K3tog: ILx Knitting 3

I met Louisa harding last night. She signed my pattern books (although my water leaked all over one) and I bought $100 worth of yarn and patterns to make a sweater.

http://www.woodlandyarns.co.uk/books/louisa_harding/winter_muse_portraits/LH-Portraits-low-16.jpg
http://www.woodlandyarns.co.uk/books/louisa_harding/winter_muse_portraits/LH-Portraits-low-13.jpg

I haven't decided which one.

oops I mean

http://www.woodlandyarns.co.uk/books/louisa_harding/winter_muse_portraits/LH-Portraits-low-16.jpg
http://www.woodlandyarns.co.uk/books/louisa_harding/winter_muse_portraits/LH-Portraits-low-13.jpg

Argh! We tried the lacey knitting - although I hate to label it lace as it's NOT - and failed miserabley (of course!).

I'm on autocruise, really. I'm knitting a few things but fear it won't work out: One is the cardigan taht I forgot to jot down the number of rows and the other is a dress which I fear I have decreased enough. ARGH!

Also, even though I enrolled in the class, I'm so effing tired and doubt I'll be able to attend this year. I hope to join the knitty gritty gang next year with full energy tho. :-)

sup, ladies?

i am working on my elizabeth zimmermann seamless hybrid:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1381/1480494590_6961671d28.jpg?v=0

i also may be buying this in a few weeks:

http://www.woolery.com/images/kromskiart/kromskisax2.jpg

spinning is TEH BEST. i've joined my local spinning guild too.

/end nerdiness

oh, also: i've ordered some blue-faced leicester fleece and a dye kit. hopefully, it will arrive tomorrow, so i can practice with it before the Dye Day i'll be attending next week.

I do love to knit but I can't bring myself to do it. :-( Have plenty of things I want to make but don't get around to. Guess I'll have to wait a few months, right?

I gave the knitted bag to my mum who's so excited. She wears the frilly scarf and also the cardie I made her. :-)))) It makes me extremely happy though I think I could've done the cardie better. :-)

Hello, handspun!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2231/1624032694_aa3adebd32.jpg?v=0

I was browsing in a Cath Kidston shop over the weekend, and they had decorated the store with the most gorgeous knitted paper chains. I've no idea if they were for sale or not (they'd probably be quite expensive anyway) but I thought it was such a brilliant idea that it inspired me to rush home and dig out my knitting needles and some scraps of wool to start making some of my own. I reckon if I knit 3 or 4 links a day, I might have enough for this year!

I tried to google up a picture to show you the sort of thing I mean, and came up with only one hit - a blog where someone has already made some (plus there are directions for making them):

http://www.simplyknitting.co.uk/reso...ogpattern2.pdf

I'm using 4.5mm needles, and churning them out at a rate of knots in lovely glittery dark greens and reds (the links are v quick to make, even for me who's not a very proficient knitter!). I've already made a dozen links since yesterday :)

Did that url not work?

Try again :

http://www.simplyknitting.co.uk/resources/simplyknitting/blogpattern2.pdf

My Second Hat:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2064/2202822369_215cde7542.jpg

Has anyone got a good baby hat pattern? I have some friends about to give birth and I think I can probably knit one in time.

Last Minute Gifts has a cute one I have made twice.

That looks like some very warm wool!

It is a lovely sheep/alapaca blend, nice and scratchy. From Hopyard Spinnery.

Ed, it's great! This reminds me that I have some gorgeous silver alpaca roving I need to spin up.

If you want to try cables (they're so much fun, and easy to boot), here's one:

http://www.adorabubbleknits.com/pages/cablebabyhat.php

Here's another:

http://hitherandyarn.wordpress.com/free-knitting-patterns/grow-with-me-baby-hat/

And another:

http://20hatsproject.blogspot.com/2007/12/simple-hat-with-eyelets.html

I like the first one. My current project, fingerless gloves, has a cable up the back, doing it in cheap yarn at first as there is a lot to learn whilst doing it.

I love your yarns by the way. My GF and I really want to learn to spin and dye at some point.

Yes yes yes! (and thanks!)

Spinning is ultimately awesome. Dyeing is great as well. There's something completely satisfying in the whole something-from-nothing process. I love to dye with Jacquard dyes, as they're insanely bright and colorful. This spring, I'm going to be planting a bunch of marigolds, so I can dye from them in the fall. I did that this past fall at my spinning guild's Dye Day, and the color was so yellow and lovely. I don't think it could be replicated by man-made dyes.

Kool-aid dyeing is a fun and stain-free way of learning how to dye. I've gotten some really interesting colors with generic kool-aid found at my local ghetto-mart. Here's a link from knitty.com:

http://www.knitty.com/issuefall02/FEATdyedwool.html

Re: spinning - I started off on a spindle, which was fun, but not as grand as a wheel. Wheels aren't cheap, but they're totally worth it. Spindles are incredibly inexpensive and a good way to learn. If you and your GF can try out as many wheels as you can before getting one, that is ideal. I met this local sheep farmer at the Tennessee state Fair, and she invited me down to her farm to try out her many wheels. I fell in love with the giant Kromski Symphony, and managed to get one not too much later.

i just volunteered to knit 40 dishcloths for wedding shower favors at the end of april.

