Best Laid Plans . . .

Sometimes the best laid plans go astray.

Yarns waiting to become a hat

I had hoped to make the Snow Bunny Hat.  As I worked the first row with my novelty yarn, a little voice in head hummed and hawed.  I worked a few rows of ribbing before finally taking a closer look at my other yarns.  Eeek!  My bamboo yarns were much thinner!  **sigh**  My fuzzy brimmed vision was not gonna work with this pattern.  :(

After ripping out, I searched for a pattern using worsted weight. I settled on Easiest Baby Hat 'cuz it echoed the shape and style of the Sunny Bunny Hat. Sadly this meant my novelty yarn was not gonna be usable as the brim, but it could still work as pompoms.

As I worked with the bamboo yarn, that little voice hummed and hawed again.  I ignored it.  After a few more rows, I couldn't ignore it anymore.  The hat looked smallish.  I finally went online and searched Ravelry's databatse.  Ack!!  My bamboo yarns weren't worsted!  They were DK!  Seriously?!  **double sigh**

Stripey bamboo yarn

More ripping ensued.  Back to search for similar patterns in a DK weight.  Was there even such a pattern?  I really wasn't interested in designing my own.  **triple sigh** 

Pretty colours waiting for colourful pompoms

To my rescue: Tappee Hattee.  **sigh of relief**   This pattern worked with the yarn beautifully and there was the added bonus that it was worked in the round so no side seams or matching stripes.

Now I just have to figure out how to make pompoms . . .  :S

Experimenting . . .

Since I've started blogging, I think my photography skills have improved--relative to where I was when I started.  Reading the manual, playing with the camera settings and checking out tips at various photo blogs are hopefully netting me good pictures.  Personally I'm attracted to beautiful pictures; most of the knitting and crafting blogs I enjoy reading and return to repeatedly have wonderful pictures.  Nothing can make--or break--a blog like good photography.

Then I came across an excellent link from one of the blogs I follow; over at Green Apples Stitchywitch (who incidently has great pics) had an awesome link here regarding how to build a lightbox.  I bookmarked it.  Winter is fast approaching.  With dwindling daylight  and frigid temperatures, I needed more options other than taking pictures outside.  That just isn't gonna work in minus -20C!  As soon as I find the right size box, I'd like to build my own lightbox.

The information in the link got me thinking: where in my house can I find better light?  Then the light bulb in my head went off (sorry for the bad pun): over my washing machine and dryer I have a fluorescent bulb.  White bristol board covered up the machinery. Then I photographed some yarn and knitting.  What do you think?  I took these pictures at night.

By the way, that's my fishtail lace scarf (remember from here and here?)  Reinforcements arrived in the mail a little over a week ago: 3 new balls of Patons Silk Bamboo in moss.  I've already gone through one ball.  Only two left.  And guess what? 

My scarf has just passed the halfway point.  I'm aiming for 52" and at 27.5" I can honestly say I see light at the end of the tunnel.  Oh joy!

Not Bad for a Pokey Knitter

My Fern & Waves scarf slowly grows . . .

Thus far, I have approx. 6.5-7" which is not bad after one day (I'm a slow knitter). I suspect I'll have to make this at least 50" long, if not longer. Me thinks more yarn will be necessary--lots more yarn.

The original pattern called for 52 stitches, but that seemed too narrow. Instead, I decided to cast on 72 stitches: 4 pattern repeats with 4-stitch garter border on either end (4 x 16 = 64 + 8 = 72). I also added 2 rows of garter at beginning before starting the lace pattern. No special reason--just 'cuz. Actually, I thought it might look pretty to have a "finished" border.

I'm also wonderin' whether I might stop in the middle and then start another half. That way I can graft the two halves and each end will have that pretty rippled border . . . hmmmm. Something to ponder.

Happy knitting!

Lots of Lacy Goodness

I can't believe my initial trepidation regarding lace (see link here). If you've ever considered experimenting with lace, my advice: go for it! There are lots of easy lace patterns out there to get your feet wet. There's even a beginner lace group on Ravelry that has a list of easy lace projects (if you're a knitter/crocheter/spinner and you're not yet on Ravelry, what are you waiting for? The best knit/crochet/fibre resource online, bar none).


Remember when I wasn't sure what to make next (see link here) ? Well I've actually completed two projects! Remember that lilac acrylic? I only needed one ball to finish the lacy hat. Using an old knit-pattern-a-day calendar, I found Grace's Lacy Star Hat (found on Oct 28 2008). Since I still had another ball left over, I also cast on for a matching cowl using the Fishtail Hat (found on Feb 19 2008). Obviously I've modified the hat by casting on one less pattern repeat width-wise, making the item shorter and omitting the decreases. Enjoyed the fishtail pattern so much, I may have to make the hat at some point with perhaps a matching scarf for myself.

I've also started my second lace scarf. My yarn of choice was Elann's Bamboo Fusion. It's a little splitty, but feels very nice. Although I've only just begun, the bamboo looks good thus far into the Ferns and Lace Scarf pattern (free download on Ravelry). The instructions/chart are easy to follow (bonus: you can always contact the designer on Ravelry if you get stuck).

Back to knitting . . .

