Rhinebeck - A Month Away

A month from today, I will be hitting the road with my knitting divas and heading to Rhinebeck. We plan on spending the whole weekend surrounded by yarn fumes and much more. So, how is my sweater coming along??? 

During Labor Day weekend, I was unable to sit still long enough to knit. I spent the time catching up with friends and going to various social events. At this point, I had completed the upper back portion of my sweater. 

Last week, I got a serious allergy / sinus attack and had to stay home for 2 days on doctor's orders. My nose was stuffy, and head was groggy. I slept through rounds of medication, and then there was a period of insomnia. That's when my hands got busy. I worked on the left and right sides, picking up the stitches from the shoulders. 

After completing the armhole increases, I joined the front to the back. 

I am now working down the rest of the length of the body of the sweater. 

I'm currently 2 inches away from the waist shaping decreases. 

Aside from knitting, I've started thestress relieving activity of coloring. I recently bought gel pens and colored pencils. I also have acquired a bunch of coloring books. I have no idea how they got to my house, I swear. Lol. 

Here is my favorite Mandala with neon gel pens. 

My knitting group has enabled me, and now I am addicted to coloring. 

Happy knitting and coloring everyone!!! 

A WIP and a Swatch ... For Rhinebeck

I completed the sock from last week. Woohooooo! I just need to Kitchener Stitch it.  Hmmmmmm where did I put my Chibi needles?  

I will find them eventually. However, I didn't want to be stricken with Second Sock Syndrome, so I started sock #2. I haven't made it to the heel flap yet, but I should get there soon. In about 8 more rows.

Wait a minute!!!!  Something more important has come up.  Rhinebeck is in about 6 weeks and I need 2 sweaters. Eeeeeek!!!!  Let the madness begin. 

I started swatching on size 7 needles. Initially, I felt like the fabric was a little too loose. 

So, then I tried using size 6 needles above the eyelets, but I'm not seeing a considerable difference. 

I feel like the size 7 swatch is actually better.  So, now that I am more content with the fabric, I need to work out the gauge issues. The pattern calls for 18sts/inch. I'm getting 20. Sigh!!!!  I may have to knit a size other than medium to compensate for that. But this sweater is so pretty, a little math will be worth it. 

The pattern is called Fickle heart by Justine Lorkowska.   I have a soft spot for cozy cabled sweaters. 

The good news is, the ribbing is picked up from a provisional cast on. So, in the event that my row gauge is off, I can add length there.  

Also, I haven't washed my swatch yet, so that can have an impact as well.  

More on that soon. In the meantime, happy knitting!!!! 

The Official Rhinebeck Wrap-Up

You all must be wondering if I made my sweater in time for Rhinebeck.  Yes, I did.  here is a little backstory.  

On Thursday night, my sweater was here. 

I had started the button band, and was at the point of doing the button holes and then 3 more rows before binding off.  

Friday morning, I decided to bind off using the tubular bindoff.  The buttonband used a whole skein of yarn, and I had just enough to put on the needle and bind off. I bound off for 2 hours before I had to leave for work.  

So, I knitted the remaining sleeve decreases on my way to work.  The sleeves were here by the time I got to work.  

I super-power knitted during my lunch break and left work with about 24 rows to go before getting to the ribbing.

This is where I was at about 1AM. 

I kept telling myself, I can last on 2 hours of sleep.  I finished the buttonband bindoff after I completed the sleeve.  I looked at the time and it was 4:49 AM.  I swear that tubular bindoff is a time warp.  But it looks amazing on the finished project. 

I had to hustle to sew the buttons, and had just enough time to hop in the shower and get my stuff together so that I could make it to the bus on time.  

And of course, I took a selfie as I was heading out the door.  The lighting isn't so good, but I was just proud of actually finishing.  

My actual Rhinebeck experience was all a blur. 

We got there.....I spend all of my budgeted cash on Miss Babs yarn......I walked around......hugged lots of people......kissed babies......saw tons of sweaters I want to make......found a Grandpa Cardigan Twin......Fondled yarn......bought another yarn kit that I have been drooling for a long time.......sipped wine......talked to more people about their handknits.....took my tired behind back to the bus.  

I managed to get a few photos of the fun time.

My Grandpa Cardigan Twin CassyTom on Ravelry.  It was so nice meeting her.  She knit hers in Mosaic Moon yarn.

My dear friend CreativeCeci who also did the Joji Fall KAL with me. Here is her Tourist sweater in Fuschia Malabrigo yarn.  

Ceci graciously took a picture of the back of my sweater for me.  

The beautiful baby I kissed, wearing the hat I made for him.  He had fun tugging at my curls. Haha!  So adorable. 

His brother wearing the other hat I knitted.  Too cute! 

And last, but not least.....my Rhinebeck Haul.

MISS BABS 

Yowza, Whatta Skein Worsted in Oyster.  This will become a scarf for me.  I'm also trying to find a slouchy hat pattern, so I can make it with a second skein. 

Cosmic Fingering in Across the Universe.  It will become socks.  Just not sure which sock pattern yet. 

Tarte Fingering in Fireball.  This is for my mom, whose favorite color in the whole wide world is orange. She saw a pair of Monkey socks, and fell in love with them.  So, these will be Monkey Socks.  

Tarte Fingering in BFF.  These will be socks for me, but I haven't found a pattern yet.  

A Soakbox kit in Grape Gatsby.  This is EVERYTHING all in one.  A cute pedi and sweet smelling soak wash. 

And a closeup of the mini skeins that I acquired from Gynxyarns and Miss Babs. They look perfect for a sock yarn blanket. 

My favorite is the sparkly orange yarn.  Glitz Sock Mini Skein in Pumpkin Spice.  That's sure to be my next purchase.

