Cotton Candy...and Some Glitter Cakes

My vest is finally finished. Someone mentioned to me that it looks like Cotton Candy. Well, I am really glad that I finally completed it. It is my first FO for the year that I can say is all MINE!!! How sweet it is!!!

Check it out!!! I like the way it fits. It is a little roomy in the waist, because I did not do any waist shaping, but that is just fine. Just in case an after-dinner belly pouch develops, I have some knitted insurance. LOL!!


So, I am on to my next project. A very sweet and loving friend of mine was looking for someone to crochet a hat and scarf set for her. The catch is, she wants to wear it before it gets too hot to wear it. This woman, as sweet as she is, has put me up to a Crochet challenge that I gladly accepted. She really is a good friend and deserves to get what she wants, so I can see her smile more. The pattern is from a Vogue Knitting magazine from Winter 2004/2005. Thank goodness for the holiday weekend. I am trying to at least complete the hat by Easter Sunday. We will see how I do. I have to use a size 3/D (3.25mm) crochet hook. Wish me luck!!

The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill's Glitter Alpaca in the Old Rose colorway. It feels soooooo soft, and the color is gogeous. These pictures really do it no justice at all. So, here are two Glitter cakes!!

I'm Almost There!!

I am so intrigued that everyone wants to know the status of my vest. It is almost finished. I set out to finish it tonight, so that I could wear it tomorrow, but my eyes are starting to burn. Here is what happened.

I did a three-needle bindoff, to save myself from having to kitchener the shoulders.

I picked up stitches around the neckline, then did an I-Cord bindoff to make the neckline look more finished.

This is my stopping point for tonight. These I-Cord bindoff's take FOREVER. I keep telling myself "Knitting makes me have more patience". Well, once that's done, it will be done once and for all. Just one and a half more armholes to go. Yippee!! More pictures of me actually wearing it soon. I did try it on after I did the 3 needle bindoff on the shoulders, and it fits this time!!!

Yarn Crawl!!!

This past weekend, I went to Montclair with my knitting buddy Deborah to meet up with Kim for a long overdue yarn crawl adventure. Usually, we meet once a week if our schedules allow it, and we get to sit down for 30 minutes during our lunch breaks to talk, eat, and knit. Every day we leave, we are saying that we need to spend some time together that is not controlled by Corporate America. So, this past Saturday was that time. We ate at Raymonds, then went to Modern Yarn and Stix N Stitches.

I was super-excited to FINALLY go to Modern Yarn. Walking in there was so serene, calm, and beautiful. The people were very friendly, and the atmosphere was just warm and inviting. Kind of like a knitting spa.. LOL!!
I was looking at the website and drooling at the iKnit T-Shirt. They had it in light pink, but when I asked for it I was told that my size only came in Fuschia. Yippee!!! That was even better. Also, I saw the yarn that I was longing for. Manos in Mulled Wine (#118). I had bought the last skein at Brooklyn General a few months ago, then I decided that I wanted to make a raglan Cardigan out of it after I saw how beautful Mary Beth's was. However, I did decide to make the whole pattern with Manos, instead of just the yoke. Hence, the need for more yarn. I also bought some sock yarn for a swap gift that I am knitting. Lorna's Laces in Bittersweet. I think that colorway is gorgeous. Hmmm... I may have to get another pair just for myself. The best part is that the impending sweater will match my T-shirt that I love so much. Woohoo!!

So, as I was calmly knitting my vest, I hear someone say "Shameka, you don't know me but I love your blog". I am like "me???". I was taken aback, and delighted at the same time. I didn't know that I had fans out there. So, I finally got to meet Blog-Free Kelly, from Kim's blog. It was such a pleasure. She made me laugh so hard, and had such wonderful stories. Here is a picture of her and Kim Together. Gabriel is there in the corner, refusing to have her picture taken.

However, Deborah "accidently" caught her in the background of this pic. Honestly, I don't know if it was intentional, but she still got the shot. Great job, Deb!! Here I am in the picture, holding my vest. I had just finished putting the neckline on waste yarn, so that I could work the last section before seaming.

Here is a picture of Kim working on a sock for a little girl that is gonna be so happy. The girl's favorite color is orange, so she should be very delighted.

Here are the three knitting Divas of the financial district!!! Oh, yeah... I am responsible for the cookies on the table. I can't help it if I have a sweet tooth. We also split a Red Velvet cupcake, and it was sooooooo good.

So, our second stop was Stix N Stitches. I had to pry myself away from the sock yarn. I was so tempted to buy some Austermann Step. I thought that this store was bigger and a lot roomier than a lot of other stores that I have seen, so I decided to capture the moment. Yes, I think I have finally mastered the Self-portrait. LOL!!!

So, here are my spoils. I have wanted to make the Gathered Pullover since this magazine came out. I have a pair of boots, and a bag to match already. The Berrocco Ultra Alpaca is just soooo soft. I cannot wait to dig into it. More on the actual knitting progress tomorrow. I also have plans for an A-line baby dress for a long-time friend. She is having her first baby girl, and I need to get rid of some of my stash. The vest did not use as much yarn as I originally calculated. So, I will be making it with the same Jaeger Baby Merino DK yarn. I will be using a pattern from "Knits, Knots, Buttons and Bows.. Projects for Babies" by Lynda Schar.

