Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad

I wasn’t able to complete all three of my WIP socks, but I did manage to finish two of them. The first was the second of the pair:



I knit the first sock on the plane ride back from Italy this summer and then promptly forgot about it in the jet-lagged days that followed my return. The yarn is Lion Brand Magic Stripes, a yarn I should hate but don’t. It washes and wears like iron, although the red dye does have a tendency to bleed in the wash.

The second sock I finished this week was the first of a pair:



The yarn is ONline Caribic color and it was sent to me by Sibylle a couple of months ago. Aren’t the colors great. I haven’t Kitchenered the toe closed yet. When I knit socks from self-patterning yarn, I never complete the toe of the first sock until I’ve knit both. That way I can tweak the end so both socks match perfectly.

You all do that too . . . don’t you.

Oh, and has anyone else seen that they are selling shawls at the Gap!

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World’s Oldest UFO??

Laurie’s threats to hold a yard sale at her house inspired me to sort through some of the boxes and bags that are stacked in the unfinished portion of my basement. Imagine my surprise when I came upon a bag containing this long-forgotten, top-down kid's raglan sweater:



Let's see. If my memory serves me (an iffy proposition at best), I started this sweater when my son was about 2 years old. He's a sophomore in high school now. As you can see, all that separates this UFO from completion is the seam on one sleeve. Don't ask me why, but I'd already knit the button bands and the collar.

What do you think; could this be the world’s oldest UFO? Please tell me you have a UFO that's been lurking in a closet, just waiting to be seamed, for more than 13 years.

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Give a Little Update

Margene and I continue to collect information on the Give a Little Katrina relief donations. The total amount donated by knitters is now up to $92,242.10. What do you think; will we make it to $100,000??!! We've also been busily distributing prizes to several lucky winners each day and awarding one grand prize every Friday. There are two amazing grand prizes this week. Both were donated by Debbi in Arizona, who also sent along these photos:

The first is a Colinette Ab-Fab kit in the colorway Rhapsody in Blue:



Ooooh, I need one of those kits.

And the second is a Christmas stocking kit called "Jolly Ole St. Nick."



How cute is that!

So get your information to us by Friday, if you haven't already sent it, and you'll be entered to win.

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WIPs of the Week

The next pattern in the Six Sox Knitalong will be announced on Saturday, so I’m trying to free up some needles. Hence, the WIPs this week are:



It’s highly unlikely that I’ll finish all three by Friday, but I’m hoping at least one is completed. Care to venture a guess as to which one that will be?

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Shawl Success

Several months ago Cassie knit an extremely lovely shoulder shawl from the book, Three-Cornered and Long Shawls (Þríhyrnur og Langsjöl) by Sigrídur Halldórsdóttir. At that time, the book was out of print and copies were impossible to obtain. One of the members of our Stitch ‘n Bitch group also saw the shawl on Cassie’s blog and she brought her version to one of our Tuesday meetings. It was darling! So, I decided that I’d try to re-create it, too. I've never blogged about these next two shawls, but they were knit at some point over the summer.

My first attempt was undertaken simply to figure out the placement of the eyelet rows. I cast on the lower edge with a double strand of J&S jumper-weight shetland and just knit blindly from there. Here’s the result:



Cute, but uninspiring. Although I really love the yarn:

I decided the shawl really needed an edging. So, for my second attempt I used a
provisional cast-on and then knit a border onto the lower edge.



Aaaah, much better. I found the edging pattern on Sarah Bradberry’s wonderful lace site.

Then, my ship came in. The book was reprinted and DH got me a copy for my birthday. The long-elusive pattern was now mine for the knitting.

Presenting my WIP / FO: The Litla Hyrna Huldu Shawl



I changed the pattern only slightly. I used a provisional cast-on at the lower edge and then transferred the live stitches to my needle after the body of the shawl was completed. This was easier than using a long-tail cast on and picking up the stitches. I also eliminated the crochet edging at the top. I went up several needle sizes, too; to a size 5.5mm needle. I used nearly all of a 50g / 350 yard skein of wool from my stash. And, of course, I only used one color instead of the shades of cream and brown called for in the pattern.

What do you think; which version do you like best? I have to admit I’m actually a little partial to my attempt #2. I kinda like that it has more eyelet rows. Although the edging on the original pattern is more of a show-stopper. Is there a version #4 in my future?

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WIP Hint #2

Since Beth may be right that I’m not giving good hints lately, here’s hint #2:



Got it now??

