This summer has been more drizzly and cold than usual (although there have been nice days too, especially yesterday, yay!) and over the last week or so I have put some time into a few unfinished sweater projects.

Mostly I have been working on this:

First Thermal Sleeve

This week I have a 4 day weekend and I’m hoping to make some real progress on my Zombie Sweater from this post. Sorry no picture but I have finished both sleeves, knit the body in the round to the armholes and completed the back the rest of the way. Left to do are the fronts from the armhole up and the button placket.

Working on these long hibernating projects definitely makes me long for something new and with all the magazines releasing their gorgeous fall designs I am over the moon choosing my projects for fall.

This year there are so many awesome patterns. I am so excited!!! I am loving everything!

Oh, you want to see all these pretty patterns for yourself all in one place complete with my commentary? Ok.

Vogue Knitting

Green Gable Hoodie by Mari Muinonen

I really liked this sweater when I first saw it on Ravelry and I even went so far as to designate yarn for it. However, I then decided that it would be too unflattering, specifically the thick cables up the arms. I just think they would be too bulky. I really like the rest of the sweater though so I am thinking of knitting it with only the cable on the back

Greenland by Robin Melanson

I like the little lacey details on this sweater. Also the great green that it is knit up in. If I were to knit this I would leave the diamond details on the body off and just do the little ruffles. I would also make it a little shorter and make it less wide at the bottom for a more subtle shape.

Old Penny by Veronik Avery

I love the rustic feeling of this sweater! I would add buttons for a closure and change the sleeves to set-in sleeves. I don’t like the way that raglans look on me because I have narrow shoulders and since this sweater is constructed in pieces anyways I don’t think it would be a big deal to do set-in style sleeves instead. I would like to find some nice rustic yarn for this.

Redwoods by Fiona Ellis

I think the zig-zag cables on this are adorable!  I would like to use an alpaca or an alpaca blend for this so that the cables would be more subtle and I think I might use a lighter weight yarn since it has a high neckline and I wouldn’t want it to be too warm. I probably won’t do the i-cord at the neck even though I think it is a neat idea and I like the way it mimics the shape of the cables, it would just be too fussy for me.

DROPS Design

Drops 109-1 Jumper with Hood

I really like this. There are actually a few cute hoodies on the Drops website but I like this one best. It is simple and it looks like it would be easy to wear. I am concerned that the hood looks a bit giant with the border but I could live with that. The body is knit in the round to the armholes and the hood border is knit in one piece with the rest of the sweater so the only seams you have to do are to set in the sleeves. Neat!

Drops 108-20 Jumper or Jacket

They offer a pattern for this to be a pullover or a cardigan! I think that is so neat. I really want to knit this and I think the gray color scheme keeps it from being too cutesy wootsy with the butterflies so I would stick to something similar. I would knit the cardigan style with long sleeves and I would definitely be adding a hood.

Interweave Knits

Estes Vest by Hana Jason

I can’t wait to make this. To me the whole magazine it worth it for the articles and this one pattern. I might make it a little longer but otherwise I think it will be pretty much the same. I’m thinking about using Lopi for this in some kind of blue-y color or I might just go for the recommended yarn in the color from the magazine (how boring!) because I lurv it.

Afterthought Darts Cardigan by Theresa Schabes

I really like the shape of this cardigan but I actually don’t like the darts so I would leave them out for sure. I do love the wide neck and the airiness of it though and I think it would be great for layering.

New Pea Coat by Teva Durham

I’m not so sure I’ll ever really get around to making this but I think it’s great and I love the big collar and the stitch pattern. I’ve never knit a coat and it seems like it would be quite the undertaking but this is really cute and I would love a wooly coat for winter.

Knitscene

Riding to Avalon by Connie Chang Chinchio

This sweater is perfect. I have been stalking the LYS to get the magazine as soon as possible. I’m thinking about knitting this in a dark green silky wool that I have 5 skeins of in my stash but I would have to get at least 1 maybe 2 more skeins. I think it is color 45 if you have any you want to destash let me know!

Himalayan Vest by Katie Himmelberg

I secretly love this. Except it’s not secret anymore because I just told you. My better judgement will probably win out and I will resist this design but I love that it is a knitted puffy vest and also puffy vests rock even if they do look terrible on me. At least they look equally terrible on everyone.

Twist Collective

Daniel by Kate Gilbert

I love the diagonal ribbing details on this! I also really like the asymmetrical opening and collar. I would like to feminize this sweater for myself by adding shaping and I might make the center panel a bit narrower. I think I would keep the saddle-shoulder shape but not do the ribbing down the sleeves.

Wisteria by Kate Gilbert

I think this sweater is beautiful. I love all the twisty cables. I don’t know what sort of yarn I would like for this (hopefully something from the stash…). I already bought the pattern but I am hoping to get some ideas for yarn subs from other people’s projects on Ravelry.

That’s it! Hooray for sweaters! I can’t wait to see what Knitty has for fall too! Fall sweaters are the best!

I am going to be busy this year. Bonus points for guessing which sweater I already cast-on for. No fair peeking on Ravelry!

Here is the fish that Mike caught:

And here is the fish that Lou caught:

Lou threw his back.

This is where I went:

Idaho Inlet

Oso went too

I went on a cabin trip with 8 of my favorite people (and my dog!) to my friend’s cabin which is located in Idaho Inlet (somewhere between Elfin Cove and Pelican along Icy Straight). Hoot N Holler is actually a collection of a few cabins belonging to 3 families. In addition to their three family cabins there is a communal boathouse, food-room/living room and bunkhouse for guests. We were there for 6.5 days during which we fished, read, ate delicious home-cooked food (lots of fresh fish) and of course I knit (a lot).

Once again I took very sporadic pictures (most of them are of the dog) but here are the highlights anyways:

How we got there

Not just any otter

Oso by the bunkhouse

I thought this rock was really cool

I made Oso wear a bell so that he wouldn’t go feral

As for the knitting, it was pretty crazy but awesome. I had tons of time to knit and I devoted myself to finishing my Rabobank Sweater for the Tour de France Knitalong (best knitalong ever).

I almost finished! I was delayed because I had to knit the entire yoke 2.5 times! My friends understood when I ripped it the first time because the slit at the collar was not deep enough but they all thought I was insane when I ripped it out the 2nd time because I messed up the saddle-shoulder decreases somewhere.

Check it out!

I can’t believe that I had a whole week of uninterrupted knitting time and all I knit was that crazy yoke!

I even wove in all the ends! The only thing left to do is dye and sew in the snap tape that I got to use as a closure at the collar and in the pockets.

I would be done already but no one will let me use their cook-pots for dyeing so I have to get one from the thrift store.

I’m so proud of myself for working so hard on this sweater and finally finishing it up! I definitely couldn’t have done it without the support of my teammates in the Tour de France KAL.

Thanks so much you guys!!!

I’m competing for the Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains) which for knitalong purposes represents a challenging piece of knitting. The project doesn’t have to be completed by the end of the tour but you are supposed to pick something that is challenging for you. Either a new technique or a long languishing UFO that you need a challenge to finish.

My project is one part UFO and one part new skill. It is a resurrection of my Hiking Sweater from last year which I mentioned very briefly in this blog post.

When I originally started this sweater my goal was to design something (that’s the challenge part for me) that would be good for cycling and hiking in cold weather. For the yarn I chose an alpaca/wool blend so that it would be lightweight and very warm and I worked out a few features that I wanted to include like a kangaroo pocket and that was pretty much as far as I got.

When I decided to use this project for the Tour de France KAL I thought that my sweater had been languishing long enough and I must rip it out and start over because the reason I wasn’t working on it was that there were some things I didn’t like about it.

However, when I pulled it out of its box I found that I was much farther along on this sweater than I remembered.

Apologies for dirty mirror and blurry pic but you get the idea.

This is a lot of sweater to rip out folks! And… I can’t decide if I should. There isn’t really anything wrong with this part of the sweater but there are a few things I would change if I were to re-knit.

The main thing I am unhappy with is the trim treatment on the pocket. I did some kind of intarsia thing originally that looks like attatched i-cord but if I were to re-do it I would pick-up and do ribbing instead for a wider trim. I might also make the pocket a bit smaller.

