70% is the magic number..

I just realized that I knit to about 70% of a project then seem to stall out. I either get stuck, bored, or end up at some fixing point.

Do you see a pattern here? 

Fortunately, the first one, the cardi is kicking right along - I'm at about 70% because the body is done, and i'm working on the sleeves. I've modified it, but that's normal for me. The only thing potentially holding me back on this is that I hope I won't be too bothered by the color change on this beast. The one that my camera detects, that the cardigan's top is more brown gray than the bottom which is a chocolate brown with more chestnut brown highlights. I know, it's not hair, but it's the best description I can give at the moment. I've started the decreases on the sleeve, and have been trying it on as I go. I did knit about 2" longer so that the cardi matches the one I normally wear.

Project 2 - Dahlia Cardi is only at 15% - that's because i'm about 70% done with the chart (there's that "70" number again - hmmmm...) and think I might have to frog back..not sure. my stitches are a bit off on one of the repeats and tempted to keep going, just to be going on this so-called Knit-a-long (KAL). The rest of the pattern is stockinette so it should be peasy. 

Project 3 is a actually a simple shawl..one of the first patterns I ever made "Branching Out" in a cashmere that is to just to dye die for knitting pleasure on my hands. but I put it down..and am working on Project 1 full out now.

Project 4 is Spectra - also stalled at 70%. I knit this when we were at Cornerstone Cafe and it was pretty smoky there. I got tired of having to block and re-block this baby. Now, I'm at 56 wedges of 80 and thinking of binding off earlier rather than later - before I really lose interest (bwaaahaha).
I wound it around my neck to just get an idea if I could bind off and looks like it'll be at least another 6 or 7 wedges before I can do that..just to get the length I want after it coils around my neck. Pretty close though. Could be a 2011 project, after all.

Project 5 - Watershed cardi - this was supposed to be an easy cardi that I just whipped out last January. Hah! right. I ended up totally ignoring the designer's intention with the pattern and doing my own thing. (sometimes my hands become possessed while holding the needles)

Even though my gauge was fine, my row gauge was way off, and I ended up having to do some major math. Then, I misplaced the pattern most of the summer, and had Juanita help me re-do the major math in late August with intentions to fix it all. I frogged back, and was all ready to finish this off by joining the parts to make one long big back and forth, AAAAAND here we go again, realized that the left front had some fudging that I have to go back and fix..so, time to rip this one back, and then, re-join yarn. Neither quick nor easy for me apparently. So, it's somewhat on hold, and not hibernating because that would put it so far down on my project page, I'd forget I was making it.

Project 6 - this was my last december's hot-to-trot pattern that I couldn't wait to cast-on. I was sur e I was going to finish it in the month of December. It's the Kelmscott cardi. A lovely thing knit in a lovely yarn. Blue Sky Alpaca Suri Merino - I'm swooning just thinking about it. sadly, I forgot to read ahead on this one, and missed decreasing at the neck AT THE SAME TIME (the knitter's blasted words I say!)  as I was doing the armhole decreases and had to rip back.

Once I was in the mood and had ripped it back, I went  back to the pattern. It's still hibernating because the designer doesn't say how to adjust the lace as the decreases are eating up the lace pattern.
Also, I think the post-it note I was using to keep track of rows on multiple charts may have fallen off (after a year, it just doesn't keep it's stick), so I have to go back and read my knitting.

I think the neck decreases will anyway be hidden by the shawl collar anyway..so even though I say i'm at 70%, I'm probably really just at 50% because there's this huge shawl collar also in lace that still needs to be knit once the fronts are done. ::sigh:: this one could be a 2012 project.

back to knitting the cardi..oh, and I've cast-on another little neck thing, which I expect (ahem) to be a pretty quick knit. more on that later.

Almost Christmas...

It's almost Christmas..just a few more days. December has really blown by. I've spent a lot of the last few weeks working, and working more working. Overtime, staying late, icky stuff. I'm making good progress on my cardigan. Just lengthening the body, and then, I will do them hem, and knit the button bands. I'm modifying the pattern again, because I'm not sure I like the whole look of it, and I like doing things my own way. This yarn is so pretty.