Give a Little Update

The total on my sidebar and on the Give a Little blog has been slowly inching toward $90,000. The emails with donation information have slowed to a trickle but Margene and I have been giving away at least 4 prizes a day. Check the Give a Little blog to see some of the fabulous things that have been donated and distributed to the lucky winners. You can still send us donation information since I update the spreadsheet every day before I generate the random numbers that determine the day's winners. Maybe your donation will put us over the $90,000 mark!

And, if you get your information to us by Friday afternoon, you'll be entered to win this week's special prize: a double-wide Branching Out scarf knit and donated by Patrice and modeled in this photo by Margene.




This is a seriously fabulous, large scarf in the most amazing color and knit from the most amazing yarn. It's a raspberry color and the fiber content is 50% wool and 50% silk. Who will be the lucky winner???

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New Patterns!!

Two of my new patterns are now available for your knitting pleasure!

The first is the felted bag pattern I blogged about a while ago:



I've called it "Rick Rack" and you can buy it from Mary Moran at The Knitting Zone by clicking here. Mary is a wonderful enabler and she also carries my Nantasket Basket pattern and my Picasso Socks pattern. Email me if you have any questions about ordering it from Mary or if you want to order more than one copy.

The second pattern is one for fingerless mittens knit on two needles:



It can be purchased from Knit Picks by clicking here. Although I typically eschew patterns that require unnecessary seaming, I figured those of you who hate knitting with double-points or two circulars could use a cute fingerless mitten pattern knit at a nice, small gauge. If you want to knit these mittens on double-points instead, just omit the selvage stitches. I've made quite a few pairs of these already and the giftees have just loved them. We took turns trying these on at Stitch 'N Bitch one night and they fit everyone.

WIP of the Week

There's a WIP this week:



Anyone have a guess as to what it is?

Oh, and come back in a day or two. I just might have an FO to show you!

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Happy Constitution Day!

When was the last time you read the United States Constitution? Confused about the separation of powers, individual rights, or the Double Jeopardy clause? Have no fear. Today is the celebration of Constitution Day. Follow this link and have all your questions answered. And don't forget to read the Constitution. It's fascinating. Really!

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Secret Pal To The Rescue

When you’re sick and you can’t knit because your thumb is all screwed up, there’s only one thing that will make you feel better; finding a package on your porch from your secret pal.




Regia sock yarn in a colorway I don’t have (!), totally cute stitch markers, and some Fran’s chocolate. I’m all too familiar with Fran’s chocolate; having discovered it in the Space Needle gift shop when I was in Seattle last year. Yummmmmm. I’m tucking those little gems away for a few days until my stomach stops churning.

Thanks, Secret Pal. I love everything!

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Stymied

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions about the edging on my Hyrna Herborgar shawl. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll be contemplating them for a while since some bad chicken and a bad thumb have brought my knitting to a screeching halt. Damn.

But, I can still type. So head over to the Give a Little blog to see the wonderful prizes that Margene and I have given away over the last few days.

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To Crochet, Or Not To Crochet. That Is My Question

As of Sunday night, only four rows and some serious blocking separated this lump o’ alpaca:



from this fabulous shawl:




The WIP of the Week this week is a gimme. It’s the Hyrna Herborgar shawl from the book, Three-Cornered and Long Shawls. But, I have a question. What do you think of the crocheted edging? Click on the picture to enlarge it and get a better look at the edging. Then click here, to see a photo of the shawl knit without the edging.

One minute I love it and think the shawl would be far less spectacular without it, but the next minute I think it’s too “over the top”and just a bit too dramatic for my taste. So, I need some advice. Should I work the crocheted edging around the bottom edge, or just bind off and call it good? Or should I just wait and see what Claudia does.

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Houston, We Have Some Winners

Margene and I chose the first round of Give a Little winners this weekend. Stacie is the big winner this week, as she won the extraordinary Shawl donated by Becky. And just to prove that what goes around, comes around, Becky won the yarn donated by local fiber artist Spinderella!

Dawn won Julie's felted bag pattern. Katherine L won Mindy's beautiful stitch markers and the Katrina Rib Top kit, with yarn and pattern, donated by Cookie. Carrie wins Marie's (in Florida) gift bag of knitterly goodies.

