Lizzie's project

My daughter, Lizzie, is a knitter also. She has made scarves, hats, and fingerless gloves, a clutch, which she designed herself, and other various and sundry things. Right now she is working on a new project and I wanted to share it with you. It is fromRebecca magazine No.33.

Here are some pictures of her work so far:

A close-up:
Here is a picture of the hoodie in the magazine. It is Lizzie's first lace project. Pretty good, yes?

She is using the Lion Brand Cotton Ease, which seems to be really nice yarn. I am anxious to see how it washes. She bought four skeins to make the medium size hoodie in Taupe. Great summer project for her. Of course, that is, when she is not working on her gloves, her afghan, etc, etc, etc......(like mother like daughter...)

Diversion

Maybe I am giving up. Maybe not. Maybe this is just a diversion. Haven't really decided yet. Chances are, I will someday complete the Icy Blue Shell. Meanwhile, I am using the Sierra yarn for something else. I found a plain vanilla pattern on the Cascade website for free, and am stocking stitching my way into contentment. Later, when I have my wits about me, and help (again) from Milly, since I loused up her instructions for adjusting the pattern for a 5 st. per in. yarn in a 4 st. per in. pattern, which I seem to not be able to get my mind around, I will try again for the Icy Blue Nightmare. I mean Shell.

Meanwhile, take a look at the sock I started yesterday.

Socks always have a calming effect, don't they? This is from the Favorite Sock book that has so many wonderful patterns in it.

I will eventually make them all, I am sure, but for now I have begun the Retro Rib Socks as a starter. The pattern designer, Evelyn A Clark lives here in the Seattle area and I've knitted other patterns that she designed.

One day I will tell you the story of the quilt in the background there. It is my Great-Grandmother's quilt. I have to have better pictures of it first, though. Another day.

Have you noticed something about me that needs to change? I knit too many blue things. WAY too much blue yarn. Posting pictures of my knitting on this blog has really emphasized that to me. I plan to make some changes in that as I purchase new yarn from now on. Thing is, I knit many things as gifts. And blue is sort of a safe "gift color". But I am really growing tired on the blues, if you know what I mean. What I need is some red. Some green. Some gray. Some purple. Maybe...dare I say it? Some yellow or even orange. Well, calm down. I haven't done anything yet.

Baby Sister

I've been "babysitting" my younger sister this week. She is cute and blonde and well here is a picture...see for yourself:




That's Lizzie walking Misha at the park. She is a full size Pomeranian who is my sister by way of belonging to my Dad and Stepmom. Misha is staying with us while they are in Las Vegas. She isn't thrilled with that, since she is a dog that is terribly tied to her regular routines, but she is being polite about it and is putting up with us. She will just be happy when her servants return. Personally, I think she is simply hoping that I don't shear her and spin her fur into yarn. (I do think it would make a lovely sweater!)

Icy Blue...

Picture this: Yes. I am brave, aren't I? Beginning the Icy Blue Snake...I mean Shell.

A g a i n.

This has been my only knitting today besides a bunch of swatches. Last night I went to Milly's knit class at Ben Franklin. She helped me with my gauge. Evidently, I knit way too loosely. My needles are always a size or two or three smaller than the pattern or yarn band call for and it is keeping me from being an effective knitter. It was definitely making this particular pattern difficult. So, there I sat for 3 solid hours, knitting in a very unusual (for me) way. It was 3 hand cramping hours, but I felt that I could do better afterwards. I went back to my own style of holding the yarn today, but have modified it to better achieve the fabric I need. I really appreciated the helpful hints. For one thing, I was casting on loosely. Too loosely. Didn't know that. I learned to knit from reading books. Some great books, some good books, and unfortunately, some not so good books. But it was helpful to have a real live person working with me a bit. And here is a real plus: Milly is so fun and patient. Really makes learning from her easier.

Successful knitting

Contrary to the title of this post, I haven't had much in the way of knitting success lately. No, in fact, I have been quite unsuccessful. Well, that is overstating it a bit. I consider any knitting to be successful, really. That is one thing that keeps me loving it as a matter of fact. Even a project like the incredibly frustrating Icy Blue Shell teaches me something I didn't know before, and is therefore useful to me. This particular sweater is teaching me that I will have to knit for many more miles before I'll be the knitter that I imagine I want to be someday.

