Missing Headband Photo

November 17,2010

Here's the missing photo for the Red Nuna Does it Again post.

I even got it turned right side up.

Languishing Mittens

November 17,2010

The Heilo Mittens from page 105 to 107 have been in the same state as you see here for 2 1/2 weeks! I got on them right away after finishing the headband and believe me if you think knitting the gloves two at a time on circulars was challenging then try fair isle, two at a time on circulars. I swear each round was a 30 minute journey when you included all the sorting out of the three colours of yarns in between each mitten.

I am using Drops Alpaca and enjoying the softness and the opportunity to choose from a wide range of shades. I learned how to do the Latvian braid. It is lovely and not as complicated as I had envisioned when I first saw it. I thought you literally braided the yarns and then picked up stitches along the side of the braid to begin knitting! I am glad that there are ever so many clever people that seek simpler ways of creating the look of complexity.

I haven't changed much on this pattern but because I am doing the mittens two at a time I had to reverse the pattern for the second mitten. Not too difficult and I am grateful that the pattern for the back of the hand is symmetrical.

Why have these sweeties been sitting lonely in my knitting basket? I have had a real spate of ADD knitting going on.

1.)I had organized and put together a group knitting project which I cannot divulge as it hasn't been gifted yet. All I can say is that it involved a long stretch of knitted on I-cord.

2.)I joined Wooly Wormhead's mystery KAL for not one but two hats.

3.)I started my fifth "Citron" for a friend that I was visiting.

4.)The big finale is a baby sweater that needs to be done by Saturday.

Won't somebody dump a bucket of Ritalin on me?

To think that I contemplated naming this blog 24/7/365?! At this rate it will be 24/7/730. Hang in there kittens you will get those mittens.

Red Nuna Does it Again

Red Nuna Does it Again

November 16,2010

I know, I know, the photo is sideways. It is just that it has been so long since I posted and I knit this head band about a month ago!! I did my best to rotate it but no luck.

I used the left over Nuna from Mirasol that I used for the red gloves (which I am wearing everyday now that it is getting chilly). This was a one night knit.

I changed the sequence of this pattern. The instructions call for casting on in the centre front of the pattern and knitting down one side and then picking up stitches on the cast on and knitting down the other side. I just started at the one end and knit all the way to the buttonhole end.

I found it curious that in order to have the two ends symmetrical and using only decreases on the sides that you would have a weird ridge in the centre front. Why wouldn't you at least have a provisional cast on to disguise the restart?

Oh well, a delightful stitch pattern and I can see using it again some time as a cuff on sleeves. As a headband it would be great to put beads in the yarn overs for a much snazzier look. Really I thought I would be giving this little knitbit away but I have been making it a coordinated 60's look with the headband and the gloves.

OK that fries it! I just lost the photo altogether. I will include with the next post.

Bookmark aka Bracelet

I spent about 2 days searching out the right beads to add to the bracelet. Three visits and two bead shops later I audition the all of the beads you see in the picture. I tried stringing them and was not satisfied with the way that didn't stay in place and had a tendency to slip to the back. I decided that I would go with the tried and true method that I used for the socks: using a .5mm crochet hook. I ended up using 6mm beads.

The trick is to knit the row with the yarn over as usual. THEN on the return row slip the yo off with the crochet hook that already has a bead slipped onto its neck and slide the bead on over to the yo. You then knit the yo which has its own little bead choker on its base and voila-its been bling'd.

Here's a site for visuals on how to do the crochet hook method.http://knitting.about.com/od/knittingskills/ss/bead-as-knit_3.htm.

In many ways I am relieved that this seems the best all around method because one day I just might be thunderstruck by some beaded shawl pattern and I just know that I would not be able to bear threading 2,000 weeny little beads ahead of time.

