Group on Ravelry

Hi everyone ~ I know that I'm guiltier than anyone here for not keeping up with this blog (or any blog for that matter!) and I do apologize for that. However, I think it might be a bit easier for me (and hopefully others as well!) if we were to take this to a group on Ravelry. I'm YarnoraTale there and I've got a couple of you in my friends there now so how about if I start a group on Rav for us and I'll post the link to it here?

That said, not a whole lot of UFO'n goin on with me these days. I keep starting easy new projects and finishing those but my knitting mojo is soooooooo gone right now :(

How 'bout you?

Beaded mini sweaters ... but wait!

Leah asked for a picture ... here you go:



These are all based on the pattern I posted here. I just string a dozen beads on before I start, put 6 on the purl stitches in the second row and 6 on the purl stitches in the second-to-last row.

The pink one has a knitted-on ribbed neck after the fact, and I made a loop with crochet chains from the remaining length of yarn.

But if I get tired of this pattern, I've found a dozen more mini sweater patterns from Berocco. Love the little cables, those I may have to try!

Woo Hoo...LOOKIT ME GO!

Hey UFO'ers...I might be getting somewhere! I have 2 UFO's to share that are finished...pretty much :) But they are SO close that it's worth posting and getting excited about. I even took crappy pics because I'm so proud of myself. Actually, I've finished three but am not sure if I blogged the sweater vest weird thingee yet....I think I did but I'll have to check here in a minute.

Anyway, the Chevron Waistcoat from Knitter's...this was a blast to knit, was an excellent stash buster BUT I ended up knitting past my gauge and it was huge. I have to admit I cheated and let my Mom rip it out and redo the sides because she knew I would be so disgusted with it that it would end up at the bottom of the UFO basket for ages. Anyway, she finished the rib edgings for me as well and was knitting along and forgot the buttonholes...LOL! But, that's no big because the buttons I wanna use will fit through the knitting, I'm sure. (I SWEAR I did NOT ask her to knit the edging...I didn't!)

Yep, those are loose ends ratting me out and screaming "I'm still a freaking UFO!" (And the conspicuous lack of buttons ain't helping either.) I did the back before I discovered the wonderful way of knitting in loose ends on THIS SITE. I no longer have unreasonable fear and hatred of stripes because of this :) Anyway, on those nights when I'm sick to death of knitting (and sometimes it happens!) I can weave those babies in and put on my abalone buttons and be a VEST WEARIN' STASH BUSTIN UFO'in KINDA GAL!!! And honest...having my mommy help me isn't cheating, is it?

Then there's the Summertime Tunic from Interweave Knits (free pattern HERE) and this is such a lousy picture but it's cute. I need to wash it since the linen/rayon blend I used is really weird and waxed...the water is just disgusting when you wash it and I *should* have washed it before I started but it's very slippery tape yarn that would have been a nightmare in a skein so I elected to knit as is and wash later. I need to add the beads to the ends of the ribbon ties and put it on a mannequin or something to take better photos. It was a LONG time in the knitting since it's done on size 6 needles in stockinette...ugh. The bottom is cute...you knit the waistband on size 4's in rib and that part sits right about hip level for that sort of fit. I think it'll be great under jackets or on its own in summer *if* I care to bare that much and these days, that's iffy. Pushing 44 and things just ain't the same in the ol' arm department. Sigh....

UFO's actively in progress include the big blue bumming around sweater and some "black" rambouillet on a spindle that will probably end up being a chores hat for me. It's 4 oz so am not sure it'll work but we'll see. I'm certain there's something else handspun in a small amount in my embarrassing stash of handspun that can go along with it for a cozy hat.

The hugest sweater in the universe custom knitting order is coming along. 58" chests in sweaters on size 7 needles should be against the law or something but hey...I got myself into it and one day soon I'll be halfway through the damn thing. And I've got dye pots on the stove...getting 6 clean pounds of polypay fleece ready to process into variegated roving so we'll see how that goes...charteuse, turquoise, deep violet and white. I dunno....but contrast is the key, I hear, in variegated rovings being successful. Not sure about the polypay either but it's good to have a new experience now and then, eh?

AMELIA...we want pictures of mini beaded sweaters! How cute must that be?????

And who's doing holiday knitting? NOT ME! I *might* do some holiday spinning but have freed myself (somewhat) from holiday knitting this year. I may possibly knit my hubby a black alpaca scarf but it ain't lookin too good folks....

Tackling UFO's ...

I ran across a great post on JoanKnits' blog, Joan's Wacky Dot System, which is a technique for prioritizing and finishing UFOs ... while still dreaming up future UFO's (grin!)

Me, personally, well, I'm still knitting mini sweaters; sometimes I do a stitch pattern on the front but lately I've knit them plain except I put some beads along the bottom border. Tres' cute and it helps cut into the bead stash, LOL. I must have beads on the brain because I've been spinning alot of beaded yarns lately too!

