Holy SOCKS!

Wow, lots of great news! First of all, I finished most of the first Tiffany mitten last night while watching our own Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon. [We rent the show on DVD and watch a bunch of episodes in a row--nice for knitting, because I've already seen them all.] I finished all but the "after thought" thumb. Hey, that's what it's called.


The thumb business is kind of freaking me out. Now, you'd think that I'd be so excited to finish (ok, start) the thumb and be done with one whole mitten, but I'm not. Honestly, I spent most of the morning avoiding the whole project. I did important things like clean the toilet and stuff. Finally, I got over it and sat down to look at the darned thing...


What I'm supposed to do is pull out the pink waste yarn and pick up 11 stitches from below and 11 stitches from above and start going, basically. Say what?! What if it starts to unravel, you say? Hmmm...the thought crossed my mind. (Understatement of the year, here) There is an option to pick up the stitches before you pull out the waste yarn. Yes, novel idea, I know...

Obviously, I am going for the "before" version. I did get the ones under picked up, but I guess I don't have a clue how to get the stitches from above onto the needle. Now, I could just start pulling the yarn and try to pick them up as I go, but somehow I cannot seem to wrap myself around that one. Apparently, I'm a "conservative" knitter. Tonight I will look up the afterthought thumb and see if I can't come up with some answers. And if you have any, by all means--share. Really, I'm begging you.

The wonderful part is this:


This is the black and blue together WITHOUT a flash, and I think they look smashing! Who, me? Worry?Woohoo for instinct!

Now, I can't work on my dummy project, because once again, I have run out of yarn on a project. Seriously, what is it with me? And to think when I started at WPI, I was a math major!! While I wait for more yarn to finish the Jester Hat, I decided to cast on my first ever sock. I used Knitpicks Blue Violet Multi Essential sock yarn (I have two 50 gram balls--is it enough?) and cast onto US 1 needles. After perusing Knitting Rules by the Yarn Harlot, I chose to give her basic sock recipe a try. Rather than swatch, I figured I'd just go with it. I cast on 64 sts, over 2 needles, and joined then ribbed. I'll practice, and see how the gauge works out. My work is generally too loose, so my hopes are that the smaller #1 needle will be to my advantage. We will see. (Plus, my #2's are in the Tiffany mittens, you remember.) I think this is just exciting and amazing news. (I can see you on the edge of your chair there--don't fall off...) Here's how it looks:


My last great news is that school starts tomorrow, here. The timing couldn't be more perfect. Last week I hit the wall, wondering when summer break would ever be over. However, now I'm feeling rather melancholy about my oldest starting the first grade. How I will miss her all day--ironic, isn't it? But it's still good news...

Ps. Qutecowgirl, thanks so much for the advice on how to fix the bunchy stitches. I tried it a little and it's working. I'll do more later, but I can see it coming along. Appreciate the help!

Need it, want it--Breaks

Sometimes you just need a break. That's sort of where I was this weekend. So I took them.

The Tiffany mittens are coming along. Here's where I am:

I am really liking how they're looking. However, I DID need a break from them. --Or several, actually--
For some reason, one of the charts (there are 6) was driving me up the wall. Maybe it was because it was a long run, so I couldn't just memorize it and scurry along. Maybe it was because a lot of the colors went for 6 or more sts., so I had to twist up the yarn running behind, which I hate doing. Maybe it was because I'm a little slow, and I just don't have enough brain power for this pattern... Anyhow, I was so thrilled to be done with chart D, that I wanted to do a jig. I didn't. I did tell Brian all about it, and then I referred back to the pattern to double check that I should move right on to chart E. Um, no. I should not. Huh?

Apparently, I had to do chart D, a-g-a-i-n. Say what? This is where the break came in. Seriously, I felt like I needed a time-out or something. I did plug on, but I did not like it. And I took lots of breaks.

That's where the good news comes in:
Jester Hat


Looks good. But I ran out of yarn. Argh! And I wasn't far from the end when I ran out, either.

