Already?

.....another Pretty Thing. My first one found a new home immediately with my grandmother! This one is another ColourMart yarn (they rock, what can I say?).....sorry about the fuzzy photo!

Modified the pattern for the DK (5 repeats), still on 3.5mm needles
Used ~114 yards/36 grams Colourmart 100% Extra-Fine Merino 15/44 DK (Midnight)

I've finally caved and ordered a little really lovely yarn from Land O Lace to add to the stash........I need socks. That's my story......and we'll ignore that really pretty skein of lace-weight for the moment (except that paired with black......it might weave up into a STUNNING shawl....hmmmmm).......



Just another little preview of what's up here:


Some gorgeous 50/50 merino/silk I'm spinning thanks to a project with Ms. Bad Cat.......

Finish me this......

Recently, I shared some of the WIPs I found. Here now, are some items I've finished that I took forever to share here.

The Get Well Soon scarf is really a free little pattern Ms. BadCat calls Crested Wave and can be found on her blog or as a download from Ravelry. I called it "Get Well Soon" since I made it for Puppy while she had pneumonia! She slept, I knit and she was very happy on all counts, hehehe. Thankfully, she is feeling much better these days. Since she also loved it enough to make it disappear and not allow pictures lately......it seems I only have a pre-blocking shot for you today.

Size 3.5mm (US4) needles
1 full skein Panda Silk Print

I finished my Heartland Lace Shawl in yummy Yak/Merino fingering weight from Colourmart ages ago. It's been washed into a luscious, soft and warm shawl. It's been used, petted and loved. Ironically, what it hasn't been is properly blocked! Nevertheless, a picture for your screen-petting pleasure. I'm sorry you can't feel it in person! One of these days I'll take it out of action for a proper blocking......perhaps I'll post another pic or two with some finished dimensions.




Project Name: Heartland Lace Shawl
Yarn used: Colourmart 3/14 fingering weight 50/50 yak/wool
Amount used: approx 616 yds / 120 gr (4.2 oz)
Needles: 4mm
Pattern name/source: Heartland Lace Shawl, Evelyn Clark Designs/Wild Fibers Magazine Winter 2007
Did 5 repeats total

Where'd she go?

Well between work - being on call sure does eat up time! - and marathon knitting in between the usual life stuff......I kind of disappeared for a bit. Pretty much had to go quiet on everything else from online groups to taking non-emergency calls, even from family. This was for the quick project for a friend at work (her daughter's wedding....nothing to wear....) that I referenced in my last post about samples (swatches). She decided on the fishnet pattern and merino in forget-me-not blue. Pretty. Basic. And took all my spare time for the last couple weeks :-). "Spare" is relative.... I'm not a particularly slow knitter - perhaps even fairly quick but my spare time might be a little different from yours ;-).

The "pattern", such as it is, is below the picture......


Instructions & the "particulars" of the project:
Materials I used:
~36 grams (576 yds) of 3/44 Superfine Merino laceweight from Colourmart
3.25mm needles - straight or circular. I used 24" circular because it was convenient
Dressing (Blocking) supplies
Dressed Gauge ~ 22 stitches to 4"
Dressed size for mine: 17" x 60"

Knit on 89 stitches (multiple of 2+1; also added 4 per side for garter = 80+1+4+4=89). Mark 4 on each side with the first row - they will stay garter stitch.
Garter stitch 6 rows.
Begin pattern -
Rows 1 and 3 (WS): K4, P to the last 4 sts, K4
R0w 2: K5, *K2tog, yo; rep from * to last four stitches, k4
Row 4: K4, *K2tog, yo; rep from * to last five stitches, k5

I did 106 repeats of the 4 row pattern. I also chose to slip the first stitch of every row purlwise with yarn in front.

Knit another 6 rows garter stitch.
BO: with WS facing, slip 1, *k1, knit these two stitches together. Repeat until only 1 left and do your usual yarn break & weave in

Swatches and more swatches

Yep. Swatches. I know I already have plenty on my needles....but......I have a friend who needs a scarf or shawl for her daughter's wedding. This will be simple. Quick. It'll have to be, the wedding is May 25th!

Besides, this gave me a wonderful chance to play with a few of the Colourmart yarns I hadn't yet cast on with. You could say the swatches were as much for me as for her. I have several upcoming projects......yarn decisions will need to be made :-). I did five of them total, four different yarns in four different patterns but a total of five colors. They ranged in size from tiny to large......and told me fun things about the yarns. I must say.....it's perhaps a good thing I hadn't played with that merino any sooner. Yummy stuff. Perhaps she'll choose one of those..... I don't have pictures of the other two - both different cash/silk samples and one of those was a bit of a surprise - I'm going to have to do a second 2/36 sample. It bloomed even more than I had expected! The fourth pattern was just another mesh.

