Dye to the Extreme

I'm in a dyeing mode. I am LOVING all of the indie hand dyers & I secretly (or not so secretly) long to be able to create my own works of art. I doubt very seriously that I could ever sell any of it just because something in my genes won't let me part with yarn of any kind, much less the kind that I created.

A few weeks ago a handful of friends & I went over to our friend Lise's house & had a dye day. Here are some of the results using Koolaid or easter egg dyes. All of it came out lovely.





My final result


And as if that wasn't enough! This past Sunday I attended a class at Simpatico which is a lovely shop & if you ever get to the DFW area I highly suggest visiting there. My dyers in crime were Liz, Manda (who also did a podcast about our dye experience), Dawn, & Lise. Some of our friends thought we were nuts for taking a class (read: paying for a class) when we already knew how to dye. I am a firm believer in that you can always learn something else & during the class we used 100% Wilton's icing dyes & the results were fabulous.

Here is my Wiltons / Simpatico yarn




Needless to say, I'm (im)patiently awaiting a 50% off cake supply sales at Hobby Lobby so I can stock up on every single color of Wiltons. Loved this method.

Lots to say today. And very picture heavy

I have no one topic to speak of for this post, so here is my mis-mash.

I don't believe in posting in progress pictures because quite frankly when I read someone's blog & have to see their sock/scarf/sweater/blanket in 14 different stages it bores me to tears. So unless a WIP is important to a story I try not to show them much. Here is my exception - My So Called Scarf - how pretty is this? I swear I think it's one of my favorite projects ever. The Manos was a Christmas gift & I love it!


A finished object for a change - not many are done this month! This is a throw I knit on size 50s for my Grandma using Homespun in Regency.


This was the view into my knitting bag on Sunday. I thought it was beautiful & it made me so happy that I took a picture. I realize that's pretty indulgent of me to think anyone else cares, but hey, it's my blog!


Inside of that bag is some yarn that I dyed & then this Cherry Tree Hill mill end that I found on ebay for a little of nothing. Really a great value. I know I'm not supposed to be buying yarn, but come on! It was cheap & it's gorgeous - it is screaming to become a lace shawl of some sort.


I fell in love with this yarn when I was digging around on other knitting blogs & found this picture I was in a panic when I quickly discovered that the yarn had been discontinued. Naturally I went to ebay where sellers were getting ridiculous prices for it and I seriously couldn't justify the price for Trekking - even if it was Brach candy colored. I obsessed over it for days & found a little hope when I saw a comment that they were reissuing the color since there had been so much interest in it. I promptly found an ebay buyer with a reasonable Buy It Now price & scooped it up.


That's all the new yarn I'm buying - I swear. Well, swear seems a bit extreme. It's just yarn. I am going on a knitting retreat here in a few weeks & it is dangerously close to Rose Path Weaving so I can't be held responsible for what I buy there. It's a lovely little shop with tons of naked yarn & I am on a dyeing frenzy. Dye post to come.

"I'LL NEVER KNIT SOCKS" - did I say that?

I have a love-hate relationship with knitting socks. This is my story.

I started knitting in August of 2005 & really hadn't bothered knitting anything other than scarves for the first few months. I was at a knitting get together in November and a few of my new friends were taking a sock class at our LYS. I was intrigued because I saw those Pipi Longstocking knee socks in my Stitch N Bitch book & thought they were the cutest things ever. On a whim I signed up for class too. Keep in mind - I had never knit on DPNs or knitted anything but a rectangle. Plus I didn't know how to purl. It didn't occur to me that knitting socks might be hard or that at my skill level I probably shouldn't be in that class. You can imagine how thrilled the teacher was with me and it showed.

I ended up not being able to sit near my friends during the class- it was packed & seating was limited. The only DPNs I owned were size 5 - I didn't even think about buying a different size. I picked out a pretty yarn that I liked that was worsted weight - what the heck did I know? Do I have to tell you how awful this turned out? I am a tight knitter anyway & knitting worsted on size 5s was pure hell. Here was the other issue: homework. I really hate knitting on a deadline / being told what & when to knit. So the homework aspect of class didn't thrill me & I attached that to the project.

