Spring Pirate

I've been spending most of my lunch breaks enjoying the wonderful spring weather by sitting at a park near my office listening to audiobooks and knitting. Aaahh. Spring. Not too hot. Not too cold.

The pirate hat is progressing nicely and at the correct gauge. I had DH try it on the other night to confirm it doesn't cut off circulation this time.

The audio book I've been listening to most recently is the one being posted by Librivox as their podcast. Is it ironic that it's Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson?

If you enjoy audiobooks I strongly encourage you to visit Librivox. It's a group of volunteers that are reading books that are in the public domain and publishing them for free. You can either download them at their website or subscribe to their podcast. The podcast will publish a section every day or so as well as a weekly poetry reading. Lovely stuff.

Two Years Already

Wow. It's hard to believe I've been at this for two years now. What a wonderful extension this has added to my life. I've met some of the greatest people out there, confirmed to my spouse that I am not alone in my fiber obsessions, and had a place to vent/cry/laugh/and otherwise share in my joys with a bunch of great people. Thanks!

Afghan Revisited

So aside from the rick-a-frackin' pirate hat I worked on over the weekend, I also picked up the afghan I'm making my DS over this past weekend. I decided to change the way I was knitting it. Not only did I not want to work on it because it's hot to sit under (especially now that Spring is upon us) but also because it's darn heavy. And if it's this darn heavy when I've only finished two rows of the blocks I wouldn't finish it in this lifetime. So we started over. Yes. I'm a bit sad about that part. But it's for the best.

It's so portable and I actually feel like I make progress when I work on it. I love that I can work a few rows and put it down without it being a few hours later too. So... column 1 is about halfway done. Whoo hoo.

I joined this cute group yesterday. If you haven't checked it out yet go take a peek.

Aargh, Matie!

I decided to make We Call Them Pirates hat for DH dad. Since Pirates of the Caribbean came out all things pirate have been the family's running joke. Our dear brother in law visited not that long ago and I realized how far gone their dad had gone when I was shown a picture of the living room. He's got a Jolly Roger flag hanging on the wall. That's it, I thought. He must have this hat.

I started on it the very next day. It was a very fast knit (took only two days actually), but unfortunately for him I didn't verify my gauge on the colorwork section.

If I wiggle my eyebrows it pops off the top of my head. Stacey, thankfully, ran into the same issue so we decided a fun pose was in order. I'm so grateful to have friends that run into the same problems I do.

Later that night, Cyn helped me frog the old hat. I seriously debated gifting the tiny one to someone with a tiny head. How cute would a baby be in that? But DH really wants a hat that matches his dads so a frogging I did go. I started a new one last night on needles two sizes larger than last time. I checked. I have gauge this time. Yeah!

Oh yeah, I'm using Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. On the too-small version it took less than half a ball of each color. I expect this version to take a little more. Awesome stuff for a hat. I'd highly recommend using it. Just check your gauge. *grin*

You Want the Good News or the Bad News?

Since there's a bit of both I'll start with the good, move on to bad, and then find a positive spin. Sounds like a plan to me...

So the good news. I've finished both sleeves for Rogue. It took less than one skein of the new yarn to get them both finished up (I have about half a skein left of it - plus the two extra I bought because I was so freaked out about running out).

There isn't any evidence of striping that I can tell but I bet if I stare hard enough in daylight conditions I could imagine some pretty well. The cabling was simple and the sleeves very easy to knit. Thank heaven for that, since I knit them twice each.

The bad news? When I blocked it I realized they are HUGE. I made a size or two up from what I normally would because I wanted it to be loose and baggy. This will swamp me. The arm width is over an inch wider than the pattern recommends. I'm pretty sure it grew when I got it wet which gives me pause about the body because I haven't dunked it yet and it's already 40".

Blocking in style. Even though it's huge...

So... the positive spin? DH likes it. Once I get it all seamed up it looks like the brown colorspeckled Rogue is destined to be his. I refuse to knit this again (at least in this yarn). Looks like one day I'll knit it up again for me. Maybe I'll use Cascade. Maybe a pretty blue or green. I love how Kim's is turning out...

