Tag Archive | yarn

When Good Hats Go Bad

I’m failing at choosing colors. If you remember, yesterday I mentioned I was doing a test knit of a hat, and I’d chosen these two colors (they’d be held together throughout).

They were farther apart in color than I thought when I ordered them, or something, because when I started knitting with them, I didn’t like it. Fortunately I also made a mistake in the pattern so I had a good reason to frog and start over. But with what? I needed two colors closer to each other so the disparity wouldn’t be so striking. Next I tried these two.

I know, I haven’t knit enough to see it well. But I’ll tell you: it’s just okay. I’m not crazy about it. It would be cute for a little girl, so I might do the child size instead of the adult size. The pattern will be fun, though, as soon as I can get the color situation straightened out!

And I have to thank all of you for the good juju yesterday: the interview went great! I’m optimistic, but trying not to get my hopes *too* high.

KnitPicks Day

Jun27

My KnitPicks box came on Saturday! Isn’t KnitPicks day always a good day? I think so! Here’s my haul:

Most of it is for fun shawl knitting, though I haven’t decided on patterns yet. But I got the last bit of green I need to finish my sister’s Marcelle Wrap, and I got the yarn I ordered to make a beanie for my son. I started it that night while playing Cards against Humanity with my siblings, but perhaps not surprisingly, didn’t get too far that night. I have since progressed further but am now thinking that maybe he doesn’t need it for a July birthday and it could be postponed.

I’m thinking that mostly because there’s a lot of other stuff happening this week. I’ve got my interview today (for which I’m not that nervous because I know I could rock this job), a few errands, plus birthday party prep (ugh so much cleaning and grocery shopping). I’ve got a hat test knit that I want to get going on, and I got the yarn for that in my box too:

This test knit is for a newer designer who’s got a few patterns on Ravelry under the name Smashleestitches. We found each other on Twitter and one thing led to another and now I’m making a hat from her newest design. I’m kind of loving this test knitting thing. And finally, I still want to get back to my Peek-a-Boo shawl now that I’ve got the contrast color on hand.

I’m pretty sure I’ll cast on the hat first so I can get the test knit done, and then the shawl will fall next in line. If I get my kids to help with party prep — hey, I have a daughter who can drive! She can go to the grocery store! — that means more knitting time for me. Many hands make light work, right?

All right, off I go! Send some good juju my way!

Seaglass Cowl

Jun25

That shawl isn’t getting done this weekend. I mean, at the time, it was very plausible because nothing else was happening this weekend. But THEN, on Friday, I got a call requesting an interview!! Hooray! It’s for a really cool company, so I’m pretty excited. Anyway, that meant that today I needed to go shopping for an awesome new outfit, and then tomorrow I have a hair appointment, and there’s just not enough time to finish a shawl, no matter how small it is.

Plus, this happened:

I went to my LYS on Friday to get the contrast color for that shawl, and I did find a lovely teal, but on my way to pay, I noticed a whole table full of Madelintosh. Seriously, a whole table covered in gorgeous MadTosh browns and greens and blues. And this one came home with me and I had to cast on that night and now I have a new cowl, the Seaglass Cowl.

This is a better representation of the color, so you can see why I couldn’t resist. This is their A.S.A.P. super bulky yarn and it might be my new favorite yarn ever.

I used Jen Geigley’s Feedback pattern but modified it a bit. I didn’t have 16″ size 17 needles, so I tried 15s and cast on more stitches. I started with 50 but that was too small, so I settled on 60. It’s not as tall as the Feedback but I’m more than happy with it.

The real question now is whether I’ll keep it, or put it in the gift pile? Hmmm….

Peek-a-Boo Bay Shawl

Jun24

Yes, I did cast on a new shawl yesterday, a new shawl in gorgeous bright rainbow yarn, and it was absolutely the right decision. I’m in love with it and don’t want to knit anything else right now. I think it’s just the right combination of color and pattern for me.

