One Last Post for 2009

So the end of 2009 is here, the year has gone by super fast. ItShe asked me what my knitting goals were for 2010, and I said I don't have knitting goals, I just want to finish my thesis.

There are three projects on the needles right now:

1. My replacement Jaywalker sock in Strange Little Mama
2. Kingscot sweater, back and right front finished, casted on for left front.
3. My Wollmeise Lace for the CPaASG-ers KAL, the objective of the KAL is to finally break into those highly coveted skeins of Wollmeise lace and knit something.

I decided to use my Wollmeise Lace in Lavendel and casted on for Vernal Equinox Shawl Surprise by Lankakomero. The pattern is great and it's the first time I have ever knit a half circle shawl. I've had to frog a few things here and there but a few days ago I had to frog 1750 stitches because I misplaced a YO and it was really obvious, it was a PITA but I did it. This piece of lace is different from the others I have knit in the past because it has larger lace motifs and not just little self-contained pieces that you repeat over and over. The original pattern was a Surprise KAL so it is broken down into 6 clues, I've finished Clues 1, 2, and 3 and I'm half way down with Clue #4.

Here is a picture of Clues 1-3.



So 2009 it's been a good year, but I think I'm ready for 2010 and a fresh new start. Happy Knitting!

A Great Way to Eat Your Veggies!

I bought the book Hello Cupcake a while ago, there are some amazing things in the book and I have wanted to make something out of it for a while. My parents and their RV club came into town and they invited me to hang out for the day and join them for a Pot Luck dinner so I wanted to make something special to say thank you. So I decided to make the Garden Party cupcakes.



It took a while to make the vegetables but it was well worth it, they looked so cute sitting on top of their Oreos crumbs "dirt", the best part is everything is edible. It's a great book there are some awesome things in it, can't wait to try another one out.

There has been a little bit of knitting, a baby hat, a hat for a friend, and knitting my replacement Jaywalker Sock in Strange Little Mama.

Where Did the Summer Go?

Seriously where did it go, if someone finds the rest of my summer please let me know.

Well the last thing I posted about was my Molly Kingscot sweater. I finished the back of it and I finished the left side with a lot of complications (knitter error, not pattern error). I've never knit a sweater with hand-dyed yarn so I never had to alternate skeins while knitting, and boy did it show. Between the cabling, chart reading, annoying bobbles, and alternating skeins there was a point where I thought I was just going to walk away in frustration. I didn't realize that when you cast on on the same side that you alternate you have to carry the yarn you aren't binding off (ask me how I learned this painful lesson). The top part of the left side almost killed me since there was binding off at different rates on both sides with the alternating thing, sucked, but at least I learned something. But as proof that I did finish the left front here is a picture (the color is not accurate, it's much more red purple). I have had a nice long break from this project and I think I might be able to handle the other side, so I might finally cast on for it. Also the word from the Wollmeise is that there will be no more Molly for sale (it was too costly to offer) so this will most likely be my only Molly sweater.



The second project is because everyone I know was having a baby this summer/fall. There were three baby boys on the way so I made three pairs of the ever so housebreakingly cute Moc-a-sock booties. The great thing about this project is they look like shoes and socks but they are one piece and you get to use up some sock yarn scraps. The first pair (cream socks) was for Baby Pearce, the second pair (blue socks) was for Baby Novak, and the third pair (Boston Red Sox) are for Baby Lebo (due any day now). The pattern was easy, it was fast and it was cute, you can't go wrong.



The third project I casted on and finished is my "Drop it Like it's Hawt" pooling scarf made out of a We're Different skein of Wollmeise in Pfauenauge (German for peacock feathers). A Rav friend is famous for her pooling stoles, and her pooling projects inspired me to pool my drop stitch scarf pattern I already had. It was great mindless knitting project because except for the first, second and last row it's all garter stitch. I knit it while watching TV, waiting in line at various things, Oktober-fest, and car knitting. The picture does not do the color of this yarn justice, the color is so much more deep in person. But I do have a picture of the finished project.



The fourth project is a basic pair of socks, I got the yarn for $2 a ball so these are my 4 Dollar Socks. The yarn is like Cascade Fixation but it's made by Knit One Crochet Two, it's called Soxx Appeal.



