Arrrrr, Matey

I couldn't resist. But after knitting the Pink & Purple 'Paca Pirate Hat I'm allowing myself a little silliness. God only knows what's going to happen when I'm finished the Sweater Of Doom. So without further ado, another product of my continuing spiral into Fair Isle Madness ...

It's not quite finished, still need to knit the liner, wash and block. It came out a trifle small but I'm hoping by blocking it, it'll stretch some. Not a lot though, I imagine. Frog Tree Alpaca Sportweight on US 3's, the liner is done on 1's. Oh joy. As I said previously, me no likey Fair Isle done in alpaca. Crummy stitch definition. However, in the interest of stash busting and all, blah, blah, blah.

A crappy picture of the top but it gives you an idea of the design. This thing definitely needs blocking though. In other yarn news, the store is having it's 4th anniversary sale starting tomorrow (Saturday, September 1st). I am working uhh ... Saturday. Sunday. Monday. Death by yarn - it may be possible. Anyway, if you're in the South Bay and would like to pay 25% less on any yarn in the store c'mon by, we'd love to see you. E-mail / phone orders accepted as well. All the details on the website. Sale ends September 9th or when all the store employees drop dead, whichever comes first.

Last but not least, I seem to be collecting Rowan Felted Tweed. I love tweed yarn and Rowan has some beautiful colors in the Felted Tweed; I wish it was spun a bit more evenly but that's me. I'm just WEIRD.

Unraveled

There are some people (anal, obsessive compulsive, geeky) who should not be allowed access to particular websites (Ravelry). On my dining room table sits two weeks worth of unread mail. I now know the dye lots of almost every skein of yarn I own. See the problem?

Yes, knitting fans, Ravelry opened it's door and I waltzed in. Why am I, the anti-follower, a little stoked? Because now, on the odd occasion (every day) when I am perusing patterns at work I can instantly check my online stash to see if I have a suitable yarn. I'm not really there for the forums or the groups or the display of F.O.'s. No, I just wanna know what's hiding in my Rubbermaid containers at home.

Sure, I uploaded a few pics of F.O.'s just to prove I could actually knit but the majority of my effort has been spent inputting my stash. And heck, I certainly seem to have a lot of pink and purple yarn. And single skeins. I mean really, would it kill me to actually buy more than one ball of yarn at a time? Or perhaps my subconscious has been contemplating a descent into Fair Isle madness for some time now.

So moving along ... Here we have today's addition to the ol' stasharoonie.

Knit Picks Merino Style in the colorway "Mint", dye lot 84289. I also bought a ball in the colorway "Iris", dye lot 9918. Fair Isle. Yeah, yeah. Still on that kick. In fact, my Pink & Purple Pirate 'Paca Hat is almost done! Like 12 more rows, knit the liner and presto, another hat I'll never wear. Why that's almost as exciting as photographing balls of yarn. Woe is me, dudes. Woe.

It May Be Tomorrow

There are currently 241 people ahead of me in line for Ravelry.

Tomorrow may be the DAY.

If I should disappear for even longer periods than usual, could someone please clean Victor's stall?

And Cookie, could you lean down honey, there's something I'd like you to kiss. :)

Fair Isle Fever

Please bear with me as I ride the wave of Fair Isle Fever, currently running rampant at Chez Insanity. It's that whole multiple color thing that's got me jazzed. That and this website. Which has 1,999 free patterns, not all of which are Fair Isle but a good portion are. Also adding to the fever is one of our new yarns in the store, Rowan Pure Wool DK. What's not to love about a yarn that comes in a bazillion different colorways, is reasonably priced, and is machine washable?

Currently fueling the F.I.F. is this pattern. I'd show you a picture of my particular version but ACK I left it at job #1. I'm doing mine in the traditional pirate colors of pink and purple. In alpaca. This will probably be the only Fair Isle hat I'll do in alpaca, we need crisp stitches, not halo-y stitches. But it was stash yarn and I needed a sport weight, blah, blah, blah.

Once that's done, it's on to a special request hat. In these colors.

Can anyone guess who the person is that will be the recipient of this hat? Go ahead, take a guess. The first person who leaves a comment guessing the correct individual will win, umm, I dunno, yarn? Note to the intended recipient - if you leave a comment guessing yourself you do not win a prize. You're getting a hat. Don't be greedy.

F.I.F.O.

No, this isn't going to be a post about inventory recognition accounting. It's just a Fair Isle Finished Object.

Started on Thursday, finished today. Yes, there is something addicting about knitting Fair Isle. The pattern is from Interweave Knits special edition "Knitted Gifts" from last winter. Done in stash yarn, aka Lion Brand Wool Ease / Plymouth Encore. On US 5's. The ties were supposed to be crocheted chains but since I'd never made an I-cord, I decided to try that instead. Andy was suitably impressed with the I-cords. I was under the delusion that this was a baby hat but apparently it's a hat for a "medium sized child" whatever that means.

Anyway, it was fun and now I'm off to start another one. Just to make sure this wasn't a fluke and all.

An Anniversary Of Sorts ...

Recognize this rather large beast? OK, I know his face is hidden, but go ahead, take a guess.

This is that horse that stepped off a trailer four months ago, bleeding, hobbling and awfully skinny. With crappy feet and a broken sinus bone. You remember, the goofball who was afraid to go in his own stall. The horse that took thirty minutes to go 10 feet.

He's put on a few pounds since then. And got a new haircut today. It's his "hunter/jumper cut". The broken down too slow Thoroughbred is in training with a new trainer to do low level dressage. The trainer who keeps blathering on about "excellent conformation", "a beautiful mind", "phenomenal movement."

Did ya guess? Huh? Yeah ... it's my BooBoo.

So Yeah

Well. Here we are again. Back at Chez Insanity. Where there has been knitting. Crazy ass knitting. Knitting to make you lose your mind. Knitting that makes you ask the age old question, "Why the hell would anyone write a pattern telling you to cable EVERY OTHER ROW?!?"

Apparently to make something like this. This is the sweater formerly known as The TomKat Sweater, now renamed The Sweater Of Doom. This is the sleeve. Or rather, part of the sleeve. I was a bit taken aback by the casting on of the 376 stitches for the "peplum" and opted to do the sleeves first. I don't know why there is't any ribbing on this sleeve, it could be that I've read the pattern WRONG AGAIN. I've been working on this sweater for a week now and I've done a whopping 62 rows. This is what happens when you don't really take a close look at the patten before volunteering to make it. It's what happens when you fail to notice that all 4 bars of the skill level required are COLORED IN. This sweater may be finished in time for Vogue Knitting's 50th Anniversary Issue.

However, tonight I decided to take a little break from TSOD. I decided to attempt, once again, what for me is the Holy Grail of Knitting, Fair Isle. Or stranded knitting. Whichever you prefer. However, rumor had it that if you throw with your right hand, that would be me, that it's a pain in the butt. But I came to the conclusion this evening that if I could knit a $^**(& sweater from Vogue Knitting then hells bells I should be able to do Fair Isle.

Yep, that's what I'm talking about. Finally, I may have gotten it. Finally. This is supposed to end up as a baby hat. Or something like that. I'm too busy watching the colors change to remember.

And because it seems there's some kind of rule that you always have to show the back of Fair Isle, here you go. My lovely little floats, just floating along. Now I need to go do another row, I think it's time for another color change!

The TomKat Sweater

I am emarking on a journey to lose my mind. I'm trying to look at it as a journey to increase my knitting skills but really, I may very well lose what little there is left of my brain. I am making this ...

In this ...

... for the store. "That" is a Debbie Bliss pattern featured in Vogue Knitting's 25th Anniversary issue. It is one of the few patterns I actually like. And I didn't even really care for it to begin with but it's grown on me. What's not to love about cables and seed stitch?

I'm making it in a new yarn from Blue Sky Alpaca, "Suri Merino" (hence the TomKat reference). It's 60% Baby Suri and 40% Merino, color 413 which I feel describes this shade perfectly. Duh. Name your colors, people!

So I picked up the required 9 skeins tonight and sat down on the couch, all ready to get at 'er. First step - cast on 376 stitches. Second step - knit these 376 stitches over 4 different charts for 10 inches. Hands up, who's joining me at the institution?

P.Y.F.

I have now completed my first weekend as a Professional Yarn Fondler at Knitting Arts. And dayum, my feet are SORE. AND I have a new appreciation for the people who work in retail. Even if you've been doing it 20 years and know everything there is to know.

Frankly, my brain feels like it's going to explode. I worked 9 - 2 yesterday and had to have a little nap when I got home. I lost track of how many times I said, "Umm, I'm sorry, this is my first day." However, I managed to only exclaim once, "Wow, that's a lotta money!" after ringing up a sale. Duh.

Today I worked from 11:30 - 6:30. As I was sitting on the floor this afternoon organizing yarn into baskets I thought to myself, "I wonder who comes in to clean after we close?" Uh, that would be you, April. However, there was fun stuff too. One man, who was here from Australia, came in to buy sock yarn for his wife and wanted to take a picture of the Wall O' Koigu to show her when he got back. Oh, and this is beyond sweet. There's an East Indian gentleman who comes in every Sunday. He has taught himself to knit "on the sly" and is making sweaters for his wife and young son. He tells his wife he's going into the office and instead comes and knits at the store. Is that true love or what? *Sigh*

So speaking of knitting (ha) this is almost done.

Eyelet Yoke Cardigan, free pattern from Lion Brand, blah, blah, blah. Knit in Cotton Ease, like the pattern calls for. It just needs half an underarm seam done on the right side and then the entire seam on the left. And of course, the official placement of the Ducky Button.

Frankly, Frank, I think this yarn is too bulky for the design. I think the eyelets look like festering boils. Someone at the store suggested blocking it. Me? Block? It's enough that I'm sewing the seams. So it is what it is.

Here we have the beginnings of a rather small teddy bear. Except for his butt which seems to have taken on Beyonce size proportions. We're talkin' some serious junk in the trunk on ol' Teddy. Knit the front, knit the back, seam the sides and stuff. A little embroidery for the nose and eyes and there's yer bear. Sorry, no linkage available as it's a Knitting Arts pattern for the Perfect Teddy Bear Knitalong. I'm knitting mine in Malabrigo in the "Applewood" colorway. I wasn't sure at first if one skein was going to be enough, now I think I may have enough for an entire family.

And finally ...

While I was at work today, Andy decided to do a little knitting himself. Still having a bit of a problem with the casting on but he's working on it.

Things That Make Me Smile

Besides the fact that it's Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday ...

My new chainmaille bracelet from Sparkles & Fuzz Etsy shop. I'm not really a jewelry girl, I wear one ring with an amethyst in it. If I'm feeling really dressy, I'll throw on a pair of earrings. But when I saw this bracelet I had to have it. I ordered it last Friday from Uli, who lives in Canada, and it arrived TODAY. Way to go, USPS! My picture doesn't do it justice. I love it so much I just sit and stare at it. Or perhaps I'm losing my mind. It's a possibility.

The new Fall Interweave Knits. There are some very nice patterns in this issue, I think it's well worth the bucks. And if it's a Fall magazine then it's gonna cool down soon, right?

Stitch markers from Hide and Sheep. I seem to have developed a bit of an addiction to these. Since they don't dangle it's near impossible for me to knit them into my projects. But they're still pretty! Pretty like aija's stitch markers but without the dangle. If you like the dangle buy aija's, they ROCK.

Finding out that one of my favorite knit bloggers is back from holidays. Monkee Maker lives in Britain and knits the most adorable monkees. Then she takes lovely photos of their grand adventures and posts them on her blog. She's hilarious. If you need a good laugh, check out her blog. REALLY.

Baby sweaters knit in Malabrigo. Need I elaborate? I didn't think so.

What the heck? How'd this picture get in the post?