Erin progresses. It is difficult to photograph and is much more colorful than shown here. The darkest red is not that glazed looking and the blue/turquoises don't jump out at you in person. There are actually two orange/reds in the mythical beast's head area. The white line across the ribbing is a basting thread to hold the ribbing from rolling until the sweater is blocked.

I am truly enjoying this design of Alice Starmore's in "The Celtic Collection". That book is one of the few still in print and fairly easily available. Lots more in the book I'd like to eventually make. It (for me) is one of those have to own books.

Today we finished de-winterizing the truck camper and loading all the gear for this season's travels. Went through the canvas bag holding the "Sweaters from Camp" Shirt Tail Hemmed Fair Isle pullover and made sure the pattern, all balls of yarn, needles, notes, etc. were in there. That project and one pair of socks with Socketta yarn are what will be worked on in the camping evenings. This sweater is going to get finished!

Erin progresses and probably will a lot more over the next two days if this huge Nor'easter storm is anything like it is predicted to be. All the storm supplies like candles, Coleman Lanterns, flush water buckets, generator etc. are all tested and ready. If we are lucky the storm will blow past us and out to sea. If we aren't lucky, we'll get slammed with 4-8" of snow with heavy rain on top of it. At least most of the ice is out of the rivers and streams so flooding might not be a problem. We live by a very pretty babbling brook but it would have to come up 12-15' to get anywhere near the house. Roof is clear of snow so no ice dam problems with edge of roof leaks.

I like the colors I'm using for Erin. Major blind trust to use the turquoise colors as they looked so bright in the skeins but they are really pretty knit up. Finally can see the mythical beast in the FI pattern. It is hard to spot on the chart but fairly easy to see in the colored knitting. I'll finish Chart C and then knit 2" on the Shirt Tail Hemmed Cardigan. Alternating is the only way to make myself finish the Shirt Tail Sleeves. I'm also actually reading the manual for the Stitch Motif software and will be working on charting out my own Aran design. I'd like an Aran in one color to knit while RVing this spring and summer - if those seasons ever show up!

Chart A of "Erin" shown. I'm much happier with the slate blue background color than the teal blue originally chosen. This is a simple knit so far. Most of the Fair Isle work done to date had color changes about every two rows. This one is every 8-10 rows so a lot less spit splicing. There is probably too much contrast in the bottom red to the rust but I like the colors so will continue.

My time with making Fair Isles isn't long enough to have stood the test of a lot of wearing and washing. So far so good with the steek stitches holding up crocheted. I never knot or tie on. Instead I spit splice so there are no ends hanging ever. The splice ends up being the yarn that is used up while knitting the steek. First steek I ever cut was on a sweater purchased at GoodWill and cut up for practice. Sure took some of the terror away over cutting a sweater you worked on for months.

Good explanation of spit splice with photos at http://morcatknits.typepad.com/spitsplicing/2005/03/or_how_to_join_.html

Even better would be working a Russian Join. See http://www.knittinganyway.com/freethings/russianjoin.htm I haven't tried it yet but I wonder why you couldn't prepare the yarn for a Russian Join like you do for spit splice and then fold them back and spit splice instead of sewing with a needle. I'll have to try that.

I do nine stitch steeks with the colors arranged like this with 1 being the pattern and 2 being the background

First row - 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1

Second Row - 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2

Third row - 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1

Fourth row - 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2

See how the center three stitches always have the background on either side of the center patten color? When you crochet half of the 3rd stitch to half of the 4th stitch it is easy to see which stitch you are using because of the alternating colors. Same when you crochet half of the sixth stitch to half of the seventh. The middle fifth stitch is the guide line used to cut the steek after the crochet is done.

The photos show the steek I'm working with now and also a finished crocheted steek on the Marina sweater both on the front band and inside the armhole. I tacked down the front but not the armhole which lies flat.

The joys of Maine in the spring!! Just when the iris start coming up on the south side of the house, we get a foot of snow. It's April 5th and we get a FOOT of heavy wet snow. Good day to stay in and knit.

