A Cardigan For Arwen

Yet another sweater has been completed during my finishing frenzy. Pattern: A Cardigan for Arwen, Interweave Knits Winter '06 Yarn: Knitpicks Salishan in Red Clay I've been sporadically working on this shortly after the issue came out. Yesterday I took advantage of nasty grey and wet weather and set about to finish it. Boy am I glad it's done (as are the boys and the housework). The seaming kicked my a**! Grafting cables is a pain. I must have ripped my work out at least seven times. Now? It's not perfect, but I'm DONE. Even just the mattress stitch on the sleeves about killed me. I'm not sure why, but it just kept looking crappy. I made several modifications based on my body type and the yarn used. I had had a hard time trying to decide which size to knit, since one gave me no ease but the next size up gave me five. Although I knew that this was suppose to be loose fitting, I don't like to wear really big sweaters. I opted to knit the smaller and add a total of four stitches to the total circumference to give me another inch. I also knew that I wanted it longer so I added about an inch and a half to the total length. On the flip side since the yarn is a cotton and wool blend, stretching out is to be expected. I took this into consideration when I was adding. Since I knit the first sleeve twice, I saw that it was way too long and took out two inches. One for actual length and another for stretching. In wearing it all day today, I see that my modifications were pretty right on. Final verdict? Um, it's nice, warm and practical. However it is probably not the most flattering design for my body type. It makes me look bigger than I am. So not what I'm going for. I couldn't decide if I should even show you a modeled shot since I couldn't get a really good one. Finally I settled on one that only added about 10 pounds instead of the 30 I was getting. Although there are two more sweaters that need some work, I'm done with this finishing frenzy. I still haven't decided on my next project. When I figure it out, I'll be sure to let y'all know.

Lucy in the Sky

My favorite sweater to date! Pattern: Lucy in the Sky Yarn: Cascade 220, color 4007 Just as I suspected, I love this sweater! In all it only took me about two weeks to knit and then another two to finish. The finishing wasn't procrastinated as usual, but I had been waiting on the buttons in the mail. On Friday I got them and then set about weaving ends and attaching the neck band. I do need to reblock it though. If you look at the neck, you can see that where the front meets the sleeves, it's a bit distorted. I couldn't find a good way to block the entire thing altogether without it doing that. Once that's done, it'll be perfect. For now, it's fine for me. The color is also off in both pictures. The best representation is in this post. I spent most of my free time this weekend working on the Entrelac Scarf and it is now about 3/4s of the way done. I'm still debating on fringing it. I'll probably play around with it and see how it looks. The rest of the weekend I poured over patterns trying to decide on my next big project. It seems that I either have the pattern and not the yarn, or the yarn and not the pattern. True, I do have two sweaters that are all set to be cast on for, but I really don't feel like either of them. I'm thinking I'd like to save Saffy for summer knitting when it gets hot and I just can't get excited over a sweater for the hubby right now. Hopefully I'll make up my mind soon. Oh, the decisions!

Something Old, Something New

Yup, I finally sucked it up and finished Reilly's sweater. Pattern: Hero from Pipsqueaks Yarn: Den-M-Nit Oh, it's only been about, um... since August. My, I've been bad! For the past two months, all it's needed is a seaming. It feels so good to have it done though. I've been in a bit of a finishing mood lately. Currently there are two sweaters that are slowly getting put together, two pairs of socks that are almost done and I've been contemplating finishing two more sweaters. If you couldn't tell, I have serious issues with this last step. It's so much more fun to just cast on for something new. In fact, so much fun that I did just that last night. In defense, I needed something new to get me excited. These entrelac scarves have been on my mind all winter long. I hadn't ordered the yarn earlier since I was scoffing the idea of a forty dollar scarf. This is brand new Boku from Plymouth and has a much nicer price tag. Especially when you get that sweet discount from Webs. Can I just say that they have become my favorite store lately?!! This was casted on for last night and I'm having a hard time putting it down. I had forgotten how much fun entrelac could be. Now I've got this crazy idea of an afghan. Don't hold me to that, I'm likely to change my mind in a day or two. I also finished up half of the Plum Honey roving from The Yarn Wench. I've got another three ounces and with how much time I get to spin, it might be another month before that's done.

