Update on Weekend Activities

It's all WK's fault!!

I caved in and bought a little needle felting kit over the weekend. I decided that picking up a kit would be the easiest way to learn quickly and decide if I want to do any more. Our local Hancock Fabrics is going out of business, so when I had to pick up some notions for a baby gift I'm sewing (not knitting) I stopped in to see what they had left. VERY dangerous. I noticed the purse kit and remembered WK's post on the craft and now I have another craft to try out.

Related to this is the very nice yarn TL noticed a nice wool boucle yarn by Lion Brand (# 930-206). I thought it was nice, but wasn't going to get any, even though it's 60% off, since I didn't have a project. Then I noticed the name of the color and bought all 5 of the balls they had left. I'll think of something! I did also get TL a set of kids knitting needles and a nice ball of grey wool. He said he knew I was obligated to teach him to knit, and he was now willing to learn.

I worked on the sweater and have almost the whole back done, it only needs about 10 more rows. I also started the sleeves during knitting class so I could learn the right way to Make One. I also spent a lot of time working on BBBB#3, and it looks like I just might get it done before Sunday (baby shower day). That is, if I don't "waste" all of my time cleaning and making food for the party. It is now about 2/3 done, so it's possible.

I also planted some nice flowers in the large pots for my deck. I was going to move mulch, but it rained too much.

BBBB #3 -- continued

I'm about an inch past the 1/2-way point in the pattern and about 1/2-way through the 4th of 7 balls of yarn which I purchased for this project. If my math is right, this means I'm right on track to have enough yarn to finish the blanket! You can double-check me if you like: I bought 7 balls and I have 3 1/2 left and I'm slightly more than 1/2-way done. Sounds good to me!

I wanted to take another photo so show my progress, but the pattern change just doesn't show up well yet. I think it will by the time I'm done with this ball of yarn. I added the latest ball sometime on Friday while Hazel was resting and worked on it during rest periods from house cleaning. The i-L(s) moved here over the weekend. This might not normally cause frantic housecleaning, but they decided to stop by our house for dinner on the way to their new one, bringing some of their oldest friends with them. At least I found out before Sunday morning. To be honest, I didn't do all that much frantic housecleaning, although I should have. With TL ill and not feeling well myself, I put HUGE blinders on and so avoided seeing too much of the dust and grime.

OK, the point was that I am making some progress on two projects. Sorry for the mini-rant.

Knitting in Las Vegas, Socks, and BBBB#3

So, I have been in Las Vegas for 3 days, but haven't had the chance to find a knitting store. There are plenty according to a quick Google search I did, so there are some, but since we haven't left "the strip," I'm thinking I won't see one just wandering down the street. I'll keep my eye out, though. An interesting thing I learned here, the slot machines don't have slots for coins. I suppose that proves I don't ever gamble, and "they" probably removed the slots from the nickel and quarter slot machines ages ago, who knew?

Pattern: Relax and Breathe from Knit Socks! by Betsy McCarthy
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore D.K. in 4 colors (217-black, 1383-orange, 3335-green, 517-blue) 75% Acrylic, 25% wool
Needles: US size 2 (2.75 mm)
Began: April 20, 2007; Finished: TBD

Before I left home, I started in on a pair of socks for Tortuga Lad to wear on days when he has tests. He might not wear them then, but that's my incentive. I got the pattern from Knit Socks! by Betsy McCarthy. I changed some of the colors that the pattern calls for, but I'm basically following the pattern for the smallest size. This is the first time I've done any kind of Fair Isle style knitting, and it's been a challenge to use two yarns at once, but I'm getting better at holding one color yarn in each hand to improve tension. It's working pretty well, as long as I can remember which hand throws the yarn clockwise and which counter clockwise. I'm almost up to normal speed, though! I took these photos before I start in with a third color, but the socks are starting to look striped as you can barely make out in this photo:

I think that it will be even more challenging as I start to include the pattern for the words in the sock. I mapped it out on graph paper, one sock will say "Breathe, Relax" and the other will say "Relax, Breathe." I may have to make another pair with less acrylic in them. As you both know, acrylic and other man-made fibers are difficult for me to handle very much. I am making a big sacrifice here to get TL the socks he wants! He is very excited that I'm making him something again, though. I haven't knitted for him in about a year.