Erin's ribbing is much better the second time around. Switched to a US #2 circular and also using a cinammon type brown that was a little bit warmer. Sure am hoping I like the main background color better this time.

Facings on the body of the Dale of Norway Hemsdale cardigan are made and all sewn down. I'm glad the decision was made to use loops for the buttons instead of buttonholes. That is one thick front face with the front edge and steek stitches all covered over by a knit strip in the back. Doubt the button holes would have lined up anyway. The front doesn't look like the motifs line up but they do.

Sleeves are close to done except for their turn under facing. Might wait until next week to see if this sweater fits my taller daughter. If so, will knit the sleeves to fit her much longer arms and gift the sweater. She lives in NC and could always use it on a rare cold winter day for a coat.

All is ready to knit "Erin" along with the rest of the KAL and see how my color substitutions work out in Jamieson and Smith. I've wanted to make this one for a long time. Picked up a good Addi US #2 1/2 circular to try a swatch. I know I get 7 to 7.2 stitches to an inch in J&S on US #3 after washing and blocking tightly. I'd like to get closer to the 8 stitches to an inch gauge called for since I don't want to swim in this sweater. Pretty colors and who knows if I'll actually use the chenilles or not.

Steeks are sewn and cut on the Dale of Norway Hemsdale sweater. I kept the neck decreases as live stitches and will pick them up as the front bands and neck are finished. The colors in the photo look muddy. They aren't really but are more rich especially the gold and the red. The sleeves are already knit to about 3/4 of the length needed. I'll three needle bind off the shoulders tonight and then pin the sleeves in to see how much longer I want them. This sweater is more a coat and is quite heavy. It will be welcome next winter or as a gift for someone for Christmas. I'm going to have to go in a quiet room and read the instructions on the front bands. I thought I'd be picking up from the bottom right, up the front, around the neck and back down the other side. Might do it that way any way as the sweater is written for loops and buttons instead of buttonholes and I like the holes better. Do we ever leave sweaters alone to be knit totally as written?

It's been a fun knit and of course it isn't finished yet. Next up is "Erin", an Alice Starmore Fair Isle and to finish up "Shirt Tail Hemmed" cardigan.

P.S. to this post. It's later this evening, the three needle bind off is done on both shoulders. I also picked up stitches up one side front and am actually following the directions. Front bands are done separately, then neckband is picked up including the stitches on top of the neckband. No button holes, will use loops as called for. See!! I can follow directions.

Dale of Norway "Hemsdale" sweater is racing along. Yesterday was a nasty weather day with 12" of snow topped by sleet and freezing rain. Fortunately we snow blowed right ahead of the rain so didn't end up frozen in until June. Most of the day was spent knitting and watching old movies. I'm up to the back of the reindeer with about 60 more rows to go for the body. Sleeves are 3/4 done and length will be adjusted depending on how far the shoulders drop. It's been a fun knit but the Heilo is not as pleasing to the hand as the Shetland wools. It will be a warmer sweater though.

Miss Boots the Cat has blossomed since Patter passed away. She has become the constant companion that he was and has started to be very vocal. She snuggles in beside me when I'm knitting and doesn't chew through the yarn like he did. Fun cat. Wish I understood what she was talking about.

I'm also knitting ten rows on the Sweaters from Camp "Shirt Tail Hemmed" sweater each time I sit to knit. Don't know why I'm having to force myself on this one other than it is sleeves and sleeves are not my favorite. The colors are so pretty and the pattern is exceptionally well written.

Other thing I did yesterday was to get out most of my Aran books and patterns and go through them looking for a cardigan that called to me. I want to use Janet Szabo's book as a guide and design my own. So many beautiful cables out there and so far, I'm trying to get too many complicated ones in one sweater. This will be a long thinking project.

Living near LL Bean in Maine has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is being near the outlet store and being able to pop in from time to time to see what is on sale. The disadvantage is almost always finding something and spending money! My winter parka was not very long, only barely longer than waist length and with the brutal cold and winds lately, the coat wasn't doing a good job. Popped into the outlet store and walked out with a Thinsulate thigh length yellow winter parka with detachable hood and sleeves that didn't fall to my knees. $169 coat, marked down to $89 and on the sales rack at 50% off. With a coupon I paid $31 for a perfect winter coat.

