KNITTING WITHOUT DOG HAIR IS NOT AN OPTION

Time just flies when you're having fun. I thought I'd use my lunch break today to give you a little update on last weekend. It was wonderful. Remember - the Atlanta Knitting Guild had Beth Brown-Reinsel in town. FABULOUS!!!

Beth gave a wonderful presentation on the history of Scandinavian knitting at the Guild meeting on Thursday, and she took us from country to country showing us lots and lots of garment pictures. I am now very itchy to do some fair isle. But that has to wait - until I finish a few things that have deadlines...

Friday's workshop was called Fair Isle Tams. Beth guided us through the construction of a tam, and gave us great hand-outs for backup (for when she is not around). I finished my sample Friday night after the class and dinner with her and a bunch of AKG members:

The tam won't fit anybody but maybe a baby or a teddy bear. But it was great way of learning the technique. What I liked most about the workshop was the tubular cast-on (as you can see on the last picture, very stretchy - I have to try that sometime on a "real" sweater or sock), the corrugated ribbing, and knitting fair isle with both strands in my left hand (these continental knitters...). I have to work on my tension tho'. You know how it is: whenever you learn something new, your tension is off. But as my mom likes to say - practice makes perfect. Or at least you get better at it...

And in case you're wondering - yes, that's a salad plate inside the tam. Great tool for blocking. Just slip the tam over a plate, spray it with a household mister and let it dry.

Saturday's workshop - Aran Pullovers Knitted from the Neck Down - was great, too, and filled with a lot of work. I was seriously brain-dead by Saturday evening. We learned how to construct an Aran sweater - once again with the lovely tubular cast-on. I can't get over how simple that cast-on is and what a great stretchy fabric the technique creates. Beth told us at the beginning of the class that we would not finish the little sweater during the class - it is too much to learn and knit at the same time. And she told us not to be competitive... That was tough for me - I am always competitive. You just are when you grow up with two siblings.

It took me a few more hours at home to finish the little sweater, but I figured, if I don't do it this weekend, I will never finish it because there is not really a pressing reason to. So, as you can see, a real fiber geek doesn't have teddy bears but sheep as plush toys. Ha-ha-ha...

You will notice that I goofed on the back of the sweater. When I started to knit in the round after the completion of the armholes, I didn't reverse the pattern (turn knits into purls and vice versa). Better to learn that on a mini sweater. :-) And I wasn't even my anal self and didn't rip the sample. It's just a sample for crying out loud...

And here are close-ups of details on the neck and shoulder saddles:

All in all - I learned a lot AND it was a lot of fun. The workshop participants were a great bunch and everybody had a good time. Lots of laughter when it came to creating bobbles. Well... I have to say this here is a bobble-free zone. They remind me of you-know-what and I don't want to run around with a sweater full of you-know-whats. I just don't like them and whenever a pattern calls for them, I either replace them with another pattern or I leave them out all together. We really got a kick out of Beth's explanation of how to strangle a bobble - now, that I would be interested in...

Since I was Beth's driver for the weekend, I had an extra bunch of quality time with her. Maybe some of her talents rubbed off - I can only wish - and I sure picked her brain about knitting whenever I could. :-)

Also, I still owe you pictures of the birthday gift I'm knitting for my dad. And what a coincidence - it is an Aran vest:

296 stitches on US #4 needles - knitted in the round up to the armholes. NO SEAMS! And I love, love, love the yarn - it is one of the Rowan Classic Yarns - Cashsoft 4-ply. YUMMY - feels like knitting with butter... Well - I still have a ways to go tho': I just started ball 3 of 10... Dad is tall and skinny. My goal is to finish it before the trip to Germany in April, or while I am there at the latest. Cross your fingers!

Last night I had a feeling that I made mistake with the pattern for my Dad's Aran vest, but I was too tired to check it out. Well - this morning (before I left for work) I looked at it, and my gut feeling was right. Darnit - I realized that I misread the pattern and forgot two rows on each repeat of the diamond pattern...which screws up the following repeats.

So, I took another project on the bus, and when I get home I will have to rip half of what I knitted so far. Oh man, that really makes me not want to knit the vest. But I'll get over it.

BTW - Hubby asked me today what bobbles are and what I meant by "you-know-what" (in yesterday's blog entry). Too funny. :-) We had a good laugh.

So, since this Aran vest is almost driving me to drink, I found a cool link on JenLa's blog for different drinks - you can see it on my sidebar, it changes daily. Today is Dr Pepper. I always thought that was just a soft drink - little did I know... So at least I can read about alcohol to fortify myself for the ripping ordeal tonight. :-)

AND - I just found out that I am in the newspaper today - go check it out. That just made my day! AND - the new Knitty is out with some gorgeous sock patterns. Oje - so-o-o-o many patterns, so little time, and only two hands... And then my favorite pattern is a pair of knee socks - Clessidra - go figure... Take a peek - photo courtesy of knitty.com:

HAPPY THURSDAY NOW - at least until I get to the ball winder tonight!!! Maybe with some red wine... To ease the pain...