Two strands of 2/50 Chocolate Silk; fishnet pattern; 3.25mm needles

3/44 superfine merino, Forget-Me-Not; Stork's Nest pattern; 3.25mm needles

3/44 superfine merino, Ice Blue; Cat's Paw pattern; 3mm needles


I actually have done a bit of work on other things as well ;-). For example, Isis #1 is into her fourth pattern repeat! This would be out of either 5 or 6 repeats, I haven't decided although I am leaning in favor of 6. That would be oodles of stitches on every round (even more so than now by a goodly bit). And that last repeat would take a fair number of beads.....adding a bit to the weight. We shall see. I will probably put her on string and dry block after either repeat four or all the way through five......that will take a bit of time, it's true, but not as much as the possible alternatives for having to fix it if I made the wrong choice!

You might note in the picture that the center is considerably more dense - fluffier even - than the knitting closer to the needles. I got something on it and rather than continue to worry about stains, I washed the center. It may bloom even more when I finish it properly but none the less it does show a nice bit of the contrast with how much the "bloom effect" can make a difference!

Another one!?!?......how about two?

Well.......last weekend I was either very bad or having a really good time, depending on how you want to look at things. It continues, too. Saturday I cast on for yet ANOTHER project. But oh what a fun project...... The Veil of Isis from Bad Cat Designs has been on my upcoming project list for a few months now. I'd studied the charts......and actually at first had a little trouble wrapping my head around quite how they fit together. I had, in fact, finally concluded it was one that would come together when I had it on the needles. I think it would have......but as it happened, it clicked for me a little sooner. I had even joined the yahoo group created by the designer. I had put it off long enough in spite of the urge to try it quite some time ago. So I cast on. I must say, I normally am, at worst, mildly annoyed at the fiddly process of a circular beginning. I love knitting in the round outwards, it's just the starts can be awkward. Normally. This one was downright painful for some reason.....but only the beginning. Once I had it going, oh what a joy to knit! I am actually approaching the end of my third repeat out of 5-6 (roughly). It just flows and is very addictive to knit. I'd have thought the beads would slow me down more since I haven't used them before. They did at first but I think I'm getting the hang of them ;-).

I'm using clear, silver-lined beads and another Colourmart yarn - big shock, right? hehehe. This one is a white 2/28, 50/50 Cashmere/Cotton. It runs about 7000 yards per pound. White, in spite of the colorful, gorgeous yarns that arrived on my doorstep that same Saturday in luscious bright, pretty spring/summer colors. But white it was to be for another option for the October wedding. Well.....here's what it's looking like so far......a bit hard to see the full picture at this stage. Actually this is what it looked like 4 days ago - it's grown a nice bit since then.




But.....I kept thinking about the pictures on the designer's web site.....and looking at them and the design....and there were those colors....... Now, I could have asked Andrea my very simple question. She seems very nice indeed and I'm sure she would be happy to answer. That's even one of the reasons for the Yahoo group....to ask and answer. But......if I had done that than what excuse would I have had to cast on a SECOND Veil of Isis in a lovely mint green color of the most exquisitely soft cashmere/silk blend you could ever hope to knit with? One that, even still in spinning oil as it is, coming straight off the cone, frankly makes other yarns - even soft ones - feel rough? Well, that would just never do ;-). This one didn't even give me a hint of trouble with the circular beginning!

Isis 2 - I don't think I can call it "revisited" since I'm still working on the first one! This one has clear, rainbow coated (AB) beads:


I'm enjoying the yarn and the great pattern. I'm working on this one a good bit less......but I'm happy to have started it ;-).

A note about the yarn for #2.....it's a 3/45 - 65/35 cashmere/silk blend (about 7500 yards per pound). I love it but frankly, I'd have done a little better in terms of patience and time to have reversed these. The cash/cotton is a much firmer yarn. The cash/silk is a bit prone to splitting and not one I would knit without watching. It's so soft & fine you can hardly feel it on the needles!

Excuse me.....I need to go pet my knitting, oh, I mean knit now ;-)........

Progress and playing

Today has actually had a few highlights/items of note......

I finished the Redwood Memories socks last night. Well, ok, fine, if you want to be picky, I finished weaving in the ends today ;-). I have not, however, taken final pictures. I'll get 'em up, really!

Today was also the day I caved and simply had to start a swatch of one of my new Colourmart yarns. That's almost done, too and once I note all my measurements I'll wash it appropriately and probably have an even harder time leaving it alone! C'mon, someone like me with a thing for textures?? And a 100% cashmere swatch? Need I say more?

