The Eyes have it

The Eye of Jupiter took on a bit of a life of its own over the past few months, and has left me with much yarn and fiber to play with.
First, my socks (which for some odd reason, I just can't get done! Perhaps in subconscious protest due to the fact I don't want the show to be done?). Briefly, I am knitting them in the Classica merino/nylon base, they were started over a year ago (I'm just not a quick sock knitter), toe up, plain foot, scrap yarn for afterthought heel, Crusoe pattern for the cuff, two-at-a-time, magic-loop. And I somehow managed, once I picked them up again for "karate knitting", to knit the two socks together. See those little crossed over threads?

Yeah, not good. So a-tinking I went. How on earth did I knit 4 rows without noticing the socks were joined?
Then, there was the tam from my last post. It will be winging its way overseas to a friend who will get a kick -- and hopefully a lift -- from the bright colors.
Lastly, while vending at Spa, a customer in my booth pointed to this colorway stating that, "yeah, but when you spin it, it will look like mud." Being the obsessive person I am, I had to spin some for myself.
As with most space-dyed tops, the spinner actually has many options. The preparation can be stripped out randomly and plied together with little forethought, which may result in "mud" or can create a pleasant blending of colors, depending on the colors present in the top. It can be spun as a single, chain-plied to preserve stretches of color, or stripped in a conscious effort to manipulate the colors. I took a small length of the colorway and broke it out into color sections in an a-b-c-d fashion (yellow-red-orange-blue) as it was painted. Then, I took one length and split it in quarters and spun them in the same a-b-c-d order. Then I took another section and spun without splitting a-b-c-d fashion on a seperate bobbin, and then plied these together.
The result?
No mud!

I knit a fairly large swatch to show all the color shifts.

I do think if I were to make a larger garment, I would only strip the top in half, rather than quarters, to get longer sections of color, but I do think this technique would be great for entrelac. I am debating frogging the sample to make Quant. Or I just may have to spin out some other colorways to play with. What a hardship, huh?
(oh yeah, and guess what? I have a new wheel!! more on the next post)

Back in the Saddle

Ok, so it has been a long hard winter (but hooray! today is the first day of Spring!). Ice storms, snow storms, illnessafterillnessafterillness. I have been laid-out sick four times -- twice with a stomach bug -- since Christmas, and the kids too many times to count. And when they haven't been home either sick or on another accursed snow day (and I haven't been confined to bed or the couch) I have been DYEING. While one wouldn't know it from stock in the Etsy shop, my little business has kept me very busy. I had the good fortune of being "Harlotted" for my homage to Battlestar Galactica (only 3 -- strike that -- 1! episode left!!) which certainly had me hoping while I was also trying to prepare for NETA Spa Knit and Spin. Busy, busy, busy!
In my silence, I have also been knitting. A lot. In fact I completed nearly two sweaters. The first of which is a major UGH -- made of Patons Bella on size huge needles I attempted to alter the pattern given for the yarn to knit in the round, top-down raglan with waist shaping.

Well, the neck is too tight, the shaping pulls in too much and shows too much belly, I completely messed up the increases, but did find a creative way to stitch over and make them look a bit more matching, but all in all this will be frogged. Buh-bye. I hate it, feel fat in it, and it hurt to knit on big needles with such bulky, heavy yarn. So much for stash busting.
The second sweater more than made up for this one, tho! I knit Francis Revisited in Artful Yarns Fragrance in a lovely deep teal and can't stop wearing it.

It fits beautifully, I love the collar (I didn't tack it down and knit it all on the large size needle. Worked just fine) and the yarn was delightful to work with. Love it!!
Sadly, I haven't felt perky enough for a photo shoot, so all you get is a poorly lit shot of it blocking with inaccurate color, but it is proof of completion!
I have also managed to crank out a few small samples knit with Sereknity Yarn.
(Again, I haven't hauled out the light box, so these photos may be lacking in the color accuracy department, although not too bad.)
First a lovely mitten created form the free chart for Swirly Mittens using a generic wool/nylon sock form the stash and a new color, Rainbow Ripple on the Shimmer base. LOVE THIS MITTEN.


I have cast on for number 2 and will get back to it soon (I swear!). I fear my little girl will run off with them when they are done.
Then, another new color, Winter of my Discontent (told you it has been a rough one) dyed on Perfect Sock and knit up into the Good Luck Cowl.

