The Ravellenic Games Main Event Project!

I joined the Ravellenic Games for the first time this year and I went all out for Team Sasquatch! My main event was Event Shawl, but I also signed up for Event Charity, Event Single Skein and Event Modular (which was a huge mistake but more on that another day).

My main event was to knit a shawl. Since my disgrace with the Fiori Autunalli by Rosemary Hill I have been downright scared of knitting lace. Did I mention the disgrace came from 1. Reading the wrong chart 2. knitting the wrong chart 3. switching rows while knitting the wrong chart and 4. frogging about 1,000 sts in tears at my LYS? Word to the wise friends and neighbors, don’t knit when you’re too tired to remember your middle name!

Anyway, here I am rambling again! I choose for my Games piece a shawl knitted in worsted, I felt like it was my knitting equivalent of a nightlight. So The Lonely Tree Shawl by Silvia Bolvia (which is not only amazing fun to knit but FREE on Ravelry) seemed like the perfect choice. I gathered up some Caron Simply Soft in Dark Sage from my yarn stash and was off!

Humble Little Beginnings

I was going really slow until the leaves started to emerge, trying to remember that lace knitting is only as hard as I let it be in my head. Once I got to this point I felt kinda confident.

(Disclaimer: Some lace knitting really is freakishly difficult, my problem lies in my lack of confidence after mucking up the same pattern so many times.)

and it kept growing….

and growing…

Before I knew it, it was time to bind the bad boy off. I felt bad for not picking a harder, more involved project at this point though. I know that point of the games is/was to challenge yourself, and I stand by my reasoning that I had to conquer my fear of lace – otherwise the Fiori is never going to get done.

But my shawl is done!

Blocking

High Def filter – I love the leaves!

Leaves! Done correctly!

It’s about 350 yards – much bigger than it looks.

Aww….Happy Place!

So there you have it friends and neighbors, the first leg of my Ravellenic journey came to an end. I’ve already given the shawl to a friend. I forgot to take a picture on the mannequin but I gotta tell you – giving away something that gave me a little confidence was pretty epic!

Happy Tuesday!

I’ve Knit 2.53 MILES this Year?

This is ridiculous, right? I mean I do actually have a life, two jobs, friends and family – but I double checked the numbers and they are correct. Thanks to Knitmeter.com I have mathematical proof that I have knit 2.53 miles/ 4451 yards/ 4070 meters. Yowzer boss.

Here is the most recent collection of things I have knit since 2014 began.

My Favorite Beanie

I decided to knit something I had already knitted once before, the Orchids and Fairy Lights beanie by Tiny Owl Knits. I bought this pattern ages ago (if you’ve read my blog before, this is the beanie that got me to quit complaining about my silly hand and start knitting again.) I know the pattern is for sale through Tiny Owl Knits, but I don’t think that it is in Stephanie Dosen’s book Woodland Knits – if I am wrong please correct me – although the book is equally amazing! I used Lions Brand Superwash Merino Cashmere (which I found at the infamous garage sale last year). I added another repeat this time to give it more stretch and frankly I am still in love with it.

**** **** **** **** **** ****

Another Design

Since I have been knitting leg warmers almost non-stop since the whole Polar Vortex shenanigans started, I thought my head was going to explode from looking at Red Heart Super Saver.  So when I got an order for legwarmers and fingerless mitts I was itching to turn the cowl I “designed” into fingerless mittens. I took a design I didn’t like from 60 Quick Knits: 20 Hats*20 Scarves*20 Mittens in Cascade 220™ (60 Quick Knits Collection) and reworked it till it suited my needs – as well as my fancy-shamancy design aesthetic. 😉

I’ve read over and over that you only have to modify an original pattern by 25% for it to be called your own – since all I took from the original pattern was the mock cable I am calling it mine. As soon as I get to it – or when my main job allows outside internet access again – I will be putting it up for free on Ravelry. Side note: I kinda love it.