So I finished sock number one & told myself that was it - I was done. I met several other knitters that didn't knit socks & refused to knit socks (you know who you are) and we all talked about the sock knitters. We said that sock knitting was like a cult. All of the sock knitters want all other knitters to knit socks & we wouldn't be sucked in. We wouldn't drink the spiked "sock knitter" kool aid. Now, I say all of that in jest because some of my best friends are pure sock knitters. I have 3 friends that amongst them have enough sock yarn to open a store, a really really good store too! I just didn't get the appeal and I threw out all of the objections that I'm sure every sock knitter has heard more than they care to:
* You can buy socks for $2 a pair at the store
* They are knit on double points
* Those itty bitty needles drive me nuts
* My personal favorite - I don't wear socks

Fast forward to this past November, a year after my first nightmareish sock class, We got a group of local knitters together & asked our resident teacher for a socks on 2 circs class. I could see the benefit of knowing how to do this for sleeves, hats, and many other circular projects so I signed up. One of my friends pointed out that if I knit the same sock from my beginner class that I’d end up with a pair and be done with socks forever! During this class I figured out all of the problems I listed above with the original class. Everyone else in the class was using pretty sock yarn on smaller needles & I was jealous. I vowed to knit ONE pair of socks on appropriate needles & cool sock yarn. Coincidentally I had some Sock that Rock in Mist colorway in my stash. So here is my progress so far. Then Patrick whined – something about me knitting for everyone but him & not having any house socks, so I started these basic socks for him in Wool Ease, but on appropriately sized needles.



So, after that super long story - I know you are wondering, why did I fall under the sock spell? Did I drink the Koolaid? Have I been brainwashed? Was it peer pressure? Welll.....probably a little bit of all of those things mixed with public enemy #1 - THE YARN IS GORGEOUS. It's just beautiful. There are so many main stream & indy sock dyers that it's insane. And you can get a yarn fix for $20. Way cheaper than yarn for a sweater, shawl, or in a lot of cases even a scarf!

So that’s it! My very long & highly uninteresting sock story. To be honest I was just tired of answering all of my peers giving me shit because I am knitting on a sock at meet ups so I figured I would explain myself. As for my objections? Let me help you out….

* You can buy socks for $2 a pair at the store – You can also buy a sweater for $10 on a sale rack & a scarf for $5 at Walmart – what’s your point?
* They are knit on double points – ummm, no they aren’t, they are knit on circulars.
* Those itty bitty needles drive me nuts – yeah, well, get over it.
* My personal favorite - I don't wear socks – I’m currently rethinking my fashion plan. And I can wear them with my ugly Birkenstocks. And I’ll be making some that I can wear with my flip flops pretty soon. So I COULD wear socks if I wanted to.

Damn the Koolaid!

More new yarn?

The one thing I really hate about my blog is that it makes a liar out of me. I mean, I could use it to keep me accountable. I could also just stick my head in the sand and pretend that I haven't been buying new yarn. But then you wouldn't get to see the beautimous yarn that I've been squandering and you'd question my sanity. After you see it, surely you'll understand. Sometimes I feel like I'm more of a yarn buyer than a knitter, but I swear I'm knitting too. Look at my OTN list - it's growing.

Socks That Rock pile:

Pucks Mischief, Barney Rubble, Carbon, Downpour


January One for a shawl

Lime & Violet Room with a View - I lucked up & bought it probably an hour or two after they posted it. It's so freaking soft.


Yarn Pirate - Hydrangea & Dogwood. The other 2 are Online supersocke that I bought with a WE gift card.


I know - pretty, huh?

Secret Pal Loot

I participated in a secret pal swap & I got my loot this weekend. It is so good you are going to be jealous!


