I'm So Stuuuuuuupid!

So here I am, cabling away on my sweater, when someone notices that it looks kind of small. They say "Is your guage on?" I say "Of course it is, what do you think I am......an idiot?" Guess what? I am an idiot!

When I measured myself for the sweater, I measured and determined that I was an ample 46" across the chest so I thought that's what I make my sweater at! However, I want the sweater to be loose fitting therefore, it would be more appropriate to make it 49-50". Now....there are one of three things I can do.....frog it, loose some weight in the chest area, or keep knitting and give it to someone else! Through much deliberation I've decided that losing weight does not guarantee that I will lose weight in that particular area! Giving it to someone else would kill me, because only fellow knitters know the time and effort that goes into it. Therefore the logical choice is to riiiiiiiiiip it out. The one good thing is that the yarn is very bulky so it won't take long to rebuild it! (I sound like the Six Million Dollar Man!)

So we can all learn a lesson here........make sure you know the difference between finished size and your actual size. A special thanks to Lois, Chris, & Chris for noticing my sweater mistake and pointing it out before I was almost done!

Now I need to open up my bottle of Mad Housewife Chardonnay and start frogging!

I'm Kooky for Cables!

Ahhhhh! I started my cable knit sweater about 1 week ago and am finding it not too bad. I think I was intimidated by the cable and thought "how the hell do they do that?" Well, now I know and I'm not scared anymore! Anne has taught me how to cable without a needle and at first I was a bit confused. I left my Kooky for Cables class, thinking that there was no way I could work on this by myself. However, I sat down and used a pencil as my cable needle then I figured out what she was trying to teach. So.....I now do not use a cable needle! The women I meet up with on Thursday nights couldn't believe that I didn't use a cable needle, so they sat around and watched me! I was so nervous that I would screw it up.

A couple of things about this sweater.....I'm using Lamb's Pride Bulky (kind of itchy), it's knit in the round (Whoo! Whoo!), and it has seed stitch sides. So far I'm liking it! (let's see what I say when I have to do the sleeves!)

A friend of mine Rose Ann has designed a felted bag pattern and asked me to make one before she tries to publish it. She has a range of knitters trying out the pattern. (I think I fall into the intermediate knitter category) I can't wait to start it, because it has compartments in it!


Here's the purse I made out of the recycled silk yarn. It was a bit tough to work with. The yarn itself varies from skein to skein, so if you wanted to make something (like a sweater), I think it might be kind of difficult. However, the colors are very vibrant and I really liked the way the purse turned out. It stretches a lot, so it would be great to hold paperback books, notebooks etc; I like to describe it as a "grab and go" purse! You grab it, throw your book, wallet, keys, knitting and go! The strap stretched a bit, but you can knot it at the top and adjust as necessary. I handwashed it and the water was brown! Gross! But I rinsed until it came out clear and laid it flat to dry. With the extra yarn, I'm going to make a smaller bag that would hold keys etc; but I'll probably have to line it and I'm not the best seamstress!

Now.....you're probably asking yourself "Hey Tracy! whatever happened to the Zig-Zag felted bag?" My, my my, aren't you knitters curious! Well you see, sometimes Tracy reads too much into a pattern and the result is a "not so good purse"! You see what happened was the pattern said "make your flap slightly longer than the length you want it", well, I thought it meant to make the flap longer than the whole length of the purse! Therefore, when I sewed up the sides I made the flap about 3 inches longer than the purse! The result? A felted purse with a flap that overhangs the purse! I've decided to felt it some more then cut the flap! Can you believe I did that? I'm now in the process of making another one! Phew!

Looky What I Bought!

Here's what I got in the mail the other day from ebay! It's the recycled silk yarn from Nepal, which is made from the snipped ends of sari's and handspun! You never know what colors you are going to get.....so be careful when you bid on this stuff. Some of the skeins seemed to be tightly wound, while others were rather loose. Also, you must let it dangle because otherwise it twists on itself. My personal testimony is that it would be kind of scratchy to make a scarf out of, but other websites suggest that you carry along a kid mohair with it. Me? I'm making the Unbiased bag from knitty! I know, I know, I know.....I SHOULD be working on the shawl but I was so excited to get this yarn! Wait! I did finish the hunting socks and following bag. So there!


Here's another little bag that I worked on over the weekend. A big shout out to by knitting buddy Nancy for giving me this pattern called the Zig-Zag felted bag! It takes one skein of Noro Kureyon and is simple to knit up. The pattern calls for a ribbon strap which will look great once it's felted. I saw the one Nancy completed and it looked great! Hopefully, I'll be able to felt it this week and then purchase some ribbon!

This is a close up of the stitches on the felted bag. I love how it looks and I hope it shows up when I felt it. This weekend I finished up on all my little projects and had a chance to have some breakfast with my knittin' friends. So here's my shout out for the week.....

Happy Birthday Anne! I was told (by Chris) to make sure I brought a nice birthday hat for Anne to wear! Well, she thought it was funny, but would only wear it for a few moments in order for me to take this picture in the restaurant. What a trooper! Best wishes this upcoming year, Anne!