Knitter Ditter's

Happy New Year!

2012
01.02

Happy New Year 2012!

It’s 2012! Another New Year, another new beginning. This year I am going to work at eating better, exercising, playing a little guitar every day and of course READING my Bible every day. Last year I listened to an audio Bible and while that was fun and I got a lot of knitting done, I noticed that I didn’t always absorb what the Word was telling me. There were lots of times that my mind was wandering and I would think, “What was that all about?” So I’m back to reading my study Bible and all the notes. It takes longer, but I get much more out of it. I love the Genesis stories. In the beginning… It seems fitting, doesn’t it?

For Christmas, my husband got me a Bible from the 1880s. It is amazing. It weighs probably 20 pounds and has great illustrations. It’s so cool to think that someone was reading this Bible when my great great grandparents were alive! I really want to read the extra articles that are in it. One is world events up until 1884. The pages are so delicate. I really need to find out how to preserve this old paper. I know that the oils from our hands are not good for it. In one of the front pages there is a death notice of a girl of 15. She was the daughter of a Mr. and Mrs. Stroud. It doesn’t say what city, though they lived on Franklin Street. The funeral was to take place in their home the same day the article was published. It doesn’t have a date either. The Bible was shipped from Shreveport, Louisiana. I wonder if that is where it originated. Was the person who sold this a part of the Stroud family? It is so interesting to think about. I wonder what other gems may be hidden in its pages?

I haven’t done any knitting other than the Hounds-tooth Scarf since November. I had to order more yarn for it since my calculations were off by quite a bit. I’m more than half way now, so I hope I can jam through and be finished by next week. It gets a little tedious knitting the same pattern over and over again. I can’t wait to start something new!

Hounds-tooth Snail

...crawling slowly along...

Category Uncategorized |

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Knit One, Purl Two

2011
11.28

Need I say more?

Category Inspiration, Music |

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Quiet Japan

2011
11.16

I started to write a post as we were leaving for the airport, but since we got here there has been no wifi (waifai). I can’t even get on in the Starbucks. The web page is in Japanese and alas, me no speakee… The room has intaa netto with a cable for ¥1260 a day. That works out to about $16.00!

UPDATE: How the heck did that happen?!? My post was posted! I had set it to post later and it did. I guess it used my cell data to publish. How do ya like that?

My search for yarn has all but evaporated. Nothing comes up on the Knitmap for Mihama-Ku or Chiba which is where we are staying. I went for a walk today in the surrounding neighborhood and I stumbled upon a small store called Cuore but they were closed.

The first thing that caputured my attention was a scarf in the window:

Then I noticed the fabric and the yarn! But they were closed.

I will try again tomorrow. I’d be really happy if I found some Noro. For a good price. Most everything is quite expensive here and it’s so weird because things are expressed in 100s or 1,000 Yen. It really sounds funny. Lunch for 4 at McDonald’s was ¥3,400. And when we got cash from the ATM two bills came out for ¥10,000 each! It felt like we pulled out $40.00. In reality it was about $250.00.

There don’t seem to be yarn stores like we have in the states. They are more like general craft stores with yarn. Knit Map lists the closest ones in Tokyo which is about an hour away by train. I’m a little leery of going alone for the first time. I’m hoping that we can get Friday to do that or Saturday before we leave. Or I can just get the Noro at my LYS. Not as much fun though.

This area of Chiba is really quiet. I was struck by how few people are around. At night my view out of the hotel window shows only one or two cars at a time on the road. In Amsterdam there are lots of people walking around or in cafes all throughout the day and night. I guess they are mostly at work here. This is a business/residential district. I haven’t even seen any Tai-Chi groups. I was hoping to run while here, but I haven’t seen anyone running, even in the park next to the hotel. I’m not entirely comfortable running around in my workout clothes with no one else doing it. I found some routes on runkeeper.com that I might try tomorrow if I get brave enough. Well see…

We’ve had some really good sushi and sashimi. Supa fresh! The guys that have been taking us out feed us way too much! I’m getting hungry now waiting for the trade show to be over.

Category Travels |

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Turning Japanese

2011
11.13

We’re our way to Japan this morning for a trade show at Makuhari Mese. It’s a broadcasting show called Interbee. We’ve never been to Japan before, so we’re looking forward to the adventure.

My search for yarn stores near where we are staying in Mihama-Ku has proved fruitless so far. Knitmap shows some craft stores in Tokyo. Yey Knitmap! I didn’t think to try it for Chiba, so I’ll wait till I have wifi access.

