tag:www.woolgathering.net,2008://13 2008-06-16T03:33:42Z Movable Type 3.34 tag:www.woolgathering.net,2008://13.2194 2008-01-02T04:05:33Z 2008-06-16T03:33:42Z

May your 2008 be full of craftiness and fun! Mine...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net May your 2008 be full of craftiness and fun! Mine started out well. For Christmas, I received an Ashford Traveller spinning wheel (single drive) from my parents. It's lovely! No name yet, but I plan on breaking out a map of New Zealand and finding an appropriate name. Unfortunately, one of the parts was defective and I was unable to use it. When Mike got back from seeing his family for Christmas, he took a look at it and fiddled around and managed to "fix" the defective part. I started spinning on the 29th and I had my first ball of yarn (and a small knitted wristlet) by the 30th! I've been spinning every evening ever since. Right now, I've got some semi-laceweight BFL from Blue Moon in an autumnal colorway spun up. I'm almost done with my first bobbin. I plan on filling another (I have enough for three full bobbins, I think) and then plying them to see the weight and check the yardage. I plan on knitting up a lacy autumnal-themed thing. Perhaps a scarf. I need to find an appropriate pattern (suggestions are welcome)! Anyway, I plan on being better this year with my craft journaling. I have completed many projects and I don't have records of them and I really should start. Hopefully, I'll find my camera soon and can start taking pictures. Hee hee! 2008 has started well in the crafting department and I'm looking forward to seeing where this next year takes me. tag:www.woolgathering.net,2007://13.2126 2007-08-01T19:45:55Z 2008-06-16T02:54:02Z

I completed my Sockapalooza 4 socks for my pal on...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net Socks I thought the yellow and green ribbon would go well with the wine colored Colinette Jitterbug that I picked out for my Sockapalooza pal. She said that she primarily liked greens and blues and I tried finding a colorway that really spoke to me that had both, but nothing really turned me on. I initially purchased some Lorna's Shepherd Sock in Watercolor and knit a full sock using "Merino Lace Socks" from Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave, but I decided that the pink/mauve in the colorway just jumped out too much. So, I poked around some more and I spotted the Colinette. I pondered getting either the forest green semi-solid Jitterbug or the jewely-blue Jitterbug but my sock pal said she was getting into "wines", so wine it was! Over the summer, I've came to accept my love of violets/purples and I thought I'd pass on some of that love. Hee hee. It is gorgeous. Colinette is so sprongy, it's amazing. I've got left-over yarn, so I plan on making some footsies for me with the remainder. I used the cover pattern, "Waving Lace Socks" by Evelyn A. Clark, from Favorite Socks. Sooooo pretty! The pattern is easy to memorize for a 8 stitch, 20 row repeat. I need to make myself a pair. Stitch Markers I also thought I'd put in a few stitch markers for my pal. These I made with peridot and chinese nephrite and pearly seed beads. These were made with some silvery-metal (no idea what metal it is), freshwater pearls, and blue seed beads. I can't wait to get my socks from my sock pal. I enjoyed this so much that I joined another sock swap last week. I wonder what I will knit next! *rubs hands together like a mad scientist/knitter*]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2007://13.2121 2007-07-25T13:15:24Z 2008-06-16T02:54:02Z

Yay! I've joined another knitting swap, since my needles really...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? This time, I'm in Slytherin. I don't know why, but I tend to get sorted into Ravenclaw, Slythernin, and Gryffindor about equally. I'm not nice enough to get placed into Hufflepuff. Hee hee. Shoe size 6 US. Foot Length Foot length: 22cm Foot circumference Foot circumference: 21.5cm And just in case you'd like it -- widest part of the foot: 8.3cm List your three favorite double-pointed needle brands, including size and length Hmm. This is a tricky question, because I utilize the magic loop method to knit my socks, not double pointed needles. I typically used double pointed needles like a crochet hook, when I need to fix my yarn or like a cable needle to hold it while doing something else. The dpns I use are: * Crystal palace bamboo 6", typically US1 * Lantern Moon 7", typically US1 * Brittany Birch 5" knitting needles, typically US1 My knitting needle of choice for sock knitting (especially since I prefer to do lacework with my socks) are Addi Turbo Lace, 32" US1. Would you like to try a brand new needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length? Sure! I'd love to try Skacel's steel dpns (US1) or any 4" dpns, like Suzanne's (wood and a bit on the pricey side... and they are for "gloves" so they are larger) or HiyaHiya's 4" dpns (US1, I think they are stainless steel). If you'd like to get me a circular needle, then addi lace in any size 47" lengths (which I don't have yet) would be absolutely brilliant too. US1s are my needle size of choice and I typically have multiple projects, so I know that any needles I receive will be used and loved. Allergies? Do you have any? Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals? I have no allergies. My home is a smoke and pet-free zone, although I do have a LOT of wool yarn and fiber (I spin to) lying about, so I'd be concerned if my sock partner is allergic to wool. Are you an international participant (outside US)? Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal? I am from the US, so I'm not an international participant. I would love to have an international partner!]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.295 2004-07-10T15:14:18Z 2008-06-16T02:54:05Z

