few days ago I finally was able to arrange a photo shot with Mom to take pictures of the Summit shawl. Even though this project is very repetitive I didn't find it boring at all. I still have yet to cast on the red Summit due to other more important projects. I hope that I'll have it done for vacation.




Specs:
Pattern: Summit Shawl from Knitty.com by
Yarn: Tess' Designer Yarns Raw Silk Silver
Needles: 4 Addi Turbo Lace
For: Mom
Started: April 5, 2010 Finished: May 11, 2010

Mods: I knitted thirteen repeats instead of the original 15 worked in the pattern. No other modifications needed. This design is true genius.