Spinning Wheel

So exciting news I forgot to share with you this summer. After months of saving, my husband bought me a Lendrum Double Treadle Complete Spinning Wheel for my birthday. I have named her Lily and she is absolutely beautiful! (More pictures will be forthcoming as soon as my camera is working.) I have been spinning on and off since Lily arrived. Right now, I am working some Pot Luck Roving from Paradise Fibers. It is a lovely Caribbean Blue which streaks of Lavender. I have almost two complete bobbins and am about ready to start the third before plying.

I spent most of this week laid up in bed with a terrible cold/throat infection/upper respiratory infection. I did not get much done in the way of knitting mostly because all I wanted to do was sleep. Minor progress was made, however, on a few things. I finished the first Tonks sock, but didn't cast on the second. The Bitterroot shawl is to the point of adding beads!!! I plan to start those this evening after the kids go to bed. I also have completed 16 total squares for Warm-up America. A note on that: I received an email from Land's End indicating that the yarn would be mailed sometime between the 22 and 24 of October. So, hopefully I will get it in time to finish all of the squares by mid-December. Sorry for the shameful lack of photos...hopefully the camera will be in full functioning order soon.

A Time to Give...

Recently, I have been feeling a bit selfish with my knitting. It is all about me and what I want. Rarely have I used it to give to others. So I guess my reaction to a recent email I received is rather surprising. TKGA sent out a message about an opportunity to help complete afghan blocks for Warm-up America. When I saw the email, something tugged at my heart strings, and I couldn't pass up the chance to contribute to making our world a better place. It turns out the Lands End is donating cones of their Feel Good Yarn to the cause, with the understanding that each person who takes a cone will agree to to knit/crochet 51 blocks by mid-December. I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew, but I said would take 2 cones...or 102 blocks. I am sure that I can find friends and neighbors to help, and what we will be doing will make two people's holiday seasons a little brighter. By the way, 49 7 by 9 blocks make one adult size afghan. In my excitement, I ran to Walmart the other day, and with the help of my daughter, who is 3, picked out 3 skeins of Red Heart so that I could get started. She picked blinding orange, mind-numbing pink, and shatter glass blue. Hopefully bright colors are okay. Since then, I have managed to crochet 10 squares.

In other news, I think that I have decided to put aside my TKGA certification for now. As a mom of two young children, I find that I have very little crafting time, and it was taking the joy out of knitting for me, when it was the only thing I was able to do. My time will come, but that time is not now.

Current projects include:

Bitterroot Shawl (the small size) for my Brother-in-law's wedding

YARN: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Woobu in Beryl

Needles: Knit Picks Nickle Plated US 6

Autumn on Shady Lane

YARN: Ella Rae Lace Merino

Needles: Addi Turbo US 6

Knitmore Girls Vanilla Sock (hereafter referred at Tonks.) These are a quest to knit socks representing characters, items and events in Harry Potter.

YARN: JitterBug

Needles: Knit Picks 2.25mm US 2

Warm-up America Afghan

YARN: Red Heart

Hook: Provo Craft Size G

10 down!!!

The Results

It has been a bit since I have posted and a lot has happened. I received feedback from my first TGKA Basics Lesson. Arenda's comments were wonderful! In general things look great, but I need to focus a bit more on my tension. I loved everything she had to say, and her gentle encouragement was inviting.

I started lesson 2 this week, and am still struggling a bit with tension but it is getting better. I love all of the things that I am learning.

Between my first and second lessons I worked on a number of smaller projects, including 2 baby blankets. I also attempted my first color-work project, a stocking. It turned out great, and I intend to make several more for other family members before the holidays.

We have a slew of family celebrations coming up in the next few weeks which has me thinking about cakes. I have decided that I want to take cake decorating classes. I have looked into a number of classes in the community, and have found several. Most, however, seem to focus on making a cake decorating business, which is far more in depth than I am looking for. I really just want to be able to make beautiful cakes for my family to enjoy, and possibly to be able to make wedding cakes for my children when they are old enough. I am thinking of taking a wilton class, and although I want to start now, I think that with my family's busy schedule, I will have to wait until the fall.