December 10th-woohoo yarn

I have been spending way too much time on work or at work these last couple of weeks and I'm tired. Yesterday, I was off (finally) and I had a pretty good mail day:

(1) A friend from oregon sent me 3 boxes of Candy Cane Jo-jos (for a pic of the box, go to google images and type in "Candy cane joe joe's"). They're basically like oreos but with a whipped peppermint icing filling instead of a regular white icing in the middle. Wonderful to dip in milk at this time of year..and some tea I'd bought from Harney Tea. The box was mailed Wednesday by UPS to arrive Friday - and amazingly it really arrived friday at my door about 5pm. Very fast service.

(2) The December shipment of the Sweet Georgia Yarn Club Arrived - tough love sock in a lovely deep red, dark brown (which I'm still loving right now), and a greyish-light green/blue color. very nice. Looks like I'll be joining Melissa and Andi again for the yarn club in 2012.

(3) A Sanguine Gryphon order from early November arrived with codex I'd ordered from a special update. I had asked them to mail it all together, and it ended up being delayed because they'd over sold one of the yarns.

Very... lovely.

This is SG Codex in Emma Woodhouse (the signatus lacewing equivalent) - gorgeous - and totally Cold..Dead..Hands - so don't even ask.


It was a very limited update - with only 20 skeins each of about 8 rare colours of codex. I originally tried to put 4 in my cart of Emma, but it was saying sold out, I changed the quantity to 2, and checked out immediately. when I went back to refresh the page, it was all sold out. Stalking at its finest.

The only reason I ended up scoring some of this next one, Devil's Dictionary was that everyone who was stalking was focused on the lovely emma Woodhouse and another one that is basically the faithful beauty red on codex, The Devil's dictionary listing was actually sorted further down alphabetically rather than being one of the first listings.

Devil's Dictionary is the Ruby-tailed Wasp equivalent - Black with bits of teal and ruby.

Unfortunately, not as well-matched as the photo. 2 of the skeins are a deep black, and 2 of the skeins are more of a smoky gray as the silver pastel highlights took over. I had planned to possibly use these for a cardi, but I think I'll have to ponder further given the color differences.

Current knitting - focussed on a cardigan using the sweater club shipment which arrived last month. My magnolia society shipments arrived about a month ago, and I swatched and cast-on quickly - this fall forest cardi. I'm calling it that because the yarn is a lovely rich dark chocolate brown with bits of chestnut brown/red and dark hunter green. The color is called Bitter Root. The base is Madtosh MCN Worsted, a merino-cashmere nylon blend.

As for the project, I'm making good headway on this - having started the decreases below the armhole.


As usual, I'm making a few small mods..knitting in stockinette instead of reverse stockinette, and probably will lengthen at the waist. On the hunt for 7- 1-1/4" buttons which sounds pretty large..and they are large. will see what I find.

Also, about that Dahlia KAL I was doing with Jen, Natalie and Melissa ? somewhat reserved for quiet time when I can sit and focus on the lace pattern. I'm about 5 rows from finishing the end of the lace pattern. Here's a couple of progress photos:

and earlier:

Number 13: Flashing Thunder

Clockwork scarf using Madelinetosh Light in Thunderstorm (Dark gray with brown and blue), and Flashdance (pink with bits of purple).

A better picture to come...

Opulent Raglan Fini

**12 of 12** I've been trying to burn through projects all year, and mostly made shawls. This one I cast-on in April, and it's been languishing waiting for a bind-off of the neck since July. Yarn is Sundara Aran Silky Merino and has been a joy to knit. Used just under 4 skeins for the 36" size on a US 8, and bind-off ribbing on a US7.

Mods: I added one cable repeat in the body for my length, and replaced the flappy sleeve ends with a rolled hem and a repeated cable from the body.

These days...it's true-

I'm becoming a little fixated on..yarn.

...ok, ok- fixated on a lot of yarn..soft, soft yarn.

It all started with a little Codex. It's a BFL-silk blend from Sanguin Gryphon. Soft and big. I made a shiny soft cape-like shawl. Then..a little MCN..that's right Merino Cashmere Nylon. It'll be the death of me.

Can't eat it; can't pay bills with it, but can wear it if I knit really fast, and I'm not knitting quite fast enough these days.

Mostly ravelry sucks my time..

