My profuse apologies for the problems with Knitting Chatters last night.  My host’s server kept crashing (I guess - I don’t really know) and it would come up at widely spaced intervals for a few minutes at a time and then crash again.  As of 12:15 AM, it came up - again briefly - and promptly died.  Again.  I hope none of you wasted too much time or got too frustrated.  I keep telling myself that these things happen - but it doesn’t help much…

I intended to start another Avalanche vest but you all know how it is with good intentions.  Road to hell and all that… See, I was looking through the Knitty archives and ran across Coronet which I have long admired.  What had stopped me was the picking up of all those stitches along the edge of the cable band.  However, since I had picked up lots of stitches for the ribbing on the little vest, this didn’t seem quite so daunting.  So I decided to give it a try.

The picking up went fine, though I had to try it two or three times to get things as even as possible - after that it was simple :) The yarn is Pink Lemonade.  You can see the variations in the color of the finished item.  I definitely need to work on more even shading.  On the other hand, the color is cheerful, the wool has a firm, crisp feel and should wear like iron.  For all the vagaries of hue, the hat didn’t come out too badly.

And I keep thinking about using that lovely cable for socks :)

This, on the other hand, is a disappointment because I’m not going to have enough yarn to complete the second sock.  Poop… This is a slightly larger sock than I usually make (36 stitches around as opposed to 28) and, clever me, I forgot that more stitches means more yarn!  Argh....  So this navy blue will be frogged and, probably paired with a medium blue-green yarn in hopes that a pair of socks (or mittens!) can be produced.  You know - two whole pieces?  Sheesh… And again with the flash spot!  My camera really doesn’t like these socks.





This is going to be my next pair of socks - I mean socks for me :) I worked on a practice piece for a while using the cable from Coronet in both its original and a scaled down version.  The original looks best and I’m trying to figure out how to compensate for the way the cable tightens up the fabric - how many more stitches will I need to make up for that?  Once I get that figured out, I should be off and running.  I’m going to have to get a move on too because the weather’s not getting any warmer and I only have two pairs of warm socks right now.  I’d like to have several more pair and the only way that’s going to happen is if I make them.  Like that would be a chore :)





This is a surprise - mostly to me, I think.  I hope to have more to show you on this in a little while.  In the meantime, I’m enjoying having a crochet project for a change of pace and this is, so far, coming along better than I have any right to expect.  Yes, that’s acrylic yarn and it’s soft as a kitten’s butt :)

Have a great weekend!

It’s 9:36 and the server has just come back up from a second crash, shut-down - who knows?  Give it a try anyways - and stay tuned for further developments!  LOL!

The server was down until approximately 8:15 PM.  Chatters is now up and running!  Please come and join us :)

The thing is that roses are not only red,
But coral, magenta and pink.
And violets are not really blue as is said,
But more of a purple, I think.

Though there are still flowers a-bloom here and there,
The weather is cooling off fast.
And even with tender and diligent care,
The colors are not going to last.

The golds and the bronzes, cerises and blues
Will fade before very much longer
The gardens so colorful, so rich in hues
Will pass as the winds become stronger.

But knitters have something, when winter begins
As the world yields to cold’s snowy lash
We can open our closets and cupboards and bins,
And go feast our eyes on the stash!

You dear, dear girl!

I assume you sent this out sometime in August before you left on your world tour and honestly, I had given up on it.  But Monday, when I went downstairs to get the mail, look what was waiting for me!

I can’t imagine what pocket dimension it has been hidden in all this time, but I was overjoyed to see that it had finally arrived and wasted no time at all in opening it!





What absolutely beautiful yarn!  It was incredibly kind of you to send it for Dulaan projects - believe me, it will come in very handy and will make some very warm, very lovely things :) In fact, I can’t wait to get my fingers in it!

It’s a shame that the hat for your dad didn’t fit him, but it is a welcome addition to the Dulaan bag.  Some child will be very happy to have it, I imagine and it’s such nice work :) It must have been hard for you to part with!

The super-bulkies are just scrumptious - both to the hand and the eye and I will have to give some thought as to how best to use them since I haven’t worked with yarn this size before.  They are very soft and cushy and so I expect anything made out of them will be very warm and comfortable :) The wools are very nice too - maybe I can make something that matches that nifty little hat!





But this was completely unexpected and is completely enchanting!  Merino lace weight in periwinkle!  Be still my heart!





That is so my color!  I already have an idea about how I’d like to use it.  I have never had a fancy scarf before and I’m thinking this might be just the thing to make it out of.  And the little ribbon just makes it all the more special.

I have to tell you that I have missed Noblin Knits (which is, I imagine, on hiatus until next June) and sometimes go and look at your Summer Nights, wondering about taking a stab at it!

Thank you so much for your generosity and thoughtfulness.  Wherever in the world you happen to be, I hope you’re having the time of your life!

Warmest best wishes -
Robbyn

Good morning folks :)

This weekend, I actually got a couple of things accomplished - amazing, hunh?  Heheh…

This little vest is Ryan’s terrific Avalanche Vest and a first of several kinds for me.  That’s probably quite clear from the picture :).  Seamless construction?  First.  Knitted on ribbing? First.  Vest of any kind what-so-ever?  First.

