« December 2004 | Main | February 2005 »
January 30, 2005
clapotis Q&A
Thanks for all the great comments on Clapotis. I love it, I can't wait to finish it and wear it draped with a funky pin and be a total glamazon. :)
- Freecia asked...How many skeins so far?
- Monica asked...Does the binder thread make dropping the stitches difficult?
Sort of complicated answer. I had just started my fifth skein when I took that picture. I don't know about everyone else, but I get very pissy with knots in Noro when the color transition doesn't flow, so I have a few little odds and ends, too. I used up almost all of skein 5 today at knitting group, dropped one more stitch. They are kidding when they say this thing eats yarn.
Not really. The binder thread is wrapped very tightly and doesn't catch on the needles or on itself. The stitches are kind of sticky when dropped, but I imagine that it's no different than using Kureyon or any other wooly yarn.
This is going to be a busy week for me, but I hope to keep making progress. I won't go so far as to hope for another week of snow days, though. :)
Posted by Betsy at 10:21 PM | Comments (5)
Here she is, Miss Clapotis!
I've been promising these for a bit, but I wanted to wait until I had something to actually show. Due to school/student teaching being canceled almost all of last week, I made a huge amount of progress on this. I'm almost smack dab in the middle of section 2, with 6 dropped stitches. I am making the full version with the new Noro Kujaku, colorway 18, wool with a nylon binder thread that has random "hair wrap" type sections where the binder thread obscures the wool completely.
Overall, I'm tremendously pleased with it. Omar and I have been discussing the difference between a good basic pattern and a signature piece. This is definitely a signature piece. I can't wait to wear it.
In other news, Omar has promised to take a break from his stint as Scarf Man to help me finish my dad's fingerless gloves. I swear, every time I pick them up I am near tears. Never again, Baby Ull, never again!


Posted by Betsy at 02:20 AM | Comments (9)
January 27, 2005
an old FO and fiber loot
I realized I never posted a picture of the two pairs of fuzzy feet that I finished in December, one for me and one for Omar. These are mine, as his are too full of junk from the floor to be presentable right now, especially hay. Oh, the joy of rabbit ownership.

Other than that, this post is just a bunch of pictures of stuff we got over Christmas break in Arizona. I don't have it in front of me right now, so I might not be able to identify the brands. If you really want to know, ask and I'll dig it up. We visited three yarn stores in AZ.
From Bonnie's Yarn Store in Carefree, this lovely stuff was 30% off making it about $6 skein. I can't remember the company, but the color is Sedona and it is from Utah.

These two are from a new store in Scotsdale, Jessica Knits. The KPM is for the elegant gauntlets from Sally Melville's The Purl Stitch. The orange is Mango Moon Wooly, which I don't see out here. This is what Omar is doing his multidirectional scarf in, as you've seen.

All of this stuff is from the fiber mecca that is the Fiber Factory in Mesa. They have great stuff for knitting, spinning, and weaving. You name it.
Some interlacements roving:

Some of their own stuff, superfine merino and tussah silk, plus sparkles!

One last bit of sparkly roving I couldn't resist, don't know what brand.

So, I hope all those pictures make up for our lack of posting. I will update with some WIP pictures soon, including Clapotis!
And congratulations to Hello Yarn for winning the Best of Blog awards in the knitting/craft category!
Posted by Betsy at 05:02 AM | Comments (3)
January 24, 2005
Square One

This is a square for a wall hanging to be eventually gifted to the owners of the coffee shop where our knitting group meets.
It's not really that square, but as one of the volunteer seamers, I say it's okay! (I hope)
Posted by Betsy at 12:53 AM | Comments (0)
January 21, 2005
Clapotis & Pink Bunny
Michelle of blog-o-rama is an amazing guesser. My Clapotis is being knit out of Noro Kujaku. I have still just dropped one stitch but will post a picture when I drop the second. Congrats, Michelle. I will send you a partying gift ;)
Posted by Betsy at 04:50 PM | Comments (1)
January 19, 2005
Bandwagon- Clapotis contest!
Like everyone else in the knit-blogosphere (I hate that word, I'm just using it to be smarmy), I am knitting Clapotis with yarn Omar gave me for Xmas for that purpose. I just dropped my first stitch! It was about time.
I haven't seen anyone else using the same yarn I'm using, it's a new yarn from a major, popular yarn company. It is a large percent wool. If anyone can guess what it is before I post pictures of my Clapotis in a few days when it has a few more dropped stitches and is therefore more exciting, I will send you a knitting-related prize. Good luck!
(*mumble* fingerless gloves for my dad's xmas gift still haven't been touched in weeks)
Posted by Betsy at 12:16 AM | Comments (3)
January 06, 2005
I have become Scarf Man!
Seriously. I tried cutting into the brioche decreases again, only to discover that I was a few stitches shy of where I was supposed to be. I'm getting to the point where it seems like the only way to save it is to start over completely. I may also do a little brioche yarmulke so I can do as little brioche as possible before trying the decreases again, and practice until I got it right.
The broadstreets continue to elude my interest, partly because until recently, I was short a #2 dpn. Betsy has lent me one of hers, though, so maybe I should do that, for the novelty of completing something.
Instead, I have been making scarves out of my yarn spoils from our trip to Arizona. First, I tore into this 70's-alicious Whovian multi-directional scarf in Mango Moon Wooly:
The thick-and-thinness of the Wooly is somewhat lost in the garter stitches here, but the colors are extra swanky.
Then I decided to make a Wavy scarf in a very manly shade of Bunny Print:
Also from Arizona, my very own little yarnista:
Posted by omar at 09:56 AM | Comments (1)
January 02, 2005
vote: Best of Blog awards
The finalists have been picked for the Best of Blog awards in the knitting/craft category, I just wanted to encourage everyone to get out there and vote!
Bad news: still no update about our AZ trip, holiday, or the fibery adventures involved.
Good news: this is not for lack of content, but for so much content that I need time to take some photographs of our haul and WIPs.
Posted by Betsy at 06:53 AM | Comments (3)