Alpaca Cardi C'est Fini!

Yarn: Woven Gems Alpaca
Pattern: Basic Crewneck Cardi from Ann Budd Handy Sweater Pattern Book
Knitting Time: ~1.5 months / weekend knitting

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I'm sooo buying
this!

Belated Turkey Day Photos

We had an awesome Thanksgiving this year (No offense to our families who weren't in attendance). Ben & I traveled to Douthat State Park in Virginia, a truly special place . We stayed in a 1 room log cabin built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corp. Let me tell you, those folks knew how to build things to last! The cabins are in great shape. They've been upgraded in recent years with central heat (thank goodness)and air and newer kitchenettes. Despite these modern conveniences, the cabins still have rustic charm. The stone fireplaces are my favorite.





Needless to say, I got some knitting done while we were gone. I'm finished with the Blue Skys Cotton baby sweater - pattern KP&S. This photo shows my progress. I finished the sweater last night and will post it post blocking.


And, I started on Sangeeta's scarf made of merino wool.


I also blocked my alpaca sweater (will post tonight). I'm so pleased! Blocking rocks! I just have the button bands and tis done.

One Planet

I haven't loaded my Thxgiving mtn pix yet, so I thought I'd post about an awesome new online yarn store. One Planet Yarn & Fiber has a great selection of yarns from all over the place! Check out the store and their blog.

Updates & Prague

I'm optimistic I can complete the cardi it the next week or so. I'm off to the yarn lounge today as I need help with the neck line - the BO in the pattern doesn't make much sense. After that I just need to put on button bands and a neck and c'est fini!


Ben's wrist warmers were completed by his birthday and he loves them. He's been wearing them to aikido practice each time they are outdoors. They turned out really nice.

There are many projects waiting in the wings. I'm making a baby sweater out of the Blue Sky Cotton. The pattern is top-down from knitting pure & simple and should be fairly easy and fast.



I'm also making a lace scarf for Sangeeta. She bought some beautiful merino, which always tends to fly on the needles.

And, I have several sweaters I'm anxious to start. That probably won't happen till the beginning of the year.




Because I've been working like a dog, I haven't even had time to post about my trip for Christmas! Ben and I are heading to Prague! I've been trying to scout out some yarn shops online, but everything is in Czech. Alas. We were initially going to Paris, as at least I could have spoken the language, but this will be more adventurous right? It's been really funny listening to us learn to say hello and goodbye in Czech :)

Sleeve & Glove = Progress!

Ben's wrist warmers are the project du jour. I had taken a break after knitting all those little fingers on size 2 needles. I have decided to knit all other wrist warmers without fingers. Overall, I'm pleased with the way they're turning out and with the yarn. It's very nice to work with and the irregular stripes of color add interest.

I took off a day from work Wednesday to knit more on the alpaca sweater and watch Grey's Anatomy! I'm sooo hooked on this show, which is sad because it's really just a soap opera. But oh, McDreamy...Ah...Oh yes - back to knitting. One sleeve is complete and the other is in process and I'm still on 1 ball of yarn! I may end up adding to the body of the sweater if it doesn't block out enough, as it needs about an inch added in length.

The photo is a little grainy. The sweater is not really gray, but a nice warm brown. That black and white fuzzy thing in the right corner is not a permanent feature of the sweater. That's Roxy. As you can see, she thinks that everything made of yarn is a new blanket.


On a non-knitting note, take a look at these beautiful roses still blooming in my back yard as the temperature dips to 30/40 degrees! I have no idea what to do with roses over the winter so I just keep letting them grow. One of the bushes is now 8 feet tall. Any rose experts out there? Please forward ideas/advice about whether to prune now or in the spring.

The never-ending sleeve

I haven't fallen into a black hole (unless you call the sleeve of a sweater a black hole) - I'm still knitting the alpaca cardi which seems to be taking forever. Once I can show some progress, I'll post. I'm also making wrist warmers for Ben. His birthday is in 2 weeks so I'm hoping to get them done before then. They're not difficult to knit - it's just finding the time to do it!

Apples and More

It's been a while since I've posted - work is just getting in the way as usual! I don't see it getting any better in the next few months either. I was offered the chance to teach a course at the university and couldn't say no. It will be my first academic course. I'm really excited but also a bit intimidated. Anyways...It will be a busy spring.

This fall has also been busy. Last weekend, Sangeeta, her cousins and I travelled to Grave's Mountain for the Apple Harvest Festival. It was the perfect weather for a festival. We ate Brunswick stew, homemade apple butter and applesauce. I bought a half bushel of apples, which Ben is currently making into apple pies (yum!).






On the knitting front, I've started a cardigan (my first adult sweater!) with the beautiful alpaca I bought at the Fall Fiber Festival. I'm using the Ann Budd book on sweaters for my pattern. If I make the small (which is going to be a fitted cardi), then I should have enough yarn. I have over 1200 yards. However, the fact that my gauge is a little uneven - I consistently get either 51/2 or 6 sts to the inch - is making me fret a bit. Alas, I suppose I can always pull it out if it's too small or I run out of yarn!

Fall Fiber!

Sangeeta, Cate, Courtney, Roz & I proved what hard-core, dedicated knitters we are as we braved the very muddy, windy and cold Fall Fiber Festival yesterday in Montpelier, VA! Despite the weather conditions, I had a great time. We laughed,


ate cold fried chicken (yum!), watched the sheep dog trials
and drank lots of coffee.

I bought some great yarn including 2 skeins of alpaca for a sweater, 8 skeins of wool for another sweater, a skein of beautiful sock yarn and 2 skeins of linen for gifts.





On another note, Sangeeta brought me my contest prize Friday night. I received a bottle of wine, a Stitch & Bitch Calendar, 2 Jo Sharp patterns and 2 skeins of yarn!! Thank you Sangeeta!

ISE - Part Deux

Due to various reasons that are posted on the ISE site (other than the fact that I am a perfectionist :), I've started on a new scarf for my pal. I'm using Noro Cash Iroha, which has to be the most delicate, beautiful yarn I ever worked with. I'm making a simple feather and fan pattern from Dianne's Patterns:
Multiple of 10 sts plus 1 Repeat of 2 rows. Begin with right-side row.
ROW 1(Right side row): *K1, yo, k3, (sl 1, k2tog,psso), k3, yo,* repeat from * to *, end k1.
ROW 2: P.