Before and After

So this was my front yesterday.....


And this is my front today.....


Somehow it doesn't even hurt. Frogging really isn't too bad, then again, I didn't exactly have much to frog. The fairisle actually knits up very quickly and having half your stitches bound off for the next make it even quicker. I've already started my sleeve though, so finishing the front will have to wait til the needles are free -- though I'm sure I probably have another set of 6's around somewhere.

Still haven't even thought about blocking or sewing Lucky together. I guess that's the nice thing about not having a deadline this time around -- there is no need to stay up til 4 in the morning to sew on 62 1/2" of neckband!

So I was just browsing around the net, looking at other knitter's blogs that I have been backed up on for weeks and I wondered onto Glampyre's blog. She has two very cute patterns for sale that are very tempting: Orangina and One Skein Wonder Orangina is knit in Rowan 4ply -- one of my favorites (and knit on size 3's too -- how perfect)! Hmm, could this be one more thing to add onto my wish list.....just what I need!

Back in the saddle again

And here is the fruit of my labor over the past couple weeks. I finished up the front last night and started the sleeve when I came home from work. Then I was just checking the original picture, and I realized that I started the neck drop for the front way too low - even though it measured OK according to the directions. It seemed low to me when I was separating my neck stitches on the holder, but I trusted the directions and didn't have the picture in front of me. Well, if I decide to rip back, it's not that many rows and it should only set me back about an hour or hour and a half worth of work. I also noticed that the sleeve I started tonight should have been started w/ burgundy. I somehow assumed it was supposed to be olive. Why I assumed that, I have no idea. Guess it's the mental burn I've been feeling lately! At least that only means ripping back 10 rows of garter stitch.

And in hockey news -- THE PHANTOMS WON THE CALDER CUP!! 1998 and 2005 - How sweet it is! Who cares about NHL when all the excitement is right here in the AHL. I don't need a bunch of whining, overpaid players. All I need is some young guys with heart!

Missing in action

So, yes it seems I have been missing in action for almost a month. I have been severely lacking in knitting motivation lately. I haven't even been checking in on my bloglines feeds.

So tonight at LIC SnB, Chia tells me that Secret Pal 5 has been closed??? Closed! But I just checked the blog on May 30th and it hadn't been updated since like February! So tonight I fired up the computer for what seems like the first time in weeks and go to the site. No updates. So I get the great idea to check the comments - UGH!!! She posted the new SP5 site in the comments!!! So I miss out again. Seems I wasn't the only one to miss out though - there were a couple of other knitters that didn't notice the post in the comments about the new site either. Does anyone out there know of any other knitter exchange lists out there? Or is SP5 the only one?

I guess I should be thanking my lucky (or unlucky) stars that I did miss the sign up for SP5. I have been very busy at work trying to get my line together for Spring 2006. Then my acid reflux started to act up again (stress anyone???) and I missed 3 days of work putting me behind by about a week. My Spring line was supposed to be in by Monday - I only have 20 styles done! I'm missing about 30-40 styles, and that's just for August market! I'm going to need to do at least another 80-100 styles to fill up September - November market. I feel like I am perpetually behind in my new job. Just when I think I've caught up - BAM! something else comes along and messes me all up. In two weeks, I'm supposed to be starting my collection for Fall 06. Ugh! I don't even want to think about it!

Hopefully check back in tomorrow and I should have some knitting related work up. Lucky is done, but not sewn together. My fairisle is looking pretty good and should have the front done very shortly. I am itching to start on the Hot Lava Cardigan and need to get the fairisle done ASAP! Still haven't received my yarn from England that I ordered on the 31st of March for my boyfriend's sweater - even though my card was charged! This is getting ridiculous..........

Sweaters and Hockey

Got to see a very exciting playoff hockey game on Sunday. It was between the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms and the Providence Bruins. The Phantoms won game 6 and the Eastern Conference to move onto the playoffs this week. GO PHANTOMS! So glad that even with the current NHL strike, I still get to see some hockey so I don't go into total withdrawal! And for those who say "What does hockey have to do with knitting?" Well, the player's jerseys are actually called sweaters, though they really aren't quite sweaters like they were in the old days........


2005 Eastern Conference Champs!! Woo! Hoo!

Group Hug

Handshake line

And in knitting news:

Finished my second sleeve on Lucky and have about 44" done on the neckband "snake". Figure that I should have this one in the bag in the next week or two. Just depends on if I'm in a sewing mood or not. It's not like I can wear the sweater now anyway, little warm for cashmere this time of year. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!