**** **** **** **** **** ****

Sock Yarn Beanie for the Loving, Patient, Wonderful, Supportive, Handsome Hubby 😉

This is my first sock yarn beanie, and I am in love! I knitted this is a white heat during the Polar Vortex/Level Two Snow Emergency that left me trapped at work. I used, of course, Patons Kroy Sock Yarn in Gray, Brown, Red Marl as well as Patons pattern. Sock yarn, even on a larger needle, is becoming the thing that my arthritic hand is falling in love with. I am not sure if it is the weight or less motion involved in the actual knitting, but I can knit almost with pain – which is wicked awesome. I love this beanie, and lets face it – the hubby needed another hat!

**** **** **** **** **** ****

And legwarmers 🙂

30″ of 1980’s goodness! 😉

So that catches me up on what I’ve been making since my last post. I have started several super awesome projects, things that I am really excited about and cannot wait to share. I actually finished three projects in one day, which meant the next day I casted on five more projects just to keep up – this makes sense right? Either way, I cannot wait to get far enough along in these that I can share them with a community of yarn lovers that I respect so much!

I will leave you with one question if you will allow me that friends and neighbors – if you had the money for the pattern, the yarn, the needles yada yada yada – what would it be?

Everyone Needs Some Eye Candy

Max loves knitted socks.

Guess who showed up to work two hours early by accident? This kid! I am going to try to cram in a post while I have some real downtime, it’s actually pretty darn exciting! Okay, let’s get on with the good stuff.

~ Socks with Sarah Progress #sockswithsarah ~

I currently have two pairs of socks on the needles, one for myself and one for my Dad. I am working on my socks everyday – even if it is just a row or two. I find that knitting socks is my knitting happy place at the moment. Is it bad I want to finish my Dad’s socks just so I can work on my socks exclusively? I’m gonna go with no, it’ll help me sleep better at night.

Both socks are a variation on the Knitmore Vanilla Sock pattern. My Dad’s socks are Patons Kroy in Flax and mine are Patons Kroy Jacquards in Fiesta Jacquard.

My Dad’s First Sock.

Big…

Bigger….

Finished!

 

~ A Very Berry Fascination ~

After my husband spied my newly organized stash, he asked me a simple question; “Why do you only make one thing in each color when you have multiple balls?”. After I quit giggling from the multiple balls comment I couldn’t come up with a good answer. Does “I am so sick of that color when I am finished that I just have to get another” work?

Well, no. It really doesn’t.

So I took on the challenge of taking two balls (teehee) of Red Heart Soft in Berry – which has a whopping 256 yards per ball – and decided I was going to knit through both. I started with the Twisted Toque from 60 Quick Knits: 20 Hats, 20 Scarves, 20 Mittens. I liked the pattern; the errata was small, the hat was easy to make and virtually brainless, which is a plus these days. I will say that the length measurements given were a bit long though, so long that I ended up folding the brim just to make the hat work.

Another 4am FO.

 

Twisted Toque

The second project was from the same book, kinda. The pattern was Mock Cable Wristers and I hated this pattern. There is a vividly fierce hatred of how this pattern was written – so I changed it. I elongated the cuffs so they were 4″ and more of a gauntlet style, I changed the position of the thumb. I changed the purl increases, I added a thumb, I added length to create fingerless mitts, I did Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Cast-On and Bind-Off. Basically, I stripped the pattern to the bare bolts and started over.

 

This took a full ball and about 20 yards of the second – leaving me to figure out what to do with the remaining 236 yards. I decided I wanted a long cowl to go with the revamped mitts. I wrote the pattern (which I will be making available for FREE on Ravelry just as soon as I get it done). I took the basic concept of the faux cables and just fiddled with the stitches. I wanted them to pop out at you a bit, and I wanted the cowl to be nice and wide and a little less dense than the cable on the mitts.

Ta-Da!

That took care of both balls (teehee). Now I am just so ready to get my finger on a new color that it is eating me alive!

