You Don't Have To Hit Me With A Hammer

Something became very very obvious to me this weekend.  I knew it, but I have been in a very serious case of denial for a very long time.  I have a problem. I will never live to knit all of the yarn I have.  I have no business ever buying more yarn again or patterns or books or needles.  If you are a knitter, you know what I mean.

It became quite evident as I loaded garbage sacks full of yarn from the yarn room -  Oh, no, this is not the first set, this is the second set.

The first set is at the new house awaiting dispensation.  Along with some of the project bags.

And then I started sorting bags, one for Barb at work, she has nieces and nephews who could use yarn scraps for different craft projects.  Do you this bag will see them through?

Then I start texting friend Debbie, hey do you want this really cool blue Reynolds Saucy for your grandson?

There is a bag of yarn for Yarn Over started for next December  (the one on the left), the garbage bag is going to the new house.

A bag of bags for friend Sue, she wanted one, she is getting three.

I've got a bag just for Pacific.

And a bag of Spring/Summer yarns from Springs and Summers of days gone past.

And this is my basket of what I am currently knitting on.  I put it all in a basket, so I would know where it is while moving.

But, I'm okay.  I have discovered with all the bagging up what wonderful yarns I have and I am looking forward to revisiting the knitting of them in the years to come.  It also made me really aware that I need to start finishing projects, but I'll leave that for  a post later this week.

I Did It!

In the wee hours of the morning, I finally mastered Emily Ocker's Cast On.

Sure, I did it maybe once or twice painfully, but early this morning I googled it and it came up with this video that just made a lot of sense to me.  I'm book marking it for future reference.
http://newstitchaday.com/emily-ockers-cast-on/

Now, you might ask what is this you are knitting on and how does it relate to the post of yesterday?  I thought you were talking Summer knits?  Well, frankly, it doesn't, but while I was doing a bit of gawking on other people's blogs, I stumbled upon a post where they had knitted Elizabeth Zimmermann's Pi Shawl from the Knitter's Almanac in Malabrigo Sock.  I really liked the look of the lightweight yarn being used for the shawl and remembered that I had some Madtosh Sock that I wasn't quite sure I knew what it wanted to be.  I just knew that I had to have it a couple of years ago and it is way too dear of a yarn to be left sitting around unknit.

So I cast on (did I say in the wee hours of the morning?).  And was so amazed after looking at the video of how nice my cast on looked.  I had to tell myself to take it nice and easy and exercise patience as I was knitting with just a few stitches on four double pointed needles, to resist the urge to fling them across the room when the stitches were tempted to slide from the needles.  Anxious to get it onto circular needles and off of the double points, I kept knitting until they were on the circular needles.  Right now, the project is going to be in my purse as my on the go knitting, as it is perfect to pick up and put down when waiting for whatever.

Now, after that brief interlude, back to knitting something for Summer.  It is becoming clear to me that this one is going to be better for early Fall wearing.

I had a bit of a brain fade last Wednesday when Debbie and I were knitting on the porch of the new house.

I picked up the front of my sweater and commenced knitting.  I knitted all night at Knit Night on Thursday night, but when I picked it up last night, I wondered about when the armhole shaping was going to occur.  Duh, like right at the break, like two times of knitting it ago.  I ripped it out last night (early this morning) and now I am ready to read the directions and knit!

If I really hurry, I maybe able to wear it later next week, at least once, when the weather is going to be in the 60s again.  Otherwise, I am afraid this one will be best suited for Early Fall.

It Really Is Just The Beginning of May

But, I have blogged this one before, as knitters we should really be one season ahead in our knitting.  Like getting fit, knitting ahead is constantly on my list of things to be better at.

And the Spring/Summer knitting magazines are coming out in full force to spur me onto some Summer tops to knit.  Problem is  there are so many tops that I want to knit.  My favorites list for Summer Tops is growing.  http://www.ravelry.com/people/pennyj/favorites?q=summer&in=tag

My stack of magazines for Summer knitting seems to be multiplying as well.

The one thing I do not have is a lot of solid color yarns in lighter weights.  I guess I must gravitate toward heavier weight yarns for Summer.  But, I am really really trying to not buy new yarn if I can help it.  Cause, well, you know, I gotta move it all, too.

Adding to this influx of Summer knit want tos, is a group on Ravelry with yet another KAL and a website geared to Summer Tops.

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/very-shannon/2909454/26-50

http://veryshannon.com/tttkal

The gods are testing me.  There are some lovely ideas for Summer tops on these two webpages and I encourage you to go have a look and find some nice Summer tops for your knitting pleasure.   I am.

So tell me what are you knitting to wear this Summer?  And what wonderful yarns are you using?  I'll blog about what I have in my stash for Summer knitting later this weekend.

Wednesday Website

We're KALing


Join us!

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/knitaway/2887472/26-50#46

Squirrel!!

