It Was Like Knitting a Sock for Bigfoot

Thermal
Pattern: Thermal by Laura Chau
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss in Dusk (9 skeins for the 40 inch size)
Needles: Knit Picks circular and double points size 0 (2.0 mm)
Start Date: February 18, 2007
End Date: May 8, 2007 (89 days!!!)
Comments: Sock yarn. Size 0 needles. Waffle stitch. Sounds like a sock, doesn’t it? No. Instead it is the most fabulous sweater I have ever knit. Even though the number of stitches involved is equivalent to knitting Bigfoot a pair of socks, it was all worth it. This sweater rocks! The only downside is that it’s 90 degrees outside and that is just not silk/wool sweater weather. Guess this top will have to wait for an Oregon premier this winter (maybe by then I’ll find a good tank top to wear under it). 🙂

Overall this was a wonderful pattern and a great use of a lightweight yarn. The Knit Picks Gloss knit up beautifully and I’m very happy with the color I chose. I knit the 40 inch size knowing that my 42 inch bust would be decreasing as I worked out the last couple months. Sure enough. I’m now a 39 inch bust and the sweater fits very well. No changes to the pattern. I did everything it said. After knitting with this minuscule gauge, I’m off to knit a sweater in worsted weight!

The smaller pics are close-ups of the shoulder seam/collar and the new, improved buttons.

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March 25th

March 25th. Do you know the significance of that date? It was the date I last finished knitting something. It was a pair of socks (my super awesome Yarntini Project Runway socks). Since then I’ve been knitting Thermal and a little bit of sock. That’s it. 45 days.

I always thought I was a process knitter. I love the needles, yarn, and the actual knitting, but now that I realize it’s been nearly 7 weeks since I finished something and I am bothered by this fact immensely, I’m thinking I am a product knitter after all. Maybe I’m 40% process, 60% product. How about you?

P.S. The picture is a peek at my finished Thermal! Right now it is blocking/drying. A final finished project post will be up soon. Apologies for the dark, yucky picture – Stormy spring is here. 🙂

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Seeing Double, At Last!

After doing little else aside from knitting Thermal over the weekend I am thrilled to announce I’ve got two sleeves now! The next step is to knit the button band and pick up a bajillion (maybe a slight overestimate) stitches to knit the collar, then I’ll just have to sew on the sleeves and weave in the ends.

Friday I received my first Pure Knits Yarntini Sock Club Kit and from the moment I opened it I knew the best word to describe it is “Yowza!” Included in the kit is Yarntini Sock Yarn in Pure Breeze Stripe, a coordinating Misocrafty bag, Lucy Neatby’s Cool Socks, Warm Feet, some cute stitchmarkers, a sample of soak wash, and a little lip gloss! I absolutely love the color of the yarn and the bag is so cute. I’m so happy with this sock club and I am excited that there will be two more kits in my future. Yea!

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Looking Forward

As I draw closer to the completion of Thermal, which has occupied my time for weeks and weeks, I am busy planning my next projects. (That’s Thermal’s 2nd sleeve in progress to the right). I mentioned last time that I’m thinking of knitting Wicked in Cotton Ease. Well, I’m also looking at Rusted Root as well as the Summertime Tank from Interweave Knits online. I’ve ordered some Hemp For Knitting allhemp6 for the Tank.

Why am I ordering more yarn? I don’t need to be ordering any more yarn. We are moving in 2 1/2 months and I feel like my yarn stash will need it’s own truck! Therefore, until we move I’m not buying any more yarn. At all. Including sock yarn. I’m in 5(!) sock yarn clubs so that should keep me happy, right? My knitting group is planning a field trip to a yarn store in Wisconsin. I’m not going to buy anything when we go. Nope. I just don’t need anymore. I have so many fantastic projects planned that will use yarn that’s currently in the stash that I feel at peace with this decision. Also, with the impending homeownership, I need to save some money for house stuff like a washer and dryer, curtains, etc. Oh, and a puppy. 🙂

Speaking of sock clubs…I got my April Petals Collection kit yesterday and I’m ecstatic! The color is Dahlia and it is an absolutely stunning yarn (and very difficult to photograph). The pattern looks good, but it’s sized pretty small so I’ll have to tinker with it a bit if I end up using it. I may do a different pattern though, but for now I’m just going to leave this skein near my knitting area and pet it every day. I love this yarn!

