Knit Camp!

Knit Camp was just absolutely wonderful.

What's not to enjoy?

Scenery like this.

Wildlife.

We only got a quick glimpse of this little wallaby when we arrived, though.

Great company! In attendance (amongst others) were myself, Ailsa, Sharon, RoseRed, Bells, KMS, Anne and Donni.

Ailsa and RoseRed, at the bush chapel.

Mel, and her dyeing.

Anne, and the hat made from the yarn she'd dyed on the Saturday.

Bells, and her famous steeked jacket.

Sharon and Zena, doing what we spent most of the weekend doing.

There was alcohol, there was food, there was knitting, and much hilarity. Some of what happens at Knit Camp must stay at Knit Camp, although I have some pretty good photographic evidence of hijinx which shall not be made public.

And the knitting. Well, lets just say that I went to Knit Camp, and I came home minus one sweater.

Damn Wicked and stupid dyelots.

After much discussion, it was decided that I wouldn't be able to live with it.

Thank heavens I didn't only go to camp for the knitting!

Sock Knitters of Australia, Rejoice!

Sock Knitters of Australia, Rejoice!

For Patonyle has returned!

Well, almost. That is one of the new balls of Patonyle. However, it isn't available in stores yet. A representative from Australian Country Spinners got in touch with me, and asked if I'd like to try the new version, and review it.

Yes, you see correctly! The new Patonyle will be available in 100g balls, rather than the old put up of 50g. I'm told that it will be available in Spotlight to start with, from September 2008, and then in other yarn stores probably from February of 2009. Colours will be limited to the old palette this year, bu will be expanded next year.

I haven't actually started knitting with it yet, but I am casting on this afternoon, because I finally finished the Kitri socks!

Aren't they gorgeous? I haven't wet blocked them yet, and I think that the lace definitely needs it, but they're finished, and they're bee-yoo-ti-ful!

These were a really enjoyable knit, but the pattern was quite complex and required quite a lot of attention.

Pattern: Kitri by Lisa Grossman, (the Tsock Tsarina)
Yarn: FlockSock sock yarn from vanCalcar Acres., and Jaggerspun Zephyr for the lace cuff (Only available as a kit).
Size: I ordered the standard size kit, and had 12g of sock yarn left over.

There is an option to order a bigger skein of yarn for an additional $US4 if you need it, but I have pretty thick ankles, and they fit just fine. I could probably have got an extra repeat in the leg with the extra yarn if I'd wanted to.
Needles: 2mm (US0) for the sock, 2.5mm for the cuff.

A really fun knit.

Now I get to decide what socks to start with my Patonyle!

Deepest apologies to anyone who has been waiting for contact from me or anything. I've had a really stressful past couple of weeks. Nothing major, just a bunch of little things that have coalesced into a great big ball of things that is trying to run me down.

But it won't win, I'm off to Knit Camp on the weekend, no stress, no sewing, no dramas, no expectations. Just knitting, all weekend. Well, except for the dance comp I'm supposed to rush home Sunday afternoon for, then canteen duty at school on Monday, and the dentist on Tuesday.

Maybe I won't come home!

Random Knits

Lets go all random, huh?

I finished my Fetching mitts, and I lurve them.

The yarn I used is Naturally Yarns "Sensation", which is a 70% Merino, 30% Angora mix.

The yardage on this yarn is pretty generous, 120m (131yds) so I modified the pattern a little.

Specs:
Yarn: Naturally Sensation in shade 300.
Needles: 3.5mm DPNS
Pattern: Fetching from Knitty.

These were super quick to knit, they took two days total. The recommended yarn, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, has 89m (98 yds), but I had an extra 30m to play with. When I finished the first one, I knew I wasn't going to be happy with it, so I ripped out the cast off, and added an extra repeat.

Much happier with them now!

I quite enjoyed working with this yarn, too. It's a single yarn, not unlike the old Cleckheaton Angora Supreme, which I love. It's very sheddy, which didn't affect me an awful lot, seeing as I already have an inordinate amount of bunny fur around the house!
It didn't twist back on itself, like some singles do, and knit up into a lovely warm fabric.

Apart from the Fetchings, I've also been working on Wicked.

Coming along very nicely! And quickly, too. Not as quick as some, I'd like to point out. Amanda knit hers in four days!

Of course, I've also been working on the Kitri socks, which are getting very close to done.

Hopefully finished by next week.

And with all these things coming along so well, my mind moves on rather quickly.

Lace weight, beads, yum!

Twinkie would like you all to know that she's supervising, but it's getting pretty cold around here right now.

WWKIP Day 2008

Who Knit In Public this year? The Sydney knitters certainly did, and a great time was had by all!

53 knitters showed up and took over half of the Bayside Lounge at Darling Harbour. Great coffee, great location, great company and a great afternoon all 'round.

Before heading up to the cafe, Emily and I took in the Craft and Quilt Fair. A bit depressing for the knitters, really. I was remarkably restrained!

One skein of Colinette Jitterbug in "Elephants Daydream" from Sarah Durrant, and... erm, that's it.
Yup. one skein of sock yarn. Oh, I did also buy a few handmade soaps. That's it. Emily spent more money than I did! She bought some scrap booking stuff and some beading things.

