I must be taking my cue from Picasso and am now fully immersed in my “teal period.” Everything I have made lately is the same color. The last few years I was in my “rusty-reddish-warm tones” phase!!
I have been knitting like a fiend and getting nowhere fast. This project is moving at glacial speed. Here is my progress so far:
The color is very true here.
And Happy Mothers Day, everyone!!
Another visit to the place where fiberholics go for their fiber fix! This time, it was Shepherd’s Harvest in lovely, quaint Lake Elmo. I volunteered to staff the MKG booth from 10-12. One of our tasks was to provide Ravelry pins/nametags for peeps who would be attending the Ravelry Meet Up at 12 noon. We were inundated by Ravelers! It was great seeing all the faces behind the familiar Ravatars!
12 Noon — Off to the Ravelry Meet Up: imagine 20-30 people standing in a circle staring at each other waiting for something to happen! I’m not sure if anything actually DID happen, because I left to shop and wander. It was too cold to stand there (50 degrees, but felt colder), and I had already seen all of the Ravelers (see Paragraph 1A)!
I did make a small purchase:
The numbered markers will be great for my current WIP. It has 12 pattern repeats. I always think I am almost to the end of the round, but then realize I have lots more knitting to go. By numbering where I am, I will not be deluded into thinking the round end is near! And what can I say? I saw the lil Sock Monkey and he had to be mine. I also bought some honey for my honey.
Can you guess what this woman is doing? She is spinning angora right off the bunny!! Apparently the bunny LOVES the gentle rocking of the treadles. Several people said to me as I was getting out my camera: Hey, this is great blog material!
Anyway, it was fun to run into so many MKG members and quite a few readers of our blog. Now it’s time to do some serious knitting! Yay!
Tomorrow is Shepherd’s Harvest — the Twin Cities answer to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival! I will be going as a member of the Minnesota Knitters Guild to help staff our booth. I will then have an opportunity to redeem myself and remember to attend the Ravelry Meet Up. I hope we have better weather!
I did start a little something that I bought at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. There is not enough of it yet to show a good picture, but here is a picture of the prototype:
Sweetheart Tunic by Marly Bird
We found the tunic at the Bijou Bison booth. It is knit in yak/bamboo yarn but I bought some Whiskey instead:
It is a beautiful dark blue with a lot of brown and is darker than this picture — Whiskey, Color 053, 195 yds/50 gms. You use a US 5. I have made very little progress because I am knitting it in the round. I thought this would be cute over jeans.
I will report tomorrow after to being around my favorite peeps: knitting peeps!!
From Susan:
I’m ba-a-a-a-a-c-k!! I am back in the Twin Cities after a wet and wild visit to the Howard County Fairgrounds. I feel like I did three things while I was gone: ride in a car (three round trips to the MSWF), shop, and get rained upon!!
I arrived in DC on Friday, and we immediately trekked to the site of the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival so Sally could drop off her entries. It was well worth it! Sally entered her Bohus and her Ode to Joy. On Saturday, we got to see how she did:
Yes, just as I predicted, her Bohus took Best in Show!! A proud Krusty the Klown Surly:
She also received a 3rd Place Award for Ode to Joy:
Way to go, Surly!! There were some other lovely items on display, like this beautiful weaving:
MSWF is the place to go for handspun, handpainted fibers — barns and barns filled with gorgeous yarn for the true enthusiast. We walked and touched and did a little bit of buying. I had hoped for major knitting inspiration, but did not come away with any “must do” projects. AND, due to an unfortunate bout of complete memory loss, we did not get to the Ravelry Meet Up. Spaced it out completely!!
Here is a taste of the event…
People creating articles of utility and beauty, the old fashioned way. It was great fun.
From Sally:
It was great fun, despite the vagaries of the weather. Saturday’s weather was fickle, but overall not that bad. Sunday was cold with heavy showers. Heavy showers.
Susan said we did “a little” buying. She’s speaking for herself. I bought far more than I planned on buying, and far more than I needed. Needs. Wants. So hard to tell the difference. The damage would have been far worse if we had discovered Brooks Farm Yarns before the rivers of mud streets were being rolled up at the end of Sunday afternoon.
I think rather than bore you all with photos of yarn, I’ll unveil the purchases as they get knitted up into their respective projects (lo so many years from now). In other words, my camera’s batteries are dead. I did manage to take one photo of a bracelet that I purchased from Moolenschot Blacksmith. I love it, perhaps because it reminds me of a Cylon raider (Battlestar Galactica reference for the uninitiated).
We regretted missing the Ravelry meet up, but were excited to meet some of you and run into old friends. Thanks to everyone who said hello, and a special thanks to Marsha, Lee, Lea, and Phyllis for the picnic lunch.
Susan and I had a wonderful time and, as usual, she was gone too soon.
