Paper Dolls amost finished!

Yippee! This time around, my paper dolls sweater has knit up quite easily. At the moment, I have only to graft the armpits and weave in just a few more ends...and block of course, but I never count that part.

I knew I had to take action to counter the lumpy yoke issue from last time. After knitting the body I quickly decreased from the size 8 to size 7. I knit the chart up to the doll's shoulders (or thereabouts) and then decreases in between their heads. By the time i was at the pattern's first decrease round I was already well below the given stitch count. And hooray! It fits me perfectly! I really think that the yoke needs to fit quite snug in order for it to look its best. The dolls all sit flat and smooth, and there is not a pucker in sight!

I'm quite amazed with how quickly I knit this sweater (2 weeks I think), and it has given me hope that I may still be able to knit 12 sweaters this year...so long as most don't have sleeves....





...I am SO excited about the colours I chose! I found that I loved them more and more as I knit with them, and I really like seeing the speckle-y yarn knit into stocking stitch. All the wacky colour changes really stand out, which I love!

The next sweater on my list is a test knit for a friend on Ravelry. Its an adorable little t shirt with puff sleeves and thin stripes...so cute!
I'm planning to knit it in my Merino Fingering, a soft and squishy superwash merino fingering weight yarn. I THINK I've narrowed down the colours, but can't seem to settle on even the most simple decisions recently...we'll see. At the moment, the selections are a more-gray-than-usual robin's egg and a new brownish-green colour called Woodland.



I haven't been spinning at all, I've only had time to feel guilty about not spinning! The mohair/wool I talked about in my last post is lovely, but there is just to darn much of it. I'm losing interest! Of course, this spinning slump has NOT prevented me from doing some fiber shopping! The latest purchases are from an Etsy seller called Cloudlover69. Here is her lovely shop. I scooped some superwash merino in Calico






and alpaca/merino/silk in illustrus. So pretty!



That's all for now!

a lot of stuff all at once.

I am SUPER excited to let you all know that I finally got my act together this week and listed my first items for sale on Etsy, fun!

After the Frolic (which was a great success btw) it took me a few days to get back into the swing of things- its not easy to recover from such a fiber frenzy - but when I did, Etsy was my first priority! I was spurred on by the encouragement from out-of-towers who can't make it to the shop, so hope you can find something you like...if not you can always message me to ask...I may have your dream colour squirreled away somewhere. I do have a nasty habit of hiding things, always thinking, "I'll keep this and knit something fantastic" but forgetting all about it moments later. Currently there is a smattering of spinning fiber, lace and sock yarns up, but keep checking in for more!

I know that I've already mentioned my Forecast in Dream in Colour Classy in the Black Parade colourway...and its finished! I knit the entire sweater in exactly 2 weeks, it was just that much fun!







OK, almost finished...it still needs buttons. This sweater was the perfect thing to knit after the sleeve agony of my featherweight! There was no point in me modelling it for these pics, it looks a bit silly when it's not buttoned up...as you might be able to guess from the ridiculous picture above!

I made just a few mods:

- knit to gauge of 18 st over 4" instead of 16 st over 4". I just can't handle loose saggy sweaters, it looked like some people's were a little see through!
-lengthened the body a good 3-4 inches before the ribbing
-knit 3 stitch instead of 5 stitch bobbles (as most people have it seems). The 5 stitch bobble was so huge that it was all you could see in the swatch!
-knit the buttonband in seed stitch to match the collar instead of that silly horizontal rib.

This sweater fits me PERFECTLY and I just can't wait to wear it, but deciding on buttons is a bit tricky...I'm leaning toward some very plain metal buttons at the moment. What do you think folks?
Oh yes, and I have to say that I love Classy; this was my first and certainly not my last time knitting with this lovely yarn.

My Forecast success has spurred me on ( haven't yet given up on 12 sweaters is 2010...though I am still considerabley behind...) and the next sweater up is Paper Dolls take 2. When the lumpy yoke disaster struck with version one I vowed I'd give it another shot, so I am. This time I'm knitting it from my own yarn, Viola Sock. I'm using Cinnamon Spice as the main colour with Nut Brown and Robin's Egg as the 2 accent colours. I flew through the ribbing and I'm into the body of the sweater...really I just want to get to the real action at the yoke!





I've been spinning just a bit lately. At the Frolic I saw vendors that I'd purchased fiber from last year (and haven't done anything with...) so I decided to start spinning one of last year's buys; Wellington Fibers wool and mohair blend. So far its spinning up great, there is quite a lot more colour variation that I expected...though I may not have captured it very well in this pic...



I just love how bright and sunny this colour is!

