|
| Moved!! |
| Sunday, May 20, 2007 |
Well, google accounts went and screwed up my blogger account, so I decided to take my toys and go home. well, wordpress anyway:
Update your links! |
posted by Amber @ 8:11 PM  |
|
|
|
| Sheep! And Wool! And Wool! And Sheep! |
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 |
Maryland Sheep and Wool 2007 rocked! No migraine and no sunburn this year! (Alas, no lamburger, which was sad.)
There were sheep.
Rams(?)
Even the sheep think they're tastey!
Goats!
The Haul:
Spinning Flock Farm (Woodbine, MD)
50/50 Merino/Tussah Silk in Charcoal and Pale Lavender for Deep V Argyle Vest
The Flock Bransonas
75/25 Wool/nylon sock yarn in "Rhapsody"
More Flock Bransonas Sock
"Esmerelda"
The Mannings
Koigu, #305
More Mannings
Koigu, # 1008
While at the Mannings booth there was a woman standing next to me, and someone went pushing behind us, and pushed the woman into the big wall of koigu. She made a "hrmph" noise and glared at the pusher (because really, it's MDS&W, there's no call for shoving!) and I said "Well, there are worse things to be shoved into, I suppose." The woman stepped back, and realized she'd been pushed into a big wall of koigu and agreed it could be worse.
I got a little light headed at the Mannings
"Gossamer Webs" - History and Construction of Orenburg Lace
Carodan Farm, Stanardsville, VA
Opal Rainforest Collection in Fish & Flamingo
Shelridge Farms, Durham, Canada
6 balls of W4 in silver. Incidentally, all of my friends got some too, after I raved about it so much.
Tess' Designer Yarns
Super Sock? Pewter perhaps? Mine didn't have a label. |
| posted by Amber @ 12:31 PM |
|
|
|
| FO: Pomatomus |
| Tuesday, May 01, 2007 |
Photo by Jess at Stitch DC!
Pattern: Pomatomus by Cookie A, via Knitty
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM (color 200, I think, but the ball band has been lost to time)
Needles: Size 0. Two circulars for the leg and the foot, double points for the gusset (it was so pretty, I couldn't not do the heel flap, even though I normally sub in a short row heel).
Mods: Only did two leg repeats – the koigu has less yardage than the Shelridge, and since I couldn't remember which color it was, I didn't want to risk running out.
Notes: Love, love, love these! (Incidentally, check out Tristan Prettyman's song "Love, Love, Love" (third song on the list)). I totally disregarded the weather forecast today (80 degrees), and wore them anyway. And during the photo shoot, Maggie Sefton of the Knitting Mysteries Series popped in, and she loved them too! So much so, that she said she was going to call Knitty and find out about possibly including them in her next book!
Super big detail shot
Next up: I'm going to start the second yarrow rib sock. And next Thursday, I'm totally starting the entrelac socks. I found some great Claudia Handpaint in "Just Plum" that I'm going to use instead of "Pink Posey." They're going to be my end-of-finals treat. Along with another Ribbi Cardi.
Boy, I'm talkative lately! |
| posted by Amber @ 3:17 PM |
|
|
|
| OMG! New Magknits! |
|
Ada June - Cute. I hope magknits is still running if/when my friends have babies, so I can make this hat for them. (Print it out now? Feh!)
Brigid - I wish there were more views. But it looks like a good way to cut your teeth on some lace, if you don't want to do a boring old rectangle.
Diamond Girl - Normally I'm not a fan of things that bisect my chest. But I inexplicably love this. I'm definitely going to de-puff the sleeves, and probably use ribbon instead of icord. Maybe have the quilting come down a touch more?
Friday - You know, the purl side is really pretty! I see myself with one of these (made longer) this winter. I love the little knubs!
Rivendell - I must have this hat! Did you see the picture of the top? What a perfect crown! Although, I might throw in a rib in those big sections of reverse stockinette, just to give it a bit more grip. Maybe.
Reduce Reuse Recycle - I've always wondered what the sag factor on a plastic-plastic bag would be. But cute still. [One time, I saw someone who was looking for places to buy colorful plastic bags, so she could cut them up and turn them into a 'recycled' plastic bag. And did not see how this was an afront to the idea of the knit plastic bag as a way to reuse the bags.]
Zoe - Huh, that looks a lot smaller than the dimensions given. I'm not a purse user, and the I think the ruffle needs twice as many ruffles (making it look fuller. And to point down a little more.