Tags: Travel Category Uncategorized |

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Dancing Days

2011
11.12

I had a good walk / run today. My running pace was Dancing Days. I almost didn’t go because it was getting late. I should never try to figure out something with my knitting before I go out for a run.
I am working on the Houndstooth scarf and because my gauge is so different from the pattern, I needed to find out how many more repeats to do before I get to the center section. I determined that I need to do 65 pattern repeats on each end and 94 rows of ribbing in the center. Hope I have enough yarn! ~Update – I don’t have enough yarn. I weighed what I have already knitted and found out that I need at least 2 more skeins of white and one more black.~ The funny thing about this pattern is that she doesn’t say to finish the second side with so many pattern repeats. The way it reads, you do one repeat, knit two rows and bind off. Obviously this is not what was done if you look at the picture.
I finished my Maybe Mulberry scarf for the LYS. I kind of like these shots.I knit two rows of twisted drop stitch in the Luna and knit two rows in Stella. Needles = US 8. Two balls Stella and 1 ball Luna.
Warmth for a chilly evening. New home at the store.
	While I was at the store yesterday I made this necklace for the shop. I think it came out cute. I haven’t crocheted in years. Ever since I picked up knitting again I haven’t looked back. It went really quick, and I know it would be a lot quicker once my crochet skills come back. I think I’d prefer a metal needle too. I was using a bamboo one and it seemed too sticky for me.

Category Crochet, Finished Objects, Finished!, Scarf, leaf |

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2011
11.04

It’s an amazingly gloomy day here in So. Cal. It rained last night, and it looks like it may rain – Oops, it’s raining again right now. My mood fits the gloom and I’m not sure why. Here’s a picture to cheer me up:

: Malaga Cove

I finished these last week. They were designed by Stephannie Tallent of Sunset Cat Designs. The yarn is Road to China Light by the Fibre Company. I love this yarn. I knew when I bought it that it wanted to be fingerless mitts. It has been staring at me for a few months now. I never put it in the stash; it has been sitting on top of my knitting bookshelf.

All other projects took a back seat while I was knitting these. I just couldn’t stop! They worked up quickly. I knit them two at a time on 2 circular needles, just like my socks. I think I’ll go put these on right now to warm my soul.

Category Cables, Finished Objects, Finished!, Wrist Warmers |

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Boatloads of Booties

2011
10.29

Some things that have kept me from my UFOs:

Shameless Baby Bootie

Baby Booties. I was commissioned to make some for Shameless that will air in February or March. Joan Cusack will be knitting them so I made one complete and one partial with needles still in it. I hope the DPNs don’t fall out! I hope they can figure it out…

I used the Seamless Baby Platform Shoes pattern. The photo just cracked me up so I had to go with them. I knit them while door monitoring at VK Live.

Can You Say Clown Feet?

I made this pair back in April that were supposed to be “pink booties — comically misshapen.” I wasn’t sure, but the prop master liked them. Unfortunately they must have ended up on the cutting room floor because they were supposed to be in the final episode of Breaking In, but that scene never appeared. It was a cute show. I hope it comes back.

More booties for friends, one in blue and this one in pink. I’m using Ruth’s “Perfect” Baby Booties pattern. I knit blue ones straight from the pattern and I discovered that what would make this pattern even more perfect for me was to knit in the round. The pink ones are modified to do just that. Look, ma! No seams! Whooo Hooo!

Girl Booties

Ruffled and Ruched Scarf

I knit this lovely neck warmer for Unwind. It only took a couple of days.

Be Sweet Scarf/Wrap/Poncho?

I remembered another UFO in my queue. It’s this poncho in Be Sweet Extra Fine. The colors are fuchsia and aubergine. I don’t know why I started this. I don’t even wear ponchos. I don’t really like ponchos. I got caught up in the moment I guess. Lisa at Unwind had just finished this and put it on me to see where to put the ribbon to join it. And it was cute. And the colors are totally my colors. I’m not sure I’ll wear it as a poncho though. It will make an extra big scarf or wrap.

Another project I got caught up in was Mina. Yes, this is a KAL from Heather Ordover’s book, WWMDFK. We’re currently listening to Dracula, and this lovely shawl is the Wilhelmina Shawlette by Chrissy Gardiner.

My Mina

I knit this in a lovely dark red Shilasdair and ran short about 6 rows. I ordered more, but you know my track record by now. The new skein is quite a bit lighter than the old. I’m not sure how I should handle this. I could reknit the whole thing using one skein per row, but that may turn out a bit stripey. Or I could go back a couple of rows and pretend like I meant to do that for the edging. Oh, I don’t know. It will probably sit for a while. What do you think I should do? Leave a comment below.

I really need to get back to the Houndstooth Scarf in Koigu. I did a swatch, but I think I might loosen it up a bit.

The problem with all this knitting is that I’ve been staying up very late at night. “One more row, I’ve got to finish this repeat…” You know what I mean.

Category Scarf, baby, booties, shawl, wrap |

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UFOs

2011
10.28

I have several UFOs in my queue. In a way they make me feel a little guilty. Here are some of them.

Click picture for more views on Ravelry.

Wakame Lace looks beautiful IMHO. I have the front of the sleeves to finish and the back sleeves. The top is worked in the round up to the armpits, then you hold the back stitches and work on the front sleeves. I’m not sure, but it looks like I have only 2 or 3 more repeats to the shoulders.

This poor dear keeps getting pushed aside for other projects. She’s sweet, but time consuming. I love how the fabric is turning out. It is Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace in Oyster. It’s merino and silk so it’s soft with a gorgeous sheen. The original pattern was engineered for a sport weight yarn. I did a gauge swatch and determined that I needed 7 panels across the front and back and 3 on the bottom. I also added to the lace ground between the top and skirt.

