It's been a long time.

Well, it's been about 2 months since I last posted to my blog. I have been busy working, crafting, sorta cleaning the house, and more recently feeding my Ravelry addiction.

Once again I signed up for Knit Michigan which raises money for local cancer charities. So far, I've knit 2 chemo caps. It's the Foliage hat from Knitty.com.




I also made a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. This year they were stressing quality over quantity. So I made one scarf and included Visa and CVS gift cards.



And here's a Tulips baby cardigan from the Dream in Color folks. It was a popular kit and got even more popular once the Yarn Harlot spoke of her obsession with it. This particular colorway way put together by the wonderful guys who own Threadbear Fiber Arts Studio.



While on vacation, I crocheted this vest for Afghans for Afghans. The pattern is available on their sit in both a knit and further down the page a crocheted version.



I also made this crocheted Katamari ball for my desk. I found the pattern on Ravelry but you can find it here if you're not a Raveler. It's designed by Amy Shimel.



In case, you haven't heard about it yet... Ravelry is an online community. According to their website, "Ravelry is a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration." You can find out more here. And if you want to find me on Ravelry, I'm PhillyPa329.

There are several things in the queue but I'll save them for another day.

Sockapalooza Socks Arrive

My sockapalooza socks arrived on Tuesday. I was so excited to see what my pal had knit for me. Kelley knit me these amazing socks. Check them out down below. The yarn is Knit Picks Dancing (41% cotton, 39% wool, 13% nylon, 7% elastic) in the Rumba colorway. It doesn't have the feel of wool but the socks are very comfy and they fit my size 11 feet perfectly. The pattern is the Baby Cable Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks, over 80 stitches.

I've made several pairs of socks in the past but none of them fit quite right (but I keep trying). So I figured I should sign up in the beginner category. These socks I received from Kelley are way better than beginner level work. They are advanced level work. The stitches are fine and even. There's no loose stitches or "holes" in the gusset area where you pick up stitches, the cuff edge is smooth and even, and the toe join is amazing. I can't tell from looking at them if Kelley knit them toe up or top down. The socks are truly a pleasure to behold. Thanks Kelley for my amazing socks.

Sockapalooza socks are done

I finished my Sockapalooza socks last Thursday. If you look back at my prior post about the socks you'll notice the socks don't look quite the same. That's because I changed not only the yarn but also the pattern.

I liked the socks but they were a slow knit. The pattern had a number of twisted stitches in it. I kept messing up the pattern. And the deadline was looming. So I switched everything out and started fresh.

Details on the new Sockapalooza sock's:

Yarn: Cascade Fixation #6388
Pattern: Diagonal Fixation Pattern by Lela Conrad
Needles: CPY dpns size 3mm

Wendy Rocks

I was the lucky recipient of an ISE4 scarf package on Monday. The box was from the UK and arrived via Air Mail. I wanted to open it right away but knew I would be distracted for a while if I did. So I waited until after I did my workout to cut the box open.

Inside the tissue paper was my favorite color, purple, and just the right shade of purple. On top was a card from my pal. Wendy of Wendy's Woolies.

After carefully removing all the contents from the pacakge I laid them out and took a picture. There was a lot of cool stuff in the box. Shower gel, Burt's Bees hand salve, soak, round bar of soap, chocolate foil wrapped lips, a chocolate pig, a Kendal Mint cake (a favorite of mountaineers and hill-walkers...definitely doesn't describe me), Pony point protectors, a purse size nail buffer, beaded bookmark, and earrings. Oh, yeah, and my scarf. Wow, I am so lucky.

Here's a picture of me after dinner in my scarf in 80+ degrees F. People were looking at me kind of funny. I just ignored them and smiled.

And here's a look at the scarf all by itself. Isn't it beautiful. It's my favorite color and it's nice and warm and long and snuggly. Thanks Wendy, you're the best.

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport - pool or spiral?

There's been a lot of questions out there about Lorna's Laces yarn. Does it pool? Does it spiral? I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport for my Sockapalooza 4 socks. It's my first time using a Lorna's Laces yarn. My swatch was done in plain stockinette in the round with 40 sts on size 1s. It pooled so much when the swatch was folded in half each side appeared to be done out of a different yarn. But I decided to go ahead with it anyway since my sock would not be done in plain stockinette. I also knew that the number of stitches and the stitch pattern chosen along with the length of the color repeat in the yarn all affect the final outcome.