Flasher

Wedding Gift

I had quite a bit of fun running around the house the other day searching for reds and pinks. It became a bit nostalgic after a little while. One of the "reds" I found was this quilt. My great aunt made this quilt for my mother as a wedding gift. When I finally settled down with a house of my own my mother gave it to me.

I love this quilt. Mom would always wrap me up in it when I was feeling sick. The red flowery rectangles and the backing is made from flannel. It's so soft and cozy. The squares are all corduroy and lend quite a bit of weight and durability to the blanket. I still drag it out any time I don't feel well so I can snuggle up underneath and remember being little.

What's that noise?

As I was sitting at my desk checking emails and reading blogs I kept hearing this small squeaking noise. I went around the house to investigate. Tami has found a mouse or two before and I like to ensure that I'm not hearing a new one.

I couldn't find anything. Finally I noticed it sounded very close. I turned my head to where Tami has stolen my chair and discovered...

She snores.

Reds and Pinks

Round the house. I thought I'd have more really. I love red.

If you haven't seen this cool toy yet you should go check it out. I love flickr!

Project Spectrum

I'm a little late on this bandwagon but I did finally manage to make it over to Lolly's blog to sign up for this fun little project. For some reason her blog is blocked to me from work. Bums.

I decided that because it's so late in March already I'd combine my March and April project into one. I also have a distinct lack of orange or yellow in my stash. Odd, since I happen to like those colors for the most part.

This wonderful stuff has been taunting me from the stash for quite some time. I bought it to make the Unbiased bag in one of the older Knitty issues. There is quite a bit of red and orange in the yarn and I'm very eager to get started on it. I want to finish up a couple of things first though.

I wish I could remember where I got it from. I do remember that they were selling it for a fabulous price. If I happen across the site again I'll be certain to post about it. I remember liking quite a few things they had for sale. It might be a good thing I lost that URL...

Weekend Work

Working on the Weekend Satchel that is. I thought of something the other day. I pack light. This thig should be renamed to the Week-Long Satchel.

The handles shrunk nicely during the felting. They took twice as long as the bag itself when I felted them. I hope that isn't a bad omen or something. They are seriously fuzzy (click on the photo for a close up) and will require a close shave before I consider walking around with them. I can handle cat hair on my clothes but this stuff will be everywhere!

The back, bottom, and sides are drying in the tub. They take up the whole bottom. They didn't felt quite as nicely as I'd hoped but they did do well. I'm very pleased that they are still as squared as I wanted. I'm sure it won't matter as much once I start sewing this big boy up.

And here is the front. I still haven't managed to get started on the embroidery. It definatly makes the bag though so there is no skimping on that part. That's probably why I haven't plucked up the nerve yet to get started on it. Maybe I'll get to it this weekend. It's a pretty funny looking bag until the detail is worked into it. I just can't wait until it's finished up. I want to use it already.

Still here

I swear I'm still around. I'm even knitting some. I'm apparently seriously slacking with the photos though.

We'll do some picturless updates today. Your imagination will make prettier objects than I can crank off my needles anyway.

I got up to the sleeve cap shaping on one of the sleeves of Rogue using the two-rows-of-old-yarn-and-two-rows-of-new-yarn method but it's definately darker than the body. I noticed I had quite a bit of yarn from my original skein left after finishing (looks like almost half a skein is still left) so I put the dark one onto scrap yarn and cast on for the second sleeve. I worked the inside of the hem in the new yarn (since it get turned under anyway) and am trying to finish up the outside of the sleeve with a single skein. I'm hoping there will be enough but it will certainly be close. I'll have to show it off soon (if I can ever get home before dark so you can actually see the differences in the sleeves).

Ameile is coming along nicely. I get more work done on her than any other project since I've started knitting on my lunch break again. I should be finished with the back this week. Whoo Hoo.

Weekend satchel front is knitted up but I need to do the embroidery. Very fun (I hope). I felted the back, bottom, sides, and handles the other day. Boy do they need a shave! I'm going to have to do a before and after of those bad boys.

Hope all is well out there in blogland. Pictures soon. I promise.

Ameile

So last week on Thursday I had the opportunity to head to the yarn shop for lunch. This used to be something I enjoyed doing 3 to 4 times per week but it's dwindled to once every couple of weeks. Over the stash-along it was not-at-all because I knew I couldn't handle it.