When I saw this yarn at I Knit London, I just knew it wanted to be Wakame Lace. It took me a while to recover the pattern from my stash. I couldn’t quite remember the name, but I was sure of the edition of the magazine. It is from Interweave Knits Summer ’08 magazine.

Click for Ravelry Info.

Palindrome - This scarf was supposed to be for my husband. I’ve been working on it for almost a year now! Yikes! Ravelry says I started in 12/10. The problem with this one is the yarn keeps getting so tangled as I’m knitting, so I have to constantly stop and untangle. I’m just so stubborn that I haven’t put it on bobbins and I’m working off the balls. I got this yarn 2 years ago at I Knit London. It’s also a bit scratchy since it is pure wool. I haven’t been excited because I think it might not be fun to wear. I do like the two tone thing I’ve got going. The pattern itself is very easy when you’re not using two colors.

Click for Ravelry Page

Ahh, Twist and Shout. I have been wanting to make this sweater ever since I saw it on the cover of Knitty Fall ’08. I found the yarn in the bargain bin at Patricia Roberts Knitting in London. It was the same trip in 2010 that I bought the above yarn. It is also a pure wool, and I have gotten no farther than the picture. I hope the moths haven’t found it yet. I’m not even sure that I have quite enough to finish the sweater. This may be destined for the frog pond.

Click for Ravelry Page

I called this “Lighter Than Air” because it is. It is super soft and floaty. It’s made from Rowan Kidsilk Spray that I got in Amsterdam at De Afstap. I used the Large Rectangle in Leaf and Trellis Pattern with Trellis Border from Victorian Lace Today. The first thing that stopped me was the beads. I bought the beads from a street vendor in Waterlooplien and even though they are common seed beads, I have not been able to find the exact same kind. They have a metallic center that gives them a cool shine. The next thing that stopped me even after I found some beads that will do is (shame!) I ran out of yarn. I have been hunting down Kidsilk Spray in the Medici colorway ever since. I have many skeins now, but none quite the same shade as the one I left off with. The crazy thing is I bought 3 skeins at the same time in the same dye lot, but one of the balls was noticeably darker than the others. (I didn’t notice till I got home though. Home in California. Yeah.)

I refuse to frog this. Mostly because it’s very difficult to frog mohair. I’m probably going to give in and use one of the closest skeins I have. Or if I get real brave and have nothing else to work on I might rip out the border and start it over with a more matchy-matchy skein. It really is lovely in person.

Click pic for updates. This one will finish.

Meet Maybe Mulberry. This is a take off on the Mulberry Scarf by Colinette. I am making it for Unwind Yarn. This one will finish. Soon. It is two rows of Luna and 2 rows of Stella by S. Charles. I examined all the photos on Ravelry and read some of the notes and determined that if has a twisted drop stitch. I did two rows of them. The original pattern appears to have one row. So it’s different.

Those are all the UFOs I have listed on Ravelry, but I know there are many more forgotten ones in my basket. (I have a big basket.)

Tell me a little about your UFOs.

Category Cables, Lace, Scarf, Sweater, Travels, shawl, wrap |

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Vogue Knitting Day Three

2011
09.28

Vogue Knitting Live was great. On Sunday, I was asked for in the fashion show again! I worked there all morning until I had to leave at noon. The three shows I worked on were Rowan, Plymouth Yarns and Deborah Newton. They all went well. I got a little braver and ran around front to take photos. No one seemed to mind, as long as I was backstage when I needed to be.

Fashion Show

Here’s a real reporter’s take on the event. I know exactly how she feels. You know in the movie Up when the dogs get distracted and they say “Squirrel!”? That’s just what I felt like during the fashion show when I spotted a lovely garment. It was a good kind of distraction.

New Toys - I mean tools...

I ran down to the marketplace during a break and quickly picked up some items that I’d been needing wanting. A needle gauge, some pretty yarn, (It’s hard to resist pretty yarn.) another needle gauge just because I thought it looked cool, some shawl pins and a cute little lampwork sheep stitch marker. He’s watching over my Khotan socks which are currently on the needles and 85% finished.

More Yarn for the Stash! Interesting color choices, don't you think?

I told you on day one that I’d talk about my class. I took Custom Knit Design with Josh Bennet. I know, I hadn’t heard of him either. Oh, you had? I guess I don’t get out much. Anyway, his website is boymeetspurl.com. He designs for Rowan and some of his menswear will be featured in the January 2012 Rowan Magazine. Watch for it! He was very informative about design. He has his opinions of course and I couldn’t help but agree with some of them, like mitered squares. I think they look really busy, especially when done in a handpainted yarn and on something like a sweater. Maybe they should be reserved for potholders or scarves. Something small. I don’t really agree with his theory that knitting a sweater in the round skews the garment. I made my Oriel Lace Blouse in the round and it has held up nicely. His reasons made a lot of sense though, in a theoretical sort of way. Maybe it makes a difference depending on the yarn used. Josh took us through his formula for measuring for a basic sweater. I had taken a similar class before at Unwind, but I had arrived late and frazzled, so I didn’t really get it. Everyone was already in the middle of taking their measurements so it was a bust for me. Then when I was designing my sweater for the Classic Elite contest, I really needed the info. Luckily, I had Shirley Paden’s Knitters Design Workshop. That really helped get me through the sleeve measurements. My poor sweater still could have used more proper fitting techniques, but I chalked the whole thing up to a learning experience. I did have fun designing it and I want to do more.

