Thanks for all your comments on the contrast color.  I’ve decided to go with the purple.

However, I just haven’t felt myself in the mood to cast-on yet.  In the meantime I suddenly found myself with the urge to whip up some quick stash-busting type projects.

I knit this hat in a couple of evenings:

Leafprints Hat knit from Himalayan Wool/Silk yarn

I think I could have finished this in one evening but what I thought was a bulky weight turned out to be more of a worsted and I ended up with leaves that didn’t pop and more than 1/2 the yarn left over so I frogged and re-knit with two strands of the yarn held together.  I like it much better now and it just needs a pom-pom for me to consider it finished.

I also cast-on for a Daybreak Shawl in two different Noro yarns.  I’m knitting the small size but using a DK weight yarn.  I don’t really have a plan for how this will turn out.  I just liked the colors and fingers crossed I have enough yarn because I got this at on sale and I don’t think they have any more at the LYS.

Not my usual color-scheme.

Also in my excitement over the pretty colors I forgot that Noro yarn is all striped (regardless of how it is skeined) and did not remember until I started winding the yarn into a ball.  I was imagining a variegated colorway for some reason so I’m hoping that I’ll like the scarf in the end even though it won’t be quite how I envisioned it originally.

In other news my cousin/bff Adrienne gave me a lovely early birthday present:

Mmm…delicious handspun…

We estimate there are about 500 yards of something resembling a worsted weight of this yarn.  I am planning for a stripey sweater and will be sorting the stash in search of a worthy match for it.

I am extremely excited at the prospect of wearing Adrienne’s handspun-for-me yarn in sweater form.

I haven’t had much time for knitting this summer and most of the knitting that I have been able to fit in has been the of the mostly-mindless variety.

I always try to keep one mindless project and one more complicated project going at all times so that I always have something to pick up.

Last week I finished my shawlette (sorry, no fo pics yet) and was ready for the colorwork yoke of Freyja to take over the complex knitting slot.  This left my mindless needles empty.  Completely empty.  I have been working all week to get something started to fill the mindless knitting void but have had no luck so far.

In desperation I cast on for a pair of socks for Lou but it is not the same as a long comfortable sweater project.

I’ve knit much more than this.  I’m about 5″ into the cuff

After much deliberation I decided to make a 100-Year Sweater for my next mostly-mindless-sweater project.  It is to commemorate 100 years of Elizabeth Zimmermann.  I am doing the Fair Isle Yoke Sweater with Henley Neck from Knitting Around.  This project will include my very first steek which I think makes it an excellent commemorative project.

Even with the most difficult hurdle of decision making out of the way I am having a hard time getting to the cast-on.  I hate swatching but spent all of yesterday afternoon knitting multiple swatches to get the colorwork straightened out for this new project.  I have narrowed it down to two choices:

Okay, I didn’t even knit a whole swatch.  Imagine that these are one swatch please.

The main difference is in the trim color which will be echoed at the cuffs and hem.

I can’t decide whether I like the purple or light brown better.  Please let me know which you think is better in the comments.  I am really at a stand-still on this until I decide because of course the contrast-trim is the very first row!

Aargh!

I was on a run on the Brotherhood Bridge Trail with Maggie and Oso.  For those unfamiliar with the area Brotherhood Bridge Trail is sort of like a greenbelt.  It goes about 2 miles through the forest and has a trailhead at each end.

The main Brotherhood Bridge Trail is actually paved and dogs must be kept on leash there.  I don’t like to run with both the dogs on leash so I decided to take the narrow dirt “horse trail” which parallels the Brotherhood Bridge Trail for most of the route (you have to cut back onto the main trail to cross a creek) where dogs are allowed to run loose.

We were about 1/3 of the way into our run when the dogs suddenly got very excited.  Oso took off into the bushes to my left and when I looked in that direction I saw a black bear!  The bear was about 30 feet away in a tree but only a couple of feet off the ground.  It looked like a young bear, maybe a yearling, but not a cub (phew!).  It was adorable!  These black bears are tricky because it is very difficult to be frightened of something so cute!

Luckily Maggie has better instincts, she took one look at the bear and ran away down the trail (good dog!).  Meanwhile, I could not see Oso but I could hear him barking at the bear.  I called him but his normal response to wildlife is to bark until it is tree-d or runs away.  The bear started to move around and I wasn’t sure what it was going to do…

So I ran away.

Folks, this is not what you should do if you meet a bear!  For me, however, this was a calculated risk.  I knew that if I left Oso would follow me so we would not be harassing the bear.  We were also far enough away from the bear in the first place (and it was in a tree) so it could not easily charge us.  Almost as soon as I took off Oso trotted up behind me, probably wondering why I didn’t help him scare the bear away.  Luckily, the bear did not follow him.

I did the rest of my run with on the heavily-trafficed main trail.

He has no idea I used him as Bear Bait

Last night I reached the end of my yarn for Freyja.  Unfortunately, my sweater is not yet complete.  I still have almost the entire yoke to knit.

Luckily, the LYS had plenty more of the same dyelot in stock so I will be back in business tonight.

Just another lesson in the importance of buying local.

It’s summertime and with school done (!!!) I have been spending as much time outside as possible.

Oso on Mt. Jumbo 7/30/10

At least the dogs are happy even if the blog isn’t.

Mt. Jumbo 7/30/10

I have found time to squeeze in some knitting here and there and as often happens when time is tight I have been mostly monogamous in my knitting.  Although I have many projects on-the-needles I have found myself working on just two projects for the past month or so.

This is the beginning of a Freyja Sweater from a recent Interweave Knits.  I am knitting it out of Frog Tree Alpaca Sportweight.  I am doing this as a mini-kal with my good friend Missy.  It is nice to knit-along with someone, it has really kept me motivated to work on this sweater even though my progress has been glacial.

I’m a little concerned that the brown is too gray to be very flattering but it will at least be soft, warm and lightweight so I’m sure I’ll get a lot of wear out of it once it’s finished.  I’ve completed the sleeves and I’m up to the bust increases on the body.  I’m getting quite excited to reach the colorwork yoke.

This is my other project.  It is an as-yet-unnamed shawlette/scarf thing of my own creation.  I am hoping to write up a free pattern for it when I am done.  I’ve had a hard time deciding how long to make it.  I’m using some yarn that Missy dyed for me and her skeins seem to go on forever!  I’d originally planned to keep going until I ran out of yarn but now I am thinking that 100 grams will make a nicer size for a scarf.  100 grams will only be just under 1/2 the yarn I have.  This project has been on hold this week while I try to make up my mind.

That’s all the knitting!  I think it’s time to head back outside…

Who could say no that?

Actually more like Trail Run/Hiking or maybe Speed Hiking?  I’m not sure exactly what to call it.  I hit the trail and run about half the time and hike half of the time.  Anyways, it’s a lot of fun whatever you call it!

This weekend I went out the road north of town to Windfall Lake Trail.  It was pouring rain and I had hopes that it might be nicer out the road but it wasn’t.  I got soaked but I had a blast!

Even though this is usually a knitting blog I thought I’d share some pictures from the trail:

Herbert River (extra high)

Trailside Snack

Oso also enjoys eating blueberries.  He eats them right off the bush!  I tried to take a little video to prove his berry-eating prowess:

[jwplayer config="custom" file="http://knitosaurus.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/osoeatsberries.mp4"]

Oso Eats Berries

At the end of the trail there is a great cabin that can be rented for overnights.

That is a solar powered outhouse on the right

And here is reward view:

Windfall Lake

Luckily my dogs are good sports and didn’t mind the pouring rain as long as we were going for a nice long hike.

More knitting next time!

Photo by Kris!

It was so much fun to have such enthusiastic hiking buddies in town for a few days.  They were very sweet and let me drag them through the mud and the rain and did not once mention the amount of dog-hair we accumulated.

Meeting both Lolly and Kris was very special to me.  It is amazing how much we have in common and I felt that we were all old friends right away.  Lolly made a point to remind me that I needed to get blogging again and if these are the rewards of blogging well… I don’t have much excuse for being a such a slacker!

You may have noticed in the above picture that I finished my 2nd Owls sweater that I posted about back in March.  It took me a while to finish because I vastly miscalculated the length I would need.  Between the heavy alpaca blend yarn and the stress of my final semester of undergrad I ended up with an extra 4-5″ in the body.  Unfortunately I did not discover my mistake until I had knit up the entire yoke…  I had to frog about 8″ total.  Luckily I used a bulky yarn so it wasn’t too painful and now I have a sweater that is comfy, warm and perfect for hiking in a drizzle.

I like this Owls sweater even better than the first one

I have been knitting a lot now that I am pretty much done with school (?!).  So here is a bonus shot of Maggie modeling all my almost-finished knits that just need the ends woven in!

Happy dog.

]]> http://knitosaurus.com/2010/07/21/the-power-of-the-internet/feed/ 8 http://knitosaurus.com/2010/03/03/4th-annual-green-sweater/ http://knitosaurus.com/2010/03/03/4th-annual-green-sweater/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:32:31 +0000 alligator http://knitosaurus.com/?p=787 Every year I knit a new green sweater for St. Patrick’s Day.

I never mean to do this.  It just seems that this time of year I crave green sweaters and seem to finish them right around the 17th.  Yesterday my bf sent me a link to a dog dressed as a leprechaun and I realized that I had another green sweater on track to be finished for St. Patrick’s.

I think it might have something to do with this:

This is what my yard looks like right now

I started a new green sweater last week even though I have about a million wips on the needles right now.  I think I just wanted something super simple for when I need a break.

Apologies for the weird colors.  My camera does not like sheen

I am using the owls pattern again.  This time I am not planning to put the owls on but I haven’t decided yet whether to do some other yoke decoration or not.  I’m afraid it will be too plain but I rather like the idea of a completely mindless knit and a simple cozy sweater.