I'm working with 72 sts on size 1 needles using the Broad Spiral Ribbing from More Sensational Knitted Socks on the instep. The sole of course is done in plain stockinette. I'm working toe up, two at a time, using the Magic Loop technique. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Purple Iris. Below are pictures of the instep with the ribbing pattern and the sole. The sole isn't pooling but is repeating nicely though not what I would call striping or spiraling. The instep does has a somewhat stripy thing going on. I'm curious how things will change as I continue the increases for the gusset.

sole done in stockinette

instep done in the ribbing pattern

I guess the debate will continue. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Hot Pink Scarf

I finished the scarf for my ISE4 pal. It turned out really nice, if I do say so myself. I, of course, added some extras into the package.

Pattern: Feather and Fan
Needles: size 4 bamboo dpns
Yarn: 50% silk, 50% wool
hand painted at Heritage Spinning & Weaving
Color: Deb's Pink

Since I live in Michigan I included something from Michigan, dried cherries.

And one of my favorite things, soak. In four scents (citrus, flora, aquae, and celebration).

I made some stitch markers. The flip flops came from Michaels. I made the hearts a long time ago from shrink plastic.

A sock blocker keychain. I love mine, but then again I knit socks. I'm not sure if my pal knits socks or not, so I knit one using the same yarn as the scarf.

Knitting Resume

I found this over on Lyndsey-Jane's blog and just had to do it.

Edit the list, bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you're not planning on doing.

Afghan/Blanket
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Pligg is in

Blogger thought it could handle anything. Blogger thought that you could have a group blog with an unlimited number of members. Blogger thought it had seen everything. Blogger was wrong. It was knocked out by 1000+ knitters. Sock knitters to be exact. We're all participating in Sockapalooza 4. And we killed it. Technical knockout.

Pligg to the rescue. We're using Pligg now to handle our new blog. It's different. I don't always like different, but I'm learning to accept. I read most of my blogs with Google Reader and I don't think I can do this with Pligg.

And before I forget to tell you...I had picked out yarn and a pattern for my pal's socks. Well, I'm not happy. In fact, I said a few too many words I shouldn't repeat in public just knitting the toe of the toe up socks. You can't give a knitted gift with that kind of karma. So on to a new yarn with the same pattern.

Am I common or not?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 1,124 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Retirement Ripple

I've started another ripple for a friend who's retiring, well technically her retirement has not been made official yet, but I can't wait til the last minute. I rarely make things for people I know. Not that I don't like them but it becomes challenging to explain why I made something for person A but not for person B. So I typically limit gifts for people I know to babies and weddings. Most of what I craft is donated to charity.

This afghan for Doris' retirement will be an exception. When I met her she was already married with children. And I've known her for almost 20 years. So I figure she's worth it. I asked her if she might be retiring and I might decide to make her an afghan, what color might she want it to be. She said green and cream.

I chose Caron Simply Soft because I believe she will be heading to a warmer climate and I wanted to make it easy care. She might want to use it outside on the porch or as a picnic blanket. Handwash would be a pain and she might not use it as much.

It's the Shades of Coral Ripple from the 200 ripple stitch patterns book by Jan Eaton. I'm using an 8 row pattern repeat of 2 rows Dark Sage, 1 row Sage, 2 rows Off White, 1 row Sage, and 2 rows Dark Sage. So far only 1 repeat is done.

Nautie

I finally decided to try and make myself a Nautiloid. It's one of the cool patterns from Knitty.com. The pattern looks easy right, just stockinette stitch done in the round on dpns. No big deal, right? Wrong!!!!

Actually most of it is really easy so far. The problem I have is the part where you coil the shell and connect it. You just pick up a stitch and knit it and the one next to it together, just a k2tog. Maybe it's me, but I find it to be rally awkward. The shell's getting in my way. But Nautie is worth it.

I'm making really good progress and hope to have him finished soon. And the one awkward stitch is only 1 stitch every 4 rows. I can handle that.

The color's not showing up quite true. This is the Caron Simply Soft Brite in Grape that I had left over from my Ripple Afghan. Nautie's head will be done in the Lemonade shade.

Feather and Fan Scarf

My scarf for the International Scarf Exchange is coming along nicely. It's grown a bit more since the picture was taken and is around 36" long. I plan to make it around 60" long unblocked figuring it will grow once it's blocked.

Dulaan 10,000 or Bust

This month I mailed off 12 hats, 1 pair of baby booties, and 1 pair of thrummed mittens to the Dulaan project.