The picking up for the ribbing definitely needs work (Oh GAWD does it need work) but I’m amazed (as well as enormously cheered) that I managed it at all.  And I’m pretty sure the shoulder seams aren’t supposed to fold over the front like that.  Still, I’m not too distressed and now that I have worked my way through a practice piece, I feel that I should be able to manage the real thing without too much difficulty.

For those of you wondering how well the pattern is written?  It’s absolutely wonderful!  You know how when you’re making a sweater and you get to the part where you need to simultaneously decrease for both the neckline and the armhole shaping?  You know how the pattern always goes - “Do this and at the same time do this” - and then leaves you to do the math, figure out the when and where and then go babble quietly in the corner until sanity (or some semblance thereof) returns?  This pattern doesn’t do that!!  Ryan has written it so that every row tells you specifically what to do.  Every.  Single.  Row.  Heavenly - absolutely heavenly! 

And, as if this weren’t more than enough, do you further know how the aforementioned standard sweater pattern (let’s assume it’s a cardigan) gives you the shaping for, say, the right front and then says, as though this were perfectly obvious and easy, “For left front, simply reverse shaping”.  The pattern for the Avalanche Vest doesn’t do that - it actually writes out the shaping for both sides of the front - left and right!  Oh frabjous day :)

My vest differs from Ryan’s only in size because I didn’t have either yarn or needles in the sizes she recommends.  This would fit a baby easily and perhaps up to a year old?  I used roughly aran/heavy worsted weight yarn and size 9 and 10 needles (though I will probably drop the 9s to 8s next time).  I also think I made the vest a tad longer than it really needs to be - babies not generally needing robe length vests :)

I also finished the prototype sock which, unsurprisingly, also needs some more work, though I am provisionally quite happy with it.

It looks a little odd because I have stuffed it with washcloths to make it stand up and the rolled clothes, not being anatomically correct, give the sock the look of containing a strangely shaped and probably swollen foot :)

I love the top of the sock which has a fluted look:

For me, it was critical that the top two rounds of the sock be worked on needles a couple of sizes larger than those used for the body of the sock.  Because the patterning pulls the line of the top into chevrons, those stitches need to be loose enough so they don’t just curl right over.

This was also my first attempt in carrying a design down the foot.  Usually, beset by worries about the sock pattern being uncomfortable in a snug shoe, I abandon it when I start the heel flap and do the foot in plain stockinette.  This time I tried carrying the pattern down.  Of course I then didn’t know what to do with it when I got to the toe…

...and wound up decreasing rather oddly.  This clearly needs more work - and will get more.  I expect to make this sock at least a couple more times before I get everything worked out to my satisfaction - but I like it and I like where the design seems to be going.

The response to:

...was very encouraging - you people are awesome!  But then again, I already knew that.  If you haven’t heard about the contest, click on the image above and it will take you to the post with all the information! 

The more, the merrier!

And we have another one :)

This is called Indicolite - full story at The Dye Pot

I have otherwise been working on socks.  These (forgive the flash “spot” - sometimes my camera just does that - grrr...) ...

...are simple K3, P1 ribbing in plain, simple dark blue :) They started out ( a couple of times!) to be a bit fancier, but got frogged for non-co-operation.

On the other hand, these…

...are the result of playing with a pattern in my head.  This has literaly been running through my brain like a refrain; I have dreamed about this stitch pattern.

Multiple of 12 (here we are again with the 12s!) - in the round

1.  *K1, M1, K2, SSK, K2tog, K2, M1, K1, P2*
2.  Knit around

That’s it - nothing to it.  The sock is done over 36 stitches and I plan for one herringbone panel to extend down the top of the foot.  This sock will be a prototype however because it turns out that the needles I’m using (size 3 US, 3.25mm) are really too small for this yarn (light worsted weight) in this pattern.  The three P2 gutters offer a surprising amount of stretch but the design panels are nearly bullet-proof - way too stiff for a sock.  But I will continue this to work out the pattern satisfactorily and then recommence with larger needles, softer yarn - whatever is required to create a satisfactory - and wearable! - sock :) I love the points at the top and the steep diagonals of the herringbone.  I’m working on the heel flap now and will let you know next week how it all works out.

I have decided that I am going to make another mohair blanket - the yarn mentioned above will be used, among others.  I have also decided that this one will be a little more orderly in its appearance than the last one.  I have pretty much decided to use two patterns only.  One I would like to be similar to the Column of Leaves scarf but with a different edge treatment I think :) I haven’t quite settled on the other just yet.  My sentimental favorite Staggered Fern (scroll down a bit) is definitely in the running but I’m also considering panels of diamond lace.  I haven’t gotten started yet so I don’t have to decide right now.  But you know, it did occur to me that the reason I haven’t started yet is because I’m waiting until I’ve dyed all my yarn.  Wouldn’t that be cool?  Heheh…

Jade is sitting in front of the gerbil cage, annoyed because I won’t make her a gerbil omelette.  The little ones are about a year old; we brought them home early last October and as they were a few weeks old then, I figure they should have had their first birthdays by now!  Happy birthday, girls!  Thanks for the dose of cute you all give me every day, not to mention the enormous entertainment value :)

Have a great weekend everyone, as we finally wave bye-bye to summer :)