May Roundup

I feel like I knitted as much as usual in May, but I don't have much to show for it. Let's see....

1. CIC Waffle for brunch sweater. This was done as a KAL (sort of, I eventually caught up). It was really fun and done in bulky and I have more yarn waiting in the wings for another.

2. One more pair of Soc-a-moc (or are they Moc-a-Soc) booties.

3. *Knitting and Ripping, Repeat from *. Finally, Knitting. My Orange and Green Tiny Bowknot sweater went through lots of work as I tried to finish it before the baseball season ended.

Yep, that's it. Considering that not only was I knitting the sweater I was also designing it on-the-fly, I guess it was a good knitting month.

Green weekend

(Anyone notice that I loaded the pictures then took off for a softball game? Well, I'm back now and ready to add descriptions...)

I received my green yarn a full two hours before we left on our road trip. In that time I ripped out the rest of the teal and a couple of inches of orange, loaded up my needles and packed my bag. (Also, I finished laundry and did the leftover dishes.)

We travelled overnight, so there was only a couple of hours of daylight. In that time I managed to do 5 garter stitch ridges. Impressive, huh? (There was also numerous ripping out as I tried to decide on a band between the orange tiny bowknots and the faux cables. After all that, I picked garter stitch.)



I left the teal neckband in. (See? I can really call it teal now that I have the proper green. It used to be called it's-almost-the-right-green-isn't-it?)

If you look closely at this picture, you'll notice that I have two sets of needles. I had both sets in my bag and realized that I couldn't remember which ones to use for the green. I had to do a feeling comparision since I had no needle measuring tool with me.

Hmmm.... this one is a bit smaller, they are both bigger than a 4 (another set that I had). They're both smaller than an 8 (another labelled set). I finally picked the larger of the two (it's maybe a 6?) and continued on.

The sweater went with me to the game the next day. (Miami vs. NC State at the ACC Championships in Jacksonville, FL. Did I forget to mention that?)

While waiting for the game to start, DD#2 and I sat out in the outfield. I knitted and she got some sun.



Not only did DS#1 pitch, but DS#2 was the bat boy. (For more pictures of the game, check out DH's photos here. )



It was such a fun experience for him, getting to hang out with the college players--and they seemed to enjoy having him there.

It was hot, though. So hot that I really should've been knitting something else. Or not at all. (Did I really say that?)

At the end of the day I had this much done:



and Miami won the game, and the next day they won the championship.

If I hurry, I might be able to wear this for a game yet. (But will I want to? An afternoon game in Miami is not where I'm going to want to wear a sweater, even if it's cotton.)

Green!

My yarn came today. The correct shade of green that will co-habit peacefully with the orange and not scream at me anytime I'm nearby.



I'm leaving in a couple of hours for a road trip so the yarn came at the perfect time (super quickly from The Sheep Shed Studio) and now I have something to knit. (Well, I'm also taking an adult sock and yarn for 2 prs. of kids socks. If the yarn hadn't come, though, I would've cast on for something else. And I had a couple of ideas.)

I should be packing now, but I needed to blog first to show off my new yarn. The dryer is done, though, so I have packing to do.

Have a good weekend!

Turtle

(Continuing on Saturday's topic, as though more days haven't passed...)

In the afternoon we worked in the yard for awhile. (After the baseball game, but before it got dark.)

We planted some flowers, and some vegetables. We raked a bit and mowed.

And we found a baby turtle. ("I'm so glad you made me rake, mom, before I mowed over the turtle!" You're welcome.)

It's just a little thing. (Pictures courtesy of DD#2.)









We kept it for a bit and then let it go. Maybe it'll find it's mom and tell her all about the adventure with the giants.

Green yarn

I ended up going to my LYS the next day (to continue the story as though I haven't let a couple of days go by....), searching for green yarn.

I had decided that since I was ripping out the green anyway, that I'd try to find a closer looking green (so it wouldn't constantly bug me every time I look at it that even though the colors look okay together that they're not right.)

