WhiteStar

Seriously.....

How many projects can one person work on at once??? And still accomplish anything?

Earnshaw Revised is actually progressing quite well. It's so big I can't fit it all in the picture frame. Well if I'd wanted to stand on a chair I probably could have.

It's also big enough that it no longer qualifies as take-along knitting. About 2-3 more inches and sleeve number one is done.

Obi is also progressing nicely, although I am having some gauge issues. My swatch was *perfect*, but the full size front is a little too small both stitch and row wise. I'm not so worried about the stitch gauge as this thing is so big (93" around) that it WILL fit. I may have to make adjustments with sleeve length though.

My bigger concern is row gauge becuase of the stripes. I could just knit one more stripe but I think it will throw off the symetry of starting and ending with the same color. I think when I finish this piece I will see how much addtional length I can get from blocking.

FO!

And I have a finished object to present. Well almost finished... to be 100% truthful it still need buttons. Know what it is?

It is the beautiful Elizabeth scarf/collar desgined by Kate Gilbert. I made mine in a combination of angora and alpaca for extra yummy softness. Only took about 4 hours to make and I LOVE IT!

New Stuff

Would I be me if I didn't have new started projects to report?

First there is the Magic Moebius scarf from Cat Bordhi's ingenious mind.

For those who have looked over the instructions in the book and wondered.. YES, you REALLY DO need very long circulars to make one of these scarves. Mine is 60 inches and just right.

And this fuzzy pictures is going to be felted tote. It's the Blue Hawaii bag from Eva Weichmanns fun book "Pursenalities".

And I started Rogue. I've always thought it was an attractive pattern but I had no desire to make it. Until this week. I have no idea what came over me but I suddenly HAD TO MAKE ROGUE. I've swatched and the Reynolds Turnberry Tweed in my stash gives me perfect gauge on size 7 needles. I have two rows done on the first sleeve so no pictures yet.

On the Road Again...

Yep, it's been over a month and the doggies are restless. We head out for a 4 day show in Amarillo tomorrow morning. This time it's just Kelly and Babe. Kelly is looking for that last point that will make her a champion and Babe is going to show in another puppy match.

Wish us all luck and good driving weather!

Anne at 8:53 AM

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Not the World I Live In!!!

I was at my LYS yesterday when I overheard two other customers talking about what they were going to knit with the yarn they were looking at.

Dog Sweaters.

And the yarn they purchased for the dog sweaters?

Prism Wild Stuff.

$92 a skein. $52 for a half skein.

One customer bought three skeins. The other was still choosing hers when I left....

Anne at 1:41 PM

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It's a lifestyle.

I am beginning to think I have a new way of life when it come to my knitting. The keyword is RRR-R-R-IIIIIPPPPPPP.

Think about it.

Jess started life as an almost completed Rosy. All I had to do was sew Rosy together but instead I decided I didn't like Rosy, ripped it out and knit Jess.

I knit 4 and a half Butterfly sleeves before I got it right.

Earnshaw was ripped out and restarted as EarnShaw Revised. Earnshaw Revised was ripped out twice before I got it right.

Most recently the yarn I was using for Ruffles rebelled, insisting that it HAD to socks and fingerless mitts instead of a scarf.

And now there is Clapotis. This is last night. Isn't it beautiful:

Unfortunately I ran out of yarn. And it is a beautiful handpaint that I do not think can be reproduced. In fact, the tag does not even have a color name specified. Sigh. It's my fault. I checked the yardage but I read it wrong. Twice.

And this is this morning:

How sad.

I'll make it narrower (which I think I will like better anyway.)

And on we go.....

Anne at 12:47 PM

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M.I.A.

Missing In Action. That's me.

Where am I?

As I have mentioned before, in my non work life, "crafting" (i.e. knitting, beading, spinning, etc) are secondary to The Dogs. As part of my Dog Life I am the Webmaster for the Samoyed Club of America. I also maintain a very active email list for Samoyed fanciers. And I also recently started a Breeder Referral Listing for Samooyed Breeders.

