theraineysisters knitting and so much more

May 11, 2008

From Susan — Knitting 101

Filed under: Back Story,Susan's Mitered Cardigan — lv2knit @ 11:43 am

Today we will have a knitting lesson for all of you new knitters just starting out: when the pattern instructs you to cast on “x” stitches, cast on that number of stitches.  Any more or any fewer will cause problems and issues later on.  The stitch count requires three things: 1) knowing how many to cast on, 2) casting on that exact number, and 3) being able to count.  All three must take place simultaneously for accurate stitch count to occur.

homer.jpg homer simpson image by allybarton
DOH!!

Okay — so I can’t count!  No wait, I think I did count correctly, but was aiming for the wrong number.  Oh, well.  Whatever the reason, I ended up with 72 sts across the top of my sleeve instead of 78. 

What a doh!  This is a bit of set back as I will need to rip out the entire mitered portion of the sleeve .  Bummer.  This is the kind of thing that often relegates WIPs to UFOs…

Response to Twinsetellen: Her suggestion: “If you are going to lengthen it anyway, could you just lengthen and keep widening to the right stitch count?”  This is a great idea, but I would still need to redo a sleeve — it would just be the first one I did instead of the second one.  Darn those pesky sleeves!  They kinda hafta match!

May 10, 2008

From Susan — Knitting is Still Part of my Daily Lifestyle

Filed under: Back Story,Susan's Mitered Cardigan — lv2knit @ 10:53 am

It may not appear to be — since our blog has been knitting free for a while now — but, knitting is still an important part of my “activities of daily living.”  ADLs , for the non-healthcare folks out there, means what people need to do each day to function in a normal capacity :). 

Before I get into a knitting update, let me just announce that I am a winner!!  I won Closeknitfriends’ bloggiversary contest!  Woo Hoo to me and nannie nannie boo-boo to you!   Here is what I won:

My Winnings

It’s a felt-a-something kit: with feltable yarn, fun fur and beads for accent, all in a cute knitting-related basket!  Very cute!  Thanks, and I am honored to win!

Now on to the knitting!  I have been working on a stealth knitting project that is nothing fancy and not my design, but is a gift of sorts to be revealed at a later date.  Because that has taken up a lot of my knitting time, I have not made much progress on my Mitered Cardigan.  I did finish one sleeve and discovered it was too short.  No problem — I anticipated that I may have to adjust the length:

Mitered Sleeve

The length for me needs to be 25″ from very top to very bottom.  I will finish off the cuff with applied i-cord.  The other sleeve is finished to the point of adding the sleeve cap.  I am thinking I should knit that cap next and then figure out the adjustments to the other.  It’s not a lot of knitting!  I could finish the sleeves easily this weekend, but then there is a lot of finishing left to do. 

I really wish I had had this jacket done when I was in New York with Surly.  It would go great with jeans and I would have been able to wear some knitting, plus it would have been perfect given the weather.  Sally wore her Mermaid while we did our knitting shop round-about and got so many compliments!  “Oh, did you knit that?” “Why, yes, I did.”  “It’s lovely!”   PS: I enjoyed reading all of your comments about our trip.

Shepherd’s Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival is being held this weekend.  Last year I worked the MKG booth for a couple of hours and wandered aimlessly for a couple of more.  It was really fun and a great way to connect with the creators of our favorite past-time — the sheep and alpaca who make our knitting possible!  I may go for a bit tomorrow morning.

May 7, 2008

From Susan and Sally — Home at Last!

Filed under: Back Story — Both Sisters @ 6:51 pm

What a fun few days we had!  Seems like we’ve been gone forever or never left — that strange time warp that occurs with travel.  Anyway, we are back and ready to share the adventures of our sisterly travels.

Friday, May 2: Susan Arrives in DC
Susan arrived fairly early, so we felt we could get in a quick trip to a yarn store before lunch.  We headed for Knit Happens and paid a lightning fast visit — no stash upload there (we were saving ourselves), but we discovered Le Pain Quotidien across the street and had a wonderful lunch.  We found out that they also have multiple New York locations which came in quite handy :).  The rest of the day was very low key.

