Monday, June 27, 2005

Sweet!

I just found out Friday, Monday, and Tuesday are company holidays. I was only planning on Monday. Think of all the knitting I can do during a five-day weekend! My mom may come up and visit for a day, too, which would be great.

I am in the even rows between the waist decreases and the bust increases on the back of the NBaT. I had to look around online last night to figure out how many rows there should be - hooray for the internet!

I've decided that I want to finish the ChildHood sweater in time for Ellie to wear it for her fall school photos (if it fits and is not ugly). I have part of one front piece, the sleeves, and the striped neck and button bands still to knit.

I've also figured out the niches for the current projects:
NBaT - commuting, evenings
Blanket - putting Ellie to bed (it's too dark to knit the dark blue NBat with the bedtime lighting, and since I have to put Ellie to bed every night I know I'll work on the blanket a bit each day)
Branching Out - lunch breaks, starting with tomorrow. I'll just leave it at work.

Friday, June 24, 2005

I Want Candy

Nothing to do with my post, I've just had that song stuck in my head all morning.

I really like the way my Cotton-Ease is knitting up on this first piece of my NBaT. Damn this discontinuation! I may have to pick a few more skeins before the local craft stores are all cleaned out. Greg was nice enough to run into Joann last night and pick up a few skeins that weren't even for me, and said there was quite a bit left. I'm not telling you which location of Joann, becuase I want it all for myself. I am selfish like that.

I've been working on the NBaT in the car and at work, and the blanket in the evenings at home. I want to cast on for Branching Out this weekend, too. What niche can the lace knitting fill? Weekend afternoon? Taking child to park? I'll have to ponder.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

I gave up on my Secret Thing for now. I still really like the pattern I devised, but the yarn is just not right for it. When I have some more money in my yarn budget (June is tapped out) I will buy some more suitable fiber and try again.

I joined a knitalong for Nothin' But a T-Shirt from MagKnits, and will use up several balls of the Cotton-Ease I bought on Friday for that project. I swatched last night and hope to start knitting today. I started a thread for it at the forum, and nona offers an update every Tuesday at nona knits.

My baby blanket is coming along very well. It's getting too big to drag back and forth to work, so that's another excuse, um, reason, to start the NBAT.

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Noro #40


Noro #40
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
My first Noro, which I bought off of eBay, arrived in Saturday's mail.

Cotton-Ease: Blue and Black


Cotton-Ease: Blue and Black
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Ellie and I hit the 50% off already reduced items at Joann on Friday night. I got 12 balls of Cotton-Ease for $19.

WIP: Stripe Stripe Baby blanket


WIP: Stripe Stripe Baby blanket
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
This is the baby blanket I designed and am making for a friend.

Broadripple socks


Broadripple socks
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
Check out my first pair of socks! I want to do some brighter colors next time.

Broadripple sock heel


Broadripple sock heel
Originally uploaded by ShelbyD.
I can't believe I haven't posted photos of these yet: my first sock

Friday, June 17, 2005

Knitters' Forum

The forum is currently in a testing phase - come have a sneak peek! I appreciate all the feedback I can get.




Edit: bumping this up to the top

Summer of Lace

I joined the Summer of Lace knitalong yesterday, and will be working on my Secret Thing as my summer lace project. I cast on (several times) at lunch today, and got four rows into it. I now have this on the needles at work, a dishcloth on the needles in my bag, the baby blanket on the needles at home, and ChildHood on the needles in my stashket. Sheesh.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Let's try this again

I frogged the baby blanket last night. I just wasn't excited about the way the pattern was working out, and I don't want to make an enormous piece of fabric that I don't like. I cast on for a modified design just before bed, and brought it to work on at lunch today. We'll see how version two goes.

Monday, June 13, 2005

Supplies

My Joann order finally arrived on Saturday afternoon, so I have a whole lot of very brightly colored acrylic yarn in my room. I got several colors of Caron Simply Soft Brights to make my friend a baby blanket. Also have the needle for my Secret Thing, and some dishcloth cotton.

Speaking of dishcloths, I made a cabled one on Friday, and gave it to Ellie to play with in her kitchen. My first cables! I am getting a lot of use out of the Sugar 'n' Cream left over from my Sigma tank.

I cast on for the blanket over the weekend and got through the bottom border and a few rows of the first stripe. The balls of yarn are a bit huge to lug around, so I have a ball of cotton in my bag for another discloth as my communte knit tonight. When I need a break from the blanket I can get started on my Secret Thing.

I also knit most of a little cape thing for Maggie that reads "puma bait." Long story behind that. I'm going to put a border around it and get some photos. Also need photos of all the new stuff. Really need to fit new stuff into stashket as well.

Oh, and the forum development is moving along, which is very exciting. Can't wait to have things ready for testers.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

How to Sew

Krissy, at SpeckBlog, reminding me why I don't sew much.