The Shortest Two Weeks Ever

Well hello out there! I'm back! Royd flew out on Tuesday morning, marking the end of a wonderful and amazingly short two weeks. We didn't go anywhere, didn't do much but we had the greatest time. Well, except for the various illnesses that made us scrap weekend plans twice. I know alot of people use these R&Rs to travel, especially here in Europe. With three small children, we opted to have the main focus on family time and do anything else as it came up. Since everyone got sick, I'm glad that we didn't shell out a ton of money and end up sitting in a hotel room. I didn't get to the yarn store while he was home and I didn't get as much quality time with my spinning wheel as I had hoped, but I did work on various knitting projects. I expect that in the next couple weeks, I should have a bunch of stuff finished. That is if I can keep up with the current momentum. There is one project that got all done and I can show today. Pattern: Lusekofte Cap from Hats On! Yarn: Elann Highland Wool in Dark Indigo Heather and Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Natural The top is a bit pointy, but it's not so bad. In all it took me only two days to get this knocked out. I worked on it as Marc slept off sickness and the other boys were out and about getting into mischief around town. There are two mistakes in the very center of the panel, but it's consistent throughout the entire row, so I'm not worried at all. Well, time to get back to the laundry and get some little ones into beds for naptime. See you next week with something else!

Preview

I just got off the phone with my FIL who told me great news!!! Royd is officially on his way home! Right now he's waiting to catch the first of three planes over the next few days. I expect that if things go well, he should be here on Monday. Now, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and that I can make the drive to pick him up from the airport. If not, he'll be catching a train. The rest of the weekend I'll be sitting tight until I get word on his arrival flight. It's hard though, cuz I can't sit still. Well, I'm off to go do something busy. I'll leave you with a few shots of what I may be spending time with this weekend. See you in a couple weeks!

A Little Something

Sometimes you just need a quick, yet highly satifsfying project. Hence my latest FO. Pattern: Norwegian Star Hat from Hats On! Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, Natural and Mist Time to knit: 3 days No blocking required! It fits perfect too! Anyone have any ideas to minimize the jog between rounds? This is my only complaint about the hat, but it's really quite small. Seeing that I can make my stitches in colorwork look all neat and pretty, I've decided to rip out Anemoi and redo them. I discovered that I just need to slow down and enjoy the process of each stitch instead of wanting to see the pattern emerge faster. I also have been squeezing some spinning time into each day. I took the Optim off the wheel since it was seriously slow going. I wanted fiber that would not require too much work and allow me to relax. I pulled out the roving I had previously mentioned and am having a blast. Isn't it just lovely? It's called Plum Honey and the colors are entertaining me way more than they should. Well okay, I've wasted enough time this morning. I really need to get back to the cleaning. Royd's R&R is suppose to start this weekend or next week and I've got a million things to do before he gets here. If I don't post again this week, I'll be back in a few. Have a great week everyone!

Acceptance

I'm a packrat although I hate being one. Clutter drives me nuts, yet cannot get rid of things. Recently I started going through stuff and just dumping it. It felt great! Everything I've gotten rid of hasn't caused me to look back once. I even went through the yarn have been trying to sell what I will probably never use. Well, last night as I was sitting down to spin and looked at what was in front of me. Thread. Honestly, I do not have the time or commitment to spin thread. This morning I came to the conclusion that it's going to be a long time before I have those two things. Why hang onto it when someone else enjoy it? Since I know quite a few of my readers spin as well, I'm going to give y'all a chance to take some wool off of my hands. Seriously, what's below is just a drop in the bucket, so don't feel bad. :) Here's the important details. All roving is untouched unless noted. Shipping is included in my price (within the US only). Payment is by Paypal only. International buyers ask for a shipping quote please. All wool has been stored in ziploc freezer bags away from children, cats and potential nasties. First come, first serve. Email me if you're interested and include your Paypal email addy if it is different. Email is ericanuckols AT hotmail DOT com Purple and White Mohair/Wool Roving -1 pound -$14.00 Natural White Wensleydale -1 pound -$15.00 Natural Brown Shetland -8 ounces -$9.00 Purple and Blue Merino Tencel -4 ounces -$13.00 Autumn Merino Tencel -4 ounces -$13.00 Multicolor Mohair Roving -8 ounces -$10.00 Superwash Merino, "Good Vibrations" from CMF - about 4 ounces -$7.00 -these are my leftovers from a pair of socks

