Long Tail Cast On

When my grandma taught me how to knit ages and ages ago, she taught me the long-tail cast on. But it was nothing like the method you see in the books--that one took me years to figure out, and it didn't click until I learned how to knit Continental style.

The way my grandma taught me is more suited to the English style of knitting. It involves wrapping a single loop of yarn around your left thumb, then knitting that loop like you would if it were a regular stitch on a needle. It's not as fast as the classic textbook method, but it might be easier to visualize how it works. If you struggle with the long-tail cast on, hopefully this will help.




There's also a good video of this method at KnittingHelp.com

Maryland

Just like what felt like MILLIONS of other people, I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this past weekend. It was my first time, and I think I did pretty well. I stayed within my budget, and got most of the things I wanted. And that's fine with me--I can't get it all or I wouldn't have anything else to look forward to!

I went to the Ravelry meetup on Saturday, and got a button, but my name was on the missing page of M's, so I didn't get a cool Ravatar Sticker to put on the button.

I got a picture with Mary-Heather, and I posed with Jess and Casey, too, but that picture seems to have never actually happened. Oh well...

I'm lucky enough to have an aunt and uncle who live ten miles away from the Howard County Fairgrounds, so I got to stay in a lovely home with a very gracious host and hostess and eat home-cooked meals instead of a big impersonal hotel. I carpooled with someone who got into one of the pre-festival workshops, so while she went to class, I got to hang out with my aunt and uncle. My aunt and I went shopping, did some quilting, I started teaching her how to knit, and I just basically relaxed.

Here's what followed me home from Saturday:

A Spinners Control Card and an Inch Gauge/Diz from Carolina Homespun (no pictures, sorry).

I finally caved and signed up for a subscription to Interweave Knits. I've been meaning to for quite a while--especially because I always seem to end up buying the issues individually, anyway!)

Some GORGEOUS laceweight yarn from Tess' Designer Yarns

Some souvenir sock yarn (purchased at a great little yarn store during the week, not at the festival itself): Colinette Jitterbug and Araucania Ranco Multi. Both of these are much brighter than my photos show (especially the Jitterbug--it's quite loud, actually).


And what I really came for--lots of great fiber! (It doesn't look like a lot in these photos, but I think it's more than double what I had before.)

I started spinning up the Louet fiber. It's practically spinning itself! Most of the time, I tend to spin sockweight or laceweight yarn, so I'm really trying hard to do something a little bigger; I think this one might turn out more like a sport weight. It's so soft! I think I'll have to order some more.

One Hundred

Wow--This is post number one hundred! It's strange to think that I've written that many. So to celebrate, I'll show you some new things in my house today:

First up: New socks!

BFL Socks, just a plain toe-up sock, but with Wendy's No-Picking-Up-of-Stitches Heel

Next: NEW BIKE!!!!!

Breezer Villager U-Frame Bicycle

I bought this at Pedal the Planet in Lexington, KY. I'm very excited about the bike. I think it's a very good-looking. And I've heard a lot of good things about the company. My own experience has been excellent. I've been e-mailing lots of questions to the company, and I have always gotten a thorough response the next day.

Anyway, now I just want the weather to be a little bit warmer!

All Done!

That was fast!

I used just over a ball and a half of Rowan Handknit Cotton for this project; I still have a ball and not quite a half left--what else can I do with it?

So Much Fun!

My brother and his wife had a baby this past Thursday. It's my first nephew, so I wanted to make him something special--I have booties and the Baby Surprise Jacket and a baby blanket in my queue at Ravelry, but nothing was jumping out at me. The booties I thought were cute seemed too girly, and I didn't want to buy Elizabeth Zimmerman's book just for one pattern (I will at some point, I just wasn't ready to do it now.) So I browsed some more and I found just the thing: Enter Elijah

(isn't it ADORABLE?!?)

This little elephant is perfect. My brother and his wife and baby live a couple thousand miles away from me, so I'll probably only get to see them once a year. I hope that it will be a favorite toy that he'll carry around with him all over the place. If I'd done something to wear, he'll have outgrown it before we can say "boo!"

