tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18427093291284450982024-03-12T23:02:19.126-04:00Knits, Cooks, Cats & BooksACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-87370674751662074402013-03-15T00:00:00.000-04:002013-03-15T00:00:07.728-04:00FO: Vanilla Orchid<span id="internal-source-marker_0.9167719408869743"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vanilla-orchid"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vanilla Orchid</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was a knit-a-long in the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/agnes-kutas-knitwear-design"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Agnes Kutas Knitwear Group</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I honestly </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">hadn't</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> heard of the designer before, but I followed a link and was really impressed by her designs. Unlike some of my other recent KALs, this was not a mystery pattern- The entire pattern and pictures of finished objects were available to see throughout the entire KAL.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wanted a fairly neutral-colored shawl that would go with a lot of my wardrobe, so I decided to use a medium brown for the body and a cream color for the edging. I chose </span><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/Palette+_YD5420132.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Knitpicks Palette</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> because it’s relatively cheap and comes in a ton of colors. I also really appreciate the fact that Knitpicks writes detailed descriptions of each color, which makes online ordering so much easier. The yarn that I ordered was exactly as I had envisioned it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was a really enjoyable knit. I learned how to make small cables without a cable needle. I love the leaves throughout the shawl and especially in the border. I’m also very impressed by the stitch definition of the yarn.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVv-8ZgUrCQgC1juCHg00UvSdrEgwZqzhaMgEvweoNNDhQ_KEcwgPDzRObfYdTiQLtfWvYlcneZFN7uH7RqGszBHslwiT89XMlNpA_4cMJ6izIHVxfRE8SF5TtLDQTIjzx3XZ7ekpUUY4/s1600/IMG_4659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVv-8ZgUrCQgC1juCHg00UvSdrEgwZqzhaMgEvweoNNDhQ_KEcwgPDzRObfYdTiQLtfWvYlcneZFN7uH7RqGszBHslwiT89XMlNpA_4cMJ6izIHVxfRE8SF5TtLDQTIjzx3XZ7ekpUUY4/s320/IMG_4659.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love this shawl. I don’t know that I’d knit this particular shawl again (I’ve already done it once!), but I’d definitely knit more of this designer’s patterns.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pattern: </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vanilla-orchid"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vanilla Orchid</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yarn:</span><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/Palette+_YD5420132.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Knitpicks Palette</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Colorways: Bark, Oyster Heather</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Needles: US6, US8</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RuMFdAxTbCTG6vJl8U0IcCDzN9HV2yBwuJ2sisd3kjVnvmgacIhHGl0bQl0jbt0cn6i1v0FU_JO1_OAdErRmYsQRfxmXffGl_AjYXLCj51h_qriKicS3M-HKEQnLojD1lXT6B9MG6Uk/s1600/IMG_4673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RuMFdAxTbCTG6vJl8U0IcCDzN9HV2yBwuJ2sisd3kjVnvmgacIhHGl0bQl0jbt0cn6i1v0FU_JO1_OAdErRmYsQRfxmXffGl_AjYXLCj51h_qriKicS3M-HKEQnLojD1lXT6B9MG6Uk/s320/IMG_4673.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Want to see what everyone else has accomplished this week? Head on over to </span><a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tami's Amis FO Fridays!</span></a>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-5206138715100004332013-01-23T16:37:00.001-05:002013-01-23T16:37:53.288-05:00WIP Wednesday 1/23/13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.12098225322552025" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve spend the majority of my knitting time lately working on the </span><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/cfBlog/post.cfm/enjoy-color-with-the-hue-shift-afghan"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hue Shifts Afghan</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I fell in love with this pattern when </span><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Knitpicks </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">first released the kit, and I was able to purchase most of the yarn on sale during their Cyber Monday sale. I chose to do the jewel tones version of the afghan, which involves shades of green, blue, purple, red, and pink.</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U5HO9rD-2jo/UP9aGlIlQoI/AAAAAAAABoQ/1jLGR8wLxLw/s1600/20130122_222340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U5HO9rD-2jo/UP9aGlIlQoI/AAAAAAAABoQ/1jLGR8wLxLw/s1600/20130122_222340.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.12098225322552025" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><b id="internal-source-marker_0.12098225322552025" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.12098225322552025" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve really enjoyed working on this. It is a very simple pattern (all garter stitch!), but the shifting, changing colors keep my interest. Almost every square requires that you pick up and knit at least 25 stitches (most of them require you do 49), so I’m becoming a pro at the technique. The only thing that I really don’t like about the project is that there are approximately one trillion ends that will need to be woven in when I am finished.</span></b></b></b><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VwCjnfUJLDA/UP9Z-Tafy3I/AAAAAAAABoE/AWVukK3uSfg/s1600/20130122_222407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VwCjnfUJLDA/UP9Z-Tafy3I/AAAAAAAABoE/AWVukK3uSfg/s1600/20130122_222407.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The afghan is knit in four sections, then these four sections are seamed together, and a border is knit. So far, I have finished two whole sections and am working on the third, so I feel like I am making fairly good progress.</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Yes, those blocks are the same size. It's a weird angle. I was busy trying to keep the cat from tugging on the loose ends).</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What are you working on this week? Head on over to </span><a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tami’s Amis’</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Work In Progress Wednesday to check out what everyone else is doing!</span></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-33322382256774285122013-01-18T15:54:00.001-05:002013-01-18T15:54:24.649-05:00Goals for the New Year<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7517509437166154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I meant to write a post about goals for the new year a bit earlier than this- but the cat got sick, then the boyfriend got sick, then I got sick, then my grandmother passed away- 2013 has been really awful so far! </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, it is now belatedly that time of year again- the time to start making plans for the new year. I generally like to make some goals for the upcoming year (not “resolutions,” goals. I’m not entirely sure what the difference is, but I like calling them goals and so that’s what I’m sticking with).</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s start with the crafty goals, shall we? In 2013, I would like to accomplish the following:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7517509437166154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finish up some UFOs*:</span></b></li>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7517509437166154" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/PATTentangled.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Entangled Bag</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I am so very close to being done with it. I almost finished it in May, but I sewed one of the handles on crookedly. I was so upset (those handles take a long time to sew by hand, especially when you’re carefully shaping vine tendrils!) that I put the whole thing into hibernation. I’m not cringing when I think about the project anymore, so I think it might be time to take it back out- All I have left to do is re-sew one of the vine/handles, sew on the flowers, and line it. All of the knitting parts are actually done- I just need to do the boring finishing stuff.</span></b></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7517509437166154" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall09/PATTgirlfriday.php"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Girl Friday</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: My Girl Friday is mostly knit- I knit the entire body, laid it out to seam it, and realized it looked kind of big. Since then, I haven’t been able to bring myself to seam it. It may very well </span><span style="font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">be too big, or it may shrink some in the wash (it’s </span><a href="http://www.berroco.com/yarns/vintage"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Berroco Vintage</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), but I will never know until I seam it up! I need to seam it and knit the shawl collar.</span></b></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7517509437166154" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTtussiemussie.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tussie Mussie</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I’ve finished the lower body and most of one sleeve. I quit working on it when I realized that there was no way that I was going to finish it for National Sweater Knitting Month, and decided that I should probably focus on my Christmas knitting. Now that Christmas knitting is done, time to get back to finishing up this sweater. It feels like it might be a bit small, but once again, I won’t know until I finish.</span></b></li>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7517509437166154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learn to knit colorwork. Colorwork looks really intimidating to me, but I figure that if I can manage complicated lace and cables, surely I can pull off a little fair isle. It’s the next logical step in improving my knitting skills, plus I really want to make some of </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/annies-woolens-christmas-stockings-ebook-15-knitted-patterns/patterns"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">these stockings</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I probably won’t get a whole family’s worth of stockings done this year, but I can at least start learning the skills that I will need to make them.