Addictions and Compulsions (or the Internet Blues)

Our internet connection went down last night. Needless to say, we--hubby and I both--were so disappointed. We've become so dependent on cyberspace for so many things: e-mailing, downloading, catching up on news, playing on Facebook and getting lost on Ravelry (well, the latter is just me, but you get the picture). Hopeless addicts!

And I was so psyched to update the blog too. With blogging, I'm always thinking of the next post: I write notes in my handy-dandy notebook for possible topics; I experiment with my camera so I can take better pictures; learn what I can about successful bloggers; and . . . um . . . try to be more courageous and diligent in my knitting (of course!). I suppose I should have done more knitting last night (hee, hee--ooops) . . .


Speaking of knitting, I finished my short-sleeved cardi with ribbing last night. Yay for me (never mind that it has long sleeves and the ribbing is gone). It's a little big, but very comfy and so very warm (hard to believe I was happy about the cool weather). I even got a few compliments **blushes**

Do you recall my aspirations for lace? Remember my bamboo orders from Elann and Mary Maxim? Needless to say that my first forary into the world of lace was not quite successful. I had too rrrippp, rip, rip **gasp** I was ready to give up. My yarnovers were messed up! How could I mess up YO's? After a few days of humming and hawing, I made some changes: instead of metal needles I changed to bamboo ones; instead of fingering weight bamboo, I switched to the DK weight of Paton's Silk Bamboo. What do you think? Nice, eh? I'm so proud of myself. Perseverance paid off.

The Silk Bamboo is awesome stuff! Very soft and silky. I should be using 4.0mm needles, but I could only find 5.0mm bamboo ones, so I guess the lace will be more "holey" (but it's lace, so holey is good). The scarf will still be wide despite me reducing the number of cast-on stitches. I can't imagine how much it might grow in blocking (Eeek! That'll be a new adventure as I've never blocked before)

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack. Onward knitter, stay on track.

Happy Mother's Day

Hope the sun shined for you today. It did in my part of the world briefly before pounding rains fell upon the earth--the first thunder storm of the season (it was a mad dash to save the laundry before the downpour and it was almost dry too).

My fears and doubts over lace abated when I plunged in and cast on. What's with the blue yarn? Well, its baby acrylic (from Phentax I think) and no, its not what I'll use for the gift scarf. What better way to test a pattern than to actually try it out on some scrap yarn? Once I managed to get through an entire repeat, I knew I could make the lace.

Well, let me rephrase that: I THOUGHT I knew what I was doing. I cast on using the Elann Pure Bamboo. Since I didn't have wooden or bamboo needles, I used aluminum needles. The garter edging progressed nicely until I got to the yarn-overs. I'm not sure what happened. I thought I was wrapping the yarn the correct way . . . I messed up and then ripped out--gggrrrrrrr! I think I'll have to pop into Walmart and look for bamboo circular needles (what are the odds they'll have the size needle I need? Hmmmmm). My other option is to forget the Pure Bamboo and use the Elann Bamboo Fusion instead. I think its a DK weight and I might have more luck with that than fingering weight. I've also got the Paton's Silk-Bamboo and Angora Bamboo which are also DK or worsted weight . . . I've got to mull it over.

At least I did one thing right: I finished one sock. My modifications were a success! It fit my son's foot perfectly. I thought the sock might be too snug at the toes, but it fit well (the boy has wide feet). Thankfully I took detailed notes and I've already cast on for the second sock. In two weeks, my boy will have a complete pair.

Just a Little Scared?

My second order arrived today! More bamboo and some alpaca too. I also got some superwash wool just to swatch. How else can I find out about new fibres unless I play with them? When I figure out what project fits the yarn, I can order whatever number of skeins I need.

Ravelry is great for this kind of search. Just type in the brand name or specific yarn, then see what other knitters (or crocheters) have made. Guess what I found? Lots of lace scarves made from bamboo--very pretty, delicate looking. And challenging . . . perhaps too challenging? My enthusiasm for something new is fading as doubt rears its little head . . . . safe to say I'm feeling just a wee bit nervous about lace.

Is there such an animal as "easy lace"? There's gotta be, right? Back to Ravelry to search some more.

Oh Joy!

Tired and hungry after a long day at work, I went through my front door and found a pleasant surprise. A small package of happiness awaited me. One of my online orders had arrived! Oh joy!

Very gingerly, I ripped apart the packaging and found these three soft and silky yarns. And surprisingly there is not a bit of acrylic in them! Only the Silk Bamboo actually has silk in it; the other two are primarily bamboo mixed with wool (along with angora for Angora Bamboo).

Now I'm a die-hard acrylic girl through and through, but I have been curious to try bamboo for ages. And these yarns were so affordable. I just had to see for myself; I had to try them out on the needles to get a "feel" for them.

I'd like to work up a few swatches in some easy lace patterns. I would absolutely love to make a couple of lacy scarves for two important women in my life. I think they would appreciate the hand-crafted gifts. I'm hoping the items could be Christmas presents (I know: it's barely May and I'm thinking of Santa and Rudolph, but I'm slow--soooo very, very slow).

Hope my other order arrives tomorrow!

:D