The last project was much more of an organizational move, but I'm proud of it none the less. I decided after some fabric crafts for the holidays that I need to get my fabric stash (which thank god is much smaller than my fiber stash) organized. So after about 3 hours of hunting it all down from all over the house, and folding for three hours and now it looks like this, I love it.



Last month I celebrated my sixth wedding anniversary in Boston, we went to two Red Sox games, spent time with old friends from college, hung out, ate some ridiculously good food, played with a 4 year old, went to a beer festival, went apple picking and generally had a wonderful time. Big A surprised me with a single tier replica of our wedding cake from the same bakery, it was delicious (but huge, it's was over 6 inches high) and I was so surprised.



And here is a picture of us and the Green Monster at the last game of the '09 season that the Red Sox's ever won, we had a great time.

Where Did the Summer Go?

Good Golly Miss Molly!

The woman I learned to knit from always told me to knit with the nicest stuff I could afford and that would work for my project. Great advice! And I have knit with some really nice yarn since I have become a knitter. There have been very few projects however that I can honestly say I never wanted to end because I like to have a finished project in the end. However I think I have found a yarn that I love knitting with the yarn and pattern so much I don't want it to end. I was lucky enough to get my hot little hands on some Molly and after swatching (and finding out from others that have knit it) that it acts more like a DK than a worsted weight yarn I knew I have to knit Kingscot with my Molly. Kingscot was designed by Norah Gaughan and released in the Winter 2008 Twist Collective (that same issue has also has Vivian which I HAVE to knit).

The only problem was I had 2 different orders of Molly from two different updates and they were so different it almost looked like a different colorway. I loved the dyelot of yarn that I got from FluffyKira (a Rav friend) in exchange for Wollmeise Lace. Thank the knitting gods from Ravelry because I found someone that bought yarn from the same update that Fluffy got her yarn from and she was more than happy to trade me my batch from her batch. Her batch matched mine a little better so I was excited but I knew I had to alternate skeins since they were different.

So I casted on and knitting with Molly has been nothing sort of a dream, I love it so much it's not even funny. It has awesome stitch definition, the color is gorgeous, and it's so easy to knit with, no joke.

Here is a picture of my progress so far, this is the back of the sweater. And I have been knitting on other things so I can make the Molly knitting last a bit longer. I finished three pairs of baby booties and finally finished that pair of house socks that have been waiting over a year for the other sock.

Got Molly?

I'm sure lately that there has been an increase the the word Molly on a few knitting blogs out there, and this blog is no exception. Why the increase you ask? Well the Wollmeise has come out with a worsted weight yarn to replace Lammdochtwolle which was also worsted but more like Manos or Malabrigo (single ply) with Molly which is just like her sock yarn (many piles) just a bit thicker.

I wanted enough Molly to make a sweater. Wollmeise sells Molly in individual skeins, 400 grams, and 800 grams (which I call an 8-ball). There are 220 yards in 100 grams so I ideally I wanted 6 skeins. I got 4 skeins in the update 2 days ago, there are a few sweater patterns out there that I could have made but I went on the hunt to see if someone wanted to trade Wollmeise Lace for Molly. Luckily there was another Ravelry and swapper that wanted to trade with me. So now I will have an 8-ball of Molly, very exciting. I just hope that the two dye lots match, I will probably sort them and then knit from alternating skeins.

I wish that the color I got Fliederbusch, which is Lilac in English was a little more solid than variegated. Because I found a lot of patterns with crazy cables that I would love to make with Molly but I think the color will clash with a complicated pattern (sigh). I imagine that it's the darker lilac that this yarn is in tribute to.



Now to find the perfect pattern which you would hope would be easy.

Also I had to re-start my "I Haven't Bought Yarn In" clock, I've re-set it twice both times for Wollmeise.

My Favorite Thing (right now)

I got a chance yesterday to take my shawl outside while I was running around town, and thankfully I decided at the last minute to take my camera. I took a few shots of my new favorite thing outside and I thought I would share them.





And now on to very cute small lovely baby things. There are three babies coming up in 4 months, gotta get working on gifts.

SIMURGH!

A.K.A. The Stole That Used to Scare the Shit Out of Me.

That's right I'm finished.
It's blocking right now. Don't believe me?
Here are some pictures.



\



This was a project that scared me from the beginning, but I always tell people that knitting is just a knit stitch and a purl stitch in different combinations, and that they should be the master of their own knitting. SO I took my advice casted on and I'm happy to report I finished it.

