Alpaca Dilemma

Here is the boy's sweater in 100% Alpaca from Elann. I don't have a pattern, I estimated yardage and dimensions from another pattern I had for a similar gauge yarn. But different than the pattern I have, I worked it in the round and did my own design on the front. So when I got to the sleeves, which are knit from the cuff up in the pattern, I picked up 60 stitches around the arm whole to work the arm down. In the pattern, you work increases all the way up to 68 stitches then work 4 sets of decreases to 60 stitches and bind off. So I followed this. But now I'm worried, I don't think I'm going to have enough yarn to finish the sleeves. I had planned 1 ball for each arm. I think it's close, but not quite enough.

Of course my first instinct was to go buy another ball. I know there is no chance of getting the same dye lot. But, I was hoping it would be close enough. Particularly since the alpaca has a nice halo, maybe it wouldn't be too noticeable. And if it was only around the cuffs, would you really notice the contrast since it was rib stitch? You can probably guess they don't have anymore of the colorway I chose, Cedar. And I checked the swap boards and no one has any Cedar 100% Alpaca to swap.

Now that I am looking at the picture of the sweater laid out. I'm not sure I like those increases anyway. I think I might rip back to before the increases. I don't know how much more it will give me, but maybe, just maybe, it will be enough.

Wish me luck!

I'm now the official party cake baker in the family

Top and bottom cake was a Chocolate Black Out Wedding Cake with Mexican Hot Chocolate Buttercream and the middle cake was a Hummingbird cake from Tate's Bake Shop cookbook with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Before:

After:

Last night my parents celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary. It was a pleasure to make this cake for them. I would highly recommend the recipes I used, both were decadent. The cake was beautiful. I used fondant again with edible sparkles and I used Wilton tiers that I purchased at Michael's. Many old friends were there to celebrate with us. Even the man who introduced my parents in 1965!

I thought only cats played with yarn

'nough said

Can you believe Christmas is just around the corner?

I can't. But I decided if I was going to make stockings for us this year than I better start now. I couldn't find a pattern that was exactly what I wanted, so I just made up my own, and I think it turned out pretty good. It still needs some serious blocking, but I'll wait until I'm done with all of ours before I get to that.

Still 3 more to complete, and 2+ months to do it. I think I can, this one only took me a little over a week. And that was me trying to work the pattern out.

Ribby Shell Complete

Finally! And it only took just over l year! Holly cow, that is the longest it has ever taken me to finish a project!! I would like to be nobel and vow that I will never do it again, but I know better. It was really hard to finish this project, not because I didn't like the pattern or the yarn, I just kept finding new projects to start. I can't resist new patterns and yarn. I finished up just in time for fall. I love it, it's great for fall in So Cal, keeps me just right, warm in the foggy mornings and cool enough in the sunny afternoons. Perfect for work and play.

There's been a little more than just knitting happening here

I have a lot of knitting to do, but there are a lot of distractions right now. And it is all tied around Jack's 4th birthday.

First I spent a lot of time creating his birthday party invitation to be printed and sent out by Shutterfly. I'm pleased, I couldn't get it just perfect, hopefully I'm the only one that notices the few flaws. I love Photoshop and the web! As you can see the theme was Cars the movie. I downloaded images from the official website. Shifted them around a bit. Then I took a picture that I had taken of Jack at Legoland, used the magic tool and erased all the background, so I just had Jack in the car. Pasted Jack's image over the Cars image and Viola! It's a birthday invitation!

I ordered all the decorations and goodies from Birthday Express and Oriental Trading Company. Instead of birthday hats, each child got this hat, and made each child a pit pass with the checkered laynard. The we painted wooden race cars at Ramone's Paint shop, and had races with balloon race cars.

The big finale was the race track cake I made. Now, when I got the idea I had NO idea what I was getting into. And once I started I could not turn back. But my hard work was well worth it because I think the cake turned out awesome. Everybody raved about it and most of all Jack loved it.

I used Fondant, which I have never used before. It was fun to work with, once I got started, and most of all it allows you to be pretty creative. I can only imagine what someone with real artistic talent could do with this stuff.

I forgot to mention Jack's birthday present, Summit. He's a pure bred Siberian Husky, born on July 28th. He's such a cutie.

Bunny Hopping over the Blocked Trellis

I probably didn't need to use so many pins, did I? I was a little nervous, I figured better safe than sorry. I wanted straight edges.





