Trish Knits.com

Tag: Yarn

Stash Diving

So this evening I went through most of my yarn bins. I took pictures of a lot of stuff to upload it on Ravelry. On one hand, I was comforted to find that my stash was not as vast as most people think it is. But on the other hand, I have lots of single skeins of things that I have no idea what I’m going to do with it.

In this photo is one of my favorites. It’s Cherry Tree Hill Oceania. I bought it about two years ago, when there was this half off sale so I got a really good deal on it. Of course I have no idea what to do with it.

Along the way there was a small pile of UFOs that I rediscovered for possible finishing. There were even a few that I kissed goodbye, including a French Market Bag that I had started with some leftover oddballs that didn’t really go together, and a mini triangular scarf out of some leftover Noro Silk Garden.

The Silk Garden yarn had been used to make a Knit Round Scarf by Sally Melville. (The link takes you to the book at Knit Picks. If you click the “View More Images” button from that page, you’ll see the scarf in the second group of pictures. It actually looks more like a wrap to me…) Anyway, I made it, but was totally unhappy with it being totally in stockinette stitch and then being all curly on the edges. I changed the neckline to a ribbing, but the bottom edge still rolls of course. Well I couldn’t just throw it out because it was made with such expensive yarn and all. Well, Diana, who was probably only 6 or 7 at the time that I made it is now almost 12 and the thing looks just darling on her! Glad I found it today. I’ll have to snap a photo of her wearing it and post it so y’all can see. Diana was so excited that she wove in the remaining ends herself.

We also found a scarf that she liked that only needed ends weaved in and some fringe added. So she started on that, too! So not all of my UFOs are lost causes. Yay!

February 22, 2008
Almost Big Enough…
…for a shawl, if it were one. But since it’s not, as you can see, I’ve still got a long way to go. I’m not getting tired of knitting it, exactly, but I am getting a wee bit bored of not being able to knit anything else. However, my sense of purpose keeps me going, and I am at least fairly certain that I will not be working on this blanket for eight months like I did on the last one. I’ve found several things on the internet that I’d like to try:
- The Lizard Ridge Hat
- The Bulky Beret
- An Elizabeth Zimmermann Mystery Blanket from Knitter’s Almanac
For the last one I am hoping to find a yarn with long color changes like Noro Kureyon, but that isn’t Kureyon, because I hate the way it feels. I’m thinking maybe a Trendsetter yarn. I’ll have to see.

Here’s a closeup of the blanket today… couldn’t resist. More soon, I hope!
February 16, 2008
I’m So Weak!

Ok, yes it’s true… my Yarnaholic Tracker does not lie. Last week, I caved and bought yarn. LOTS of yarn. What am I going to do with it? I don’t know yet. But it’s here. In my stash. That pile, you know, the one that’s overtaking my house.

I shopped at Knit Picks, as per usual, and got Wool of the Andes in Amethyst Heather and Onyx Heather. My daughter has a lovely purple afghan that my step mother made for her a number of years ago, when her room was purple. So I got enough yarn to make myself an afghan and have some left over for some felted hats (of course).

Then there is the not-so-small matter of the endless brown blanket for Miss Z. I am making progress. I am. I am. I am still enjoying knitting it. But there is the issue of that huge box of new yarn and I SO want to make something with it. The Miss Z. blanket cannot wait so I must remain strong. I must hold my resolve to finish that project first and to work on nothing else until it is done. Miss Z. needs it. I need to be able to give it to her. And I will. In a way I am glad she likes brown and I don’t. for a brown blanket, it is turning out BEAUTIFUL if I don’t say so myself, and if it were in colors I actually loved I might have a hard time giving it away. No, not really. I can’t remember the last time I knitted something with such joy and such purpose. It’s a cool feeling.

