The Knitting on Top of the World Knit-a-thon

More Photos, More Book Winners!

KOTOTW BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!

Hi, guys!

First of all, our two October winners of a copy of Knitting on Top of the World ARE:

 - Silverlotus; and

 - Jasmine MacDonald!

Congratulations, you two!  Just send me your snail mail address to maryp55124 "at" yahoo "dot" com, and I'll get your copies of the book whizzing on their way to you!

If you didn't win, don't despair - I still have 2 more copies to give away, and I think I'll do drawings in November and December.  (Also kind of hoping I can wangle some giveaways of Nicky's other books - we will see!)

All We Want for Christmas...(or other end-of-year holiday..)

Most of us were modest in our knitted requests; we would like someone to knit us socks, or colourwork socks (Silverlotus, you must be British!), or a cowl or scarf.  Although Linda and Danielle admitted they wouldn't mind someone knitting them a whole sweater (good for you guys!  I have a wonderful sister, TheresaT on Ravelry, who knits and who has, in fact, knitted me a sweater before, as well as other wonderful things like slipper sox with doubled yarn to make them kooshy on the bottom, and several lovely scarves...).  As for non-knitted gifts, several of us would like a set of interchangeable needles (although I was particularly in alignment with one knitter's wish for signature double-points - heck, I'd take signature anythings!  We also would like an artisan yarn or bead bowl, a Namaste needle case or bag, nice yarn or a yarn gift certificate.

Last year my sis got me a gift subscription to www.twistcollective.com, which I thought was a wonderful idea, although everytime I look through their archives I'm overwhelmed because there is hardly a thing there I do not wish to knit, and then to own.

Speaking of which, Norma asks what will happen to all of the KOTOTW knits when I'm done with the knitathon project - will I keep them all, give some away?  I haven't yet decided for sure, actually.  My sister encouraged me to see this project as a way to break out of knitting always for other people, and to make everything just for me.  And in fact, I have made many of these things specifically for my body type, which includes an extra-long waist length and arm length.  However, someone also recently suggested that maybe I could auction items off for a good cause.  That intrigues me; although honestly, there are a few things I could not bear to part with.

There are other things that I've already promised to friends, once the project, and any possible showings are over.  Before I even started, my friend Sheri put in dibs on the Copenhagen Royal Shawl, which looks lovely on her.  I'm thinking I would like to remake that one in a larger gauge for myself anyway, as it came out kind of small for my large frame. 

I'd like to give away my Northern Lights Cardigan, as the yarn I chose had a high angora content, and I find I just can't wear it - it gets in my eyes and nose and makes me sneeze!  I've already purchased yarn to make a non-angora version, though, as I love everything else about it.

And, I think some of the projects are a bit young for someone pushing 50; for instance, the Tyrolean Leg Warmers pictured below.  Adorable, but I think someone younger might get more wear out of them and feel less self-conscious.  My knitter-bud Kristin put in a bid for them at the last knitting night, so they will probably end up gracing her far younger legs.  And my niece, Amanda, who was over last night for a family supper (meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and homemade apple pie made by my master-baker sister in law, Mary - MMMM!!!), has put in a bid for the Black Forest Mitts, which looked just great on her (those 20-somethings really like those fingerless gloves, maybe because they are useful if you live with an iPhone in your hand...).

But I couldn't bear to give up the Londonderry Rose Coat...

or the Celtic Hooded Coat...

 or the Simply Smashing Cardigan...

(which I knew before I even knitted them!)  And then there are some things I didn't think would suit me, but it turns out I just adore them, like the Cowl Collar Jumper. 

And the Princess Bride Mittens...

So, I guess I haven't really figured out what I'm going to do yet - probably a mix of things.   Mostly, I want to make sure the pieces are used and enjoyed, by somebody if not by me!

 

Finished Austrian Alps Jacket...

I have some more finished KOTOTW projects to show you this week!  I received the 24" separating zipper in the mail from MJ Trim (a wonderful New York City notions mecca - check out their website - www.mjtrim.com) a week ago, and spent a few hours that Saturday AM carefully stitching it in.  For a jacket, you need the special kind of zipper that separates, or comes apart at the bottom.  Although the model in the book has a zipper that goes all the way up to the top edge of the collar, I couldn't find one nearly long enough, considering how much I lengthened the sweater.  But I'm happy with not zipping it up quite that high.

To stitch it in, I carefully pinned the two fronts of the sweater to the closed zipper, making the knitting come right up to the edge of the teeth, and being careful to match the cables and rows of the patterns across the zipper so that they would be even when the zipper is zipped up.  I also tried to "gather" the length of the sweater along the zipper a bit.  The edges of knitting are always a bit looser (which is why you usually put a ribbing or other edging that cinches them up a bit), so I tried to "shrink" the length of each side a bit as I pinned.