There was plenty to see if you're into quilting, scrap booking or beading. Personally, the last thing I need is a new hobby to stash for!

So what did I work on a KIP day?

Something new!

Wicked. I've been wanting to knit this for ages, but I've been dithering for a while, mainly because I couldn't decide which size to knit.
It's quick! I started it on Friday, and got David to drive into the city and home yesterday, so in between car time and KIP time, I got a lot done on it. I'm using Dream In Color Classy in "Ruby River", and so far, I'm loving it.

Let's hope it lasts.

Then on the way home, we saw an ice cream truck. This totally made my day, and my next car is going to be this particular ice cream truck. Here's the side.

Here's the front.

I so want a car with an icecream eating polar bear on top.

Something done, something begun, something not quite right!

We're going to talk about three projects today, something done, something begun, and something just not right.

Where to start? Lets start with Spirit!

What category do we think this might belong to? Maybe the "Something Done"?

Guess again. We have a problem.

It's perfectly fine as long as I don't move. This would be the "Something Just Not Right". Not happy. I'm going to seam up the neck opening a bit, and that will help with it falling off my shoulders, but it just doesn't look right. And if you look at the model, hers doesn't seem to plunge quite so deeply at the neckline. I followed the neckline instructions exactly, so I don't know what happened. I did make some changes to the pattern, but only in making the bottom half bigger to accommodate my shapely butt. From the waist up, it is exactly to the Small pattern.

Onwards to happier news.

Gretel.

Done! And this one turned out just fine.

Specs:
Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague.
Size: Regular (the middle size)
Yarn: Cashmere Merino Silk Aran by Sublime Yarns, 2 skeins (barely!)
Needles: Knitpicks Options 3.75mm and 4mm.

I love this yarn. Seriously, love it. It's soft, it's squishy, it smells of silk, and is smoooooth. It's like knitting with butter. And the beret is pretty nifty, too! Happy with this knit, maybe I should stick to small projects and avoid clothing for myself, huh?
I am noticing that the stuff I knit for David and Em seems to come out okay, though.

And the something begun?

Inspired by a friend, I finally cast on a pair of Fetching. What took me so long? These fly off the needles. Modifications have been made, but I'll discuss those next time, or I'll have no blog fodder!

Long Weekend

I love long weekends, but they never seem to feel any longer than a regular weekend. Why is that?

Kitri has been captivating me, and number one is done.

It's pretty just laying there, but it looks even better on.

As modelled by Em. She ain't getting them though, they're mine, mine, MINE!

When I've finished the pair, I'll block the lace cuff out. I'm not sure that my feet are worthy of these socks though. Maybe I'll just frame them!

I did finish Gretel, and it's now blocking. I did not run out of yarn, but it was a very close call. Here's my leftovers.

I got a little panicky towards the end, and had to knit really fast to beat the end of the yarn. Don't knock it, it worked! (And who hasn't been there?)

And finally, Spirit is blocked, and ready for seaming. I was a little worried about using the boucle yarn to seam the sweater, but Kerry from my Stitch n Bitch group gave me an excellent solution.

Tapestry wool! 79c a skein, and it's a perfect colour match. Now, just the seaming to go!

I'm in love!

Super quick flyby post!

I'm in love. I'm up to the cuff on my first Kitri sock, and I can't put it down.

Beads, lace, Zephyr, I'm in looooove. I have about a milliom things I'm supposed to be doing today, and all I want to do is work on this cuff.

I think this confirms that I'm long overdue for some lace.

And the toe is just as gorgeous.

It's very cleverly constructed so that the fans go all the way down to the toe.
Love. It.

It's raining, and a winner.

Thank you all for the lovely birthday comments, and the competition entries! I popped on over to random.org and used the random number generator to come up with a winner. And the winner is....

Bells!

Congratulations, Bells, and thank you to everyone who entered. I really should do that more often!

It's raining. In fact, it's been raining all week. And I'm over it.

So Spirit remains unblocked. If the rain doesn't go away soon, I'll just steam block it so that I can finish it. So all that remains on the needles right now is Kitri, and the first sock is coming along beautifully.

I'm hoping that by today, I'll be able to start the lace cuff. I'm long overdue for some lace, I think, and the cuff is done in Zephyr, which is my absolute favourite lace yarn.

A few people have asked me about the gadget on my needles. Here it is in action, up close.

It's a StitchKeeper! Here it is, off the needles.

It's a great little knick knack! I use it all the time to keep my needles together. I got mine at The Loopy Ewe. Mine are the small size, in the 6" length. I highly recommend them!

I did finish one quick project this week, a facecloth for the Cloth and Soap Swap on Ravelry.

It's the "Ribbon and Lace" face cloth from the Fiber Trends "Bathing Beauties" pattern. I used some Brown Sheep Cotton Fine that I got from Yarns Online, but I'm a little worried that it's too small. I hope my swapee likes it.

And I also finally cast on Gretel.

I'm using Sublime Yarns Cashmere Merino Silk Aran again. I really, really love this yarn. I am a little worried that I'm going to run out though! So far it's going very well. It's my first go at knitting cables without a cable needle, and I'm not quite sure why it took me so long to learn, it's so much quicker!

Maybe by my next post it'll be finished. Or I'll run out of yarn!