Also received my batch of Rowan Polar in the mail from Jimmy Bean's this week. Polar has been discontinued and there is this Rowan cable sweater from a couple issues back that I have wanted to knit for over two years. Figured it was now or never.....plus it was a really great deal on the yarn. Good things come to those who wait two years!!!

Gettn' things done

Not too much in the way of knitting news.....finished my 1st lucky sleeve last Tuesday. About 1/2 way finished the second. Would have posted a picture if I wasn't so lazy.

But see, I'm really not all that lazy tonight. I was a good girl and sent off my finished pattern to MagKnits for the Chilly 05 issue and I corrected the sleeve pattern on the Lucky Clover wrap. The tech editor had graded the muscle a little bit too small (12" on an XL - don't think so). But it's all over now and the corrections should be posted on Debbie's site soon. I've also posted the sleeve corrections on the Lucky KAL. If you're in a hurry and the corrections haven't been posted yet, you can find them here.

NO NOT MY PICTURES!!!!

So Kerrie from MagKnits emails me the other day for an update on my pattern for the Chilly 05 issue. I write back happilily that pattern is finished, sweater is knit, and the pictures are taken. Just needed to proof the pattern.

So, I had some free time last night to proof the pattern. Sat down at the computer and magically - Windows will not load. Now I'm just frightened that I will loose all my photos taken for the MagKnits project + everything else I've ever taken on the back 1 1/2 years. I was devistated!

Learn from my mistakes people! Always back up all your pictures! Always!

So now my task becomes trying to unlock the secret of my computer's sudden demise. A new Apple computer is looking very tempting right about now........stupid PCs.

Update 9:32pm: Computer is now fixed. All photos are safe. Still thinking about that Mac though..........

Alpaca inspiration

Spent the day at home. Had a bit of a cold and felt too ache and miserable to go to work. So I slept and I knit. I put Lucky aside for the day and picked up my Alpaca Fair Isle project from Vogue magazine. After all, seeing those cute little animals on Saturday just put me in the mood. And here is my progress for the day:



Yes, those are all nasty, nasty ends that need to be woven in when finished. I have the feeling these ends will scare me away from fair isle for the rest of my knitting days. Seaming together Lucky is nothing compared to this bad boy!

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

Cute Alpaca

Went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival on Saturday. Had such a great time and it turned out to be such a beautiful warm day. All the sheep and alpaca were so cute! I want an alpaca so bad, they look like big teddy bears. My boyfriend was also into the alpaca - maybe they could help out keeping the grass down with all the rain we've been having lately! Interestingly enough, Alpaca are mainly raised for breeding in the U.S. The U.S. market has not begun to widely utilize the animals for their fiber. Seems a bit strange to me, but when I saw the prices the animals bring in, I understood completely.



Here's a little sheep getting a haircut just before the sheep judging competition.


A cute little ram.

It was very interesting to see the sheep getting sheared and how they actually behaved while being buzzed by a scary razor. Also saw some people spinning roving into yarn. I think my next adventure will be just that. I think I'll start doing some research into spinning wheels - b-day and Christmas are just around the corner! It would just be such an accomplishment to not only say that I knit and designed my sweater, but also spun the yarn. Maybe a little farther down the road, I'll actually start from the fleece, but starting w/ roving is adventurous enough for now. Now, if I could just manage to find some free time.......

Speaking of roving, that was my only purchase all day. I was so proud of myself! All that yarn was soooooooo tempting, but I held back. I purchased 4 oz of Icelandic wool roving from a sheep named Moonwink. I think that I am going to use it unspun as some sort of funky collar for a cardigan. Then if I have any left, maybe I'll play around and try to spin some of the roving on a drop spindle.


My only purchase

And finally in knitting news:
#1 Finished the left front of lucky tonight. Sleeves are on the way!
#2 Yarn for boyfriend's sweater still hasn't arrived from England. That leaves me at least one more week before I have one more project on my plate.
#3 Rowan Polar is on backorder, should be in this week. One less project to worry about for now!


3 out of 5

Lucky Front Part Deux

About 3/4 way finished left front of Lucky. I spent about 4 hours knitting tonight. Now it's 1 a.m. and I still have to pack for my trip home to Jersey. I really need to stop doing this - I need my sleep!

Have more new yarn on it's way. Heard that Rowan Polar was being discontinued, so I had to buy some. There is a pattern from 3 or 4 fall issues back that I never got around to making. I just could not figure out the cable pattern. Then one day, traveling home on Amtrak - it hit me! Nothing is better than knitting enlightenment! So now this means that I have enough yarn for 6 planned projects. I think I should start knitting a bit faster. Either that or I'm not going to be able to pick up any new magazines, or look at any new books, or blogs - nothing that can inspire new yarn purchases. Hmm, guess that new Rebecca on the way will just have to wait.

Saturday I am making the trek down to Maryland to the Sheep and Wool festival. This will be my first - and hopefully not the last. Kind of a last minute decision on my part. I asked the boyfriend on Monday if he'd be interesting in getting out of town Saturday and I was met with a very enthusiastic response. In fact, he's been telling people all week about it! Now my only problem is keeping myself away from all the beautiful yarn. I have the feeling that I'll be on my first yarn diet soon......

Progress and Presents

lucky front
Originally uploaded by neoknits.

Yay! Finished right front of Lucky tonight. Moving along quickly, though I'm going to be sad when I'm no longer knitting with my cashmere. Hopefully I don't get too attached, I really don't have enough time to get a 2nd job to support my cashmere dependence!

And speaking of dependence, I really need to stop checking out what other people are doing in blogland. It's really bad for the wallet! So here's another project to add to the ever growing list: Hot Lava Cardigan. Found out about this pattern while checking out Winnie's blog (fellow knitter from Lucky KAL). Bought this lovely shade of deep purple/plum Manos for the project at Woolgathering in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. My boyfriend and I have been traveling a bit on the weekends so wherever we are headed, I always make sure to check if there are any stores in the area. I knew the store in PA carried Manos - and it was all over from there.





And in other news, finally should be receiving 11 balls of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Chunky to knit my boyfriend his cable sweater soon. Apparently it has been sent from England about the 1st of April. Didn't think shipping took that long, but since I have plenty of other projects on my plate, I don't mind waiting (Plus the yarn was pretty cheap - always a patience maker). I'm especially patient since he is going to be begging me to start as soon as the yarn comes in. Nevermind that summer is coming - he wants his sweater now! I made a deal that it will be done before the first sign of Fall - promise!

Fair Isle sidetrack

fairisle
Originally uploaded by neoknits.

So I have been a bit obsessive about knitting lately. Have been keeping myself awake til 1am because "I just need to finish one more row". Of course one more row always turns into one more pattern repeat or one more color change. Next row starts the fair isle pattern. Must be very careful about my yarn tension on the fair isle. My first attempt at fair isle was the skull scarf, and my tension was a bit tight. Since the fair isle falls right across the upper chest area, I better make sure that I get it right the first time or else!

Lucky back finished

Lucky Back

Finished the back tonight. Not moving as fast as the first version, but it's much more enjoyable taking my time so my fingers aren't falling off. So now it's off to start the front.

Lucky!

Gauge Swatch

I am so lucky that the gauge swatch worked out to exactly 26 sts, 32 rows! And I'm even luckier that it worked out on size 4 needles instead of size 3. Not that I mind size 3's or anything! The cashmere is a dream to work with. The stitches are so uniform and it is so darn soft.

Still moving along on the fair isle sweater too. Have about 6 inches done already.

Have a nice train ride to Philadelphia tomorrow, so I have plenty of time to knit. Yay!

It's finally here!

Yes, the wait is over! My cashmere for Lucky came in yesterday and I picked it up today. The picture really doesn't do the color justice. My camera flash was a little too bright. It figures that I started knitting my fair isle sweater Monday night!

So now I'm off to swatch. Hopefully I end up w/ a similar gauge as the 4ply. I'm actually using 2 strands together to get the same diameter yarn. Well, I guess I'll see what happens and if it doesn't come close, I guess I'll just have to do some more mathematical adjustments!


Long awaited cashmere!

Yes, Mia, Alpaca Fair Isle

Here's a peek at the alpaca fair Isle sweater I plan to start this weekend after I retrieve my yarn from South Jersey. It's from the Winter Vogue Knitting International and is knit up in Blue Sky Alpacas. I've never knit with Alpaca before, I can't wait! It also has some little sequins and beads around the cuffs and hem that are kinda fun.


