theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Thanks for all of your fabulous comments about the Kauni.  It did dry, and I did finish the inside edges.  I tried it on and the neck isn’t as tight as it was before blocking, so it will be fine.  It will be a wearable sweater with jeans and turtleneck (gee, that’s a new look for me!).

Here is Lettie doing the modelling.  I know, I know — maybe I’ll add a picture of me in it later with buttons ;). 

And the back:

Marina asked me about why I grafted the sleeves and how — here is the response I sent her:

Warning: Esoteric knitting blather ahead

The mattress stitch I tried using to sew the sleeves in just did not look right.  So I decided to try grafting the sleeves in instead.

Looking at the right sleeve as the example, I ripped back to one row after the red squares (a yellow row).  I picked up around the sleeve opening with red, and then used yellow for my grafting yarn.  This created the second row of yellow after the red squares.  When I picked up around the armhole, I used a size 5 needle instead of the 4’s I would have used for the straight knitting portion (I switched between 2 needle sizes throughout my Kauni: 4’s for the single color rounds and 5’s for the stranded rounds).  I did this because the stitch was going through the fabric and I wanted the red line to be visible.

The button quest will now begin…dum de dum dum DUM!!

I have been knitting on the sleeve a bit. I think what is going to happen is that one sleeve will be all blue and red, while the other will be yellow/orange and green. Each sleeve will match up with a different part of the sweater. I will cut quite a colorful figure in my new sweater.

I’ve also been trying to knit on the garter stitch squares of the Modular Purse while reading Harry Potter. I’m only on Book 3 (The Prisoner of Azkaban) and, since reading takes away from knitting, I’m attempting to do both at once. The only trouble is positioning the book properly.

It is a very dark and dreary day here today. The news is full of stories about flooding in southeastern Minnesota. My DH is from there and his dad still lives down there. Their old house surely flooded because it did so 12 years ago during that year’s “100 Year Flood.” This time the flooding is much worse.

PS — Now I’m on Book #4!  Woo Hoo!  However, as you all know, they get LOTS longer from this point on!  And my knitting is not growing very quickly either.

PS2 to Connie — I know that Stephanie (aka Yarn Harlot) said she is going to match up her Kauni Sleeves and I say, “Go for it!”  However, I intentionally do not want mine to match.  I like the look of different sleeves.

PS3 — My hubby’s family is not in the flood area now — their old neighborhood was just on the news and it got hit quite hard.

ps4: The Harry Potter audiobooks are over $50 each AND the copies at the library are back ordered for months.  I had already thought of audiobooks since I have a long commute every day, but the $$$$$$$$$$ just did not seem worth it.  I’ve been reading fairly consistently, but a part of me does not want them to end… 🙁

Ruth Sorensen is just amazing.  She really is the master of working with Kauni yarns.  Here is her latest design:

It is quite striking.  I bought the pattern even though it is not on my short list at this moment in time (I need a little break from my Kauni family ;)).  I bought the pattern to acknowledge the creativity and talent that many of us are taking advantage of with Ruth’s free pattern.  I want her to get something out of her moment of fame!  I need to finish a few things before I even think about this one, though I really like it.  For those of you who have not yet started a Kauni, this is certainly one to consider. 

Hmmmmm, I could start over—-N-n-n-n-a-a-a-a-a-h-h-h-h-h!! 😉

PS — By request, here is a link to the Kauni Knitalong (KauniKAL) that describes another source for Ruth’s pattern.  I actually bought my pattern from this source but gave Ruth’s information so the link would be directly to her.  Sorry if people had trouble buying the pattern from Ruth!

As luck would have it, Kim’s Kauni invited my Kauni to koffee.  Kim and I had to drive them so we had coffee, too.  I took a picture of the Kissin’ Kaunis side by side (mine is on the left, Kim’s on the right):

You might be saying to yourself, “Hmmmmm.  What is all the hoo ha about?”  I’m not sure.  They look different.  They certainly look different in real life.  But row for row they aren’t crazy different.

Feel free not to vote for your favorite (our Kaunis are very sensitive), but I thought I would share their klose encounter of the Kauni kind.

I hate to leave the wrong impression.  While I looked at Kim’s Kauni with startled envy, it was more along the lines of “Gee, maybe I should have ordered the pasta instead of the steak,” and then proceeded to enjoy my steak.  It was not, “OMG, what have I done?  I married the wrong man and my life is ruined!!!”

It kind of reflects my whole approach to life.  My husband and I have totally different outlooks: he is an optimistic pessimist and I am a pessimistic optimist.  To outsiders my DH appears to be upbeat, easy going, and fun loving.  I appear to be the prickly naysayer.  BUT, I always believe that everything will work out in the end.  My hubby, the “don’t worry, be happy” guy, can imagine anything becoming a firey inferno of death.  We call him Debbie Downer because of his skill at seeing the dark lining in every silver cloud. 

