Romancing The Yarn

FO: Bib for a new little girl

2009-12-28T17:22:00.005-05:00

Just to prove I'm not a total waste-of-life as a knitter these days, I wanted to show you an FO:

Thanks to Mason-Dixon knitting, I have a bib all ready for the imminent arrival of my nephew's new baby (due tomorrow!). It's made of Frog Tree Picoboo which is lovely and soft to the touch.

I took the advice of a brilliant person on this blog and used the Fibonacci sequence to determine the number of rows per stripe (1, 1, 2, 3, 5 and then back down). The mom's a math teacher so she'll really appreciate that. Not to mention the fact that I like the way it looks.

I tried a not entirely successful experiment with the edges. In previous bibs, I didn't like the way the color change bled up a row every time, so for this bib I cast on and knitted one edge with both colors of yarn. Then I whip-stitched the other edge with both colors of yarn when I was done. It looks okay but not great (probably a function of the fact that I'm a lousy whip-stitcher). Anyone have a better suggestion for that particular problem? I'm all ears!

P.S. I finished the Boundless Blue Blanket at last! Wahoo! Photos to follow.

New Jersey: Winter Wonderland

2009-12-21T09:27:00.003-05:00

Snow, snow, snow, snow! We got about six inches and it's lovely: light, powdery and pristine. This is my holiday card to all you wonderful folks here at RTY: my house in the snow.

And Brodie the Snow Dog in full gallop (carrying something in his mouth he wasn't supposed to have, of course):

I hope your holidays are merry and bright...with just a touch of the white stuff!

My trip up North

2009-12-12T19:52:00.006-05:00

I just returned from a trip to see my daughter and grandgirlies, and it included a visit to a lovely LYS called Yarn Boutique in Rochester, NY. Amelia, the proprietress, could not have been more helpful, and the selection of yarns in a place where you actually need warm clothing for real winter (unlike where I live) was breathtaking.

I selected a Cascade Heather to make my daughter a shawl from a cool free pattern they were offering called the Weekender Shawl. I'm including a photo of its beginning, though I'm much further along now.

A couple of very cool acquisitions besides the yarn:

1) a shawl pin handcrafted by Amelia's wonderful husband Brett (who was working in the store and is every so charming.) He has Pheasant Hill Wood Works, and I urge you to check out the beauties he creates. I'm including a photo of the one I bought but there were all sorts of intriguing shapes made out of gorgeous hardwoods.

2) these amazing square needles! When I saw them, I couldn't resist! Amelia told me that among their attributes is that you have better control of the yarn (you sure do!) and that you avoid a lot of the twisting that can accompany circular needles. Photo also attached.

Lawsamercy, if I lived in cold country, I would knit myself into a coma! Fabulous, gorgeous yarns (a whole wall of Noro) plus alpacas, baby alpacas, etc., etc....a selection of yarns to die for, one such as this Southern girl has never laid eyes on before!

Jean

Not a creature was stirring...

2009-12-10T18:27:00.004-05:00

I was looking for free holiday knitting patterns and came across these adorable little guys so I thought I would share. I especially like the fellow wearing the jaunty beret.

Here's the link to the instructions on the appropriately named blog Fuzzy Thoughts, Knitting Cuteness:

http://blog.fuzzymitten.com/2009/11/holiday-mice.html

I'm a sucker for mice. I even think the live ones I catch in my Have-A-Heart traps are sweet. I just don't want them living in my house, so I relocate them to a lovely local park.

Of course, I don't have time to knit these for Christmas because I'm still working on the Boundless Blue Blanket--but I'm on the LAST SKEIN! Wahooooo!

Faithless blogger

2009-11-30T13:01:00.001-05:00

I wanted to let all you nice folks here at RTY know that I've deserted you temporarily and am guest-blogging at Heidi Betts' blog Must Love Yarn on Tuesday, December 1st. Here's the link:

http://www.heidibetts.com/MustLoveYarn/

There will be a PRIZE giveaway so you might want to come on over and take a peek. You'll also get to see my current very large WIP. Oh, and did I mention there will be a PRIZE?