So, that's my Rhinebeck Wrap-up.  I have been trying to catch up on sleep ever since.  WIP WEDNESDAY will return next week.  I can finally get back to the projects that I put on hold for the sweater.  Whew!  Operation Sock Drawer and Socktober are still in full effect.  

Not Your Grandfather's Sweater.

I recently joined Joji's Fall KAL 2014, and it came just in time for me to pick the perfect Rhinebeck sweater. I was contemplating for a while. I didn't want a pullover, in case I got too hot. I didn't want anything that was loads of stockinette, because I would get bored easily. I didn't want to have too many seams, because that has set me back many times before. So, I was looking at the different sweaters that Joji has, and the Grandpa Sweater jumped out at me.

It is seamlessly knit from the shoulders down, and the cables are written in the sense where there are different cables for each size. She has loads of clear charts in her pattern pages. I actually prefer working with charts, instead of reading words in sentence form. I tend to lose where I am in the sentence mid-row.

So, I ordered my yarn from Knitpicks. Capra DK in the Regal colorway. It is 85% Merino Wool and 15% Cashmere. It's a hand wash type of wool, but that is just fine with me. I don't throw my handknits into the washer anyway.

As I started to knit, my fingers began to feel hot. I don't now if it's because it is August now, but I was just knitting with MadelineTosh Tosh Merino Light, and it didn't feel as hot. Hopefully, this is a good indication that I will have a really warm sweater this winter.

My swatch knit up to the pattern's gauge, so I ended it at 2 inches. I was too excited to start this project, I lost patience. I really doubt it will bite me in the end.

So, along with that precious yarn, I also acquired a major stash enhancement during Knit Pick's sale.

I ordered all of the rest of the colored yarn that I need for my Hexipuff blanket. There were a few colors that were of low quantity, and I didn't want them to run out and not be able to complete my blanket's design. So, I just need to buy 8 more skeins of the grey color, and I will be all set. I will wait for another sale. Haha!

I also ordered a book and a magazine, as they were 40% off. I started having this lace frenzy, and saw projects in each of these that I liked.

The first is Knitscene Accessories.

I found a hat and cowl set in there that is just divine. I purchased Gloss DK in the Sweetheart colorway to go with it.

There is also a chunky cabled wrap that I am contemplating....

The book purchase is Lace One Skein Wonders. I saw this book at Purl Soho the day I bought the Tosh Merino Light. So when I saw the sale price, I couldn't resist.

Here are a few styles from the book that I am contemplating knitting. It all depends on the yardage of what is in my stash. At the current moment, I am banned from acquiring any more yarn.

Rhinebeck - The Third Time!

I just got home from my yearly trek to Rhinebeck a few days ago.  The whole extravaganza was awesome.
Here is my yarn mountain!

My purchases consist of the following yarns:

5 skeins of Creatively Dyed Woodbrook "Patrice"

5 skeins of Creatively Dyed Woodbrook "Laity"

5 skeins of Malabrigo Worsted "Amoroso"

5 skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino "Amoroso"

1 skein of Socks that Rock Mediumweight "Muckity Muck"

1 skein of Socks that Rock Mediumweight "Backstabber"

I have been speaking with Dianne of Creatively Dyed via Ravelry messages for about a year, and it was such a pleasure to finally meet her in person.  She is a hard-working woman, and always with a smile on her face.  I admire her drive, and how far her one-woman-show yarn company has come. I bought her Patrice colorway with Rosamund's Cardigan in mind, then saw Laity and thought "I don't know what I am gonna make with it yet, but this color is too nice to put back on the rack".  I am going to make something that is not too busy with intricate stitches so the beauty of the hand-dyed colors can show through. How do you think Francis Revisited will look variegated?

I totally fell in love with the Amoroso colorway of Malabrigo. The color has been difficult for me to find at my LYS as well as the online store that I usually shop at, so when I saw it at the Uncommon Threads booth I grabbed ALL OF THEM.  I am going to use the Silky Merino to make the February Fitted Pullover and the Worsted to make Vaila.  I saw many February Lady Sweaters this year as well as last year.  However, I feel that a fitted sweater would be more flattering on me. Lo and behold, I saw that it was one of the recently published patters the night before I went to Rhinebeck.  Yippee!!!  I have a feeling that will be my November project.

My sock yarn will be used to make a pair of gloves to match my Crofter's Cowl and Cabled Beret. Here is a finished picture of the Cowl. I didn't have time to block it, but who cares?  It's warm and soft, and I love it.

There was much fun to be had. I spent the weekend with Yvonne, Mary Beth, Deborah, Misa, and Kim.  We were laughing the whole way through. 

My fashion choice for the day was my Fashionista Hat designed by Me and my Bobbled Tunic designed by Twinkle. It was very cold, so I also decided to wear my Crofter's Cowl on my neck. Yvonne wore Mr. Greenjeans, MaryBeth and Deb both wore Ursa, Misa wore Vivian, and Kim has a gorgeous Owl Sweater hiding underneath that coat.

I also managed to run into a bunch of my friends from various knitting groups throughout New York.

Me hangin with Tina from Sit N Knit.  I saw her at the Socks That Rock Booth.  She had an affinity for Muckity Muck as well.

Me and my birthday twin Jeanine.  No, I am not gonna tell you how many years apart we are. 

Me and Tawana.  My first CPH buddy!

Hangin' with Cleo at the Ravelry Meetup.

The Whatchamacallits! Jeanine, Norma, Marta, Ayana, RosiG, Tawana, and Ann-Margaret.

Me and Ysolda "Bob" Teague.

Misa finished her Monkey Sock at the Ravelry Party.  Yay!!

Adding to the list of FO's.... Here is my Springtime Bandit.  Funny how it matches my hair.

So, what's on the needles now? 

Stay tuned.........