Wurzburg Yarn Crawl

On Saturday Kathleen and I met up headed down to Wurzburg to check out the yarn stores there. First we headed to the Phildar stockist, which I was eagerly looking forward to. It's a shame that it turned out to be a major disapointment. Not only did she not carry much in the way of Phildar, most of it appeared to have been sitting on the shelves for a long time. The rest of the selection was lacking and what appeared to be the best yarn was behind the counter. I'm sorry, but this irks me to no end when I have to ask to see something. Especially in a yarn store, it doesn't allow for the full experience. Our next two stops turned out to be much better. The second store had a great selection of sock yarn with tons of samples. And not hidden way up near the ceiling either. After that we went to Wolle Rodel, which I have a store near me, but this one is much better. Of course, lots of sock yarn was to be had. Okay, want to see what I got? Looking counterclockwise, three balls of blue marled sock yarn for Royd, Lana Grossa Mega Boot Stretch, Regia Shadow Color, Rodel variegated, Regia Canadian Color, and Rodel variegated. Not pictured is 7 balls of Steinbach Wolle Eroica for a guernsey for Connor. Now, this picture really excites me. Two balls of Opal, Flamingo and Chameleon and a ball of Rodel's silk yarn that looks almost to be a copy cat of the Opal Petticoat. Let me just say that this is the first time I have seen Opal in Germany. I know, it's made here! Granted I don't live in a major city, and selection tends to be a bit less than desirable. But the goodies don't end there. Kathleen treated me to some handspun sock yarn from a shop near her. These will make a fantastic pair of socks. I think I may have enough sock yarn to keep me going for a while. Heck, I can't even fit it all in its storage box. I wonder how many pairs I can make...

And the Socks Come a-Knockin'

Yay!!! I got my socks! Thanks Ann-Marie, they're great. You know, I didn't think I'd like a short leg, I usually make mine between 7-8 inches, but 5 totally works. I'll have to remember this next time I get bored with the pattern. Too bad one of Conway is already done, or I'd make 'em this short. There has been a whole lot of knitting going on over here, but not much to show for it. Three days of knitting on the shawl has produced a whopping 30 rows completed. Well, considering that there are now approximately 350 odd stitches on each row, I'd say it's not that bad. I keep telling myself that there only 50 rows left. Too bad that doesn't take into account the 800 rows of border. Yikes!!! I have promised myself that I must knit at least 6 rows per day. And I have given myself three weeks to do the entire thing, including blocking time. Think I can? Oh, and Reilly doesn't have chicken pox. Thank goodness! The next morning the rash that was on his face and left hand had faded and wasn't spreading. The doctor said to not even bother coming in unless it came back or it started to bother him. He chalked it up to some allergic reaction. Nonetheless I kept him home until today, just to be sure. Now I really dread the kids getting it, among other wonderful illnesses.

Spots!!!

I do believe we have a problem. I do believe that chicken pox has just invaded my house. Yuck! Since I don't see us going anywhere for the next few days, progress should be made on the shawl. I forgot to mention what pattern I'm using, it's the Shaped Triangle from A Gathering of Lace. Only five more rows to go until I start a new pattern. Mostly I've been splitting my time between the shawl and Royd's socks. But today I couldn't get into either one of them. For some reason I've been itching to try out the Multidirectional Scarf the past week or so. I ended up grabbing some rainbow striped Gedifra Scarlet and casted on. I have four balls total, but only used two for a child sized scarf. Maybe I'll make another, maybe I won't. It'll go into the Dulaan box.

