Purple Princess Knits

Tuesday the Arvada Knitters held their very serious knitting meet up at Lollicup. Oh, who am I kidding can you really be serious at a place called Lollicup. Of course not, it was instead a fun gathering of some very seriously serious knitters.
Christie finished her Cheryle Oberle shawl. Beautiful. Seriously.

Judy is back from her trip to France. We heard about some of her travels but there is more to come. Seriously. she is working on her Isabella from the Debbie Bliss Rialto book. (you know, like my apple green one) She is almost finished.

Claudia finished her toe up socks. They look awesome. Seriously. The pictures do not give those socks their due.

Cheryl finished her cotton vest from the Debbie Bliss Cotton/Stella book. She used the Debbie Bliss cotton which knits up so wonderfully that she started a pink one. The vest turned out beautifully. What a great piece to add to your wardrobe. What a beautiful model. Seriously.

Patti joined us and she is so happy to be here. Well, maybe it is because she just graduated from nursing school. Either way it was great to see her. Congratulations Patti. Seriously.

Marly is feeling better but not well enough for a full photo op. She crocheted the shawl in her lap from her own design. Seriously. A sock is a good thing to work on while still in recovery mode. Feel better soon Marly.

Cathy and Nicole are seriously knitting away.
Terri and Sadie are having a serious fun time.

Okay I am sure you have had enough of this. Seriously, I will quit now, it must be late and I have to get up for work tomorrow. Seriously. We will say that is the issue today; it's late and I need sleep. Seriously.

No I don't! Thank you Cathy.

The rest of the story is .......

I am happily knitting away on Isabella in the Debbie Bliss Rialto book with the apple green Rialto yarn. Like this...

Everything is going well or ... so I thought. Then my DH looks at what I am doing. Okay I confess I make him look because I have to stop every so often to admire my knitting, I thought he should do the same. You know, admire my knitting with this beautiful, wonderful, soft yarn. Then he says "what stitch is that?" I said, "what do you mean?; it's stockinette?" Fortunately or unfortunately, he knows what that is so he said "well why does it look like a twisted rope and a spiral cable? It looks different." Thanks baby.

Then I said, "oh, crap, I don't know." If you know me at all then you know that was a breaking point for me since I am a perfectionist or just very anal (take your pick) and you know this caused me many hours of agonizing, stressful knitting thoughts. Do I really knit wonky? Do I need to learn how to knit all over again? Since I learned to knit continental style a few years back, did I learn it right? Is my purl stitch tighter or looser than my knit stitch. Have I been knitting wrong all this time? Why is my stockinette not forming a perfect "V" shape? I have not knit many items in just stockinette stitch so maybe I just haven't noticed this terrible tragedy before. Should I confess this to my knitting comrades who may have the misconception that I knit good? Should I hide my dirty little knitting secret? Maybe, but how long will it be before I am exposed as a knitting fraud. You know how this can go on and on and on and on and on and on. (Maybe YOU don't but I DO)

I had already beaten myself up over this and actually resigned myself to the fact that I would finish Isabella as is and just hope no one noticed my wonky knitting and then I would re-learn how to knit properly so I could have perfect little "V's" every time. It was a long shot. I was thinking I could pull it off because, after all, it looks good and maybe everyone would just think I meant to knit it that way. Maybe ... just maybe. My little devious plan could work.

No, it didn't work and I couldn't pull it off. I have a big mouth and just could not keep this all inside; it was too much to bear. I had to tell. As it turns out, my big mouth (while my head screamed nooooo stick with the "plan") fessed up to a few people at Lollicup on Tuesday evening! I learned. Now all is well. Cathy saved the day and saved me from myself! She said she read an article in Knitty about how different yarns knit up differently depending on how they are plied. Check this out http://www.knitty.com/issuefall05/FEATwhyply.html

The Rialto yarn has several plies and is twisted in way that does produce this stitchHey, that looks like my knitting with the Rialto yarn. Woohoo! I knit just fine thank you very much and thank you Cathy. I might have had a total knitting meltdown if not for you. I also learned that it does help to share with your knitting friends. They don't pass judgement, they help.

Whew!!! Another knitting crisis has been averted.

For Ali, here are my summer knitting goals.

10. Start my Log Cabin in Tahki Cotton Classic.

9. Finish my secret summer cabled sweater that is currently on my needles. (more about this one later, but trust me it is really cool)

8. Finish my Roman Strip Boatneck.

7. Finish another Patagonia Cotton Jawbreaker in a light lavender. I haven't started this one.

6. Finish my Lacy Summer Tee in Tahki Cotton Classic in a light blue silver color. I have the bottom lace band and the back completed.