The yarn info: I had some leftovers from a crochet pattern that I wrote up for Amy Swenson's "Sensual Crochet" book. If you crochet you should sleuth it out. It is a much under publicized book with rockin' patterns. Back to the yarn: Alchemy's "Bamboo" as in 100%bamboo, colourway Moonstone, 150 yards/50 grams and 6sts= 1" on US size 5. I used 2.75mm needles.

A very silky, shiny turquoise that is just right for jewelry. I ended up with the silver beads (middle of the photo) and I put them on every third yarn over. I did eight repeats of the pattern.

To finish it off Lace Knitter Extrordinaire Suzanne lent me her stash of beautiful jewelry clasps to select a closure from. It is great because it is magnetic and you only have to get the two sides in the vicinity of each other and they connect.

October 28, 2010 Super Catch Up

With technical challenges and a full week of teaching I have quite a few projects that have been finished but not blogged. So I will start with the finishing of the socks. I have worn them 3 times and washed them once. They are comfortable for wearing and easy washing.

Super Catch Up

Yarn Detective on the Case

October 5, 2010

I was tooling along on my second sock doing the increases for the gusset and was on the instep where the lace pattern is when I noticed a big ugly white caterpillar of yarn wrapped around the purple sock yarn! Yuck! There had been hints of extra white here and there previously. I figured it was caused by the heathering of the yarn getting a bit heavy-handed. The bits of white did not stand out in the overall scheme of things.

I don’t know a lot about spinning and especially not commercial spinning but I thought it might be the bamboo fiber that did not get carded into the wool very well. This lumpy caterpillar of fiber was too offensive, though.

I undid the row of lace and went back as far as the middle of the sole. I removed the little rascal and tied the yarn on the wrong side. It was enough so that I can do a thorough job of weaving in the ends. It will not be noticeable down there in my shoe but I wondered about the durability of any kind of join in a sock. I was also unsure if the bamboo would allow a spit-splice to “take” with any longevity.

I then reflected on the fact that I had seen this Zitron “Pro Natura” yarn in quite a few sale bins in the yarn shops and offered at a discount on several online stores. Hmmm… a clue? Earlier last week, a fellow knitter at the afternoon group had noticed that there was a “tie” in the yarn near the outside wrappings of the ball. I was already more than half way through my first sock. Yikes! I just hoped that there weren’t any more surprises hidden inside the ball. And nearing the cuff of the second sock there have not been anymore.

Lesson learned: It pays to inspect your yarn before purchasing. Of course you cannot see all of the yarn unless it is in a skein. But I bet that several knitters with sharper eyes than me passed over that ball of sock yarn because they had noticed the tie. I am rather trusting when it comes to yarn purchasing. If I check for anything it is for the similarity of hue and tone on hand painted yarn. Bring the magnifying glass my dear Dr. Watson, we are going yarn shopping!

Just Bead It or Queen of Green pt2

Well again the photos do not do them justice but the greens elevate the socks from a nice looking pair of purple lace socks to something the lilac fairy queen herself would be delighted to wear.

The first photo is my first attempt to finish off the sock . I had in mind to do an inch of 1X1 ribbing and then a bit of a ruffle with beads on the final cast off. I saw that the beads looked a little isolated and kind of an afterthought with the long expanse of the ribbing. After doubling the stitches for the ruffle and knitting a few rows I knew I had to start over and integrate the design with beads in the ribbing.

I placed a bead on every fourth stitch after my first row of ribbing and then on the middle knit stitch four rows later. Much better. They actually began to form a heart shape.

As soon as I cast off, I cast on the second sock. I wanted to dodge the single sock syndrome. There are a few of those in my UFO stash.

Just Bead It or Queen of Green pt1

Oct 2

OOOOoooo! This is just my second time ever to add beads to my knitting. This is fun. You know “shiny…..” I am the personality type that gets easily distracted.

I was nearing the top of my sock where I wanted to put beads onto the yarn overs of the last repeat of the lace chart, so off I went to the LYS; sock and yarn in hand. I was selecting conservative tone on tone purples, delicate pearly whites; when along came Karen who has a particular affection for greens and she demurely commented, “Well, if I were you I would go with a green.” And after all the beads auditioned it was the green that got the most ooo’s and aaahhh’s. I still wasn’t completely convinced but I thought that is what this 24/7 project is all about: Trying new things.

