Finishing

I grafted the shoulders of my tank top and now I am getting ready to sew up the side seams. I doubt that I will finish this tonight but hopefully I will have it done tomorrow. My goal is to be able to wear it to my next knitting group meeting :) The shoulder graft turn out pretty good actually. Here is a close up of one of the shoulder grafts. Hopefully I'll have a picture of a finished tank top really soon! 

Surprise

That mess up there is what I came home to today! That is the yarn from Just Peachy, and this is just a small portion of the mess. It was strung all the way upstairs, and a small table was knocked over. These crazy cats of mine had knocked my bag out of the chair, spilled yarn and contents everywhere, and just went nuts! To make matters worse the tank is knit with two strands of yarn held together so that's two different balls all mixed up there! I was laughing way too hard to get upset.

I'm also not angry because I have already finished both the front and back of my tank. Now all I have to do is graft the shoulders together and then sew up the sides. I am dreading that part. I have some good online references for finishing, so I hope that I'll do a good job. Here is a link to an article about the Mattress Stitch from Knitty.

I don't let my cats play with yarn, and I keep it in my bag. I take the safety and health of my animals very seriously. They are my babies :)

Wednesday

I decided to keep working on the tank top. I would really like to wear it soon, so I'm going to finish it before I allow myself to work on my Fair Isle bag. That is my incentive for completing the project soon. Here you can see where I just started the straps. The part of the straps that criss cross are now on stitch holders and will be knit once the main straps are finished.  Just in case you have forgotten what it will look like completed click here.

Tuesday

My husband and I rented a movie tonight, so I decided to work on something easy while watching. I started the neckline and armhole shaping for the front of Just (not) Peachy. I haven't made major progress on it, but here is what I have done so far.

A Change

I made another change to the blog. I don't know if you noticed it or not. I took a photograph of myself and then played around with it in Paint Shop. What do you think? I think I like it better than the drawing I did of Zoe and I.

I am still working on my Fair Isle Bag. I have finally made it to the main chart of the design. Is it weird to be so excited about knitting?? Haha! I can barely make myself put down the needles long enough to go to bed or clean my house! Thank God my husband is the one that does all the cooking or we would probably starve to death!

Progress

Here is my progress so far. You can click on the image to view it at a larger size.

So what do you think? Does it look good so far? I have been using the Philosopher Wool method of weaving in the ends as I go so that I don't have any floats. They didn't show how to weave in the Purl stitches, but I played around with it until I figured it out. Here is the back of the bag.




I would love any input on my progress good or bad. I take constructive criticism very well :) In my opinion I think it is pretty good for a first attempt at Fair Isle.

Obsessed Much

It is 2am and I am still up knitting. Do you think I might be a little obsessed? Haha! I am really enjoying Fair Isle knitting! I can hardly make myself put it down. I love the challenge of learning something new. I got a little burned out with all the darn Stockinette on Just (not) Peachy, and I am totally welcoming this non-mindless knitting. I'm already on the hunt for my next Fair Isle project. My husband is still tripping out over my new endeavor. You would think that I was knitting up golden fiber. It makes me feel good that he has taken such an interest in my knitting, and it makes me wish that I had taken up Fair Isle sooner! He told me that he would love to have a sweater, so we have been looking for a pattern he likes. Well folks, I'm going to carry my tired hind parts to bed now! I'll posts pictures of my progress when I get up. Night!

Good Ole Days

I know this has nothing to do with crafts, but who cares! This is me and my sister. I'm the one on the left. Don't you wish you could just go back in time to the age when you were oblivious to all the bull crap of the world. Yes my friend ignorance truley was bliss!

Bag Update

I got an email from the Assistant Editor of Interweave Knits answering my questions about the Fair Isle Bag. I am really impressed with the fast response. She said that the pattern is right and the color change lines are supposed to be there. If I wanted to get rid of the lines I could change it to a knitted garter stitch instead of a purl garter stitch. I have decided to go ahead and stick to the pattern. I actually think that it is looking pretty good so far. I took a close up shot of it so that you can see the lines better. Also, after further inspection of the pattern I realized that the top edges of the bag are going to get folded to the inside to form a casing for the strap. You won't really see this part anyways. Go figure.

Knit Along

I have decided that the knitalong isn't just going to be for the Fair Isle Bag anymore. It is simply going to be a Fair Isle Knitalong. It doesn't matter what project we are doing as long as it is a Fair Isle project. For example, I am going to knit the Fair Isle Bag, and Janette is knitting the Fair Isle Pillow from the Spring Interweave. Her pillow is really looking awesome! I will probably post a picture of it on here, if she'll let me. Anyone at all can join this knitalong, and if you want me to post pictures of your progress just let me know.

I started my bag today. I misinterpreted the pattern at first and I had to rip it out after only few rows. I'm glad I caught it quick. Now it seems that I have ran across another issue. I don't know if it is something I'm doing, a design flaw, or just supposed to be that way. The pattern starts out with a purl garter stitch. Ok no problem I can handle that. What I don't understand is why the pattern calls for a color change while purling on a RS row. This makes that ugly color change line instead of a clean transition from one stripe to the next. For example the chart might look like this...OOOOXXXX. Rows 1, 3, and 5 are all RS rows, and the color change happens on a RS row. I looked online for corrections, and there aren't any. Is it possilbe she wants the ugly line? Am I reading this wrong? I give up for now. I need to go to bed.

The Yarn

Pictured above is the yarn I am going to be using on my Fair Isle Bag. Unfortunately, it doesn't really show the true color of the yarn, but you get the idea. I think that they work well with each other, and my total cost for all of the yarn was around ten dollars. You can't beat that!

I am getting really excited about starting the bag, but I'm not comfortable enough with my 2 color knitting ability to start it just yet. I am still practicing with the Sampler Purse, and I'm doing A LOT of reading. I am going to make a list of all the sites that I have been learning from and post them here later.

I have decided that I am going to hold one strand of yarn in each hand instead of both in my right. I came to this decision because of the Philosopher's Wool technique of weaving in the floats. I'm not really sure how to weave in the floats when they are both held in my right hand. Knitting continental is very awkward for me and I am worried that I will have a hard time purling with my left hand. My other concern is how to weave in the floats on the wrong side when you are purling. The Philosopher's Wool video only covers knitting not purling. I'm going to keep reading and practicing and eventually I'll start my bag. I'll keep you posted

Pictures

Robyn requested a picture of my Just Peachy progress. So far I have finished the back and I am about eleven inches into the front. I haven't made it to the really neat criss cross part of the pattern so my picture isn't going to be very exciting. I guess it isn't really Just Peachy since I am knitting it with white yarn, but I think calling it Just Whitey sounds ridiculous! Hahahaha! Anyways, here is the picture. Please try to contain your enthusiasm and awe...

Would you like to see what I was doing when I should have been finishing Just Not Peachy? I think it is far more exciting! Check it out!




That is the first few rows of the Sampler Purse from Philosopher's wool. What do you think? If it looks bad, please tell me! This is my practice before I start the Fair Isle bag. My husband saw it and really got excited. He said, "Dang babe, that is really awesome! I'm really proud of you." He has never gotten this excited over my knitting before. Well I take that back. He was that excited when he got his first pair of socks. He is so proud of them. Well that is my show and tell for the day. Happy knitting everybody! I'm going to knit a little more and go to bed.

The Colors

I finally figured out what colors of Woolease I want to use for my bag. I'm going to buy the rest when I go to work today. I am starting to get excited about this project now. I am going to go ahead and knit it flat instead of attempting to knit it in the round, but I am not going to make the front side and back side different colors. I think it will look better with both sides the same colors. I am going to finish Just Peachy before I start it. I figure I should scratch off at least one of my bazillion projects before I start a new one. I will post pictures of my color choices as soon as I have all of them.

Knit Along

I'm not sure how many people will be doing the knitalong now. I know that I am still going to go ahead with it even though the bag isn't knit in the round. I have been practicing and I think that I like holding both strands of yarn in my right hand. I think I will get better tension that way. I borrowed a Strickfingerhut (knitting thimble) from a friend in my group and it works well. I'm actually fine without it, but I like having little gadgets :) I ordered one, and I should get it pretty soon. I haven't bought all of the yarn for the project yet. Since I'm too poor for the yarn the pattern calls for, I am going to use Woolease. Actually I really like Woolease. It feels great, knits up really nice, and with my discount it is pretty darn cheap.

Fair Isle Bag KnitAlong

I met with my knitting group today and we discussed the knitalong. We figured out is that the front of the bag and the back of the bag are different. The colors aren't uniform going around the bag. It is knit flat from the top then you get to the bottom and start the other side all in one peice. As far as I can tell that is when it changes to the other color. You finish by folding it in half and sewing up the sides. This is why it will be difficult to convert. I'm sure we will figure out something. I use the term we loosely since I wouldn't even know where to start. Fortunately there are very experienced knitters in my group. I was thinking that maybe we could find a bag that is knit in the round and then apply the color pattern to it. I bet that Cindy could figure that out no problem. I'm going to run it by the group and see what they think.

Research

I haven't done any knitting in the last couple of days. Instead I have been looking up information on knitting with color. I have never attempted Fair Isle knitting. so I need all the help that I can get. I found a great video lesson on the Philosopher's Wool website. They also have a " sampler purse pattern" which they encourage people to practice the technique on. We aren't starting the knit along until around June 7th, so I will have time to play with the sampler pattern to get comfortable.

Red, White, and Blue Needles

It turns out that my red white and blue needles are special after all. I had thought that they were from the Bicentennial, but it turns out that they are from WWII. The following is an email that I received regarding the needles.

