Frustrated

ETA - I did finally get in and I did get my classes just fine. I'm taking Ruth's designing with Kauni yarn all day Friday, and Judith's Spinning for Socks on Sunday afternoon. Village Yarn and Tea will have a vendor booth there too, so I'll spend my non-class time working there and having fun with friends at night!

I got up all ready to register for Madrona Fiber Arts this morning. Got everything all filled out, my classes were still open and - bam!- an error message. Not twice, but five seperate times. I really wanted the class with Ruth on designing with Kauni yarns and the class with Judith on spinning for socks. Now registration is suspended due to technical difficulties, and I have to head off to work.

Poor Suzanne - I know it's not her fault at all - we are also having a bit of a windstorm out here, so I wonder if that was part of the problem.

Goin' for it~

I learned a nifty new bind-off technique today from Naomi and Melinda who had learned it at the Nihon class they are taking. It's similar to a 3-needle bind off, but it doesn't have such a thick selvage on the wrong side. Nice. So, after accidentally seaming the two front edges together (oops!) I'm ready to baste the steek stitches and cut the armholes. Oh my. Here goes!This is my new sewing machine. It's not fancy at all, but it's fairly heavy duty and has what I need. I've sewn since I was 10, and I'm not one for the computerized or embroidery machines. Maybe one day, but this is good for now. I had a great Bernina Sport machine but I gave it to Sara when she moved into her apartment in September.

Here's the beginning of the basting.

And the cut. There's no going back from here! Next I need to pick up stitches for the sleeves. At least I'm still breathing!

Over the (blue) moon

Amy, Naomi and I did a group order for some Blue Moon goodness a couple of weeks ago. It arrived yesterday!

I bought STR in Rocktober, Grinchy and JingleBell Rock. I also was talked into Laci in Red Clover Honey (I see Bee Fields in my future!) and I also got a Sheep to Shoe kit in Thistle. I really want to get better at spinning for socks, so we'll see.

I'm off to get a haircut and then Naomi's for an afternoon of knitting, friends, and fun. I'm hoping to finally decide if and how I'm going to get my shoulder seams finished for my Kauni. I need to move on with it.

Patrick's sweater is coming along. The pattern is written to be 15" from the cast-on edge to the armholes. I'm there now, so I've sent off an email to him to measure himself and a favorite other shirt (he doesn't wear sweaters - hasn't found the right one yet - )to figure out really how long he wants it.

I've made a bit of progress on my Ella Rae sweater - I put it aside for a bit to work on Patrick's, but since I'm waiting to hear from him, I can work more on it. I've been working it two balls at a time, switching them out every second row. It's looking great! I think it's doing a great job of not pooling or flashing.


(No, this is not me)

I think I can, I think I can....

I think I have my Christmas gift knitting all set. Of course various people who will be recipients of same gifts pop in to read my blog from time to time, so I guess I can't say too much about them. Patrick knows what I'm making, as he picked it out. I'm modifying the ribbed cardigan in Last Minute Knitted Gifts to be a 1/4-zip pullover. He picked Plymouth Tweed in charcoal and away I went. I swatched Tuesday night, got gauge and finally cast on Wednesday night.

Let me say here and now that I am not a perfect knitter. I know. It's shocking, huh? So, I got about 5 inches into the thing and I realized the whole front was going to be wonky. You see, the pattern is for a full zip cardigan. There are k2 ribs on either side of the zipper and the body is knit all in a one piece 4x4 rib. So I had merrily cast on my full cadre of stitches and went on my way. I stopped to admire the work and I realized that the zipper placement will just not look right with a K4 on the right and a P4 on the left. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Off to the frog pond with that baby.

Cast back on yesterday morning and I left four stitches off on each side. I don't need a zipper selvedge, and Patrick wants to make sure it is not at all baggy - more athletic cut. So now I have the center front centered on a K4 rib and that will be divided (K2,zipper,K2) at the appropriate time.

Here's progress so far:

It does seem to be going rather quickly - I need 15" until the armhole shaping - I think I'm around 9 inches right now.

I'll post more later tonight - Amy and I are headed to IKEA to check our their Christmas stuff and who knows what else. I'll leave you with two recently finished shop models.