Ripple is done... well almost

I have almost completed my Ripple Afghan as part of The No-End-In-Sight Ripple-along. The ends still need to be woven in. In my push to finish it over the weekend I overdid it. Now my hands are achy, my knuckles swollen, my tendonitis acting up, and the circulation not too good. I'll rest them for a few days and they'll recover.

Here are the stats...

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Brites in Lemonade, Limelight, Blue Mint, Berry Blue, Grape, Watermelon, Papaya, and Mango. Just a smidge more than 1 skein of each color.

Hook: Size H real cool wooden hook, Ebony or Rosewood

Size: 48" wide and 63" high

Pattern: Malibu Ripple from 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns

Color Sequence: designed by my friend Dianna. All eight colors in sequence for a total of four repeats.

Meeting Stephanie aka The Yarn Harlot

Last night I went with my muggle friend Doty to meet the Yarn Harlot at the Joseph-Beth bookseller in Pittsburgh, PA. Even though the event was not scheduled to start until 7pm, I wanted to be there early to avoid the rush. We arrived around 5 and it's a good thing. We got good seats, 4th row aisle, and we got in group A for the book signing.

While waiting for Stephanie to arrive, Doty and I chatted with the other knitters who were patiently waiting. Most of the audience was knitting. Many of them knitting socks. Many of them wearing their work. One gentleman who was there said he only wears handknit socks. The woman who knit them was next to him and let me tell you she does a beautiful job. Doty said they look like they were purchased in the store. It was great to be among my own kind. Now keep in mind, I do not live in Pittsburgh, in fact I live 350 miles from Pittsburgh. But I felt right at home with this group of knitters.

At 7pm sharp, Stephanie walked down the center aisle, close enough for me to reach out and touch that gorgeous Bohus sweater she was wearing. If you read Stepahnie's blog you know she takes pictures of her "tour" sock with the people she meets and with the landmarks she visits along the way. So she began by taking pics of her sock with all of us as the background.

Then Stephanie talked for about an hour. She talked about how muggles (non-knitters) underestimate us, how we knitters really step up to the plate when asked. It was humorous, inspiring, and great fun. My friend Doty thought it was great and she doesn't knit.

Joseph-Beth has a great system for book signings. As you come in, you get a slip telling you what group you're in. They have a path all set up for you to get to the author. It's kind of like trying to get to the cash register at Best Buy the day after Thanksgiving. Or trying to get on a ride at Disney World. Since we got there early I was in group A. And I got my picture taken with the Harlot, see above. And Stephanie took my picture to post on her blog. Click here to see the post.

It was a wonderful evening and if you ever have a chance to go meet Stephanie you should do it. You will not be disappointed.

I made it to the Yarn Harlot's blog

Check me out on the Yarn Harlot's blog. Click here to view it.

Yarn Harlot Book Signing

I'm going to meet the Yarn Harlot tonight. Stephanie's in town (Pittsburgh, PA) for a book signing tonight. I'm so excited. I've got my socks on their circular waiting to meet her sock on their dpns. It's going to be great. Hopefully I'll have pics to show tomorrow.

Scarf Exchange Update

Last time around, I knew pretty much exactly which pattern I was going to use. So I bought some yarn and got started. Other people were posting that they couldn't find the right yarn to go with the pattern they had picked out or they couldn't find the right pattern to go with the perfect yarn they had selected. I couldn't relate to what they were talking about. Until now.

I bought some 50% wool 50% silk yarn at the LYS, Heritage Spinning & Weaving, in pink. It's fingering weight and would make a great pair of socks but alas this is not a sock exchange. I swatched and blocked 4 or 5 patterns over the weekend. I didn't like any of them. The yarn was definitely the right one so I had to keep looking for a pattern. I finally decided. It will be feather and fan. A friend had suggested feather and fan in the beginning but I ignored her. Turns out I should have listened.



There's not much done yet. And it won't look really good until it's blocked. I leave for vacation in 2 days and I needed to make a decision so I can take the project with me. I can work on it while waiting in line to meet the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. She'll be signing her new book at a shop in Pittsburgh while I'm in town.

ISE4 - International Scarf Exchange

The 4th International Scarf Exchange (ISE4) has begun. Yesterday, I learned for whom I'm knitting a scarf. She does not live in the United States and it will be exciting to try to pick a yarn and a pattern that match her personality. I have until the end of May. Wish me luck.

