Lace and Beads

Look, more snow! Woohoo! Right. For a few days, I thought spring might be right around the corner. Now we have 2 inches of snow on the ground and today's high is only in the 20's. One positive is that it is nice to wake up to a beautiful sight like this. Another positive is the snow does make it easier for me to take pictures of my projects. I really need to work on my indoor photography. Hopefully this is the last of the snow and I'll need to figure out something else for my photos.

I said that I wanted to knit something beaded and geometric. I didn't have to look any further than the winter 07/08 issue of Vogue Knitting. This shawl (#2 in the mag.) caught my eye, but I wanted to use supplies that I had on hand. The yarn is Zephyr in Chanel and it's a dark pink/fuchsia type of color. If I were to knit this shawl again, I would use a smaller needle and knit another repeat of the squares. This shawl is more airy than I usually like. I did think about adding another repeat on this one, but I thought that a large, bright pink shawl with beads might be a bit much. :-P

Details:
Beaded Shawl(#2) from Vogue Knitting Winter 2007/08
Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephr in Chanel (approx. 5 oz used)
Needle: size 3 Knit Picks Harmony
Beads: 8/0 Iris blue
Hook: size 11 (1.05mm)
Start: February 21, 2008
Finished: February 25, 2008

And now I'll introduce Mingus. Isn't it lovely! I do have a lot of socks, but this one is just too pretty to pass. I love the yarn and the pattern and together it's a perfect combination. The yarn is Somoko by Fleece Artist. It is hairy, but that doesn't take away from the bold patterning on this sock.

I did have a cranky moment with this sock. I wont' go into too much detail, but it involved frogging, larger needles, and me muttering about fat ankles. The good news is that this yarn is easy to frog, despite the hairiness. It also didn't suffer much in the frogging and still looks great.

I'm starting another project. It's the Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights stole. I first saw a picture of this stole a few weeks ago and the designer was still working on it. It's so pretty and it has beads! The pattern just became available and I have it. I'm in the process of stringing a million beads onto the yarn. Okay, it's more like 2500, but it feels like a million beads. I prefer the crochet method for adding beads to lace, but the ends of this stole has a beaded looped fringe that can't be added by hook. I'm using some purple yarn that Dwight brought back from China and beads that I had already too. In fact, they're the same beads as those in the Beaded Shawl at the top. I initially bought those for my Seaweed Stole, but ended up using a larger bead.

I'll close with some monsters that I made with the kids on Monday. We were inspired by Craft magazine. From left to right are E's monster, D's monster, and mine. E did everything herself except the sewing. D needed help cutting out his felt for the main part, but he did cut the decorations himself. My monster is made from leftover fleece and I like it much better than felt. If we make more monsters, I'd rather do them in fleece or regular fabric. I'm not a big fan of felt because it looks worn so quickly. These monsters were so quick and easy to make. I can see making a lot of these with E and D. They already want to make more.

Lunar eclipse

9:02PM----------9:13PM



9:28PM----------9:40PM



9:45PM----------9:57PM



9:59PM----------10:44PM

Dwight and I braved the 20 degree temperature and watched the lunar eclipse tonight. I was beautiful outside. It snowed on and off all day with big, fluffy snowflakes. The ground was sparkling in the moonlight. My photography is very experimental, but I do have an idea of where to start. For these photos, I had to use the digital zoom, manually focus, manually adjust the shutter speed, use a tripod, and use the remote control.

According to this article, I think that may be Saturn in the 9:28PM photo. The stars were beautiful during the eclipse. I wish I knew how to spot constellations better.

After an hour, I got the "change your battery" shut down. I changed my battery, but the camera gave me the same message with the spare battery. I think it was too darn cold out there. I put the camera in my coat for a bit and was able to turn it back on, but not long enough to take a photo. I went inside, waited a bit, and tried again. That's when I took the 10:44PM photo. After that, I didn't want to chance damaging my camera and stopped for the night. So, I have plenty of pictures of the first half of the eclipse, but none of the second.

It was fun to watch, despite the cold. All of the photos above have been cropped. I didn't mess with the coloring. What you see is what the camera took. I think a few of them came out great!

Many little socks

It's all socks, all the time again. I've finished three pairs in the last week. I'm getting tired of them, but I'm motivated to use up these left overs and make the kids some cute socks. To the left are D's new Opal tiger socks. They're only a little bit longer than his foot. I should have made them longer, but oh well. They don't take long and I can always make more. It's not like there aren't enough left overs around here. These only took 35 gms of yarn and I usually have at least that left over from my socks.

Details for D's sock:
Yarn: Opal Tiger (used 35 gms)
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Addi Turbo
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe-up with Turkish cast-on, foot was knit to 5.5" long before the short row heel
Start: February 18, 2008
Finish: February 19, 2008

I'm frugal in some areas. If I was truly frugal, I would frog their old socks and reknit them a bit longer. There's no way that I'm going to do that. E asked what I was going to do with her old hand knit socks. I have no idea, but we're collecting them for now. Maybe I'll make some sock animals.

