A good article on blocking

In my knitting inbox yesterday was an article that I thought I should post. It was a two parter (the second part is coming soon) on the basics of blocking your finished knits. I thought this would be helpful for knitters and loom knitters alike. And, if you don't already receive the Knitting Daily Newsletters, you're potentially missing out on a lot of good info and free patterns. Click on the "Are you knitting daily?" image above to sign up...

If you are new to the blocking concept, check out this Knitting Daily post on blocking or the PDF on my method of blocking over on the Instructions page of LoomKnittingDesigns.com. I think they both will help you sort it all out. It really does make a difference in your knits.

UPDATE: Check out the now posted second part of the blocking tutorial. Great stuff - http://www.knittingdaily.com

Mystery Stole - Clue #3

Well, I always knew I wasn't trying to be perfect while knitting this stole. I know I messed up a couple times and I went back to fix it when I could. There was one row I couldn't find the mistake, however, and I thought it wasn't too noticeable until I took the picture above.

See the top of the first big point. Darn! Maybe it wont be so noticeable while wearing it. I'm not ripping anything out. This is my first big lace project and it'll keep the mistake as a "this is my first lace project" mistake. I'll just be getting better from here.

This is my stole at the end of clue #3. I'm starting clue 4 today.

PS: I really, REALLY love my new Addi Turbo Lace needles. They are delicious to knit with and really are speeding me up. I knit most of clue 3 in one night! The lace pointy points are a lifesaver when doing knit 2-3 together. And the smooth finish and flexible cable are great to work with. I'd definitely recommend them.

Ooooohhhhh Aaaaahhhhhh

I think the title of this post says it all.

Now...off to knit on the Mystery Stole.
I'll be giving a full report on if these were worth the $17.00 soon.

Less blogging, more….

…knitting on my Mystery Stole. I wanted to wait and take a picture after a quickie blocking…but I must admit, I can’t stop knitting long enough to quickie block. Here’s a pic of the stole (sans blocking) as it stands right now. I’m almost through clue #2:


I opted for not using beads in mine. I figured I’d have my hands full just trying to follow the lace pattern. As you’ll see from the list below, this is one good decision in the list of bad ones…

There are a couple things I’m learning about knitting my first real laciness…

1. Do not use a furry mohair as your first yarn for your first lace knitting project. Pretty, soft, luxurious to work with…but a beginner lace yarn it ain’t!
2. Do not use black. It’s true that black was one of the recommended mystery stole colors this year. But, so was white. Note to self: think before getting sucked into the furry, luxurious goodness of mohair.
3. I must invest in some Addi Turbos. My Denise Interchangeables are just too rough between the connections of needle and cord.

So, other then these small lessons, my mystery stole is working up quite nicely. I haven’t had to rip anything out…well, I’ve preferred to tink back to the mistake rather then rip, rip, rip. I’ve so far been successful at catching mistakes before the end of the row (knock on wood). I’m also not using any life lines (like I said, I prefer to tink). Ripping is incredibly difficult to do with mohair! This I learned while knitting the swatch at the beginning…

At least I’m in good company. As of this post, there are 6,676 knitters from around the world knitting this stole with me. Two of which I think are really inspiring: Bonnie Marie Burns from Chicknits, and The Yarn Harlot. I’m so glad I decided to sign up for this – even though all other knitting projects have been put on hold for now.

Good thing this whole mystery stole thing isn’t done at Christmas time. There would be one gift…for me!

Here's another full glory shot for you. Sorry for all the flash photography. The non-flash pics didn't even show the beautiful design.


PS: For more Mystery Stole Goodness, check out these pics: The Flickr search (266 pics!)

Start-itus

So why is it that all knitters get start-itus and never finish-itus? Now, granted, I think I do pretty well in the finishing projects department. I try to finish things before starting new projects and I try to have a project in mind when I buy more yarn. This has kept the UFOs in check (mostly) and the stash manageable.

However, as of late I fear I'm catching a case of start-itus. I seriously am getting too many projects going at once. Well, too many for me. Besides the ones featured on this blog thus far (the socks for my brother and the Squatty Sidekick for someone yet-to-be-named), I also have a baby blanket (I promise it will make it on the blog soon) and now....soon to be...something else.

I was innocently surfing the web the other day looking at knitting blogs. This sometimes gets me in trouble. I'm always surfing around crafty blogs or on line yarn stores or looking at knitting patterns. This time I was reading one of my favorites, The Giving Flower's post on the Mystery Stole Yahoo Group.

Needless to say...I joined.

Now I have yarn on the way from Elann.com and I'm already itching to start....another...project.

Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself. After all...all the other projects mentioned aren't for myself. 1 out of 4 knitting projects should be for myself...right? Right?

Progress in pictures

I've made progress on my knitting projects this week. The first sock for my brother's Christmas gift just got it's heel yesterday and the foot is starting to churn off the needles. I love this part of the sock. I can literally not even look at what I'm doing while I knit. See the pretty little heel...?



I've also finished the Squatty Sidekick felted handbag from Knitting Daily. Well...almost. It still needs to be felted and I still need to choose a button for it. But those are the super fun parts..so I don't count those.

I wasn't sure how I'd like the stripes on the finished bag, but I think they look great and can't wait to see what felting does to them.