theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Sally and I both have FO’s to share and fought over who would get to post first — YOU LOSE!  It’s me!  😉

I did just get back from my trip – cut short by impending snow.  It took me 5-1/2 hours to get there and I figured snowfall would make it an even longer drive home.  My goal was to finish at least one project and I got close.  I finished it at home on Saturday and Sunday.

When I received Tudor Roses in the mail, I was immediately struck by Elizabeth of York, the reimagined.  It looked like a tapestry to me…richly woven fabric, careworn over time.  I thought, “Hey, it’s a short vest!  How long could it take?!?”

Answer: A long time!  It was a slow-moving project to be sure.  When I started it, I thought it looked like a muddled mess.  I truly considered throwing in the towel.  The two colors (Red Deer and Mountain Hare) are very close — one solid red, and one heathered salmon with reddish tones.  The pattern took a while to emerge and until it did, I was unimpressed.  My first realization that it had hope was when my husband walked in and commented on how beautiful it was.  From a distance, the pattern is more clear and is really stunning.

Here is my Elizabeth finished:

I made some modifications.  The most significant is the profile.  Let’s be honest – I have no waist.  The original Elizabeth has a very small, fitted waistline and then increases to the bust.  I made mine straight:

The black outline is the original shape while the red lines show my alterations.  I cut in more for the armholes and made them deeper based on how I prefer my vests to fit.  I think there was a mistake on the button bands in the pattern, so I improvised using the other bands as a guide.  I tried every buttonhole in the book and could not get them to look right, so I kind of made up a buttonhole.  And believe it or not, I had to go up at least 2 needle sizes to get Alice’s gauge!  It still ended up a tad small but blocking did help.

For you steek lovers, here are the before and after shots of cutting:

Before cutting

After cutting

Now that it’s done I can say that it was well worth it!

Again?  Really? C’mon!!

I am going to drive 4-1/2 hours to get to Deer Valley Lodge in Barneveld, Wisconsin!  All by my lonesome.  Why?  I am asking myself that very question.  I don’t even want to go out to my car, much less load it up!!  But, I decided to attend the first ever Sun Valley Fibers Knitting Retreat.  I am sure they knew that January was a dicey time to hold such an event, but what the heck.

I have packed a lot of knitting and a lot of warm weather gear – mostly sweaters! 🙂  I hope to have several FOs done by the end of the weekend and to weigh 15 more pounds.  The second goal is a sure thing!!

Almost packed!!!

Yes.  The beard was ridiculous and tacky and embarrassing.  But today I will redeem myself!  Another Sweet Dreams from Boo Knits!  I love this pattern and will definitely make more (at least two or three more for sure).

At last year’s Yarnover, I bought a skein of Seda Sock in color Shiny Penny by The Grinning Gargoyle.  What a stunning color!  Copper and butterscotch and gold.  It shimmers because of the 50-50 blend of silk and merino.  My tres knitworthy daughter celebrated her birthday last week so I thought another scarf would be perfect.  She wears her black Sweet Dreams CONSTANTLY.

I presented this to her at dinner the other evening with family.  Lots of oohs and awwws.  Yay!  Plus she wore it to work and got many compliments.  A winner.

I made this in a weekend with 300 yards of fingering weight yarn.  It really felt great to see some fast results!  Blocking is easy because you just pin the long point.  LOTS of bang for the knitting buck!!

We grow long beards!  And if we can’t grow ’em, we “knit” ’em.   Oh my.  So embarrassing.

Can you believe this?  I am completely mortified and yet somehow proud!  Do you realize the engineering skill that is required when attaching 500 yards worth of weight to a handknit hat???

Posing as an axe murderer….

I know you are asking yourselves, “Why oh why would she waste her valuable knitting time on this ridiculous project?”  One of my best friends asked me to make this for her son.  I responded emphatically, “Buy one.  Seriously.  I will not make this for him.  BUY IT!”  She said it would make him so happy and he really wanted me to make it, blah, blah, blah!  This is a friend who would throw herself in front of a bus for me, so I agreed to do it.

Whoa.  What a challenge it was.  But, it fits and when it is on it is quite comfortable.  So, I guess the effort wasn’t a total waste.  All that is lost is my dignity!!

PS – If you want the pattern for this creation, NO!  Not going to spend another minute even thinking about it!!

Signed, The Bearded Lady!

PS2: My friend loved it and now it is on its way to see what the true recipient thinks.

PS3: The recipient LOVED it, too!  Yay!

PS4: Though it may appear otherwise, any resemblance of this hat/beard to a real person living or dead is purely coincidental and is not meant as an homage to any racist, anti-gay reality show faux-lebrities that may have been in the news lately!! 😉

PS5 – the sweater I am wearing is from Interweave Knits Winter 2003: Moorish Patterned Pullover by Norah Gaughan.  I believe I knitted it out of Peruvia???

Carl and Pup in Beard Hat