There's No Place Like Dome!

I know it's hard to believe but the little school known by the distinctive chant "What it is - What it be - What's your average SAT" is actually playing in the Missouri State Division 3 High School Championship Football game today (Friday) at 4:00 pm in the Edward R Jones Dome in Saint Louis. The Beastie - who has somehow managed to reach the ripe old age of 16 is a 6 foot tall 240 pound sophomore lineman and will be wearing the blue and gold.. Link to the webcast!


As to knitting related content - well this is a Mohawk Hat by Jennifer Stafford. I ordered it over on Ravelry for $3. Ran over and picked up some yarn at the Kirkwood Knittery who luckily had some blue and gold just laying around! And finally spent 2 hours trying to find a size 9 needle - which I did but it's gonna take another 2 hours to clean up the mess in my studio..

How could I turn down the beastie and company when they asked soooo sweetly!
Go Bombers Be Perfect!

Poor Beastie - JBS 20 - Richmond 21 in the last 5 seconds...
hockey starts in 1 hour and 45 minutes

Shiny Cotton and KAL's

Somehow - and I'm not quite sure how - the beastie's football team is progressing in the Missouri Class 3 State Championship - and of course I needed a Bomber Blue Scarf! At the same time there is a ColourMart KAL over on Ravelry! And as luck would have it there's a new fiber combo called Shiny Cotton. Shiny cotton is a combo of 45% cotton, 20% viscose, 15% merino, 15% angora and 5% cashmere.

So all that being said here's a Heart-To-Heart by Sivia Harding and I actually finished in time to wear it to the game at CBC on Monday nite! "Go Bombers - Be Perfect"

So the particulars...

a 4 inch square from the garter stitch section of my scarf measures 26 stitches by 32 rows before washing. Upon plunging the scarf into a very warm bath using Dawn dishwashing detergent I got a very very blue water bath (3 times) - but I'm not surprised since blues run no matter what you do with them. So here's the pictures pre-washed...and the smaller picture is of the cone (blue) and a ball of DMC Cebelia double mercerized cotton - thought that might help show how shiny "Shiny Cotton" really was! The yarn itself is well balanced, and didn't bias while I was working with it. Great stitch definition getting the beads on was really easy! I must also admit to the occasional morning whimper it caused my hands.

Okay now it's washed and blocked and the same 4 x 4 square measures 28 stitches by 28 rows! And the overall length went to 8.5" x 67". I know this can't make sense but those are the dimensions. As to halo - well not so much - I tried to grab a photo of the halo but really it just looks like a mercerized cotton.
So the color is great - the drape is lovely - cotton makes it crisp and has great stitch definition. I think it works better in stockinette than garter and there is a definite sheen! When I get a couple of minutes I plan on knitting up a swatch and throwing it in the washer to see if I get any more halo - check back later for details.

mittens BLOCKED

How come your mittens look so even - cause much like lace - I block the snot out of it! So this is a picture of the new mitten I've been working on and that very odd looking paddle well that's how I block.

About 13 years ago the hubby took a basket of my mittens into the office. He figured in Minnesota on a 20 degree below zero morning - someone might want to buy a pair. We put a price of $23 a pair for all wool mittens like the ones above was fair. He said people put stuff out in the lunch room and then if it sold great and if it didn't then the stuff came home on Friday. So my snowman of a hubby loaded up the truck and off he went to work - I told him there was no way anyone would buy them - they were too expensive - and lets face facts - Minnesota/Wisconsin is home to some of the best knitters I've ever had the pleasure to meet! I got a call at 8:10 am - after a little small talk - yup the eagles are flying over the frozen Mississippi - yes the road into Winona was a little slick - yup the school bus made it up the ridge today - sold all 12 pairs of the mittens they want to know if you take custom orders - and Jimmy has something for you.... Wait go back to the part where you sold my stuff - quit joking - you've only been at the office for a couple of hours!