See? I just needed a few more rows...

Now, I considered trying to go back from the bottom and take out a row or two of the blue, and add it to the bottom, redo the red and all of that, but I don't think I'm up for it. (Sounds like something the Yarn Harlot could do, but not me...I can just "think" about doing it...) It's alright, though. I need some more of this yarn for Keegan's hat, too, so I would have ordered more anyway. It would have been nice to finish this project up, but I will have to wait.

I love to finish projects. I think I might be a "project knitter", meaning I'm one of those people who knits to have something finished...not for the challenge, not only for fun, or to just play around and design something...but to make something, accomplish something, have a "something" to show for it. That's me. Not finishing something makes me need a --you guessed it!-- break.

While I've been taking knitting breaks and switching back and forth from projects, I have also needed a little "Mommy" break. So yesterday I went shopping with my sister, Ann, alone. No kids, no hubby, just me. (And Ann, but she can pretty well take care of herself.) Very nice break. We had a good time, and I got a break from the kids, laundry, dishes, etc. Much needed. And much appreciated. (Thanks, Bri!)

Ps. Advice needed: I don't like the way the corners of the mittens are coming out. By this, clearly, I mean the parts where the dp ndls connect. I'm not having any laddering or anything, but they do seem a little puckered. Here's a pic:

You can see how it's sort of bulging and has a wrinkle. What am I doing? Any advice? I'm thinking that I'm pulling the carrying yarn too tight, maybe? It seemed too loose before, but perhaps I over-corrected? Please leave a comment and let me know what you think/suggest!

OK, we're making progress...



The Fair Isle is pretty much a fair mess (inside),

but this is normal, so I'm trying to deal with it. The hard part for me has been trying to get the tension right, so the carried along yarn isn't too tight or too loose. I guess it's just a matter of practice makes perfect.


Despite the tension problems, however, I'm up into the "hand section", which is further than I'd expected to get! Check it out:




I think the children sensed the agitation I was having and they tried to alleviate the situation. Even I had to laugh at this one...They played dress-up, which mostly meant putting all kinds of crazy stuff on the baby. Still, I can't believe he let them put so much stuff on him. First, a tutu and shiny top, then a crown with a purple fleece boa, and finally, satin princess gloves. (And maybe sunglasses? I can't remember.) THEN, they were getting crazy. I couldn't see it, but I could hear it. They came in the room shouting, "Look! It's Jack-Jack!" and laughing hysterically. This is what I saw:




It's Spencer in his older brother's Mr. Incredible outfit. The baby in the movie (about a family of superheroes) is named Jack-Jack...you do the math.


Here they are, in all their glory.

Irene is dressed as a cat (of some sort), and Keegan is in Irene's lamb costume from last Halloween.

Since then, I have cast on for another project. The Jester Hat from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Kids Knits. I've wanted to make this since the day I saw the book--adorable. Since it's mostly just St.st. in the round, I figured it would be a good Dummy Project to work on when I need a break from the charts for the mittens. (You're totally right, Jen!)

I'm using Knitpicks Swish Superwash in Red Pepper and Navy Blue.

Ps. You'll be glad to know that my gauge is right on with the colorwork! (Well, I for one am glad, anyway)

Fair Isle...Oh Boy!

Quantum Leap fans, you know what I mean. That's how I feel...like when Sam from the show flashed into another time, another dimension, saying, "Oh boy". That's me, today.


The dimension: Fair Isle. Tiffany Mittens, to be exact.