Miscellaneous Fibery Progress Reports

My husband is yet again off playing in the woods with explosives, so I've been getting to play the single parent roll all this week. Can I say that I'm tired? Everytime he goes away, I think that I'll get time to do some serious knitting and housework. It never happens that way. Instead I end up doing errands around town and creating ways to keep the kids busy. You know, it's not like when he's here I get that much out of him, but that hour he plays with the kids really helps me and my sanity out. I've had some things to show, but haven't had the time to get a post together. So, here goes: First, I managed to finish spinning some singles and plied them together. If you look closely the skein on top is much loosely plied than the bottom. I had a bit of a "duh" moment when I realized that if I screwed the whorl on too tightly, then the bobbin can't spin freely and wind the yarn on fast enough. So that's why the bottom one is so tight. I still have to set the twist, so I'll see what happens after. I also have done some more spinning. This is the merino/tencel I mentioned in an earlier post. I have one bobbin full and think I have enough to do another full one. One of Conway is finished. The second is just kind of sitting there. I'm bored with the pattern. Royd's heel has been re-knit and is awaiting a fitting. I went with a short row heel in order to save on the main yarn some more. I just want to make sure that he likes how it feels before proceeding any further. The yarn for the Xmas shawl came and I resisted casting on for one day. The plan was to finish the Basketweave first and then I could start. All I need to do is knit the turtleneck, but my 16" 4.5 mm's are nowhere to be found. I looked! Really I did! Furniture was moved, my stash room was torn apart and put back nicely, danced were done to appease the Knitting Gods-all to no avail. Funny, I never use these things and can't remember the last time they would have been. Today's a pretty gloomy day and there is no justice being done to the color of the yarn I'm using. It's Knitpicks Shadow in Lost Lake. It's quite a pretty green in real person. Perhaps when the sun comes out I can get a decent shot of it.

Sock Tales

Royd's sock was making great progress. Was. There is still almost two inches until I start the toe shaping and I'm going to run out of yarn. I had hoped that it would make it to the toe and just use some plain grey to finish up. No chance of that, so I'll be frogging this up to the heel and using the grey to do the heel too. I hope that this works. I really don't feel like going back to the store to get another ball and hope that there is one in the same dye lot. Conway has been restarted in another yarn. If it looks familiar, well, it is. I had alot of yarn left from the Leaves and Flowers Shawl. Almost 180 gms. Michelle (sorry, I couldn't find your email link) had asked which yarn I was using originally and it was Knitpicks Sock Garden in Geranium. I tried it with 72 stitches and then on 66 with a larger needle. Neither one would work for me. It was doing that pooling thing where the small bit of green was right on top of itself round after round. It wouldn't have been so bad if it were solid but everyother round was broken up by the red. It just looked bad. It's okay, though, I really like how these are turning out. In other news, I heard from my sock pal this morning. All is well and she didn't forget about me. I was so worried that they were lost in the mail. I can't wait to see them!

At the Short End Again

Well, so much for our three day weekend. Royd ended up having to go into work yesterday. I'm just a bit annoyed. Long story short: Thursday everyone at the company got off at noon for a Family Day Barbecue, but he had to work at one of the ranges for a 24 hour shift. Okay, technically he got Friday off, but since he slept until 4pm, I really don't think it counted. Then with having to work on Columbus Day, he just got screwed out of what should have been a 4 1/2 day weekend. I sure hope everyone else in the company enjoyed their time. I guess I'm just fed up. It seems like just about every other long weekend, he has to work. I wouldn't mind so much if everyone else was too, but it just isn't that way. Anyway, I guess enough with the venting. Since we didn't get to do what we had planned yesterday, I got to finish quite a bit up. First, I kitchenered the last toe on these bad boys and wove in the ends. They just need a blocking. The yarn is Four Seasons' Marathon Tango. After sitting around for a few weeks, I finally got Royd to try on the dang mittens so I could finish them. I wanted to make sure the thumb fit exactly since they are for work. I used a pattern from the 2005 Knitting Pattern a Day calendar, November 1st. Both the mittens and the hat used black Woolease. The hat is the Hot Head pattern from Stitch 'n Bitch. And then I made these for myself. I made up the pattern as I went along, adapting it from what I know about mittens and how I wanted them to fit. The hardest part was trying to decide if I wanted a pattern on the front or all in ribbing and which ribbing to use. I finally settled on a 3x2 rib. The yarn is Classic Elite Miracle in a blue color(misplaced band to blame) and used just over a skein. So soft and warm! Then this is what I casted on for: Mariah, Conway and a pair of socks for Royd (yes! He finally agreed!) But I may put Mariah away for awhile. I ordered the yarn for the last two Xmas presents I have to make and don't think I'll have time to mess with it until after I finish. I don't like having more than one charted pattern on the needles at a time, I just get confused. Even if I indicate where I left off. Conway needs to be ripped out too. The first time I casted on with the 72 stitches called for at gauge called for. OMG, they were huge and floppy! So, I took out six stitches and went down a needle size. Now they fit, but the pattern gets stretched out too much. I guess I'm more comfortable with the twisted stitches and my knitting has gotten tighter. Now I just need to decide which sock will get more attention.