</span></b></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7517509437166154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Knit and finish at least two more wearable, well-fitting sweaters. I really want to get better about knitting more sweaters, and making sure that they fit properly. I think I’m going to work on some top down patterns until I get the hang of this knitting to fit thing (nothing like being able to try them on as you go along!). I plan on starting with </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dark-and-stormy"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dark and Stormy</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/francis-revisited"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Francis Revisited</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></b></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7517509437166154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Knit the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hue-shift-afghan"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hue Shift Afghan</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I ordered the yarn and pattern during the Knitpicks Cyber Monday sale. I’ve chosen to do the jewel tones version. This is a really simple pattern, but the color changes add enough interest to hold my attention. You have to knit the blanket in four quarters, then seam them up and knit a border. Since this didn’t require too much brainpower, it was a great knit while I was sick, and I’ve made a fair amount of progress. I am almost done with the second quarter. Keep an eye out for WIP Wednesday for more information on this one.</span></b></li>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7517509437166154" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also have some non-knitting goals:</span><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exercise at least three to four times a week. I really did try this year- I joined a gym and everything! However, with traffic the way it is around here, getting there was incredibly frustrating and not always possible. I received for the </span><a href="http://fitdesk.net/"><span style="color: #1155cc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FitDesk</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for Christmas and am liking it so far- this way, I will be able to work out in the comfort of my home, and can even use my laptop while I exercise. It will be much more difficult to come up with excuses not to work out with this around, especially now that my cough has gone away and I am actually able to work out!</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eat out less. I have a bad habit of picking up food on my way home, or for lunch at work. When I get home after work, I’m worn out from work and stressed from my commute, it’s late, and I really don’t want to cook. This results in me either picking something up on the way home or just snacking for dinner, and also means that I rarely have fixed anything for lunch the next day. I want to try to cook dinner at home several times a week.</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get a job in my hometown and move back there. This should be good for my mental, physical, and financial health. Cost of living is way cheaper down there. Drivers aren’t nearly as crazy, nor is there nearly as much traffic, which means that I will have the time and energy to cook, exercise, and relax more. Plus, having my parents close by would be great support. The boyfriend and I both want to end up there eventually, so why wait? We’re both applying for jobs down there.</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Post on this blog at least every other week.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Unfinished objections, for those who don’t know.</span></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-55191473571221696802012-11-14T06:41:00.002-05:002012-11-14T06:41:55.039-05:00WIP Wednesday 11/14/12Still going strong on the <u><a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTtussiemussie.html">Tussie Mussie</a></u> cardigan here- I've finished the lower part of the body. Just the sleeves, yoke, and button loops to go! I'm a little bit concerned by how much the fabric seems to want to curl, but I'm hoping that blocking will take care of that.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BxQDX4KMyU0/UKOCpXriu2I/AAAAAAAABnY/AFzdRpOZ4Ig/s1600/IMG_4459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BxQDX4KMyU0/UKOCpXriu2I/AAAAAAAABnY/AFzdRpOZ4Ig/s320/IMG_4459.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I hit a minor snag when my <u><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/needles/Options_Interchangeable_Zephyr_Circular_Knitting_Needle_Tips__DKPNDETIPACRYLIC.html">Knitpicks Zephyr Acrylic Needles</a></u> broke <i>again. </i>Before knitting with the Zephyr Acrylic needles, I never broke knitting needles while actually knitting with them- sure, I've stepped and sat on a few needles, and they've broken, but that's totally my fault. I feel like knitting needles should be able to hold up to someone actually knitting with them. I don't think I'm a particularly tight knitter, but this is the second time I've broken one of these needles in the middle of a row.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9DQUgcBj1vU/UKOCqxjG1WI/AAAAAAAABng/jzO-cNEwfjw/s1600/2012-11-11_14-48-30_5+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9DQUgcBj1vU/UKOCqxjG1WI/AAAAAAAABng/jzO-cNEwfjw/s320/2012-11-11_14-48-30_5+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Luckily, I had an extra pair of tips on hand, but that doesn't make me any less frustrated with the situation. While I'm normally a huge fan of <a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/knitting.cfm"><u>Knitpicks</u> </a>products, I don't think I'll be buying these particular tips again. I'll definitely continue to purchase the <u><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/needles/Options_Interchangeable_Nickel_Plated_Circular_Knitting_Needle_Tips__DKPNDLETIP.html">Knitpicks Nickle-Plated Needles</a></u>, though!ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-14490897552010572552012-11-07T07:50:00.000-05:002012-11-07T07:50:38.963-05:00WIP Wednesday 11/7/12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.2479801718145609" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, I’ve decided to take part in </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/nakniswemo-kal"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NaKniSweMo</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This is a take-off from NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), in which participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. NaKniSweMo (National Knit a Sweater Month) challenges participants to knit a sweater in one month (which is about 50,000 stitches, give or take).</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been meaning to knit and finish a sweater forever, but I need a deadline to really get me amped up to actually finishing it. I’ve chosen to knit the </span><a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTtussiemussie.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tussie Mussie</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sweater for the challenge, a free pattern from </span><a href="http://www.knitty.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Knitty</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> which has been in my queue for just about forever. I cast on in a medium and it was </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">huge</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, so I’m now trying again in a size small (and I pretty much always wear a size medium or large, so this feels kind of weird to me!) I’m several inches along and have begun the waist decreases. I’ve decided to add a couple of inches in length, as most of the projects on Ravelry either complain about being too short or show a little bit of belly. I’d really like this to be a sweater that I can wear to work, so I need it a bit longer. I’m also going to knit an extra repeat of the nosegay pattern (the flowery stuff), to compensate for the extra length.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEucGTYMlow/UJpYMyXtpGI/AAAAAAAABl8/x0qMZPs8JmI/s1600/IMG_4450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eEucGTYMlow/UJpYMyXtpGI/AAAAAAAABl8/x0qMZPs8JmI/s320/IMG_4450.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.2479801718145609" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although it takes me forever to knit the pattern repeat parts of the sweater, that’s really only a small panel, and I zip through the rest of it (which is knit in reverse stockinette), so the knitting is going fairly quickly. The bobbles really aren’t that hard to do- rather than have to knit a gazillion (okay, more like 6, but still) stitches together like you have to do when making a nupp, the bobbles just require you to turn your work several times. Time consuming but easy.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s my progress so far:</span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6rdh1uz1Nrc/UJpYS2rJOxI/AAAAAAAABmc/CtnRSxxpN6g/s1600/IMG_4454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6rdh1uz1Nrc/UJpYS2rJOxI/AAAAAAAABmc/CtnRSxxpN6g/s320/IMG_4454.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve also been working on the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/solar-flare"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Solar Flare</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> shawl as a knit-a-long in the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/2-knit-lit-chicks-podcast"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2KnitLitChicks Ravelry group</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The requirements for the knit-a-long were to knit any shawl in a gradient yarn. There was a pattern designed specifically for this knit-a-long (although you aren’t required to use it!), and I did try to start it- however, it was very poorly written and confusing (I think the designer was rushing to get it done in time, and didn’t have it test-knit). I realized that I was getting frustrated and not enjoying the knitting at all, so I ripped it out and started this pattern instead. It’s going wonderfully- so much easier! I really like the way the lace is knitting up.</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PuBORgqnSWo/UJpYVqt9XwI/AAAAAAAABm4/NYtOWroo15E/s1600/IMG_4458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PuBORgqnSWo/UJpYVqt9XwI/AAAAAAAABm4/NYtOWroo15E/s320/IMG_4458.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be honest, I’m not entirely sure that I’ll be able to finish both projects this month, but I’m certainly going to try!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What are you working on this week? Stop by </span><a href="http://www.tamisamis.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tami’s Amis’ Work in Progress </span></a></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-25009911661474195682012-08-15T06:57:00.000-04:002012-08-15T06:57:36.518-04:00WIP Wednesday 8/15/12<b id="internal-source-marker_0.30425729346461594" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, not much progress to report on the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ubiquitous-kate">Ubiquitous Kate</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> front. I’ve picked up the stitches along the top of the shawl and done the necessary increases for the ruffle. I had </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">just </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">barely started knitting the ruffle ribbing when this happened:</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MMzZdTLxkVE/UCrxXrkcoDI/AAAAAAAABjk/C-_9kprQUW8/s1600/2012-08-04_12-17-09_133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MMzZdTLxkVE/UCrxXrkcoDI/AAAAAAAABjk/C-_9kprQUW8/s320/2012-08-04_12-17-09_133.