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In the News Knittastic!

Make a Change…

There will be no knitting photos tonight. I forgot when I wrote that that I still needed to go and vote. I got to the polls late, so the line was long. Of course, I had a sock to knit in my bag, and I worked almost a whole repeat while I stood in line. When I was called to turn in my ticket so I could go to a voting machine, I made the last stitch on the needle as I walked forward. The nice gentleman that was assisting me asked what I was knitting, and commented that the yarn was a beautiful color.

It is always nice when someone unexpected notices your work and comments on it. It brought a smile to my face as I cast my ballot.

I considered photographing the sock with the ballot machine, but I was afraid that someone would wig out over it and decided it probably wasn’t a good idea. My phone makes a lovely chiming noise whenever you snap a photo, so you can not possibly be stealth with it. Pretend there is a photo of a sock with the ballot machine here.

Unfortunately, it appears that my fears have come true and the two independent governor candidates have pulled enough votes away from Chris Bell that Gov. Good Hair will be in office for a few more years. He doesn’t have a clear majority, but it still doesn’t look good. We will see what the morning brings. From my limited understanding of Texas government, I don’t know that the governor has a lot of power. What I am more curious about is the outcome of the national elections, and the change that it may have on our future.

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Knittastic!

A Brand New Woman…

Big Black Bumblebee

(Even better if you view it large.)

It is always amazing what a lot of good sleep, soup, and medicine can do for you. Today, for the first time since Friday, I feel somewhat normal. I have a voice. (I owe my Mom a phone call or two!) I don’t cough every time I speak. Yeah!

I’m about to photograph my latest projects, including the soon-to-be frogged sweater. I will be bringing it to Kid & Ewe too, for those that want to see it in person. I’ll be posting the photos later today.

I probably should have taken a photo of my latest sock last night before I did the heel. I did an Eye of Partridge heel, which was lovely, but I didn’t like how it looked with the cables. Because the start of a new round becomes the center back of the sock, if you looked closely, one cable column ended before the other one did. Things like that bother me. I also really wished I had continued the cables down the heel instead, since I almost always wear shoes without a back. I realized this, of course, after I turned the heel and picked up the stitches. Oops. I tried to rip it out, but it was almost impossible to get the stitches picked back up. Instead, I frogged the whole thing and started over. Fortunately, I am knitting it in Mountain Colors Bearfoot nearly-solid Rich Red, and I loooooove this yarn – so I don’t mind working it again. Plus the pattern is fun and easy to remember once you get going. I’m already done with two repeats out of seven. (I decided that six wasn’t quite long enough.)

Photos to come this evening!

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Knittastic!

Knit, Knit, Knit…

Blush or Bashful?

I spent yesterday hunkered down with my Noro sweater project (Lucy, from the Naturally Noro book by Jane Ellison, in case you wondered) and made good progress. Most of the left side is done. After the other sweater, I couldn’t handle doing the whole back only to discover I didn’t like it – so I am doing the front first. 59 stitches wide is less daunting than 88.

As for the other sweater, not even blocking would help it – plus it can’t be blocked yet, it would need the band of edging around it first. What happened is that I thought I knew better than the pattern – so I shortened the sleeves, but now they are too short. So to get them in the right place, the body is all wrong. Plus my gauge was slightly off – although that should have made it larger, not smaller. In the end, the Brooks Farm 4-Play is a *beautiful* yarn with lots of softness and drape. The sample that I saw was knit with a stiffer yarn, something more like Cascade 220 maybe? The pattern is part stockinette and part garter stitch, and the stockinette part is lovely. It shows off the yarn really well. The garter stitch part? Looks very blech next to the stockingette. All in all, I just don’t like it.

I already have a nice, plain cardigan sweater pattern picked out for it. It will be reborn into something that I love.

Sometimes, you just have to know when to let a project go and move on to something better. Even if it means ripping out half a sweater.

As for the throat – today I have moved on to the dry, hacking cough whenever I talk. Lots of liquids are being consumed. Sucrets are my friend.

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Knittastic!

Success and Failure…

Yesterday while at the Friday sit & knit at Twisted Yarns, I decided I needed a fast night that would give me quick success. I pulled out the pattern I had printed off for Fetching and cast on and knit the first few rows. I had a headache later on though, so I didn’t knit too much, only the first 10 rows or so. I picked them up when I got home after taking some Excedrin – and I finished the pair! (Well, I still have to pick up and knit the thumbs, but I need some help with figuring that out. I’ll be at the LYS on Tuesday.) They were a fun and fast knit, and I highly recommend them. I plan on making a few more pairs for holiday gifts – one ball of yarn ($10) and about 4-5 hours of TV knitting makes a perfect gift.

Today, while laying in bed and nursing my fever and very sore throat – I’m on the verge of losing my voice again, which is never a good thing – I decided that I could finish the first half of my sweater and get started on the second half. If I focused on it, maybe I would have it done by next weekend. When I got to the end of the first half, I put it on waste yarn like the instructions said, and I went to try it on. Not only does it completely NOT fit, it is ugly too. Bah!

This is why I have always hesitated to knit a sweater.

After I photograph it tomorrow, I will set it aside for another day when the frogging of it will be a bit less painful. I know there is a nice basic v-neck cardigan pattern out there that will be the perfect match for this sweater. For now, it is too painful to look at.

The Brooks Farm 4-Play yarn is still beautiful and wonderful to work with and I highly recommend it. It is not to blame, and I am sure I will find the perfect pattern for the yarn. This just isn’t it.

You win some and you lose some. I’ve now started my Noro sweater four times. I want to throw down my needles and make some more Fetchings instead. It is always good when it works out so well. Oh well, I’m up for a challenge!

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Knittastic!

Katy Blogless and the Diamond Fantasy Shawl

For my birthday, Katy Blogless made me a beautiful shoulder shawl from the Diamond Fantasy pattern. Next, she made one to donate for her son’s school band “Casino Night” silent auction. She had to take the prize over today so that they could get it ready, so we wanted to photograph it before it made its way to its new owner, the proud winner on Friday night.

It is so beautiful, I’m thinking that I should go to the auction and win it.

All about the cat

Katy’s daughter modeled the shawl for us, and we first tried to take photos indoors. Pippin, her cat, quickly noticed that dangling corner of the shawl, and was *very* interested in trying to get it. I wish I had caught him mid-jump, because it was pretty funny. Instead, we moved outdoors.

The Lace Pose.

Here is her daughter doing the standard lace pose. We told her that she had to stand that way, because that is how everyone photographs their lace on The Internets.

Lace Wing

A lace wing.

I told her to pose.           Fierce.

As we were all done and she was turning around, I told her to strike a pose. The photo on the left? SUPERSTAR. Totally Superstar. So then, Katy & I were laughing, and I told her that she needed to pose like they do on America’s Next Top Model. She needed to give me a fierce look. I got the photo on the right. Yes, I will never be a successful magazine photographer. Flowers? Yes. Fierce models? Not so much.

Close UpOne more shot, looking nice. My friend’s daughter got her braces from an orthodontist in Irvine CA and her teeth responded very quickly to the brackets. Like her new braces? It was the first thing she showed me when I walked in the door.

Shawl stats:
Pattern: Diamond Fantasy Shawl by Sivia Harding
Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull
Needles: Size US 5, probably Addis. (I forgot to ask.)
Knit by Katy Blogless (Not by me!)

You can help with the campaign to get Katy Blogless to have a blog of her own by commenting and giving her the knitter love. And her daughter would love to hear feedback on her great modeling skills!