* Yarns Ahoy yarn in Berry Sour
* Cairi's Sweetheart Sock pattern
* an ADORABLE bag from Etsy.com
* D'vine wine
* 2 wine glasses personally embellished with copper wire
AND she hand made me:
* stitch markers
* row counter
* row counter bracelet
Can you believe it? I love love love it all. And it was color coordinated. In my favorite colors ever. Sigh.
Thank you Ronda, you are the best.

January wrap up

I'm doing this for my own benefit so I'm sure everyone will find it boring as hell, but here is what I finished in the month of January:
Texas Square for Elizabeth's grandbaby
Bernat Chunky chemo cap
Mardi Gras scarf for Tiff
Noro Fetching
Caron Simply Soft chemo cap (pink)
5 Fun Fur chemo caps

Yep - that's it for me. I started a Fast Finsih throw for my Grandma in Homespun Regency today - it's knit on 50s! That is just insane - I can't go from the sock project on size 2 to the size 50 - my hands are confused. I got some new yarn - I'll try to post some pixs tomorrow.

Game Time!

In light of my new goal of knitting from my current stash, let's play a game. This isn't a game in the traditional sense of the word - that means no prize. Other than the knowledge that you helped some kniterly spirit knit something beautiful from her stash. So if this was your yarn, what would you knit? It's Blue Heron Beaded Rayon in the Marshgrass colorway. Measures approximately 525 yards. I need help. Please. You know you are opinionated, use it for something good!

My New Goal

Just like most knitters I know, I have a lot of yarn. It calls to me in the store & begs to come home with me. I have been stashing up more & more lately because I made a little deal with myself. We are supposed to be doing some extra saving so we can buy a house & I have told myself that I'm going on a yarn diet. The past few months I stocked up since I'll have to be knitting out of my stash - I mean, right?

So here's what I've been doing. I am going through all of the yarn I have and deciding on a project for the yarn that I have. I figure if I don't know what to do with it I need to destash it, sell it on ebay, give it away....something. So you might see a pile of yarn on here with me begging for an idea for a project so I don't have to get rid of it. Right? MUST. KNIT. FROM. STASH.


Here are some of my most recent purchases though I think I know what I'm doing with all of it.
Sweet Georgia sock yarn a friend got me in California


I had a weak week. Weak as in weakness for staying away from yarn shops & the internet. Counter clockwise from the bottom left.....4 skeins of Knitpicks Shadow yarn to knit Carpathia. Of course it only takes one skein but I had to buy four???; Schaefer Anne in the most gorgeous purple / green colorway. It ended up being a gift but I took a picture before I parted withit & left it because it's gorgeous. Colinette Jitterbug in Bright Charcoal. Schaefer Anne in obnoxious neon colors. SWTC Karaoke for Fetching. It only takes one skein, so I bought two. Noro Silk Garden Lite for Argosy. Wow. That makes me look like such a Knitty.com follower! Which I guess I am.....


This is Rowan RY Classic brand Silk Wool & the beads to go along with it. I took a class at The Shabby Sheep on beading & making the Beads of the Earth scarf from Scarf Style. I'm awfully glad that I took the class & I love that scarf. I'm not generally drawn to green but how many pink scarves can a girl own? (currently 3, but that's not the point)


This is the yarn I bought when we went to New York City over the Thanksgiving holidays. Karabella Chamelon & some naked worsted to hand paint.



I have more but I'll take pictures when it A) comes in the mail or B) I feel like pulling it all out.
Pretty, huh?

I've Been Fixed! and other things I've been doing.

Well, I know in my heart that there is no "wrong" way to knit. I was taught to knit continential style by a friend and after trying to purl I realized that I didn't knit the same way as the people that taught me. I adamantly refused to change the way I knitted. I asked for and received that book Knitting for Anarchists. I prided myself on being one. But let's get real peope. I knit so tightly that I could never match gauge. The fabric I created was awfully dense. And worst of all, my wrists hurt. So I broke down & went to The Knitty Fairy, Alissa Barton, and she is trying to help fix me. In reality I was only doing one thing wrong - wrapping my yarn over the top of my needle before pulling it through which twisted my stitches. I won't bore you with the details but I'm now trying to fight 18 months of muscle memory to fix it. It's neither fun or easy but I must say - it's so much easier & much less stressful on my wrists.