Decisions and Priorities

Since I don't have anything else really to show, here's a shot of the nicest view off of my balcony. As you can see, it's absolutely beautiful here in Germany. Clear skies, gorgeous foliage, a three day weekend... what more can I ask for? Well, a little direction in my knitting. I feel the pressure of holiday and cold weather knitting. There's alot to get done in the next month or so. All gifts must be completed by the the middle of November, the very latest the last week. That way I can avoid the delays of slow mail service. Although I have made a decent dent in this, there are still two projects left. First, I want to make the Flared Lace Smoke Ring but haven't decided on a yarn yet. Second, I'd really like to knit a shawl. No pattern or yarn yet. Then, let's see... what needs to be finished up before really cold weather. Obviously the Basketweave Pullover needs serious attention Samus needs blocking, seaming, i-cords and some sewing mittens or fingerless gloves for myself another pair of mittens and a new hat for the boys Conway for the KOTR knitalong, but am not feeling this pattern Oh, and then there's what I want to knit Trellis for Connor (swatching is being resisted) Twist (I have the yarn for this in my stash!!!) Mariah (I just got the yarn) The Manly Sweater for Royd (need one more color) Yikes! I feel pulled in so many directions. I wish this had been the problem a few months ago when there wasn't a thing I wanted to knit. Sorry if this post was a bit not together. That's just how my brain is thinking right now. Okay, off to finish a hat for Royd I started this morning.

Forget All WIPs

On Sunday I packed up the kids and the hubby and drove out to visit with Kathleen. Of course I had a great time, as always. Look what she sent me home with: Ain't she a beauty? This is the wheel she scored awhile back, but hasn't even used yet. She's letting me borrow it for a little while. Let me say that, I had never used a wheel before and after about an hour of playing around I had it figured out and was spinning away. Here's my first mini practice skein. You can see that my plying needs alot of work, but it's alot better than my first try with the spindle. Last night I started with some Merino/Tencel, but after about twenty minutes, I took that bobbin off. I'm trying to practice spinning a consistent thicker yarn(my natural tendancy is toward very fine) and I find this stuff a bit sticky. So, I went back to that Wildberry roving that I still have tons left of. So far so good. The only other thing I've been working on is mittens. It's been super cold lately and the kids needed some so that they don't freeze their little hands off.

Can You Smell It?