Journey Through TKGA Basics, Basics, Basics Lesson 1

This class is through TGKA and I am taking it in preparation to become a Master Knitter. The class is not required for the Master’s Program, but I would like to correct any problems with my knitting here rather than in the Master’s timeframe.

1/15 - Received the packet and instructions. excited to begin. I have orders some knitting reference books to help me through the class, but the resources included in the course are very comprehensive.

1/18 - Purchased the yarn and will cast on the first swatch while DH is taking his online graduate class.

1/19 - Finished first swatch. Simple two by two rib, bar increase and garter stitch. I am happy with the result, so I answered the questions and plan to weave in the ends and block.

1/19 - Started the second swatch, but I am getting tensioning stripes, so I reknit. Still had tensioning stripes, but blocked to see the extent of the problem.

1/20 the stripes are still there. Did some research and going to try making a striped stockinette stitch swatch is locate the problem. Found the suggestion here:http://knittsings.com/how-to-diagnose-and-fix-stockinette-tension-problems-to-improve-hand-knitting-for-tkga-swatches/

1/25 Knit the swatch and blocked it. Found that it is indeed my knit rows that are too loose, which is funny because I knit continental. I also knit a couple of other small swatches to figure out how to fix it. I found that when I relax, the knitting turns out evenly.

1/25 Cast on again for the 2nd swatch, was interrupted by life, so will continue later.

1/27 - I tried knitting the second swatch again a few times, the striping was less noticeable each time, but it is driving me crazy. I decided to set it aside, and move on to the next one. We will see what happens.
1/28 - Moved on to the third swatch. I have done right and left slanting increase before, but for some reason they just aren’t looking right. Need to do some more research before I move on.

1/30 - Snowed in today. Spent most of the morning practicing tension. I feel like I have made quite a bit of progress. I tightened up on my knit stitches and relaxed on the purl and it is much better. Every once in a while, I forget and have some striping. By afternoon, I was feeling pretty confident, so I knit the last three swatches. In general, I am pretty happy. On swatch three my left increases are a bit stretched out, even after reknitting the swatch several times. I am going to submit anyhow, and see what feedback I get. I still need to weave in ends and block. When I see the final results, I may reknit swatch 2 to reflect my changes in tension. We will see.

A review

Today I am going to review all three sets of Knit Picks options needles. In the interest of full disclosure, I have purchased all three sets, the Nickel-plated and Zephyr in the sets offered by Knit Picks, and the Harmonies as separate tips. Much of this review was initially a response to a question on Ravelry.

The nickels are great for “sticky” yarns and for those projects that you want to knit quickly. The points are great, but it took me a little while to learn not to push on the tips of the left needle with my right finger to move my stitches along. Since I have mastered that, no soreness. The only complaint would be that the oil from my hands tarnishes the needles occasionally. I find that if I wash my hands before knitting, the problem virtually disappears. Any tarnish which is present can be removed with a little polish. As a side note, I also have this problem with Addi Turbos.

I love Zephyr’s because they have a slight drag, keeping the stitches from sliding off, but enough slide that I don’t feel that they hold me back. I also love them for cable knitting, the slight flexibility makes them easier to get into the tight cables. I am currently using them on my Every Way Wrap. Not to mention that they look really pretty with some yarns. When I purchased the set, my size 8 tips had a slight burr on one needle. I called customer service and received a replacement within just a few days.

The Harmonies are just beautiful. I was knitting Amy's Hat on these in Tidepool Heater. The color so of the yarn and needles were stunning together. Many people have complained that some yarns are hard to see on these needles. I have yet to find this to be true. I love the control I have with Harmony needles.

