Trish Knits.com

Category: Yarn

  • Saturday Sweater Report: Week 5

    It’s that time again! Here’s the sweater progress update at week 5:

    sweater yoke after 5 weeks of knitting
    sweater yoke after 5 weeks of knitting

    It looks like half an inch a week is about all I’m good for with this thing. To top that off, I’m up to my eyeballs in knots again and the yarn is driving me mad! I am this close to cutting it again so I can work on the knot. Some of us got together at Marie’s house today and Alice worked on my knots for quite a while, but I do think the whole ball is a mess.

    I’ve got quite a few inches to go before I can even start on the lace section. Maybe 5 more weeks and I’ll be there! I must say that I am growing ever more jealous of the folks who can burn through their knitting at lightening speed.

    I do love the February Lady Sweater! But I understand now why the original design was done with worsted weight yarn. I am a little nuts for trying it with Tess Yarns Raw Silk, but it is pretty and it does feel wonderful! I think I may get some more of this fiber next weekend at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Can’t wait!

    Today I went to a jewelry show and knitting party at my friend Marie’s house. It was a blast! Several of the folks from knit group were there, and it was wonderful that Marie’s house is accessible to me. I’ll post my pictures about it tomorrow.

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  • Hot Pink

    hot pink yarn on ball winder
    hot pink yarn on ball winder
    I’ve been bitten by the sock bug again. We’ll see how long it lasts this time, but I decided to wind up some Socks That Rock mediumweight (colorway “hot flash”), just in case the sock bug decides to hang around a while.

    I’m actually interested in making boot toppers (footless short socks with a cuff). I can’t really wear socks inside my orthotics but this way I can at least look like I’m wearing handknit socks, right? Humor me for a while so I can figure out whether this will work to my satisfaction with sock yarn. I’ve found some heavier ones but none so far intended to emulate socks. I’m figuring a snug ribbing down around my ankle and the top of a sock cuff ought to do it. Wish me luck. I’ve got some cute new Dr. Martens shoes that need proper socks.

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  • SABLE?

    (SABLE = Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy)

    I think I’m there. One of the other boxes that came this past week was from Webs, and you see, well, they’re having a huge sale on Cascade 220, and that is a weakness of mine, and, well… look:

    Cascade 220 in various colors (photo by Diana)
    Cascade 220 in various colors (photo by Diana)

    I got a bunch of single skeins in lots of different colors. Some of the things I’m planning to do with them include:

    In short I guess there are lots of things I could do with so many colors. I like collecting large amounts of many colors. It allows my creativity to flow!

    dark eggplant colored yarn
    dark eggplant colored yarn
    Also in the box was a sweater’s worth of eggplant-colored yarn for a sweater for me (someday). Did I mention that this yarn was on a HUGE sale? I felt like it was a good opportunity to get this yarn at such a good price. I have a fantasy of someday having a yarn room with a whole wall of shelves full of yarn in many colors. I think I’m on my way there…

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  • Random Friday

    It’s been a crazy long week here and I’m tired. I haven’t knit much this week, so there hasn’t been much to blog about. I haven’t even gotten to the second buttonhole on my February Lady Sweater yet. How lame is that? I am hoping somehow to be there by tomorrow. We’ll see.

    So, I thought I’d post an update on another project I haven’t shown in a while. I haven’t actually touched my mitered squares blanket in a couple of weeks, but it’s been a long time since I photographed it. So, here it is:

    mitered squares blanket in progress
    mitered squares blanket in progress
    In case you’ve never seen this before, I’m doing mitered squares a la Vivian Hoxbro, but for the layout of the squares I’m using the diagram from the Babette Blanket as a guide. I figured out that if I make the squares sized so that the stitches along the sides are some multiple of a common number, that it all works out and they fit together nicely. So, this will be my “go-to” project for probably years to come, for those in-between times when I’ve just finished a project, or lost my knitting mojo. I like it so far. It really has filled the void that often creeps into my knitting downtime.