Then I stitched two (tiny) rows of back-stitches on each side of the opening, catching an upward-facing loop in each stitch on two columns of stitches and stitching through the zipper's tape. 

Finally, I whip-stitched the edges of the zipper tape down on the inside. 

Et voila!  Not great photos, but you get the general idea.  I'm really happy with how it came out!

Tyrolean Leg Warmers:

And...  drum roll, please... here is Project No. 28!

Cuuuute!  And quite sexy, I must say.  Although I can't walk for more than 10 minutes in this particular pair of boots without losing all feeling in my toes.  I kind of miss dressing up, though.  Haven't been in a date for over a year, sigh.  I've only myself to blame, as I basically work and come straight home, help my son with homework, knit and hang out with the dogs.  I guess I could always try online dating again, but somehow it just doesn't seem very important these days.  I persist in the hope (fantasy? delusion?) that when you are ready, love will find you.  Of course, one hopes that halcyon day arrives when one still has hair and teeth...

Since the Tyrolean Leg Warmers were multi-colored and kinda hard to knit on the bus, I got another little project finished, this great little scarf from Morehouse Farms called the "Sandwich Scarf:"

Isn't that neat and fun!  It was quick and a blast to make.  Morehouse Farms is best known for their "critter kits," like the wonderful dachshund scarf I made last winter as a gift, but they have a number of lovely and fun scarves and shawl kits.  I highly recommend their clear, beautiful instructions and lovely soft merino yarn. 

Well... back to my knitting - working on the last of the "Old World" projects, the Florentine Shrug, which is basically a large stockinette canvas onto which an elaborate design of grape leaves, grapes and vines are later duplicate-stitched... it will be lovely, but will take a while, I'm sure.

Have a great week, everybody. 
XOXOXO Mar

 

Project 23, 24, 25, 26, 27...

Woo Hoo!  It feels like I'm making some progress on my trip around the knitting globe!

Finally had a knitting night with my girlies last Thursday night, and we ended up at our usual Starbucks, where Renay kindly took some photos of me modelling some recently finished KOTOTW knits!  (I'm looking a bit tired - still working on getting over this stupid endless bug):

Here's Project 23, the Parisian Entrelac Wrap:

Project 24 - Black Forest Mitts:

(I know - I'm such a hambone...)

Project 25 - La Belle Cardigan:

(I think the arm ribbons are a bit over the top for me, actually).

Kristin is working on a pair of baby booties - she has some extreeeeme number of girlfriends all expecting simultaneously, and is hoping to churn quite a few pairs of adorable booties out for them all.:

Well, the yarn was white so they kind of got blindingly obscured by the bright Starbucks lights, but trust me - adorable.  I'm very proud of her figuring out the shaping, as she is a new knitter and has been busy raising her little one, who turned one recently (our beloved guest babyblogger Adeline... maybe she needs to do another blog for us soon!)

I also took advantage of a few days at home to get the knitting done on Project 26, the Austrian Alps Zip Jacket.  It isn't quite completed yet - I needed to order a  24" separating zipper because I lengthened it.  My dress mannequin isn't as long as I am, so the ribbon doesn't actually hit under my butt (which would be weird) but at least you get the idea of how the textures work:

I can tell this will be a real keeper - extremely useful sweater for Minnesota, pretty enough for the office and functional for weekend wear or a pair of jeans as well.  I really like the ribbon I found for it - part of my "field trip to "MJ Trim" during my trip to New York City to visit Nicky back when the blog started.   It is very jewelly:

Finally, today I finished Project 27, the Octoberfest Glove Cuffs (very timely, considering the month!):

I used some Shibui kettle-dyed sock yarn - it was wonderful to work with, very springy and light.  I love the slightly variegated tones and how the add to the texture and visual interest of the pattern. 

The little mitered squares were really fun and really quick to knit, although to do an entire sweater of this intricacy might drive one to madness.  Although I can really see using this technique for cuffs or a collar, perhaps on a kimono-style jacket...

Next up:  Project 28, the Tyrolean Leg Warmers; as these are not very big, I expect that I will have them done by Halloween!  (Maybe I need to find a party where I can dress like a Tyrolean bar wench, a la St. Pauli Girl... hmmmm...)

The book contest continues - not a lot of entries so far.  Remember, even if you have your own copy of KOTOTW, Christmas is coming, think of your knitty friends!

XOXOXO,

Don't forget to go for a walk in the crisp air and hear the leaves crunch (I just love that... did you know newly fallen snow squeaks?  That will be happening soon enough around here.)

Mar.