A Bit of This and That

Thank you for your suggestions! It was quite interesting to see what everyone had to say. In the end I went with Ariann, as it was also the most popular one. Here it is on day four and it's fourth attempt. Being that it seemed such an easy knit, I kinda made alot of errors. Inability to follow directions, unhappiness with the selvedge stitches, dropped stitches, and casting on for the wrong size. Now, we're doing good. In the past month I haven't touched the spinning wheel at all. It's a shame since I keep ordering more fiber. I used to have lots of time in the evenings to sit down and get lost in the rhythm. Then a little baby I know has decided that he doesn't need any sleep and it's often after 9:30 before I get anytime to myself. Since I am usually knocked out by 10:30, it just never seems like much sense to bring the wheel out into the living room. Instead, I pick the knitting up and try to squeeze a few rows in while watching the news. Last week I received some gorgeous fiber in the mail. I just happened to be at the Yarn Wench site looking at colorways when I noticed that she was in the middle of updating. Yeehaw! Everytime I get an update notice, everything I like is always gone. Man, it was hard not to buy a bunch of it up. I was good and settled on one. (Sadly I can't get pictures today since my camera battery died and it'll be a few hours until I can try again. Boys are sleeping, so now's my chance to post.) Yesterday I took advantage of naptime and managed to finish plying up what was on the wheel. It's two ounces and 150 yards of Crown Mountain Farms' Heat Wave, Navajo plied. I'm still debating whether I like it or not and if I should finish spinning it up. You'd think that the brand new roving would have landed on the wheel next but it didn't. I just can't decide what to do with it, so to satisfy the spinning urge I'm working on some Optim, from this post. (No pictures of that either. Sorry!) Well, my time is limited, so I must make the most of this precious time. I'll leave you with a picture of what I have to deal with when someone is awake. Obviously, I'm not spending that much time on the computer lately!

I Got Nothin'

So, who wants to bet that y,all thought I'd have either a pair of mittens or a sweater to show today? Well, neither is going to happen. First, after I had finished the first of Anemoi, I had put them aside. I had really wanted to finish Arwen. I was so good too! For five days I worked on nothing else and was content. Ecstatic actually at the prospect of a new sweater to wear. I got as far as needing to start the left side of the hood and something happened: our President. Okay, usually I don't get political and air my opinions of things on this blog. But this situation really upsets me. I won't get into it, but let's leave it at this: I'm pissed. So pissed, that I couldn't find the energy to knit. Yeah, it takes alot since knitting is my stress relief. After a couple days I felt better and wanted to pick up the needles again. By this time though I had no desire to work on Arwen. Or Anemoi. Or anything else I've got languishing. So, this is what I've been doing instead. Lots of swatching. Here's the rundown: 1. Two top reds--Valley Meadows Superwash. I'd casted on for Lucy in the Sky with another yarn but didn't like how it was looking in that color. Riiip. I dug this out and thought it was perfect. Wrong! I can't get row gauge. Sure, an easy fix but after about a ball of yarn it was clear I was going to run out of yarn. Riiip! 2. Purple Irish Wool. Just playing with an idea of a Zimmerman Norwegian sweater. Now that I've got the gauge, I can look at other colors and daydream. 3. Green Highland wool. This used to be the Ribby Cardi. Now, it could possibly be Ariann. 4. Ecru Rowan Denim. This could be Saffy. SO.... I can't decide. I really want to do Lucy because the sweater is completely me. It's the type of sweater I would buy at the store and wear until it was falling apart. I hear y'all saying "Go buy more yarn!" Recent examination of the stash reveals 16 sweaters worth of yarn. Hmm. I may have a problem. No more yarn purchases. *sigh* Dear readers, this is where you come in. What should I work on? Ariann or Saffy? Both are ready and waiting your input. I really can't decide!