You know that smell... It's crisp and fresh and oh so invigorating. I mean Fall. I LOVE this time of year. The weather is beautiful, the colors are beautiful and the food is super yummy. Oh, yeah, the food! The urge to bake has hit me hard. This week it's been biscotti and apple-pear pie. Later today it will be cheddar buttermilk bread to round out a nice hearty roast. Okay, okay, I really love food. But cooler weather has also prompted another desire: the need to finish some sweaters. First, I really need to finish the Basketweave Pullover, but I'm not wearing it so it can wait. Right? Second, my (un) Drop-Stitch Cardigan from this issue of IK. I spent two days blocking the thing and then another two days finding some quiet time to do the seaming. So how's it look? Like crap. Can we say too big? And no, my gauge (for once) isn't the problem. The yarn and the size I made is. I substituted a silk blend for the wool called for. I knew from my swatch that the drape would be, well, more drapey. I just didn't realize how much. And I think I'm making the wrong size for my taste. This has been the problem with everyother sweater I have made myself. Okay, my chest measures 43". So, you would think to make the 45"-47" size for a comfortable sweater. The problem that I'm realizing is that my waist is not proportionate to my chest. Which results in this: A big saggy mess that makes me look 20 pounds heavier than I am. I don't need this! Heck, I'm trying(hoping) to look 20 less! So, now what to do? I could rip the whole thing out and knit the smaller size and then put some short rows into the bust. *remember to go research this, Erica* But, this doesn't help with the drape. I guess it'll go back into the Pile for awhile until I figure something out. Oh the brighter side of things, XMas knitting is on: I can't say I really like this yarn, but the recipient likes funky stuff so it'll be perfect. These were originally bought as a possible yarn for my sock pal, but wasn't used. Speaking of that, Neysa reports that she got her socks in the mail, but hasn't looked at them yet. She promised herself that she'd finish her pals first. I haven't heard anything from my gifter yet, but since I know the mail can be pretty unreliable here, I'll give it another week before I worry. Have a great weekend!

Call It a Bust

Well, our weekend of fun didn't quite happen. All last week the boys and I were sick and I thought we were over it. Not quite. Reilly spent all of Friday and Saturday layed out on the couch I developed a horrible cough. Just walking the length of our apartment sent me into a horrible fit that would last about five minutes. We were disappointed but there's always this weekend. Thankfully we all feel completely better now. I spent alot of time knitting, obviously. Samus' body and one sleeve are finished. I haven't casted on for the other sleeve yet though. Instead I'm working on a pair of work mittens for Royd. They're in black and it's such a dreary day that I can't get a picture yet. And I have a finished object to show! Yeah! Here's the Leaves and Flowers Shawl that's been done for about three weeks or so and just needed a blocking. Full body shot how the pattern looks the best representation of the color

I've Been Busy. Very Busy.

Samus has come to my house to play and refuses to leave my fingers alone. I started Samus last Wednesday evening and have been having a hard time putting it down. I've already divided for the armholes and am almost finished with the left (maybe the right?) side. Cooler weather has made me long to wear this sweater. I guess I better get over my fear of zippers once and for all. Next up, I'm in a search for what yarn to use for either Mariah or Rogue. Both have been on my want list for quite some time, but never happened. Also, Royd has decided that he wants an Aran sweater, so I need to find a pattern and yarn for him. I guess he better take me shopping this weekend! I suppose it won't be a problem for that; we've got the time. He took off four days for our anniversary (tomorrow), but he's in the field and won't be home until late. Originally we thought to go somewhere to get away, but with money being a little tight lately, we decided not to. Instead we'll save the hotel money and do some local day trips and maybe get to come home with some souveniers. Almost forgot (again) to mention these socks: Trekking XXL in color 105

Look Elsewhere for Knitting

First, let me thank everyone for their comments concerning my last post. I do apologize for not emailing back, but my Hotmail account is on the fritz, again. Some days I can only read my messages and others I can't even get into it. Seriously thinking about switching everything over to Yahoo. Second, sorry for being so quiet lately. My weird funky mood continues and there hasn't been a whole lot of knitting going on. Here are my last four (out of eight) attempts for Friday Harbour. I think I'll just quit while I'm ahead. Nothing was speaking to me and I don't want to knit these unless I'm truly happy with the yarn. It's such a wonderful pattern that I don't want to ruin it with a pair I end up hating. Okay, okay, I could just order more yarn. But I kinda spent a little too much the past few months and am trying to be good and use what's already here. Which leads me to this: Acrylic yarn stash busting projects I went through a bin of yarn and pulled out all of the complimentary baby colors I could find that are oddballs. I then threw them in a bag and am just randomly crocheting squares with them. I haven't really thought about how I'll end up putting them together. So far I think I'll have enough to make four small baby blankets. Too bad all this work has barely put a dent in the acrylic bin!

