At this point I have about 30″ completed for the back. I’m planning to knit to 36″ long, so I still have a bit of a way to go. But the back is getting to be a little unwieldy and non-portable, so today during my lunch break I cast on a sleeve.

Not much progress there as I never make it very far into my lunch break without being interrupted, but a little progress is better than none.

Thinking ahead, I purchased buttons for this project. I purchased two different styles, so I could compare and contrast!

Option One:

Option Two:

Meanwhile, Lucy is on the move!

I can’t decide which one I prefer, but at some point I’ll make a decision.

As Catherine pointed out in the comments, this is “Maidenhair” designed by Alice Starmore, from her book Aran Knitting, which was re-released in paperback a couple of years ago.

I did knit this cardigan a number of years ago– here are some photos. As you can probably tell from the photos, I made it for someone else. I knit that Maidenhair from Bovidae Farm sportweight at the pattern gauge. The pattern calls for Scottish Fleet gansey yarn and a gauge of 30 stitches/4 inches.

I am knitting this Maidenhair from Wollmeise DK.

I am using a U.S. size 4 needle and am getting 6 stitches to the inch. I am making the smallest size of the pattern and that will result in a fairly large cardigan I can use as outerwear. I plan to knit my sweater a bit longer than the pattern directs to make it more coat-like.

I am a little more than halfway through knitting the back and can see I have plenty of yarn. I had six skeins of the Wollmeise and when I decided to make the cardi longer, I acquired two more skeins from a nice Raveler who was de-stashing the color I needed — Pesto. So I have a total of 8 skeins, or 3744 yards.

So my Sunday plan is for more knitting and perhaps a bit of Lucy snuggling.

Lucy is ready for anything!

My first ball winder was one of those small plastic ones. It more or less got the job done until it broke.  Then I found an electric ball winder that lasted me many years before finally dying  last year. It was expensive, but it didn’t owe me anything: I wound countless skeins of yarns into balls on that bad boy before it finally gave up the ghost. (I did take it apart to perform a postmortem in hopes that I could resurrect it, to no avail.)

Since the old electric winder died I’ve been in a quandry. I have one of those Boye electric ball winders, but it does not work well for large jobs and the tension control is not good.

Recently I have been using this winder, which has done a fairly good job:

It winds large skeins: 8 ounces and bigger. That made me happy. What made me not-so-happy is that the metal L-shaped arm that sticks out in front that you feed the yarn through is not firmly affixed to the base of the winder. There is a wing nut that is supposed to hold it into place, but it does not. So for every skein of yarn I wind, I end up turning the handle with one hand and holding the L-shaped arm in place with the other. As you might expect, this is not a terribly comfortable position to be in for more than a few minutes. When one has back and spine issues, it quickly degenerates into unbearable.

So last week I got this:

This is the heavy duty ball winder I ordered online from Nancy’s Knit Knacks.

(Disclaimer: I purchased this ball winder at retail price — it was not sent to me at a discount or free of charge to review, nor was any review solicited from the company. I proactively ordered it because I needed a new ball winder. I mention this only because someone posted in a Ravelry forum recently questioning my integrity and the integrity of a product review, conjecturing that it was likely that I was being compensated for writing a positive review.)

I paid for 2-day FedEx shipping and got an email from Nancy — because they are located one state away from me, she sent it regular FedEx (because it would arrive just as quickly) and refunded me the difference. Nice customer service and attention to detail there.

Before purchasing the winder, I checked out the video tutorials posted on You Tube. There are lots of great tutorials on Nancy’s Knit Knacks YouTube Channel for a number of their products. By viewing the videos, reading material on the website, and reading comments made by other people on Ravelry, I got the impression that this is a company that makes quality tools and stands behind their work.

When the winder arrived, I was pleased to see how well-packaged it was — very little chance of it getting damaged in shipping. I took it out of the box and set it up. It was completely assembled, apart from my needing to attach the table clamps. Nancy’s Knit Knacks had recommended trying it as-is without making any adjustments the first time. (They did  include in the box the one tool you need to make adjustments — a nut driver.) I wound a 400-yard skein of sock yarn into a ball with absolutely no problems or issues whatsoever.

This is a big, sturdy ball winder and it is beautifully crafted. The handle turns perfectly smoothly and effortlessly. No added strain on arm and back!

Yes, it is expensive ($250), but for me, totally worth the money. I think this is the last ball winder I will have to buy.

You can purchase a separate “power base” for this winder so you can turn it in to an electric winder. It is not a cheap add-on, but if the power base is crafted with the same quality as the winder, I think it would be worth it for people who need a production winder. Before I got the winder I was considering the possibility of adding on a power base, but don’t think I will. The manual winder works so beautifully for me, I don’t think I need it.

I wound some Wollmeise Merino DK on it this past weekend.

This is a large skein — over 200 grams. 236 grams, to be exact.