Alpaca Fairisle

Cheating

Ok, so I haven't been totally honest with my knitting lately. I have been cheating on my knitting with cross stitch. Yes, cross stitch. Although I have a very good reason for this. See, my boyfriend used to have this same design hanging on his wall when he was a child and it helped him through some hard times. It was destroyed in a house fire a couple of years back, so I thought it would be nice to remake it for him since it meant so much to him. Here's a pic of the project:


cheating

I must say that the relaxing qualities of cross stitch are right up there with knitting. Also, working on a guardian angel has it's ways of calming my nerves.

Hope to have my yarn this week for my alpaca fairisle project. I need to start something soon or else I'm really going to have knitting withdrawal!

Slow sailing

Haven't been too knitty lately. Grenade purse is on it's way and almost finished, but that's about the fullest extent of my knitting right now.

Ordered some Rowan Yorkshire tweed for the boyfriend's sweater. I ordered it from England and got a really good deal. Just hope it comes sooner than the 28 days time the web site suggested. Also placed an order for Blue Sky elapses. I found a really nice pattern in Vogue International from Winter and Purl had some of my colors on sale.

But the real reason I have been slacking on my knitting is because I am still waiting for my cashmere yarn. I really shouldn't be so stubborn and I should just start something else, like the beautiful kidsilk haze pointelle dress in the current Rowan. All I need to buy for that is the beads. But I don't want to start the complicated Rowan project and then stop to knit Lucky whenever the darn yarn decides to show up in New York. I really shouldn't care so much, because my caring has messed up my knitting schedule. I really should have started the Rowan project when I ordered the cashmere, I probably would have had it finished by now! Ok, well maybe that's wishful thinking, but it could of happened - at least maybe if the yarn is delayed at least another month.

But in other news, moving along on the submission for MagKnits. Pattern is written, just need to double and triple check for mistakes and take some photos. Hopefully the weather is a bit better this weekend so the pictures can be out of the way.

Looking forward to spring, even though all projects on cue seem to be Winter sweaters. I never particularly liked the spring fashion season. Fall was always more exciting for shopping. And as a designer this is even more true. Spring is always my least favorite to design. You are so limited by your yarn choices and silhouettes it almost seems pointless. Oh well, Fall 06 starts being designed in August - and it will probably be here before my cashmere!

Overworked rant

I feel like such a slacker. I haven't even updated my blog in a week or two. Life has been quite busy the past two weeks or so. Mainly been preparing for the move to the new job. Took some freelance work to do in the meantime to get me ahead of the game.....that is if I actually had time to do it! Between the holidays, new job, old job, and everything else in between I just want to pull my hair out! I mean, I haven't even touched my needles for a week! I think I need some intervention!

So the last time I touched my needles was last Tuesday when I sat down with the girls of LIC SnB. I finally casted on my grenade purse that we are supposed to have done by Friday?! Maybe that's why I'm so wacked out, I haven't been doing my knitting so I can calm down. I think I should just forget the world and pick up those needles right now..................

Better, less crazy days are just around the corner. Oh, and maybe just maybe, one of those days I just might get that darn cashmere yarn I've been whining about obsessively for a month and a half now!

Yay!

Good news #1 - Two weeks back I submitted one of my designs to Mag Knits for the Chilly 05 edition. I heard back from Kerrie right away and my design was accepted! Look for me in August! Now I just have to tackle Knitty!

Good news #2 - I have a new job! I am now the new Junior sweater designer for a label called Smudge. Haven't told the bosses yet, that news waits til Monday. It's never good to give bad news before the weekend.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Now if only I could be starting my Lucky wrap....

Gloves for the new boy

Boyfriend gloves

Well, since I'm posting another small project I'm sure you've gathered that I have still not received my cashmere for Lucky yet. It's been almost a month now! I went down to Purl to buy the yarn for these gloves last Wednesday and the update was that my yarn was drying in the sea air of Maine two weeks ago and when it's dry it will be shipped. Sigh, I want just want my yarn! I don't blame them for taking so long, this is a one woman business, but I don't blame me for being impatient either.

So anywho, back to the gloves. These are for my new boyfriend. He works outdoors and was complaining he couldn't wear gloves because it interfered with reading his blueprints. Problem solved. Now only the tips of his fingers will get frostbite! I just hope Spring will be here soon and he won't have to get too much use out of them this season.

Finally received my new Rowan magazine. There are so many things I want to knit - including a sweater for the BF (curse? What curse?) He really wants a cable sweater from Yorkshire fable in Chunky Yorkshire Tweed too. He's such a little preppie boy and the first thing he went for in the yarn store was the tweed yarn (though he went for the 4ply first - not chunky). If I don't get that cashmere soon, I guess I have a cable sweater on order.