Corelle - Second Block Done

I finished up the second block tonight.  Apparently I couldn't read the yarn labels, the yarn is Luxe, not Verve.  I got the colors right, though, but how could you miss those colors.  I really enjoyed these blocks.  They had enough variety to keep me from getting bored, with some fun design features, but straight forward enough that they weren't too hard.

Pattern:  Corelle by Donna Kay Lacey
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Luxe in Vine and Cantaloupe
Hook:  2.75 mm

Corelle - One Block Done

In between sleeves I worked on my July Crochet Block from the Unique Sheep.  It was a little later arriving than usual, but that doesn't really affect me as I have established a tradition of working the blocks the last weekend of the month.  The yarn this month was once again Verve in Vine and Cantaloupe.  Here is the first block completed.  A fun pattern and pretty easy to work up.

Pattern:  Corelle by Donna Kay Lacey
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Verve in Vine and Cantaloupe
Hook:  2.75 mm

Meris - Blocking

This is my first top down cardigan with set-in sleeves.  I like the construction technique, but figuring out how many stitches to pick up for the sleeves always throws me at first.  I ended up counting how many rows and stitches I had in the arm hole and comparing it with how many sleeve stitches the pattern ended up with for the size I was knitting.  In the end I picked up one stitch for every other row and then 1 for 1 stitches in the underarm.  That gave me 85 stitches, while the pattern called for 84.  Close enough.  I didn't do any decreases on the sleeve and centered the lace panel. 

Starting the I-cord bind off on the sleeves threw me at first because you're knitting in the round - this means the working yarn is on the right hand needle, but you need those first 3 stitches to be on the left hand needle.  I ended up turning the work so the wrong side was facing me - now the working yarn was on the left hand needle.  I did a knitted cast on of three stitches, then I turned the work so the right side was facing me again, slipped those three stitches to the left hand needle and started my I-cord bind off.

The yarn feels very sturdy when you're knitting with it, but it softens up when you block it.

Pattern:  Meris by Elizabeth Doherty
Yarn:  Finch by Quince & Co in Crocus
Needle:  US 2.5 (3 mm)

Meris - Body Done

These Furlough Fridays are certainly giving me a lot more knitting time.  Even with checking on Fred regularly I was able to finish up the body of my Meris cardigan.  I really the like finishing touches of this pattern.  After finishing the body, you do an I-cord bind off, which creates such a beautiful finished edge.  Then you pick up stitches for the buttonhole band without breaking the yarn and knit that.  After binding off the buttonhole band you pick up stitches around the neckband and leave a tail and break the yarn.  It was at this point that this lovely dance missed a step.  I didn't break the yarn, I just made a loop.  Then you pick up the stitches for the button band and knit that.   After binding off the button band you use that tail you left with the neck band stitches and pick up 6 more stitches across the top of the button band, but to do the I-cord bind off on the neck band you have to start from the button hole side of the band - the opposite side of where your working yarn is.  I didn't want to break my yarn, so I purled back to the other side and then did the I-cord bind off.

Alternatively, you could break the yarn after knitting the button hole band, knit the button band and then pick up the neck band stitches.  The other benefit of doing that is you wouldn't have a needle holding the neck stitches getting in your way while you're knitting the button band.

While I was working all of this finish work, Fred came downstairs - I had left his door open as he had shown that he was consistently using his litter box.  He looked around the room a little, then got up on the daybed - using a pile of knitting magazines as a step - gave himself a thorough bath and settled down for a kitty nap.  He's doing much better.  We're still shutting him up in his room at night and during the day while we're at work.  He's still a little wobbly and we have a pretty big house that is not really kitty proof, I don't want him getting stuck somewhere.

Pattern:  Meris by Elizabeth Doherty
Yarn:  Finch by Quince & Co in Crocus
Needle:  US 2.5 (3 mm)

Update on Fred

Fred suffered a little setback on Friday.  Maybe he overdid things on Friday morning, but he ended up sleeping all day and not eating or drinking, and in his already weak condition, he just can't go that long without food and water.  I did get him to eat some chicken breast Friday evening (part of my dinner), but he still wasn't drinking when I put him in his bed Friday night.  He woke me around 4 am on Saturday meowing.  He was out of bed and he was hungry.  He didn't seem interested in the dry cat food and we don't keep wet cat food in the house so I gave him the only thing I had - tuna fish in water. At first he just drank the water, and I kept adding more as he drank.  Every once in a while he would get a bit of tuna fish as well.  He was getting cold though, so I put his little shirt back on - the ladies at the vet clinic had given him a shirt to keep him warm.  He seemed to be settling down again so I went back to bed.  When I got up again around 7:30 I went to check on him and found an empty bowl and a cocooned Fred.  He had gotten his hind legs tucked into the shirt, as well as pulling his front legs in.  I guess he was trying to stay warm, but he was pretty stuck.  I took the shirt off and put him in his bed and tucked him in.  After breakfast and a shower I drove into town to get some canned cat food for him.  I bought small cans figuring one of them was a reasonable size meal for Fred, and I don't like dealing with leftover wet cat food.