More fun in the Marketplace

On Saturday, I sat in on a lecture given by Nancy Soriano called Turning Your Passion Into A Business. I’d love to turn knitting into a business, but it seems like a long road. Is it crazy that I want to turn knitting into my primary business and web design into a hobby? Neither are a business at this point, but you can see where there is more potential to make money. Ahh, well. Let me know your thoughts.

Knitter Ditter

: Finishing School by Deborah Newton

Category Knit News |

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Vogue Knitting Day Two

2011
09.24

I’m here again at VK LA and this morning’s tasks have been interesting. I’m working the info booth, helping people find their way around. We’re also called to float, so I’ve delivered things to classrooms and a couple of us were asked to help clean up a room that some teachers had a party in. Apparently knitters party like rock stars.

Backstage at VK Live Fashion Show

I just got called to fill in as a dresser at the fashion show. So cool! I jumped right back into my former role as costumer from BHS Show Choir! The knitwear is fabulous, the models are beautiful and the energy is fun. I’m going to request this job for next year!

I just dressed a model for the Koigu fashion show. She had 4 changes. First was a crop top in seed stitch, double stranded. Second was a ski sweater. Next was a long dress in mitered squares. Then came a coat done in cubes put together with 3 needle bind off. The pieces are all gorgeous, but I was struck by the weight of them. They might be good in very cold weather, but not here in So Cal. Also, you’d build up
Your muscles wearing them around. I swear some of the pieces weighed about 10 lbs!

Next up, Hand Painted yarns. Lorna’s Laces, Prism, Mountain Colors, Claudia & Twisted Sisters.

Inside out sweater?

Ok, so I just got caught thinking out loud. I’m gonna have to shut up. Beth Casey heard me say, “Is this mistake?” she said, “What’s wrong?!” I suddenly realized that I’d panicked one of the designers. I quickly mumbled , “Oh, nothing. I just have to cut this tag off.” What I thought was a mistake was the underarm seam on the sweater I was getting ready to put on my model seemed to be on the outside. Could be a design feature, but this garment was knit in the round. These were the only seams and they were prominent, as if done with a three needle bind off. I decided I’d go with it as is because that’s how it came out of the bag, but really, it could have been reversed. I wonder if it should have been… Maybe I should have been brave and asked her.

The garments in this show:
Lorna’s sweater, Entrelac jacket, hat, cowl & fingerless Mitsubishi with fur edging. Denali Plume I think they said. It was so soft, like rabbit fur.

Cute hat, cowl & fingerless mitts

Sorry the photos aren’t great. They were from my iphone and taken from the reverse of the screeen.

Category Knit News, Show Choir |

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Vogue Knitting Day One

2011
09.23

I’ve been volunteering at Vogue Knitting Live all morning. I’m a door monitor. I haven’t had that position since third grade! But seriously, I’m having a lot of fun. There’s a lot of time for knitting while the classes are happening.

I was commissioned to make baby booties again for a TV show. I’m not sure I posted about the last time I did that. I made comically misshapen baby booties for Breaking Bad. They were going to be in the season closer, but apparently that scene got cut. So if I didn’t talk about it, that’s why. This time Joan Cusak (sp?) is making baby booties. We’ll see…

It’s fun meeting the knitting celebrities. So far I’ve helped Nicky Epstein, Julie Weisenburger and John Brinegar. Apparently John is really funny. His classroom is roaring with laughter.

I have a class later with Josh Bennett, Custom Knitting Design. I’ll post more on that later.

Tags: Baby booties Category Uncategorized |

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Koigu

2011
09.17

I’ve just discovered wonderful Koigu yarn. I’m sure most of you are already aware of how beautiful it is. I had never knit with it until I was asked to do a sample shawl for Foxy Knits. Their online shop specializes in Koigu. Merilyn was doing a trunk show at Alamitos Bay Yarn Company and wanted one of Fickle Knitter’s designs worked up in the lovely Koigu. The pattern was the Wild Lettuce Lace Shawl. I was immediately taken with how springy the yarn is. The color that Merilyn sent me was a lovely golden yellow. In some lights it took on a greenish cast.

The lace worked up quickly on the recommended US 5 needles and was a joy to knit. I finished in 11 days! After blocking I really loved it and was reluctant to send it back! I used two + skeins. I was hoping to only have to use 2, but I needed just a little more to finish the edging. If I were to make it for myself I think that I would make the body larger. I’d want a bit more to wrap around as a shawl, but the pattern as written came out quite nice. Here are the details on Ravelry.