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let me give you a closer look. See that? </span></b><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ccMyjctWA-s/UCrxZCkSvOI/AAAAAAAABj8/qT9wXSCoue4/s1600/2012-08-04_12-17-36_602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ccMyjctWA-s/UCrxZCkSvOI/AAAAAAAABj8/qT9wXSCoue4/s320/2012-08-04_12-17-36_602.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That is a broken needle, and it’s totally not my fault. I’ve broken needles before, of course- stepped on them, sat on them, etc. This is the first time, however, that I have had a needle snap in half </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">while I am in the middle of knitting</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It’s a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/needles/Options_Interchangeable_Zephyr_Circular_Knitting_Needle_Tips__DKPNDETIPACRYLIC.html">Knitpicks Zephyr Acrylic Interchangeable Needle</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I haven’t heard of this happening before, so I don’t know whether these types of needles are just weak, whether I got a bad one, or whether I am just an extremely strong knitter.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think I managed to pick up all of the stitches that dropped when it happened, thank goodness. I called </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/knitting.cfm">Knitpicks</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and thanks to their excellent customer support, I have already received a replacement (I didn’t have to send the broken one back, or even show them pictures! And they sent me a whole new pair, rather than just a replacement for the one needle!). I am super impressed with their customer service, but I think that I will stick to ordering their </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/needles/Options_Interchangeable_Nickel_Plated_Circular_Knitting_Needle_Tips__DKPNDLETIP.html">nice, strong nickel-plated needles</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the future, rather than the Zephyrs.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the bright side, this means that I had lots of time to focus on my </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/honey-bunches">Honey Bunches</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> shawl. It just needs end-weaving and blocking.</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0v7MIiCBXa4/UCrzle7ZPAI/AAAAAAAABkk/OeyJm82OnLI/s1600/IMG_4263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0v7MIiCBXa4/UCrzle7ZPAI/AAAAAAAABkk/OeyJm82OnLI/s320/IMG_4263.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve signed up for two beaded lace mystery knit-a-longs on Ravelry. Laura Nelkin is hosting the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/trapeze-mystery-kal">Trapeze Mystery KAL</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which is scheduled to start on August 17. Boo Knits is doing the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/boo-knits-mystery-kal-out-of-darkness">Out of the Darkness KA</a>L</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which will start on August 25. (I ordered the beads for both today and am so excited!)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since I have both of these projects coming up really soon, I’ve been reluctant to start anything too complicated in the meantime. I’m about two-thirds of the way through the hat from the Knitpicks </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/luxe-accessories-set">Luxe Accessories Kit</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and I’m really enjoying the feel of the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/City_Tweed_AranHW_Yarn__D5420183.html">Knitpicks City Tweed Heavyweight</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. There are some major errors in the pattern though, which has been a little bit frustrating.</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4OJnC_Fbxfc/UCrzkpINEZI/AAAAAAAABkg/RZtG90D90Qc/s1600/IMG_4262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4OJnC_Fbxfc/UCrzkpINEZI/AAAAAAAABkg/RZtG90D90Qc/s320/IMG_4262.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also cast on for a pair of toe-up socks in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.berroco.com/shade_cards/sox_metallic_sh.html">Berroco Sox Metallic</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I’m kind of making them up as a I go along, with a little bit of this pattern here, and a little bit of that pattern there. I’m thinking that I may do an afterthought heel (I’ve never done one before!), but I still have a bit to go before I have to make that decision. I’m just doing a basic stockinette foot for these socks, and will probably just do a ribbed leg- this will be my nice, simple, uncomplicated project for when my brain needs a break from all of the beaded lace in the KALs.</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What have you been working on this week? Head on over to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/">Tami’s Ami’s WIP Wednesdays</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to see what everyone else has been working on!</span></b>
ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-91624433300246394232012-08-10T07:06:00.000-04:002012-08-10T07:06:57.125-04:00FO: Radiance Shawl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6865605225320905" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I cast on for this shawl before my trip to Orlando, as I thought that it would be excellent travel knitting. It really was,</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I got compliments on it from the airline stewardess! The pattern is really easy to understand, but it does get a little bit boring at times. It’s a great pattern to occupy your hands when your mind is doing something else (reading, etc), but not so much if you’re looking for something complicated to concentrate on.</span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6865605225320905" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love the way that this shawl turned out, especially the ruffles! It’s a very snuggly shawl, and very warm despite being so light-weight. I love curling up with it around my shoulders!</span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6865605225320905" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pattern: </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Radiance Shawl</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yarn: </span><a href="http://malabrigoyarn.com/sub_yarn.php?id_sub_yarn=25"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Malabrigo Lace</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Colorway: Stone Blue</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Needles: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">US 6</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Modifications: None</span><br /><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/radiance-shawl"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ravelry Project Page</span></a></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-7483771606635950322012-08-06T19:36:00.000-04:002012-08-06T19:36:01.902-04:00Madelyn Mondays: Cat's Cradle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The name of the "<a href="http://www.ifyoulovetoread.com/book/chten_cats1105.htm">Cat's Cradle</a>" game suddenly makes a lot more sense...ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-19134136626451768612012-08-03T00:00:00.000-04:002012-08-03T00:00:02.768-04:00FO: Wendy Knits Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl<b id="internal-source-marker_0.3051042780280113" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the second year that </span><a href="http://wendyknits.net/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WendyKnits</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has done a shawl knit-along in </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/wendy-knits"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">her group on Ravelry</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and I’ve enjoyed both of them immensely. This year, the shawl was called the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and worked out to be a beautiful lacey crescent.</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I purchased the </span><a href="http://madelinetosh.com/store/index.php/yarns/tosh-merino-light.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on major sale quite some time ago, and have been waiting for the perfect project to use it on. This is the first time that I’ve used this yarn, and I’ve definitely enjoyed it. It feels nice as I knit it, and looks very pretty. It almost seems like it has a little bit of silk in it, but it is actually 100% merino. The color variations between a dark teal and a forest green really added some interest to the shawl without taking away from the lace pattern. I would definitely use this yarn again, although I think Madelinetosh as a whole seems to be a little overpriced at full price, so I’d wait for a sale.</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a fair amount of yarn (.27 grams/ 119yds) left, and I’m not entirely sure why. WendyKnits had indicated in her pattern that she used almost all of her 420 yard skein when she made her sample shawl, and my Tosh Merino Light has the same yardage. I got gauge. I repeated the last 2 rows of the lace a couple of times, but still have some left over.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px;">The pattern was really good about explaining in each section exactly where to add extra repeats to make the shawl longer. I didn’t use these modifications, since I didn’t think I would have any yarn left over, but I might if I knit a future version of this shawl.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px;">The pattern also gave the option of using nupps, beads, or neither. I opted for beads, because I really was not enjoying the nupps.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I do like the way that this turned out, but I do wish it were a tad bit bigger. I blocked it pretty aggressively, but it’s still smaller than I would prefer.I think that in the future, I might either use larger needles or do all of the optional extra repeats to make it bigger. I think it will look lovely with my winter coat, though!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pattern:</span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> WendyKnits Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yarn: </span><a href="http://madelinetosh.com/store/index.php/yarns/tosh-merino-light.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Colorway: Forestry</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Needles: US5</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Modifications: I added 2 extra repeats of the last two lace rows.