This is what came home with me:


I needed a worsted weight cotton/wool blend but couldn't find any.

Then I saw this yarn at 40% off. Four skeins is enough for a toddler sweater, so that's what I bought.



The saleslady was very nice and didn't question why I was buying a bulky wool when I was making a summer sweater. I felt the need, though, to explain myself so she didn't think I was really going to use them together.

They were the same color, after all.

She didn't think I was a nut, I can now knit another CIC sweater, and I ordered the right yarn when I came home.

Frogging

And the green just goes on...and on....and on.....



Finally, I reached the point of trying it on to see if the green is done.

It was, but in the process the orange stretched out. What used to be a high bustline was now a high waistline that makes my short waist look even shorter. (I'll spare you the picture.)

Ripping out the green, that's what I'll be doing....

I've also been thinking: While I have to redo the whole green section, should I buy the right shade of green? I feel a morning trip to the LYS happening.

In the meantime, I'll be frogging.

An orange weekend

We had a very orange weekend, travelling to VA to see some baseball games.

I had my orange sweatshirt, my really-big-really-orange purse, my orange knitting and we sat on orange seats. (No the sweater didn't get done, but at least it came to the game with me.)



There were even orange toes next to me.



There was a double header on Saturday, so that meant 18 innings, or about 6 hours, of knitting.

Here's where I was at the end of game #1:



For game #2, I started adding the green to the sweater, but only got about 1.5 inches done.

I was more interested in watching this green subject:



(Won 9-2, shutout over 7 innings.)

Tiny Bowknots

I've started a new sweater--another one for me.

It's been evolving in my head for awhile now. About a year ago, I ordered 5 skeins of purple Cascade Sierra. I guess the purple had run out since I received 3 skeins of purple and 2 of green. That's not usually an okay substition, but since I hate to return things, I dug through my stash to find one more matching skein and made my purple sweater (Katrina rib tank).

Since then, the green yarn has languished in my stash. While I've been knitting many orange and green items this spring, I came up with the brilliant idea to make another tank for me-- in orange and green. If I knit it fast enough, I can wear it to the next game.

I'm making it up as I go, so you know there's lots of frogging going on.

Here's my first attempt.



I found that the K2P2 ribbing didn't go with the 3x3 pattern of the orange, so I ripped out the green and did it again in 1x1 ribbing. Much better.

The pattern I'm using is tiny bowknot from Barbara Walker Treasury of Knitting Patterns book. The raglan edges were fixed to contain even part of the bowknot and now looks better (too much plain knitting space in my first attempt.)

Looking at my yarn more carefully, I've discovered that the green is not the right shade of green. It should be a hunter green, and instead it's a teal green.

Too late now. I most likely won't even get this done to wear to a game, and if I do, it'll be only one. That will be okay (I tell myself) since otherwise it looks okay together.

I took it to DS#2's last baseball game and worked on it (you know, before ripping it out and starting over).



Here he is, broken finger and all (pinky of left hand). His doctor says it's okay for him to play. That's good enough for me.

April Roundup

You'd think with all the baseball/softball games that I went to in April that I'd have a longer finished list. It doesn't seem to be true, though. Anyway, this is what I finished:

1. A second pair of booties (that's missing a picture. Use your imagination. They look like the first set with different "socks".)

2. A CIC sweater in orange and green stripes.

3. My Green Gables sweater that's not green.

4. Five baby hats. (I forgot about those. Now I feel better.)

Bootie talk and waffles

I managed to miss a picture of a Finished Object. I made another pair of booties. Oh, that's right. Ya'll saw where I made the off-center bootie. Well, I ripped it out and then completed them both using the blue/green variegated sock yarn pictured below.

I was able to get 5 tan Mocassin parts out of one skein of Dalgren Baby Ull, but I needed one more so it was off to the LYS today.

I also picked up a skein of baby blue Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino to knit the sock parts. The socks are supposed to be fingering weight so it might not work. If it doesn't, I'll have more "Moc" parts.