First Socks

I finished up the first pair of socks for the new year just a few minutes ago. Pattern: Latvian Socks from Folk Socks Yarn: Superwash Sunshine Yarn in NSS Olive Can I just tell you how glad I am to have these off the needles??? If you remember, these were suppose to be a Christmas gift, but due to some yarn snapping issues I didn't. I ripped back the foot of the first one and redid it for my size and then finished up the second to match. They're beautiful, but I sure am worried about them wearing out very quickly. I guess I won't be wearing them around the house without slippers. With these finished, there are only one pair left on the needles. They're basic ribbed socks in cotton and I'm not really in a hurry to get them done. With the new year, I'd like to step back from the socks a little bit. Not completely, just enough to allow time to work on other things. Speaking of other things... (the colors are nowhere true, but trust me, they look great together) Look what I started!!! After a few days of ignoring them, a lightbulb kinda popped on and I sat down to tackle that cast on once and for all. I found that the particular type of tubular cast on made a huge difference. I tried about five different once before settling on the Italian method, as described here. It took me a bit to get this one down, but it was well worth it. The edge is now stretchy and will fit over my hand. Then there's my progress on Arwen. I finished up the left side yesterday morning and plan on casting on for the right this evening. I've called a popcorn and movie night after dinner, so as long as Marc is cooperative, I should be able to get a bit done. Here's to hoping!

Craptastic

Stop right here. If you came to this post looking for fabulous colorwork, turn right around and leave. It ain't here. If you're interesting in other things, please continue to read. I hope that everyone who celebrates, had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was nice and quiet. The tameness of it was brought on by my lovely children giving me the stomach flu. This had me on the couch for all of Saturday and part of Sunday. Good thing I had had all the baking and wrapping done already. Santa brought me lots of knitterly goodness this year. What I didn't get that I really wanted has been purchased with money from the parents. What is is that makes a hard to find book, have to be bought now? Not sure, but I got four of 'em. Can't wait till they get here. I do have a little something to show knitting wise: Pattern: Friday Harbor from Knitting on the Road Yarn: Spunky Sport in "Meadow" from Spunky Eclectic No, you're eyes do not deceive you, one IS taller than the other. The second sock was knit a bit looser since these babies are tight. Well, only the cuff is, the rest is a bit loose. Should I ever make these again, I'll do the cuffs on a larger needle and then switch. And yes, the color completely obscures the pattern, but I'm not ripping it out. How's that for some pooling??? Don't get me wrong, I love the yarn, love the colors; I'm just too lazy to do something else with it. So it stays. So, about that colorwork... Anemoi has been started and frogged a good ten or eleven times. I can't seem to make the cast on look like hers for the life of me. After four days of messing with it, I've put everything away until I'm not annoyed anymore. Then, I'll probably do another whole different cast on. The Greek Mittens were started and frogged as well. They're knit from the point to the cuff and my increase were a mess. While I was at it I figured that maybe I should measure the man's hand. That will have to wait at least a month more. Oh, and the raglan I was working on? Stuffed into a bag and waiting it's turn at the ball winder. I hated it. The fit, the neckline, the way the color was knitting up. Maybe I'll pull Arwen out and fix the sleeve. Maybe not. Guess y'all will have to wait and see!

Christmas In Tallinn

Pattern: Christmas In Tallinn, Knitting on the Road Yarn: Elann Highland Wool in Tuscany Green and Oxblood, Knitpicks WotA in Cloud Although this has been finished and blocked by a few days, I just finally put the braid on this morning. This was a fun project to knit and I'm already envisioning another one for next year. Also, it was great practice for some upcoming projects. Before blocking I was quite concerned about how it was going to turn out. There were spots were the tension was obviously off, but overall it was quite lumpy and bumpy. For the most part, everything evened out. These are what I've been working on right now. Yep, another sock and a top down raglan sweater. I needed something relatively mindless to work on to clear my head. Also, I haven't had the time to really work on anything that makes me concentrate. Coming soon to a blog near you, one of these: Frankly, I should start on the Greek Mittens, but the Anemoi are really tempting. Decisions, decisions.... Sorry, I'm really not all that chatty today. Reilly and Connor have been sick with stomach bug and I'm just plain worn out from everything. I'm going to spend the rest of the week making cookies, checking the mail for straggling Xmas packages and relaxing. Well, trying to relax!

