Yarn Blog | Adventures with Yarn

Thank goodness for that. I have just sewn in all the loose ends and presented the completed afghan to Alan.

The afghan pattern I used was out of a Leisure Arts book called Big Book of Quick Knit Afghans, and it was design number 4 called Peaceful. I used Plymouth Encore Colorspun #7118 and used 13 balls except a little left over for repairs. The yarn is knitted double and I used #17 needles. Actually I did start the project with Addi Turbo #17, but even I found them too slippery especially when my hands were cold. After two pattern repeats I changed to Crystal Palace bamboo 26 inch #17 and on this project they worked very well.

This morning Lester one of our Maine Coon cats tried to sit on the afghans while I was knitting it at the dining room table!! So when I gave it to Alan he has instructions to fold it over the back of his chair when not being used. And yes we shall store it in a plastic sweater bag when the weather gets warm again.

I am still laughing about the Quick Knit title, because it really did take me about 2 years to get this UFO finally finished.

I was lucky enough to get invited to a shopping excursion at Lofty Lou’s in Placerville with a knitting group from Folsom. The ladies meet on Thursday morning at various places and have done for several months. They met at a beginner class held at the Senior Centre in Folsom and became good friends.

We spent a good hour in Lofty Lou’s and it was very pleasant. I had been there before about three years ago on a shop hop and had a very nice shopping experience. While I did not purchase yarn I did buy three single knitting patterns and a knitting book and found the staff so helpful.

It was then off to lunch at Sweetie Pie where we given a whole room to ourselves. This was a wonderful time to sit and share knitting information and general chit chat. I got to meet the three ladies that had travelled up in another car and felt so comfortable with everyone.

On the way back to Folsom we called into Sierra Knitting  Co which is in Cameron Park. Debi Padlicki is the owner and we were greeted very warmly. I purchased a Lantern Moon bag that was actually on sale for 50% off, I love a bargain and Toni purchased a skein of yarn to make a beret.

Since getting home I have looked at my new patterns and the book, finding even more than I liked originally. It will be a tough choice now deciding on a new  project when other UFO’s have been completed.

Oh and I have done another ball of yarn on the dreaded afghan so there are four balls left to knit now…

I did get up early this morning and do 10 rows of the afghan and I feel rather good about that little bit of progress.

The cardigan that I have been working on is Plymouth pattern NO47 and is called the Baby Alpaca DK Leaf Panel Cardigan. I think it would be a nice project for someone learning how to do lace work as the lace is only on the two front pieces. 

 As I said in an earlier post I was cautious about recommending the pattern until I had at least done the back, one sleeve and started one front. The last two Plymouth patterns I have used both had mistakes in and unless you are an experienced knitter you probably would have given up on them.  So far I have not encountered any problems at all so will keep you uptodate on my progress with the fronts.

The yarn I am using is not alapaca. In fact I decided to use a Louisa Harding yarn called Kashmir DK which is a mix of merino woolm microfibre and cashmere. While the yarn is pretty and it is recommended to be knit at 22 stitches to 4 inches, at that guage is sloppy and does not keep any structure in the pieces. Also when knitting with it the yarn catches very badly and I am finding little threads all over the garment. Wooden needles made that even worse so I am back to addi turbo metal needles again.

I spoke to a good friend Susan who had started using the yarn for a pattern by Patrica Roberts and she was so disappointed with the yarn that she passed it on to a donation bag.  I have the pretty apricot colour #8 on the needles for this project, but sadly I have another 20 balls in white that I am now reluctant to use. Maybe a donation or perhaps a baby blanket or two for some needy families!!!!

It has been a busy day with lots of having to be done for work. I had planned to do some of the pretty jacket but instead decided to attend to a UFO!

I have been knitting an afghan for a couple of years and I am really disliking every moment of it. First of all it is on size US 17 needles which are not my favourite size needles at all, lets try anything from US7 and smaller. It is also going to be 45 in wide by 60 in long so rather large in size and of course heavy as I use more and more yarn.

Alan asked me this evening what it was, and who it was for… I told him it was his afghan and he then asked if he would get it this winter. There are five balls of yarn to knit, and it is being knitted double so if I concentrate on this he may get it before the end of this winter. This will be the first and only afghan I ever knit with size US17 needles and double worcested weight yarn.

Good night from Folsom

I have made three little articles on www.Squidoo.com  about knitting. All are under the heading of art. Lace Knitting, Socks and Knitting Sweaters. I have included books that I thought were good ideas, some great videos that I have found on other sites, and some websites that offer ideas on knitting and also yarn for sale etc.

Have a look tell me what you think by rating them please.

I wonder why the weekend has the two shortest days in the week?

Had a lovely time with my knitting friends yesterday covering all sorts of topics at lunch.  The Obama’s were discussed at great length focusing mainly it seems on their fashion sense! Then it was off to the important stuff browsing the new knitting magazines, having coffee and knitting for about two hours.  Two ladies were knitting hats, two were doing scarves and two of us were doing jackets.

I came home and decided to attempt to complete the first sleeve of the cardigan I am doing. By 7pm the sleeve was done and I started the left front. Providing the lace pattern on the front works I will share the pattern and yarn with you later. It is a Plymouth pattern and the last two Plymouth patterns I have knit have been completely full of errors.

Some ladies I know have a knitting group which meets in Folsom during the day. I think it might be fun to catch up with them this week and see what they are knitting at the moment.

Stitches West is not too far away now.  I was not able to go last year because working in the yarn store meant no time off for fun things during the week. This year I think I will try and go on the Friday as weekends are far too crowded when going for just one day. Will see if one of my knitting friends would like to share the price of gas with me and if not I will take my husband along for company.

I love meeting my knitting friends for lunch on Sundays. Nothing is more relaxing then spending a while of over lunch catching up on everyone’s news or gossip depending how it sounds to people listening in! From the restaurant we head to a local book store hoping to find a table where we can sit and knit with coffee in hand for a couple of hours.

Interestingly we all take a small project to knit. Something that we do not have to concentrate on so that we can chat and laugh together instead. Last week I took a sock as I am getting more confident about knitting those and talking at the same time.

This week I am going to take a sleeve to knit for a cardigan I just started. The back and two sleeves are just stocking stitch so apart from keeping track of the rows it is pretty mindless knitting. I have completed the back and am half way up the first sleeve.

Well had better pack my knitting bag for my lunch time outing.

Have a great day