Lucky Dishes.

We are going to have some lucky dishes in our new apartment.

Two washcloths.

Wash cloths are fun. Very instant gratification. I whipped these up in no time! It was a nice break from the Thermal sleeve blackhole. The colors are really fun too.

Now back to my Thermal sleeves. :)

I Messed It Up.

I've made a lot of progress on Thermal.

I knit a large portion of one sleeve on my trip to the East this weekend. I made a mistake though. Can you see it?

I don't care.

It's a design element. Yeah.

More pictures from the weekend here. Good night.

She Responds!

Hi Amanda!

I'm doing good. Are you glad to be back in CA and out of the Texas humidity? :)

I'm finally ready to start the Interstate Scarf! I don't have one of the contraptions that will ball yarn so I had to do it manually. I wanted to create a finished ball that would unravel from the center. After a couple attempts of trying to figure this out on my own and ending up with a tangled mess, I consulted my "Stitch 'N Bitch" handbook. Low and behold they had a very simple method for creating a center-pull ball. Now I have all my yarn balled and am ready for some swatching!

tangled mess of yarn, aahh!!

pretty center-pull balls - thanks Stitch 'N Bitch!!

I don't think I'm a fan of the swatch you posted on May 6th. I was thinking of something more 'light and airy'. I have looked around but nothing has jumped out at me either. I agree that the yarn is wonderful to work with (or at least to ball up)! I love how our color choices are so unique and fit both our personalities. :) I did like the other Vine Lace pattern you sent to me - I'm going to try a swatch of that tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yay, a new Interweave Knits magazine! It sounds like you have been busy starting knitting projects this weekend! Are you going to go ahead and knit the hemp shirt? I was out of town this weekend visiting my friend in Baton Rouge, La, and didn't do much knitting. I was too busy eating crawfish! We went to the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge and watched the crawfish eating contest (winner ate 26 lbs!!), crawfish races, and took a Cajun dance lesson. I had a great time :)

Crawfish Festival (Me & Dane)

Crawfish Races

I squeezed in some knitting on the plane, and started a scarf using light yellow wool and the "My so called scarf" pattern I found in your blog a while back.

Have a good day! I'll send you another update soon!
Valerie

Correspondence.

Dear Valerie,

How's it going? I just wanted to give you a little update on my Interstate Scarf progress. I tried the Arrowhead Lace, but I wasn't feeling it. I couldn't seem to keep the correct stitch count. I suspect it was because I wrote the pattern down incorrectly, not the actual pattern. Either way, I took a look through my Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns to see if there were any patterns that popped out at me. I forget what it's called, but I swatched one of the patterns... I'm still not convinced it's the pattern I want to use. What do you think?

Hmmmmm.

One thing is for sure though; this yarn is awesome! It's so silky and soft. And I love the colors I chose. I must be in a "instant-gratification" mood this weekend because I have been swatching a lot. I got my new Interweave Knits magazine and one pattern reminded me of the hemp yarn I bought awhile ago.

Tough on the hands.

I really hope that washing the hemp works wonders because working with it was like knitting with un-waxed dental floss. Hmmmm... I hear legends of beautiful drape and increasing softness with wear, so I'll try not to make preemptive judgement.

I also started a washcloth out of some Sugar'n'Cream yarn. I love the Mason Dixon book. I borrowed it from the library, but I'm going to buy it. It's very inspirational and so funny!

Warshcloth.

So that's what I've been up to. How's your scarf coming? Have you found any other patterns that look promising?

Have a great Monday!!! I'll talk to you soon,
Mandie

Swallowtail Shawl.

I love knitting lace. It's really absorbing and produces such pretty (if not functional) results. Say hello to my Swallowtail Shawl.

Specs:
Yarn: Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in Peppermint Heather
Amount: 38grams
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl IK Fall 2006
Needles: US3
Started: 12 Feb 2007
Finished: 30 April 2007

Now for some fun pictures.

I used all of my pins for this little shawl!


Ooooh the nupps. I had to use a US000 to do the p5tog. Pain in the rear.


My shirt matches the wall.


The tip of the shawl.


This is how I'll probably wear it. I think it looks pretty... all frothy and pink. Like a sucking chest wound. HAHAHAHAHA. I crack myself up.

I think this little shawl turned out alright. It was a great take-along project, being so small. And I really enjoyed working with such delicate yarn. I see more lace in my future. Oh yes. :)