The pattern is Peek-a-Boo Bay Shawl, one of the fantastic Free Pattern Friday gifts from Little Church Knits. Yep, same person who did the Marcelle Wrap! I’m using Manos Del Uruguay Alegria for the main color, and I managed to cast on with the right size needle this time. The size 6s are giving it a delightful loose gauge, perfect for this warm-weather shawl. I will need another color for some stripes near the end, but I wanted to knit it for a while to see the colors before I decide. Right now I’m leaning toward the bright yellow-green, though the blue is a close second. This will probably be my weekend project, and the calendar’s pretty empty, so don’t be completely shocked if I have a finished shawl by Monday!

Oy, This Shawl

Jun20

I have definitely learned the importance of the old knitting adage “Spend money to save money; buy more yarn.” I worked hard on my Marcelle Wrap over the weekend, even had to rip back 12 rows to fix a mistake I made in the lace. (That was over 5200 stitches. It was very sad.) But I made it back to that point and beyond, and I’m midway through the second repeat of the lace chart and it’s looking just LOVELY!

But do you see that tiny ball of green yarn? That’s all I have left, for nine more rows of green. Um, yeah, that’s not enough. You know what that means, don’t you? I had to go to KnitPicks and order more. And they’re having their summer sale, which means of course approximately 10 more ball of Palette ended up in my card. Who can resist such pretty colors at such awesome prices? Plus, I had to get free shipping, right? So, yeah, this project is on hold. Again. While I wait for more yarn.

What’s that? I should have checked gauge? Well, yeah, I probably should have. But I had to order the yarn before I could do that, didn’t I? So I should have just been smart and ordered an extra ball of each color to begin with. And I should have used the right size needle too. Instead of a 4mm, I’m using a size 4. (Not on purpose. Brain fart.) And my unblocked gauge was only 2 stitches off her blocked gauge, so I foolishly thought I was okay.

I was not.

Well, obviously I’m FINE. But I needed more yarn. So! This is back in timeout. I’ve been asked to do another test knit, which I think is awesome and super fun, but it also uses Palette so I ordered some in that same order and can’t start the test knit until it arrives. And I’m going to make the boy a hat, because in looking through his Amazon wish list I discovered (I almost hate to say it) a knit beanie. Clearly I can’t spend money to buy a hat I could make! Especially not when it’s a good excuse to buy more yarn! That yarn is also coming in my KnitPicks order.

So what to knit?? I needed something to keep my fingers busy! I made two cotton washcloths while at the family Father’s Day lunch, but last night I had a good chunk of knitting time. In my WIPs, I have:

gray garter stitch scarf (OMG SO BORING WHAT WAS I THINKING)
gradient seed stitch wrap (pretty colors but also pretty boring)
bulky cotton blanket (bright colors, soft organic cotton, but a heavy blanket in 90 degrees?)
crochet afghan for my mom (I’m not far enough along for it to be overly heavy or hot, but it just wasn’t calling my name)

Time to cast on a new project! Apparently in my yarn stash, it’s last in, first out: I picked three colors of the Ultra Pima I got recently and cast on for the Secret Beach Diagonal scarf. It’s a paid pattern, but you get the pattern for both the scarf and the cowl, so I figure it’s worth it.

This pleases me, and will definitely keep me knitting happily until my KnitPicks order arrives.

Now, finally, I would like to humbly ask for your opinion. I knit a little clutch, and my Knitting SIL felted it for me, and I think it needs a button closure. I don’t want to do an inside closure because it’s so small already and I want to maximize the useful space. So what do I use to go around the button to close it??

Oops, that wasn’t really “finally”, sorry. THIS is finally: my daughter is in the school Concert Choir this coming year and they’re planning a trip to Princeton. YAY! But also: time to fundraise, so I’m offering 25% off everything in my Etsy shop, even the sale items, so if you’re interested, take a peek at my shop HERE (this is probably more for my non-knitting readers) and if anything calls your name, use the code LOVEMUSIC25 for 25% off and free U.S. shipping!