Wanna know what else was in the box? A set of size 7 Harmony needle tips with a 24″ cable set, that’s what! IJ at work has been eager to learn to knit. About a month ago she bought herself a learn to knit book and I told her about KnittingHelp.com. She doesn’t live near a yarn shop so I offered to include starter needles and a ball of yarn in my big order, which of course she then paid me back for. She decided she would go home with her book, yarn, needles, and website and see what she could do on her own, then she’ll come to me with questions next week. I hope she has an easy time and can get going! I bet she’ll be fine. She seems like the kind of person who would be a successful self-taught knitter. I can’t wait to give her some pointers on Monday!

The last item in my bag was the Harmony Cable Needle Set. Aren’t they just lovely? I usually prefer to cable without a cable needle, but there are times when the extra insurance is really helpful, such as with a slippery yarn or one without much give. I just love looking at them, and hope they will be not too slippery to do the job!

All for now, talk to you soon.

January 31, 2008
OBU

(Obligatory Blanket Update)

Well, here it is, the latest photo of my ripple afghan in progress, for Miss Z. One or two more people added their work to the blanket this week, and I feel like I’ve knitted a LOT, but visually, from the picture, it doesn’t really look very different. I guess I’m entering that disappointing stage where hours and hours of knitting yield very minimal results. All knitters hit that wall with long-term projects. At some point. Right? Please tell me I’m not alone.

So this week my kid decided that she needs to do five rows a day on the baby blanket she’s working on for her teacher. So far, she has stuck to it, except that tonight she is feeling a little punky so I doubt she’ll knit today. I hope this isn’t the beginning of a winter virus making its way through our house.

I caved and bought yarn this week. Lots of yarn. 25 balls of Wool of the Andes in Amethyst Heather, and 20 balls in Onyx Heather. Not sure yet what I am going to do with it, but I was originally thinking maybe a blanket of some sort, or at least a couple of hats and mittens and scarves etc. We’ll see. Obviously I won’t be taking on any new projects for a while yet.

Also in the box is a set of needles in size 7 for IJ at work. She wants to learn to knit! I can’t wait to teach her. I’m hoping she will love knitting as much as I do.

Not much else going on around here. Brenda has a new episode of Cast On up today so I’m gonna go listen and knit. Ahhhh. Knitting and Cast On. Two things that make winter more bearable. Thanks, Brenda.

January 26, 2008
Happy New Year!

A couple of weeks ago I purchased the Knit Wit Flower Looms from Bucilla while strolling the aisles of my AC Moore store. (Boy, was I disappointed with their yarn selection, but that’s another post for another day). I remember having something like this as a kid but not really understanding how it worked or having the patience for it. Now I’m feeling a wee bit nostalgic for some of those 70s feeling things (minus the burnt orange yarn) and I am wanting to create something with flower motifs. Don’t know what yet, but I guess I’ll figure that out.

I am making progress on Miss Z’s Blanket, but not so much that it’s time to post another photo. I’ve gained maybe about 3 inches since my last post. Thank goodness for bulky yarns. I want to weave in some ends and switch the project to my new Harmony needles because the next yarn I have in mind is slippery. Also I want to weave in some ends before they become too unwieldy to manage.

Speaking of Harmony needles, I took my kit out and put all of the needles in the zipper case, and realized immediately that my kit has spaces left for size 13, 15, and 17 needles. So, of course, I ordered them. Also a couple of doohickies and some books. For some reason I have misplaced my Knit Picks needle sizer so I ordered two more, one for each needle case. I’ll probably find the lost one when I clean up around here, but I guess one can never have too many tools!

Diana Knits Again!

So a couple of weeks ago, Diana tells me that her homeroom teacher is expecting a baby. She decides she wants to use my leftover yarn from my rainbow stripey baby blanket. So I give her the yarn, and some needles, and right away, she hates it. The yarn doesn’t have a lot of give, and keeps pulling off the needles as she is trying to negotiate her first row into her too-tight cast on. The needles I had in the size she wanted to use were my Knit Picks Options, which were too slippery for the job and her novice hands, anyway. So off we went to AC Moore, and I purchased a bamboo circular needle. While we were there, I worked on her to NOT use that garish, rainbow yarn for a baby blanket for a newborn. Thankfully, she chose some TLC Baby Amore and decided to do a very simple, striped baby blanket in garter stitch. She plans to vary the width of the stripes and switch colors when she feels like it. Sounded like a plan to me, so we gathered up her yarn and home we went.

