Trillim in Thistle

Trillium (There's is in plume a deeper, cool purple)

I am so close to done with this sweater I started November 26, 2015 and I need to focus on gardening but wow these last rows seem to be taking forever! It took me 3 times to get how to do the ribbing on the body and two times on first sleeve. WOW! My new glasses have helped a lot.

This was when I finally got the broken twisted rib.

Here it is now!!!! 

Yes it is the same color as my bedspread in Peoria. I really love that color!

It's going to match my cat shoes.

Sky scarf is severely  neglected. That's January and I don't remember if I added any rows in February. But I've been recording the sky color in my art journal for later.

Brooklyn Tweed's newest lookbook: Lookbook for Winter 2015

Current Projects in Process.... STALLED!!!

Well it didn't take long for this AD/HD'er to get several projects started and not many finished. Here's the deal:
Socks for Joe (belated Christmas, now birthday gift)
I've never done socks and bought all this sock weight yarn and it's very fine. Fine as in tiny. So it requires these size 1 needles first couple attempts looked like spaghetti.
So then I thought maybe the sock loom would be the answer....

Well the yarn is still fine and you use this little hook to slide the yarn up and over these little pegs and second try on that got frustrated.
So thought I'd try out the magic loop method. Still tiny bamboo in this case, circular needles that are 40 or 48" long.

I bought these from China. So they were cheap, cheap! And they smell funny, I think it's all that plastic tubing in a cellophane bag or they're contaminated with lead who knows. Ok so this time I'm on to something. It was going well looked like a sock. I was using the toe up method this time and a pattern called Scylla socks. They're named for a deadly sea monster named Scylla. Perhaps that should have scared me. So by now I've decided F#@$ this I'm making socks in Joe's girlfriend size instead because he has funny shaped feet and I don't need that for first try.

Hope she likes variegated purple, gray and white. Should have checked into Northern Illinois University's school colors. And now I'm 4 rows in and looks like a toe. But time to go to bed or something and I stick the toothpick think circular 1 needles into the ball of yarn. BIG MISTAKE!!!!

It broke just like a toothpick! Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! I put a dpn some smaller size through the stitches to try and save them but now that project also on hold.

Gray Skies Capelet

I could hardly wait to finish these gifts and start this one for myself. Not so much because it's for myself but because I looked forward to using the yarn. Expecially the glittery one!

This is the picture from the book. The yarn they used was really a light blue and cream and the yarn for the collar and bottom of cape has gold beads. I'm not much for blue or gold beads. So I bought Rowan Cocoon Lavendar Ice, a beautiful gray with a hint of violet, and Berroco Glitter in Pyotr, almost identical to the Lavendar Ice and with a silver glittery thread interwoven. 

So beautiful can't you imagine these two together. Well that went pretty fast until I realized that I bought one skein of each (I think, I may have another skein across the street of the Lavendar Ice) because it's from a book called one plus one and projects from 2 skeins that may not be true if you use different yarn. S@#$ I am not using the yarn from the book! It was all Artyarns which are some of the most gorgeous yarns out there so perhaps that's why they cost a ridiculous amount of money! Like 2 skeins for this project could easily be $100 or more. 

So I knit all the yarn I had of Lavendar Ice or that is unless I find another skein. I contacted the store I bought it at Sisters Art Studio up in Chicago and they are holding some skeins for me. I even attached the collar so I could try out the Glittery Pyotr and did the yarn ties. But I can't do more without another skein. I will look for that today in my craft room across the street. (My mom's house)

Lucy Hat

So last night I wanted to do a little knitting before bed and I cast on for the Lucy Hat. After just 4 rounds you start the short rows. Huh? Never done short rows before and a week or so ago I watched several you tube videos on it so I think I got this. But here's the dilemma. The instructions are as follows:

Short-row 1 (RS) K35 (39), wrap next st, turn

Short-row 2 K10, wrap next st, turn

Short-row 3 Knit to 2 sts past previously wrapped st, (see notes), wrap next st, turn

Notes: (when working short rows in garter stitch it is not necessary to work your wraps together with the wrapped stitches. The wraps will essentially disappear into the garter stitch when left alone).

Rep last short-row 23 (27) more times

Um huh? The way I interpreted short-row 3 it was only 12 stitches so now I think I did it wrong. Because I can tell from picture you're not just repeating 12 stitches. So I thought I'm supposed to repeat short-row 1 27 times. But now I think it means I did short-row 3 wrong. Then I recheck the pattern in Ravelry and sure enough there's a correction but I'm not sure it helps me understand this.

This is what Ravelry said:

"Clarification for the short rows:

I’ve been getting a lot of messages from confused knitters regarding the short rows in this hat. I’ve re-read the instructions in the magazine and I see now where the confusion is.

The instructions say “knit to 2 sts past previously wrapped st… wrap next st, turn”

This means you knit up to but not including the second st past the previous wrap and then wrap the next st. It’s the minor, yet significant, difference between saying “knit 2 sts past…” and “knit to 2 sts past”. I hope this is helpful.