These are E's lacy socks. She likes the bright colors and they really are that bright. I wanted to do some kind of pattern to break up the stockinette boredom. This is the Italian Chain ribbing from More Sensational Knitted Socks. The picture of the stitch pattern in the book is deceiving. The lace is much more open than the picture shows. It's very stretchy and easy to memorize.

Details:
Yarn: Perchance to Knit in Bright Columbine (used 42 gms)
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Addi Turbo
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe-up with Turkish cast-on, foot knit to 6.5" before short row heel
Stitch pattern: Italian Chain Ribbing (p. 91) from More Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: February 15, 2008
Finish: February 17, 2008

These were the first pair that I knit when I started this sock kick. These are knit from C*eye*ber Fiber yarn in the Thistle color. It's a very pretty yarn and so soft.

All of these socks were knit with a gauge of 9 stitches per inch. The thistle socks have 52 stitches around and the other two are only 48 stitches around. Very quick and very cute socks.

Yarn: C*eye*ber Fiber in Thistle (used 43 gms)
Needle: size 0 (2mm) Addi Turbo
Method: magic loop, 2 at once, toe-up with Turkish cast-on, foot knit in stockinette for 6.5" before short row heel
Start: February 14, 2008
Finish: February 15, 2008

I'm thinking of frogging my Spring Surprise Stole. I've seen the progress pictures of it online and I'm just not falling in love with the pattern. I might just leave it on the needles somewhere just in case I change my mind. Right now, I'm in the mood for something more geometric and maybe beads. I have the Spring 08 Interweave magazine and there are two pretty stoles in it. The Cobweb Lace Stole is interesting. The pictures aren't that great, but it looks different from typical lace and there are some interesting things happening in the chart. I'm thinking of trying it out.

What else have I been doing? According to a friend, I'm indulging in guilty pleasures. I'm reading romance books. A friend is hosting an annual contest and I'm one of the judges. Free books and fluffy reading!

E is almost through with her school year. We're pulling back and doing things at a slower pace right now. She's excited about almost being done. I'm not that excited because that means getting ready for the end of the year assessment. Blech! I need to start thinking about and planning our next school year. I will probably start doing some sort of activities with D. That's going to be interesting trying to teach two kids at the same time. E is very independent and it might not be so bad.

Lost that lovin' feelin'

Whoa, it's gone, gone, gone... I just can't be motivated to work on lace right now. My Spring Surprise Stole has stalled at clue 4. I did knit a few rows of clue 5, but I'm just not in the mood to knit something that needs so much attention. There are so many other great mystery lace alongs going on right now, but my attention is somewhere else. Maybe it's the beautiful sock yarns that are so distracting to me.

Those are Wollmeise 100% superwash sock yarn in Emil, Paul, Johannisbeer und Brennessel, and Franz. Wollmeise is so hard to get from the Loopy Ewe. I ordered these direct from Germany. They sat on my desk for a few days before I wound them into balls. I still don't have a ball winder, but I've found that I did enjoy winding these by hand. I get to watch the colors go by and think about what I want to do with the yarn. I usually wind yarn if I'm having trouble deciding on what to knit. It's not like I don't have enough projects lined up, but I'm having trouble getting motivated to work on the bigger ones.

I finished the cross stitch block fingerless gloves for my sister. Those were such a quick knit. The cross stitch block is one of my favorite stitch patterns. It's easy enough to memorize, but it's entertaining enough to keep boredom away.

I like the individual fingers, but they are uncomfortable when I try to knit wearing them. These type of gloves are great to wear while taking pictures outside in the cold. I used to just take one glove off, but now I just wear fingerless gloves and my hands stay warm. In between pictures, I do put my hands in my pockets or my finger tips do get a little cold.

Details:
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Midnight Derby (used 55gms)
Needle: size 1 (2.5mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Pattern: my own basic fingerless glovepattern with the Cross stitch block from More Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: February 6, 2008
Finish: February 8, 2008

After the fingerless gloves for my sister, I wanted to make another pair out of the pretty Wollmeise yarn. Now I have these, Very Terhi fingerless mitts. The pattern is by Yarnissima. They're so pretty! The yarn is Wollmeise sock yarn in the Brombeere color. This one is such a deep, dark color.

This pattern is written for thicker yarn, so I had some adjusting to do. I ended up adding two stitches to either side of the main section on the top of the hand. I also added 4 stitches to the palm. The thumb had to be adjusted too. I messed with that while I was knitting until it fit comfortably. I only used 45 grams of yarn and there is a lot left over in the skein. I'm thinking of using the main criss-crossed section on a pair of socks.

