Clap update

Quick clap update. while in DC visiting mom I thought I was going to finish that clap finally. In my zeal, I was whipping along and got to the last skein. I knit it in and was closing up on completion...when I noted I still unaccountably had two skeins left.

Ummmm.

Yeah, waaaaaaaaaay too small.

I couldn't bring myself to rip out the entire skein. Just. Could. Not. So, it went for a long nap. Thankfully, Gail from the LYS knitting group apparently really likes rippping things back (huh?). She did it in about 3 seconds this week. It is on stitch holders (the needle having been immediately used to start the BSJ) until I can face it again.

Oh, baby, I'm surprised...

My dear old friend/former housemate is having herself a babeeeeee!

Just in time, my LYSO announced Elizabeth Zimmerman's much made Baby Surprise Jacket as the next KAL. Since I've been working the test knit baby sweater, I almost resisted - until Vicki made me touch the suggested yarn. Whoa nelly, I could not wait to get my hands in it! I am using Fiesta Yarn's Boomerang in Caribbean. It is so super yummy. Bright, delicious colorway that will work whether Heidi births herself a boy or a girl and fabulously soft and springy.


I've been unable to put it down. This pattern is insane. How on earth does anyone think out such a thing? Seriously, it is designed in 3-D. You get some weird schmooshy thing that somehow folds perfectly into a sweater. I get why EZ is considered a genius now.

So, I was tearing along. Bought the yarn last Thursday and it looked as though I'd finish it tonight except...I am about two (maybe three) bloody yards short on yarn. ugh. I've sent Vickie a message asking her to pull some out for me to pick up tomorrow. Soooooo close....

Test knitting???

I've often seen projects tagged as 'test knits' on rav. It has struck me as exciting to be among the first to try out a pattern. Alas, it has also seemed to me that those who test knit ought to be very, very good knitters, with a fine eye for detail and a good degree of perfectionism. So, you know - very, very not me.

Yet somehow... there are two projects I've started - as a test knitter. My dear friend Karen from the Rav boards (who designed the Viking Bag) teased us with a photo of a baby cardigan featuring the viking cable. I immediately wanted to make one up in a pink yarn. She hadn't written up the pattern at the time, but said she planned to do so. Soon after the tease, a co-worker shared she was pregnant with a girl baby. Well, I became very ardent in soliciting the pattern, in English and she finally wrote it up and translated it to English. All she needed was test knitters. Can you say amen?!?!? So, now I am test knitting it. I fell in love with a deep magenta yarn from Jojoland.


Karen is a goddess of design and so I expected absolutely no snags. She's got that eye for detail and perfectionism I wish I had. I was weirdly proud of myself for finding a tiny miscount/typo and alerting her. It made me feel useful in an odd way. Now, I've never knit a top down sweater and am a little nervous now that I've gotten to the section that divides out the sleeves, etc. Thank goodness she's just an email away to talk me through it!

At the same time, my favorites list was exploding with shawls in my attempt to find the perfect project for the Silk Noir I'd picked up. I think I've fav'd well over 100 shawls trying to find the one that would demand to be made - while also getting me past my fear of large lace projects and triangular knitting. And then I came across the perfect, dreamy beyond dreams shawl...

And it was available for free download...!

ummm... in Finnish.

argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, being tenacious (right?) I began scouring the net for an English translation. And... there was none to be found. I wrote pretty much every English speaking person who'd made the shawl. None could provide a translated pattern. Most said it was easy enough to follow the charts. That's great, except I've never done a large, lacey, triangular shawl and so charts without very detailed instruction were insufficient - no matter how clear they were to others. argh, argh, argh.

Eventually, I wrote the designer, expressing my deep admiration of her creation and asking her to please let me know should she ever translate it to English.

Lo and behold, as it turns out she was in the process of translating it and needed.... (can you guess) test knitters! I explained I was a complete novice at large, lace, triangular shawls but was willing if she felt such a perspective would be useful. I got the pattern two days later - yahooo-ey!!!!

Here's the super yummy Silk Noir:


Fingers crossed!