The trunk show was on August 27, and I went to see all the other lovely samples made in Koigu. There were lots of shawls and scarves, and a beautiful coat that looked like it was an adult surprise jacket. There were so many lovely colors to choose from. There were the solids and the wilder multicolor yarns. There was a mulberry silk that I was coveting, but decided that I’d better wait. It is exceptionally beautiful, but I had to restrain myself. Then there were some speckled yarns. I decided to get a couple of skeins of these to knit a pattern that I had gotten while in London earlier this year. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the pattern was from a company in Washington. The idea was to only buy stuff from England, but I digress. The pattern is Barb’s Koigu Ruffle. You can order a kit at the link. I made it for my trip to Amsterdam.

Zaanse Schans, Netherlands

I got a couple more skeins in one of my favorite colors, a tonal hand painted mauve. I’m making socks from them. So far they feel super comfy. I can’t wait to wear them! They were my travel knitting in Amsterdam. The pattern is Khotan from Silk Road Socks by Hunter Hammersen. I swear I am going to make all the socks in this book! 2 ½ done so far!

Speaking of Amsterdam, every time I knit in public I got comments and smiles. On the train a little girl of about 7 was so fascinated by what I was doing she had to bring her mother over to see. Either I don’t knit in public so much at home, or people keep more to themselves here.

Oosterpark, Amsterdam

Category Finished Objects, Finished!, Lace, Projects, Scarf, Socks, Travels, leaf, shawl |

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RSS Complete!

2011
07.13

I have finally posted the pattern for my RSS Socks. This is a fun pattern for cuff-down socks. The cuff has a picot edge which I think is very cute. I used short row heels because they are my favorite. Feel free to change them up if you prefer a heel flap.

I knit them with Classic Elite’s Summer Sox. How appropriate. I finally wore them yesterday and they are quite comfortable. Most of my hand knit socks are wool, and get itchy in hot weather. These stayed nice and cool. They have survived their first wash and look as good as new.

The pattern is available on Ravelry.

Socks and Dogs

Don't eat the sox!

Kali wanted in on the photo shoot…

Awwww...

Category Uncategorized |

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Rainbows, and Waterfalls and Chickens, Oh My!

2011
06.23

I’ve just come home from Kauai. I am sad that the vacation is over and now it’s back to work as usual…

: The view from our lanai

: Rainbow from our lanai

It was so beautiful there. The weather was perfect, even the passing rain didn’t bother us. They say it’s the wettest place on earth, and Mount Waialeale gets an average of 460 inches of rain a year! No matter. The snorkeling was great, food terrific and I hunted down the only yarn shop on the island, Hanalei Strings.

Hanalei Strings

Along with yarns you can find in most LYS, their specialty yarn is dyed with natural botanicals found on the island. I bought the only skein of Kauai Bamboo Silk in ‘Olena. I couldn’t resist the brilliant yellow with such a beautiful shine. It contains 50% Bamboo, 43% Superwash Merino Wool and 5% combed Silk. I hope I can find a beautiful pattern to work this up. It is 200 yds per 100 g skein. Not much, but I couldn’t resist. I also bought 3 skeins of their Hanalei Hand Dyed Pima Cotton Bulky. It contains 105 yds per 50 g skein, and is 100% combed pima cotton. It is soooo soft! I got the color they describe as Banana Patch. I really wanted some ocean blue colors, but they only had one skein. There was a beautiful shawl on display that caught my eye. They said it is their most popular pattern but they were out at the moment. I looked it up on Ravelry. It’s called the Swirl Shawl from JoJoLand.

Swirl Shawl at Hanalei Strings

I actually liked the one in the shop much better than the pictures I see online. Theirs was purple and blues and reminded me of the ocean. I figured that I would need 1000 yds to make it, so I couldn’t buy that much yarn at once. In the Pima Cotton it would probably be a blanket. What a soft blanket though! I will try the pattern out of the cotton I got and see how far I get. Maybe it will be a swirl cowl. Or a swirl hat. Or… Coasters, er umm placemats! Napkins?

More strings!

Hanalei Strings does not only sell yarn. They also sell stringed instruments, ukes, guitars and other fun things. You can play or knit, whatever you wish!

Lu'au Kalamaku

So, for the touristy stuff, we went to a Lu’au at Lu’au Kalamaku. We think it was the best lu’au we’ve been to so far. It was done theatrically and the story line was of the ancient Polynesians who came to the new land. It was heart wrenching as the daughter is separated from her lover and her father. But the spirit of the wind shows her that she will be reunited with them. Exciting fire dancing and beautiful costumes. The food was great too though I still think poi tastes like Elmer’s glue. There is also a train ride before the lu’au which takes you around the Kilohana Plantation. We stopped to feed the pigs at one point.

Playful dolphins

Spinners

On Saturday we took a boat ride to the Na Pali coast and snorkled. This area is only accessible on foot via an 11 mile hike. Much faster in a boat. The ride back was quite rough, but we thought it was always like that. Not so! We overheard the captain say it was the worst he’s ever seen it and they cancelled the afternoon trip. On the way back we saw spinner dolphins. They were so fun. They seemed to be following us as they played and danced in the waves.

