My FLAK saddles are done. I'm using Galway white. It's 100% wool. I've picked up the edges and started on the back. so keep watching for more pics later this week.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
saddle up and let's get knitting!
I finally made a decision...I'm using Galway 100% wool in just a plain white for my FLAK. There are several reasons for this choice.
1. While clearing out my closet and drawers, I realized that I do not own a plain white sweater.
2. Wool will wear better and longer than any acrylic.
3. It's soft and nice to the hand to knit.
4. I already have some to get started and know that I can get this again in my LYS.
So now, I have 2 arans on the go at the same time. This is a first for me...since I usually have a bunch of projects on the go...but not 2 arans at once. I usually have socks and a sweater and maybe an afghan or something for long term. Arans need more watching so they don't twist and turn the wrong ways.
I also finished a hat for a baby set gift and I'm working on a pink pr of socks for February wearing.
Birdie ( my grandson who is just over 1 yr old) got his first haircut from Mam-mam ( that's me) last nite. He's needed his bangs trimmed out of his eyes for weeks..but his mama didn't want his curls cut. finally she agreed that the little man needed to see where he's walking. Don't worry...the curls are fine...Mam-mam had strict orders....only the bangs...don't touch the back or the curls!
He was so good...he sat in his high chair and didn't even try to grab the scissors. Then everyone had to look at how cute he was...he ran all over the house showing everyone. Bab-bab (that's what he calls granpa) was called down from upstairs to see.
I also finally tried out the Sudoku puzzles....those things are HARD!
it took me 2 days to finally figure out how to do them...but now they're fun.
www.websudoku.com
Back to the knitting....knit on thru all crisises.
Dee
1. While clearing out my closet and drawers, I realized that I do not own a plain white sweater.
2. Wool will wear better and longer than any acrylic.
3. It's soft and nice to the hand to knit.
4. I already have some to get started and know that I can get this again in my LYS.
So now, I have 2 arans on the go at the same time. This is a first for me...since I usually have a bunch of projects on the go...but not 2 arans at once. I usually have socks and a sweater and maybe an afghan or something for long term. Arans need more watching so they don't twist and turn the wrong ways.
I also finished a hat for a baby set gift and I'm working on a pink pr of socks for February wearing.
Birdie ( my grandson who is just over 1 yr old) got his first haircut from Mam-mam ( that's me) last nite. He's needed his bangs trimmed out of his eyes for weeks..but his mama didn't want his curls cut. finally she agreed that the little man needed to see where he's walking. Don't worry...the curls are fine...Mam-mam had strict orders....only the bangs...don't touch the back or the curls!
He was so good...he sat in his high chair and didn't even try to grab the scissors. Then everyone had to look at how cute he was...he ran all over the house showing everyone. Bab-bab (that's what he calls granpa) was called down from upstairs to see.
I also finally tried out the Sudoku puzzles....those things are HARD!
it took me 2 days to finally figure out how to do them...but now they're fun.
www.websudoku.com
Back to the knitting....knit on thru all crisises.
Dee
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Gee, it's hard some days...
I had a terrible time getting the pics to load today.This is the pink scarf for DD2. I'm thinking I may make more for my BreastCancer Survivor friends. February is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Remember to check out the "girls" regularly. I like having all my friends to chat with here in cyberspace.
This is the progress on my 2 Sticks Aran. It's being knit in Encore in a nice heathery grayish green color. It's not exactly true color on here for some reason. It's wonderfully soft. And the Encore is part wool/ part acrylic, so it's washable. I'm measuring as I gom just like Janet taught us on the SOA project. So I'm sure that it will actually fit me when it's done. I did have to modify the book's pattern a bit. It was written for a much larger size than I needed.knit on!
Progress and no progress
I'm enjoying working on my 2 sticks aran and I'm definately making progress. I had started it in the beginning of January and now I've finished the Left front to the armhole bottem and that's holding on a string. I've picked up and started the Right front now. This aran is knit all in one piece from the collar and saddles down. First it's worked seperately L front, R front and Back. Then it's joined below the armhole and worked to the bottem ribbing. Then you go back and work the sleeves right onto the body. This avoids any seaming, which can be a real bugger in arans trying to match patterns and keep from stretching things out of shape.
The FLAK aran is being done in a similar way, but they're not starting with the collar just the saddles. I'm a little behind on my FLAK. I did work the swatch for the filler and then I worked the saddles. But I'm still not satisfied with any of the yarns that I've used. The best fabric that I got was using a plain old acrylic....OH HORRORS! the knitting police will be knocking on my door! That old Red Heart worked the best for me! I really like 3 of the colors that I have too, a baby blue and a cornflower yellow and a carrot orange.....now I just have to decide if I want to go buy more yarn or actually do the aran in Red Heart. RH has good and bad points. It's washable and dryable and wears like steel wool...otoh....it can get pilly and floppy if it's not knit tight. I'm hesitating because I know the time involved in an aran and don't want to work on it for a month or more and not like the finished product. I think I need to do more swatching.;(
I also finished a couple of simple Garter stitch scarves. One for my DD2 in a pink ribbon called NoBo from WalMart. I hadn't seen this ribbon yarn before there. It has little flags of different pinks. I used it with a white yarn to show the contrast. Caiti being a teen...thinks it makes a great headband for her hair, and a good belt....anything but a scarf around the neck!
The other that I finished is a blue wool with a ribbon yarn that I got from an exchange buddy a long time ago. It's aqua/ purple/ blue. Thanks Marja! I actually wear it around my neck!