BBBB#3 Update Number 3

I've been working at BBBB#3 for a while now and have taken another photo of it while here in LV. The blanket measures about 28" by about 12", so I'm nearly 1/2 way there. At the 1/2 way point, I'll switch to doing each row in knit and then purl stitches to the other way around, purl then knit. You can see what I mean in the photo, I think.

Pattern: Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch 'N Bitch
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Baby Pom Pom (41% cotton, 49% acrylic, 10% Polymid)
Needles: US size 5
Alterations: I cast on 164 stitches to account for the difference in the yarn gauge.
Began: March 24, 2007; Finished: TBD

Another Baby Hat, BBBB #3 and books

I knitted another baby hat on Saturday evening. It looks remarkably like the last one I knit, so I haven't bothered to take a photo. I made it pretty much exactly like that one, color of yarn included. I'll be making a more feminine version soon, so I'll take a photo of that one.

I also haven't yet taken a new photo of BBBB #3, but will soon, hopefully today. The blanket now measures approximately 10.5" by 28", and so is coming along nicely for something I keep neglecting for other projects. I am still hoping that I can get it done by April 27, when my first ever knitting class starts. The hope is no longer quite as high as before, though.

On Saturday I went to the book store and purchased two new knitting books. Well, new for me. I finally got Mason Dixon Knitting, because after Wendel Kate mentioned that cushion cover and all those cute baby gift projects I couldn't hold out any longer! I think it's going to end up being a very important source for patterns for me. This is just to agree with Sari and Wendel Kate, I really like the book.

I also got (and read most of) a very handy book called Knit Fix: Problems Solving for Knitters by Lisa Kartus. I thought it would be a good idea to have a concept on how to fix problems/mistakes/errors before I take this knitting class. Maybe that's weird, but now that I've been knitting for a couple of years, I think it's a good idea to have some idea of how to make a stab at fixing mistakes. So far, I've both taken the whole thing apart and started again, or (and more likely) to say that it makes my piece Unique. Now I know that either philosophy will work, but now I know that there's more than one way to fix a problem, and it doesn't have only involve ripping or ignoring. Anyhow, if you haven't seen this book, you should at least browse it to see if it's for you.

Rating: 3

BBBB #3 -- Second Installment

So, I don't have a photo this time to prove that I've made progress on BBBB but I've been knitting in between everything else I had to do this week. I knitted in the waiting room of the pediatric dentist, I knitted in the waiting room of my dr., and I knitted while waiting in line at 6 am on Saturday morning at the Y (and again at registration at 9 pm), and I knitted while waiting for the piano lesson do be done. The blanket is now 6 1/4" long and I'm 1/2 way through the 2nd ball of yarn. Not bad, I think I'll be done by the end of April (or that's the goal).

Big Bad Baby Blanket #3 -- first installment

On Saturday, after I finished up with Sock #2, I dove right into making my third version of Debbie Stoller's Big Bad Baby Blanket pattern (as found in the print version of Stitch 'n Bitch). I am using one strand of Filatura di Crosa Baby Pom Pom yarn (red) on size 5 needles and cast on 164 stitches. I put a link on to a website that sells the yarn so you can see it, but I didn't buy it at that store. I finished off the first ball of yarn tonight and the blanket now measures in at 4" long and approximately 28" wide, so 1/7 of the way there. At this rate the blanket should be done before my friend's baby arrives.

The edge is no where near this wavy! Must be the way I laid it out.

I have never used the yarn Debbie Stoller suggests in the pattern, but have had pretty good success. I never got around to taking any photos of the first two, so can't prove anything. At least I could find all the yarn labels and enough notes on how to alter the pattern to make is seem like I was keeping track of my projects when they were under construction.

The first BBBB I made (almost 2 yrs. ago) was made with two strands of Lang Yarns Bebe Color, which is very nice washable wool. I used two different colors to get a variegated effect. Sorry, but I can't remember which size needles or how many stitches were cast on. On a positive note, I've been told that that the baby really enjoyed rubbing her fingers over the blanket.

The second BBBB I knit (last summer) was made with one strand of Trendsetter Yarns Scoubi Du (aqua) on size 6 needles and cast on 138 stitches. I also made a matching hat with this yarn. The baby and mom seem very happy with the set. The color went perfectly with the nursery theme, too, which was cool.