So.... why is this on my knitting blog?? Because now I have to knit a hat and gloves to go with the coat Was thinking of a fair isle tam but tams sit on the top of your head and don't do much for your ears. If you do pull the tam over your ears the hat just looks silly. Out came lots of knitting books and I found the "King Harald Street Hat" in Ann Feitelson's "The Art of Fair Isle Knitting". The hat is designed to pull over your ears and help combat our current 9F degree temps with 25 mph winds. One of the joys of having both reference books and magazines and a stash of Jamieson and Jamieson & Smith 2 ply jumper is pulling colors in the warmth of your own knitting area. It's such fun to move them around until something potentially pleasing appears. If you don't have the Feitelson book, it is almost a must have if for nothing else than the discussion of color in fair isles.

I'm starting with these colors and will do a quick swatch. Only change might be to a J&S dark blue and medium blue instead of the Jamieson greens. The coat does have a blue lining. Jamieson Dark Pine Green #234

Jamieson Ivy Green #815

Jamieson Rust #578

Jamieson Mustard #425

Jamieson Yellow Ochre #230

Jamieson Buttercup #182

J&S Light Yellow #96

Spread against the coat they look good for contrast and liveliness. I'll skein off, copy the pattern for a working copy and put all in a canvas bag with needles. During our recent trip to VA to help mom with health issues, I didn't have a small project and missed one.

Hemsdale cardigan continues. I'm at row 65 on the body knit in the round. The sleeve steek will start at row 99 so I'm not so far away. I am going to steek this sweater no matter what the Dale pattern says. I just don't like cutting right into the fabric. It's a fun knit, going fast but I like the feel of the J&S jumper weight yarns much better.

The plain grey vertical stripe is the steek for the front of the sweater. Notice the difference in the bottom points of the arcs. The one on the center of the photo is the normal arc. The one of the left side which looks double is the underarm of the sweater side. The only way the charts would line up was to have this double dip. Hubby calls this the "sweater with the swoop-de-dos (arcs) and seagulls". The double arc bottom does look like seagulls. At least the sides match.

Just prior to heading to VA to help with a medical emergency with my mom, we had folded down the treadmill and made a workout daily plan. Of course the belt on the treadmill wouldn't work. Back after 12 days away and it still wouldn't work. Found the ProForm web site and who in Maine might repair the treadmill in our house. Only two numbers listed, one is Aroostock County which was 400 miles away, the second one within 3 miles of our house! Isn't that odd? Called and the man said he could come the same day. The treadmill repair man was a cutie! Probably 75, retired Navy, does repairs to keep himself occupied. Turned out to be a burnt controller part and it was ordered over the net. Joe can put it in when it comes and we'll be back walking again. It is -1F today with a 20-25 mph wind. I'm not walking outside today. I've gained too much of my weight back, just stress eating but that is not an excuse. Talked to mom a lot about eating and drinking well and regular exercise and here I'm not doing it. Better start practicing what I'm preaching.

The yarn diet never really had a fighting chance. I could use yarn/fiber to stuff the eaves and act as winter insulation but who knows what you might need when? . Today in Maine was gorgeous, clear, deep blue skies, 34F degrees and no wind. That is the first time in about six weeks the temperature has gone over freezing. In honor of the beautiful day we took a ride up to the western Maine mountains and foothills. DH thought we were going to a ski slope brew pub to have micro brew and ribs. Silly man!! I finally got to Norway, Maine and the "Irish Ewe" knit shop.
http://www.theirishewe.com/
If you are ever in that area, you HAVE to stop and chat with Dagney and look over the fiber and items from Ireland for sale. DH bought me pretty pewter sheep earrings and for his mom, some heart buttons. I bought the most beautiful blue fleck Aran weight yarn and a new copy of the Straker Design called Shalor. This is the Aran yarn that the shop has spun for them and imports. Penelope Straker has reworked the sweater pattern so that the sleeves now have a deep cable on them instead of just seed stitch. It is truly a classic pullover raglan and would going to be stunning in the blue yarn. DH actually picked the color over a more muted blue. The shop is stuffed with quality yarns, patterns and some books. There was a bin of vintage Aran design leaflets like the old Bernat ones we probably all have in our stash.

