It All Started

Isn't that how all good stories start?

It all started when I went looking for this errant skein of yarn.

In the last couple of weeks, I have been trying to locate it in my stash.  And because, I really never had an inventory or my stash on Ravelry, I wasn't 100% sure I had the skein I was looking for.  I had notes in a notebook when I was trying what yarn to use for a sweater a couple of seasons that  had five skeins of my yarn, but when I went looking in my bins, I could only locate 4.  I cast on my sweater on a wing and a prayer that the 5th would turn up.  Finally, I found the label about a week ago with the pattern that I had knit a swatch last season.  I knew I had that skein of yarn!!!  But, where?

I looked in the yarn room in the bags on the tree.  I checked bags in the chest.  I looked lightly every where at that darn skein remained hidden.  Almost conceding defeat, I bought a skein at my local yarn shop, in a totally different dye lot, and knowing full well, it is never a good idea to mix dye lots, but I picked it up none the less, just in case I could make it work.

In the mean time, because I have such a ridiculously amount of stash and I know what is there, but did I really know what is there, I thought if I was going to tear my stash apart, it was time to get a good inventory and get it logged into Ravelry so I could use the stash function over there to it's potential, I started last week, the great inventory.

Every skein of yarn is coming off, getting its picture taken, written down with color ways, dye lot, how many there is of them and what new bin it is going into.  Then into Ravelry it goes.

I am on about day three of entering into Ravelry and hoping that I'll have a place to sit soon in the yarn room.

But, after Day 3, just as I was about to give up for the day, and go back downstairs in defeat, I decided to pull some of the some yarns off to take just a few pictures more and what do you think popped up???
My ball of yarn!!!

THE END!  To the perfect story!

Wednesday WIPS

I'm afraid this one is a cut bait.  My Vitamin D out of Sea Pearl is being pulled off the needles.

 This baby has been on the needles for years.  My friend Susan wears it well, http://www.ravelry.com/projects/lv2knit/vitamin-d but she has height to her and I don't.   Susan has made some great changes to the pattern to look good on her, but for me, it's a no go.  Bye Bye!

On the good side, I have major yardage in this Sea Pearl that I can see still see it as a cardigan.  I've got a couple of possible patterns in mind.

What's On The Needles This Week

I'm becoming a bit of a monogamous knitter these days! This week's on the needles is from the new book Minnesota 52 that I have blogged about before.  The pattern is Friendship Road .

This knit is a pretty straight forward knit, round and round with just a couple of things to keep you from totally vegging out on the knit. 

The bag in the background is going to house my knits while in progress from the book.  Cori and Megan's company name is Knit Cahoots, so I thought it was an apt bag to use.  The bag is from a local bag maker to me, Nicole doing business as Trappings and Trinkets.  She has an etsy shop that can be found Trappings and Trinkets    or my local yarn shop, The Fiber Universe in Peoria also carries her bags.

I am living on a wing and prayer with the yarn on this knit.  I seem to have lost a ball somewhere in the yarn room and am hoping to find it before the knit is complete.  I know it is somewhere, just need to find it.

I've done some mods to the pattern.  I am using a larger gauge than the pattern suggests, from the cast on through just below the bust, then switching to a couple of sizes smaller through the rib cage and waist, about 4 inches.  After that, I will go back to the larger size needle for the hip and ribbing.  I won't make this as long as the pattern calls for, tunic length, instead opting for a more flattering measurement for me.  And the fact that I will have limited yarn supply in the dye lot as well.

The pattern calls for A-line decreases, but I am creating my own with the change in needle sizes.  A hint that I learned from Cheryl Oberle, years ago with her Knitted Jacket book.  I have knit an A-Line before and was not happy with the look on me, I need less flare at the bottom to accentuate the lovely hips that I have.

