Clue #1 Complete!

Let me tell you about the lace knitting week I've had.  It's been terrible.  I'm working on knitting up a new lace design which is very lacey and has lots of stitches.  At the end of Part A of the shawl I have 458 stitches (or there about), so it's pretty big.  I start Part B and am plugging away until row 6 when I see what looks like a bunch of dropped stitches.  Upon closer inspection it is probably about 3 to 5 dropped stitches that have unraveled to the lifeline.  I take a deep breath and start trying to put the pieces back together.  After fiddling with it a bit, I have it somewhat back together.  I'm feeling okay about it, but I'm not feeling great.  In the end I decide to rip it out because this is a sample of the pattern (just a sample for me but nonetheless a sample) and I wanted it to be right.  If this was a shawl I was just knitting to knit, then I would have just gone on with my fix and been happy with it.  

Then I'm knitting another shawl, actually a lace weight En Fuego Shawl, and the cat jumps up to where I'm knitting.  Well, I got startled and pulled my hands apart and thus dropped a bunch of stitches.  This one I couldn't fix and believe me I tried.  In the end I ripped back to my lifeline and went on with the knitting.  Mind you that these two incidents happened within days of each other.  You'd think that all this ripping would put me off from lace, but I never think about it that way.  Sure, I'm kinda mad at the time, but it's just how it goes.  

If you thought that was the end of my lace woes, then you'd be wrong.  I don't blame you for thinking it was the end because after all that even I thought that I was done.  I'd paid my lace dues for the year or at least a couple of months.  What else could go wrong and how many lace projects do I have going?  After all the drama of my ripping, picking up stitches and re-knitting sections, I thought it would be a good idea to work on my mystery shawl.  So, I pick that up and start knitting away.  I've almost completed a row (I'm talking like 25 stitches from the end) and since this is a bottom up shawl that means I have 283 stitches in the row and I realize that I've been knitting the wrong row.  I'm suppose to be knitting Row 3 and instead I've knit Row 1.  Ugh!!!  You know what I do next, nope not rip, but instead I do what I call "knitting backwards".  This is where I essentially undo each stitch back to the beginning of the row. 

Cast-on completed!

They say that bad things happen in threes and I'm hoping that they are right.  I've since gone on to complete the mystery shawl Clue #1 without any further problems.  I'm happy with how it is turning out and looking forward to the next clue coming out tomorrow.  Actually, I'm happy with how all my lace projects are going despite the difficulties they've given me this past week.  Here's hoping that this week's lace knitting goes smoothly.

Clue #1 completed!

Firsts

I'm on a roll lately where almost every project I want to cast-on for involves some sort of technique I've never done before.  First it was the Wedge socks and now it's a shawl knit from the bottom up.  The shawl is actually a KAL being run by Wendy Johnson of Wendy Knits through her Ravelry group.  The pattern is named the Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl KAL 2012.  I'm in a little bit of a shawl rut where almost every shawl I've knit lately has been one of my own patterns.  Now don't get me wrong, I love knitting my own shawl patterns, but there is something fun about knitting someone else's shawl pattern & seeing how they put the lace patterns together.  Another reason I picked this shawl is because it is a mystery shawl.  Why is that good?  Well, it's because it will give me a little more to knit over the next month without feeling like I just want to knit on it nonstop.  I like to think of it as portion control for knitting.  

I'm knitting mine using Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in the fabulous colorway Silver Fox.  I knit a swatch using size US 5 (3.75 mm) needles.  Normally I wouldn't knit a swatch, but in this case if you knit a swatch AND posted it in her group under the swatch thread, then you would be eligible for prizes.  I'm not really hopeful that I will win a prize, but it's fun to play along and be part of the group.  This is going to be my first project knit using the Tosh Merino Light and if anything can be based on knitting the swatch, then I can tell I'm going to love it.  This KAL is running from June 20th to July 17th with a new clue being released every week.  I'm (hopefully) going to be posting my work in progress pictures along the way.

First Wedge done!

My first Wedge sock is done!!!  The photo isn't the greatest since the colors are a bit brighter in real life (see previous post), but I wanted to share.  I haven't cast on for the second sock yet because I think I need to work on my Amelie Socks as well as some other projects I have going on.  Though Mr. SpiderKate & I are taking a road trip this weekend so it might be nice to be working on the second sock while away...

The Wedge!

I'm going through this phase with pattern buying.  I see a pattern either a single pattern or collection of patterns in a book and/or magazine and despite wanting it (or them), I don't buy them.  Then I get home and I can't get the pattern/book/magazine out of my head!  This drives me crazy until the next time I'm at my LYS and am able to buy the pattern/book/magazine.  Where am I going with all of this?

