Trish Knits.com

Category: blog

  • Unfaithful

    Flame Chevron Pattern up close

    Time to ‘fess up! You know how I’ve been going on and on about my rainbow baby blanket for months and months? Well, I’ve been cheating. You see, the blanket is so big now that it’s not really a carry-along project anymore. So I’ve been carrying along the beginnings of a wide lace scarf done in the Flame Chevron stitch pattern by Barbara Walker. I did carry this very same ball of yarn around in Disney in August, and I did start to knit this project then, but I had many false starts before finally getting the hang of it. It’s going well now, except that I am finding knitting on this project to be something of a guilty pleasure. I know I should be finishing the baby blanket, and to be honest I don’t know why it’s not finished yet! I have completely lost my mojo with that blanket and I only have about three rows left. (Oh yeah, it’s the finishing. I almost forgot.)

    The scarf/stole is knit with Lisa Souza’s Sock! Merino in the Emerald City colorway. Have I ever mentioned how much I l-o-o-o-o-v-e this yarn? Berry Pwetty!

    Twisted Sisters

    twistedsisters.jpg

    This week I have received the book, The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters: A Knit-to-Fit Workshop, by Lynne Vogel. What a concept! The concept is that with a little figuring and knowing your gauge, you can plan and knit your sweaters so that they always fit. There is a a lengthy section on gauge and measurements, and a worksheet is included where you can copy it, then write down all of the needed measurements and calculations. Then there is a schematic for every design so you really can see how the project comes together as it is knit. It explains various neckline options and sleeve options. It looks like a really cool workshop that can really help one go to the next level of knitting an idea instead of a pattern.

    The only drawback? I find that I don’t really like the designs in this book. But, it is chock full of enough information that I should be able to take the info they give and run with it. Someday, that is, if I ever knit a sweater. I’m still chicken. Wish me luck.

  • My UFO Hall of Shame…


    Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

    These are the ones for which I have evidence, anyway…

    • My first cabled poncho was made from Alafoss Lopi–can you say itchy? I was a young knitter and didn’t know better. Plus I didn’t know yet how to make mirrored increases and so my increases look yucky. Rhoda says I should felt it a little and make it into a bag. Maybe I will… someday.
    • Clapotis #1–I made this with a kettle dyed yarn and even in the same lot the color variance is huge. I should have varied the skeins more as I went but I didn’t and now all I have left is the yarn that doesn’t match. Sigh.
    • Alison’s Poncho–This is my most shameful UFO to date. I am so regretful that I didn’t finish it but I may yet one day. It’s huge, so hard to lug out and work on. Ponchos will be 10 years out of fashion. Worse yet? This was a gift. And the recipient knew about it. And the yarn was expensive. Sigh.
    • Cables and Eyelets Baby Blanket — by Nancy Hearne. I started this one for the baby of a former daycare teacher of my son. Kept losing stitches here and there, and lost my mojo.
    • Clapotis #2– I started this skinnier one a couple of years ago when my dad was dying… knit on it a lot in waiting rooms. Can’t finish it.
    • Latifa — I like this one, I really do. But I made the first ruffle with too small of a needle and it’s too puny for my taste. I just need to take a pair of scissors to the ruffle and well, you know…
    • My son’s “Thomas and James” scarf — Mommy guilt! I’ll finish it this year. I must.
    • Cables and Eyelets Scarf — Too much of a good thing maybe? I fell out of love with this project.

    There are many others started but not completed. Quite a few that for whatever reason, I never photographed. Someday I will dig them out.

    Many of my UFOs are projects that I have no intention of finishing at this point. Do I keep them? Or throw them out? What about the unused yarn that went with each of those projects? What’s a girl to do?

    Sigh…

  • Folk Style

    Folk Style Book Cover

    A quick trip to Barnes and Noble today to get a birthday gift for a sister-in-law found me in short order in the knitting aisle. (Of course!) I snatched a copy of Folk Style without even cracking it open to peek first. Have I EVER knit anything from a knitting book that I own? (Hanging head…) No. Why then, do I have more than 60 knitting books in my library, and why do I have a horrid desire to own more?

