Shawl Pictures

I should have included these in my last post but it was dark and late.

This is the simple black shawl.

It could take forever.

This one is the one with the leaf border. You can see the ball of yarn that is left in the skein. I have a few leaves left before I run out. This one will take even longer.

Shawls

Hi. It's been awhile. Not a whole lot to tell. I finally started working on Grace's stocking Friday. I am working on the fuzzy top part. So far so good. I will be glad to be done with the top because I'm not used to working with fuzzy yarn. Of the other three projents I'm working on, are 2 shawls.  One is a black simple triangle shawl using the wool I made Sam's hat out of (which I think he lost). I have 4 skeins so a shawl it is. I really like it and it won't be itchy like the hat was. I will remake Sam a hat but now that he is almost always cashiering and not pushing carts, a hat isn't as neccessary. I will make it in a yarn that is less itchy, less warm since it is a double knit hat and with cheaper quality yarn (aka mostly acrylic) so that if it gets lost, I won't be as upset.

The black shawl is coming along nicely. I am almost through 1 skein with 3 more to go. The other project is another shawl. It's a beige one with leaves as the border. That one is only 3 skeins but a thinner yarn and is much more slow going. Each section as as least 6 leaves to it. I plan to make as many leaves as a skein will allow (I am on the 6th leaf of section 1 with enough yarn left for another few leaves) then go to the next section. I want to use all the yarn. The last project is that blue sock. I put it away for awhile trying to decide if I should keep going and deal with how it feels after it's done or rip it all out and use the pattern I made my first two socks out of. Socks hate me. I haven't made a good one yet. The problem with the pattern I used first is that it is direction heavy and I have to look at my notes a lot and keep taking new ones. It's not a pattern I think I will ever have memorized. I wish I could conquor it so I can love knitting socks. I have some great sock yarn begging to be used.

We are going on vacation next month and I have to decide what projects to take. The black shawl for sure since it's so easy and I have the pattern memorized. The stocking to. Maybe that will be it. I plan to hit 2 yarn shops in South Carolina so maybe inspiration will hit and I will see some yarn or a pattern that begs me to knit it. I am such a slow knitter that it takes so long to use up any of my yarn to justify buying more. But If I finish these 2 shawls by next May, I will have reduced my stash by 7 skeins of yarn! Easily replenished at Maryland Sheep and Wool.

I will update as the shawls progress.

Finished some thing!

It's done! I got my new MP3 Player/Samsung ipod on Monday. It was really easy to make. I just did 2 by 2 ribbing on straight needles till when I folded it, it covered the player. Then I bound off till where I wanted the strap. I knit those four stitches then bound off the rest. I went back and knit the strap till it was the length I wanted. I bound off those 4 stitches. Then I seamed up the sides. Next I made the icord necklace. Finally I sewed on the snaps. I am not a sewer so I had no idea there were sew on snaps. Brilliant! I am very happy with it. Now, back to my shawl.

Blanket turned into a shawl x 2

After knitting 5 -10 rows of the blanket there was hardly any progress made. My 4 skeins wouldn't go far and I feared I would have to triple the number of skeins needed to get a decennt sized lap blanket. I decided to frog it and make something else. I found a shawl that takes the amount of yarn I have plus maybe one skein if I decide I need it. It is quite simple and it's coming along nicely. It will be black but black goes with everything so...Plus it's peruvian wool so it's slightly rustic. I like the feel the fabric is making, soft, squishy and stretchy. One of these days I will finish something. I really want a shawl. I have 3 on the needles and none are done.

This pattern is interesting and slightly boring at the same time. I have learned how to wrap stitches and do short rows. I hope I did it right. I could not find a video on what I wasn't sure of when it came to 'working" the wrapped stitches. I really can't tell very well how the pattern is coming along since I am using black yarn. I just finished one pattern repeat and will do 3-4 more. I have to do 2 rows 23 times. Then I have to work the wrapped stitches that occur during those 23 rows. I am getting close to using up the first skein I have. I love how the ruffles are made without really realizing it.

Well, the shawl is no more. I really liked how it looked but I am convinced I did something wrong. There were to many ruffles and no stright edge that goes around your neck like the picture shows. I decided to frog it (rip it out) and start a new pattern. I do not like this one quite as much but the pattern is easier. The other one was a yarn hog due to the short rows as I realized as I ripped it out. But I really did like the fabric I got. So now I am doing a shawl that is a cross between a shawl and Ruana. It's longer in the back than in the front. This one doesn't eat yarn and has taken a few rows to start showing the pattern like the picture shows. Here's a picture: We will see how thins one goes.

Feeling happy

I woke this morning early thinking about knitting. This past Christmas I knit Sam a hat. He has managed to lose it. A month of my knitting life gone. Maybe it will show up but I doubt it. I decided I will knit him another opn but it will be in softer yarn. I have enough yarn to make Joel a hat. But he might also complain it's scratchy so I decided to use it for something else.

When I went to the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet show last month. I bought two handmade bamboo like needles for $2.00 each. The cords are 47" long. I wanted to try them. I have also wanted to make a lap blanket for myself. So I have a new needle, yarn and an idea. I checked the size of the needle and it is a size 8, perfect for worsted weight yarn (or in this case light worsted weight). I cast on 380 stiches. This needle is neat. The cord as you can see in the picture is clear. It reminds me so much of IV cords where the fluid drops through. The cord had no memory so it hangs limp. The needle is wood so it is grabby and I have to push the stitches a bit. But I really like them. The join-where the cord is attched to the needle is the smoothest I've had. Lace weight yarn might not do as well but I don't really know.

 

Casting on and using this needle made me feel very happy this morning. I don't know why. Maybe it was the needle. Maybe it was casting on a new project. Maybe it was using up yarn. Maybe it was a combination of all three. This is going to be a long project. I have a full 4-5 skeins to use up. It is slow going because of the large amount of stitches to be knit. I am looking forward to a slightly rustic blanket to keep me warm in winter and summer.

Stocking is done!!!

I finally finished it. I finished knitting on Saturday and sewed and wove in the ends. The only thing I have let to do is make a i-cord for a hanger thingy. Whew! Now to the other two. They should go easier. I am going to have to buy more yarn for them because I only bought one skein and since it calls for bulky weight and the yarn is worsted I will need to knit from 2 skeins at the same time. I am not worried about dye lots. Normally you should buy what you need for your projects all at once so you have the same dye lots. Some colors can be slightly lighter or darker from skein to skein. So if you are knitting say a sweater and you run out of a skein and go to another one with a different dye lot you may end up with a line showing where the last skein ended and the new skein started. But since I am knitting with both skeins at the same time, it would give a sligtly verigated effect I think. Since I am knitting I will need to find a system that keeps them from tangling together. I am looking forward to looking at a different colored yarn for awhile. I don't know if I will get all 5 done by Christmas but I decided that at least I will get the 3 done for the kids. I haven't found the perfect yarn for mine yet. I also don't have yarn for Joel's yet.

New Yarns

I wanted to show you the new yarns I have bought since Christmas. This first one I bought on clearance since they were doing away with the entire line. It's a sport weight yarn and I'm not sure what I will make with it. But I love the gray tones.

         This one is also a Knit Picks yarn. This one is 70% wool and 30% silk.                                        

                                          This I bought at my yarn shop. I am making a shawl out of it.     
      

                      
                                          This is the Pacio-Vicuna yarn I bought at the festival.

I must say that I have been very restrained since Chrsitmas. Two of these were from Gift certificates.