I usually have one easy project and one complicated project on the needles all the time.  This week’s Color & Design project definitely fits the bill for complicated:

mmm…corrugated ribbing…

Our theme this week is rhythm in design.  These are knit in sport weight alpaca on size 2 needles.  I am really enjoying these because I absolutely love the colors (otherwise I think I would have had more sense than to use alpaca for colorwork) but they take a lot of concentration!

I am aiming to have one mitt ready for critique in class on Friday and I’ve just started the thumb gusset.

Probably I should be spending more time on these and less on my green sweater!

My third pair of French Press Felted Slippers – just needs sewing and felting

I haven’t finished a project in nearly 3 weeks…

Aestlight Shawl – Almost ready to start the lace pattern

That is a long time for me!  I could knit a sweater in all that time!…

Day’s Eye Hat – Started this with a KAL on Rav with the Obscuriosity Group but got distracted by school

But I have not knit a sweater…

Laminaria – Started this on a recent trip and it has languished since.  I’m rather afraid I don’t have enough yarn

Instead I have knit a couple rows here and a couple rows there…

Monkey Socks – I was really enjoying these but I still don’t have more than a couple of inches of cuff finished

And made very little progress…

Another pair of French Press Slippers – Lacking only sewing/felting

On a lot of different things…

Reflection Hat – I know this one looks done but I still have to weave the ends in before I can give it to its intended recipient

Part of the problem is that this semester I am lucky enough to have a class that I can knit for!  Not during, but for class!

I am working on an Art Minor for my degree and one of the required classes is Color & Design.  In this class we are exploring different design principles and each week our homework is to do a project based on whatever principle we talked about in class.

We are allowed to use whatever medium we want so I have been knitting all of mine.  It’s been really fun but hasn’t left much time for knitting anything else.

Color & Design Week 1:  Unity/Variety

Unity

For this project I knit two watchcaps based on the Marsan Watchcap pattern (I made one for Lou for his b-day but don’t have a pic).  For the Unity version I knit it basically just as the pattern dictates but without the folded brim (for time constraint reasons).

Variety

For the Variety hat I randomized the twisted ribbing.  For each rib on the hat I would flip a coin to determine whether it stayed straight or moved and then I would flip another coin to determine whether it moved left or right.

The other two projects for my Color & Design class I have not been able to finish.  The instructor told us that it wasn’t important whether they were finished but we should present them in class and once I’ve done that and moved on to the next project I haven’t  had time to go back very much.

Here they are in their WIP state:

Week 2:  Emphasis

and

Week 3:  Scale/Placement

I’m hoping to get all caught up over Spring Break (3rd week of March) or before that.  I will definitely share the projects here when they are done!

This week I am working on some flippy-top mittens and exploring balance in design.  I hope to have some pictures of them soon!

Pattern:  This is the o w l s sweater (scroll down) by Kate Davies.  I enjoyed knitting this pattern immensely.

I would not hesitate to recommend this pattern for anyone who is considering it.  The pattern was free when I downloaded it but now there is a nominal fee of GBP 1.50 (today that is about $2.44) with proceeds to Médecins Sans Frontières to benefit Haiti relief efforts.

Personally, I think this price is more than reasonable for this carefully thought out and clearly presented pattern.

Yarn:  I used Cascade Eco wool in a marled colorway for my sweater.  The marling effect of the yarn makes the owls on my sweater more subtle and to the casual observer they may look just like any old cabled yoke.  I like this very much because I think really obvious owls would be a little much for me.

The yarn I chose was also thinner than the yarn called for in the pattern.  To combat this I knit a larger size.  Actually I knit three different sizes, a smaller body, x-tra large sleeves and then a large size yoke.  This seemed to work out very well but it was mostly guessing on my part after the sleeves knit according to the pattern came out ridiculously small for my lumberjack biceps.

I also skipped some of the short rows.  I didn’t plan it this way I just saw the line “Here come the o w l s!” in the pattern and started right in on said owls.  Oops.

There was supposed to be a knitalong for this pattern with some gals in the Juneau Knitters group on Ravelry and my cousin Adrienne even cast on for hers in the same week but I haven’t seen any other finished sweaters yet.

My o w l s took about 1.5 months to knit and I finished it in November.

Final Notes:  I seriously love this sweater.  The fit is fantastic and for a bulky type sweater it is quite light and not too thick.

My two favorite features of this sweater are both down to the attention to shaping in the pattern.  I am quite lazy about figuring these sort of things out so I was really happy to try some new techniques and have them mathed out for me.

The first thing that I especially loved is that the shaping all takes place on the back of the sweater.  Davies (the designer) has explained on her blog that this gives a little more room for your more curvy side.  This absolutely makes sense to me and I hope to remember to employ it in future sweaters though I also like my sweaters that have 4 sets of increases.

The other thing that I especially loved in this pattern was the short rows to raise the back of the neck.  I love this so much now that I’ve tried it that I have pledged to continue the practice in all my future sweaters.

Wish me luck as I’ve always been too chicken to math out my own short rows so far!

My o w l s on Rav