Oh yeah – I finished the mitts from last week. Side note: that horrible join blocked out really nicely. I would have taken a picture but they were out the door and into someone else’s home very quickly.

That blocked out … seriously!

So that’s it for me today friends and neighbors. I have week 2 of my 52 weeks of new experiences all ready to go – I just need to find the time to write it. Who knows, maybe I can show up to work early again and get it hammered out. Happy Thursday blogger buddies!

 

 

 

Good News, Bad News & Oodles of Photographed FOs

Max – maxing and relaxing with some yarn.

Alrighty friends and neighbors, this is how I’m gonna try to put weeks of blogging into one post. First off, let’s get the bad news over with – bad news will be in red and good news will be in green (Christmas-y huh?). So, let’s begin.

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

• Gloria, my amazing niece, is in the top 10% of students in the midwest and will be sitting for a ACTs in January – she’s in the seventh grade!!!! 🙂
• I broke my tailbone. BUT the snow has been beautiful!
• Trevor’s Dad has cancer. BUT the treatment is doable, and his crazy hair from the treatments makes him look like Bill Murray.
• My special stash was ruined when a pipe burst. BUT I still have loads of yarn to play with.
• I had to get a second job. BUT I was able to get a second job in this economy and at this time of year.
• Trevor and I shared our 11 year first date  anniversary! 🙂
• Orders seem to be slowing down. BUT I had my first Etsy store sale.
• I’ve broken four pairs of needles. BUT I can rewrite patterns for straight needles, something I had never had to do before.
• 2014’s money may be worse than 2013’s.  BUT I married Prince Charming and we can survive anything.
• I lost my LYS. BUT I have found a new yarn store. It’s a drive and I won’t be able to go often, but everyone that works there is lovely!
• I’ve been avoiding blogging because I don’t want to lose my online knitting community.

I guess it is silly not writing, but it feels like my projects (or my yarn) are really that special to blog about. Since the incident at the LYS my knitting mojo has been….none existent – I am constantly doubting my ability and my finished product. Again, silly. It is time to take a breath and move on. Get back to blogging and back to sharing with the amazing online knitting community. Who knows, I may even have a pattern to share soon!

FINISHED OBJECTS!

I don’t know if this is everything, probably not but this is the best way to catch up with all the things I’ve been finishing. The scary part is that there are multiples of several of these project – I will spare you several duplicate photos and do one pic of each. I hope you enjoy.

Cabled Beanie.

Lace Cowl – Worsted.

First 3 stockings.

Basketweave Beanie.

Stocking.

Looped Cowl.

Stocking.

My Design – Cable Hat.

Another stocking.

Lucy Hat

Sparkle and Shine

Vampire Knits Pattern Re-Vamp 😉

Dustland hat

Mittens

Bulky Mittens

Second Pair of Socks

Lace cowl

First attempt at a stocking – oh well.

My Favorite Model – Gloria

My Design Mittens

My design ribbed hat

Hello Cowl.

Another Cowl.

My design – another cabled beanie.

I actually feel like I haven’t really knit that much in the last month, not until after I got a good look at the photos. I think for next year I am going to do the Knitmeter to see just how much damage I can really do. I think that is it for me today, I have bared my soul and now it’s time to get to knitting. I will be back, getting over this insecurity is something you just have to push through – no other way around. For anyone reading this, thank you for sticking with me, it means the world.

The Scarf That Had Identity Issues – Free Pattern!

• Written by: Rachel Folk (kinda)
• Editing and Written Pattern by: Trevor Folk

So I showed progress on this scarf…um…last week? Anyway, the more I worked on it the bigger it got. I know, I know – it’s supposed to get bigger but this scarf seemed to get wider as well.

This is how it started:

So Far…

And THIS is how it ended:

Chilling on my couch.

Yowzer boss!

Max’s Front Window Perch

Yup. It’s THAT big!

By the time I bound off I didn’t know if it was 1) a scarf 2) a table runner or 3) a decorative couch cover. It was gorgeous by they way ( I used two strands of Caron Simply Soft in Pagoda) and I was really enjoying looking at it on the back of my couch.