To distract me from my tank-top bad feelings, I swatched...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net A couple of things: 1. I know I knit it up on WAY too large needles. US10. Even though I knit tight, it was very loose. So, I will try it on US8s (which is the recommended needle size) and see how it looks then. I stopped by a not-so-LYS and picked up some Addi US8s. 2. I need to pick up an issue of Interweave Knits Fall 2003, to read the article on seamless intarsia knitting (in the round, I think). I am unhappy with the placement and size of holes between the color changes, which are very frequent and, seemingly, unavoidable because of the purl/knit nature. 3. When I do a color change, I don't like how the colors mix together with the purl ribs. I have no idea how I can avoid this, but it makes me a bit unhappy. Thankfully, one doesn't see them too clearly. 4. It still doesn't seem right. The pattern, I mean. I need to watch it again. Or get more stills. Many more stills of the hat, as seen from many different angles. So, I'm soliciting for any suggestions on how I could improve the pattern. Perhaps it will look better once I reswatch it. I have the feeling that the decreases happen pretty soon, which gives the white diamonds a smaller appearance in the stills I've seen. I want it to really look perfect. Hmmmm.]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.292 2004-07-09T14:52:22Z 2008-06-16T02:54:05Z

Jackie just started hp_knitting, a LiveJournal community "devoted solely to...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net hp_knitting, a LiveJournal community "devoted solely to those who have / had / are planning to knit their way into Harry Potter fandom." Check it out! Also on the knitting news front, Cindy has sent me an update on her Ravenclaw scarf. I think I spy 10 trapped bars. Fabulous! About 2/3 of the way done. Mary Jo has started her scarf. It looks to be quite a big scarf!]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.287 2004-07-07T01:34:44Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

Drealle finished a Slytherin scarf for her friend! Woo hoo!...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net finished a Slytherin scarf for her friend! Woo hoo! She wove initials into the scarf, instead of using a duplicate stitch. Loverly! Kari just put the fringe on her Gryffindor POA scarf! She knit it to mid-thigh, just so they wouldn't be too long. Check out her pictures! Her next project is a classic Ravenclaw and then a POA Slytherin scarf for herself. Impressive! We also have a new PoA knitter, Jackie of Wake Up One Morning and You're Famous. She's working on one scarf each of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin in the SS/CoS style, and a special Hogwarts Scarf in the PoA trapped bar pattern. She says she'll post pictures as each scarf is completed.]]> Jackie]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.286 2004-07-07T01:32:16Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

Becky of Always Knitting Something is our newest Salt Peanuts...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net Always Knitting Something is our newest Salt Peanuts knitter. She ordered the Muench Bergamo in Air Blue. This is her first attempt at a sweater! Woo hoo! Lenore, another new Salt Peanuts knitter, started hers recently and is knitting a size smaller than what she typically wears. She is on Weight Watchers and is hoping that, by the time she is done, she will be the right size. (Crossing fingers!) I noticed that Craftster.Org has created a new subsection in Knitting: a topic for knitalongs. Our Salt Peanuts knitalong thread was moved to there. Since last I wrote: Jas finished the fronts and has moved on to the sleeves. Huzzah! Emmdy got gauge on the first try (US10.5s) and is almost finished with the waist increases. Although she had a bit of stickiness with the lace ribbing, it now looks really good and she's trucking along. Double huzzah! Paige is finished the back! Woo hoo! Jill has finished the back too (double Woo hoo!) and is taking a short hiatus to knit a Princess Snowball Cat Bed for her yoga instructor's cats.]]> Becky Lenore ]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.283 2004-07-05T19:29:23Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