Here's a close up. This will go great with that little black dress I've got hanging in the closet. Just need to loose 15 more lbs... Anyway, I love it. I can't wait for it to dry. Thanks Carol! Your dye work is amazing!!! ~Gina

Down to the wire

I knit this little cardigan up for my friend Danielle's new baby. I started it the weekend before the shower and I finished 42 minutes before I had to leave. I really don't like knitting with a deadline, but this was my own fault so I'm not going to complain too much. I'm proud of myself for thinking the project through and choosing a pattern that required very little finishing. Since this was knitted top down there were no seams to sew. Instead of little buttons which would be a chocking hazard I knitted bobbles that worked quite well. I don't know that this alternative would work for a more functional sweater for an older child, but it certainly works well for a newborn.

The pooling, yeah I figured you'd notice, how could you not?! It's awful, I only had one hank of yarn so I didn't have a lot of options. I used Knit Picks, Sock Memories in Yukon. I actually thought it worked out really well. I mean, and hand made gift for $3.99...I can't complain about that.

Everybody ooohhhed and awhhhhed over the sweater, so I felt good that no one noticed the pooling and everyone thought the bobble buttons were the cutuest.

The Little Bows Sweater Complete ... Finally!

Last October I was struggling to finish the body. The cotton was so stiff and it was killing my hands. I dreaded the two long sleeves the pattern called for. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my niece. Well Christmas came and went while I avoided this project. I think I had picked up the stitches to start the sleeves around thanksgiving, but they just sat. I'm not sure when, but somewhere along the line I decided to make this a short sleeve sweater. Since it was made of cotton and for a girl I figured I could pull it off, and I did! I think it turned out pretty cute. The pattern I used was heavily modified. I used a completely different fiber, it called for some fuzzy acrylic yarn. And I decided to knit in the round. Finally modification, was the sleeve length, of course. I think it turned out pretty cute.

We gave it to Arliegh for her fifth birthday. She really liked it. I'll have to get a picture of her wearing it, the color should look great with here eyes!


This is a close up of the stitch pattern. The color and lighting are awful, but you can see the bows better.

The pattern was real simple:
Row 1&3: K5, *P2, S1 knitwise, P2, K5. *Repeat to end.
Row 2: K7, S1 knitwise. Repeat to end
Row 4: K
Row 5&7: K10, *P2, S1 knitwise, P2, K5. *Repeat to end.
Row 6: K12, *S1 knitwise, K7. *Repeat to end
Row 8: K

Mommy + Knitting + 3 Year old =

Yeah, mud on the wall, the windows, the child ... I guess I should be paying more attention ... the the child that is. Thankfully no mud reached my knitting

Summer Time Knitting

As usual, our house is an oven in the summer, so we spend most of our time on the front patio. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. We have a beautiful view, and the ocean breeze is delightful, we live in paradise and I know it. It's just that somewhere along the way they said that when you live in paradise you don't need a/c. Well they are wrong. See with the spectacular sunset view through the 9 windows that allow us this luxury they not only let us see out, but also let the sunset in. From about 2pm until 8pm the house is pretty much unbearable. When it's a breezey 78 on the patio, it's a stifling 88 in the house. The thing is, of the windows that afford us this spectacular view, only 5 of them open, and they are the small ones. You combine that with the fact our little flat roofed house was built in 1952 and has a lot of Ole Hanson touches, it all adds up to very little circulation inside. I know, I know, no complaining, I live a block from the beach. Really life is good.

So anyway, most of my summer time knitting is conducted out front, which isn't too shabby. Jack has one of those sand and water tables and a pool out there, so I really only have to contend with an occasional splash of water or a few grains of sand. This is how I spent the 4th of July. I sat here knitting, gazing out at the beautiful sky, the briny breeze also carried traces of the roses I picked from our rose bush below. I really enjoy the time I get to sit and knit outside. We have very little street noise so it is quite peaceful up here.

The dreadful heat of summer demands lace knitting that's for sure. Good thing I caught the lace bug and am not sweltering under Mike's Aran ... that will wait for cooler temperatures! I finally understand the need for a safety line. Yeah, tinking back 5 rows of lace was no fun at all! But there is no way I'm experienced enough to pull of something like this. So it's a safety line for me all the way! This is the Candle Flame Shawl from Knit Picks, I'm using Shimmer in Morning Mist. In my book it's a pretty complex pattern with a 36 row repeat. I'm really enjoying it and can't wait to make a shawl for myself.