-and I spend a lot of time thinking about yarn and patterns and planning and plotting what I'd like to make. I've rearranged the top of my queue 4 or 5 times this week alone. Dahlia Cardi is still at the top now that Melissa is ready for our KAL. That one I'm planning to make with a nice soft MCN sport-weight..just haven't swatched yet. The skeins are so pretty and squooshy as skeins.

The Beehive, my lys, just brought in Madtosh Merino light - ooh - Cousteau, Flashdance and Thunderstorm. Now, I'm planning a Clockwork shawl with the latter 2, and a cardi with the Cousteau, since I didn't realize it was a single ply superwash merino. ok, now, i'm talking yarn again. Do you see a pattern here ?

Really, I did try to destash a little..I finally decided to part with some yarns that I had taken some time to acquire, over time. Yarns I'd stalked and found and thought about knitting a few whiles ago. A few yarns where I fell in love..hard..but ended up realizing that the color while pretty was just not me.

Finally blocked the Gingko shawl I finished. As others have said, yes, it's all about blocking the leaves in place. Another project that just wanted to be - the yarn is Hazelknits Entice MCN, yep, another MCN.

At least I knit this one, instead of just admiring and plotting.

More Yarn Pr0n

Love Love the Magenta...Dark Gray From Left to Right - Verhext and Verratzt (V&V) Medium in 100%, Igor Light from the WM Store, and V&V Twin Dark: Madtosh MCN 80-10-10 in Cousteau The most accurate picture I could get was when I took a picture with Hazel Knits Hopping Blonde: ...compared with Tree Tops (from the Yarn Club in summer): and Hazel Knits Entice MCN in Jam Session (a lovely Deep Red Pink and Hopping Blonde - and Fudge Can you tell I'm buying more brown lately? I'm definitely attracted to fall colors right now. I have started the Gingko Leaves shawl with the Hopping blonde - 77 rows of stockinette with yarn overs, and I'm about half way..then, onto the lovely leaf edging. The yarn is very soft and yummy. Of course, when something comes in, something must go out, so I'm now updating my destash page with lovelies too.

Ebb and Flow

My knitting mojo is back with a new project - Something old, something new. Both Handmaiden Mini Maiden - merino-silk 50-50. One a lovely magenta, mauve-y, purple-ish brown. Sort of my colors, yet something new and different. The other, an older skein that has been in and out of my stash and destash - a light grayish blue. The pics look like a medium gray, but it is very light. The pattern, Spectra, another Stephen West intarsia pattern. Day 2 and the yarn is very soft, very luxurious to knit with..i'm happy again.

Fall Projects

I bound off the Summer Shaelyn last night - And yes it's true - I cut my hair...

Here's an earlier pic Not sure what I want to knit next. Thinking of a cardi, but still have 1 that is 1/2 stalled to restart, and the neckline on the Opulence pullover to finish. Thinking of joining Melissa and Jen to knit the Dahlia Cardigan in October. Just waiting on another skein of Sanguin Gryphon Bugga in Love Bug to arrive so I have enough yarn. I have 2 skeins already - here is the pic of them. I'm happy to see that the cardi starts with the dahlia flower on the back, so there's hope to actually make this, and it's sport weight which matches the yarn I want to use (for once). Weather's turned, and I'm still hoping for sun and warm weather, but thinking about knitting some birthday/Christmas items.

Summer Shaelyn Soft and Sweet

I had bound off and blocked my westknits shawl and was itching to start something new, so I wound the Handmaiden Mini Maiden in the Aqua Blue-Lime Green colorway. I'm not sure if it's a new colorway or an old one. Could be Nova Scotia, but the green is more of a lime than a medium green, so I'm not sure. This skein is much softer than the Sangria was when I was knitting with it, so that has already made it an enjoyable start. I cast-on yesterday and finished the first repeat

The August Bandwagon - Westknits KAL

Finished off the Westknits Shawl and blocked it - the pashmina is so soft, and the large size is a nice shawl/wrap size. It's being modelled by a colleague of mine who has short hair (nope, didn't cut it just yet). My battery was drained and my camera hot - having inadvertently left my camera on in "take picture mode" for 3 hours in my purse just prior to taking the pics - I had to be quick.





9 of 12.

Another photo courtesy of Bonny:- Taken at sunset early September 2011.