Oh, and my EZ workshop book finally came...lots of techniques that I want to try. I especially like the one baby blanket that is knit from the center and then around the edges. I still need one more gift for church babies, so maybe that should be on the list of TO Do's.
Back to the swatching and 2 sticks.
Knit on thru all crisises.
The FLAK aran is being done in a similar way, but they're not starting with the collar just the saddles. I'm a little behind on my FLAK. I did work the swatch for the filler and then I worked the saddles. But I'm still not satisfied with any of the yarns that I've used. The best fabric that I got was using a plain old acrylic....OH HORRORS! the knitting police will be knocking on my door! That old Red Heart worked the best for me! I really like 3 of the colors that I have too, a baby blue and a cornflower yellow and a carrot orange.....now I just have to decide if I want to go buy more yarn or actually do the aran in Red Heart. RH has good and bad points. It's washable and dryable and wears like steel wool...otoh....it can get pilly and floppy if it's not knit tight. I'm hesitating because I know the time involved in an aran and don't want to work on it for a month or more and not like the finished product. I think I need to do more swatching.;(
I also finished a couple of simple Garter stitch scarves. One for my DD2 in a pink ribbon called NoBo from WalMart. I hadn't seen this ribbon yarn before there. It has little flags of different pinks. I used it with a white yarn to show the contrast. Caiti being a teen...thinks it makes a great headband for her hair, and a good belt....anything but a scarf around the neck!
The other that I finished is a blue wool with a ribbon yarn that I got from an exchange buddy a long time ago. It's aqua/ purple/ blue. Thanks Marja! I actually wear it around my neck!
Oh, and my EZ workshop book finally came...lots of techniques that I want to try. I especially like the one baby blanket that is knit from the center and then around the edges. I still need one more gift for church babies, so maybe that should be on the list of TO Do's.
Back to the swatching and 2 sticks.
Knit on thru all crisises.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
2 sticks and a string ...oh my!
I'm constantly amazed at what we're able to create using just 2 sticks and a string. This was really brought to my pondering by the book...2 sticks and a string by Kerry Ferguson. I was gifted this book by my DS1 for Christmas.
While I'm trying to get my yarn and gauge correct for the new FLAK, I'm working on the Aran Cardi that is on page 36 in this book. I like that the construction method is similar to Janet Szabo's that is being used for the FLAK.
When I did the aran SOA that she had written, I realized that there are a lot more ways to work arans than just all the pieces and then try to sew them smoothly together. I like constructing things all in one piece. To me, it feels like I'm making more progress when I hold it up and it actually resembles a sweater.
The 2 sticks aran is done with a collar that the FLAk is not using. First you work the ribbing for the collar then the saddles and then continue as Janet does on her arans.
I'm posting some pics of the work in progress.
I'm using Encore on size 3 for the ribbing and size 5 for the rest. Since the book aran is quite a bit too large for me, I'm making it a bit smaller than the gauge is called for in the pattern.
I also finished a quick scarf for a friend at work. It used ribbon type yarn and galway wool and cast on 7 sts. Then I just knit every row until it was the length that I wanted. Then I put one strand of ribbon and one of wool as a fringe. Christabel really liked it and it will go with a lot of her wardrobe since she wears a lot of browns and autumn colors.
Knit on thru all crisises.
Dee
While I'm trying to get my yarn and gauge correct for the new FLAK, I'm working on the Aran Cardi that is on page 36 in this book. I like that the construction method is similar to Janet Szabo's that is being used for the FLAK.
When I did the aran SOA that she had written, I realized that there are a lot more ways to work arans than just all the pieces and then try to sew them smoothly together. I like constructing things all in one piece. To me, it feels like I'm making more progress when I hold it up and it actually resembles a sweater.
The 2 sticks aran is done with a collar that the FLAk is not using. First you work the ribbing for the collar then the saddles and then continue as Janet does on her arans.
I'm posting some pics of the work in progress.
I'm using Encore on size 3 for the ribbing and size 5 for the rest. Since the book aran is quite a bit too large for me, I'm making it a bit smaller than the gauge is called for in the pattern.
I also finished a quick scarf for a friend at work. It used ribbon type yarn and galway wool and cast on 7 sts. Then I just knit every row until it was the length that I wanted. Then I put one strand of ribbon and one of wool as a fringe. Christabel really liked it and it will go with a lot of her wardrobe since she wears a lot of browns and autumn colors.
Knit on thru all crisises.
Dee
Thursday, January 05, 2006
A New Year's Knitting
It's been quite a while since I've posted here. Life just gets in the way sometimes.
I have been knitting and wanted to start regularly to put the pics up here.
I finished a dishcloth sample for K&C. They're doing a dishcloth a month this yr. so be sure to pop over there and check those out.
This month is called Oat stitch and it's pretty whether you use a large needle or a smaller one. The pattern is free on K&C.
I also finished my Son of Aran sweater from Janet Szabo's tutorial. This pattern is still available on the net too.
http://www.cs.oswego.edu/~ebozak/knit/soa/index.html
I learned a lot about measuring and gauge and making a sweater that actually fit! This was the first time that I knit saddles for the shoulders. The sweater is knit all in one piece and it's not hard to follow her excellent instructions.
She is currently leading another aran tutorial called Follow the Leader Aran Knitalong. You can find the instructions here
http://www.bigskyknitting.com/FLAK/knitalong.html
There is a Yahoo group that is working together to knit this sweater here
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FLAK/
This is my next project tho I'm a few days behind. That doesn't matter...since you can work at your own pace.
Come and check out the groups and join the knitting.
Knit on thru all crisises.
Dee
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