Andes Chullo Hat

Here is a Christmas present for my brother. It is the first time he has said anything nice about my knitting. He is impressed with the detail. I guess all you have to do is use really thin yarn and size 3 needles to impress him. This hat has 168 stitches around. I would have had a sweater complete with the amount of knitting this hat required. It is alpaca yarn from knitpicks.com. I waited to see if he wanted tassels on it and he said no. I do get my tassels caught in the car door all the time.

Christmas

It is nice not be a gypsy anymore and have my own place and present my christmas items again. Here is my tree this year. I do have enough for three trees. When I get my huge house I can have three different trees up.

Complete Dubbelmossa

I finished my hat last night. It really took much longer than I expected. The first picture is with it uncuffed. The second and third pictures are with it cuffed. You can tell how big it is on mom. It works well with my big head. Not sure how long the tassel will last, I didn't do the best job attaching it to the hat.

Dubbelmossa

I decided I wanted to make the Dubbelmossa hat that has been available on School House Press. I have been knitting for over a week on it. This picture is from Sat night. The outside hat is complete and I am almost complete with the inside hat. This is the first time I have knitted with unspun Islandic. It is thin and you have to be very careful. I did pull the yarn apart a couple times but it was easy enough to twidle it back together. I am knitting a little over 6 stitches per inch, I think this is the first time for me. The hat is 144 stitches around. In size 8 needles I would a have sweater for a small women complete. This picture doesn't show it well but the hat is probably 18" long at this point. I will post the completed hat in the next couple days. I do have to work and walk.

PET MY BELLY

I was taking pictures of my completed Shawl collar sweater. The pictures are terrible and I need to lose 20 pounds now. Anyway, Max was his usual self wanting someone to pet his belly. He does have his best friend "Big Teddy" with him. You can tell Max is ready for the winter and snow with all of his hair gown back.

This Weekend

Another beautiful weekend in Wisconsin. I got a bike ride in on Saturday. A nice long walk on Sunday. A week ago I decided I needed some gloves for the cooler weather, all the gloves I have are for the serious weather. So between finishing the shawl I got these gloves complete on Sunday. They are of of Falk wool with size 4 needles. Charcoal heather in color, I am sure a hat to go along is not far away. The gloves are on top of the finished shawl. Once I find a model I will post pictures. School House Press posted a completed version on their home page. I should have used bigger needles, mine is only half as big. I think the size mine came out will be fine. I made my annual apple pie.

Shawl Update

I spent the past weekend walking and Knitting. I got in over 10 miles in on the road. Sunday was windy, but with my new coat that I got for $0 from job #2 I didn't even notice there was wind. It felt like I was knitting for hours and hours which is true and I wanted to complete my shawl project since the last set of directions are out. Well it didn't happen, by Sunday evening watching my favorite shows the errors were really happening so I had to put it down. Hopefully tonight it will be finished and blocked. I can tell blocking will be very important to really see the design.

Mittens

Just thought I would post some of the mittens I have completed over the last couple months. The pair on the top right are actually knit to the "T" to EZ's pattern, the rest of course I have taken liberties with.

Update #2 Pansey shawl

I finished part one of the shawl, waiting for the new post on Friday. It is fun to knit once I got the rhythm of the pattern. I am working with size 8 needles and my diamonds are a lot smaller than the knit along pattern. I ended with 6 diamonds across. I hope I did the last couple of rows correctly. The pattern doesn't show a final shawl, so I don't know what the center area is suppose to look like. In the mean time I am going to finish some mittens that I have started. I hope my knit club is moving along with there knitting project. I have not heard from them.

Knit along update #1

Here is the first progress report on my Pansy shawl knit along. I was knitting slow last night, the palin/Biden debate kept me distracted. Can anyone who has looked at the actual knit along on the Schoolhousepress.com web sight notice the huge difference with my work? Next picture will be with a dark background to see the design.

