I finished my washcloth/dishcloth/whatever last night and switched to my shawl today. I'll admit it was a struggle to return to the shawl as I'd put it down for such a long time. It was also strange switching from worsted weight cotton to lace weight wool. Talk about a huge difference! It took a little while to hit my stride, but I managed. I hope to work on the shawl from here on out until it's finished. Might take awhile, but I'll get there.
There is this row in Clue 4 that is hard to get right for some unknown reason. It's not a difficult row, but that might be the problem right there. In thinking it's easy, it becomes easy to make a mistake. Of course, it's an important row, so if it's messed up in the wrong spot, it throws the entire thing off. Figures, huh? This particular clue is repeated 4 times. The second time I tackled that row, I messed it up over and over and over again. I think it took me 6 tries to get it right. Gack! I faced that row again tonight for the third time. I'll admit that I was frightened of it. I mean, who wouldn't if you recently had to redo it so many times before? I'm absolutely thrilled that I managed to get it right the first time through. I'm honestly doing a happy dance here. lol All I need to do now is do the purl row, or the "lock in row" as I like to think of them, and slip in a new lifeline. Since it's right, I don't want to risk having to redo it if I make a mistake on the rows further up. Which, knowing me, I will. So, yes. Lifelines are my best buds.
After I get some sleep, I will attempt to remember to post photos of my finished washcloth and where I'm at on my shawl. Unfortunately, I can't spread out the entire shawl anymore. There are now 245 stitches on my 32" cables, so it doesn't quite work. However, I do enjoy seeing the pattern emerging in the section I can spread out. So I will take a photo of that section tomorrow and share it. Maybe you can get a hint of how gorgeous it's going to be finished.
Being half way through Clue 4, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are 3 more clues after this one. I'll admit that there will be around 600 stitches on the needles at the end. At that time, photos will probably have to wait until I'm completely finished and the shawl is being blocked. Oh, what a day that will be. I will have completed my largest and most complex project to date. Yes. I will have to celebrate. :-)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
A Nostepinne and a yarn swift
Talk about two crazy words, huh?! I like to joke that "nostepinne" is Scandinavian for "yarn ball winding stick." That's about all it is. However, it makes some great yarn balls!
There it is. Nothing amazing about it. Though, I did have my hubby cut the stick too long. I meant to have him cut it shorter while he was working on the yarn swift, but I forgot. Oops. However, that little notch is to hold the tail of the yarn. You make a little slip knot and slip it there. Then, you start winding. There are a lot of websites out there that teach you how to use them. A simple search will show you if you're interested. That little ball there was my very first yarn ball I wound after my nostepinne was finished. I think it turned out pretty good!
You can find some beautiful ones for sale that have been lathed and are polished and stained. Mine is a simple little dowel that I bought and sanded down. In the end, I used an old fingernail file/buffer on it to get it smooth enough. The yarn ball needs to slide off at the end and I definitely didn't want it snagging any of my more fancy yarns later on. It did well with the test wind.
Of course, by this time, I've wound a few hanks of yarn into balls and realize that a yarn swift is a valuable tool to have. It's not used all the time, but anything to help keep the yarn hank organized while you're winding is awesome! Yarn swifts can be expensive critters. The umbrella style can run you up to $100 depending on the quality of materials. Right. We have 3 boys and we're a military family. In other words, the kids eat a lot, grow fast, and suck up a lot of money. lol Also, toss in the 'military' side of things and we're always moving. Umbrella yarn swifts would be too delicate for our way of life. I did some searches and came across a simple, portable yarn swift we could make ourselves. Bonus!
And, there you have it. Only took a trip to Lowe's, $15, and a little time with the ol' wood working tools. I have yet to wind a ball using it though. I'm still feeling the effects of the tension headaches, so I've been trying to take it easy. I did end up making mine out of pine instead of poplar. Might not have been the best choice as the pine is a lot softer wood. However, I loved the color of the wood and the grain patterns. Okay. And I miss Colorado and pine reminds me of my home state. ;-)
The beauty of this yarn swift is it completely comes apart. There are a total of 4 screws in the entire thing and all they do is hold some base feet in place. In our mobile lifestyle, being able to break this down to its smallest parts is a bonus. I'll make a case for it before long, in the way of a pretty cloth bag, to hold and store it while not in use.
