I actually started on my practice Charlotte’s Web shawl this week. After ripping it out twice and having a minor stressfest over a miscounted lace section, I’m doing pretty good on it. I’m knitting the practice one in Jo Sharp DK Tweed in Blueberry, but I actually have Koigu in various shades of blue for the good one I’m going to knit for my mother for her birthday in July.
You are so right! The yarn is terrific and the price is definitely right!
You can also do socks on circs! You can do it with either one circ or two , helps avoid the Second Sock Syndrome.
Please excuse me while I run around screaming in delight. I just got a package from KnitPicks–Sock Garden in every color. It’s so PRETTY! Aaaiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee! (runs around screaming in delight)
I also bought a lot of Andean Silk (in Sangria) to make the Lara sweater, from the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk book. At the time, it seemed clear to me that KnitPicks intended this substitution; after seeing the actual yarn, though, I am worried that it is not nearly as bulky as the Debbie Bliss stuff. It will make a lovely sweater no matter what, but–I do so want Lara. And I am so not going to pay for the real thing.
Spent yesterday knitting myself a Booga Bag out of Lion Brand Landscapes yarn. Cuuuuuuuute.
I finally taught myself to crochet. My mom has this Vanna White book, and the instructions were clear enough for me to understand. My sc is too tight, so I mostly just dc. My next step is to learn how to join ch in a ring so that I can make granny squares.
I’m bursting to share this-
Page 5 of Family Circle Easy Knitting, Spring/Summer 2005 issue. Purple sweater.
It’s me! Voguevixen (another poster here) spotted it and let me know. SQUEEE! Anyone have it at home?
The new issue of Knitty magazine is up!
And and and I have a pattern published in it 
Lot of great tops in this issue too!
I just finished my first knitting project evar and started on my second. bouncebouncesquee I went to a local knitting store and picked up a couple of skeins of Debbie Bliss SoHo yarn in the blue and tan combination, and a pair of Addi Turbo circulars to make the baby hat with umbilical cord from Stitch’n’Bitch.
Ended up knitting that sucker almost literally overnight. Cast on the night before Easter, go to a friend’s Easter lunch with knitting in hand, and end up finishing the whole thing that night. :eek: 
So now I’m making the kitty hat from the same book using navy yarn. Seed stitch is fun, but you have to keep track of the current stitch – I keep ripping back a few stitches and starting over when I notice things have gone ribbed instead of bumpy.
After I finish that, my next goals are to make the guitar strap I mentioned way back there from the Knitty.com Banshee pattern, plus get started trying to figure out how to make myself a new pair of mutant mittens. (the kind that’re actually fingerless gloves with a mitten top)
One question that I have for the knitters in this lot – is it normal to have to go up two needle sizes to get gauge? How far do most people typically have to adjust to get gauge?
Oh, don’t worry about that. It varies from knitter to knitter, and you should just do what you’ve got to do to get gauge. It sounds like right now you’re knitting really tightly, just like most new knitters. As you get more experience and become more confident, your knitting will probably relax. And it it doesn’t? Then just do what you need to do to get gauge.
I’m usually not far off on gauge, but I generally ignore it. I’m an adventure knitter!
I think I’m in love with “I Do” and “Branching Out”…
The unfortunate thing about being a man who knits is that so many of the easily-available patterns (and so many of the really fun-looking patterns) are absolutely unwearable for me.
jayjay, the summer Knitty is going to be an all-man spectacular. Nothing but patterns for guys. Hopefully they’ll have something you like.
Knitty’s hit or miss a lot of times – I mean, Cleaves? Some other things are adorable this issue, though, especially Branching Out and I Do. I like Spring Fling, Tie One On, and Via Diagonale, too. There’d be others I’d like to make, but knitted tank tops tend to make me look like boobs on legs, so feh.
Via Diagonale is yours, isn’t, Chattywine? Flippin’ adorable. I think I’ve found my sister’s birthday present.
Last night while I was lying in bed, I was thinking to myself that I should design a steering wheel cover. And then I found this today. Maybe I’ll make a different one.