School House Press Knit Along

If you have not been to School House Press's web site you must log in soon. This is the web site run by Meg Swansen the daughter of Elizabeth Zimmermann. They have started a section on the web site for knitting along. They have done mitten's, hats and sockings. I never really felt like doing the other projects. Well now they have a knit along for a shawl and I decided yesterday to do it. In the next day or two I will show my progress, you can compare it to the process of the pro giving the lesson. In my usual ways I didn't practice and started right into this project and my first pansy motif is a little sick. Early this morning I was back at it until I was confident with the directions and my ability to do them.

Dancing Children

Here is my dancing children seamless yoke sweater. It is going to be a Christmas present. The recipient will probably wear it as a jacket. I do enjoy the process of finding patterns to knit. The yoke is always fun with the decreases. I worked with blending the decreases into the patterns and was able to add short rows to the back blended in as well. I used fisherman's wool with Patons. I used simple wood buttons. It turned out a little bigger than planned, which is better than smaller. The front was sewn and cut, I think the ribbed edge looks good. Next time I will have to watch EZ's video on button holes, mine turned out fine but I think they could look better.

Fall Chicago knitting Class

This past weekend I was back in Chicago for some business, pleasure and knitting. The picture below is of the wonderful completed hats and there makers from the last time I was in town. I am so impressed with these ladies. The one on the left learned how to knit that night. She mastered two color knitting, knitting in the round and handling DPN's. I left them with a bigger project this time. They are working on Norwegian Mittens. They all started out great. I have a couple things completed, just need to get batteries and take some pictures. The cool nights are great for knitting, but the warm days are keeping me on my bike.

Biking Weekend

My goal this weekend was to be on the bikes as much as possible. I did get in over 60 miles over the weekend. Friday night is was a cruise around my parents and the Castle Rock lake area, checking out the tourists and weekenders. Sat was only a cruise around town to the farmer's market for tomatoes and rummage sales. Sunday I was out to Elroy for the wonderful Biking along the rail to trails system, biked from Elroy to Camp Douglas and back. Monday I ventured from home to some new roads to the west and north and back. I did finish the sleeves to my chunky cardigan, all I need to do is sew it together and finish the collar, it is resting while I am trying something new with EZ's mitten design and Aran patterns. The first picture below is the trail hub for the Elroy Sparta trails, what nice situation to have fairly close to home. I had to get the bike rack, but now I am to lazy to use it. Good thing the new car is roomy inside, I don't even have to take the front tire off!!

House Update

Max got to go swimming this week. This is his favorite thing to do other than burying his head in the snow. I don't know the house may be too big for one person. I may decide to sell it, it may be hard in this area and market. AF.

Front

Back

Out with the old and in with the new

My Two cars, at least for another week. The Jetta did me well for the past 3 years but it is time to part ways and return it back to VW. The Subaru is fun so far. These cars are so different, I will miss the germanness of the Jetta. Now I have to get used to the soft and quiet ride if the Outback, what a terrible thing to have to adjust to.

Bret Favre Sweater

Here is my latest Elizabeth Zimmermann saddle shoulder seamless. I call it Bret Favre because the colors are close to green and gold and Favre thinks he still wants to play football. It is made of a wonderful 50% alpaca blend. It is a little wider than I would like, I checked gauge and everything. Someday EZ will bless me with better gaugeing abilities. I love the seamless process, darning ends is all you have to do to finish it. In large sweaters like the ones I make and not the ones in EZ's books I alway have to adjust for the neck sizing, which is fine and I can figure it out. You can see the little saddle to rise the neck is not so little. It still looks finished. The sleeve strips do match the body, it doesn't show in the picture. Now I am doing a pieced sweater jacket in chunky wool, it is moving fast. I was going to convert to in the round but the front placket/facing knits along with the front pieces. I really don't mind purling once and awhile.

Where are the pictures?