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beads: Silver lined clear beads</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yardage: 321 yards</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dimensions:</span><br /><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012">Ravelry Project Page Link</a></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Want to see what everyone else has finished up this week? Head over over to </span><a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tami’s Amis FO Fridays.</span></a></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-42362728940047992222012-08-01T08:09:00.001-04:002012-08-01T08:09:21.205-04:00WIP Wednesday 8/1/12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.9620901753660291" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy August! I have no new projects to share with you, and I’m still knitting the same WIPs as last Wednesday. And the week before that. And the week before...well, you get the idea.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anyway, I’ve finally finished the body of my </span><span style="font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ubiquitous-kate">Ubiquitious Kate</a></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">! It seems to be a really nice size, and I can’t wait to get the ruffles on this thing so that I can actually wear it. I don’t kid myself about the fact that it’s going to take forever to do that, though- each round on the ruffle will be about a trillion* stitches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">My </span><span style="font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/honey-bunches">Honey Bunches</a></span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"> is still moving slowly along. I am halfway through the third garter stitch section. </span></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9620901753660291" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I seem to have a lot of yarn left so far, especially for being fairly close to the end of this shawl. I know the rows get bigger as I go, so maybe I’m underestimating exactly how much bigger they may get, but it still feels like a lot of yarn! The smaller version of the pattern (which I am using, as it calls for the amount of yarn that I have) tells you to only knit half of the lace repeat (12 rows) in the third and final lace section, but I think I may have a lot of yarn left over if I do that. I’m thinking I might knit the whole 24 row repeat, but place a lifeline at row 12 just in case I run out of yarn, so I can easily frog back and finish the last garter stitch section. What do you think?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012">WendyKnits Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Radiance Shawl</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are finished, blocked, and photographed, so look for those in the next couple od FO Fridays!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Want to see what everyone else is working on? Head on over to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/">Tami’s Amis’ Work in Progress Wednesdays.</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Okay, “trillion” may be a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">slight</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> exaggeration, but not by much!</span></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-67998302138743384732012-07-25T07:07:00.000-04:002012-07-25T07:07:24.502-04:00WIP Wednesday 7/25/12<b id="internal-source-marker_0.43356819613836706" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve bound off two shawls since last week! These are the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wendy Knits Summer Solstice Mystery Shaw</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">l</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Radiance</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. As you can see, I still need to weave in ends and block, but then they’ll be done. I’m hoping to persuade the boyfriend to do an FO photoshoot this weekend, so look out for these on future FO Fridays (it’s about time I had something to share for one of those!)</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gnqaGSg8qQ0/UA_R1CnfnJI/AAAAAAAABcw/OVzYM-izBEw/s1600/IMG_4204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gnqaGSg8qQ0/UA_R1CnfnJI/AAAAAAAABcw/OVzYM-izBEw/s320/IMG_4204.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m still knitting along on </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/honey-bunches"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Honey Bunches</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (which, for some reason, I keep wanting to call Honeycomb- not sure why). This is my travelling knitting. It’s so very simple, even on the lace sections, that I can easily put it down and figure out where I left off. I’m on the third garter stitch section, so I’m getting closer to the end.</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lk7iWcocZkQ/UA_R4JOn7mI/AAAAAAAABdo/5Xq3SHFIDR0/s1600/IMG_4211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lk7iWcocZkQ/UA_R4JOn7mI/AAAAAAAABdo/5Xq3SHFIDR0/s320/IMG_4211.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve also brought the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ubiquitous-kate"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ubiquitous Kate</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> back out of its short hibernation, and am really enjoying working on it again. I love knitting lace, but the purl design is a fun change. With three other shawls also on the needles, I really didn’t have time to work on this one, but now that I’ve bound off two, this one is back in the mix. I’m in the middle of the final chart repeat, then I will need to pick up about a gazillion stitches for the ruffle.</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xQ8PbfyS4jE/UA_R2yI_fWI/AAAAAAAABdQ/S0g-3zW0nNs/s1600/IMG_4208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xQ8PbfyS4jE/UA_R2yI_fWI/AAAAAAAABdQ/S0g-3zW0nNs/s320/IMG_4208.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is everyone else working on this week? Head over to </span><a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tami’s Amis WIP Wednesday</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to find out.</span></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-29605984297980439712012-07-23T16:59:00.002-04:002012-07-23T16:59:17.311-04:00BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!<b style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Warning: This post contains no knitting content.</i></span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7762642507441342" style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, it was an exciting weekend, at least.</span></b><br />
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7762642507441342"><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Maddie and I went to Virginia Beach visit my parents and Mia (the family dog) this weekend. All was going well, and I was cuddling in bed on Saturday morning with my two favorite fluffballs when all of the sudden- </span><i>BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!</i></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then the beeping stopped. I got up, checked to make sure that the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors weren’t blinking red, climbed back into bed, and tried to calm down the animals.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!</i></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*Sigh.* I got out of bed, and went to go get my father. He had worked really late the night before, and was trying to sleep in. I think he figured something was low on batteries, and was trying to ignore it and go back to sleep during the non-beepy periods. By this point, it had stopped, but Mia and Maddie were getting really agitated, I was getting a headache, and it needed to be taken care of.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!</i></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We spent the next several minutes walking around the house, trying to figure out exactly which smoke detectors were going off. This was pretty difficult to do because they only beeped intermittently, and of course they wouldn’t do so when were standing close enough to an alarm to figure out which one it was coming from! The alarms had now beeped several more times, Maddie was hiding under the bed to try to get away from the awful noises, and Mia was glued to us like a shadow.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be honest, I figured that the alarms were malfunctioning. I didn’t smell or see any smoke. Neither of the animals were upset by anything besides the beeping, and aren’t animals supposed to sense that sort of thing first?</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, my father decided to go check on things in the attic as a last-ditch effort. The AC unit up there definitely smelled like some sort of electrical burning, and there were burnt pieces of foil on the ground. Public Service Announcement, in case anyone cares: The average lifespan of an AC unit is 15-20 years. My parents had been living in that house 20 years, and never replaced the AC unit.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We shut off the AC immediately, of course, and called the repair guys. To their credit, they got someone out really fast. The technician declared that it would take $500 to fix the AC unit, and that’s still really only a short-term fix- the unit really does need to be replaced. Really, it’s not worth it. However, my poor parents are currently stuck without air conditioning until they can get a new unit, which should take about a week. To be honest, I’m really kind of glad that I’m back home in my nice, air-conditioned apartment!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We were so very lucky with the way that this turned out. The smoke alarms went off and alerted us that there was an issue. We were able to find the issue and neutralize it before it could turn into an actual fire. Can you imagine what would have happened if no one was home? The house could have caught on fire, and Mia might have been in it. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Morals of the Story: 1)Smoke detectors annoy the heck out of me sometimes (especially when they go off when I’m cooking and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not even burning anything</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), but they are really important, too. 2) If your AC unit is getting up there in years, get it checked out!</span></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-34930693573173327882012-07-18T00:00:00.000-04:002012-07-18T07:47:39.321-04:00WIP Wednesday 7/18/12<b id="internal-source-marker_0.2750857607461512" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m still working on the same three projects as I was the last two weeks, but I am almost done with two of them! I am currently in the process of binding off the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Radiance Shawl</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This should take quite awhile, because there are a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lot </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of stitches at this point (over 700!). The pattern gave the option of either doing a plain bind-off or a picot bind-off- I wasn’t too impressed with the way the picots were looking, so I’m working a nice, plain, stretchy bind-off instead.