October 2007 Archives

The fun continues! Today we went for a hike at Tent Rocks National Monument, which is about an hour's drive south of Santa Fe. (It's really not that far away, it's just that part of the drive is on a bad gravel road.) The trail takes you way up in the mountains, through the "narrows" where the rock has eroded in only a very small pathway that you can sqeeze through, and then up to an overlook. It's a nice view, but the really interesting thing about this hike is the tent rocks are all over this part of the mountain range. Apparently the composition of the mountains is mostly really soft rock, with bits of hard granite mixed in, The granite keps the soft rock underneath from eroding, adn the rest of the mountain has been washed away. Some of them have lost their caps, so they're eroded down to just 10 feet tall or so, but many of them are still really tall. It reminded me of walking through a Dr. Seuss book.

After a relaxing afternoon, we walked to The Shed for dinner. We got a recommendation from another restaurant-goer to try the red chile enchiladas while we were waiting to be seated, and it was good stuff.

Tomorrow... La Lana Wools!

We're here! After a LONG drive Sunday night, we arrived in Santa Fe about 10:30pm. This morning, we had a mission: breakfast burritos! We went to our favorite breakfast place, Tia Sofia's, in downtown Santa Fe. It was as delicious as last time we were here. I got some yummy huevos rancheros drenched in green chile sauce.

We walked back to our apartment and loaded up for a bike ride. After some research, we decided that we would ride on the Old Santa Fe Trail. On our way out of town, we took a wrong turn and ended up on the El Pecos Trail (or something like that). It was fine though, because that road had a wide shoulder or bike lane the whole way. We ended up riding about 18 miles, which was more than plenty considering we're at 7,000 feet here, as opposed to the near-sea level that we're used to in Missouri.

Tonight we had dinner at Tomasita's, which is a New Mexican restaurant in a converted train station. This is another favorite from our last visit to Santa Fe two years ago. Yummmmmm.... sopapillas!

I've just got finished projects coming out of my ears!  I finished this bag about a week ago and I've been carrying it as my purse ever since. 

It's the Frenchy Bag (shoulder bag size) from Amy Butler, with Alexander Henry fabrics.  The directions were really clear and it was pretty easy to make. If you have a basic knowledge of sewing, you would be able to follow this pattern.

As far as the bag itself, I like it, but I don't think it's really meant to be a purse.  It's too deep.  If I were to make the pattern again (and apparently I will, since Tammy and Kate have both put in their orders) I think I would go with the handbag size.  I also think there should be some velcro or some kind of closure on the inside of the two inside pocket flaps so the space inside the bag is a little more defined.  Lastly, I would use stiffer interfacing for the pockets.  Sometimes I just chuck stuff in the bag and it ends up smooshing down the pockets (which are really more like dividers) instead of going into one of the pockets.  

At long last...  after all the build-up.... here it is! 

the long awaited Ice Storm Sweater.  I want to thank Kate for taking the pictures for me.  She's an awesome photographer.  All of my fabulous backdrops were conveniently located behind One City Market, the yarn shop in Rogersville, MO, where Tammy, Kate, and I went to knit & shop last Saturday.

Project Details:

Pattern: Incredible, Custom-fit Raglan Sweater, by Pamela Costello

Yarn: Queensland Collection, Kathamandu DK Tweed, Color 417, 8 skeins (recycled from the Cutaway sweater, originally finished in March 2006 and worn once, I think)

Needle Size: Size 6 Denise circular needles, various lengths

Pattern Modifications: This pattern leaves a lot of the decisions up to the knitter.  However, it does give you enough information to make the sweater you want. 

This is a top-down raglan knit in the round, and I followed the pattern pretty closely down to the armholes.  I added some waist shaping and made the sweater a little longer than most.  I also did most of the arm shaping above the elbow, so the bottom half of the sleeve has a slight bell shape. 

All the finishing details of the sweater are left up to the knitter's imagination.  I originally did the neck and hems with a simple reverse stockinette edge that rolled back and made a nice rounded edge.  However, the bottom hem was still rolling up quite a bit, so I ripped back and knitted a turned hem in a contrast color of the same yarn.  I used a three-needle bind-off to close up the folded-under hems, which I think is worth the fiddly-ness of getting the sleeve stitches on another needle from the back side.  (I "unvented" this method of binding off knitted hems, although I'm sure I'm not the first.)

