Knitty Gritty Thoughts

Mystery Stole: Scheherazade

 

Mystery Stole 2: Scheherazade
Knit time: 6 weeks, completed 08-15-06
Final Size: 16"wide x 83" long
Needles: 2 US3 24" Inox's
Yarn: Zephyr, 2 2-ounce balls of jade from here
Interested in more info?  All posts about the mystery stole 2 here
Silver Shawl pin from Chris, she has a store here
Wish the pictures were a little better, that's what you get when you have to take them yourself =)  If I'm able to later I'll add a few wingspan pics (if I can get the hubby to take them.)

Knitting a mystery: Clue 5

5 clues down and only 1 to go!  This weeks clue went fast and I'm eager for the final clue tomorrow.  I can't wait to cast off and block it, which is my favorite part of lace, watching the transformation.

Any good ideas on how to block?  I usually would do pins but I'm thinking I should use the pin/string system and thread a line along the edges to pull it straight.  What do you think?

It's getting so big I had trouble taking a photo of it pinned out so I had to stand on the guest bed =)
Measurements: 13.5in wide x 60in long
Stitch count week 5: 49,500

Knitting a mystery: Clue 4

Clue 4 has brought the stitch count to 39,600.  I had to double-check my math a few times to make sure I got that mind-boggingly number correct. 
First measurements:

On size 3 inox 24" circs and jade zephyr yarn I have 44 in long x 13.5 in wide, pinned gently.

Just beautiful.

etc...etc...

Well, I'm sure you all knew this was coming...I just finished Clue # 3 of the Mystery Stole, and boy are my arms tired!!  Hehe, couldn't resist the joke.  But seriously, just pinned it out and took a pic of it so everyone can see the pattern emerging.  It's starting to get rather long, and barely fits in one camera frame, without losing the details.  So, for those interested, the weekly stitch count for clue 3 is now up to 29,700!

Now I just need to put it away and wait for Friday's new clue.  In the meantime I'm working on Cath's pattern as a test knitter and that is about it.

In bloggy news, I've updated my sidebars, posted new books, added a few rings.  Erica has started a military knitters blog ring that I joined, and I also joined the Mystery Stole ring as well.  You can also see pictures of my puppy dogs.

I had a great find at Levenger, I love that place!  I use their paper and fountain pens and ink, but that's a whole 'nother post.  They're having a big sale, and I found the coolest calculator that was perfectly made for knitting!  It does all sorts of conversions, built in: CM, FT, IN, M, etc and you can do it all that click of a button.  I'm really bad at remembering all the conversion rates when I want to start a project that's in centimeters to convert to inches, so I love it.  Here's the link if you're interested.  Happy Monday...is it friday yet???

The mystery...continued

For some reason, I am really stuck on knitting this mystery stole.  I can barely let it out of hands, and once a new clue is in, I feel Iike I'm at the races... "and she's off!"  To be fair I don't forget about all the other stuff I need to do, I'll do a row here and there while I clean or make dinner, but it's rarely far away.  I managed to finish clue 2 (both sides) today and I pinned it out a bit so you could see the pattern emerging.  I love the color and the yarn (zephyr) dearly and it's really coming along.  The only bummer is how long the charts are.  They come out every week and so far it's been 50 rows a week (x2) because we need to knit both sides, over 99 stitches....so...let me see, that's 9900 stitches a week!  With the new clue that means I'm up to 19,800.  No wonder my hands hurt!  Thank you all for the wonderful words of advice for my hands.  I'm trying to take it easy, and wear splints and it seems to help.  As much as I hate to say it, I think I need to slow down on the knitting as well.  Now that the clue is done I'm doing a little basic stockinette in round this week and that's it! =)

Last week I won a contest on Caitlyn's blog in celebration of her new etsy shop and she sent me a beautiful tissue holder.  Thank you Caitlyn, I just love it! =)  I also did a swap with Trek for a lovely sock bag.  It arrived today and I immediately put it to use on my bike.  I try to ride atleast 3-4 days a week and usually read a magazine, but I figured why not knit?  The bag is perfect, and holds my yarn just right so I can knit and ride to my hearts content.  After a nice bike ride I head into the living room to do a portion of my favorite exercise video by Denise Austin.  The last workout is a excersise ball workout that I just love, it really strengthens my core and back and helps with those long hours at a desk.
Have a great week!

Knitting a mystery

Hi everyone!  I got my pictures all ready to go and post yesterday and then wouldn't you know that typepad was down all day!  Ah well, today is a new day and I have the same photos for you.   I'm working on the Mystery Stole 2, I posted my swatch a little bit ago.  The first clue was given last Friday and I worked on it all weekend, finally finished the chart, and therefore half of the clue.  The stole is worked from the middle and it starts with a provisional cast on.  I decided to do an invisible cast on with an extra needle to save me the hassle of unzipping.  Bing-bang, just turnaround and start knitting the other direction!  It worked out pretty well in fact, this was the first time I gave it a try and I found the instructions here.  This week I slowed down a bit on the second side, I'm on row 30.  Next clue comes out tomorrow so I don't think I'll quite make it, but I had to slow down a little, my hands are giving me troubles.  Anyone have any suggestions for hand pain/numbness etc?  I think I have carpal tunnel from work, I can barely hold a mouse it hurts so bad!  It's starting to seep into my knitting, I am having trouble holding the needles and my hands are kinda cramped and clumsy.  I would love to hear how other people deal with this.  So far, I used my heating pack that I made as well as moist heat and then wrap a ace bandade around it.  It helps a bit.  OH, and the other thing I'm trying to do to help is to teach myself to knit CONTINENTAL! (where's my drum roll?) =) Hehe, I've been wanting to teach myself for awhile but never really got up the gumption.  I found some great videos here and finally found a way to hold the yarn comfortably for me (twice around the pinkie, then around the pointer finger) but am having trouble purling.  The video has you poke the yarn with the middle finger so you can catch it, but it just seems weird to me (and I am clumsy.)  Is there a better way to do it, can anyone send me any pointers?
So, other than that, I finished up the first Opal ankle sock, and started the next.  I'm still loving the color changes and they will be a gift for the MIL when I'm done.  Oh, and Cath designed a great pattern, go check it out.  I'm working on one of her patterns now as a test knitter, how cool is that? =)

Mystery Stole 2

Last year I participated in Mystery Stole 1, the pattern was gorgeous but I picked the wrong yarn.  It was pastely and variegated and sock-weight and it felt so heavy and hard on the eyes!

This year, I won't make the same mistake twice...my yarn will be jaggerspun zephyr in jade knit on size 3 needles.  You can knit both sides at the same time, so I purchased an extra set of needles from Webs...this will be fun!  If you haven't joined yet, come on over here... the group is very lively and talkative!