One other thing I would change would be to make the whole sweater about 1″ shorter and use short-rows to make the back longer instead.

Am I being too picky? Is my real challenge here to live with imperfection? Feel free to give me your opinions!

Since I couldn’t decide whether to rip or continue on I re-started the sleeve (the old one was too tight so I took it out).

Unassuming folded cuff

Unfolds to become a fingerless mitt for chilly hands!

I also finished up the actual design sketch including all the nerdy features that I’m planning to include.

I’m really excited about this Knitalong! I’m on Team Rabobank and in a strange coincidence our team colors are orange and blue!

Go Team Rabobank!

This was my first trip to Eugene and I was so excited to go because a good friend of mine, Nikki, lives there and invited me (many times) for a visit. When I found out that the Black Sheep Gathering was the same weekend that she had off from school I figured that would be the perfect time to visit.

In exchange for taking Adrienne and me to the Fiber Festival (and letting us stay in her house!) Nikki requested knitting lessons! We were only too pleased to comply.

Knitting on the Quad

I’ve taught tried to teach a couple of people to knit before but I thought I was pretty much a failure because it didn’t seem to stick. Not so with Nikki! She was the most enthusiastic knitting student I have ever seen! The absolute best part of our trip was the 2-hour post lunch sitting in the grass and knitting sessions that we staged everyday we were there!

Nikki had her 1st hat finished in no time!

Yeah!!

Nikki took us on a tour of downtown Eugene and the University of Oregon campus where they were in full swing getting ready for the Olympic Track and Field Trials.

This great statue is right on the campus:

Jebediah Springfield!

Apparently the Springfield right outside Eugene is one of many Springfields which inspired the home of the Simpsons. Moe’s Tavern is located here and also this statue which both appear in the show! How exciting!

The other exciting thing we found on campus was an all marble bathroom in the downstairs of the admin building. Sorry, no pictures but it was just as awesome as you are imagining.

I was really impressed with the squirrels, they are HUGE and very friendly

We had excellent food everywhere that we ate in Eugene but this really cool mural was on one of Nikki’s favorite places: The Bier Stein

We went there twice

Eugene is known for its diverse flora. There are a million different plants and trees that thrive there. I really liked this tree:

I think it is Gingko?

We hiked the bluff! You drive up part-way and then it is only a 1/2 mile hike but since it’s the only high spot in town you can see forever. It was really cool and there were lots of friendly hikers enjoying the nice weather with us.

Soaking up the sun and the view!

As a thank you I knit these mitts for Nikki:

They match the hat I made her last year and still didn’t take a picture of. Oops.

The Fiber Festival was pretty overwhelming at first. Adrienne and I just wandered around yarn-struck all the time that we were there on Friday. I did take some pictures of sheep though!

Jacobs Sheep - I did not know they had these weird horns.

This alpaca is named Stephen Colbert.

We did better on Saturday. We met up with our Grandma and Uncle (why don’t I have pictures?!), I bought lots of yarn (but Adrienne didn’t buy any!!! More on that later) and watched a knitting machine demonstration. I really really really want a knitting machine now.

We also saw more alpacas:

And just when I thought I was going to get out of the Fiber Festival with tons more yarn than Adrienne she went and bought infinity worth of yarn in the form of….

A Spinning Wheel!

This was a huge leap of faith because Adrienne hadn’t even ever spun on a spinning wheel before, just a drop spindle. She was totally making yarn within the hour of getting the wheel out of the box!

Proof

She spun a whole bobbin’s worth of yarn while we were sitting in Nikki’s yard!

Eugene was great and seeing my friend Nikki pretty much -made- my summer. The weather was sunny and hot (maybe a bit too hot for Alaskan me). I had such a good time!!!

Thank you Nikki! You ROCK!!!

It’s our first Fiber Festival and we are sooo excited!  If you see are planning to be there too and recognize us please say hello!  I’ll be the one with the bag full of yarn and a glazed over look in her eyes.  Adrienne will be the one plotting to ship an entire flock of sheep up to Alaska.

We’re a bit shy (and I’m terrible at recognizing people) but I’d love to meet anyone who reads here just to put faces to names even if I do seem terribly over-stimulated at the time.