Sunday was a helicopter ride. Great sights that you can only see from above. We had the best luck with the weather. The sky was blue most of the time. At some points the clouds were hovering at the tops of the mountains, but it made great photos. Speaking of photos, we dropped the camera on one of the first days so the lens won’t auto focus anymore. I had my trusty little point and shoot, and we still got an amazing number of shots. Come on over and we’ll bore you with our vacation photos. Don’t ya love digital cameras?!!!

We snorkled at Tunnels Beach one day and at Prince Kuhio Beach another day. I got better pictures at Kuhio and we saw a giant honu there too. We found a place for sunset pu-pus at the Beach House at Kuhio, but the best was the last evening at St. Regis Princeville overlooking Hanalei Bay. We got a sudden downpour that ate the last bites of our pu-pus, but they had a champagne toast at sunset, and we sat talking to a couple from Switzerland for quite a while. It was a very romantic way to wind up the trip.

Sunset from Princeville Resort, North Shore

Aloha!

Ummm.... Why?

Category Travels, boats |

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RSS Now Complete, Almost Available…

2011
06.10

I’ve finally finished my second pair of RSS Socks! Yippee. It’s only taken me 2 1/2 months! It should have gone much quicker, but I’ve been working on other projects too. Excuses, excuses, I know. Anyway, a pattern will be published soon. Promise!
Short Row Heels
RSS Elf Boots	Bottoms Up!
RSS Pedi

Category Socks, pattern |

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New Wrist Warmer Pattern

2011
04.01

As soon as the weather got to 89 degrees in Southern California, I decided to publish a new pattern for wrist warmers. Oh, the irony. I love irony, don’t you? Seems like just last week I was wearing them…

I actually designed these over the holidays. I didn’t talk about them much because they were a Christmas gift and I didn’t really update my blog about Christmas knitting. They’re super simple to knit and fast too. It’s an evening or two’s worth of concentrated knitting.

I worked them two at a time, just like my socks, on two circular needles. You don’t really need to do it that way, I just prefer it. If you’re up for a challenge, just read the right and left hands at the same time, keeping track of which row you’re on. When you get to the thumb gusset, remember to add the M1s on every odd row starting at row 13. I wish I had a picture of them on the needles. It would be easier to describe with a visual aid. I worked them as if my hands were in front of me with the thumbs in the center. Does that make sense? If not, I’ll start another pair and take a picture.

SOCK NEWS

I have started Mood from Silk Road Socks. The Ravelry group is doing a KAL. The pattern isn’t hard, but I’ve frogged them numerous times already. This morning I discovered that one of them had 68 stitches instead of 64. Now I’ve got to start that one over.

In the beginning my knitting did not look like the pictures. I discovered a note at the end of the pattern. Ummm, I wish that note had been at the beginning where the instructions for the leg are… Just goes to show you that reading the pattern all the way through before starting is profitable. Will I learn? Probably not.

I’m almost done with the leg of my RSS sock. This one is better for almost mindless knitting. Not quite, but it does take less concentration. I can actually “read” my knitting on this one. It will be the next pattern up for publication.

SCARVES

I’ve been working on Palindrome off and on since December. I thought that I might be able to give it to Rex instead of the sweater that wasn’t working out, but this has proven to be a bit of a challenge. The pattern is easy, but I decided that I wanted to do it in two colors. First I had to work out how the yarn would stay together. I guess this is my first color-work project. I think it would be Intarsia rather than Fair Isle. It’s not that hard, just very tangly. I’m stubborn too, so I didn’t make manageable bobbins, I’m using whole skeins rather than joining the yarn every so often. The yarn tends to break sometimes though, so some of the pieces are shorter and easier to untangle.

Speaking of the sweater, that would be “new sweater” in the WIP on the left side of the page. Actually, I’ve decided to use a pattern from Interweave Knits Weekend 2009. I just got my copy from EBay today! Yippee! Anyway, the sweater I’ve decided on is the Twisted Pine Pullover. I really want to do this one, but I don’t have enough yarn. It will probably be better in a softer yarn anyway. I’m going to put this project aside for a while though. I’ve got so many others going…

Ok, back to scarves. I just cast on the Panorama scarf for a store sample. I’m using Allegoro by Classic Elite in a pretty blue. The pattern is a pretty lace that seems to look a little like hearts going up the scarf. There is long fringe too. It looks very summery.

Do you think I have enough projects going? It’s hard to keep track of them all, especially the ones that are languishing in my basket. I still see lots of WIPs in my Ravelry notebook. I’d better get to work!

Have a great weekend!

Knitter Ditter

Category Finished!, Lace, Patterns, Scarf, Socks, Wrist Warmers |

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Silence…

2011
03.26

I know it’s been quiet around here. I’ve been knitting a lot, traveling a bit and having an anniversary weekend. This is our 30th year of wedded bliss! Honestly it doesn’t seem that long, but we have grown kids to prove it.

I’m also trying to get our $%!@&!^# taxes done. See how I procrastinate? Messy bookkeeping + tax time = Just sayin’.

In my kniti-verse I’ve been working on writing a couple of patterns. One is for Cathy’s Wrist Warmers.