5. Make this great yarn into socks. 4. Knit up some more socks.

3. Get my yarn stash and projects under control.

2. Knit a few baby sweaters and hats to donate to Nachaele's Stitches for Britches.

1. Get yarn and knit the fabulous fitted tank at http://www.blueskyalpacas.com/pattern_detail.php?patterns_ID=61

Here is the deal everybody Ali is having a contest.
- all you have to do is:
1.) Leave a comment on Her BLOG letting Ali know what color you want and mention who's blog you heard about the contest on. I heard from MARLY aka YARN THING!!
2.) Then head to your blog and post a list of your summer knitting goals (there may be an end-of-summer contest of some sort to celebrate summer knitting accomplishments...) and mention this contest (with a link to this post- http://www.skeinsherway.com/2007/05/pre-summer-contest.html)
3.) Lastly e-mail Ali with the link to your post! (ali AT skeins her way DOT com) Be sure to mention in your post for anyone who follows your link to let her know what blog they jumped from as every 'referral' will earn you another entry! Contest will run through the end of the month (May) and her talented children will draw three winning names (or secret blogging identities) out of a container of some sort on June 1st.What can we win? First place winner will receive 1 copy of the tank pattern along with 4 hanks of Blue Sky Dyed Cotton in their choice of colors second & third place winners will each receive a copy of the pattern and whatever other goodies happen to jump into the package just before sealing and sending!

I know I previously said this one was next on the needles however ..........
I actually started this one ... same yarn, Debbie Bliss Rialto, different color, different pattern! This is Isabella in Apple green. It is still a simple pattern with class and great lines. A very flattering pattern. the yarn knits up like a dream.
Right now I have changed my mind several times and I am not sure if I am still going to use the Eggplant Rialto for Lucia or not. I love the pattern on the cover of the Rialto book. It is a cabled vest which I would have to change up a bit if I knit it and so I go back and forth on this. The vest has 4 inches of ribbing at the bottom and I don't think that will look good on me so if I knit the vest on the cover instead of Lucia I will have to do maybe 1/2" of ribbing and see if I can get in another cable repeat instead. May involve a little math. Not really a problem for me since I know how, I use a lot of math and calculations at work, I can figure out most anything but I also have a fear of getting something wrong and messing up my knitting. I have to wait until I decide for sure before I show the vest. We shall see. Play it safe and knit Lucia or go out on a limb and knit the cabled vest my way??? mmmm
I have a Jawbreaker finished and ready to block . The above picture is before sleeves but the sleeves are in, all ends are woven and the sweater is ready for blocking. I love this button; I know not the best picture, but trust me it is a really cool button. I picked it up at Knit Knack. I am not sure if I will use it on this Jawbreaker or not. I added some length to the collar and I am afraid it will cover up the button. I will see after I block it. If you don't already know, this about me I have this issue where I always make some little change to the pattern. Makes life interesting for me to say the least. On my first Jawbreaker I added a different edge to the front, I used smaller needles, I did not pick up all the stitches called for in the pattern for the collar, I made the collar shorter plus I did a 3 needle bind off on the shoulders. On this second Jawbreaker I picked up the exact amount of stitches the pattern called for on the collar, which meant picking up almost 2 stitches for every one, I made a longer collar (didn't think about the button), I added a single crocheted edge to the two fronts, I made the sleeves longer, I used bigger needles plus I used the 3 needle bind off on the shoulders. We shall see how this really turns out later this week. Yes, I admit it I have a problem following directions and usually do something to change up a pattern. Right, wrong or otherwise!

My one goal for this week is to finish a sweater that has been completed and the pieces have been blocked for a while now. It is from this book. I met Ann McCauley and find her designs beautiful. She is very delightful person, an accomplished knitter, a dancer and I love her book. The patterns are feminine and timeless. In person they are very beautiful. As usual the pictures in the book do not do them justice. I have the cover sweater on my list of knitting to do's.
I made this one .....

It is a great summer lace top to go over a cami. It is made out of Tahki Cotton Classic in a deep teal color. The pattern was fun to knit.
This will be finished and ready to wear, this week. I will finish this sweater, I will finish, I will finish, I will finish. It is a pullover so I only have two side seams, two shoulder seams and two arm seams. That's it! I know how to do it. I know how to do it well. I took a finishing class from the very best in town, Margaret Wahlin at Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins in Boulder. There is no excuse not to finish this week. I will finish my beautiful sweater! (If I say the word finish enough then just maybe....... the Karma to finish it will be there.)