There were several tinkings but over all it was fine, except for a dropped stitch on the first half. I tried to fix it but it was really bothering me but I let it go because the edging it very complicated and it sucked big time to do it the first time. I convinced myself that it was fine, no one would see it and I would just have to get over it.

So when I finished the second side I was so proud, but my lame "trying to fix the dropped stitch" thingy was really bothering me. So I ripped the first half back to the patch, and re-knit it. The bottom edge is directional and the first half of the stole is a pain in the ass because it has a bunch of P2TBL. So if I had to chose I would have much rather ripped the second half, but that's not the side I dropped the stitch. This project is probably the most complicated I have ever knit and since it's lace I didn't fudge anything, if I had the wrong stitch count I tinked it, every time, and I'm so glad I did.

I calculated that the stole takes 61,714 stitches to complete it, needless to say that there were tinked stitches and the entire two bottom sections that I ripped out and re-knit so I figured I was close to 65,000 stitche, pretty cool huh?

I'm so excited about this project I can't even describe it.

The Mail Fairy Was Good To Me Today

Today the Mail Fairy was ever so nice to me.

First up Sanguine Gryphon in Bugga which is a merino, nylon and cashmere blend. People are going crazy over this yarn. I mean so crazy that the traffic crashes her site and she had to get a new server. And while her site was being move she decided to have a Bugga lottery. I didn't get picked in the first lottery but I did get picked in the second (and I think final one). There were colorway choices that you could choose from, two skeins total max.

The first one is called Hogwood Bonking Beetle, it's a bit darker in real life. This was outside my normal color box but I like it and with a name like that how could I pass it up.



The second one is called Agre Moth, this is more green/blue/dark teal in real life, the saturation is amazing and I can't wait to see what it becomes.



The next thing that I opened was a trade that I made last week. The great thing about trading is that both people get what they want and I didn't have to spend more than shipping cost to the other person (even better). I scored two Peppermint Prince (PP) lace skeins from the Wollmeise update that I caught, I figured I would just trade one for one of the purples that I was lusting big time over. I put in the note section of my stash that I would trade for purple lace. I didn't think anyone would bite, but I got a PM asking if I would trade my PP for a skein of lace in Fliederbusch (which was my number one choice). So I mailed off my lace last week and this is what I got today. I'm so in love with this colorway it's not even funny. It's so hard to capture the true color of this yarn, it's a bit darker in real life.



The next thing that came was the last installment of the Wollmeise Sock Club. Which come to find out from the Wollmeise herself will be the first and last sock club. There was too much drama so she said she didn't want to do another one, which is sad but totally understandable. The last two colors are Blue Bells and True Love. I love Blue Bells, I'm not so sure about True Love, I will have to find the right pattern for it I think.

True Love is on the top and Blue Bells on the bottom.



And last but not least here is the latest installment of the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club. The colorway is called Pepe Le Plume and the pattern is called Fraggle Squiggle Socks by JC Briar. It was inspired by the old cartoon Fraggle Rock, I thought that it was going to be much brighter but the colorway is interesting. I haven't casted on yet, and I don't know if I will right now. Here is a picture of Pepe La Plume:

I Think It's Safe Now . . .

. . . to admit I've been trying to knit a project that scares the shit out of me.

I've been hording my Wollmeise in Versuchskaninchen I(which means guinea pig) and looking for the perfect project. I first thought that since I had 4 matching skeins of it that I would knit a sweater. But I didn't know what pattern to chose and I didn't want something that would fall out of style or not fit me if a gain or loose weight. So the next thought was lace (I'm coming around to the thought of a a triangular shawl) but I have always loved stoles. And I have always loved Anne Hanson's lace patterns, and thanks to Ravelry I found the stole I wanted to make.

Simurgh.

Even typing it sort of scares me. But I keep telling myself that it's just a bunch of knit and purl stitches and that no one's life depends on it so just go for it. The only reason why I'm even blogging about it because I'm already 112 rows into it so hopefully I can hang in there. It's made in two parts from the center so when you get one part of it finished you have to remind yourself that you have to do it again. I have done a few beginning lace projects and my Lakeside knee high socks were a more complicated lace project so I thought I would try this pattern.

Here is a picture, it's a bit wonky because it's hard to get a picture of lace pre-block.



