Grey Ghost Neck Warmer

Now that I have pictures, I thought it was time to show my recently completed button up neck warmer.

The yarn is spun out of two ounces of alpaca purchased at the Estes Wool Market. It is a two ply done by winding a single ply into a center pull ball and plying from both ends.

The pattern is an adaptation of Button Up Neck Warmer in Spin-Off, Summer 2009. I ended up using size 6 needles and adding 2 garter stitches to the edges to cut down on the rolling.

My main concern is that the yarn shed some while blocking. I don't know if this is normal or if I didn't get enough twist while spinning. Guess time will tell.

Still trying to decide if I am keeping it or giving it to someone.

Our Honda After a Close Encounter

These aren't going to be anyone's favorite pictures. The pictures were taken at the tow company lot while we were unloading the vehicle.

Friday evening we were sitting at stop light waiting for a green light to turn left. Heard squealing tires and then had a silver Audi on our Honda which was shoved into the white pickup next to us. We got to crawl out the rear door on the passenger side. Guess, the doors automatically unlock when a airbag deploys. Maybe I should read the safety features in the manual sometime.

We both like how the car held up and protected us. Neither one of us was hospitalized.

Wrist Warmer

The yarn is Hit Perle and I really spent months trying to decide what to make with it. It came to me because the previous owner didn't know what to do with it either.

First, I considered baby hats. Black and white didn't seem right for a baby. Then I considered PICC Cozies but they need to be wool and this an acrylic yarn. Finally, I settled on wrist warmers.

The pattern is mine. I decided to just rib all the way because I don't know who will get them. This way they will fit most people. I am hoping I find the time to type the pattern up. My goal is to sell it for a few bucks. Just need to decide, how and where.

Of course, I still need to read two more chapters in the Java book.

Plied Enough

I finally got around to plying the three bobbins of yarn I had spun.

The grey one is alpaca from Timnath Aplaca Ranch. It is 2 ounces of the TAR 36 label. I have no idea what TAR 36 is for. I picked it up at the Estes Wool Market last year.

The white which is on the other two bobbins is merino top from Shuttles Spindles and Skeins. I think it is 8 ounces but I lost track of the slip for it. It might be 10 ounces since it took almost two bobbins. Guess, I will have to weigh it if I really want to know. It was purchased about a year and a half ago. The wool on the bobbins actually is the same color. It's just the lighting.

I am trying something new with my plying because I always end up with uneven amounts when I weigh, split, and start with two bobbins. I wound each bobbin of single ply into center pull balls. then I plied by pulling from the outside and the inside. I found two things have to be watched. The inside yarn some time tangles with itself and breaks. Especially, when starting because it is a little tight. The second is that once in awhile the outside doesn't pull off as easy and breaks. This is besides the usual kinks from over spinning the singles.

It isn't official yarn stash yet, since it hasn't been skeined and soaked. That may a project for next week end. I have no idea what I will knit with them. Any Suggestions?

It's Been A While

I can tell it has been a while since I posted. I have lots of excuses.

Number 1: A business is being started out of the house. So, needed to clear enough room in the office for it. Also, I am the technical/computer support. There is room for it now but I need to move my bills, etc. out of the office to a new location. Turns out being part of the tidy-up committee and the technical support takes a fair amount of time.

Number 2: I noticed I needed to update my technical skills and thus started reading a JAVA tutorial book. After 200 plus pages, I am in chapter 7 and barely into the book.

Number 3: Turns out Facebook distracts me regularly.

Number 4: All the rain made the weeds go crazy. Someday, I hope to win the backyard back.

I expect to have some more posts soon. I think it is too far past May to post any vacation pictures. But here are a couple any way.

Sock Yarn

While up at Estes Park today, I got asked "What is your favorite sock yarn?" My answer after a few seconds of thought was I don't have a favorite. It depends on the pattern, who it is for, and what I want at the time.

I have some favorite socks, such as my Spiraling Corilios socks out of Opal yarn. My Conwy Socks knit out of Lorna's Sheppard Socks were fun to knit and are really comfortable. I plan to make another pair some time. I have two pairs of Friday Harbor out of Bear Foote. I have made lots of socks and there are several yarns and patterns I would do again. I think color has more to do with what I pick than brand.

I do have two requirments for sock yarn that will be knit into socks, machine washable and some nylon or other tough fiber in the content. Socks have a hard life.

Scarf with Bramble Leaf Center

I started this in October 2009. It is the "Scarf with French Trellis Border from Weldon's 1890 and Bramble Leaf Center by Jane Sowerby" Out of Victorian Lace Today. I used size 4 needles and some more of the orange Aurora Whisper Yarn. There is still some yarn left and I have started another scarf with it. The first scarf was a Tiger Eye Lace Scarf.

Starting out this took a lot of concentration because it has pattern stitches on both sides, fewer on the wrong side than the right side. Also, the edge took two repeats before I could 'see' what was going on and catch silly mistakes like forgetting a yarn over. For some reason, when I got to the middle section, I caught on to the pattern faster.

Even once I understood the pattern, it still had to be worked when no one expected me to carry on a conversation. That is why it took so long. Interesting TV shows and knitting groups just don't seem to go with this pattern.

After blocking, the scarf is about 12 inches by 66 inches which is close to the measurements mentioned in the pattern. I used 32 repeats for the center section which is more than the 16 called for. The yarn I used is a finer weight and I used a smaller needle. Smaller than I normally would for what the pattern called for. So, some of the extra repeats are probably because of my choices.

I was slightly dissapointed that the yarn is darker on one end of the scarf than the other. On the other hand, I still haven't run in to a knot or extra ends in the skein, which I do appreciate. So, just two ends to weave in and they were by the center section.

