I'm a Winner!

I got a package today. I love getting things in the mail!

A bit ago, I won a great drawing from Sam on Knitting Adventures and the prize came today! These very cute sticky labels and pen. I know how I'm labelling all my Christmas gifts this year.

Meeting a Celebrity!

If you've been wondering what has happened to me for the last ten days...  Well, my experiment ended and I've been sleeping, knitting, and sleeping, cleaning my house, and sleeping, taking Kera to the dog park, and sleeping. Oh, did I mention that I slept alot?

Last Monday, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was in Dallas. You can see her blog post here. See the goofy girl with glasses and PINK yarn in the front row? That's me! (In my self-defense, its a Christmas gift. I look terrible in pink.)

It was super exciting to meet a celebrity. She read a bit from her new book. (You can find it here if you haven't seen it yet.) I even got mine signed, I was way to shy to ask for a picture with her though...

WIP Wednesday ~October 19th, 2011~

Vivian, my green beast of a sweater, is quickly growing two arms. I love how fast the arms knit up in bulky yarn. (I'm using Knitpick Wool of the Andes Bulky - Love it.)

Despite how fast of a knit this arms are. I really don't have as much to show as I would like.  Why, you ask?  Because I mutilated the left sleeve about 80 rows in.  Yeah, I know ... 80 rows.  Not paying close attention, I didn't realize that I was creating a seam of 2 knits and 2 purls where my needles met. Which is definitely NOT seed stitch.  So I pulled out a whole needle and reknit it. I feel like a knitting champion!


For more WIP Wednesday Maddness, Don't forget to check out Tami's Amis!

Resonance Cowl

As promised, here are the first sneak peek photos of my latest design: the Resonance Cowl.

The inspiration behind this design was vibration, the lace panel that moves from straight to zigzag to straight to zigzag resembles the lace resonating in concert with my own energy.

For this sample, I used madelinetosh Pashmine in the colorway Tart. By the way, this yarn is amazingly soft and squishy - love it!

The draft pattern is almost finished. I just need to add the photos. These wonderful photos where taken by my SO at about 11 pm last night. They're great, but I want to get some in the sunlight as well.

If you're interested in testing knitting the Resonance Cowl, keep a look out for me in the Free Pattern Testers group this weekend.

For more FOs, make sure to check out Tami's Amis today!

WIP Wednesday ~October 12th, 2011~

I'm still working ridiculous hours in the lab for the third week in a row.  Everything that's not labwork in my life is taking a huge hit. (You have to give my SO credit for being a very patient man.)

The left sleeve of Vivian has grown about three inches, but that isn't very exciting.  I've finished the sample of design I sneak peaked during a WIP Wednesday a few weeks ago. However, I haven't been home during daylight hours, so no pretty pictures of it. I hope to have a few to show by Friday, and hopefully send it out for test knitting not long after that.

So, what do I have to show my few, but faithful, readers? A swatch! Yes, a swatch.  I'm not happy with it quite yet. I'll probably prepare a larger one with a few more repeats. I'm preparing a proposal for a new design to Knitpick's Independent Design Program.  It'll be my first submission, and right now just for yarn support.

I know this sounds a bit odd, but I feel like my background in Academia will really help with this proposal. After all the grants and fellowships I've prepared, or helped prepare, I have a lot of experience in giving concise 1 page proposals.  These grants and fellowships have also prepared me to receive a lot of rejection.  It's all part of the game.

Come back Friday for the big reveal! ...if I can escape the lab...


And if you want more WIP Wednesday fun, remember to check out Tami's Amis.

Have Sleeves, Will Travel

In my last post, I was complaining that Vivian had become to big to travel with me anymore. I had forgotten one thing: SLEEVES!!!  After I had finished the main body, I cast on the left sleeve. I have no idea why I didn't do this before, I would have been way more productive on Vivian if the sleeves had been growing in my travel tote the last two weeks.  It looks great so far. The cuff of the sleeve really reminds of a "Swampthing" hand, which I'm adoring more than I should. (And I'll be having great fun with it later when I'm wearing it.)
 

Additionally, when you're knitting in public, you never know whose attention you'll attract.  At my institution, students are required to park in the outdoor parking. This parking lot is a couple of hundred yards from the main building.  We're allowed to park in the underground parking under the building after 5:00.  I'm typically move my car about five because, well, the neighbor isn't that great and I don't want to walk out there by myself after dark.

Anyways, I was knitting along as I walked out to my car.  A dark blue convertible Volkswagen bug was pulling out of the garage. I stopped, but the driver waved me on.  So, I walked by, concentrating on my sleeve again when I hear the driver behind. "Heeeeeelllllllooooo, fellow knitter!!!" By the time I turned around, the car was pulling out.

Whoever she was, she definitely made my day.

WIP Wednesday ~October 5th, 2011~

Not much to report this week. Vivian has gotten too big to go on outings anymore, so progress has slowed tremendously.  I've only finished about twelve rows in the past week. I wasn't able to take any nice daylight pictures again this week. I haven't been home before sunset for a while, so I apologize for the photos.

My other project that I'm working on I can't share yet. I'm SO excited about my new design. I'm also having dramatic mood swings about the whole thing. I love it, I hate it, I love it again.  I'm making great progress, and I'm simply ADORING the yarn that I chose for the project.

For more WIP Wednesday Madness, check out Tamis Amis.

DiC Everlasting Sock - Review

Dream In Color Everlasting Sock

Dic Everlasting Sock in Wineberry

Fiber Content: 100% Merino
Weight: Fingering
Yardage: 420 yards/384 meters
Skein Size: 100 grams
Gauge: 7-9 stitches per inch on a 0-2 US needle
Website: http://www.dreamincoloryarn.com/ (Sadly, under construction at the time of this post)

About this yarn
Everlasting sock is a machine washable 100% merino fingering weight yarn. My first impression was under the name "Everlasting" that the yardage would be more, but its about a standard 420 yards.  I believe the reason for the name is the more unusual construction of the yarn. Everlasting is an 8-ply yarn, consisting of eight strands that are plied together.  It also brags that it is spun and hand dyed in the United States.

My Impressions
When I first received the skein I purchased in the mail I noticed two things. One, the deep saturated colors in the skein were absolutely gorgeous. Two, it wasn't as soft as I was expecting. While I've yet to try it's sister yarn "Smooshy", I had heard that it was an extremely soft yarn and was expecting the same of Everlasting.

My knowledge of yarn construction is still lacking, but I assume that having more plys in a yarn will allow for it to hold up better to continuous wear, even without adding nylon content. Thus the name "Everlasting"?

After marinating in my stash for about six months, I finally cast on a pair of lace socks using my Everlasting. First thing I noticed, it makes a beautiful fabric, and I had no problems with funny pooling for the variations of purple it the yarn. You can see the finished socks here. Second thing, being 8-ply makes the yarn a bit splitty. However, a good sharp pair of needles, and a little extra attention on those k2togs, and it wasn't a problem.

When I reached the lace panel of my project, one thing became very apparent that is probably the very best thing about this yarn. Its stitch definition is amazing! I would definitely purchase this yarn again for my more intricate sock projects.

I've yet to see how "everlasting" this yarn is, but I wear my socks very regularly. I'll keep yall posted my socks' durability.

Summary
Pros
Gorgeous Colorways
Great Stitch Definition
Creates great fabric with little to no pooling

Cons
Splitty

Want some Dream In Color Everlasting Sock of your very own? Here are a couple websites I found that sell this yarn:
The Loopy Ewe
Simply Socks Yarn Company