In a craft where everything at the end is made by hand, it's neat to use tools I have also made. I love crafts for this very reason. There's just something about it that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
There it is. Nothing amazing about it. Though, I did have my hubby cut the stick too long. I meant to have him cut it shorter while he was working on the yarn swift, but I forgot. Oops. However, that little notch is to hold the tail of the yarn. You make a little slip knot and slip it there. Then, you start winding. There are a lot of websites out there that teach you how to use them. A simple search will show you if you're interested. That little ball there was my very first yarn ball I wound after my nostepinne was finished. I think it turned out pretty good!
You can find some beautiful ones for sale that have been lathed and are polished and stained. Mine is a simple little dowel that I bought and sanded down. In the end, I used an old fingernail file/buffer on it to get it smooth enough. The yarn ball needs to slide off at the end and I definitely didn't want it snagging any of my more fancy yarns later on. It did well with the test wind.
Of course, by this time, I've wound a few hanks of yarn into balls and realize that a yarn swift is a valuable tool to have. It's not used all the time, but anything to help keep the yarn hank organized while you're winding is awesome! Yarn swifts can be expensive critters. The umbrella style can run you up to $100 depending on the quality of materials. Right. We have 3 boys and we're a military family. In other words, the kids eat a lot, grow fast, and suck up a lot of money. lol Also, toss in the 'military' side of things and we're always moving. Umbrella yarn swifts would be too delicate for our way of life. I did some searches and came across a simple, portable yarn swift we could make ourselves. Bonus!
And, there you have it. Only took a trip to Lowe's, $15, and a little time with the ol' wood working tools. I have yet to wind a ball using it though. I'm still feeling the effects of the tension headaches, so I've been trying to take it easy. I did end up making mine out of pine instead of poplar. Might not have been the best choice as the pine is a lot softer wood. However, I loved the color of the wood and the grain patterns. Okay. And I miss Colorado and pine reminds me of my home state. ;-)
The beauty of this yarn swift is it completely comes apart. There are a total of 4 screws in the entire thing and all they do is hold some base feet in place. In our mobile lifestyle, being able to break this down to its smallest parts is a bonus. I'll make a case for it before long, in the way of a pretty cloth bag, to hold and store it while not in use.
In a craft where everything at the end is made by hand, it's neat to use tools I have also made. I love crafts for this very reason. There's just something about it that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Current projects
According to Ravelry, I have 4 current projects with 2 in hibernation. I love that website. Being able to see where my projects are in one glance is handy. It also makes a great guilt trip because I'm not the only one who can see it. Anyone on Ravelry can see where I'm at. So, I don't like to leave projects unfinished. I need something like that for my quilting!
I have a Chinese Waves dishcloth, a pretty cream-colored tunic, a mobius scarf, and my lace shawl in progress at the moment. My hibernating projects are two pairs of socks. One was put into hibernation because I knit them too small. Doh! I used a size 0 needle instead of the size 2 it called for. Oops. hehehe The other I could technically delete because I was going to make a pair of socks for my son, but the weather warmed up first. Living in Central TX, wool socks have a short-lived season here. I had a bad time with the previous yarn I had picked out for them due to the fact it was yucky yarn. I ordered new, higher quality yarn, but it didn't arrive in time. When it arrived, the weather was warm and I decided to wait until the next time it gets cold to make them. Kids grow so fast, so I knew whatever size I made right now would never fit by the next cold snap.
I prefer to work on my lace shawl. Everything else is sort of a "whenever I feel like it" project. I've been working on the dishcloth recently. I was suffering from some nasty tension headaches caused by tight shoulder muscles. The washcloth pattern is so simple that I figured I could work on it for awhile without causing any problems. I'm only doing them because I had some cheap cotton yarn left over from my previous knitting stint. I figured it would work for fast projects. I came across a pattern for a Swiffer mop cover that I'm hoping to make before long. I do not like the disposable cloths you buy for those, so this will be a nice change, as well as making the Swiffer mop usable again. Oddly enough, if I like it, I will need to pick up some more cotton yarn to make a few more as I'm down to my last two skeins.
My friend and I are doing the lace shawl together. For awhile, we were neck and neck in making it, but I pulled ahead by several rows when some health problems got the best of her. When you're talking 300+ stitch rows, that's a lot of work. My tension headaches are going to allow her to catch up. That and I want to finish my Chinese Waves dishcloth before returning to it. I hope to finish that up today.
