Growing like a weed or The Cruelest Month

You'll have to forgive the melodrama. I've been reading lots of early 20th century fiction (A Pin to See the Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse) as well as fiction set just after WWI (The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton by Elizabeth Speller) and I have an irresistible urge to twirl a mustache . . .

 Although he is growing wildly these days, my Knitting Camp sweater was never meant for Youngest Child.

Which is a good thing!

August has been a cruel month for me, though, as I was working on finishing up this camp project sweater in order to saw to donate it to the Minnesota Knitting Guild's service committee at our August meeting.

Bea is also destined for donation as well.

My Rebecca Danger monster was a fun knit and Youngest Child liked it so much he picked one out as my Ravellenic Games entry in the toy toss. More August knitting!

Meet Tony the Toy Box Monster.

My other finished Ravellenic Games project -  the Embossed Lace Tam - came out looking a treat. Youngest Girl snatched it up to take away to college. In August.

Once I owned up to the fact that my Ravellenic Captain Daisy socks weren't going to be finished, I loosened up and finished the Puptent hat. A lovely, simple pattern that I'm planning on making again.

This one, however, is going to charity. In August.

Right now, I am so looking forward to September!

Going Camping?

You'll need a tent.

Try Pup Tent - you'll like it! It's just a hat for the MKG service committee's drive but I'm working on getting it done this week before the Ravellenic Games start this Friday. I'm on Team Twin Cities and I can't wait for some quality knitting time. A little Chris Hoy, anyone?

And one month later . . .

the beast arises!

The first project from Meg Swanson's Knitting Camp 1 2012 - a child sized Swirl Yoke Sweater.  Knitting Camp was fun, educational, entertaining and lots and lots of knitting. 

The most amazing thing about camp no one prepares you for is - the whole meeting room is lined with tables filled with Elizabeth Zimmerman's and Meg Swanson's (and other knitters' and authors') actual Finished Knitted Objects.

Amazing Fair Isle projects! Cable vests!


My, oh my! 

A Pelerine!

Shawls!

It was all so amazing. Careful campers were even able to try on items as well and that made even the simplest projects sing. Some garter stitch project that looked heavy and dated in a black and white book photo just looked amazing when actually worn. 

I very much recommend attending!

My second in-camp project - my Embossed Tam - well, it has already been frogged. Right now, it looks like this AGAIN.

I loved it but I'd chosen too small needles and it wasn't going to fit anyone I knew. So, I treated it as a swatch and ripped it all out, found new needles and, now, it is going to be a Ravellenic Games project. 

Since we last met, I've also all-but-for-the-sewing-up finished my Bea The Basement Monster. This is from Rebecca Danger's The Big Book of Knitted Monsters and if that name isn't enough to make you want to buy the book, the patterns are lovely.

Right now, it looks like I ran over Bea but stuffing her is today's project.

Both the Spiral Yoke Sweater and the Knitted Monster are going to be donated to the Minnesota Knitter' Guild's Service Committee's item drives.

There has been time for fun since June as well.

Middle Daughter, MD's friend and I all did last weekend's The Color Run. A crazy, silly race - with a twist.

This is how you look at the end! 

See you soon - don't forget to sign up for Ravelry's Ravellenic Games!

Just a stop on the path . . .

Just in case you were wondering where I've been - 

No, that's not a weird looking hat - it's part of my baby sweater project for Knitting Camp. In between, there have been bits of one of these:

What is it, right? 

A Bea the Basement Monster from Rebecca Danger's Big Book of Knitted Monsters, 

Just something for the charitable toy drive at the Minnesota Knitters' Guild. 

And, of course, more purple requested socks.

Yes, nothing really changes but yet, I feel like I'm knitting all the time!

I'm really looking forward to Knitting Camp, though. It is a bit intimidating, though. What if the knitting is too tricky? What if I bring boring projects? Well, time will tell.

 Knit on, with confidence as Elizabeth Zimmerman would say!

This end - up?

A bit lumpy? A bit twisty? I finally bound off the edging of my Harmonia's Rings Cowl and it still looked a bit - wonky.

Until I found a willing model - Oldest Daughter. 

Hello,  Mr. Pinecone!

It suddenly looked much, much better! 

I'd really just winged the beading but I still like it. I think there must be a YouTube video of making a beaded edging but I did it late one night and I didn't have access to anything but my notes and imagination.

Next up - The By Request Socks!

(And a graduation weekend: Oldest Daughter is moving out of dorms today,  singing at a Baccalaureate service on Saturday morning and graduating on Saturday afternoon. And best of all - she starts her new job in June! And moves into an apartment in July. The Bird has left the Nest!)

