Shirt-Tail In Progress and Some Holiday Spirit

I started knitting the Ribbed Tunic from Vogue Knitting's anniversary issue. Unfortunately the eyelet row went off in it's own direction. I had to frog a couple inches. Since then my ambition has lessened.

My newest love is Shirt-Tail Hemmed, however, from Sweaters from Camp. Very beautiful, huh?

And for those of you celebrating Christmas, here is a picture of the nativity scene my daughter made from her Polly Pocket dolls and the gingerbread house I made with the kids. Happy Holidays!

Some Quick Knitting

Katherine left me with the urge for a quick and easy project. So I knit up the Cabled Cardigan from the Fall 2006 Vogue Knitting. I really like the finished sweater although there were many, many errors in the pattern several of which were not included in the errata. I changed the pattern to knit the body in one piece and the sleeves to be knit in the round. I think it will be a nice cozy sweater to get me through the winter.

Now with this sweater behind me, or rather on me, I am feeling a case of startitis coming on. What I really need is a case of finish the old projects though.

Katherine Komplete

I have finally finished Katherine after a long 10 month journey. Granted more off than on a good bit of the time. I am actually wearing her as I write although she grew a bit during the blocking process. Even decreasing the pattern by one full repeat she falls to my midthigh. I am considering felting her a bit to give her a good all over shrinking.

I have added all of my colors and suggestions for future knitters on my Ravelry projects at LorriAnn. Hopefully Ravelry will be accessible to everyone soon but if you need any information in the meanwhile feel free to write me.

Next on my standed que is Shirt-Tail Hemmed Pullover from Sweaters From Camp. I have stashed the yarn for this for awhile and am looking forward to it.

Would it be wrong to buy a coat to match stash yarn?

I ordered a coat the other day, in part, because I imagined how it would look with some Noro Silk Garden that I have in my stash. Matching hat and mittens . . . Is this wrong?

I am continuing to plug along on Katherine. I am a third of the way done on the last sleeve. At this point I just want to finish this sweater so that I can wear it and start on something new. It has been a long knit but I find myself continuously amazed at how beautiful she is.











In preparation for winter I have also been knitting the requisite mittens, socks, hats, etc. I have just finished up a pair of thrummed mittens for my son. So warm. They should be a good addition for the winter.

Of Iceland and Tudor Roses

Just a quick update to say that I have finished the Icelandic Lace Shawl. It was a quick and easy knit. The color changes seem to have given it some interest. That said I am not sure that the finished product really appeals to me that much but it does seem to be a practical shawl that you don't have to agonize over getting snagged.

Here are some pictures. I look somewhat agonized. My husband sometimes has trouble taking pictures and I think I was letting it get to me.

I have also finished Katherine's first sleeve. The people in my knitting group so agonized about cutting the armhole steek but really what are you to do? A sweater with no arms would not be of much use. Likewise, I have two arms so off to finish Katherine up. I am hoping my energy can hold up until her completion.

In other news, if you have a Ravelry account I have been loading pictures of old stuff onto it. It's been a nice trip down memory lane. Check me out at LorriAnn.

Back in Action with Icelandic Lace

After getting to the blue border of the Icelandic Lace Shawl, I realized that one of my colors was off. I substituted the darker pool for the sky that I had been intending to use. I think it fits in with the overall color scheme better but I had to wait for KnitPicks to send me the one skein of yarn. Now that I have it I am back in action. I only have 10 very long rows left!

In the meantime I started a Large Rectangle In Spider Netting from Victorian Lace Today. I knew that I shouldn't because I have enough WIP's. Furthermore, I don't even know why I want to make this shawl. It is very plain with nothing very interesting about it. Never-the-less, I started yet another project and am very much looking forward to it.

Plugging Away on Icelandic Lace Shawl

I have been knitting away on the Icelandic Lace Shawl. It has been a quick knit although the pattern doesn't seem to be well written. I will have to check the errata and get back to you on that.

I had enough foresight to use a provisional cast-on at the beginning which made it much easier to pick up the 339 stitches for the border. I am 10 rows into the 30 row border and then I am done. I would be doing the happy dance but the last row has in excess of 600 stitches so I am not that close to the end.