I've never made a knitted toy before--this is fun! It's going so quickly; I've already finished the head and probably a third of the body. I still have the arms and legs and ears and then embroider the eyes, but I think I can definitely have this done by the time I go out to visit in April.

I definitely want one for myself. When I was at the yarn store today getting the yarn for the baby's Elijah, I saw they had some Rowan Calmer on sale at 40% off. It's a pretty color, kind of greenish-gray, and it will make a cute little elephant. Mine will have those little plastic bead things in its legs and arms and bottom that make it a little heavier and floppier. I didn't want to use them on the baby's; I wouldn't want them to be able to work their way out of the softie and into his mouth!

Knitting away

I've got a bad case of startitis. I've got one sweater, two scarves, two pairs of socks and one lace project all on the needles. I don't think that I have photos of all of them, but this is a start:

First up is the Scarlet Woman sweater. The link is for a tank, but I decided that I'd rather have a sweater than a tank. I've finished the front and have about twenty rows of the back ribbing done. There are quite a few articles online about how to figure out how to make set-in-sleeves, so hopefully this will turn out like I have in mind.

I've finished the first of the 3x3 Cable socks I started a while back. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids in Cherry Red. I'm slightly concerned that I'm not going to have quite enough to finish the second sock, but thanks to the wonder that is Ravelry, I can find people who have used this yarn and hopefully one of them will have leftovers that they'd be willing to sell to me. The label didn't seem to have a dye-lot listed, so hopefully the color will be a match. And if not, it shouldn't be too bad--it will only be the end of a toe and that will stay in my shoe anyway.

I've been itching to start a lace project lately, so tonight I cast on for the Adamas Shawl. I'm using some red cashmere recycled-sweater yarn on eBay from The Twice-Sheared Sheep.

Still here

I haven't blogged in forever but it's definitely not because I haven't been knitting.

I've finished a pair of monkeys.

Socks that Rock in "Gingerbread Dude"

I'm also working on two other pairs of socks. (Sorry, no photos of them tonight!) One pair is a little more complicated than the other. It's got cables and moss stitch between, and that one stays in my purse to work on at lunch or before class, etc. The other stays at home and is just a plain stockinette sock to work on when I'm reading.

I also started a sweater. My parents gave me a set of KnitPicks Options needles for my birthday and enough Telemark yarn to make a sweater. I've decided to make a version of the Scarlet Woman tank and I'm going to add set-in sleeves to make it a sweater. I hope it works!

Mystery box

I got a package in my mail box the other day from the Loopy Ewe.

It kind of threw me off for a moment--I didn't remember ordering anything from there recently. But then I opened the package and found this:

A pair of sock blockers! There was also a note from Sheri or one of the Loopy Elves to let me know that the blockers came from my Secret Pal, Gabrielle.

Thanks, Gabrielle! (I didn't get your blog address, so I can't link to you) Now I just need to get back to knitting some socks so that I can try them out!

Thanks again!

Good news bad news

I'm as finished as I'm going to be.



I thought it was too long, so I decided to try to felt it just a little, to shorten it up some. However, I forgot that the button bands were picked up and knit sideways from the edges. So, while most of the sweater shortened up as I'd wanted it to, the button bands did not. It's turned out kind of a combination of the Tangled Yoke Cardigan and the Tilted Duster.

After thinking I'm pretty much done, I just don't have the desire to cut off the button bands (I don't think they'd frog very well since they're slightly felted) and pick up fewer stitches.

BUT...my little brother and his wife are expecting their first baby in January, so I might just give the sweater to my sister-in-law. I think the angled bottom would look kind of cute over her pregnant belly...right?

Giving Thanks

I checked the mail right before I left home on Wednesday night. I love it when there's a key in my mailbox--it means there's a package for me! Wowza, was there ever! It was from my secret pal, full of fabulous things.

I even liked the packaging. Check it out--the box is patterened inside! The tissue paper was lovely--chocolate browns and shades of blue from kind of a slate gray to indigo.

