June | 2008 | Earthtones Girl

Archive for June, 2008

I’m Here…

Posted in Aran Coat, Sweaters on June 30, 2008 | 3 Comments »

…just knitting, knitting, knitting…I’ll have some pictures in another day or so. All the pieces of the coat are joined and I’m almost to the saddle shoulder shaping. I’m so in love with this project, it’s like having a friend to hang out with. Is that nuts? Usually at this point in a project I’m sick of it…Not this time. My only complaint, if I had to say I have one, was pushing around 240 stitches and wrestling with this thing. There’s no question…she’s heavy. It got better after all the sleeve decreases were done but…

My finger is getting just a litte bit sore over here.

I’ve also been glued to my Ipod. Per the suggestion of Jessica and Erin I’m hooked on On Chesil Beach. Audiobooks and knitting, a perfect combination….

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Unnecessary Pressure

Posted in Uncategorized on June 24, 2008 | 7 Comments »

Why do knitters do this to themselves? You have a knitting deadline. There is ample time to complete the project, if you give it your relatively undivided attention. But what do we do? We knit on something else. Or better yet we start a new project. WHY? Or even better than that, we let non-knitting things occupy our time, books, laundry or the ridiculous “b” movie you just surfed by on WE TV.

I have been working on my coat (3 weeks to go till camp) but I feel like I’m in that black hole (again). The second sleeve will be done tonight and I’m hoping to join all three pieces tomorrow. So I guess that’s progress…why am I freaking out? I think my perception is a bit off right now. So in my delusion of running out of time I picked this up…

How could I resist? Isn’t it a beauty? And yes, for the observant ones among you, that is Jitterbug. Again…this time it’s Morello Mash…YUM.

I found the pattern on Ravelry. This is the one that gave me so much trouble on the first chart, but I figured it out.

But guess what…I ran into another problem with the third chart. Of course it’s fixable (with some cleverly placed increases and decreases) but when you rely on your knitting to make you feel better, clear away the mental junk, make you feel like you’re accomplishing something and it offers nothing but an exercise in patience, the delusion is reinforced. So I decided to stop for now. After the coat is done I’ll cast on the second sock and knit up to the same point as on the first then work through the chart, knitting both at the same time. Actually I’ll save this for the airport/plane as I travel to camp.

I do love everything I have on needles right now and wish I could work on all at once (like we all try to do) but…there is my deadline!!!! And honestly, it’s not like I’m sick of the coat. I’m still enjoying it but there are tons of other knitting projects catching my eye…This is my other distraction.

It’s my variation of one of the moebius hats from A Treasury of Magical Knitting. Isn’t that amazing color? Mountain Colors “Bearfoot” in Rosehip. I had some left over from the Millicent socks I made last year. Can you see a color theme here? There is something about red that’s really attracting me. I want to knit the band then continue with a basic hat. The edge will roll and moebius at the same time. It’s an experiment, so we’ll see.

So I think if I take a deep breath I’ll see that I’m doing ok…alright gotta go knit now…hopefully my next post will be about the yoke….YEAH!!! I’m getting there.

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Sleep Well, George

Posted in Uncategorized on June 23, 2008 | 1 Comment »

You will be so missed…

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Sadness and Sweetness

Posted in Food on June 20, 2008 | 2 Comments »

It’s not actually a full fledged funk but I’ve definitely been a bit out of it this week. I also had a bit of perspective thrown at me. Earlier this week I’d planned to blog about a moth (a very beautiful moth) that had taken up residence in the hallway of my building. I was going to title the post, Warning: Not For The Faint Of Heart but then I remembered my friend JL and her family and the post suddenly seemed beyond ridiculous.

This is a picture of her family’s home in Iowa. Do I need to say anymore? My heart is broken for her. I’ve linked to her blog above….if you have a moment please go “visit” her and show my JL some love.

Honey, as EZ says…”Knit on with confidence and hope through all crises.”

I’ve also been knitting, alot and I’ll have some stuff to show next week. In the meantime I decided it was time for more baked goods. That’s my comfort cure-all.

CREAMY LEMON SQUARES…yummmmmmmmmm

Aside from a funk fix, I was just in the mood for something sticky and sweet… Summer also starts tonight about 8pm-ish so this is also my welcome to Summer. Nothing says it like lemony sweetness. Did that sound like a commercial? Sorry….

I also did a little shopping. That’s an even better pick-me-up. Though in the long run both of my “fixes” have the potential to cause much damage, to my waistline and my wallet.

But I couldn’t resist this. I love this yarn company.

Araucania Atacama, 100% Alpaca, Color #528, 110 yds x 2…It’s so soft and amazing.

That’s my “art” shot (don’t laugh).

Here’s the eye candy shot. I don’t think either picture really shows all the variations in color but trust me it’s so gorgeous. I’m test-knitting a pattern and if I like the results then I’ll try it in this yarn. We’ll see.

Carolyn, if you’re reading this, yes some of the lemon squares are headed your way. My friend and I have a yarn play date today…Can’t wait.

JL, there’s some for you too sweetie…you need them most of all. See you Sunday (they should still be good by then).

Have a great weekend, a safe and happy first day of Summer and happy knitting everyone.

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KIP 2008

Posted in Uncategorized on June 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public Day…

That’s just what we did. We had about 20 people and so much fun.

Started small but…

If you knit in public they will come.

That’s JL…the unstoppable force who pulled this wonderful day together. She would say it was a group effort but…we know who really made this happen. Thanks so much. I also have to give her credit for these great pictures. I don’t know what happened to me but my camera bearly left my bag. JL to the rescue.

Yes, matching tank tops…I know what you’re thinking and I don’t care. I’m a knitter and a geek and I’m proud.