The winder handled it beautifully.

The only criticism I have — I think the Nancy’s Knit Knacks website needs to be re-designed — I found it jumbled and confusing. But it is worth digging through — there is a lot of great information there.

Oh, that skein of Wollmeise? Here it is:

Can you tell what it is going to become?

Lucy sez:

“When the weather is hot and humid, frequent naps are essential to keep up one’s strength!”

I had purchased 5 skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy With Cashmere, but ended up using only 4 of them. I was going to use the fifth ball, but decided the piece was long enough after 4 skeins.

I based this on the Viajante pattern by Martina Behm, but completely changed the increases to make it wider and shorter. I am very pleased with the results!

I have released the pattern for my Camp Loopy Project One: As You Like It Scarf. The pattern is a free download on Ravelry.

It is highly customizable and an easy and fun knit. You could use pretty much any yarn you like.

Speaking of Ravelry, there are apparently some hiccups n their pattern update notifications. I released Part 2 of my Mystery Shawl at midnight on Friday, and apparently not everyone got the email and Ravelry message notifying them of the update. So if you are in that situation, check your Ravelry library — the Mystery Shawl pattern should show that there is an update available.

Lucy sez:

“It’s important to stay hydrated in warm weather!”

I started by making two dozen yellow cake cupcakes. You could make these from scratch or use a mix. A recipe for a regular two-layer cake will make 2 dozen small cupcakes. I used, for the first time, silicone baking cups, and they worked beautifully: I did not have to grease them and the cupcakes fell right out of them after cooling for 10 minutes. And they washed up very easily: I let them soak in a sink full of warm soapy water for a few minutes, after which they needed only minimal scrubbing to remove a stray crumb here or there.

I did not use cupcake papers because the next step was (after letting the cupcakes cool completely) to split each cupcake in half to make a tiny layer cake:

Next, I made a batch of vanilla pastry cream.

I spread the pastry cream on the bottom half of each cupcake and put the tops back on:

Next, I topped each cupcake with a simple chocolate glaze.

To make transporting the cupcakes to the barbecue easier, I purcvhased cardboard cupcake boxes.

These boxes are nice because they have a form inserted in them to hold the cupcakes in place.

Because the cupcakes contain pastry cream, I stored them in the refrigerator until it was time to take them to the barbecue. They were a big hit and the boxes came in handy again for people to take home the extra cupcakes!

Here is my brother’s big Maine Coon cat, Perry Mason, wondering why he can’t have a cupcake:

“Aren’t those for me?”

In other news, I finished my Camp Loopy project.

I plan to write up the pattern and post it as a freebie — stay tuned.

Lucy is busy contemplating life and cupcakes.

It’s a scarf that I am knitting from Alisha Goes Around Tracks of Bison fingering weight yarn. The yarn is 90% merino wool and 10% bison. It’s a nice yarn — very pleasant to knit. I am using the “Diadem” colorway.

The pattern is one that I just made up — garter stitch with a simple lace edging. I weighed my skein before starting so I can knit according to weight. The increase section took 12 grams so I will knit the straight section until there is just a bit more than 12 grams left, then I’ll do the decrease section to match the increase section and use every bit of the yarn.

I started knitting this shortly after midnight on June 1 and I’ve used up close to half the skein, so I shouldn’t have any issues finishing by the Camp Loopy deadline, the end of June. I have set aside my not-Viajante but will go back to working on that when this peice is done.

Giveaway

The winner of my review copy of Uncommon Cards by Jeanne Williamson is Eileen Bunn, who has been emailed.

WendyKnits Summer Mystery Shawl 2013

The first part of the mystery shawl pattern was released on June 1. The pattern cost is still 50% off until June 8. So if you wanted to join in the KAL, you still have plenty of time to get the pattern at the reduced price, here.

Lucy’s Plan for the Day

This is not a knitting book, but a book that shows you how to make stationery and greeting cards with a sewing machine and a whole bunch of everyday items, found objects, and recycled materials.

The book has inserted into the back 8 sheets of card stock in different colors to get you started. The book has 52 different projects and gives you complete directions for applying different items and sewing to create one-of-a-kind cards.

There are some wonderful creative ideas in this book — like saving the plastic webbing from a crate of clementines for this clever card design:

Or how about this one, using a sleeve from a coffee cup?

This started me thinking (which I’m pretty sure is one of the goals of the book!) about what else you could save and use for your one one-of-a-kind cards. Fancy papers — I get mailers all the time from Chanel, for example, and their fancy gilt envelope liners could be recycled and reused. When you get a gift in a pretty gift bag, or wrapped in unusual paper, think about how you could use that paper. Even wrapping from items you have purchased might be usable, along with cuttings from magazines, etc. Once you start looking at items with an eye to recycling them, it’s amazing how many fun and creative ideas you’ll come up with.

Who’d like my review copy of this intriguing book?

