Alan update

I had a very nice relaxing weekend. I knitted. I slept. I knitted some more and then I took a nap. Yeah, I did some laundry but in between loads I slept. I knitted. I folded laundry. I knitted and then napped. Get the picture? :-)

Here's how far I am on Alan.


Well, it's time to get ready for another work week.

Mia woke up long enough and came out hiding to wish you all a happy Monday.

Coneheads

I received some yarn that was on cones, however, the cones were dirty and a bit musty smelling. So, as it's a gorgeous day here in sunny Sunnyvale, California I decided to take advantage of that. I wound them off the cones onto the swift and will wash them and hang them in the shade outside. Of course doing this task definitely requires help. Here's a picture of my my little coneheads working very hard.

Bob-bob-bobble'n along

Well, I got through the first round of bobbles on Alan. This is going along smoothly. This pattern is a lot of fun to knit and I really enjoy watching the textures come alive. It hasn't even been a week since I've started this and I've managed to get quite far considering how much frogging I did earlier. It was difficult to get a flat picture. I had to slide enough stitches out of the way to show this, and then the cables kept curling. It will be easier to take good pictures when I have more done and it will lay flat. Until then.... here is my progress.

Alan update

I'm in the middle of the first repeat in the sweater. It's so neat to watch the pattern evolve. I am just about ready to do the rows that have the bobble. The yarn is knitting up like a dream. It gives the stitches a crisp definition. I wish I would have ordered from them long ago!

Not much to write tonight as it has been filled with knitting and now sleep.

Alan's ribs

I have visited the frog pond too many times to count so far with this sweater. However, I finally made headway, finished the ribbing and have started the main body. Here is my progress. Amazing how much one can get done when you don't have to frog every other row! Have a great Monday everyone!

6027 has been named!!

I bought this pattern with my husband in mind. This evening when looking through a web site for male Norwegian names, I came across this. It describes my husband and also the sweater. They're both handsome. :-)

ALAN: Celtic name meaning "harmony" or "concord." Also said to mean "handsome."

So there you have it, folks. 6027 is now "Alan".

A slow knitting day

You know it's really bad when the most exciting thing you can find to post in a knitting blog is a picture of your handsome 20 year old son. This is my son, Kris, this evening just before he went cycling.



I'm still looking for a name for the sweater pictured below. Suggestions are still welcome!

I have been working on 6027 but became frustrated last evening when I had to frog it 4 times. I finally got it on the needles and got the ribbing going. It actually looks like the ribbing as shown in the picture! It was looking pretty funky and I'm sure that it wasn't what the folks at Dale had in mind.

I'm off to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be a more productive knitting day - that is, after housework is done. :sigh:

Yarn from Down Under

Last week I ordered yarn from Bendigo Wool Mill in Australia. Today it arrived. It is simply beautiful. I ordered this yarn in anticipation of making a sweater for my husband. I had a pattern in mind but it called for Freestyle yarn. I swatched and it was a perfect match! I fiddled with the numbers and officially cast on a new sweater this evening. The color is "Magnolia" but to everyone else, it's a natural color. The pattern is Dale of Norway 6027 Aran. Here is a picture:



The yarn is very soft and I think it will define stitches extremely well. Dale usually names their sweaters. This is a beautiful sweater and I think it needs a different name instead of just "Aran". Suggestions anyone?

So, what's next?

Many have asked what is next in line. I will be knitting a quick project - a yellow bed jacket for my mom. Then I will be doing Frogner for my mom. She can't decide yet on which combination - red/white, black/white, dark gray/white. Sometimes giving people a choice is a dangerous thing. I showed my sister several sweaters to choose from. When I asked her which one she wanted she said, "I like the albacore one." Albacore, as in tuna?? She meant Abalone. It will forever in my mind be her "tuna" sweater. :sigh:

Before I get started on any of that, I decided to dust off a project that has been 2 years in the making. I only have one sleeve to finish, put it together and pick up the stitches for the hood. It's been so long I can't remember the name of the sweater! However, I will dig it out and put the proper name here. I remember it's a pattern by Paton's and knit out of Paton's Merino.

Don't forget - my new friend will be making his debut here this weekend some time.

I did it! I did it!!

I'm finally finished with Lappland. My first Dale of Norway sweater!

The whole sweater...



The front....



The back...

I'm still here

I've been working hard on Lappland. I have both sleeves finished. I steeked the sleeves and have one sleeve in the sweater. When I sewed the shoulder seams the back neck didn't quite line up with the front neck. I realized that in playing around with the number of stitches I didn't do it correctly for the back neck. So, I steeked the neck a little more to match the front neck. It looks okay, but as a nervous expectant mother I'm worried about my first "baby". I noticed that my sweater, when compared to the sweater in the picture, the neck is lower in the front. I think it will turn out okay, but not exact. I learned a lot from this sweater which is good. Next time if I want exact, I will fork out the money for Dale yarns and not substitute. But all in all, it's still turning out beautifully. The first sleeve went in like a dream. I picked up the stitches for the front placket without problem. I could possibly get this sweater finished this weekend, however, I do have work that I need to do. Yes, I brought work home. If I wasn't so behind at work I wouldn't have.

The sooner I get my work done, the sooner I can get back to Lappland. Are you still wondering about my new "friend"? He's still not ready and no....... it's not Lappland. I'll give you a hint. His name is Eustace.

Long time no see!

Yeah, I know. It's been a while. Gosh, nearly a week since I've blogged. I have finished one Lappland sleeve and am about half through the second.

This weekend I crashed when biking and well, the pavement won. I'll spare you all the details, but suffice it to say, my left elbow is now shades of blue and purple and black I didn't know a live human could become. A few other nasty scrapes and sore muscles, but other than that I'm fine. I've been hobbling about but managing okay.

Anyhoo - I will be introducing a new friend hopefully in a week or so. You'll have to stay tuned to find out what it is!

Percentage Bar

I added a percentage bar on the right side. It's not as pretty as I would like it but I will tweek it this weekend when I have more time.

I have nearly finished the first sleeve of Lappland.

For now, I'm going to go to bed and read. I'm reading The Art of Fair Isle Knitting by Ann Feitelson. Nice book!