Yak Tunic

A continuation of the last post from Sock Summit. Blogger is getting very testy. It would not let me post anymore photos. I wonder if anyone else has this much trouble with the program. Anyway, back to Sock Summit. I spent some time at the Bijou Basin booth. They make this lovely Yak and Bamboo yarn. Yak! who would have thought it would be so soft and blended with the bamboo it really is soft and has a lovely drape. I am making the Sweetheart Lace Tunic designed for this yarn. It is just lovely to knit with. A few days before departing on our road trip to Montana via Portland, my new Zephyr needles arrived. These are the latest interchangeable needles from Knitpicks. The points are nice for lace knitting, but they take a little getting used to however. What bothers me a little, and I am getting used to it now, they are clear so you see the back side of the yarn on the needle. At first it made me dizzy knitting with them because I had to focus my eye on the front of the needle so intensely, now I have gotten used to that so it isn't quite so bothersome. They are a little flexible and they definitely hold the yarn, maybe just a bit too much. They would be wonderful for really slippery yarns like rayon and bamboo. They are a nice addition to my collection of needles.

Sock Summit Market

I arrived in Portland the last day of Sock Summit 2009, just in time to check out the last hour of the Market. I found this wonderful basket from Lantern Moon which is just perfect for a small project...socks!

The market was a little sleepy, but it was also the last hour of it. Lots of interesting booths to explore with unusual yarns. I didn't even see one knitting celebrity, perhaps they were preparing for the Luminary Panel, which I did not attend.




Another view of the bag. The fabric lining is beautiful cross-dyed silk.















I also purchased this soft bag from the same vendor.

A State of Bliss?

The Alphabet Blanket if FINISHED!

As with most Debbie Bliss patterns, I love her designs, I hate her instructions and this project was no different. I should have read ALL the entries about this project on Ravelry. As with most complicated lace patterns it is very important to keep your attention on what you are doing, no TV watching [listening is okay], no wine and no interruptions! Period! This project took me almost 2 months to complete. While I didn't work 100% on it [always have other things on needles to distract me] I did spend a great deal of time with it everyday. A lot of those days were spent ripping back maybe 10 or 15 rows of mistakes from the evening before. The old go forward 10 steps and take 20 steps back. So frustrating to say the least.

Last night I gave it a soak and spent a long time blocking to get the ruffles out from too many stitches picked up on the sides. I followed the pattern, it said to pick up 227 stitches - just too many. The edge has 258 stitches, you would think that picking up 227 would be okay...I read from another person's post on ravelry that made this blanket and they picked up 187...why didn't I read her post earlier. I am so disappointed with the edges I could scream. All that work, all that time!

This morning I looked at the blanket and it looks okay. The edges are still not the way I wanted them to look, but it will be fine. I just hope that when the blanket needs to be cleaned it doesn't turn into a nightmare for my niece...after all this is a baby blanket and it will need to be cleaned. I hope she enjoys it.

On a side note, does anyone else have so much trouble with Blogger. The editing is wonky, it keeps deleting pictures that I upload. So frustrating!

I am now going to work yet another Debbie Bliss pattern...will I ever learn!

Time to Let it Go!

Why can't I just send this away? It's the Helena sweater and Bunny for baby-to-be Katherine.

I love the tag I made from a vintage photo of a little girl knitting.

Just love looking at the package.