In other news, I finally got on Ravelry. I am just loving it. Wonderful places to organize your projects, patterns, and stash. I also love how easy it is to look at other people's projects. If you are on Ravelry my name is LorriAnn. If you are not sign up to be a Beta tester because you will LOVE it.

The Fall of Knitalongs

There are so many wonderful knitalongs out there that I am always tempted to join but eventually I see reason. Reason says that I should finish some of the stuff on the needles before starting yet another project. Two knitalongs have called out to me so much lately though that I have joined.
One of the knitalongs is for Fulmar. If you have been reading my blog you may remember (or you may not since it has been awhile since I have worked on it) that I have been working on Fulmar forever. This is a great knitalong for me since I obviously need some inspiration and I don't need to add another project to me needles.

My Fulmar is currently on the home stretch of the front. Yes, that means that I still must knit 2 sleeves and the back. Someday I will finish this sweater. Honestly. . .


The second knitalong is for the Icelandic Lace Shawl courtesy of Knitting Daily. The pattern was free. I had most of the yarn. I am not currently working on a lace project. So I took the plunge. It looks like it will be a fairly quick knit also. I have only been working on it for a week.

I am using size 6 needles and 9 colors of blues and greens from Knitpicks Palette. I have been hearing some grumblings about the shawl being too small. The jury is still out on mine. I tend to block things quite large anyhow. I may switch to a size 7 for the border though.

Happy knitting everyone!

From the Land of Lace to Colorwork

Since I finished my Shetland Lace Stole, I have contemplated starting another lace project. I was going to start on the Mystery Stole 3. The main attraction for me, however, was the beads. Since I would either need to order them or go to the local bead store, I am beadless. My local store is a 1/2 hour away and only open during hours that my kids would be with me. You can imagine what fun a 2 and 5 year old would have in a bead store. I guess I will be picking a different lace project.



Now I have moved to colorwork. I have finished the body on Katherine of Aragon. I will be cutting the first steek at my knitting group tonight. Since the thought strikes fear in the hearts of many I told them that I would cut the first steek there. Now I need to do two sleeves, the button band, and then finis. I guess I am counting my chickens too early though.









I am also starting a self-designed intarsia project. I am thinking of submitting the design to Knitty or such so this is all I will show you:









I have also started a Latvian mitten. The fringe and braids have been a bit of a challenge.









Finally I have finished my Horcrux socks from the Six Socks Knitalong in time for the movie and the new book. My feet shall be toasty warm while I am enjoying my new book.

Shetland Lace Stole in all of her glory

I finally got around to posting the pictures of my Shetland Lace Stole. My daughter is 5 now and as we speak is pestering me to play Webkinz on the computer. I guess my computer time will be infringed upon until I get her off to college. Sigh.










Shetland Lace Stole
Pattern: Self-designed, but inspired by Sharon Miller's Unst Stole and Hazel Carter's sampler stole.
Size: 35 inches by 90 inches.
Needles: Aero size 2.75mm circular.
Yarn: Lacey Lamb in natural, approximately 1800 yards.
Time to complete: over a year working sporadically.

Shetland Lace Stole Blocking . . . Finally!

After over a year of on and off work, I have finally completed my Shetland Lace Stole. It is my own design although you will probably notice the similarity to both Sharon Miller's Unst Stole and Hazel Carter's Sampler Stole from Gathering of Lace. It is my own creation but like most Shetland Lace I can't call is completely original. None-the-less I learned a lot about designing lace and am excited to begin the next project. Sharon Miller's book, Heirloom Knitting, was a great help.

I used just over two balls of Lacey Lamb for the project. I probably used around 1800 yards or so. Lacey Lamb is a cobweb weight superwash wool and I knit is with a size 2 needle. I would not recommend superwash lace weight yarn because you aren't going to put delicate lace through the spin cycle anyhow. It also makes is much more difficult to splice the yarn. Lacey Lamb is easy to knit though and it blocks beautifully. My only recommendation if you are going to use Lacey Lamb is to work from the outside of the ball. Had I known that it would have saved me hours of untangling yarn.

As for blocking, the final measurements were 35 inches by 90 inches. A little longer than I was aiming for. I used 96 pins to block it. After the painful process of waiting for the stole to dry I will add some more pictures to my blog.