Well again the photos do not do them justice but the greens elevate the socks from a nice looking pair of purple lace socks to something the lilac fairy queen herself would be delighted to wear.

Thank you, Karen.

"Knit on..."

Oct.1st

Sorry not to have written for a while. I had not realized how affected I had been in awaiting the news of whether our son was going to be sent overseas to a war torn country. We found out on Wednesday that his name was not on the list of those being shipped out and the tremendous release I felt afterwards made me aware of how tightly wound I had been while waiting in anticipation.

The Thursday before at knitting group while I was in the state-of–not-knowing-limbo I had mentioned this and Suzanne commented on how helpful she found knitting in stressful times. I thought about Elizabeth Zimmerman’s famous quote: “Knit on with confidence and hope through all crises.” Previously, I had mostly thought this was the Great Knitting Sage’s advice to knitters trying out some new technique or when you have live stitches threatening to disappear. I now have experienced what a great relief my knitting is when my life stood on the brink, not just my knitting. So in my spare moments when my mind would have too much rope to begin running worse case scenarios through my mind I would take up my knitting and focus on the task at hand.

After my initial cast on with the figure eight and increases in the toe I fell in love with this lace pattern. Upside down or right side up it has a lovely flow to it and it is nice and stretchy. It really hugs the leg.

I have a new favorite heel for toe up socks. I most often use the short row heel when going toe up. But when knitting top down I use a slip stitch heel for its looks and durability. I am not that much of a sock wizard that I was willing to sort out the toe up slip stitch heel knitting instructions, so I am infinitely grateful for the first person who wrestled that one onto the printed page or is that electronic screen? Anyone out there know the first published TUSSH? Again I used the well written and illustrated instructions in Wendy D. Johnson’s book, “Socks from the Toe Up.” (page 41)

There are NO stitches to pick up, just a flow of increases and decreases. I apologize for my lack of photographic skills. This photo is my fifth attempt. Unfortunately my camera has all sorts of settings: little flowers, mountains, faces but no icon for knitting!

Moving on up

September 24, 2010

I have now reached the heel of my toe up socks and I am not as disappointed with the colour of the yarn as I was at first. The darkness and the heathered texture did not feature the lace stitch pattern as nicely as the light green yarn used in the book. It did help to try the sock on- a great advantage to toe up on two circular needles- it spread out the pattern and you could see the pattern of the lacey holes. Today at our Saturday morning knitting group that meets at the Vienna Café I was delightfully surprised that in the bright sunlight streaming in the windows you could see the swirly bits quite clearly, too. It’s interesting because I had taken the sock to the Thursday Knitting group that meets at the Anglican Church and the pattern was not as distinct because it was rather a grey overcast day. Everything goes better with sunshine in my books, and this is further proof.

OK, stepping on to the stingy knitting instructions soap box: As I am knitting the socks in reverse to the book instructions I discovered that there really isn’t an explicit instruction that indicates that the knitter should continue in stockinette stitch on the two needles for the rest of the foot after the heel. If someone wasn’t that experienced this could be a cause for ripping out. I know the photos are a great help for one to notice that the sole needs to be smoother but again; there is a lot of space there in that artfully laid out book where just a few phrases would make the way to proceed crystal clear.

At 3” shy of the back of the heel I had to begin increasing for the gusset of the heel. Wendy Johnson’s “Socks from the Toe Up” is a terrific guide. On page 41 she gives detailed instructions. She recommends a kfb for the increases. She also has a tip side line on page 31 recommending that you keep track of how many pattern repeats you knit before starting the heel and when doing the leg, this way your second sock will be identical.

I am really getting into this lace pattern. At first it is always a shock to see how thin sock yarn is and you feel like it will take forever to progress but then it slowly begins to build and you become encouraged by the preciousness of the hard won fabric.