I made these for my SIL for Christmas. I made another pair in London out of one of my purchases from last year’s trip, Sheepshop Wensleydale Longwool. I’ve just finished another pair out of the yarn in the picture, Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK. They are so very soft… The pattern will be posted shortly.

Another pattern that I am writing up is for my RSS Socks. RSS is for Really Simple Socks. I based them on a pair of store bought socks that I liked. I initially made them from a KnitPicks sock yarn in black, so they didn’t photograph too well. I am currently knitting them from Classic Elite Summer Sox. I’m hoping they will be comfortable in warmer weather. I’m finding that the climate in So Cal is not conducive to wool socks. My feet get itchy. Here’s the photo from the first pair. This picture isn’t great and I can’t find the original. I had to steal this one from my Ravelry photos. Weird. Like I said, the black doesn’t show the detail well but I like the way the blue Summer Sox is coming out. Photos to follow soon.

I need to catch up on posting my other knitting. I’ve started the Wakame Lace Tunic. I probably have the bottom finished. I just need to block and measure to be sure. The lace pattern is easily memorized, so it goes quick, except for the volume!

I’m also working on a Palindrome scarf out of the Wensleydale Longwool in two brown colorways. Ugggh, need photos. Ok, I promise. Soon.

Just before heading off to London I made Nicole from The FibreCo’s Terra. It came out a little large and quite slouchy. It’s really warm and goes with all my pink stuff. I also made a blue one from the Wensleydale Longwool in blue. I felt guilty for buying all that yarn in London last year and not using it! I’m doing much better this year, thank you very much!

Ok, enough with the knitting. Back to taxes. Can I throw up now?

Knitter Ditter

Category Hat, Lace, Patterns, Socks, Sweater, Wrist Warmers |

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I ♥ London Knitting

2011
02.20

Wow! It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Especially about knitting. In the meantime I had another birthday which was wonderful. We had a Super Bowl Birthday party. I got a $50.00 gift certificate to my favorite LYS, (Yippee!!!), lots of gift cards and other cool stuff. The day was nice, my church choir sang Happy Birthday. That hasn’t happened before. I’m sure I was blushing.

Last week we were in London for the Broadcast Video Expo. I didn’t work though, my DH did. We arrived a couple of days early to take in some sights. We took the tour of Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. It was a day-long trip and as our tour guide said it was only a taste of each place. We could easily spend the whole day in Windsor or Bath. The first day we went to Kensington Palace and took the tour. Right now they have an exhibit called the “Enchanted Palace.” It was a bit Disney-esque, but fun. It was an historical and artistic account of each of the seven princesses who lived there. You were supposed to “discover” the names of the princesses. Diana’s dress was on display as well as Margaret’s tiara and wedding gown.

We visited the Victoria & Albert Museum. I had to go back a second day to check out the textile exhibits and spent half the day looking at amazing and incredibly intricate lace.

Collar made of bobbin lace - mid 17th century

I never knew such techniques existed. The thread was so fine, it looked to be even finer than sewing thread. I was simply blown away by the artistry involved in making such pieces. There was a French fan that was a landscape scene with a sluice sending water into a pond where a duck was splashing on one side, and moving into a veranda with trees and flowers on the other side. I wish I could find the picture of that one. I was too chicken to take any pictures of my own. It doesn’t seem to be allowed. Of course you can draw what you see, but I’m afraid it would just look like chicken scratch.

The next three days I spent looking for local yarn stores. I pretty much struck out on day one. The two in Notting Hill that I tried were not really yarn stores, but stores that carried a few skeins and lots of other stuff. The yarn they carried was readily available at my local Michael’s store. Not too exciting. The second store I tried actually turned out to be primarily a bead shop. I got a few items here and some blue rocaille beads to hopefully finish my “Lighter Than Air” shawl that I’m 3/4 of the way through. I got the yarn, Rowan Kidsilk Spray in Amsterdam several years ago. I also ran out of the yarn, so I’ve been collecting it as I see it come up on Ebay. So far I have not found the same colorway I started with and there is a wide variation.

The next day I tried a new shop near Abbey Road called Tricolette Yarns. A very cute shop. I liked the coziness of the place. She is very new, only open since October 2010. I was determined to only buy yarns that I can’t get in the States, especially British wool. I also found some cute stitch markers and a button that I thought I would put on the hat I was making from last year’s Wensleydale Longwool by Sheepshop. Yeah, I finally broke into that stash. Eh-Hemmm. I also made a pair of fingerless gloves for this trip from the pretty blue colorway.

I walked from St. John’s Wood over to Camden Lock by way of the canal running through Regent’s Park. I found Penny Burdett’s shop and bought a top from her. She is an original knitwear designer. Her designs are worked up on a machine. I also bought a few trinkets in the Indian shop and a couple of decorative lace scarves from some other vendors. I saw them last year and thought I could make them. Famous last words. This time I bought a couple. Now I can study them and make some…. yeah, right.