Unblocked

Border

Center

Edging

Victorian Lace Socks and Other Good News

I have some good news today! My Victorian Lace Sock Pattern is the June / July 2007 pattern for the Six Socks Knitalong. If you want a copy of this pattern you will need to join the Six Socks Knitalong and download the pattern from the files section. I am very excited to have people knitting my pattern. It was a lot of fun to design and a nice lacey summer project. The pattern is also fairly elastic so it should work well in a cotton blend sock yarn.

In other news, I went to my LYS to attempt to solve the Shetland Lace Stole yarn crisis. Miracle of miracles the store had another ball of the same yarn in the same dye lot! I should play the lottery with that type of luck. Hopefully I will finish the stole soon and then on to the magic of blocking.

Some Good News and Some Bad News

As the title indicates, I have some good news and some bad news. My friend is having a baby any time now. I knit the baby a tiny cotton cardigan to keep off the evening chill. It took me longer to sew on the buttons and snaps than to knit the entire sweater. This is why I love knitting in the round. Less sewing. The pattern is from Knitty in the smallest size and without the optional hood.




Now the bad news: I am working on the last edge of my Shetland Lace Stole. As you can see I have to finish a loooong edge.








This is all of the yarn I have left.

Sigh.

A Spring Update

I have been slowly plugging along on my projects. Here's a bit of a photographic update:

Katherine of Aragon is coming slowly along. I am working on the arm steeks now. Everything seems to go faster for me when I get to the sleeves. I guess because the end is in sight. By the way, I am so bummed about the news of Jamieson & Smith discontinuing so many colors. I have written a letter to the company but the situation does not seem very hopeful.




As for my Shetland Lace Stole, you might notice that the edging was not laying flat in the last picture. I ended up having to rip it out and start over. I have just about finished two sides and I am quite pleased. I will have to get it finished and blocked soon for some summer wear.



















Finally, I have been knitting socks for my children with leftover sock yarn. After running out of yarn on the first attempt, I decided that toe up is the way to do it. My daughter dyed her own yarn with Easter egg dyes. Although at 5 she has trouble mastering knitting, she can still contribute to her own socks.

Update on the Shetland Lace Stole

I seem to be zipping along on my Shetland Lace Stole at the moment. I don't know why sometimes I stall on some projects and just get inspired on others. I would guess that Katherine of Aragon is stalling because I have finished to repeats of the pattern and still need to do 1 1/2 more before any variety comes into the pattern. (In the form of a steek.)

The Shetland Lace Stole has provided a lot more interest lately, however. The border includes a different motif in every pattern repeat. So, of course, I zipped along on the border and have started the edging. I edging is perhaps a little wider than I was hoping for but I felt that the elements went well with the rest of the design. The sad part is that I feel as if I am almost all done which I am not. Sharon Miller says that she only does 4 edging repeats per day. At that rate the edging would take me about 20 days. I am not sure that I can knit that fast, however. The good news is that maybe the stole will be ready for a spring unveiling.

Projects in Progress Update

I've been working a bit on my Shetland Lace Stole lately. I am up to the first border. Since this stole has been self-designed I have knit sections of the border only to discover that I wrote my chart wrong. After briefly cursing to myself, I have commenced with frogging that portion and rewriting the chart. In addition the yarn has been awful in that the skeins get tangled easily. It is Lacy Lamb which is cobweb weight with over 800 yards on a ball. Imagine 100+ yards of fine wool all in a big knot. To make things worse it is superwash so you can't even spit splice it if you decide to cut a knot out. I am past the tangles and the chart seems to be working better so I am having more fun now.


I have also been plugging along on my Katherine of Aragon. I'm about half way to the arm steeks. Happy knitting everyone!

Katherine Off and Running

I have finally received all of the right yarn for my Katherine of Aragon cardigan and have started knitting after a long wait. This pattern uses 5 charts so I made myself some stitch markers with letters corresponding to the chart letters. This has been very helpful although I have finished a full repeat of the charts and which chart I am using is much more obvious. This has been a fun knit so far and I would agree that the colors are quite engaging.

This cardigan is quite long which seems to be out of fashion at the moment. I am not sure if it would look right if I eliminated one repeat of the charts. The length of the cardigan seems to make it look elegant. Any thoughts on that issue?