To be entered in the drawing to win Uncommon Cards by Jeanne Williams, please leave a comment on this blog post by 11:00 AM Eastern Time on Sunday, June 2, 2013. I’ll pick a winner at random at that time.

Speaking of Uncommon

Have you visited the Signature Needle Arts website recently? They have just introduced a new needle concept: Signature Convertible Circulars.

It is no secret that I love my Signature Needle Arts circular needles. And that I dislike interchangeable needle sets because most of them have joins that don’t work for me — they invariably come unscrewed and/or have lousy joins. I gave away the set of Addi Clicks I purchased. Ditto the Knitpicks interchangeables.

This is not a set of interchangeable needles, but rather a way to convert a single size circular to different lengths. From the website:

Convert your size-specific circular needle stalk/cable combinations to easily meet the needs of your project with Signature Convertible Circular Knitting Needles. Signature Convertibles offer cables and stalks that can be changed within a size to create a new overall length when the size on the needles matches the size on the ferrules.

I personally think that this interchangeable concept is a great idea — I will continue to use my beloved Signature Needle Arts needles, and if I need a different length circular, I will not have to buy a whole new needle, just another cable. Cheaper than a whole new needle. Also, for projects that grow or shrink, I can change lengths within the project. I do find that I do that quite a lot.

If you are someone who knits all your projects on a single length circular, for example, if you find that a 32″ circular meets all your needs, you won’t find much advantage with this new concept. But if you change needle length like I do, I think you’ll be pleased with these new needles. When I am knitting a triangular shawl from the bottom up, for example, I start with at least a 32″-long needle and as I work up the piece and the rows grow shorter, I want to switch to a shorter length. I don’t like having a lot of extra needle length — I find that it slows me down. And of course when I knit in the round, I need different lengths for different items.

The joins between needle “stalk” and cable on these new needles are great — each cable is carefully crafted for each size needle stalk, they are carefully and beautifully made. The join is smooth and does not become unscrewed — let me repeat that: in my experience it does not come unscrewed, no matter what. This is a huge pet peeve of mine with some needle components. The only other needles that are in components that I have used that do not come apart are the Dyakcraft Heavy Metal needles (I reviewed these needles here a few months ago). All the others that I have used (and I have used plenty over the years) work themselves loose.

I have been testing these new convertible needles for the past 6 weeks, knitting with them exclusively. And I have done a lot of knitting: two samples full-size shawls for my Summer Mystery Shawl KAL, one full-size-and-then-some Viajante, and I am currently halfway through another Viajante. I’ve used several different sizes and a number of different cord lengths and I can honestly report that they work just as well as the old fixed length Signatures. Not only have I not had a join unscrew, but the joins are beautifully smooth. I have knit laceweight yarn with a size 6 needle and had no problem whatsoever sliding the yarn over the join.

The corresponding needle size is marked on each cable piece so you don’t get your size-specific cables mixed up.

And of course you have all the fabulous choices of needle length and point as you have with the “regular” Signature Needle Arts needles.

I want to stress that the opinions above are my own — I am honestly delighted with the new needles. While I have a fair number of fixed length Signature circulars, yesterday I ordered and paid for some convertibles. I am willingly and by my own choice spending my needle budget on this new concept.

Mystery!

Speaking of this weekend, my Mystery Shawl KAL starts on June 1! Have you bought the pattern yet? Remember, if you purchase it before June 8, it is half price: $2.50.

There is pre-KAL discussion in my Ravelry group, here.

Lucy sez:

“Such a deal!”

On June 1, I’ll set aside Not-Viajante to start work on my Camp Loopy project, which will be knit with this:

Today, Lucy is helping me change the sheets and do laundry.

If you purchase before June 8, it is half price: $2.50. June 8 and after, it will cost $5.00.

The Knit-along will commence on June 1 when the first clue will be released. If you buy before June 1, you will receive some preliminary information with yarn suggestions, a pattern for a swatch, and a full description of the sizes you can make — it comes in three sizes.

Check out the pattern on Ravelry for more information. You can discuss the project in the forums for the WendyKnits Ravelry group.

Shortly after my last blog post, I decided that a. the yarn I was using was not right for the design, and b. I wanted to size down the capelet a bit. So I ripped it out.

I plan to knit it with a smaller circumference in a different yarn, which I have ordered. Since I am going to be starting over, I completely re-did the cable knot motifs used.

So when I knit it again, it will be longer, smaller around, and with a different cable motif. That’s all.

To kill time before my yarn gets here, I started another Viajante. Well, it is Viajante-like, anyway.

Viajante is a long skinny tube and as such, when worn as a poncho it is rather fitted across the shoulders. So for my second version, I changed the increases, increasing at each side until it hits the shoulder.

I am using Dream in Color Smooshy With Cashmere in the “Medieval” colorway. I love both the yarn and the colorway!

Lucy is thinking about it.