Hope to "see" you there!

The other scarf

2009-11-29T22:18:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure the close-up photo is good enough to show the effect of that same lace stitch worked in such a different yarn, but here it is. I only worked it in the center of the rows because otherwise it resulted in this pronounced dip in the edges of the scarf. It mostly lends texture in this incarnation, but still, a fun experiment!

Finished the gift scarf and one for me!

2009-11-29T16:09:00.005-05:00

Yay! Finished the gift scarf but not sure you can see the beads in the pic below--I kept them in the same color palette so they just add a little shimmer but don't stand out. I like the lace stitch I learned well enough to try it on a mongo big velour yarn scarf for me--fascinating how different the results were. Only used it a little bit for interesting emphasis. Here's a photo of the gift scarf but haven't taken one yet of mine.

Ah, the Editing

2009-11-21T15:58:00.003-05:00

I'm heading into round one of serious edits, folks, and that also means round one of the serious edits on the sweater pattern that goes with my book.

And that means new yarn.

It's hard see how luscious this color is here on the screen, but this is a brown with a ruddy undertone:

It's Lorna Lace's Shepherd Worsted, color Echo, and it's the second prototype for this sweater. Book Two of the Cypress Hollow Yarns Series needs a little more internal conflict on the heroine's part, and Book Two's sweater needs a better neckline, I think. I need to write it more clearly. So I'll be working on both of those things over the holiday season. I like it a lot when my knitting and my book writing parallel each other, when my hands and my mind are working together.

I think in the future, even when my books don't have knitting in them, I think I might keep this tradition. It's nice to be working problems out in the yarn.

I might be cheating, but...

2009-11-17T20:09:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I mentioned this gift scarf...

I wanted to do lace, but Barbara and I were having trouble getting me back on the blog, so I couldn't come to you all and ask for an easy starter lace pattern, and time was of the essence, so I went online looking. The first three or four looked a little scary for a first-timer on a tight schedule...and then I found this one called Cheater's Lace. I grabbed it and cast on. (Had to create my own needles from bamboo dps with a cap on the end because I didn't have the right size on hand.) Yarn is Linie 135 Goby in red, a cotton and viscose mix.

Here's a photo of the beginning. I'm much further along now, but I don't have a photo yet. I'm winging a little with the pattern (my Waterloo...I really prefer making things up on my own, but this behavior is not without peril. My whole family laughs when I say I found a new recipe, for instance, because I just about never follow them. The problem being that it might turn out a disaster, but even if it's a huge hit, I can never remember exactly what I did and so can't repeat it. Living life hanging on the edge does exact a toll. ;) And knitting is much less forgiving than cooking, IMO. Or maybe I'm just a better cook than knitter.)

The improvisation is that I created this diamond pattern of purling several rows in, only it's not crisp due to both the yarn and the lace pattern and I'm liking it less and less, but I'm way too far past to rip out (plus the aforementioned tight schedule) so my next idea is to bead this area after I finish. Yep...story of my life: improvise, pay a price, rush like the dickens to salvage...I'm pretty sure life would be simpler if I'd just stick to the directions, but this little demon on my shoulder...

Dropped stitches...SCARYVILLE!!!

2009-11-12T20:15:00.004-05:00

Okay, so here's the next step in my (gulp) sock journey--a whole needle full (okay, so that's only 15 st, but it took years off my life) of stitches dropped and picked up wrong and had to unravel seven rows down and...sob.

BUT the good news is that I'm back in business. Except, of course, for one scarf I decided to start and then a second one (in my first attempt at lace--what is WRONG with me?!?) I have decided to do as a gift that has to be done ASAP...so the socks, well...I'm still working. but not very fast.

Therapy knitting -- again

2009-11-12T15:59:00.007-05:00

Many years ago, my grandmother tried to teach me to knit. After a tortuous month, she gave up, repossessed the knitting needles, and pulled out the embroidery supplies. My daydreaming childhood self was much better at embroidery. One needle, no dropped stitches. You understand, don't you?

