Projects Galore

It's been months since my last post. I swear, I'm going to start posting regularly to keep up with all my projects. Let's start off this mega-post with this year's Stitches West. I got to go to Santa Clara for the entire weekend, sans The Boy. I took classes, I shopped, I knit. It was glorious. Here's most of my loot:

One of the classes I took this year was with Candice Eisner-Strick. She was wonderful teacher. I bought one of her Merging Colors kits for the Incredible Circular Rectangular Mitered Scarf. The colorway is called Carribean Sunset and it includes 8 different colors of yarn. It's beautiful!

This is Valley Superwash from Valley Yarns, color 563. It will eventually be the Central Park Hoodie from the Fall 2006 issue of Knitscene. I didn't like the pattern so much when I first saw the magazine, but then I saw a couple knit up and now I love it.

The sweater next on my list, though, is Mommy Snug by Kate Gilbert in the Summer 2006 Interweave Knits. The yarn is Jaeger Roma in color013, Raspberry.

Then there is the Misti Alpaca Lace in color 5018, an eggplant color. Eventually, it will become the Swallowtail Shawl from the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits.

I've heard so much about the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs, both good and mediocre, that I really wanted to get the pattern and some yarn to try them for myself. The yarn is made by Royal Hare, a LYS in Santa Rosa. They are hand-painted feltable yarn, 100% Merino wool, in Royale Blue and Calistoga Calypso.

It seems I went Cookie crazy at Stitches this year. At the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth, I bought yarn and patterns for two projects, both designed by Cookie A. Titania's Revenge is a sock pattern and the yarn is Socks that Rock Lightweight in Midsummer Night. The blues and grays are perfect. Bambuzzled is a scarf pattern made from Bambu in the Spring Fling colorway. I'm really liking pinks and greens together lately. This yarn is so soft and drapey that I keep petting it. Luscious!

My next stop was the Bay Area Knit Co-op where I bought another Cookie A. sock pattern(Thelonious), Cookie A. yarn (JaggerSpun Zephyr DK in Blueberry), and Louet Gems yarn (in Burgundy). At another booth, I bought Tofu-tsies (color 718, Off On The Right Foot), sock yarn made from wool, cotton, soysilk, and shrimp and crab shells. It's so soft and pretty. I had a hard time deciding what sock pattern to use and after 3 or 4 false starts, I settled on Pomatomus, Cookie A.'s first Knitty sock pattern. I'm loving the yarn and the pattern. It's so much fun to knit. I just finished the gusset decreases on the first sock and am rolling down the foot. It's looking fabulous.

Tomorrow (or at least very soon) I'll share the yarn that I bought just because I love it. I'm still looking for just the right patterns for these yarns. I'll also post all the yarns and projects I still have from last year's Stitches West. Yes, there are quite a few of them, some of which still have no discernable purpose. I was much better this year, really.

There are, however, even more projects that I have planned. I bought this awesome yarn called aMAIZing made from 100% Corn Fiber. I'm planning on making The Boy a cardigan from The Yarn Girl's Guide to Knits for Kids.

There's the yarn I bought at Noe Knit to make a felted bag.

There's the Philosopher's Wool sweater.

There's the Knit Picks Shadow in Vineyard for the Mary Jane Cardigan.

There's the Snowman and Ice Skates vest made from Knit Picks Palette.

I'm sure there are more, but I'm too tired to find them. In my next post, I'll also update knitting projects in progress and completed knitting projects.

Now, that's what I call a mega-post!

Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Seems almost everybody in my family has gotten a new, small digital camera. My dad and step-mother requested a case for their camera. I also offered one to my brother and we need one for our new camera. Here are the first two. This one is for my dad and step-mother. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Bulky, colorway Glenwood (I think). It matches the hat I made for her last Christmas. I also made a similar one from KnitPicks Essential, Navy for either my brother or myself. Dad's is very soft and cushy, which I thought would be great, but my brother thought a smaller, less bulky case would be better. It was such a simple knit. It's a tube, finished off with applied I-cord, with about 10 rounds left unattached for a loop. It needs a button on the front for the loop to hook around, and I also obviously need to weave in the ends. (Needle: Addi US 10.5)

My big project right now is a blanket for The Boy. It's called Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in Blackberry, Brick, Denim, and Pewter. I'm loving the colors. There are two more large blocks, one on the bottom and one on the right, and then a narrow border. I'm still debating what color to make the border, but I'm leaning toward Pewter. The yarn is so soft and warm. It's machine washable, always a plus with a toddler. Every time The Boy sees me knitting it, he says, "My blanket." It's going to get a lot of use, I think. (Needle: Denise US7)

The other big project I've been neglecting is The Boy's Dale of Norway sweater. The yarn (Baby Ull) and colors are exactly what's called for, the first time I've ever followed a pattern so precisely. I cast on sometime this summer. I think I did the matching hat last year. I'll work on it for a while, then move on to another project. This sweater takes my full concentration, which can be hard. A project like the blanket or camera case can be done while talking, watching The Boy play, or watching TV. The sweater has to be done in total silence. (Needle: Susan Bates US2)

Last night I started a super-secret project for a super-secret someone. Hopefully, it'll be finished in time for Christmas, but with a toddler needing lots of attention, finding knitting time can be a challenge. (Needle: KnitPicks Classic Circular US 1; Yarn: KnitPicks Essential, Navy)

So, here's a picture of most of my stash. It's mostly organized by color, but a couple of sections are organized by type. The yarn ranges from cheap acrylic bought when I was first learning, to cashmere and alpaca. There's even some made from corn fibers. Some was bought for a particular project, other was purchased just because I liked it. I'm trying to not buy more while I have so many projects planned, but I occasionally succumb to the lure of beautiful yarn. The baskets are filled with miscellaneous stuff, like partial balls, ball bands, gauge swatches (sadly, unlabeled and therefore mostly useless), and notions. The doors hide the plethora of books and magazines, although only the right side is knitting related. The left side is from my quilting days. (Yes, I also have a sizable fabric and quilting pattern stash. We'll leave that for another time.)

First Post

I'm joining the crowd and starting a blog! I need a way to keep track of all of my knitting projects, whether in-progress, completed, planned, or just vaguely imagined. I've been knitting since mid-2003 and like to try new techniques. I rarely do the same project more than once. There are just too many other things I want to try.



In addition to knitting content, there will be plenty about my life and my family. I've been married for 9 years and we bought our house here in San Francisco 8 years ago. In September 2004, our only child, The Boy was born. I've been a SAHM since before The Boy was born, and plan on continuing to stay home at least until all our children (we're planning on at least one more; possibly more if the next one isn't a girl) are in school. Here I am with The Boy on his second birthday.




This is one of my favorite projects. It's a Dale of Norway hat I made for The Boy. It was my first attempt at stranded knitting and it came out pretty well. I started using floats and then switched to using the Philosopher's Wool woven method. Even though it's been "done" for months (maybe even a year), it still needs beaks and eyes embroidered on the ducks. I love it anyway! Here he is wearing it at the Pumpkin Patch in early October.





I'll update soon with more projects in progess, completed, and planned. There will also be adorable stories and yummy photos of The Boy.