The last couple weeks a bunch has been going on. First off the 60 bike ride on Sat the 12th, went well. I asked are there hills? Oh, a couple I was told. About 5 miles into it we were in the foot hills of the rockies. The eastern part of Columbia county is beautiful with rolling hills, green everything and wonderful Amish farms. For biking it, it was a little more work than I expected, there is always a down to the up. I felt good and didn't cramp etc. We completed it in 4 hours and 22 minutes. Not bad we did stop at the rest stops to regroup. The food and the end was great. I might do this again. An hour after the race I had to rush off and get my new car. The older I get the more practical, I got a Subaru Outback. A station wagon with 4 wheel drive. I can't wait for the snow this winter, no more getting stuck in mom and dad's driveway. It is fun to drive, but I will miss the German engineering of my VW. I do have a finished saddle shoulder seamless waiting for pictures. They will have to be flat pictures. I am not putting on alpaca wool in this weather. Romie

Pedal and Party in Pardeeville with a Purpose

Well I just signed up for a 60 mile bike ride. I have been out at least 3 times a week. My new Giant is doing well. I am really glad I got a bike computer, it does keep me motivated to compete against myself. Also I understand what a conversational 20 mph rate is, and I really would prefer a 17 mph conversational rate. The Bike ride is in Pardeeville WI, it is a charity event for MS. My brother and friend are doing it and I am not working that day so what the heck I will do it. Our goal is to complete it in four hours. We'll see what happens on the July 12.

Another Marathon in the books

This past Saturday was the Walk Wisconsin event in Stevens Point. It is the event I have been training or walking towards all Spring. This is my second year. It went well, I finished the 26.2 miles at 3:10pm over an hour less than last year. I was doing 15 minute miles for most of it until the blisters started around mile 21-22. I physically felt great and had no cramping etc. The weather was good, sun in the morning then some rain in the last part. The route was changed this year due to some green circle rebuilding. We ended up walking to the half way point, then back again. The second half was ok, having the 1/2 and 1/4 marathoners closer and around did help break up the monotony of walking the same areas. G finished her first 1/2 marathon, I know she wants to do the whole marathon next year.

Chula's New Sweater

Here is my first dog sweater. Chula was one of my hosts for my trip to Chicago. She is hard to fit for store bought sweaters so I thought I would take a stab at it. I took her measurements and started with a pattern I found in my stash of books. Instead of sewing it together I put in buttons and holes, it will be easier to put on and off. I added a belt for around her belly with adjustable holes for buttoning. Chula is ready for any weather now.

Chicago Craft Night

I was lucky to be invited to be a special guest to my friends craft night. The group wanted to learn how to two color knit after seeing some of my hats and mittens. What a fun night, the three who wanted to learn all were great. One really never knitted before and was two color knitting within an hour. I really never taught anything in knitting before so I was nervous about the evening, but I didn't need to have worried. Plus I got away for the weekend to Chicago. Took the Amtrak train for the first time, what a nice restful way to travel. We are planning another night in the fall.

Aran is complete

Had a nice weekend with the weather and the rain stopping sooner than expected. Got a good walk in on Sat. Sunday I took the road bike out for 3 hours, the weather was perfect, the views great. It is fun exploring the new roads of Juneau county, the only issue is I may run in to rutted dirt roads, but I think I know where they are. Anyway, I also had time to sew and cut my aran, it was going to be a cardigan, but once I cut the steek for the neck I thought it will work a v-neck as well, so I stopped there. I did have to go back and add to the neck it was too big and I also add 2 short rows to the back for the collar. It was a fun knit, I do like the sheep fold design, you don't need any cabling needles to do it. My gauge is getting better even with this type, but that % of a stitch is very important. I didn't have any hem on and it was a little short so I did add the garter stitch to it, which you can't see in these pictures.

Some pictures of Santa Fe

Back from Santa Fe

It was a nice week. I would have pictures now, but I guess I am not smart enough to take pictures from AOL and put them in a blog. Anyway, the weather wasn't the best. Only one day over 60 degrees. We actually awoke two days with snow on the ground. It is what I expected, lots of art and museums. The history is great, thanks to Marilyn and her knowledge. The area is easy to get around. We stayed one block from the plaza which made getting around very easy. My wish to bike in the mountains didn't happen, to cold and windy. I did get two long walks in, the fun part is the unknown of walking in new towns. I just followed one street to the end and knowing my directions I was able to make a circle around most of Santa Fe in 2 1/2 hours. It has a very religous feeling for me with the missions and churches everywhere. Honestly a couple are each a block apart. Pictures to follow.

