See, I have been busy!

See, I have been busy, Knitting at any rate. But not as productive as I could be. I have been searching patterns on Ravelry and the searching and dreaming about yarn to purchase to make all the lovely things.....sigh.



The hat on the left, was too small, so it ended up being gifted to Rachel. The hat on the right was suppposed to be for Edward for Christmas, but when I had Matthew try it on for sizing, he said , "Gee thanks mom." So I ended up having to make a third hat, and that one went to Edward for Christmas.

This is the Reversible Winter Capelet in Red that I made for myself to wear Christmas eve. I first made one in Rose for Rachel, but I haven't taken picture of it yet. I made it with Lion Brand Suede, which probably wasn't the best choice for this project, but it did help me to learn about cardigan construction, and how easy it really is. HOWEVER, my wrists and hands HATE doing that much purling.

Because of the Capelet, I thought I would try to modify the top down raglan and see what kind of different neck line I could do. I like making these sweaters because it is all knit and mindless depending on the pattern, but the neckline makes me crazy. SO I did several rows before connecting in the round. I like the fit and the way it looks, however, for the next one, I will make a deeper V.

This is the first time I've used this yarn, Moda Dea Visions. It is a Wool / Acrylic blend. I like the feel of it, it knits nicely and I already went out and bought some more for the next one. The true test will be the washing.

Speaking of washing, Poor Rachel. She washed her wool socks in the washer and they shrunk and felted..... I felt so bad, I think she wore them twice. The first time I had washed them with mine. So I will be having to make her a pair out of one of my Opal yarns I think in the near future. I will also end up making for her a sweater as she is not shy about dropping hints about what I am making and what she likes! Which, to me is a good thing. I fear I am becoming too attached to that girl though...

December arrives!

Well, it has been some time since I put anything on this blog. I have to get better at it, but with ravelry I am spending too much time there and not enough here or knitting! Idea's , Idea's.

I have to take some pictures to post of some of the items I have completed for gifts. I made hats. I started out making one for Edward and it was too small for a man's head, so Rachel got that one. The second one I made was much larger, and when Matthew tried it on, he got that one. I made a third one, and finally, that one will be Edwards. So I got his socks and his hat done for his gift.

I have also made a "reversible caplet" for Rachel, though I like it better on the knit side versus the pearl side. I made it out of Lion Brand Suede and I am not sure if I should block it before wrapping it for her. So, now I am in the process of making one for myself and I will experiment on that one.

Poor Rachel, I thought I had told her about her birthday socks and how to wash them....... She got them mixed up with the first pair I made her and so they felted and shrunk! Lion Brand Wool sure does felt nice! But the odd thing was, both were made from the same die lot, but different skeins, and they both felted and faded at different degrees. Learning all the time.

Oh, and that is another thing. ALWAYS check the dye lots. I thought I had when I picked up the yarn for Edwards socks, and sad to say, they are definitely fraternal twins. Didn't even notice til I was done with the second one. They are house socks so it really doesn't matter and such things are done with love, right?

Well, I promise to post photos this week. I got a new memory card for my camera and that is going to help alot.

Before AND After

Here is my completed Top Down Raglan Sleeve Sweater made of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in a yummy chocolate color~!

This is BEFORE~!

This is AFTER~!

I ended up frogging it. I had not calculated the gauge correctly and didn't realize it until I got to the sleeves and ran out of yarn by then end of the first sleeve. Frogged that and tried twice to redo the sleeves. Ended up with about an elbow length and just was not happy with it.

So here is what I have learned from this project.

Check your gauge more than once near the beginning of your project. Doing a swatch is great, but also checking before you are too far along is important too. PLUS, always buy one extra skein of yarn, JUST IN CASE!

Now I have to figure out if I want to try to reknit this using the same needle size and doing the size smaller sweater, (this one was a tad bit bigger than I would have enjoyed) or do I try using a needle that will get the proper gauge and just modifying the sweater to be a short sleeve one. Decisions ... decisions.