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last clue for the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wendy Knits Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was released yesterday. Here is what my shawl looked like after last week’s clue (chart D):</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b9DyIkMhJhM/UAYdEkVn1ZI/AAAAAAAABbY/UtFXunfmoPM/s1600/IMG_4159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b9DyIkMhJhM/UAYdEkVn1ZI/AAAAAAAABbY/UtFXunfmoPM/s320/IMG_4159.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I expect to be done with this shawl at some point this week, as this chart isn’t much bigger than the last one and I finished that pretty quickly. At the very latest, it will be done next week (provided that I don’t make some huge mistake and have to frog most of it!) I’ve really enjoyed working on it, as well as the sense of community in the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/wendy-knits"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wendy Knits group on Ravelry</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> during the knit-a-long, and I am sad that I am almost done.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last but not least, work is still progressing slowly but surely on the </span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/honey-bunches"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Honey Bunches </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">shawl. I have finished the second garter stitch section, and am working on the second lace section. I imagine that my speed on this shawl will pick up immensely once I’ve finished the other two. As you can see, Maddie is immensely proud of my work. And trying to get my attention so that I will give her more treats.</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KjhwrBOw7h4/UAYdTDSjSWI/AAAAAAAABcg/UxsHTzqahF0/s1600/IMG_4168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KjhwrBOw7h4/UAYdTDSjSWI/AAAAAAAABcg/UxsHTzqahF0/s320/IMG_4168.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What are </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> working on this week? Head on over to </span><a href="http://www.tamisamis.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tami’s Amis’ Work in Progress Wednesdays</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to see what everyone else is working on.</span></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-65918494984285047972012-07-11T08:10:00.000-04:002012-07-11T08:11:09.798-04:00WIP Wednesday 7/11/12<b id="internal-source-marker_0.5098443881142884" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This week, my knitting has been mainly focused on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Radiance</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/honey-bunches">Honey Bunches</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012">The Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl KAL 2012</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. (The same three projects as last week!)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was so very close to being done with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Radiance</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- I was on the very last knit row before the bindoff, and then disaster struck. Well, actually, disaster had struck several rows before, but I didn’t notice it until that point. It appeared that I had dropped a stitch at the end of the last lacey section and it had unravelled several more rows. I wish I had taken a picture for you, but I was too horrified to think about that, so a verbal description will have to suffice. There was a huge hole. In the middle of my shawl.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It seemed too far back to just drop that section’s stitches down, so I made the very painful decision to frog back to the problem. It really wasn’t </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">may rows, but they are so long that it was still a ton of stitches. To make matters worse, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://malabrigoyarn.com/sub_yarn.php?id_sub_yarn=25">Malabrigo Lace</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> does not like to unravel. It clings to itself and generally makes everything a mess.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I finally got all of my 506 stitches picked back up last night, and am finishing up the last lace section now (for the second time). Then I just have the increases, garter stitch section and the picot (I think?) bind-off.</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Normally, this doesn’t happen because I am really good about counting stitches while I knit. If the stitch count is off, then I know there is something wrong almost immediately after I create the problem. However, with this many stitches, I get distracted and lose count. I think that once I get done with the lace section and the increases, I’m going to place markers every 50 stitches so that I can count more easily. I think I can manage to count to 50 without a problem, and if I get interrupted, I only have to start counting at the beginning of that section, not hundreds of stitches back.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My other WIPs are coming along much better, especially in comparison. The next chart for the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012">Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl</a> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> came out yesterday, but I haven’t had time to do much with it yet. I’ve been flying through the past several clues, finishing them up within a couple of days of when they are published (every Tuesday); however, I really want to get my </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Radiance</a> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">off the needles so I’m working a bit less on the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012">Summer Solstice</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I still intend to get this chart finished before the next one comes out, however!</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m really enjoying working on my </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/honey-bunches">Honey Bunches </a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">shawlette. I love the colors of the yarn, and the pattern seems to be working well with it. Would the pattern stand out better in a solid color? Of course. However, it’s a simple enough pattern that it works just fine with the variegated yarn, and I like it.</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am in the middle of the second garter-stitch section. While not on the lace sections, this makes fantastic travel knitting- it’s just knit knit knit for most of the row, with easy-peasy increases on the end.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What are you working on this week? Want to see everyone else’s WIPs? Head on over to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.tamisamis.blogspot.com/">Tami’s Amis’ WIP Wednesdays</a>.</span></b>
</div>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-38627432338265546922012-07-04T21:47:00.000-04:002012-07-04T21:48:21.217-04:00WIP Wednesday 7/4/12First of all, happy Fourth of July! Now onto the knitting:<br />
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I'm still working on my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Radiance shawl</a>. I'm about 70% of the way through, but my progress feels like it is slowing down a bit. The rows have 608 stitches, so it feels like each one takes forever to finish!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCNSKvMrS35sLuHzl7Ardz6_d-n1-lRTRPh31tU95n8ruKDmiuTB2h9ULBJLkXSPVK8ujOwpOzLyxC7rQdgTzEWVaAez4pGyJWXUkmEyw4WDa2XtOMNBQVTQetCkqIktO7kWwYKaFOCM/s1600/IMG_4143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCNSKvMrS35sLuHzl7Ardz6_d-n1-lRTRPh31tU95n8ruKDmiuTB2h9ULBJLkXSPVK8ujOwpOzLyxC7rQdgTzEWVaAez4pGyJWXUkmEyw4WDa2XtOMNBQVTQetCkqIktO7kWwYKaFOCM/s320/IMG_4143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I've started another KAL- the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Honey Bunches</a> with the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/irish-girlie-knits-designs">Irish Girle Knits Designs Group</a>. I'm knitting it in Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome in Peacock.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbyqpXguLCpw4GIb0GyJIjjEzh_6sDEsDeLzhw7ajmUsFZzu_g2H8H-8S5SJHg-l4JD_1SLECrBobuR-BZLU9ZOnRiJrsYmcf3rTOkW6UQcuCkYlUGUMba9abgkd2ymKIuml0TrQf8Sc/s1600/IMG_4089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbyqpXguLCpw4GIb0GyJIjjEzh_6sDEsDeLzhw7ajmUsFZzu_g2H8H-8S5SJHg-l4JD_1SLECrBobuR-BZLU9ZOnRiJrsYmcf3rTOkW6UQcuCkYlUGUMba9abgkd2ymKIuml0TrQf8Sc/s320/IMG_4089.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I love this colorway, and I've been waiting for the perfect project for it. It's a little bit too variegated for a super-complicated lace shawl, so this simpler project seemed like a perfect way to showcase the colors. So far, I've finished the first garter stitch section.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHATBCmLXb4lEr470sgMKm3SLZ_Hye58t9W3iqGG8fNwL0jt6AvC5Dj6EXrQfsNbshjAj3r4JK3PxT_cNUUpiuLxNmq2-YWE1G3-vsQRD-yZ0hYEV4Uf8zibpvXZh8Y7_qzV84cVgNyQ/s1600/IMG_4147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHATBCmLXb4lEr470sgMKm3SLZ_Hye58t9W3iqGG8fNwL0jt6AvC5Dj6EXrQfsNbshjAj3r4JK3PxT_cNUUpiuLxNmq2-YWE1G3-vsQRD-yZ0hYEV4Uf8zibpvXZh8Y7_qzV84cVgNyQ/s320/IMG_4147.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last but certainly not least, I'm still enjoying knitting the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012">Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl</a> with the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/wendy-knits">Wendy Knits Group</a>. This is what it looks like halfway through Chart C:<br />