It's time to start my very first attempt at colorwork, really. Now, don't get me wrong--I've done a sweater with different colored ribbing, and I've done striped blankets and scarves. But no one, no one, would confuse striping with the intricate stranded colorwork of fair isle. Here's the yarn, which arrived yesterday:

• Rhubarb pink - Knitpicks Merino Style
• Coal black - Knitpicks Swish DK
• Dusk blue - Knitpicks Swish DK
• Cinnamon brown - Knitpicks Swish DK
• Nutmeg tan - Knitpicks Swish DK

The colors look great, with the exception of the blue and black combination. To me the black (Coal) looked almost a little more grey than black, so I expected it to be lighter, and the blue (Dusk) looked a bit brighter. The black will be the main color, and the blue will be the circles part on the hand of the mitten. Just to see how they'd look, I laid out a strand of blue on the black to see if it'll stand up for itself:

Not bad. Like the website pics led me to believe. But without a flash:

You can see the problem. Blue sort of disappears. So now I have to decide if I should go with a lighter, brighter blue. I tried to match the colors to my general winter apparel, so I could wear these with almost anything. My main outerwear choices are a black fleece vest with pink detail (covered), brown or khaki sweaters (covered), black dress coat (covered), and my blue and black parka (wrong blue). Ironically, the blue that's too dark for the black is ALSO too dark to match my winter coat. :( This stinks.

Well, on the brighter side. I did the first gauge swatch (st. st.) with a US 2, and it's pretty darned close. A tiny bit tight, but I think it might be o.k., because my hands are a bit smaller than the mittens are supposed to be with the "correct" gauge. The second gauge swatch is supposed to be a stranded color swatch, so I decided to just get started. If I'm right on the second swatch, I'll just keep going. (And jump up and down triumphantly) If I'm off, I'll try again with a US 3. At least I'll have had practice at the actual pattern and the colorwork, too. So it's no harm, right? As long as I promise to TAKE IT OUT AND REDO IT IF IT'S OFF. You know me, I always want to "just keep going and see if it fits o.k."...terrible idea. O.k., I promise.

Here's what I have so far:

Not bad for a start. The Picot edge (there'll be a hem flipped inside the mitt later):

And a little better of the colorwork:

I think it's turning out pretty well. I'm taking special care to make sure it's loose enough on the inside, and I think it's going all right. Stay tuned for more updates!

Darned Family Fun

Well, I made little progress on my current projects due to inordinate amounts of family fun. Hey, sue me. We spent the weekend at the beach, for the annual Labor Day party (yes, we're aware this year's festivities did not fall exactly on Labor Day, or even on the correct weekend for that matter). Brian, the kids and I enjoyed lots of sun, surf, and swimming Saturday, followed by good food and family fun in the evening, and then finishing the weekend with golf (for dh), family bonding and some more beach time on Sunday. Good times. Sadly, I didn't get much for pictures, but here's the view from the deck of the house, just to give you an idea.



Close up of what's out there


And a view up the beach towards Hampton


All in all, Seabrook treated us well, and we really enjoyed the family time. Plus, where else would we want to be? We pulled in the driveway on Saturday afternoon, and the van's readout said it was 99 degrees out! Nothing like the freezing oceans of New England to take the edge off of that heat...

I did work on the gift scarf during the ride up, but I couldn't bring it inside, since it's the recipient's house. Der, right? By some strange twist of fate, I didn't really have much else to work on. My sweater's still waiting for yarn, and the cardigan is finished. I haven't really cast on anything else, because I'm waiting for my Knitpicks for the Tiffany mittens. But I was busy socializing (and eating) so I guess I *survived*. Sadly, the Knitpicks didn't arrive today, either. I am avoiding opening the mailbox, because any mail in there confirms that the postman DID in fact arrive, and DIDN'T leave my yarn. So, if I don't confirm either way, I can continue to believe that there isn't a package on the porch simply because he as not delivered the mail yet today. Clever, huh?

Oh, yes--the highlight of the visit was seeing my SIL, Maura, who just arrived home from France after almost 2 months! Woohoo!! Welcome home, Mo! She came bearing gifts: sweet matching pj's for the kids from Le Petit Bateau (I'll have to get a pic of them all wearing them), a fancy French pocketknife for Brian, and this for me:

These are "all the rage" in France right now. I love it. In real light, it's a much deeper, more bright purple color, but you get the idea. At the risk of embarrassing myself, I'll tell you this: the translation is something like "Think about tomorrow, today" or something along those lines, according to my SIL. Now, she's fluent in French, and I believe she knows precisely what it's saying, but that's the sort of "dumbed down" version she told me, a non-fluent American. Now, I just did an online translation, and it said "Let us act for tomorrow, everyday." I'm gonna give Mo the benefit of the doubt and assume that I am just remembering her translation poorly. It's pretty likely, after all.