I anticipation of this fix, I've been knitting chemo caps for the local hospital. I didn't want to start a huge project so I've been getting many things off the needles. Here are some photos of said chemo caps. And Fetching fingerless mitts for my stepmom out of Noro Silk Garden. And this scarf for my cousin that lives in New Orleans. Very classy Mardi Gras, no?

Six Weird Things About Me

I've been tagged by Lise http://knittingrose.blogspot.com/ to tell 6 weird things about me.

1. I don't like my food to touch. I think those plate you use in school cafeterias are about the best invention ever. I own some & often use them at home.
2. On a similar note, I usually eat one thing at a time. I go in order of what will taste the worst cold - like I'll always eat brocolli first because I think cold brocolli is disgusting. If I go from one food to the other while I eat, I take a sip of something.
3. I own a lot of onesie glasses / cups. At home I match the color of this cup to what I'm wearing, usually my PJs.
4. I don't like for anyone else to even thumb through my new magazine. After I read it I don't care, but I have a thing about it. I look through the whole magazine page by page, then I go back through & read what I want to read. And until I do, don't fuck with my magazine. I've learned the hard way that this goes for knitting books as well.
5. My pajamas have to match. I can't for the life of me wear non matching clothes to bed. Who cares? As a matter of fact, I did this about 3 weeks ago & Patrick thought the body snatchers had the "real" me. He said in 3 years he's never seen my pjs not match.
6. My toenails have to be painted. Always. I don't remember a time in my whole life since I was a little bitty girl that they had no polish on them.

I know - that is all weird, but you asked!

Stitch Marker success!

It seems that most of my knitting friends were gifted with the ability to also make stitch markers. They occassionally bring them to get togethers and hand them out like candy. Each time I get one I am amazed at how different they all are and I figured out why I like them so much - they are jewelry for our knitting! How cool is that? So I finally got one of them to give a quick lesson and I loved it. SO fun. Just what I needed- another addiction. Little sheep, skull, itty bitty sock marker.

The Purple Purse eater

I was reading Amy Singer's blog on Knitty.com & she was commenting on how she always felt like a Pollyanna & that she always has a positive spin on her entries. Hmmm, I agree although to be honest, I want to hear the screw ups so that a) I don't make the same mistakes b) I don't feel like such a loser since many times my projects don't come out right c) well, it just makes for a better blog story than "Look how pretty my project came out". I mean, right? If so, this is such a story.

In previous posts I have shown you pictures of my pretty Noni Carpet Bag. I did the Rather Huge version so it's a ton of yarn (10 skeins with flowers). I finished it in early September but I have just procrastinated felting it. All my knitting friends were giving me such a hard time that I hadn't felted it & just kept asking "why, what do you think is going to happen????". Hmmm, I don't know - really I don't & I'm scared & I don't wanna. So under extreme peer pressure I felted it. The flowers were first & they felted well, were pretty after someone else figured out how the "innards" were supposed to be arranged. Quite frankly, the way I had them looked like a penis & the last thing I wanted was a penis purse. Then came the actual bag & handles felting. And it faded. Like really bad. The brown completely ran on the pink part & turned my favorite color combination into a lavendar/ chocolate brown disaster. See for yourself




So what is that answer? I'm going to take it to my LYS & see if I can find a color to make more flowers to put on it. Then I'll find appropriate lining & put it together & use it as a knitting bag for a while. I may end up gifting it because I honestly don't know if I can look at it without feeling ill. I'll let you know.

Since several people have asked, I'll add that I used Cascade 220 wool - Pink was color 9477 && the Brown was 8686.

November wrap up

Well, I've done a great job of avoiding my blog - though I have been knitting. Right now I'm on Christmas presents so I can't post in progress pictures, but here are some things I've finished lately.