Overall, WWKiP Day 2008 was total success. Can’t wait till next year.

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Not Quite Francie

Posted in Francie, Russian Join, Socks on June 14, 2008 | 2 Comments »

When I started knitting Salto I read through the pattern (no problem) and Rebekkah’s blog post about it (so funny). Then, despite the warning I jumped in, happily knitting away without a worry. All went well, the socks were completed with nary a disaster or the slightest glitch.

Then I started Francie…more happy knitting. I was also listening to Big Country (I loved and lived on them in college) on my ipod and the time just flew by. Legs were done, flaps were knit, heels were turned, moving down the foot…then…found the glitch…

I just don’t know what happened. I actually re-knit the foot on both socks, twice! And I still couldn’t get the pattern/numbers to work out. I was so annoyed and frustrated BUT I loved the pattern so much I persevered. But ultimately to no avail. Here’s my solution.

I am very pleased with the result (and my creativity) but it just doesn’t have the real beauty of the original.

The leg came out perfect…but here’s the big difference.

There is no ribbing on the bottom of the foot. I used this pattern to help me out and as you can see, it worked.

There’s a close up of the toe where russian join is…not to bad.

Overall, I love them. I love these socks and really wish it were cold enough to wear them. That will come soon enough. And about the pattern, my brain must have been in shock from Big Country (so 80s but I love um.)

Pattern: Francie by Bowerbird Knits (see link above)

Yarn: Jitterbug (Ginger Cinnabar), 1 and about 1/8 of a second skein.

Needles: Addi #1

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Another Special Day

Posted in Uncategorized on June 10, 2008 | 7 Comments »

2 years ago today…

Such sweetness….

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AC…

Posted in Aran Coat, Elizabeth Zimmermann, Knitting camp, Sweaters on June 9, 2008 | 4 Comments »

…stands for “working on my Aran Coat in the Air Conditioning”. It’s too bloody hot to go out and camp is rapidly approaching.

Just one more repeat of the sheepfold and the body will be done.

You wouldn’t think it would be so hard but it took about 3 attempts for me to be satisfied with incorporating the increases into the sleeve patterns. There were many trips to the frog pond on this one.

But look at that, I love how it looks. The center cable was not in the original design but in the spirit of Elizabeth I’m making it my own.

The only problem is, the way it feels today makes me wonder if and when it will ever be cold enough to wear it. This girl is getting heavy…

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More Than One Way To Join

Posted in Russian Join, Socks on June 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this. I wish you were all in my living room with me right now so you could be excited with me, because I know you would be. Can you tell I’m excited? Check this out. I’ve seen this on line before but never tried it. I just didn’t think I really had a need for it. It’s called a Russian Join. It’s simply another way of joining an old ball of yarn to a new ball of yarn without having to weave in ends (sort of).

Here’s my pair of Francie socks. I thought I would be clever and start at both ends of the ball so I could knit the socks at the same time. Well I ran out of yarn just before the toe…AGH!!! So I thought why not try the join on this project since you don’t want ends coming out or fraying on a socks. All the pulling on and pulling off of the sock could lead to just that. Here it is…

Old ball on the left, new ball on the right.

Starting with the old ball I treaded the needle, and then started to gently undo the twist (just a bit) on the yarn weaving the needle into the strand as I went along.

So it looked like that. I then pulled the new ball through the loop before pulling the tail through the yarn.

And you get this. Then I repeated that on the other side.

Done! The old is joined to the new Russian style…

Cut the remaining ends/tails on both sides and…

Voila!! The left side looks “cleaner” than the right. The right looks like I just twisted the two ends together but it is pulled through. I think with more practice it will look even better.

Overall…I love this!!! I’ll show you the spot on the socks where the join is, when the socks are done.

This self-timer thing ROCKS!!! Can you hear that roaring? It’s the monster I’ve created.

Check here if you need to see this in motion. I looked at a few videos and liked this one. One or two extra steps but still easy to understand.

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New Year, New Sweater

Posted in Elizabeth Zimmermann, Raglan, Sweaters on June 2, 2008 | 5 Comments »

…and time to push myself just a bit more. I’m not talking about the sweater below but the pictures of the sweater below. I learned to use the self-timer on my camera! Ok, stop laughing. For those of us who are “technologically challenged” this is a big deal, a grown up accomplishment. I’m proud of myself. Are the pictures great, not really, but for a first try I’m satisfied.

So here it is…

Again still trying to get the hang of the self protrait thing. I thought you’d see it better with a darker background.

A bit grainy huh? I’ll keep practicing. But all that aside, I love the way this sweater came out. Nice, simple, clean lines, rolls just enough, wide neck, super comfy.

If it looks like I’m falling to the right, I am a bit. I’m was trying to regain my balance after setting the timer and trying to get back in front of the camera (it changed from 10 seconds to 2 for some reason. I’m learning, I’m learning)

There’s the grafting at the underarm, not to bad. But not as good as with wool. The cotton yarn (and light color) shows every flaw. But I was still able to graft it and match up the phoney seam on the body and sleeve.

Two stitch I-cord around the neck.

Details:

Pattern: EPS (Elizabeth Percentage System) for Raglan Pullover

Source: Knitting Without Tears, Knitting Around by Elizabeth Zimmerman

Yarn: Tahki Cotton Classic, #3003, 9 skeins (108yds each)

Needles: #7 Addi Circ

Overall, I’m very happy with the way it turned out. Although it’s now too darn warm outside to wear it. The temp in NY was 84 degrees today…a gorgeous day but the sweater will have to reside in the cedar chest until fall.

Moving on, it’s time to get back to the aran coat…remember that one…camp will be here any minute.

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