Details:
Pattern: Very Terhi by Yarnissima
Yarn: Wollmeise sockenwolle in Brombeere (used 45 gms)
Needle: szie 1 (2.5mm) Knit Picks Classic Circ.
Changes: I added 4 stitches to the front and 4 to the palm to accommodate the thinner yarn.
Start: February 9, 2008
Finish: February 12, 2008

Speaking of socks, E was wearing some socks that I made for her last October. They're too small--already! I'm back into sock production mode. I want to make a few pairs for E and then a few pairs for D too. I've noticed that he fits her socks better than his own. But he doesn't really want to wear her socks because of the colors. He likes bright colors like orange and yellow. She likes girly colors like pink and purple.

E and D love their socks that I knit. They don't wear the regular white store bought socks anymore. Dwight made a crack that I was saving money, since we don't have to buy socks anymore. Right....that's because sock yarn is so cheap. *insert eyeroll* At least the socks I make fit. Both kids have very narrow feet and my socks fit their feet so much better. For example, E's foot is 7 inches long and 5.75 inches in circumference. According to the chart in Sensational Knitted Socks, a foot that is 7 inches long is usually 6.75 inches around.

I like knitting socks for them, even if they do outgrow them so fast. It only takes me two days to finish a pair. I'm off to finish E's new socks.

It's easy!

It's easy. I think that some people probably don't like to hear those words from anyone. I find myself saying it or wanting to say it a lot. I don't know if it's natural talent or just an uncanny ability to read directions and actually follow them through. Dwight would say it's a natural talent. I would give the second reason. I always feel a bit strange when someone who sees my work and says, "wow, I bet you can make anything." I feel like telling them, that I can indeed make anything, especially if there are given directions. And if there are no directions, I will try to do it on my own.

I've found this true for myself with sewing or knitting. To me, sewing is just following a pattern. You cut out the pieces and put them together how the directions tell you do it. Just a few days ago, I've found that it's also true for doing our taxes. I do our taxes by hand. That's how I've always done them, but this year proved a little more difficult. I ran into a snag, read the (insane) directions, and figured it out. To double check, I used a tax program and I did get it all correct!

This is another thing that was easy for me. The directions for Jean Greenhowe's dolls are so thorough. I did try to make things a bit less complicated by knitting in the round. That messed with my row gauge a bit, but I like how it turned out anyways. This is the second doll that I made for E for her birthday yesterday. I gave the doll to her and then remembered that I didn't take pictures of it yet. So, Miss Sophie is looking a bit rumpled. This doll stands at around 12 inches high. She can stand on her own. I used whatever leftover acrylic yarn that I had on hand already. That's why her pantalets are pink instead of white.

I was a little worried about making dolls for E. She has so many dolls already, but none of them were handmade. Well, I had nothing to worry about. She has declared that the two dolls that I made are the best simply because I made them. That was such a sweet comment for her to make. I've kept the pattern book hidden while I was making these. I showed her the pattern books yesterday and she's picked out Jemima Jane as the next doll for me to make. I want to make the pirate doll for D. I'm not sure when I'll get around to them, but they're on the list!

In knitting, I've started to branch out and do my own thing with socks. And now I'm just winging it with these fingerless gloves. And I've found that once again--it's easy. It was all about finding a pattern that works for me and plugging in a stitch pattern. Finding a good stitch pattern is the tricky part. I've found that I can plug in just about any stitch pattern that's used in a sock and it will make pretty fingerless gloves.

Here are the completed Wollmeise fingerless gloves. These took up 60 gms of yarn. That's less than half of the skein. They are quite snug because of the pulling in that this stitch pattern likes to do. The stitch pattern is Stansfield 304 that can be found in the More Sensational Knitted Socks book. I wore them out yesterday and they do keep my hands warm. I have a few more skeins of sock yarn that I want to make into fingerless gloves now.

To recap:
Fingerless gloves made up by me.
Yarn: Wollmeise sockenwolle in Drachenblut (60gms)
Needles: size 0 Addi Turbo
Notes: These are knitted with 72 stitches around, due to the stitch patterns nature to pull in. The gloves are quite snug.

I've started this pair with Dream in Color Smooshy in the Midnight Derby color. This pair is for my sister. She loves blue and I think this one just about matches the color of her car. My sister is all about being matchy-matchy. This is the Cross Stitch block stitch pattern that can also be found in the More Sensational Knitted Socks book. I have found it in one of the Barbara Walker treasuries too, but I can't remember which one. This glove is knit with 64 stitches around and I did use a larger needles. My sister has larger hands than I do and I was worried that 64 stitches around on a size 0 might be too snug for her.

The color is more accurate in this picture, but you can see the stitch pattern detail better in the first picture.

Details so far:
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Midnight Derby
Needles: size 1 (2.5mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Glove pattern: my own
Stitch pattern: Cross Stitch Block




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