My Dream House

My dreams of home ownership are coming true. It has been a long process, design, lot selection etc. It will still be 6 months before move in day. I hope all of this rain doesn't flood the pond in front of the house and slow things down. I guess it is good to know if there will be flooding issues in the Spring. I will keep you all updated on progress and have you guys give input on color choices. AF Romie.

Biking and Walk Wisconsin

I got the bike out this weekend. Having just moved I have lots of new land and roads to discover. Friday I was out for around 14 miles, I could have been out longer but I didn't have a watch and I was trying to tell time by the sun and that skill isn't that good. Sat I biked 20 miles, the road I choose to bike was snow covered the last time I was on it, well half of my trip was on what was gravel 5 years ago, it was soft smooth dirt with ruts and icy spots. Good thing I rode my hybrid, me new road bike would not have made it and I would have been mad at everything walking it. Also the wind from the South made the last 10 miles home take longer than I wanted. A group of friends and my brother are doing the Walk Wisconsin in June. We have started our training. This will be my second time doing the 26 plus miles. Sunday I got a 7 miles round in. I hope the biking with be good cross training. I am still working on sock shoe combinations, it's the feet that make the walk hard at the end.

Progress

I am making progress on my aran sweater. The body is the right length and waiting quietly for it's two friends to join in the party. One sleeve is almost done, I am doing alright adding patterns to the increases, my purls are loose and wide I hope they tighten with blocking.

Aran

Another Sweater is on the needles and it is working so far. No twist. I am doing an Aran, I have a large stash of Fisherman wool, so I need to use it up. I am using patterns from EZ's Aran pattern. I am enjoying the Sheep's fold pattern. I am doing better than I thought with remembering when to cable and twist, no errors so far. I will be making it a cardigan with a steeked V neck. It will be a raglan sleeve, unless I feel really adventurous and do a saddle shoulder.

Wednesday

Decided to change my blog picture. I am over winter and snow. It is March and we should have warm afternoons and wet misty nights with the snow melting. I made it this long and enjoyed the winter weather, shoveling and driving and walking in it. Hopefully this weekend will be the last of cold and the warmth will follow. I took a little break from knitting, I did do a BSJ for a neighbor and working on a pair of mittens now. Regretfully I had two knitting breakdowns a couple weeks ago and took a couple weeks off, also I moved last week. I started two different sweaters both to be two color knitting, all over design. The first one's gauge didn't feel right, and I did a swatch and everything, I was getting tighter and I was going. So after 4 inches I took it off the needles and it was going to be about 3 inches to small for my liking and my pattern placement etc looked bad. Ten minutes later with the help of mom it was in two balls. Like they say fall of the horse, get back on and try again. This time I changed the stitch count and decided on a hem instead of ribbing, but I was knitting the inside hem first then turning and Ktog around to have it seamless. Well I don't know why it took me as long as it did to notice, but I had a twist in the whole thing. In my anger it was back in a ball in 5 minutes and I need a time out. Soon I will be starting another sweater wish me luck.

Grey Sweater

Here is my latest seamless. I guess I am going through all of EZ's projects in Knitting Workshop. This is the raglan sleeve. Next must be a hybrid or saddle shoulder. This only took two weeks with the green hat being done between. I used Patton's 100% merino, huge clearance, this only cost $14.oo total. The buttons are from Grandma's stash, it gave a few minutes to think about her as I sewed the buttons on, she is 91 now. The buttons are all black but different styles, it gives the sweater a more original feel. I like the raglan pattern but it did take two tries to understand Elizabeth's directions for the neck increase and convert into left hand directions, but I got it. The ribbing is in broken rib, since you only purl every third row. The collar is influenced from Brooklyn Tweeds latest sweater, I should have made it a little longer, it still can be done. Lastly I am getting much better with gauge, it fits me. The yoke sweater, December post, is to big for me but I still wear it.