Little Sweaters

I finally managed to snap a picture of the two of them in their completed sweaters. They've been done for a few weeks now, but I kept forgetting to get a shot when they were both clean, happy and willing to sit still. So much harder than one would imagine! Anyway, here's the details. Connor's sweater is the Aran Sweater from Knitting for Baby using Woolease. I made it in the 18 months size so that he can wear it through next spring. Reilly's sweater is a basic turtleneck knit with a strand of Woolease and a strand of Rodel's Universal. I should have made his a bit bigger since it fits perfect right now. Reilly was so funny when I finished the sweater and had him try it on. He made the connection that Mommy had made it, just for him. He kept walking around telling everyone what I had done. Aww... In other news, I'm exclusively working on the shawl. I've only a half repeat to go, but am thinking that I may just do one more. There's tons of yarn left and another inch and a half couldn't hurt. So maybe sometime next week it'll be done. I did start another pair of socks using the Trekking I had gotten in the States. To me it seems like a nice masculine color scheme, but Royd thinks it's too feminine. This from the man who keeps buying pink shirts! It'll probably get ripped out and put away until I decide who'll end up with them. There's some other socks I've been wanting to start, but have decided not to until after I start and finish my Friday Harbor socks. I'm just waiting for the yarn to arrive. Have a great weekend!

Progress Update

Two weeks? Jeez, I guess I've been a bit blah lately. I think it started with the weather we've been having this summer. Cold and rainy days on end makes it hard to get out and have some fun. I know poor Reilly has had enough of it. Then Royd was gone all last week at a training seminar. I'd forgotten how hard it can be to be the only parent. Well, I guess I'd better get used to it: looks like he'll be deploying next spring again. Fun. There hasn't been a whole lot of knitting going on here. I think I started about eight projects, with one being on hold and one I'm continuing with. I just wasn't feeling the other ones. I did manage to finish the Irish Hiking Scarf and the Snowdrop Shawl and just need to block them. As far as the Basketweave Pullover goes, I have to undo the seaming I'd done. Royd tried it on and wants it longer. Luckily with the stitch pattern, there's alot of play to block it out a few more inches. I just haven't felt like doing it yet. This is what I have been working on: It's the Leaves and Flowers Shawl using some Knitpicks Color Your Own. When I first saw it I knew I had to make it since I will definetly wear it. I like that it's just lacey enough without being too open and that it's done in a fingering weight yarn instead of laceweight. So far I've been cruising along, but now it's at that point where each row takes about ten minutes and I'm only maybe a third to half-way done!

My Plans For Today

Connor has taken to getting up very early lately. Today it was 4:15. Of course, he couldn't just eat and go back to bed or even play nicely. He spent the next two hours screaming. Nothing was really wrong, he just wanted to be up but was too tired to enjoy himself. Needless to say, I'm exhausted! So I'm taking it easy and putting off the errands until tomorrow. What will I be doing? Well, spending some much needed time with the BasketWeave Pullover and vast amounts of coffee. Yes, the end is in sight. I can't wait to finish this one so that I can start on his next one. He's picked out the Manly Sweater from Stitch N Bitch. We're trying out dark green, charcoal and cream. I'm not sold on the colors yet, but we'll see how it goes. I'll also be trying to decide what to do with this pound of mohair/wool roving I won off Ebay. And this merino tencel blend I bought from this Ebay seller. Oh, there may have been two pounds of merino in the box too.

Finished Objects Alert

First we have the Dublin Bay Socks in Knitpicks Color Your Own. This yarn was a pleasure to work with, very soft. I may have ordered some more to try out with some natural dyeing. This is the Candlelight Scarf I had been working on last week. It's real name is A World Lit Only by Fire, from the Lavish Lace book. I used some Universal from the local Wolle Rodel. I got a bunch of other stuff done this weekend, but will post about it later this week. I've just got to finish up a few tiny little things and then there'll be tons more finished objects. It feels good to get some things off the needles and out of the Finishing Pile. I guess it's time to start planning some new projects. Oh, wait! Already done, I'm just waiting for the yarn to get here in the mail.