She cast on with no problem on her new size 9 needles of her very own, and she is knitting at a fairly good pace. I’ve included the photo, here:

Did I make any New Year’s resolutions that are Knitting related? Nope. The one thing I did say that I wanted to do was to try to go to bed earlier each night. This no sleeping stuff isn’t good for me. Looks like I’ve broken my resolution already! Sigh…

January 2, 2008
Change of Plans and Prayers for Z.

Ok, I’ve said to more than one person recently that I would probably never knit another afghan. Now, watch how fast I am going to eat my words! I’ve mentioned in a recent post that I am knitting with a heavy heart lately. Now I can say why, at least some, and then the afghan will make some sense.

I have this friend. A co-worker, actually, and I don’t think she knows that I adore her as much as I do. This fall she surprised us with the happy news that she was expecting her third child. Soon after though she began complaining of a pain in her side that would not stop. (She was due at Christmas, so by telling us in the early fall she was already quite far along.) It was difficult to do too many tests, because of course, she was very pregnant and they didn’t want to hurt the baby. However, soon the doctors began to suspect the possibility of colon cancer. They wouldn’t know, of course, until after the baby’s birth, but the situation began to take on some urgency.

The baby was born after Thanksgiving, about 5 weeks early, and had to spend some time in the NICU at the hospital, but is fine now and at home. About two weeks later mom had surgery and the diagnosis was unfortunately confirmed. She will recuperate for about 8 weeks or so and then begin treatment for cancer.

I did have all sorts of plans to make tons of things for her new baby, and had even bought mountains of yarn and had started knitting on a baby hat for the baby. As it turns out I made a yucky mistake with the hat and need to start over anyway (my color changes look awful, and I forgot to do the jogless jog, AND I made a mistake on the decreases at the top so have to rip those out anyway). So I need to rip that hat back to before the first color change and start over. While I’m at it, I might as well make the next biggest size, too… so baby won’t outgrow it too soon.

But anyway, the problem with knitting for Baby, (though I can’t wait to do it someday soon) is that every time I did knit for the baby I would think of mom and start crying. So instead I decided to pour my efforts into knitting for mom. And what did I decide on? A snuggly throw, knit on very LARGE needles so hopefully it will go lots faster this time. I am already having some doubts, but I’m determined to do this for my Miss Z.

I don’t do browns, and of course, browns are what makes Miss Z feel happy. So I went online to Knit Picks, and buy boatloads of brown yarn in different colors and textures. Clockwise from the top, in the 12:00 position:
Wool of the Andes Bulky Hand Dyed, colorway, Redwood Forest; Suri Dream Hand Dyed, colorway, Falling Leaves; Suri Dream, colorway, Sandstone; Wool of the Andes Bulky, colorway, Taupe; Andean Silk, colorway, Cinnamon; Quarry, colorway, Dakota Mahogany; (center) Andean Silk, colorway, Chocolate.

I bought two balls of each color, except for the Andean Silk, for which I bought 6 balls of each color, as it will be my dominant two colors with the others in between. I’ve doubled the Andean Silk for a really soft, bulky feel and am doing a simple ripple pattern from Jan Eaton’s book, 200 Ripple Stitches. I’m liking it so far but am finding the Suri Dream to be a bit fussy to work with. Hopefully I’ll survive. It’s for a good cause. And it’s on size 11 needles, too… so hopefully won’t take me a year like the last blanket did.

With holidays fast approaching, I’m not sure I’ll be able to post much again before the new year. Thanks for reading, and if I don’t get to it before, I’d like to wish everyone now a joyous holiday time and Peace for 2008. Also, if you’re a praying person, please flip a few skyward for my Miss Z. She’s got three kids who need her very, very much. Thanks for reading.

December 16, 2007