Lara

(Excuse the bad pics. It's dark and I'm tired and yeah, well, I'm no model...)

Tonight I had my second Knitter's Guild meeting and of course I had to face the "what to wear" dilemma. I mean, c'mon, a room full of knitters and you best be bustin' out the good stuff. I went for discreet and safe last time. No seams to inspect or stitches to analyze in a pair of handknit socks tucked safely away from discriminating eyes.


But now that I've officially been allowed to join, I figured it was high time to show these ladies (all 200 of 'em) just what level of mediocrity they're letting into the ranks. It's time to wear a handknit sweater in a room full of knitters. This could be bad, bad, bad...

Since it's now gotten rather chilly here, it's time for the wool sweaters. I actually finished this one this summer but I never blogged it because I just couldn't face putting on a wool/mohair blend concoction in the hot weather. Wimp, yes I am. For some reason I also thought I didn't like the fit but I don't think it's so bad as I imagined. In the book, you're supposed to wrap the two sides of the collar over each other, but I like it better loose, perhaps because I'm wearing a loose t-shirt under it today.

Pattern: Lara from the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk collection

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted

Needles: I think I used 8's, but I'm not entirely positive

Dates: February - August, 2006

Recipient: me, me, me

Notes: This is a great pattern and one that I will be making again. It curls a bit at the bottom so I'm considering going back and doing a crochet edge, but it doesn't bother me enough to not wear it as is. My side seams are also wonky where I cast on stitches, but I actually saw another woman wearing this sweater tonight at the meeting and she had the same issue with the side seams.

I really like the Lamb's Pride yarn but I think I'd make this in a different yarn the next time. The mohair content makes it just a little hairy and itchy for me. I tried this with a short sleeve t-shirt and there was no having that nonsense, even though I'm not particularly sensitive to wool.

So I guess I'm a real blogger now. I've made the Lara and done the Rachael pose. And I really be a real blogger soon since I think Clapotis is moving up in my knitting rotation.

Oh, and other big news, I'm going to get to update (or redo) the local Guild's website! I suppose it's a sign of true dorkiness that this makes me inordinately happy.

NaBloPoMo post #2

Mittens Accomplished

Thanks for all of your warm wishes! I really consider myself very lucky to have only been in the dark for a few days. I believe there are still people without power and I can only imagine the frustration they must be going through. I really can't imagine what it is like to go through something like Katrina or a personal loss such as a house fire. I suppose we can only be thankful for what we have and try to give a little more to those without. I've certainly said it a lot this week, but I know I take it for granted that I'll wake up in the morning with a latte and a hot shower. It's good to be reminded of just how rare it is to have such luxuries.

Anyway, on to the knitting. First, welcome anyone who discovered my little internet home via the knitting blog ring. I feel like a real knit blogger now! My blog is fairly simple, but it keeps me entertained.

It was a long week of trying to pick up the pieces around the office and at home, but I did manage to finish my October Surprise* mittens and even do a scarf from the leftovers. Talk about a great one skein project!

Pattern: Super Mittens from Weekend Knitting

Yarn: Brown Sheep Burlyspun, 1 skein

Needles: 10 1/2 dpn's

Dates: 12 Oct - 17 Oct

Recipient: The Cold One, me

Notes: My row gauge was way off with this one so I kinda improvised. On the thumb gusset I increased every other round rather than every third round. I didn't even bother counting rows for the hand but just knit until they felt right. The picture makes them look like they differ greatly in size but they're pretty close, if not the same. They're about as close to same as I could get considering both were knit under the influence.

The scarf is a simple drop stitch pattern over 8 stitches on sz. 17 needles. It's not very long, but will work to tuck into my coat on days I feel the need to have a matching set.

Overall, I'm very impressed with this yarn. The mittens have a solid fabric that's stiff and hopefully reasonably wind/snow/cold-proof, but not so stiff that I won't be able to move my fingers. I like the single-ply feel to it and the dye job is very, very pretty. (Much prettier than my pictures show!) On the right person (i.e., one much smaller than yours truly), I could see this making a nice sweater with a rolled-neck. All you skinnyKate M0ss knitters charge up your needles and I'll like vicariously through you.

Although my pattern was only really influenced by the Weekend Knitting book, this was a great excuse to take it out and drool over the pages again. This is one of my favorite eye candy books and I really should make more things from here. All the pics of frolicking on the New England farm are just too charming to resist! If it's not in your library, check it out. It's the right kind of eye candy.

* The jury is still out on what they're calling our latest weather debacle. I'm personally going for the day we all got caught without a shovel but it lacks a certain ring so October Surprise it is, I suppose.