Oops

Almost forgot this in all the excitement I felt over Caden's sweater! But, in other news, I wrapped up a long standing, just knit on it randomly project. It's called the EZ Gansey (not Elizabeth Zimmerman, just EZ as in takes almost no actual smarts, per se):


It's super comfy.

But really, it's all about Caden's RHJ for me. That, I love above all knitted things right now.

A little hooking

I've been wanting to learn to crochet forever. I really like the look of crocheted projects in general, but also looove knit projects with crochet accents. I've even got a nice set of hooks. I've been going back and forth on actually learning and then stumbled upon a really cool site with videos. I taught myself how to make a chain and then how to work one stitch - the single crochet stitch. I made a little headband:
hee hee...

Caden's 2008 Sweater - complet-o

Okay, a lot to catch up on and I'm way tired so, first things first...

Caden's 2008 Sweater. I was zipping along nicely having chosen to frog the original in favor of a cable-filled sweater with a bulkier yarn. I'd chosen Cascade's Bulky Tweed in a yummy red. I loved it and was moving along quite well when I realized I was going to run out of yarn long before completing the project. I was also due to head out of town and thus found myself needing to get some and quickly. I found some online on ebay and I ordered it right up. The seller was super nice and sent it out pronto once I explained my dilemma. Good to go, right? Eh, not so fast...

I'd failed to note the seller was selling the 220 Tweed... and I had the 128. So, while I got some yummy Cascade 220 in plenty of time, I still did not have what I needed to complete the project. I spent the next several days calling and driving all around MA in search of my yarn and.... none to be found. I mean 'none' and I went everywhere (including into Boston during rush hour - ugh). There was not enough time for an online order and I was stuck.

But, I am tenacious. So, I went onto the Cascade website, noted all the potential sellers along the route from here in Boston to Mom's in MD and began calling...

I finally found a seller who assured me she had plenty in stock and double checked to make sure she had the correct color, etc. and she did. And, she was going to be open late the night I was driving down to Mom's. Yay! The fantabulous seller was Woolworks, Inc - outside Baltimore.

Now I just had to make it to her in time...

Let me tell you, I flew on the drive down. I'm not sure I've ever pushed my car and the laws of traffic so hard. I made NJ in under three hours. Let me restate that: I drove from Boston to NJ in under three hours, with traffic. Nuts. But I made it in time and even scored some Alchemy yarn...

I have declared Alchemy Silk Purse as my absolute dream yarn. I cannot imagine when I'll be able to afford enough for a pattern I want, but I love, love, love it. They had some Silk Purse at the store, but only in a cream color. I adore the Desert Song colorway. They had Desert Song, but only in the Silk Straw. One of the women assured me it was yummy when knit up so...


Isn't it lovely???

But, back to Caden's sweater. The woman at the store had pulled the yarn for me and so I got back to work. The hood d*mned near took me out. Hoods are hugmongous in ways you'd never expect. A hood in moss/seed stitch is close to torture. But lookee here....

back - mmm, I LOVE cables

front - and really love how they flow into the hood...

Just another Monday night...

Just another Monday night in my neck of the woods...

I came home tonight to signs on my street saying "No Parking for Sunsetters." I'd no idea what that meant and was pretty much too dog-tired from yesterday's drive up from DC to care. I thanked the universe once again for off-street-parking and went up. I was just settling in for a little nap (did I mention the monstrous commute from DC last night?) and suddenly heard something I couldn't quite identify. Imagine my (happy) surprise to step onto my porch and see this:



Aren't they cute? They're called the Sunsetters. Here's a blurb on them from my city's website: The S********* Sunsetters are a youth performance troup, performing a mix of classic Broadway show tunes and modern musicals for residents throughout the summer. Comprised of 30 members, ages 11-18... The Sunsetters were a popular singing and dancing group throughout the 1970s and 80s, and has since made a popular comeback. In addition to shows in residential neighborhoods beginning June 26th, the group will perform at the city's Independence Day Fireworks Celebrations, ArtBeat, and the Mayor's Senior Picnic.