In the early 1990s, I picked up the knitting needles again at the urging of my physical therapist. I'd lost much of the use of my hands due to repetitive motion injuries. It was therapy, so I concentrated on doing it right. It took some time and effort, but my hands gradually got better and so did my stitches. That time, the knitting habit stuck. As my knitting skills grew, I graduated to lace knit wool shawls, socks, and sweaters.

Then, this summer, along came the big, black steer that refused to get into the stock trailer. While that might seem to be completely unrelated to knitting, it's the steer's fault I haven't knitted in months. Sort of. The short version of the story is I wasn't careful enough, a rope slipped, and three fingers on my left hand were pinched so badly I thought I might suffer permanent nerve damage. I still have some small numb spots, but I can type normally again and do all sorts of things that require moderate finger agility. But knit? Not so much. I'm back where I started, knitting dishcloths for physical therapy and gradually recovering my fine motor skills.

And the steer? He's gone on to a better place.

I'm baaaaaaack!

2009-11-11T15:05:00.005-05:00

Hey girlies! Long time no see! My wrist problems aren't over, sadly, but when I saw Nancy at RWA this summer, she made me reeeeeally want to try to come back. Life got in the way for awhile, and I still have to be careful how much knitting I do after writing all day, but....

Okay...deep breath...I'm trying to overcome the dreaded

FEAR OF SOCKS eeeeeeeeeek!

I tried Magic Loop last year or so when I was on here and fell flat on my face. Then I was visiting with Deb Dixon about a new book I have coming out with Bell Bridge Books (Belle Books' womens fiction imprint...the book is called THE GODDESS OF FRIED OKRA--you wanted to know that, right?;))

Anyway, somehow we got off on talking knitting, and I brought up the aforementioned FOS. Deb assured me she had a sock pattern ANYONE could knit, so I said "Show me!" She sent it...I started hyperventilating...I exchanged 483 emails (okay, 2) and I pulled out the set of 2.5 mm bamboo dps I had on hand plus some gorgeous Brown Sheep Wildfoote Symphony I'd optimistically bought in the Magic Loop days and....

I cast on 15 st each on 4 needles, tried to knit a row...had to lie down and breathe deeply.

Then I got on knittinghelp.com and saw a video where all were cast onto one and divided after...so I did that, started working on the first row...and had to lie down and breathe deeply. :) (You see how much I love you guys and want to be Barbara or Fran when I grow up?)

Another email or two with DD, and after about five rows, I started feeling like, hey! Maybe I can do this! So here's a couple of pictures of my oh-so-humble beginnings!

Jean

Low-fat and Luscious

2009-10-30T10:33:00.004-04:00

Pistachio Nut Bread

1 (18 oz.) package yellow cake mix
1 small package of fat- and sugar-free Jello Instant Pistachio Pudding Mix
1 Cup low-fat or fat-free sour cream
1 Cup Egg Beaters (or 4 eggs slightly beaten)
1/4 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup water

4 Tablespoons Splenda brown sugar (or regular brown sugar if you prefer)
3 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or any other kind of nut you like)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, eggs, oil, and water. Beat well until smooth. If batter seems too dry, add a few more drops of oil - but just a few!

In a small separate bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. (Keep the nuts separate if anyone can't have them.)

Spray two 9"x5" loaf pans with the canned baking spray that includes flour.

Divide the batter between the two pans, alternating layers of batter with sugar and nut mixture. (Make one loaf with and one without nuts, if need be.) End with a sugar layer on top. Bake for 1 hour or until loaves are done. Remove from pan and either serve or wrap and freeze for up to one month.

(c) 2009 Fran Baker

Note: For some reason, blogger won't let me upload a picture, but it makes a very pretty loaf.

A perfect gift for scarf mavens

2009-10-26T22:43:00.003-04:00

In my new Knit 'N Style Magazine, I found this marvelous gadget: the Scarf Fold-up, from Nancy's Knit Knacks. (How appropriate that another Nancy sells this!)