Fetching fingerless mitts for me - knit from Trendsetter Kashmir. This yarn was such a freaking dream to work with. If I hit the lottery, I'm making a sweater out of it!


Scarf knit from James T. Brett marble yarn in a basket weave pattern


This is a straight garter stitch scarf that I started in the summer for my niece for Christmas. I bought the yarn on clearance at Walmart & it is just adorable.


2x2 ribbed scarf knit from a yarn I got at a friend's moving sale. I'll post the yarn name if I find a label. I knit it with the intent to wear it in New York over Thanksgiving but I promptly finished it in the airport on the way home. My timeline was rather optimistic.


Happy Holidays!

New Projects

Man I've been doing some knitting though you wouldn't know it to look at my blog. So much for my once a week update. Here are some things I've been up to:

This is a hat for MOI in the new Patons SWS yarn in the Natural Pink colorway. We did a secret pal swap this month on our DFW Chicks with Sticks yahoo group & this was one of the yummy things in my bag. I just love the color and it was awesome to knit with.


Ok, this is also for me. I have been wanting a pink alpaca scarf & here it is - Cameo Faggot scarf pattern using Plymouth Chunky Alpaca yarn. I love knitting with this stuff. Muchly.


This is a gift for Patrick's dad using the same Plymouth Chunky Alpaca in ivory - obviously - knit in a basket weave pattern.


Fetching fingerless mitts knit with Debbie Bliss merino dk yarn that I found on sale - this was my first attempt at this Knitty.com pattern but be on the lookout for more, these are a gift but I'm in the middle of mitt #1 of my second pair.


This is an accidental knit if there is any such animal. I was walking with my Ipod the other day & it was really getting on my nerves - the whole having to hold it while I walk thing. I started dreaming up a really easy sock type thing that I could hang around my neck like the Ipod Shuffle. Here ya go! Knit with Caron Simply Soft in PANK obviously - really easy. This was my first attempt at knitting icord & I really enjoyed it. I am easily fascinated I suppose.

That's it for now folks! I have several projects OTN but I'm not naming them because several of them have "frog" written all over them.

Crock Pot Yarn Dyeing

I posted this yarn on some websites I frequent & have gotten several request for the instructions, so I figured I'd put it out there. The internet is such a strange & wonderful world - I have been told that crock pot instructions using this dye method are not easy to find. I am on the quest to elevate my blog to the top of google searches - try googling "Erdal Lazer" yarn - I am second only to ebay if any is listed at that time, which proves the inadequacy of the company's marketing skills - I personally think I should get free yarn for that, but I digress.

First of all, I can not claim credit for these directions. I will give them too you just as my knitting friend Ronda in Fort Worth gave them to me. I met her for the first time on the same day I saw this beautiful yarn that she had dyed & I thought she was entirely clever. Here we are months & months later & I still think so.

For my crockpot dyeing mission I used Wilton's Icing Dye. I think I got mine at Hobby Lobby for a few dollars, but I've also seen it at Michael's & similar stores. It apparently comes in varies consistencies but I used the paste. The yarn in the picture shown above was made with black dye. Just black - can you believe it? Apparently they get the dark colors by blending other colors so they split when you cook them & this is what you get. I also tried using the burgundy color but I just got pink yarn, so if you use something dark like purple or dark green or something similar, and it splits to give you varigated yarn, PLEASE let me know - I don't dye yarn to get one color - to me it just isn't as interesting.

This particular yarn is Paton's Merino Wool in an ecru color - any animal fiber should work. I started by taking it out of the skein & wrapping it in a hank, then tie it LOOSELY with a scrap piece of yarn (if you use acryllic you will see just how true it is that acryllic won't absorb dye -very). When I say tie loosely I mean it - you can see in the picture that some of the areas I tied didn't take as much, in some cases any, dye. I have a bigger crockpot - it's 4 quarts as far as I can tell - and that is what I used. Sidenote: If you don't have one, they are often at garage sales for a few dollars. I put the yarn in my crockpot & added enough water to cover the yarn. Then I put in a quick pour of white vinegar - that sets the color in the yarn & also makes it smell like.....vinegar. I let the yarn sit in the vinegar water with the crockpot off for about an hour. I took a butter knife & dipped the tip of it into the dye paste & pulled it out - there was maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of dye on there? That is PLENTY enough. Take the butter knife with the dye on it & stab the yarn in 3 or 4 or 5 spots until the knife is empty. Let the yarn cook on high for several hours - I check it every hour or so but you'll know when the yarn has taken all of the dye because the water will be clear - or very nearly clear.