Also, here's my finished "Waffles for Brunch" sweater.



Yes, the arms are long thankyouverymuch. Even as a kid my sweaters were too short in the arms. I figure that there must be other kids out there that wishes they could have a long-armed sweater, so I made one.

Specifics:
Waffles for Brunch sweater pattern, done as a knitalong on Jean's blog.
Lamb's Pride bulky weight wool in the color M-75 Blue Heirloom (it's a dark teal blue, not a royal blue as all the pictures indicate.) Four skeins (125 yds. each). Had about 1/4 skein leftover.
Size 11 needles, added one repeat for the arm length, but otherwise no changes.

This was mainly my baseball/softball knitting. It got a lot of comments, depending on the weather.

Some days it was "can you finish that quickly so we can wear it?"

On others it was "Isn't it too hot for knitting?" (When is that ever true? I just hold it to the side and knit on.)

Also, a mom watched me spit slice the yarn and thought that was the neatest thing ever. (Actually, I "water" spliced it, but only because she was watching.)(To answer a question.... spit splicing only works on a yarn that can be felted. Hence, it won't work on acrylic or cotton.)

Lovely pattern--give it a try if you can!

MDSW stash

I figure that three days are long enough to charge my batteries (meaning....that baseball game and softball game that got in the way. Plus the pesky work.), so here's my MDSW stash pictures.

Three skeins of sock yarn from Spirit Trail Fiberworks.



Two skeins of sock yarn (sense a theme here?) from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm.



One braid of roving from Cloverleaf Farms.



I could've definitely bought more roving, but I was thinking about that sweater that I'm still spinning for.

Soap from GotSoap? This was split in half to share with DD, but it's a wonderful almond scent.



And that's it.

2008 MDSW

This was my fourth year at the MD Sheep and Wool Festival. DD#2 accompanied me for the third year. We got going on time and got there at 8:40am.

This, I believe, is the most exciting thing that happened all day.

Just behind where I'm standing is my car. In front of me? Not a humongous sea of cars.



The little line between the sets of cars is the walkway, and the green roof is where you go in. All those cars in the background are handicapped. I managed to get 5 cars into a new row--the closest I've ever parked.

(Here's where I show you the picture of the whole sea of cars that were behind me when I left.... Oh, that's right. I didn't charge my batteries and the camera didn't want to work....)

Anyway, it was wonderful.

Tomorrow there will be pictures of my stash (once the batteries have charged...) Today I have a couple of pictures of my day.

DD#2 tried her annual "Please, mom, can we have a bunny?" But I held strong.



Here's the crowd about lunchtime. It was on and off hazy like this. Perfect sweater weather. (I had on my newly made Green Gable sweater but didn't take a picture. natch.)




We were expecting to stay the whole day, then go to the Baysox game in the evening, but we were too efficient in shopping. The things on my list and my money were finished at the same time and we ran out of things to do.

We killed some time eating some ribbon chips, but it was early enough in the morning that there wasn't even a line.



We also avoided the other lines. We stopped at a rest stop on the way, and didn't drink much, so didn't need to stand in the dreaded bathroom line.

I didn't particularly like the t-shirt designs this year, so avoided that line. (That by itself would've killed an hour.)

We brought other food from home, so didn't need to stand in a lamb gyro line.

For some reason we missed the sheep dog demonstration.

We did look at some sheep.









By 12:30, though, we were back in the car and headed home. It was a nice day, but we were tired. After a short rest, we got back in the car and headed north to the Baysox game.

It's a little bit crazy to do both in one day, but DS#2 had a free ticket for last night and he really wanted to go. He had the ticket for reading appreciation, so we got to go onto the field with all the other readers.



It was weird to watch a game where
1) None of my kids were playing and
2) We don't really know anything about the team.

The kids had fun, though, and I did some knitting.



Once my batteries are charged, I should have stash pictures.