The colorway that I chose is more variegated than it should be for the pattern but it doesn't matter to me, I love this yarn and the pattern. I just hope that I can get it done and not stall or have a melt-down. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

You Had Me At Lace

Saturday was a really good day. I got my wonderful package from Germany. And all I have to say is you had me at lace. The lace is more than I can describe, it's amazing. The yardage is HUGE, 1740 yards per skein, per skein! I was lucky and I got three colors of lace, here they are:

Pfefferminz Prinz (Peppermint Prince): a really cool mix of green and blue


Miss May: purples, pink and little bit of brown


Rhabarber (Rhubarb) shades of green and red (it's a bit darker IRL)


I have some projects in mind for the yarn, but right now I'm not going to commit, I'm just going to sit and admire it.

Another reason why Saturday was also great because ItShe, Grape and I went to a book signing party for Knitting in the Sun because our friend Anne of CraftyDiversions has two lovely patterns in the book. It was great to see Anne again and met her friend Chia (hopefully we will see them again soon). It was really nice to be able to see the patterns from the book all knit up. There are a lot of really nice patterns in a lot of different categories, something for everyone. There are a few patterns that I wanted to knit right away, but I have something on the needles that scares the shit out of me right now and that's what I'm concentrating on right now. If the "project that scares the shit out of me" ends up working I will post pictures of it soon.

44 Days 16 Hours and About 6 Minutes . . .

That's how long I lasted without buying yarn. It is with mixed emotions that I post that I have broken my streak.

What yarn could be worth breaking the "trying really hard to knit from the stash streak"? There is only ONE answer for me and that is:

WOLLMEISE LACE

I have been stalking Wollmeise lace since it first debuted. I have always wanted it, desperately. I have managed to catch about 7 or 8 updates but never bought anything because there was no lace. I even put up two skeins of matching Versuchskaninchen 1 to trade in hope of catching the elusive beast, but there were no takers.

But I have broken my no new yarn fast for a good reason. I was able to get my hot little hands on some Wollmeise Lace . . . I still can't believe it. This post is edited to add that I did the math (I know the horror of me doing math) and I figured out that the entire cost of the yarn plus international shipping divided by the yardage (which is incredible) comes out to about .0252 cents a yard, which is less than a cent a foot, which is a price I can totally live with.

When it gets here I'll take its picture so you can all see it! Yippie!

Cricket . . . Cricket . . . Cricket

Well there isn't much knitting wise going on.

Why is that? Well I'm done with my Hemlock Ring Blanket and I don't have anything else on the needles right now because I wanted to make sure there was no other knitting distraction. Part of the reason why I was able to get so much knitting time in was because the husbands were brewing a double batch (20 gallons) of beer which thankfully takes a while. And even better ItShe was so generous in making all the meals we ate on Saturday and I didn't have to do anything. Which is why the marathon knitting day of over 12 hours was so successful. All I need to do it block it out, pack it up and mail it out to my old boss Ken and his wonderful wife Betty.

I don't know what I will cast on for, maybe a sweater with the yarn I got at Stitches West, or that shrug I've been wanting to start, or Vivan caught my eye, and of course I need a pair of socks on the needles at all times. So many patterns so little time.

It's Not a Sprint . . .

. . . it's a marathon.

This weekend I made some serious progress on my Hemlock Ring Blanket which is really good since this project has been a "in progress" since last December. The phrase "in progress" is sort of misleading in this case it should have been categorized as "just sitting". But ItShe and I got some serious knitting time in Saturday and then I got to work on it again for most of Monday while Big A was working on his car on Monday in Riverside.

The blanket is now to big to be able to take a picture with it laid out flat, but if I were knitting a gigantic jelly fish made out of wool this is what it would look like.



I was able to get 6 repeats done, and now I only have 4 more repeats to go until the very long cast-off.

Going Rogue

I finished my Rogue Roses Socks from the second installment of the Rockin' Sock Club 2009. When I got my shipment I was excited because the pattern was created by no other than the Yarn Harlot. I read the dyers notes and the little blurb that Stephanie wrote about how she was inspired by the 110 year old climbing rose bush outside her bedroom window that when "rogue". I love that fact that the pattern mirrors each other it makes it easier to have a dedicated left and right sock. The colorway (called Gertrude Skein, hysterical) isn't one I would have chosen but I like it. The only problem is that the medium weight (while faster to knit) is hard on my hands.

