Level 3

Having finished Levels 1 and 2 of TKGA’s Master Hand Knitter Certification, I have begun Level 3—the final level to become a Master Knitter.

 I have written a 3 page report on six different kinds of fiber used to make yarn for knitting. I used 4 different references. I have also finished the two knitting magazine reviews. I reviewed the new Rib magazine for men and male knitters and the Holiday issue of Vogue Knitting. I really like Rib and plan to knit several items from each of the three issues that have been published. Kudos to Eric and his team for such a unique magazine. The Vogue Knitting Holiday 2017 issue was disappointed at best. Stale designs, too many advertisements and lack luster articles. I would think that such a dominant publication in the knitting world could do better.

 For Level 3, I also have to review two design books, learn 6 new cast ons and bind offs, work 19 special technique swatches, answer about 40 questions, and design 3 patterns, before I can design, knit and write the patterns for an original Fair Isle sweater and an Aran cabled hat. I want to jump right in and work on the sweater and hat—but I know that I need to work the other parts first.

Oh, well, there will be very little other knitting until the swatches with there accompanying research are done. I am heading now to the world of cream colored 100% wool yarn in a worsted weight. I am expecting my hair color to match the yarn before I am through.

 Hope your knitting is colorful, exciting and without dropped stitches.

Happy New Year

Farewell to 2017! It was a hard year for many. Wishing everyone a happy, safe and joyous 2018.

Mountain Friends

Heading soon for the North Carolina mountains to visit friends — knitting friends, especially. We will lunch, share projects, talk, laugh and attend SAFF, the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. Will be seeing vendors that we only see at SAFF, like the McMatleys, Elizabeth Wohl, Misty Mountain, and the delightful ladies from Apple Hill. Maybe the rabbit lady will be there this year. Also looking forward to eating at Bruce’s in Marion, NC; going to the Black Mountain Yarn Shop; and heading to P.F. Chang’s for lunch on Friday. Maybe we will also see some members of our Guild there. Looking forward to a great time in the beautiful mountains, seeing friends and getting inspired to knit new things.

Confidence ?!

The socks for the grandson are going well, almost ready to turn the heel of the first one. 

Decided my yarn storage in the guest bedroom needed to be reorganized and the room cleaned out enough for someone to actually be able to sleep there. 

While I was moving things to an empty closet in another room, I noticed that I had ten skeins of Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed Worsted in the Birch colorway. This is a worsted weight cotton yarn. It would look great as a circular yoke sweater. A great layering piece for my wardrobe. 

Oh! Look! My knitting machine is sitting in the corner looking quite lonely. I could quickly knit the body and sleeves up to the armholes on the machine and then finish the ribbing and yoke by hand. Wouldn't take very long and that would take 10 skeins out of stash. A win-win!

I cast on a gauge swatch on the machine. Easy, peasy! Quick!  After measuring, I figured the number of stitches and rows for the four pieces. In a  hour, I had the body and both sleeve pieces knit. Great! I will have this sweater finished in no time and can get back to the Squares Squared sweater. Two sweaters in a month. Woohoo!

Well....

I forgot, in my haste, to increase the sides of the sleeves. Yikes! How could I be so silly. I quickly moved back to the machine and knit the two sleeves again. I would put the four pieces on a circular needle to work the yoke. The ribbing on the sleeves and body would be done after the yoke. This way I could make sure that the sweater and sleeves are the right length.  

This should move quite quickly and then I can get back to the Squares Squared sweater that is taunting me from the other side of the room.

Start - itis

Now that my knitting projects are finished and off the needles, my Ravelry project page looks odd. The glow of finishitis only lasted a short time. I thought that now would be the time to go back to being a monogamous knitter - one project at a time. Take time to enjoy it.

TKGA's Spring Cast On magazine came out. So many wonderful projects to choose from. Really was drawn to the Squares Squared pullover by Arenda Holladay. Hmmmmm ...

I have a sweater's quantity of Cascade Yarns Pima Cotton in the Sunshine colorway. So, I began the sweater. It is knitted in pieces. The back was finished in a few days. The stitch pattern is fun! It's like potato chip knitting - just one more pattern repeat - just one more pattern repeat -just one more pattern repeat ... The back is done.

Then I started on the front. Again, finished in a few days. It didn't take long to seam together and pick up stitches for the square neckline. Ribbed neckline was quick. Now to the top down short row sleeves.  UGH!  After ripping the sleeve cap out six – yes, six! – times, I decided to pull out Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns and use it as a guideline to knit the sleeves from the cuff to the cap as a separate piece and seam them into the sweater. I started and things are going a little slower. Not because, the pattern stitch is a problem or the increasing every six rows is a problem, but because my infatuation with this project has waned.