Done - finally!

Long, long ago I started a lovely pattern called Turn of the Glass by Kathleen Dames from Knitty.com. 

I made my first purchase of Madeline Tosh DK to make it something special. I loved learning the seed stitch edging and working the cabled ribbing. 

 I even knit the sleeves 2-at-a-time in order to keep them identical. Then, well, life got in the way. I took a break of about five months. Starting up again,  I powered through adding in the sleeves and working up to the top of the sleeves. 

Then, Christmas and all its attendant knitting meant another break. 

I ended up bringing the sweater to the Minnesota Knitters' Guild retreat in March and used the combined knitting expertise to work the cap sleeves and short rows for the back and collar. Everything but the grafting of the underarms waited for a certain day . . .

Today was that day.

Love it! It's blocking upstairs right now - just in time for Yarnover on Saturday.

Hello stranger!

Sorry to drop out for so long - there's been plenty of knitting but nothing very spectacular going on. But you're just in time to see the results of a beating . . .

Remember this vest? 

My Abrazo vest, my Vestuary entry from 2009? Well, we did a little program all about blocking at the April Minnesota Knitters' Guild. My part was to demonstrate the use of a "whapper" - an extra strong and wide yard stick. This involves hitting the wet garment to increase the size somewhat - forcing a larger gauge, perhaps - as part of the blocking.

Since my vest was the only item I had that needed increasing, members visiting my station got to try out the whapper on the vest as well as a few swatches. As a result, the vest lengthened about two inches and widened about an inch and a half. That's all it really needed so I am satisfied. It also seemed to line the stitches up more evenly. And we all got a workout!

Even farther in the past - possibly even pre-blogging - is this felted bag.

It's a Lucy bag from Two Old Bags Knitting. I made this years ago (2006 perhaps?) as prep work for a class on needle felting with Bev Galeskas at Stitches Midwest. 

Recently, I got a request for a donation for a charitable silent auction and I pulled this out my UFO box, perfected the needle felting decorations and then, ta da, it was finally finished!

My real knitting project over the last month has been a new blue sweater for Oldest Daughter. Years ago, I knit her a blue pullover sweater. When I found her sleeping in it (it was a pretty comfy sweater) I retrieved it, unwound it and promised her another one. Now that she WILL BE AN LEGALLY EMPLOYED WOMAN AFTER GRADUATION, she'll need a slightly fancier cardigan. So, I'm planning on using the original sweater's Gale Woods Farm yarn for some warmer projects and using Berroco Vintage for a Top Down Shawl Collar Cardigan. 

Bodywork, ready to go!

I've worked my way through all the waist shapings:

I love the increases!

and now, I'm just waiting for Miss O. Daughter to try it on. Then, there will be sleeves and the collar and off she goes to work!

Whew! Now I just need to get back to another new projects - a pair of Emily's Socks from 2-at-a-Time Socks for Youngest Child. He actually asked for purple socks and so he's getting a pair!

Aha!

If only I wasn't home sick from school - then I wouldn't have to model this hat for my mom . . .

Just a quick little hat - the Montera Slouchy Hat pattern that comes free from Classic Elite Yarns. I used some hand spun yarn made from fiber ('Rick's Red') that I bought at Athena Fibers this summer. I spun it up last fall.  It was fun and easy - but I think it's a little too slouchy so I'll make the amended pattern next time!

Back to blue sweater purgatory . . .

The thinker

Unfortunately, I didn't finish up this in February (as in Miss Kalendar's Finishuary!) but a evening at home, watching "Life with Father" and turning the collar did the trick. 

I pulled Youngest Child over and made him try on his Hans Sweater over his pjs.

The Smiler

He already said he thought it was itchy. That's my verdict as well - I'll just have to get him some turtlenecks for underneath it.

Next week, I'll finally have time to weave in all the ends and take out the row markers. Then, back to the Brown Sweater and Oldest Daughter's Blue Sweater. 

If they don't seem familiar, it's because I'm only referring to items by their dominant colors nowadays. That makes it less likely for someone to exclaim, "Didn't you start that project in 2005?"

Tasty!

Orange sherbert?

Cantaloupe smoothie?

Conan O'Brien's hair?

I still can't find quite the right description of this cute little batt that I made from materials from the MKG picnic last Sunday.   Angela Radzyuk from All for Love of Yarn brought 50 bags of carded fleece and her drum carder and we all dove in and made up little batts from them. I ended up making mine at home because I was helping run the other drum carders but I didn't see a bad combination the whole day. Mine started out as a plain orange roving which I mixed with golden silk and some brown/green angelica. Beautiful! Now, I just need to spin it up . . .