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The sleeve that would not end…

I really feel like I’m in some fairy tale in which I knit on my Thermal sleeve during the day. Put it down at night and then pixies come and unravel what progress I’ve made. I swear I never thought I would spend so much time on a sweater! I have faith I’ll love it though. Everyone’s finished one’s have been awesome. So, I’m on the final sleeve. Then I just attach the sleeves, pick up the neckline and knit for a couple inches. Then I’m done! In time for summer! 🙂

I’m starting to sense I may finish this sweater sometime in the next week or so (clearly I didn’t make my April deadline). What next? I’m thinking Wicked. I need a nice quick knit and I just love that top. I even have the yarn ready to go…Cotton Ease! Kim knit one with it and it turned out great. I’m such a copy cat. 🙂

***Knitting Group is Tonight! We meet at the new Starbucks in Wilmette (corner of Lake & Laramie, just to the west of I-94 on Lake Ave.). We start at around 6:30 and go until 8ish. Any yarn enthusiast is welcome!***

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The Return of My Knitting Mojo

Just a few days ago you may remember I lamented the loss of my knitting passion. Well, I’m glad to report I think it’s back. After a wonderful trip to The Fold on Saturday with (most of) my Knitting Group I felt ready to knit and never look back. Unfortunately I couldn’t start knitting right away Saturday night as we had dinner plans with Matt’s little brother, but the dinner was fantastic, so I survived. 🙂 Yesterday I knit most of the day and night. I am now nearly finished with the first Thermal sleeve. Clearly I won’t be done by Thursday when we leave for Oregon, but I do have faith that this top will be done by the end of April. Hooray!

As for my purchases from the Fold, you may be surprised at what restraint I showed while being faced with a full selection of Socks that Rock and thousands of other yarns. With future packing for our impending move looming in my brain I decided to not go crazy and just pick out a few things. On the left is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction in Ms. LaRock (tencel/wool sock yarn). In the middle, two skeins of Gypsy Girl Creations sock yarn in Cattails. And finally, two balls of Heirloom Breeze yarn. These came with a pattern for the cutest baby hat (for undisclosed future baby in the immediate family). I also found some cute buttons for Thermal.

The yarn shopping was wonderful however it was not the highlight of the day. What I loved best was the laughing and chatting and smiling. I have never had very many female friends and now I know what I’ve been missing. Our field trip was a blast! I had such a terrific time and I can’t wait for our next outing to Madison in May.

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Poser Knitter

I’m becoming a poser knitter. I love to look at (and buy) yarn online. I peruse patterns and knitting blogs as well. However, when I get home at night, I don’t touch my needles. The last few weeks I haven’t been as driven to knit and I’m not sure what it is that’s changed. When I have knit a little during the past days I enjoy it and think to myself, “Hey, I should knit more.” I’m not even sure I would call it a slump since I like the projects I’ve got on the needles. Hmmmmm…maybe I’m still missing my knitting buddy, Kilby the cat…Time to train Laska the Siamese to be my knitting companion. 🙂

So, here is the laughable amount of knitting I have done on the first Thermal sleeve. I haven’t even gotten far enough that it looks like a sleeve and not a sock. Geez! If I really really really focus I may still get this finished by the middle of next week when we go to Oregon, but I really am not sure about that happening. Good thing we’ve fallen behind on all the shows we record so I’ve got plenty to keep me going. Online someone finished her Thermal and it looks super. I hope it looks as good on me.

One way to spark the knitting fire is to hear that someone in your immediate family is having a baby! I won’t give really any details as it is still early on in the pregnancy and I’m a cautious girl when it comes to that, but I did buy the yarn for a baby blanket and sweater.

I like it so much I’m thinking about keeping it for my not-even-created future baby. It’s Berroco Nostalgia and it’s a cotton/acrylic/nylon blend. I had picked it out online about a month ago, but was going to wait to purchase it. Then I got the email announcing the Webs annual sale and I saw it was listed. How could I resist? It’s really terrific yarn. I’m not sure you can tell from the picture, but the yarn on the right is actually a toned ombre that uses the same color as the yarn on the left. I think I’ll do the blanket in the solid and the sweater in the ombre. The yarn feels good and it has this really neat shiny thread running through it. I look forward to knitting it soon.