Noro deal

I hopped on eBay for a minute over lunch, as I had been idly thinking about getting some Noro Kureyon for a scarf. My search brought up 4 skeins of #40 with only 8 minutes left, so I bid $25.01. And won! And shipping was only a dollar. Even better, when I went into Paypal to pay for it, I had a $16 credit balance that I had forgotten about, so I'm only about $10 out of pocket for four skeins of Kureyon. Sweet.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Lull

I am finished with my first pair of socks! Will document with photos soon. I did up a cotton dishcloth yesterday to fill up some time while I wait for my Joann order to arrive. It has the materials for my next two projects in it - the Secret Thing and SSB blanket. I still have ChildHood on the needles, but didn't feel like working on it this week. I need to get back to that eventually, before Ellie grows out of the size I'm making. I'm hoping it will fit her (if I finish it) when it cools off this fall.

A coworker, having seen the fabulousness of my first sock, has asked me to make two red oversized socks for her to use as holiday decorations, and said that she will supply the yarn. I think I can adapt the basic sock pattern in Socks Soar on Two Circulars - I want to get some yarn and try one, then I'll let her know what yarn to buy.

After I finished the dishcloth, I played around for a while to come up with a stitch pattern for a scarf. I think I have the beginnings of one that I like, and brought the remainder of my sock yarn and some needles to work today for further lunchtime experimentation.

I need to organize my stashket and figure out what to do with some of the leftovers I have in there. Also want to figure out how to organize my needles. I think the first step in that is making a list of what needles I have, so that I don't buy any duplicates.

Summer is coming

Don't you need a hammock for your backyard, for lazing and knitting and the sipping of lemonade discreetly laced with alcohol? Only $29.99, with free shipping from Amazon.

Monday, June 06, 2005

Distraction

I didn't quite finish my second broadripple sock this weekend, as I was a bit busy with a little something else:



Meet Maggie. I see some little sweaters in her future.

Friday, June 03, 2005

Sock!

Step 1: String and needles.
Step 2:
Step 3: SOCK!

(Step 2 is actually "Knit it at Dad's. Knit it on the plane. Knit it at my desk. Knit it in the car. Knit it on the couch. Knit on the floor of Ellie's room.", but that doesn't work with my little South Park joke.)

I knit so much last night that I have a weensy blister on the inside of my right pinky, where it was rubbing against the needle. I worked on the foot for quite a while sitting in Ellie's room waiting for her to go to sleep and measuring the desired length against the sock I was wearing.

I was a bit worried about grafting the toe with kitchener, because an earlier attempt on another project did not go well. I had been looking at the illustrations in Vogue Knitting and trying to follow the directions, but I just did not get it at all. Looking for another set on instructions, I pulled out Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which has a short section on technique in the back. She says that she purposely did not include an illustration of the stitch because people are often confused by drawings, but can grasp the concept readily if it's just written out. This is very true in my case, apparently. My toe is perfect. Perfect, I tell you!

I was so very pleased to be done. I demanded much praise from Greg (at one point putting my besocked foot on the counter and saying "Praise me!". Master of subtlety, I am not.). I brought it to work today to show to the friend I am teaching to knit. I rock the sock.

But now I have to do it all over again.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

I've got a Secret

After some time with Vogue Knitting, my needles, and Excel, I think I have a pattern ready for my Secret Thing. Woo-hoo! All I need now is for my Joann order to come in, with the needle that I need.

I turned the heel on my sock at lunch today, and between that and drafting my pattern design I feel like the Queen of Knitting. I think my earlier lackluster attitude toward the sock was based on its pain-in-the-ass false starts. I ordered Socks Soar on Two Circulars from Amazon earlier this week, and am looking forward to its imminent arrival.

I'm thinking of adding a knitting magazine or two to my wish list, but I haven't seen enough of them to have a good idea of which to subscribe to. Any favorites?

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Heel Flap

I'm working on the heel flap of my first sock. I'm kind of "meh" about sock knitting so far, though the small size and portability is really nice.

I started out a test swatch for my Secret Thing at lunch today, and it didn't knit up the way I imagined it would, so I am doing some rethinking of the design. I made a few notes that I'll try out tonight. I ordered a new needle for the project today, taking advantage of the Joann offer below. I also ordered some bright baby yarn for the Stripe Stripe Baby Blanket and some more dishcloth cotton for myself and for gifts. And a couple of stitch holders, for use on ChildHood. It will be great when I've been at this for awhile and have all of my capital equipment already purchased.

Greg's cousin's son was born yesterday - must get the BBBB in the mail! Welcome to the world, little boy.

50% one item at Joann.com

Today is the last day of the Joann.com Memorial Day sale! Enter coupon code MAYER550 at checkout to take advantage of this offer.