More Swatching

So lately, I've been having this terrible itch to start a new project, something for myself. And after the failure and mismatch of yarn and pattern, I finally grieved and was able to move on.

Now, I bring you Aberlady. Another Starmore, from her book The Celtic Collection.

As you can see, this pattern is amazing only because it is like knitted in size 0 needles! Tight, tight stitches to pop out the Celtic arrows.

So, once again, I look in my stash, the same very stash I acquired when I was a little boy, not knowing much about yarn and all and found Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy. This is my Aberlady swatch, knitted in size 4 US (3.5 mm), 2 (2.75 mm) and 0 US (2.0 mm).

This swatch has been washed and dried and actually, my little boy purchase might actually work, but I just don't know if I have enough yarn! Arrgh, it's always something or another.

So, based on the swatch, I think that the pattern can be seen clearest using the size 0, but I think it's the size 2 that might work. The only reason I say this is because though size 0 is very tight and pretty, it is also very stiff. What do you all think?

Hempathy is a strange yarn. Well, maybe not so strange, but just my inexperience knitting with Hemp. But it does seem to soften up a lot after washing.

Then not only am I itching about starting a new project, but my pocketbook was also itching. I thought, "How nice would it be if I got some nice yarn to make a sinple sweater for myself. Say a 2x2 rib?" That would be something I would wear more than a Starmore. A Starmore would be for my knitting pleasure but a simple ribbed sweater would be for practicality. So here you go, 17 balls of Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo.

Well, so there you go folks, itching, obsessed and now broke......

Make or Break

So, after a few years of knitting, you can still learn invaluable information from your fellow knitters out there. All thanks to Grumperina and her fleeting mention of an important book to her, The Knitter's Book of Yarn, I gained some invaluable resources about plies, twists, spins, and all those other terms which can make or break a project. Well, I started knitting before I read this book and my project broke.

Well, when I was a little boy, I went online and played on the internet. Then suddenly, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool popped up on the page and it was going for really cheap. This boy bought a whole bunch of it thinking he can make the Irish Moss pattern by Alice Starmore in her book, Aran Knitting.

3 years pass, and this little boy is now semi-grown up, and is now endeavoring to try out this yarn on this pattern. No so much....... check it out guys:


Ok, maybe ya'll think that it's the photography, and it's not that bad or whatever. But I did try. These pictures were taken in broad day light, no flash. And it is a pattern FULL of twisted stitches. They are all lost!!!! I can't see anything.

What do you think guys?

Hot Tamale!

Hello all from sunny, perfect weather California! Just taking some time to update my peeps on what I've been up to.

First of all, I got into San Francisco on Saturday, the 4th of July, and my buddy John picked me up from the airport. I am supposed to be working in California the week of the 6th, but decided to get in a little bit early for some play time.

We had a blast of a time. We got home from the airport and started talking and knitting. John and his husband Chuck are like so damn hospitable, and their little Duey, the Boston Terrier was also very welcoming!

Then we went to Nirvana for cocktails and dinner which had delicious Asian fusion food. By then, for some reason, I was so beat already that we all just pretty much crashed.

The next day, everyone slept in and got up in the late morning. Had brunch at Luna's in the Castro and begun our Yarn Crawl - John, Chuck (I know, a supportive, non-knitter husband) and myself.

We started off at Imagiknits in the Castro, which was like yarn heaven, they had EVERYTHING. Then went over to the East Bay to do explore some shops that John had never really been too - Article Pract and K2tog.

Article Pract had a storewide sale! Somethine like if you buy > $50, 15% off, >$100, 25% off etc.... So, here's what I accumulated!

Some yarn not available in Houston, Madeline Tosh and EcoButterfly Organics. Madeline Tosh is a 100% silk lace yarn and EcoButterfly Organics is a Pakucho Cotton Lace yarn. Both absolutely gorgeous.

Didn't get much at Imagiknits or K2tog....... just a mug for John that said KnitOneSipOne because John's Ravelry Name is KnitOneSipTwo! And the Knit Kit from K2tog.

So finally, the weekend had to come to an end. The boys dropped me off at the airport where I got my rental car for the week and Hot Damn, look at the license plate!! pssttt!

I'm HOT BABY!!!!!

Till next time guys!

Fat Ass!!

Here I am, zipping along a Starmore piece and quite liking the resulting fabric, yarn, and pattern. I liked it so much I even took a picture of it after finishing the ribbing and just a little into the main body of the sweater.

Pretty right?

But look.

FAT ASS!!!

There was, once upon a time, long long time ago, I would have been able to fit into a sweater with that measurement. Not anymore. I put it on waste yarn, held it up to my big fat belly and the darn thing didn't even meet at the seams of my t-shirt. Arrgh.

Frog pond........ Need to go up a size or 2. And I so proudly thought that I still had my girlish figure. Age..... go figure.

PS: I'll be flying up to San Francisco to meet up with my buddy John for the 4th of July. Friend I met at the Men's Fall Knitting Retreat. I'm excited. More knitting and traveling. You all have a safe and Happy 4th!!!!!

Pigmint Yarns

So hey guys, ever heard of Pigmint Yarns? Well, neither have I. Miss Danielle who is the owner of this indie operation e-mailed me a couple weeks ago asking my opinion on what colors would men like to knit with and wear?

Of course, all I could do was give her my opinion and by now, all you readers should kinda know my taste in yarn and color. So, I gave her my opinion on what I would wear and what I would knit.

Basically, what I said was that I like more of a tone on tone coloring, rather than a variegation of a multitude of colors. I said I like elegant rather than flashy. I would rather the pattern to to accent the color rather than the color to hide the pattern. I also told her that I did not like pooling - the uncertainty of variegated yarn.

What do you all think?

I received this as a thank you gift from her and I must say WOW! She managed to capture the tone on tone variegation that I was talking about.

Not just different degrees of light and dark blue, if you look closely, there are different shades and tones of blue in it. I made sure I took the picture in clear daylight to be able to capture the beauty of the color as much as I can.

Unfortunately, work has preceeded my knitting time and I just don't have the time to swatch or whip out a sock right now, but I can only imagine how it must come out. And I am very curious to know, so maybe one weekend, I could take some time off and try knitting up this yarn.

So to help Pigmint Yarns, I would like to ask a few favors from my readers. Tell her what you think about the the picture of the skein she sent me. I beleive you can reach her at http://www.pigmintyarns.com/ or this e-mail address (I hope you don't mind me sharing)

What colors would you men like to knit with? How do you like your yarn dyed? What would you men wear? Women...... you don't get out of this either....... what would you knit for your hubbies, bf's etc? What would they like?

Let her know, lemme know too!!

PS: President, if you're reading this...... Pigmint Yarns would like to offer some of her goodies for our men to try out at the Seattle Men's Knitting Retreat. So, give her your input and you'll get the color and yarn you want!

Moss Swatch

Thank you all so much...... for STILL reading my blog and providing so much insight for me about my last post. I finally get it. Pick Up and Knit and Pick Up are 2 totally different things and yield 2 totally different results. How you pick up also makes a big difference.

I would totally post a tutorial on my findings between the various methods, except, I don't think the pictures and explanations will do too well using the Cascading Petal Scarf which is too lacey and I will not be able to prove the point. However, I will definitely bear this in my about future projects and will write about it more when the time is appropriate.

Speaking of future projects, swatch season has started again. I know how I've vowed to finish all my old projects first before starting new ones, but hey, this is knitting and you just can't resist all that yarn sitting in the closet....... now can ya?

I present to you Moss Stitch:
Knitted on size 6 US, 5 US and 4 US. And you all probably know what my next question will be...... knowing the indecisive being that I am....... :)

Which do you like best?

Oh My Gosh!!!!! First of all, let me tell you what it's for! It's to make this gorgeous guy...... I mean, sweater.
Yes, you got it, it's a Starmore! Irish Moss. And since this pattern is so old, the yarn isn't available anymore and I had to try and substitute it for something else. Well, first of all, it has been a long time since I've even made anything for myself, and thinking about how hot it is in Houston, I decided to go to a DK-ish weight yarn. Silky Tweed! How about that? I have only like 28 skeins of it!!!!!

So, I already forsee a whole bunch of problems.

• First of all, Starmore was a very very tight knitter.
• Gauge is going to be all screwed up.
• Sweater Fit is still up in the air, negative ease? Positive Ease? Who knows? (someone at the knit shop today said something so nice about me...... she said that I had a lovely body and need to try to make this sweater form fitting.) Now, would you imagine that! I managed to fit my head through the door when I was leaving by the way.
  
• Sleeve length's decreases or increases is going to be a problem because of gauge change.

But I've already done the first step. I swatched like a good boy in Moss Stitch exactly like Miss Starmore asked to. Now, looking at the picture, you see that the guy has it very loose on him. And since I was told to make it form fitting, I have no idea what size to make and what gauge to go with now because I've changed from worsted weight to DK.

Aiya ya, the decisions!!!

Well, onto more testing. I think I will cast on tonight and start.......... who knows I might just hit it right on the head!

Keep posted, I will let you all know how it goes.

Wish me luck.

Pick up & Pick up and knit

Is there a difference between the terms "Pick Up" and "Pick Up And Knit"? I know that there is a difference because I've read from several sources before that the latter actually uses live yarn. Well, as far as I know, there is a difference, but do authors of patterns know that there is a difference?

This is what is confusing to me about the Cascading Petals Scarf from Runway Knits. It says to pick up, but it is almost impossible to pick up or maybe it's just that I don't know how? I would so rather pick up and knit so that I have stitches on the needle ready to go, but that would cause a little bump of a seam in the back wouldn't it?

I'm just pondering out loud....... back to more research. I will definitely post more. I just had to write because after attaching 7 petals, I ripped "MOHAIR" out because it looked so ugly. Arrgh.

Life!

20 puffs of breath

Hey all, since the wonderful retreat, I had to come down from Cloud 9 back to reality. I came home to a dirty dirty house, lots of work piled up a serious knitting deadline and other demands that life sucks out of ya.

But during the retreat, I had been working on the Cascading Petals Scarf from Runway Knits. The reason I chose this pattern is because it's a simple and mindless knit, just perfect for a retreat like this where I think the main goal is to sit and knit mindlessly while chatting up and catching up with fellow male knitter friends.
It's quite an elegant piece, it's all stockinette knitting, using the beauty of mohair and large needles to create this cloudlike effect. The only painful thing as you can see is that each petal is knitted seperately and then somehow joined to the scarf. And as painful as it was, it was still mindless and I started petal number one during the retreat and just finished petal number 20 yesterday.

I washed all of them and blocked them to shape and they are laying on the floor to dry. They should dry up in no time.

So, on the knitting horizon is FINISH ALL OLD PROJECTS! Which I will do slowly. Work has been terribly consuming. I also have dabbled in little swatches for design submissions, which by the way is not much to post about, so hence the slight absence. But as I continue on, I will keep this blog up on a more regular basis even though there is nothing much to update. A hi and how are you doing would be good once in a while.

So, I leave you with the 20 puffs of breath-like petals, what it's going to be and my best wishes, till next time.

The Return

Oy Vey! I just got home from work today. Nevermind today, but let's rewind a little. I attended the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat 2009 over the weekend and didn't get back into Houston till about midnight on Monday and had to work early Tuesday. Well, I just got home from work, pooped, but at the same time, I can't wait to blog all about this weekend.

Like my post from last year...... I'm again lost for words. But here are some of the highlights of the event.

• I got to see my boys from California + Chuck again!!! I was so deathly ill during the Men's Fall Knitting Retreat 2009 that I couldn't bond as much with these guys as I wanted too, but being all well and healthy this time around, I'm so glad to have a chance to meet Kyle, John, Stephen and Chuck again.
• I got to meet pretty much everyone from last year again! My non-Cali boys! East Coast boys + Bob, Jeff and Joe from Florida.
• I got to see the president and the vice president again. Love you Joe and Ted!! xoxo
• I finally met Nanna Peter! The guy that flew in the furthest, from the Down Under. You were such a treat and I totally enjoyed your class.
• Good Easton Mountain living.
• Refreshing conversations with everyone. Picked up just right where we left off last year. It's amazing. Plus new conversations with new people that I met this year.
  
• And most of all, I got to knit with my PEERS. MEN!!! No talk about divorce, pregnancy, child support, panties, periods or whatever women talk about. Not that it's a bad thing, but it was just nice to be and knit with men.

I will leave you all with some pictures. It won't be all of them, but you'll get the idea. For more pictures, go to the Men's Knitting Retreat Flickr page.

TILL NEXT YEAR GUYS!

Escape to Easton Mountain

Whassup ya'll?????

I know, I say I will post more often, but then I don't. Then I say I'll do it again, then I don't. Don't hate me. I've just been so gosh darn busy, work is going really good, I have so much to do with the new house, trying to fit that in with yoga and knitting and the dog...? Well, you get the picture.

But I'm posting today because I got off a little early. I came home to prepare for my little mini vacation back to Easton Mountain for the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat 2009 (MSKR 2009)!!! Yep, it's been a year and if you remember, I had such a wonderful time the last time and I don't even know if I could expect any better this year.

I leave tomorrow, but not to Albany, but a minor detour to Vermont, where I will meet my buddy ol' pal VTKnitboy and visit for a day. Then we'll both drive down to Albany to the retreat.

I'm also kinda nervous this time around, because my dumb ass offered/volunteered to lead 3 yoga classes! I've never instructed before, have no idea how and I am soooo afraid that I'll mess up. And I have to wake up at 7 am everyday to teach/lead it. No late knight knitting I guess.... :(

Those of you who are going to the retreat and are reading this post and are going to take the yoga class, gimme a break in advance... ok?

So, there's a lot more to post, but as you all know, I like to keep my posts short and sweet. Here are a couple of projects that are on the needles. After the Easton Square, I decided to start on some mindless knitting that I can bring with me on the trip.