And Margene and I decided to keep on drawing names since we have some many wonderful prizes to give away. Rebecca H. won the beautiful fabric bag with matching needle roll donated by Engineer Anonymous. Joan won Melissa of "Chic Sticks" beautiful glass knitting needles. Sarah H won Ashley's Lantern Moon Basket/Tote. Kathy D. won Suzie's Springwater sock kit (pattern and dyed merino sock yarn). Kathy A won Eklectika's 3 skeins of Classic Elite Attitude and Susan’s darling angel stitch makers. Carrie (czaitz) won a box of Cara's beautiful Sheepy Cards and two skeins of Wildfoote Sock Yarn in the color Tom Cat. Beth B wins Chris's Bumblebee Opal Sock yarn. And last, but not least, Kristin wins Jennifer's Fiesta La Luz in Arctic Ice and a skein of Fiesta Rayon Boucle in Sapphire.

Phew!!!!

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WIP Revealed

My WIP of the Week was a Lilies-of-the-Valley shoulder scarf/small shawl knit from a pattern that appeared in the Spring 2004 issue of Spin Off magazine.



I eliminated the lace edging for two primary reasons: (1) lack of time and (2) it's sewn on, not knitted on, and that seemed too fiddly for me. Instead, when I blocked the finished scarf, I pinned it out to create a picot edge. I'm really pleased with the way it looks.

I also worked the bobbles or "nupps" in a slightly different way. And, since it appears that at least one knitter whose indentity was uncovered by a quick Google search, believes that nupps are "Satan's contribution to knitting," I'll share with you my pain-free way to work them. The bobbles are created by knitting into the front and back of each stitch several times. In this case, it is five times which creates 5 stitches from one stitch. You are instructed to purl the five stitches together on the next row. IMHO, it is far easier to just knit all five together immediately after you create the bobble and be done with it. So, I knit into the front and back of the stitch as instructed and then inserted the tip of the left needle through the front of the five stitches (which are now on the right needle) and knit them together. Done. Any questions?

This scarf is my contribution to the Give a Little prize kitty and it will be given away next Friday. So, if you want a chance to win it, get your donation information to us ASAP!

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Give a Little Prizes

Tomorrow evening, Margene and I will generate a few random numbers and give away a few of the prizes donated by all of you. Seriously, have you seen some of the wonderful prizes? If not, go to the Give a Little blog. The list is almost up-to-date although more fabulous things are still rolling in. One of the most amazing donated prizes is this circular shawl which was donated by Becky.



Takes your breath away, doesn't it! Can you believe Becky would donate something so completely amazing! I can't even imagine how long it took to block it, let alone knit it.

If you want a chance to win Becky's shawl, just make sure that you've emailed your donation information to us at this email address by Friday evening. The other prizes that we're awarding on Friday are listed on the Give a Little blog. We'll announce the winners some time this weekend and on Monday we'll announce the prizes slated to be given away next week.

My WIP of the Week

You're all close-but-no-cigar when it comes to this week's WIP. It's finished but I'm not revealing it until tomorrow. So check back to see how close you came.

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WIP of the Week

Although my knitting time has been drastically, but happily, curtailed by our knitters' Katrina relief campaign, I did manage to knit a little this weekend.



Does anyone know what this is???

Katrina Relief Update

As of Monday evening, over $58,000.00 has been donated by you knitters to charities that support the Katrina relief effort. That's close to $60,000 in less than one week, and I still have tens of emails to add to the tally. Way to go knitters! And the prizes that have been donated to the prize kitty are absolutely amazing, too. Head over to the Give a Little blog to see a partial list. Margene is working as fast as she can to update it. But, to whet your appetite I'd like to point out that Laurie and Chris have each donated a skein of hard-to-find Opal Bumblebee sock yarn, and Lora has donated a skein of even-harder-to-find Original Opal Tiger sock yarn. If sock knitting is not your thing, don't despair; Julia, Cari, and Christine will each knit a pair of socks for three lucky raffle winners. Wow!

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Katrina Campaign Update

I’ll be posting updates on our Katrina relief campaign as I have time. You can always check the Give A Little blog for more updates. But right now check the total on my sidebar. No, that’s not a misprint. Over $45,000 given as of Sunday morning. Amazing!

