WIP round-up

I'm a bit all over the place lately and my seriously slow computer isn't helping my blogging at all. I finished the button up shrug the day we left on vacation but still haven't gotten around to photographing it. Next time I swear. So let's look at the mess I've gotten myself into now.

First up the back and about half a front of the cotton bamboo girl tank. I love this yarn and I've been making good progress. I really want to finish it but when you are dividing your time not much gets done. Please mind my ghetto blocking station of garbage bags on the spare bed. Some day I'll get a real blocking board.

Next up we have some secret deadline knitting for my sister's birthday at the end of the month. The yarn is Mission Falls 1824 cotton in a great rusty orange I got when Yarns at Lace Wings closed. I love the color and I actually like the way this is knitting up but man is this yarn brutal on my hands. I'm getting as much as I can done a night but it's a good excuse to switch off when I start to feel hand fatigue.

In the car ride up to Maine I cast on for the Lace Ribbon Scarf but I stopped after 12 rows. It was easier to pick up my Leyburn socks during downtimes so this is stalled. I wish I had learned magic loop before I started those darn socks, I swear they'd be done by now rather than languishing in UFO land. I need to frog the first one back because the leg is huge so we'll see what happens there. Add to that the magic loop socks which you saw last time, arabesque which is totally failing the one hexagon a week goal, most of the back of my printed silk cardigan, and swatching. I'm hoping to reign myself in. I want to start socks for my husband and the banded peasant blouse for which I got gauge with the Merlin and then today I bought this. Now I don't usually go crazy and buy a pattern as soon as I see it during lunch at work but this was so so pretty. As of right now I am going to make it in white Louet Merlin I had earmarked for the dollar and a half cardigan but after swatching I'm not sure it will be a good sub for that. It'll be pretty plain but at least I can wear it with a bunch of stuff and the Handmaiden called for is just to spendy for me. We'll see. Hopefully I can make myself finish something before I cast on. It doesn't help that the pattern is printing right now.... I need help.

Oh, and the sugar plum yarn I won. It's so pretty, I'm thinking a scarf some day.

New Yarn

I meant to get to this earlier but a raging case of poison ivy that requires steroids has had me sidetracked a bit. I decided to take a sick day from work today to adjust and I think by tomorrow I'll feel pretty good. Anyway, on to the yarn.

In Portland, Maine (which is a great city by the way) I stopped into two yarn shops. The first was Central Yarn Shop where I got some Lane Cervinia Forever for my first Magic loop toe up 2 at a time socks. I worked on these while visiting my inlaws for the fourth and I love it. I wish I had learned how to make socks this way first as I'm sure I would enjoy it more. They are moving along so quickly and once I am done, I am done. Love it. I am past the slip stitch heel. This was nice shop. The 86 year old man whose daughter now runs the business shared some nice stories with us so I had to leave with something.

Next we stopped at Knitwit Cafe a really nicely laid out shop where I got some Louet euroflax for a summery scarf, I think a wavy razor shell scarf maybe.

And last week I went a bit crazy at WEBS. Man that place is dangerous. I went a little crazy with the Louet Merlin but come on, it was like 50% off. I meant to only get it for the Banded Peasant Blouse from the spring 2008 IK but I also ended up getting some white for the Dollar and a Half Cardigan found in the IK magazine I also picked up. I also got some Frog Tree Alpaca sport for the White Witch Mitts and some Valley Yarns Huntington in Charcoal to make socks for my husband. I made him some before I knew what I was doing and they stretched out too much. Now that I know magic loop I can make him some custom fit socks, he's really supportive of my hobby and didn't mind going to all these yarn shops on vacation so I was to reward him for that. That and I still haven't cast on for that sleeping cap he's been wanting.

I also won a yarn naming contest! Sweet Paprika now has a yarn named sugar plum. Of the three people who suggested that I was the random winner so they sent me a skein which I forgot to photograph. You can see it in the link above but I'll show it next time along with all my WIPS, and as I am also suffering from cast-onitis there are many. Off to slather some calamine lotion on.

Trip Report: Falling Waters-Franconia Ridge- Greenleaf hut-Old Bridle Path

We got back this weekend from our trip to Bar Harbor Maine and North Conway New Hampshire. We had a great time and did some serious hiking. When I plan a hike I like to Google for trip reports, I find it really helps to know what you are up against so I'm putting this out there for anyone thinking of doing this particular loop. Get the AMC hiking guide if you plan to hike in the mountains, it's the best resource.

Bar Harbor was nice but very foggy, expensive, and crowded. I'm not sure I'd go back, it's a long drive.

The white mountain area in New Hampshire is my most favorite place in the US that I have been to. If there were any way possible for me to live there I would do it in a second. This was our second year there, last year we hiked Mt Washington and this year decided to do a classic loop including part of the Franconia Ridge trail.

After much googling :) I decided to send us up the Falling Waters trail. This is a great way up to Little Haystack. The trail gets its name for the series of waterfalls it passes on the way up. These give great rewards as you make your way up and give a good excuse to pause and catch your breath while taking pictures. The rocks can be a bit slippery so I like it as an ascending route but there were plenty of people who chose to go down that way and I'm sure it would be fine. No scary sections at all this way up and it is doable if you aren't in as good of shape as last year...

We did the small side trail to shining rock, a large wet slab of granite. It's pretty, if not that exciting.

We stopped for lunch on Little Haystack where the bugs were intense, then it was across the ridge to Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette. You are above the treeline for 1.8 miles on the ridge and it is fabulous. The trail is wide enough that it is not scary and the views even in the haze were insane. I read on a clear day you can see to Canada. The only downside to this route is that Little Haystack is the smallest of the three peaks so you have to go down and then up again twice to summit Mt Lafayette before beginning descent. After that last push my legs were really tired.

Then it is down to the AMC greenleaf hut where you can fill up water bottles (I filled up the two I drank on the way up) and grab some snacks if necessary. We didn't rest too long as we were getting tired and knew there was a chance of storms in the afternoon. You do not want to be above the treeline in an electrical storm so pay close attention to the weather.

Old Bridle path (not Old Bridal path as my husband thought. I stopped dead in my tracks when he said the trail must be easy if brides used to walk up it :) ) was an old path used by horses. It is a good way down as it has several rock staircases and isn't as slippery as the falling waters trail. It also gives you great views of the ridge you just hiked. Once back into the woods the trail is really easy, we had to rush our tired, aching legs the last 0.5-0.25 miles as we heard some rumblings of thunder but it never rained.

The round trip was about 8.2 miles and took about 7-7.5 hours. It was very tiring and intense but well worth it. Last year up Mt Washington in July we had to hike in pants and sweatshirts but this time I was hot in my long pants, I sweat more than I've ever sweat in my life. We saw shirtless guys and a girl hiking in a bikini bottom, quite a difference. Bug spray didn't help fend off the crazy viscous bugs which was the only downside to the trip. In my opinion this loop is more tiring than hiking Mt Washington because you go up and down a few hundred feet in elevation gain several times but it is worth doing at least once. Those unobstructed views and lack of car traffic like on Washington is amazing.

So that was the highlight of our trip. We stopped in Portland, ME on the way up to Bar Harbor where I got to visit 2 yarn shops. I'm making one of my semi annual trips to WEBS tomorrow so next time I'll be back with a yarn filled post.

FO: Suzzane's Purse

Pattern: Suzzane's Purse by Debbie Tuttle

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted less than one skein of onyx

Needles: Denise US 10.5

I've been promising this awhile so hopefully it isn't too anticlimactic. I used a leftover skein of the Lamb's Pride from my Buttony sweater and the oval pearl beads are from the evil empire (Wal-mart). I really, really like this purse. I cast on 5 extra stitches and did 18 garter stitch rows to upsize it a bit. The only other mod was a 5 stitch Icord for the handle instead of garter stitch rows because I thought it would look better with a cylindrical handle. It fits all of my stuff perfectly and seems really sturdy. I've been using it all week and it will be perfect for the wedding I have to attend on Saturday.

This was not only my first felted item but my first hand felted item. We are pretty new homeowners so we got an energy efficient front loading washer when we moved in. Instead of trying my luck at felting in the washer (I will next time...) I know there was a tutorial on knitty so I decided to hand felt the purse and save some water and energy. This is how the purse looked after the knitting was done:

It then went into a bucket with some hand soap and very hot water and I went at it with my baby plunger. I got some strange looks when buying this tiny plunger, I'm sure the people at Lowes thought I'd be elbow deep in some toilet. The cashier did ask and I think he understood what I was going to do, I wonder if he'll ask the next person if they are going to use that plunger on his or her knitting!

So hand felting took a long time and I made quite the mess in my bathtub. My arms were burning the next day but the result was worth it. I maybe could have felted it a bit more but I like the size it is now.

I'm thinking I will make another in some Berroco Jasper I have sitting in my stash. I've been looking for the perfect use for it and I think this great pattern will show off the stripes beautifully.

Happy Father's Day!

My dad got a kick out of this beer sweater when he found it in the fridge yesterday. I think it is going to live in there to suprise unsuspecting guests like it suprised him :)



Life got in the way this week so I'll show my new felted purse next time, I'm off to BBQ with Dad.

FO: Twinkletoes

Pattern: Twinkletoes by Chloe Sparkle Knitty winter 2006

Needles: Susan Bates
US5 dpn

Yarn: Filaturia Di Crossa Zara

Ok this one is cheating a bit because I knit the first one well over a year ago with yarn I picked up in the Knitting Nook's discount bin. When I ordered yarn for my Swallowtail shawl from Knitpicks I added the suede bottoms and was motivated last weekend to finish the second slipper. I don't really like sewing so it took another week to get the bottoms on. No matter how many times I tried they still came out crooked and I just don't care enough to fix them. The pattern is pretty nice but I'm not thrilled with how mine look or fit, the heel is just too high for me and if I hadn't knit the first one so long ago (and twice) I would have just done a short row heel. I love the yarn so once this heatwave is over I'll probably still wear them. I really want a sweater out of this Zara, it is so so nice and wears very well. I have some Fetching gloves that haven't pilled at all with tons of wear.

I felted something this weekend but it is still drying so I will have all the gory details later in the week.

FO: Anthropologie Inspired Capelet

Pattern: Anthropologie Inspired Capelet by Julia Allen

Needles: Denise US 10.5

Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande 179.3 yards

This was a nice quick knit and I love the finished product. I chose to use a stockinette rather than reverse stockinette but I did keep two stitches in garter stitch at each end after the ribbing at the neckband. I added length too. I blocked this rather aggressively to get a better fit and open up the lacy increases and it seems to have worked well, at least I'm going to keep telling myself it doesn't look too tight. The only thing that is disappointing is that the yarn lost a bit of it's softness and fluffiness with the washing. It still is wonderful and at this gauge has a nice drape but the oh my goodness this is the softest thing ever is gone. I have a little bit of yarn left that I might make a cowl out of and I definitely won't be blocking that. Despite being a bulky alpaca yarn I think this is lightweight enough to be warn on a warm summer evening over a cute top or dress. Now I just need to find the right pin to close it up.