Yarning

September 24, 2010

I think my husband has coined a new knitting term. Yesterday morning, soon after I woke up I began to wind up some yarn that I had been sorting through the night before. Later on while my husband and I were on our morning walk, I complained that I wished I had more time for a longer walk.

My husband remarked, “Well, if you hadn’t been knitting this morning, you would have more time.” I declared that I wasn’t knitting.

“OK”, he conceded, “but you were doing something with yarn.”

“I was winding yarn.”

“Well, from now on I will call it all Yarning.”

Yeah, that is what I was doing. I spend a lot of time yarning. I fondle the yarn; I reorganize my stash according to colour, texture, and gauge. I put different yarns together for future projects. While winding the yarn I go into a trance of considerations, floating combinations through my mind, considering the drape, the stitch pattern and the garment. Yarning is a favorite activity of mine. I like to just hang out with yarn period.

Below is a basket I started with yarns I am collecting for the yarns in 24/7. I was my most thrilled when I had to sort through my Koigu collection to make a colour selection for the “Elemental Pullover.” You can see it on the right of the basket. The brown and blue on the left are Classic Elite “Fresco” for the Redwork Cowl and Mitts on page 101.

Sept 19th con't

The yarn is Zitron’s “Trekking” Pro Natura. It is 75% New Wool and 25% Bamboo. (Really now when you see the designation of “New” wool you have to wonder: Have I been knitting with “Old” wool all this time? And just how long after it’s been sheared from the sheep to when they spin it determines the old from the new?) There is 420m on the 100g ball. Can’t remember where I bought it but it obviously cost me $20.70. It is a nice soft heathered purple-colour#1515.

I am using 2.25mm circulars and I am doing ONE at a time this time - so much calmer than the bag of snakes thing.

Two Down, Twenty-Eight to Go

September 19, 2010

As you can see from the photo I have finished knitting my gloves. I cast on September 9^th so that is 10 days of knitting. Not too bad for all the appendages. I, of course, will have to count tomorrow as the official finish day as I have yet to weave in my ends. Now I can’t remember what the rule was about starting another project before the “official finishing” of the previous one, but I couldn’t resist the casting on of the Lacy Cable socks, pages 112 to 115.

I have decided to knit them toe up and I am changing up the garter stitch toes for smooth stockinet. I might add beads at the tops too. I will have plenty of time to think about it as I experience the lace through the foot.

My new learning here will be doing a slip stitch heel from the bottom up. I prefer toe ups and I often do the short row heel. I have only ever done the slip stitch heel on the top downs. I am using Wendy D. Johnson’s “Socks from the Toe Up” for my tech support. I also used the Judy’s Magic cast on which is waay easier and less fussy than the short row cast on. I have done it once before on a pair of WIP ZauberBall socks.

I will also be doing the lace pattern upside down. This should be interesting, but I have turned the book upside down and I really don’t see much difference.

Touchy, touchy gauge or Peace Man part B

September 16 part B

Back to the 24/7 thing. .. I liked the way Julie had a countdown on her on her blog. I will speak to my techy to see if that is possible. The fingers have been interesting. I have a few technical things to talk about.

#1 . I have been using a double knitting technique I first learned about from Beverly Royce. She had her sweet knitted horse show up in Vogue Knitting. I wrote to her and bought her book. I explained that I was a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher and that we only have natural toys, etc. She not only sent me the book, she sent me a knitted horse as well. Such generosity.

In this technique you can knit in the round on 2 straight needles. You divide the stitches on 2 double pointed needles . Then take a third dpn and pick up 1 st from each of the needles alternately. When you knit you knit the stitch from the needle closest to you first, bring the yarn in front , slip the stitch from the back needle ,bring the yarn in back and repeat across.