He came home that night with an envelope full of cash and checks - short by $7 cause he'd gone out to lunch to the GreenMill - he mumbled something about being an "Artist's Rep". Anyway - the best part was sitting in an interoffice memo envelope - there sat two pieces of wood -- you got it - a mitten blocker complete with thumbs for a size medium woman's mitten - I couldn't believe my luck! I could now block a mitten in less than a minute! Then Jimmy's note said that his mom used to use them and if I wanted he could whip me out some more - how about a dozen! Be still my heart! Now I can do 6 pairs of mittens at a time! Well they're still working great - I must admit to having gifted 3 pairs to some very good friends (see I do share sometimes). And they still make stranded mittens look amazing! Thanks hubby for having such great friends like Jimmy! Oh and Jimmy asked for a pair of woman's small mittens for his wife as payment - man did I make out on that one!

Ya Can't Make this S#$% Up!

It's a beautiful fall Sunday morning - the sun is shining - there's a crisp breeze - and it's hockey season. So I load up the hardly stinky gear in the mini van - load up my knitting bag with yarn for preemie caps - load up the overly large beastie and head off to practice at the IceZone - which is in The Mills Mall! That's about 40 minutes from my house.

Pull into the parking lot - off load the beastie and the gear. Look at the mall - look at the weather decide to sit in the van in the parking lot and enjoy the sun and air rather than what goes on at high school hockey practice - can you really blame me?

So there I sat - peaceful - like not even the radio on. A 50 something, graying, chubby woman - knitting preemie caps for St. John's and a friend's grandchild. But no good deed goes unpunished - a mall security jeep pulls up and asks me if everything is alright. Of course - well he informs me that I need to either enter the mall or leave the mall grounds. Failure to do so means I will be sited for loitering. Stop laughing - it took me a minute to realize he was serious. I prefer sunshine to hockey stink so I decided to wait for the beastie over in the Steak and Shake parking lot - and the jeep followed me until I left the mall grounds.

10 minutes later the beastie called me to pick him up - which upon telling him my tale - burst out "Oh My God I can't leave you alone for 10 minutes and you're busted by the cops. You'd think that by the time you're 50 you could show some sort of maturity and be by yourself at the mall. What are my friends going to say when you're convicted of a misdemeanor? Wait until your husband gets home - you are in soooo much trouble!" That conversation lasted for almost the whole way home - it's a long 40 minutes to the house when there's a snot nosed teen who knows everything sitting next to you!

Zoom forward a day - I try to get a hold of mall security - they've got an email address but that's it - so after sending in my inquiry I get back a note saying that it is undeliverable - it's their site that I emailed from!!!

Oh well I have 2 weeks to decide how I'm going to handle the next Sunday Practice - but I will guarantee I will not be spending a single dollar at The Mills Mall in Hazelwood Missouri!!!! Oh by the way this is the legal definition that I found...

loiter v. to linger or hang around in a public place or business where one has no particular or legal purpose. In many states, cities, and towns there are statutes or ordinances against loitering by which the police can arrest someone who refuses to "move along." There is a question as to whether such laws are constitutional. However, there is often another criminal statute or ordinance which can be applied specifically to control aggressive begging, soliciting prostitution, drug dealing, blocking entries to stores, public drunkenness, or being a public nuisance.

So when you've stopped laughing - and wondering about my side businesses - you might enjoy this FREE Preemie Cap pattern - it's called the "Knit Baby Hat" by Bernat Design Studio. I made it in the round - so subtract 2 stitches when casting on and you can figure it out from there. I used Red Heart Ltd. Soft Baby Twinkles which I got from Smiley's Internet Yarn Riot. I managed to get 4 of the preemie sized caps and 2 of the 12 month size caps out of one ball - which was on sale for $2.99!

Shetland Scarf in Cashmere

So this is my cashmere scarf. I started by grabbing my copy of Heirloom Knitting by Sharon Miller - I really like the chart on page 140 called Shetland Twins with Lace Hole Diamonds Pattern. I used a provisional cast on for 46 stitches knit plain for 4 rows and started the chart! Finished 7 repeats and knit 4 more rows of garter stitch. Then picked the chart for the edging on page 173 - Fine Lace Hole Diamond and Zigzag Edging - without breaking the thread I cast on 28 stitches for the edging. I was trying to fit a large-ish edging around a narrow center band so I ended up doing the following join sequence

2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3 -3-2-2-2-2-2-2

for the corners with the remainders being a 1:1 join. I think I could have gotten away with using only one triple but we'll chalk that up to lessons learned!

Final dimensions were 17.5" x 56" which should be reasonably warm. It used about 80 grams of a 2/28 cashmere from ColourMart in a colorway called artichoke! Which I must admit is my favorite color! It will be offered for sale at the beastie's school fundraiser in November! I'll post a picture on a model as soon as it's done drying!!!

Sour Apple Cherry Fizz

I hardly ever knit with anything heavier than a sport weight but here is "Cherry Fizz" knit in a heavy DK weight on size 9 needles. The fiber is ColourMart 2/6 NM
5% cashmere/95% merino in "Pistacio" which is this very yellow green pea soup color. I'm not sure if I'm digging the color, but as usual it's soft and fluffy! I'm not sure about the pattern either. It's okay, but if I were to do it again - and I'm not - I would switch to a sport weight and still stay with a size 9! It was also a mystery as to how to block it - I first tried it with wires but ended up just using straight pins so the "bubbles" had more definition on the sides.

Re-Crash

So I did it again - this time on a size 7 cause it was the largest Addi Lace Turbo I own. It came out a depressing 44 inches across with the same 18 inch drop in the center...Then it finally hit me - not only is the fiber unwilling to give - but those slipped stitches on the edges are the culprit! I'm guessing I could have gotten a couple more inches by switching to just garter stitch!!! If you ever try it let me know about the outcome I'd appreciate it!!!

Crashing Waves

This should have been the end of my beach knitting! Every year my mom and her family head over to Cape Cod for a couple of weeks of fun in the sun - but they are always cold when they go out to eat in the evening or when they sit out on the deck to read! So this year I thought I'd make them a trio of cotton/silk shawls they could throw in their bags.

Well, every once in a while despite the careful swatching - something goes terribly WRONG! So this is the Echo Flower Shawl - a freebie over on Ravelry. It was an easy knit - but mine seems to be the smallest Echo Flower ever knit! I used the Exotic Cotton from the ColourMart site - I swatched - heck I've done two other projects out of the exact same fiber (in different colors). But my finished shawl after blocking measures 39 inches across and only an 18 inch drop in the center! It used about a 1/3 of a cone of yarn on a size 5 needle. I'm guessing I'd have been happier with a size 8 or 9!!!! This thing is dense folks!

But as luck would have it and with the help of Ravelry someone saw it and loved it and now it has a good home!!!! So I'm off to try again on a much larger needle! Check back for the rematch!

Bluebirds at the Beach

Well this one is out of some more of the ColourMart Exotic Cotton - this time in River Sand (or according to the beastie cream of wheat cereal)! My Auntie is allergic to just about everything but I'm guessing this one will actually cause no itchy-scratchies! I used a US size 5 needle but I'm guessing I'd have been more happy with a 6! I used some seed beads rescued from Grace's old rosary in a bronze color (they are definitely metal cause I used a magnet to pick them up out of the carpet after a little excitement with the dog). Final measurements are 22" x 68". The pattern is by Romi called "Bluebird". Made a few adjustments - 31 repeats of the center diamond, added an extra repeat of the "big wings" section, added beads to the spine of the leaf motif, and added flowers instead of the small wings, slipped the first stitch of each row to allow easier blocking.

Now since everyone asks - knit it right off the cone while still oiled (I'm lazy). When finished put it in really hot water with some Dawn dishwashing detergent - followed by a good rinse - followed by a second plunge in Dawn and hot water, followed by a good rinse, followed by 10 minutes in a really hot dryer. Pinned out using wires run thru the slipped stitch at the beginning of each row.

Now I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you to check out Romi's pins that she makes to go with her shawls - they really are spectacular!!!

And now for those of you who know me well - this gift was actually done 4 weeks ahead of time - I believe I may be growing up!

This was quick

First let me say that knitting with the crew I run with is somewhat - well - loud! And I was sitting at Lone Wolf Coffee House and Janineny2001 was working on this cute scarf and the next thing I know it seems perfectly natural to start one of my own!



