We have a button and a debut!

Not much knitting to show here, I'm working on my Thelonious and shockingly I've done a bit on my Forest Path Stole altho I'm not sharing it cause I'm really trying to decide if I am gonna continue to knit it or "know when to fold em"! So pics next time....maybe, heh!

But....

I wanted to share a few things at least.

Here's a button for World Wide Knit In Public Day if anyone is interested. This is the same button from last year and the year before so if some generous soul with photoshop skillz was inclined to make a new one, I'm sure no one would object! Click on the button for a link to the WWKIP Day page....

And now to make up for the lack of knitting, I give you the world wide premiere of the fabulous....the glamorous....the ever adorable....

P-Man LIVE!!


Hope you enjoy it (despite the crap video skills and the FKD voice of silliness!) Be back with some actual knitting soon! Gotta go see if Steven Speilberg is ready to take a meeting....

Blue Wednesday

Nah, I'm not sad, it's just that blue seems to be the color of the moment :)

Case in point, meet Audrey....

She's periwinkle blue and ain't she sweet?
(As always, click to embiggen and note kitty with ever present tongue sticking out, stage left)

Here's a detail shot of her ribbing and lace
(kitty still hamming it up in the background)

The lace is ready for it's close up, Mr. De Mille!

Specs:

Audrey from Elsebeth Lavold Designer's Choice, Book Four The Sophisticated Lady Collection

Size Small (33 1/2 inches) - I'll try to get a modeled shot once it's gifted

Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in color # 27, Periwinkle - Just under 3 skeins - I LOVE this yarn!!

Addi Turbos US #4 and #6

Mods: The only mods I made was to shorten the body by one inch (I thought it would be a bit more youthful in the slightly shorter length.)

This was a fast, fun knit with lots of va-va-va- voom! I just think it's so pretty and feminine!

As with most Lavold patterns, it's pretty organic...kinda the bare minimum as patterns go. For example, altho the lace is easy enough for a beginner, it never says in the pattern to reverse the charts so the left and right patterns mirror each other. Obvious to most experienced knitters but not to a newbie. Personally I think guidance like that should be in every book, some knitters can be very literal when following a pattern! In addition, I was unable to find an errata page but there is an error in the chart - it was an easy fix, and pretty obvious once you're into the pattern.

I also wish Ms. Lavold would learn to do schematics! There's nary a one in any of the books I've looked at and altho they are not necessary I find they are very nice to refer to when blocking.

Despite those minor whinges, it's a lovely knit and I'm very happy with the finished product.

I also started some new socks....guess what color?


Why, blue of course!
This is some Louet Gems Pearl in the color Neptune and the beginnings of Thelonius by Cookie A.

The astute among you will also note that this week's manicure is brought to you by the color blue! This is another by OPI, the Brights Collection called Can't You Sea? I don't often knit with blue but I've had the colorway and pattern for these socks dancing in my head for a few weeks and I guess that fact subconsciously influenced my manicure color choice. I never even noticed til I started the socks today, d'oh!! :)

The pattern calls for a gauge of 8 inches/inch on 1.5 US (2.5 mm) so I decided to try my Knitpicks DPNs for the first time. I'm spot on for gauge but may I say...MEH! I don't get all the hoopla - they are very slick and pointy but they are HEAVY and too short for me! They may be cheap but so are my beloved Aeros
and my Aeros aren't too slippery, are also nice and pointy and a much better length. I do like many of the Knitpicks products but I'm not jumping on the "I heart options needles!" bandwagon! Gimme my Aeros or addi turbos any day!

Speaking of which, you may wonder what has become of the Forest Path Stole....
Well, I'm just not feeling the love. Yes, I'm co-hosting the KAL but knitting should be fun and never a chore. The truth is I LOATHE knitting with laceweight yarn!! I have used bamboo, addi turbos, teflon and nothing makes the knitting more fun but.....:::drumroll::: enter the new Addi Lace Needles. Now this is a needle I could fall in love with and marry, heh! Seriously, these are the BEST. NEEDLES. EVER! I used a pair to knit one lace unit of the FPS (I'm just finishing tier 5). They are super light, nice grab without any drag and oh so pointy!