I thought I would use this technique because 4 needles flying around such a small diameter can be a bit annoying. At first I picked up the stitches in the round knit a few rows and then switched to the double knitting. I had to start the first finger over because I noticed how the gauge was looser. I guess all that flipping of the yarn before and after the slipped stitch makes for more yarn. So I went down to a 2.75mm needle. Gauge is so sensitive. It is as if you need to check the barometric pressure before you knit.

#2. On the space between the fingers – which I affectionately call the crotch- the book calls for picking up 5 sts along the cast on edge on of the previously knit finger. I picked up 7 because I didn’t want any extra spaces or stretched stitches . I made a pair of gloves before in a larger gauge and I struggled with this. I just knit 2 together on the following rows to get it down to the right number.

#3. At the top of the fingers the book has 2 decrease rounds in a row. I couldn’t stand it and I knit 1 row even between the two decrease rows. Maybe I have especially pointy ended fingers but it seems to fit my fingers well- like a glove.

Touchy, touchy gauge or Peace Man

September 16 part A

Well as you can see from the photo I have finished the “peace fingers” on both gloves. I am working on them one finger on at a time. It is at times like these that I lament things like why do we have to have two hands or two arms when doing a sweater- the agony of gloves: why do we have to have Eight fingers and Two thumbs??! Any way this is when the dangerous WPI-itis has been known to strike in the past. So you can see that the blogging is helping. It is keeping me focused.

I just finished watching the movie Julie, Julia and now I know why someone told me that I needed to watch the movie after I explained to them about my Knitting 24/7 project. It is the story of how a woman starts a blog about cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s French Cook Book. It gave me pause for serious reflection- I, too, like the main character suspect the ADD thing is a major forming factor in my life and that is partially why I was motivated to do all the projects in the book- it gave me structure and focus. I recognized some of the overly dramatic reactiveness in the overall scheme of my life as well. And like I mentioned in the intro to the blog I have imaginary competitors that participate in my self invented contests. Like the time I won the knit a sweater in a week contest. I did knit all the parts to the sweater and finished just stitches ahead of my nearest competitor but alas lost the title when it took another 3 months before I sewed the pieces together. A technicality that I tried to argue with the judges- after all I did do the knitting part in less than a week.

Stingy Instructions and A Bag of Snakes

September 15

What I am about to comment on is in no way a criticism of the book but some observations in general about how instructions are written up in knitting patterns. The fact that almost all of my adult life has been focused on making knowledge accessible to learners of all abilities and differing styles of learning has also influenced how I view knitting instructions and probably not the opinion of the majority of knitters.

That said, I am taking issue with the last instruction on page 117 where it says:

Next Rnd: Work 24 sts, pm, k22, k2.

Now don’t get me wrong I love all the abbreviations and the code for the sake of simplicity but the simple phrase “in the established pattern” would be most helpful after “Work 24sts”. This would leave no doubts in the knitters mind and would not take up much room.

Then in the very next instruction at the top of page 118 and then again where it is repeated for the right hand glove is a circumstance I have come across quite often.

What is being asked for is to increase 2 sts. every 3^rd round, 7 times. As the instructions ar written there is room for interpretation as to whether it is 6 or 7 times. Just adding the word “more” to the phrase: “then every 3 rnds 6 times more” would clear it up or the phrase “for a total of 7 times”. Again it does not take up much room. It is not until the knitter does the math and figures out that in order to have a total of 62sts, the increases must happen 7 times does it become clear.

It is not a big deal and experienced knitters would figure a lot of this out just from looking at the photos but as well it would not unnecessarily complicate things just to add those few words and have no doubts.

I laughed when I went to knitting group Saturday morning and as I was bringing out my gloves , Suzanne said, “Oh that’s like trying to sort out a bag of snakes.” A much better description that the metal octopus metaphor. Those connecting wires are very ornery. I have also learned not to set down my work until I have completed the rounds on both gloves. Setting down the needles midstream is dizzying if you cannot remember where you finished off. But if just such an emergency should occur, it is better to stop in the middle of a side of one of the gloves than to stop between gloves.