This is the scarf/ascot length, that I have made to compliment Jill's socks for christmas. The pattern is Enjoyable-Rib Scarf and I found the pattern on Ravelry.

I am working on my Friday Harbor socks for the Knitting on the Road KAL. I have decided to make them for Rachel as a stocking stuffer.

I will now start the socks for Rose's kids that I want to make them as gifts for Christmas. My main problem is, I'm spending TOO MUCH time on Ravelry looking and searching for great new things I want to knit!

Today is a rainy day here and I had hoped to spend the whole day knitting, after I got the stew in the crockpot. However, I have ended up updating my projects file on Ravelry and then I wanted to update this blog. But, I did frog and wind the yarn from the sweater, so I guess that counts to some degree as knitting, doesn't it?!

November Socks and Christmas gift

These are the socks I have completed for Jill for Christmas. They are made from Plymouth Galway Highland Heather in a sage green color. This is the first time I've used this wool, while I have done this pattern before. It is the first cable that I learned to do as an Easy Sock knit along when I first began doing socks at the beginning of the year. I figure she could use them for house socks since they are a worsted weight.

I am also making for her a scarf, Enjoyable Rib, it is called. I found the pattern on Ravelry and I thought it would be perfect for Jill.

I have also found another pattern, called Reversible Winter Caplet, that I plan to begin while I am visiting with Aunt Bette. It will only take two skeins of Red Heart Suede and I have it in red and thought it would be good for christmas.

Well, that is all I have time for now. Until next time.....

Life gets in the way sometimes!

Well, I am not even sure when the last time was that I up dated. I just figured I would log on and get to work.

I have finished Rachels birthday gift of socks and fingerless mittens.

I have started on a pair of cable socks for Jill for christmas. I am going to do some fingerless mittens for her as well.

I have the Friday Harbor socks on hold at the moment, as I have to have undivided time to work on them because of the chart and being new to it. But I do think I have to the first repeat done on them. Did I mention I have ripped them out once already?

I am on the first sleeve of my raglan top down sweater in the alpaca, the brown one. It is still coming along nicely and I have gotten wonderful compliments on it when people see me knitting it.

I am trying not to start anything new until I get atleast the sweater and Jill's socks completed. It is already November and for how fast October went past, I won't get them done in time at this rate. I have to carve out some morning time before I truly begin my day to just work on them as I want to make some socks for Rose's kids for christmas as well.

I'm sorry there's no pictures at the moment.

Remember, always stop and admire your work!

How does anyone knit!

Once you get invited to Ravelry?

I finally received my invitation on Monday and I have used nearly every available minute to look at it. Absolutely wonderful.

But I find it hard to believe that anyone is knitting. I think everyone is searching, browsing and entering things into Ravelry to share with others.

So far I have only put in my October Finished Objects.

I am finding wonderful patterns to think about doing. sigh......

Stop and admire your work AND count!

I am just so excited about hand winding my own balls of yarn! I just had to show you. This is the second one I've done and it just looks so perfect. The first one I used went off without any problems. I hope this one will go as well.


Knit A Longs! Boy, am I going to be in trouble if I join too many. I had promised myself I would finish one small project before beginning the next...... that lasted about a month.

Here is the progress so far of my "Friday Harbor" sock, from Nancy Bush's book "Knitting on the Road." I had purchased the book, oh, probably in February and I joined the kotrkal on yahoogroups back then as well, but never got around to actually joining a kal sock they were knitting.

I say I want to learn everything and I want to knit it all. Well, to do that I have to keep learning, and believe me, this sock is "learning" me.

I have learned how to read a chart. Which really isn't that hard. I am glad the pattern is relatively simple and easy to memorize.

But COUNTING. Stopping and admiring your work and COUNTING are so important. If you loose your count and don't realize it, it is a bear to rip back to correct a mistake. Which this sock has a few as I got tired of ripping back. It's all about learning.

The yarn for this sock is Opal 6 ply in colorway 1452E, which I believe it Owl. I like the way it is coming along. Sorry the picture is a bit blurry. I hope the next one will be better.

