Practice Makes Perfect, Part 3

Here come the sleeves. These I created myself. I added the cable running up the sleeve. Many times I had to back up and restart, but not nearly as many times as with the main body of the sweater.






One more to go...



Then we are ready for Part 4 where I connect the sleeves to the body of the sweater.

Practice Makes Perfect, Part 2

Ah, the joys of a few quite nights of knitting. I know that I must be overtaken by some odd need to create. It is June and I am knitting. However, I did have my furnace on last week!

The cables are a new thing for me. My mom created this pattern for the front of the sweater. I caught on quickly and like the look of the cables.

Like most things with knitting, once you have been shown how to do something, the mystery is removed and it becomes "a piece of cake".

I am now in the groove and need to pause to add some sleeves...

Practice Makes Perfect, Part 1

Well, in my quest to get a few more practice items in before the true beginning of my State Fair scarf I decided to knit a sweater for kid #4.

I will be working the body in the round. My favorite way to knit. Also, using my favorite bamboo needles.

The ribbing was quite a challenge! I had to rip it out 4 times! Good thing I had nice yarn that could withstand my struggles. Once I did not notice a gaping problem until I had happily knit 4 inches beyond it! How sad, but more practice makes perfect right?

A Prototype of the Scarf

Well I started on creating my pattern and it has been really exciting! I am testing it out with a black yarn because, well, that is what I had laying around in my craft closet.

So far I have a border in seed stitch, then garter stitch, and then the beginning of a pattern for a pony which is still in development. Thus, I only knit up to the hooves of the pony. I am trying to incorporate beads into the pattern as well. Obviously these beads are too big for this gauge of knitting. Good to know.

Hmmm, it is a bit difficult to see. Well, next update the additions will look great!

The Cool Girl's Guide to Knitting

While browsing through the books at Half Price Books http://www.halfpricebooks.com/ I found this great knitting book. There are so many out there, but this one had several things that caught my eye.

After my seeing my prototype of my scarf, I am thinking I need a bit more practice with the basics just to solidify my confidence and my technique!

In The Cool Girl's Guide to Knitting there is a great and easy hat pattern that I want to try. Because my favorite purple Lopi yarn from my Herrschners adventure is proving to be too bulky for a scarf I am going to practice on some hats. The Beanie Hat on page 77 is adorable and would be good practice with the basics.

The book is great at explaining the basics and has many fun patterns including the Beannie Hat, a Unisex hoodie, and even a bikini!

By the way, if you have children 12 and under checkout the Half Price Book summer reading program. If your child reads 15 minutes a day for 5 days in one week, they earn a $3.00 gift certificate at Half Price Books. It has been a great incentive at my house!

http://www.halfpricebooks.com/feed_your_brain.html

The Friday Night Knitting Club

Yes, this weekend I read more than I knit. I read The Friday Night Knitting club by Kate Jacobs. Her web site is http://www.katejacobs.com/. And by reading her website I just discovered there is a sequel Knit Two out for me to read! Also, she would love to hear from us, she says to invite her to telephone your book group. I wonder how often she really does talk to groups? Has anyone had her as a guest at their book club?

I really enjoyed the story. I love visiting New York. It was fun to imagine what it would be like to live and work in a place you create for yourself, like Georgia did. In such a large city, she carved out her own cocoon in the form of Walker and Daughter. Fun weekend reading!

A Diversion to The Bead Monkey

In my quest to enter a knitted item into the Minnesota State Fair this year I have felt my creativity expanding in many ways. On Tuesday night I took an Intro to Beading Class at The Bead Monkey in St. Paul, MN. The class was free and included a demo, an in depth store tour, and a free earring kit.

www.thebeadmonkey.com

Kathy started the class right on time. She expertly demonstrated putting a clasp on a bracelet or necklace. Then she showed us how to make loops for earrings. She told us the goal is to make a round circle shape at the top of the beads not a lopsided letter P.

Next Kathy lead us on a tour around the store. It was a complete tour and was great for someone like me who did not start out with an appreciation for Swarovski crystals. The store has beads from glass to semi precious stones, and amazing colors and shapes.

They also have all types of clasps and loops and wires and leather and silk and on which to put your beads.

If you are new to stringing, or not feeling very creative there is a wide variety of kits you can purchase. It comes with all the pieces you will need, as well as easy to follow instructions. Most kits have many different colors of beads to choose from.

The class list is also impressive! Many different classes are offered and each one lets you complete a project in the class.

We were presented with a complimentary earring kit and the offer to work in the classroom using The Bead Monkey's tools if we wanted to.

A creative lady in my class wanted to buy a few extra beads to add to the earring kit we received. Great idea! I followed her lead.

Here is what comes in the complimentary earring kit...

Here is what I created...

Very fun!

Yarn Shop Visit to Knitter's Palette in Lakeville

On Sunday I had a chance to get away and visit a yarn shop I have not been to before in Lakeville, MN. It is called Knitter's Palette.

http://www.knitterspalette.com/store/pc/home.asp

Below you can see an inside the door shot.

On Sunday afternoon there was a group of about 7 women knitting and chatting as I shopped. The store has a warm cozy feel to it.

They sell a wide variety of specialty yarns and also hand died wool. Also, you can purchase a spinning wheel.

They have Open Knitting times and also Open Spin-Knit night or SP-IT for short.

I felt very overwhelmed as I am so new to buying yarn. There were a lot of nice yarns and colors.

Over the weekend I also decided the Lopi yarn I found at Herrschnerr's is going to become 4 hats for my four lovely daughters. It is just too heavy for a scarf.

Also, I have begun to graph out my pattern for the scarf on graph paper:)

The Perfect Graph for Knitting Patterns

OK, so I did not get to my graph paper yet. But, I learned a lot about graphing a knitting pattern.

For example, did you know that the stitches are taller than they are wide? A regular piece of graph paper from you 8th graders math class will not give the perspective you need.

I found a few tools that are free that allow you to print out graph paper specifically for knitting patterns:

This is the one I used. It is simple and does just what I wanted, created graph lines for me to fill in.

http://www.tata-tatao.to/knit/matrix/e-index.html

This one looks more specific to your own knitting style. One you have created a swatch you can select the measurements closest to your knitting and it will create graph paper specific to your gauge.

http://www.sweaterscapes.com/lcharts3.htm

Now to get out the colored pencils!

The plan for the wool scarf

Yes, I am ready to commit to making the wool scarf.

I will use the purple Lopi yarn from Herrschners...

In order to create a little more contrast I will need to shop for a white or cream skein.

At first I was imagining cables with this scarf. Now I am thinking of creating a diamond or triangle type pattern running down the scarf.

Time to get out the graph paper and colored pencils to see how the pattern will look....

My Prize Questions are answered!

This morning I received a reply to my email from Friday. I was inquiring about the $'s awarded as well as the ribbons given out by the committee. Also, a few of the local yarn shops are awarding a rosette.

An unnamed person from the committee office responded as follows:

Thank you for your inquiries. The dollar amounts are what is given with each of those placing along with a ribbon. A rosette is a more elaborate "fancy" ribbon, I hope that this helps you. Please feel free to call us at 651-288-4417 for further questions or just email us again! Have a great week!

It is nice to know I have a connection if I have more questions.