I also learned about M1R and M1L. I guess I have been doing M1L all this time and didn’t recognize the difference in the slant of the stitches. You need to use a M1R on one side of the gusset and a M1L on the other in order to get the stitches to slant in towards the gusset. It looks so very neat and tidy. I finished the gussets last night and am moving on to covering the knuckles tomorrow.

A Bit of an Aside

Septmeber 12

I just want to share one of the projects that I had to get finished before going full steam ahead with 24/7. It is the lace wimple I was knitting for my mom. It is from Fiddlesticks and one of the greatest things about it is that it was so nearly the perfect amount of yarn for the pattern. It used one skein of Ella Rae’s Lace Merino.

In the photo you can see how little was left over. My mom had picked out the yarn about a year ago and I am finally getting it knit for her July birthday- what I was in the Netherlands then. The pattern called for using a laceweight yarn doubled but the fabric was too dense for me so I went single and got gauge. I really like how the lace pattern and the dye pattern on the yarn complement one another. It has a rocky granite look to it- yet it is a delicate lace. I love when the pattern and the yarn synchronize.

What is a wimple? It is from the Middle Ages as I recall. It is also the name of the part of a nun’s traditional clothing. It is put on under the headdress. The lacier bit at the bottom goes around the shoulders and you frame the face with the upper opening. My mom, who is rather frugal with the heating wanted something to wear while she sat in bed and read at night. I put pieces of paper in the middle to show off the lace pattern.

Knitting How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

Septmeber 11

Tonight things became smoother with the length of the cuffs having more substance and me getting the rhythm of needles and yarn it went faster and the beauty of the red cables revealing themselves like the petals of a rose unfurling... All is forgiven. They are fitting my wrists just right too.

Wrestling with a Metal Half Octopus

Sept 10, 2010

That is how I would describe my experience last night with the Jeny’s stretchy cast on to 2 circular needles. There were needles, yarn, twisted plastic connecting wires and choice words flying every- where.

Let us start first with the cast on. After watching Jeny’s clever video – I love the seals on the beach metaphor- I began to practice the cast on. Suddenly it all flashed before my eyes that I had tried this cast on before. And it had driven me crazy. Anyway I practiced and practiced. The poor yarn looked like it had lived a tortured existence. It is the snugging up bit that challenges my fine motor skills. I get the little slip knots all close up to one another, I hold the yarn down on the needle then when I pull the working yarn to tighten it bunches up underneath and does not meet my desired standards of a neatened edge.

I can’t remember the project but I soon gave up on it and used my usual long tail cast on. But this was the purpose of this whole 24/7 thing so I persevered and after an hour and half episode of “Midsomer Murders” (an engaging BBC series that the Mister and I enjoy) I finally had 48 sts. cast on twice- one for each glove you know. I also had to sort out the placement of the stitches because I am knitting 2 at a time.

Well there it is the metal half octopus. I became quite discouraged and even set it down twice thinking I would give it a go again in the morning. But the urge to progress was too strong and finally I had the garter stitch edging and a first 4 row sequence of the cable pattern. I think it was about midnight. Pitiful really- 2 hours of knitting and that was all I had done.

New cast on tips and links

September 7, 2010

I have decided to do Jeny’s Slipknot Cast On http://curiousknitter.blogspot.com/2009/09/jeny-stretchy-slipknot-cast-on.html.

I have not used this before and I figured would be helpful and less wearing on the cast on stitches as it is made for the size of your wrists and you must fit your whole hand through there.

I think that I will also do 2 gloves at a time on 2 circular needles. This may send me into a dyslexic spin but I will give it a go. After all this 24/7 project is supposed to stretch me. Oooh I think that was a knitting pun* http://www.needletrax.com/twocirculars.htm

and now something we all can enjoy...