Hi Stacie,
The needles in question--red, white and blue were produced during WWII. (World War II) Women were encouraged to use these "patriotic needles" to knit warm items for the troops, especially sweaters, gloves and watch caps. The American Red Cross published a booklet of acceptable patterns that would produce uniform style knitted items. The finished products were sent to the Soldiers ,Sailors and Marines who were stationed in the colder climates during the war. Many groups of women would get together and have "knitting bees" --each woman would work on one of the patterns--when these items were completed, they would be turned over to the American Red Cross to be distributed to the troops. Knitting for the troops took place not only in the United States, but in Europe as well. School children were also encouraged to knit socks, scarves, etc. Even today, there are grass roots organizations that knit warm items for our troops overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Ship's Support Project is just one such organization. By the way, your patriotic needles are quite collectible and hard to find. As a side note, people (men and women) have been knitting items for soldiers in war as far back ( or even farther) as Hannibal crossing the Alps( wool stockings were in great demand to keep the soldiers warm and happy in the extreme weather).
Knittingly yours,
Mary

Thank you Mary for sharing this information with me. It is so wonderful to know those needles created something that warmed a soldier and provided him comfort. Here is a link to the Red Cross website. You will find the actual patterns that the Red Cross distributed. I also read that they are going to be selling vintage knitting kits so that you can Knit Your Bit in honor of the WWII volunteer knitting campaigns.

Saturday

My husband and I went to visit his mother and grandparents last night, and I got quite a bit of work done on Just Peachy on the ride over. The "shortcut" we took went awry so that provided extra car knitting time. I think it is great how patient you can be when you have your knitting.

Lately I have been thinking about starting a Knitting and Crocheting group at my apartment complex. There has to be people living here that either knit or crochet, and I could teach anyone that wanted to learn. I have all of those extra needles that I could provide the new knitters, and we have a wonderful club house that we could meet in. Actually, it was the needles that gave me the idea. I am going to talk to the manager and see if we can advertise in the monthly newsletter.

At work today I was able to help a lady with a crochet project that she was working on. She is making an afghan for someone as a wedding present and was having problems with the pattern. I told her about my next class and got her number so that I could call her when I have the date set. In my last beginner's class I taught the students how to make Granny Squares, and I plan on teaching the basic ripple afghan pattern in the next one. It is a very easy pattern and it is perfect for beginners.

Meryn Cadell

This is a poem from the album Angel Food For Thought by Meryn Cadell. It has been quite a while since I've listened to this album, and I forgot that this poem was on it. My husband and I were listening to it in the car the other day and I said, "I have to post this on my blog!"

KNITTING

I'm knitting myself a hat
And I'm sewing up a head to wear it on
And I'll never be this lonely again

I'm making myself some mittens
And I'm stitching my fingers together to keep them warm inside
And I'll never think about it
And I'll never touch myself again

I'm knitting myself a sweater
To cover the body I'm wearing
And the sweater will hang to my knees
And my hair will grow to the floor
And I'll never go outside again

summer patterns cont.

I've been busy hunting for summer patterns again. This has been pretty fun actually. It's amazing how many wonderful free patterns that are out there. I think that I have finally hit the end of my search. If any of you know of any free summer patterns that I might have missed let me know.

• Glenna
  
• Hiroko & Hasana
  
• Leah
  
• Lilith
  
• Luella
  
• Marilyn (dress)
  
• Marla
  
• Marsha
  
• Nina
  
• Tank of Many Colors
  
• Tina
  
• Bombshell Halter
  
• Daring Diva Halter
  
• Evening Diamonds
  
• Garnets and Pearls
  
• Brazilian Bikini (crochet)
  
• Groovy Crochet Bikini 1
  
• Groovy Crochet Bikini 2
  
• Funky Sleeveless Eyelash Top
  
• Lace Tank Top (I really like this top, and it is sited as an Advanced Beginner level pattern.)
  
• The Waikiki T-Strap Top (This one's from Crystal Palace is quite unique and very sexy)
  
• Fur Halter (Super funky pattern from Knitty)
  
• Honeymoon Cami (This top is too cute and definately on my list of must knits.)
  
• Evening gown
  
• Eyelash Trim Shell
  
• T3
  
• Jeweled Shell
  
• Very Cherry and Cherry Twist
  
• Mariah Top (crochet)
  
• Halter top
  
• Easy Single Crochet Halter Top (I made this myself and I love it. It was one of the easiest things I have ever made)
  
• Rib and Cable Top
  
• Shimmering Slip On
  
• Vintage Halter Top (pdf file)
  
• Vintage Bikini (pdf file)
  
• Knitted Strapless Top (pdf file)
  
• Vintage Shorts and Top Set (pdf file)
  
• Vintage Tunic Dress (pdf file)
  
• Summer Funnel Sleevless Top
  
• Sleezy (crocheted dress hehe. If someone makes this for the love of God please let me know!! )
  
• Vintage Patterns (This site has patterns to crochet and knit. If the site is down check it again later.)
  
• Grey Top
  
• Off The Shoulder Top
  
• Blue Bikini
  
• Two Bikinis (one knit and one crochet)
  

Well, that's all folks. I hope that you enjoy the patterns I have found. Like I said before, if you know of any patterns that I missed, let me know.