She also had a yarn called Digit which is fingering weight and equal to the Jamieson and Smith jumper weights. I have a lot of J&S on hand but if I were trying to fill in a color, would make the trip back up to go through the Digit.

Now I have to wind off a bit of the blue (using the Kitchen Aid mixer) and swatch. Final decision will be making Shalor, Starmore's Malin or Ann Gallentine's Country Cable Cardigan from Cast On Magazine, Winter 2002/2003. That cardigan was her level III master's hand knitting project and has called to me for a long time. Click on photo above to see more detail of patterns.

The Dale of Norway sweater "Hemsdale" progresses. Decided to make steeks as we do with Fair Isles. Front steek is at left of photo. The pattern lined up fairly well with a double V at the side instead of a single. Already sewn the hem under and it is comfortable to work with. This will end up being a gift for a smaller person as the gauge is 7 sts instead of 6 sts to an inch no matter what needle size I used. The sleeves are both done to about elbow length and will probably be added by three needle bind off once the sleeve steeks are cut.

Storm is gone and the day is 13F and bright and sunny. Joe cleared the porches while I used the garden tractor to do the driveway and parking areas. It is so pretty but still pretty windy and the wind has a real bite to it. First real snow storm of the year and here it is mid February. Birds are frantic at the feeder including some crows who seldom use the feeder. Red squirrels run under the snow to the feeder and just sort of pop up, very comical.

Beadwork is done!!! Still have to wash and block it and probably add a half inch to the sleeve ribbing but it is done. Click on the photos to get a larger image. A fun knit especially since the sweater sort of evolved as I went along. The cable charts are from Jade Starmore's "Beadwork" pattern, the construction winged as I went along. The sweater was knit on US #4 in Patons Classic Wool, a soft gray color. The sweater is exactly what I wanted for warmth and fits well. Its 2F degrees at the moment with a 20 mph wind so the wind chill out is fierce and there is supposedly 12-16" of snow coming tomorrow. Seeing as we keep the house around 62F - 64F warm sweaters are welcome. Would I make the sweater again? Probably not but it was fun. The others in the internet KAL (knit along) are making the sweater using many different methods. A couple are even knitting it as it was designed - a tightly knit, formal, cardigan. Its hard for most knitters to leave patterns alone.

Next on the needles is the Dale of Norway "Hemsdale" cardigan with Starmore's Fair Isle "Oregon" and "Erin" all set aside in their cloth boxes waiting their turn. For small projects, there are a couple of pairs of socks I'm learning on never having been a sock knitter.

To rip or not to rip the first Beadwork sleeve? Miss Boots the Cat says leave it alone! One side of my knit brain says the decreases are too fast even though made using the calculations from Sweater Wizard. The other side of my knit brain says rip it and make the decreases slower. It looks silly stretched out flat but okay when tried on. I'm just past the point shown in the photo and the three small cables are now lined up under the sleeve next to each other with no diamond pattern stitches left to decrease. That is as designed and I'm pleased with that portion. I might just keep going to the wrist ribbing which is not that horrible far away. Remember this is a dropped shoulder sweater and I have short arms so never make the sleeves as long as pattern calls for. The decreases are smoother than the photo appears and yes that is a length of straight/no decrease just before the circular. And I even drew out a diagram!

I did the duplicate stitch on the Dale of Norway sweater sleeves and am very happy with that outcome. I will not be ripping that sleeve to do over and now know what to do to make the pattern match better at the underarm. I've cast on 282 stitches for the body, made the steek area a bit wider, finished the 16 row plain knit hem and am almost done with Chart 1. That was on US #3 circular. Rest of the body gets done on US#4.

I've never been much of a sock knitter but just picked up the Interweave Press "Favorite Socks" book and there is not a sock in there that I don't like. http://www.interweave.com/knit/books/favorite_socks/ . But I WILL NOT start a pair of socks until the Beadwork sweater is done and at least one big chart on the Dale. So there!