September 6, 2010

I am not finished my other 2 projects but I couldn’t resist the swatching. The book calls for 2.75mm needles and I started out with2.5mm as the stitch count per 4” for the project was smaller(26sts) than the stitch count on the ball band (24sts) but it was like knitting with pins! I was so glad that the gauge was wa-a-ay too tight. I moved up to 3.25mm and it was just right. I did about 2” of stockinette stitch and then I did the cabled pattern – 3 left twist and 3 right twist which is the amount for the back of the hand. Ooh it is so collegiate and 50’s.

Project 2

September 5, 2010

I wound the 2 skeins of Mirasol Nuna for the Cabled Gloves. I have 2 other projects that I want to finish first before my official start but ball winding and gauge swatching don’t really count as starting– do they?

I love this yarn. Drea knit a wicked Rowan sweater with this yarn and whenever I helped with things like the armhole and neckline ribbing pick up I became enchanted.

The specs: Mirasol Nuna 40% Merino wool, 40% silk, 20% bamboo, Shade 53648 a bluish

2 tomato red – if such a thing exists, 50g/175m

Purchased at my LYS That Craft Store, Nelson, BC $9.95 a skein

Project 1 finshered

September 4, 2010

I knit the largest size 21 ¼” as Drea’s head measured 22” and the final measurement was 24” but the addition of the 22” of grosgrain ribbon brought in to the right size for me anyway. We will find out once I send it off to Drea.

**A great plus about this hat is that if you don’t add the grosgrain ribbon – it is reversible. The picture with the shawl pin is actually the inside. On this side you notice the knit stitches more. On the patterns right side the purl stitches are more obvious and really give the hat its’ more textury look. I really like this stitch pattern.

Project 1

September 2, 2010

So this was a surprise start as I had planned to do the Cabled Gloves first. Drea (the daughter) saw the book and wanted to knit the Spiral Tweed Cloche. She has knit hats, armwarmers, and even 3 sweaters; nonetheless she asked me to get her started in the round. When I had cast on with circulars and was showing her the diagonal ribbing she declared that it wouldn’t work for her because she couldn’t watch tv and knit at the same time because it wasn’t the same pattern for each row. “Here you are going to have to finish it Mom.”

She did provide the innovation for this project though. Instead of using the big button she purchased a lovely shawl pin by Pollika for adornment.

Spiral Tweed Cloche- pages52-55

Yarn: Cascade Eco+ 100% Peruvian Wool Shade 7098 Burgundy 250g/437m

Purchased at Three Bags Full Vancouver, BC $18.95

I only used about ¼ of the skein

Needles: 5mm and 4.5mm 16”circulars I only needed 4.5mm dpns for the last few rows.

An Intro

Introduction: This may be a bit shocking for all who know how sanguine I am when it comes to knitting projects, (I absolutely refuse to count my WPI’s): I have decided to add some structure to my knitting life. When I first purchased Veronik Avery’s “Knitting 24/7” I thought there were a few projects that I would knit up as gifts and I absolutely had to have those red gloves. Then as I reviewed the book several more times I was struck by the knitting fairies with the notion that I would knit every item in the book starting at the back of the book with the Cabled Gloves and finish off with the Patterned Mittens.

I love competitions especially the ones that I make up for myself and as I only have imaginary competitors I usually come out on top so I made a few rules for this knitting adventure which I hope will increase my skills and stretch my creativity.

For each project I have to fulfill at least one of these conditions. (I get extra points for combining more than one change. I can just smell the gold.):

*I had to try out a new technique: such as a new way to cast on.

*Change the direction of the knitting: toe up instead of cuff down.

*Change the gauge: this would give me designer math practice.

*Of course I am free to switch up the yarns: like diving into my Koigu stash for the Elemental Pullover

*Changing the use of the project: making the bookmark into a necklace (thank you Mandy Moore for that idea)

*Any other innovation that I have not listed here.

So here I go. The blog was the suggestion of a coworker of my daughter. The YYoganini is a relatively new knitter that is completely internet taught. I thought a blog would also keep me accountable and curb my distractibility. There is a rider though I am free to work on other projects not in the book at the same time!