Finished Lace Tank, Drops 107-8

See what 3 hours a day sitting in an ice rink will get you. Finally finished the Lace Tank, it's Garnstudio's DROPS 107-8 Lace Tank. Since Drops yarn isn't available here, I used Lionbrand Cotton-Ease in taupe, 4 skeins.
Only got 20st/4” in st st on #4s, so made the smaller size to compensate. However, gauge changed drastically on the second chart pattern around the waist, so I had to frog back to the end of the first chart pattern and change to size 6 needles for that pattern, then returned to size 4s for the rest. It worked out great and I'm really pleased with the results.




I really like the neckline!


I am still working on the TKGA Master course, but I've got it in 'time-out' right now. Seems my stainless steel T-pins weren't stainless after all, and I've got to figure out how to remove rust dots from about 9 or 10 swatches. So it's being punished right now. I bought one of those Tide stain remover pens, but haven't worked up the nerve to try it yet. I'm also having more trouble coming up with a label format for the tags than I thought I would, I may have to do it in MS Publisher to get all the info stuffed onto the label. Oh, and I haven't finished knitting the hat, but it's pretty easy so far.

So, of course I've started another project, instead. It's the (Ravelry link)Scallop Edge Pullover from Knitsimple magazine, Spring/Summer 2008. I'm using Pattons Grace in a mellow, yellowy-orange apricot color on size 6 needles. Whipped out the little cap sleeves last night as my gauge swatch (grin, thank you, EZ). Noticed this morning knitting at the rink that I muffed the picot pattern, but I'll just change the body, also and call it a feature. I did *k1,YO,k2tog* instead of K1,*(YO, K2tog)*,K1. So I'll have fat picots, so what. Ha.

Drops 107-8 Lace Tank

The lace tank is coming along nicely, for the second time. It's Drops 107-8 top with lace pattern. I couldn't make gauge with my chosen yarn, Lionbrand Cotton-ease in Taupe, so I cast on for the smaller size using size 4 needles. The tank has four different lace charts, but each chart has a short row repeat, so it's pretty easy for someone like me that has frequent interruptions in knitting (their names are Cael and Skyelar, lol). After the first chart was finished, I did a sanity check, and it fit around my hips nicely. After the second chart was done, I had a problem, gauge had changed by 2 stitches per inch! I ripped back down to the beginning of the second chart and changed to size 6 needles. Things are progressing nicely and it looks like it will go around me now without fitting like a girdle. After this chart is finished it becomes straight stockinette, so I may have to switch back to the 4s.

Went to the Knitty Committee meeting yesterday at the Village library. I haven't been able to go in about a year, it was nice to see old friends.

I am a little distracted, I read the Yarn Harlot's June 25th blog today, she is having trouble with a woman writing vicious and nasty things on her blog and can't seem to stop her. I really wish she'd posted the woman's name, possibly someone else is suffering from her hateful posts, and if enough people complained about her, her ISP would drop her. It's really sad how some people ruin things for everyone.

Blocked swatches 10-16

Still working on the TKGA Master Handknitting Level 1 course. Finally got around to blocking swatches 10-16, I knit most of them a month ago.
Swatches 10, 11 and 12.

Swatches 13, 14, 15.

Swatch 16.

I just sold my first pattern!

I just published and sold my first pattern on my website, redearthknitting.com. A whopping 3 people have bought one! lol. (Here's the link if you'd like to see it.) It's a tank that I knitted at the end of last summer and wrote the directions up for it, but just never got around to doing anything with it for two reasons. One, I had read a tirade from a designer about how if you submit a design to a magazine and they accept it, they then 'own' it and can sell it for whatever price they choose, and can even offer it as a freebie with the purchase of something else. But then, to try and sell patterns on my own, I'd have to set up a website and figure out the shopping cart and payment stuff, which sounded like a lot of work for someone who's too cheap to pay someone else to do it when they're perfectly intelligent enough to figure it out on their own (I used to do websites and lite programming as an engineer). But I finally caught a free hour last week to investigate and set it up (and of course, the first buyer couldn't get it to work and I had to figure out what was wrong), and now I'm a 'designer'!

FO: Valley Log Cabin Blanket

I finally finished the Valley Log Cabin Blanket. It's a gift for a friend's new grandbaby. I used an I-cord bindoff to give the edges a nice finish. It took me two weeks to make, but during that two weeks I travelled for 4 days, and spent my 4th of July holiday showing houses to an out-of-town buyer. Uninterrupted, this blanket could probably be finished in just over a week.

Now on to more fun things! But I really should destash some more...

Log Cabin blanket dragging on...

I have finished the fun part of the Valley Log Cabin Blanket, knitting all the different rectangles going in different directions. Now I'm adding the border, which I swear is taking forever, probably because I have another summer tank that I want to start on and this blanket just won't go away! Here's a pic of it with 3 of the blue borders finished:

And here's a pic of the I-cord bindoff border. Since you add on the borders one side at a time, you have to leave the last 3 sts of the I-cord bindoff on hold until you've added the next side. When you're ready to bindoff the next side, then you pick up stitches along the right edge of the new side as you bring the I-cord up around the corner to bindoff the new side.