Accepted!!!!

Yay!!! I am so excited!! Finally, one of my designs has been accepted! After several rejections, I finally got to read those magic words, that my design has been accepted. It will be in the Winter issue of Popknits. Of course, I can't give away any of the details ;)

This is really great news because the last week was a bit lousy. First I got a flat tire, which isn't too bad but still an annoyance. Then the next day I got into a fender bender on the freeway. It was my first car accident, and getting hit at 50 mph was pretty scary. My bumper is hanging off and my trunk won't close, so I'm trying not to drive too much. I spent the weekend at home and couldn't even go visit my boyfriend because he lives 20 miles away. I mostly watched Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly musicals on TCM, and I feel like at any moment I'm going to break into song and start tap dancing. But now it seems like things are looking up. I'm getting my car checked out tomorrow, and hopefully take it to the body shop to be fixed.

Sending in my proposal was the easy part, now I have to get knitting! Going off now to click my knitting needles.

98 cent store is a mountain of gold

On my way home from the gym today, I remembered that I wanted to get some blank notebooks to organize my knitting notes. I had already passed the office supply stores and didn't want to turn around, so I had to think about what stores were on the way home. I remembered there was a 98 cent store I had never been to, so tonight was the night to check it out. I walk in and was amazed to see row after row of narrow aisles jam packed with stuff. Videos, light bulbs, cleaning products, food, you name it and it was there. I found my notebooks right away and just wandered down every aisle. And then I saw it, hidden in the back corner. Is it?... yes, it is. Its yarn. YARN! I practically leaped over a stack of bottled water and was faced with a wall full of yarn. It was cheap acrylic yarn, but for 98 cents, who cares? They were in very pretty colors and the yarn label claims the yarn is finished with aloe, so it isn't too scratchy. I am planning on making a dog blanket, so this was the perfect find. They were many variegated colors, which I am a big sucker for, so I just started pulling out ball after ball of yarn. My arms were completely filled, and of course I hadn't gotten a basket on the way in (because I was just getting notebooks, right?). Well I didn't want to go all the way back to the entrance, so I hopped over to the laundry aisle and got a big plastic basket and I filled it with yarn. Yes, I think I have a problem. I had better find a lot of dogs to knit blanekts for. Sorry the picture is blurry, I drank coffee today and it makes me a little wacky :)

Father's Day Sweater - Finished!

I made my dad a sweater for Father's Day but didn't get around to photographing it until now. I felt bad about taking so long to give it to him, but since he and my mom live in the very hot desert, I don't think he'd be wearing it any time soon.

I knit it on my Bond USM with Knit Picks Merino Style, which turned out quite soft after washing it in some Eucalan. I added some simple cables for visual interest and I'm quite happy with the result. The neck binding is a bit tight, I think next time I will pick up more stitches so it will be more stretchy.

I made my poor boyfriend try it on during a very hot day so I could check that everything fit ok, but he refused to be photographed. So flat on the table is the best I could photograph it!

Big Triangle Shawl - Finished!

I started weaving a big triangle shawl in my weaving class a couple months ago and finally finished it. I had some lovely red/yellow/orange handspun that I was itching to use, and I thought a triangle shawl would be a good project for it. I found other yarns in shades of red, purple, yellow and brown from my stash and used those along with my handspun to make a giant plaid. I think the loom was about 5 feet across, I forgot to measure the finished shawl.

Morocco Vest

Morocco – just the name conjures up images of spicy foods, colorful clothing, and a warm Mediterranean breeze. Here it is translated into a colorful striped vest to brighten up long summer days. Only one ball of each color is required, so it can be made with those leftover or random balls of yarn in your stash. The back is knit in a circle, which is then divided into sections for the front, sides and bottom. Stitches are picked up to create striped bands along the front opening and armholes. It is very quick to knit and the only finishing required is sewing the side seams and weaving in loose ends, so before you know it you will have a versatile vest to wear with any summer outfit. It can be worn open or pinned closed at the front, as shown in the photo.

SIZE
XS [S, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X] (shown in size S)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 32 [36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56] inches
Length at center back: 20 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32] inches

MATERIALS
6 different colored balls of worsted weight yarn, each ball at least 100 yds. The colors I used are: black, charcoal, purple, cherry red, red with metallic gold, and orange.


1 set US #10/6mm double-point needles
1 40 inch US #10/6mm circular needle

notions required
tapestry needle to weave in ends
waste yarn
stitch markers

GAUGE
13 sts/17 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES
For the back and fronts: alternate colors every 4 rows.
For the mitered bands: alternate colors every 2 rows.
When alternating colors, knit the first stitch with both the old color and the new color to avoid the color stair stepping.