Meanwhile, I have other fish to fry. Icy is in the project bag, waiting for Milly to help me with my stupid gauge. The other fish? A lace scarf from Victorian Lace Today. This is a book published by XRX Books, the Knitting Universe people. You can do lots of fun things on their website, even "thumb" through some of their books.

This is the scarf, but I am afraid it is not working out. (More unsuccessfulness) Here is a picture of what I have so far. Unfortunately for me, the woman at the yarn store talked me into using Cascade 220 for this and it is too heavy.
How do you like that edge? Kind of nice, yes? It slips the stitches so you can pick them up later and knit the middle of the scarf at another angle. Very cool. Those Victorian women were way SMART!

"Hi" to Judy, my first known visitor who commented. Well, the first one that isn't related to me in any way. Except through the knitting "sisterhood", that is. Thanks for visiting, Judy!

Ok, one more little thing before I call it a post.

Yes. That is what you think it is. I found it at a yard sale last Friday and paid $20 for it. The pieces are in the plastic bag behind it. The answer to your other question is "No."

(I don't know how to spin. Heck, I don't even have a sheep.)

Froggy Went a Courting

No pictures. Why? Frogging (ripping out) is a frustrating and complicated process. Ok, cross out complicated. Somehow, with all my good intentions, the size 5's didn't work in Reality as they did in "Swatchland". Swatchland, after all, is a special place where things seem to work out. In Reality, the yarn seemed to tighten up as soon as it was off the needles. Do I knit differently when I swatch? I used the circular needle method of looping around and using only the knit stitch to swatch since I would be knitting in the round. I swatched for several different size needles. I swatched wider and longer than I even thought was necessary. But did that matter? In the end, no. I ended up with 202 stitches, 4 inches of tight stitches. Well, it's only a sweater you say. You say, "Renée, you are a process knitter, right? Honey, this is part of the process!" I want to know. How can you say things like that in light of my obvious dilema? Ok, I forgive you. After all, you are putting up with a post that has no pictures of my failure.

Show and Tell

Ice Blue Shell. I had gotten about 3-4 inches done on this and then re-measured my gauge. Uh-oh. I had done a gauge swatch (several) and gotten gauge somehow on the last one. How does that happen? You knit along and get gauge with size 7 needles on the swatch, then on the actual project you are suddenly knitting lucy-goosey. Ugh...anyhow, I frogged the whole thing, rewound the ball of yarn and began swatching again. Finally got gauge with my size 5's. That's right. Five's! I also switched to my Boye needles. I have the Boye needlemaster kit. It is wonderful and I use it as often as my Denise needles. I love both sets. I tried the Denise needles, but the plastic sort of makes the yarn drag with it having so much cotton and all. The metal needles just slide through the stitches like "but-ah". So, I have begun again and will show you progress when there is progress.

Meanwhile, here are pictures of my "twin" shawls. The pattern is from A Gathering of Lace by Meg Swansen. Called A Beginner's Triangle. Here is the first one I made from Jamison's Shetland Spindrift in Twilight. Love, love, love!! Here is Danielle modeling it for me:

This one took me longer, since I did so many projects at the same time. But I love this yarn. It is a shawl I would love to keep for myself, but I made it with someone in mind and I will stick with that. I really thought about her as I knit it and it would just seem to me as if I were keeping a shawl that didn't belong to me now. Tempting, but I think it is perfect for her. Can't wait to hear her reaction when she gets it!

A back shot and a close up of the stitch detail here:

After loving that shawl for each minute that I knit it, I decided to do another one as a gift for someone else. This time I chose a heavier yarn, since my recipient goes camping and I can envision her all cosy in her shawl during a cold evening. I made this one out of Berroco's Ultra Alpaca in color 6285. Why can't they all name the colors instead of just having numbers? This is a turquoise blue and has such depth. The pictures I take can't possibly do it justice. But here they are. It isn't blocked yet, but Corinne modeled it beautifully, don't you think?


Loved this pattern so much that it is hard to think of not doing another one, but really between A Gathering of Lace and my new book Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby, I have enough lace shawl and scarf projects to last me a lifetime.

Ok, enough for now...I have to give Danielle's hair a trim and actually do some knitting today.