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Maddie wanted to help show off my work:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKMLw2cekU4maXl4eurPH_Tz9WBWuOIJ5TVC2eO65SUn7Lpxe8x72eMmvavXGgF7-J9C3G7X0tf386E6PHdLCgy0dt1UCHXt_eljmvVdJs890FVdCEXKzMBCFAq1_BlHPaH7dp917gNQ/s1600/IMG_4121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKMLw2cekU4maXl4eurPH_Tz9WBWuOIJ5TVC2eO65SUn7Lpxe8x72eMmvavXGgF7-J9C3G7X0tf386E6PHdLCgy0dt1UCHXt_eljmvVdJs890FVdCEXKzMBCFAq1_BlHPaH7dp917gNQ/s320/IMG_4121.JPG" width="238" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">What to see what everyone else has been working on this past week? Head on over to </span><a href="http://www.tamisamis.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white;">Tami's Ami's WIP Wednesdays</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-56713205235716932032012-06-28T22:17:00.000-04:002012-06-28T22:17:41.447-04:00WIP Thursday<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whoops, forgot to post this yesterday, so I guess it's a WIP Thursday this week!</span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.4859412321820855" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m still chugging away on the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ubiquitous-kate">Ubiquitous Kate</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Radiance</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> shawls. While I’ve completed a few more rows on the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ubiquitous Kate</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, it does look pretty much like it did last week, so I don’t see much of a point of showing you almost identical pictures!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve made a lot of progress on the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Radiance shawl</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I am now about 50% of the way done. I’m still on my first ball of yarn, so I am no longer worried about running out before I reach the end of the shawl. Because so much of this shawl is stockinette/garter stitch, it’s a little bit more rewarding to work on than your traditional lace shawl, because I can see how pretty it will look even before blocking. Don’t get me wrong, I will still need to block it, but I have a much better idea of what it will look like. I’m still really enjoying knitting with the Malabrigo Lace. Unfortunately the cat seems to have developed exceptionally good taste in yarn, and she wants to play with my Malabrigo too. At least we get to both enjoy my knitting!</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m also working on the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://wendyknits.net/">Wendy Knits</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-solstice-mystery-shawl-kal-2012">Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I made Wendy’s <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/summer-mystery-shawlette">Summer Mystery Shawlette</a> last year, and loved knitting and wearing it (I even made a second one for my Mom!). This year, we’re knitting a bottom-up shawl. Basically, you start knitting this thing with no clue as to how it is going to look. I’d be hesitant to do this with most designers, but I love pretty much everything that Wendy has ever designed. She has a schedule (more or less weekly, depending on how big each part is), and she releases the pattern in pieces. So far she has released three pieces of the pattern. The first included gauge/swatching and material information. The second one was the edging of the shawl. The third piece is the next shawl chart.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m knitting it in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://madelinetosh.com/store/index.php/yarns/tosh-merino-light.html">Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the Forestry colorway. I purchased this skein some time ago, and it has been languishing in my stash, waiting for the right project. It’s a gorgeous green color with hints of blue. I’ve finished knitting through chart B (clue 3).</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The pattern calls for making nupps, but Wendy suggests that you can substitute beads instead. My poor boyfriend has been so patient with me on this, since I was working on it while I spent the weekend with him. First, I decided I wanted to knit the nupps, but I didn’t have a proper-sized crochet hook, so we had to make a trip to Michael’s to get one. Then I tried working the nupps, and decided that while I am capable of doing them, I really don’t like it, and certainly would not enjoy knitting the hundred-some that the pattern would require. Knitting is something I do for fun, so it doesn’t seem worth it to me to force myself to do a technique I hate. We went back to Michael’s a second time for beads and a smaller crochet hook to add them to the knitting. Fast forward to later when I tried using the beads....and discovered that the color beads I had bought really didn’t work all that well with my yarn. I convinced my boyfriend to go the craft store with me for a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">third </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">time (Joann’s this time), where I purchased clear beads with a silver lining. The boyfriend is sick of craft stores, and sick of staring at bead colors, but I finally have beads that I like!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So far, I really love the way this shawl is turning out. I love the color, and the beads provide a subtle hint of glitz to the shawl. I’m having a lot of fun knitting along with a group, and it’s also a great support system- if you get stuck at all, all you have to do is post your question in the thread and either Wendy or another helpful knitter (or both!) will help you figure out what you need to do.</span></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-48107183884214252862012-06-13T00:00:00.000-04:002012-06-13T00:00:08.259-04:00WIP Wednesday <b id="internal-source-marker_0.02162597910501063" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been working on the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Radiance shawl</a>, and I am loving it! I’m knitting with <a href="http://www.malabrigoyarn.com/sub_yarn.php?id_sub_yarn=25">Malabrigo lace</a>, and it feels so wonderful on my hands as I work. I used it as my travel knitting because it is such a simple pattern that I can pick it up and put it away without too much worry about losing my place. I also got a compliment on it from the airline stewardess, who thinks that the color is “very jean-friendly.” I’m a little over 30% of the way down (The pattern will tell you in 10% increments how far along you are! How cool is that?)</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My other project is also a shawl, the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ubiquitous-kate">Ubiquitous Kate</a>. It’s modeled after <a href="http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2011/05/09/kates-cute-green-shawl-we-found-it/">the shawl that Kate Middleton wore</a>. I love the look of ruffles, and really wanted to make something similar. There are a couple of patterns imitating that shawl, but I really liked this one and it is free! I had some <a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Stroll_Sock_Yarn__D5420133.html">Knitpicks Stroll Sock yarn</a> in a beautiful dark purple color in my stash (I think I bought it for a sweater at one point), and decided to use that. I am enjoying working on it, but it does require a little more concentration than the <b id="internal-source-marker_0.02162597910501063" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/radiance-shawl-2">Radiance shawl</a></span></b>. Even though it’s not lace, there is a subtle zig-zag pattern made up of purls, and it’s charted. The wrong side is really easy, however- except for a increase at each end of the row, it’s all purl stitches! I’ve completed three repeats of the zig-zag pattern so far.</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What are you working on this week? If you’d like to see everyone else’s works-in-progress, head on over to <a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/">Tami’s Amis’ Work in Progress Wednesday</a>!</span></b>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">P.S.: In case anyone was wondering, it is much easier to photograph a WIP when your cat isn't trying to steal your stitch markers. Thanks, Maddie!</span></b>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-18026612390731910282012-06-02T10:35:00.001-04:002012-06-02T10:35:10.846-04:00Blog Overhaul<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6380504921544343" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you can see, I’ve been rather neglectful of the blog lately. I’ve decided that it needs an overhaul, so I’ve decided to make some changes around here.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve started with a new name: Knits, Cooks, Cats, and Books. I think this pretty accurately represents what’s going on in my life right now. My main hobbies are knitting, cooking, and reading, and of course my cat, Madelyn, is a huge part of my life.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m going to try to participate more often in Work in Progress Wednesdays and Finished Object Fridays, but I’m also going to try out some new posting topics, too. These may include book or movie reviews, recipes, and stories about Madelyn’s antics (and that little hellion does manage to get herself into a lot of trouble!) I may also post to let you guys know when I find a cool giveaway somewhere on the internet.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" />I’ve also started a twitter account- you can find me under @ACraftyKnitter.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ll start posting again week after next- this coming week, I’m on vacation in Orlando!</span></b>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the mean time, enjoy a gratuitous cute cat picture. Please ignore the boyfriend's socks on the ground. Look how well Maddie is getting along with Zoey (the boyfriend's cat!)</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CUkPtmQz0GPxY-gsrWpnNsPeg2pJ3p91T6x1owrHbgng-EtMBmQ9DJAWIrYGdvsKgNAhkXr8k3CY54TMe8TQikhyphenhyphen9PpCvY2MnwzRW7P92KKKypIVycsv_bDLqSfNWijjjHXfbWkRJ5w/s1600/IMG_3994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CUkPtmQz0GPxY-gsrWpnNsPeg2pJ3p91T6x1owrHbgng-EtMBmQ9DJAWIrYGdvsKgNAhkXr8k3CY54TMe8TQikhyphenhyphen9PpCvY2MnwzRW7P92KKKypIVycsv_bDLqSfNWijjjHXfbWkRJ5w/s320/IMG_3994.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-91030121403945552512012-03-07T21:13:00.001-05:002012-03-07T21:14:01.912-05:00WIP Wednesday<br />
I've been making slightly more knitting progress lately, but not by much.<br />
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First up, we have the Chroma Striped Scarf. I'm using the <u><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/noro-striped-scarf">Noro Striped Scarf</a></u> pattern, but since I am really <i>not </i>a fan of Noro, I'm knitting it up in <u><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/cfyarns/yarn_display.cfm?ID=5420204">Knitpicks Chroma Worsted</a>.</u> I picked the colorways Midwinter and U-Pick because they complement each other well, but have enough of a contrast to really make the stripes pop (also, the U-Pick was on sale). The pattern calls for two balls of each color, but I'm still on the first of each and I'm pretty sure I don't want it to be over twice as long as it is right now (almost 5 feet!). How long do you guys think a scarf should be?<br />
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This scarf is taking me a really long time to knit because I'm using it as my travel knitting. It's a little bulky at this point, but it's nice to have something that I don't have to think about at all when I can get interrupted at any moment, and 1x1 ribbing fits the bill.<br />
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When I'm at home, I've been working on the cowl from the Knitpicks <u><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/kits/Luxe_Accessories-Soft__D41003.html">Luxe Accessory Set</a></u> in <u><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Aloft_Super_Kid_Mohair_Yarn__D5420210.html">Knitpicks Aloft</a></u> in Blush and <u><a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/cfyarns/yarn_display.cfm?ID=5420109">Knitpicks Capra</a></u> in Velveteen. It's knit flat sideways, then the ends are grafted together to make the cowl. It's been a little frustrating, because I somehow seem to keep dropping stitches, noticing several rows later, and then having to frog back. It is not easy to frog 75% mohair yarn! It is nice and soft, though, and I can't wait until it's done.<br />