Some go camping on Memorial Weekend. Saturday as part of my Memorial day Holiday I went day camping at Knit Knack in Arvada. It was time to sit, visit with friends, relax, have fun and KNIT!
Mary Kay brought her spinning wheel. It was fun to watch her, she is a master spinner. I really think spinning would make me sleepy. I have never tried it and never thought I would be interested but after watching Mary Kay, I'll put a maybe on that one.

Nachaele and Terrie.

Nichole and Christie. Cathy came in later. In the middle of the table is another Jawbreaker finished by Nachaele.

Leah and Katie behind the bar. Katie is the best coffee drink maker and Leah was trying her hand at it.

My friend Julia and her daughter Anna came in for their third knitting lesson from me. I put Anna working on a basic hat in the round and Julia working on the one row scarf from the Yarn Harlot.

Anna said she really enjoyed herself, she found it relaxing and fun. Cool. She is only 8 years old but was so totally in her element.

I of course, was the resident "Princess."

All in all it was a fun day camping trip spent with great people.

Last week while in Houston with my boss Linda, working... she mentioned that her 89 year old mother asked her to bring her some post cards of the tunnels. In case you don't know, In downtown Houston there are underground tunnels. There is about a five mile loop. You can go down in the tunnels to get around town without having to go out in the heat and humidity. We had a bout a 2 block walk through the tunnel to get from the hotel to the office. There are a few shops and restaurants down there. We stopped for breakfast at a place in the tunnel on the way to the office. But you see it is just an underground tunnel. There are no post cards. It is a tunnel folks and no more. It is not on any sight seeing tours. IT IS A TUNNEL. So I had a camera and took pictures for Linda's mother. I hope she will enjoy them. The Houston residents did wonder who the crazy lady with the camera in the tunnel was. So, if you live in Houston and saw me, now you know!

The escalator going up and down to the tunnel.








Linda in the tunnel.








It is just a tunnel.








There are signs that tell you where you are.








There are maps to show you where you are.








It is just a tunnel!








But it is pretty cool. I used it!

What else did I do in Houston? Well, by day we were mild mannered hard working blokes, by night we turned into wild and crazy KNITTERS of course!

Linda is making a baby blanket for her future 1st ever grandchild (it's a girl!) She is a prolific crocheter and a self taught knitter who kinda does her own version of the continental style of knitting. I am teaching her to throw with her right hand for this blanket. I am usually a continental knitter, however I first learned to throw and do switch off once in a while, depending on the pattern. I find it very helpful to know both styles.









I have a pair of socks!
I used the Socks that Rock, lightweight in the Lucy colorway. I used a Turkish toe cast on and picked a six stitch slipped stitch ribbed pattern from the book Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I love them and they fit perfectly. I know the pictures aren't great so I will try to get better ones tomorrow.

The color "Lucy" STR was originally made for Wendy's cat Lucy but I think I need to get my little princess Dina a baby blue collar and wallah I think these can be "Dina" socks!
What do ya think about that!!!
Well apparently not much.

From Knitter in Progress.

Mark with bold the things you have knit at least once, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

I've been tagged by Nicole!

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write on their blogs 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and need to read your blog.

I am not very good at this but here goes with 7 very random strange but true facts about me ....

1. My education is in accounting but I ended up a Division Order Analyst working in land and title. I have worked for 16 oil and gas companies in the last 26 years. Sometimes for the same people just different companies.

2. When I was 4 years old in Albuquerque, New Mexico I pretended I was in a car and rode my tricycle up on the highway with all the cars during one rush hour. A policeman took me home. I got in trouble.

3. For some reason my husband laughs histerically every time I say Picot bind off.

4. I was President of the Denver Association of Division Order Analysts in 1992 and served on the board in various positions. This is amazing because I am shy and I actually hate speaking to groups of people.

5. I was born in Salida Colorado at the Salida Hospital where my Grandmother was a nurse and we lived across the street in what is now a B & B and the house is a preserved historic site. I still go there and get apples off the apple tree that has always been in the backyard.

6. My first name is Elizabeth. My mother named me after Elizabeth Taylor, of course. I now use my middle name Leanne because she heard someone call me "Lizzie" when I was 4 and that was not acceptable, so she changed what I was called right then and there. The good thing is I didn't have to learn how to spell my long name until I was older!

7. Every morning I go to Starbucks and have an Earl Grey Tea Misto with a little bit of water and no foam. The hole in the lid must be lined up with the "B" in the Starbucks logo that is on the cup or I can't drink it.