Inside, there was lots of fun stuff: A skein of Trekking XXL in Burgundy and Chocolate. I've been wanting to try out the Trekking yarn, but haven't seen a color I liked until this one!

A lovely reddish Lantern Moon project bag. This is one of my favorite colors (can you see my couch in the background? It's almost the same color!

A package with soaps, lotion, chapstick, and a sewing kit and a thimble. The brand is called "Plain and Thimble"--great name!

And a great multicolored journal-type book (the cover is striped, and the pages inside are the colors of the cover). I don't know what I'm going to write in it yet, but something will come to me, I'm sure.

Thanks, Secret Pal!!

Dude! Not Even Two weeks!

I finished the socks for my second sockapalooza pal. I started them on October 31st--today is the 12th of November--that's not quite two weeks!!!

I've never knit a complete PAIR of socks so quickly. I'm just flabbergasted.

They're in for a soak right now, then they'll take a day or so to dry out. I have the day off tomorrow, so I think I'm going to go to the store and pick up some things to send off with them. Hopefully they'll be on their way by Wednesday!

Done! (Maybe)

I finished the socks for my second Sockapalooza pal a couple of days ago. I wove in the ends and stuck them in some wool wash for a bath. When I pulled them out, I started to panic because they seemed a LOT SMALLER than they were when they went in. I've been afraid that they were too small all along, but now they definitely were.

However, now that they've dried completely, they look to be not as small as I feared. The fabric doesn't feel as dense and unflexible as it was when they were wet. They're knit out of a bamboo-wool blend that I've never used before, so maybe the yarn swells a lot when it takes up water, but shrinks down again as it dries? I don't know.

I've started a new pair for my pal just in case (made from Koigu--something I'm familiar with that won't play tricks on me!). I think I'll send her the pair I've completed, and then if they don't fit, I'll send her the second pair.

Holiday Knits, or You Can't Judge a Book by It's Cover

Some of the Holiday Stamps that the USPS is putting out this year are titled "Holiday Knits". They're pretty, but not quite what I was expecting when I read the name.

I was thinking that there were going to be some pretty stranded-knitting mittens and scarves and hats and stockings. I still think that I'll buy a booklet for my Christmas cards, but I'm not quite as exuberant about them as I was before I realized what they look like.

Speaking of knitting, I've got a bad case of Startitis. I'm just about done turning the heel on the second Sockapalooza sock; I'm just over half-way done with the cabling on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan; and now I've started a scarf for my roommate and a pair of socks for me. I've got good excuses: the scarf for my roommate features GLOW IN THE DARK YARN (I couldn't hold off any longer) and I needed some plain stockinette to knit while I do homework.

And my fingers are itching to start more.

Doing Homework

I have a response paper due on Monday, which means that I've been reading, and that means I've been working on my Tangled Yoke cardigan!

I've got a couple more rows to go, and then I'll start doing the decreases and cables section. Because I can't read and knit cables at the same time, this won't be my homework project anymore. I think I'll have to start a plain pair of socks. I'd like another sweater, but I don't have a sweater's worth of yarn in my stash or the money set aside to buy that much. But I think I have enough sock yarn for five or six pairs.

Speaking of socks, I'm probably 2/3 done with the first sock for my Sockapalooza pal. I'm a little concerned that they'll be too small when putting them on over the heel--my pal has feet just a little bigger than mine, and it's a mite snug when I try them on....I guess we'll see what happens.

Zipping along

(This isn't the right color, either. This is a little too much red.)

I'm zipping right along on the VogOn socks for my sockapalooza pal. I'm still quite enamoured with this yarn and pattern. These socks are knitting up so quickly. I've turned the heel and am working on the heel flap. I think what I'm doing is the Eye of Partridge heel, but I haven't done enough rows to be able to really see the pattern yet.

I got a package in the mail this week from KnitPicks with my first-ever set of KnitPicks needles. I've been wanting to try these ever since they came out, but I haven't done it until now. I've only tried the 16-inch 2.25mm needles so far, and I like them a lot. They are sharp, but the points don't hurt my fingers as much as the AddiTurbo Lace Needles I have. I've never knit with 16-inch needles before, though, and it's taking me some time to get used to the shorter length of the needles themselves. I think I will be asking my family for the Nickel-plated Options set for my birthday or Christmas this year.

No clever title today.

I was THISCLOSE to getting a new car this week. The insurance appraiser that came out to look at my car told me that if there had been any more damage to it, they would have just written it off as totaled and given me the value to put toward a new car. That was such a strange statement to me. The word "totaled" brings to mind a car damaged and mangled beyond repair. Mine still works fine, it's just that the left blinker is smashed out and the hood and bumper are dented quite a bit. The issue is that I drive a car that's 12 years old and has nearly 265k miles on it (you gotta love them Toyotas!), so the cost of repairs is coming awfully close to the value of the car. As much as a new car would be nice, I'm glad that I can keep this one--it's all paid for! Not that they would have given me much toward a new car anyway.

On the knitting front, I finished the socks for my brother last night. I think they look pretty good, if I do say so myself!

I immediately cast on for my Sockapalooza socks, but I wasn't really happy with how it was looking. On my lunch hour, I ran over to Magpie Yarn (which isn't too far from where I work) and browsed their sock yarn selection. I decided to try some of Crystal Palace Yarn's Panda Wool, which is a blend of bamboo, wool, and nylon. So far, I LOVE IT! Normally, I go for yarn that is more "squishy" like Koigu or Cherry Tree Hill, but I'm pleased with this yarn. It feels nice when I knit with it, and the resulting fabric is soft--much more so than you'd imagine just feeling it in a ball. It's knitting up nicely in the Vog On lace pattern and the colors are beautiful, although not as loud as they look in the photo below. The colorway is called "Red Cinnamon" and it's got red and orange and brown and magenta in it. It reminds me a lot of the colors of the leaves in fall. I might have to go back and snag a couple of balls for myself.

(Sorry about the crummy indoor lighting--I'm too lazy to photograph them when there's actually DAYLIGHT!)

One thing to know about this yarn, however: gauge is going to be misleading. You might be spot on for your gauge swatch, but go down a size or two anyway because the resulting fabric is really stretchy.

Where does the time go?

I can't believe that it's been three weeks since I posted last. I've been craZy busy (as my brother used to say--with the Z just like that). I've had an insane week. I found out last Monday that I had an ear infection, so they stuck me with a needle and put me on antibiotics. On Thursday night, I was involved in a car accident. No one was hurt, but my car is a little banged up. Luckily, the other person's insurance company is going to pay for the repair on my car.

I've been knitting quite a bit. I started and finished a hat for my friend Kyle this month. He'd asked for a hat to keep his "little head warm when it gets cold outside." The only directions he gave me was that it be in black. I ended up doing a hat based on the Marsan Watchcap, without a brim, and with more stitches than the pattern called for because I was knitting at a tighter gauge. It was a fast knit, worsted-weight yarn on 4mm (US6) needles (the original pattern called for 4.5 mm/US7 needles but I didn't have any).

I learned a lot from this hat. First of all, the pattern is made up of a twisted-stitch rib (K1 through back loop, P1) and the K1P1 was the catalyst I needed to get me to learn how to knit continental-style. Secondly, I learned a lot more about how a stitch is constructed when I took a pair of scissors to the bottom of the hat. Kyle told me--after I'd already knit nearly the entire hat--that he didn't really care for hats with folded-up brims. Rather than rip back 5 inches of knitting, I opted for surgery a la Grumperina. It's not professional-looking, by any means, but I don't think he'll notice.

I've also been working on my brother's socks. I've finished one sock up and am about two-thirds of the way done with the cuff. I haven't woven in any ends on either sock yet, but I'm hoping to have them done by the end of next week. I was planning on finishing them this month, but I took a few days off to do Kyle's hat.