A Tisket, A Tasket

A finished FlowerBasket! The color's off in this one. Closeup of edging, which could have been blocked a tad more. The pretty shot. I figured since I have the blocking board set-up, I might as well finish this up. I'm glad I did, I love how it turned out. Too bad it's not for me. It'll be sent out this week to someone in Royd's family since it had originally been intented for his Nanny. I guess I'll just have to make another one.

6 Steps to a Productive Weekend

1. Prepare all of the meals for the weekend on Friday afternoon. A flank steak, hot dogs, wurst, and chicken breasts thrown on the grill makes plenty of food for an entire weekend. A nice potato salad, macaroni salad, deviled eggs and grilled veggies rounds it all out. Three hours spent in the kitchen now, makes for less time later. 2. Spend a few hours on Friday doing all of the housework that has to be done. 3. Frozen coffee drinks make for a nice sipping treat. Caffeine also fuels fast knitting. 4. Give husband his list of chores on Saturday morning and let him run with it. Don't stress too much if he isn't doing it. Nagging only slows you down. 5. Occasionally give husband and children love and attention when needed. When they get completely bored, go for walk and get ice cream and toys. Then quickly come home. 6. When you think you cannot possibly knit another stitch, go get a sponge and cleaning solution. Go to ________ (insert word of choice: bathroom, oven, child's room, fridge drawers) and spend twenty minutes there. You'll quickly find renewed desire to go back to knitting. Following said steps will guarantee a very efficient and goal oriented weekend. In this time you can: Complete an entire child's sweater, Finish a front and back of another child's sweater* Knit about a 1/3 of a scarf** You can also get some much needed blocking done: A Branching Out, A Twelve Little Leaves doily, And a Egeblad doily. * I got about two inches into the vest for Reilly and realized that the yarn was much too busy. So I pulled out some random balls of Woolease in Terracotta and knit them together. I'm very pleased with the resulting color. **Same went for Connor's vest, but did not have another yarn that looked good with it. So, I found this scarf in Lavish Lace for A World Lit Only by Fire. I've renamed it The Candlelight Scarf for simplicity.

Crash the Stash

The past few weeks or so I've been feeling very uninspired towards my knitting. That's when I turn to socks since they're always exciting (at least to me) and it keep me going. So, in record time I was able to finish these in less than a week: Now what? I had no idea; my mind was blank. So I pulled out some of Knitpicks Color Your Own and some Wilton dye. I found Juniper Green a few weeks ago and wanted to see if I could get a green that wasn't bright or pukey. I really like what I ended up with and now I have a Dublin Bay Sock going on. Oh, you came here looking for finished pictures of my sock pal's pair? Hmph! Let's just say that there is some major surgery going on here right now and I'm not in the mood. Anyway, back to the uncreative brain functions. I spent the past two days sitting in my craft room, pulling almost every skein, hank, ball and tangled mess out of their nice, neat containers and threw them around. Sure I've got everthing cataloged on my computer and pretty columned paper, but I needed to touch and caress them. I need inspiration!!! Swatches were casted on, tore off the needles and bad words were said. Nothing. Okay, I don't have the largest stash around, nor the most extensive pattern collection, but it's decent and I thought I should come up with anything. I walked away last evening feeling defeated and torn-up. It's just yarn, I know. This morning I had a brilliant idea: have a stash sale! I could sell what I am not excited about and get some stuff I really need. No. Who wants one ball of this and one ball of that? Plus I'm not ready to part with most of my pets quite yet. Last alternative: charity knitting. Work with what I have and need to get rid of and do some good at the same time. Yes, it IS that bright Then it comes to me that I need to make the boys vests. What better way to use up the yarn that isn't enough for a sweater and too much for a hat and glove set. Wait! They do need those too! Okay, I'm wasting time typing, must go knit some cute kid stuff... Fall colors for Reilly, jewels for Connor and green if I run out for the ribbing