To be honest I'm not sure if some of my method is overkill & what I made up myself - like letting the yarn sit that long, but I do know that it needs to be saturated. So take these non-professional directions with that in mind. Some people want exact times & measurements & I understand that - I'm usually that person. What I've had to convince myself of is that this is ART & you can use these guidelines or experiment - the products are generally pretty inexpensive & dyeing is so fun.

The Stupidest Knitter Alive

I may not be, but I really feel like it. And not just because I used the word "stupidest" even though I know it's not grammatically correct. I feel like such an idiot & I imagine looking at that picture, you can imagine why.

I am currently knitting up the Noni Rather Huge Carpet Bag. I couldn't believe how quickly it was knitting up & that I was nearly done, so this morning I started knitting bright & early so that I could finish it up & bind off. So I did.

When I was a credit analyst for the bank, they used to make us do an exercise called "Spilled Milk". We were periodically assigned loans that had defaulted & that the bank had lost money on and made us re-analyze it & write up how we could have predicted this loss when it was originally underwritten. I couldn't help but think this is a spilled milk project if I've ever seen one! Let's recap:
A) The pattern called for 4 skeins of each color of yarn - you hold 2 of each color together. Last night I was telling Patrick that I wasn't even through 2 skeins of each color & that I must be knitting extra tight or something. I was already contemplating what I'd do with that left over pink & brown yarn. I could make another bag as a gift!
B) It wasn't rather huge. It was rather short. I mean really short. Can anyone say "half as short as it should be"?
C) The fact that I kept saying "gee this is knitting up so quickly"!
D) Never underestimate the gut feeling that something is wrong. My gut is pretty wise. (also true in the credit world, btw).

You see, I should be knitting 10 rows of EACH COLOR. I knit 10 rows total. I even re-read the pattern several times and counted at least 5 times to make sure I was right. I just think somewhere the damn pattern should say "you should have 20 rows total" considering they gave every other direction in every possible way as if they were talking to The Stupidest Knitter Alive. Sigh. I'll take responsibility for my screw up. I am just heartbroken because now I've cut my yarn on the first skeins on top of the fact that I already did the bind off. Going to unbind off. What do you even call that? Double sigh.

I've been knitting....really I have....

I realize I haven't blogged in forever, but I promise I've been knitting. Mostly I've been knitting things to distract me from the fact that I haven't finished my sweater. I went to Benno's Buttons here in Dallas last weekend and picked out the buttons for it, which was the last step for me. That place has every type of button you could ever imagine in your life. I had no clue as to what I was looking for but I figured I'd know it when I saw it. If you had told me this is what I would end up with I wouldn't have believed you, but they just felt right, so here they are. I think they have a vintage look that I love and I just stopped looking after I saw them.

I came home that night & fully expected to finish the thing. As it turns out, Maggie Rhgetti is absolute in her book Knitting in Plain English - Buttonholes are Bastards. Can't get any more plain than that, can ya? So I set it aside until I get some help from one of my knitter friends that knows what the heck they are doing.
These are my scarves that I am donating to the Think Pink Challege The top one is a drop stitch scarf that I knit with Plymouth Encore & the second one is Caron Bliss in Cotton Candy. This stuff is so unbelievable soft that I swear I'm going to knit myself a sweater out of it. It's to die for.



I made 2 of these Texas blcoks - I am in a group of Texas knitters & we will get requests for blocks for baby blankets for members. So I made these out of the same skein of Cottontots - such a great yarn to work with. I will definitely be working with it for future baby projects.