With the first can of cat food I did a repeat of the tuna fish, adding water to it, and he mostly just drank the water.  He would get a piece of cat food every once in a while, but seemed to be having some trouble with the size of the chunks so I chopped it up to make it easier for him.  That helped and he drank and ate some more, but then he got cold and tired and went back to bed.  I checked on him regularly throughout the day.  Around dinner time I took away what was left of that first can of cat food and got him a fresh can.  I chopped it up into smaller pieces and when I gave it to him he started eating with the enthusiasm he had shown on his first night with us.  I gave him another can before I went to bed, and he woke me again at 4am wanting breakfast.  He is definitely looking better and is steadier on his feet.  I've offered to let him wander, but he doesn't seem too eager to.  Maybe he realizes that he overdid things on Friday and is taking it a little easier this time around.

Catkin - Finished!

I finally got some small flat buttons to use in attaching my buttons to the shawl so my Catkin is finally done and I've uploaded a picture to The Loopy Ewe.  I've already bought my yarn and pattern for the third Camp Loopy project.  I am doing a top down sweater, but not one of my super simple, super quick, top down raglans out of Fiesta Boomerang.  I've done that for the last two years, and wanted to do something different.  This time I am doing Bloomsbury in Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in Clematis.

Fred has become ambulatory.  He spent the morning snuggled on the day bed and when we went to take a shower I shut him up in his room.  He immediately started complaining about being shut up.  When I checked on him he was up on the bed.  After our shower we let him back out and he went right down the stairs and started exploring the first floor again.  After watching kitty TV (looking out the sliding glass doors) for a while he went back to the day bed and he is snuggled under the blanket taking another kitty nap.  Poor thing gets cold with no fur.

Pattern:  Catkin by Carina Spencer
Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy
Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Wavelettes Shawl - Finished!

I was really at a loss as to how to get a good photo of this shawl.  It has been wrapped around my dress maker dummy all week, but that just made it look like the dummy was a mummy, a well-dressed mummy, but a mummy nonetheless.  Then I thought about laying it out on the floor, but it is pretty big, so getting all of it in one shot is hard.  Finally I came up with this arrangement.  You can see the colors and the textures, which is what I wanted.

Pattern:  Wavelettes Shawl by Janine le Cras published in Twist Collective Spring 2013
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Pashmi in White Queen's Castle
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Fred's New Home

We set up a spot for Fred in one of the spare bedrooms where we can keep him at night and during the day while we are at work.  I hate shutting an animal up, though, even if it is a spacious, comfortable bedroom, and I think he was getting lonely up there.  We are home today, thanks to the furlough, so I brought Fred downstairs with me.  He did some supervised exploring and sat in front of our sliding glass door looking out - we call it watching kitty TV.  He and Jasmine had a couple of encounters, but they were both pretty low key standoffs.  He hissed at her once, and she hissed and growled at him.  He is walking much better, although he is still a little wobbly, and he tires pretty quickly.  Now he is snuggled on the day bed having a kitty nap.

Introducing Fred

As we drove up to the house on Monday afternoon we noticed something laying in front of our garage door.  As we approached it didn't move, but I could tell it was a cat.  A very unhappy cat.  He was skin and bones and what fur wasn't missing was filthy and matted and he was covered in fleas.  I had to move him so we could pull the car into the garage, and after we put away our groceries I got out the cat carrier and we took him to the vet.  From the belly bulge we were afraid he was a she and she was pregnant, but it turned out to be feces.  He was a bit dehydrated.  After two nights at the vet, a shave, an enema and some medicine he is a new man.  We brought him home today.  Our cat Jasmine is a little put out, but she can tell that he is in no shape to challenge her, so her response has been pretty subdued.  A little growling and hissing, but no puffed tail, no aggressive moves.  He is still very weak, but he is also very happy.  I don't think he has stopped purring, not even while he was eating, which he does with enthusiasm.  As to his name, well, when we thought he was a she we were going to name her Ginger, given the coloring.  When they told us she was a he we had to come up with a new name, so I looked at my husband and said, "Well, if it isn't Ginger, it must be Fred."  For those readers who are not classic film fans, I am of course referring to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Wavelettes Shawl - Blocking

I did a pretty relaxed blocking job, soaking the shawl and then just smoothing it out on the blocking mats without pinning it.  I did check to see that both sides were the same length, but not much more than that.

