Noro Jacket: DONE!!!

This was a huge project. I don't even want to admit how many balls of Noro this took but let's just say it was more than 10. I used to swear that I would never spend that kind of money to make a project. Then I turned into a yarn snob. Anyway, this was a pattern out a Noro book and I fell in love with the picture so I had to make it.



No, it's not just you. The arms are excessively long. I don't know what happened with this project. I made the medium, which is about what I am for most knitting projects. I typically knit right on guage so I don't think I knitted too loosely. And I made sure I measured everything very accurately to the pattern. This sweater is HUGE on me. The sleeves hang a couple inches past my fingers and the whole thing is too big on me. I'm not saying I won't wear it. I can fold up the sleeves and wear something pretty bulky under it. It will definitely be a cold weather layering piece since it is open in the front. It's hard to see but it closes with a beautiful handmade dichroic glass button that is made by a former employee at the bead/yarn shop. It truly picks up all of the colors in the sweater and finished it off nicely. But I will probably have to wait until next winter to wear this because the warm weather is coming!

Weather to Spin By

Crazy amounts of rain here yesterday! As you can see, most of our backyard was flooded. It was hailing and everything. We don't get big storms like this very often so I had to take a picture. It was the perfect weather for spinning because I sit close to the slider when I spin and can look outside and watch the rain or watch the birds at the feeder.

Impulse Project

I needed a quick project to work on in the car on the way to my cousin's wedding last weekend, so I picked this one. It was pretty simple and I got it done in two days. I call it an impulse project because I am not supposed to start new projects until I finish old ones. But it's OK because I FINISHED this one!



This is a little tank top out of the latest Interweave magazine using some hand-dyed cotton that I have been trying to figure out what to do with. It was the kind of project I love, because I learned something new: a provisional cast-on. I had to teach myself how to do it and I guess it worked in the end because it came out right. This will be a fun top for summer because it is nice and fitted on top and then flares out at the waist. It won't be too tight in the hot summer months here. It will look really cute with a white skirt or some of those long shorts that are in style now.

Sock is done... yes, only one

It is so exciting to finish my first sock! I immediately started my second one so that I can wear them together, instead of wearing just one sock around the house. The color may look a little off but this is a really pretty seafoam green from Lorna's Laces. Really nice yarn and easy to work with. And best of all, it is very soft even before washing! This pattern was pretty simple to do and very pretty.

Slip-stitch wrap

This is a shawl that I made with Noro Kureyon and Karabella lace mohair. It is a slip stitch pattern that gives it a woven look. I love how it turned out and I will be able to wear it with lots of different colors. It will be perfect for spring and summer when it gets cool in the evening to put over a tank top.

I won the gold, baby!!!!

Okay, so my LYSO did a really awesome thing and entered everyone who finished their olympic project into a drawing for a gift certificate. I thought she was going to give $1 for every medal the U.S. won. Cool, $25 would be awesome. Well, no. She gave $10 for every medal earned. That's right, $250. Let me say it again, $250!!!!! And as you probably have figured out by now.... I WON!!! I was so shocked and surprised that it was that much money. Needless to say, I wasted no time shopping:



I got some of the yummy stuff that I drool over at the yarn shop but never buy because I can't buy the quantity that I want for a whole sweater or something. Well, not anymore! I got some beautiful Noro Iro and Cash Iroha that I will use to make a vest. I am going to attemp writing my own pattern for it. My first attempt at pattern making! The turquoise is Karabella Aurora 8 in my signature color, turquoise. I am going to make a really unique cable sweater that I got a pattern for. The other odds and ends are goodies that everyone who finished their project got. There was some good stuff in there, too. A couple of patterns and some really cute notions. I am still on a high from winning. I am knitting frantically, trying to finish some projects so I can dive into this stuff.

Yeah, this used up most of my gift certificate. I chose to get quality yarn for a couple of really nice projects rather than trying to get a lot of cheap yarn. I still have a little bit of the gift certificate left for some odds and ends when I need them. But I still am amazed at the generosity of my LYSO. Thank you Karen!!!

Closeup shot of Olympic Sweater

Here is a closeup of the sparkley yarn. My camera doesn't like to zoom. Sorry.

I am an Olympic athlete!

Here is my completed sweater out of Cherry Tree Hill yarn. I think it is called "Oceana". It is varigated pink, purple, and dark pink. It also has a glittery thread that is plied with the yarn that gives it an overall sparkle. The pattern was a Karabella pattern from my LYS. The yarn is also from my LYS. The good news is, I have enough of this yarn left over to make a felted bag someday!


I have never knitted so furiously on a project. I was determined to finish it by the deadline. And I did! 2 days early even. Which of course means..... start another project! I was so good about sticking with this one until it was done and it drove me crazy. My fingers were just itching to be the ADD knitter that I know I am. But now I know I can finish a full sweater in 14 days (on size 7 needles!) if I have to.

Summer In The City tote before felting

This is from Pursenalities as I am sure you figured out. I don't think I used the same colors as the book called for. I didn't have the book with me when I was picking them out and was just trying to get close. So I am not sure how it will turn out. The embroidery is done with tapestry wool that I bought from my LYS. Off to felt!!

SITC tote after felting

I am so happy with how this turned out. The colors look a little darker in this picture than they actually are. I think the before picture is more accurate. The book called for a small ribbon weaved through the top, but I chose to sew on beads instead. I think they look better and a little dressier than ribbon would have. This will be a great purse for spring and Hawaii this summer!

My first sock!!!!! (almost)

Of course I had to choose a complicated pattern for my first attempt. That is just the way I am. This is a pattern from the most recent Interweave Knits I believe. I am using Lorna's Laces that is a beautiful seafoam color. I found it at Yarn in Durango, Colorado (hopefully my home some day). This has been really fun and I will probably become hooked on socks once I am done with both of them. These are on the back burner now until the Olympics are over. I am making a sweater for the Knitting Olympics that I will post when I am done. Posting a picture of it now just would not do it justice. It is going to be spectacular, I hope. Then, it will be back to the socks.

Adding to my stash... like I need it

Oh heaven!!! I found fabulous yarn at Common Threads in Encinitas. I went there a few weeks ago with my mom and sister. My sister, Melissa, got us each gift certificates for Christmas. Let's just say that both my mom and I spent our whole certificates and then some. The top yarn is Stria from Manos del Uruguay and I will use it to make a lacy coverup for Hawaii this summer. The green on the right is a brand new yarn from Berroco called Ultra Alpaca. It is 50% alpaca and 50% wool. It feels heavenly. I will probably make a cabled shell with it when I can find a pattern. The middle yarn is a gorgeous sock yarn from Koigu. The color matches the Manos perfectly but I doubt I will ever be wearning socks with my beach coverup! The blue-green on the right is Cotton Fleece from Brown Sheep. I loved this yarn when I used it before. I would like to make a little bolero jacket I have a pattern of. I think it will work.

Lacy Sweater

This is something I finished a while ago, but obviously I haven't been blogging so, there you go. Anyway, it is a three-quarter sleeve sweater made from baby brush alpaca by Plymouth. It is so soft and fuzzy. The pattern came from a Creative Knitting magazine. Instead of doing I-cord ties like it called for I chose to use a pin instead. That way I can change the closure if I get sick of it. I got this one at Joann's for about $4 and I think it matches perfectly. (For those of you who noticed the mistake in the pattern on the left side, quit looking so closely at my knitting! Actually, it doesn't really show when I am wearing it. But I'm still ticked off that I made the mistake.)

Baby Einstein Blanket

A teacher at my school is having a baby boy and I wanted to make her something that would be different from anything else she would get. I call this the Baby Einstein blanket because it reminds me of all those bright toys and videos that seem to be really popular for babies right now. I used "California" from Gedifra. It is a cotton/acrylic blend, so it will be washable and soft. I think she will really like it. And when I casually asked her about what colors she is using in the baby's room, it sounded like she is using non-traditional colors. So, I think it will work with what she is doing.

Vegas Scarf

We made this scarf at the yarn shop one night. It is called Vegas Scarf because you choose 6 different yarns and roll dice and flip a coin to find out which yarn you use and whether you knit or purl for that row. I chose to keep all of my yarns in the purple family because a) I had a lot of purple leftovers and b) I can't handle too much randomness. I like how it turned out and I can wear it on Fridays to school for spirit day. Our school colors are purple and yellow.

Colorful spinning

Here is the yarn from some of the roving that I dyed. I am spinning it fairly thick and I love how the colors overlap each other. I have about a pound and a half of this stuff to do so I should have enough to make a vest or half-sleeve sweater maybe. It will have to be something I can wear over something else, though, because it is a little scratchy. Not too bad, but definitely not soft enough to wear next to the skin.


The color is not even close to what this actually looks like. I guess the turquoise is the only color that came across true. What looks red or burgandy is actually purple, and the whole yarn has an overall turquoise/blue look. I don't know if this is my camera or the computer that distorts the color. I think the yarn is much prettier than it looks in the picture.

Spinning Frenzy

This is what I was working on tonight. It is some multicolored wool roving that I got from Weaver's Cottage a while back. I think it is about 15 ounces so I will get a pretty big batch from this. I am spinning this a little thicker than any of the other yarn I have made so far. I will ply it and hopefully it will be close to bulky weight. Maybe a small wrap or something will be created from this. It looks a lot more gray than it really is. Actually, it is mostly blue and on the bobbin looks a lot like denim. This stuff is so nice to spin I just flew through these two bobbins tonight. But it is getting late and I will wait to ply them tomorrow.

Dyeing Experiment

This is some wool roving that I have had for a while and have been meaning to dye it. Well, I mixed up some Jacquard dye today and went for it. I used Turquoise, Periwinkle, Teal, Sapphire Blue, and Purple. I am going to spin this all up and hopefully will have a pretty big batch of pretty much the same color palette. It is about a pound and a half so I should be able to make a fairly large project. That is if the spinning goes well.

I Love Alpaca!!!

This is some Baby Alpaca I got at the Weaver's Cottage when I went for my spinning class. It was a lot of fun. We did not actually do very much spinning but she showed us all the different methods of carding which was very interesting. I was very intrigued by the mixing of colors and fibers that can be done. Anyway, I was so excited when I got home that I got right to work spinning this alpaca. The finished product is about 4 ounces and probably came out about worsted weight. I should be able to make a skinny scarf out of it that will be very warm.