Socks Toe Up, Two at a Time, Magic Loop

I'm taking a four session sock class at Heritage Spinning & Weaving taught by Deb Harowitz. It's toe up socks, two at a time, and using the magic loop technique (one really long circular). I'm using Cascade Cherub Kaleidoscope D.K. in colorway 1321. Instead of doing plain stockinette, I decided to do a waffle weave along the top of the foot. Once I finish the gusset and heel I can seamlessly continue it all the way around the leg of the sock.

The advantage of toe up socks is your sock ends when you run out of yarn. It could be ankle high, calf high, or knee high. By doing both socks at the same time, the 2nd sock is done a few minutes after the first. And you don't have to count the rows to make the socks match cause you're working them both at the same time. And you don't suffer from 2nd sock syndrome where you never get around to knitting the 2nd sock. Magic loop, what can I say. Knitters used to use 4 double pointed needles (dpns). Then there were 5 dpns, then 2 circulars, and now one really long circular to do the magic loop technique.

You should really try magic loop. It's good for any small circumference knitting in the round. Collars, cuffs, sleeves, socks....

Rippling Along

I joined The No-End-In-Sight Ripple-Along. After seeing all the marvelous ripples I just had to join in. I've been crocheting ever since I can remember but I can't remember who taught me how. Two of my aunts crochet yet they both say they never showed me how. Maybe they just inspired me to go out and learn.

My ripple is going to be for a child. It's around 45" wide. After looking through the 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns book and swatching several patterns I decided on the Malibu ripple. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft Brites. Most of the colors I had tagged for a different project but I changed my mind. After adding 3 more colors to the mix I'm up to 8. The colors in order of use are Lemonade, Limelight, Blue Mint, Berry Blue, Grape, Watermelon, Papaya, and Mango. I also have some black but I'm not sure if I'm going to use it or not.

After several days of crocheting, I made it through 5 colors so far. The stripes are 3 rows each.

Road Trip

My friend Pam and I took a last minute shopping trip to Lansing, Michigan. I get the weekly Threadbear email and it said "Spring Clearance Sale". Lots of yarn on sale from 20% - 70% off. Who could resist. And if I was going to Lansing, I had to stop by Rae's Yarn Boutique.

We went on a Sunday and stopped at Rae's first since it opened earlier. At first we were the only ones in there and that's great. You get the full attention of the shop owner. Then a stream of shoppers arrived. Pam & I were just the opening act. Rae's store isn't really big but she has great stuff in there. I bought some Socks That Rock Lightweight in Purple Rain, Socks That Rock Heavyweight in Love-in-Idleness, and Sock Candy in Henpecked. All made by Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I also picked up felted starfish and seahorse patterns and Lucy Neatby's book Cool Socks Warm Feet. And two more Sock Blocker key chains.

Then we went to Threadbear for the big sale. Threadbear is the largest yarn shop I've ever been in. Pam screamed "sensory overload" 15 feet into the store. Threadbear is run by Matt and Rob. They are so wonderful. Rob was teaching a sock class but Matt helped Pam pick out colors to make a bath rug for her master bath. He showed Pam how to mix fibers and colors to get the look she wanted. He twisted strands from 3 different colors together and it looked very different than when you looked at the full skeins themselves.

At Threadbear, I bought a small tote bag which is pictured below with supplies for my sock class at Heritage Spinning & Weaving. Toe Up, 2 Socks at once, magic loop technique. And, more sock yarn, Twisted Fiber Art yarn in colorways Exile and Portal. And, Mission Falls 1824 Wool, 100% merino superwash, in dark red for a Red Scarf project scarf. Also, for a Red Scarf scarf, I purchased Alpaca with a Twist's Baby Twist, 100% alpaca, in a medium gold color. And, Karabella Aurora 8, merino wool, in Red (color 7) and Burgundy (color 18) for Red Scarves.

All the sock yarn I bought on the road trip is superwash merino, except the Sock Candy which is 96% cotton and 4% elite. All the socks will be for me. All of the yarns are ones I've never used before but heard good things about.