I'm also on the hunt for a nice lacy sock pattern. I've signed up to be a Sockapalooza 4 Sock Savior, and the person I'm knitting for says she prefers thinner socks, so something lacy should do. They're going to be in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids, in the Cherry colorway--a nice bright, lovely RED. I'm thinking about doing the 'Vog On pattern, just longer than anklets.

Score!

I had a customer come in to work the other day who was wearing a shirt that had a logo for a welding supply company embroidered on it. I asked him if that's where he worked, and if they sold fine-gauge stainless steel tig rods. He just gaped at me, and then stammered that they did. I said, "Oh, fabulous! I've been looking for some. I need them for a project at home--but they need to be rods without flux--that's no good for me." He just stared at me. So did the banker I was working with. I love doing things like that--pulling something completely out of the blue that knocks people speechless. The man I was waiting on was just so flabbergasted that a 20-something GIRL who works at a bank had even heard of welding, let alone that there were such things as 1/16th inch stainless steel tig rods that he didn't know what to say.

So today, I was waiting on another customer, when this man walks into the bank and hands a bunch of wires to one of my coworkers and indicates they are for me. Hooray! I have blocking wires now! I guess that means that I ought to get back to work on some of the lace projects that are sitting abandoned in my WIP basket.

So the moral of the story is: Doing your research and remembering random facts (like that 1/16th inch stainless steel tig welding rods could make good blocking wires) can get you free stuff!

Attention family members--I have no idea if any of you ever read my blog, but if you do, you can stop right here because you're not allowed to see what else is happening here. Go back and comment on previous posts, that's fine, but read no farther at peril of spoiling your own possible presents!

I've thrown myself into gift knitting this week with a passion. I've been working on some socks for my missionary brother in Hungary. I've turned the heel on the first sock.

I've also started spinning up some fiber that my mom gave me this spring. It was the winter coat her horse shed this spring, and she wanted to know if it could be spun. I thought it would be really difficult to spin, but it hasn't been as difficult as I expected. The horse died unexpectedly a few weeks ago, and I thought she might like to have a bag or something made to remember it by.

Normally, I'd say I'm kind of a natural-fiber snob but I was up exploring a new yarn and fiber store in Georgetown KY on Saturday, and I found some yarn I couldn't resist. This quite unnatural--it GLOWS IN THE DARK!! I also picked up some charcoal gray wool and I thought I'd make my roommate a scarf with a snowflake fair-isle border or something.

So, I have about three months until Christmas. Can I make a sock and a half, an entire scarf, and spin and knit something else from horse hair by the deadline? We shall see!

Rushing before Reality Hits

I've been on vacation all week. I didn't go anywhere except to class and to the dentist. I did get some things done around my home, like cleaning and laundry and so forth. Mostly I just knit like mad!



I worked almost exclusively on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I've finished up through where the sleeves are joined to the body, finished one sleeve and am about halfway done with the other. Unfortunately, I have to go back to work tomorrow and pretty soon I'll have homework, so the knitting time will probably be dropping back to almost nothing.

So, I've got to run and squeeze a few more rows in before bedtime.

Christmas is coming

I've decided to make my "baby" brother (he's twenty today!!!) a pair of socks for Christmas. He is serving as a missionary in Hungary right now, so I think I'll need to send them out sometime around the first or second week of November. That means I'd better get started!

I think I'm going to base the socks on Thuja, meaning that I'm going to use the K3, P1, knit every other round pattern. I'm doing them toe-up (I LOVE Judy's Magic Cast On--I don't even have to look it up anymore!) and I think I might try a new heel of some kind or other. I don't want to do a short-row heel. I'd like to try the Eye of Partridge heel that I've seen around, but I'm not sure that you can do it with a toe-up sock. I'll look a little more into that when I get to that point.

I'm still working on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. It hasn't seen as much attention lately, as I've been researching sock patterns for my brother. I have about 25 more rows before I break the yarn and start working on the sleeves.

No pictures today of TYC--I haven't taken any since I finished up the garter-ribbing portion.