Close observers will notice that a number of older entries...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net Stitch'n Bitch Nation. She's requested that I remove the specifics until the book comes out, which is totally cool with me, so I have honored her request. After its publication, I'll republish those entries as written. I feel this is a comfortable compromise: I do not have to alter my writing and those entries will come back up after the book (and its patterns) are out there. Y'all will just have to see the finished products when the book comes out. Hee hee! I guarantee that the designs will be fabulous and uber-cool. I'm already itching to make myself a few of the pieces (if just to work with the Soft-Kid and Lana again)! I've heard of a couple more designs that will be in the book (that I didn't work on) and they sound really great too. Stitch'n Bitch and Stitch'n Bitch Nation. The first taught me how to knit. The second (well, knitting pieces for the second) taught me even more. I highly recommend the first for new knitters looking to pick up good techniques and practices. Start on page one and you can't go wrong!]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.273 2004-06-29T15:53:57Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

Hmm, never thought I'd use the words "Azkaban" and "Goodness"...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net lot of new knitters and two updates: I met Kristin, of Lost Geographer, at the Harry Potter IMAX showing. She's best known as being the fabulous associate editor of The Leaky Cauldon, one of the best sources of Harry Potter news. I believe she has one of the few photographs of me in costume. Anyway, she informed me that she's unsure what kind of scarf she'll be working on (either Ravenclaw which is her assigned house or Gryffindor, where her heart belongs), but she's joining the knitalong. Renata of The Wild Renacerous (who I also know personally as anarchistinde from LiveJournal) has been requested to knit a scarf for a friend. She is joining the knitalong and doing a Ravenclaw à la the book (blue and gold). Lily of Caprice is a brand new knitter (woo hoo!) and is going to do a Gryffindor scarf. She's got the yarn already and is just waiting for the needles so she can cast on. Karyn sends her stats... from: Singapore (teeny tiny tropical island. which is why people always stare when i knit on the bus or train :P) scarves made: 1 half-sized ravenclaw (with CC initialed), 1 half-sized gryffindor (sold! *grinz*), 1 full-sized gryffindor, 1 full-sized slytherin all in PS/CoS colours. presently working on: final sleeve of gryffindor quidditch sweater and about to embark on a PoA gryffindor full-sized. Jesslyn of is this thing on? bit the bullet and is knitting a Ravenclaw, her house colors. She watched the movie and opted to do a scarf in movie colors instead of book colors. (She does like the Slytherin colors though.) Jenni of A Fuzzy Dream has been knitting off and on for the past year and knitting the PoA scarf will be her first attempt at circular knitting. She is starting out with a Slythern scarf for a friend, but is planning to knit all of the house colors. Woo hoo! (She's seen it atleast five times already. Woah.) Anne of Yet Another Discalceate Hoyden is about to start Ravenclaw movie version scarf. She's in high school, has been knitting for six years, and is teacking others to knit at her school, so she's got a little knitting community going on! Mary Jo of VWChick's Knitting Musings is going to do either a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw scarf, depending on which yarn she picks up. She indicates that she'll probably do both eventually. Mori is done with her old-style Gryffindor scarf and is starting a PoA thin-but-long tie-like scarf in Slytherin followed by Ravenclaw. Heather had to frog her Gryffindor scarf and her mother's Ravenclaw scarf because she didn't like them as wide. They've been restarted on smaller needles.]]> Kristin Renata Lily Karyn Jesslyn Jenni Anne Mary Jo]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.270 2004-06-28T05:12:48Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

I'm now comin' up for air from working on "London...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net Since the weave is quite open, I couldn't carry any of the yarns behind the work. Thirteen separate pieces of yarn. Fun fun fun! Weaving in the ends will be a nightmare. I'm not sure if I'm going to get any more work, but I'm so pleased and happy with what I managed to accomplish. It was challenging, but not too hard that I became frustrated. I would like to knit myself one of these sweaters, except without sleeves, so it would be a cool sleeveless shell that I could wear over a tank top. I bet it would be quite sexy.]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.271 2004-06-25T05:17:36Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

