lostpurl

As you know I mostly knit for CIC (Children in Common)I was digging in my stash looking for who knows what, and I found a lot of angora yarn. So I think I will be making some hats for Dulaan. I can't even remember what I had in mind for the angora. But there you go, someone will enjoy it.
This is a new Video about the Dulaan Project. The kids are adorable

I finished the Cozy Cable sweater Friday. It is so rainy that I am holding off blocking it. I started a pair of big kids socks. A strand of Opal and a strand of DWIA. A very nice washable merino I got from Elann last year. The two strands together equal DW weight, more or less. The colors are so vibrant that it is hard to get an accurate picture of them. I started another pair using some leftover Patons and a strand of sock yarn. Nice and cushy, but I need to frog them and start over with less stitches. These are heading for a size XXL. :-)
I would really like to do another sweater before the deadline of March 31. And I would love to take a crack at SK Sun Ray shawl Sun Ray Shawl And I want to get back to my Shetland Lace socks. Shetland Lace Socks That should take care of this year :-)

The pattern for the Cozy Cable Big Kids Sweater has been posted atMarguerite . I didn't finish on time, but I can smell the finish line. I am half way to the end of the second sleeve. This has been some zippy knitting for me. I have really enjoyed the pattern and I plan to do another one for the kids, with the bulky Brown Sheep yarn. I will probably switch to 2x2 ribbing. Ribbing makes my teeth hurt and 1x1 ribbing is an act of love for me. Maybe try a different cable pattern. I know Margarite wanted to keep the pattern simple. I swear it took longer to knit the sleeves then the body of the sweater. What is that? Sleeves, You are now entering a different time space continuum Sleeve time is definitely different then normal knitting time.


And a belated gift from Santa ;)I ordered them in November, but she was over run with orders after Harlot posted about the sock kits. I told her no rush. I have no idea when I will get around to these. They are for my daughter. She loves dolphins and Celtic stuff. She also love pirates and still hasn't gotten her pirate hat. So you see how these things go :-)You can see the patterns much for clearly at her site.

From tsock tsarina

I completed the body last night. Some wiser element of my brain decided not to try and pick up the sleeve stitches by the light of my monitor :-) Because my row gauge is off from the pattern, I ended up picking up more stitches then I need. Its like sock gussets, you pick up whatever you need so you don't have holes. Then just work them off. The first round I worked off the extra stitches. I have completed just four rows of the sleeves, when I realized that I desperately need to do some laundry. Sadly put the knitting aside and off the laundry salt mines. I am doing the sleeve, magic loop. I have several 10 1/2 needles, but the INOX Express have been the easiest to work the double stands of yarn with. The points have a nice long slant but not to sharp a point. I don't think I will have both sleeves knit by the 15th. Weekends around here get a bit hectic.
Patons Classic Wool Merino, 10 1/2 needles used about 500 yards of yarn so far. It is a very nice yarn and I wouldn't mind having something made of it myself. Except for my laziness about hand washing. Hand washing a pair of socks is one thing. Wrestling a full sized sweater is another. I have been eying that Patons Urban Aran as a cardigan Urban Aran Cardigan Which I think would look better on me that the long unlamented Einstein Jacket :-P

Vamanta asked what CIC is. CIC is Children in Common. A group that supports orphanages in Eastern Europe and Russia. It was started by people who adopted children from these countries and saw the condition of the orphanages there. All the items made are carried to Russia, so they don't end up on the black market. For more information check out
Children In Common Funding for the orphanages is a very low priority and the need is great. The children are turned out at age 16 and have limited education and no skills at living in the outside world. Many turn to crime, prostitution, drugs or suicide. The children are not integrated in the surrounding society. So there is no support in place when they are forced to leave. The caregivers work very hard with the little they are given.

The loom is just like the spool knitting things we had as kids. You wind the yarn around the pegs once. Then a second time. Then lift the bottom strand over the top one. The usual way produces a twisted knit stitch, but it is possible to work a normal knit stitch and even to purl. It is a fairly easy way to get people to try knitting. They do have big limitations. Your gauge is set by how big the pegs are and how far apart they are spaced. There are some looms with metal pins set sideways to give you a finer gauge. But they are much more fiddly to work with. And it truth, they can not replace a size 2.50mm needle. Never mind anything smaller. Cables, yes cables are why I took up knitting with needles again. As I struggled to create a cable pattern on the loom, I decided it would be easier to learn to cast on and knit them on needles. Did I mention although I could knit, I never cast on. My Mom always cast on for me
I had a lot of fun with the looms (round) and the rakes (straight) Before I ever heard of Barbara Walker I worked out how to turn flat patterns into circular ones. I gave away almost all my looms so now of course I have to buy one from my daughter to use. I always seem to get rid of the wrong stuff :-)
You can see some of this loomy stuff at my Tatting site Tatting

I have lured her over to the dark side. Isn't that what Mums who survived the teen years are supposed to do, hehehe
My daughter who has a very soft heart, decided she wanted to knit something for CIC. We tried needles, and she was not happy. Then I dug out an old loom I had and bingo she was off. The long tube on top of the loom is her first effort. It will double up to make a small hat. She is now working on a youth/adult sized hat. I knew I had her, when she went to get the her cars oil changed, and took her knitting with her. I now know my stash will be in good hands :-) I have ordered her a smaller gauge loom. She is using some of my endless supply of Brown Sheep Bulky.