From Camden I took the tube over to Islington to visit one of my favorite UK yarn stores, Loop. I bought some more wool, a pattern which I discovered is from Washington State and a copy of Piecework Magazine. Yeah, not British at all. Oh well. I was intrigued by the work I saw and after my day at the V&A the history described in the articles was compelling. I may have to subscribe. Loop has moved since I last visited. Luckily it happened to be in this little antiques alley called Camden Passage which is right off the tube stop. It was very lucky because Camden Passage didn’t even show in my map book. I think it may be a little old.

After Loop, I visited my second favorite UKLYS, I Knit London. There I found a lovely shawl pin and an even cuter button for my hat. The hat is wearing it right now. I bought only one skein that day, but came back the next to buy waaaayyyy too much Fiberspates Lace weight. What was I thinking? I bought upwards of 4000 yards! I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it. I’ve been eyeing this pattern since I saw it in Interweave Summer 2008. It is the Wakame Lace Tunic. I finally found the pattern after two days of searching Ravelry and finally my magazines. What threw me was I remembered the picture, but the photo on Ravelry was a different color and the model was seated so I couldn’t see the border. I thought I was going nuts!

So…. This pattern calls for DK weight and 1120 yards. yeah. Perhaps I’ll make some pretty scarves too.

Oriel called for sport weight and I used a fingering weight. Wakame might require extra panels. I promise to swatch diligently. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Till next time,

Knitter Ditter

Category Lace, Stash, Travels |

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He’s Dancing Again…

2011
01.28

My dear friend’s husband passed into eternity this morning. He had fought cancer for almost a year. Probably longer, but that’s when the diagnosis came through. It sounds odd, but I was happy for her, and happy for him. He no longer has to endure the pain; it was excruciating for the last six weeks. He is no longer bed ridden. She told me that the other day he was trying to get out of bed, but of course he wasn’t strong enough to walk any more. He has been on pain medication which has made him, well, not himself. It was so hard to watch my friend endure this. I think at times she was at the end of her rope. And yet through it all her faith remained strong. You see, we are Christians and she was clinging to the Rock of her Savior probably more than she ever had to. I only pray that she can rest now. She doesn’t sleep well anyway, and she is absolutely exhausted.

Our church family has been visiting, Facebooking and sending emails to her all day. I am so proud to be part of such a community. We have been bringing food since mid December. I just found out today that people who weren’t on the list have been bringing gifts and food. Some are not from our church, but she has great friends. They are wonderful people and it is all because of our common bond in Christ.

I was happy this morning, but now I mourn. I want to cry. When my DH texted me that he is on the plane headed for home, I thought, “What if it were me?” I know I would be a mess. She is so strong. She was married almost 30 years to her sweetheart. Same for me. What a battle she has endured. The Light shining through all of this is the hope that we have that Reggie is now dancing with his Savior.

Category Spirituality |

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Rip Roaring Knitting

2011
01.21

I’m about two inches into the Gordes sock. It’s coming along nicely, though I spent much of today ripping back and correcting some mistakes. It seems that until I get used to the pattern, I make mistakes that I don’t see until much later. I should probably just swatch each chart so that I can learn what is actually going on. I really like how the Gordes chart is laid out. It’s very logical. I’m thinking I might use this cable technique for something of my own. There is a knit-a-long starting on February 1st for this sock on Ravelry. You can learn more at the Silk Road Socks KALS Group. (I hope it’s not cheating that I’ve already started… )

I discovered a new podcast this week thanks to Franklin Habit. It’s called Fiber Beat and can be found at the link. It’s not new. I was listening to some 2009 episodes today. WonderMike interviews lots of my favorite knitting personalities. I suppose you could call them the American Idols of knitting. I listened to Episode 1 with Meg Swansen and wondered why I haven’t known about all the videos she has done. I’m definitely going to check them out! I love Elizabeth Zimmermans Knitting Workshop. It’s got such a down-home feel.

Speaking of Franklin Habit, I finally caught up on his blog yesterday. He freaking cracks me up! If you don’t know, Franklin is a humorist, cartoonist, knittist – um – knitter, and photographer. (Wonder if I missed anything.) He researches vintage knitting patterns and brings them to modern knitters. He has a column called Stitches in Time at Knitty.com. I’m sure you will find it quite intriguing.

I just had to show my husband this:

It made him laugh too.

The other thing I absolutely love about Franklin’s site is the BEAUTIFUL photography. If I ever get the chance I want to take his photography class. The depth of field in the photos and the colors make your mouth water.

Well, I gotta go. My husband made dinner tonight and it smells wonderful!

Till next Friday,

Knitter Ditter

Category Movie, Socks |

Happy New Year!

Knit One, Purl Two

Quiet Japan

Turning Japanese

Dancing Days

Boatloads of Booties

UFOs

Vogue Knitting Day Three

Vogue Knitting Day Two

Vogue Knitting Day One

Koigu

RSS Complete!

Rainbows, and Waterfalls and Chickens, Oh My!

RSS Now Complete, Almost Available…

New Wrist Warmer Pattern

SOCK NEWS

SCARVES

Silence…

I ♥ London Knitting

He’s Dancing Again…

Rip Roaring Knitting

Awesome Fiber Artists

My Other Sites

Projects

FINI

SOCK NEWS

SCARVES

Awesome Fiber Artists

My Other Sites

Projects

FINI

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