Here is my Fingerless mitten. Which is another KAL I joined on Yahoo groups.... It is using the same lace pattern as the socks I made for the Easy Socks KAL, and these will match them. They will be a gift. I am happy with how they are coming along. It is a quick and easy knit.

Here is the progress on my top down raglan sleeve sweater. I have only been able to work on this in the evenings while I watch tv. It is coming along and I can't wait to have it finished as I have found several other sweaters that I want to knit.

I don't know how anyone gets any knitting done. With looking at blogs, WAITING for an invitation to Ravelry, and trying to blog and then to knit! That is why I have only been managing about 2 posts per week. I just can't squeeze it in if I want to knit.

Rachel's Socks

Well, here they are, finished in 7 days. I could only knit on them when she wasn't around. They are the Lacey Wool Ease Socks, from the Easy Socks KAL for the month. This is the correct pattern. They are made using Patons Classic Wool Merino in Rosewood colorway. I hope that she will like them.

I am now going to attempt a pair of fingerless mittens to match them. I have made mittens before, but never fingerless ones. I thought since they would be wool also she might like wearing them when she goes hunting.

I am still working on my "cape may" socks and on my top down - raglan sleeve ultra alpaca sweater. I am into the body now, I've put the sleeves on hold.

Learning every day

Well, yesterday I spent some time learning new things about knitting.

Have you ever checked out www.knittinghelp.com ? I have used it on several occasions but I really spent some time on the site looking at the videos. What a nice website. Be sure to check it out and to share it with friends.

I learned how to roll a center pull ball of yarn from a hank. Remember that beautiful Alpaca I had gotten while in Cape May? Well, the first hank, I put around the tops of two of the diningroom chairs and just wound it into a ball. But, this makes it difficult while knitting, as it takes off on you if you aren't careful. So, last night, I would my first center pull ball and it worked great! You just have to remember not to wind too tightly, you don't want to stretch the yarn out as you are balling it up.

I started to work on the Lacey Wool Ease socks as a gift for Rachael, so I am only doing them when she isn't here. I am hoping to make a matching hat, and perhaps a scarf as well for her using the same yarn.

I have decided to not try to modify the "I Love Garnsey Socks" pattern from the Six Sock KAL from last month. The yarn I chose just doesn't work with the pattern, but I like the way the top ribbing and the K, P rows look, so I am just going to make a plain vanilla sock and call them my "Cape May" socks, as the colorway reminds me of the colors in our suite while we were there.

I keep debating on placing my order for yarn from www.knitpicks.com I have heard alot of good things about their yarn, but I am a "touchy-feely" type of person and I like "seeing" it first. But I do need to order some things, so I might just as well do it and get it over with. sigh.....

I am going to make the Palindrom http://www.cometosilver.com/patterns/palindromehat.htm
hat and scarf for Jill for christmas in the Plymouth Galway that I bought. I thought the project looked good and would be an easy knit. Plus, I will probably also do a pair of socks for her and Edward. That was yarn I got at Fiber Arts Yarn Shop in Cape May as well.

What a lovely yarn shop. You can go the any day between 1 and 3 in the afternoon (I think that was the time) to knit and they will help you as they can. I can't wait to get back there to get more of the Alpaca.

While I was there I also bought some "Douceur et Soie" by Knit one Crochet too. It is a lace weight Mohair Silk blend. It will be my first Lace knitting project. I chose "In Love with Lace - Simply Sensational Scarf" by Eugen Beugler, sold by K1C2. They had one made up in the store and it just looked so yummy. I bought the colorways "camel" and "snow" and plan to make one for Aunt Bette, hopefully for Christmas.

I have all these projects in mind and it's October! Am I ever going to get them done? I try not to have too many going at once, but sometimes you just can't help it.

Well, I think I have talked enough about my knitting for today. Sorry no pictures.

October begins!

Well here is my second pair of Bell-Lace wool ease socks. These are done in Patons Classic Wool in Denim colorway. I like this yarn alot, and will probably use it again once I see how it washes.

