Yarn Along -16 January 2013

I’ve got a case startitis, I can’t seem to stop starting new projects.  I’ve got a new dress for Olivia on my needles.  I’m working on a sleeve of my February Lady Sweater and I’ve cast on for some new Ice Harbor Compass mittens for me.

I also ordered some new sock year, it’s called Heart and also from Knit Picks.  It was on sale so since I was ordering the Chroma for my mittens…

Just light reading this week, my new Piecework magazine arrived.

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Yarn Along -4 July 2012

This week’s Yarn Along will be a little sparse until I can pick up a new mouse.  Ours had decided to die today there also seems to be a few clouds floating around (please God, a real good soaking rain or thunderstorm  -minus the hail) so we don’t have internet either.  So here I am in Pembroke at the library posting a few things, just so you don’t think we’ve fallen off the face of the earth.  Hopefully I can have the computer/internet up and running later today because I have so many exciting pictures to share from our weekend away.

I’m still working on the February Lady Sweater.  I’ve got the body about half-finished, I need to get some measurements from Jacinda.  It’s a good sign of a fabulous vacation that I didn’t get much knitting done and my book never left my suitcase 🙂

I did get the Welsh Country Socks finished before we left on Friday.  I like the way they turned out.  I may make myself a pair of knee socks like that.  

And if I’m completely honest, as I try to be on this blog, I’m currently re-reading my FlyLady Sink Relfections.  I really need to get the house under control before we start ‘school’ in September.  I used to be great when we were first married. I fell off the FlyLady bandwagon when I was pregnant (I was huge and nauseated all the time) and I haven’t been able to get back on since.  Hopefully this will be the kick-start I need.

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Yarn Along -27 June 2012

Yarn Along this week and I’ve got some knitting time coming up, so I’ve started a new project to get me through.  I’m making a February Lady Sweater for my friend Jacinda.  It’s a really nice shade of green, it’s called Rosemary.  It’s nice and soft too.

Not reading much, though I might throw The Hobbit into my knitting bag in case I get tired of knitting (it happens).  Today I am enjoying the new issue of Piecework and the new Knit Picks catalogue. Knit Picks has a new wool in, I’m putting it on my Christmas list.  It would make a beautiful (and warm) winter shawl.  I love the ‘Petal’ colourway.

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Yarn Along -13 June 2012

This week’s Yarn Along finds me still working on the never-ending sleeves for Grandma’s February Lady Sweater.  I really wish this sweater would get finished.  I’ve been commissioned to make another for a friend and would like to make at least one project in between sweaters.

I have a new book to share this week.  I got some money from my in-laws for my birthday and have been waiting to spend it.  I ordered Folk Socks and a circular knitting book.  I’m returning the circular book because it was too basic (that means I get to order another one).  There is some great information in the Folk Sock book and some pretty patterns too.

Hopefully next week I’ll have a new project to share.

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Yarn Along -6 June 2012

Yarn Along this week finds me still working on Grandma’s February Lady Sweater.  I don’t know why it is taking me so long to finish this sweater.  It’s really an easy pattern and a quick knit.  Maybe it’s because I’m not crazy on the blue??  At least I’m finally to the sleeves.

At the top of the picture you can see the fairy house I knit for Ella’s little friend Lily.  She’s turning 5 on Saturday.  We still have to make a couple peg fairies.  A very quick and easy knit but I found the 2 strands of worsted hard on my hands.  I also used some plastic canvas to stiffen the flower part.

Drooling over Fairy Houses of the Maine Coast to get ideas for Ella’s fairy garden this year.  Since we’ve had some rain I hope to get the vetch out of the garden soon.

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Yarn Along -23 May 2012

I was hoping to show off my finished shawls for Yarn Along this week, but I just didn’t get them blocked.  Maybe next week.

I’ve got some good progress to share with my February Lady’s Sweater.  I’m just finishing off the garter on the bottom and ready to head into the sleeves.  This blue is so hard to get a good picture of, I’ll have to get a picture of it outside when finished.

For our nature journals, I picked up The Burgess Animal Book.

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February Lady Sweater Knit Along

I forgot to mention yesterday that I’m thinking of starting a Knit Along.  My friend Meagan and I are going to make February Lady sweaters and wondered if any of you ladies would be interested in joining us.