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a reprint of my post from last week:

Margene and I have decided to join forces to set up a Harlot-like relief effort for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

We're appealing to all knitters, and anyone else out there, to make a donation to the American Red Cross. Please give any amount you can spare. The price of a skein of yarn could make a huge difference to someone affected by this catastrophe. If you can't access the Red Cross Web site, please call this number: 1-800-435-7669

After you make your donation, email us at this email address: givealittle at gmail dot com. Put your name and the amount of your donation in the subject line (solely for purposes of keeping track of total donations). Each week we'll draw a name from those who have made a contribution (no matter the amount) and give away some prezzies. Both Margene and I intend to knit something and donate those items to the prize kitty. If you'd like to donate a prize in addition to your Red Cross donation, send us a second email with the word "Prize" in the subject line and we'll tell you where to send it. Also, please spread the word by mentioning this on your blog if you have one.

If you’ve written to us and haven’t heard back yet, it may be a week or so. We’ve received over 500 emails and want to make sure everyone’s donation is counted first.

New Prize!

On Friday I paid a visit to my favorite local dealer fiber artist,
Spinderella, to replenish my supply of roving. I mentioned our Katrina relief campaign to her and without skipping a beat she began loading me up with some of her wonderful, fabulous yarn to offer as a prize. Check it out:







This is one of the prizes Margene and I will award on Friday, so get your donation
information to us before then!

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First Drawing and This Just In!

Margene and I have held the first "Give a Little" drawing and the winner is:

Lolly!

Congrats, Lolly. You've won an amazing knitter's purse, hand-made and donated by Amy. If you go to the Give a Little page, you can see a photo of this great bag.

And, I just got news that Teresa (of One More Row and Another Latte fame) has donated her Roscalie vest to the Give a Little cause. Feast your eyes on this:



Teresa knit this vest herself and has provided the following sizing information:
50 inches round - across the waist - and 27 inches long

If we can't figure out how to auction it off (with all proceeds going to the Red Cross) it will be added to the prize kitty. But it looks like the auction idea is coming together.

So, are you motivated to donate now or what!! Let's see that total rise even more over the holiday weekend!

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Katrina Relief

Wow! That's all I can say right now about the overwhelming and heartwarming response to our efforts to generate donations to the Red Cross to benefit the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. As of last night, the donations of cash totalled $9,275 but there are at least 100 messages that I haven't opened yet. A huge thank you to all the people who have already donated either money or prizes to the kitty and to those who have mentioned our campaign on their blogs.

Several people immediately stepped up to the plate and made us some fabulous buttons. You can find them on my sidebar or on the site that Margene has created for our campaign. Just click here to get to the site which we're calling, "Give a Little."

Please scroll down to my post from yesterday to learn how you can add your donation to our tally and maybe win a prize. Even if you feel you can't make a donation to the Red Cross, please place a button on your blog and link to the Red Cross donation site. I also wanted to mention that Yahoo has donated space to the Red Cross so 100% of the donation you make online goes directly to the Red Cross. All the links are in my post from yesterday.

Also, go to Becky's blog and read her entry from August 30th. She has a personal story to tell about her experiences recovering from Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis. And she has donated the most amazing lace scarf to the prize kitty!!! Other prizes donations are just rolling in. If you read Wendy's blog (duh, who doesn't), you already know that she has donated her Peacock Shawl. A near-current list of all the prizes is on the Give a Little page.

Margene and I are working frantically to respond to all of you who have sent donations or offered prizes. You should hear back from one of us by the end of the weekend. Thanks again for all the support!

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Katrina

Many of our friends, family, and fellow knit-bloggers have been affected
by the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. The damage is truly
incomprehensible. Although New Orleans is grabbing the media attention, don't forget that entire neighborhoods in and around Biloxi, Mississippi are completely gone. Destroyed in a matter of hours.

Margene and I have decided to join forces to set up a Harlot-like
relief effort for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

We're appealing to all knitters, and anyone else out there, to make a donation to the American Red Cross. Please give any amount you can spare. The price of a skein of yarn could make a huge difference to someone affected by this catastrophe. If you can't access the Red Cross Web site, please call this number: 1-800-435-7669

After you make your donation, email us at this email address: givealittle at gmail dot com. Put your name and the amount of your donation in the subject line (solely for purposes of keeping track of total donations). Each week we'll draw a name from those who have made a contribution (no matter the amount) and give away some prezzies. Both Margene and I intend to knit something and donate those items to the prize kitty. If you'd like to donate a prize in addition to your Red Cross donation, send us a second email with the word "Prize" in the subject line and we'll tell you where to send it. Also, if someone could make us a proper button, we'd love you forever. And please spread the word by mentioning this on your blog if you have one.

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