Rusted Root

Way back in September I bought the Rusted Root pattern by Zephyr Style. In October I bought a few skeins of Rowan Wool Cotton in a pigeon grey color. (Wool Cotton is my fave and the fact that I saved a few bucks on it made the deal all the sweeter!) Nonetheless, no matter how easy the pattern could be or how nice the yarn was I still hadn't knit it. I did make a swatch. To my dismay, I wasn't knitting to gauge and I'd have to go up to size 7's, (instead of 6's).

But Friday night came around and I went to the Stitch and Bitch at Simply Knitting, with a new swatch, (that was knit to gauge), and the goal of at least starting the pattern. However, I didn't start the sweater at the SnB. I did have a chance to show off my newly finished Charlotte's Web, (which by the way, I blocked last night and it makes a big difference in size), and I worked on Scout's Debbie Bliss Diamond Cardigan. (More on that in a moment.)

I left around 8 or 9 and when I got home I cast on for the Rusted Root sweater. This was my first attempts at knitting a sweater in the round, and I must say that I'm quite pleased. I especially like the sleeve increases. Very nice and linear.


The lace pattern is very easy as well. (Can't beat that.) It's a 15 stitch, 10 row repeat. (Even numbered rows you just knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.) I like the repetitiveness of knitting in the round and a little bit of excitement when you get to the lace panel. It's kind of hard to see at the moment, (I blame lighting and positioning), but the lace panel makes the stitches turn into leaves.

So I'm happy. (And the reason I started the sweater was because I'm awaiting the last skein of yarn to arrive from England so that I can finish the Rowan Flood sweaters neck.) And I don't believe that socks count as a project. (I can justify almost anything.)

So Friday night I didn't really get too much done. In part because I was talking a lot to the other ladies and in part because, (ssshhh, don't tell anyone), I wasn't feeling the vibe from some of the women. I was talking to my neighbor about this the other day and how I felt "out of place" when I used to go to the scrapbook crops. Sometimes there are some people who look down on you and make you feel like you aren't good enough. Unfortunately that was how I was feeling Friday night. On the flip side, one of the girls there that I talk to told me she'd meet me on Thursday so she can help me with my crocheting for the Ripple blanket that I intend on starting. And I could sure use the help. (I don't do the increases/decreases so well.) Anywhoo, I did finish the front to the Debbie Bliss Diamond Sweater. And I did a three needles bind off for the shoulder seams. All that's left to do are the sleeves and a little bit of seam sewing.

I really like this pattern. This is the third time I've made it. The 6 row pattern is really easy to memorize and it knits fast. (Gotta love baby knits.)

In other news, I took our new kitten to get her vaccines and she's doing very well. We've named her too. Pepper. She looks like a Pepper. She's gotten very comfortable living here. She likes to hide behind the couches, inside the TV stand, (where the CD's are), and in my knitting bag:

Yes, in my knitting bag. I caught her taking a cat nap there this afternoon when I cleaned everything out. And she likes yarn. A little too much I think.

Dalton hasn't really warmed up to her. But we did catch her trying to play with his tail and he trying batting at her, (without the growls and hissing). There will come a day when he loves her so much and we'll catch them curled up together. Until then...

Scout is doing quite well too. We had a nice, (too short), weekend. Most of it spent at the pool. I took Jem and Scout swimming. Scout really likes you to hold her in the water, rather than just sitting in the little boat. But she was especially happy when Daddy got in the pool too. Not much else happened over the weekend, except for a little Secret Pal shopping. Can't tell you what though. (Don't you just hate a tease?) I'm not sure if I will do the next round of SP though. I had a lot of fun with whoever is spoiling me. But the person I'm spoiling doesn't really respond to my emails. (And it's so hard to buy for someone who says to get them, "whatever".) For some reason I don't get very active partners. But that's ok. My SP has made this round a lot of fun. (I still have some chocolate leftover, can you believe it?)

Other than that, I am now participating in the Knitting Lingerie Style KAL. I think my first project from the book will be the Bedjacket. Very pretty. My Hogwarts Socks are coming along. I need to cast on for the second one and get the package off to it's owner. I still have a month, so I'm good. Lots of projects in the que, just need to find the time and the right yarn!

Take THAT FO!

{ O.K., I'm going to try this again. Last night I posted this, but it ate my post and since it was getting late I didn't want to type everything again. Cross your fingers. And toes! }

K, so the other day I was quite disappointed in the weather forecast. We were supposed to have "storms" Monday night through Tuesday night. I wasn't disappointed that it was going to rain. I was disappointed that it only rained for ten minutes! Ten stinkin' minutes! I was driving back from a Dr. appointment and you could see how dark and foreboding the clouds approaching were. There were a few rain drops. I get home, get settled and look outside and this is what I see:

Yeah, ten minutes later and it's already clearing out! *sigh* Don't get me wrong, I love the warm, spring days where you can throw on a pair of shorts and flip flops. But I ♥ the rain much more. I would fare better in Seattle or London. (I've tried convincing Shawn, but I don't think he's ready to make that kind of move.)