Cast-on photo - June 1st

Well, one of my most recent purchases was Knit.Sock.Love. by Cookie A.  I've loved this book since I first laid eyes on it.  The photography in this book is absolutely amazing.  If you haven't seen this book before, then definitely get your hands on a copy to drool over all the photos.  Don't forget to also spend some time drooling over all the sock patterns as well.  There are 19 socks patterns in the book, which are divided into three sections: Chapter 1 Columns, Chapter 2 Tessellations & Chapter 3 Diagonals.  Of those 19 patterns, some were and still are published as free patterns while the others are brand new sock patterns.  Most of the patterns include multiple sizes and the directions are left "open" in the sense that you can knit them anyway you like i.e. with DPNs, magic loop, or with 2 circular needles. 

This sock is Arthur approved

I also had an ulterior motive with buying this book - finding the perfect sock pattern for some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn that I inherited from my mom in the colorway Argyle.  I'm not sure how old my version of Argyle is because mine was bought as two hanks of 215 yards each.  My version also seems to have more grey than the picture on Jimmy Beans Wool yarn page. 

Short row heel completed!

The pattern that spoke to me was Wedge as it looked like the perfect pattern to use for multicolored yarn.  I earmarked the page and figured I'd get around to casting on for these after I finished my current pair of socks.  Then I started looking up the socks on Ravelry because we all know I love researching patterns to death before casting on.  Anyway, this search then lead me to looking up the book Knit.Sock.Love on Ravelry and ultimately to finding a Ravelry group dedicated to the book.  This group is amazing.  They have a KAL going every month for a different pattern in the book.  

Back of short row heel

What do you think that June's KAL pattern was going to be?  Wedge!!!  It was like the stars aligning.  How could I not participate in this KAL??  Of course I had to participate.  The KAL runs from June 1st to July 31st.  I'm already through the cuff, leg, & heel of sock #1.  I elected to knit my socks using DPNs, since the sock has a short row heel.  I've never done a short row heel before and wasn't super confident I could navigate it on magic loop the first time through.  I'm really happy with how the yarn is knitting up and generally enjoying the pattern.

Silverbells Shawl!!!

Well, it's taken me much longer than I initially anticipated but my latest shawl design, Silverbells Shawl is now available for purchase via Ravelry!  This is a triangle shawl that is smaller (re: shawlette sized), but can be made larger by increasing the number of chart repeats.  I was inspired to design this shawl by a friend knitting a shawl in Malabrigo Silky Merino.  The yarn just looked and felt soo yummy, that I knew I needed to design/knit a shawl for myself using it.

The shawl was knit on a US 7 (4.5 mm) needle using just under 2 skeins of the Silky Merino.  If you are wanting to make a larger shawl, then definitely have a third skein.  If you plan on knitting a separate gauge swatch, then definitely buy a third skein. I was really torn trying to determine if I should have added my usual yarn "fudge" factor when listing yarn for the pattern, but in the end I went with how much yarn I used exactly.  I normally add this fudge factor to try to account for differences in gauge because nothing is worse than running out of yarn for a project.  However, for this shawl I didn't want people to have to buy a whole third skein and only end up using a little bit of it.

The pattern includes both written and charted instructions.  Pattern is downloaded as a 4 page pdf that is ~800 kb.  This shawl is definitely a quick knit - perfect for yourself or as a gift!  Of all my shawls, I think that this one is probably the best so far for a true shawl novice.  If you've been scared to try out a shawl on your own, then please give this one a try! 

The following stitches are used: knit, purl, yarn over, & sl1 k2tog psso.  That's it! The trickiest part of the whole shawl is probably the garter stitch cast-on, but there are a lot of great tutorials out there on that -  Stephen West has a great photo tutorial here.  A quick search for videos will also turn up some great videos demonstrating the garter stitch tab cast-on.

A pain in the neck

Ugh. I woke up with my neck in serious pain and ibuprofen has not helped it.  This has happened to me before, but usually by afternoon I'm all back to normal.  Not today.  Today the pain has lingered & lingered & lingered.  My only hope now is that by the time I wake up tomorrow that the pain will be gone.  But enough about that.  Where am I at knitting wise?  I have a myriad of projects going on! I got on a mission to finish up some of them, but no matter how many I might finish up there are always more that I want to cast-on.  

My most recent finished project is a pair of socks that I started last June, the Indian Corn Socks. The pattern is the Classy Slip-Up Socks by Betsy Lee McCarthy from the book Knit Socks!: 15 Cool Patterns for Cozy Feet.  I knit the fingering weight version using Farmhouse Yarns Fannie's Fingering Weight yarn in colorway Indian Corn. If you haven't checked out this sock book, then I recommend checking it out.  There are a variety of sock patterns from beginner to advance as well as options for fingering weight & sport weight for a couple of the socks. 

This is yarn that I inherited from my mom and spent time looking for a pattern that I thought would work well with the colorway.  Now, I don't have the sock book in front of me, but I believe that the description of the pattern says something about how the slipped stitch pattern is perfect for showcasing variegated yarns.  It was this description that hooked me and convinced me that this was the pattern for the yarn.  I was really curious to see how the color of this yarn was going to knit up because looking at it I just couldn't tell if it was going to come together.  Well, I had no reason to wonder or worry because the colors knit up beautifully.  I should also mention that this yarn was wonderful to work with and I'd recommend it if you come across it.