I learned a few things. The Wool Ease sock done in wheat on size 5 needles, fits Rachael, who has a size 8 foot. I wanted to make these for her as well, as I had thought I figured out the pattern, and when I had the first sock done, it actually knit up at a smaller gauge, so it fits me with a size 7 foot, and five extra rows. Both yarns say they are worsted. So it does make a difference.

As I say, you learn something new everyday.

Then, I also learned why my pattern didn't look the same as the one on the Easy Socks site thats because it's not the same pattern! The one I was supposed to do is called "Lacy Woolease Socks". So I will be doing a pair of the correct ones for this month!


I have begun another sweater. I really enjoyed doing the top down one, so I am now using some of the alpaca that I bought while I was in Cape May. I must knit at a tighter gauge because it is knitting up at sport weight, not worsted. But, that's okay, I like a tighter fabric. I love the softness of this yarn.

It is by Berroco, called Ultra Alpaca. It is colorway 6205, which I think is chocolate. I am not doing the same cable pattern though. It is hard to see yet and it will be a less defined cable than my last sweater, but I like the way it is coming out.

I am also trying something a bit different with the collar. I had read somewhere that if you wanted to sew down a collar to put a row of purl at the half way point and that makes a neater fold and a neater edge in appearance. I hope it works, if it doesn't, I don't think it looks to bad as it is. But I am all about learning something new.

Finished Objects

How about this!? I couldn't believe this toad just sat there while Sylvester checked him out and then while I moved around to take his picture. At first when I saw him, I thought he was some kind of weird mushroom or fungus on the rock out by the deck.

While he's not exactly a finished object, I thought he was cool

Here are my socks for the SAM4 KAL. For some reason it won't let me post the picture to the blog, I have to get that figured out before the end of the month. I did these socks in two days. They are a pattern also for the Easy Socks group on yahoo groups that I belong to. The one thing that I noticed is that I guess I don't do my YO's correctly, because it doesn't look exactly like the pattern. It is called Bell-Lace Wool Ease Socks. They are done in the color way Wheat on size 5 circular needles.

OH! Yes, I learned how to do a sock on two circulars and I am so excited. Thank you to "knitman" who has a blog and belongs to the Socknitters group. He had YouTube links for Cat Bordi (sp?) and I watched video on how it is done and I did it! I made these socks for Rachael and now that I have posted them, I can finally give them to her for house socks.

TaDa! Here is my wonderful, fit just for me Top Down Raglan Sleeve Sweater! I am so happy that it is finally done and that I will actually have a sweater that's arms are not TOO long for me and that I have to keep rolling up! As I have said, it is made from Patons La Laine yarn, which is a sport weight and I absolutely love how soft it is and I can't wait to wear it.

Oh, I forgot to add that I did finish my "Irish Hiking Scarf" but I ended up leaving it at my fathers without taking a completed picture. Hopefully I will remember to do that.

On the needles now:

Gauge Swatch for a new Top Down Sweater, in Berroco Ultra Alpaca, which I am loving!

Another Bell Lace Wool Ease Sock in Paton's classic meriono

I love Garnsey sock that has not be touched. sigh

Knitting News

Well a few days away and I really didn't get as much knitting done as I had hoped.

We stayed in Cape May, for the firemen's convention in Wildwood, for a few days and I thought I would get much more done.

Here is the progress on my Irish Hiking Scarf. I just have to bind off and that is one project I did get done. I really liked the pattern, it was easy to do, and easy to memorize.


I didn't work much at all on my Raglan Sleeve top down sweater while I was away. I wanted to check on the length. The directions say to knit 14 inches from the division, but I am short and I really didn't want that long of a sweater. So I have compared it to a favorite sweater that I do have and I have decided to begin the ribbing on it.

While away, I did start on the socks for the "I Love Garnsey" from the six sock KAL group. The yarn is Opal Petticoat in colorway 1294, however, when I was about 2 inches into the pattern, it really didn's show up well on the sock, so I ripped it all back and started again. I have decided that I will just do the pattern for the cable A four times around the sock and see how that comes out. I hope to be able to finish that off before the month is through. I don't know if it will count for the KAL since I will not be following the pattern exactly, but at least I will have finished socks for the SAM4KAL.