It's always about needles and fiber

My grandmother on my dad's side was a seamstress. She taught me to sew so long ago that I don't even remember actually learning, my early memories of sewing are of sitting at her machine and making diapers for our dolls with her scrap fabric. She would show me how to make decorative edges or sew on lace. The funny thing is I don't actually remember putting my dolls in the diapers, only making them. Maybe Steph did, I don't know. I was too busy absorbing what Grandma was telling me. She never taught me about stash, but she had a stash! I guess that was one of those things you used to keep to yourself. I don't think anybody new the extent of it, except me, until after she died last year and my mom and sister packed up her room and set aside all her sewing related things for me, including her stash :)

I haven't sewn much in the last 4 years. I've had her machine in my home for about a year and only used it one or two times. Tonight I finished the Duvet Cover for our new Bed. I was getting quite frustrated as my thread kept breaking. The Huskavarna is a temperamental bitch, if you accidentally brush the tension knob or look at her wrong she'll mess with you for the rest of the day. As I kept re-threading the needle I thought a lot about Grandma, thinking about the last few times she used the machine she had asked me to thread it for her. I kept wondering what the heck was wrong I KNOW I hadn't touched anything, I know better! I finally decided maybe I should change the needle, and wouldn't you know that did the trick! Amazing, so I'm sitting there thinking about all those hours sitting at this table and machine with Grandma and I never remember having to change a needle because it was dull, I've broke plenty, but never just wore one out. Grandma must have always changed them, I was just never around. Then I realized that needle I had just set aside, was put in there by my Grandma. I don't know why it affected me so much, but it brought me to tears. I feel so close to her when I'm sewing, like she's looking just over my shoulder like she always used to, I can almost smell the coffee on her breath. I just miss her so much, so many fun and silly memories. She had such an influence in my life. I never would have thought those hours spent sewing my prom dress or that orange bikini would have moved me so much right now.

Last week I finished the window and shower curtains for our bathroom ... Also in Aloha. I found a great online resource here for Hawaiian prints. They have a great selection, the fabric is great quality and the prices are awesome! In the bathroom I will also sew a border on white towels with this same fabric.

In our bedroom, the final touch will be a headboard that I'm making, I'll post a picture of our completed rooms and bathroom.

Jack's room is also getting an update. He chose a cool fabric with Woody's and Surf boards. There are also a few more accent pieces I'm going to pick up to go along with our aloha beach theme. I found the pattern for the duvet's here.

Oh and the sewing machine needle. I put it in my jewelry box, for some reason I just can't bear to throw it in the trash. I'm sure in 50 years when my kids are cleaning out my room they'll come across it and think I was sure a batty old lady with one heck of a fiber addiction! Hopefully I'll have a grand daughter that won't judge me like I didn't judge my grandma, and she feel honored to be inheriting all of my fiber related items.

Happy Mother's Day, Take Two

This is It's a Wrap Take 2 from The Garter Belt. I've been thinking about trying out lace for a while, and frankly it just scares me. I was looking for something to knit my Mom for Mother's Day, when I came across this pattern and thought I'd give it a try. I'm very happy with the results and found this basic lace pattern fun. I used some left over Endless Summer Sonata that I got from Elann last year. It's 100% Mercercized Cotton, so it was a perfect substitution for linen yarn that the pattern recommended. Since I didn't have quite enough yarn left over to work it to the length in the pattern I decided to steam block it and get a few inches. It worked beautifully. And that was just with my little travel steamer, I'll have to add one of these to my knitting tools wish list!

I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn for this project. I'm about 90% complete on the Little Bows sweater, and still can't bring myself to finish it because the yarn is just so stiff and hurts my hands to knit with it for very long. I suppose it's the larger needles that this pattern calls for that helps. I'll have to remember that if I ever decided to knit with Cotton again :)

Adventures in Aran Knitting Part 1.2

I'm proud of myself. There I said it, I really am. The only thing that frightens me more than Aran knitting is lace, and I'm not going there, yet...

The stitch pattern is fairly easy to memorize, I just have to keep track of the number of rows for the cables, everything else works itself out. I am amazed and in awe of the talent and attention to detail it must take to design; I don't think I'll ever design.

I won't bore you with endless updates of each inch. This is going to be a long project; I'm only 5 or so inches into the back and have a long, long way to go. Mike is 6'5", 225lbs ... that adds up to one heck of a lot of blackberries! I do hope I enjoy knitting every last inch as much as I have loved knitting the first 5! This isn't mindless knitting that is for sure. I have to pay attention, but I enjoy the rhythm. I enjoy see it grow and develop. The only thing I wish I could do differently with this sweater is to knit it in the round, but the blackberries don't allow you to do that since they are worked on the wrong side. Well maybe they can, but I'm certainly not advanced or experienced enough to do it! 

