Week 47 of 2006 in Review

Just a quick summary of this week's slow knitting scene...

On Knitting...

Icarus is progressing slowing but surely. I am on the 5th repeat of Chart 1 and am beginning to get a tad bored. Fortunately I am liking what I'm seeing and have not made serious mistakes thus far, so that is keeping me motivated. Knowing that I'm so close to starting a little more interesting stitch pattern also helps. Can't wait to see how those work out.

Here's a progress shot of my Icarus being knit in ColourMart double stranded lace cashmere, using size 3US needles:




On Stash Building....

The only knitting related purchase done this week was for a Royal yarn winder purchased from Yarn and Fiber. Joann.com ran out of winders during their Cyber Sale this weekend and after some quick Froogling, found Yarn and Fiber to have the best price. A swift will come in handy but instead of buying one I'll ask DH to assemble this one for me.

The Blue-Violet silk cone I ordered from ColourMart came in this week. The color is a little bluer and colder than I expected but nice nonetheless. One of the newer colors they have listed is this mauve which I find very irresitable. Maybe I'll just break down and buy it sometime soon.

My other order from ColourMart is yet to arrive and since I did not receive a notice that it had been shipped, I emailed the owner to check on its status. Within less that 24 hours I got an apologetic reply stating that it had not been shipped due to some technical error and that they would be sending a little extra something to make up for the oversight. Now I'm double anxious to see what that little bonus is. Hence....

Lesson of the Week...

It pays to do business with a reputable vendor. ColourMart rocks!!!!

Lady Eleanor - Completed

Tada!!!



Finally get to show Lady Eleanor off in her completed stage. In her unblocked state Lady measures 24"x60" and I think I'll keep her like that since the length fits me well. Using size 8US needles, she took 10 1/2 skeins of Paton's SWS. I won't add fringe since the yarn tends to felt together and begins to look rather nappy.

Week 46 of 2006 in Review....

On Knitting...

The needles have been sitting rather idle this week and the trend is likely to continue until the first week in December. I've started the second repeat on Chart 1 for Icarus. At this rate I will not be able to complete the shawl in time for the end of Lacevember since other tasks are taking priority. I guess I'll have to pass up the lovely star by my name this time around. Oh well, my goal at this point is to finish the shawl by the end of the year.

I've gone ahead and joined the ScarfStyle KAL hosted by Tipper since I see myself knitting a lot more projects from this book in the future. Seeing pictures of what others have knitted from the book and reading their entries provides both inspiration and valuable information of the patterns and yarn being used.

On Stash Building...

No need to worry about the bank account this week since purchases were nil. I am happy to say that my first silk order from ColourMart did arrive this week as posted previously. I am very, very happy with the purchase and would purchase every avaible color but the rational side in me says that I will never use all those pretties. So I won't be a glutton and will give everyone else the opportunity to have some silk in their stash.

The rest of the week was just an anxious waiting game for the rest of the order to arrive and reveal what colors I'll have to play with. Hopefully they are as pretty as their pictures.... we'll see what happens between now and then.

Since this was a rather uneventful Bufanditas week there is no...

Lesson of the Week...

to report.

ColourMart's Silk = OMG!!!!

My first silk order from ColourMart arrived yesterday and here's the verdict so far:

This has got to be the best yarn purchase I have ever made. The silk is fabulous. Even on the cone it feels soft and squishy. The color is a tanish/gold that is a lot prettier "in person" and its luster and sheen is unbelievable.

Hanging Garden Lace Stole by Sivia Harding should look fabulous in this yarn. Once Icarus is completed, the first thing to be cast on will be this stole. There is enough yarn in one cone to knit two wraps, or enough left over to swap for another color with someone else. Let's see what happens.

Week 45 of 2006 in Review

On Stash Building

ColourMart is going to be my doom. But who can resist these lovelies at an even lovelier price?


2500 yards of Blue Violet Silk


2500 yards of Ecru Silk which can always be dyed another color.


2500 yards of the lovely Fox-
glove





There is enough yardage in one cone to make two shawls. The question is, will I ever use them all up?

On Knitting

Knittinng this week has been rather slow. I've started the second repeat of Chart 1 for Icarus. The pattern is so easy I think I'm going to get bored soon but I like the fact that it's so quick I can do Chart 1 in an evening.

Since I had a good amount of Paton's SWS left over from Lady E I decided to quickly knit up a potholder and felt it. It didn't come out quite square and pretty late in the game I realized I would have produced a nicer piece if I had knit it round. Hence...

Lesson of the Week

"No comas ancias" In other words, don't rush through a project without thinking it all thru and considering all your options.

Lacevember Questionaire

The knitting questions, or the usual suspects

How long have you been knitting?
I restarted knitting a year and a half

How did you learn to knit?
An aunt taught me when I was a teenager

Favorite thing about knitting?
It’s so relaxing

How long have you been knitting lace?
It was on of my first projects I did a year and a half ago

Favorite thing about knitting lace.
It can be so complex

The yarn questions, or flash your stash

Favorite lace yarn?
Cashmere

variegated or solids for shawls?
Solids, please!!!