Twenty Four

Add one more pair to the finished list for the year. Yarn: Regia Sierra Color, 5538 Pattern: Plain Vanilla Sock on 56 stitches with band heel This pair brought me up to a total of 24 pairs for the year. Whew! That's alot of socks! Really, it's an obscene amount of socks. Some were gifts and some for the family, but most were for me. Does next year hold the same? I have no idea. I'd like to think that I've got enough for myself yet my stash indicates I need to knit more. Based on the past two years average, I still have enough yarn to knit for three years without buying anymore. Scary.

Itch

A couple weeks ago I signed up for the Stranded: The Colorwork Challenge. At first, I wasn't going to do it, since I've got a few other knitalongs going on and didn't want to overcommit myself. I tried to turn my attention to the other projects on the needles but my mind kept going back to it. So, I caved in and went looking at my books to find a good project. As I was searching, I found the Greek Mittens from Folk Mittens that I had promised to make for Royd last winter. Heck, I've had the yarn since then. As the pattern is written, it calls for an 11 spi on worsted weight for a womans hand. I figure that a spi between 9.5 and 10 will make them perfect. Swatching revealed that it just wasn't possible. I got down to an 8.5 on 2.0 mm needles and found it unbearable to knit. So, I quickly placed an order for some Nature Spun Sport which should be here by next week. Then, I saw the wonderful new pattern over at Eunny's. By noon of that day I had the pattern and some yarn in hand. Dang gauge strikes again! This time too small. Yet another order goes in, this time for some Gems Pearl. I felt kinda deflated since I really, really, really wanted to do some colorwork. After putting Arwen in the corner for a time out that I don't really want to talk about (whole sleeve being reknit for the second time), I dug the books back out. I wasn't exactly searching for stranded patterns, but for a sock pattern and ended up getting both. My latest project: Christmas in Tallinn I'm not making it for anyone in particular. I figure it's good to have an extra stocking in the house, should we ever have guests. This is my warmup for the mittens. It's been awhile since the last time and I needed the practice with tension. So far, I'm loving it and am having a hard time putting it down. The best part of it all? I'm using leftovers!

No Rest For the Weary

I cannot wait until this week is over! It's my busiest week for the holiday season. All those presents I have to mail back to the States must be sent by tomorrow. That's according to Post Office's deadline. I waited until the last minute to block, so we'll see if everything dries in time. I'd had a request for a pair of mittens, so I did these over the weekend. Pattern: Cabled Gloves from One Skein, modified to a mitten Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Natural Mix Yarn: Online Highland Color Pattern: Plain Vanilla Socks on 64 stitches I also finished these up a few days ago. Nothing too exciting. Notice they're lounging on a not decorated tree. There's a story here. Last year Royd and I decided to purchase a artificial tree for when the kids are small. There's no water to worry about them getting into, no finding a truck to borrow to transport the live tree in and no sawing. Granted, I don't like nearly as much as a real one but for a few years, I can deal with it. Anyway... when we went to go buy one, Royd really wanted the pre-light kind. So, that's what we got. On Monday I dragged the thing upstairs and got it up. I figured that I wouldn't decorate it yet to give the little ones a few days to get used to it before pretty shiny things started grabbing their attention. Tuesday, I go to plug the tree in and half the lights aren't working. After about a half an hour of playing with the fuses and bulbs I discover there's a faulty cord. Well, shoot. Okay, easiest solution is to just replace that particular cord, right? Yeah, but that's only temporary. Instead I'm taking every single light off the tree. Each individual light is ATTACHED to the tree. 500 of 'em. Only 300 to go. No one ever said I do things the easy way. Going back earlier in the week, on Sunday the boys and I headed downtown to the Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas Market). I hadn't been planning to go until this coming weekend, but it was nice outside and decided to seize the perfect moment. Our town is small and the market is just as small, but I picked up lots of great stuff. Most of it was decorations that I will show another day, once they're put out. For now they're safely tucked away from little hands. I did find a stall selling sock yarn!!! But what I really liked was my new knitting basket. Okay, so it's not the best picture of the basket, but you get the idea. The balls of yarn in front are Regia's new lines: Sierra Color, Country Color and Royal Color. None of it's for me. Reilly picked out two for himself and one for his daddy. The other stuff in the back, wasn't from here, but Spunky Eclectic. Yum. Now it's back to those dang lights.