Here are a few pictures of my new socks:

Happy Terrier Day!

Today April 14, 2009 in The City of Boston is officially Terrier Day.

I would like to thank Lindsay's former boss, Mayor Menino for the proclamation that he signed that makes today Terrier Day. I'm a proud alumna of Boston University home of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Champions and having it be Terrier Day is amazing. I wish I could have been there today to watch the Duck Boat Parade and rally at Marsh Plaza in person. The church in the background is Marsh Chapel, where I got married in '03, its never looked more BU-tiful!

So what's with the "Burn the Boats?" here is an excerpt from The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy to help explain:

All season long, BU players wore T-shirts emblazoned with "Burn the Boats."

After the game, Parker explained the theme. It turns out the 16th-century explorer didn't want to hear any whining from his men as they invaded what is now Mexico in search of Aztec treasures.

"The last night going inland to get the treasure he gave one last order and that order was 'burn the boats,' " said Parker. "They asked him why and he said, 'I want to raise the level of commitment. If you want to get this treasure, you have to raise the level of commitment because nobody else can do this.' His quote was, 'If we're going back, we're going back in their boats.'

"We decided that was going to be the theme for our team. Raise the level of commitment, boys. Every time you see the phrase 'burn the boats,' you're going to know the commitment needed here. The T-shirt showed a pot of gold with DC in the back. They got that pot of gold tonight."

Coach Parker wanted each guy on the team to be more committed to the goals of the season and to the team and once you "burn your boats" you have to be committed, no turning back.

I would like to thank the hockey team for bringing home the second National Title home to Comm Ave since I've been a Terrier, words cannot express how much that final game meant to every member of Terrier Nation. And to Jack Parker, I wish I could find a better phrase than "thank you" to express what you have meant to me and BU.

BURN THE BOATS!

Today was nothing short of amazing for many reasons here are the top four:

4. It is Bobmas (this will be the last knitting reference in this post)
3. It is my favorite baseball player's birthday Team Captain for the Boston Red Sox Jason Varitek (happy birthday Captain)
2. The Red Sox won this afternoon at Anaheim

And the number one reason why today was amazing is my alma mater Boston University Men's Hockey Team won the National Championship in over time.

I will post more about this tomorrow (and what the title of my post means) but here is a blurb from the The Terrier Hockey Fan Blog that I liked.

The championship game win--by the numbers:
• The win was the 35th of the season, setting an all-time Terrier record.
• It was also BU's 45th game of the season, another record.
• And it gave the senior class an even 100 wins over four season.
• Parker became the first Division I coach in history to earn 30 NCAA Tournament victories, passing crosstown rival and contemporary Jerry York of Boston College, who has 29.
• The victory was also BU's first and only overtime win during a season in which they were ranked #1 for much of the year.
• BU won six tournaments this season (IceBreaker, Denver Cup, Beanpot, Hockey East Tournament, NCAA Regional, Frozen Four) and seven titles, the seventh being the Hockey East regular season title.
• The Terriers remain undefeated in games in which Nick Bonino scores at least one point (25-0--3)
• Freshman netminder Kieran Millan extended his record away from Agganis Arena to 16-0-1. BU finished the season with a 17-0-2 record in its final 19 games away from home.
• Colby Cohen's NCAA-championship-winning goal was the #1 top play on ESPN SportsCenter. Bonino's tying goal was #3.
• BU has now played in 10 national championship games and has won five times (19771, 19772, 1978, 1995, 2009)

Cupcake Love from Ravelry

HAPPY BOBMAS EVE Everyone!

Last year ItShe, Grape and I went to The Grove to celebrate Bobmas and I made cupcakes. And today on Ravelry there was mention of what kind of things people did to celebrate last year. Here is a screen shot of the homepage of Ravelry:



If you click on the link that says cupcakes it was a picture that someone took of the cupcakes that I made last year. I was so honored and proud that the cupcakes that I made were on the homepage of Ravelry.

Here is a picture I took last year, you can see more of the front of each cupcake:



Also how cute is that picture of Bob? And of course a special thanks to everyone at Ravelry for a site that had made life so much better, I can't express how great the site is and how much it means to all of us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Hold My Mail Please

*WARNING SPOILER FOR ROCKIN' SOCK CLUB in this post*

Last weekend was a big one for Big A. Last weekend was Spring Festival the biggest most important car show of the season. I won't go into it but it was fun and Big A's car got to be in "Horse Power Alley", which is a huge deal. We had our mail put on hold since we were going to be gone from Thursday until Sunday. And when we got back I had 3 fiber-y things in the mail.