I used a size 6 needle as I didn't have a 5 in the correct length and it worked out perfectly, lightly blocked. The girl has stolen this one repeatedly.
I also had a remnant skein of Eye of Jupiter in Perfect and knit up a super quick little tam -- La Parisenne Beret by SockPixie.

Fun and easy, and I only used the one color as I wanted to see what the colorway would do. I do wish I had gone down a needle size or two for the ribbing, and perhaps knit it a bit longer. Unblocked, the hat wasn't slouchy enough, and blocked, the ribbing lost its stretch. BUT, it still sits nice and cute and casual on my head (esp. since I have a lot of hair) I just worry it will fall off, although it hasn't yet.
And lastly, I have started Wisteria! I love, love, love this pattern, although my own inattention and attempting to knit on it when I really, really shouldn't has lead to some tinking, I am nearly past the cable yoke section.

Yay! I am using the discontinued Adrienne Vitadini yarn Natasha in a so-pale-it-almost-isn't-a-color green. This yarn has so much life in it. It is very springy, the fabric is soft and spongy, and the halo just lovely. I love the soft effect it gives to the cables. mmmmm. I'm using size seven needles to get gauge (or so my swatch tells me) and knitting a size 40 1/2.
(Man -- wrote this post a week ago, and it has sat here waiting for pictures. So many new things to tell already! Tomorrow? Maybe even again today!)

Update

Well, things are much better at my house, but I won't gloat as too many friends are STILL without power. I have many thankyou's to give out tho, to all the wonderful friends who offered help in the comments and also in e-mail. You guys are amazing! When leaving Gloucester, I got a small generator from my father to hook up to the furnace so Jim could have a better time heating the house fo rthe pipes and kitties,upbut exhaustion took it's toll and he had "issues" hooking it up and waited 'til the next day for help. A good friend came by the next day (Tuesday) to assess the situation and they managed to work out the electrics. Then, the fabulous blogless KellyR contacted me after the last post with an offer of a HUGE generator that she and her hubs brought up that was able to power nearly the entire house, so the kids and I came home Tuesday night. Internet and cable were intermittent, but who cares! We had heat and lights. No laundry, tho, so I spent the entire night at my sis-in-laws (she is away on vacation) doing laundry, dozing off on the couch between buzzers. Power was (of course) restored to our house Thursday morning and we have since returned the generator to Kelly in case we have more outages in the area since we now have a snow storm, with a nasty Nor'easter on its way on Sunday evening. The kids have not had school all week, and Monday and Tuesday are doubtful. We are slated to host Christmas dinner here at my house, but that is somewhat in jeapardy as my mom doesn't want to travel in the snow predicted for Christmas day. Such is life in New England. I also think I may bodily remove my friends and her children from their home if she does not get heat within the next few days. ENOUGH!
Good news? (Other than that I have electricity!) Jacob seems to be over his bout of ickiness. No pain for over a week now and we seems to be "in the clear." My Christmas shopping is nearly done (as is my bank account...ugh) and Christmas knitting is flying along, being left with little else to do. Both hats for my niece and nephew were completed and already gifted, my MIL's mitts are done -- even blocked with thumbs! -- the larger Kauni poncho for other niece #1 is done, and the oncho for the 2 year old is under way. Fair Isle stocking #1 1/2 done and moving along quite quickly. I'm debating casting on for the MArs scarf for my FIL I've swatched and feel I can get gauge with some nice stash yarn (although I don't like having to figure gauge in 2x2 rib. How much should you stretch it out?) but I just don't know if it can be done by Christmas eve. I'm going to cast on today and see how far I get and determine from there. I'll try to get caught up on pics soon, although I was a dork and forgot to photo the nephew's flame hat before he ran off to Ireland with it. Hopefully, he won't loose it on the plane and I can snap a modeled pic when he returns.

Things are not going well.