Aside from the weather report, I've been keeping pretty busy. Busy knitting the fronts and the sleeves from the Debbie Bliss Matinee Coat from Simply Baby. Busy sewing the fronts and the sleeves too! (With the help of Debbie at Simply Knitting. The edging is difficult to sew in pattern so she showed me how to do it and I finished it yesterday.)

Here's the shoulder and sleeves, (mind you, the color is totally off...I had to take close ups without the flash):

And a better look at the lace pattern:

And here's Scout in her new duds, (which btw, shows the true color of the yarn):

Debbie Bliss Matinee Coat specs:

Yarn: RYC Cashsoft DK, in Dive, subbed for Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK, uber soft stuff! I ordered three skeins, (compared to needing 4 of the other stuff), which has about 197 yards per skein. I still have enough leftover to make a little hat or headband.

Needles: US 7/6/4/3 for 32 sts=4"

Size: I made the 9-12 month size

Mods: Three needle bind off for the shoulders and I didn't bind off the neck stitches. Instead of picking up stitches along the fronts and neck I did a single crochet along the edges.

Notes: If anything, I would do one extra stitch along the edges of the pattern if you want to do some easy sewing. There is already one, but you would need two to make the finishing easier. Altogether a very easy knit. Took me about a week and a half to do.

Along with some modeling pix from Scout, we took a few of us together though I can't say they are too good because a.) Shawn is not a photographer, b.) I am still feeling like poo from this cold and know I look it too and c.) there wasn't much lighting in the room. But either way, I have a few shots of me and Scout which are very special because I'm usually the one operating the camera:

Besides being busy with her knits and home life, I've done a little bit of online ordering. I saw Grumperina's Uptown Boot Socks from Favorite Socks by Interweave Knits and decided I need to knit that pattern and maybe the other 24 that are in the book too! So I ordered that and Charlene Schurch's, More Sensational Knitted Socks. I have to believe that this book is 100% as good, if not better, than the first. And since the first book is what got me knitting my first pair, well I needed that book too!

So what to knit now? I now have 14 UFO's/WIP's, (I finished one and got rid of another), so I suppose I should work on those? I think I'm going to work on the Cabled Tunic from Vogue Knitting from the Fall 2006 cover. I'm .... that close to finishing the back. Not so close to the front, the sleeves, the finishing...Woe is me! Why do I do this to myself? (Just a great excuse to buy more and knit more, so I can take a "break" from the hard stuff!)

I MUST be InSaNe

First and foremost, Happy Saint Patrick's Day! We didn't do much, but I did make cupcakes. I truly believe that any, and all, holidays should be celebrated with cupcakes. They are just too yummy! So I made four leaf clover cupcakes. Clever, aren't I?

We didn't do anything yesterday, aside from that. To tell the truth, I've had a rough spot for the past four days or so. I don't know why. Well, I think it has to do with the fact that I was trying to stop breastfeeding. Mentally I'd tried convincing myself that I was ready to stop. But in my heart, I'm not. Luckily my milk hadn't dried up and we are back to breastfeeding. I suppose I'll stop when I know I'm ready. But I'm pretty sure that the change in hormones caused a little emotional instability the past few days. And since I have not been on medications since last April, well yeah. (Though everyone says how great I'm doing, I have to say that they don't see how I am at home when I'm really a wreck! Yikes!)

Anyway, Shawn is also having troubles. As in he is diseased. He is ill. Damn him. (I really try so hard not to get sick I tell ya!) It turns out that a few coworkers came into work sick this week, which in turn means that Shawn brought back their germs! Ewww! He's hurting pretty bad though, poor guy. It's mainly his throat. Then this morning he turned the wrong way and now has a pinched nerve in his neck! (I did that about two or three weeks ago. Then he made fun of me, well just teasing, and not three days later he did the same thing to his back! I tell him all the time: KARMA KICKS ASS!) So he's trying to relax. (Trying is the operative word.)

In the midst of all of this relaxing, I decided to go through my stash. Not really to make myself feel utterly and totally horrible, (I can't help but to think that I might have an entires month rent sitting in these yarn tubs...tubs!). But I wanted to get my needles organized. I tend to just throw them back in the closet when I'm done using them and they are never to be seen again until I actually need to use them. And honestly, I'm sick of buying another set of size 9's, (even though I have 4 pairs of straight ones and 2 pairs of circulars and get this: I rarely need my size 9's).

So this is just part of the mess:

And here's another part of the mess:

And when it comes down to it, that's not even the entire mess. What makes the situation worse is that I decided, (lastnight), to see how many UFO's and WIP's I had. As of lastnight I had 13! As of today, the number increased, (couldn't have decreased somehow could it?), to 16! Sixteen projects on needles or in bags needing to be finished. Ay yi yi!

Which only makes me feel bad for having gotten this in the mail the other day:

It's Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK in Peacock. It's absolutely gorgeous and uber soft! This is the substitute yarn for the Norah Gaughan tank in the Interweave Knits Spring 2007 issue. Can't wait to start. AFTER I finish the other 16 projects I have going. (Yeah, right!)