Now I won't say that they worked miracles and made me have a burning desire to start knitting the FPS again but they sure did help! I have a new project all picked out for WWKIP Day (I always like to start something new) so from now until June 9th I am gonna use my addi lace needles and try to find that FPS feeling again. At least I'll have my blue socks to keep me from going crazy because yes Alison, I really am a 2 project knitter :)

Lastly, as blog mascot and knitting supervisor (see the where's Waldo Pumpkin pics above) the P-Man wants to remind you, if you ask a question in the comments, please leave an address where I can respond OR check back and I'll respond in the comments! Neither the P-Man or I ever want to ignore our fans :)


Happy Wednesday whatever color yours may be!

Didnae turn owt a wee stoater?

That's Scottish slang for didn't they turn out really attractive?

Dead brilliant, they sure did!! :)

I give you the Clan Tartan Socks!

Heel-n-toe
pretty sharp, huh?
so manly!


can you hear the pipes and smell the heather?

Specs:

Clan Tartan Socks

Pattern: my own, top down mistake stitch rib on 72 stitches, reduced to 68 for the foot

YO short row heel with mini flap and gusset

US #1 (2.25mm) Aero teflon DPNs

Custom dyed superwash merino in Tartan from Cherry Blossom Fibers

I totally love how these turned out. The color is rich, warm and saturated and the yarn nice and soft. My only complaint is the yarn "tore" in a few places....it just sort of fell apart. This was my first experience with this vendor and I'm not sure what the base yarn is but I admit with the added ends to weave in because of the contrasting ribbing, heels and toes I was NOT at all thrilled to have an additional eight ends to weave in (the yarn broke 4 times!)

In the end, I love them and they are winging their way to Glasgow even as I write this!

I've finished the Lavold tank and it's blocking so I'll have a FO to show off next week and some new projects on the drawing board!

Now I leave you with the P-Man doing a Highland Fling! :)

Have a great weekend!!

A personal knitting history and it's baaaaaack!!!

Hello my cheeky monkeys :)

I totally nicked this from Sallee by way of Margene and if the other kewl kids are doing it, who am I to argue?

Actually, it was pretty eye-opening to see all the different aspects of knitting I've done, will do and those few "not unless hell freezes over" techniques, heh.

Consider yourself tagged if you so desire.

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do eventually and normal for stuff you don't intend to do (this is the category those "frozen hades" techniques fall under too!)

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn - nah, I think not :)
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn - does K1C2 Secondtime Cotton count?
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn - hey, I could grow my own source!
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with Bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/Doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn - um, see category 3 above :)
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental Knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book - why not? everybody else is :::snark:::
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with Alpaca
Fair Isle Knitting - again, category 3, remember I live in a place where it's HOT!
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding - maybe :)
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn - maybe redux :)
Knitting with dpns - yay for DPNs!!!!
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks - I would but I don't see steeking my kinda knits, really
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously - I can and have but ICK! I'd much rather magic loop
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured Knitting
Kitchener Bind Off
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and Purling Backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed Toys
Baby items - but rarely, I'd rather buy a gift and knit for adults
Knitting with Cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn - shocking, isn't it? heh!
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia - this too is a category 3 as in, no thanks!
Knitting with Linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting - about as useful as tits on a bull here in the Sunshine State
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/Bolero/Poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public - OH YEAH!!!!

Speaking of KIPing, it's that time of year again!! June 9th is WORLD WIDE KNIT IN PUBLIC DAY!!!!

If you check the link, there are lots of WWKIP Day groups from all around the globe getting their needles ready to knit in public! One thing I haven't seen is a button for this year's WWKIP Day so maybe some photoshop owning, talented knitter would be willing to volunteer their button making skills and come up with a cool button we can all put on our blogs?

Let's all get those needles ready and mark your calendars for June 9th and let's ALL KIP from every corner of the globe!!

I'll leave you with a favorite Pumpkin pic....

Don't ya just love that lil P-Man tongue sticking out?

Plans for the summer and other bits and pieces

I can't believe it's already May and thoughts of summer are foremost in my head....wasn't it *just* Christmas?? Sheesh!

Of course my summer plans include knitting and for me, knitting always includes socknitting so fittingly I joined....

Summer of Socks 2007
I love knitting with people of like minds and this is a pretty low key KAL with lots of return - vendor discounts, prizes, lots of cool socks to see and good company to hang with so what could be bad? Click on the button and come on down and join us, won't you? :)

Speaking of socks, here are my latest -

A Scottish** friend of mine loves knitting and I thought some socks in the colors of his Clan Tartan would make him happy. When I googled "tartan yarn" I found this superwash merino called Tartan (what else) in his exact Clan Tartan colors (navy, green, red with a touch of white.)

I thought adding the green for the ribbing, heels and toes would really make a sharp looking pair of socks and make the Tartan colorway pop. I love how these socks are coming along, don't you?

Now you may ask why I took two separate pics with my very bright orange manicure prominently featured. Well, I have always been fascinated with Koi and all things Koi. I always dreamed of a home with a Koi pond in the back yard, unfortunately my condo association doesn't share my dream, heh.

I found this polish by a company called OPI that I just had to have because it is the exact color of Koi! (and I love funky manicures!) Anyone that knows OPI, knows that they have the greatest punny names for all of their colors. Names like Cha-ching Cherry, Toron-toes, Teal the Cows Come Home and I'm Not Really a Waitress Red. This polish is called Going Ape-ricot but I think they should have called it Don't Be Koi :) These bits are for you, Karen!!

I'm still ignoring my FPS but I'm getting pretty close to finishing the Lavold tank Audrey so I should have that on the blocking board shortly.

I managed to catch another tongue pic of the P-Man!

He's really a pretty small kitty man but the way he licks his chops all time you would think he's a 100 pound cat! I guess he dreams of chicken like his Mom dreams of Koi.
Have a dreamy, knitty week!

** no, I'm not mailing them to my boyfriend Craig altho of course I would knit anything he asked for..... anything :::sigh:::

I got ya knittin', right here I got ya knittin'

Thanks for all the computer woe commiseration, your empathy is much appreciated!

Just a brief update and then hopefully no more computer talk for a great while....I'm coming to you via my "vintage" (I try not to hurt her feelings with ageist remarks, heh) 8 year old Gateway laptop - a FABULOUS piece of equipment and I'm not just buttering her up! As an aside, it astounds me that this laptop was made wireless ready in the days when you were state of the art if you had a 56K modem! Unfortunately, Gateway lost that kind of forward thinking and commitment to being the benchmark for quality shortly thereafter.

The "new" Gateway has another appointment for a "house call" to have a new video card, new hard drive and new mother board installed. That makes hard drive #6, video card #3, processor #2, memory #2 and mother board #2 in 18 months! basically the only original equipment is the on/off button.....so well see what happens this time!

On to some knitting!

First up, here's the FO I promised. Those of you that guessed that I was knitting a shrug were kee-rekt! Here's the front....

And because for every action there is and equal and opposite reaction - the back!

Specs:

Pattern: Retro Redux Shrug from INTERWEAVE KNITS LACE STYLE

Yarn: just over 3 skeins of Berroco Nostalgia, color #6634 for the smallest (38") size

Addi turbo circs size US 8, 9, 10 and 10 1/2

Mods: Except for subbing the yarn, not a single mod!! Imagine that? I'm shocked myself :)

This was a very quick and very fun knit! The pattern was very easy lace and instead of messing with incorporating increases/decreases into the brioche lace pattern, you simply increase needle size as you knit the first half of the shrug, and decrease on the second half - super easy peasy! The only downside is, if you don't love picking up stitches this may not be the project for you cause I had to pick up about 200 stitches for the edging on the smallest size. There is also a very interesting use of short rows to form the shawl collar.

I absolutely LOVE the yarn I used! The Nostalgia is a cotton/microfiber blend that is a pure joy to knit with! It has amazing stitch definition, is very soft and easy on the hands while being light and airy for year round wear - and if you follow the link, it's on sale til the end of May, woot!

All in all, I heartily recommend both the yarn and this pattern for a quick knit with lots of pizazz!

Currently on the needles, meet Audrey.....

She's a pretty tank from Elsebeth Lavold's Designer's Choice, Book Four

I'm using Silky Wool in color #27, Periwinkle.

Here's a close up of her beautiful leafy lace straps...

The pattern is easy but quite striking - in person i think it's one of the prettiest garments I've ever knit! Silky Wool is one of my favorite yarns, I love the color and the pattern has the right balance of soothing stockinette with the interesting rib and lace. I'm really enjoying this knit and the FO will be a winner! I'm about six inches into the front so I should have an FO to show off very soon.

I also have a new sock OTN but I'll save that for next time!

I leave you with a pic of my knitting supervisor hard at work...

You can see the P-Man loves Silky Wool too! And all your compliments on how cute he looked in his last pic plain wore the kitty man out!

Have a great week full of even stitches and MDS&W dreams - don't forget those of us that don't go live vicariously thru those that do :)