***Knitting Group is Tonight! We meet at the new Starbucks in Wilmette (corner of Lake & Laramie, just to the west of I-94 on Lake Ave.). We start at around 6:30 and go until 8ish. Any yarn enthusiast is welcome!***

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Sleeve Ahoy!

On Friday I declared I would only knit Thermal this weekend. And that’s exactly what I did, however, I did not actually pick up the needles to knit until yesterday. Friday night I was so brain dead from the week that I couldn’t face the itty bitty needles and then Saturday we were out and about all day. We saw Blades of Glory which, in my opinion, might even be better than Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. If you love Will Ferrell you’ll love the movie. If you don’t like him (!) you probably won’t like the movie. But how can you not like Will Ferrell? 🙂

As you can see from the picture, Thermal is finally getting some attention! I finished up the body and just got a start on the first sleeve. As usual, I’m not getting a good photo of the color. I’m using Knit Picks Gloss in Dusk which is a dusty blue. Now that I’ve got a sleeve on the needles it really seems like I might have a chance at finishing this top in time for our trip to Oregon in a couple weeks. Wish me luck!

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Yippee!

I won! I won! Lori over at Yarn Beans had a little blog contest and I won a skein of Socks that Rock! I never win blog contests so I was so excited when she let me know. It’s in the Little Bunny Foo Foo color and lightweight. I love it! Thank you so much, Lori!
Yesterday I finally got to the point in Thermal where something happened; I made it to the neck placket. Hooray! Tonight I will divide for the arms. Exciting, huh? 🙂 I’m very happy with the sweater so far and can’t wait to finish, but I still have a lot to knit…the upper back, the two front sections, the two arms, and then the collar. Phew!

I always feel like I should apologize for crappy dark photos. This time I’m blaming a rainy morning and the time change. Yeah, that’s it. It’s the time change’s fault.

In super happy critter news, Kilby, our loving kitty, is officially off of insulin! Her diabetes is in remission! I think this happy day has come because we switched her to wet food earlier last week.

After a lot of research online I came to find out how unhealthy dry cat food is to our furry friends and it turns out many vets think it is the sole cause of feline diabetes. All along I never thought there was much of a difference between wet and dry cat foods, but turns out that dry food is very high in carbs unlike wet food. Cats don’t need all those carbs. They need protein. If you have a cat, I hope you consider switching to wet food. It will not only help keep them healthy, but it will keep them better hydrated too therefore helping to prevent the dreaded urinary tract infection.

And be sure to take a look at Eunny’s blog today. She’s got some big news.

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Progress and the Rockin’ Sock Club Kit!

A bit of progress was made on Thermal this weekend. I’m only a few inches away from dividing for the front button placket. Hooray! As it goes on, I’m really falling into a rhythm with this pattern. Something kind of zen about knitting for hours and not always making any visible progress. Well, it’s zen if I’m in a good mood otherwise it’s just damn frustrating. 🙂 As I knit I sometimes find my self singing in my head the song that Dory sings in Finding Nemo. Except instead of “swimming” I’m thinking, “Just keep knitting. Just keep knitting. Just keep knitting, knitting, knitting. What do we do? We knit, knit.”

Last night I picked up the neglected Conifer Sock from the Pick Up Sticks Sock Club. I finished up the leg and got past the pretty heel. The pattern designer added a lot of unique detail to it and I actually had to pay attention while knitting! 🙂 Some people were having trouble getting the sock over their heel so I was thrilled to find out it went over mine. It’s a bit tight pulling it on, but once it’s on it fits perfectly. (Needles: 2.5mm Inox; Yarn: Apple Laine Apple Pie in English Garden).

Spoiler Alert ****2007 Rockin’ Sock Club Kit ****
Don’t Scroll if You Don’t Want to See

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And here it is. Finally! The absolutely awesome first kit from the 2007 Rockin’ Sock Club. The color is Monsoon (mediumweight) and it is incredibly appropriate in light of the dismal weather we have been having lately. The pattern, Inside Out, is really different and I look forward to casting on as soon as I finish up the Conifer socks. Along with the yarn and pattern, the kit included the adorable little emergency skein key chain, a sticker, the newsletter, and a very nice custom binder (definitely a step up from last year’s). I’m so happy I joined again and I am now already anxiously waiting for the next kit. 🙂

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