I started the Matinee Coat for Scout, but also have been working on my Dalton socks. (Which, btw, thank you all for either your helpful tips, your links, or your support. I am hoping once I get to that point in the short row heels that the tips that Jillian sent to me will help. I'll let you know. All in all, I think that yarn over cable pattern is very pretty and the STR yarn is a wonder to work with. (So much so that I might have to order Little Bunny Foo Foo for another day!)

As for the Matinee Coat, well I don't think I need to explain do I?

The yarn is uber soft, (like the Cashmerino DK), and very easy to work with. The fact that a little less than three skeins will get me a beautifully knit sweater for Scout to wear in a few months just makes it all the more sweet. I decided to do the 12 month size to be safe. She's growing so rapidly and I don't want her to grow out of it too fast. (Friday's Dr. appointment: Scout weighs 13 lbs. 8 oz. and is 24 1/2 inches long. Her Dr. said that Scout's, "a perfect baby" and I totally agree!) Besides that, the yarn seems to be great for keeping someone warm, which she won't need until the Fall.

Yup. That's our weekend.

The Makings of Something Special

It took three tries with the short row heel. And I still don't get it. I do the beginning of the short rows fine. It's the reverse short row shaping which I don't get. (And apparently I need to "get it" because the heel of this pattern is a short row heel.) So, what is it that I don't get? I'm hoping someone, (anyone), can explain the whole picking up of the wraps. The pattern says that I should end up with 15 (unwrapped) sts after doing the short row shaping. (This I understand.) It's this that I don't:

Reverse Short Row Shaping:

Row 1 (RS): Knit to next wrapped st, (1 st before marker), knit this st together with wrap, remove marker, yf, slip next st, yb, sl wrapped stitch back to LH needle, turn. (This st now has 2 wraps.)

Row 2 (WS): Purl to next wrapped st, (1 st before marker), purl this st together with wrap, remove marker, yv, slip next st to RH needle, yf, returen st to LH needle, turn.

Row 3: Knit to next wrapped st, (1 st before marker), slip knit st to RH needle, PU wraps with LH needle and place on RH needle, sl all 3 sts back to LH needle, K3tog, remove marker, yf, slip next st, yb, slip st back to LH needle, turn.

Row 4: Purl to next wrapped st, (st before marker), slip purl st knitwise, PU 2 wraps from base of st and place on RH needle over first slipped st, slip them back one at a time purlwise to LH needle, P3tog in back of loop, remove marker, yb, slip next st purlwise, yf, slip st back to LH needle, turn.

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 until you have worked all double wrapped sts and removed all markers.

Confusing, eh? Anyway, if someone can clearly explain this whole picking up the wraps thingy to me, I'll have a little suprise sent to you via USPS. Seriously.

So, I gave up on the short row toe and tried the Easy Toe method and this is what came of it:

The Easy Toe method really is easy. (But behind the Easy Toe lurks the Short Row heel. *sigh*)

So I made a little headway yesterday, in between Scouts napping intervals, (which were few and far between during the morning/early afternoon).

Lastnight I had a chance to do a little knitting, (ummm, yeah, it was around 10 p.m.), and I was able to start the Yarn Over Cable pattern, which I like. I especially like not having to worry about actual cable needles and still having a pattern that looksl ike it took a lot of cable work. And the fact that the sock fits, well that just makes this an A+ project, (so far...ask me when I get to the heel).

I am loving the color changes in the yarn. Always something new. I do wish there was a little more blue, but I ♥ the dark brown and fawn. Just like Dalton.

And to make my day a little better, (yesterday was a bit stressful, lots of spitting up and fussiness, not to mention the oodles of cleaning and the fact that I stunk up the car because I left a package of chicken, that I bought the day before, in the trunk. Oooops!!!), I got my order from Jimmy Beans. I scored three skeins of RYC Cashsoft 4ply in Dive for a Matinee Coat pattern by Debbie Bliss from "Simply Baby".

And here's a better close up:

Three skeins yields almost 600 yards, which is great when it comes down to me only spending about $20 for some YUMMY yarn! I absolutely ♥ Rowan. Almost every yarn I've ever used by them has been 100% perfect! I can never say enough good things about their products. I'll cast on for the coat this weekend. I think.

Oh, btw. I did get the job. Last week I should have just said I was offered the job, but I had to take a blood test and have a criminal background check done. I passed! Next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are my orientation days. Which I get paid for. Nice. And I decided with the first week of my paycheck I am going to do a little yarn shopping for my Sockret Pal and pick up a the Namaste messenger bag that I want. (I had wanted one of the Lexi Barnes bags originally. But I realized three things: 1. The LB bags are made with weather resistant material. Fine and dandy, BUT I don't like the sheen of the fabric. (Besides, it doesn't rain much here in So Cal, so that's not something I need to worry about.) 2. The Namaste bag has more room. 3. The Namaste bag costs about 1/2 of the LB bag, (and right now, I don't need to spend $140 for a bag, when I can spend $69 and use the rest to buy yarn to put into the bag). Logical huh?