Now just a quick word about the joins and cables. I love the cables. They have great flexibility, especially in comparison with some other cables I have used. I have heard some people complain that they kink. I have only found this to be true when I am doing magic loop on a cable that is a bit too small for the project. The kink can be removed by soaking it an a little warm water. The joins are the best that I have seen in interchangeable needles. I have only ever had the tips unscrew when I haven't used the pin to tighten. I have also heard that a number of people have had incidents with their Harmony and Zephyr tips coming out of the metal connector. I believe that this is in part due to holding on the the needle itself while tightening with the pin. I have overcome any concern that I might have of this, by holding on to the metal base of the needle with a quilter's grip. It has worked fabulously, and I have yet to have any tip and joint separation.

I go to each type of needle for different reasons and couldn’t imagine trying to knit without them. I highly recommend all three sets to any knitter. If you are not interested in buying all three sets, I would recommend purchasing a pair of tips in each kind and trying them out. I think Knit Picks has found a way to satisfy every knitter with this selection.

Just living up to my name

As of today, I resolve to blog more regularly. My apologies to any and all who follow my wanderings...why you would want to, I am not sure. I hear-by resolve to do better. That being said, you must realize that I am the world's worst picture taker. Not so much that I can't take pictures, just more that I don't. My husband's mom is really good about taking pictures of everything. My family on the other hand, not so much. I may have a total of 20 good snapshots from my childhood. That's not to say that there weren't memories made, just that we didn't stop the fun to take pictures. So implied in this resolution is the idea that I will be more diligent in my picture taking. After reading other's blogs, I find that this also means that I must get a large cat, or several fake flowers in a variety of colors in order to make my pictures look more in the moment. J/K I really don't think that there is a feasible chance of that happening in this lifetime :)

Now onto kitting. I have successfully completed all three hats, mittens and scarves. They are lovely, and pictures will follow. Haha resolution already broken. In all seriousness, the resolution was made just about 5 minutes ago and the projects were finished 3 weeks ago. So what have I been working on since then you ask. I have decided to make myself the "Every Way Wrap" from the Fall 2009 Interweave Knits. I am using the lovely worsted weight, Cascade 220 in a Christmas Red, you guessed it, for Christmas. I am also using the new Knit Picks Zephyrs, they are just wonderful with the cables. I am just over half way done, and I find it very compelling. I can't wait to wear it! Lest you think that this has all been roses and daffodils, it is this project that has given the post it's name. Last night, I sat down to work on it after getting my 2 sick skids to bed, only to discover that about 12 rows backs I had left out an entire row of cable crosses. If it had just been one missed crossed cable, I would have dropped down and fixed it, but alas, not so simple. Because of the complex nature of the cables, and my fear of messing it up beyond repair. I meticulously tinked back stitch by stitch all 12 rows. Hence, the knittink-frog. I would, however, rather tink back then a) Drive myself crazy living with the mistake and never wear the silly thing or b) Frog and ruin it beyond repair because the cables decided to run. I didn't make my picture resolve until after I fixed the problem.

I addition the the wrap, I have also knit my very first sock. It is a bit funny shaped and doesn't quite fit perfectly, but I love it anyhow. I knit it out of Knit Picks Felici in the Tyrian, and based my sock on Kelley Petkin's sock knitting classes online. I have yet to knit the second sock but I was a lot of fun. I think that it has started a love of sock knitting. Upon completion, I promptly went online to purchase Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks and More Sensational Knitted Socks.

Research

Yesterday was a day of never ending research. My husband will tell you that when I get an idea in my head, there is no stopping me until I get everything entirely figured out about that idea, and come to a conclusion about whether that idea it worth the time to pursue. Yesterday my research was dedicated to TKGA's Master Knitting program. I was able to find a forum on Ravelry with TONS of info and insights. That also led me to Here's to Ewe podcast which in turn led me to several other podcasts including Knitmore Girls . As a result of all this research, I have also determined that I DEFINITELY want to complete the program to become a certified Master Knitter. I intend to embark on the program after the holidays when things have calmed down a bit.

Speaking of holiday knitting. I finished the Pythagorean theorem scarf yesterday!!! It needs some substantial blocking, which will take place on a great big blocking day in the future. Now onto the hat and the rest of the gloves.