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Last but not least is my <u><a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall09/PATTgirlfriday.php">Girl Friday</a></u> sweater. The pieces are done and have been for awhile, but I didn't get around to blocking them until last night. As you can see, I chose not to bind off the top of the pieces. It seems silly to bind off when I'm just going to have to pick the stitches back up again! I unpinned just before taking the photo. After this, I will need to seam, then knit the button band and collar.<br />
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Maddie, of course, was extremely helpful through the photographing process:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">"I can help, Mom! Just let me tug on these strings for you..."</td></tr>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-9727077582472839552012-02-08T00:00:00.000-05:002012-02-08T00:00:03.374-05:00WIP WednesdayI've been knitting less since I adopted Madelyn (playing and cuddling with my new baby have taken precedence!), but I've been going a little nuts without my knitting time, so I'm trying to make time for it again.<br />
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First up is my <a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall09/PATTgirlfriday.php">Girl Friday</a> sweater. I have been working on this for quite some time. I've finished the fronts, the back, and one sleeve- once I finish this second sleeve, I can seam and do the collar. I'll also get to pick out some pretty buttons to go with it.<br />
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When my mother helped me move into my new apartment, she forgot to bring a scarf, so she borrowed my <a href="http://constantlyknitting.blogspot.com/2011/06/fo-summer-mystery-shawlette.html">Summer Mystery Shawlette</a>. She loved it so much that she asked for one of her own, in red. Her birthday is coming up at the end of the month, so I want to make sure to get it done before then. It's almost done now; I just need to weave in the ends and block it:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently, I am not allowed to take photographs that don't feature Maddie....</td></tr>
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This post is a part of <a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/">Tami's Ami</a>'s Work in Progress Wednesdays. Head on over to see what everyone else is working on!<br />
<br />ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-18408333143544618582012-01-22T19:16:00.001-05:002012-01-22T19:16:49.108-05:00Meet MadelynI've been planning on adopting a cat for some time now, but first I had to move to an apartment that allows animals, and then I needed to finish unpacking. Finally, I'm done- and I almost immediately fell in love with Madelyn.<br />
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I adopted her from<a href="http://lastchanceanimalrescue.org/"> Last Chance Animal Rescue (LCAR)</a>. They have agreements with several PetSmarts in the area to put Adoption Centers in the store. PetSmart provides the space; LCAR keeps them stocked with cats and takes care of them. The cats come from all up and down the East Coast- LCAR reps rescue them from kill shelters and bring them down here.<br />
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Madelyn had come from a shelter in Delaware. LCAR had named her Shelley. She was asleep when I first saw her; in fact, I was looking at a different cat when the LCAR volunteer let her out of her cage to stretch her legs. She (the cat, not the volunteer!) jumped in my lap when I made kissy sounds at her, put her paws on my shoulder, and touched her nose against my lips. I looked at the volunteer and said "this cat knows how to get adopted!" A few cuddles later, and I was completely sold. LCAR has a policy of sending cats home with their new owners that very evening (I'm not entirely sure this is a great policy, but I'm not going to go off on that tangent right now), so I rushed home to pick up my cat carrier, then back to PetSmart for my new baby. She made things a little bit difficult- she kept lying on top of the clipboard with the adoption paperwork and trying to chew on my pen.<br />
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Poor Madelyn went by several different trial names for a day or so- I was having a lot of trouble picking one that fit her. Finally, I settled on Madelyn (Maddie for short!).<br />
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She's 8 months old, and just about the sweetest cat I've ever met. She loves to play, but most of all she really loves to cuddle. I love the way she rubs her cheek against mine. The first night, she woke me up several times for snuggles, but she is getting better about letting me sleep through the night now that she realizes that she can have cuddle time on a regular basis. She even lets me knit, as long as I let her lie on or next to me and take frequent breaks to pet her.<br />
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I took Maddie to the vet a couple of days after I adopted her, and it turns out that Maddie has small amounts of three different parasites. The treatment takes 10 days (5 days of powder, 10 days of pills), then we have to wait three weeks before the vet does another test to make sure that they're all completely out of her system. Until then, Maddie doesn't get to meet any other animals. We've finished the powder days, and just have 5 more pill days left. Honestly, though, of all things that could be wrong with her, this is not as bad as it could be. I'm just grateful that it's not worse. It's inconvenient, but she doesn't seem to be uncomfortable since she has them in such small amounts, and it's fixable. Besides, Maddie is totally worth it.ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-24736608681307921822011-12-09T07:51:00.000-05:002011-12-09T07:51:22.103-05:00FO: Socrates GlovesI made these gloves for my aunt's birthday, which is today. However, since I'm also in the midst of packing for a move (moving date is December 17th!), I cut this really really close. I finished the thumbs and wove in the ends last night! I had to settle for a steam block, instead of my normal nice blocking bath, because I was concerned that they wouldn't dry in time.<br />
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I chose the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/socrates-gloves">Socrates Gloves</a> pattern because it looked nice and simple with a bit of interesting lace. For a first pair of gloves, I didn't want to do anything too complicated! The <a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/Palette+_YD5420132.html">Knitpicks Palette</a> came from my stash.<br />
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The pattern was easy enough to understand, and I did enjoy working on them for awhile- however, by the time I was done I was cursing the fact that humans have 10 fingers! Glove fingers are kind of fiddley to work (although they went <i>much </i>faster when I switched to 4 inch DPNS instead of the longer ones I had been using.) Additionally, you have to join and break the yarn after each finger. Including the original cast-on tails, that means that there were 22 ends to weave in. On the bright side, I did get a lot of calls to get utilities set up for my move while I was weaving in those ends....<br />
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Nevertheless, they're done and they look and feel very nice. I think they should keep my aunt's hands nice and warm this winter, and be a nice birthday surprise!<br />
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Pattern: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/socrates-gloves">Socrates Gloves</a><br />
Source: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sock-Yarn-One-Skein-Wonders-Patterns/dp/1603425799%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAJNNSUP6J3RN4WZYQ%26tag%3Dravelry-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D1603425799">Sock Yarn One Skein Wonders</a><br />
Yarn: <a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/Palette+_YD5420132.html">Knitpicks Palette</a><br />
The Verdict: I love these gloves, and I hope that my aunt will, too!<br />
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This post is part of <a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/">Tami's Amis'</a> Finished Object Friday. Head on ever to see what everyone else has accomplished this week!ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-11568815032902412682011-09-21T13:51:00.001-04:002011-09-21T14:05:43.153-04:00WIP Wednesday: 11 Shawls 2011<div class="MsoNormal">I’ve been rather absent on the blog as of late- to be honest, I keep composing posts, and then something goes wrong! I forget to post them, or I can’t find my camera, or something. I’m going to try to be a little bit better about this in the future.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For today’s Work In Progress Wednesday, rather than show you pictures of my current WIPs (has anyone seen my camera cord, by the way?), I’d like to talk about my year-long Work In Progress, 11 Shawls 2011.</div><div class="MsoNormal">I joined the 11 Shawls 2011 group in January with the goal of, you guessed it, knitting 11 shawls this year. So far, I have completely finished six:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px;"><br />
</div><ul><ul><ul><li><a href="http://constantlyknitting.blogspot.com/2011/03/fo-girls-best-friend-shawl.html">A Girl’s Best Friend</a></li>
<li><a href="http://constantlyknitting.blogspot.com/2011/06/fo-revontuli-shawl.html">Revontuli</a></li>
<li><a href="http://constantlyknitting.blogspot.com/2011/07/fo-spring-meadow-clapotis.html">Spring Meadow Clapotis</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/clapotis">Pecan Clapotis</a></li>
<li> <a href="http://constantlyknitting.blogspot.com/2011/08/fo-fanette.html">Fanette</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://constantlyknitting.blogspot.com/2011/06/fo-summer-mystery-shawlette.html">Summer Mystery Shawlette</a> </li>
</ul></ul></ul><div class="MsoNormal">I have three shawls in progress:<br />