I think the scarf could be laid out and just have the ends pinned for blocking. I did block along the sides and the ends with pins. Maybe, I will pick up a blocking frame or wires some day.

I would be willing to knit the pattern again. Admittedly, in a different color or yarn to mix it up. Also, I am not dissappoint that I have one more skein of Whisper in my stash of different color. I will check for the color change because I may want to base my choice of patterns on that.

I hope whoever ends up with the scarf likes it.

Philosopher's Kilim Jacket -Done

It was finished February 25, 2010 and started on January 1, 2006. THe kit was purchased a couple of years before that at Craft Market held in Denver. I had just started really knitting again when I bought the kit.

It was quite a stretch since I had never done stranded knitting before. My first step was to learn knitting with yarn in two hands. I did this with the legs on a pair of socks. It took over a year to complete the socks. I would do a row and let it set because I really had to concentrate on what my left hand was doing. It is amazing how much I didn't think about the steps for my right hand.

Once started the sweater progressed fairly well through the sleeves and the start of the body tube. Then it slowed. It came to a halt after the first attempt on the front bands. They were wavy because they were longer than the tube. It took about a year to take the first band out and adjust the number of stitches.

I kept putting it done and then the Ravelympics 2010 were mention. I realized it qualified for the WIP Dancing event. I decided to use the Ravelympics as incentive to finish. It worked. I started working on finishing it with the start of the Olympics and finished before the final ceremony for the Winter Olympics. It was even drying on the sweater rack before the final ceremony.

Having tried it on inside, my kilim jacket has been declared to be a jacket rather than an indoor sweater. It is warm. Now, I just need to decide what to do with the leftover yarn. It might be soft enough for hats or a scarf after being washed. Any suggestions?

More Scaves

Here are the latest two lace scarves.

The first is a variation on Feather and Fan or Old Shale using some of my Brooks Farm Duet yarn. The variation is the purl row on the front doesn't go all the way across. This caused a couple of short tinking sessions. I used the same yarn for a vest several years ago. Before it was blocked, the sides wanted to curl where the pattern repeats were. Blocking was just a quick soak followed by laying it out to dry.

The second scarf is the luscious lace scarf using Jaggerspun. The pattern was fun and easy. It seemed best to leave the slight scalloping on the edges. With the silk in the yarn, I choose to be gentle with the blocking. If it was 100% wool, it would have stretched more. It took 17 repeats to get 60 inches on size 5 needles. Anyone who knows me knows I knit a little tight. Most people would use size 6 or 7 needles.

Hopefully, I will finish my Bramble leaves and Trellis scarf soon.

This Little Piggie

This is a UFO that has finally been completed. The kit was purchased years ago from a craft store that is no longer in business. I started the pig shortly after that and then realized the kit had a flaw. The binding didn't catch all the raw edges.

My solution was to put it away. It languished for years and was moved twice. I pulled it out over the holidays and decided to finish it. My new solution was to add some satin stitch in the problem areas. Now, I have two pot holders for a gift. Well after a rinse to remove the pattern ink, they will work as presents.

Given that the pot holders are white and somewhat thin, they will probably be used for decoration.

FO List for 2009

Since it is now 2010, I thought I would post what I completed in 2009. So, without further ado, here it is:
knitting
- two check and bobble red hats
- 1 carousel hat
- 4 Brownish pink and tan hat
- 1 pale green tam
- basic tam with circular crown
- Baroness Beret
- Basic tam of bare and Cascade 220
- 8 rolled brim hats out of TLC Amore
- chemo cap ladies beret
- 1 rolled brim hat
- 3 baby hats
- Aran Watch Cap
- Gansey Watch Cat
- Ladies beret
- one arrow lace mobius out of Alaskan yarn
- one seed stitch scarf out of Alaskan yarn
- Tiger Eye Lace scarf
- Chevron scarf
- Mobius and funky scarf
- pale green library shawl
- Prayer Shawl
- Generic blue socks
- Hearts and Hugs socks Knit Picks Imagination
- Friday Harbor Socks
- Socks blue fixation
- socks for DH
- socks for me
- Dads grey socks
- market bag
- Blue Brown Sheep V-neck sweater
- 2 homespun premie blankets
- 1 TLC Amore premie blanket
- 5 Tit bits
- 1 medium Christmas stocking
- 3 dish cloths
- Fenna Shawl
- Christmas stocking
spinning
- purple 3ply merino – 130 yds
- pink 3 ply merino - 174 yds
Beading
- Frog bookmark
- Cat stitch marker
- Teapot stitch marker
- Necklace and earring (blue)
- Two Bill’s bracelets
- 2 beaded bracelets (blue milleflore, flower, ladybug)
- 100 stitch markers

If you are still reading, I think you will agree sewing was definitely neglected. Spinning didn't fair very well either. It is a year and we will see what happens.

Peaks and Valleys

This is not a post about 2009. It is a shallow post about a scarf using the Peaks and Valley Scarf pattern from the 2006 Knitting Calendar and one skein of yarn.

The yarn is Stacy Charles Ritratto which doesn't have much stretch, hence the size 8 needles. It is pretty yarn and somewhere hiding in the stash is another skein in a different color. I know the other skein exists because it is on my stash list. It hasn't been seen recently.

Back to this scarf, it knit up quickly with one less repeat across than the pattern calls for. I was trying to stretch the yarn a bit since there was only one skein. It came out to 5 inches by 64 inches which is a respectable scarf size. Not long enough to be in style this year but long enough.

The last two photos show the different sides of the scarf. I think it looks nice on both sides. Even though they aren't identical, I doubt if too many people will notice from a distance.