Overall, I think this is one of the better issues they've had in a while! |
| posted by Amber @ 8:55 AM |
|
|
|
| Just in the nick of time! |
| Monday, April 30, 2007 |
So I got my sock pal info today and while thinking about what yarn to use I remembered that the wee tiny start up Neighborhood Fiber Company had the most perfect colorway (named "Brookland") - I ordered it just in time, too. To prep for festivals, they're (actually, I think it's just "She's...") closing down orders for a month, starting this Friday (but yay for being popular).
Now, to find the right pattern! |
| posted by Amber @ 9:41 PM |
|
|
|
| Interweave preview! |
| Sunday, April 29, 2007 |
Summer 07 Interweave preview and yardage requirements are online!
http://www.interweaveknits.com/preview/2007_summer.asp
I think I'm loving the boot socks and the hats are the only things I'm really excited about from the preview, but maybe something else will be cooler in the big pictures... |
| posted by Amber @ 3:29 PM |
|
|
|
| almostivoli |
| Saturday, April 28, 2007 |
I went on something of an interstate yarn hunt this morning. With a mere 15 rows left on my Picovoli sleeves, I ran out of yarn. So I called Stitch DC. Apparently I cleaned them out of cream color Cathay last year. [Back in the day when all this Cathay was going to be Spring Fling]). So I called Knit Happens. And bless the yarn gods, they had it! So off I went.
I almost never go to KH because I get lost and I can't parallel park. So I park in garages. But, bless the parking gods, there was an unmetered space right at the end of a block that I could just pull into!
So I went, I had a celebratory sandwich at Cosi [in honor of finding yarn and a parking space. The sandwich was very bad, by "Could I have a tiny bit more honey mustard" I did not actually mean "Could you put a big glob of honey mustard right in the middle, and not spread it out on the bread at all"], I got my ball (same dye lot!), I knit my 15 rows, and I bound off and I skipped back to my car.
I outsourced the sewing down of the picot hem to my mom (in exchange for a nice steak), and it still really, really needs a wash and block, in the worst way. I'm also considering dying it. Now that I have a whole extra ball to make swatches with, I'll have to read up on what (if anything) will dye Cotton/Silk/Microfiber. Let there be something, cream does not match my skin very well.
 |
| posted by Amber @ 3:30 PM |
|
|
|
| Can there be too many Ribbi Cardis? |
| Monday, April 23, 2007 |
I spent most of the weekend knitting (Picovoli - it's divided into such great chunks. You can sit there and think "Well, I'll just finish the yoke. It's only 33 rows! Okay, I'll do the bust too, that's only 40 rows. Well, why not finish the waist decreases since I'm at it – only 27 rows. And then how can I not do the straight part of the waist? That's just 13 rows. Heck, why not do the hip increases – only 18 rows." My elbow cramped before I finished the last 10 rows and picot hem. So the body will probably be done tonight. Other scary things - the amount of cleaning I got done this weekend. Was there a time warp or soemthing?) But when I wasn't knitting, there was some stash assessment (I'm considering thinning the herd before MDS&W). I've been wondering for a while what to do with...
Cotton Ease. Original recipe.
I have two balls of purple – the oldest yarn in my stash! (Well, oldest yarn I bought. Inherited yarn from grandma doesn't count). And four (five?) balls in black. While browsing the internet this late last week, I saw a Ribbi Cardi done with 6 balls of Cotton Ease. I love my Shelridge Ribbi to death, so would a second one be so bad? (This was going to be a Tricot until I noticed the Tricot gauge - 4 st/inch! I can't get 4 st/inch with Cotton Ease!)
What about a third one?
I have four more balls of blue (I admit it, I bought out a Ben Franklin Crafts Cotton Ease stock one day) left over from my Sitcom Chic. Blue body + white sleeves (or white and light blue stripes). My mom likes my Ribbi, and she liked the color of my Sitcom Chic. (And she is making me a quilt, and has unwittingly agreed to making me a couple of skirts... I'm phasing her into handknits, as long as she promises to wear them. So far she has a sweater, a hat, and a crocheted scarf.)
I wonder if I'd be all Ribbied out by the time I got around to #3. That's a lot of Ribbi. I wouldn't do them in a row, but still. So a question for my readers (I'm up to 9 on bloglines! And I know there are others!)--
How many times have you made the same pattern (which pattern?), and how did that go for you? |
| posted by Amber @ 11:26 AM |
|
|
|
|
|
