Humble Pie

Kathy of Irisheyes knitting blog nominated me a "Rockin Girl Knitter". My knitting hasn't been rockin so much lately, but I am deeply flattered by her nomination.

Sometimes you can get too confident. This weekend knitting buddy Calvin was over for a visit. He was working on a neat Artyarns hat pattern. I worked a little on Shedir then switched to the Chatelaine shawl. Neither one of us seemed to be accomplishing much except flapping our mouths. He asked me about using a lifeline when knitting shawls. I blithely told him I never use one and I continued to knit on after he left.

As I said previously, I have serious issues with talking or watching TV while knitting on this particularly shawl. About 12:00 AM I headed to bed smugly smilling and admiring my handiwork. Too much confidence will get you every time. I'm still eating my humble pie.

I had knitted rows 2 and 3 twice and had to manually undo 16 rows stitch by stitch. You can best be sure that I ran that lifeline in as soon as I got back to the correct row 3 early Sunday afternoon. I'm going to move it about every twelve rows. In a 48-row repeat that's a number I can live with and my belly is already full.

Broad Spiral Ribbing

Specs:
Pattern: Broad Spiral Ribbing - More Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Regia Bamboo Color 1072 - Jaffa Color
Needles: Size 1 US Inox dpn's
Size: Women's 9.5
Started: May 1, 2007
Finished: July 26, 2007

NModifications: Worked toe-up with Turkish cast on and short-row heel.




This a very easy 6-stitch, 4-row repeat. I was the turtle trying to catch the hare. I now have lots more time for knitting and spinning and sewing and having fun with the nieces and nephews. Hip, hip hooray!!!

This little cutie went back home Thursday evening. She is a hoot. Love you Miss G!

Marvelous Myrtles

All around Columbia Crepe Myrtles are blooming. For days I've been checking them out around town in hopes of seeing if ours are an aberration this year. So far I haven't seen any that come close.




I think it's probably from the abundance of water they've received. We've been watering regularly this spring and summer due to new sod in the backyard that was put down after the addition was completed. We have three Crepe Myrtles and they're all performing the same way. It's amazing to see how flexible the clusters are and when it rains they bow their head even more.

Soon this amazing show of color will be over and all that remains will be the Lantanas which are performing in a similar manner.

Two Tired

Two repeats. Between doing a computer set-up and organizing and printing photos, knitting has taken a back seat recently. I completed the second and started the third repeat on the Chatelaine shawl.



I finished the back of Nougat/Melon. With the sleeves cast-on gradually to the body, I'm not sure if they are wide enough after shaping the back neckline. Me of the extra-large upper arms didn't take that into consideration. It's cute, I'm in limbo. There may be a trip to the frog pond.

I'm need a vacation.

Cascading Leaves

Fresh off the needles my first SOS '07 pair. I really enjoyed knitting this pair of socks. The pattern is addictive and well written. I also learned a new heel technique, the Round heel.


Specs:
Pattern: Cascading Leaves - Townsend Sock KAL
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn 036
Needles: Size 2 US Inox dpn's
Size: Women's 10
Started: June 21, 2007
Finished: July 3, 2007

When I completed the first 6 repeats of the second sock I realized that I had done 7 repeats instead of the 6 indicated in a previous post. There are 22 grams total remaining from the 2 skeins of yarn, 10 from the first skein and 12 from the second. This is my first time using the Round heel and these socks are bit large for me to try and judge the fit. I'll be awaiting the verdict from mom.

Remainders

Leftovers, scraps; odds & ends, the more items you knit the larger the pile becomes. They're also extremely difficult to part with. Much, much harder than the actual garments they were used to create. If you're lucky, there's only a gram or less remaining. In extreme cases there may be several skeins. Either way, they become more stash.

I don't have a hard time tossing the odd yard or two, but when it's more than half a skein I tend to toss it in a basket I've set aside for this purpose. The sock ends go in ziplock in case there's a need for repairs. I've had to repair socks only once so that bag continues to grow as well.

Reducing the sock remainders became a goal when the sock stash exploded. It's been a relatively simple problem to solve when knitting for myself. I like my socks longer, my feet are large and my calves are about 14" in length above the ankle which allows me to get maximum yardage out of most 50 or 100 gram skeins. Out of the trio of socks below only one, the Broad Spiral Ribs pictured in the middle, consumed an entire 50 gram skein.




Even though I had concerns about the yardage for the Cascading Leaves, I need not have worried. I have about 10 grams remaining from the first sock and could have another repeat or two.

Theresa commented that the sock bag in the previous post "could double as evening bag. The smallest version is an ideal size for an evening bag. Excluding the flaps, the medium bag that I made is approximately 8" x 8" x 2" making it neither too bag nor too small. I can easily carry a hat or some other type of small project.

Upgrade

This evening I retired the old faithful sock bags easily recognizable as your standard run of the mill zippered plastic bag from the linen section of any store. I've been using them as projects bags for several years and when they start falling apart I simply replace them with another.


I usually carry my large knitting bag at all times and depending on where I am, I'll either take the entire bage or pull out a project bag and take it in with me. Lately it seems that even if I have a sweater in the bag I'll usually work on socks which are always packed.

Today I completed the upgrade.


The pattern is McCall's M4884 by sewing with Nancy in red and gold brocade from Hancock Fabrics lined with gold print cotton. While the execution is far from perfect, I haven't sewn in years and it's showing, I'm excited to have sat down at the sewing machine once again and made something. It's packed with the three pairs I'm currently working on and the essentials. It'll seem a little strange the next few days not toting the big heavy bag to work everyday, but my shoulder, back and neck will be grateful.

One of my nieces asked for a lap quilt a while back so I'm thinking that might be my next project. I also purchased some black brocade fabric at the same time for a sock bag for mom. These days she rarely knits and in retrospect I'm realizing that it might not have been a good idea. It's hard for me not to include her when I start thinking about making or doing something knitting-related. However, it's something I'm going to have to work on since she doesn't seem to have that much of an interest in most things craft-related anymore.

Yesterday I hosted several knitter's from the guild for a small knit 'n sit at my house. The food was great and the company fantastic! I truly wish I could muster the energy and time to do things of this sort more often.