I was starting to doubt it would happen, but this year’s Rhinebeck sweater is off the needles in time for the festival!

October Frost

Pattern: October Frost from A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd (errata here)
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca, approximately 7 skeins
Needles: size 6 & 8 Harmony circs
Knit: 8/30-10/13/2008!
Mods: None although I probably should have made a couple

Wow! This one took a long time to knit. No wonder I’ve been on an instant gratification kick lately. Granted I mostly knit this while on my daily commute and very little at home due to all the other things I’ve needed to accomplish in the last few weeks, but I was pretty solidly dedicated to this sweater alone and it took well over a month to finish. Can you imagine if I’d actually spun the yarn too?

This yarn had been in the stash for a while and just didn’t seem to want to become a sweater. All the patterns I had previously tried either ended up being more complicated then my poor brain could handle or less than captivating. This one gave me a good balance. Starting on the back gave me a good dose of cable-y goodness up front and when my attention started to wander and I was growing weary, the other pieces had just enough cabling to keep my interest without making me nuts. That’s a short trip anyway.

I really do love the yarn though. This sweater is going to be super warm and I have a feeling I’ll be leaving it open more often than not. There’s a crispness to the alpaca content that gives it an interesting feel while still being soft enough to wear next to the skin. That alpaca content also made this block out to just right proportions, especially in the sleeves where they were a little short off the needles but fit perfectly now. I have a few lingering doubts as to whether or not that will spell future stretching beyond recognition, but I’m hopeful it won’t!

The pattern was well written and easy to follow despite a small error in one chart key. The talk on Ravelry about there being a bit too much fabric under the arms turned out to be right after all. I thought that my not quite right row gauge might fix that issue, and quite honestly I forgot about it, but unfortunately it didn’t. There’s a bit more fabric then necessary in the sleeves and I had to do a bit of fudging to make them fit the armholes, but I don’t think it’s terribly noticeable after a good blocking (Incidentally, I didn’t block until after it was all sewn up and the button bands and collar were finished but before I put the buttons on. Does that make me weird?! I guess it doesn’t matter too much since it worked out ok). If I was going to knit it again, I might make some adjustments there and also might consider doing something to make the button bands lay a little flatter. They tend to want to turn up.

If you ever knit this sweater, save some patients for the final collar knitting. I felt like I knit and knit and knit and knit some more and when I finally had enough length and bound off I found that it just barely folded over to a depth I liked. I thought it was going to be too long! Ha! Not so much. I also thought it was a bit unusual that the collar wasn’t knit to meet the button bands at first, but I do like the result. If you’re someone that doesn’t like necklines to be too close to your neck, this would probably be a good choice for you.

As I told you in the last post, the buttons came from Tender Buttons in NYC. They’re supposedly pewter from Norway. I had originally thought I’d like to have wooden or horn buttons to go with this but nothing seemed to work with the deep color of the sweater. When the switch to metal got mentally made I wanted to be sure to have some sort of design that would reflect or echo the cables in the sweater. The filigree on these, while not cables per se, did the trick for me.

By the time you read this, my sweater will be packed in the car patiently waiting for me, HWJF and Kristy to head off to my parent’s house and begin this year’s Rhinebeck adventure. If you’re going to the festival, please do say hello if you see me! I’m always happy to meet blog readers in person! I expect to be there bright and early on Saturday and will be returning on Sunday a bit later in the morning. We’ll be going to the Ravelry party as well. My shopping list this year is rather limited and specific. I plan to get the “must have” purchases done right away so we can spend the rest of the time enjoying the sights, sounds and people we’ll meet at the festival. The camaraderie that goes along with these events is my favorite thing.

I can’t wait to see what HWJF thinks of all this when it’s all said and done! Wish the sherpa the saint him luck! And if you can’t make the festival, don’t worry, we’ll breathe some wool fumes and get a funnel cake or two for ya!!

You’ll please excuse the radio silence this week. I seem to be getting pulled in several directions at once which is not conducive to blogging.

Anyway, the game last Friday night was awesome! We had a great time despite being in what I’m affectionately referring to as the “bimbo section”. Think last row with a bunch of women with bellies and tramp stamps exposed and each painted with a letter to spell something or other. Really makes you wonder about how women are being raised in this country. I kept telling HWJF “Eyes forward!” while he said he was looking at the chicken wings. My Dad was not looking at the chicken wings. But I digress!

Most of the rest of the weekend was spent working on the Rhinebeck sweater (more on that soon!). On Monday we had the day off and decided to take a trip to the Central Park Zoo. We wandered around the park a bit when we arrived and passed this fountain. After finally asking directions (ahem!) we arrived at the zoo. At this point I was thinking “How good can it be if we couldn’t even find it?!?” but I was quickly proven wrong! While it’s definitely a small zoo, it’s well designed and really gives you an up close and person experience with the animals that I’ve not seen all that often anywhere else. You can see all the pics here but the highlight for me had to be this:

Polar bear butt!!! Dude was putting on quite a show swimming back and forth with his eyes closed. Adorable! Unfortunately I can’t help but think that the way this planet is going, this may be the only way to see these amazing animals pretty soon. Vote early and often people!!

We also made the trip over to Tender Buttons. It’s really a lovely little shop with some unique and interesting buttons. It seemed inappropriate for pictures, but if you’re ever in the area you really should take a trip over there. I’m already thinking about going back for the buttons for what I’m planning to be my next sweater.

The last part of the day was a failed attempt to get into the audience of The Colbert Report. I didn’t mind all that much since I got to finish sewing the buttons on the Rhinebeck sweater while waiting in line. But we know the deal now and I do believe we’ll be successful if we get a chance to attempt it again.

On the knitting front the cowl craze has taken over my life. Maybe now I know why I waited so long. I’d have gotten nothing else done otherwise! I finished up the Zig Zag Cowl this weekend and it went straight into the dyepot. Remember the original color?

No longer!

Zig Zag Cowl

(There’s a little Rhinebeck sweater preview there for ya.)

Pattern: Zig Zag Cowl
Yarn: Handspun two ply wool/angora/mohair blend
Needles: Size 8 harmony circs
Knit: 10/6-10/12/2008 including the time to over dye it

The cowl that started it all for me! I found this to be a really fun pattern that I just couldn’t seem to put down. The lace is fairly easy and I think it would make a good beginner lace project. I originally cast on two extra repeats because I thought it looked small, but after finishing the first picot edge I quickly realized it would be more than big enough and decreased those stitches out. It is a bit narrower at the top than the bottom because of this but I think that’s just fine.

(I had way to much fun with photo effects for this post!)

HWJF likes this one so much I think he’s going to steal it if I’m not careful. I think that has more to do with the color than anything. It was kind of a happy accident. I was going for a deep teal but I knew that it might turn green considering the original color. The result was this lovely emerald/almost hunter color that has the expected tonal variations due to the fiber content. I’m not usually into green but I really like the result!

Next on the cowl hit parade:

Crofters Cowl

Pattern: Crofters Cowl
Yarn: Manos Silk Blend
Needles: Size 8 harmony circs
Knit: 10/10-10/14/2008
Mods: No grafting!

(Expression here courtesy of 3 hour meeting at work.)

I started this one on the way to the hockey game last Friday (my Dad always comments on how my hands can never be still!). The yarn is a loosely spun single that is just like buttah! Every stitch is a dream. The resulting cowl is warm, soft and cozy. Just what you’d want in a cowl!

I didn’t quite follow the pattern on this one. Once again, I thought it would be too small to fit over my big melon otherwise so I cast on 100 sts instead of the 80 called for. I’m glad I did because I think it drapes kind of nicely this way. I was also way too lazy to deal with knitting three repeats, casting on and doing another three repeats and grafting them together, so I just knit from the beginning until I almost ran out of yarn and cast off. It ended up being about 6.5 repeats and I think it worked out just fine. I’m all about the simple after the Rhinebeck sweater!

Speaking of the Rhinebeck sweater, tune in tomorrow for the FO post on that. You know, if I don’t bounce off my chair in anticipation of actually going to Rhinebeck!

The cowl craze took off around the knitting world earlier this year and I really didn’t see the point. It’s not a scarf, you have to pull it over your head, could it really keep you warm? I was not a believer. Enter the current financial mess in the world and the news stories about the price of heating your home this winter skyrocketing and my knitting mind turned to things to keep my cold little self warm, even in the house, this winter. Keeping wrists and neck warm are really key to overall comfort. Also, as the weather has been cooling off I’ve been wearing the mobius that I finished earlier this year like this alot:

Suddenly the cowl thing didn’t seem so dumb. After consulting with my local cowl expert and thinking about the stash a bit I dove in with the Zig Zag Cowl and some handspun yarn:

Long-time readers might recognize this yarn as the one I spun from fiber that was given to me at Rhinebeck last year. It’s a wool/angora/mohair blend that I spun into a semi-inconsistent two ply yarn. It’s a fairly soft yarn with the angora content, but it’s pretty sturdy too. I started it Tuesday night and by yesterday afternoon it looked like this:

I expect to finish it today or tomorrow. When I tried it on last night after SnB, HWJF said “Didn’t you just start that?” I said yes. He replied “Then why is it done already?!”. It’s an addictive little pattern and I just can’t seem to put it down (I almost missed my train stop one day because of it!). Oh yeah, and never fear, when it’s done it’s going in the dyepot. Lime-ish green is *so* not my color.

At SnB last night I bought yarn for at least two more cowls. Expect to see them on the needles before you know it.

Still in the game

For those that might be wondering, knitting on the Rhinebeck sweater is finished! I’ve started seaming it up and so far so good. Unfortunately, I should have listened a little more closely to the Ravelry posts about the extra fabric in the sleeves. My incorrect row gauge seemed like it was going to make everything better but it turns out it didn’t. I don’t think it’s a huge problem though so I’m soldiering on at this point. Hopefully I can get all the seaming and the collar and button band finished up this weekend because there are plans to do some button shopping on Monday. Wish me luck!

And finally,

Going to the game!!!

On the spur of the moment we got tickets to tonight’s home opener for the NJ Devils!! My Dad is coming down for it and I’m so excited I may just drive all my coworkers crazy as I bounce off the walls today until I get to leave. The Sabres will always be my team, but I’ve been jonesing for a hockey fix like crazy lately and I can’t wait!!!!!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone! I know I will!!!

… the common cold. Oye! I’ve been kind of down and out for the last couple of days thanks to a cold that kept me home on Tuesday and Wednesday (Note to self: Don’t get sick on Jewish holidays. The drs. office won’t be open!). All good intentions of blogging went out the window as booth preparations took what little energy I had. There are still a few more tweeks to be made, but this is about what it’s going to look like this weekend.

As always, clicky to biggie!

Now that I’m starting to feel better, I’m getting more excited about this weekend. The weather is supposed to be great and I’ve got lots of friends helping me out, so I’m looking forward to a good run. In that second pic you can see some of the superwash merino batts I’ve been making up on the new toy. I’m really excited about being to offer these! They’re big and fluffy and the color blends are coming out nicely.

Incidentally, if you’d like to win one of those lovely fluffy batts, hurry on over to the Zarzuela’s Fibers Junkies group on Ravelry! I’m running a contest that ends today!

I’m also excited to be able to offer some of Eklectica’s beautiful spindles! I talked about the one she gave me to review in this post. She’s got a bunch of different woods and weights in what she sent me which is going to make it very hard to see them all go!

Anyway, if you’re going to be at the festival this weekend, do stop by and say hello! I’ll be inside one of the barns but I won’t know which one until I get there. I’m sure I’ll have lots to report next week!

Finally, while I was on the couch for more hours than I care to count, I finished up sleeve #1 of the Rhinebeck sweater:

I’m sure you can see my little goof there, but ya know what? Nobody’s perfect and I’m just going to leave it. It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have a mis-crossed cable in there somewhere! Sleeve number 2 is well under way, but the fact that there are only two weeks left to get this thing finished is making me a little nervous! There’s still seaming! And a button band! And a collar! And I have to find buttons!

I think I’ll take a little lesson from Scarlet O’Hara here:

I’ll think about it…. MONDAY!

You know, after the festival.

Have a great weekend everyone! Wish me luck!!

I’ve got fast approaching deadlines in my life, mostly involving getting ready for the festival. I had a little freak out last week but I think I’m over it. When I’m not home, I’m working on the Rhinebeck sweater:

Craptastic photo courtesy of mother nature and indoor flash pics at night. Where did summer go?!?

That’s the back and both fronts, just completed this week. A sleeve is in progress at the moment. Leigh was kind enough to give me the heads up that there’s been some discussion on Ravelry about the saddle not working out quite right and/or there being a little too much fabric in the main part of the sleeve. Thank you so much for pointing out these discussions Leigh! I’m finding it terribly difficult to keep up with the number of groups that might be of interest to me on Ravelry! There’s just so much valuable information and only so many hours in the day! Who knew that this book had its own group?! Well.. obviously Leigh did.

So what to do about these sleeve issues. Well, having laid things out I decided to see how my sleeve matched up to the rest of the sweater so far.

Not quite there yet.

I think I’ll continue to increase as written in the directions until it looks as though they’ll fit. Then I’ll just knit even if I need more length to match my measurements. I’ll probably end up doing the same with the saddle since there’s apparently an issue there too. I’m just glad I knew up front. I don’t need any more stress in my life right now.

Another great stress reliever was having another spinning gathering at my house on Saturday and spending a glorious day outside with Carolyn, Deb, Kim and Anne. Did I get a single picture? Of course not. That’s just how I roll lately. I really should have busted out the camera when I shared the glory of chocolate mug cake with Anne and Kim before they left. Let’s just say it was worth a good laugh (and it’s seriously good for the taste buds too, but you might want to share with a friend). Just make sure you have a spatula ready if you’re going to do it in a cup too small. Just sayin’.

I suppose I could write more but I’m just too distracted at the moment. I’m stalking the UPS dude waiting for a new toy. More soon.

Ok. Not really.

So here’s the thing. I’ve been busy, that’s for sure, but I’ve been reluctant to blog because how much more spinning and dyeing can you really care to see? But my plurk friends tell me that all will be fine so here I am.