Hap Blocking

One of the nicest/giving knitters, designers and business people you will ever meet is Denise of Lost City Knits.  Not only do I love her yarns, but she is a wealth of info.  Chris, the other half of Lost City Knits built her a Hap Shawl Blocker and well, I may have bought one that I need to bring home from Stitches Midwest because I see a lot of Haps in my future.

Denise graciously consented to traveling with one or two ( the second one she donated to the raffle, and no I didn't win, hence the reason mine will be at Stitches Midwest) and she gave us a blocking demo on Friday night using Linda C's shawl.  Here are some pics which makes the whole process so much easier than trying to do it on the floor or a bed.

It's A New Year - For Me!

Every July, my knitting camp roomie, KCR, and I make our annual trek to Wisconsin.  It's a five hour drive, give or take, and we talk almost non-stop about knitting.  KCR has aptly named it the start of our knitting new year.  There are so many great knitting ideas running through our brains that we cannot wait to get home and start putting them into our queues.  We start plotting and planning next year's show and tell and vow that we will have some kick butt SNT and have so many new knits to wear that we will have to switch them out at night when we go out to dinner!

At work, July 1st signifies a new fiscal year.  Thank goodness in Illinois, we finally have a budget, but that aside, the fiscal year for the departments I manage is a night mare getting everything resolved for the closing fiscal year and getting all the many things set up for the new fiscal year.  This year in August, we have added work because the first time ever, we will be getting the first year medical students along with a few days later, the second year medical students who will be coming to be future physicians.

Earlier this month, my brother had some serious health issues.  He is better, but this is still a life changing moment for  him that we somewhat  were just waiting for, given the health history on our father's side.  A very sobering moment occurred amongst all of this when Baby Boy B inquired as to whether I had a check up for these issues yet.  Of course, I eased his mind and mine a bit recalling that I had a fairly extensive check up last Fall before the foot surgery.

But, lets be honest, I need to lose some weight and get back to a bit more exercise, one can only do the cop out of foot surgery for so long.  After 8 months, its time to do a bit more.  Typically, these are the kinds of things you think about around January and not July.  But again, the more I look at  life, I really like this whole July as a new year thingy.  So, what I have done today is compiled a list of my new year want tos, both knitting and non-knitting related.  What the hey, better late than never.

My Knitting New Year:
Shawls - finish some
WIPS - continue to fish or cut bait
Knit, Fit and Flatter
Fair Isle including Helsinki Sweater and Shallmillens
Kick But Show and Tell for all events, but also for GP (general practice)
Wear my knits that are gonna fit
Document my stash
Knit some stash

My Non-Knitting New Year
Lose Weight
Exercise More
Take lunch hours, eat something other than the apple and peanut butter, get away from my desk, maybe    knit or read a book
Better sleeping habits - ok, that may be a little ambitious
Cull the wardrobe - get rid of stuff that is not being worn, is not flattering or has seen better days
Find some shoes for work
Read more

And finally, "Be Happy", enjoy each day even though I gotta work (hey, work lets me do the fun things), smile and laugh at nothing in particular and knit as much as possible on things I want to knit.

Catch you on the purl side -  :)

Camp Contest

This year's theme was At the Museum.  We had some really neat entries.   The numbers are the order of appearance, not their finishing spaces.   Here they are.

Next year's theme is At the Circus.  

Friday Camp Finds

I know it is going to be hard to believe, but the things I brought home with me are lighter than ever this year…but I've got loads of ideas for the future finds.

Raffle Prize - a plethora of books

Paperback Version of Tudor Roses.  I've got some ideas I have stolen from Susan, Kim and Sally to use out of this one

Totally, out of my wheelhouse in the color way, but I am so in love with Lost City Knits Foothills Fingering, that this may have to be a shawl of sorts

From the Knit Circus booth, a Brioche Stitch Cowl.  Now, I have never done Brioche before, but I am taking it on good authority from Amy Detjen, the designer of the pattern, that it is easiest to learn in the round.

And here we are again, really out of my color range, well, except maybe for the greens, some Lavish yarn.  Susan Rainey turned me onto this yarn with a cute story and, well, I was in.