Why is it that every sweater I knit comes to the point where my vision of the finished garment and the reality of the knitting aren't even in the same universe. Maybe, I should start something while I wait for the mojo to return.

Well, ... there are always socks to be knitted. My granddaughter asked for a pair of shortie socks. How long could that take? Should be quick and then I would return to the sweater.  Socks took less than a week, they fit and she loves them. Her twin brother now wants a pair. Since I have a fairly large stash of sock yarn, he picked out a color and I have the first sock knitted to the gusset. Of course, he wants crew sock, but they are still small – only 48 stitches – so they are not taking long. 

Then I get back to the sweater......

Finish-Itis

My submission for TKGA Master Hand Knitter Level 2 was sent to the reviewers on April 10th. It will take between 6 to 8 weeks to be reviewed and returned to me. After it is returned, any corrections and resubmissions will need to be done. 

The submission took six months to prepare. There were 21 swatches, 4 book reviews, a 5 page history of knitting report, and 8 pages of questions and answers, with many hours of research.  It is difficult to let the package leave your hands and go into the mail. It's like sending your baby away. It is pervasive in your life, consuming your thoughts and hands for months. You know you have it bad, when you wake up and you have dreamed about the submission!

Then the waiting begins. I chose to use my time waiting to finish the projects that mock me every time I open my ravelry.com project page. Projects that have been waiting ... patiently ... for me to finish them. 

The attack of finishitis began. 

First, was the sweater, Pull Me Over. It is knit in Pima cotton. There are many things that I like about this sweater: it is cotton, it was an interesting knit, it has a circular yoke, it is coral – a color I often wear during the spring and summer.

There are things that I don't like about the sweater: the yoke to body transition looks amateurish, decreases and increases are made in the garter stitch sections instead of the stockinette sections where they would be less noticeable, it is a very long sweater and it is hot.

It is finished, but I doubt if I will wear it. Time will tell.

Second,  was socks, Utah Socks. They are knitted out of a wool free self-patterning yarn and are finished. I like them.

Third, was the This and That Shawl, which I designed. It is a boomerang shaped shawl that is garter on one end and stripes of texture stitches on the other end. The shawl is finished and the pattern is written and available on Ravelry. I am pleased. 

Fourth, was the Eidolon shawl. It has gone into hibernation as I could not face the loose knitting of the third section.

Decks are cleared!

2017 Goals

Knitting
Complete TKGA Master Hand Knitting Level 2 - done except for Argyle Sock
Knit 8 pairs of socks - #1 done, #2 1-1/2 finished
Knit a sweater - Squares Squared started
Knit a beaded shawl - knitted to section for beads
Knit at least one item for charity
Design one pattern

Weaving
Finish the tea towels on the Baby Wolf Loom - 3 done
Weave at least 3 scarves
Learn to warp the Dorothy Loom for placemats

Organizing
Donate wedding dress
Empty guest room dresser drawers - done
Donate unwanted books - 2 boxes donated
Shred old tax documents
Review and spin the yarn stash quarterly - 1 done

Spinning
Spin all fiber in stash as of 1-1-2017

Travel
Visit the Holy Land - done
Take at least 3 RV trips
Visit Canada
Visit St. Louis

SAFF and Retreat

Wonderful time at SAFF with Lisa this year. I managed to keep my yarn purchases under control. The weather was great, and we enjoyed spending time with Susan, Lee and Nancy.


The following weekend I headed to Michigan to attend the Knittin' in the Mitten Retreat with 74 of my dearest knitting friends.  It is always fun spending time with people that you only talk to online while overlooking Lake Michigan.

Until next time . . .

End of Summer

Summer is winding down. Morning and evening temperatures are now below 90 degrees. School has begun. Labor Day is this weekend. We are coming into my favorite time of year - Autumn!

Fiber festivals, beautiful foliage, college football, sweater knitting, corduroy slacks, flannel shirts, crisp air, lovely chrysanthemums. What's not to love!

I am currently waiting to receive my TKGA Master Hand Knitter Level 1 binder back from the review committee - probably the end of October. It was a lot of work, but boy, was it a great learning experience. I have been knitting for over 50 years, yikes!, but I still learned much about my own knitting and a few new techniques. I know I will have resubmissions and corrections to make. Almost, everyone does. Especially, the seed stitch swatch. Couldn't get it to look quite right.

I am looking forward to spending time with friends and family this fall. We have a full Labor Day weekend planned with family and then the end of October will see us heading to the North Carolina mountains to spend time with friends and go the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair - SAFF.

I hope all of you are looking forward to the change of season.

