Quickie FO

Today I sat down to try to use some of the yarns I got last weekend at the sale at Fine Points in Cleveland to create a scarf for the art show at work in September. I have a couple of ideas, so I started with the simplest first: a stockinette loop scarf a la that uber-trendy thing Mary Kate Olsen has been seen in. So I cast on 200 stitches on a size 13 circ and got to work, randomly changing yarns when the mood struck me (every 1-2 rows).

Here are the results:



and a closeup, though the colors are more accurate in the first version:



The yarns are:

Colinette Prism, Maggi's (loopy mohair), Debbie Bliss Soho, Southwest Trading Sophia, Online Linie, Colinette Giotto, Noro Lotus, Noro Kureyon and Rowan Chenille.

Since we're allowed to put prices on things at this show, I plan to do so with this, with the idea that if it doesn't sell, I'm thrilled to hang onto it. One of the other ones, I might be a little more upset to part with, if it works out as well as I expect it to (I may not even put that one on the market, but would offer commissions in a different color scheme instead.) It would involve the rest of the Colinette Giotto and Prism, and Noro Lotus, along with the Noro Sarubia and Alchemy Roots and Leaves that I picked up. It's going to have a slip stitch/fair-isle combo that will hopefully make the transitions between yarns very gradual.

I think though, that to turn a profit on the loop scarf, I'd have to charge between $60 and $80. I probably used about $20 worth of yarn (though I didn't pay that much for them most likely--there's a lot of leftovers and odd balls in there) and knitted for around 4 hours.

Definitely goes to show that knitting for profit isn't the way to go to make a living--especially paying retail for supplies.

Not a lot of knitting this week. It's the off week for Stitch n' Bitches, and since my arms were still swollen from last week's bout of me being my own personal sweatshop, then I was out of town all weekend (I won't be one of those who knits and drives simultaneously) not too much time has been had for knitting. Still, I've started two new projects: the heirloom bag from Rowan 38 (I'm making it in Summer Tweed on size 8 needles, so it will be super huge) and the twisted rib ladies socks from the latest IK. I'm making the most headway on those. It's relaxing to have a two row repeat that Ican memorize and just go with after all that damn chart reading.

I did do quite a bit of yarn buying though, and will have tons of stash photos to get posted this week. My major coup was getting to Fine Points while on the way back from Cleveland and taking advantage of their summer 30-50% off sale. I got a whole pile of koigu, Colinette, discontinued Noro and Alchemy for just over $100. A steal!!! The koigu will be socks for me (or maybe gloves?) and the rest are to be combined for some crazy boho scarves I have in my head, possibly in time for our art show at work.

I think the TKGA is stalking me. I know they're based in Zanesville now, which is only an hour or so east of here, but the last issue was photographed at the Columbus Museum of Art, and this latest issue was photographed at my alma mater, Denison University! I can totally identify 95% of the locations, though the shots are cropped pretty tightly. Maybe I'll make the Denison pullover just because of the name.

My Vogue Knitting isn't here yet. Other bloggers have theirs. I'm impatient. But now, it's back to Sex & the City DVDs (I still haven't seen all the episodes--that's what happens when you don't have cable) and knitting on the socks!

Whew

I think I can rest assured that even if my sister reads this blog, she won't be reading it three days before her wedding. So I'm going to go ahead and post of this week's great knitting coup.

I made the Great American Aran Afghan as her wedding gift, and I had an additional deadline of trying to get it done for the Ohio State Fair competition. Well, the deadline was Tuesday at 7 pm, and I am proud to announce that I got the afghan done in time to drop it off a full hour before the deadline. :-)

I had all the squares knitted and started seaming Sunday morning at Stitchin' Spa Day, but was only about halfway through the cabled border. I ended up taking Monday and half of Tuesday off work and basically knitting virtually nonstop from 9:30 am Monday to 3:30 am Tuesday, but I got it done. Hooray! Now I just have to wait and see how the judging goes.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a great photo of it, but this shows things as well as I could, snapping a photo from atop my sofa:


This was actually, despite the stress at the end, a very very fun project, and I learned a ton. I can finally feel confident about cabling without a cable needle too. Bobbles? Well, I started the project loving them, but by the end I was ready to throw the yarn across the room. And I'm really really ready to start a mindless project now, preferably in a color other than ecru.

I did some math, and figured out that this is probably around 130,000 stitches. I started on the plane during my trip to Kripalu in February, and I knitted fairly steadily on it during that time, though I had other simultaneous projects going on too. A lot of work, but I'm very pleased at how it came out.

Now, the hard part: waiting to find out the results at the fair. And trying to figure out what to wrap up for my sister and her hubby--they know they aren't getting the gift this weekend, but I need a way to let them know what it is. Several people have suggested swatches, but my wrists are killing me right now, so I'm not so sure about the feasibility of that.

I know, I know, I'm quiet

And it's likely to be quiet for another week or two around here. The state fair deadline is a week from tomorrow, and my sister's wedding is the following weekend, so I am frantically trying to finish the GAAAA in time for both. I am within striking distance, but I need to spend every waking moment that I'm not at work knitting to make this happen.

I have a dentist appt Wednesday (need cavities filled and a bite plate made to wear at night for my grinding) and I'm actually looking forward to it because it means I get the afternoon off work. That's huge, because I hate the dentist. I wonder if I could get the whole day off. Furthermore, I wonder if I can figure out how to do the cabled border by feel well enough to knit while they are working on my mouth? Hmmmmm.....

I can't wait to finish this at this point, just so I can work in something other than cream colored Encore. I foresee several pairs of socks, some lace perhaps, my Hourglass Sweater, the dress from the cover of the spring IK, Carlotta from Rowan 37 and some swatching for my crazy colorwork afghan in my near future. Not to mention the swatches for the TKGA Master Knitter packet.

Maybe I'll actually finish that cross strap tank from last summer's VK too...I've been waiting on that because I fear I made much too large a size, similar to every other tank I've ever made.

How sad is it that I already own the yarn for all of those projects, plus for about twice as many??

It's hyooooge!

If you haven't seen mention yet of The Knitting Machine go check it out. Over the weekend, an artist at Mass MoCA hooked up two John Deere excavators with telephone pole sized knitting needles and let them go at it until they'd knitted an American flag. Too cool!

Let me just tell you, I have so lucked out in the Secret Pal department, both times I've participated. It's like they know me so well. And this, having been an incredibly rough week (a friend of mine passed away last weekend, and his funeral was Monday) made it an especially good time to get this bright and shiny package from my SP5.

I even tore open the box in the car after picking it up at the post office, but when I saw how prettily everything was wrapped, I had to wait to rip open the packages until I got home!!



All of that opened up and turned out to be this:



That's the magic loop booklet (I restrained myself from buying this in a fit of retail therapy Monday night!), a breast cancer bracelet, 2 balls of 100% Silk Plymouth Turino in pretty pinks & purples (that *exactly* matches the Denim Silk I did buy Monday night!), some really pretty beaded stitch markers and bookmark, a lavendar bath fizzy (I need relaxation!), Burt's Bees Almond Milk Hand Creme (I just ran out last week!), a candle in the lovely scent of "Coastal Mist" and some cute little post-it notes.

For good measure, here's some yarn pr0n:



and a closeup of the stitch markers:



I have even put the bookmark into action already:



THANK YOU SP5, whoever you are!!