On a busy month the list I oversee will have about 300 messages posted. Our highest ever was 839. This month we are only half way thru the month and we are at 560. Suffice it to say there are some very hot "political issues" going on in the Sammie world right now and I'm in the middle of it. All my free time has been spent babysitting the list, overseeing a petition drive, soothing hurt feeling, correspoinding with people about the issues. And on the phone. Waaayyyy too much time onthe phone. I am NOT a phone person. I'm tired. Very tired.

But I have been knitting a little.

Tha back of Butterfly is done and I started a sleeve. I did stop at my LYS on Saturday and picked up a 12th ball of yarn which I think I will definitely need.

I think the problem I'm having is that while my gauge was dead on for the stockinette portion of the pattern, it is tight for the chevron part and I have eaten up more yarn that I should have. I had to do some judicsiou blocking to get the width I needed on the back, and it also turned out a bit long. It's hard to measure the chevron part accurately.

Clapotis continues. I'm on the 7th repeat of the dropped stitches and am beginning to get concerned about yarn quantity for this as well. If I do run out, I have no alternative but to rip out and do fewer repeats as the yarn I'm using is a one of a kind handpaint.

Ruffles progresses slowly. And I'm still not sure I like the yarn I am using. Probably why it is progressing slowly.

I haven't touched Obi or Earnshaw in over a week.

Hopefully life will quiet down and return to normal soon.

Something to look forward to... Babe goes to her first puppy match this weekend!!

Anne at 6:18 AM

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Dueling Noros

I'm having a hard time dedicating myself to getting the beautiful Butterfly done because Earnshaw Revised keeps calling to me. Here we have the backs of both sweaters....

This is actually the 3rd version of Earnshaw Revised. The original pattern called for 4 stitches to the inch on size 10 needles. Yeah. Right. I had to go down to size 8 to get that gauge and the fabric felt like cardboard. So I made a nice big swatch (5 inches by 6 inches) on size 10 needles. I liked the feel, so I rewrote the pattern to be slightly smaller (44 inches instead of 49) and use my new gauge.

Proving that gauge swatches sometimes lie, I got 13 inches into the back when I realized it looked big. Really BIG. My gauge had grown and was measuring out at a finished width of 52 inches!! So I went down to a size 9 needle, recalculated the gauge and cast on 80 stitches.

Proving YET AGAIN that gauge swatches can't be be trusted, this time it was too small. So here we are at Take Three, with 84 stitches and it's Just Right. Look how yummy this fabric is...

Butterfly Worries

hmmm.... I used four entire balls of Kureyon for the Butterfly sleeves. And so far I'm part way thru the second ball on the back. My size only calls for 11 balls... and from reading about Theresa's Butterfly I know the collar takes more than one complete ball. So that means I have 4 balls left to finish the back and both fronts and I'm not even half way thru the back yet. My gauge is dead on correct.

Anyone else made or making the smallest size? How is your yarn holding up?

Scarf City.

I joined the Scarf Style Knit Along the other day... instead of posting duplicate pictures I'm just going to post scarf progress on the Scarf Style Blog. I'm working on both Ruffles and the Campus scarf right now. Since I am not really a scarf person I'm not sure what I'll do with them when they are done!

Now, I'm heading off to Comp USA to try and return the Memory Stick Duo I purchased a few weeks ago with my new camera. Although the camera can read the memory stick just fine, none of the three computers in the house can read it so getting pictures off is impossible.

Anne at 2:57 PM

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Just a coincidence?

Is anyone else besides me amused by the idea that the latest "operation" in Iraq is named after a vacuum cleaner.

Just a coincidence or does someone have a sense of humor?

Anne at 11:24 AM

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www.michaelmoore.com

Read the November 5th post. It will make you feel better.

Anne at 9:02 AM

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How Many New Projects Can I Start in a Week?

Lots.

I finished Jess. Pictures someday.

One.

