Slinky Ribs Sweater in Bend

Yum, lookie! I got some yarn for my Birthday in this lovely brown-with- flecks color. I had heard this Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool yarn is lovely to knit with and I am finding that to be so true. I happened to have the pattern book with a sweater that called for this yarn in it. Which was a great relief as I was pressed for time packing, so I took it all with me on our weekend to Bend, OR. Wound a few skeins in the car and studied my pattern on the way down, and did a swatch. I hate swatching, but I did it anyway. A few pretty shots of Bend, OR at Drake Park and of the Deschutes River.

We had great hot weather, a nice change of pace from the Seattle fall rains. I am at the Old Mill District here having a nice organic iced tea.

Me and the hubby here...married now 27 wonderful years. Enjoying a nice flatbread appetizer and some shade.

One cool morning, in downtown Bend, they were setting up for a Weiner Dog Race and we were walking around town quickly to get out before the crowds arrived. I got a latte at my favorite spot, Thump Coffee. Down the street we stumbled upon some real yarn graffiti!

It had some pretty nice pieces on it too. Some good colorwork. Some unidentifiable objects as well.

Not every day you run across yarn grafitti...It was fun to know there are knitters in Bend. I actually knew that from my last trip down there. Still comforting to see their handiwork on display.

Back at the hotel, we were the only "out of town" patrons who felt the sun was indeed warm enough to sit by the pool. How appropriate that we donned our sunscreen and did so.

How appropriate also, that my newest pattern is photographed in the book with a "pool boy" shown behind her. I did not have a "pool boy" on this trip, just my handome hub! However I did begin knitting this pattern by the poolside.

It was lovely to be in 80's weather ....after being in rainy Seattle.

My pattern comes from this book, which I happened to already own: Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. I am doing the Slinky Ribs Sweater.

My color is #67 and is a darker brown. Here is one photo from the book.

And here's another photo from the book. I plan to raise the neckline up and make long sleeves on mine. This is a seamless sweater that is begun with a provisional cast on at the top of the back, then it is knit downward. Later on, taking back up the provisional cast on stitches and knitting down the front. This eliminates any seam at the top of the shoulder. Only problem was I didn't have any contrasting yarn with which to do the provisional cast on. Note to self: Listen when they say use a contrasting yarn for provisional cast on. They mean it for a good reason! I should've heeded the advice. And I am not having a wonderful time when it comes to picking out the "waste" yarn. I just couldn't bring myself to drive into town on such a hot day to find some cheap skein of contrasting yarn. I am very sorry indeed! The sleeves are knit in the round. I am using size 6 needles and trying for the size medium, 36 1/2 bust, as I have heard this yarn can "grow" with blocking.

All in all, I am excited to have gotten the yarn that was recommended, and to discover I already had the pattern in my book!

So far it is a dream to knit with this yarn and it seems like it will be comfortable to wear this blend of wool/silk/nylon. Lots and lots of ribbing was done on the long drive home.

Everyday Cardigan, Fall and Loppem

Wearing Everyday cardi to the Arboretum today on the most perfect Seattle Fall day ever!

The trees practically glowed in the sunlight and everyone in the city was there for the show, it seemed!


Even my favorite street to drive on the way to and fro work is blooming in color now!
And now for the progress update on Loppem. I am so far very much in love with this sweater!

Crammed onto a long circular needle, Loppem is being knit from the bottom and heading up! The little "ears" you see are really the beginning of the bottom of the sleeves. That was the hardest part. Could've used a longer cable needle or put the sleeves on holders instead. It won't look so smooshed or curly once it's off the needles, finished and blocked. Next I do more inches on sleeves and continue cabling, then move on to the yoke! This is a great knit so far! I am challenged to the max on my skill level, but trying to go slowly so as not to goof up, and reading everyone's recommendations off Ravelry.This one has too many sts. on the needles which makes it hard to RIP out! So on I go! No mistakes allowed!

Signs of Fall..Felted Totes

Look what blew my way today...the first sign of fall. Leaf pic was taken on my Tangerine Felted Wool Tote. I have recently uploaded all my projects onto Flickr.com and Ravelry.com under the name NeenerKnits and am "meeting" alot of knitting buddies there, and learning alot about new patterns. There are like a zillion people on the site and more waiting to get on! It's amazing! If you click on the Flickr bar on the right side of my blog on one of the pictures, it will take you to my Flickr photostream. If you click on the Ravelry Button, it will take you to the home page of the Ravelry site. It is easy to join. You just have to request an invitation and wait a few days for it to be processed. It is a huge knitting and crocheting community.
Here's another shot of the tote. Maybe I can post some pics of my previous projects while I am working on my sweater. Back to work, so not as much time to knit these days... This tote was made with a pattern that I modified a bit, changing the handles to one instead of two. It was knit double-stranded (holding two yarns at once) with the tangerine color and the Noro wool throughout. I didn't felt it completely because I wanted the size to remain more on the medium side.

FELTING: What is it? Basically, it is taking wool and with heat and agitation, the fibers cling together to form a smooth surface so the stitching is no longer or almost no longer visible. The wool tote was placed into a pillow case and put it in the washer with hot water and agitated for several minutes, then I kept checking it and repeating the process until it was the size I wanted. You must watch it and be careful when you are spinning the excess water out that it doesn't spin too long or get creases set into it. Some books say not to spin it at all. I did a little.Then it is set on a plastic "mold" aka: tupperware and/or hung to dry. Shown placing the purse in the washer:

My very first felted purse with stripes of Lamb's Pride wool and novelty yarn. Made with a pattern I got at knitting group that required learning to "pick up stitches" and making an I-Cord. I ended up selling this at a fair. Here is the purse as it is drying on top of a tupperware to shape the bottom as it dries. For a larger tote, you may need to use a larger box or item to dry it on. It takes several days to dry. Here are several other totes:
The large green one is a great knitting bag! It gets lots of compliments wherever I take it! It has a stablizing piece of cardboard in the bottom to keep the shape and help it hold things better. It's made from a kiwi colored wool, double-stranded with Noro Kureyon wool.

This one is a "Bubble" tote and had decreasing to make the bubble shape. It is softer and used a silky Noro wool along with another blue wool. My Mom also made this identical tote and we worked on them together one year at the ocean. Handles are more delicate. Not too much weight goes in this one. So there you have it! Your first lesson in felting!