So the background goes like this - I hate to knit with cotton - it hurts my hands something fierce and I try to avoid it at all cost. But then this cone of "Exotic Cotton" (not erotic cotton which is what the beastie thought I said) in Clay (but it's closer to the color of a new penny) showed up over on the ColourMart Site and it just kindda jumped into my cart! So that's 70% cotton and 30% silk in a 4 ply lite fingering weight (1100 yards/150 grams) and guess what - my hands don't hurt! Do a little Firefly dance!

Then as luck would have it, I had some copper beads that I'd salvaged from one of Grace's old necklaces, which just happened to blend perfectly! But the pattern calls for size 6's and they were seed beads - but I really thought they'd be perfect so I used them!

Then I had some needle issues - I started the scarf on size 3 Addi Lace Turbos -after 5 repeats it just wasn't working. So I switched to the size 3's from my HiyaHiya interchangeable needle kit. Still not happy and I'm at the half way point - so I changed to these Surina Wood straights - I know I never use straights but it ended up being the perfect needle - it was springy and had some stability for supporting the work while adding beads and then the project just seemed to fly.

And finally I had some of this blocking wire from Lacis that I've been procrastinating about using so what the heck I pulled it out - cut the blocking time in half - literally 25 minutes start to finish!

So now I've got to go face up to the task of sifting and sorting my workspace - there are cones to be filed and patterns that I should find all the pages too! And lets face facts - The Chicago Blackhawks - It's the Stanley Cup folks! So go get a copy of Chelsea Dagger and sing with me....

Seems I've been remiss

I finished up the Cameron Shawl a while back - but I never posted a picture. So here's the eye candy to compensate for the bitching...It was made with ColourMart 2/30 Cashmere/Merino/Silk on a US size 2 needle. Finished blocked dimensions 53" x 53". Still have enough on the cone for a good sized scarf!

YEA - I've got bags

Okay - my tech crew has let me down - and I'm out searching for someone - anyone - to finish up my website! But until then I have these really cute project bags and wanted to share them! I've been working with Carol and I think that these are darn near perfect! I've been using them for my lace projects, the reinforced custom embroidered openings in the front accommodate needles size thru 10 keeping your projects from getting snagged it's easy to throw in your purse or regular knitting bag. The generous sizing easily holds a cone of yarn, project and pattern! And here in lovely Eureka, Missouri there is a Lavender Farm! So there's a sachet of Lavender to help repel MOTHRA. And since you know you want to be "matchy" there is a cooordinating set of stitch markers made by MakeOne's daughter!

Bag A is made of drapery weight material (satin poly) an aqua background with embroidered cream colored leaves. It features a coordinating slubby cream lining, satin drawstring tie with locking mechanism, reinforced embroidered openings for your needle and measures 14" x 16" (LxW). It also comes with a little sachet of lavender (a natural critter repellent) and a coordinating set of stitch markers (wood with aqua accent beads)! Buy it today for $40



Bag B is made of drapery weight material (satin poly) with a chocolate background with embroidered aqua flowers. It features a coordinating slubby aqua lining, satin drawstring tie with locking mechanism, reinforced embroidered openings for your needle and measures 16" x 13.5" (LxW). It also comes with a little sachet of lavender (a natural critter repellent) and a coordinating set of stitch markers (wood with orange accent beads)! Buy it today for $40








Bag C is made of orange and hot pink 100% silk and features a custom embroidered flower (Carol designed the flower and embroidered it) in purples, pinks, lime green and orange. It features a coordinating peach print 100% cotton lining, satin drawstring tie with locking mechanism, reinforced embroidered openings for your needle and measures 13" x 13" (LxW). It also comes with a little sachet of lavender (a natural critter repellent) and a coordinating set of stitch markers (lady but and honey bee with red accent beads)! Buy it today for $40


Bag D is made of orange and hot pink 100% silk and features a custom embroidered flower (Carol designed the flower and embroidered it) in purples, pinks, lime green and orange. It features a coordinating peach print 100% cotton lining, satin drawstring tie with locking mechanism, reinforced embroidered openings for your needle and measures 13" x 13" (LxW). It also comes with a little sachet of lavender (a natural critter repellent) and a coordinating set of stitch markers (purple dragonfly and honey bee with red accent beads)! Buy it today for $40


Now these photos are what the bags looked like stuffed and a view from the inside. And NO you can't have my cone of ColourMart cashcotton or my scuzzy size 2 lace addi's! And since my website is non-exsistant you'll either have to send me an email at RogueKnits@charter.net or wait around until I do the next set of shows in November or there's the choice of one of these bags as a prize over on the ColourMart Group on Ravelry!

