Since this is a knitting blog, I guess I’ll actually share some knitting updates :). I have done very little on the Woman’s Continental, but I did knit a sweater since my state fair post. My great niece turned two today (Happy, BD, Erika!). Her mom called me Wednesday evening to invite us to a little party for Erika to be held yesterday afternoon. I realized that other than her family Christmas stocking, I had never knitted her anything, so I thought I’d try to whip something up. Good plan, but the timeline was a little tight. I bought the yarn on my way to knitting (on Thursday, after my day at the fair) and started that evening. Friday I worked all day. That did not leave a lot of time. I had until 3:15 pm Sunday to finish. I sewed the button on at 3 pm. I was still wet and not dressed. That is cutting it close. I’m not sure if or when it will fit her — she was covered in chocolate cake and frosting when the gift was opened, so we did not let it near her! But it was a labor of love. I’ll share a picture and project details when my daughter brings the camera back.Â
August 28, 2006
August 26, 2006
From Susan — Going Bananas for Monkeys
Apparently we struck a chord with the State Fair post, so I thought I would share the photo I took of the Sock Monkey Bra Gown. This gown has a sleek silouette for a more sophisticated look. The gowns are not hand knit, but rather sewn from knit fabric. Please note the adorable matching back pack that rounds out the ensemble :). To view the Sock Monkey Ball Gown, scroll down through the next post.
August 24, 2006
From Susan — The 148th Minnesota State Fair
The Great Minnesota Get Together
The weather: cloudy, rainy, dreary
The crowds: not bad
The food: put it on a stick, fry it and you’ll find it there. This is pretty much how I looked after a Pronto Pup, pork chop on-a-stick, and a Caramel Pecan Log (omigod, the best!):
This is a momma pig waiting to give birth in the Miracle of Birth Center. They time the pregnancies so live births occur every day of the fair. It is pretty fascinating. The bars are to prevent mom from rolling over on the babies.
Back to What’s REALLY Important
Yes, the phone rang just as Sally hit “publish.” I called her with the “breaking news.” As usual, I was a bit surprised at what ribbons went to each item. I was absolutely certain that some things would do extremely well (they didn’t), and equally convinced that some things would not do that well or even get a ribbon (they did). This happens every year and every year I am surprised — last year pleasantly so, and this year, not so much.
The results, in a nutshell:
And, as they were displayed in the Creative Activities Building:
Sunrise was tucked behind a post, next to Mermaid:
The silk scarf was displayed rather nicely:
I could not get a good picture of the Camilla Gloves — they were hanging down from the ceiling and the light reflected so much off the glass that you couldn’t see anything.
There are many types of handiwork in the fair. In the What-the-Heck-is-That? Category:
Another guy and I were looking on in slack-jawed amazement. Check out the dress behind it with the built-in Monkey Bra.
As someone who tats, I love to see beautiful work:
And here is the sweepstakes winner:
What a gorgeous shawl. Thursdays at Four is contributing a $25 gift card from Panera’s:
I guess now we have to pay up! There was a sweepstakes award on another item as well (I don’t quite get how all the categories work). You may recognize the Koigu Hexagon Skirt from Vogue knitting:
The real excitement for me came when I found that my daughter Laura’s artwork, “Through the Woods,” had been selected for display from among the many high school entries. She won Honorable Mention (whatever that means — but, hey, a ribbon is involved!). Again, the reflection made it difficult to get a good picture:
<
So, please excuse this long post. It’s been a long day! But — it’s Thursday! I am heading to Panera’s for knitting group!
August 22, 2006
From Susan — The Earth Stopped Spinning on its Axis Yesterday
I did not knit yesterday. Not a single stitch. I cannot remember the last day that went by without knitting — they are few and far between! When I said I started the front of my jacket, I had started it Sunday at the Como Zoo. I did nothing yesterday — shame on me 🙁
August 21, 2006
From Susan — BRIEF Jacket Update
I finished the back and started one of the fronts. I sure hope it turns out — you never really know. I thought I got inspired to do this project last year, but my forensic evidence (I found the receipt) confirms that I actually decided on this project in June of 2004 — boy, time flies!
August 19, 2006
From Susan — Woman’s Continental
I have been making some progress on the jacket. I am just a few inches shy of the raglan shaping. I am clipping along because this is mindless stockinette and I am enjoying the yarn tremendously. This shows the fabric — just picture a bigger rectangle!
Because I am sizing this up — for two reasons: one, because I am larger than 40″ and two, because I want it to fit as an outerwear jacket — I have had to make changes to the pattern, but nothing too drastic. So far I am happy with the results.