For the most important reason - it is hubby's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUV - MANY, MANY HAPPY RETURNS!

We'll celebrate tonight - hope you can wait for your gifts, but I know you are a patient man. Putting up with me every day requires a lot of patience. And some other famous people share hubby's birthday, like Johann Strauss Sr., Albert Einstein, Michael Caine, Quincy Jones, Wolfgang Petersen, Billy Crystal, Casey Jones and a couple of Gemini/Apollo astronauts - just to name a few...

OH - and happy π-Day!

You know these knitting projects that don't want to cooperate? Or is it me with the attitude - maybe I am just too flaky these days and think I can do it all without a good plan/pattern...

I got this great idea to knit my Dad a vest for his birthday, which was on March 15. Never mind the date - he'll get it in April when I visit my parents. Much nicer to hand him the vest than to mail it, right? Plus, it gave me an additional month to knit. So, know that I am not running late, yet...

Here is my problem - I have done more ripping on this project than knitting - another knitting project from hell. I don't know if you remember - I had one of these amongst the Christmas gifts I knitted as well. It was the hat I made for my Dad. Is there some knitting goddess who is trying to tell me something?... No more knitting for Dad? Well, her vibes aren't coming through clearly because I am still knitting on the vest - third try, I might add. Or maybe it's because it's a gift: the meaning of the German word "gift" in English is "poison". Hmmm... Never mind, don't make my mind wander any further...

OK, so you might remember this picture from a few posts ago:

Last Thursday it looked like this:

And here we are Sunday night - almost back to where I ripped the whole thing. I had used up two balls of Rowan Cashsoft (almost 400 yards) and now I am almost back to the end of the second ball:

As you can see, I came up with a new pattern - since I was ripping anyway. It has 5 evenly spaced cables. They look like barley or a French braid. I found the cable in Alice Starmore's Fishermen's Sweaters. The filler pattern between the cables is very simple - k1, p1, on the right side and knit all stitches on the wrong side. So it's a nice pattern if you don't like to purl too much. In addition, I got a little wiser - I am not knitting in the round anymore. :-)

To add to the fun, I also lost the piece of paper with the measurements, so yesterday I had to ask my mom again for all the important numbers. Of course, she asked how the project was coming along, and I told her that I had to rip a couple of times to fix mistakes and that I finally ripped the whole thing and started over with a new pattern, etc. When I said that I wasn't knitting in the round anymore because I couldn't stand knitting 300 stitches and then ripping them, she chuckled and said that she hadn't wanted to say anything but she thought it was not a very good idea in the first place. Granted you don't have to seam the sides, but when you have to rip, it is a nightmare and you end up ripping twice as much.

Coincidently, the very same cable is on the cover of the current issue of Cast On:

What do they mean by GENTLE pleasures... QUIET cottons??? That we must not curse when we knit one of their patterns? Way too late for this project.

And so I don't lose the measurements again, I am just going to write them into this post:
Width: 57cm
To armhole: 46 cm
To V neck: 51 cm
To shoulder: 26 cm
Total length: 72 cm
Shoulders: 18 cm - 21 cm - 18 cm

Yes, I still use metric sometimes. Cross your fingers that it'll be smooth knitting from here on out... And the yarn is extremely smooth - I can recommend it highly (and it rips nicely, too).

Happy Monday!!!

Hey - it's Friday! TGI...! The weather is GORGEOUS!!! The Metro Atlanta area weekend weather forecast says sunny and temperatures in the 80s. I've got a couple of knitting outings planned for this weekend. Dad's vest is coming along - I am past the armholes on the back piece. It's looking good and going well and I haven't ripped since last Thursday - thanks for all the nice comments and encouraging words. Ohhhh - and say no more - I wouldn't wanna jinx it.

I can't wait to get out of the office today and dive into the first treat of the weekend. This is kind of like my "goodbye week - hello weekend" routine. The Friday SnB group meets at a local yarn store. They start at 5pm and they have booze... Well, it's only beer and wine. I wouldn't be able to knit with other stuff like vodka & cranberry juice, for example...

