Celtic Cable Dress

On the morning of April 6th Sharon and I dressed and headed out to her vehicle on a mission.  With her GPS, this magazine, and our spending money we found our way to St. Cloud, MN to visit "Craft's Direct".

We were told about this store one afternoon while shopping at"Amazing Threads".  Sharon was looking for Lopi yarn she wanted for a sweater.  Crafts Direct did carry the Lopi yarn, but I was disappointed by the limited selection of yarns that they did carry.

I was looking for a yarn to knit a dress that I call the "Celtic Cable Dress, inspired by the sweater pictured on the cover of this magazine.  Selecting the yarn for my project wasn't easy.  I felt the Paton's wool yarn was to expensive at $6.99, when I can buy it at Michael's on sale for $3.99.  Trying to avoid "pink" I liked hues of purples, and blues but finally decided on Cascade 220 Heathers, Lichen.  At $6.99 a skein, this was a better buy than the Paton's and I thought that this color would bring out the color of my eyes.  I purchased ten skeins, and a a 24" cable, size 7, addi TURBO knitting needle.

Sharon and I spent a good part of the day at this huge store.  They carry just about everything and anything any crafter might desire.  We stopped and had lunch at The Coffee Cup Cafe, before making another stop at Becker Furniture World.  The two of us walked around the huge show room for hours.  A sales woman helping us suggested we see the furnished house located in the back corner of the store.  Sharon and I decided to move in.  Sharon could be the Queen and I would be the Princess and our entire family would be jealous.  We figure when we get tired of the furniture already there, we would just exchange it.  We'd have the
perfect residence.

Sharon bought a recliner and brought it home with part of it in the back seat, and part of it in the trunk.  We struggled, but finally got the chair out of the trunk and into her home.  "See Sharon," I said, "women can do anything."

My fingers were aching to begin my project so that evening I casted on stitches to swatch my gauge and figuring 20 stitches and 28 rows to 4 inches I decided to follow the pattern instructions for the large size.  This was inaccurate, however and after sewing the shoulder seems I felt the dress was going to be too snug.

Sharon, a more experienced knitter, suggested that rather than taking it out and beginning again, that I make panels to insert between the side seams.  What a terrific idea.  I knit two cable panels, one for each side, and after sewing them to the dress, the fit was perfect.

I finished knitting this dress on April 26th, twenty days from the beginning.

Sharon holding up the dress for this photo.

Me modeling my dress.

Knit! Knit! Knitting

 I am busy knitting, of course.  Yesterday my aunt and cousin and I went to the Science Museum of Minnesota to see the King Tut exhibit.  It was a great day and we had a good time.

I am currently knitting dress accessories to go with an outfit I am putting together and wearing to a wedding next weekend. I have finished the credit card holder and a little pleated clutch.  I am now knitting up a headband.  I am using Feza Night, yarn in a glittery red and I just love it.

I have finished four squares for my sampler afghan.  I am knitting this project with several colors in "Red Heart" worsted.  This is a fun project and will give me an opportunity to use several stitch patterns.

Tree of Life

25 Anchors

Anchors

Popcorn Stitch

Honeycomb

What ever you are knitting......happy knitting!

March 2, 2011

I finished the clutch and Sharon put a zipper in it.  I have more ideas,,,they are on hold............

On to something else.    Sometime I just like to knit and a sampler afghan is just perfect.  So at Sharon's suggestion I purchased several skeins of "Red Heart".  I selected two hues of pink, two of purple, and a verigated.  I don't know.....yet how it will all go together but it's part of the fun.......

This is my first motif:  Tree of Life

Hand Warmers

It is snowing.  I am doing what I love to do best.  KNITTING!  I am currently working on a pair of hand warmers with Louise Harding Kimono Angora yarn.  A matching hat is in the planning stage when the hand warmers are finished.

It has been a cold week here in Minnesota.  My dad came to visit Wednesday afternoon.  The temperature was ten below, with a wind chill that made the air feel like twenty-five below.  He walked into the house with no hat on his head or mittens on his hands.

"Dad," I said, "I know I knit you a nice pair of warm mittens for your hands, where are they?"

"In my drawer at home."

I just shook my head, some people's parents.

Another Pair of Socks

I had to go downtown yesterday morning and take care of some personal business.  In the waiting area I took my socks out of my bag to work on them, when my number was called.  I grabbed my things and rushed to the window.  I set my needles down on the counter in front of me.  The woman on the other side of the window looked at me and said, "are you knitting two socks on circulars?  I love knitting my socks that way."  We became instant friends, and all my business was taken care of in a matter of minutes.

These socks were knit with self-striping yarn from Sensations.  I purchased the yarn at Joann's.  It is a wool, bamboo blend which makes them machine washable.

I am giving this pair to my youngest sister, Lisa.

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The Mobius Experiment

The Mobius Experiment

The Mobius experiment was finished yesterday afternoon.  I really like the way it turned out.  It has a nice shape and a frilly drape.  It was knit up with an acrylic yarn I purchased from a thrift store.  And I love the colors.  I knit it on a size 5, 40" cable.  I don't know how many stitches I casted on, around three hundred, I estimate.  I worked several rounds around the spine, before casting on 10 stitches for the diamond lace edging.

I am still stitching the diamond edging on the mobius experiment.  Sharon finished this beautiful baby blanket on Saturday.  She was inspired by a pattern found in "animal Knits" 26 hand knits for children and toddlers.  The blanket is knit in squares and then sewn together.  Sharon picked up stitches along the edge to knit the border, and then she sew a piece of gold fleece to the back.

She selected the colors, and knit the blanket with Red Heart Super Saver, 100% acrylic yarn.