You might have also notice that I have a counter on the top of my blog. I'm trying to knit out of my stash so I thought a little cute counter would keep me honest, I put it up there after Stitches West. I have had to re-start it only once so far and I consider it to be an exception because JanaA on Ravelry sold me a skein of Strange Little Mama to replace my lost sock. You wanna know the best part? The skein she sold me is from the same dye lot. The same dye lot I purchased almost 2 years ago. It's a fiber miracle. Here is a picture:



The second thing that came in the mail was my second installment of the Rockin' Sock Club. This shipment is out of my color palette but the pattern is from the wonderfully talented (and funny) Yarn Harlot. The colorway for this shipment is called Gertrude Skein, very funny, and the pattern is called Rogue Roses. I casted on last night with this little voice on the back of my head saying it looks a little big, the voice was right, I'm frogging later. Here is a picture of the installment:



The last thing is one of the best, I traded a skein of Wollmeise sock club yarn. Yes I did, but I traded it for Wollmeise in a colorway I have been coveting since the day I discovered Wollmeise. This shipment came with two skeins of yarn, Orient and Okzident, here are pictures of each.





I traded the Orient (the orange one) for Krauterbeet which is "herb garden" in German. It is the most perfect green that blends into the the loveliest purple. It might look like the Okzident above, but it's not.

Those Are Some . . .

. . . Damn Sexy Knee-highs!







I took these picutures myself so they aren't the best or frankly all that flattering, but this is what happens when there is no one else around to take pictures. I told ItShe that taking pictures of knee-highs while wearing them should be a new type of yoga.

I finished these in 12 days, but it was so exciting I couldn't stop. I knit the pattern as written. There are several mistakes in them (but really I could care less) but it's not the patterns fault, that would be the knitter's fault. But the pattern was great, the charts were wonderful.

I seriously want to make every single skein of Wollmeise into this pattern, it is taking a good amount of self restraint not to break-out the swift and crank away.

I been looking for the perfect pair of Mary Jane shoes for many years now. I wanted a pair that had a heel but not to high, cute not clunky, and comfortable. For a while I really thought that it wasn't going to happen and thanks to The Red Hot Knitter I found the perfect pair. They are Dr. Marten's, cute, heeled, not clunky, cute, and very, very, very, comfortable! I love them so much I got two pairs (thanks to Big A who bought one pair for me) black-silver and plain black! They show off hand knit socks wonderfully.

Finished!

I finished my knee-highs earlier today. I'm so excited. I will take some pictures tomorrow and post them up. But I had to shout it from the mountain tops that I finished the pair in 12 days!

If You Find Out Where All the Lost Socks Go Please Let Me Know

It was bound to happen, but I was hoping it wouldn't. I have lost my first handmade sock. I took my pair of Vesper socks in Strange Little Mama colorway to Stitches West, I wore them and I think I brought them home, and now I can only find one.

So sad. I have torn-up my house for two days looking for the other sock, still can't find it. So I thought that I would hunt the yarn down and make another pair, the yarn it was made out of has been discontinued. So even if I wanted to make another pair I can't. So sad indeed.

Smitten

I have always loved knee-high socks, there is something about them. Perhaps it was all those years living in Boston where you get so sick on winter you try to coax sping to show itself by putting on a skirt but it's still to cold to bear your legs so knee-highs are the answer. I have a collection of argyle (another addiction I have) knee-high socks but I have really muscular calves which really add to the problem of finding knee-highs that will fit me correctly.

So I decided to knit me a pair of knee-highs. But not just a "Plain Jane" pair because I wanted to finally break into my stash of Wollmeise. I have looked and looked for just the right pattern to show off just how gorgeous Wollmeise really is and to do justice to the yarn. Not to mention I wanted to use as much of the obscene amount of yardage you get in one skein, 575 yards, yes in one skein (for what she charges even with international shipping it's one of the best deals out there). I had casted on about 3 other sock patterns with Wollmeise but it just wasn't working so I frogged them all. Thank goodness for Ravelry (for many reasons) I was looking at what people had made with their sock club color Jultomte and jenniepoo made these amazing Lakeside's within the first second of seeing them I knew I had to have them.