Now, since this is a new blog, and I am trying to back track through some information and catch up my non-existent readers, I will do a new entry for my newest toys. Pictures will begin to appear. Isn't that neat? lol Don't mind me. You'll find that I'm a wee bit odd. ;-)
I have a Chinese Waves dishcloth, a pretty cream-colored tunic, a mobius scarf, and my lace shawl in progress at the moment. My hibernating projects are two pairs of socks. One was put into hibernation because I knit them too small. Doh! I used a size 0 needle instead of the size 2 it called for. Oops. hehehe The other I could technically delete because I was going to make a pair of socks for my son, but the weather warmed up first. Living in Central TX, wool socks have a short-lived season here. I had a bad time with the previous yarn I had picked out for them due to the fact it was yucky yarn. I ordered new, higher quality yarn, but it didn't arrive in time. When it arrived, the weather was warm and I decided to wait until the next time it gets cold to make them. Kids grow so fast, so I knew whatever size I made right now would never fit by the next cold snap.
I prefer to work on my lace shawl. Everything else is sort of a "whenever I feel like it" project. I've been working on the dishcloth recently. I was suffering from some nasty tension headaches caused by tight shoulder muscles. The washcloth pattern is so simple that I figured I could work on it for awhile without causing any problems. I'm only doing them because I had some cheap cotton yarn left over from my previous knitting stint. I figured it would work for fast projects. I came across a pattern for a Swiffer mop cover that I'm hoping to make before long. I do not like the disposable cloths you buy for those, so this will be a nice change, as well as making the Swiffer mop usable again. Oddly enough, if I like it, I will need to pick up some more cotton yarn to make a few more as I'm down to my last two skeins.
My friend and I are doing the lace shawl together. For awhile, we were neck and neck in making it, but I pulled ahead by several rows when some health problems got the best of her. When you're talking 300+ stitch rows, that's a lot of work. My tension headaches are going to allow her to catch up. That and I want to finish my Chinese Waves dishcloth before returning to it. I hope to finish that up today.
Now, since this is a new blog, and I am trying to back track through some information and catch up my non-existent readers, I will do a new entry for my newest toys. Pictures will begin to appear. Isn't that neat? lol Don't mind me. You'll find that I'm a wee bit odd. ;-)
I got bitten
Awhile back, I ran into an old friend via Facebook. When it was all said and done, she'd managed to sucker me back into knitting with her. It started with an innocent pair of socks and escalated from there. We are both members of Ravelry and enjoy keeping track of our projects there. However, it's easy to find new projects to work on and a new interest in knitting was born.
I've known how to knit for about 12 to 13 years, only I never finished much of anything. It was more of a 'stop gap' for me when I was switching from hobby to hobby and I didn't know what to work on yet. It all boiled down to the quality of the yarn. I splurged on some good yarn recently and that was the end of that. I now have some beautiful Addi Turbo and Addi Lace needles. The best needles I've ever owned. Throw in gorgeous yarns made out of exotic fibers, like sugar cane, and I was all over this hobby.
My yarn box is now filled with luscious yarns and good needles. My queue at Ravelry is lovingly filled with projects I'd like to do in the future. I have yarn wish lists on two different yarn sites. I have even finished several projects. This has turned into a full blown hobby and I'm enjoying it.
I decided to start a blog of my knitting because I tend to get wordy in the project notes on Ravelry. Instead of sharing everything there, I figured it was time for a blog. I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to organize this as of yet. I'll get there though. ;-) Then I'll share all of my amazing knitting adventures with anyone who wishes to tag along.
I've known how to knit for about 12 to 13 years, only I never finished much of anything. It was more of a 'stop gap' for me when I was switching from hobby to hobby and I didn't know what to work on yet. It all boiled down to the quality of the yarn. I splurged on some good yarn recently and that was the end of that. I now have some beautiful Addi Turbo and Addi Lace needles. The best needles I've ever owned. Throw in gorgeous yarns made out of exotic fibers, like sugar cane, and I was all over this hobby.
My yarn box is now filled with luscious yarns and good needles. My queue at Ravelry is lovingly filled with projects I'd like to do in the future. I have yarn wish lists on two different yarn sites. I have even finished several projects. This has turned into a full blown hobby and I'm enjoying it.
I decided to start a blog of my knitting because I tend to get wordy in the project notes on Ravelry. Instead of sharing everything there, I figured it was time for a blog. I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to organize this as of yet. I'll get there though. ;-) Then I'll share all of my amazing knitting adventures with anyone who wishes to tag along.
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