Swatching do over.....

Really I don't mind swatching. What I mind is when I know I have swatched a certain yarn and didn't take proper notes on swatch results. Ravelry is perfect for recording all notes about a project including swatching. I have a yarn bought from eBay a couple years ago where I have a few skeins leftover. I decided to use this yarn for knitting the Jubilee.



Molly and I are knitting this pattern together and will be casting on later today together.

I have developed my own "protocol" for how and when I swatch. When I have a new yarn for a garment I swatch to obtain the gauge designated in the pattern. When knitting a garment it is very important to obtain the gauge specified, unless you are adapting, if you want the item to fit. Now if the pattern sizes doesn't strike your fancy you can adapt the sizing by "playing around" with the gauge and/or yarn weight.

Now when I am going to knit a shawl/scarf/stole, normally lacy, I generally don't concern myself with the pattern specified gauge. I am more interested in the way my chosen yarn looks when it is knit into the lace pattern. I will swatch to see what size needles will produce the stitch I will enjoy and be able to live with.

So this morning I went out to my project on Ravelry where I used this yarn and wouldn't you know I didn't make note of my swatch details. I really really hate when I have to swatch a yarn a second time. It is such a waste of time. So here I am getting rid of my frustration and sharing my lesson learned. Here is my swatch detail from this morning. YOU can surely bet this detail will be going into my Jubilee Ravelry project notes this time around. :-)

I will be using size 7 needles (the bottom lacy row was knit with size 5 and it is to tight for my liking). The yarn is Yarn Treehouse in a soft green. It is 40% Alpaca and 60% Merino and it is pretty soft.

Do you know what kitties do?

So Audra sent me an email with many many great pet pics in it this morning. One of the pics really hit home for me and I have to share it here.

Do you know what your cat does when you aren't home or perhaps even when you are home and not looking?


About a month after we adopted Kiki I noticed something off with my toothbrush. It had black hairs sticking out it. I was sooooooooooooooo grossed out. I spoke with the gal that brought us Kiki and she said oh yeah Sally said she caught Kitty Kitty doing that. For those that don't know the history. Kiki was called Kitty Kitty by her previous owner Sally. Sally has since passed away from a terrible illness. Kiki's name changed because she didn't answer to Kitty Kitty but Poo did. Kiki now loves her new shortened name and comes when she is called ~ well some of the time when she isn't ignorning us. Thanks for reading a little Kiki history. Oh by the way. That day all the toothbrushes were thrown out and new covered toothbrushes are used in our home. ;-)

Hummmm.....

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Originally uploaded by bean counting knitter

This is the tea on my desk at work. There are three different kinds. Does this mean I am a tea addict?

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Almost twins

I finished two knitted items this weekend. WOOT!

Yesterday I finished knitting my second Clapotis and blocked it this morning. This baby is knit in super soft, superwashed Mission Falls 1824. Is it wrong to want a 50 degree day so I can wear it?



Today I finished the Garter Rib socks. They are knit up with Trekking XXL and about two rows off from being identical twins. I started these socks last Saturday.

Bad bad bad Kiki......

So last night I took a short break from organizing the "changes room". During this break I knitted on my Garter Rib socks for a bit. Let me backup a bit.... I had originally stated that I wasn't going to get all anal about making the two socks identical twins. Well it happened anyway. I got all anal and after finishing the first sock I spent some time unwinding yarn so that I could start the second sock where the first had started. I got it pretty darn close. I could have probably got even closer but realized it after the ribbing on the cuff of sock two was finished. OH well.... Actually now I am really glad I didn't frog and restart. Why you ask? Meet Kiki.......


Isn't she sweet? NO she is a villain I tell you! Let me retype the text message I sent to Kristie and it should explain exactly what happened.

Oooooooooh I am so mad at kiki right now hold me back from pulling her teeth

So I did what I said I wasn't going to do. I spent the time finding the same starting place for the second sock.

I am almost done with the cuff

The little b#tch just chewed threw my yarn

I am going to get the pliers. Come here kiki


Well Kiki still has her teeth and the damage wasn't as dramatic as I originally thought. She is soooooooooooooo lucky I love her. Now for Poo. I went down stairs this morning to find a HUGE pile of POOP in the living room. I really think the baby elephant made a visit from the Columbus Zoo during the night because I don't think a 17 LB cat should leave a pile of poop the size of a Cindy's Cinnamon Roll..... Gawd I love those two kitty cats!

Buttons!

So back in April Molly let me raid her button stash for some buttons to finish my Slinky Rib sweater. Since then I have coveted her button stash. Here is her button stash all nice and organized! I had forgotten the exact "thing" she had to house her buttons but I knew it had many many drawers. This is sort of important to note and you will see why when you read further down.


Well since then I have spent much time thinking about how I can go about acquiring my own button stash. I remember back to when I was a child and Mom started dating Ray. Ray worked as a manager of the Button Factory in Rochester before opening his own business. I remember there being many boxes of buttons around from Ray's previous employment. After the Molly button adventure I asked Mom if there were any buttons left and she told me they had all been disbursed and used among family members. I was bummed out when I learned of this....

Then a couple weeks ago my Aunt Dar emailed me asking if I wanted a bag of buttons she had laying around. WHAT????? YES please send them! So last week this box arrived from NY.


Thank you Aunt Dar!


OMG buttons and vintage crochet hooks. So as I started sorting the buttons by color, Jimmy and I realized the little case I was going to use for segregating buttons wasn't going to work. He started surfing the Lowes and Home Depot sites and found this




which we immediately went over to pick up at Home Depot. I didn't realize until Molly sent me her pictures yesterday that it is the same as hers with the exception of color. I am looking forward to going button shopping with Molly very very soon!

Change continued...... Stay tuned!


Last week I received an order from Knitpicks....


From the Sensational Knitted Sock book I knit this sock. It is with the yarn purchased at Calla Lilly Yarn & Gifts in Wooster last month. The yarn is Trekking XXL and I love how it looks like I am using multiple yarns. I started this sock Saturday night and finished it this morning ~ less than 36 hours to get it off the needles. YOZA my hands hurt. :-) I think I will take a break from knitting tonight and work on the "change project".

More changes....

Last week Heather and I got together to cast on our Leaf and Trellis Stoles out of Victorian Lace Today.


I am working on repeat number five of thirty of the body. I really love this yarn and pattern. I am using 100% Alpaca in the Angel Face colorway by Briar Rose Fiber.


Today I took Blanket # 1 to Choices as I discussed in an earlier posting. It was very happily received. I look forward to finishing this Blanket # 2 and passing it along. I have 1.5 skeins of yarn left before I finish this sucker.


Drum roll..... Yesterday I finished the Pour me a Bordeaux Eunice socks. Eunice is a pattern in the new Cookie A. book Sock Innovations. Bordeaux because that is the colorway of the Knitpicks yarn. Very very soft! I like to drink wine (aka wino) and to my knowledge have never experienced Bordeaux. So over the weekend I was in Whole Foods where I picked up a bottle. Jimmy doesn't drink wine so I am going to take that bottle to a friends in a couple weeks where we are going to share the bottle and toast the completion of the socks.


More changes coming in the house! Stay tuned....

Ohhhhhhh

I finally ordered it.... 510 yards of this awesome sock yarn is coming to meeeeeeeeee! Also thank you Creatively Dyed for responding to my earlier posting on this pretty yarn.

OMG Droooooooooooooooool!

(see picture in posting above)



I need one of those bibs.....

Creatively Dyed Yarn. Wow ohhhh Wow

Finished Objects & More YARN!

I have finally finished Blanket # 1. I am going to be donating it to Choices: Eliminating Domestic Violence. I used up a bunch of the stash (from my Grammy and mom ~ Grammy would be happy) yarn on this baby. I found that I had a serious case of ADD working on this hence the many color changes. It kept me focused. I started it in November 2008 and finished it yesterday. Not bad I say....


I found some cute daisy buttons for the bibs. Washed them up this morning and they are drying as I type this. I will be able to give them to Abby and baby very soon!


Went with some friends to The Great Lakes Fiber Show a couple weekends ago. It was a beautiful day and lots of yarn to be bought! I was excited to find the Naughty Knitter pin and had to buy it for Molly since she has used that photo in her blog/event invite before. I was so happy Knitting Notions was at the fest. Last fall I purchased one of her shawl pins and found that I needed another one for the Suzie Hoodie. I picked up this dark one to go with it.


This yarn was $10. It was a bag full of yarn and I can use it to make felted items. I can even practice dying with it.


Here is the prize of the day! My very first Briar Rose. Ohhhh MY! 2,500 yards of Alpaca lace weight! My arm was falling off yesterday winding this sucker. Just ask Kristie and Jimmy since they had to listen to me whine the whole winding way!


What is the swatch you say?

Tomorrow Heather and I are having a cast on party. We are finally making our Leaf and Trellis stoles. I will be using the Briar Rose. DROOL!



After the Fiber Fest we had lunch at The Barn Restaurant and then found LYS called Calla Lily Yarn & Gifts. It was there I found this amazing sock yarn.



Check out this link to see how this exact colorway has been knit up already. I am very very excited about this and can't wait to finish the pair of socks I am currently working on. I think a very simple stockinette or 2x2 rib sock is all I need to let the colors sing.