Using the Yarn a Pattern Calls For

I have had this blue mohair for years. I won it as a door Prize from Thread Bear when they opened their doors in Indiana way back in 2003? 2004? It’s 10 balls of Classic Elite. I started knitting a bottom up raglan but wasn’t happy with the color, the drape, the size, the feel, pretty much everything about that sweater wasn’t right. It’s no wonder after I started in on the second ball I put it away in the UFO drawer.

I finally decided it had to go. I would offer it up at the next Shop and Swap at the fiber guild. It wasn’t long after deciding that I found an acceptable pattern in an old issue of IK. Broken Ribs and Bobbles in Fall 2000. That would be the very first issue of IK that I bought since that’s when I learned to knit. The sweater isn’t a current style but it’s fun and funky enough that I’ll wear it and it uses Elite La Gran Mohair. I never get to knit a sweater in the called for yarn. I decided to use that yarn after all.

It’s turning out nice. That is after a little gauge problem that caused me to start over and to pick a different size too. I now think it’s going well. With the second go I left out the purl ridge on the bottom. I wasn’t pleased with how it looked. I think I will leave it on the sleeves but it was just too much at the bottom of the sweater. Too much ‘look at the big purl band around my butt’. Seeing as how I can’t see the band in any of the photos I suspect it didn’t look good on the models. And if a photo stylist can’t make it look good on a model then there is no way it will look good on me in the real world.

With the second casting on I also decided to knit it all in one piece to the arm holes so I wouldn’t have to deal with seaming but mostly because I couldn’t stand the thought of knitting two fronts after the back. The texture is pretty but knitting it is about as exciting as washing dishes. Watching paint dry is more fun.

Too Much Rain

I have been waiting for 2 weeks for it to stop raining and the sun to come out so I could take a photo. I finally settled for stop raining with no sun. Here are the socks I tucked in the ends at my last knitting morning. Tuesday mornings my LYS has coffee and muffins and unlocks the doors before the shop opens so we can gather and knit. I save that time for the tucking in ends, a job that I dread.

Arrow Lace Socks knitted back in July just hit their turn to be finished.Knit in Trekking XXL on size 000 needles. I Love the orange/purplelybrown combination.


Yarrow Ribbed Socks from the book Knitting Vintage Socks. I started these back in February but they were pushed aside for something more interesting. I picked them up and finished the knitting while waiting for the Olympics to start.
Knit in Regia Cotton Surf on size 000 needles.


Plain ribbed socks that I cast on during the Olympics. I needed something small and portable to take to a party and while the baby sweaters were small they were not portable or easy enough for sitting around outside in the dark in front of a fire.

ONline Supersocke 100 Cotton, Summer-Color knit on size 000.

I think they look like strawberries.

The Podium

I fell behind, but that's in the posting not in the Olympic knitting.

Look a gold metal, 4 of them.

Ziggy in Mission Falls Cotton. Done. I love it. Look at the buttons, love them too.
The pattern was well written, fast, and easy. However, it is written for fat babies. I ended up knitting the size 12 month size but making it size 24 length. It looks better that way. I hope it fits better that way too.

Ribbed Baby Sweater is done. I love it and I love the button too. It was a good day for buttons.
Debbi Bliss is well known for writing patterns for very fat babies. Some say it's so she can sell more yarn. I don't know. I do know I knitted an aran weight pattern in a light worsted weight Cotton Fleece and I think it's big enough for a new born to 3 months. It's hard to tell, but it sure is cute.
The 5HBS. I love the 5HBS. Knitted in Caron Simply Soft.

Peaches knitted in Knit Picks CotLin.
Love the clasp. Super love it. The pattern was just a guide line so I used it as a jumping off point and knitted my own design. Size is large. A dress for a chubby 2 year old or a shrug for a thin 6 year old. It used less than 2 balls of yarn. Very nice.

Kipling never made it. I knitted this much on the very first day. Then I ran out of yarn in that ball. I never even wound the second ball. Yarn is Classy by Dreams in Color. Love the Yarn.



I should pick it up and finish since there is only a few hours of knitting left but I am done with baby sweaters for a while. Last night I cast on socks. Ok, ok not just last night. I also cast on socks during the Olympics. I just need to get a photo of them.