In the last post I showed you the back of what is to (hopefully) become my Rhinebeck sweater.

This is October Frost from the amazing book “A Fine Fleece” by Lisa Lloyd. If you do not own this book, drop everything you are doing, get thee to a book store and GET IT. Seriously folks. I think I want to knit darn near everything in it. And the things I don’t want to knit? That’s only because I don’t know anyone that would wear them.

Needless to say, with the current dyeing and spinning schedule for the shop there was no time (or advanced planning) to spin anything for this myself, so I’m going with commercial yarn. This is Berroco Ultra Alpaca in the magnificently named colorway 6237. I’ve started no less than two other sweaters with this yarn (the Weekend Pullover by Veronik Avery from IK many moons ago and Ariann from Chic Knits) and have not been pleased with the result (although the Ariann is still on the needles in case I have enough yarn or desire to finish it) so I am quite happy that this seems to be going well so far. Of course, I could not get gauge in a quality of fabric that I liked, so I did a bit of math and lucky for me it turns out that I can follow the numbers for the largest size instead of trying to get my tired brain around mathematical calculations that I rarely can comprehend on my own without bugging the boy to “check a little math for me?!”.

(Color is closer to true in the first pic.)

So far so good. The back is completed as you can see in the first shot above and the left front was bound off today. It seems that cable-y goodness is always a theme in my world this time of year especially if you consider last year’s Rhinebeck sweater. Now all I can hope is that the Rhinebeck weather will cooperate with the wearing of an alpaca blend cardigan…

P.S. If you haven’t already, come join the Zarzuela’s Fibers Junkies on Ravelry!

*tap, tap*

Is this thing on?!

There you are! Hi! Did ya miss me?! Yeah. Didn’t think so.

Believe it or not I really didn’t intend for my little blogging hiatus to go on this long, but it appears that when one “busy” comes to an end, enter another “busy”. Such is my life lately, what can I say?

So let’s just be upfront right here and now and tell you that this will be a post of mostly random stuff because that’s all I’m good for at the moment. Click the next button if you will or read on!

1. I was extremely remiss in my posting about WOOL 2008 to forget to show you the lovlies that I came home with from my fellow indie dyers! Shame on me! First up from the organizer of the whole deal some Phoenix Fiberworks Fetish Superwash:

It’s the Boo Berry colorway and if you’re quick it seems that there might be one left in her shop.

I also picked up some fiber just for ME (this is the problem with running an etsy store, it’s all for someone else!).

5 oz. of merino from See Kay Craft. She has some other lovelies in her etsy shop too so go get some!

There! I feel better! Thanks for the goodies ladies!

2. Karen is doing a walk to benefit Diabetes research. Considering the state of health care and nutrition in this country, not to mention my own blood sugar struggles (although in the opposite direction, so far at least), this is certainly a worthy cause in my opinion. So spread the word and go donate a few bucks if you can!

3. I’ve gotten several special orders for spinning after Wendy so generously blogged the yarn that I spun for her. Expect them to be paraded about here now and then as I work on them. I just finished one the other day that I thought I’d share:

This is my blue steel colorway in superwash merino. Turned out to be about 630 yards of fingering-ish weight two-ply. I did a lot of pre-drafting on this one to minimize the posibility of stripes in the final fabric and blend the colors into each other. Here’s the closeup:

Hopefully Medievalneedle will enjoy knitting it up as much as I enjoyed spinning it!

4. One other thing about the shop: anyone interested in starting a Zarzuela’s Fibers Ravelry group? I need three people to get it going. I thought it might be a nice place to share what you’re doing with your goodies and exchange ideas and I can post announcements. Any takers? Leave a comment? ETA: Thank you everyone!! It’s live!! Come join us!!

5. In addition to the spinning there’s been a whole lot of dyeing going on.

And I can finally say why!! Zarzuela’s Fibers will be a vendor at this year’s Garden State Sheep Breeders Festival on Oct. 4-5 in Ringoes, NJ!!! There will be plenty of merino and superwash merino roving in my various colorways with a smattering of other fibers available. Depending on what goes on between now and then there may be some additional spinning related products as well. Want to make sure you get something in particular you’ve been wanting? Let me know and I’ll reserve it for you. Also, to promote a little earth friendliness I’m going to give anyone that uses their own shopping bag a $1.00 discount on their purchases. I know it isn’t much, but one less plastic bag in the world is worth it! More info. as it becomes available!! I’m very excited about this!

6. By the way, have you signed up for the ezine Knitting Purls? It’s a knitting related newsletter you get by e-mail bi-monthly with all sorts of interesting articles and such. There’s a companion podcast and a Ravelry group too. E-mail: ida [at] knittingpurls [dot] com to sign up! I’ll be writing about angora bunnies for the November issue.

7. Finally, I started my Rhinebeck sweater:

More about that lovely beastie next time!