August 17, 2006
From Susan — Thursday Therapy
I just returned from my counseling session – er – knitting group. What a great group of people. It really is the highlight of my week.Â
This afternoon I played hookie and went to the Yarnery (St. Paul LYS) to be the person who helps out during their open knit clinic. I had 6 or 8 people stop in (pretty much all at one time!), asking questions about their knitting projects. It was a little tough trying to figure out where they were in the pattern, help them out at their level of expertise, AND help five other people at the same time. Whew!Â
My on-the-go project may have found its legs. I started working on a jacket that I fell in love with last year. Idonis (from my knitting group) made the jacket for her niece for Christmas last year and it was so gorgeous I decided I just had to have one exactly like it.  She made hers out of Pastaza (Cascade 50% llama, 50% wool, 132 yds/100 gms, 4 sts/in). I immediately went out and bought a bag. It sat aging gracefully for the past year waiting for me to choose it as my next project. OKAY! I finally pulled it out of my stash and started calculating the size I wanted , etc. etc. I should mention that the pattern Idonis used is at least 40 years old. To look at it, you would NEVER think to make it — but as I said, I had already seen the completed jacket. The sizing is outrageous: a size 18 is 40 inches around!!!! That’s the finished circumference! Were people in the 60’s midgets? Anyway, mine will be a tad bit larger 🙂 As I started knitting, I realized that one bag o’yarn was not going to cut it, so I bought another bag today and tested the color difference — it passed the test, amazingly enough. I’ll probably use the new yarn on the sleeves, front band and collar, but the color really is okay.
Here is the pattern — DON’T LAUGH (okay, you can laugh, but only because I’m laughing WITH you):
How will I ever get my hair to do that?Â
Here is the yarn color:
It is called Rainier Heather (color 073): maroon, blue and gold mixed together. Pastaza is absolutely fabulous to work with; I’ve used it several times before. So you may be laughing now but just wait. You’ll see…it will be cute…I hope…well, maybe!
August 11, 2006
From Sally — Designing Women
Hello everyone. I saw my surgeon again today. He proclaimed my foot “beautiful,” which is a sure sign that he must see some awfully ugly feet in his line of work. My stitches are out, though, and I am slowly on the mend.
I’ve been working on a new project, which I can’t describe in detail yet. Susan and I have been kicking around a sweater design for a few months and we decided this would be a good time to figure out whether or not it’s workable. Although not a “hard” pattern per se, it presents a few design challenges in trying to make what we envision a reality. Given that I have a lot of free time on my hands right now, I’m doing the bulk of the knitting while she works on some of the more technical design aspects and crunches the numbers. I did a lot of swatching right before my surgery, and I’ve now undertaken the test garment itself. So far, it seems to be working. Because we’re not sure what we’re going to do with this design (publish it here, submit it somewhere, or felt it into a bag if it’s a failure), we’re going to hold off on posting photos or explaining the design.
That’s why I haven’t been blogging much — I’m just not sure what to say!
I know — the progress of an invisible sweater is not very interesting. I plan to try to upload some photographs and descriptions of some of my other unfinished and in progress projects over the next few days.
August 7, 2006
From Susan — The Shirker
Lest you get the idea that I have been shirking on both my knitting and blogging duties, I will admit only to shirking my blogging. I have gotten a small bit of knitting done in the past few days. I have been finishing up a few loose ends in preparation for the State Fair. Entries are due next week so the unpleasant part of completing a project has been left to the bitter end in several cases.Â
I have finished my Beaded Bag:
This is my design in the sense that you have to basically create a shape to fit the purse frame that you buy.
I also finished up the silk American Beauty Scarf:
I had several ideas about how to finish the ends. My first thought was some kind of beaded fringe, but it seemed like guilding the lily. I ended up doing a double crochet scallop. I do not crochet, so it presented a challenge. I made my daughter a sweater last year with this crochet stitch along the hemline so I had done it before, but it is quite pathetic to watch me struggle with crocheting! I am not a huge fan of crochet, but it certainly has its place.
I also finished knitting and felting a bag for my youngest — if I make something, she always wants one, too. It is like the purple bag my daughter, Laura, made but of course in pink. It is drying. I worked on Oregon a little bit with very little progress to show and also finished up the second baby hat.Â
The hats are turning out like “Goldilocks and the Three Hats” — one was cast on too tight, one was cast on too loose and the next should be JUST RIGHT.Â
Â
So now I am caught up on my blogging for a day or two. Â
July 31, 2006
From Susan — Response to Comment
Wendy, thanks for your question about the ribbing. It is called corrugated ribbing: 2×2, using one color for the knit sts and another for the purl. The colors change along the way. AS rarely changes both colors on the same round in order to soften the color changes. It is terribly slow to do.