Time to knit: January 2007 - October 2007.  Ahem... it's not like this is a really complicated sweataer or anything.  I knit the whole body of it in January (mostly during the ice storm that knocked power out at my house for TEN days!), then I didn't pick it up again until this fall.  

Final impressions: I love this sweater.  Now that the weather has gotten cool, I wear it almost everyday.  I haven't turned the heat on in my house yet, so I always pull on a sweater and some warm socks while I'm getting ready in the morning.  It fits like a sweatshirt without the annoying elastic at the hem.  

I also really like the fact that this pattern is simply enough to show off the pretty yarn.  I will definitely use this pattern again if I'm looking for a basic raglan. 

Yet again I've had a ridiculously long absence from the blog.  [Insert excuse here.]  I'm seriously considering just giving up the blog and going all-Ravelry, but I think I just need to blog on a more regular basis about stuff other than knitting, and I'll enjoy it more.  

Anyway, I'm making fabulous progess on my "Jordan Valley Park" Hoodie (that's Central Park Hoodie, Springfield MO style!).  I've finished the back, fronts, and hood, and I started the sleeves.  I am trying to finish it in time for my vacation - I leave on Sunday! 

In non-knitting news, I have a big announcement!  (No, I'm not pregnant, like half the knit-blogging world.)  I got a new job!  (This explains the airplane picture, I promise.)  I am going to be an assistant city attorney, specifically, the "airport attorney."  My office will be out at the airport and I will be the attorney on site to handle all the leases, contracts, FAA compliance, construction and everyday problems related to the airport.  This is a big change from my previous job, so luckily I am going to get a lot of training.  I'm looking forward to a change in pace from private practice, and I think this will be a good move for me.  

I know I promised pictures of a bunch of stuff today, but I'm SO close to really being done with the ice storm sweater, that I want to hold off and do a real FO post for it. Hopefully this cute photo of my dog Lucy will distract you! (As you can see, she likes the sweater, too. She's a funny dog - she will always lay her head on a pillow if it's available!)

Next up, my little sewing project!  This is the Frenchy Bag pattern from Amy Butler, using Alexander Henry fabrics.  The bag almost looks like it's done already, but in this picture I still need to put in the lining and do some finishing stitches on the outside.  But you get the gist...

One thing I will say is that following this pattern seemed WAY easier than the sewing patterns I remember from my 4-H days.  (Probably because my mom was such a perfectionist!) 

(Moveable Type is being screwy today, so you'll have to scroll down to see the rest of the pictures.)

Last but not least, we have the beginnings of my Central Park Hoodie!  I'm using Dream In Color Classy (the yarn everyone's using to make those cute Tulip baby jackets). I bought this on a trip to Independence, MO for work.  I got there a little early so I walked around the town square and looked through some of the shops.  And what do you know, there's a yarn shop!  (Knitcraft)  It was a large store with a lot of selection.  And really, who can argue with Dream in Color yarn? 

 

Did I mention I've been sewing?  I'm almost done with the Frenchy Shoulderbag (an Amy Butler pattern) that I got from She's Crafty, a new shop near downtown Springfield.  I'll post some pictures tomorrow, I promise! 

I apologize for yet another "drive-by blogging," but work and life have just been busy lately.  So, I thought I finally finished the ice storm sweater, right?  Well, I got it all washed and blocked, and it finally finished drying.  I tried it on, and the arms are too long!  (This is especially annoying because I unravelled a few rounds of the bottom hem to add length to one of the sleeves.) 

Oh well, this just wouldn't be the ice storm sweater if every single stitch of it hadn't been ripped and reknit at some point! 

Well, I haven't been able to rip out the Baby Surprise Jacket, but I am making good progress on the Ice Storm Sweater! That's the good news. The bad news is... I might be running out of yarn. I guess if it comes down to it, I'll shorten the sweater a bit to make both sleeves the same length. I don't think I really have a choice, do I?

I can't believe it's October already, but there is one awesome thing about time passing so quickly - it's Socktoberfest again! I've got both feet of these socks for Matt knitted, so my goal will be to finish them up along with a pair for me by the end of the month. (Although I might be lenient and work on them during vacation at the end of October/beginning of November.) Oooooh.... vacation. I can't wait!