Stalking Postman

OK, I have to admit it, I am a little bit stalking our postman.

That's right, I am waiting for the arrival of some new yarn, and it's just not coming fast enough. ;D When is it expected? Oh, between Monday and a week and a half from Monday...what?? I just can't wait, o.k.?

Some of the gals from the Snb forum I love are doing a little knit-a-long, and this order contains the yarn for it. We'll be making the Tiffany Mittens from Knitty. Now, I am a little nervous since so far Fair Isle has evaded me, and we just haven't met. Plus, it's FIVE colors! This is a real jump for me, but I'm hoping that all together, we'll be able to help each other out, like we did in the Market Bag KAL. Plus, you'd be amazing how much more patience you have and how much slack you can allow yourself when everyone else is having trouble, too. KAL's motivate me, too--of course you want to keep moving and stay ahead of the crowd...not to mention showing off your finished object!

So, here I am, stalking the postman and waiting for my order from Knitpicks to arrive, somehow, magically--ahead of schedule. I believe the chances are good...

What 'cha up to?

Hmmm...obviously, I took a little break from knitting, huh? But you knew that. I've been "back on the wagon" for a while now, actually, just not blogging. So here I am, back, and ready to share what I've been working on.

My most recent finished object is a sweater for my dd, from The Yarn Girls Guide to Knits for Older Kids. I believe it's called Triple the Fun, or something along those lines. I had a little problem with the buttons Irene picked out (yeah, they wouldn't fit into the buttonholes!) so I had to take them off. Here it is without buttons for now:

But I still think it's super cute! It's made with Berroco Ultra Alpaca, which has gorgeous heathered colors (truly amazing, but hard to capture in a pic), but it's a little scratchy for my taste, I think. Actually, it sort of ate up my fingertips while I was working on it, and I wondered if I was allergic to wool. Yikes! So I think this might be the last time I work with it. If you want to try it, though, I got it here, and the guy who works there is tremendously helpful and nice (and honest), and you should check it out. :D It's actually my LYS, but you can order from them, and I think they have free shipping, too.

Also OTN (on the needles) is an Irish Hiking Scarf (shhh, holiday gift for someone!, and no--you can never begin too early). I ordered from a new place called Knitpicks and so far, I'm very happy with them. In fact, I placed a second order with them already (probably within the week of receiving my goodies). Tragically, I had to order at least $45 worth of stuff to get free shipping. How will I ever survive?? LOL

Here's what I have so far:

<---color's more accurate here

I'm using Knitpicks Swish worsted yarn in Dublin, and I'm making decent progress (since all I do is knit during the kiddos' swim lessons, instead of watch--bad Mommy!) so far.

One more WIP (work in progress) is a v-neck sweater for myself, but I don't have any pics. It's from...

You guessed it! ...a Yarn Girls book! This one is special to me for a few reasons. It's the big thing I'm making for myself , woohoo!! I adapted the pattern so that it will (I hope!) fit me better, so I'm nervous about that, a little bit. Plus, I bought the yarn for it at the Yarn Girls' store in NYC, The Yarn Co. It was the first time I had been there, and I was pretty well blown away. Sadly, I was there with my hubby, who was not as excited as I was, but whatever...I still enjoyed myself. The little mini-vacation was in celebration of our 10 year anniversary (as a "couple", that is) and we went into the city alone together for the first time (of many, I hope!). So I have a lot of good memories associated with this sweater, and I hope to finish it in time for chilly weather. I ran out of yarn --gasp!-- so I have to order 2 more balls. Hmmm...maybe I'll go do that right now?