Just Keep Swimming...

Do you remember that scene from Finding Nemo, where Dory, the forgetful fish, sings her little song, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming... what do we do? We swim!"  Sometimes that pops into my head when I feel like I'm literally swimming upstream.  Best thing to do is to just keep going.

The good news is that my big project at work was cancelled; it would have been great to have been able to complete it, as I would have caught up all my hours and then some from a slow year, but I'm really pooped!  The bad news is, my body took notice of the break, the adrenaline left my system, and the cough-cold I've had got really, really bad. 

I am one of those people who hate to go to the doctor, hate even more to take antibiotics unless I absolutely have to.  But I left Thursday early because I was literally wheezing, I was having so much trouble breathing.  I don't have pneumonia or anything, just some sort of infection, but I ended up having a chest x-ray, a nebulizer treatment, and a bit of a (well-deserved) scolding from an urgent care doc about maybe coming in next time before I am in quite such bad shape.

After a few days of rest, drugs, lots of sleep, and relaxing, I'm feeling quite a bit better.  Just one more reminder that I need to do a better job of taking better care of myself, and putting my own needs a bit higher on the to-do list.  Hard, when you are a single mom, and you work, but still... I'm not getting any younger, and need to learn to manage stress better and to get more exercise.  I ended up losing about 12 pounds in the last 3 weeks (which were 12 pounds I really didn't need anyway), but I wouldn't recommend the heart-pounding-stress-coupled-with-bronchitis diet plan to anybody.

Time for another BOOK GIVEAWAY!

I have TWO copies of Nicky Epstein's Knitting On Top of the World to give away this month:

 - one from the generous folks at Soho Publishing; and

 - another from Raveler meneito97, a/k/a/ Kari, who feels that the projects are beyond her knitting level at this point and wants to give the book to someone who can use it! (THANK YOU SO MUCH, KARI!!!)

I had asked you guys if you could suggest any interesting questions I should ask people to answer, when they send in either a comment on this blog post, or an email to maryp55124 "at" yahoo "dot" com, and Linda suggested the following, which I thought were really good!

    1) As a knitter, what would you like someone to knit and give to you as a present?

    2)  As a knitter, what knitting related gift would be at the top of your list for this holiday season?

To enter the book giveaway, just answer one or both of these questions by commenting on this post, or by sending me an email to the address above.  And good luck!

(Linda and several others of you also mentioned that you would like to hear my son's point of view about my knitting.  I'm trying to cajole him into writing a post one of these days, but at the moment he feels a bit overwhelmed with high school homework.

Speaking of Nathan, here is his nice outfit for homecoming dance:

His dad helped him pick it out.  I don't think I've ever seen him in a tie before.  Sniff, sniff... my little boy is growing up!  He evidently had a really good time, and has been enjoying the football games, and helping on the Theater Tech crew for the upcoming school production.  Today we're off to the Brave New Workshop for his Youth Performance Group improv rehearsal and first show, after which we're having dinner with the family of another student who goes to his high school, and then attending a dress rehearsal of a play at the Brave New Workshop's downtown theater.  Should be fun!

Progress on the Austrian Alps Jacket

Thanks to a few days home from work, as well as a break in that big project, I've made quite a bit of progress:

I have the left front, left sleeve cuff, back, right sleeve, and right front done.  Now all I need to do is finish the left sleeve, and then join all the pieces together and knit the raglan yoke and collar.

Here is a closeup of the one finished sleeve, with that interesting cuff detail:

I'm REALLY enjoying this knit; I love the variety of textured stitch patterns, and knitting in plain yarn that shows the stitch detail (I chose Knit Picks' Merino Style this time - really liking it so far.)

I did have to so some re-designing.  When Nicky invited me to visit when I was just starting the KOTOTW project, I had the chance to actually try on some of the actual knitted samples from the book, including this jacket:

I wanted to re-design how it fit a bit, mainly because my breasts are (ahem) a bit less perky than the models' in the book; I wanted that break between the two knitting patterns to fall under the curve of my breasts. 

But, this is also a piece where you can't finish the fronts and back and collar, in order to figure out how long the sleeves need to be, or how it will fit, etc., because it is knitted in one piece from the armholes upward.  So, I made my best guess on how to lengthen it a bit for my body, and where to put that break between the two patterns.  My fear is that I guessed wrong, and have made the whole darn thing too long now. 

But, the only way to find out, will be to finish the second sleeve, and then knit the 80 or so rows of the yoke, so I can try it on, both to see if the length of the body is right, as well as whether I got the sleeves right.  If not, there's going to be a fair amount of unravelling and re-knitting to do...

But you know what they say...

Just keep swimming!

 

XOXOXO,

Mar