This is as far as I've gotten on Clapotis #2. I have no idea what the yarn is - I got it from a fellow knitter's stash. It's knitting up strange on this project & I'm not sure how I feel about it so I put it down for now. I also made a mistake a few rows back & it created enough of a hole that it's noticeable so I think I'm going to have to go back. For now I'm pretending like it doesn't exist.


Other things I've bought since I blogged last....
* My Noni Carpet Bag pattern along with the Camellia and Unfurling Rose accent flowers. I am making the large size in brown & pink as soon as I can get more of the pink that I want to use - my local store is out of it & I need at least 3 more skeins.
* Knitting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti
* and because what I've read of that one is so brilliant, I ordered Sweater Design in Plain English too.

I must be a quitter....

I have two schools of thought on working on only one project. School of thought #1: work on the damn sweater until it's finished. It will be over soon & then you will be able to rejoice in a huge accomplishment that is a complete sweater. School of thought #2: go ahead & work on another project in between the end of this sweater so I can stop hating it. Last night I was bouncing these 2 choices in my head while gritting my teeth & knitting sleeves. I looked over at Patrick and said "I wonder if I should finish this sweater first or just start on something else". Before I could get the thought completely out of my mouth he says "Finish the sweater. Otherwise you are just a quitter." I stared at him with my jawdropped expression & he looked at me blankly - like he didn't just figuratively slap me in the face. I couldn't believe he said that. I really freaking hate it when he's right.

Bleech. I'm Sick of this Sweater!

I swore I wasn't going to bore my blog readers with constant updated pictures of this sweater over the weeks {months...years....} that it takes me to finish it. I have come to realize though that because I haven't really talked about it that people must think I'm not so much a real knitter as I am a yarn buyer. I promise, I have been knitting on this beauty since July 17th. I started keeping track because I have a knitter friend by the name of Betty that, thanks to a program in her handy dandy palm pilot type thingy can tell you how long it took her to knit something - well, in addition to what yarn she used, the cost of said yarn, the date she purchased it, what book the pattern came from...and probably how many stitches she knitting to make the damn thing! But I digress....

This is the Sonnet sweater from Knitty.com. The sweater really has been easy to knit - the body is knit in one piece & then you do the sleeves and attach them at the end. It's primarily garter stitch with small sections of box stitch thrown in for slight contrast. As you can see I'm about half way through which each sleeve. On the advice of some fellow knitters I decided to knit both sleeves at the same time but I was about half way through sleeve #1. So I started sleeve #2, am going to knit it to the same point, then knit them at the same time. I'm almost there - 14 rows to go to be exact - before I start this method. It's actually genius, I feel silly not having thought of it on my own. That's why we hang out with other knitters!

Now I'm beginning to think that I'm going to hate it by the time I am done knitting it. I wonder if I'll ever enjoy the wearing of it? I'll tell you one thing for sure - I'm going to figure out the answer to that question before starting sweater #2. I had myself pegged as a sweater knitter. I came to that conclusion because I really really do like knitting things for myself & I'm not as much of a scarf person as I imagined. I have tried to knit skinny scarves to wear with tshirts & the like, but it just never seems to work out - they keep me too warm, which is of course their function. So I turned to sweaters because they too will keep you warm, but I do wear sweaters so I may as well just make my own. I have bought enough yarn over the past month or so to make four more sweaters, so either I am going to be a sweater knitter or every person that I know is going to have the same scarf / hat set!


Isn't this yarn delicious???? I love love love love it! It is hand painted yarn by Claudia & I bought it at Yarns Ewenique in Fort Worth. My LSSK (lone star state knitters) group went on a yarn crawl last week and we had a ball! I guess for me it was more of a book crawl because this is the only yarn that I bought. I got it with the intention of gifting it to someone, but now I'm really not so sure. I really hate to make gifts out of yarn that I don't like but I'm growing emotionally attached to my beloved yarn & am having a heck of a time parting with it. Sigh. I'll try.