It's Up!!

Episode 11 is up on You Tube where I talk about getting ready for Stitches Midwest starting this Thursday!

In the episode, I talk about a giveaway I am doing in my newly created Ravelry Group - pjknits

Check the episode out, join the Ravelry group and enter the giveaway contest!

Finally Finished Friday - My Sweater Project

I finally got my Featherweight out of Three Irish Girls Yarn blocked and picture ready.  I bought the yarn last year from their booth last year at Stitches Midwest after seeing and trying on a peach one.  I loved it from the get go and knew I had to knit it as soon as I saw the turquoise yarn.

I have a few issues with the finished project among them lately seem to be having some of those bleeding issues when I go to block these bright colors.  My fellow peoria knit wits keep telling me about a product called Color Catcher, and I need to add this to my shopping list.  

I always have an issue with the ribbing bands on sweaters like these.  No matter how much I pin those bottoms down they always want to pull up like above.  I wondering about a solution to that?

The reason I loved this Featherweight from first sight in their booth was that it was knit on a larger gauge than normally, which gave length to it and to the sleeves.  In my quest to do both, I did not have sufficient yarn to make the sleeves have a great transition from the body, and had to use almost every bit of the colors to get them to be where I wanted to.  

I am not going to say that this is my fave sweater of all time, but rather, one I can see me throwing on to wear on the weekend or dashing out somewhere.

It will remind me that I need to up my sweater knitting game this Fall and knit better sweaters not just faster sweaters!

Happy Weekend!

What's On The Needles This Week?

I am knitting along on my Fine Sand out of Revive.  This body seems to be taking forever!

 I knit on it all Knitting Camp long and have been pretty much knitting on it only, well except for when I have gotten really bored with it, and wanted to see how my latest wrap knitting will look.

And then, this is my take to work knitting.  It is easy to grab and go.  And the Tall Guy has remarked how pretty this one is.

Have a great knitting week!

Episode 10 Show Notes

Episode 10 of pjknits can be found on You Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e10UTY5Kcio&index=1&list=UUCbl7nVHMxyzyF8SdRcoCzQ

Fruity Knitting Episode #57 Interview with Meg Swansen

Lerwick Harbour Hap Shawl

Alter Knit Stitch Dictionary

Ullcentrum Swedish Gradient

Fine Sand -- Rowan Revive

Upside Down - Shibui Pebble

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/laine-magazine-issue-5

Confidence Shawl/Kerchief

Ahhh, Knitting Camp

It was another wonderful knitting camp!  I learned so much and I have so many new ideas that I want to incorporate into my knitting!  So many wonderful things to see and so much fun and laughter with new and old friends.  They all inspire me!  And make me want to be a better knitter.

Tomorrow, I am going to do a new YouTube Podcast to talk about the weekend.  And then on Thursday it is back to work for a couple of weeks until Stitches Midwest.  After that,  I'm staying put until after the first of the year, when January Thaw comes around.

I've got plenty of knitting to keep me busy in the months to come and am so super excited to share it here and in video, but in the meantime, here are some pics from Camp, I didn't get too many as the iPhone camera just doesn't do justice sometimes.

 We had four Lindas at our camp.

Just a couple of the Contest entries.  The contest theme was Circus.

An intarsia knit rendition of a book cover featuring a Circus Tent.

A tightrope wire act that was strung across a piece of yarn and as she entered the stage with an assistant, the act looked like she was actually walking a tightrope wire.   So stinking cool.

The tattooed lady!  Leave it up to Linda to come up with this one!  The blowup doll actually has her face printed on it!

And table mate, Susan's Dumbo, he was just too stinking cute!

But, the winner was, Bridget and her costume full of cars.

As opposed to, how many clowns can fit into a car.

Just another great camp with a trip to the farm to stock up on some fresh cheese curds that squeak ( a sign of freshness!)

Finally Finished Friday

Finally after almost two years, and getting a skein to finish my border a year ago, my Lerwick Harbour Hap Shawl is finished.  I love this pattern from Denice at Lost City Knits.  And the yarn, Foothills Fingering is a fave to work with and wear.

I was such a procrastinator on this one.  And so you can see why I need my little playbook of when I need things done by and what I should be knitting on.

As we speak it is in our hotel room, waiting for it's debut at Show and Tell!

Then I'll cover up with it to keep warm.  I cannot wait to cast on another hap, perhaps with a different border next time.  I've already got the yarn from Denise, waiting at home.  But, probably won't until next year because I have lots of knitting to keep me busy until then.

Have a great weekend, I'll blog about camp next week!

Gone Camping

Linda and I are off to Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp.  Knit on with Confidence and Hope!

Camp Preparedness

It's Camp Preparedness Day.  Despite the fact that work keeps trying to rear it's ugly head and ruin the good feeling I had going, I am motoring through it and getting ready to take off tomorrow for my annual trek to Marshfield WI with knitting camp roomie, Linda.  

When I stopped to think about how many camps I've/we've been to I came up with this being my 15th year, not consecutively, Linda and I's 11th year of going and Schoolhouse Press's 45th year of knitting camps. WOW!

Trying to figure out what projects to take to camp is harder than trying to come up with what clothes to take!  But, I've narrowed it down to four.  All four came out of my notebook ( I can tell it is my notebook because it has my name on it).

About a month ago, I decided to get serious about my knitting timeline and objects that have sort of a deadline and made a page in my notebook for every month from June through December.  On the pages, I made a rough thought of knitting projects I would like to have done and some soft due dates.

I am pleased to say that June was a success and July is looking pretty good too.

At the bottom of the pages, for each month, I penned in what I might like to be working on for certain time frames.  And by soft, I mean, subject to change.  Already, the Vertices Unite is not something I am taking to camp to knit on, but rather, another wrap that I bought last year at Stitches Midwest and hope to have done to take with me there.

I know, I know, some may say this takes the fun out of it, but for me, I needed a clear thought as to what I need to be knitting on and when.  And I'd like to say that it is helping to NOT buy yarn, just because.

Hey, it is my story and I'm sticking to it.  Keep Kool Knitters!

Finally Finished Friday

Fir Cone Lace Simple Shawl by Cheryl Oberle

Happy 4th of July