2 of 11

So this is Filigrano by Knitting-Delight. It's another freebie pattern you can download over on Ravelry (be sure to grab the English version unless you are fluent in German). I had 2 cones of ColourMart 2/28 Merino/Silk/Cashmere, used it doubled with a US size 6 needle. Finished size 62" across the top and 31" down the center spine. I added a slip one knit 2 for an edging to keep it from curling - other than that and going down one needle size I made no mods.

Now the fun news - CarolP sat my sorry self down and showed me how to do "links" in Ravelry which have baffled me for almost a year. So what I've been trying to figure out for a year she has me doing in less than 15 minutes. Gotta love a smart chick!

And since everyone seems to have a method - I knit my shawl using the 2/28 doubled - it was unwashed. Upon completion I worked in my ends but DID'T cut them. I then ran a kitchen sink full of water I could barely put my hands in and 3 squirts of Dawn Dish Washing Detergent. Came back 20 minutes later - wow there's some purple water - pulled out the shawl - emptied the sink - rinsed the shawl and shoved it back into some more hot water and Dawn - walked away and watched an episode of "Bones" on Netflix - came back - less purple - rinsed until clear. Placed in a salad spinner and removed most of the water. Pinned out on the guest room bed and used a medium speed room fan to get it really dry in time to show it off at lunch today. And I'm sorry for the not so great photos but somehow my rechargeable battery will no longer recharge - so I'll be using my cell phone camera until I can get it all sorted out.

Miss Martin

So this is the first small shawl for the 11shawlsin2011 group on Ravelry. This would be a challenge to knit 11 shawls in 2011 with at least two of them being over 400 yards. Well says myself that's not even a challenge so to please the six sigma guy in my life I've added to the challenge - I must only use free or existing patterns and existing materials in my stash. Hey it's a challenge right!?

So this is Annis - a free pattern over at Knitty. Made it with ColourMart Cashmere/Silk/Viscose/Merino in a 2/12NM 4 ply weight. This is the same fiber as used in the HoarFrost Cowl - some one asked about washing in the machine and using a dryer - don't unless you are looking for felt! I used a size 10.5 to cast on using an "H" crochet hook and then switched to a size 9 needle. I used up 1.6 tubes of olive colored size 6 beads (bought from Lady Bug beads in St. Louis during a 50% off sale) which picked up the olive tweedy bits in the fiber. Made it a little deeper by adding a couple of more pattern rows (change out the nupps for beads and make it into diamonds instead of the flying V's) then cast off using an I-cord edging which seems to give it a little more stability at the top. And finally I used the large size of HiyaHiya needle kit. Wow - my joins were tight and smooth, small enough to carry in my knitting bag and they were sure cheaper than the Addi's!! Be aware that they come in two different "tip" sizes 3" and 4". Both seem to work fine but I'm partial to the 3"!

So all that being said - it's on the way to Miss Martin - cause although I can knit - she trumps me - she makes better people!

with an H Jake - not a W

who knew that a little cowl could cause such a stir...

It started when I said hey beastie can you please find me the Hoarfrost pattern by Anne Hanson of KnitSpot. It was an "OMG Mom" moment accompanied with Coke shooting from his nose! Which led to the discussion of the H versus the W. This is the definition from the Arctic Climatology and Meteorology site. If you are looking for the "W" variation of the word - contact your nearest 16 year old male and ask - I'm sure they'll be happy to help you - I suggest bringing paper towels!

So then I had a this really great cone from ColourMart that I've been wanting to give a try and thought this would be perfect. It is a light fingering weight 5%cashmere/10%Silk/12%Viscose/73% Merino in a color called Tierra Tweed. Now the stir was because somehow my package got the magical mystery tour of the post office and took about 6 weeks to arrive - but it got here! YeAh! But I must admit that it wasn't looking really swanky - actually it looked kindda like string like lace weight string. But I have learned over time to not discount the ColourMart yarn on first glance!

Since my fiber was a little lite for the pattern I went up a needle size to a US 4 and made the larger size cowl. I just loved that lace stitch and it was totally new to me so I bought the pattern more to learn the lace stitch than actually to knit the cowl. Then low and behold as I was starting to knit my cowl my copy of knit.sock.love arrived, and there on page 67 was the same lace pattern!

So skip forward a 36 hours, 220 yards and I'm done knitting (yes I know I'm a little fast - but let's not tell my husband). Toddle over to the sink full of really hot water and a couple of squirts of Dawn Dishwashing Detergent and throw it in. Yikes that was one ugly colored sink of water. So rinsed and did it again. And again. And finally finished it off by giving it a good soak in some Pantene hair conditioner for dry hair. Another rinse and a trip to the salad spinner. Then finally I pinned it out to the bed to dry - which took about the same amount of time as watching Bucky and the Badgers get their butts kicked in the Rose Bowl and clean up the mess that was created by the men folk eating snacks in the kitchen.

It bloomed nicely and I was really happy about the subtle tweed effect. The color is a light brown with flecks of color - the silk and viscose give it a nice sheen and contribute to the drape the merino and cashmere are soft as usual.

As to all those who asked about swatching and shrinkage and stitch counts - gotta tell you folks my philosophy is if it doesn't work for the person intended then the cosmos was telling you to send it to someone who really needed it - which is what I did!

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!