Luckily my Mom fixed the situation by calling it a “drape” and took it quite literally off my hands. She had it in her car so fast I didn’t even get a picture of her wearing it. She has pure black hair (and since her hair color is real she has natural blue highlights) and it looked stunning on her – I should have gotten a picture dagnabbit!

I thought about seeing if I could actually sell a pattern, but since I can’t seem to work out the logistics of sizing I will share it for free. Knit at your will, sell the completed projects on Etsy – I don’t really care. I figure the pattern deserves to be out in the knitting universe.

** The Pattern **

• Needles: Size 15US (10mm) Straight Needles
• Yarn: 2 Packages of Caron Simply Soft in Pagoda (2 strands necessary if you are hoping to achieve thickness) – (why does everything knitting related sound so dirty?- TF)

Cast On 36 Stitches

Set Up: Knit Four (4) Rows Seed Stitch.

• Row 1: K1, P1, K1, P1. Knit to last Four (4) stitches. K1, P1, K1, P1
• Row 2 and all Even/Wrong Side Rows: P1, K1, P1, K1. Purl to last Four (4) stitches. P1, K1, P1, K1
• Row 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11: K1, P1, K1, P1, K1; *K2, SSK, K2TOG, K4, (YO, K1)twice *;  repeat from * to last Seven (7) stitches. K4, P1, K1, P1
• Row 13: REPEAT ROW ONE (1).
• Row 15, 17, 19, 21, 23: K1, P1, K1, P1, K1; *K3, YO, K1, YO, K4, SSK, K2TOG *; repeat from * to last Seven (7) stitches; K4, P1, K1, P1
• Row 24: REPEAT ROW TW0 (2)

Repeat rows 1-24 until desired length (Rachel went till she was almost out of yarn and cursing -TF). Do Four (4) rows of seed stitch and BO (bowl obstruction? -TF) loosely. 

******** ******* ****** ***** **** *** ** *

So there you have it friends and neighbors, from my noggin to yours. I want to give a big round of applause for my husband who is putting up with me. (You’re welcome -TF). I also wanted to add that I am reading all of your wonderful posts but not commenting as much as I would like. No worries, Dragon Speak will be back eventually. I hope you like the pattern, it is the very least I can do to share because all of your blogs are making me a better knitter, spinner, crocheter and person.

Man that was cheesy – I’m out. 🙂 (Do people still say “I’m out?”. -TF)

Multiple WIPs to Combat Hand Fatigue

I was able to pick up my needles this week but quickly realized that I was going to have to find a sweet spot to appease both of my hands. This gave me the best excuse to cast on several projects, I mean, I have to keep my hands happy!

I have found that different types of needles, different needle sizes and different types of yarn are the best way to keep my hands from feeling any fatigue – also, I never get bored working on one project. Pretty awesome in my book, maybe this whole arthritis thing isn’t so bad after all! 😉 So here is my WIP run down:

Size 2US DPN – Sock Weight Yarn – Patons Jacquard & Stripe Socks #104

What a finished pair looks like. It smells like victory though!

I casted on another pair of these immediately after I finished the first, I am only on the ribbing so no picture yet, but they are fantastic to knit and easy on both hands.

Size 4 Circular Needles – Lace Weight – Fiori Autunnali Shawl

What it looks like finished – photo courtesy of teresat2 on Flickr

This pattern is from the Craftsy Class New Directions in Lace. It is an incredible early Christmas present from my Mom – and there are beads! I am still a bit daunted by how much work it is going to take to finish this beast, but it’s just so pretty I don’t care. Romi Hill creates the most beautiful work and her class is so full of information I’m surprised it didn’t cost more. If you like lace, like learning, want to try something new and work with a stellar pattern – go sign up for this class.

This is where I am in the pattern:

Yes. I am scared to take off the belly button cast on.