Happy Monday, friends, and happy First Day of Summer!

Back to the Lace

Jun17

Having finished the test knit project, I returned to my sister’s Marcelle Wrap. I’m near the end, at the lace section, and it’s a chart. I know many knitters love charts. I do not. Therefore, I took the time to translate the chart into written directions. Sadly, yesterday when I picked up the project, I realized I hadn’t read it all carefully and my instructions weren’t right. Close, but not quite right. So I adjusted them and forged ahead. It’s going a bit slowly, what with almost 350 stitches in each row, but it’s fun.

You can just barely see the beginning of the chevron pattern. It doesn’t help that it’s all squished together on the cord, but I can’t help that. Take my word for it, it’s going to be pretty cool. I don’t know how quickly it will get done, because the knitting is taking a backseat to the job search. It’s…an adventure. I’m learning what kinds of jobs intrigue me, and I’m learning that the online application process is lengthy and time-consuming, but I’m also learning that there are a lot of different industries and roles that need strong writing skills, and I’m confident I’ll find something that’s a good match for all involved. It is hard, though. Thankfully I have the support of a good dog, who’s by my side for almost everything, from working out…

to knitting…

Wishing you all a happy Friday and a lovely weekend!

Update: Yarn Chicken

Jun16

Well, I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I finished so quick and thought I’d share the results today: I WON! I weighed the yarn, purled a round, weighed again, and thought I might have to skip a round. Knit a round, weighed again, and thought I might just squeak by. Purled the final round, and then it was time to decide: Jeny’s stretchy bind off or normal bind off? I’m apparently a bit of a daredevil, because I went with Jeny’s, even though it takes more yarn. And I made it through with less than 5 yards to spare! HaHA! Take that, stupid yarn.

Yeah, yeah, I know, if I’d checked gauge first blah blah blah. I get it, I just don’t want to do it. And look, it worked out okay, right?

Yarn Chicken

Jun16

I’m playing a game of Yarn Chicken today. I’m *thisclose* to finishing my test knit cowl, and I have four rounds (260 stitches per round) plus the bind off, and this is what’s left of the yarn. That’s a whopping 8 grams. What do you think, will I make it?? Maybe if I knit really fast, I’ll finish before the yarn runs out!

My guess is NO, and I’ll have to leave off a row or two of the border. It’s either that or frog back the last pattern repeat, and I’m not sure I want to do that.

Check back tomorrow to see what happens!

A Story of Kindness

Jun15

I told you the other day about my adventure at my LYS, all the pretty yarns I splurged on. But I forgot to tell you about the awesome thing the owner did that day. After my shopping trip, I texted my Knitting SIL to let her know about the discounts. She asked me to pick up a skein of yarn for her, and since the store is two blocks from my house, I said it was no problem. When I went to pay for the yarn, it was $4 and change, and I handed her my debit card. She sounded apologetic when she said she doesn’t take cards for purchases under $5. I totally understand her point, but I don’t carry cash very often, so I didn’t have any on me. I said, “Okay, let me find something else.”

Almost any other store owner would have just said okay, and let me buy more. I would have bought more. I’ve done it before. But this lady, this kind, generous lady, said, “No, no, you’re close, right? Just come back by with the cash when it’s convenient.” I was shocked and asked if she was sure, and she said of course. I thanked her and said I’d come by in the morning, first thing, and she wrote down my name and the amount. I asked if she wanted my phone number and she waved me away. I left with the skein of yarn, feeling like I was getting away with something, but extremely grateful. I showed up the next morning, cash in hand, and said I was there to pay off my debt, and she laughed, said it was fine, I hadn’t needed to hurry.

This is the store that’s closing this summer, and that’s a shame. It’s a shame that a small business that understands the importance of putting service ahead of money is leaving. It’s not by choice; the building sold, and she decided to retire and spend time with her grandkids instead of finding a new location. I don’t blame her a bit, but I’m sad to see her go.