I’d like to also wish a very Happy Birthday to one of our favorite readers. Happy Birthday to my beautiful and talented daughter and Susan’s niece, Nora.
I started knitting because I enjoy it, but also to make sweaters with long enough sleeves. It’s also the reason I started sewing (plus, I had the crazy idea that I would save money! Okay, that didn’t work!). I still sew from time to time, and I still buy clothes with sleeves that are too short. I can’t always do too much about that, but decided to try with a recent purchase.
I went to Amazing Threads a few weeks ago and Tina (darling, petite little Tina) was wearing a really cute shirt. She graciously let me read the tag but could not remember the exact store name, which was out of state. Enter “google.” I found Country Ewe, which sells the same line of shirts. Looking at the website, I doubt I would have bought one, but I had seen Tina’s and knew it was really nice. They are wonderful white cotton — I actually think they are made with flour sack fabric — with lace embellishments. I ordered a shirt just like Tina’s and was very pleased with it. It does not look as cute as it did on her, but it fit fine except for the sleeves. Cotton is very easy to sew, so I thought I could tackle an alteration.
If you know anything about whites or blacks, you know they are very hard to match. I found white cotton fabric that was actually pretty close, though I knew it would not have the same “crinkle” effect of the original. So I decided I needed camoflage. I bought white cotton lace to cover the sleeve extension.
Here are the steps:
Original Cuff
Cuff disembodied: too late to turn back now!!
Extension added — the basting thread marked the original cuff line and came in very handy
Lace sewn in place
Blouse back in one piece!!
Phew! I really liked the shirt before, and now I love it! It no longer has that skimpy feel. Yay! 
And Ode to Joy is dry:
It fits perfectly, too, so now I have two FOs in my corner, which have been few and far between lately! 🙂
And now for some fun facts about Minnesota — you know we take the State Fair seriously, but there’s something else that makes Minnesotans Minnesotans: hotdish! You may call it a casserole (?), but here a one-pan meal is called a ‘hotdish.’ And people take it VERY seriously. Cream of mushroom soup is a mainstay ingredient 99% of the time. They had a contest this weekend that has been going on for years and growing in popularity. Here is my favorite quote from the StarTribune:
When a 20-something waitress who finished as the runner-up to Vaughn in a previous cookoff muttered, “Next year, I’m going to take you down,” the 75-year-old Vaughn, a block club leader who has lived in Holland [a Minneapolis neighborhood] for 36 years, shot back, “Bring it on.”
Bring it on!! Woo Hoo! I may have to make Tator Tot Hotdish tonight!
At least for today! It was 85 degrees in Minnesota 
, though the forcast calls for a major change by tomorrow! 
It’s also time for Summer Knits…as seen in the latest IK, which was in my mailbox when I got home from my knitting group:
I am usually underwhelmed by summer knitting designs but there were some cute things in this issue. I love this felted bag, but how many bags do I need (don’t answer that):
It sure looks like something that might work with leftover Kauni — let the Kauni do the work and use a few solids to tie it together. Hmmm. Maybe I could use one more bag! 😉
PS — Surly’s assessment (Your bags have bags. So I say “No.”) seems a bit harsh!
Yesterday was the Minnesota Knitters Guild Yarnover event. Wow. That is all I can say. It was a great day. I am on the planning committee, and so it is always a nerve wracking wait to get to the big event. This year was extremely well organized thanks to the committee and our wonderful volunteers, and a slate of teachers that rival any knitting event in the country.
I got to meet Romi Hill in person (finally) — yay! I dined with Romi, friend Kerry Palm, Sharon Winsauer (designer of the Heere be Dragone Shawl), Susanna Hannson, Sally Melville, Ginger Luters, with many other notables at other tables — including the wild and crazy Lily Chin! It was a who’s who of knitting geniuses. The Vendor Market was stocked with gorgeous yarns and fun knitting supplies to tempt the most jaded knitter. My dogs were very tired when I got home, but less so than last year. Thanks to all for a wonderful event that seemed to surpass everyone’s expectations.
So, all of that inspiration and where does it leave me? Waiting to be inspired. My mojo took a bus to Cincinnati. It is not from lack of trying. I have had more false starts in the last month than anyone would dare to believe. Pathetic little attempts at “stash busting.”
Sally and I now have a running joke about my Cascade Dolce and my Sublime Aran — I’ll mention a project and Sally will say, “I wonder if Dolce would work,” and then she cackles with an evil glee at how clever she is 
. Truth be known, I cackle right along with her because it has gotten to the point of being ridiculous. I have swatched and reswatched. Nothing is clicking. Even going to the Vendor Market yesterday did not help.