Detail

Here's a close up of the different stitch patterns. Blackberries, twisted stitches, cables, 1/2 diamonds, and moss stitch. 

Blackberries Close Up

Gratuitous shot of the boy

 

Adventures in Aran Knitting ... Part 1

When I heard about Clan Aran Sweaters where I could purchase yarn and a pattern that represented the Shean name I thought it was a pretty cool idea. I checked around a little, but I couldn't find any place to purchase the pattern only. So I decided to just bite the bullet, fork out $100, and buy the authentic báinín yarn and pattern straight from Ireland.

...Then I hear about The Great Aran Sweater Myth over at The Knitting Curmudgeon's blog. Oh boy, I had been had, or so I thought. Fortunately Marylin did all the research for me (thanks!) and I was quickly relieved to figure out that I hadn't been swindled. I knew that The O'Sheahan's hadn't been fishermen ... so why would they have a family sweater?? Of course they didn't, well not to identify their washed up dead bodies anyway. You can read more about the history of aran knitting at the link above, but basically each stich pattern represents the different motto's of each family. The Shean's (or O'Sheahan, O'Shea, and O'Sheehan) stand for. Cables symbolize luck, Diamonds: wealth, Tree of Life: Family, Ladder of Life: Health and Happiness, Honeycomb: Work, Trellis: Success, ZigZag: Love, Irish Moss: Holy Trinity, etc.

I was pleased when it all showed up, then suddenly very afraid. I have never worked on a pattern so complex. And the site of all that báinín yarn (did you notice how huge that 1 ball of yarn is??), well, it's just a bit overwhelming. I have several projects on the needles right now, but this has been calling my name. So I worked a swatch to check my guage and practice the different stitch techniques. I honestly thought I'd try it out and decide that I was indeed over my head and put it away for awhile ... until I was more experienced. I mean I have ONLY been knitting for just over a year! Instead I'm hooked, I LOVE it!!! The Irish Moss, the blackberries!!! It is so cool to see them come to life. So I bound off my swatch and just casted on for the back. I'm still on the ribbing and have to write out the entire pattern, but I'm not worried, I'm excited and can't wait to see it come to life.

...More to come! 

Aaaaaaaah Manos

I've heard about this stuff, I've read about it ... but I had never seen it in person. As far as yarns go, I seem to find that when I actually come across the yarn that people gush over, it's just ok. Not bad, but doesn't live up to all the hype. I was beginning to think that my expectations were just too high. Until I came across this. Oh my, it's like buttah I tell ya, like buttah!

I was rumaging throught this yarn store that I heard about near my work. And when I say rumage I mean RUMAGE! I'm sure there are many more treasures than this Mano's to be found ... good luck finding it! This LYS has yarn from floor to ceiling ... all shoved into plastic bags and cubbys. Now I do appreciate the bags, keeps the yarn clean and all. But it makes it real hard to browse the store and get the feel effect, which to me is one of the few perks of going to a LYS. I will go back there, but it will be with much more time to search and browse.

So back to the Manos, I will be making it into a throw for Mike. You can see I grabbed up the entire lot of this yarn, there are 12 hanks, which should be enough for a small throw. I was going to do a basket weave stitch, but I think I'm going to look for a different pattern as the variations in guage don't allow the pattern to really show up. I'll post my progress.

Socks, Socks, Socks!

Here's my stash of sock yarn. I've got about 2 1/2 inches done on the second sock for my Father in Law, the color is Cape Cod. Next will be socks for my Dad in Fly Fishing, then my Mom in Morning Glory, finally Mike will get a pair in Yukon. That is of course if I don't pick up more sock yarn along the way ... yeah right, I hope no one is holding their breath on these! The ones for my Father in Law were suposed to be a Christmas gift, when I missed that deadline, I thought I'd be done by his birthday ... well that was Thursday and well you know the end to this story! I may put those aside and crank out my Dad's pair in hopes of getting them done for his birthday in March. Well I wont tell him since there is a good chance that won't happen! I really love knitting socks, this is my fourth pair so I experimented with a 4x4 ribbing. According to Mike he likes his socks a bit longer, so they take a while (not to mention he wears a size 12) My dad on the other hand has smaller feet and likes sport/ankle socks, so his will be quicker and I'm not going to do any ribbing other than the top for his. For my mom's I think I'm going to try the Jaywalkers I've been hearing so much about. I have no plans for Mike's other than I love those colors.