More Progress!!!

I completed the back of my vest. I left the stitches live, so that I can do a three needle bindoff for the shoulders. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now, it is time to finish the front. I tried it on, and it fits... but I couldn't get mommy to take a photograph. Maybe tomorrow. We will see how far I get.
Aside from that, I have decided to commit myself to the Sit N Knit sock exchange. I am not sure what sock I will be making just yet, though. Any suggestions???

4 Days Later.. Making Progress!!

I have made some progress on my vest. The current total length is about 12 inches. I am going to add an extra inch to the length, then proceed to split the front and back, and do the armhole shaping. So, I am almost back to the point where I originally frogged it. Here are some pictures comparing it to the sweater that fits really well. It is about 1 inch wider, but I can live with that. It leaves room for a button-down shirt to be worn below the vest.



Taking control of your knitting is very liberating!!!! I am smiling for real now.

Here We Go Again!!!

I want to thank everyone for their sympathy in the loss of my vest-turned-skirt. I have started it again. The old sweater had 204 sts casted on, the new sweater has 172 stitches. I sure hope that this works. The big fat yarn cake is 150 grams of yarn. That is 3 skeins of Jaeger Baby Merino DK. Wish me luck!!!

When the Knittin' Ain't Fittin'

Hello knitting friends!
I was feeling a little under the weather today, and I figured that since I didn't have the energy to dig my car out of the snow, I wasn't going to go anywhere this weekend. So, I set out to finish my pink vest that I have been working on. I got to the point where I split the front and back, and completed the armhole shaping for the back portion.

So, I had the bright idea to try it on. Look what happened. Now my head is already really foggy from the flu, but that still doesn't stop me from seeing that this is way too big. Gauge problem? Well, let's try to figure this one out.

(Please ignore the smile in the picture. I am really pissed off. My mom made me laugh by calling me knitty shitty, since I messed up)

The pattern specified a gauge of 23 sts/ 4" in the Fair Isle pattern. I decided not to Fair Isle this sweater, and the gauge I measured was 22 sts/ 4". So, I decided to take out a sweatervest that I know fits me very well. Look at the difference.

Even if I went down to the XS size, I will only be losing 12 stitches which would still leave me with a big sweater. Based on the measurement of my sweatervest that I bought from a store, I calculated that I need about 36 less stitches. So, it is time to frog this. Just as I spliced my 3rd ball of yarn. Aarrgghh!!!!

Hmmm... You think I should just make a skirt??? Just an FYI.. my hips are about 39 inches with this junk in my trunk, plus I have on jeans which is adding a little more. How did 35.5 inches from the pattern turn into 39 in my sweatervest????
I am so fed up. I was getting really excited that I got through more than 50% of this sweater, and was looking forward to wearing it when the weekend was over. I also wanted to surprise Deborah who seems to believe that I won't ever finish anything I start. (Well, she just teases me by saying that... I know she loves me, and believes in my abilities) I also wanted to have one FO for the year that wasn't a hat that I agreed to give away. This was going to be all mine, in my favorite color, and fit perfect. Maybe I am just emotional because I am sick and needy right now. But I am sad. There, I said it. I am human, and I have feelings.

I also want to add that Nancy really appreciates having me as a friend because I am always so enthusiastic about my knitting, even if it is pissing me off. Well, Nancy... have fun laughing at this one.

So, if you have any ill-fitting stories, I would love to hear it. You just got my very first one.

Do they knit in Trinidad???

Bennetton Yarn Ad
Originally uploaded by shamekaknits

Well, according to this billboard, they enjoy yarn.

This photo was taken in the heart of the Capital, Port of Spain, right near Independence Square, which is the equivalent of New York's "Wall Street" in Trinidad.

And yes, I knit in Trinidad.

Mostly everyone else crochet's a lot of hats though.
Here is a picture of my Non-Fair Isle Vest in progress. I completed about 8 inches, before I split it at the 12 inch mark for the back and front.

Before I fly away .....

I just want to say that I had a blast at the Sit N Knit Logo party on Tuesday night. I was especially excited because I made these for the raffle. Limited edition Sit N' Knit stitch markers. Congratulations to all of the lucky raffle winners!!!

Also, here is my travel project. It is from the Fall 2007 issue of Knit Simple magazine, page 38. Now you must be wondering how am I going to Fair Isle on the plane. Well, I'm not gonna do it. I am planning to knit the border in a solid pink color, then knit the portion of the vest that is Fair Isle, using a variegated yarn that matches the border. I am using Jaeger Baby Merino, DK weight. I started this yesterday morning, and continued while I was at the hair salon, waiting for my hair to dry. I started on size 3 needles for the ribbing. The next step is to begin with the variegated portion using size 5 needles.

Hopefully, while I am away I will be able to get internet access, and update the blog on my progress.