Ravelry

When I first heard of RAVELRY I didn't have a clue what it was and didn't really pay attention. Well, I am learning I should have. Since I joined the waiting list, only about 800 people have received their invite. But from what I understand they are working as fast as they can to get people in. I am really excited about it and I can't wait for my invitation to come.



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IRISH HIKING SCARF PROGRESS

Well as you can see I got quite a bit done on this project. I am having alot of fun with it and I am sure by the time I am done I will be able to do these cables perfectly. It is a nice project to do in front of the television.

TOP DOWN RAGLAN SLEEVE SWEATER PROGRESS

I am extremely pleased with how this project is coming along. It was rather hot and humid this past weekend, and of course, thinking the "cooler" weather was here, we took the AC units out last weekend. So, due to DH and I not feeling like doing much we enjoyed a few television movies and I knit nearly the whole weekend. In between cooking and errands.

I wish that Paton still carried this yarn. I have to see what their classic merino is like to see if it is the same as this. I would love to have more to make sweaters from.

Over the weekend, I joined the SixSock KAL group on yahoo. I had belonged once before, but left the group because life got in the way. They are doing a lovely pattern right now, called "I Love Guernsy" and I think with this one I am going to try to teach myself how to do two socks at one time. I have to go check some websites to see if I can get good enough directions on how to do it though. I tend to be a sight learner and I do much better when I have pictures to look at as well.

Irish Hiking Scarf

An Irish Hiking Scarf! I saw this pattern a few weeks ago while surfing and thought that it would make a lovely scarf. I learned how to do cables just after I learned how to make socks and I really do like doing them. So I think this scarf will end up being for one of my DDGD for a just because gift. She is in her third year of college and blue is her favorite color. She is doing an awesome job and I know she goes to school early to beat the traffic and then she sleeps in her car until class. Hopefully she will enjoy this.

This is how far I have come so far on my Raglan top down sweater. I have about 6 more rows and then I will hold the sleeve stitches while I complete the body of the sweater. I really love the way this wool feels and I wish I could find more of it. I am sure that they have replaced it with another name, but the La Laine is really nice and soft. I hope that it will wash up well. I love knitting on the circular needles that I am also doing the Irish Hiking Scarf on them as well. My elbows and arms don't seem to hurt as much.

I blocked my tunic yesterday and it seems to have come out very nicely. I am looking forward to wearing it once the weather gets a bit cooler.

I DID IT!

Sorry the above picture is a bit dark, I tried to lighten it but it didn't help. This is the side seam on my tunic. I used "Knitting in Plain English" to do this invisible seam. I know it is hard to tell from this picture, but you can't see the seam at all. It is done from the "public side" of the garment, just as the shoulder seams were done, using a little different method.

The above is a picture of the first seam that I did on the arm to the body of the sweater. This is where I was having so much difficulty. I could not understand the written instructions for doing it from the outside, as one edge was vertical and the other edge was a bound off. So I put it away for a while.

I talked with my Aunt about this and she said you seam from the inside. So the picture above is with the seam from the inside. Which was okay, but not as nice looking as I had hoped.

So I dragged out the book again and sat and read and re read. And finally, it clicked!

This is the shoulder seam, above, using the technique in the book and it produces a much smoother, invisible seam. I am sure that as I learn and practice, when I make piece items, that the seams will get much better.

And here is the completed sweater! The picture doesn't look that great, but it does fit! The length is good. I'm glad I took the three inches off the bottom. The 18 inch length sleeves are perfect for me, they come right to my wrist. And when I measured the finished item, it matches the measurements in the book, all except the length. So I am pretty pleased about that.

Then came the task of the ends. DH commented that that part was going to take me as long to do as the whole sweater. Which, it sure seemed like it, but I got it done. The whole process of learning and doing and redoing the seams, and doing the ends took the WHOLE day. Hours! Plus it was done between life happening and having to stop for this and that, but it did take hours.