I spent the better part of the afternoon and evening...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net * Deb worked out the "London Calling" sweater pattern and I'm ready to go! She worked it out on knitter's graph paper, which is just brilliant. It reminds me that I need to redo Ron's hat on knitter's graph paper; it will give me a more accurate look at the design so I can compare it with stills from the movie. "London Calling" an intarsia sweater design. At its worst, I will have to deal with thirteen different yarn sections. Wheeeeeeeee! I'm rather excited about the prospect. I hope to finish the sleeves tomorrow, so I'll have the weekend to work on the sweater front. My pink buttons were too small at 3/4". They'll need to be upgraded to 1" to fit well with the button holes in the sweater. Rats.]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.272 2004-06-23T05:53:49Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

On the belief that my little New Jersey town has...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net I think they look about right. I was trying to get a match with the hot pink, but all the buttons that matched the bright hot pink were pearly or too fancy. I matched a lot of buttons to the light pink in the swatch, but Deb indicated that she wanted something darker. The buttons I picked are plain and in between the bright pink and the dark pink. This evening, I hand-sewed the lining into the bag. It looks pretty good! I'm actually pretty proud of the work I did on it. It's something that I hadn't done before and I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to getting a sewing machine (my birthday present from mama, hopefully) and doing more sewing. I also sewed the snaps into the baby cardigan at Knit Wits (the local needlework group; most members knit but I've also seen some fabulous needlepoint and quilting and sewing from group members). I received the sleeves for the Soft-Kid sweater (titled "London Calling") today and cast them on. Whee!]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.269 2004-06-22T05:55:01Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

This afternoon, I went to see Kim B and showed...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. She picked it up pretty quickly. We even started her new hat. Seed stitch! In the round! Fun! Another trek into the city. This time, I got to get more knitting fun! * I got the brown and white hats back. My cast-off was way too tight (although I really tried to keep it loose); I need to redo them with a much larger needle. * I got an uber-cute baby sweater that I need to get snaps and sew them in. * I got a swatch of sweater that I need to buy a matching button. Hot pink. Whee! I also got a really great sewing lesson and I think I've got all the knowledge I need to finish the bag. On my way home, I stopped by Treasure Island, Michael's, and the Rag Shop in search for the proper notions. Other than snaps, I found nothing good. Rats. I finished the red bag, except for the lining which I still need to purchase (tomorrow!). You can kind of tell which handle end I did first and which I did last: the quality difference is noticable. I also unravelled the brown hat and I casted off with US15s instead of US10.5s. I think it's nice and loose now. I've been instructed not to weave in the ends until the hats get the ok. I haven't started with the Union Jack sweater yet. No instructions.]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.268 2004-06-21T05:12:09Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

Today was a pretty hectic day. My cousin, Kim B,...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net So soft! It's ggh Soft-Kid: 70% Super Kid Mohair, 25% Nylon, and 5% Wool. I'm making the front and sleeves of a sweater with a Union Jack on the cover. Woo hoo! I can't wait. I brought Kim to Seaport Yarn and bought her six skeins of Debbie Bliss Merino Aran: three balls in two different colors for two kitty hats she's going to tackle. One for her, one for her sister. I told her to do her sister's hat first, so she can get all of her mistakes out of the way on the first hat so hers would be perfect. Hee hee. I got her some Addi Turbos and Britany DPNs in appropriate sizes for the hat as well. I wouldn't be surprised if she's done with it by next week; she's quite fast. We caught a lot of traffic on the way home, so I wasn't able to show her how to cast off. But, we made plans to meet again tomorrow and I'd show her then. I spent the evening working on the bag untit I had to do the sewing-up part. I tried, but I could see the pucking from the opposite side and it looked awful. I'll be seeing Deb again tomorrow and she indicated she should help me with it further.]]> tag:www.woolgathering.net,2004://13.267 2004-06-21T04:38:57Z 2008-06-16T02:54:06Z

I've completed the two hats. I have a love/hate relationship...

Eileene http://www.eileene.net I like the white hat. Even though I'm not sure if it matches anything in my wardrobe (although it could be a nice compliment to my fuzzy funky black dress coat), it's something that I would like to wear on those warm nights. I even like the pompom tie-ends. The brown hat has bear ears! So cute! I've finished sewing the bottom of the red bag together and the two handles, but I'm unclear on how I should sew in the handles... or sew the top edge down for that matter. I'm seeing Deb tomorrow and she'll show me what needs to be done.]]>