Hello!

On the way home this morning, I ran across this fellow.

My own fence was yarn bombed! With a cute little knitted lion!

I've left it in place for the time being.

My own knitting is getting larger and larger. The Hans sweater is too big carry around any more so I've taken to spreading out over the living room sofa and watching old episodes of Enterprise with Youngest Child. 

I'm working on the first series of yoke designs right now. 

Up close, the little rows of stitch markers are keeping track of all the decreases on the sleeves .

I'm not at all happy knitting sleeves one at a time any one. I've been spoiled by two-at-a-time sock knitting!

Tomorrow, I'll be spending the afternoon discussing knitting and eating goodies at the Minnesota Knitters' Guild's Spring Tea. If you're in town, come join us!

Sunday, Feb.26 at 1-4 p.m. at the Minnesota Textile Center.

Our featured speaker. Angela Radzyuk from All for Love of Yarn will be demonstrating how she blends colors and fibers. This to be a hands on kind of deal - we will have drum carders and fleece samples on hand and with five drum carders, there won’t be long lines … more time for eating and knitting!

One down, four* to go

I finished up Oldest Daughter's Drapey Tam (really called the Simon Tam) - the Berroco Ultra Alpaca and the Rowan Kidsilk Haze made for a wonderfully soft hat.

The ribbing is pretty but - a little odd. You build in new ribs as you increase the stitches (to make the tam shape) but then you quickly begin removing those stitches as you decrease. So there are some wedge shaped sections that I didn't expect.

Unfortunately, I didn't have anyone to try on the hat for me - Youngest Daughter being off at college and all.

So I got Youngest Child out of bed (he wasn't sleeping - just reading!) and bribed him with a glass of water to model for me.

It still didn't work for me. So, back to the drawing board.

My version of Jack McBrayer wearing a tam.

See the amazing resemblance?

Photo http://www.buddytv.com

And finally, making its first appearance since 2010, I actually cut off the extra weft from my Cotton Dish Towel and sewed up the edges to make it actually usable. This has been hanging around my sewing room for ages.

I do not like weaving with cotton - it sucked the moisture out of my hands, even just handling the woven material. Good for a towel, I suppose.

I had a hard time getting the cut yarn tails to stay woven in, though. My favorite part? The reversible pattern.

AND never one to forget the Saturday Seven -

Four sweaters, a wool skirt, a terrible throw pillow and a brain quest set. I really, really tried to find a use for these but nothing worked out. The pillow was no good for sleeping with, the skirt was un-alterable, the sweaters either didn't fit or were quite old and Youngest Child - no longer in second grade. Off it all goes to SJTE's Huge Sale.

* The other four? This is the year of finishing up my darn UFOs - the Turn of the Glass cardigan, the Lopi Challenge Sweater, the Sailor's Delight Socks and the must-finish-before-I-die River Grass Gansey.

So, so true.

This is why I can't even read the emails from Webs, let alone visit the store.

The life we lead

So, last Sunday, we had a babysitter. So we went to the movies. You know what was on last Sunday, right? That big football extravaganza?

Well, we were the only people in our movie theatre.

So I didn't feel the least bit odd putting on my knitting light and really, really knitting at the movies! I did turn out the light once I started getting into the plot of the movie. The knitting? My Sailor's Delight socks.

P.S. The movie was "Haywire" - a fantastic Steven Soderbergh film. This movie, however, was shot by Mr. Daisy on his phone.

Mid week clean-out!

Fern lace mohair shrug

My, oh, my!

I finished this beauty late on Tuesday - just in time to be a January entry into Knittymama's Monthly Apparel group. Yes, I know she is aiming at sewing an item a month but I had to wade through my craft room first to make that happen.

And I worked toward that goal today - by cleaning out my yarn closet. An airing of the stash, almost!

The files in the back remain from when my sewing/guest room was my husband's home office. Someday, he promises that he will remove them. The tubs, bags and rolls of batting are mine. This made it all look much more reasonable!

Until you look more closely and see that I have anywhere from 3 - 12 skeins of any yarn. Sigh. Time to power through all this stash. I did weed out some yarn to take to the Minnesota Knitters' Guild's Great Guild Getaway in March.  There has been a very fun auction/yarn exchange the past few years at this retreat and I'm sure my extra yarn could brighten up someone else's day.

Now, on to finishing up that Turn of the Glass!