Now today I will hand wash and block it.

I didn't get any knitting done yesterday on my knit top down sweater, but I did do alot of that on Sunday, so it is coming along nicely.

Raglan Sleeve, Knit Top Down

Well, I finished up as much as I could of the Tunic. The collar came out nice and I did a good job of seaming the bound off shoulders, but I can't quite figure out how to do the sleeves. I need some help with that and I am hoping that when I visit with my family in a few weeks, my Aunt will be able to help me out.

As you can see, I have started the Raglan Sleeve, Knit top down sweater. I have decided to put cables down the front so that it won't be so "plain jane" and gives me a break in the monotony.

I have found that I truly like this wool, and I can not find it on the Patons website anymore, so it is probably discontinued. I don't know that I have ever used superwash DK before, but I do like the way this feels. I am sure the sweater is going to be wonderful on. It is working up quickly.

I like that my wrists don't hurt as much using the ciruclar needles as compared to the 14 inch long straight needles. But I have just changed from the Susan Bates quicksliver needles to these Bamboo ones, and I love my bamboo dpn, however, I am finding that the connection between the needles and the cable are not that "quick". So I may just have to go out and buy some size 7, 24 inch circulars today.

More Lessons Learned

I just wanted to share a sunset with you. This is looking to the west from our front porch area last night. Perhaps it's not the best picture, but I'm still learning.

Well, I completed that sleeve last night. Finally! And then I laid it out on the floor to see how it would all look once put together. The sleeves do look short, but the directions said 18 inches and depending on where the shoulders actually lay, 18 inches should be fine. We will see.

As you can see from the picture above, I have done the seam on one shoulder using the directions from "Knitting in Plain English". They were very easy to follow and I am sure that once I do more seams they will look even more finished.

The next thing I did was to do the collar, which according to the directions in the book for the pattern, I was to pick up and knit, in garter stitch, 8 rows.

Here is what I did. The pattern said I should have a total of 82 stitches, 24 were on hold for the back, 18 on hold for the front. I ended up with 9 on each side of the back, making 42 and then 13 on each side of the front, making a total of 86. I wanted the stitches to be evenly placed, so we'll see if 4 more stitches will make that much of a difference.

Then with the size #7 needles, I did 7 rows of garter stitch. For the 8th row, I was worried about my bind off for the collar, so I switched to the size #9 needles and did row 8 with those and the bind off. For the bind off, using a suggestion from "Knitting in Plain English", I did a K1, P1 bind off in the hopes that the edge will lay flat and not roll either way.

What I learned this morning was: 1) Make sure you are using the right end of the skein before you get too far with picking up stitches. 2) I also have decided that I do not like working flat in stockinette stitch. I think the purling has alot to do with the pain in my wrists.

Well, today is Friday and it is my busiest day of the week. I need to get my non-knitting part of my day started and finished before I can get back to finishing up the seams and trying on the sweater.

Until next time!

(PS for some reason the returns are not showing up in this post and I am sorry if it is hard to read)

Stop and admire your work

In "Knitting in Plain English" by Maggie Righetti (and one day I will figure out how to do links and then I can link to the book. See Amazon.com) she talks about being sure to stop and admire your work as you go. Don't be so hell bent on getting it done, but look at it to be sure that there are no mistakes, no grease spots or stains, no loose stitches, lost stitches. You get the idea.

Well, yesterday I was so proud of myself. I finished the first sleeve to my sweater. I even called my Aunt and told her "I have a sleeve." on her answering machine. Only one who knits could understand the statement and right now, she is the only person I know who knits. I called her when I completed my first sock and told her "I have a sock!".

Anyway, I finished my sleeve and began the next,,,,,, three times! I was working along on the ribbing and into the increases and stopped to look at my work, after about an hour or so, and saw that I had made a dreadful mistake at the beginning of the patterning row of ribbing... Now, this ribbing is my favorite part and I thought to myself I could live with it. This is just my learning sweater. So I knit for a while more. Stopped and looked at it again, and there staring at me is that "mistake". After a great amount of looking and sighing I decided to rip back all the work I had done because I knew it would bother me.

