Way late posting

Quick update, I've started teaching at The Yarn Garden in Portland, I'm test knitting a cool lace shawl, and I have two patterns for sale online!

A swatch for the test knit.

Pattern one for sale, Portlandia Hat.

Pattern two for sale, Cable Loop Cowl.

And I'm Back

I'm working on a shawl/scarf design. I fell in love with this lace motif, and it hasn't been cooperating. I gave up, started designing the way that it wanted to work, and was well on my way to finishing the sample (and pattern) today.

Tuesday evening.

Then I realized that I had been optimistic with how big the thing would be and that there was no way I'd have enough yarn to finish. My only choice was to rip out the 80"x6" of knitting that was already done. That's 480 square inches of knitting and more than 11,000 stitches (yay math).

So this morning I set up my knitting station, comfy chair, computer loaded up with knitting podcasts (thanks Wonder Mike for getting me through), some water, and my chart.

I put on an inspirational outfit.

And I sat down to knit.

8:30 am (Wednesday)

11:00 am (Wednesday)

4:00 pm (Wednesday)

1:15 am (Thursday)

The yarn is the Pistachio colorway in Atlantis, a really great Silk Seacell and Rayon blend hand dyed by my friend Angela.

The pattern is coming soon, it will be available at Windy Knitty in Chicago.

The Infamous Hat

Last week I entered a design competition at a local yarn store, sponsored by a big yarn company. You had to use their yarn, so I designed a three color hat with a graphic olive branch pattern around the sides of the hat with a fancy "braided" edge and fancy two color decreases at the top.

Friday night I found out that I took third place, and that I was going to have my pattern published by the big yarn company!!!

Originally only first place was going to be published, but Mr. Charles liked our designs enough that he decided to publish the top three.

So I spent the rest of the evening feeling rather giddy (the whole weekend really, well, actually I'm still feeling giddy). Josh and I went to our favorite Thai place to celebrate.

So here's the side view. It looks better on a real head, this form is a bit small.

And the front view.

The card listing my info, I didn't realize that they wanted the title of the piece where it says "description". I would have put "Olive Branches" instead of "color work hat". Oh well.

And my Certificate.

New Project

New Hat?

Every year I tell myself that if I knit a really great hat, that I will like wearing it.  I hate wearing hats, I live in Chicago.  I need to wear hats.  It never really works.  

This year I'm going to make a really great hat from my own hand spun.  Maybe that'll do it.     

My hand spun in a little skein.  I have more than 100 yards of an almost lace weight (it's heavier than true lace weight).  

I'm not sure how much lace weight I'll need, I feel like I have enough.  

This is what I'm working on.  Adapting it to be a hat.  

A crazy lace doily!  I love it.  

Here is my sample.  This isn't quite big enough for a hat.  I'll have to add more patterning to the edge.  I'm going for a beret type cap.  I need something bigger and slouchier to fit all my hair inside.  

And the close up shots.  

The last week (or so)

This is what I've been working on for the past week.

Actually the past year. It was supposed to be Josh's birthday present last year, and it didn't get done in time, or anywhere near time. One thing after another would go just a tiny bit wrong and it made me want to forget the bike existed for a long while. Then Josh kindly offered to help with his own present, and it's done! Well, mostly, bikes are in that class of object where something can always be done, improved, tweaked, upgraded, swapped out, etc. But it's complete enough to be considered done. We still have to adjust the bottom bracket's set screws (hopefully a five minute job) and next weekend I'll most likely be teaching Josh how to true the wheels (teach a man to fish and maybe he'll fix your bike while he's at it, actually I really like truing so we might have to fight over it). But we can both look at it and be proud and happy now. Yay!

Next post, back to the knitting.

I'm working on a brown ribbed cable front sweater. Right now I'm trying to design the cable, with mixed success and much grumpyness. I'll have photos of the swatches soon.

I'm also bouncing another cabled sweater around in my head, out of that red/purple Happy Feet sock yarn that I purchased a sweater's worth of. I haven't been swatching anymore of that though.

I bought new needles to knit Josh's gloves on. The yarn I bought and the sock needles I have were not playing nice. Their slick metal-ness would slide right out of the stitches at inopportune moments (not that any moment would really be a great time to drop stitches). I marched over to Loopy yarns Thursday after work and bought some nice pointy little bamboo needles. They should be much stickier, relatively speaking, and not give me the same trouble. I really want to take them out and play, but the brown cables are sucking up all my attention.

Another Bear - Francis

Just finished another bear, two more to go!  

The Pink Bears

I knit up a little bear from a pattern that I found online, back in March. There was a lot that I didn't like about the completed bear, so I wrote a new pattern. A friend ordered one, and wanted it to be pale pink. Lion Brand doesn't make the yarn I'd been using in pale pink, so I bought a bunch of white and dyed it. Unfortunately I didn't dye enough. I had knit everything but one leg when I ran out of yarn. I ripped out the leg, arms and body, and reknit them on smaller needles. When I got an order for a second pink bear I bought and dyed an extra skein. I completed pink bear number two with yarn to spare.

First Sweater

My own design.  I wanted the collar to fold over instead of just standing up.  I'll have to try again on another sweater.  I do like how this one turned out.  

(I finished this in April)