This is the test pattern I am knitting for the CIC (Children In Common) Big Kids knitting. The reason I didn't use the Brown Sheep Bulky, which would have been ideal was I need to keep track of the yardage. I don't have one of those nifty measuring things that measure off the yards. Instead I am using Patons Classic Wool in denim doubled. I am getting a bit over 3 spi. I decided on a neutral color that would work for either sex. The kids who receive these items are close to leaving the orphanages and looking for work. I think a kid that age (16) would probably rather have something more adult looking. The pattern is Marguerite's Stitches Of Violet She has designed so many great patterns some for CIC and some just cause she can :-) I took this yesterday, but I am almost done with the lower body today. Fast going on those 10 1/2 needles. I will have to retrain my hands for sock knitting when I am done.
We are also doing worsted weight socks for the older kids. And I remember I have some Elann Bag wool in the back of the closet. In natural and mocha I think. That could work up into a nice sweater also. I have a lot of Tranquil Lagoon and Celedon HW for socks.

Remember 2004/2005? Summer of Lace. When everyone went lace mad. Lace patterns sold like mad. Lace was da thing. I have been sniffing a new tread. Colorworks. Of course it has been around forever. But with Wendy, Harlot, Eunny and now Grumperina turning out new colorworks, will Fair Isle, Norwegian etc be taking the place of lace in KAL/Blogland? Will it become the new ME TOO marathon?
I have to admit, I fell hard for the lace-go-round. Why I have no idea. I am not a lacy person. And I am way to uncoordinated to wear a shawl. Last time I tried that, I caught my heel in the edge and took a header. As my Dad use to say "All the class of a duck" :-) I have tried some stranded colorworks. But the fabric produced is so thick, I doubt we would ever have weather cold enough to wear it. I could see some nifty fingerless gloves, maybe a hat. My daughter wants that pirate hat. I am trying to wait it out.
Human nature being what it is, I fully expect to see Lion Brand coming out with Color pattens for bulky acrylic yarn.
Have you been seriously bitten by the colorworks yet?
disclaimer I know lots of you already do wonderful colorworks. Y'all just wander off and consider the future Lion Brand patterns :-P

My husband has been home for eleven days of holiday whatever. And while I admire Gerald Ford, I do not appreciate another day of enforced productivity. I was so looking forward to a quiet house and some serious knitting time. This might account for the cranky posts :-)

I wish all my friends and peaceful and healthy New Year. Some other things I wish for all my fellow knitters

1: The will power to resist the urge to jump up and down yelling "Me too, Me too" when an A list blogger says they are going to do something. It seems there are a lot of sheep out in the blogosphere. baaah baaah baaah
This is not to say that you shouldn't consider any ideas out there, but cut out the knee jerk reactions. Ideas aren't all that much clever because and A-lister proposed them. I read Yahoo knitting lists where wars have broken out over the "Yarn Diet"

2: The stash. Knit it up for Charity. Yes I know it is Elizabeth Laviod silky wool and it cost a fortune, but then you noticed that lime green isn't your color and you live in Florida. So it sits in a box making you feel guilty. Cause you know it isn't ever going to get used. Unless your complexion or location changes drastically. Knit up a lovely sweater for some kid in Russia or Mongolia. Make their life sweeter. Usually these kids get the cheap end of wooly goodness. Imagine how this child will feel when they put on this lovely sweater and feel it's soft perfection. Give from the heart. You will feel better about your stash. See that lime green yarn wasn't a mistake it was a good deed in the making.
Got tons of sock yarn, then decided that knitting on size 0 needles was just not your bag? Double it up and knit a pair of warm socks for some kid with bare feet. Or add the sock yarn to some worsted weight yarn for a bit of flare. Can you imagine some kid in Mongolia admiring their new and beautiful and warm socks? Look at the smile on that face. Warm feet and warm heart, what could be better
By now your stash is no longer a burden, but a treasure chest. Give it a try
So here is my New Years resolution, I am going to knit up the "good stuff" for the kids. The Jo Sharpe Silkroad Aran, and Silkroad tweed, the cashmere and silk and whatever else is hiding in that closet. I bought the yarn cause I loved the colors and the hand. But reflection tells me the climate here is too warm for most of it. And I am lazy. I know if I have to hand wash etc the thing will never get used.
I am so glad I bought those yarns. Because now I will get as the Chinese say Double Happiness. The happiness of knitting quality yarn and the happiness of sharing it

Y'all probably already know about these, but in case you have missed them

CIC-knit

dulaanknits

Mittens_for_Akkol