It Might Be My Fault

Winter is brutal this year.  We are supposed to get up to 6 inches of snow today and more tomorrow.  I think I might be to blame.  This flag at my front door says 'Let It Snow'.

Tuesday I took a class at my LYS called Navajo Knitting.  It was taught by Knit Purl Hunter.  The class was about a technique for turning lace weight yarn into worsted weight.  Actually, the technique can be used with any weight yarn.  Below is the scarf that I started in class.

The basic premise is that you Navajo ply the yarn to make 3-ply.  It creates a great texture in the fabric, alternating between 3-ply and 1-ply.  The instructor showed us samples of other stitch patterns with this method applied.  It made me wish I had more time to sit and play.  Lots of ideas popped into my head.

Here is a close-up of the fabric.  Sorry it is a bit blurry, but you can see how the density changes.

Not much else to show for this week. Stay warm!

Yuckie Selfie

This picture is absolutely horrid, but here is the Buttonbox vest in action.  The biggest problem I have with this picture is the way the vest is distorted because my one arm is raised.  However, this pose does show how deep the armhole is on the vest.

Last weekend we took Kristin back to her university.  Her empty bedroom became my blocking room.  I washed the Buttonbox vest  on Monday and blocked it.  I had to ease it a bit to get the bust wide enough to fit me without gapping. It took about 3 days to dry and it was ready to wear yesterday.  It kept me warm in my office without triggering a personal climate change (AKA hot flash). It held up well throughout the day.  I'll admit I was a bit nervous that it was going to pill or sag as the day went on.

Trisha has been trying to decide where she wants to study next year.  Her dream school is the same university where Kristin goes, but that university doesn't have a nursing program.  She has been thinking a lot about going into nursing.  She said her desire is pediatric nursing.  She has applied to a local nursing college.   An official acceptance hasn't come yet.  We hope that it comes soon because she want to get that decision settled.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma with something education related.  A friend from work and I are planning on going to Stitches South.  Amy Herzog is teaching her Custom Fit class and I was able to get a seat in it.  My dilemma, though, is the accommodations.  My friend is meeting her sister in Atlanta and they are sharing a hotel room.  I have a room booked but don't have someone to split the cost with. I asked one of my sisters if she was interested in joining me, but she already had plans for another knitting adventure around that time.  Unless I can get someone to share a room with me, I may have to cancel.  I still have a few months to find a roommate.

Before I sign off, I want to give an update on my weight loss efforts.  I have lost 12 pounds so far.  Some weeks nothing comes off, but other weeks I'm surprised with a big loss.  This week I lost 2 pounds.  I will admit, I am not as strict as I could be, but I am still losing.  I think the key for me is activity.  Because I am faithfully going to my personal trainer two times a week, I have built up enough muscle mass that my metabolism is ramped up.  I also have a FitBit.  My goal is to climb 10 flights of stairs a day and walk 10,000 steps.  I am not able to do that consistently yet, but the FitBit keeps me motivated.  Just to earn more stairs or steps, I will take detours at work as I go to and from meetings.  According to a report that FitBit sent me, Sundays are my laziest days.  I'll have to work on getting more mileage in on those days.  Off now to climb some steps to get a load of laundry going.

Checking the (Button)box

Buttonbox is finished except for the blocking.  I wove in the ends and sewed the buttons today.  A quick try-on was a bit of a disappointment though.  It is a little snugger than I had hoped.  With a good blocking, and a few more pounds off my body, it should fit nicely.  I took a couple pictures while I was wearing it but deleted them.  Not so much because of the fit, but mainly because of the toothpaste splatters on the bathroom mirror.  ( I know...gross!  Sorry.)

I modified the pattern a little bit.  I left off the pockets and I did the collar as one continuous section.  If I make another vest I will make a couple other modifications.  I will do a few more repeats of the pattern before the waist shaping.  I think I would have liked it to be a bit longer to cover my belly.  Also, I would make the collar a bit wider.  My quick try-on had it wanting to stand up against the back of my neck.  A wider collar might alleviate that problem.

I am quite happy with how it turned out though.  This was a big leap of faith for me since I am a new spinner.  I am happy with how the yarn behaved while I knit and the final product is just as I envisioned. My only concern is that it may pill with wear. We'll see how it holds  up.

I promise I will someday post a picture of me wearing this.  Winter is far from over.  I'm sure there will be many opportunities for me to wear it.

Brrrrrrrrr........

No photos today.  Just a note about the frigid temperatures.  Yesterday was in the upper 30s Fahrenheit. By this evening it will be -10° F. Schools were cancelled for today. I expect they will also be cancelled for tomorrow.  Tomorrow isn't expected to be above 0°. Thank goodness for warm hand knits.

Now for Today's Real Post

Last week when I put in my blog entry, I thought I had published it.  Apparently not.  This morning I discovered that the post was still in draft status.  It was just posted.  Since I have more to say for this week, today will have two posts.

Last night I began using one of my Christmas presents.  My niece works for Sam Adams brewery.  She gave me a couple glasses and a half case of beer.  We're keeping the beer in our sun room since it is so cold in there.  Perfect for chilling this brew.  This was mighty tasty with the pizza and salad we had for dinner.

Buttonbox is nearly finished.  The collar is done.  Now on to the armholes.  After that I need to put the buttons on, weave in the loose ends and block.  Hopefully by this time next week I'll be able to wear this.

The helmet hats for my nephews are coming along.  The top of the helmets are done.  Next is the back flap.  I am a little concerned that I may not have enough yarn to do them completely as planned.  I am making them at the same time so that neither boy is favored.  Since they are brothers, I want them to receive them at the same time.

I am embarking on a rather ambitious project.  Below is the practice piece for it.  This is the Sample Shawl to Knit from the Gossamer Webs Design Collection.

My niece who gave me the beer got engaged recently.  Her wedding isn't until 2015. Since she is my God-daughter I want to do something special for her.  I want to make her an heirloom shawl as a wedding gift.  I'm not going to be so presumptuous as to tell her to wear it for her wedding.  It will be hers to do with as she wishes.  I just want her to have something special.  She and her fiance both are gainfully employed. They commented at Christmas that they don't know what to put on their registry because they have most of their household items already.  Since one of the most treasured wedding gifts that I received was a handmade lace table cloth from my sister, I thought making something for her would be what I do.

The shawl I'm thinking of making will be like an Orenberg lace shawl.  I might use some motifs that are not the traditional Orenberg patterns, but it will follow that style.  The yarn in the sample above has too much halo effect.  I want to find a smooth fine lace weight.  My friend and I were perusing websites yesterday.  I found a few candidates.  My friend suggested buying a sample skein of each of the candidates and test knit with them.  I may have to do that since I need to make sure I can keep to the schedule I'll have to set for this project.

T is for Tried

Every year it is the same story.  I wait too long to make my To Do list for Christmas. There are too many handmade items on the list.  In the end, not everything gets done.  This year was no different.  It doesn't matter though.  The true meaning of Christmas is about this.

The Buttonbox vest is in the finishing stages.  I'm doing the collar a little differently than directed.  The instructions have the left and right plackets bound off before the collar is made. I decided I wanted one continuous bind off.  I'm doing the collar short rows before doing the last left side row.  Then I will bind off all the away around.  I hope I didn't make an error in my logic.

The buttons are ready to go.  They will blend in with the fabric.  My sister suggested changing out the buttons with the different seasons.

The helmet hats for the nephews are coming along.  I'll get these done in the next week or two and send them down to them.

Now it is time to get the boxes put away.  The decorations will stay up until the weekend after New Year's.