I did finally finish a fingering weight scarf on size 9's ... nice and drapey. It's a bit wider and shorter than I wanted, so maybe I will block it out. Hmm, does that mean it's not finished yet? I think next up is actually some weaving, as I joined a local study group and will be trying to keep up!

Well, no pictures, sorry(!) but the camera battery died and it's still in the charger with a red light.

Happy holidays all!

Not much progress, unless you call dreaming of new UFO's progress...

I just haven't had much knitting "me" time! I'm working on a huge custom order sweater (size 7 needles...not a big deal, but we're talking 58" chest here ladies!!!) so there's that...I've been working on a big, run-outside-and-feed-the- creatures sweater for me, which may end up being huge (I'm in the Everything is Huge rut these days ~ intentional or not!) and the wool is kinda "eh" ~ I got it free from my Mom and it's from the mill where I work. It doesn't felt so I'm thinking this is a wash in the washing machine sweater and since creatures will be part of it's daily life, that's a great thing.

I'm knitting it loose and hoping it felts up just a tad and softens up that way. It's from Weekend Knits by Melanie Falick and is just a plain, simple, sweatshirt type pullover. Mindless which can be a wonderful thing :)

BUT...on the right there is my newest fantasy ~ Annie Modesitt's latest, the LL Swing Jacket....isn't it marvelous? The pattern is available right now on her site ~ I'm trying to think if I have something in my stash that'll knit to 4 stitches per inch and is 1320 yards or so. Wow...tough call! There *might* be a rose grey alpaca only I'm thinking, since it's 100%, that a garment this size would really stretch and be heavy out of 100% alpaca (and please, alpaca people, do NOT hate me forever for saying so!!!). Not sure if I have enough of anything to spin in stash but I could always dye up some of the wool/silk laps I sell and dye the yarn...I mean, I never save any for myself and maybe it's time I did!

My stack of magazines/books with post-it marked pages of crap I NEED to knit is embarrassing and so is my UFO basket, which is NOT a wimpy, tiny little thing with a handle. No. It's a tall, waste-can sized handmade basket, of which I must take a photo to share. Everything in there is all neatly zip-loc bagged and labeled though and all the mags and patterns and books are in a drawer. Sheesh ~ at least I *touched* all of them recently, eh?

I just have these several things that are so near completion and it's horrid that I dont' seem to have the mojo to just sit down and finish them! We're talking simple little finishing details on at least two of them...one is threading a ribbon through the front and back and tying beads onto said ribbon. I mean, C'MON GIRL....it's a summer tank so that's my excuse. Lame. Really. Lame. Sigh...

Anyway, I'm off to update my list and maybe try to work up the mojo to take on one of those little projects tonight...

Back on the face of the earth

Just in case everyone thought I fell off the face of the earth, I'm back. It has been a busy summer (the usual stuff) and fall (my Dad was sick). On the up side, I did get the back of my cable sweater done. I'll post a pick next time I have my camera out.

Currently I'm working on a hat and mitten set for my husband. I have the had done and most of the first mitten. I think winter may be here permanently, at least for now, so I had better get cracking on that.

Karen in northern MI

OMG...did you all think I'd died and went to knitter's hell or something?

Well, I didn't! But life has been unbearably crazy for me over the summer...I ended up closing my brick and mortar shop, taking on another 30 hour a week job and deciding that I needed to do fiber shows this fall. And...ahem...the house...

BUT...things are slowing down a tad and it feels good to be able to breathe again without crying because I want to crawl into bed and give up :) I got through it and I'm feeling pretty good. So good, in fact, that I FINISHED SOMETHING!

Nevermind that it's something weird...remember that Knit 1 funky scarf vest thingee out of my very own first handspun? There it is. I think it's a little big but I can live with that. The yarn was a challenge to work with a bit...different thicknesses and all that. And I had to spin up some merino/silk to make the collar. It's kinda cute and my best friend says she LOVES it (but isn't that what best friends are meant to do?)

And, since our house is still not even remotely close to being finished and we're in pretty-much-almost-winter and I"m freezing my a#$ off right now, I really really need to make a big cozy pullover that I can wash all the time because I'm gonna live in it this winter, lemme tell ya. I have some acrylic (egads...don't let me go there!) but I want WARM WOOL so I'm gonna thing about a blend of something. I could maybe spin up some superwash but I don't have that kind of time right now. Soooo.....anyone know of a killer washable kinda bulky wool or wool blend yarn that doesn't cost an arm and/or a leg??? Hmmm?

I organzied my UFO basket the other day and thought of all of you :) I have 2 projects that are sooooo close to being finished I can do it this weekend. That will bring my total to about ... oh...
7???? 8???? Sigh...and I have a ton of customer knitting to do this month.

Anyway, it's good to be back and I hope we can get this ball rolling again...I'm so sorry to have been away so long :( It's off to dinner and the CSI/Without a Trace mega tv viewing night!