It’s knit from worsted sized yarn so it’s a fairly quick knit and a fairly easy pattern.  I love that it’s top down, so you stop the sleeves and the body when they fit you -not the ‘perfect’ standard size.

Leave me a quick comment if you’d like to join us and I’ll try to figure out how to make a ‘linky’ thing.

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Yarn Along -20 April 2011

This week’s Yarn Along is more of a yarn along-to-be.  I’m writing a couple new patterns.  The first is a Bitty Baby sized February Baby Sweater.  It’s from Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac: The Commemorative Edition.  If you are a knitter and don’t already own this book, buy it now!!  It has a great range of patterns and Elizabeth’s philosophy can make you a much more adventurous knitter.  She has a wonderful way of encouraging you to move past the pattern and create the knitting you actually want.   For the doll sweater I’m using some leftover sock wool.  It’s a wool/cashmere blend, I forget the name.  It’s leftover from Grandma’s socks.  Very soft and cozy.

I’m also creating a February Baby Sweater for Ella.  There are patterns for baby sweaters and lady sweaters but Ella’s size seems to be missing.  I’ve got some beautiful blue to make Ella a sweater.  It’s hard to see the colour in the picture but the name is Marina.  It’s an acrylic but feels beautiful, so I’m fine with that.

The other ball of yarn in the picture is the stripped yarn I bought for Ella’s Socktopus.  The Socktopus only used a couple of metres of yarn, so I told Ella I’d make her a pair of socks to match.

If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m trying to get enough knitting projects together for our weekend in Scarborough.   Poor Daddy has to stay home and take care of things here.  I don’t want to run out of projects like the last time we were at Auntie Belinda’s -not good when Momma runs out of knitting 🙂  (especially on a weekend when things will be closed a lot).

This week we are reading Easter Story, The.  This is a very good telling of the Easter story for sensitive, young children like Ella.  It doesn’t dwell so much on His death, as the reason for it.  Some children’s books are too intense for Ella.

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February Lady Sweater

You may have noticed that I love, love, love Elizabeth Zimmerman patterns.   So much so that I even bought another copy of The Knitter’s Almanac the last time we were in Toronto.  It’s the commemorative edition and has great new pictures.  It’s also in hard cover and likely to last longer than my original paperback one.  I can’t encourage you enough to pick up this book if you love to knit.  There’s a pattern for just about everything, and Elizabeth is so encouraging.  She wants you to be a fearless knitter and learn that you don’t have to be tied to a pattern.

The best part of the new edition is the February Baby Sweater (best baby girl sweater ever) has been turned into a February Lady Sweater.   I couldn’t wait to get this started and the trip to Picton was a great start.  Well here it is!!!!  I was finished by the next Tuesday -yep, a sweater in one week.  It is such an easy knit.  I made one main change.  Instead of the row of eyelet increases, I continued the raglan increases until there were enough stitches.    It fits wonderfully.  Since it’s made from the top down that means the sleeves and body are the right length for me.

I used some old yarn that I’ve been hanging on to for a very long time.  It’s leftover from another sweater but I’ve been waiting for the right pattern.  The yarn came from Eatons and was their lovely Lady Fair.  Yes I know it’s acrylic but it’s beautiful.  And sometimes you need an easy to care for sweater that won’t make you itchy.  It’s ‘sayelle’ sized wool.  The gauge sizing is my only complaint with this sweater pattern.  In her chapter about aran sweaters,  Elizabeth Zimmerman complains about the habit of sweater designers/companies saying ‘certain number of stitches over pattern‘.  This is such a hard way to measure gauge.  It is easier to match gauge given over stocking stitch.  Well, the pattern gauge is given over the lace pattern.  I used a 4 1/2mm circular (as suggested by my yarn).   I used about 10 50g balls.  I don’t know for sure because a couple of the balls were part-balls left from the other sweater.

I’m probably going to make myself another sweater out of some ‘real’ wool.  I’ll likely wait until the next time we’re in Bowmanville and see what new loveliness Tina has in store.  This sweater would be luxurious in a merino/alpaca blend.

Go make yourself one.  You won’t be disappointed!

 

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