This year at the Frolic I managed to stay away from fiber, but yarn was a different story! I am now the proud owner of 5 skeins of Peace Fleece in the colourway Ancient Fern



A cone of Habu 100% silk tweedy lace stuff (amazing right?!)




and the most beautiful Japanese book on fair isle that I have ever seen!



This may not be new to everyone out there, but the charts are all 3-D...it so easy!


I want to knit this dress if its the last thing I do!



Well thats all for now. Sorry this post has been all over the place...once again, I really need to blog more!

Frolic Bound!

Sorry for blogging even less than usual lately...so much yarn and so little time! I'm just here to tease you with some pretty yarn pics. I'll be in the Naked Sheep's booth at this years DKC Frolic, and I'm psyched!
I've been dyeing and tagging like a mad thing for about a month now, and I finally think I'm ready. So here is a look at just a few of the goodies I'll be bringing to the Frolic...



... A new sock (or whatever you want to make) base. 100% squishy superwash merino!









Fancy Lace; a huge 1300m skein of alpaca/silk/cashmere lace weight yarn. This is the stuff I knit my featherweight from...the one I keep complaining about! Its finished, and you can meet it Saturday at the Frolic. The yarn is BEAUTIFUL, my knitting skills...a bit slacker-y to say the least!




Fancy sock...similar fiber content to Fancy Lace above, but a light fluffy fingering weight. I knit the Purl Bee's Cashmere Rib Cowl from one skein and think its the greatest thing on earth....of course its too hot to wear it at the moment!



And I am very excited about the fiber I'll be bringing...here is a peek at 2 of my
favourites...






that's all for now! I hope I'll be back soon with a knitting update; there is quite a bit of knitting news!

Wish I was still a sweater knitting fiend

I haven't given up on the the goal or anything, but man, the Featherweight is such a bummer to knit! Its making me crazy. I was doing just fine until I got to the sleeves; my yarn is so light, and my needles so heavy that everything flops! I've tried wooden DPNs (epic ladders), magic looping with addi lace (too much cord, and too grippy) and have finally settled on a 16" circ. I just want it to be done!

It looks amazing though, and I think I'm going to love the sweater when its done, I just don't want to touch any lace weight yarn for a long long time, or perhaps ever again...no that's too extreme. At the moment I have the body finished, I put a little moss stitch edging on it that is quite cute. The first sleeve is almost finished, so its just one more sleeve and a buttonband to go! My motivation is the aran weight sweater that is next on my list. I think I'll knit Forecast by Stephanie Japel. I've wanted to knit this sweater for a really long time, and I'm thinking that my new Dream in Colour Classy will do the job quite well. I have 5 skeins of the Black Parade colourway that I absolutely love!


I haven't allowed myself to cast on for Forecast just yet, but I have noticed that I'm working on other non-sweater WIPs in an attempt to avoid knitting on my Featherweight...

...My Squirrel Sampler mittens, for example...





...I'm knitting them in Rowan Scottish Tweed 4 ply. And am in love with the pattern and yarn.

and have been spinning quite a bit lately. I finally managed to finish the huge heap of Alpaca with a Twist fiber (which is a little funny, considering that it had no twist when I bought it..tee hee). I haven't set the twist yet, or measured yardage, but I think I'll knit a lacy triangle once I get around to knitting this. It turned out great; super soft and fluffy.




Hopefully when I return I'll have happier sweater news. Until then, wish me luck!

I am a sweater knitting fiend

The Ravelympics are finished, and I managed to knit an entire sweater! This year was my first time competing in the Ravelympics (such fun). I had intended to post about my sweater plans, and keep everyone in the loop, but I was just too excited about knitting....sorry!

Anyway, the sweater I chose to knit is Coraline by Ysolda Teague. SUCH an amazing pattern, and the prettiest sweater I have ever knit for sure! The yarn I used is Elsabeth Lavold Silky Wool, which we carry at the shop (all of us are a bit in love with it really!) This yarn lightweight, tweedy and silky; I'm doing really well with the adjectives, but hopefully you get the idea. Even though I had to knit the sweater body twice due to carelessness re: gauge, the entire thing was finished by Saturday evening! I've worn it ever since of course, it fits perfectly! I knit everything according to the pattern, excepting that I shortened the sleeves.





This taste of sweater success has spurred me on to loftier sweater goals...get ready to laugh in about 2 months...I'm going to attempt Intswemodo...or whatever its called...

I realize that I'm already behind, but I think I can knit 2 sweaters in 1 month to catch myself up...at the very least I'm really enjoying making lists of all the sweaters I want to knit and pairing them with yarn in my stash. Its all good fun, and I'm already more successful that I was last year when I attempted the same thing (disaster!)