Saturday, May 3: Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
We got an early start and arrived at the Howard County Fairgrounds by 9:30.  The hordes had already beaten us there!  This is the largest sheep and wool festival of its kind in the country.  But it needs to be twice as large: twice as many exhibit areas, twice as many bathrooms, twice as many food vendors…!!  It was difficult to see all the exhibitors because the crowds were packed in so tightly.  Here is a little taste of the event:

Very fun and very exhausting!  We bought a tiny little amount of yarn for us: some lace weight, some roving, a finished garment (such a luxury).  Sally did not bring anything to display this year because we would not be able to pick it up on Sunday — we were going to be in New York. So no going to the Exhibition Hall to look for ribbons. Le sigh.

Sunday, May 4: New York City
Up early to catch the train to NYC.  We absolutely loved our hotel — The Casablanca — SEE PS BELOW!!  Sally discovered this little gem.  It definitely has a European flavor, and we were very outnumbered by British and Irish tourists.  It is small, older, cozy, and charming.  The big selling point for us was Rick’s Cafe:

This spacious and welcoming sitting room is open 24/7 with coffee and snacks, and a happy hour from 5-7.  They also serve a lovely continental breakfast:

Needless to say, we were very happy to have a comfy knitting nook at our beck and call.  Sunday evening we went to the theater and then dined at a fabulous restaurant.  Quite a whirlwind of a day!

Monday, May 5
We did a little sightseeing and yarn shop touring.  We strolled through Central Park briefly:

CP is the most amazing place — cannot be believed! 

We went to these shops: String, Knitty City, and Purl Soho.  String specializes in HIGH end (very high!) yarns and their own pattern line.  It was nice, with some lovely patterns, but the prices were a bit daunting. (Note to selves: start saving $$ for more cashmere.)  Knitty City was a real knitters’ knitting store.  Nice yarn, nice people.  Purl Soho is a small, but lovely shop (we were there on our last trip).  They carried a yarn that we really wanted, but could not justify.  We’re keeping it on our “must figure out how to justify it” list.  It’s called Road to China Silken Jewels — this picture was taken by Jess from the Yarnery:

The picture does not do the yarn justice, but trust us! 

After our grueling shopping excursion, we stopped at Le Pain Quotidien for take away coffee and a chance to relax in Bryant Park:

That evening we hung out in Times Square — it was a Monday night and you would think it was Saturday!  People were out milling around all night long. 

We had a great time.  The weather was perfect, everything we did was fun.  We were recognized a few times along the way and felt like rock stars.  (Thanks especially to all of you who said hello to us at the Sheep and Wool Festival.) It is a little bit of a letdown to get back to reality, but our many fond memories will keep forever.

PS — You never know who is reading your blog!  The lovely people at The Casablanca read our rave review of their hotel and are making the following offer for visitors over the summer months:

“We are so delighted you enjoyed your stay with us at the Casablanca Hotel! It was so kind of you to refer your friends to us, so tomorrow, in your honor, I am going to set up a special promo code “sisters”. That way anyone who uses it on our website for a reservation between now and Labor Day, 2008 will get $10 off per room per night. Okay, so it won’t pay for your flight or anything, but it will probably buy you a nice cocktail out or an “I love NY” tee shirt, and most importantly, it is just our way of saying THANKS! adele@hkhotels.com

Thank you, Adele!

May 2, 2008

From Susan and Sally — DC to Md to NYC

Filed under: Uncategorized — Both Sisters @ 5:19 pm

Susan arrived in DC today for a 5-day multi-faceted extravaganza.  Actually, it may be more like deja vu all over again!  Susan was thrilled to see flowers in bloom since spring in Minnesota has been non-existent slow in coming.  It is in the high 70’s here and absolutely gorgeous.

Tomorrow is the start of the world famous Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  Susan has been meaning to come out for this particular weekend for several years.  It happened to hit right after Sally’s recent visit to the Twin Cities — which seems like only yesterday!  Obviously, the focus of the event is sheep and wool and everything knitting/spinning.  We will report back after the big day.  If you see us wandering around, please be sure to say “hi.”  We will be carrying our Rainey Sisters totes for identification.

Sunday, it is off to New York to see a Broadway play and visit yarn shops — something wild and crazy and out of character completely ;)!

Sally has brought out her knitting bag so let’s hope for the best.  TTFN

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