I restarted Butterfly. Sleeves are done (again). And I started the body. See...

Yes, both sleeves really are the same size. The one on the left was blocked with lots of pins. I ran out, so the one on the right was only patted into shape. Just goes to show what a difference blocking makes.

Two.

I finally started on Earnshaw but I am calling it Earnshaw Revised. How is it revised? Well, the pattern for the exra small has a finished width of 49 inches. I really think 14 inches of ease for this particular style is too much. So I sized it down by several inches. I also added garter stitch on the bottom to keep it from rolling up. And my gauge is going to be a bit different from what the pattern calls for. 4 stitches to the inch in Korchoran makes a fabric that feel like cardboard. I'm revising as I knit. The fabric is soooo pretty and bunny soft.

Three.

I went on a ride-along with friend last weekend to deliver a puppy. She had a 7 hour round trip to make so I said I'd keep her company part way. She picked me up in Colorado Springs, we drove to Raton, New Mexico, dropped off the puppy, then turned around and came back. On the way I started Obi. I LOVE the fabric that's coming off my needles. I highly recommend the Lavold Silky Wool and bet it woudl make a killer lace shawl.

This is going to take a LONG time to make. The gauge is not tiny but its also not big and the sweater itself is HUGE. The finished chest measurement is 90 inches. No that is not a typo. 90 inches.

Four.

You know what this is right...

It's everywhere in blogland right now and I just couldn't resist. It's Clapotis from Knitty. There's even a knitalong.

Five? Not Yet.

Okay so starting four projects in one week isn't so bad is it? I am trying very hard to control myself and not start number five. I acquired some more Silk Garden in the oh-so-lovely color 203. I want to make a hybrid coat.... I fell in love with Myrtle after I saw it in trunk show but there were a few things I didn't care for. Like the hood. And the way it rolled in along the front edge. Then I saw Nicole in the newest Debbie Bliss book but the gauge was wrong for Silk Garden. So I'm going to combine them. Stay tuned to see how long I can resist starting.

Do We NEED Another Knit-Along

I have been toying with the idea of starting a knit-along. It would be rather different kind of knit-along. Rather than knitting a particular item, or even a particular type of item it would simply be a knitalong for Noro. Noro yarns, Noro patterns, anything and everything Noro. I even have a name... the Neverending Noro knit along and a button...

If you think this is a good idea and want to join in, drop me a note and I'll add your link on the sidebar.

One Last Picture to END a Long Post

Babe. Because she's just so darn cute.

See it bigger on her blog.

Anne at 5:12 PM

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All I can say is....

.... thank God for term limits.

Anne at 11:25 PM

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Random Thoughts about Tomorrow.

I am not a political person. I always vote in the National elections. I usually vote in state elections. I sometimes but not always vote in local elections. I really believe that tomorrows election may be the most important election I have witnessed in my lifetime.

A few weeks ago I read a news story about the accuracy of polls. The person being interviewed said the one group that they can't poll are those who have given up traditional phone service for cell only service. And that most of that group is young and "they don't vote anyway" so the pollsters are not really worried about their polls being inaccurate due to that demographic not being polled.

As of today Bush leads Kerry by ONE PERCENT.

Today I saw this in a Reuters news feed:

Kerry was favored by young voters -- those between the ages of 18 and 29 --
by 64 percent to 35 percent, but the size of the turnout in that voting bloc
is one of the biggest unknowns of Tuesday's election.

Zogby said he was calculating young voters would account for 12 percent of
the total vote, but a larger share would be a boost for the Massachusetts
senator. "Each point it goes higher translates into two-thirds of a percent
for Kerry if these numbers hold up," Zogby said.

If you are reading this blog and you fall into that demographic and were not planning to vote tomorrow. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reconsider. And pass the word.

The only thing scarier to me at this point than Bush being re-elected is the possibility of him being joined in the senate by Pete ("lets lower the drinking age to 18 so I can make more money") Coors.

Now go read what Theresa wrote today.

Anne at 10:05 AM