I also realized on Thursday that I had taken my knitting out of the car. I used to keep the Fair Isle Jazz in the car but now that I'm on the cable section it's too unwieldy for car knitting. So I had no knitting. So I did what any normal obsessive knitter would do . I went ahead and bought yarn, a pattern, and needles so I could knit on my lunch break. I searched for a while and then came upon this very lovely design.

I've opted to do the body in white with the contrast sections in that awesome green. I'm using Rowan Calmer. Mmmmm. Calmer. The pattern actually called for a mercanized cotton but I'm not a huge fan of the gassed stuff and I only needed 4 skeins of the MC if I used Calmer. I swear it's my favorite cotton. Great yardage. And awesome to knit with. So awesome in fact that I'm nearly finished with the back of this lovely thing.

I'm really happy with the pattern as well. It's very well written. I've admired this designer for quite some time but have yet to make anything she's designed. I'm a bit nervous about the crochet sections (all the ruffles are crochet) but I love the overall effect and know I'll love the finished item so I'll brave it. Now to find a cute summer dress to wear this over...

That was fast...

I ordered three more skiens of Peace Fleece on Thursday of last week to finish my Rouge with (hopefully!) and got them in the mail yesterday. At least the suspense is over...

It's really hard to tell from the photo but there are some marked differences in the two dye lots. The new yarn doesn't have as many color flecks as the older one (and not such a variety of colors). Also, the base color is much more blue than my original (which has quite a bit of rust in it). I went ahead and cast on for a sleeve last night and am working two rows in the old and two in the new. I hope they are close enough to not stand out from the body. Keep your fingers crossed for me...

Satchel or Blanket?

This bugger is HUGE. I finished up the intarsia last night but I'm not finished with the front. I measured it and I have 10 more inches to go. 10. inches!!! Holy crikey!

I'm looking forward to all of the embroidery that needs to be done before it's felted. There's quite a bit but it really makes the bag look so nice. I'm glad it's embroidery instead of needle felting. I've done the needle felting before and think it's great. But only for small areas. I can't imagine how long it would take to try to needle felt all the vines, flower and leaf detail or the rest of it. I still need to order the hardware for this too. I haven't found the perfect buckles yet. Anyone that's done this know of a great place to find them?

I haven't gotten around to felting the back, bottom, sides, or handles yet. Here's the pile of that stuff. Those handles are 8 feet 2 inches long. Each. The designer of this bag doesn't do anything small does she...

Sock Sock Sock

Sock progress is screaming along (at least relative to my sock knitting history). The first pattern stitch was a simple broken rib. I'm working on the heel now and should have it turned soon. I tried a few new things this time. Like switching to a smaller needle for the heel and bottom. I hope it helps improve the feel of the sock.

The yarn is that Austerman Step yarn with Aloe and Jojoba Oil. I love this stuff. I got a few questions about it when I posted that I'd be using it and now that I have for a little while I can answer them.

It's not oily at all, just very soft. It's a strong yarn (I don't think I could snap it in two, scissors required). The striping is fun and I love the color combinations they use in the yarn. It is a touch pricier than a standard wool but I think that is to be expected. The label claims that the Aloe and Jojoba will last through 40 washings. I think that's a pretty strong claim. I wonder after it wears out if I'll even notice? I'd expect the socks to be "worn in" by then. I'm already looking forward to the next skein I have of it that's in shades of blue.

Trouble in the Hood

So, in an effort to avoid casting on for anything new I picked up Rogue again.

She's so pretty. I finished up the hood a couple of nights ago. But now I have a serious dilemma. It's called two sleeves and only two skeins of wool left. I went ahead and cast on a sleeve to see how far I could get so I could better judge how much I'd need to finish the two sleeves.

That's only about 5" of the sleeve including the hem that gets turned under. AARGH. I'm guessing I'm going to need three skeins per sleeve (anybody else care to take a guess?) which means I need to order four more skeins of yarn to get two sleeves. I plan on doing one row in the old skein and two with the new because I know the dye lot is going to be off. I just hope it's not off by a lot.