Since most people I know with a blog have been tagged, I am only officially tagging Kathy, but if you read this know that you are tagged.

I will be in Houston on business until Thursday so I leave you with a few sneak peeks at some of my future projects.

Debbie Bliss Rialto in a beautiful eggplant color to make a simple ribbed short sleeved sweater out of the Debbie Bliss Rialto book. A simple sweater with a nice lines will go nicely with the lovely soft yarn. Yummy! This one is next up on the needles after the burgundy Jawbreaker is finished.

Trendsetter Scoubi-Du, a 50% cotton/acrylic blend in ocean will become a baby blanket for our neighbors, who just had son #2.

My new Socks that Rock sock club kit with a new silk blend yarn may actually become the pattern it came with. I really like the pattern and the yarn colors.

Some Cider Moon Glacier in the color Grand Canyon is probably going to be a fun hat. It may be for my daughter-in-law who will be vising me at the end of June first of July. I am planning to really have time to teach her to knit.
Some more Cider Moon Glacier in the color Taos. I am thinking of a hat and some fingerless mitts.
Knit on.

Sea Socks Cruise Goddess No. 2 is back! Here is Sharon working on her first sock ever. I believe it is going well because it has been rumoured that during the cruise yarn shop stops Sharon managed to purchase yarn for around 50 pairs of sock. I believe the girl had fun.
She even brought me back some sock yarn, in my colors. THANK YOU Sharon and welcome back you Cruise Goddess!

Tuesday night knitting at Knit Knacks in Arvada proved to be fun and tasty. Leah made me a birthday cake. A chocolate birthday cake. I love chocolate. What a nice thing to do. We all had some and it was delicious. thank you Leah. Here she is with her toe up sock. I think she likes it!

It is a small world. when we were getting our purchases together so the shop could close, I met someone I went to High School with. Here is me with Colleen. I am glad she recognized me and came over to talk. She is just getting started knitting and was taking a class in the front of the shop. I wish her only good knitting experiences and I hope I get to see her again. I never meet anyone I knew from High School even though I really don't live far from where I grew up. I love it that I did. YEA!! Yes I am really that short. I have not grown any since 5th grade. I am still waiting for my growth spurt! She looks fantastic.

The return of the Jawbreaker .....

You remember..... the one I started the weekend I was in Buena Vista, my first Jawbreaker. It had some color issues. The back is very pink, one front was very blue and the other front had more of a purple cast to it. So, I ripped both fronts and I knit them again using alternating both skeins so the colors would be mixed. That worked great, I just don't like doing it that way. All well and good but then I finished the 2nd front and realized I had done mindless knitting and not done the increases. The increases in the front are an integral part of the design so I ripped and did that front over. Will this easy cardigan ever be done? I finished one sleeve and then the other. However the 2nd sleeve was bigger that the first. I then proceeded to rip that one and re-did the 2nd sleeve. Then I knit the collar and was not going to have enough yarn so I changed it a bit. There is no way at this point I was going to break into another skein. I just wanted to finish and move on already.

You are probably wondering how it happened that I knit one sleeve bigger than the other. Well silly me, I forgot what size sleeve I was using for the sleeves. Let me tell you that my MO is to piece pattern sizes together to get a better fit for me. I have smaller shoulders, larger (you know) and no hips so I am never just one pattern size. That is all fine except that I am also notorious for not writing down what size I am doing for each piece. I think I can remember. HA. That then equates to disaster. When will I ever learn, just write it down! It is easy to do; I even carry stickies in my knitting bag. I will learn and I will turn over a new leaf today!

After all that I have a completed Jawbreaker and it looks great except again I did not follow instructions or double check my gauge to make pattern adjustments once I got started and me a tight knitter went down a needle size. Know what that means.... too small for me. Nachaele modeled my Jawbreaker and it fit her perfectly and she likes the colors so here you go Nachaele.... I hope you enjoy, it looks great on you. (It was an accident her head is framed in the picture on the wall but how cool!)

So what did I do? I started another one, of course! In a more solid color, with only slight dye variations. There is something fun and addicting about this pattern. It knits up fast and easy (providing you follow directions) and looks great. I learned from my mistakes. I went up a needle size to get the right gauge, I am writing down my sizes, I am even counting my rows! I love this color, it is called burgundy but it is so much prettier that a regular burgundy, it has a lot of purple and I love it. This one will knit up perfectly. This one will be mine!

I also purchased some yarn at Knit Knacks for a baby blanket, more about this later.....
Happy Knitting to all and remember make notes.