Monday, July 30, 2007

The swatch is looking good in double stranded and size 1. Judging by the garter ridges I always knit first, it seems to work out the right amount of stitches and rows, however I am going to put it away until I get new metal circular needles. This one is a bamboo needle and it is not strong enough to keep up with the tension. The fabric is a bit stiff, but that doesn't bother me too much. The stitches do pop up more with this extra tension and I like that. I can't wait to see how the swatch looks like when I knit in pattern. I think I am going to start something else while I get the needles that I ordered online.
Por lo que veo esta parece ser la solución correcta, sin embargo voy a guardarlo hasta que compre agujas de metal porque estas son de bamboo y no creo que aguanten la tensión extra. La tela que produce es un poco firme pero eso no me molesta. La tensión adicional hace que las puntadas se marquen mejor y eso me gusta. Sin embargo, tengo que tejer todo el cuadro para realmente estar segura de que esta vez si va a funcionar. Creo que voy a empezar otra cosa mientras que me llegan las agujas que pedí.

Swatching for the Sand Dollar Sweater...


I started to swatch for the Sand Dollar Sweater. Substituting the Starmore yarns is a nightmire. No wonder people get so frustrated. The pattern calls for the Scottish Fleet yarn which was a 5-ply Guernsey yarn (no longer available). The Starmore's relaunched the Scottish Fleet as a worsted weight yarn recently, so even though the yarn is called the same, the weight is different, therefore additional modifications are required to use the new "Scottish Fleet", these will be included if you purchase the yarn from their website. (virtualyarns.com) Buying the yarn from them is worth it if you want to avoid the gauge issue and you have plenty of money to spend in yarn. This model is over $150 for the medium size. I personally would consider saving money to buy it from them if it wasn't for the fact that I don't like any of the only 3 colors they have available. (a navy blue, a forest green and cream, no pink!). My strategy here is to go by the gauge and forget about yarn weight. Since the gauge is 28 St, I purchased a beautiful 4 ply Rowanspun yarn (now discontinued) that is fine weight and knits up to 28 or 30 st.
My first swatch that I made last night was knitted in a size US 3 needle. The fabric was too airy for my taste and the swatch way bigger than needed, so I ripped it off and started all over again with a size US 2. I like the fabric look but the swatch is almost one inch wider than needed as you can see in the pic. My other problem is that I am missing an inch vertically (in the row count). This could be a problem unless I manage to calculate how many repeat rounds I would have to add to achieve the same length. Unfortunately, the pattern does not tell me the length of the work as it goes, only the number of rounds. Therefore unlike most patterns, having the right number of rows in this case is critical. My next try will be knitting double stranded in size US 1. I am hoping that by adding one strand I will achieve the right number of rows and by going down one needle size, I would be able to get the horizontal gauge.
The issue with this yarn is that the original yarn used by the Starmores is very fluffy and bouncy, giving them the capacity to be knitted at many different gauges, therefore even though the yarn is "heavier" it can still be knitted at the same gauge of a lighter weight yarn. I don't know of many yarns in the market that will do that. In my case, using a fine weight yarn is ideal because I live in California and I don't want my wool sweaters to be too dense. Anyways, I will let you know if my idea worked...
Empecé a tejer la muestra para el sueter de la estrella de mar de dollar, pero no logro conseguir la misma medida. Ya lo intenté con aguja número 3 y número 2. Ahora voy a intentar hacerlo con doble lana usando Rowanspun 4 ply en aguja número 1. Es un problema substituir la lana original porque ya no existe. La nueva versión de esta lana es más gruesa lo cual cambia la cantidad de puntadas, se puede conseguir en el sitio de las diseñadoras (virtualyarns.com) junto con las modificaciones necesarias, pero los colores son muy limitados y lana bastante cara. A ver como me va... ahí les contaré.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