Size 5US Circular Needles – DK Weight Yarn – Jayashri Sweater

Jayashri Pullover from Knit Picks

This is the kalallnight that Stacy over at Musings and Motion and I are making. The pattern is available from Knit Picks and if you still feel the urge to join feel free! I have a feeling that Stacy will finish way before I do and I wouldn’t mind the company! Here is where I am so far:

Size 7US Circular and DPN – Worsted Weight – “Hat on the Brain”

My design – another cabled beanie.

I have gone on a mini design kick trying to make a bunch of different beanies. I am trying to have a very styled brim (usually combinations of stitch dictionaries) and working my way through a list of hat decreases. I just finished the one last night, the rusty orange beanie above ↑ so I will need to cast on another one today.

Size 8US Straight 7″ Needles – Worsted Weight – Looped Loop Cowl

Courtesy of Ravelry. © lavidaloca

Here is a super fun cowl by Kirsten Johnstone that I just had to cast on – despite the fact that straight needles make both my hands hurt and the pinkie on my right hand usually gets rubbed raw ( you know, since it just lays there and doesn’t move…man…that sounds super dirty ;)). Anyway, I had to give it a go and here is the progress:

Total length needs to be 44″ – still a bit to go.

Oh! For fun, here is Lucy Neatby showing the coolest provisional cast on I have ever done.

And finally….

Size 15US Straight Needles – Two Strands DK Weight – Eyelet Scarf

This was another attempt to create something out of my own noggin….and some stitch dictionaries. I am trying to combine different variations on eyelet patterns so it looks swirled. I started it before I hurt my left hand so I can only work on it maybe 20 minutes a day. The color is beautiful though so I don’t mind looking at it everyday.

So Far…

So that’s the low down on my WIPs for Wednesday. I hope you’ve enjoyed my ranting and hopefully I have given you an excellent excuse to cast on more projects – you must think of the health of your hands!

So friends and neighbors I am interested to hear, if you would like to share, how you combat both boredom and hand fatigue. I was once a fairly monogamous knitter (no more that three projects going at a time) so this is all new to me. Feel free to share – I love to listen!

All Night KAL – Week 2 – REMEMBER YOU CAN STILL JOIN IN!

Week 2!

I wish that I had more to show you, almost as much as I wished I had more time to make a sweater for myself! It has been pretty busy in my knitting world, what with the (super awesome) custom order that I am working on. That and a husband, work, friends and a life without my needles – who knew! 😉

So far on my sweater all I have done is the gartered ribbing, oh the shame! It seems a little amazing to me that just the edging has a whopping 5,024 stitches to it. I knew I was making a very baggy sweater but still, that seems insane to me. So now it is going to be my goal to keep an accurate count of exactly how many stitches are going into this sweater. I think it would be really clever to look back on – which is why I used the Polaroid picture setup for all the pictures.

So now I am back at Craftsy, trying to figure out shaping, decreasing, short rows and sizing. Feeling a little adventurous looking at all this information – although I doubt that I will vary from the original pattern. However it turns out I am still having a blast.

Remember friends and neighbors that there is still time to join us in this KAL. There is no end date and no pressure!

My First Custom Order!

First, here is are the pictures of that adorable baby hat I whipped up for my Dad’s friend.

Secondly, here is a the finished product of my Baby Sophisticate Sweater. I am super proud of this little guy – I cannot wait to gift it!

Progress…

Finished!

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

You’ve heard it here first friends and neighbors, I have received my first custom order! Best part, it is not a “custom order” for ruffles! I have been presented with the opportunity to make five hats and two scarves in whatever fashion I want! It has been so exciting so far, I’ve been in every stitch dictionary and design book that I own – or my local library can provide.

There is never a downside to an order, but there is a way to self-sabatage your business. I quoted the lowest price that I could think of (thinking that they would say no! you are far to talented!). Seriously, what goes through my head, I’ll never know! Either way, this is the first opportunity to really knit my heart out and show off what I can do.