    I’m just crazy, I guess. But there are some pretty, pretty things in here and maybe I will knit something someday. I especially love the Modern Quilt Wrap by Mags Kandis, which of course can be found for free online. (Follow my link… easy! ) But also the colorful Algonquin Socks spoke to me. Have I ever even knit a sock? Nope, not yet! But I want to… really. Also the Tribal Baby Carrier and the Bogolanfini Pullover and the Indian Silk Pillow. All look so pretty! And yet, here I am, still dying to cast on for some hats. I am still working on the rainbow stripey baby blanket. Stitching a little each day, painfully little. It’s just four stinkin’ rows left. I was hoping to have it done today but now I am setting a new goal to be done with the main knitting before the end of this weekend.

    Wish me luck!

    Oh and hey, I found the new episode of Cast On was available today. Makes for good knitting, it does. Thanks, Brenda!

  • Why, Oh WHY Is the Last Stripe SOOO Hard?

    rainbow stripey blanket in progress

    Ugh. For some reason, I’m dragging this blanket out into foreverdom. I don’t know why! It’s not like I DON’T want to be done with it; trust me, I do. I have lots of hats I want to knit! I think it must be all of the ends that need to be woven in, and the border I want to crochet on. Egad, how I hate finishing! (insert whine here)

    So, slowly but surely I am plugging away. Five rows to go. Then the bind off. And all. Those. Ends. I think it’ll take another month.

    (Harummmph.)

    Cool Stuff I Found on the ‘Net

    • The Any Yarn, Any Size Knit Hat Book–this book is finally available as a PDF download. It has SO many cute hat designs, if you love hats you won’t be able to pass it up.
    • Magic Loop Video–by the Knit Witch. This has to be the most clear example of how to do the Magic Loop technique that I have ever seen. Check it out!

  • Shine Overboard

    shine yarn colors arranged in a color wheel

    Well, today my Shine Yarn from KnitPicks finally arrived. Wowwww, what a lot of yarn! I saw the Flower Power Baby Hat in Knitty this week and I am in love! The color possibilities are endless! I think I am going to try a couple of those. Then I have this book called 1000 Great Knitting Motifs and it is generating lots of ideas.

    I want to make a couple of hats for my mom and this yarn seems soft enough that it won’t hurt her sensitive head. The chemo is over now, but it has been rough on her and I think it will be a couple of months before she’s back to her old self.

    Would I be bragging too much if I said how much I am loving Ravelry? I’m tellin’ you, it’s like a drug. I can’t stop poking around and looking at people’s projects. I am also enjoying the huge sense of community there and I am loving all of the resources I can find with just a few clicks. My favorite thing? Say I like a project, like the aforementioned Flower Power hat. All I have to do is enter that project into my queue and it finds all of the other people who are making it or who have made it already. COOL. It’s a great way to get new ideas.


    Pretty Needles

    knitpicks harmony needle tips size 4

    Lookie what I got with my yarn! I’ve been waiting to get these <a mce_thref=” />Harmony needles and give them a spin. More on these later, I suppose. Yes, I know I said I’d have to wait for Christmas, but you know, I just had to have wooden needles for that slick cotton yarn! Right? A necessity! A lot of the commonly used sizes are on backorder already. This is what I could get for now, but I think it will do the trick.

  • Ok, I Caved…

    Shine Yarn

    Ok, on Monday, I caved and bought yarn. Not just a little yarn. A LOT of yarn. What was I thinking??

    I bought TWO balls of every available color of KnitPicks Shine yarn. When I make hats, I like to have lots of colors at my fingertips so I can have the option to do fun and funky designs. I want to make a stack of baby hats for a co-worker, and also a cotton cap for my mom, who is going through chemo and needs a hat, but everything is itchy to her. I think this yarn will be just the thing.

    Of course to go with the yarn I had to get a couple pairs of KnitPicks Harmony needles to go with it. I got two pairs of size 4, so I can have the option to do more than one project at once. I noticed while ordering that many of the needle tip sizes are already on backorder. I can’t wait to receive mine. I got an email yesterday saying my box had been shipped so it will be fun.

    I’m working hard to finish my rainbow baby blanket so I can move on with a clean conscience. I still am working on the very last stripe, then I have to weave in all those ends! I am planning also to add a blue border, to help make the blankie a little more boyish for the recipient. Boy, will I be glad to be done… I can’t WAIT to get started on my hats!

    Happy Birthday, Dad. I miss you.