As your scarf gets longer, you fold and wrap it round the tool. The scarf stays neat and compact: no twisting and tangling. In addition, the Scarf Fold-up has a pair of 8" rulers, a 4" X 4" stitch and row gauge, and a US-Metric needle conversion chart. It holds knitting needles too. All for a mere $11.99. Evidently, a customer suggested this idea and Nancy's 88-year-old mother refined the concept.

Here's the link for any scarf mavens or friends of scarf mavens: http://www.nancysknitknacks.com/Scarf%20Fold-up.htm

You know how I love to knit scarves. This baby is going right on my Christmas wish list!

Yarn Bombing

2009-10-03T10:06:00.002-04:00

The Denver Post last week did a story on Yarn Bombing -- anonymous knitters who carry out a kind of textile grafitti by decorating trees, light posts, signs, and other public spaces with pieces of knitting and crochet. It's whimisical and a little weird and certainly surprising.

So -- anyone done any yarn bombing? Ever felt the desire to knit a tree cozy or dress up the local lamppost?

Scarf in use

2009-09-21T08:19:00.003-04:00

I had to share this photo of my handsome nephew on his way to a big game, wearing the scarf I lovingly knitted for him. It's always gratifying to see one's FO being used and enjoyed. Go, Demon Deacons!

What's Known as a Teaser . . .

2009-09-18T23:19:00.002-04:00

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you what these socks, Sonny Fox, Wonderama, a backwards spelling bee, and the Luau 500 all have in common.

Really.

Wanna Enhance Your Sock Yarn Stash?

2009-09-15T20:19:00.002-04:00

I've come across a terrific way to greatly enhance your sock yarn stash--the "Sock Yarn Knitting Exchange." (And it's also open to crocheters.)

First, you receive a letter (from me) with two names and addresses on it. You send a 100 gr. ball of sock yarn (or two 50-gr. balls--enough to make one pair of socks) to the first person on the letter. Then you send out a new copy of the letter to six knitting (or crocheting) friends with the first name and address from my letter removed, the second name and address in first place, and your name and address in second place.

In short order, you should receive enough yarn to make 36 pairs of socks! Cool, huh? And just as much fun will be seeing who, and where, the yarn comes from.

Now, I know these things often don't pan out exactly as expected. Somewhere along the line, someone usually drops the ball. (Of yarn. Hah!) But I figure if you even receive only one ball of sock yarn, you've broken even. Anything more than that is a bonus.

As it happens, though, I don't know a lot of knitters here. So I'm throwing this open to all of you in yarn cyberspace. If any of you would like to participate in this sock yarn exchange, please e-mail me at elizabeth@elizabethdelisi.com and I'll get your address and send you the info. BTW, this is only open to those in the US and Canada, because of the difficulties of mailing elsewhere. (Not my rule.)

Hope to see lots of you participate!

Bragging on Barbara

2009-09-12T20:01:00.003-04:00

Laced with Magic by our own wonderful Barbara Bretton is one of the Top Ten Romances for 2009 on Booklist, which reviews for the American Library Association. The Booklist blurb says: Chloe, owner of a popular knitting shop and mayor of the supernatural village of Sugar Maple, Vermont, continues to battle evil forces in Bretton’s poignant and magical story of love and sacrifice.

Not that I'm surprised because it's a fabulous book, but "Wahoooooooooo, Barbara!"

Finding your level

2009-09-10T18:08:00.007-04:00

I was browsing through my newest Knit 'n Style magazine (just started subscribing and love it) and found an advertisement for a pattern I liked. Except it was marked "For Experienced Knitters". Hmmmm, does that mean me? After all, I've knitted for a lot of years. Does that qualify for experienced?

It's easier when they define the levels of difficulty as Easy, Intermediate and Advanced because I know darn well I'm not an "Advanced Knitter". I consider myself a Low Intermediate because I have a) knitted several sweaters (not difficult ones but still...), b) made a fair amount of progress on a lace scarf, c) worked out my own stitch charts for intarsia and d) knitted short rows.

However, there's a lot of stuff (like cables and socks) I have not done. In the case of socks, I never intend to do them ever, ever, ever. So do I dare to order a pattern for an "Experienced Knitter?" Or will I founder on the shoals of my hubris?