But I’m also encouraged, because it reassures me that there are still good people out there. And if we keep putting kindness out there, maybe we can inspire others to do the same.

Thrift Store Yarn

Jun14

I’ve been knitting, I swear I have, but I have nothing to show right now. I’m flying along on the test knit I’m doing for Andrea at This Knitted Life, and I’m loving it, but it’s not time to reveal that one yet. Here’s a sneak peak.

I will say that I found an error in the pattern and I was quite delighted because A, it meant I was doing my job as a test knitter right and B, the strange result I’d been getting wasn’t because I’m a crap knitter (which was what I was sure of for a while). I did have to frog about 15 rows of progress but I wasn’t stressed about it, and ever since I restarted, it’s been smooth sailing and I’m going to love the final product.

So instead of showing you knitting, I’ll show you the yarn I got the other day. I stopped at Savers, a thrift store near my house, on a whim and got all excited because I found a cake platter with a dome to replace the one broken in our move last summer. Then as I shopped more, I got even more excited because I found yarn!! And not just cheap scratchy acrylic, either! I found sock yarn, some Patons, some Deborah Norville Serenity, some Regia Galaxy. They were all jumbled together in plastic bags, and I found two bags with colors I really wanted, so of course I had to buy both. Plus, when you find good yarn for cheap, you just…buy it, right? One bag had some blue/gray that will go to my Knitting SIL, and these are the skeins I wanted.

They’re so pretty! I don’t make socks, so I don’t really know what they’ll be. My SIL makes these pretty yarn bags with sock yarn, so I might try one of those.

Then I found some glow in the dark yarn, and well…I bought some. No good reason, except I lose my head a bit around cheap yarn. I think it’ll be fun. I might make a couple of cute kid’s scarves with them.

And that would be fine if that’s all the new yarn I bought. But NOOOOO, of course I had to go to my LYS. “Just to check things out,” I told myself. I just needed to be in a yarn store. Ha. Yeah right. Before I knew it, I had several skeins of clearance yarn in my arms, and then she had the gall to tell me that all the full-priced yarn was 20% off. (They’re closing next month. I know. I’m devastated.) Well, apparently that was all the permission I needed to get some of the Cascade Ultra Pima cotton I’d been drooling over. And because she’s good at her job, she told me about two patterns a lot of her customers have been making with it. Sigh. Yeah. This is what came home with me.

These will be the Secret Beach Diagonal Scarf and Cowl when I have time to cast on a new project. Yummy yummy colors, I think!

And here’s ~~some of~~ my clearance yarn, more Berroco Luster. I have a special fondness for yarns with a sheen. I’ve got three who skeins of silver…and one skein of a gorgeous deep teal.

Finally, I will share one last bit of exciting news: we have a new licensed driver in our house! The girl learned to parallel park on Sunday (learned it in one day, of course) and I took her for the test yesterday.

Yep, that’s the excited “I PASSED!!!” grin. She immediately took her brother to the grocery store to buy some cookies, and last night she was able to drive herself to band rehearsal while I stayed home. It was awesome, and terrifying of course, especially since she left her phone at home. She very kindly used someone else’s phone to let me know she’d arrived safely. I’ll still have to drive her around during the day when I need the car, but there will be plenty of times when she can drive herself. And she’s got a job and is saving for a car and once that happens, my chauffeur duties will essentially come to an end! Am I supposed to be sad, nostalgic for all our times together? Maybe I will be…someday. But today is not that day. Not when I’m taking her to band camp at 9, picking her up at 11 to take her to summer school, and then picking her up again at 3. Nope, right now I’m thinking her car can’t come soon enough!

Okay, friends, that’s all the time I have this morning. And all the stories, really. You’re all caught up. Nope, I don’t have a job yet. I’m applying and getting rejected and going back for more. That’s how the game goes, right?