The details: I knit these using US 1 (2.25 mm) DPNs following the fingering weight version of the sock.  The only modification I made was casting on 64 stitches instead of 68 stitches.  This subsequently required me to modify other parts of the pattern  in the following areas: 31 heel stitches, 17 stitches after turning the heel, picked up 17 stitches on each side of the heel, and then decreasing back down to 64 stitches for the Gusset decreases.  I shaped the foot as directed in the pattern.  I'm really fortunate that I took good notes while knitting the first sock because I was able to replicate it for the second sock.  The fit turned out perfectly for me, so I'm really happy with my initial decision to cut out 4 stitches from the cast-on.

Yarn Party 5/14/12

We attacked the cheese plate. Yum!!!

One of my favorite parts of my trip to MD (besides seeing my family) was a yarn party that my mom arranged for us to have at Fibre Space.  Fibre Space has this unique program where as you spend money you move up a ladder of sorts of prizes.  The first tier prize is t-shirt and so on; well my mom was at the point where she achieved Space Commander level which meant that her "prize" was a private yarn party that included a cheese platter, sparking cider & use of a private room for 2 hours.  When my mom asked me if this was something I was interested in doing I of course answers "ABSOLUTELY".  She also informed me that we would a 10% discount that day as well!   Our yarn party was scheduled for Monday 5/14/12 @ 11"30 AM and it was awesome.  It was just a great time for my mom, my sister and myself to just sit and knit and hang out.  

Mary & Mom getting their knit on

Mary & me knitting!

Mary knits!!

Mom knits!!

I love this little guy

I've spent the last week visiting my family in MD and tomorrow is my last day.  I was pretty busy getting ready for the visit and I've been pretty busy while visiting, so my blog has been neglected :o( I can report that I've finished my socks (yay) and cast-on for another pair of socks (yay)!  For now I will leave you with my second sock when it was in progress with Arthur watching over it.

Why would you knit when you could pet me????!!?

A study in blocking

Blocking is something that I was always intimidated by until I actually tried it.  The first project I ever blocked taught me about gauge and how it matters if gauge is measured blocked or unblocked.  Yeah, I ended up with a hat that was too big for my head and being my naive self, I thought that drying could fix that - I think we all know how that turned out.  The time I first appreciated blocking was after blocking my first lace shawl.  It still amazes me to this day that blocking can take something like this:

And turn it into something like this:

Beautiful!  All that lace opens up and just tells a story.  Look at how those yarn overs opened up! Without blocking, the lace would just be this kinda crinkled, crumpled up looking piece, which might be nice in its own right, but the true beauty comes from blocking.  I also like blocking because I feel like I get a good stretch while I'm doing it.  I tend to pin out points on this side and then adjust on the other side and so on & so forth to the point where it's like I'm moving all over the place.  

Blocking is something that you can't hurry.  In this case, the shawl needs time to soak first.  Then it needs to be rinsed, rolled in a towel, and finally laid out flat on the blocking surface.  How long should you soak a shawl? At least 20 minutes, if not more, and it never hurts to soak it for a good long while.  It also needs time to completely dry as this is what will set your shawl or garment.  Once it's dry, then it's going to be stuck that way until you block it again.  The shawl pictured above is a pattern I hope to release in May and the working title is Silverbells Shawl.  It's knit using 2 skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino on a size US 7 (4.5 mm) needle.  More details to come as I finalize the pattern this week!

Garden Garden Garden

This past weekend Mr. SpiderKate and I watched a segment on the Today show about having a raised garden.  We commented to each other that that would be a good way to do a garden and in fact we already have a place in a backyard that has a sort of raised garden.  That was all it took - we immediately knew what we were going to spend the rest of our day doing.  First we had to go running and then eat lunch (of course), but right after lunch we were off to first Lowe's (didn't have raised garden kit) and then to Home Depot.  So, we buy the raised garden kit from Home Depot along with like 5 bags of garden soil and gardening tools.  We get all this stuff home and then decide that we don't need the raised garden kit and instead are going to see if we can rehab the one already in the backyard that was left by the previous owner.  Well, after some work & elbow grease we had a plot ready to use, but no plants.  

You see, initially we thought that we were going to get the garden ready on Saturday and then do the planting on Sunday.  But apparently we are gluttons for punishment (who knew planting a garden was a lot of work) because we decided to head back out to the nursery and pick up all the herbs/vegetables/fruits.  We ended up with the following: cilantro (2), parsley (2), tomatoes (3), bell pepper plants (3), strawberries (2), basil (1), mint (1), & oregano (1).  Including the rosemary that was already planted in the garden, that makes 16 plants!  Yeah, we don't really even know if all these things can be planted together, but we are going for it and hoping for the best.  We figure that this year will be our "learning year" and by next year we will be pros.