Until next time . . . . .

Happy Fourth Of July!

I hope your 4th of July is a joyous one.  Ours will be filled with family, food, fun and fireworks.

Until next time . . . . .

Lots of Knitting

Some knitting has been done. I am trying to whittle down my WIPS.

A Wingspan scarf is finished using Cascade Tangiers yarn.

A Summer Tee is finished. A project started in 2011. I have entered it into the Knit 1 Heart too podcast yellow contest.

The Pull Me Over sweater yoke is finished and I have begun the vertical ribbing of the body.

In the Our Neck of the Woods 2016 KAL, we are working a mystery knit along.  I have finished clue 4.  I am using Loops And Threads Woolike sock yarn in Chocolate, White and Red.

My Easy Folded Poncho is slogging along. It is now about 2 feet long. Three more to go.

As always, socks are on the needles. Premier Yarns Garden Sport weight in the grass colorway.

HAPPY FLAG DAY!

UNTIL NEXT TIME........

Happy Spring!

Happy Easter to Ewe

End of the Year

It has been an interesting year.  Since September, Tom and I have been co-parenting our three South Carolina grandchildren -- a thirteen year old grandson and six year old twins - one grandson and one granddaughter.

Since Christmas, we have been in NYC child sitting the three grandsons here.

Our RV trips have been put on hold and the RV has been winterized and put in storage waiting for a warm spring weekend.

I have been knitting down my stash to offset the purchases made at SAFF. My friend, Lisa, and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Black Mountain Yarn Shop and to SAFF.  We really liked the new set up with more space and not having to share with the Tractor Show.  We met up with friends and compared purchases. Of course, we ate at P. F. Chang's for lunch before I headed home. It was just the break I needed.

Three pairs of socks have been completed and a boomerang scarf is almost done.  I plan to start on fall variegated shawl out of fingering alpaca next.

One Step at a Time

Lemonade Socks

Wyrt Socks

Blue Boomerang

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you a peaceful and joyous New Year.

Until next time. . . . . .

Productive Week

Simplify
Still working on stirring and organizing my stash in the upstairs bedroom. Also, knitting on the Newsom sweater by Bristol Ivy in burgundy alpaca. It is an interesting construction!  Body and sleeve are finished and joined. Working on the yoke now. The sweater is an easy knit.

 Also, started vanilla socks in a light lemonade color of cotton and bamboo yarn. I'll go back to the more complex knitting later. For right now, simple is all I care to do.

Beautify
We painted our grandsons room, a light Bahamas blue green. He wanted kelly green, but that was swiftly vetoed.  It took half a day to paint the ceilings and walls and another 6 hours to paint the woodwork. It looks nice. We hope he likes it!

Modify
Spent a week with our son in Pennsylvania. Helped strip wallpaper off the walls of our grandson's bedroom. This can be tricky in a 180 year old house.  Because the previous owners didn't prep the wall before they papered, there was a great deal of spackling that had to be done before we could paint.  We finished the painting and pulled up the carpet and padding. Lots of staples! As our son was pulling up the tack strips around the edge of the room, he commented that it was criminal to put nails in such beautiful hard wood floors.

I left the next day with the furniture still needing to be moved back in the room.  Drove to Virginia and stay with nephew and his wife at their farm. Left to drive home after chores were done and we had eaten breakfast. Good farm fresh eggs, milk and blueberries! Yumm!

Home again and tired.

Still Keeping with the Theme of 2015 - Simplify, Beautify and Modify

The title reflects the theme for 2015.

Simplify

Trying to simplify things, I am knitting and  weaving only from my stash.  Projects currently on the needles are another RV Striped Throw, Green Striped Socks and a Gemini with 3/4 sleeves.  All these are easy patterns which require very little thought, just plain knitting.

We have been in a whirl with RV travel and family issues. This makes simple knitting necessary.


Beautify

Working to organize stash so that the bedroom can be used by family later this summer. Plan to remove all the Boy Scout items and send them to storage.  Then there will be room for stash and still room to use the room as a guest room.  This should also allow me to clean off the dining room table.

Modify

Since May 1, I have lost 15 pounds by strictly staying on the Atkins Diet. Thirty-five more to go. I also purchased a kettlebell hoping to strengthen my upper body. I have noticed a little improvement. It was easier to move roofing shingles when we roofed the new Habitat for Humanity home last weekend. You would think that I would have lost lots of weight since it was two five hour days in above 100 degree weather. But no.  Still just slow steady weight loss.  That is better than none.

Until next time . . . . . . .

Simplify, Beautify and Modify

January 2015 has arrived. Begin as you will go is the order of the day.

