Michelle and I got together from 9-11 p.m. last night to watch the season premiere of Downton Abbey complete with a proper British tea. Since it was so late, we decided to make it a pajama party. You only get one picture... and it's not of the pajama party.
I tried to knit my Downton Abbey KAL while watching the show, but this required paying far too much attention to the pattern and not nearly enough attention to the TV, so the TV won out in the end.
We had a great time with our scones, biscuits, clotted cream, jam and English tea (which Michelle just happened to have!). We just needed Carson to serve us and a scullery made to clean up afterwards and all would have been perfect. Except for the fact that our sartorial choices would have made the Dowager Countess roll her eyes at our American ways.
Pinkies up everyone!
Well, in just 20 more hours, I'll be getting my knitting together and settling in to watch Season 3 of Downton Abbey with my Mystery KAL in hand.
If you haven't joined, there's still time. You'll just need your yarn and a swatch. HERE's the link.
The KAL is free to join, and you can use any sport weight yarn you have on hand. My friend Julie gifted me the Christmas at Downton colorway specific to this KAL in Lorna's Laces Sport. I was so surprised and delighted with this gift that I have to confess I'm doing my very first mystery KAL as a result.
I wound my yarn into a nice ball and actually knit a swatch. Imagine that!
I am a loose knitter, so instead of using a US Size 3, I went down a size to a Turbo Addi size 2, which is not a US Size 2... but a 2 1/2 or 3.0 mm). This difference is very important. It was the perfect needle needed to achieve guage. I'm all set for the show to begin.
I invited some friends over to watch BBC from 9-11 p.m. tomorrow. It's kinda late, so it may or may not be a pajama party, complete with a spot of tea.
And for a bit of fun while waiting for the season to kick-off, you can TAKE THIS QUIZ and see which Downton Abbey character you are. I am Robert, Earl of Grantham. Who are you?
I did it! I really did it! I picked up the Kaffe Fassett Floral Jacket after a 3-year hiatus.
This should have been my first clue that something wasn't quite right. I'm not a ripper. I cut my yarn when I'm done with it. This was shredded. Odd, right?
But I knit anyway. I didn't notice anything amiss until I finished half a round of fair isle knitting and I came upon this purple stitch that was also shredded. Uh oh! This isn't shredded. It's eaten. UGH!
I was trying to explain to a friend how hard it is to knit on dark yarn (black, navy blue) and I pulled a partial skein out of the Floral Jacket knitting bag and knit up a little swatch. ARGH! It was entirely eaten to pieces at about 18 inch intervals.
I'm in a bit of a tizzy now. I think my only solution is to rip out the row of sts with the eaten spot(s)?! Then I'll toss all the yarn. I took a moment for a quick inspection and haven't noticed any major damage to the sweater. I had to put it down and take a deep breath. Deep calming breath. Breathe. Breathe.
What do I do now???
My Wednesday Knitting Group met today and nearly everyone (except Michelle and me) is making the Stephen West Mystery Shawl KAL - Rockefeller. In fact, here's a group picture of everyone's progress to date.
I'm not much for joining KALs, especially Mystery KALs. I've learned my lesson. I'm not very good at finishing the projects I want to knit. I'm really not good at finishing projects I don't want to knit. I cannot even imagine knitting a myster project where I don't know the outcome. But I must admit, I really like the look of the Rockefellers. Each one is more beautiful than the next. I am eager to see the completed mystery projects of my friends. When I saw them all laid out like this, I almost wanted to join in on the fun.
Instead, I brought out my oldest KAL to try to find some motivation. It's my Kaffe Fassett Floral Jacket from 2008. Yes, this puppy is FOUR YEARS OLD. Which, by the way, is nearly as old as Wilma (She's six. Thank you for asking.)
So while the Olympics are in full swing and people are trying to achieve Olympic GOLD, I decided that my personal challenge would be to finish some WIPs and UFOs. I already finished two projects and have made great progress on a third. But before the Olympics are over, I want to get the magic mojo working and see if I can finish the bodice and get some help cutting the steeks on this long, forgotten woebegone project.
Did you EVER think you'd see this one again?
There. I did it. I attacked the edging on the Faery Ring jacket - all 4,840 sts. It's not really all that many sts, but for some reason it was an onerous task. I think it's because it's 440 stockinette sts in one stretch... and I'm holding he entire weight of this massive project in my lap while doing it. But during many baseball games, I managed to finish.
I stuck the needles in to prevent the edging from rolling over for the picture. Of course, my next Weekend Warrior project will be to fold over the edging and invisibly stitch it on the inside. That's going to take a bit of courage and commitment. I think I can do it.
Lolly is at it again. And I mean that in a good way. She's resurrecting Project Spectrum this year with a whole new blog - aka Project Spectrum Central
Project Spectrum 5: The Basics will go for six months and focus on the technical side of color. Apparently I have a lot to learn, so this will be a good thing. I didn't even know there was a technical side to color. Anyway, here are the colors for the next few months:
May - Red ::
June - Green ::
July - Blue ::
August - Pink ::
September - Yellow ::
October - Cyan/Aqua ::
November - Black/White/Grey ::
The colors can be knitting, photographs, objects, discussions, etc. It will be great fun and add some creativity into the mix. Thanks Lolly!
It's Day 6 of the 2nd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - 2KCBWDay6 - and we're supposed to post about something we aspire to.
Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make bu can admire the result of those that have.
Tips: If you think you have learned all you ever want to in your craft then say so. Maybe you have been knitting for nearly 30 years and yet never learned to purl (many my think this is impossible, but I met a woman on the bus who told me exactly this once… Maybe she was following the E. Zimmerman school of thought to closely?).
Well, I have a designer and a specific pattern that I aspire to emulate. It's a "challenge project" for me and I'm going to need a bit of hand-holding during the entire process. But I'm committed to making this my 2011-2012 Epic Project (once I finish the others on the plate). I already purchased the yarn during a recent yarn crawl to Knit New Haven. LOVED the store!
I purchased 4 skeins of Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk (85% Merino Superwash and 15% Mulberry Silk).
I selected a classic ivory for my heirloom epic project.
The pattern I aspire to make is Anne Hanson's Honey Baby. This will be a challenge for me because I'm a very social knitter. I like to do many things while I'm also knitting - and this pattern will cause me to concentrate and focus solely on the pattern at hand. I think that will be a very good thing for me. Focus. Calm. Concentration. Those are all good things to aspire to.
It's Day 5 of the 2nd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - 2KCBWDay5 - and we're supposed to do something completely different. I thought that in honor of opening day of baseball, I'd share some of my favorite Mets memorabilia around the house.
Let's Go Mets!
Change is Good