Both Dolce and Sublime are gorgeous yarns, so I am not placing the blame there…I just can’t get a project to take root. Even my Ode to Joy has encountered a terminal illness that has required amputation. The problem was with the fit — it didn’t. At all. No hope. So, I decided to convert my Ode to Joy jacket into a vest. When I got home from Yarnover last night, I surgically removed the completely finished sleeve. Let’s hope the patient can be saved!!
So, I am going to try to salvage Ode to Joy, continue swatching (!), and hope that when I hit the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in (less than) two weeks with Surly, I am overcome with inspiration!
Surly did not think the cheesy peep diorama was created by moi, so I must clarify for our readers. I did indeed put together the “line o’ peeps,” and I knit the little project that the pink peep is holding. What a gripping life I do lead!
Knitting peeps are my favorite!!
Happy Easter to one and all!!
Wow — Sally’s new Japanese sweater is a tough act to follow, so I won’t even try. Her sweater is absolutely stunning, and I can’t wait to see it in person. I will be doing that soon, as I head east for another foray into the exciting world of the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival — first weekend in May!!
So, what have I been up to? I have been working on Sleeve #1 of my Ode to Joy and also doing the prep work for the upcoming knitters guild program. The sleeve seems particularly slow, even for a sleeve. Could it be because I need to add 60 rows to obtain the length I need? Hmmm, maybe.
Since my knitting life is far more boring than Surly’s, I thought I would share a couple of tricks I have gleaned over the years.
Counting 1-2-3
Many steps in the knitting process require counting: counting rows between cable crossings, increases, decreases, etc. This requires keeping track of said counting. Row counters that have to be turned, hash marks that have to be written down, will all fail you because they rely on you remembering to do something. Each and every time. No forgetting. Ever. And I have found that I am not reliable! So I have learned to let my knitting to do the counting for me.
Your knitting will never lie to you.
Counting Rows with Waste Yarn
My favorite method for counting rows has been mentioned many times on our blog. It is one of the best tips of the trade I have ever found (Sally likes it, too).
Let’s use the example of sleeve increases. They are done every “x” number of rows. In our example, let’s say the increases are to be done every 6 rows.
On the row that you do the first increase, you ** work the increase and knit a few sts. Place the waste yarn between the stitch you just worked (the last st on the RH needle) and the next one to be worked (1st stitch on the LH needle). Yep. it just lays there between the two sts. Now knit the row normally, working the second increase at the end of the row.
The running thread of the row you just worked will hold the waste yarn in place and counts as one row. Work 5 more rows. Now there are 6 rows above the point where the waste yarn was placed. Since we are doing our increases every 6 rows, it is time to do another increase. Repeat from **, weaving the waste yarn from front to back, or back to front (this step alternates), on each row that an increase is made. If I forget to weave the waste yarn — I just pull it through under the running thread on the next row.
Your knitting will look like the sleeve shown here:
Each “slash” represents 2 decreases — here you see 6 decs every 4 ridges and 7 every 5 ridges
I am doing decreases because this is a top down sleeve, but the principle is the same.
I changed the color of my waste yarn to show where I changed from every 4th to every 5th ridge decs, though this is not really necessary. I do not remove the waste yarn when I’m done with the first sleeve — it tells the sleeve’s story. What happens if I get side tracked on a project? Can’t find my notes? Put the project away for months (years??!!) and now I want to start the second sleeve? My waste yarn tells the story.
Counting Increases with Markers
The other thing I do is something I started out of necessity: I really must get distracted easily — like, before I get to the end of the row! 
Have you ever forgotten to do the second increase (decrease) on a sleeve? You eventually count your sts and find out the count is off.
Where is the missing stitch? You look carefully along each edge and BINGO. There it is (or should I say isn’t). Back about 5 inches on the left hand side of the sleeve! You have two choices: rip back (ugh) or fudge and add the stitch. The fudged sleeve will end up a bit funky, and you’ll always know the mistake is there (ugh).
To avoid this, I use stitch markers to show how many increases (or decreases) I actually did vs how many I was supposed to do. For a bottom-up sleeve, after a few rows and increases, I place markers to mark off my original sts. The increases will be on either side of the markers.
The number of sts on each side of the markers must always be equal and always equal to the number of increases indicated by my waste yarn (3-3-3, 10-10-10…always equal). I count these sts every so often — if the numbers don’t match, I catch it early and don’t have much ripping to do.
With top down sleeves, you start at the widest point in the sleeve. The markers show where you will end up and the total number of decreases will be on either side of the markers. As you work the sleeve decreases, the number of completed decreases (indicated by your waste yarn) plus the remaining sts on each side of the markers, need to equal the total number of decs.
Whew! This is a lot of writing for a very easy concept. I hope you find it useful. I know it has saved me a lot of time, stress, and concentration.
I can count without counting! 
Now you know exactly how lazy I am!!
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