Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

My club fiber from Southern Cross Fibre arrived on Saturday. This month is two superwash merino colorways in a "little girls and boys" theme... "Puppy Dog Tails" and "Sugar and Spice." I spun "Puppy Dog Tails" right away. It is about 125 yards of worsted. This is my first full project using Navajo plying. I've tried it with leftovers from other spinning, but never done a full batch. I used N-plying because there was a lot of white in the roving, and I didn't want to muddy the colors by mixing them together. I like how it turned out. Because of the superwash merino, which is very soft and also (sort of) washable, it would be perfect for a baby item... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished both sweaters that were in the home stretch. First, I completed the collar and bands on my Homespun Undercurrent. Because I was having trouble with running out of yarn, and I already had to make extra to finish the bands, I made a collar instead of the hood. The sweater weighs over 2.5 pounds! I used eleven 4-ounce packages of wool, with about 2/3 of a 4-ounce-package-worth of yarn left over, or about 80 yards. That might be enough for a small monster... I made the collar by working 19 rows after rejoining the back and fronts, with two pairs of increases in the center back over the 20 rows. Then, I increased six on the next WS all-purl row (without changing needles) and worked 14 rows in k2/p2 rib. Previous posts on original yarn , additional yarn , body construction , sleeves , and pattern . While I was waiting for the 8 oz of fiber I had to order to make more yarn for the Handspun Undercurrent, I also got the Draped Cardigan pretty close to finishing...

Mitchell and Chris and I went to the first day of Kindergarten, today. The parents were invited to the "orientation session." The teacher gave a an overview for the parents, going over procedures, and then read a story to the kids, " The Kissing Hand ," about a baby racoon's separation anxiety before his first day of school. Then, the kids did a small project, drawing a picture of someone they love, and tracing a picture of their hands and putting on a heart sticker. Star Wars Clone Trooper Shoes, Superman T-Shirt, and Batman Backpack. We must be ready for the first day of school.  The kids sculpted play dough and colored while the parents got their orientation session. Mitchell cut out a heart shape and brought it to me. The parents helped with the project after the story. All done, Mitchell wanted to do "recess," but we said he would have to wait until tomorrow. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I spun and plied another 4 oz. bump of Buccaneer with one bump of Altitude, both Southern Cross Fibre. This should be enough to get through the collar band and front bands of my Handspun Undercurrent . Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

About a week and a half ago, Gma E and Mitchell spent the day with me (before I went back to work from my medical leave), and I taught Gma and Mitchell to knit. Mitchell got a row cast on and one row knitted the first day and has done very well, though now he only wants to knit a couple of stitches at a time. I've been encouraging him to do at least those couple of stitches every day, so that he won't forget what he learned. Last night, I talked him into finishing a row, and he now has the cast on plus two knit rows done in a wide scarf. Note the Lego Anakin Skywalker that he has for moral support... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Both of the sweaters I've got in progress are to the point of seaming-collars-finishing, which means they are a bit too cumbersome for a carry-along project. As we were about to start our Saturday swim-lessons-and-shopping outing, I realized I didn't have a small project to take with me, and I dove into my sock yarn stash and grabbed something and wound it up in a hurry. I ended up with Hedgehog Fibres sock club yarn in the colorway "Potion." Without much time to consider patterns, I decided to just do another BFF . I liked that one, and I still have the photocopy with notes in my sock knitting bag. I am really impressed with Beata's colors. There are so many colors (copper, bronze, purple, rose, teal...), and the transitions are beautiful. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Most Fridays since 2001, I've left work at 10 a.m. to have lunch with my mom and Mary Ann, or sometimes just my mom. Since December 2005, Mitchell has been with us. Starting next week, Mitchell will be in school all day, five days a week, so we'll be on our own for lunch and shopping, again. As we left the house, Mitchell grabbed Molly the Turtle and two monsters, Iris and Delilah . One of Mitchell's favorite parts of Friday is getting a toy. Lately, it has been either Lego or Playmobile. Here he is pointing to the fact that it is a "new" Lego item. Mitchell is getting pretty good with the Legos. He can follow the pictorial instructions without much help, now. We'll still have summers and some holidays, so it isn't the very last Friday with Mitchell, but it will certainly be a change! We'll miss Mitchell... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I came across a pattern booklet during the yarn crawl-- Norah Gaughan's "Men" collection. (It's a collection of sweaters, not a collection of men. Sorry!) The cover picture is so gorgeous, I couldn't resist. The design is called Devon. Here's the cover shot (Berroco photo): After I showed the booklet to Chris, he seemed moderately interested... The yarn is Peruvia Quick , which is a bulky yarn that will work up fairly quickly, so this may be a good trial run! I ordered the yarn color in the cover photo... I didn't want to risk ending up with something different than expected! I got the yarn, yesterday, so I will have to put this near the front of my queue. Interestingly, Mitchell is asking for a sweater, now. I have some leftover blue worsted from the Wrixlan Jacket which should be more than enough, and that project should be refreshingly quick, in a boy's small/medium. Now, I am working on another Norah Gaughan sweater which has been set asi...

