Nightingale Awakenth

Project:  Nightsongs
Pattern:  Nightsongs by MaweLucky/Jane Araujo, Ravelry free download
Yarn:  Ellen's Half Pint Farm 100% Merino Sock 
Yardage:  500 yards
Needles: Size 7
Cast on: June 20 2012

Last year I started Nightsongs, I knitted and knitted, and I ran out of yarn with less than 10 rows to go. I wrote to Ellen, she told me to send her a stretch of yarn and she'd see about dyeing a few more yards for me. I sent her the yarn, and after awhile pretty much forgot about the whole thing. The almost finished shawl quietly marinated in the back of my closet, didn't bother anyone.

Then comes Stitches. I knew Ellen would be there, so I brought her the shawl, tinked back another row, and she wrote down a bunch of notes to dye a little more yarn for me. Unfortunately this is an older sock yarn that has been discontinued, so I'd be lucky if the new yarn would match completely.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the package today from Vermont! She was able to find the same yarn, dyed the same colorway, and there is probably more than 100 yards in the skein, plenty enough to finish the shawl.

Now if I can just figure out where I left off in the pattern ...

If you have a weak stomach about frogging you probably want to get up and take a deep breath before continue to the next part.

A few years ago I knitted Gartered Stripes, also in Ellen's yarns.

Pattern: Stripe up the Band, by Candace Eisner Strick 
Yarn: Ellen's half pint merino wool (varigated and lavender), Misty Alpaca (purple) 
Needles: Size 6 
Buttons: Hand crafted glass buttons from Knitting Arts in Saratoga 
Started: September 2006 
Finished: September 2007 
Progress pictures: Waist band, Body, Almost finished, Button band 
Total cost: $120

Over the years I wore this sweater quite a bit and the body and sleeves stretched a lot, thanks to all the garter stitch. A lesson learned. The sweater no longer fits, but I still love the yarn. What to do? When I was a little girl, when I first learned playing with yarn crafts in China, my mom knitted all of my sweaters. When I outgrew an old sweater, I'd help her rip it, wind the yarn into skeins, wash the yarn, and wind it back into balls so she could use it for my next sweater. That was my first lessons working with yarn. To this day I still hand wind all of my skeined yarns.

So the answer is obvious, rip the sweater and reuse the yarn. So far I have ripped one sleeve and just moving onto the second. 

Happy Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog, and leave me a comment! 

New Yarn, New Hat

Who doesn't like getting a box of yarn in the mail?! From our very own Kathryn, who blogs at Kathryn's Brain (she's very brainy indeed), her Pay-it-Forward gift to me. It's three skeins of wool and mohair blend that she hand spun from Fiber Fanatic's fiber.  And did I mention it's NON-superwash? (See my griping about superwash wool in my Stitches Review.) There are 269 yards here, I think it's going to be a lofty scarf or shawl, I'm waiting for the right idea to hit me.

Pattern picture from Ravelry

Project: Ola My Man 老公

Pattern: Ola by Eric Peguero (free download on Ravelry)
Yarn: Knit Picks
Yardage: Less than 200 yards
Needles: Size 6
Cast on: February 26, 2013

Cast off: March 8, 2013

Cost: Stash yarn doesn't count

Notes: A few weeks ago this pattern was the hottest thing on Ravelry, because there is a naked man in the picture. (To see more naked man pictures, follow the pattern link and go to his blog entry.) Then my husband wanted a new hat, "blue with a little white on the edge", hmm, I think this is perfect. In the pictures my son modeled the hat, and no, he wasn't naked (when did I see that kid naked last? oh, never mind!)

Happy Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog, Tami's blog, and leave me a comment!

Stripes Two Ways

Project: Ten Stitch Scarf 九曲十弯
Pattern: Ten Stitch Blanket by Frankie Brown, Ravelry free download
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Stripe
Yardage: 215 yards, 50g skein
Needles: Size 6
Cast on: January 20, 2013

Cast off: February 26, 2013

Cost: $0 (trade or gift)

Previous entry: here

Notes: This scarf came out smaller than I wanted. I should have known, there are only 215 yards. Now I'm not sure what to do with it. The Ten Stitch pattern is a lot of fun to knit especially if you choose a good yarn (variegated yarn with long color change seem to work best). There are lots of different adapted projects on Ravelry, if you want to make something from one of the Ten Stitch patterns, be sure to check them out.

Project: Stripes and Braids 厚围脖 小辫子
Pattern: My own pattern. The scarf is knitted side ways. Cast on many stitches, cut yarn, leave extra for fringe. Change color, knit to end, cut. Repeat until it's wide enough. Be sure to leave enough yarn at both ends for fringe unless you plan to add fringe later.
Yarn: Assorted sports weight to heavy worsted weight odd balls, some ribbon and ladder yarns for variety.
Yardage: Don't know! I kept tossing small balls of yarn in the basket as I went along.
Needles: Size 8
Cast on: November 1, 2012 (estimate)

Cast off: February 24, 2013

Cost: $0 because odd balls don't count.

Notes: This was my "car project" -- something I can work on while I'm a passenger, or when I'm stuck somewhere in the car waiting for things to happen, like outside of school before the band is let out. It has to be garter stitch or I get car sick. It's a great stash buster, and turns out very useful too. I braided the fringe which was a lot of fun, took me the entire Academy Award Show to do it. There are a few more pictures on Ravelry. I'd definitely make another one.

Happy Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog, Tami's blog, and leave me a comment!

Indigo Finale 靛青

Project: Indigo for Green Planet
Pattern: Indigo by Mishellee Zaharis
Yarn: Rosy Green Wool, Cheeky Merino Joy, Sport Weight
Yardage: 700 yards
Needles: Size 7 & 8
Cast on: January 27, 2013

Cast off: February 16, 2013

Cost: $0 (shop sample)

Previous entries: start, progress

Notes: The pictures of the sweater are taken at Green Planet Yarn where it stays permanently as shop sample. The yarn, Rosy Green Wool, is new on the market and new to the store. As I mentioned previously, it's super green, organic, humane, throw all the good words together and you get this yarn. It's very soft and smooth, has a very nice drape, but there is something about it makes it feel highly processed. The verdict is still out on if I like it or love it.

On an unrelated note, I taught my first knitting class on Thursday night. A group of friends decided to learn to knit together, so we put together a private class. I taught five ladies to cast on, knit, purl and cast off in less than two hours. I'm rather proud of myself!

Happy Friday and Happy February! Join the party on Andrea's blog, Tami's blog, and leave me a comment!