Pattern:  Wavelettes Shawl by Janine le Cras published in Twist Collective Spring 2013
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Pashmi in White Queen's Castle
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Wavelettes Shawl - Body charts done on second half

When I went to pick up the provisional cast-on I remembered why I don't like these kinds of patterns.  I ended up doing two rows of stockinette stitch before starting the body chart for the second half, and on the first pattern row I did some improvised fudging to get the lace pattern to line up as best I could.  If I were to do this again, I would do a row of purl stitches after the provisional cast on and before starting the lace chart.  I think that would make starting the second half a lot easier.

Pattern:  Wavelettes Shawl by Janine le Cras published in Twist Collective Spring 2013
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Pashmi in White Queen's Castle
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Wavelettes Shawl - Half Done

With Catkin finished, mostly, I picked up my Wavelettes Shawl again.  I haven't worked on this for a month but I really want to get some projects finished.  Once I finish this, I'm going to finish the Meris cardigan and then I'm going to do the Open Eye Tunic.  With the furlough starting this week, I'll have some extra knitting time.  After the four repeats of the border chart I ended up with 20 grams of skein 6 left.  I used all of skeins 4 and 5.  Now I'll start with skein 3.  I'll use up all of skeins 3 and 2.  Whatever I have left of skein 1 will join skein 6 in my stash of Pashmi remains that I have accumulated from the Crochet Block Club to become additional blocks.

Pattern:  Wavelettes Shawl by Janine le Cras published in Twist Collective Spring 2013
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Pashmi in White Queen's Castle
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Catkin - Knitting Done and Shawl Blocked

I finished this up last weekend and blocked it Monday.  It took a couple of days to dry.  I still need to sew on the buttons.  I used up almost all of the blue, and 80% of the red.  I was actually getting nervous about having enough blue to finish and weighed my skein after each set of blue rows once I get into the final section.  I managed to get home early today, because I went in early this morning, so I was able to get some slightly better shots.

When I started this shawl I thought that I would do the blue as Color A and the red as Color B, but as I was swatching I realized they would look better the other way.  The reason?  The red is a warm color and tends to come forward, while the blue is a cool color that tends to recede.  When I had the colors switched in the swatch the shawl just felt unbalanced.  This is my first time knitting with Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere, and it is delightful to work with.  Definitely smooshy.

Pattern:  Catkin by Carina Spencer
Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy
Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Catkin - Section 2 Done

I think I may be becoming a monogamous knitter.  This is the only project that I have worked on this month.  Of course, part of it may be the fact that I have a deadline, but I do find that I am less comfortable having lots of works in progress floating around.  As I was working on this section I wasn't sure if the colors were going to work, I even considered getting different yarn and went so far as to peruse The Loopy Ewe web site for possible alternatives.  In the end, though, I decided to stay the course and see where it took me.  Section 2 was not as hard as I thought it would be, once I got used to the pattern.  I don't usually use stitch markers, but I do have them marking the stitch that separates the four sections.

Pattern:  Catkin by Carina Spencer
Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy
Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Catkin - Section 1 Done

The second Camp Loopy project is to do something that has been popular but you haven't done.  My friend and fellow camper Erin decided she wanted to do Catkin, so I decided to join her.  The funny thing is that this was going to be my very first Camp Loopy project back in 2011.  At that time I bought Dream in Color Smooshy in Lunar Zazzle and Night Watch.  I ended up knitting Over the Moon instead - a much easier project.  This time around I went for Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere, and I bought Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy.  Not only did I like the colors, I also like the positive attitude engendered by the color names.  They don't have as much contrast as most of the other color choices for this shawl, but I like them.  I usually agonize over color choices, but I'm getting better about not doing that.  Originally I was going to start with the blue, but when I was swatching I decided that the colors would look better the other way around.

Pattern:  Catkin by Carina Spencer
Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy
Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

May & June Crochet Blocks - Beauty Shots

It occurred to me that I never posted beauty shots of my May 2013 Unique Sheep Crochet Blocks, so here they are.

Pattern:  Playa del Sol by Donna Kay Lacey, March 2013 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Sushi Socks in Leaf and Daffodil
Hook:  2.75 mm (C)

And here are the June 2013 Blocks.

Pattern:  Ornate Arches by Donna Kay Lacey, the June 2012 Unique Sheep Crochet Block of the Month
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Verve in Washington and Cornwallis
Hook:  2.75 mm

Pineapple - Finished!

I finished this shawl up last Sunday night, and blocked it Monday.  It isn't as much of a crescent as the other two shawls, which made it a little harder to get a beauty shot of it.

This just doesn't do justice to this shawl.  Then last night the best way to display it on my dress maker dummy occurred to me.  Now if I made a one shouldered dress in silk and dyed it to match...

Pattern:  Vidalia Lace Shawl by Alina Appasov
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Verve in Pineapple
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)