I enjoy looking at Rowan pattern books. One problem is that Ravelry doesn't have a lot of the pattern pictures loaded. I was looking for some of them, in particular, after reading Ellen's post about Rowan 50 , but most of them were not in the database (or at least not yet). I did some web searching and came up with a page that has many pattern pictures loaded for the various Rowan books. You can search Rowan books, click on a book, and then many of them have a place to "click for more images." Consider for example, Rowan Nordic Tweed . I particularly like this pattern. So much to do...I'd better get to work... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished the body on my Handspun Undercurrent. It is ready to join the shoulders and work a collar. There is not going to be enough yarn for a hood. The yarn ball shown is all I have left. I am going to have to spin some more to get enough yarn for the front bands. Another ball of "Buccaneer" has been found and is on its way... That is particularly lucky to find, since it was a limited "club" colorway, so I had to find someone that had it. (Ravelry is a good thing.) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've been interviewed ! Wow! Robin Hunter of Robin Hunter Designs keeps a blog called, " How to become a Professional Knitter ." She posts interviews with knitters and yarn shop owners once a week. She has interviewed designers such as Nicky Epstein, Sally Melville, Shirley Paden and Teva Durham. Cool! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

It was time for Mitchell to get some new shoes, especially with school about to start (Kindergarten two weeks from today), and we went to our standard Stride Rite store. We like their stuff. It wears well and is comfortable and supportive. Mitchell immediately noticed that they had quite a display of Star Wars shoes . They have many different colors which represent the different characters, and the shoes have the character's names. His first choice, Boba Fett, was out of stock in his size (which was OK with me, because I didn't care for the maroon and grey), and we ended up with Captain Rex. Man! Even the box is cool! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I have gotten a few new things in the mail... Here is my Tour de Fleece prize (random draw from entries on a certain day), from Wharfedale Woolworks , 100g of Corriedale in the colorway, "Ultra Violet." Kirsty also added in 20g of mohair locks in a similar color. I'm not sure exactly what I'll do with it, but I'm sure it will be fun. I also received my quarterly Quasi Club order from Zen Yarn Garden , in the colorway "Frosted Lilac." This time, I ordered four skeins of Serenity Worsted, which should be enough to make a Leaflet in my size. I also ordered a skein of Serenity 20, fingering, in the "Frosted Lilac," for a matching pair of socks, of course... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I started a sweater with some of my Tour de Fleece handspun... I used the extra brown I had for ribbing. If I'm short of yarn, I'll have to use a collar instead of a hood... It is supposed to be an Undercurrent , but I'm not sure there's enough yarn for it to make it all the way to a hoodie... We shall see. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

July was a "Rockin' Sock Club" month (once a quarter), and so I received the new installment... The color is called "Schwarzwald." I don't know what that means, of course. I like both of the patterns, and the colorway is a great brown/green combo that seems consistent with some of my recent spinning. I think this is my favorite RSK kit so far... Yea! I also received the Hedgehog Fibres sock club, Phoenix (left) and Ondine (right). As always, Beata came up with some impressive handpaints. She's amazing. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay