Lying face down in a dark room...

For the knitters reading this, Elizabeth Zimmermann mentions in one of her books that after putting steeks (slits cut - with scissors! - into the sweater body so that sleeves can be added), because of the stress of cutting into a knitted item, go into a dark room and lie on the floor face down.

I can totally relate.

I've made almost a dozen cross-stitched Christmas stockings, and every time I go to sew them into a finished stocking, my stress level goes off the charts. Taking scissors to completed cross-stitch just feels wrong.

Since DSis's DH is now 'official', he gets the 'Now-you're-part-of-the-family-and-there's-nothing-you-can-do-about-it-now' Christmas Stocking. Every family member has one made by me. I made DSis a Shepherd's Bush stocking in 1998. The design was Sophie's stocking:



The stocking I made for DSis's DH is Christian's stocking, also by Shepherd's Bush. I did a personal best for completing it in record time. I started stitching it on December 3rd, and completed it on December 20th.

Come, share in my stress....

1. Draw the desired shape of the stocking and cut it out (don't forget the seam allowances!) I'm really, really picky about the shape of the stocking. Just getting the shape right is the most stressful for me. This was even worse, because I also had to make sure it matched the size and shape of the one I already made DSis.



2. Cut out the backing and lining fabric. The plaid is the backing, and the stars are for the lining.



3. Make the piping.



4. Make sure the shape matches DSis's before sewing on the piping.



5. Sew the backing to the front, and sew the lining pieces together. Then sew lining to outside of stocking.



6. Finished!



7. Testing them out on the fireplace.



It's at this time that I realize how much my hands are shaking!

I'll be going to lie face down in a dark room now...

In the merry old land of Oz!

The Wizard of Oz was on TV last night, so I was looking for something mindless to knit. I've been wanting to make the Bristol Neck Warmer, so I pulled out some Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk, US#6 needles, and cast on.



It's a four stitch repeat across all 120 stitches, and you repeat every row, so it's easy to remember, especially while singing along with Judy Garland.

The yarn is doubled, so there's nice body to it. In the picture, I have about 2" done, so I only need about 3" more to finish. It's such soft yarn, and it's going to be very warm, so I'm really looking forward to getting this done as soon as possible. Next week we're going to have highs in the 30Fs (Snow!!! Yay! :o)


Earlier last night, I was catching up on Grey's Anatomy (how did I manage to get behind three episodes???), and was working on Mum's Noro Vneck Cardigan. I finished the second sleeve and all that's left is the front/neck band. I talked with Mum last night, and she only wants one button at the V, so that will make it even easier to complete.




See you in Oz, folks! (yes, different movie!)

Mr & Mrs DSis

DSis and her husband just passed their one week anniversary, but here are some pictures of the happy couple on their day!

Mum of the Bride Shawl

As I've mentioned in my last post (so long ago in September!), DSis and The-Guy-Formerly-Known-As-DBF-Then-DFiance-And-Now-DH-After-11amEST are running off to get married on November 5th (That's today!). I was asked to make a 'Mum of the Bride' shawl for my mum to wear to their reception later today.

For the last two months, I've ate, slept and breathed pink laceweight wool, knitting it up into a Swallowtail shawl. Mum wanted it larger, so I approximately doubled the pattern size (maybe a little more). It went quite well, with minimum error, and no major frogging!

The details:

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark (Interweave Knits Magazine)
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Interchangeable Circulars, US#4 (Hated the join on these!) and Crystal Palace Bamboo DPN, US#0 (Used for the p5tog's of the nupps)
Yarn: Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Peppermint Twist (Used 1.5 skeins - very nice to work with)
Modifications: Increased the main pattern from 14 repeats to 24 repeats
Begun: September 1, 2008
Finished: November 1, 2008

Just off the needles:


Blocking:


Detail:


Finished!:



Congrats to Mr & Mrs DSis!!!

Pictures to follow!

A Wedding Interrupt

When the president of the company for which I work has a data request, we call that a "Bob Interrupt". If someone else needs data from me, I tell them I'm working on a "Bob Interrupt" and it's a given that Bob requests pre-empt all other requests. (Bob is a really, really great guy, so everyone totally understands the "Bob Interrupt" concept)

I've just been given a "Wedding Interrupt". A knitting project that puts all other projects I'm currently working on in hibernation until this project is completed.

DSis is "going to the chapel and she's gonna get ma-ah-ah-rried..." (I never was a particularly good singer :o) Although she won't be going to a chapel, she is getting married. She and DFiance (the guy formerly known as DBF) are having a very small, private ceremony with an intimate soiree afterwards, gathering only family and very close friends.

Blush and Bashful are her signature 'cahlahs', so she's asked our "Mum of the Bride" to wear something to coordinate. Mum has asked me to make her a lacy shawl. I bought Prism Lace from The Loopy Ewe in, can you believe it, the Blush colorway. How perfect is that??

Mum likes the Swallowtail Shawl I made for DSis, but would want it bigger. Just to try some things out, I cast on for the Flower Basket Shawl, with some Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud (Peppermint Heather), which I had on hand, but am not sure if the Flower Basket pattern is formal enough.

I have two months to complete this shawl, as DSis's special day is November 5th. Since I've already made the Swallowtail Shawl once, and it was a very quick knit, it's sort of the front runner. And thanks to all those wonderful knitters on Ravelry, I was able to find some knitters who have increased the Swallowtail, so I know what I'd need to do to make the shawl larger without having to figure it out myself. I also have time until I the Prism yarn shows up on my doorstep, so I'll keep an eye out.

Here's what I've knit so far on the Flower Basket:



And a closeup of a basket:




I made this swatch using a US#5 needle, which is what the pattern called for. I don't like how it looks. It looks too 'thin', like the yarn is spread too thin. I'm a loose knitter anyway, so I'm going to try a repeat of the basket lace using US#4 needles to see how that looks.

A Chevron Scarf of My Very Own!

Well, it's not quite a fully grown scarf...yet.

I've been coveting all the gorgeous Chevron scarves I've seen on Ravelry. I finally decided to start my very own. I've had two skeins of Koigu KPPPM for ages. They're two different colors. I have no idea why I bought two single skeins of two different colors. Maybe I was clairvoyant and just knew, that some time in the future, a pattern like The Chevron Scarf would come along and I could use up those two single skeins of Koigu. Yeah, right.

When I finally pulled out those two skeins out to start my scarf, I didn't think they'd make a good Chevron scarf. The colorways were too similar. So, last night, at Knit One North's first Ladies' Knit Night Out (which was very fun!), with the kind help of Dawn, I was able to find another colorway to go with one of the skeins I already had. It's a beautiful pumpkin, gold, and coral mix (it's the skein on the right, below). The result is a really pretty Autumn colorway.

Thanks, Dawn!!




I also completed another pair of socks. They're just plain socks, using some skeins of Regia I had in my stash. Itchey approves.




And here's Itchey, enjoying the breeze coming in the front door. August, which is usually 3H weather here (hazy, hot and humid), has been absolutely gorgeous, and very much like September weather.

I can just imagine what the neighbors think we do to the cats. Just before I snapped this picture, she was on her back with her paws up in the air. She looked like rigor mortis had set in!




Today, DH and I got together with my parents, DSis and her DBF to celebrate my Mum, DSis, and my August birthdays. We all met for lunch and exchanged gifts. DSis and I both pulled out Sephora bags for each other, because we both got each other Sephora gift cards! (great minds think alike!) It was really funny, because the GCs come in a little black mirrored compact, and we both thought how cool they were as we were wrapping our gifts for the other. Now we each have one!

Knit One North

Fellow knitters, we finally have a knitting store up in the northern far reaches of Pittsburgh. Woo hoo! Knit One (North) has finally opened!

I managed to trick DH into making a pilgrimage trip on the way back from picking up kitty food at the vet. The store is just as happily painted as the one in Squirrel Hill. There's lots of great nooks and crannies for yarn to be stashed, and plenty of room, so you're not climbing over other people to see the yarn. I got to meet Stacey (proprietress), and Caroline (manager) and two other ladies who will be working there (unfortunately, I didn't catch their names). They were so nice!

Of course, I couldn't leave empty-handed, so I picked up the cutest pattern for an enclosed kitty bed, called (aptly!) Cat Cuddler by Gooseberry Designs. For this project, I selected Cascase 220 (Color #9539), which is a brand-spanking new tweed colorway with dark brown, tan, light gray and dark gray (all colors that coordinate nicely with both of my kitties).






I've also almost finished Mum's Kitchen Hand Towel. This has been such a fun knit!




And finally, after knitting about 5" of the bottom ribbing, I realized I was doing it wrong. I made all the ribs cables, so, after about 5" I ripped them out and started again. I took a look at some of the other finished Mr. Greenjeans, and saw one where the knitter made the bottom with just plain 4X2 ribbing, without any cables, which I really liked, so that's what I'm doing:




And, here is Abner, on the arm of my cushy chair, feverishly helping me blog this afternoon...