PATTERN
Back
Using DPN, CO 8 sts. Divide onto the needles as follows: 2 sts on first ndl, 4 sts on second ndl, 2 sts on third ndl. Join in the round and place marker.
Round 1: kfb in each st. (16 sts)
Round 2: *kfb, k1* 8 times (24 sts)
Round 3 and all odd rounds: k
Round 4: *kfb, k2* 8 times (32 sts)
Change to next color, and continue to alternate colors every 4 rounds.
Round 6: *kfb, k3* 8 times (40 sts)
Round 8: *kfb, k4* 8 times (48 sts)
Continue in this manner, increasing the number of stitches between each kfb, for 34[39, 43, 47, 51, 56, 60] rounds. 152[168, 184, 200, 216, 240, 256] sts. Switch to circular ndl when necessary.

Divide into fronts, sides, and bottom:
Continuing in same color as last round, k9[10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16]; BO 20[22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32] sts; k9[10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16]; BO 38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64] sts; k38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64]; BO 38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64] sts. Cut yarn and pull through remaining st on the right ndl.
Place the section of 38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64] sts on waste yarn (this is the bottom). Place the left front section of 9[10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16] sts on another piece of waste yarn.

Right Front:
With RS facing, begin working in St st, alternating colors every 4 rows. Work even until right front is 5.5[6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5] inches, ending with a WS row.

Increase rows:
Row 1: (RS) K until last st, kfb.
Row 2: (WS) kfb, P to end
Repeat the last two rows 4[4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7 ] more times. 19[20, 23, 24, 27, 31, 32] sts.
Work even until the front is 13.5[15, 16.5, 18, 19.5, 21, 22.5] inches. Place sts onto a piece of waste yarn.

Left Front:
Place 10 sts from waste yarn onto ndl. With RS facing, begin working in St st, alternating colors every 4 rows. Work even until right front is 5.5[6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5] inches, ending with a WS row.

Increase rows:
Row 1: (RS) kfb, K to end.
Row 2: (WS) P to last st, kfb.
Repeat the last two rows 4[4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7 ] more times. 19[20, 23, 24, 27, 31, 32] sts.
Work even until the front is 13.5[15, 16.5, 18, 19.5, 21, 22.5] inches, ending with a WS row.

Mitered Border:
Place marker, pick up 47[53, 58, 64, 69, 74, 80] sts along left front opening, placing marker at the corner of the front opening and neckline; pick up 20[22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32] sts at back neck; pick up 47[53, 58, 64, 69, 74, 80] sts along right front, placing marker at corner of front opening and neckline; place 19[20, 23, 24, 27, 31, 32] sts from right front onto the ndl; place marker, place 38[42, 46, 50, 54, 60, 64] sts from back onto ndl; place a different colored marker to mark the beginning of the round. Join for working in the round. 191[212, 233, 254, 275, 299, 320] sts.

Round 1: *k to marker, yo, pass marker, k1, yo* to end of round.
Round 2: *p to marker, pass marker, k1* to end of round.
Work these 2 rounds 5 more times, alternating colors every 2 rounds. BO sts loosely.

Sew side seams:
Starting at the bottom, sew the side seams, leaving 7[7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10] inches open for the armhole.

Armhole binding:
The armhole binding can be worked either with the DPNs, or with the circular ndl and the magic loop technique.
Pick up 46[48, 52, 56, 58, 62, 66] sts around the armhole and join for working in the round.
Round 1: k
Round 2: p
Repeat the last two rounds 5 more times, alternating colors every 2 rounds. BO sts loosely.

FINISHING
Weave in all loose ends. Sew the center of the circle on the back close if necessary.

Uh Oh - Ran Out!

What happens when you are working on so many projects simultaneously that you run out of stitch markers? Well... you make more.

Mother's Day Gift

I finished the sweater I was making for my mom for Mother's Day, and I am quite pleased with it. It was so much fun going through my big stash and picking out a group of yarns for this sweater. The big challenge was finding yarns that didn't have any wool in them, since Mom is allergic to wool. Since it is a gift, I didn't want to use too much acrylic that would just look cheap. So what did I come up with? An off-white bamboo, soft acrylic tan, silk pink, and pink/purple/green boucle. I ran out of silk, so I couldn't make the sleeves as long as I had planned to. But the end result turned out very nice. It has a nice drape and weight that makes it good for spring weather.