The hats are for three children: ages six, three and 5 months. The hat and scarves combinations are for two adult females. This is what I’ve done so far. I created a hat for a three year old from a circular needle stitch pattern book complete with the easiest hat closure possible.

By the way…it’s actually purple.

By the way…it’s actually purple.

I am thinking of putting the pattern on my Ravelry page, but it just seems like that pattern would be a little to obvious. So I will see what you think! Here is the pattern:

** FREE PATTERN **

→ For worsted-weight yarn – going down to baby weight you will need to find the correct gauge (for me it was increasing by 32 stitches and going down a needle size).

→ CO 88 stitches (any multiple of 8 will work) on size 6US (4mm) needles – 16″ Circular
→ K1, P1 across for 8 rounds.
→ Switch to size 7US (4.5mm) 16″ circular needles.

Repeat the following 12 rounds three (3) times. (this was how long it took me to get my height)

1. Knit
2. Knit
3. Knit
4. Knit
5. *4st. Left Cable, 4st. Right Cable* rep. till end of round. (front to back cable pattern)
6. Knit
7. Knit
8. Knit
9. Knit
10. Knit
11. *4st Right Cable, 4st. Left Cable* rep. till end of round. (back to front cable pattern)
12. Knit

• 4st. Left Cable – 2sts on cable needle, hold front, knit two stitches from left needle, knit 2sts off cable needle.
• 4st. Right Cable – 2sts on cable needle, hold back, knit two stitches from left needle, knit 2sts off cable needle.

→ Switch to DPNs when needed.

1. *K2, K2tog* rep. till end of round.
2. Knit
3. *K1, K2tog* rep. till end of round.
4. Knit
5. *K2tog* rep. till end of round.
6. Cut 12″ tail and sew up remaining stitches tightly to avoid a hole.

Simple! Too simple to put on my page though? I dunno – child sizes with worsted weight yarn is almost always between 82-92 stitches and the cable is just following a book. Well, I am very pleased with how it turned out.

So along with the KAL, I have a custom order and tons of ruffles. I’ve gotta say, I am really in my happy place right now! What about you friends and neighbors? What gets you into your happy place?

Two for One Special! Stitch Patterns for Week’s 16 & 17

Hello friends and neighbors. Before I get started I just want to apologize for just now getting back to all your wonderful comments – I fear I am being a bit neglectful of my blog lately. With the unplanned vacation, even more unplanned flood and my Mom and Dad’s 30th anniversary party I am being pulled in a million directions. This being said, as soon as I get this post up I am going to spend some quality time with you and your posts. Just please don’t lose hope, the party is over on the 16th and things should be back to normal by then.

Okay, enough begging for your patience (by the way, pretty please?!). It is time to see what GG has been doing to me these past two weeks. So, with no further adieu we have stitch patterns for week 16 and 17! Enjoy!

♥♥♥♥ Week 16 – Let’s Call it the Picnic Blanket Stitch ♥♥♥♥

Full Size at an Angle.

Something I have noticed about my great-grandmother is that she dealt almost entirely with knit and purl stitches. There are the occasional cables, but not many. I have to say this is giving me a new appreciation of the basics. Now, let’s see about this pattern shall we?

– Needles: Size 5 US (3.75mm)
– Yarn: Bernat 100% Cotton in Coral
–Stitches: (I think, this is guess-work here) Multiple of 5+4 stitches. I also do 2 stitches on each             edge so it’ll lay straight.

• 1k – Row 1: Knit (Gotcha, good good!)
• 2p4and kp4 – Row 2: P4, *K1, P4* rep. till end of row (Not sure I’ve seen the “and” before, so this ended up getting frogged once before I got it).
• 4p4k1p4 : Row 4: *P4, K1, P4* rep till end (Um…guys? What happened to the rest of the rows?)
• Okay, so this is also where some guess-work and frogging occurred. I figured if she didn’t write it then it had to be knit. If there was a change on row 4 then there would have to be two rows knit after it for symmetry (I tried 5 rows but it looked wonky). So this is the actual pattern down yonder ↓ in a pretty blue color.
• Row 1, 3, 5 and 6: Knit
• Row 2: P4, *K1, P4* rep. till end of row.
• Row 4: *P4, K1, P4* rep till end of row.
  