It's out of my system.  I tried it, I stayed up late, I knit on it a bit this morning, it is now history.

I cast on last night and yes, it is a easy pattern to do, I think I will like it, but not out of lace weight.   It seems like my chosen yarn and gauge just is not showing the pattern nor the lusciousness of the  yarn off to it's full potential.   I think I want mine to be more of a light fingering and I think I will save it for my Summer of Shawls.

I am, however, swatching for the Birds Nest Shawl KAL over on the Knitaway Group on Ravelry.

I am using my silver Just Beautiful Alpaca.  I love this yarn!  If you aren't knitting on anything, come join us!

A Bit of Diversion

Finally, the new house is painted.  We wrapped it up today with my new yellow kitchen, which is going to have some Caribe Blue accents.  Cupboards are all clean and airing out and waiting for moving in.

 But, we are so far from a move in date!  Next step is to get the carpets cleaned.  I am hoping to schedule that in the next week.  I am anxious to start moving some things over, but so far just a few boxes have made the trip to the basement.  While I await the cleaning of the carpets, I'll be boxing up whatever I can that I can live without until we move.

I've finally made it to the front of my Lang sweater.  This seems to me like it has been a long knit.  I have to admit, I am really getting tired of it, and afraid that it won't get any wear until the Fall now.  But, I will keep knitting on it, even though,

I am itching to cast on something new.

I've been loving a certain shawl since  camp last year -  The Radiance Shawl.  The yarn called for in the pattern is a laceweight and I happen to have a couple that fit the bill, but I think this  shawl calls for something soft and drapey, like Cheryl Oberle's Gossamer.

I am thinking about casting on this tonight just for fun a bit of diversion from packing and the Lang sweater. Sometimes, you just need a bit of diversion from your normal routine.

I Know It Is Not Wednesday!

But, I have to share this website/podcast with you.

http://knit.fm

It is a podcast by Hannah Fettig and Pam Allen.  I am not quite sure how to describe it, but other than audio learning.  They started with gauge and swatches and Episode 2, they are into sweater types.  I really am going to recommend that new knitters give a listen to them and even experienced knitters I think can get some good information from these two knitting designers.

Happy Midweek everyone!

Very Sparse Posts

I am afraid my posts will be very sparse the next few weeks.  Almost all of our free time this last week since we have closed on the new house has been spent taping, trimming and painting, oh and finding just a few surprises.  Today's surprise was this under a wall of cork board that we took off.  Now, normally, I like green, but this was a bit too green for me.  But, we had a solution and the Tall Guy's room is now painted.  We were a bit surprise that this room took us all day.

The other room that took us almost two days last week was the master bedroom.  You see, I had the bright idea that I would like an accent wall of brown with the other walls being a beige.  It is hard getting those straight lines, but, I think we finally have something that is near straight as it is going to be.

We are going to tackle the kitchen tomorrow night which I am thinking will probably take about three or more nights, since there is wall paper to take down.  We are no where near the move in date as there are so many things yet to be done, carpets to clean, cabinets to clean, well, just lots.

In the meantime, I am managing to get some knitting done, after I kick back at night and early in the morning.  I am really concentrating on my Lang Sweater right now, as I would like to wear it at least a couple of times before it gets really hot.  I am finally at the split and working my way up that back.

My Stora Dimun hasn't seen much knitting time since last weekend, I've just not been able to focus on it, but I really would like to get it past the lace so I could pick it up when my brain doesn't need to work too hard.  I really want to be able to take it to camp to wear, so I better make a plan for some knitting time on it real soon.

And finally, there is my swatch for Hitofude.  That darn Susan Rainey has knit another one of these in a variation, which totally makes me want to be working on mine.

So many things are starting to collide, but despite all that is going on, we certainly are looking forward to our new house and our new quiet little neighborhood which is so different from where we have spent the last 30 some years.

Midweek Fun

It's Earth Day!

http://www.clarescopefarrell.co.uk/knittedglobelaunch.html

Knitting vs New House

My knitting chair area has gotten a bit out of hand.  Well, frankly, so has this whole house as very little is being done here, while we are concentrating on painting the new house.  There is a little bit of everything here in the knitting piles and I am really trying to stamp down the inclination to go off in other knitting directions.

The Sol Degrade top is slow going, but it is the perfect project to pick up when I need a bit of mindless knitting or when I need to just knit a few stitches to calm the many directions my mind and body wants to go.

One of the projects that I want for the new house is an afghan for the yarn room.  I originally bought the yarn for the block afghan.  I have gotten really close lately to casting on for it, but for some reason, I  just was not sold on this yarn wanting to be the block afghan.

 I see it with some big cables and so I have spent many hours scouring Ravelry for a pattern.  Nothing came up, but I did see a $900 throw that was just what I wanted.  When I could not find the pattern, I decided to design my own.  Here is the start of it.  Don't look for any big success on it anytime soon, but at least for now, I have in my mind and on paper what it is going to look like.