I am in for a real treat tonight. Brett, one of the boy knitters, told me last weekend that he'd knit me a lace shawl for my birthday. OMG - At first I thought he was teasing, but he was dead serious and told me to pick a pattern - anything I want!!! I told him he was way too generous but then offered to bring my lace books:

Victorian Lace Today
Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting
Heirloom Knitting
A Gathering of Lace
Gossamer Webs: The History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls

Then he can browse and pick something he would like to knit. I will give Brett a little jolt first, and tell him what I really want him to knit me is this dress:

Now, if you know me even a little bit you'd realize THAT IS SO-O-O-O NOT MY STYLE... Boy-oh-boy... That brings me to my next subject. The latest issue of Vogue Knitting. What is wrong with those designers? I found only one (!) sweater in the whole issue that I would maybe knit. Hubby and I were looking at the magazine together a couple of evenings ago and here is our conversation over this dress:

Me: Look at this - what were they thinking? OMG.
Him (takes the magazine and looks closely): But honey, it says "Very Vogue" and "Very Easy".

Now - you don't know hubby. He can pretend to be dead serious about something but he is completely pulling your leg. Which he did in this case and I - of course - didn't get it, as usual. Too funny. I don't think I will knit a dress like this to show off my 40-year-old wide hips. Thank you, but no thanks.

Sorry for my ranting, but then there's this:

Would I like to look pregnant on purpose? Not really...

And would I knit this sweater?

To accent my midriff with a diamond pattern and a fat cable? Hey, maybe the design would be slimming. You couldn't pay me enough to try...

OK - that's the knitting content. My lunch break is almost over. Now a philosophical closing for this post. One of my friends sent me this via email this morning and I thought I'd share this with my knitting blog friends. I thought it was very inspiring and gave me a good boost for the weekend. SO, here is your boost...

TEN THINGS TO REMEMBER
1. Try everything twice.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with him/her.
6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Live while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but not to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

With this - have a delightful weekend with some fiber fun. I'll be visiting my favorite yarn store on Sunday with a bunch of knitting pals. And, believe it or not, I will actually be returning some yarn. That's even better then destashing. :-)

Yup - I'm not kidding you. I finished the back of Dad's vest yesterday afternoon while spending a few delightful hours at my favorite yarn store in Virginia Highland - Knitch.

But first, Jen and I had some trouble getting to the store. Yesterday of all days - Jen and I hadn't had any knitting outings for an eternity - the City of Atlanta hosted the Georgia Marathon, so naturally a lot of streets were blocked for the runners. I was smart enough to consult with hubby before leaving, to find a good route into the city. But then you know how it is - everybody and his uncle has the same idea. At least Jen and I had plenty of time to catch up, and the weather was beautiful, too. Eventually we made it to the store. We even took a little walk along a very pretty street with zillions of blooming trees and flowerbeds.

We also met up with Melissa, who brought her latest stitch markers for us to look at and offer comments and ideas about. Jen and I drooled for a while and then I had to bring these bugs home with me. Aren't they cute?

Guys, guess what I bought at Knitch?

Needles, needles, needles...

According to the latest info from a very important government agency, the best needles to take on a plane are wooden needles. I have to say tho' that I've travelled quite a bit since September 11 and never had any problems. But better to never say never, so I thought I'd better start preparing for my upcoming trip to Germany.

When I travel, I try to have a project on my needles so I look like a serious knitter. Also, I don't take straight needles on the plane - but mainly because a) I am not a big fan in the first place and b) they take a lot of room to maneuver and I hate to impose on my seat neighbor. (Of course, that doesn't mean the seat neighbor is as polite...) I also try not to bring enormous projects. Hmm, maybe the seat neighbor might want to curl up under an afghan while I am knitting on it. Nah - takes up too much space in my backpack.

So, I bought wooden dpns size US #0, #1 and #2 for any sock projects that might come along. For the two weeks that I work in the Munich office, I will have a one-hour train commute each way. Jen said she was sure I would come back with 30 pairs of socks. Girl - I am not that fast and I am not Jane the sock queen either. But to help this obession along, I ordered More Sensational Knitted Socks. It is brand new and hopefully it'll get here before I leave.

But back to what I bought at Knitch. I also got some Addi Naturals (US #4 - in case I need to finish Dad's vest on the the plane - but my goal is to get it done within the next 2 weeks) AND (drum roll, please) Addi Turbo Lace needles. If you're interested, here is a good review. I love them. I bought only one pair - US #4 - to try out on the front piece of Dad's vest. They are very light and very pointy. These needles are made from hollow brass. While the standard Addi Turbo needles are nickel-plated, these needles are coated with a fine resin to seal the brass and provide a subtle hint of drag to the needle surface. I can only guess - haven't tried lace on them yet - that this helps you keep control over those fine lace stitches. Really nice needles! Definite competition for the Knitpicks needles - but I already have the complete Knitpicks set, so I might just get a few Addi Turbo Lace needles in the smaller sizes (US #0, #1, #2 and #3).

After I got home from my quality knitting time, I spent some time with the fiber dogs in the back yard. I know, I know - the pooches haven't been mentioned in a while. How dare you, mommy! I tried to take pictures of them frolicking, which was pretty much impossible because they chased each other like crazy dogs and played, played, played like there was no tomorrow. ;-) This is the best shot I could get:

But finally they got tired and lay down. So here they are a bit calmer:

Oh - and before I forget - here is proof that I finshed the back of Dad's vest:

As you can see on me, my Dad is tall and skinny. I already cast on the front and, as of a few minutes ago (during my lunch break), I made it past the edge and two pattern repeats (of 24 to reach the armholes). I really am trying to get it done ASAP!!!

And then the dogs and I enjoyed a nice sunset. Too bad weekends go by so fast.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Well - besides that I am going to knit there for three weeks starting Easter Saturday, I found this interesting YouTube video about German knitters (it was broadcast sometime in March on German TV). Never mind the language, just look for all the knitted items. :-) Unfortunately you have to click on the link - Sorry, I couldn't embed the YouTube thingy here.

They mostly talk about their knitting habits, how they started knitting, what they knit, their blogs, their knitting group, etc. Pretty much like in the US - just in a different language. One of them says that on a bad day, she just goes to her box full of sock yarn, pulls out a ball with bright colors, starts a new pair of socks and then she feels all better. GOOD PHILOSOPHY! I like that.

I am getting started to plan what knitting to bring on the trip. I would like take a bunch of my stash. Maybe something for a tank top and socks and maybe a lace shawl. I like knitting lace on the plane - 10 hours of quiet for concentration. :-) I also wanted to bring my drop spindle and some roving to show my mom. We'll see about that. I haven't touched the drop spindle in months... Don't want to look like a complete idiot...

Good news on Dad's vest - I am knitting along and have started the second ball on the front and completed 12 of the 24 pattern repeats. Halfway to the armhole... I. can. do. it.

Just to make you a little jealous - this is where I am headed next week. And guess - yes, that's my Dad. I promise to take a picture of him wearing the vest. That's the least he can do - model it for us. :-)

Oh, and before I forget - some Thursday eye candy for you:

That is sooooooooooooooooooooo cute!!! Jane mentioned this video last night at SNB. Hubby and I watched it when I got home. Otters are just adorable.

And happy Thursday - I'll be at Knitch (again???) tonight for the Thursday night knitting group. (Sounds almost like a book title, ha-ha-ha...) The place is just too nice - so I need to go there as much as I can. And I won't be able to do that for 4 weeks - hey, just getting my nice-yarn-store fix.

FINALLY - Knitch got the long-awaited Luxe roving, Veni Vidi Vici. The store emailed me yesterday afternoon, I was there last night, I bought two braids. Yippie!

One of the Thursday night knitter/spinners and I almost got into a fight - well, almost... Not really, we only pretended. Right after plopping my bag down at the big table, I swooped down on the goody basket and grabbed two of the treasures. And of course I grabbed the two braids she liked best. She had looked at them earlier but didn't pick any out. SORRY!!!

Both braids (do you call these thingies braids?) are supposedly the same dye, but look very different. The dye is called Berry Berry Good. Each braid weighs 4.5 oz and is Superwash Merino from Luxe Fibre. YUMMY!!!

OK - now - if your name is Jen from JenLa, you have the choice of picking one of the two. A good reason to get together, hmmmmm?

You know what is shocking? I have to go shopping at the outlet mall this weekend to buy some stuff for the Germans. Mainly for my niece and nephew. But I am really not excited... I don't know why - maybe it's because I'm getting old and nowadays I go shopping with a list to be efficient and not forget anything (because there's no time to go back). Or maybe because I would rather sit at home and knit on Dad's vest and watch Deadwood. Karen (girl - you need to update your blog!!!) lent me the first season of Deadwood on DVD yesterday. She warned me that there is A LOT of foul language. But that's OK because the fiber dogs don't care, so I can watch the DVDs with the "children" being present. I IMDb'ed the show this morning and the only cast member I recognized by name was Keith Carradine. Maybe another indication that I am getting old? Or maybe it has to do with the fact that I don't watch TV. Yes, we don't have cable and we do survive. :-)

These are the main tasks for this weekend:
Work on Dad's vest
Go shopping for the Germans
Work on Dad's vest
Meet a couple of dear knitting friends before I fall off the planet (aka leave the US for three weeks)
Work on Dad's vest
Clean the house
Work on Dad's vest
Oh, and have I mentioned that I need to work on Dad's vest?

I am knitting solely on Dad's vest these days, not on anything else - all other UFOs are on stand-by. Have a nice weekend!