Refreshed, and Ready to Knit

Oh, such a wonderful knitting weekend we had! 22 knitters all together for 3 solid days of knitting and visiting, with no rotten eggs in the bunch. I will write more about it soon, before I forget how much fun it was. However...

My knitting took a hit! I was knitting along on my Saddle-Shoulder Aran and Meg commented, "there's a dark streak in your knitting". I replied that it was hand-dyed yarn and that the color variations didn't bother me. What was I thinking? After 4 or 5 inches of knitting like a mad thing, I went to splice in another ball of wool and the color variation was startling. It would have behooved me to look at my knitting in good light, don't you think? This photo was taken sereptitiously during class with my Treo, so the quality isn't great, but look at the colors! How could I have declared that it didn't bother me?

So, out I ripped! That ball has been labeled "don't use on sweater", lest I repeat my mistake (which I'm very good at). I have sorted the remaining wool to make sure that the "variations" aren't so severe. The more I knit with this yarn, the more I like it, even though I had this problem. I'm sure there is some way I can blame it on Randy (my SO), I'm good at that too - I just haven't figured out how (yet).

Randy and I have been tilling our veggie garden and working outdoors for 2 straight days. The weather has been wonderful. I have photos of our progress that I will post once I'm off deadline. I have a little editing project (knitting) that must be done today, no fooling! I did, however, run across a great photo; from last summer - it's titled Laundy Day at a Knitter's House. (Keep in mind, this was only the load of naturals/whites.) That's part of my back yard, ain't life grand? Also, that's a tree house in the background, not a deer stand!

Saddle-Shoulder Aran

Well, I did all the calculations for the Meg's Amazing Saddle-Shoulder Aran, and cast on (294 stitches) did the set-up round and 13 rounds in the pattern. Here's what I discovered:

(Photo shows Sheepfold Cable over 16 stitches)

1. Sheepfold Cable Pattern - This is not only beautiful, but satisfying to knit. You travel on every row, so it's fun to knit in the round. I made mine 16 stitches wide. Once you establish the pattern, you can just knit it without a chart or notes.


2. Crossing every 4 rows - I have very squat stitches, so twisting even a 2-over-2 cable every 4 rows was tight and scrunchy. I decided to cross every 6 rows instead.


3. 3822 stitches is an awful lot of stitches for a gauge swatch! My gauge didn't change, and my calculations were correct. What I needed to fix was the layout I'd chosen for my cables. I had a Fishbone very close to a simple 2-over-2 cable, and I needed more "filler" between them. So, I tweaked the layout and have now knitted 14 rows with the new format and am more satisfied.

Here are the first few inches!

What am I knitting now?

Hmmmm... I think the easier question is "what aren't I knitting now?"

I have a few friends who are "serial knitters": they finish one project completely before beginning the next. I can think of exaggerations to describe how hard that is for me to imagine, but none of the far-fetched examples I can muster are far enough fetched! I honestly cannot comprehend it, just as I cannot imagine "forgetting to eat" or "not needing another pair of shoes".

There are days when I long to be one of those focused knitters, with self-control and a firm grasp on what they can actually accomplish in a given week or month. It will just never happen for me.

Today, I visited three blogs.

1. Brooklyn Tweed's Blog - His rendition of Meg Swansen's Aran Cardigan (was Wool Gathering 63, is now Spun Out #49) is to die for! I have the perfect wool in my stash, some home-grown, mill-spun, hand dyed wool (purple) from Rainbow Fleece Farm (Patty Reedy) in New Glarus, Wisconsin. I even have a large swatch knitted with the various cables I will use. Too bad I pulled the needles out months ago for use on another project, so I don't know what size I used. I really want to get that going before next weekend, when I go off to a 3-day knitting event. I always want a "body" to knit on during long hours of public knitting. Sleeves are too fussy to knit in public!

2. Janine's Feral Knitter - Janine's Acorn Fair Isle made me think, "Oh, I haven't done Fair Isle knitting in months!" Plus, the reminder that J&S is discontinuing almost 70 colors made me rush to my Wool Room and look through books. I made a list of only 4 projects that I need to buy for before the colors disappear. Only 4, because I had to stop myself to continue laundry, not because 4 is all I need. One quick call to Schoolhouse Press and I will have my way with the wool.

3. Purlwise - OK, I admit I was just visiting and this site didn't make me buy anything. Why not? Because I purchased the wool for "Ruth's Kauni Cardigan" yesterday, from Wollsucht, in Germany (with a little help from www.freetranslation.com).

I'm a little suspicious of the Purlwise knitter, because under "In Progress", she lists one item... Can a serial knitter be trusted? I hope so. Her knitting is spectacular and she gives great advice on using Kauni Effect wool to its best advantage.

There you have it: instead of knitting sleeves or assembling almost-finished sweaters, I'm settling in for an evening of Casting On! I do so love the first night of a project. Swatching, measuring, doing math, deciding the cast on and lower edge treatment.... It's bound to be a nice evening! I even have a few Stargate SG-1 episodes saved up to watch (I was going to write "Tivoed", but is it OK to use Tivo as a verb? I guess I'm the boss of my own blog, aren't I?)