I am back knitting on my Stora Dimun Shawl. The plan is to have it done in time for camp in July.  This has more than 400 stitches in a row right now so knitting across a row takes a bit of time.  Thankfully, the rows should be quicker as I get out of the lace pattern.

I am loving seeing the new house evolve, but I gotta tell you it is cutting into my knitting time and knit groups.  But, in the end it will be all worth it!

Happy 31st Birthday Baby Boy A and Baby Boy B

Priorities

Today, we closed on our new home.

This morning before I went to closing, I started thinking about the possibilities of new knits for the new house.  I came up with a couple of goodies that have been noodlin around in my brain.  New washcloths for the kitchen.  I can knit on these as a nice no brainer project and leave them at the house for quick knitting breaks.

Originally, the block afghan was going to the new bedroom, but the shade of my Aqua yarn, I believe is going to be a bit off from my new bedding, so it is now going to grace a chair or my rocker in the yarn room.

I, also, have some Briar Rose yarn that I am going to knit on an afghan for the living room.  I am sure that it will go in it, no matter what I decide to actually paint the walls with.  I'd post a pic of the yarn, but I am not quite sure where it is right at the moment.

We are painting every room of the new two story house.  Have I mentioned how I hate painting?!  But, that doesn't start until tomorrow, when we are going to try and get the Yarn Room and its closet painted.

However, today, I have my priorities.  Today, I cleaned the basement and scrubbed the unfinished floor.  In between cleaning of the basement, I took a bit of time to just bask in my new surroundings.  (Baby Boy B was closing on his new house, and the Tall Guy had to go back to work after we closed this morning.)  While basking in my new living room (and trying to decide which paint color should go in there), I did just a bit of knitting.  You see, I brought my rocking chair and my knitting with me to christen the new house.  

I gave thought to doing it with wine, but talked myself out of it because I didn't have a corkscrew.  I just remembered as I type that I have a corkscrew in my purse, my Swiss Army knife.  Oh well, there is always tomorrow.  

Spotty Knitting

When I finally decided which direction my knitting should go, I brought out my Stora Dimun Shawl out of Unspun Icelandic.  I knitted a crossed the first lace row and discovered that I had dropped a stitch back a few rows.  I tried my best to fix it, but decided it would be best to just rip back.

For those who have worked with Unspun Icelandic, you will know how very careful you must be with it.  I only had one break in the yarn as I ripped back about four rows.

 I am back on the point with my stitch count and the first couple of the lace rows were a success.  I am trying to knit a few rows every night.  It's a long way across 400 some stitches, and it is such a delight to get across them all and see that I have the right number of stitches to complete the lace pattern.

My front porch is starting to fill up with some boxes that are going to be stored for the moment until we decide where everything is going to end up in the new house.

My knitting may be a bit spotty as after we close tomorrow, I'll be spending some time at the new house.  I'm am so giddy at those words "new house"!  

Wednesday Website

Ducks

My Brain Is Full

Paint colors 

Cushions for a chair

Whether to rip this out and knit it in pieces as directed or keep doing it in the round

A sweater that Jan and I want to design that we talked about all morning long at the yarn shop

Why I felt the need to buy another sweaters worth of yarn in a yarn very close to what I am already knitting

How I can fit all of the shawls I want to do into my knitting time

All of the projects that need some finishing or blocking

You can see why my brain is so full!

Wednesday Website

http://www.colorfulstitchesblog.com/2013/06/the-knitted-flower-garden-now-on.html

Wow!

I just cannot decide on what to knit first out of here.  No, really!

Watchathon

I've been Binge Watching Boardwalk Empire since Thursday night.  Who would of thought that I would become so engrossed in a show that I'd be staying up late and watching it every chance I would get.  Thank goodness, the Watchathon is over tomorrow, I think my brain is becoming fried over the show.

On the good side, I have finished my Double Refraction Shawl out of Madelinetosh.

I've been working on this at the shop on Thursday nights for a couple of weeks, but during the last four days, I've been trying to get it done.  It's been my Watchathon project.

It needs blocking.  So, I have added it to the stack of other finished objects that need blocking.

Unfortunately, I am not quite sure when that will all happen.  There may only be time for actual knitting in the weeks to come.  I best not think to hard about that right now or it could send one into a tailspin.

For now, I think I'll go find my next project - something Spring!

Finally Finished Friday

I couldn't resist buying this yarn last week.  A quick knit and a nice little early Spring cowl.   Sanibel Cowl.  I did add another 40 stitches then the pattern called for because I wanted a bit longer or the possibility of wrapping it twice.

The yarn is Lang Yarns Ella.  A bit of a thick and thin, matte and shiny yarn.

A nice little knit.

Wednesday Website

http://yarnovertruck.com

I should have come up with this one.