Hope you enjoy your weekend whatever your plans are!

Anyways after a thorough reading of the instructions I suggested the Hypoteneuse Stole, won yarn and when the yarn came it was very very pretty and sumptious and screamed “Adrienne,” to me (it’s her colors, it’s very red and purple in real life) and so I gave it to her and told her to make a Clapotis with it (of course!).  Thanks Yahaira!!!

I really loved puzzling out Yahaira’s yarn puzzle for her and reading everyone else’s suggestions for her yarn.

I think most of us have some Yarn Puzzles in our stashes. Yarn that is really really awesome but difficult to select a pattern for. Yarn that is really special and unique and you want to find just-exactly-the-right pattern for it (yes, I am a perfectionist, why do you ask?).

This is a long-winded way of me saying, “Folks, I need your help. I have awesome yarn and I want to knit it but I can’t decide what to make!”

My parents got this yarn for me when they were visiting my brother in Bellingham last month!

Specs:
Yarn: Spincycle Yarns
Fiber: 100 % BFL
Weight: Worsted
Yardage: 120 yards

The color-way that my parents picked out for me is “Ursus Horribilis” which is the scientific name for Grizzly Bears and is inspired by same noble beasts.

Please help me decide what to make with this awesome yarn!!! My yardage is limited so I was leaning towards a simple hat to show off the yarn. Probably not an ear-flap hat because I never wear the earflap hat I have.

Any suggestions?

mmm… colors…

I think it would be great if you were to post your own Yarn Puzzles and then tell me about them! I think that sometimes it’s easier to puzzle out yarns from afar and even if I don’t get the exact right pattern maybe I’ll get poked in the right direction! It’s also a great way to show off and share some of the really great yarns in your stash! I know I have more of these lovely but tricky yarns.

I know it’s been a while since I posted but I haven’t had much time for knitting…

I blame this:

Charlie - will eat anything/everything

and this:

Sula - ball fetcher extraordinaire

and this:

Eddy - the laziest puppy ever

and actually all these guys too:

Left to Right: Zigzag, Sula, Azul, Cedar, Oso, Missy

I have a new job and it’s all about dogs! I’m doing Rad Dogs which is a doggie daycare program run by the Humane Society here in town. Basically people drop off their dogs in the morning, we walk them, exercise them, play with them, etc. and then in the evening their owners come and pick them up again.

It’s great for the dogs and great fun for us!

Linda shows off the dogs’ perfect manners

Even though I haven’t had much time for knitting this month I really love my new job. I will return with knitting content soon, there has been knitting, just not as much as usual.

Bonus:

My favorite co-worker

I blame the heat.

It really has been gorgeous weather here in Juneau lately. And I started a new job where I get to be outside having fun all day long! Whoppee! I am tired but happy.

Therefore I am in the process of casting on all new summer projects.

I started with this:

mmm…orange sweater…

Which is the beginning of Sahara (here and on Ravelry) in some deliciously orange hemp yarn.

But then I quickly became distracted when I got the new Interweave:

Leaf Kimono Top in Catania Cotton

Then I decided that this color and the lace pattern didn’t go together. Mainly because this is a top that will require something under it (Picture of the pattern here and Ravelry) and I thought this color would be too hard to find things to go under it.

So I started over:

This particular green is hard to capture at this (late) hour but it is basically olive

I like this better but in the process of taking these pictures I noticed that my gauge varied wildly from one start of the back piece swatch to the next so I will have to rip it out.

Also I want to start knitting with this as soon as possible:

I want to make a Beaded Cami (here and Ravelized). I think I have one more size 3 circular needle so I can start it tomorrow without having to cannibalize the needles from another project.

Hurray for summer!!!

PS: I have a sunburn : (

Anyways here’s some actual knitting content!

These are my socks-in-progress for the Earth Element of Project Spectrum. They represent pretty much all the knitting that I’ve been doing lately except for one truly impossible to photograph scarf.

They’re both really fun socks to knit and I’m just past the heels on the matching socks for both pairs.

In fact the brown socks were so much fun to knit I had done an 8″ cuff before I knew it and subsequently ran out of yarn for the toe. Luckily I had some matching coordinating yarn hanging around to finish them off with.