Right now I’m in a bit of a funk with my knitting. My mom bought me 4 pounds of yarn, and told me to make an afghan. I haven’t found any free patterns that I like. I can’t even find a stitch pattern that I like to just play it by ear. I’ve tried several lace-type patterns, but it seems that I always end up with an extra stitch or else I run out of stitches, with all the YOs and k2togs. I guess I don’t pay attention enough.
I also really want to make Unbiased with the Nepalese recycled silk yarn, but I’m too cheap to buy the yarn right now. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a stash-buster Unbiased, but I’m not sure how that would turn out.
Ooh…summer knitty, here I come!
Can I just note that I dislike Cecilia intensely? I’ve never been a huge fan of the “make my child look like I just baked and iced her” school of fashion…
Oh, Cecilia, btw.
I think once I finish my practice Charlotte’s Web, my real Charlotte’s Web (you don’t think I’d waste $50 worth of KPPPM on a pattern I’ve never even TRIED before, do you?!) and a baby sweater for my soon-to-be-born nephew/niece, I’m going to do Branching Out as a Fall scarf for supervenusfreak’s mom. By then I might be able to afford Douceur et Soie…at least it’s only one skein.
There’s a knitty pattern for the fingerless gloves/mittens, too: Broad Street Mittens . I’m making myself a pair right now with the softest wool ever. Mmmmm. I can’t wait. I’m simultaneously working on the Pompom Papoose from Baby Bloom by Erika Knight in a beautiful alpaca…who lives up the street! Soft. I’ve also got overalls on needles for my son and yarn for a sweater for him. Will I ever finish all these projects???
Anyway, you should also check out the article about tight knitting in the new knitty…you may find it helpful.
(chattywine - beautiful!!!)
Miss Purl McKnittington and C3 - Thank You!
AwSnappity , the Unbiased bag would make a great stash buster. I made one out of a cotton viscose blend I had in the stash (impossible to find the recycled sari silk here at the time). Keep in mind the bag is pretty shallow you may want to work the bottom sections a bit longer before doing the decreasing. That and perhaps add on some sort of closure. OOh and maybe a lining (Still haven’t gotten around to doing it yet for mine) since the garter creates a super stretchy fabric. Tis a very fun and fast knit!
I was toying with the idea of making it bigger, like you said. It looked huge to me in the tree picture, but the chair picture and the actual dimensions make it seem a tad smaller than I’d like. I was indeed also thinking of adding a lining (my mother can sew, so I’ll make her do it for me).
Well, now that I’ve gotten advice from a knitter who’s a helluva lot better than I am, I think I’ll start it. Thanks!
Bah, I don’t like babies, neither. Just don’t see the attraction. But I do loves makin’ baby sweaters! They aren’t all cutesy and lacy. I made a sweater for my nephew (BIG exception to the not-liking-babies rule. My nephew is the best.) that was just a basic raglan pullover, except I did it in alternating stripes of blue and blue-and-lime-green varigated. It looked awesome. 'Course, just now I finished a lacy frou-frou one for my friend who’s due this month. It’s definitely girly, but it was also an excellent challenge. The pattern was from The Knitter’s Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmerman (highly recommended!) and I can’t wait to try it again with a different type of stitch (which is what’s so great about TKA: it’s about how to, basically, design something, so you can take what she gives you and play with it to make it your own.)
My current obsession (thanks to Purl McKnittington, who linked to this page in a thread totally unrelated to knitting) is the cardigan worn by the girl in the lower left panel. I must have it. I absolutely must. The big and small diamond patterns were easy enough to figure out, but if anyone has any guesses what the narrow, ladder-looking strips inbetween might be, I would be most grateful.
They look like yarnovers done one above the other and purled on the wrong side rows. I know the center area of my Charlotte’s Web looks like that…a ladder going up either side of the center stitch.
I made the broadstreet mittens! I made them out of Rowan 4-ply merino. They were remarkably easy, once someone translated the “reverse everything” for the right hand thing. That had me baffled.
This was my first time with DPNs too.
They took me a total of about 15 hours.