So, I begin again. This time, I stop and admire my work more often, to be sure there are no mistakes. I am learning the "blind stockinette stitch increase" for the purl increases. Instead of lifting the between stitch with the right needle from the back and place it on the left needle, you pick it up with the right needle from the front. THEN you don't get that little hole. So I am stopping and admiring my increases and thinking to myself that it looks good.

Then, then I take the time to look at my needles! They are the start needles. The size 7 that I was supposed to change when I got done with the ribbing! Hours! I had worked about three hours by now.

I had to rip it all back again! I wanted to cry. But I didn't. This isn't the first time I have done this or rather picked up the wrong size needle. With that pair of socks it was definitely a learning experience about measuring your bamboo size double pointed needles, BEFORE you begin to be sure you picked up the right set. sigh....

So, I went back to the ribbing, again and that is where I am starting from this morning.

I also decided last night, that for my next sweater, the raglan top down, I am going to use the Patons La Laine Superwash Merino Wool in color 6261, which is a blue/grey heather, that I picked up probably three or four years ago at "the Crabbe Reader" in Seymour, WI. Nice shop. Sure wish I had one like that here. Mrs. Crabbe is wonderful with her help choosing a yarn, knitting and with her selection of Used Books.

Anyway, I had purchased that yarn and had planned, back then, to use it for this sweater, so I will use it when I make it. I am not sure about the total ounces/yards though. I am fairly certain there will be enough to finish, but I also purchased a skein of the same brand, in color 6202, which is more of a blue, because I couldn't get anymore of the other. They were on close out. So I thought I could use the blue for the cuffs and the bottom ribbing if I need to. I imagine that is what is so wonderful about knitting from the top down. If you run out, you have options.

I looked at tons of blogs last night. It just amazes me how much information you can find when you read them. I'll learn this too, with time.

Have a great day.

"Knitting in Plain English"

This is a book written by Maggie Righetti that I picked up this week to help me with my knitting. As I mentioned, my Aunt taught me the basics a few years ago, and I do talk with her frequently while working on a project. I like to have a book handy to help me out though. This is a good reference book that I feel I will use in the future to help me with my projects.

I am working on my first sweater. It is a tunic from "25 Gorgeous Sweaters for the Brand New Knitter" by Catherine Ham. My Aunt gave this to me. I have shortened the tunic by about 3 inches, as I am short. And I have completed the back and the front, using circular needles to hold the neck stitches. I am currently working on the arm, which I am using the technique that Maggie mentions in her book that she calls "The Blind Stockinette-Stitch Increase". It is working out nicely, however, the book only mentions using this increase with the knit stitches and the pattern calls for the increase on every third row, so I have been trying it with the purl stitches as well and I am having varied success with it. But, I consider it all learning.

The yarn I am using is by Caron, called Simply Soft Shadow, in the Soft Merino colorway. It is the first time I am using this yarn, and I like it. It is an acrylic and I thought it would be good for a first project. One thing I have learned with it, is that is has a self striping to it, and so I have had to plan the back, front and sleeves, as well as the shoulders so that they match to some degree. I am happy with the result so far.

I have included a picture of the sleeve I have done this far so you could see how it looks. I especially like this ribbing. You work 4 knit rows first and the you do a knit row, followed by a knit one, purl one row for the effect. I think for a plain sweater it helps to add to the look of it. I am hoping that my finshing will be good and that I will be able to wear it and not just have it for a learning experience.

I have already decided on my next sweater. It will be a seamless raglan sleeve knit in one piece from the top down. I am looking forward to doing this one as I have heard from different people that once you make one like this you'll never make another.

Well, I think I have figured out this post for today. I had to retype it as I erased the first one accidently.

First Entry

this is my first entry into my knit blog. I have been amazed at how much information one can find out by just reading other's blogs, that I thought it was time for me to begin this journey.

I plan to keep record of my projects and my progress with them here and once I get it all figured out, I hope to put some pictures on here as well.

Wish me luck!