1 dishcloth takes between 1 1/2 to 2 hours. it's the easy peasy CO 4, k2, yo, k2, etc. pattern my grandmother taught me.

i should be ok, right? right?

:/

carpal tunnel, here i come!

I'm not on ILX much anymore, but I am on Ravelry. PLEASE PLEASE add me if you're on there. (Molly; Tokyo Rosemary and Sarah already are. Hurrah!) I am known as stevienixed on Ravelry.

I guess I need to start using ravelry if I want to talk knitting however I did just finish this:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/2459006308_e03b4eae4b_b.jpg

I finished the panels about a month ago but have dawdled over the finishing , I hope the recipient hasn't grown too big.

Who all is on ravelry? Also - can anyone recommend a good first-time cardigan? I think I want to finally tackle a sweater of some kind & a cardigan would be better for summer.

I really like these!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19375026

Also, I am beginning a new knitting project this year: yarmulkes.

i'm 60% done with these (meaning i have completely finished one mitten and am doing the second very slowly) http://madebymyself.blogspot.com/2007/10/chevalier-lapaset.html

look how long they are though!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3296/3146504788_1d0c8b2a1e.jpg
i repeated part of the pattern (it says you can for sizing) because i have huge hands but i didn't actually need to, they're big enough

obv that was before i put the thumb on!

Has anyone ever knitted for a rat or hamster or other rodent? Lol.

also

http://smartbykrae.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bunny-sweaters.jpg

omg

their little butts!!!!!

<3<3

little orange sweater dude on the left is killing me

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2378/2430442879_5f16a54729.jpg

HOW DO I DO THAT!!!! HOW DO I DO THAT!!!!!!!!

http://icecreamtreats.googlepages.com/rathampstersnuggly

no idea what that loom thing is but it's prob easy to do the floor without that

<3<3<3!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2540/3879133906_2e457cdeda.jpg

Nice!

that's great! love the colorway.

i'm on my first sock evar and knitted past where i was supposed to turn the heel. doing toe-up. fuckfuckfuck.

so now it's sitting in its knitting bag til i can stand to rip out a half inch of tiny stitches.

i ripped out about *four* inches of that sock (top down) after i started because it was too small. it was surprisingly fast to get back there again. i just started sock 2.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2623/3878371201_1a731579cd.jpg

Finally finished my first seamless sweater: ZEE OWLET. Still had to weave in loads of threads but god damn this was a fun knit! The grafting was only possible due to youtube. hah! It's not that hard to do IF you really follow the instructions closely. The grafting was the hardest part. Weirdest thing:I dropped two sts and only noticed it WAY too late. I never drop sts. Well, up until now. :-) I am tempted to make this for me as well. This one's for a two year old.My youngest kid. :-)

The collar looks a bit too big right? Christ, can't I ever be happy? Answer: nope.

Did you notice the knit thing Sookie was grabbing in True Blood's last ep? These scenes were never in the books.Quite sure Paquin asked this to be added. She's apparently a knitter herself. I am so curious on how proficient she is. :-)

Ravelry let me down. I asked about the short row shaping in the Owlet on the Owlet subforum and nobody fucking answered! Maybe because I was right and the question was a bit simple. :-(

my socks are gonna have two different cast-ons because i could not relearn german twisted again no matter how many youtube videos i watched. so the second one is long tail. oh well!

I envy you people who can rip back x" of sock and then pick up all those goddamn tiny stitches. If I can't unknit back to the problem, I have to rip back the entire thing and start over.

Nath, that owl sweater is sweet!

I'm all over felting these days. Here is my test hat: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3455/3872275265_f5cefa86e2.jpg

It is ridiculously small, but I knitted it specifically to sort out the gauge. What I love about felting: 1) you can knit fast and loose and messy and that's okay 2) no weaving in ends 3) magicalness

i did start over! but i do sometimes pick up all the stitches. the tiny hat is hilarious. you need a pet monkey for it

Owlet is soooo much fun to make. I think seamless is the way now for me. Well, for now. The other month it was socks but I never got past that one sock. hahaha

I'm trying to stick to projects which are patts from my books. Ravelry is a great help that way. Keep on queueing patts from books. Not buying any new books either. I did get the awesome Treasure books (A MUST A MUST A MUST). All four of'em. I will attempt to "design" a seamless yoke sweater (from the book of sweater patterns) and incorporate the Gingerbreak castle (from the Treasury book). WISH ME LUCK. hahaha

i got barbara walker's "knitting from the top" which supposedly tells you all about seamless sweaters and making your own patterns but i left it in my sublet apartment and now the girl who lives there has swine flu! so maybe i can get it next week. i want to do a yoke sweater too, i've only ever done raglan.

Ooooh I am tempted to get that book even though they claim it's out of print. *slaps self* no more book buying, Nath. This Owlet wasn't top down though. don't know how easy/hard it is to do top down. But seamless knitting is so much fun!

Is anyone thinking of doing NaKniSweMo? I believe it starts in November. I'm about 2/3rds through the torso of my first top-down raglan (the Laverne pattern I got from Ravelry) and if I get it finished I'm thinking of going for a second one.

maybe! i have trouble getting projects done so it would probably be a good idea