And I'm not talking about the Christmas knitting -- that is moving along surprisingly well. Life, on the other hand, is throwing us far too many curve balls. Firatly, we have been dealing with some minor/major gastrointestinal issues with my poor little boy. Not an uncommon problem, apparently, but it has occupied many days of doctors appointments, ER runs, x-rays and days home from school and activities while we, umm, try to "clear up" the problem and keep his pain at bay. While in the midst of this, NH was hit with a major ice storm and my town is sadly one of the worst hit, with 95% of the town losing power on Thursday, with 60% still out as of Monday morning. The kids, dogs, and I have been vagabonds living on the good graces of friends and family since Friday while hubby does what he can (safely) to keep our pipes (and cats and rabbit) from freezing running a small propane heater at monitored intervals. He has been sleeping in a 47-55 degree house. LAst night while watching the news I saw footage of a National Guardsman warnigna Derry woman that it may be as long as 2 weeks before power is restored. Enough is enough! I am going to do my best to convince him to drain the pipes while I find temporary homes for the animals.
As one I'm sure can imagine, this also means a stand-still with dyeing. I'm very frustrated as I have a large order I had planned to get out the door by Christmas. At this point, I'm just hoping to be home by then.
Sorry for the downer post, but we can use all the good thoughts you can send our way. My heart goes out to all those WITHOUT a warm bed to sleep in.

In the works

Oh my. My queue and work basket overfloweth. I am actually in the mood for making gifts, and am trying to capitalize on that urge. As it is for most everyone, money is tight, but I actually have many folks in my life whom I deem knit-worthy and I like them to know I think of them. That being said, I am nearly done with mitts started last year (the year of the fingerless mitt -- arg!) for my sis-in-law,

and have to re-start some made for my mom-in-law. I could not for the life of me figure out why the mitts I had nearly completed for her last year -- in the amazingly fantastic Acker's Acres Bunny Blend, bought in Maine -- were so darned tight. I had knit these mitts (my own Smocked Gauntlets -- see sidebar) 3 other times with no problem. Then I discovered that what I thought were size 3 dpns were 2s. Doh. So, they will be for Rachel, whenever I get to the finishing. I am debating using some lovely hand-spun for MIL instead, and perhaps a different pattern this time.
I am also working ponchos for my "nieces" in Kauni EQ on size 8s to make them nice and airy. The girls and their brother live in the Dominican Republic, which makes for difficult gift knitting! My cousin (their mother -- yes, that technically makes the kids my cousins, too, but we don't play that way...lol) has told me that the oldest girl still LOVES the poncho I crocheted her years ago before I knew better about yarn and anything, and that they could both use something lightweight for the cool mornings before school. And what little girl can resist a rainbow?

I've adopted the basic guidelines for the Very Harlot poncho and am throwing a few eyelet rows in for interest.
For my nephew, a Pokemon fan, I'll be picking up the hook again to make him a Pikachu doll, and am nearly done with a Mew for Rachel. I messed up the head, as it should have been in the round, but it will still work.

I'll know better for Noah's.

A scarf for hubby is in the works and nearly half done. I am making him the simple One Row Scarf (again from the Yarn Harlot). (Sorry -- no pic, but it is a very pretty green.) This poor scarf was started and ripped 4 times (in luscious Pear Tree merino) before settling on this design. I had really wanted to make him something super special, but I have little patience for scarves and needed this to be something completely mindless and painless so I could knit it at karate with out a chart to fuss with. My goal is to get this sucker done before the first real snow fall.

Then there are the hats. I have some gorgeous Kathmandu Queensland Aran in a tweedy dark charcoal to make a Gretel for my little sis (I want another one of these for myself!) and I am searching for a pattern to make another niece a hat and mitten set. I want them to have horses on them. (Off to Ravelry!!) I am also going to get working on new hats for my kiddos, a purple Cheetah Beret for Rachel and a hat of my own design for Jacob -- a Bakugan hat. Anyone with a school aged boy has probably heard of these toys, impossible to find in stores right now, and the latest obsession. I have taken one of Jacob's favorite "characters" (Fear Ripper) and charted out a reasonable facsimile, tested a swatch and am nearly good to go. I just need to pop into the yarn shop and pick up the preferred yarn in the right colors -- Debbie Bliss Rialto (nice and soft for the boy) -- and get moving. If it works out well, my young nephew here in the states will get one as well.
In the meantime, I whipped up a few slippers for the kids. They were just big socks, really, and took very little time at all.

Stashbusting for both, I used 3 strands of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes on size 10 needles for Jacob's (but am wishing I had used 2 strands of blue with the yellow and left out the sickly green) and for Rachel I used just over 2 balls of Patons Bella on US 10 1/2 dpns. Both were a cast-on of 24 stitches and then just a standard heel-flap sock from there. Nice, thick, and squishy.
In closing, I was going to say "that's it" but, well, this just may be a bit of an ambitious list, no? Oh well, no pressure. Christmas is only 35 days away. (And let's not forget that I do have to work. gulp.)

Saboteur

Although I don't often discuss them here, my home is rather happily and warmly filled with company of the soft and furry kind. As I type, I am flanked on either side by my sleeping dogs, and two -- nope, make that three -- of the four family cats are lounging about in sight. The kitties love to "help" with my knitting by keeping my lap warm while I work at night or "guarding" the finished bits of sweater that they may find lying about by, well, lying about on them.
My darling BooBoo, the eldest of our brood, but who will forever be "my baby" as I bottle-fed and weaned him myself, has an interesting quirk. He loves shiny things. I have learned to hide my earrings and other bits of portable sparklies when removed as he has been known to steal these from my nightstand and bring them to the smooth kitchen floor for some hockey-type fun. We found quite an array under the refrigerator when we moved from our last house.
And then there is his protege, Bella, who once, as a 5 month old kitten, bit the earring straight off my ear and swallowed it, earning her a $700 trip to the ER to scope it out.
Given their history, it is a complete wonder that I sat dumbfounded staring at the blocking pieces of my Drops jacket, pins all scattered and askew.
The had been perfectly pinned.

Not an extra pin in site.

BOOBOO. From now on, the kitties get locked out of the room when anything is blocking.

I've been productive

Although I have been silent, I have been productive. Very productive. In fact, I have two sweaters to show you!
The first is from Cecily Glowick and labeled in Cast On Magazine in the Nov 2007-Jan 2008 issue as the Irresistable Sweater, but on Ravelry is listed as Cable and Lace Pullover. No matter what it is called, the sweater is fantastic. It was a super quick knit, too! I worked this one up in 15 days. 15! I used a yarn, Jo Sharp Silk Road Ultra (mmmm...merino silky goodness. I am obsessed with this combo), that knit up to a larger gauge and didn't want to drop needle sizes and sacrifice the fabric quality, so I did a little math (yes, me and math -- who woulda thunk it?) and knit the smallest size in the round, eliminating the stitches allowed by the pattern for seaming. As I always do, I also added a few inches in the body for length. The only other alteration I made was to drop to an even lower needle size for the final few rows of the neckline to bring it in more, as I am still contemplating the addition of buttons. Without, I can still wear the sweater very comfortably (with a top underneath, which is a given anyway, considering the openness of the lace in the body. I'm not that daring, nor would anyone want me to be! I do wish I had made the body a tad less fitting, but am going to block it a bit more aggressively with the next washing. Or do some sit-ups.


The other sweater, also knit in an insanely short amount of time (for me, anyway) being done in just 20 days, was the ever popular Drops Jacket #103-1. I have worn this non-stop since I have knit it as my fall jacket, as it has been cool, but not cold, here in the northeast thus far this fall. I pushed this up in the queue, even tho I have swatched (and shopped) for a few other sweaters, as I really, really wanted to get to wear it for the fall. Taking the lead from my lovely friend Jackie, I worked this one up in a lovely red Lopi purchased at the JCA Warehouse sale (I got the Silkroad here, too) for pennies on the skein. I think the whole sweater cost me about $12, before buttons. This sweater had no business fitting me at all, frankly, as I was a very naughty knitter and didn't swatch a bit with a yarn I knew would not get gauge. I knew Jackie had come in between the worsted gauge and the bulky gauge for her jacket, and blocked pretty aggressively, so I went up a needle size and knit a bigger size in the pattern (Jackie and I have somewhat similar size requirements up top, although I'm sure my butt would eclipse hers!), figureing if it was too big, I could felt it down a bit -- not a bad thing for a jacket. Well, no need. The darn thing fits me freakishly well. The pictures are terrible, but I did once again add length and stuck with the 3/4 length sleeves, as that is part of the styling I fell for in the original. I picked up buttons for the sweater from Jenny the Potter while at Rhinebeck and they are just perfect. (She was a doll, too!) I finally got the hang of seaming, I do believe, and I was glad to try it out on this project (although I did knit the sleeves in the round, to make them go along quicker) and I am glad for it. I have Jaali in my immediate queue and really want the seams on that one to look just right.


I think that is all for today, but i have so many more things to tell you! I may space them out over the next few days, but no promises. :)