<ul><li> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/truly-tashas-shawl">Truly Tasha’s Shawl</a>: I have been working on this one since January. It’s kind of boring, because the main part is all garter stitch. Additionally, knitting bulky-weight yarn on size 5 needles requires me to push the needles through a lot more, and I was wearing a hole in my finger. By the time I found a leather thimble to combat this problem, it was so hot I didn’t want a big wool/alpaca project in my lap. Now that it’s getting cooler, however, I think I might be able to make more progress. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/summer-flies">Summer Flies Shawlette</a>: I’m finished knitting this; all I need to do is weave in the ends and block it. I’ve been putting off doing this because I started doing Pilates, and the area on the floor where I would block it is also the same area that I need for my exercises. I may just have to skip the Pilates for a few days or try to find somewhere else to block it. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/seascape-stole-2">Seascape Stole</a>: I’m about half-way through this pattern. I really enjoy working on it, but it requires a lot of attention and is not something I can work on while distracted, so I’m limited in the times that I can work on it.</li>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">This brings us to a total of 9, leaving 2 more shawls that I need to knit. For the last two, I think I will make:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><ul><li><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hawthorne-3">Hawthorne</a>: I bought the yarn for this at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, and have been meaning to make it for awhile. I love Susanna I.C.’s designs- crescents are such a flattering and versatile shape! I’m going to knit this in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/miss-babs-yowza---whatta-skein">Miss Babs Wowza</a> in a gorgeous deep red color. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cotton-bam-boo-kudzu-shawlette">Kudzu Shawlette</a>: During the last <a href="http://www.dizzysheep.com/default.aspx">Dizzy Sheep</a> Spin-Off, I purchased 2 Bags of Knit. These are $10 paper bags filled with mystery yarn. One of the bags had three skeins of <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/classic-elite-yarns-firefly">Classic Elite Firefly</a> in a gorgeous light burnt-orange color. I had never seen this yarn in person before, but I love the sheen it has to it. I probably would not have ordered this color for myself (I’m not normally an orange person), but it is beautiful, and I’m glad they sent this one to me! I think it wants to be a flaming Kudzu Shawlette.</li>
</ul></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px;"><ul></ul></div><div class="MsoNormal">I think I’d probably be further along towards my goal of 11 shawls had I not rediscovered my love of knitting socks- I think I’m going to aim for 12 socks in 2012! Is anyone else working on the 11 Shawls 2011 challenge? How are you doing with it?</div><div class="MsoNormal">Head on over to <a href="http://www.blogger.com/tamisamis.blogspot.com">Tami’s Amis</a>’s Work in Progress Wednesday to see what everyone else is working on!</div>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-46652789818080361522011-08-19T06:00:00.000-04:002011-08-19T06:00:04.722-04:00FO: FanetteWhen I saw <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fannette" target="_blank">Fanette</a> in the Summer 2011 issue of <a href="http://www.knitcircus.com/" target="_blank">KnitCircus</a>, I thought it was pretty, and it went into the queue.<span> </span>However, it probably would have sat in the queue for a while longer (my queue is long!) had it not been for a Knit-a-long going on in the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knitcircus" target="_blank">KnitCircus Ravelry Group</a>.<span> </span>It seemed like a fun idea, however, so I decided to cast on and join in!<br /><br /><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zlsL9ETkr3g/TjYIaHH3LxI/AAAAAAAABMo/3-ZPWtOjxqQ/s400/IMG_3668.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zlsL9ETkr3g/TjYIaHH3LxI/AAAAAAAABMo/3-ZPWtOjxqQ/s400/IMG_3668.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">I love the lines that the slipped stitches make down the body of the shawl.<span> </span>I ended up adding two extra rows to the body, because at that point, it seemed like I had so much yarn left that I figured I couldn’t possibly use it all on the lace portion!<span> </span>It’s a good thing that I didn’t add any more extra rows, because I was worried about running out of yarn towards the end there- I only had 2 grams (of a 100 gram skein) left!</p><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rK2jeE6kxqM/TiVqRmkgMFI/AAAAAAAABKo/6aaaUvVxTII/s400/IMG_3649.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-rK2jeE6kxqM/TiVqRmkgMFI/AAAAAAAABKo/6aaaUvVxTII/s400/IMG_3649.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cPFi6ohlxD0/TjYIW64mDTI/AAAAAAAABMk/bRd4Y9DBrWc/s400/IMG_3664.JPG"></a><p class="MsoNormal">I used <a href="http://www.malabrigoyarn.com/sub_yarn.php?id_sub_yarn=16" target="_blank">Malabrigo Sock</a> yarn for the shawl.<span> </span>This is probably one of my favorite yarns.<span> </span>It’s super-soft, and the colors are gorgeous.<span> </span>I happened to have a skein of it in Velvet Grapes in my stash that was absolutely perfect.</p><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cPFi6ohlxD0/TjYIW64mDTI/AAAAAAAABMk/bRd4Y9DBrWc/s400/IMG_3664.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cPFi6ohlxD0/TjYIW64mDTI/AAAAAAAABMk/bRd4Y9DBrWc/s400/IMG_3664.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">I really enjoyed working on this.<span> </span>The pattern is simple enough that I didn’t get frustrated, but complicated enough to keep me interested.<span> </span>My only complaint was that the lace pattern moved every row.<span> </span>This made it impossible to separate the lace repeats with stitch-markers.<span> </span>I think it was worth it, though!</p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1yMxnyLIiwY/TiVqV3yGKrI/AAAAAAAABKs/3fNsewnfm2Q/s400/IMG_3651.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1yMxnyLIiwY/TiVqV3yGKrI/AAAAAAAABKs/3fNsewnfm2Q/s400/IMG_3651.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">Pattern: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fannette" target="_blank">Fanette</a><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Yarn: <a href="http://www.malabrigoyarn.com/sub_yarn.php?id_sub_yarn=16" target="_blank">Malabrigo Sock</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Colorway: Velvet Grapes</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yardage: 431.2 yards</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Modifications: None</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/fannette" target="_blank">Ravelry Project Page</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">This post is part of Tami's Amis' Finished Objects Fridays. Head on over to see what everyone else is working on!<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/fannette" target="_blank"><br /></a></p>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842709329128445098.post-31343176950735232092011-08-12T06:00:00.000-04:002011-08-12T06:00:03.698-04:00FO: Alison ShawlI finally finished my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alison-shawl" target="_blank">Alison Shawl</a>.<span> </span>This shawl was a <i>long </i>time in the making.<span> </span>I start it in 2010, and I honestly can’t even remember why it ended up in hibernation.<span> </span>I found it in my UFO bin*, and decided that it was about time that I finished it!<span> </span>I am thrilled with the finished result, and am not sure why I put it off so long!<span> </span>I wish I could count this in <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/11-shawls-in-2011" target="_blank">11 Shawls 2011</a> but, alas, since it was started last year it does not count. <p class="MsoNormal">This thing is really big and warm.<span> </span>It’s a great size for wrapping around me when I’m freezing (which is most of the time, in my office building!).<span> </span>Not only is it functional, but the lace pattern adds a bit of elegance.<span> </span>I love the color, too!</p><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t-Ko7iQml3w/TjYIO4rAL7I/AAAAAAAABMY/dpMXBfDRm-s/s400/IMG_3660.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t-Ko7iQml3w/TjYIO4rAL7I/AAAAAAAABMY/dpMXBfDRm-s/s400/IMG_3660.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://berroco.com/shade_cards/ultra_alpaca_sh.html" target="_blank">Berroco Ultra Alpaca</a> is such a wonderful yarn.<span> </span>It’s soft and makes you just want to cuddle up with it and the colors are gorgeous.<span> </span>It also has fairly decent stitch definition, but is fuzzy enough to be a little forgiving of mistakes.</p><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t-Ko7iQml3w/TjYIO4rAL7I/AAAAAAAABMY/dpMXBfDRm-s/s400/IMG_3660.JPG"></a><p class="MsoNormal">The only downside is that this shawl is kind of heavy.<span> </span>I’m a bit afraid that it will stretch out.<span> </span>I suppose if that happens, though, a good sock and re-blocking will fix it.<span> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I made a few modifications to the pattern.<span> </span>First of all, the pattern calls for K3tog.<span> </span>Knitting three stitches together hurts my hands when I’m doing a bunch of them, so I decided to do a centered double decrease instead.<span> </span>I slipped two stitches knitwise, knit one stitch, and then passed the slip stitches over.<span> </span>It’s way less complicated than it sounds, I promise!</p><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-fX0xmGzcmgs/TjYIL2b8zdI/AAAAAAAABMU/_u5v98ghItg/s400/IMG_3659.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-fX0xmGzcmgs/TjYIL2b8zdI/AAAAAAAABMU/_u5v98ghItg/s400/IMG_3659.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">I decided to omit the four rows of garter stitch at the end of the shawl. <span> </span>The shaping of the shawl through the lace pattern naturally makes points at the bottom, and I felt like the garter stitch smoothed out these points a bit, even more than blocking could fix.<span> </span>I was concerned that the pattern would curl without the garter stitch, but it seems to have blocked out okay.<span> </span>I only wish that I had decided to omit the garter stitch <i>before </i>knitting those 1,124 stitches, then having to rip them out!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I also decided to go without the picot edging.<span> </span>Picot edging can be really pretty, but it seems like the only way to get it to lay flat is to pin out each one of the little picot bumps.<span> </span>I have neither the patience nor sufficient pins to make this happen.<span> </span>Additionally, when I tried the picot edging, some of the little picot peaks were lining up kind of weirdly with the natural points in the shawl, looking off-center.<span> </span>I ended up just doing my favorite nice, stretchy bind-off.<span> </span>Basically, instead of the typical bind off, you knit the two stitches together instead of pulling one stitch over the other.</p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TYL9GFu_azM/TjYIUFlA2UI/AAAAAAAABMg/Qnw9s_UQSSg/s400/IMG_3663.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TYL9GFu_azM/TjYIUFlA2UI/AAAAAAAABMg/Qnw9s_UQSSg/s400/IMG_3663.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Pattern: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alison-shawl" target="_blank">Alison Shawl</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yarn: <a href="http://berroco.com/shade_cards/ultra_alpaca_sh.html" target="_blank">Berroco Ultra Alpaca</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Colorway: Oceanic Mix</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yardage: 806.3</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Mujercita/alison-shawl" target="_blank">Project Ravelry Page</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Modifications: Centered double decrease instead of K3tog, no garter stitch at the end, no picot bind-off.</p><p class="MsoNormal">This post is part of <a href="http://tamisamis.blogspot.com/">Tami's Amis' FO Fridays</a>. Head on over there to see what everyone else is working on!<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">*“unfinished object,” not “unidentified flying object,” for those of you who are not knitting initiated.</p>ACraftyKnitterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01061350178689999435noreply@blogger.com10