For my next sweater I'm knitting Featherweight by Hannah Fettig. So far so good. I'm hoping to be to the armholes by the end of knit night tonight. In my rush to cast on I didn't check her tutorial, so my increases are pretty much the opposite of what she did

I decided to do this.... before the marker, scoop the bar between stitches from front to back and knit it through the back loop. After the marker, pick up the bar between stitches from back to front and knit it through the front loop. I'll take a picture of how its knitting up, but I'm pretty happy with it. I know that these are just standard M1R and M1L increases, but I will NEVER remember...I have a huge mental block there!







I've also decided to make the sweater a v-neck. I think I'm going to knit a little stocking stitch buttonband...but we'll see. I'm knitting this rather mixed up sweater in Viola Fancy Lace in my Blot colourway. So far it is verrrry pretty!

Finally Finished Fiddleheads

I have another finished object to show off!

At last I have finished my lovely Fiddlehead mittens. I joined the KAL we held at the Sheep months back (most people have long since finished their fiddleheads) and had a great time casting on and comparing liners with everyone. But for some reason this project was determined to linger, and it certainly did!






I knit the outer mitten out of Diamond Alpaca Peru (gray) and Classic Elite Inca Alpaca (orange...its not red, even though most people think it's red) and at the last minute decided to knit my liner out of Malabrigo Lace held double in the lettuce colourway. I knit the smallest size, and it fits me perfectly, but was worried about a thicker DK weight liner bunching like crazy inside my dainty mitts. Now that all is said and done I am sure that a thicker liner would have bunched, but my lace weight pick fits inside the outer mitten perfectly!

I had to make a few adjustments, however, and here they are...

• the liner was knit on 3mm needle (instead of 3.25 for the outer mitt)
• thumb gusset increases were every other row instead of whatever the chart wanted...I don't remember, but it was something funky. Same with the decreases for the top of the mitt.
• I also decided to shape the top of the mitt the same way as the outside....pointy instead of rounded. I think this fits better inside the outer mitten.

This was such a fun pattern to knit, and all the while I couldn't stop myself from dreaming up other colour combos to knit it in! But I am restraining myself and knitting the Squirrel Sampler Mittens instead (love, sigh...I hear there are people out there who don't like squirrels.......whats up with that?! They're so cute and fluffy!)

Oh, and I'm a bit concerned that I've lost all ability to read patterns. My Damson has gone horrible awry. I actually have no idea where I should be changing from the garter to stocking stitch sections. The stitch count and number of rows are not matching up, and I am terribly confused. I stopped trying to use math to solve the problem days ago and have been plopping in the stocking stitch section at random hoping that it will fit. I KNOW many of you out there have knit it with ease, so what the heck am I missing?

spinning!

The past four Saturday mornings I have spent happily spinning away in a class we offered at the shop. Tomorrow is Saturday again, and I am so sad that I don't get to spin! (I'm pouting, but you can't see that)
I know that I told you about my lovely new Suzie Pro, but now I get to show you my beloved wheel in action...



...there I am gleefully spinning away on I don't even know what! This photo was from the last day where we had the treat of spinning a variety of fun fibers...angora, seacell, silk , mohair...you name it!

It was such an inspirational month of spinning In between classes I managed to get so much spinning done, it was quite remarkable!
Anyway, here is a look at everything that I spun up over the course of the last month...





...the purple and orange yarns are both merino roving that I dyed myself. I'm particularly proud of my first singles (the purple stuff); I think I did an OK job setting the twist, but I'll let you know when I manage to start knitting with it! I also spun up some BEAUTIFUL hand carded merino/firestar fluff, that I made into a 2 ply. it is a super soft, light fluffy woolen yarn, that I'm thinking of knitting into a big cowl-y thing...keep you posted there too.




I've been working on some my Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino...which will now be finished before I die because I have a wheel and I'm not attempting to spin 8 oz of fingering weight yarn on a drop spindle! Phew! I am really excited to finish this one because I have promised myself I can order more fiber from the Crown Mountain folks when I do.



Finally, the last thing I've been spinning is some very pretty pure alpaca fiber in a natural brownish-gray colour. I have abot 7 oz of that and have just begun plying. I'm going to make this into a 2 ply, and it looks like it will be close to a fingering weight, and is another soft woolen yarn. I'm planning something lace, and I think I'll get enough yardage to make a reasonable size project! Yippee!



The topic of wheel naming came up in our classes, and got me thinking that my little wheel needs a name. One woman in our class has a vintage Louet (its lovely!) and she's named it Louis, perfect choice if you ask me. I've been thinking about names and like the idea of giving my wheel a masculine name as well...not enough of them out there if you ask me. But making a decision is never easy for me, even at the best of times. I've tried thinking of some of my favourite characters; Mr. Darcy...Omar from the Wire...neither seems right. Someday my wheel will have the perfect name, and until then I'll just call it spinny, or something like that!