Beadwork is a very difficult sweater to photograph. These are the best pictures I could get showing the start of the first sleeve. It is being knit from the armhole down to the wrist. The true color is more the darker grey. Interesting sweater to knit since I'm pretty well winging it with help from the Beadwork KAL and basic sweater design books and the Sweater Wizard software. Sleeves are NOT my favorite thing but this one is going quickly. Taking copious notes as I go so the second sleeve will match. The body fits and is very comfortable in the Patons Classic Wool.

Two partial sleeves of the Dale of Norway "Hemsdale" pattern are shown side by side. The one on the right is the first one where I did not increase in pattern but put a two stitch solid color up the back of the sleeve and increased on both sides of it. Sleeve on the left is increasing in pattern. Very apparent that the patterns don't match at the increases but I'm pretty sure I can fix it with duplicate stitch or at least fill in enough to be acceptable. I'm also thinking of duplicate stitching the sleeve on the right since ripping it out just seems like such a waste. Learn something new every time I pick up knitting needles and this sweater is teaching me patience! There is also an increased appreciation of the patterns written by Janet Szabo, Beth Brown-Reinsel, Meg Swansen, Ann Feitelson and the Starmores and the intricate meeting of patterns at edges.

Knitting with a KitchenAid stand mixer:

Faced with winding 30 some skeins of Jamieson & Smith 2 ply jumper weight into center pull skeins, I decided to search the web for an easier method than a swift and a hand cranked ball winder. Not wanting to pay for an electric winder, DH and I figured out there had to be a way to attach a small motor to the ball winder. NOT! So what other small motors were in the house that allowed a circular wind motion? Why an electric mixer of course!!! Having had surgery for carpal tunnel once, I prefer to save the hand motions for knitting rather than winding.

Google search brought up these sites from knitters who already had the idea:
http://www.figandplum.com/archives/000365.html using a hand held mixer
http://geocities.com/mama_bear_007/ using a stand mixer

So out came the Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook. I found that cutting a 4" square of lightweight cardboard, taping it into a tube and slipping it over the dough hook worked perfectly. There were no empty cardboard cylinders in the house at the moment but I will save some paper towel cardboard. I think they would be even better than thinner cardboard tubes.
The first couple of skeins were a bit comical as they looked more like children's tops than balled yarn but what the heck. It saved a lot of hand winding. Kitchen Aid stand mixer run on motor speed 6 balled a skein of yarn in about 45 seconds.

Lesson learned - Google is your friend.

The colors being considered for "Erin" out of "The Celtic Collection" are shown in the photos. Double click on each photo to see the color tag beside each yarn. The original Rowan colors and types are long gone and rarely available even on Ebay. I'm trying to substitute like colors from my stash of Jamieson and Smith 2 ply jumper weight, trying to recreate the feel of the original, not duplicate it. I'll use J&S 28 for both J and O and a Jamieson 524 for the G chenille. Since this sweater is about third in line, these might change but look pretty good right now.

A Juniper J&S FC41

B Madder Red J&S 9113

C Rust J&S FC72

D Terra cotta J&S FC8

E Sienna J&S 32

F Roseberry J&S FC55

G Flamenco Chenille Jamieson Poppy 524

H Cinnamon J&S FC60

I Red Violet J&S 72

J Old Gold J&S 28

K Lacquer Chenille J&S 129

L Jade J&S 71

M Light. Jade J&S 48

N Blue Mist J&S 75

O Ochre Chenille J&S 28

Time will tell if this looks good knit up. I'm sure I'll do a bit of swatching for color.

Finally!!! It's cold enough to wear some of the heavier sweaters. This one is "Russian Prime" from Meg Swansen's "Knitting". Knit in one piece with steeks to the shoulders, sleeves picked up in pattern and knit to the cuff. I cord is placed around the neck and along the top of the shoulders. Knit it in Elann's Peruvian Highland wool and yes it does pill down the sleeves. A second one in red/white was given to my sister Christmas a year ago. Wonder if it ever gets cold enough in VA for her to wear it?