New yarn

I've gotten several shipments of yarn this week. First I got a shipment of Classic Elite One Fifty for Carly's Christmas stockings. They hadn't sent two of the three colors and after calling and straightening things out they sent the rest of the yarn. Then yesterday there was a big shipment of Northampton for Sue's Christmas hat and mittens for next year, and Plymouth Encore for a new sweater for Olivia--probably for next fall at this point, and Lamb's Pride for a future baby gift sweater. That was to get the order up to $60 so I would get the 20% reduction. Oh, earlier I had gotten the shipment of Tahki Sky for the cardigan that I want to make to wear at one event for Carly's wedding in April. From what I've read in Ravelry, it's a tricky pattern and will require my constant attention so as not to make mistakes.

I was able to continue on my periwinkle pullover at Ken's tennis match last night and then while we watched a show afterwards. It's coming along nicely. I'm working on the upper back at the moment. One thing that I've noticed is that the purl stitches are better defined when I'm working back and forth rather than in the round. Go figure--

Odd day

Well, today is Martin Luther King Day and I'm home--along with Ken. It snowed last night and we ended up shovelling--along with JD--this morning. Then I went to a have a massage--how's that for odd. I've made cookies and done housework--no knitting, although I think that I'm going to sit down for a while. I'm very pleased with the sweater that  I'm working on, but I've decided that I don't really like alpaca. It's heavy and doesn't have the memory that wool has. I'm using an alpaca, wool mix, but it's still heavy. It is easy knitting, however, and it's great for watching TV. Here is my progress so far. I do like the color and it is going very quickly.

I'm already thinking about my next project--a short-sleeved cardigan to wear at Carly's wedding. Ravelry is so good for keeping track of what you want to work on, along with everything else. I've decided to inventory my needles in preparation for buying more Signature needles. lol

Busy week

Received my new Signature dpn's this week. It turned out that I had not finished the order for the circular needle and now have to wait until Feb 4 to order it. The company was so overwhelmed with orders for the new needles that they have closed orders until then. Back to the new dpn's--at first I wasn't too impressed with them, but after an evening of finishing a sock, I am in love. They are smooth and slick at the same time. They are also warm--like my Harmonies. I changed from the Harmonies to the Signatures mid-sock and didn't see a difference in gauge. My plan is to research what size needles I use most of the time, and then to slowly add those sizes of Signature needles to my collection--which is large enough!

I was able to share my Masterknitter experience with the knitting guild on Thursday evening. Diane B. and I shared our experiences and our notebooks. I had never gotten all of my material from the course together--it filled three Roche Bros bags. The group seemed to really appreciate our talk and we all agreed that it would be fun to have me and Diane share what we've learned in another program. That's for next year.

On the actual knitting front, I'm working on a sweater for me! It's the Renaissance sweater that was in my queue on Ravelry.

I'm using an alpaca/ wool mix from Valley Yarns. I'm not convinced that I like the alpaca. It just doesn't have enough body. The other issue with this pattern is the actual stitch that is used. It's a mosaic diamond stitch and there were issues with the definition of the purl bumps. When the purl bumps were going in one direction they were very defined, but in the other direction they receded into the background.I finally figured out that I need to loop the yarn around the stitch very loosely when the new purl stitch is part of the diagonal going to the left. Sounds complicated but it works! I changed the pattern to be all in the round and that makes the stitch pattern much easier to follow. I had planned to use my new Signatures, but that was not to be--I'm using my Harmonies which are also very pleasant to work with. I had started out with the Options, but they were too slippery.

Two caps

I managed to finish Olivia's cap this evening while watching another version of the Night in the Museum. It was a good knitting movie. I could follow the action without interfering with my knitting! It took three tries to get a pompom that looked good and was fluffy enough for the hat, but I finally succeeded. I'll take it over to her tomorrow.

As soon as I finished Olivia's cap I started one for myself to match my mittens. I don't really like working on a 16 in circular needle, but it is easier than dpns for this many stitches. And here is the finished cap--

I ordered a set of Signature needles last night. It's quite a splurge, but everything that I've read says how wonderful they are. I ordered one circular needle and hope that it will be the right size for the sweater that I'm going to knit after the hat. Now, I just have to wait for them to arrive. From what people have been posting to Ravelry these needles are a dream and a lifetime investment. I'm hoping that they arrive by the end of the week.

End of the year--

It's New Year's Eve, and for the first time since the kids were little, we will be here celebrating alone. A nice dinner of Coq au vin, followed by a Lemon-gingerbread cake will be accompanied by a movie. After dinner I will begin Olivia's hat. I took over the mittens today and she was delighted--as much as a two-year-old can be delighted with mittens. I measure her head and will be making an 18-in hat. It should be a nice evening. We've already tried out the cake--had a slice late this afternoon--and it's a keeper!

Finished mittens!

Ken and I watched Gran Torino this evening and I couldn't knit through most of it. It was too good and too visual to be able to knit. However, that said, my hands were not happy to have nothing to do! I finally gave in to them and picked up Olivia's mittens. I ended up finishing them--including a cord that connects them so that she can thread them through the sleeves of her coat--and not lose them! I'll post a photo tomorrow along with my own mittens, which I used today when I walked the puppies. For some reason I don't think that the yarn that I used is as thick as worsted weight yarn that I used last time that I made mittens. I think that Galway is a fluffier yarn than either Cascade 220 or Northampton. Maybe a little felting will make them feel warmer.

I'm going to take the mittens over to give them to Olivia and to measure her head for the matching hat. She has a big head, but I don't want to make the hat too big!

Evening knitting

Dana and Sue were here with the girls for dinner this evening. I had started mittens for Olivia last night and was able to have her try on the ribbing of the first one. She complied and actually smiled as the pink ribbing slid over her wrist. After they left I worked for the rest of the evening and was actually able to finish the first one and begin the second one. I'm hoping to take the pair over to her on New Year's Day. Then I'll start a hat and finally get to my own hat! It was certainly cold enough today for both--windy and very cold. I've not seen it as windy as it was today for quite a while.