More Spitzenstriken

Trachtentuch B and an Extra Edging

Okay - I know it looks splotchy - cause it's still wet folks! This is the sister scarf/shawl to the Trachtentuch A that I made last week! This time I used Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Cypress. I used a size 5 needle and about 1.3 balls of yarn so around 560 yards. I took a pic with the yard stick so you'd have a size idea. I'll post more photo's when it's dry.

Now what I learned - which was kindda cool - the pattern motif is easy to spot because of the way Mr. Engeln did his shaping! You get that neat line separating motifs because he lined up a SSK/K2tog which when I knitted it looks solid, but when you wet block it you get this perfect little understated ladder right between the motifs! VERY SLICK!

This is TOP SECRET...

So you may have noticed over on Ravelry in the ColourMart Group there is a contest starting! Yeah - I needed a kick in the butt! So you can't start until May 20th, but this is going to be the edging to a shawl I hope to finish in time of the contest, and maybe this year I might even enter into the Missouri State Fair! So this is from Spitzenstriken Teil 3 - it is Muster 51 A and it will hopefully be the edging for a lace shawl. So come join the fun already - you know you want to!!!

Erich Engeln Spitzenstricken Teil 3

Yup I know - the title is a mouthful! But it is such a delicious mouthful you'll want to savor it for a long time!

I found it first on Ravelry via a shop called A Knitted Peace in Colorado - but wasn't happy with the translation and recharting - then I found this one at Lacis.com and at first I was a little put off by the price. But then I got a look at the shawls, and some doilies, and particularly some edgings (always searching out new edgings) and I knew I needed it.

Originally I made Trachtentuch A/Schultertuch A in a handpainted silk merino blend. Wasn't happy - between the price and the stripey bits - well lets just say I learned a valuable lesson.

Then I had a partial cone of ColourMart 3/28 heavy lace weight 100% cashmere (2 cones = 3 shawls - and I've still got enough left over for a scarf) in Persian Blue Mix. I used a size 4 needle (thinking of dropping to a 3) and went to town. Wow - a week of knitting later and now I love this thing! I don't know if I can give it away or if I'm going to hastily knit another "hug" for a friend! So soft, so fluffy, such drape...well enough - you'll just have to knit your own! I will say that there is a line of nupps that I would replace with beads, and the bottom medallions cry out for beads as well but that will have to be on the next one - and there will definitely be a next one!

I was also surprised at the way the front ended up draping - it falls in a ruffle much like the "Potato Chip" scarf! It adds a graceful "aire" to the front. I also crocheted the edging cause I need to keep practicing this cursed skill - and I use the term loosely! Thank-you Brooke and RMS for the little reminder the other day!

Tuesday 2 Tuesday Knitting

This week I did 8 more Chemo Caps - actually it turned out to be 1 a day which is pretty good considering my current life. So here we go...

2 of the Beaufort Hats a freebie over on Ravelry using some Cascade Sierra Quatro I got from the sale bin at the Kirkwood Knittery!











Then a whole bunch of the Tretta pattern from Grumperina also over on Ravelry but I think it was $4 - but here's the thing it's kindda ribby so it fits all kinds of heads! I used some Paton's Mercerized Cotton I found over at Smiley's Yarns (online cause I don't get to NY nearly enough) and some of the softest stuff I've felt - Rowan CashCotton DK that I got out of the sale bin at the Kirkwood Knittery (I knit more Chemo Caps from Brooke's great sales!)





Then there's this funky little number from PaperMoon - over on Ravelry. I'm torn, it's a little busy but hopefully someone will love it. I used Cascade Sierra in Lavender and a too cute button both from...The Kirkwood Knittery. Yarn on sale button NOT! The hat just feels too bulky (but the back of your neck will NEVER be cold), and it grew quite a bit after I washed it.







And finally this old standby - the Lace Edged Hat - also found on Ravelry, and made with some more of the Rowan CashCotton DK that I got at the Kirkwood Knittery Sale Bin!