My new toy

This is my finished sock. As you can see, the leg is not too long. This is because I was afraid the yarn was not going to be enough for the other sock. The foot is quite wide (about 10 1/2 inches), so I had to calculate a small leg, and did not cast off, until I make sure there is enough yarn to finish a second sock. Now, the only way to really know this is by weighting what's left in the ball to make sure that I have 50 gr of yarn left. So, my sweetheart got me a small digital scale on Ebay for only $23. I love it! It works great and takes very little space. As I was now able to weight the yarn, I was surpriced to learn that the left over was 48 grams with the toe already done, so I think I have a good chance to finish the second sock with no problem. Here is the scale that I got, the brand is Scali. I was trying to locate the seller on Ebay to post the link but I was not able to. I remember that he had it in different colors including red, blue, white, etc. Mine is kind of silver.
En la foto se ve la primera media terminada. No pude cerrarla porque no se si voy a tener suficiente lana para la segunda media, la unica forma de averiguarlo es pesando lo que queda de la bola para ver si tengo exactamente la mitad. Si la bola era de 100 gramos debo tener al menos 50 gramos en lo que queda para garantizarme que tendré suficiente para terminar la segunda media. Por eso tuve mi esposito me regaló esta pequeña váscula. La encontré en Ebay por solo $23.

My next purchase will be a yarn swift and a ball winder which I have been wanting for a long time. I am trying really hard to stay away from yarn purchases to decrease my stash (currently worth $3000). Yes! I don't think I need more yarn! What I need is more knitting time! However, I do want to buy some tools and some more metal circular needles, this time from Knitpicks.com.
Mi siguiente adquisición será una sombrilla y un arrollador de lana ya que aunque no necesito lana, si me hacen falta algunos utensilios importantes como estos y tal vez unas agujas circulares de metal que pienso comprar en knitpicks.com.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Loving LAS VEGAS, U.S.A.

This past weekend my husband and I went to Las Vegas. This is our fist trip ALONE since we got married almost 9 years ago! This was also my first time in Las Vegas. I was never too interested in going there since I don't care for gambling and there is so much sinful activities going on there. I always thought; "What can a Christian do there?" Well, this weekend I got my question answered. You can RELAX, and enjoy the company of the person you love. It is a great place for a second Honey Moon! What a needed blessing! Here are some pics we took:
Este pasado fin de semana mi esposo y yo fuimos a Las Vegas. Este era nuestro primer viaje SOLOS desde que nos casamos hace casi 9 años. También era mi primera vez en Las Vegas. Nunca me había interesado ir porque no me interesa apostar y hay tanta actividad pecaminosa en esa ciudad que nunca entendí para qué un cristiano podría estar interesado en ir ahí. Bueno, este fin de semana encontré mi respuesta. Uno puede ir ahí y RELAJARSE y disfrutar de la compañía de la persona que uno ama. Es perfecto para una segunda luna de miel. Qué bendición! Aquí hay algunas fotos que tomamos:










Felted bag is finish and currently in the washer...

Marlene's big Felted bag is in washer as we speak. I am very exited to see how it comes out. It is indeed BIG. It is 14" x 20" before felting.
It took me a while to finish it. This was one of those UFO that stayed in my basket for months, after finishing the Vogue Knitting top I finally tackled it, following my rule of finishing my UFO's in between each new project. Now I only have two UFO's in my basket left, both of them original projects like this one. This pattern will be available for sale soon.
La bolsa de fieltro que lleva mi nombre ya está lista y actualmente en la lavadora. Estoy emocionada de ver como queda. Es bastante grande 14" x 20" antes del proceso de fieltro. Me tomó meses terminarla porque tenía otros proyectos, pero siguiendo mi regla de terminar un "objeto sin terminar" entre cada nuevo proyecto, lo retomé después de que terminé la blusita amarilla. Actualmente solo me quedan dos proyectos sin terminar en mi canasta de "objetos incompletos". Este patrón estará a la venta pronto.

Monday, July 16, 2007

What next?

I still haven't decide what am I going to knit next. I feel very torn. I have so many possibilities... I wanted to make something for my husband because his birthday is comming up, but at this point, I would only have enough time to make a pair of socks... So I rather make him a sweater for Christmas. Maybe I should concentrate in getting the X-Mas presents out of the way? I don't know. I don't like to knit under preasure and at the same time, my hands are akeing to knit some cables or lace... Nobody really voted in my pole so, you guys are not helping me here... Come on!

Todavía no sé cuál va a ser mi siguiente proyecto. Quería hacerle algo mi media naranja porque ahorita cumple años pero ya no me da tiempo mas que de hacer un par de medias. Mejor lo dejo para Navidad. Tal vez debería salir de los regalitos de navidad primero, pero mis manos me pican por hacer un buen sweater de trenzas para mí o una blusa de encaje... Ustedes no están votando en mi encuesta así que no me están ayudando... Qué pasa??? Voten por favor.

Knitting Update

I started a new pair of socks. This will be a Christmas present. I am going to try to work in a home-project and do my Christmas presents as portable projects. So far this is the first X-Mas present. I have quite a bit to make if I am to finish them on time.
Empecé un par de medias nuevo. Estas son para un regalo de Navidad. Tengo que empezar mis regalitos de Navidad desde ahora, solo así lograré terminar a tiempo. El año pasado me cogió tarde y solo pude hacer dos. Este año espero poder darle un regalo de Navidad hecho por mí a todos en mi casa.

These are my last E-bay adquisitions. A super cute set of 4" bamboo double pointed. Perfect for knitting baby booties or kid's socks. They are adorable! Aren't they? And two skeins of hand dyed sock yarn. The yellow one will be to make another pair of socks for a lucky Christmas recipient.
Estas son mis últimas adquisiciones de E-Bay. Un set the agujas de doble punta de solo 4" de largo. Son lindísimas, verdad? Tambié dos bolas de lana teñida a mano para hacer medias. La amarilla es para un regalito de Navidad también.


I finished the Marlene Big Bag. The straps are done and all I need is to sew it together and throw it in the washer. I am very exited to see how it comes out. The idea of this bag is to hold as much as posible to go on a trip. Like a traveling bag. I also want to knit some kind of embellishment, but I haven't figure it out yet. Ya terminé la Bolsa Marlene, solo me falta coserla y tirarla en la lavadora para que se convierta en fieltro. La idea de esta bolsa es que le quepa lo necesario para ir a un viaje corto. Como una bolsa de viaje. También quiero tejerle algún tipo de adorno, pero todavía no se qué.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Choosing what to make next is always exiting but also hard... There are so many things I really want to make, and then there are the obligated Christmas presents that I am hopping to be able to give this next Christmas. So, I need to squize them here and there... I also have a basket of UFO. That is were the Marlene bag has lived for the last couple of months. I try to finish a UFO in between each project which is kind of nice because they go fast since they are already half way through.

How many projects at the time ??? I noticed that it is hard for me to get much done when I have more than 2 projects on the needles. I feel like I am not finishing anything and my basket gets full of UFO's, so what I am trying to do is to have a big project (like a sweater) at home and a pair of socks that I can take anywhere (portable project).

This priority rules seem to be working since after the bag there is only 2 more UFO's in the basket.

What is also really hard is to choose what to make next. My stash is overflowing with projects waiting to be made. Some I already know what pattern goes with what yarn. Others, I don't. I spend 2 days making an inventory of my stash because I couldn't seem to be able to find anything is such a big mess. I like the spreadsheet that I came up with because it tells me what yarns do I have, how many balls, gauge and most importantly "LOCATION". I numbered the boxes where I stored the yarn so the location in my spreadsheet just indicates the number of the box. It's awesome! It did take quite a long time and I am not done yet. I still have more yarn in two drawers and under the bed... but so far I have calculated the MRSP of my stash in $2,500. WOW!!!! Don't tell my husband please!!! Of course I build up my stash by buying bargain prices. I hardly ever pay the MRSP, specially since the yarn I buy is all brand name "snob" yarn. The more commercial yarn I usually like to buy is Patons Wool due to its outstanding quality and yardage. Besides that, I only get a few novelty yarns at Michael's sometimes when I need to embellish a project.

With a stash like this is hard to find excuses to buy more yarn, but it is possible; for example, I might not have the color that I want in the gauge that I want, or I might not have enough skeins in the color I want. I do try my best to use what I have.

And patterns? There is always room in my bookshelf for a new book or magazine. I collect Knitter's, Interweave and Vogue Knitting magazines. I also like Rowan (of course) and Debbie Bliss Patterns. The books I always wait to see them inside before buying them and again, I do my best to get them for a discounted price.

I always wander if other knitters go through the same issues and what are their preferences as far as choosing new projects. I would love to hear how you handle your addiction... LOL!

Escoger el siguiente proyecto siempre es emocionante pero a veces puede ser dificil porque hay tantas cosas que quiero hacer. Están los regalitos de navidad que cada año trato de hacer y nunca me da tiempo. Así que tengo que empezar desde ahora haber si acaso doy a basto. También tengo una canasta con proyectos a medio palo que lo que trato es de terminar uno entre cada nuevo proyecto. Ahí es donde está la cartera "Marlene" que es un diseño original en el que estoy trabajando desde hace un par de meses.

Cuántos proyectos a la vez? A veces cuando me emociono empiezo varios proyectos y termino con un montón de proyectos sin terminar en la canasta. He notado que si hago esto siento que no avanzo y que nunca termino nada y es muy desmotivante. Así que decidí que solo voy a concentrarme en dos proyectos a la vez. Uno grande como un sueter y uno portátil como un par de medias. También he estado terminando un poryecto de la canasta sin terminar entre cada nuevo proyeto. Estas prioridad me estan funcionando porque ya solo me quedan 2 proyectos a medio terminar en la canasta.

Lo que también se me complica es escoger cuando termino algo. Mi guaca de lana está desbordada de proyectos esperando ser tejidos. Algunos ya tengo el diseño otros no. Me pasé dos días enteros organizando mi lana y contabilizando lo que tenía en una hoja de Excel. En esta hoja tengo toda la informacion de la lana, cantidad, color, medida, y sobre todo ubicación. Esto es un número que le puse afuera a las cajas donde guardo la lana de manera que si ando buscando una lana en particular ya se en cuál caja encontrarla. Todavía no he terminado me falta la lana que tengo debajo de la cama y en unas gabetas pero hasta ahorita calculo un valor sugerido de mercado de más de $2.500. Wow! Que barbaridad si mi marido se entera me mata! Logicamente yo no compro a esos precios, sino que voy acumulando lana que compro de liquidación a precios mucho menores y aprovecho las oportunidades. Casi nunca pago el precio oficial porque las lanas que me gustan son caras. Ya me he vuelto muy delicada y solo me gusta el material de muy alta calidad... Qué vaina!

Con una guaca como esa es dificil encontrar excusas para comprar mas lana pero no es imposible. Por ejemplo, puedo querer hacer algo pero en otro color del que tengo, o puede ser que la lana que tengo no me de la medida que necesito, etc. Con todo estoy tratando al máximo de gastar lo que ya tengo. También siempre hay espacio para una nueva revista o libro. Me gusta coleccionar las revistas de Knitters, Interweave Knits y Vogue Knitting. Los libros siempre los veo en la biblioteca o en Borders antes de comprarlos y si los quiero también me espero hasta que se pongan un poco mas baratos.

Siempre me pregunto si otras personas que tejen hacen lo mismo que yo y como manejan su adicción de tejer... Porque más que un hobbie yo se que para muchas de nosotrás es una adicción.
JA JA

Saturday, July 07, 2007

What should I knit next???

FIRST OPTION: Sand Dollar Sweater by Jade Starmore.
A Picture of the Sand Dollar sweater can be found here: Although this is a picture of the child's version. I would be knitting the adult version that is in the book Pacific Coast Highway. I am not posting a picture because the Starmore's are extremely... sensitive regarding copy rights.

SECOND OPTION:Victoriana Top, designed by Helen Hamann

THIRD OPTION: Nicky Epstain's "Flock of Sheep"

FOURTH OPTION: Karabella's Cabled Top:



Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Books for Sale

Hello everyone Happy 4 of July!!!! I posted two books for sale on my ebay account, so if you are interested in any of these just click on the link below and you will be able to bid on it. Thanks!

These images are from A garden Stroll by Lori Ihnen.














And these are from Dale of Norway's book, Dalegarn #122:


Monday, July 02, 2007

Cascading Leaves Socks


Date Started: 5/13/2007
Date Completed: 7/1/2007
Pattern Design: Wendy's generic toe up sock + Cascating leaves by Jeanie Townsend
Yarn Used: Jojoland Kaleidoscope
Source: Ebay
Modifications: The original cascading leaves pattern was written to make the socks from the ribbing down. Since I started my socks from the toe, my leaves look like they are "growing" instead of "falling" as they are upside down. I got this pattern from a Yahoo group. The link to that group is above. I really loved knitting these socks.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Vogue Knitting Spring Summer 98 Camilsole by Mari Lynn Patrick

Date Started: 6/19/2007
Date Completed:
7/1/2007
Pattern Design: Mari Lynn Patrick for Vogue Knitting (Spring/Summer 1998)
Yarn Used: Filatura Brilla #389
Source: Ebay
Modifications: Knitted a separate strap for the top horizontal back ribbing instead of using the strap ribbing to form the back edge.

Tricky finishing issues...

I finally sat down to finish the top. Finishing is always something I unconsciously avoid. The only way I get exited about is by thinking about been able to wear my project. So I use that motivation to force myself to do it. In this case, I was running away of that longer strap in the schematics. The instructions say to use the extra strap fabric to build an edge for the back but it does not explain how. Am I supposed to fold the strap and sew the rest on to the back? I tried that but the folded area was too bulky and it did feel good. So, after thinking about it I decided to frog the strap to make it just the same size as the other and then, pick up a few stitches from the side of the strap to create the back edge. This worked OK although the fabric in that area is loose and it has a tendency to fold over which should be corrected once I block the piece. The problem is I don't want to block it. I love the stretchiness of the fabric and it would go away if I block. So must likely, it is going to stay that way. Here is a picture of the Vogue top back and front. If you click on the picture you can enlarge it to see the back edge. It was knitted horizontally rather than vertically, from strap to strap and then sewn in place. In general, I am very pleased with my top. It is perfect for the summer and the near to come over 100 degree wheater.

Por fin me senté a terminar la blusita de Vogue Knitting. Siempre le huyo al acabado porque no me gusta coser y aunque no lo parezca es bastante trabajo. Así que trato de emocionarme pensando poder ponerme lo que estoy haciendo para inspirarme a terminarlo. En este caso, lo pensé aún más porque la parte de atrás estaba un poco difícil. El gráfico muestra un tirante más largo que el otro. Se supone que uno tiene que doblar ese exceso del tirante para fomar la orilla de la parte de atrás de la blusa. Sin embargo, cuando hice esto se me hizo una pelota horrible en esa parte y no me gustó, así que deshice el exceso del tirante para que fuera igual al otro y tejí una tira aparte para pegarla en la espalda (de tirante a tirante). Quedó bastante bien, aunque la orilla esa tiende a habrise hacia el frente. Eso seguro se le quita con un poquito de plancha. Esta blusa no la pienso bloquear porque sino perdería la elasticidad que tiene la tela y eso me encanta. Lo que sí voy a hacer es aplanchar un poquito esa parte de la espalda para que no se vuelva hacia el frente. En general estoy feliz con mi nueva blusita y es perfeta para el calor que pronto será aquí de 107 grados.