Fitted Knits

This has been done for a while, but I've been too busy, then out of town, then sick, then just lazy, to post. It knitted up really quickly (once I figured out the errors in the pattern) and I'm still wrestling with the strap idea. And no, I have not worn it out of the apartment yet.

I'm not sure if you can tell in the pics, but the colors in the hanks were slightly different so that the bottom half is more green than the top half. Luckily, I blended the hanks over 10 rounds so it's not a drastic change, but I can see it in the finished piece and it sort of irks me. I'm trying to think of it as a cool color grade that I never could have done on purpose...

Here's another fitted knit, made of that beautiful yarn I bought at Sheep and Wool. Remember, after I bought it I was skipping? Yeah, this picture does not do the yarn or the sweater justice. When I knit this in public, I literally have to stop every 10 minutes to talk to someone who is commenting on the color or the yarn or the pattern. I love this sweater already. Come on winter! (Just kidding...I can wait.)


These are the socks I took with me on my trip South (we went to VA, NC, SC, and GA visiting historic houses and other historic sites all along the way). The grey sock is nothing special, it's waiting for me to kitchner stitch the toe closed. The pink/tan sock IS special. It's another Sheep and Wool purchase. Silk and Merino blend. I can't even describe how good this feels on my foot. The pattern I got from Knitty, but I revised it to make a toe up sock (my first ever attempt at this type of sock making). I like the toe up method. I'm not at all worried about whether I'll have enough yarn to make the toe...because it's already there! Amazing.


Finally, our house guest. Meet Thurston. Sam's mom's dog (i.e. Sam's brother). He's staying with us while his mommy is traveling the world. Sam is traveling next week too, so Thurston and I will be holding down the fort. He's pretty cool: sleeps, eats, goes out twice a day, and likes to play with the b-a-l-l (apparently he recognizes the word thus spelling it is necessary). I discovered yesterday that it only takes about 15 minutes of ball chasing before he gets tired. Perfect.

Tatting Tracker?

So, absoooolutely no knitting to report. The cream cardigan is completely out of control. The mushroom cloud, little fitted knit vest has a snag--I can't decide what the directions are trying to say. I have two pairs of socks on the needles but I'm too lazy to take in process pictures even though I'm really excited about the one because it's my most recent handspun. So I will distract you with tatting...




...and ELEPHANTS!!!



does PETA monitor knitting weblogs I wonder? I guess we'll wait and see how many angry comments we get...these big guys we saw yesterday seemed very happy and healthy to us!! I've always wanted to run away and join the circus. Does the circus need knitters? I could make all the dogs in the dog and pony show little outfits. And really, the camel looked cold. I have some camel wool I could spin and knit something...see, you didn't think I could make the circus relate to fiber arts but I did!!

To rip or not to rip?


Our roses are blooming too but I am not allowed to walk on the grass so you will have to settle for a picture on the kitchen table. I did play around with the gauge when I started the blanket but I still missed it by a little. The border on the sides is wider than the border on the bottom. Although on the picture it doesn't look so bad. I haaaaatte ripping out. Who doesn't? And I feel like the yarn is never the same after that for some reason. But I have to decide if I am going to be compulsively preoccupied by the inaccuracy or not. Any opinions?

This and that

Ellery will no longer be hijacking this blog. She has her OWN site now. Check it out when you get a chance (and scroll down for an update on her modeling career).

I finished the belt awhile back and just need to take a picture. I had no problem finding the d-rings at Michaels. The only problem is that I only sewed one of the rings in and of course that won't work -- you have to have two. I knew that, just had a lapse of thinking.

I have also cast on the blanket for my nephew. I think it is going to look really nice. The garter stitch might get a little boring but right now it is a great project.

I could quit anytime. Really.

Colorado's version of sheep and wool is in June. It's at Estes Park and the article in the Denver Post last week made it sound like lots of fun. Unfortunately we have a birthday party that Saturday and Father's Day is Sunday. And as supportive of it all as Caleb is, I just don't think that would be his dream day.

BUT I loved this quote at the very end of the article:

"But by the time we had met all the sheep and talked to lots of friendly people, we had only half an hour before the sales floor closed. This was a huge relief to Doug, who believes that yarn stores are slightly more civilized crack dens."