THERE IS NO ERRATA FOR THIS PATTERN. THE PATTERN IS CORRECT AS PUBLISHED IN KNITSCENE."

Now look at the picture and see if that helps.

Any ideas?

So this project is now stuck as well. 

Lavish Cape done

 Here it is on Rylie who sadly isn't that much smaller than me anymore. I mean she is a string bean but she's sure catching me in height. 

It's hard to see in photos but I had what I believe was a genius idea. The pattern called for changing to a yarn that was identical but had glitter in it when you got to the part where the open weave is starting and leaves are ending. I couldn't find a yarn I liked with glitter, in green, and new yarn that fit the bill for matching skeins cost $100. I started it in cheap yarn because I wasn't that sure of my skills. However, it was turning out better than I expected so I hated to waste my effort. So we braved the tornado weather last week (we were in Chicago) and walked to a knit shop. I originally was going to try and find a similar yarn with glitter to switch to but nothing would work. And I found this beautiful yarn for my NEXT cape from this book. So I left without a solution. 

Then it came to me!

Metallic thread. Why not carry a strand (or two would have been even cooler) of metallic thread to just add some glitz and make my own glitter version of the yarn. So I did and it worked great! 

Toronados sweeping through Central Illinois while we dodged torrential rain to go to Knitting Shop!

Pat needed to walk briskly for 30 minutes so I suggested we walk to a knit shop I wanted to visit here in Chicago. (We're in Chicago for weekend, we're up here at least monthly) I don't believe we have cute little knit shops in Peoria with fancy shmancy yarn so I wanted to check this place out.

I bought four skeins or really 2 skeins and 2 hanks to be exact and wow I spent $100 basically. But online some yarn I wanted would have cost me that for just 2 skeins so could be worse.

Alpaca with a twist-Baby Twist

Berroco-Flicker

Rowan-Cocoon

The top one Pat picked out himself after he said "Hey you can make me a scarf for Christmas!" One down just three to go. Joe wants socks but I haven't picked up that yarn yet. And Rylie I bought some yarn to make something but of course the kids will probably want more than just knit goods for Christmas. But I do prefer gifts that are made to those bought in stores. No idea how long it'll take me to knit all of this. I need to finish this green cape I started that is a little over half done so I can work on the Christmas stuff. I could stop it and pick it up again but I'm on a roll with it and I'm afraid to not finish it. Plus I had an amazing idea today. This cape comes from a book that is designed to use ArtYarns. When I saw this book at JoAnn's I certainly didn't realize a couple things:
1. How incredibly beautiful some yarn is now days.
2. How outrageously expensive yarn is now days!
3. How hard to find some of this yarn is except on the internet.
I don't know about you but I kind of like to see the yarn before I spend $96 on 2 skeins. So I couldn't commit to buying the yarn for the cape in the book I liked that led to me starting knitting again. I also wasn't sure of my skills so I bought cheap yarn.

One+One Scarves, Shawls & Shrugs

Bait and switch! Here's the yarn they used.

ArtYarns Silk Mohair Rhapsody in Leaf Green and Leaf Green with Silver Glitter (glitter on the left)

The glitter is every so faint, you can't even tell in the picture in the book the two different yarns or how the transition to the glittered yarn adds to the peice. Yet the OCD in me can't let go of having some glitter in my capelet. So today while riding the bus I had this great idea! I could get a silver thread and twist it or just knit it along with my plain old yarn as I go when I get to that part. It would add just a touch of glitter (or more than a touch) but then all my yarn would match like theirs. If this works I could be on to something!

Another Blog? Yes I should somehow just have one but I am a splitter not a lumper.

I wanted a place to post about sewing, knitting and crafts. I also need a place to just journal and I do that through out my other blogs but not sure I should. Who knows!!! I am never happy with how the blogs look I just get frustrated and quit editing and plan to come back to them later.

So anywho this is another work in progress.

I am currently working on a Halloween costume that will be Steampunk and should not be blogging but should be sewing since that's in 4 days.

I joined a knitting club that meets second Tuesday of the month at Karen's house. So I thought I should post about those projects as well. I want to make some of these shawls and such from a book I bought and I also need to make more female friends desperately outside of work. So when Karen invited me to this gathering I jumped at it. Now I was the only one that showed up last time and I do know Karen through work but since we met on the Ethics committee meeting first of all I figure she is fine with us being friends and physician/patient. Afterall she's a nurse as well. And wow she can knit so fast and talk it's very impressive.

She also lost her mom the same time I lost my dad so we shared how we were both still reeling from that and were both surprised how disoriented we were.

So starting a new chapter in life. Not just a doctor. Not just a mom. Not just a wife. Not just a gardener-want-to-be-landscape-architect. BUT also a seamstress and knitter!!!!! Ta dah!