Favorite lace color?
Today it’s deep purple

Technique, or show us your skillz

Circs or straights?
Circs of course

Favorite lace knitting trick?
Frogging

Lifelines? If so with what?
No

Fancy blocking wires, or just sewing pins stuck in your carpet?
Plain pins on the back of an old sofa

Pattern, or can you follow directionsshawls or lacey items?
Shawls

triangle, rectangle, or circular shawls?
They are all good

Charts or printed instructions?
Combo of both

Favorite lace you've knit?
English Lace

Favorite lace you want to knit?
Japanese Feather

Just Fun, yup that's right, just for fun

Favorite jelly belly flavor?
Cherry

Tell me everything you know about Eric the Red.....
Who/What?

Coke, classic or with lime?
Neither, not a soda drinker

Holiday carols, sing along, or wish they would be banned from all public airwaves?
Holiday carols

What is the definition of irony?
“Humerous destiny”

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?
None, only one continous twirl

Why is my cat always puking in front of my son's bedroom door?
Sorry, this house is catless

What is your superhero power?
Dork detector

If the laundry is 9 foot by 11 foot (just dreaming, that's a big laundry room), and the walls are 8 feet tall, and you are going to tile the entire room in tiles that are 3 inches by 5 inches, what color should those tiles be?
White

What's for dinner tonight?
Yesterday’s left over Bar-B-Que

What is clogging my children's bathtub drain?
My hair

Week 44 of 2006 in Review

Some unplanned yarn stash building has occured. As if I need more yarn, but you know the drill: an innocent visit to the store or an accidental click to a website link somehow turns into a yarn purchase.

Oh the pleasure....oh the guilt....

A knitter's unintended yarn buying phenomenom is both unexplained and uncontrollable, or at least I keep telling myself. The way I see it, a good sell is hard to resist, a softer than soft skein of yarn too tempting to leave the LYS without and opening a package full of colorful knittable treats is a joy everyone should experience once in a while. Need I go on?

But enough of the yarn buying philosophy and on to the good stuff....

Yarn Purchases...

While on errand to do a planned non-knitting related purchase to Tuesday Morning, tucked away in the darkest corner of the bottom shelf were 3 skein bags of Lion's Cotton-Ease marked an additional 25% off. Score!! I am now the proud owner of 6 skeins of yellow and 3 skeins of orange Cotton-Ease which shall be used to knit up the cute duckl from Fiona McTaque's Knitted Toys.

ColourMart is very thoughtful (note hint of sarcasm) and regularly emails updates of their current stock and sales. This week I could not resist 2500 yards of lace weight silk for steal of the year price of $13 total. The goldish color should make an elegant shawl. Here's a peek:

Actual Knitting...

On the knitting front I an happy to say Lady E is done. Once all her loose ends are weaved in, she is blocked and prettied up, Lady Eleanor will be ready to make her grand debut with pic's and all.

Lacevember KAL came just in time to help me select my next project. Originally, my plans were to knit Hanging Garden Lace Stole but time contraints made me reconsider. My next option was Cozy, but that would have required I do more yarn shopping and that was not going to happen. I finally recalled why I had purchased the Summer 2006 IK: Icarus of course. So that baby was CO this past Saturday and due to my lack of attention, has already been frogged a bit. I got carried away clicking them needles w/o referring to Chart 1 and failed to do the pattern change on Row 19. Oh well, hence Lesson of the Week:

Lesson of the Week...

Don't get carried away and always refer to your pattern.

In My Library

Your typical knitter needs a healthy supply of yarn, needles, patterns and other misc. gadgets which make knitting oh so much more pleasurable and efficient. I confess I am one of them. We will proudly (or quiltly) show off our yarn stash, (which in some cases is enough to open up your own LYS) needle collection, (ditto) and of course our WIP's or FO's. Since I started knitting over a year ago, I have accumulated a little bit of everything and continue to do so. Today I will show off, or rather list, my small library of knitting related books. To be quite honest I did not think the list would be this long.

Pattern Books:

• ScrafStyle by Pam Allen
• Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman
• Hot Knits by Melissa Leapman
• Kids Knits for Heads, Hands and Toes by Debbie Bliss
• Cotton Knits for All Seasons by Debbie Bliss
• Knitting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein
• Vogue Knitting Accessorize
• Vogue Knitting Chunky Knits
• A Gathering of Lace by Meg Swansen
• The Best of Knitter's Magazine Shawls and Scarves

Reference Books:

• A Second Treasury of Knitting by Barbara G Walker (will one day get the First)
• Reader's Digest Knitter's Handbook
• Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns from Sterling Publishing
• The Complete Book of Knitting by Barbara Abbey
• The Knitting Directory by Alison Jenkins

Let me just note that flea markets, used bookstores, and 50% off coupons have enabled me to stash my library with these great resources. Will I ever knit all the great patterns or use all the valuable information found in these books? Probably not. Will I continue to be on the look out for great deals on awesome books? Most certainly.

As time permits, I will come back and provide a review for each individual book. For now I can say that ScarfStyle, A Gathering of Lace, Knitter's Magazine Shawls and Scarfs, plus Treasury of Knitting are great books to have in any knitter's library.