The Picnic Blanket Stitch Dishcloth.

Full Cloth in Monotones.

Straight On in Sepia.

Up Tilt Angle.

Yes…I Blocked a Dishcloth.

 

This pattern was a bit like playing a knitting detective, which makes me feel (goofily) like a knitting super hero. Goofy? Oh, yes. Definitely. I just wondered if she only knitted it once or she just knew that it had to be a repeat of 6 rows. So many unanswered questions. Anyway, ONWARD!

 ♥♥♥♥ Stitch Pattern Week 17 – The…Morse Code Stitch? ♥♥♥♥

Full On

– Needles – Size 5US (3.75mm)
– Yarn – Bernat 100% Cotton in Coral
– Stitches – Multiple of 10 + 4 stitches  (Totally sure about this one :)) 8 row repeat.

• 1k – Row 1: Knit
• p – Row 2: Purl (Okay, no more numbers – she has a way doesn’t she?)
• 1 – Row 3: Knit (Really? Somewhere this old bag is laughing at me, I just know it!)
• 4p4 and k6p4 – Row 4: P4, *K6, P4*. Rep. *to* till end of row. (Well, at least the numbers showed up again. How kind!)
• k – Row 5: Knit (AND there gone again….curious).
• p – Row 6: Purl
• k – Row  7: Knit ( I should add here that at least this pattern was written vertically, so at least there was some actual separation of the rows. It is rare in here writing, but it was also written on the back of a doctor’s business card – so maybe it was a space thing).
• k3k1p4k4 – Row 8: K4, *K1, P4, K5*. Rep. till end of row (Did you notice that the K3 was wrong? Well I sure didn’t…frogged twice before simple math made me feel like a simpleton. As long as the pattern gets done who cares right?).

Vibrant and Sharpened

Brown Cast Overlay

The Horizontal Dash Dishcloth.

Full On

Well, that’s about all for me tonight folks. Now it is time to catch up with my blogging family – make sure you guys haven’t been up to any shenanigans! One more thing to leave on tonight though…Have you ever tried to get a good picture of you knitting only to be foiled by the light? Well, taking a pair of knitting needles, a hair tie and a pocket light stabbed into the couch might work! Think I am kidding? Well, at least the couch is old! 🙂

Knitting Needles, a Hair Tie and a Pocket Light stabbed into the Couch.

A Quick Call to Knitters, Crocheters and Designers!

I know I should be reading and not perseverating on this but here I am, at my computer ready to beg.

Gloria emailed me these pictures of the cowl? shawl? that Katniss is wearing in the new movie Catching Fire and she desperately wants to see if I can make us a matching pair. I don’t know if the matching pair statement was thrown in there to melt my heart, thus making it more likely that I would try to venture into this endeavor….but honestly, I don’t think so.

So here’s the deal. I have pictures of it underneath but I think this pattern is crocheted, and I cannot crochet. First problem there. Second problem, I have never tried to copy/write a pattern….ever. So ANY HELP IS SO, SO, SOOO APPRECIATED!!!!!

 

Profile

Movie Poster

Close Up

Another Profile

Movie Still of Neck Close Up

Side

Stitch Pattern Week 11 & The Goofy Hat That Lead to Entrelac Knitting

It’s that time again friends and neighbors! GG has left me with yet another cryptic knitting pattern to decipher for your viewing pleasure. So with no further adieu, Stitch Pattern Week 11 – The Diagonal Rib Stitch!

Diagonal Rib-Darkened.

The past few weeks I have knitted with white yarn, which has been hard to translate on film – hard for me at least – so this week I went back to my Sea Glass colors and rocked out a very pretty dishcloth. Unfortunately, this is also hard to see as well, but it gave me the opportunity to play with some filters to see if I could improve it. Now you get to be the judge.