Now for the pictures:

Purple Rain - Henpecked (2 skeins) - Love-in-Idleness
Portal
Exile

yarn: Baby Twist
pattern: Ribbed Scarf with a Twist by Ann Budd

yarn: Aurora 8 in Burgundy
pattern: Simple Scarf, Melissa Leapman's Cables Untangled

yarn: Aurora 8
pattern: His/Hers Reversible Scarf from Melissa Leapman's Cables Untangled

yarn: 1824 Wool
pattern: Steam by Diana Gates

Sock Blocker key chain
with a completed sock made from Cherry Tree Hill yarn

International Scarf Exchange 4 (ISE4)

I signed up for ISE4. I'm so excited. During ISE3 I knit a scarf for Loribird. And received a scarf from Lyndsey-Jane. Who will I be matched up with this time?

They think I'm good

I've always felt I was a very good crocheter, maybe even very, very good. My family told me that. My friends told me that. I enjoyed hearing it, but they don't crochet. Maybe they thought I was good because they didn't know enough about it to know I was just ok at it. How could I be sure?

After joining the Crochet Guild of America, I discovered they offered a Masters in Basic Stitches. How cool is that. So I read the course description and decided to test myself. I procrastinated a bit but finally got my binders together and sent in my swatches (see previous post here).

And guess what? I am good at crochet. CGOA validated it when awarding me a Masters of Basic Stitches degree. I received 235 points after having 9 points deducted. The perfectionist in me wants to argue the merit of the deductions. But the student in me is proud I received my degree. The crocheters think I'm a good crocheter, therefore I must be.

Knit Michigan

The first Knit Michigan took place on Saturday, February 3rd. I had a blast. Since I was afraid I would be late I set three alarm clocks and instead I was the first marathoner to show up at 8:35am. The marathoners raised over $7000 for the four cancer charities. One woman raised $1100. My friend Pam had the 2^nd highest amount, $750. She won a scarf kit and the book Fabulous Felted Hand-Knits by Jane Davis.

Thanks to all of my sponsors, I raised $718 and took 3^rd place. My prize was a kit to knit a bunny. A kit I had almost purchased earlier in the day. They know me so well. And if you look real close you can see the time on my watch, 11:47pm. If you’re wondering how I can look that awake that late in the day, thank Candice. My friend Candice brought me a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts. (a sugar buzz can keep you going for hours if you keep feeding it)

During the marathon, I met a lot of very nice people. I also managed to get a hat completed (well almost, I finished it on Sunday). Classes were offered to marathoners and I took the Thrummed Sock class. My Thrummed Sock class was taught by Rae of Rae's Yarn Boutique. Thrums are pieces of unspun wool which are knit into the item. They keep you very warm. We started a mini sock during class and I finished it on Sunday as well.

I did take advantage of the fact vendors were present and made a few purchases during the day. Since I decided to knit from my stash this year (see post here) I did try to limit my purchases. I rationalized it all by reminding myself a portion of the proceeds would go to the cancer charities. I purchased hand carved crochet hooks in sizes F through K, a Candace Eisner Strick scarf kit, and some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in one of the Water colorways.


We received a letter from the organizers (Bridget and Joan) of KnitMichigan at the end of February. The 2007 statistics are as follows:

• 185 chemo caps were donated
• 9 shops and 7 guilds participated
• 55 people registered as marathoners
• 270 people came through the door for the general public portion of the event
• $4,557 was raised for the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center
• $5,092 was raised for the Genesys Health System
• $4,797 was raised for Gilda's Club
• $3,836 for the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

Mark your calendar for next year, February 2, 2008.

I'm a Knitting Guru

I was reading Matt's blog and saw he was a Knitting Goddess, but wasn't necessarily happy about that label. Well I took the quiz ...

and this was the result:

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!

Knitting Guru suits me. Well, I think so. Do you agree?

Cable Mistake

I am knitting a hat with a cabled brim. It's the Braid-edged Cap from the Knitting Pattern a Day calendar, March 19 & 20, 2005. Well I realized I crossed a cable incorrectly but I was about 4 inches and 3 crossings beyond that point at the time.

In Melissa Leapman's book Cables Untangled she suggests not frogging back but rather dropping down the one part of the cable which needs fixing and knitting it back up. So I took a leap of faith and determined which 3 stitches were involved and dropped them down to a spot just below the mistake.

Then I followed the directions in Vogue Knitting for picking up dropped stitches. Stitch by stitch, row by row, I knitted those stitches back up making sure I crossed them correctly. It took me a while but I think it looks pretty good.

I've never done anything like this before and I was nervous to say the least. Yet, I took the chance. And now, I have a great sense of satisfaction and I know if I have to do something like that again, I can do it. Yes I can!!!!