The pattern for Lakeside is in the Winter issue of Knotions e-zine, it was free but I would have paid good money for this pattern. There are 5 different charts, very clear instructions and genius too! The designer Julia Vaconsin has you cast on with live stitches so you can make a casing for a length of elastic to be secured inside to help the sock stay up on your leg, genius I tell you. I also did a picot edge like jenniepoo (she is one smart cookie). The back of the sock is gorgeous (go look at the pattern page there are tons of pictures) but it is very difficult to get a great picture (that is close to flattering) of the back of a knee-high while wearing them. I know there are a few mistakes, but really I noticed them way, way, way to late to go ripping back to fix them, so I'm alright with them, normally I'm not the kind to let a mistake go but now they are "custom" lol.

Here are some pictures, more to come once I can find someone to take picture of the back of my sock.





The only problem is I have to knit the other one so I can wear them in public, but don't think I haven't been wearing the one I made around my house!

The First FO for 2009

Sad but true, my first Rockin' Sock Club shipment is my first FO for 2009. Normally by this time of year I would have had few project completed but 2009 has gotten away from me big time. Most of the time I don't do any modifications to the sock patterns that I get from the club but this time I really wanted to do the Momoftwins toe mod which is to continue the diamond pattern. I really liked it and I think it looks pretty good.

But at least this year I finished the first shipment before the second shipment got to my house. I'm excited to see what the next shipment has in store for us. A lot of people on Ravelry were talking about yellows, and as much as I don't really care to wear yellow in clothing I wouldn't at all mind a bright sunny pair of yellow socks.

Well here are a few pictures of my lovely beaded blue socks.

I Learned A Lot , But Not How to Pronounce the Danish Word Skra-Troje

But before we get to that I wanted to thank ItSheKnits, Grape, and socalknitgirl for their VERY generous birthday presents. They are remarkable, talented, and passionate women who showered me in so many birthday presents I had to bust out the second empty bag just to get it all home. Thank you all it was one of the best birthdays ever.



This year at Stitches ItSheKnits and I took only one class, granted it was a 12 hours class, but it was a great class. The class was the Danish Skra-Troje, yes that's right the Skra-Troje. Oh you don't know what a Skra-Troje is don't worry I didn't either. Basically it is a stranded color worked sweater that has a special gusset where the under side of your arm would rest if you held your arm down at your side. The class covers several techniques such as working with two different colors of yarn which are also two different weights of yarn. Making a half-gusset, a seam stitch pattern, working in the round and flat stranded knitting, two-end knitted braid, sew in sleeves, neck slit facing, and crochet ending. We tried our hands at some of the techniques while making a mini-version of the sweater.

The class was taught by the lovely and patient Beth Brown-Reinsel from Putney, VT. IF you ever have a chance to take a class from her I highly suggest it. Her handouts are wonderful and she has a great grasp on the historical context of what you are attempting to learn. She also did a huge amount of research on the original garment that was made and why she thought the original crafter made the decisions she did.

I had never done any color knitting and I really wanted to learn the technique for a while now. I have taught myself many different techniques before but I really wanted to learn from a highly qualified person and Beth was just that person. I have tried stranded knitting but could never really grasp it, I knew I wasn't doing it right, and it was really really ugly.

I would like to say that I did learn a lot and I think that I didn't do a half bad job considering it was my first project with two color knitting. Now before I show you a picture of my mini-sweater in progress (no I didn't finish it) I know that it is not perfect somewhere I got off in my chart reading. For this I blame the elderly ladies behind me who was counting and talking themselves through all the techniques out loud, very loudly right behind me (ask ItShe). But I'm proud of my little sweater in progress none the less.

Here is a picture of the back of the sweater:


Here is the picture of the gusset (which is the side view, the back of the sweater is on the left):


And the picture I'm most proud of is the inside of the sweater:


I know it seem ridiculous to be proud of the inside but trust me anyone that knows anything about knitting always flips it inside out, they might not do it in front of you but when you turn away they look. You can learn a lot about a knitter by the "private" side of a garment.

I really want to finish this sweater and hopefully I can get back to it before the information gets pushed out of my head. But now that I have all these techniques I can knit many more things, like this which I want to make, this which I have always had my eye on, and this which just come out in the latest issue of Twist Collective which I want to make into a rug for the side of my bed.