Try and guess this one:


And this one:

Easton Square

Yarn Brand: Lionbrand
Yarn Name: Vanna's Choice Solids
Yarn Colorway: Olive
Yarn Content: 100% recycled tires
Yardage: 3.5 oz/100g; 170 yd/156 m balls
Quantity: 1.5 balls

Needle: Size 7 US (4.5 mm)
Dimensions: 15" x 15"
Recipient: Easton Mountain

Project Notes:
This is part of the Men’s Spring Knitting Retreat 2009 project. Participants of the retreat make a 15” x 15” square and when we go to the retreat on May 14th, we will all put it together as an afghan as a gift of appreciation for the lodge that we’re staying at: Easton Mountain.

Where is the ball of yarn?

Let's play a game. Remember those picture games that you would play when you were a kid? Well, look at the picture below and try and find the ball of yarn.

Congrats! I'm sure you all found the ball of yarn, but the rest of the stuff that you see, pretty much represents my life right now. Endless trips to Home Depot and not enough trips to my LYS for trash cans, batteries, light bulbs, cleaners... you name it, the whole nine yards. This is what comes along with home ownership I guess. I pretty much "feel" like the picture...... where the ball of yarn (my knitting) is just one fragment of a thousand of other things to do.

But they all tell me, it will settle down after a while. And it has, a little bit. I'm very happy with the house. The move was a total disaster, but salvageable. The house is now painted. I went through a minor "home entertainment center" obsession, which took weeks away from my knitting. I won't bore you all with the details there, but after the Olin Ross scam, I was bound and determined to get a cool Home Entertainment thingy going on. Don't ask me why, but I was determined.

So, for the non-techies, I basically got a media computer where it will hold all my music and movies, a nice little virtual surround sound system and a device that would back it all up. I could talk so much more about this, but hey, this is about knitting right?

I am now starting to get back onto Ravelry. After my spring cleaning, I now have 4 projects that take priority. My sister's long forgotten wedding shawl, my long forgotten LYS' multi yarn coat, Lyra, the Barclay scarf for mindless knitting and the 5th brand new project is the Easton Mountain Afghan square which I must design. Ya'll, the men's knitting retreat is next month!

So, I am very grateful to have people like yourself who read my blog and ask why I'm missing. That is so sweet. Virtual Love I would call it. I promise I will update more as time progresses. You see, I'm more of a picture person, I like many pictures on my posts without boring stuff that you have to read. But lately, I just don't have many pictures to show. So, I guess you all got to read lots and lots of words! :)

Finally, I must cut it short right now. I have got to fix a garage door light that is not working, put away groceries, set up my guess bathroom and then, finally I might be able to get some knitting in tonight.

Toodles!

Olin Ross Scam

OK, this has nothing to do about knitting. I really haven't been knitting lately cuz of the house and the move and yada yada.

But I have to post about this because I'm outraged and embarrassed at the same time. I was just scammed out of $600!!!!

I was at the parking lot of Blockbuster when 2 guys approached me and asked if I needed a surround sound system. Well, they went on with the story about how it was an over stock and that they had accidentally loaded 1 extra unit in their truck and that they didn't want to give it to their boss who was in turn going to sell it and keep the profit for himself. Blah Blah Blah.

I BOUGHT IT!!!!!!!!

As soon as I got home, I googled Olin Ross and it had the word SCAM ALL OVER THE INTERNET!!!! And now, I'm going to add another post about this scam.

I am so embarrassed that I just want to crawl into a space and hide.

Less $600, now, less yarn, no more Mac Mini.

:*(

Mac Mini

It's my birthday, it's my birthday, and I want a Mac Mini!

Home Sweet Home

Today is the first day that I have INTERNET!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!

So, just a quick update for you guys. I just closed on a little townhome here in Houston. Closing was pushed back until the very final Friday where the next day, I had to fly to California for a business trip.

Then came the debacle of moving. In my trusting nature of people, I trusted providing work to this person, who shall remain unnamed for now, to move me and handle my contractors while I was gone.

What a DISASTER.

I got home, with not much expectations. I would like to be able to eat, shit, sleep and shower. I couldn't do any of that! Movers came in before the painters and I could go on, but it only makes me mad.

A debacle to say the least.

Anyways. Things are looking up now since I have such a sweet boss who understands that I needed a couple of days off to take care of my affairs. So, now, I have the necessities and I have internet! What a joy. Painters are coming tomorrow, not the most ideal, but it will work.

So, I can foresee myself constantly at Home Depot, Lowe's and IKEA since I'm now a homeowner, instead of Knitting Shops.

But hopefully, I will get back to my knitting soon.

I'll try and keep in touch and update.

Love ya'll!