Repeat Both Rows 33 Times

I have been knitting along on my sweater and I was just a few rows from dividing the sleeves from the body, and I was a little frustrated that it wouldn't be happening on a drive day. It isn't something I can do while I am at a trunk show, and wasn't sure how I would find the time between shows to give it the time and focus I would need. I double checked the pattern. Made sure I was following the right part, repeat 33 times. Great. Checked my row count. Yup, I had 33 rows, and I went to sleep because dividing stitches isn't something you want to do when you are weary. As I was drifting off, I remembered my pattern repeat is two rows. I was in fact no where near being ready to divide for the sleeves. 

I now have 42 rows completed, and we have 4 hours to drive. I think Logan will probably take the majority of the drive, so I have great hopes for today. Then tomorrow, when we are at Admit Ewe Knit, I will hopefully be able to knit along on the body. 

42 rows!

Yesterday we finished our tour of Virginia, and I have to say, I love Virginia. It is fall here and the trees are just starting to turn. As we were driving into Roanoke yesterday, I snapped a few quick shots. I wish were going to be able to see the trees in all their glory, I have a feeling as we continue south, we will miss the fall colors. I also love how well the shop owners get along. In just about every shop we have been in, LYSOs from other shops have been there visiting and shopping. Telling us how excited they are for us to come to their shop. The camaraderie and community is a beautiful thing. 

Want to see what we have been up to at the trunk shows?

We started our journey at Baa Baa Sheep. My friend Kimberly came by with her wee one and husband, I sized people for sweaters, and helped them find the perfect colors. The next day we were at Needle Lady which is on a fabulous pedestrian mall. Yesterday was Mosaic, our last stop in Virginia. 

A packed house at Baa Baa Sheep.

Lee knit up the Perfect Fit socks out of our Cloud.

Sizing at Mosaic, she loved the sweater so much, she didn't want to take it off. 

I'll be posting more pics on our Facebook page, so stay tuned!

One week in, two sleeves down →

The day I was hired at Anzula, I assured myself that I would knit my way through all 16 lines of yarn. As presumptuous a task as it might have been for a beginner, I’ve knit with eight lines in 13 months: Cole, Cricket, Dreamy, Inyo, Oasis, Squishy, Wash My Lace, and a discontinued Superwash Merino single-ply.

And (hopefully) come November, I can add Haiku and Breeze to the list. 

I will be knitting the Jasper Diamond Hoodie, by Kristen Rengren. The hoodie pattern can be found in Vintage Baby Knits, which I bought on Amazon.com for $12.97.

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Notions: Clover Pattern Chart Magnetic Gadge Place Market Set, CherryOnion Stitch Marker Set, Vintage Baby Knits, Clover Takumi Bamboo Flex 20-Inch Knitting Needles, Size 4.

The pattern calls for a DK weight yarn, and since I’ve knit with Cricket and Oasis, I decided to combine two strands of Haiku using two swifts and a ball winder -- a trick I picked up from Sabrina Famellos, the Anzula founder.

Two skeins of Haiku in the colorway Hyacinth wound into one center-pull ball. 

Progress: One week in, two sleeves down.

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Two strands of Haiku held together knits up comparable to that of a DK/Sport weight. 

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

The Girl Who Labels

Day 7

Despite being almost a quarter of the way through our 30 Day Sweater challenge, I'm definitely not a quarter of the way through my sweater.

The garter tube that is the cuff of my sleeve has taken more time than I expected. I am using the Magic Loop method, which I did not find to be so magic the first three times I pulled it out. Charlie gave me some tips on holding the two sides of the sleeve together while knitting so it's going along much better now. 

I am also putting a knit stitch as the first stitch on each side, which seems to be helping me prevent ladders. I'm not sure if it is actually the knit stitch that is solving my ladder problem, or all of the practice from knitting and frogging, but something is working.

I've embraced the mixture of marathon and sprint that is knitting a sweater in 30 days. After frogging the cuff so many times, I've decided to start just going with it, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo. The new object for me is not to have a perfect sweater, but to have knit a sweater and learned all the new techniques that go along with that, in 30 days.