    Thinking Ahead

    Last weekend the yarn bug bit me really hard. Thinking of course that I ordered from three different vendors, all with different customary normal shipping times, I didn’t think it would be too hard explaining it to the hubster when it trickled in in drips and drabs. No such luck! It ALL arrived on Wednesday. (gulp.) Here’s the first thing I got:

    Dream in Color Classy yarn in various colors
    Dream in Color Classy yarn in various colors
    This is a pile o’ Dream in Color Classy yarn with which I plan to make the adult version of the Tulip Sweater. I know, that’s probably crazy, given that I’m less than three inches into my current project. But it’s a bad habit of mine. When I sit and knit, I’m constantly letting my mind wander about what I want to knit next, or next-next, or even way into the future. Maybe 2009 will be the year of the sweater.

    We’ll see…

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  • Saturday Sweater Report: Week 2

    Sweater in progress
    Sweater in progress
    Ok, in case you never believed me before, here’s actual proof that I am the slowest knitter in the world. This represents another week of knitting on my February Lady Sweater, and I still haven’t quite gotten to the second buttonhole yet. It’s ok, though, because I’m enjoying knitting with this yarn. I haven’t had any major knots this week so that’s a real plus.

    Today was knit group and I took lots of photos and even some video. I’m kinda tired tonight so I’ll have to try to get to the group report tomorrow. We had lots of new people, including one lady, Alice, that I happened to spy reading knitting magazines in the magazine aisle. I can’t wait to tell you about everyone tomorrow.

    I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately. I’ve barely done two inches on my very first sweater and over the last two weeks I’ve bought yarn for three more. Plus some single skeins of Cascade 220 from Webs. (Pssst. In case you’re living under a rock and haven’t heard, they’re having a big sale. Check it out. It’s a good thing.)

    Well, I’d better get to bed before I turn into a pumpkin. I’m really BIG tired tonight.

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  • New Yarn Smells Like Easter Eggs

    Lisa Souza Superfine Merino
    Lisa Souza Superfine Merino
    Ah, I just love that new yarn smell! You know, that pleasant whiff of vinegar you get when you open a freshly dyed box of yarn? I guess given that it’s springtime it hit me — new yarn smells like Easter eggs. My daughter wrinkles her nose when the aroma of my “stinky” (her assessment) yarn crosses her path, but me, I love the scent and I just want to drink it in. It’s funny how I can link something I love so much now (new yarn — squee!) with something I loved so much as a kid (dyeing eggs). We don’t dye eggs in this house. I’m the only one who would eat them and there’s no way I could eat that many. And I refuse to waste food on account of art’s sake. Am I depriving my kids of the pleasure? I don’t know… now that I look at the world through my mom-colored glasses, it seems to me that the whole egg-dyeing thing would be lost on them and not worth it. Sigh…

    Anyway, back to the yarn! It’s Lisa Souza Superwash Merino in the colorway, Wild Things, which I’ve heard is inspired by the artwork in the classic Maurice Sendak story, Where the Wild Things Are. I just love the yummy blues and purples with the splash of earthy greens and browns here and there. Lisa is a real artist and I can thank some of my enabling yarny friends for leading me to her a few years ago.

    I’m pretty sure this yarn is destined to be another February Lady sweater someday. I’m probably going to change up the lace pattern when I do it in this color, and maybe make something that looks a little like dragon skin. How cool would that be? But I’m getting ahead of myself again… you know I’m only about 2 inches into the yoke on my current February Lady. But I’m always planning ahead like that. I keep telling myself it’s so when I’m old and retired I’ll have enough yarn to play with for the rest of my life. I think that’s the Yarn Harlot’s rationalization anyway, and I like it. It works for me.

    Ok, I’m off to take in a few more yarn fumes, then to bed. Didn’t sleep well last night. Hoping for better luck this time. Ciao!

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