And the bestest find of all weekend.  Denise dyed me some yarn to go into my hap that I was 70 stitches shy of finishing.  When she brought it with her on Friday, it was soooo green.  So, on Saturday, she pulled a few more for me during market.  I ran up to my room to bring my hap back and none of them were good.  I went back to the rack and here was a Cerillos…just what I needed!!!!  We deducted she had mislabeled the color way here and what it really was my Abiqui!!  Squeeeee.

Show And Tell

Every year we have a calendar that the two Lindas take pictures for.  Since there are always so many great views of everything, my Show and Tell is a bit light, rather taking just the ones I want to immediately have access to.

Jane and her shadow work.  Every year, she has at least one piece of shadow work.  This year, Albert Einstein.  There are no words for these masterpieces.  Just ooo…ahhh.

Poppy is modeling Victoria's Show and Tell.  The Icelandic Overblouse.  A new take on it in three versions.  This sweater has been on my list  for a couple of years and I like all of these new versions.

Betts has a new pattern coming out later this year through Schoolhouse Press and this may just entice me.

Holly's shawl picture does not do it justice,  but not just the color but the hand of the shawl was so very nice.

Just a few of the many beauties that were shown during Show and Tell over every day of camp.

The View From My Seat

The last several years I've become quite lazy when it comes to taking pictures.  And honestly, the group as a whole does not do the whole camera thing these days, rather using our iPhone cameras to capture photos that we want to keep for us.  Each year I get a little bit lazy when it comes to taking pictures as well, but here are a few random photos from my chair.

When you sit in the same spot, you tend to see what those around you are buying or intend to buy.  Denise picked out these three colors and had them sitting within my view.  So, naturally, I had to ask Denise to dye me something similar in her yarn for another hap.

Denise is going to knit this vest that Meg designed and knit.  It was a perfect fit!!

Not only was this sweater of Meg's right on top of all the sweaters, but it is in my colors of course.  I did not buy the yarn for it, but will kick it around for later.

Leanne and Linda were deep in conversation on Sunday when I captured this picture.  Leanne is wearing a simp version of the Faroese Shawl that makes me think some yarn I bought later in the day, may just have to be one.  I so like the way the Faroese Shawl sits on shoulders.

And of course, since Denise sits directly across for me, I had to snap a pic of her Lerwick Harbour Hap Shawl while she was wearing it.

The Annual Trek To Marshfield

I cannot believe camp is over for another year.  There are so many ideas going through my head that I am really going to have to write them all down before I forget them.  There is so much knitting and so many avenues to explore.  That is what a weekend at Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp does.

It was an absolute great weekend, lots of hugs, lots of knitting, lots of good food, lots of laughter and over too soon.

Over the next few days, I'll post some highlights.  It is great to be home, and now the real knitting begins.

Gone Campin, Knit Campin That Is!

Wednesday WIPS

This week's WIP is a cut bait.  I've had this Revive Vest on the needles for several years.  The only reason it is really a cut bait is because I need to repurpose the yarn for a cardigan for my Ombre Tank.  

Now, I am just hoping I have enough yarn to make a cardi out of it.  It is a perfect match for the tank!

And sometimes, it pays to have WIPS, now doesn't it?!

What's Knittin

What a loaded question!  I'm gathering my thoughts for knit camp knitting, what to take, what not to take.  The thing about camp is there is a lot of knitting time, which is so nice and I like to take projects that I don't have to concentrate too much on, but one likes to soak up the moment and work on some hardy wool as well!

But, I promised myself that when the Hap was done, I would knit summer sweaters and that is just what I am doing this week and taking to camp with me.

The Double-Take Tee from Espace Tricot. 

The yarn is Habu's Wrapped Merino, a 99% merino, 1% silk combo.  A very interesting yarn and I can't wait to knit a bit more.  The top is lots of stockinette so should keep me busy for a while.