Sakari finally managed to convince Keisha (the Chihuahua) that they should be friends and play. It was pretty funny to watch them together. And impressive - Sakari was amazingly gentle.

I also joined a Mystery Lace group/knit-along today. My first. I enjoy lace knitting a great deal. I have an adequate (cough, laugh - try not to fall out of your chair, Mom!) amount of lace yarn available in my stash. No need to buy or spin more for the project, only choose. I've never done one of these mystery projects. So why not? It's worth checking out - many/most of the ones I've seen the results from are quite nice. I'm going to have to go through my stash a bit and decide which yarn I want to use......although I already have some ideas about that.

If you are not familiar with the concept, a mystery knit along basically starts with telling you bare minimum details about the project like what kind and amount of yarn you need, appropriate colors (if relevant) and estimated needle size.....instructions for a sample, that sort of thing. Then, on a certain date (April 18th in this case) you get the first in a series of "clues" - aka the first portion of the pattern - and then, usually on a regular schedule, you get the rest. This one is scheduled for every Friday, running for about 6 weeks. Finishing around Memorial Day. At the end of the knit-along, the pattern will be offered for sale to the general public. The only thing you are supposed to agree to is not to violate the copyright on the pattern. So far this is a HUGE group - at least from my view! There are already nearly 900 members.

Maybe I'll finish that Aran Sweater before the Mystery Lace begins?........

Progress......

Well a bit of an update......

Today was definitely a day where knitting was therapy. Good thing I have plenty of it, eh? At least I can make something and that usually helps in a variety of ways. It's productive, isn't it? Constructive? Something. Yarn I can usually manage to deal ok with....people? I guess it depends. But enough blah! on with the real stuff here :-).

Definitely not blah......I received an order in today's mail. One of THE most wonderful "presents" ever. I tried some yarns from Colourmart and this was actually a follow on order from them (after an initial "test" order). I can be awfully picky about customer service, yes, I know this. Call me crazy but I still expect it from companies I want to spend my money with :-). Colourmart exceeds every dreamed of expectation and boy do I mean exceeds. The yarn is fabulous, truly top of the line premium cashmere and silk, etc and yet at "seconds" prices. I can't even buy the unspun fiber for these prices - not premium stuff like this. And the customer service? Incomparable. Not good, well beyond great. How often these days do you get MORE than you pay for? (yes, I mean that VERY literally!) With friendly input from the owner of the business? With delivery from the UK to the states at my door in less time than it takes SOME businesses to even tell me they've shipped my order? From all I've learned so far, from reviews from others and now my own experience, this is very much the norm for this company. Refreshing, pure pleasure and yes, super smart business, as well. Because, yep, I can't WAIT to buy more from him :-).

But until then I shall be very grateful I finally DID order and thoroughly enjoy playing with the yarns I now have :-).

I've actually managed to take some project pictures although I haven't moved them to the computer yet so I'm not entirely sure how they came out. The lighting wasn't the best.....and the camera operator needs help :-). I've added a variety of links and am adding more as they occur to me. One point, if it's a business link for ordering whatever.....it's one I have bought from and been happy with.

I think when I add the pictures, just to start things off I'll add each of the projects with a blurb about it as it's own post. I've really liked being able to see/sort all the posts on a project on other people's blogs so I'll give it a whirl and we'll just see how it goes. And yes, I know the labels are what make that work but sometimes I've seen ones that pull up soooo much extra with the project updates it gets hard to find the actual project details. Projects are, after all, my primary focus here :-).

In the mean time, I've added progress bars on several of the things I'm currently working on. I could not honestly say that those are ALL the things I have in the unfinished/in progress pile (for those of you that know....try not laugh too hysterically, will ya, hey progress, remember?) but I've gotta start somewhere, right? And I actually AM moving these along a little more than most of the others in said pile. As of today, I've made it through row 92 on the Peacock Feathers Shawl. When I post the full details you'll understand more about why it still only says 10% completed :-). I also have made it through row 70 on my Faroese Shawl. I may well work on that one more tonight. Or maybe those socks? They, by rights, should have been done long since but.....stuff happens (Peacock Feathers?) and I have no particular deadline for those anyway.

Oh yes, an update on Sakari. My "little" girl turned 16 weeks today. As of Wednesday she weighed in at 42 lbs and counting. Pretty amazing. I think she'll keep growing like a bit of a weed here for another couple of weeks and then, perhaps, start to slow down just a bit. Good thing, eh? Feeding her might (big maybe) rival feeding my teenagers. She's pretty cuddly, too, when she's not chewing on Lump or Kaiya. Or playing in the mud, lol.

Anywho......just a bit of progress here and there. I'll count all I can ;-).