Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I joined a KAL group on Ravelry for Cookie A's new book, Knit. Sock. Love.  They're doing a different sock every month, with two months to finish. (If it takes two months, you'll only be able to do every-other one, apparently.) The January KAL is the Hedera pattern. I'm doing mine in Malabrigo Sock  (Malabrigo is one of the sponsors this month), in the colorway "Violeta Africana." I modified the pattern for toe-up, casting on 14 sts and increasing to 62. I'm using 3 repeats of the 10-st pattern in the instep, plus one extra twisted knit stitch for symmetry. I also received the Berroco Ultra Alpaca and Ultra Alpaca Light in "Pea Soup" to make Norah Gaughan's fabulous Draped Cardigan . However, first, I am planning to finish the Wrixlan Jacket . I started it about three years ago, finishing only the back at that time, and now I have the fronts about half done... I seems to be going a lot faster this time. I'm cabling witho...

Hi, I finished the May KAL socks, Catnips. (Yarn and pattern info here .) I totally ran out of yarn on the bindoff. I used the little bit I had left from the first sock, and I ran out again. I used a short piece of Dream In Color "Don't Be Blue" to finish the bindoff. It is a really close match. The socks are actually the same height... I guess I have one pulled up higher in the photo... Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, For my birtday, my mom and Mitchell and I went to The Loopy Ewe . This is the third year in a row (not that I need any more yarn)! Ha! I wore my new Sock Club Lite socks, and the elves were surprised they were done so fast... I did pick up two new yarns... Dream In Color, Smooshy, in colorway "Valentine" Hand Maiden, Swiss Mountain Sea Sock, in colorway "Blackberry" We also ate at The Cheesecake Factory at the Galeria. Mitchell liked the honey wheat bread and the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake. (The three of us shared one slice!) What's not to like? Mitchell (and Daddy) gave me a birdhouse kit for my birthday present, and we put it together before bedtime. All the grandparents came over for dinner, and I cast on another sock, the Catnip sock for the "Socks From The Toe Up" knit along on Ravelry . This is the second sock pattern (not from the book), and is available on Wendy Knits for free. I used a size smaller needle tha...

Hi, I finished my second July pair of socks on the 17th. Pattern: "On Hold Sock" from Wendy Johnson's awesome book, "Socks From the Toe Up." Yarn: Dream in Color, Smooshy Color: "Don't Be Blue" (this was a "consolation" yarn from The Loopy Ewe for not getting in the sock club.) Needles, size 2.5 mm Started July 5, Finished July 17. I may actually have time to do three pairs this month. I have almost half the month, left. A lot will depend on how much knitting time I can manage during my "class" next week. I'm doing a class for work that involves four nights away from home. I'm not sure how much time I'll have for knitting, though. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, Here's some progress on the second sock pattern for the July KAL, "On Hold Sock." (It's called that because Wendy drafted the pattern while waiting on hold on the telephone.) Mitchell wanted to get into the pictures. He's a bit of ham. :) I really like the double border going up the side of the sock. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, This is "On Hold Sock" from SFTTU, in Dream In Color, Smooshy, in the color "Don't Be Blue," which is an exclusive "non-club" color from The Loopy Ewe . (It was part of a consolation kit for not making it into the sock club. Sheri does a lottery for her sock club. Another possible name would have been Boo Hoo Blue. Ha!) Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi! I am excited and proud to report successful and lovely completion of the Central Park Hoodie ( with Viking Cable Substitution ). Yea! I am thrilled with how it turned out! Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I finished the CPH sleeves in my "few minutes of knitting before going to work" period. I've been starting my day that way quite a few days (when I don't go in extra early), and it has been a fun way to start the day. Anyway, all I have left is to seam on the sleeves and then seam the side/arm, and then the front band. Yea! Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I finished the hood, today. I have cast on the sleeves. After I get the sleeves sewn in and the side seems done, I'll decide how wide to make the front band, and how to do the closure / buttons / zipper / whatever. It is going to be a close fit, so I may need to make the bands a bit wider. Lovin' it! Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I completed and blocked the fronts, yesterday. They look a bit different... should have alternated skeins. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi! I finished the CPH back this morning, and it is blocking. I couldn't wait to take pictures... it isn't dry, yet. I used short row shoulders, and the shoulders and neck are temporarily bound off with scrap yarn. I'll use three-needle bind-off later. In the left side of the picture, the two strands coming off the arm-hole show where I joined a new ball of yarn. I alternated yarns between the ends. I'll weave them into the seam. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi! I'm so excited by how the CPH "Viking Version" is turning out, even though it is just started. Here is a picture of the back, not quite done. The following modifications apply to the “Central Park Hoodie” designed by Heather Lodinsky, originally published in the Fall 2006 Knit Scene magazine, and available for download via Knitting Daily. The modifications here assume the knitter has purchased the Central Park Hoodie (CPH) pattern. The “Viking Version” replaces the cable charts in the CPH, and provides instructions for incorporating and working those cables, but the CPH instructions are not provided here, for copyright reasons, obviously! If you want the “Viking Version,” you still have to buy the CPH pattern, then add these modifications. The original CPH uses three cable charts, two 10-stitch charts (A and C), and one 18-stitch chart (chart B). The Viking Version substitutes 12-stitch cables for A and C, and a 28-stitch cable for B, with only 20 stitches in the “C...

Hi! I've joined The Loopy Ewe's (TLE) Dream in Color (DIC) knit-along (KAL). TLE gave a 20% discount on the yarn for joining the KAL. I think they've extended the deadline, if you are interested. Anyway, you can knit any sweater pattern you want. If you post pictures to their web site by June 1, you get entered in a drawing for some nice yarn prizes. Yea! All other knitting (primarily Wrixlan Jacket and Posey #2) have been put on the back burner while I attempt to crank out a Central Park Hoodie (CPH) by Heather Lodinsky. I have made some cable chart changes, and carried cables into the ribbing. Photo shows the ribbing for the back. Obviously, for those familiar with the CPH, it is already a bit different. The DIC yarn is actually the same line I'm using for the Wrixlan Jacket, in a different colorway. This colorway is "Ruby River." I really like it. TLE said they may offer another discount on DIC for anyone completing their entry by June 1, so maybe I'...

Hi! I finished the Wrixlan Jacket back just before I went to California, last weekend, and I left it blocking. Here it is! Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I've been working on the back of the Wrixlan Jacket (from a Jamieson's pattern book) for about a week. It will have four repeats, and it has about 3.5 so far. This will look weird if you are familiar with the pattern, because it calls for the whole jacket knitted in the round, but I added side seams. The fronts and back will be knitted separately. The yarn is Dream in Color's Classy (the thicker of their yarns) in color Nightwatch, which I purchased at Knitty Couture in St. Louis, on "The Loop." The colors are blending beautifully, so far. I took the conservative approach of knitting two hanks at once, alternating every two rows, just in case there is an overall shade difference between the hanks. (Hand dyes tend to have that problem.) I really like the cables. I have enough yarn to make Mitchell a pullover, so maybe I'll put one of these large, overlapping cables up the center front. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay