Still Knitting

I'm taking another watercolor class this spring but for some reason I'm feeling really stifled this time around - it's just almost overwhelming to even start something. It feels a lot like writer's block - is there a painter's block? Guess it's sort of the same thing. Anyway, we've had 2 weeks between classes and I started a couple of things that I'm actually happy with so far so maybe that's a breakthrough. Of course, I never did like to do things that I wasn't pretty good with from the beginning but I'm hanging in there with this because I really love watercolor painting and I really do want to get better. Ain't gonna happen without some practice though, that's for sure.

I was going to start the Balmoral Thistle Dinner Cloth with the size 30 thread this weekend but I decided to work a little more on the size 10 just to give it a fair chance. I’m just getting the head of the thistle and am only about 20 rows from the “Coffee Cloth” size. I really don’t think I’ll go further than that with the size 10 but at least it will give me something to show for my effort. Actually, now that it’s big enough to put on the circular needle, it’s been a lot easier to work, although it still looks too chunky to me. I also realized that, for some reason, I was working it really tightly on the double points (not like me at all) so I calmed down, loosened up and now it’s going a lot better. You can see the thistle leaves and the head beginning to develop here.



I’ve also made it almost to the end of the black/grey Dalek and I’m totally digging the color combination. It was an absolutely gorgeous day on Saturday so I spent quite a lot of it sitting on my porch knitting and listening to the birds. One of the cardinals was getting really brave, hopping around and shouting just about 4 feet from me. Mighty fine. Didn’t even dampen my spirits to see rain all Saturday night and all day on Sunday.

Of course, we’re counting our blessings seeing what so many others went through this weekend – between tornados and earthquakes. So heartbreaking to hear about all the people, mainly children, who were lost in the earthquake and right on the back of the disaster in Burma.

Making progress

I finished the center of my Saltire & Thistle Shawl. Since the next step is to pick up 100 stitches along each side, I decided to lightly block it. It sure beats trying to fight the curly edges.

And to help me pick up the stitches evenly across the row, I’ve put coiless safety pins at the 4 even points across each row and I will pick up 25 stitches between each pin. I can’t remember who gave me that tip but it’s one which is a great help. Usually I would use stitch markers between each pattern repeat but the way this thistle lace pattern (from Barbara Walker’s second volume) repeats, I won’t be able to do that. Also, traditionally one would work each side of the border individually but I’m going to work it all together in the round.


I've also been pondering what color to make my next Dalek. At first I sort of thought this (they're gold nowadays):



But then, last night, I watched "Genesis of the Daleks" and decided I might go with an early color scheme:

The early ones sported a much more industrial look that I kinda like in a Dalek.

Mark it off...

Finished the Collinette socks...

Opens things up for the next pair. Here's what I'm going to use. I dyed it with the Jacquard Acid Yarn Dyes in sapphire. I did 2 skeins with the sapphire in a pot. There was still dye left in the pot so I added another skein which came out a great jean color. Definitely good value for money!

I was going to use my braided cable pattern but the yarn told me tonight that it wants to be more of a lacy sock so I'll have to give it a think.

I forgot to add this project to the list of on-goings the other day. I'm testing the larger size of my Baby Sailor Suit pattern. The navy one was the original but it's definitely a preemie size. I wanted to test the pattern with the larger size and this jean color yarn. I'm going to need to do some work on the sleeves as well because I wasn't too crazy about how they came out on the original. I think I'll try to finish this on the weekend.

Hummmm....

OK, so I’m working on my new lace ‘dinner cloth' (see previous post). The pattern calls for size 60 thread, which if you’re not up on crochet cotton sizes, is just slightly larger than sewing thread. I chose not to use size 60 thread for a number of reasons including the fact that I have no idea how many of those little dodahs I would need to finish a dinner cloth.

There’s no problem with substituting cotton sizes on doilies or dinner cloths, which is a good thing, but you need to substitute an appropriate size needle as well. Since that’s the sensible way to do it, I substituted size 10 cotton. I didn’t, however, change the needles. To be totally honest there were several reasons for this. 1) I had size 0s out for the Dalek; 2) It’s a size that I have both double points (for the beginning of the dinner cloth) and several lengths of circular needles (for when it gets larger); and 3) I didn’t really think it through.

I used the size 10 thread because in the last 2 doilies I made, I wasn’t so crazy about the smaller thread in the knitted doily. I do prefer it for crocheting doilies but not so much for the knitting.

Now the combination of those 2 things and the fact that this pattern is quite advanced and uses a lot of knit 3 togethers has made for a rough start. So now I’m re-evaluating. I’m 27 rounds in so not too far – sounds worse than it is because of course you start so small - it’s only a couple of evenings’ work. If I’m going to change now is the time to do it. I only have 1 skein of the 30 but I can still get more of the same lot so I may just go that way.

In the meantime, I’ll get back to my shawl and looking for gold wool in my stash to make another Dalek.

Fini

I've finished the Dalek and I'm loving it! It's amazing how when you get things like this stuffed, they take on a life of their own. Many, many years ago I had a pattern for a crocheted dinosaur which I used to make for the older sibling when a friend had a baby. I was okay to give it away until it started getting stuffed. The personality just popped out and if I hadn't seen how much the kids loved them, I would never have given them away!! One even got named Diannasaurus. Look at me - got an extinct animal named after me! I hate that I've misplaced that pattern - it was so, so cute.

Also, just to prove that I really did finish them, here are the stripey socks. They're knit with Regia Silk and Silk Color and they are the softest socks I've ever made or owned.

Progress Report

Today is report on progress day.

Life has been happening so I haven’t been doing too much lately but here’s what’s going on.

Collette Socks: Got this on my UK trip and I love the colors but I wasn’t sure how the yardage would work so I’ve done shortie socks. I’ll wait until I get the second one done and if I have leftover yardage, the plan is to then go back and work the tops up. Anyway, it’s just a basic sock.

Dalek Central: This is a pattern from a fellow Whovian – she did a great job on it, too, even though it was only like the second thing she’d ever knit. Pattern is fun and easy but, alas, due to ‘licensing’ is no longer available generally though I think there is a way to get it from one of the Dr. Who groups on Ravelry. It’s done except for the base and the stuffing and I think it’s so cute! I’m dead pleased with it. For the purl rows, since purling the entire round is awkward for me on double points, I started practicing with the Portuguese-style purling and it’s working great. I haven’t got my pin done but, since this is perle cotton and therefore not so heavy, I just used a coil-less pin on my left shoulder which worked great. It’s been great practice and it’s solved my dp purling challenges!

Saltire and Thistle Shawl: I finally got back to this on my trip home last week. In fact, I got carried away and knit the first half of the middle way, way, way too far (Danish sweater too far). I sat and ripped as my mother groaned just watching me. In fact, I’m still knitting off the overflow! Way too far. Anyway, it’s on track now and I really like the cross. If you’ve seen the entries from the ‘test’ version, the cross was one of the things I needed to improve. I just have a little bit more before I pick up for the thistle border. Of course, being lace, it doesn’t look like much yet but just you wait!

New Thistle Design “Balmoral” Dinner Cloth: I said I wasn’t going to start a new knitted lace doily but this dinner cloth totally drew me in. It’s from the “Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting” from Marianne Kinzel and it has been staring at me since I got it several weeks ago. I think I’m going to try to go whole hog on this and do the full dinner cloth but we’ll have to see how that goes. It’s one of those patterns that you can stop at different points.

And that’s it. A little bit of everything as usual! I think I’m going to try to get the socks finished this weekend because I have some other sock yarn that I want to get started with next and I think it will be with a little fancier pattern. I have a pattern I did a couple of years ago with some braided cables that I just got written up so I think I’ll use this new sapphire blue yarn to test that pattern with.

On the road to geekdom...

I’m getting dangerously close to becoming a certified Dr. Who geek. I’ve been a fan since the 70s with Tom Baker’s Doctor and followed through with Peter Davison’s. There was a Dr. Who break but when it came back in 2004 with Christopher Eccleston, I was drawn right back in and it went from strength to strength once David Tennant came in.

Now all of that is enough for my friends to give me funny looks but it’s what I’m about to share with you that leads me into true geekdom.

On Ravelry a while back I found a pattern for a knitted Dalek (just one of the Doctor’s historical enemies – well you would dislike them, too, if they’d wiped out your planet and people). I printed it out for a friend of mine and couldn’t resist getting it started myself.

It’s been lots of fun and has been very easy to follow. I’ve just been thinking I may just have to do me a TARDIS and maybe even a Doctor as well.

I just got hold of the book called, “Andean Folk Knits” by Marcia Lewandowski and I shall definitely be doing a couple of Andean bags. The one I’m particularly interested in starting is the Argentine Bolsita de Monedera.