knitfortat
Originally uploaded by trillium knits

Thanks Kae and Greg. I looooooooves it. :)

  Will Knit for Tattoos

Success!

I swatched my beloved EL Silky Wool last night on size 2s and got perfect stitch gauge for Kilronan.  My rows were off by about 2 over the 4 inches, but that should be pretty simple to adjust for.  This isn't the type of yarn I was originally planning on, but I know I'll love the final fabric so I'm going to go for it.  The raglan I made with it last year is still my most worn sweater and is holding up quite well.  That sweater was knit at a very drapy 22/4 inches so I'm sure that Kilronan will hold up even better with the slightly firmer fabric.  

Now to finish up Gordon's pirate sweater and design up Dad's vest so I can find space in the queue for it. :)

technicolor goodness

l&v
Originally uploaded by trillium knits.

I spun this up Monday night. It's still thick and thin and probably a bit too spun, but it's soooo much better than I was before the class. Now to keep up the practice and (hopefully) the improvement :)

The fiber is from Lisa Souza... BFL I think?? I bought it a few months ago. The colorway is lime and violet for the perky podcasters of doom. This stuff is sooo long and very soft.

cool card
Originally uploaded by trillium knits.

Thanks Sock Buddy!

I too love the wisdom of Buckaroo :D

One more thing!

OMG I'm blabbering on today. I forgot to mention that I received an awesome card from my Sockapalooza 4 sock buddy. It was waiting for me when I got home Sunday night. I keep forgetting to take a picture of it, but will take one tonight or tomorrow along with pics of my latest yarn porn. (Got to start photographing my new aquisitions for Ravelry)

Ok, seriously, getting back to work now.

Kilronan afterthought

I also have a package slip in my bag for what is probably "Fishermen's Sweaters" the other Alice Starmore book still in print. (Did you notice my built-in excuse for buying it ? heh) So I may find another Irish sweater pattern to jump ship for in there. I'm totally jonsing for some complicated cables, can you tell??

Also, I bought a jacket's worth of alpaca at the Fiberfest market on Sunday. It still smells like alpaca. Gordon can't quite understand how that can be a good thing, LOL

I looked around all weekend for yarn for "Kilronan" and finally ended up back home at Churchmouse, the one lys I hadn't checked before leaving for Victoria. They did indeed have the Jamieson DK that I'd been hoping would fit the bill. After much deliberation I brought home 4 balls of a medium gray heather. The yarn seems nice and bouncy. A bit on the rough side, but not bad for an outer layer. Beautiful depth of color.

I swatched on size 5 needles to start with and it was waaay too big.

I started over on size 3 and got the ball band gauge of 22st/4 inches. And the fabric seemed really firm already. Hrmmm. 26/4 is what I'm going for with the sweater. I'll probably swatch one more time on size 1's, but I suspect this isn't going to work for me. I'm sure I could eventually get gauge if I go down far enough, but I'm thinking that stiff a fabric will not be at all pleasant to work with. Given what I know about the orignal yarn, that must be what Starmore was going for, but it doesn't sound fun to me. I think this yarn will make a yummy cabled hat though, knit up a bit looser.

My next plan is to swatch with some Jaeger yarns from Sarah's Yarns. I ordered swatching samples in both the 2/8 heather and the laceweight superfine merino (I'll try the laceweight doubled and tripled)

In other news, I've been knitting away on Gordon's sweater off and on and somehow I'm almost to the armpits on the body. Guess it's time to take a picture! I can't wait to get to the jolly rogers on the yoke.

I also cast on 2 different socks since I got home from Victoria. Outta control.

Oh, and Dad ok'd Knitpicks Shine worsted for his zip up vest. The only thing is... he wants something fairisle-y. I've been meaning to try steeking, but something tells me that a slippery cotton yarn is not what I want for my first steeking project. So I'm probably going to suck it up and just steel myself for two color purling. I'm sure it builds character, right??

This is the first project that Dad's ever asked for, outside of socks, so I want it to be just right. We were in Victoria a couple months ago with my family while one of our Australian cousins was visiting. They humored me with a trip to Beehive Wool and Dad was the last one in the store with me while I was deciding on colors of fleece artist.

He pointed to a fair isle display sweater and said "That's really nice, I like the different colors together like that... It would be too warm though. (pause) If it wasn't wool though....."
Me: "Like a nice cotton or something?
Dad: Yeah....
Me: Maybe a vest?
Dad: Yes!... would it have to button?
Me: I could put a zipper in it
Dad: Oooooooh that would be nice.

And thus an impractical project was born.

harloty goodness

harlot
Originally uploaded by trillium knits.

Besides all the beer, there was also the charming Yarn Harlot. She's even funnier in person than on the page and screen. Who knew she could do such a great Jamacian accent? (We were treated to a slightly more detailed version of the home renovation story, after someone asked if she had any more projects planned.)

I got all warm and fuzzy when she was talking about the great donation total from knitters to Doctors without Borders. The key to getting people to donate money, she explained was getting them over that mental hurdle that a small act, repeated many many times adds up to big change.

There was a pause as she let that sink in. Does any one in this room have a visual aid of this concept? she then asked.

Word.

finishedmonkeys

finishedmonkeys
Originally uploaded by trillium knits.

I finished my monkies on the way home from Victoria. I love these so much they will only be worn with sandals ;)

beerandknitting

beerandknitting
Originally uploaded by trillium knits.

This is the cliff notes version of last weekend. Beer and Knitting. Good times. I'd say together at last, but well, they're an old married couple by now really.