Waiting in the Wings…Lady Grey Sew-Along

As if the knitting projects I have going on at present weren’t enough I’ve added sewing The Lady Grey project to my “Mama-Do List” as well.  In comparison to the other participants in this SAL I am literally the turtle of the group!!!  You want to talk about being at the back of the pack…I haven’t even gotten off the starting line!!

My main goal for this project???

In order to participate I could only use what is in my fabric stash…NO PURCHASING OF MATERIAL!!!  Boy that is hard to do once you get to perusing the online fabric stores and all the wonderful fabrics they have to offer the sewist.  Ok, I can do that…as a matter of fact I have 3 1/4 yards of a 62” 100% camel hair, black heather fabric.  I also spent several hours going through some fabric bins downstairs and came across 5 yards of a hunter green moiré fabric that would work out nicely for the lining as well as a cute flannel that I plan to underline with.  Even though you won’t see the ring pattern on the underlining I like the idea of having something funky on the inside of the jacket!

Up next:  Pattern Acquisition…

Gertie’s SAL is using the Lady Grey by Colette Patterns.  It is a very sweet jacket pattern but I’m not a fan of it for myself and feel it just won’t work on my body type.  My original thoughts were to keep inline with using only what was available to me via my stash but upon seeing the Sewing Princess Seams post on Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing I’ve changed my mind from using McCall’s 5767 to finding a coat pattern that incorporates princess seams with a lapel design similar to the Lady Grey so that I can practice the techniques that will be used in the SAL.

What I came across was B5401 in the Butterick pattern book but unfortunately for me I missed the previous sale at Joann’s and I absolutely will not pay retail for a pattern or even 40% off when I know the store offers the very same pattern for $ 0.99 during the sale.   In my e-mail last week was a notification from Butterick Online in regards to a three-day sale they were having on their patterns…$ 1.88 is a good thing!!  Still more expensive then the Joann’s sale but taking into account time spent going to and from the store plus your gas it pretty much is a wash so…click…into the shopping cart it went and to my door it came today.

Wooo Hooo…I can finally join in the fun!!

Up first….UGH…tracing and adjusting the pattern then stitching up a muslin.  I will be playing catch up all weekend; nice to finally be with the group.

~Happy Sewing~

October Fun: Mystery Sock Clue #1 Completed

After finally picking out my yarn and digging through my supplies to find the needed dpn’s I commenced to taking on the task of knitting in the Through the Loops 2010 Mystery Sock KAL. I would love to say I breezed through this first clue with flying colors but sadly that is not the case.  First I had my issues with casting on (which is never a problem), then I fumbled through using five needles and finally gave up on that and switched back to four putting 24 stitches on each needle for the large size sock.  This worked out considerably better for me being as the pattern repeat is every eight stitches thus allowing you three pattern repeats per needle.  In addition to the previous issues the designer had incorporated a cable pattern…it has been a while since I’ve knit cables and boy did it show!  Took me a while to get the right twist and left twist correct within the pattern but after that everything went smooth…

Well at least I thought it was going well; I finished the first cuff and moved on to number two and when I had that completed I noticed one was larger than the other…mmm…what had caused that?  #!$%? The culprit…I thought I had matching sets of dpn’s but upon closer inspection one set was slightly larger than the other…consequently…Ripppppppppppp out went the first cuff and the process of starting from scratch commenced again.  UGH!!!!

To make a long story short I have finally completed that second cuff.  The yarn I chose, Jojoland’s Melody in color #MS26 is a beautiful, variegated 100% wool in hues of pink, mauve, lavender and gold.  As you can see each sock will be unique in coloring.  I usually try to match up the yarn coloring so that both socks are started with the same hue but in order to do that I would have had to pull off half a ball of yarn to color match.  I just did not feel like doing that and went with the flow!  Unique is a good thing ;-) Right?

Up next: Clue #2 coming on Friday, October 8th at Through the Loops.  Travel on over there and join the fun!!!!

~Happy Knitting~

October Fun Begins with the TTL KAL

Kristen Kapur over at Through the Loops has posted the first clue to this years 2010 Mystery Sock KAL.  I am very excited to have the opportunity to participate in this KAL and as I mentioned in a previous post I did have yarn in my stash but wanted something different to knit this pair of socks with than a self-stripping yarn.  Enter DH who had a conference in Lake Placid this past weekend and a chance to visit a favorite yarn store in town.

The trip up the Northway was wonderful with the weather being sunny and cloud free.  The leaf peeping was amazing once you got above Lake George and heading towards the High Peak Region of the Adirondack State Park.  The drive along Route 73 was beautiful but as is the case sometimes when you enter the region and move towards Keene the weather changed to cloudy with some breaks of sun and mildly cool at 43 degrees.

Arriving in Lake Placid I dropped DH off at the High Peaks Resort and headed up Rte. 86 to my destination, Adirondack Yarns.  The store is not large but offers a nice variety of specialty yarns, patterns and needles along with those handcrafted buttons I love so much!   I zeroed in on the area where the owner has the fingering weight yarn and made my selection.  I have chosen Melody by Jojoland in color MS26 which is a nice combination of pinks, mauves, lavender and gold.  Along with the yarn I purchased a set of dp needles and a set of cable needles, in bamboo of course!

Having to keep myself busy until the conference was over I moved onto another store that is one of my favorites in the area….Nori’s Village Market in Saranac Lake.   I love the selection of herbals teas that are available along with the organic produce and grocery items the store has to offer.  A must have…the Vanilla Granola…yum.  One can not get out of the store without diving into the bag and munching away! 

After completing my shopping I made a quick trip out to Lake Colby and snapped this photo.  There is nothing like experiencing the Adirondacks on a crisp, Fall day!

 

~Happy Knitting~

Mail Call via Ketchikan Alaska

With autumn in the air here in the Northeast my creative pursuits have turned towards those things that keep us warm.  In keeping with the knitting theme of my recent posts I wanted to share a “Mail Call” item that came to me via a lengthy road trip to Ketchikan, Alaska this past July.

While wandering the shops of downtown I came across a store (Mission Street Arts & Fibers) that offered an eclectic mix of items for sale along with a selection of yarns and crafts books.  In amongst the various knitting books was one based upon the Andean culture of South America.  What caught my eye was the cover which had an unusual looking purse featured on it.  This drew me in and as I started to turn the pages my interest was peaked even more.  I was engrossed by Andean Folk Knits by Marcia Lewandowski and knew I just had to have it!

The book is loaded with information about the cultures of Peru, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia and as you progress from front to back the author has broken it down into the various regions accompanied by projects and tidbit boxes of  interesting local information.  Projects include folk bags/purses, a chulo (hat) & headband, mittens & gloves, a set of leg warmers & socks along with a muffler.  One of my favorites is a bolsa (purse) knit up in the shape of a Llama.  I’ve always had an affinity for llamas and this book feeds that need to know more with pertinent information on the animal and its’ importance to the communities that utilize its’ fibers to clothe themselves in warmth.

Recommended reading for the knitter in all of us and even those of us who don’t knit!!

My plan is to knit several of the projects myself; the Llama Bolsa will be first on my list!!!

~Happy Knitting~

Olympic Reindeer Hat

During the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics my daughter zeroed in on what the athletes were wearing during opening ceremonies.  They were sporting a Polo Ralph Lauren knit hat which she just fell in love with and has requested be made so I will be adding this project to my “Mama-Do” List.



Current Status of the Olympic Reindeer Hat

• Cascade 220 and needles purchased from Kaleidoscope Yarns
• Ravelry offers a free download of the pattern created by Helen Bristow
• Set-up my project page in Ravelry
• Yarn wound into balls
• Cast-On complete

The only thing that is left now is to get those needles moving!!!
~Happy Knitting~

 

Ughhhh to OMG Where Have You Been This Past Year…

I have been having issues with Blogger this past week and I am sure I am not alone in this!!! One of the reasons why I haven’t blogged that much is the excessive amount of time that is wasted trying to get one’s pictures in just the right spot and formatted correctly. I have had difficulties with this since day one with posting on this blog but I had gotten use to the editor and working within the limitations of the program on the Blogger website.
Well this week I was at my whit's end…I spent three hours the other evening trying to get the pictures for my Felted Purse Revisited post in a certain order and arrangement. What transpired was a HORENDOUS mess that continued for several hours with pictures not lining up or not formatting correctly.  You want to talk about being frustrated…it was a darn nightmare!
To prevent myself from going insane and totally losing my mind while working with this new editor, I took periodic breaks to visit some of my favorite blogs. By doing so I stumbled upon a comment left on a post of a fellow blogger and OMG….Hallelujah…I was saved; or more to the point my sanity was saved!
In visiting Dawn at Two On, Two Off I came across several of her posts, one of them being “Blogger, You Annoy Me” where she had been having difficulty with the editor as well.  How apropos is that…I was having issues too! As luck would have it beangirl had left a suggestion on Dawn’s “My Sewing Plan for Fall” post. Having spent a ridiculous amount of time that evening I cut and pasted beangirl’s  comment into a word document for later reference and shut down the laptop for the evening. The next afternoon I sat down and ran a search on the Microsoft website and came across the program beangirl suggested and boy is this the ANSWER TO MY PRAYERS and I am sure the prayers of many other fellow bloggers.
You may be asking, “Mimi what is this miraculous program??”  It is called Window’s Live Writer and boy does it work just the nuts! I downloaded it off the website and was up and using it in minutes. WOW is all I have to say about it. No more being frustrated with using Blogger’s online editor!!! Yippie Skippie. Here is Microsoft’s Overview on their product:

Windows Live Writer makes it easy to share your photos and videos on almost any blog service. With Writer, you can preview everything you’re adding to your blog, and see exactly how the fonts, spacing, colors, and images will look, before you publish. It's fast and easy to make photos and videos look great on your blog. You can even create a photo album—just select the style you want and Writer takes care of the rest. Writer is already packed with useful features, but if you like to tinker, there are all sorts of plug-ins you can add to help you do even more.

I have used this for the previous two posts plus this one and it is heaven sent. Everything I put on the page ended up previewing as I wanted. If something isn’t quite right you can quickly correct it. Added bonus when you first start the program it allows you to set up an association with your blog and will import its’ theme/design so that you can work offline. What a time saver!!! It is great…write your post, insert photos and links offline then Publish directly to Blogger from within the program.  I haven’t had time to look at all of its’ features but am satisfied so far with the program. The only thing I’ve noticed is that if you need to work within your blogs design that needs to be done directly in Blogger but other than that using this program has been wonderful.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blogger I would suggest wandering over to the Microsoft website and checking it out to see if your system meets the programs requirements and downloading it. Give it a try you may become a convert like me.
~Good Luck and Happy Blogging~

Two-at-Once, Toe-Up Socks

I have finally finished those two-at-once, toe-up  socks that I started in August of 2009.  Nothing like taking over a year to finish one pair of socks!!! Yikes….
What prompted me to finally complete this pair???
It is the desire to participate in the “Through the Loops” 2010 Mystery Sock KAL.  I had every intention of being a participant last year; I had the yarn and had printed off each weeks clue but just couldn’t get myself motivated enough to work on two separate sock patterns at the same time.  This year was going to be different! I promised myself I would have these UFO socks completed prior to the start of the KAL and as luck would have it I have finished this project in time for the reveal of the first clue which will be this coming Friday, October 1st.
The only thing I am missing….some sock yarn.  I wasn’t overly fond of my choice for last years sock; it was cheap and readily available and I do still have it but…I’m desiring something new and softer in texture. I’m thinking a wool blend with Alpaca in a nice autumn color scheme.
How am I going to accomplish this task of finding the elusive sock yarn? Enter DH who has a training conference in Lake Placid on Saturday and it just so happens this is where one of my favorite yarn stores is located.  So…I am thinking I just might tag along for the ride and give Adirondack Yarns a visit to see if I can come across something more in line with my fall state of mind.
If you are of a mind to join in the fun here is a link to a discussion on Ravelry with pertinent information about the 2010 Mystery Sock KAL. Wander on over and you will discover that Ravelry  is a free, online community meant for people who love to knit and crochet. You have access to projects, patterns, yarns, discussion groups  along with being able to keep track of your own personal projects, stash, needle inventory, queues, friends and so much more. If you have a love for knitting or crocheting give it a try for I think you will enjoy what you find there!


Back to my Two-at-Once, Toe-Up socks…
Pattern:  Two at Once, Toe-Up Socks by Kelley Petkun (this pattern is available on Knit Picks)
Yarn: Knit Picks Simple Stripes (discontinued)  or any Fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi)
Quantity: (2) 50g balls
Needles: (2) US 3 - 3.25 mm circular knitting needles
I wanted to try the technique of using (2) circular knitting needles to knit both of your socks on at once and this was the pattern and yarn I had chosen to give this technique a try.
Needles: (2) Size 3, 24" circular needles and two balls of sock yarn. Each sock requires a ball of its own to use this technique.
My thoughts on the pattern, it was fairly easy being as I have knitted socks previously on dp needles. Knitting both socks at once was rewarding at the end being as they were both complete at the same time. I didn't particularly like how the heel came out in the final product and would probably adjust that in the future being as I have a rather large foot for a lady (12.5N) and the direction were meant for a medium foot.
When knitting my socks it took me approximately an hour per color band so I completed the socks in 21 hours.  I made them a little longer than the pattern called for being as I wanted to have them "scrunched" as well as being able to cuff them if I wanted to.  I finished the socks by placing them on “sock-blockers” and sprits with some luke-warm water and allowed them to dry. It isn’t necessary to block your socks but it does give them a more finished look.
Would I knit these again?
Not too sure on that one; I'd have to give this technique another try but am leaning more towards sticking with the dp needles.  Not a fan of the toe-up method, top of the sock doesn't have as much of a give as if you knitted from the cuff down, but still a fun project to complete. Give it a try you may find you like it!