Example: I was showing hubby a picture in Better Homes and Gardens that showed a hanging flower basket from summer that they had converted into a beautiful Christmas decoration by simply weaving small, white holiday lights through the grapevining.  He immediately started in on how this was a fire hazard, the whole house could go up in flames, and in unison my daughters and I scream, “And then we’re all going to die!”  That’s how all of his “stories” end — in a horrible death for all.  He has the creative mind of a paranoid lunatic!  I worry constantly, but always figure it will be okay in the end.

And that is how I am approaching my Kauni project.  It is A sweater, not THE sweater.  I know it will be fun to wear no matter how it turns out.  I am enjoying the process and don’t really give a flying fig about each color combination because I like the the overall look.  So, don’t picture me krying in my koffee over Kauni.  I’m doing fine!  🙂

Sleeve Number 1 is started, and I will post a picture after there is more to it.

I went to Pat’s last evening for knit night and had a great time: we shopped, we ate, we laughed — but not much knitting.  Oh well!

My good friend Kim (the friend who gave me “Lettie,” my alter ego) brought her Kauni Cardigan in progress.  She pulled it out of the bag and everyone gasped and started to say, “It’s so much prettier than Susan’s!!” but stopped short and said, “It’s so ::mumble::mumble:: nice -er- different than -er- Susan’s.”  But, I was thinking the SAME THING — it IS much prettier than mine!!

Kim’s is much richer, earthier and darker looking.  It looks like completely different yarn.  I was shocked.  We compared our balls of yarn AND THE COLORS ARE IDENTICAL!!  What gives?  She has her colors paired up differently and it makes the colors look completely different.  I am stunned, shocked, etc.  She has only knitted about 6-8” so she has not cycled through the entire color wheel yet, but I am a little bit bummed about this turn of events. 

BUT, it’s too late for moi.  I’m not changing a thing (can’t) and I will just have to like my lil Kauni, “just the way you are” (a shout out to Mark Darcy — I love you as much as the original Mr. Darcy ;)).

I will start the sleeves this weekend and also try to work on the neckline. 

 PS — I’ll try to get a picture of Kim’s Kauni at some point for comparison’s sake.

I feel like I have not posted in ages!  That’s what I like about sharing this blog — one of the Raineys usually has something to say!

I have been knitting a bit on my Kauni Cardigan, but not too much.  I have not had a lot of knitting time lately.  Life gets in the way now and then. ;) 

I am done knitting up to the shoulders.  To recap, I decided to not do any neck shaping — it will all be done after the fact.  I am thinking “square” — I know: carrying the square motif throughout is not terribly imaginative, but…

I am going to have a single line of squares at the shoulder rather than completing a full pattern repeat and having two of the same square patterns line up.  I will show this after I graft it together.  It will make more sense when I can include a picture (unfortunately, not a moving picture a la Surly!). 

The next step is to start one of the sleeves.  I will need to figure out where to start my colorway — I am starting at the cuffs so I can be sure of the color.  I do not want the cuffs to end up with real pale colors, so I’ll control for that by starting at the cuff in the colors I want.

Tomorrow is Knit Night — we are meeting at the home of one of the peeps so it should be really fun!

Happy Friday, Everyone!  My knitting is limping along.  I am loving my Kauni knitting: very soothing because it is mindless (and yes, I AM paying attention at the transitions points ;)). 

I am two squares past the armhole steek:

I did pull the trigger on a decision about length.  I placed 8 sts on a holder (yarn) and then decreased 2 sts on each side over the next few rounds to taper the opening slightly.  Twelve sts total are gone on each armhole.  This means the armhole depth can be slightly shorter because you gain ~2 inches across the bottom of the sleeve opening — this will add ~2 inches to the sleeve width as well. I also planned it so the shoulders will fall in the center of a square so double squares do not line up along the shoulder line.  That will make sense when I get there. 

Re: the neckline — I have not decided on a neck, but am leaning toward a square neckline.  I will knit to the shoulders and cut out the “offending section” afterward.  That way no pre-planning is involved and the colors will end where I want them to.  If I steeked the neck opening, the color transitions would get longer from that point to the shoulders.  Many Norwegian patterns are knit this way: they often just knit to the shoulders and cut away the neckline.  I will use the garter check around the neckline.

I am hoping to get something done with this over the weekend.  I have 2-3 projects singing their siren song and am anxious to move along to the next ;).  Unfortunately, two of those projects could be classified as summer knitting — my timing is WAY off!!