Full On Pattern- Natural

Diagonal Rib Stitch

Diagonal Rib-Darkened.

Full On Shot-Lighteneded

Diagonal Rib-Close Up

Full On Shot – Sharpened

So GG – What pain is in store for me this week? Be gentle, it’s already been pretty rough!

* * The Diagonal Rib Stitch * *

. . . . – The Diagonal Rib Stitch (Once again no pattern name, but I found it on Stitchopedia on my  iPad of all places).

-k2p2 – Row 1: *K2, P2; rep from * till end (Okay, not to shabby so far, feeling a bit cocky!).

-again – Row 2: Rep. row 1 (Still feeling pretty good about myself).

k1p2k2 then p2k1 – Row 3: K1, *P2, K2; rep. from * till last 3 stitches, end P2, K1 (Come on now, I frogged this twice before I figured out my stitches should be leaning. Give a great-granddaughter a break here!).

-p1k2p2 then k2p1 – Row 4: P1, *K2, P2; rep. from * till last 3 stitches, end K2, P1 (At least with row 3 figured out this didn’t hurt that much).

-p2k2 – Row 5: *P2, K2; rep. from * till end (Smooth sailing, maybe I deserve a cookie!).

-again – Row 6: Rep. Row 5 (Alright damn it, I am going to go get that cookie!).

-43over (I shouldn’t have gotten my cookie so soon….so sad. This is where the stitch dictionary came in handy. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Thank Heavens for the Internet!)

Row 7: Rep. row 4.

Row 8: Rep. row 3.

A simple repeat of these 8 rows really did created a fun, visually interesting dishcloth. The sea glass colors really helped it pop and I recommend this pattern to anyone of any skill level just for something new to try.

 ♥ * * * * * * * * * * * *  ♥

  – The Hat That Turned To A New Skill –

So last week I went on a bit of a hat spree, first with the OSU Buckeye Hats and then with another, less successful attempt. The pattern came from Holiday Knits, a book I have rather enjoyed up to this point, which made the disappointment all the more acute. I will take full responsibility for NOT swatching this project, the yarn I was using was the same weight, but a very different (much cheaper) fiber. So the soft, fluffy goodness that this hat was supposed to encompass turned into an ultra long, ultra heavy, super goofy looking disappointment.

SUCH a Promising Start

Right Side

Full Frontal Heavy Goodness.

For Gloria

The Back

So Heavy I Had to Hold It.

Covering the Face in Shame.

As you can plainly see, this thing is HEAVY! I took pictures of both my husband and I wearing it, but I am just a little shy of showing off that embarrassment. Either way, I know come winter I will wear this hat – I cannot stand to think of it going to waste – but I’ve learned to embrace my goofiness.

Anywho, this lead to another problem – what to do with the leftover yarn? There wasn’t enough to make a scarf but too much for just one normal size hat (e.g. a hat not made for giants) so I had to find something else productive to use it for. This is when I logged on to my Craftsy account and realized that I still hadn’t taken the Entrelac Knitting Class. Common sense would say that if there was yarn to spare that had already turned out poorly, why not try to make something constructive out of this experience.

I am almost done with the class and it has been awesome! The teacher is fun and easy to follow, the directions are clear and simple, and there is the added benefit of getting to see how to knit without turning your work. This really appeals to me because you don’t just use your right hand, you used your left as well. If I could learn how to do this it would take a phenomenal amount of strain of my bad hand (in theory) and if not I get to gloat that I learned how to do something new. Gloat may be the wrong word, but you get the point. I’m not done yet but I will leave you with a picture collage (oh how I love collages) just so you can see where I am so far.

Entrelac Process So Far

I think that’s it for me tonight, but as always I would like to end with a question. So, friends and neighbors, is there a new skill you wish to acquire or are currently learning? I didn’t even know you could knit with both needles till yesterday so I am intrigued!