Simplify

Today I reassessed some tops, shirts and sweaters that have been unworn for over a year. I finally got around to taking a look at some of them. I made it through three drawers and two shelves.

Over half the items were taken to Goodwill today or tossed, and the rest were put on shelves where they are more visible. I hope that means that next year there will be less to donate. I want to simplify getting dressed and have nice clothes to wear. If I can see the items, I should wear more of them.

Only made it through some because since the surgery, I can only stand for a little while. I still have two drawers and three shelves to go through. That’s for another day.

Beautify

Following the suggestions on Apartment Therapy, the floors were cleaned this morning and flowers were bought for the kitchen.  Everything looks and smells great!

Modify

A friend in our knitter’s guild just had a new baby boy. I went into the gift drawer and pulled out a baby boy sweater and hat. (Yoke Baby Sweater by Gail Bable) Looking at the sweater, I decided that the buttons on the sweater --little Dalmatian puppies--while really cute, will be too difficult to button and unbutton on a wiggly baby.

I took the buttons off and moved them to the other side of the sweater band. Then I added snaps to the back of the buttons and the other side of the band. This should be so much easier for Jennifer.  If I finish the socks, I will add them to the gift that I will give at the guild meeting tomorrow.

A great way to spend the first few days of January. 

Until next time  . . . . . .

Greetings

and

Busy Fall

Christmas is Coming!

It has been a long time since I have blogged. We have been traveling since August 1st. First to Orlando, for a 6 day conference. Who goes to Florida in August. We came home for a few days and then left for a family trip to New York City to visit our daughter and her family. Then home for a few days and then back to Pennsylvania to watch grandkids while son was out of town.

October brought a slew of fibery trips. We made it to Rhinebeck this year for the first time. It was a great trip. Loved seeing the sheep to shawl competition.

A week later we headed to SAFF. This is a trip that is planned far in advance and really looked forward to each year. Bought some alpaca yarn from Apple Hill Farm. They always have a great selection. Also, got my yearly fix of McMatley yarns. Cliff and Ernesto are always fun to be with.

We left the festival and headed for Mobile where we spent a week with friends. It was great!

The first week of November was spent in Michigan at Knittin’ in the Mitten with 74 wonderful knitters, spinners, designers and friends.  What a great time.

We headed to Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with our son and his family. 

December has been busy with short trips around the state to see friends and attend meetings.

I am finishing up my tenure on the local habitat board and as President. Maybe next year there will be more time for knitting, spinning and weaving.

This past week has been spent recuperating from gallbladder surgery.  No knitting right now either. 

Looking forward to a happy  and healthy New Year.

Until next time . . . . . .

Knitting Doldrums

Do you ever get to the point where you dislike all the projects on your needles?  That’s where I am. 

I have one sock finished, but I broke the needles and threw them away. Now I can’t remember what size I was knitting on. I have tried two different sizes and haven’t found the right size yet. I forgot to record the size on Ravelry. What was I thinking?! Second sock is going to take forever at this rate.

I have a hat for Halos of Hope on the needles. The blue yarn is great, but I keep messing up on the textured part of the pattern. I would have to rip it all out and start again to make it look good enough to donate. If I rip it out, I will knit another hat pattern. Nothing wrong with this one except that I keep getting distracted and messing it up and not noticing until I have knitted several rows. Good grief!

I have an Elizabeth Zimmermann pi shawl on the needles. I am working the plain version. This works great when I need something mindless to knit. Each round is 288 stitches in lace weight alpaca. Boring! but necessary when I am in a group or easily distracted. Wonder what year it will be finished?

I have a “Beginner Lace Shawl” on the needles in cotton yarn from Yarn Hollow. Beautiful fall colored yarn, pretty pattern, but not what I would call beginner lace. Every right side row has a different pattern which ends in a different number of plain stitches at the end. The designer didn’t address these stitches well. Also, for a beginner pattern the charts are not explained well. I work on it when I am in a situation where I won’t be distracted. Mistakes have been made as one side is shorter than the other.  I am going to finish it anyway as I have completed five repeats of the seven called for in the pattern and I am too indifferent of this project to investigate where the mistakes occurred. It will just be asymmetrical.

I have my plain alpaca Cobblestone cardigan on the needles. All it needs is for me to finish the sleeves (one is half done) and knit the garter stitch neck band. The sweater is knit top down with set in sleeves in stockinette with garter stitch trim using Ann Budd’s pattern from her Knitter's Handy Book of Top Down Sweaters. It also fits well. It is hard to get in the mood to knit a sweater when it is so hot and humid!

I want to knit something fun and quick and small!  Any suggestions?

Until next time . . . .