All you Yarnies: how do you define your level of expertise as a knitter?

Sock Yarn Winners!

2009-09-08T13:40:00.001-04:00

And the winners are:

Theresa N
Marie

Congratulations! And if the others who entered don't mind, I'll keep your entries for my next sock yarn contest, coming soon.

Fran Baker

Pink-Orange Shill-Shell Blankie

2009-09-07T14:54:00.008-04:00

My toddler is going to be moving into a big girl room in a few months, which I'm planning to decorate in bright pink and orange. I bought some yarn in those colors (plus a few more) (Painted Desert, #1289), without much idea of what I'd do with it; I just wanted something for her room. I ended up with a blankie.

Sock weight yarn was a little fussy to crochet with -- I hadn't tried it before -- but I just loved the colors on this. Plus, the wool-nylon blend is super-soft and silky; feels lovely in your hands. And machine-washable, which is key for kid items. Ty-Dy apparently makes a 10-ply worsted weight cotton version of this color (#289); I'm not normally a fan of working with cotton, but people claim this yarn is really soft. Maybe I'll seek it out at some point.

As it was, I didn’t have the patience to crochet a whole blanket out of this yarn, but I ended up with a cute little blankie for her dollies, or a cape, or whatever else she comes up with…

The Shill Shell Shawl pattern was easy to memorize, and had enough variety in its three rows to keep it interesting. It only uses two stitches (single and double crochet), so totally do-able for beginners as long as you can count. :-) I'd recommend the pattern to others; I think it'd make a pretty summer shawl, and be much easier to work up in a slightly heavier yarn, like the recommended 5-ply sport weight. (My yarn was 3-ply).

If I decide I want the blanket to be larger, I might do three more squares (probably in different patterns, maybe one more crochet and two knit) and attach them to this square. But not sure I have the patience to do that in this yarn.

The rest of the August winners

2009-09-06T22:34:00.002-04:00

The list is long. The apologies for the delay is even longer. But I promise the yarn is worth the wait.

Cathy S
Jennifer M
Joanie R
Cheryl S
Carolyn C
Libi
Susanne
kittenwithawhiplash
R3
Liz B
Marsha B-B
Carla B
Gina B
Yvonne
Jaymi
ozknitter

Congratulations to everyone!!

More Stephanie Plum's New Jersey

2009-09-06T15:49:00.002-04:00

I didn't forget. I have more winners to announce. Honest!

But while you wait, enjoy this slightly goofy video.

FO: Alma Mater Scarf

2009-09-02T21:05:00.007-04:00

I did it! I finally finished something! Of course, my nephew's birthday is September 10th and the scarf is for him so I really had no choice.

This is an adaptation of a pattern from Scarfstyle which switches right sides every four inches or so, has stripes, and some interesting ribbed texture. It's very manly somehow. Can you tell my nephew goes to Wake Forest (Go, Demon Deacons)? He requested that I include his initials, hence the LCN on the other end of the scarf.

Many, many thanks to all of you Yarnies for your suggestions on hiding the back of the intarsia. Taking your advice, I ended up knitting two plain back panels the size of the section with the letters and sewing them onto the back. (I wanted to do double-knitting but found it too complicated with the intarsia pattern; my brain is very feeble.) I left one end open to create a pocket for holding ticket stubs, cash, Kleenex, or whatever. I got that idea from a NJ Devils scarf my husband gave me which has a zippered pocket built in.

(I know this just looks like black but it is the knitted back panel/pocket, and looks much neater than the reverse side of the intarsia.)

Woo hoo! Of course, I still have to complete the white lace scarf which will probably never be done because I'm convinced Barbara's Sugar Maple magic has bewitched the ball of yarn so it never, EVER ends. And I'm working on a beautiful soft blue throw blanket which I'm trying to finish before Christmas as a gift. It takes me forever to do one row because it's so darn BIG. But the yarn is so gorgeous that I love having it draped over my lap. And my (different, older) nephew and his wife are expecting a baby so I have to knit a bib for that. And I''ve found a pattern for a sweater I want to knit for myself. And...yes, I've still got the knitting disease.