Travel Knitting

I was recently given a purse by my mother.  It's a lovely Donna Karan number with many internal dividers.  There is one section that is just perfect to place a small knitting project.  my first one...


I have finally found the pleasure of travel knitting on a small scale.  I've been knitting on my lunch hour.  I've had to take a separate knitting bag with me.  It was very annoying to have to carry that plus my lunch bag and a purse.  For the last few weeks I've been working on the leg warmers.  I was even in a ridiculously long drive through line and pulled it out to work a round.

The yarn is Cascade Fixation.  I'm pretty sure the colorway is 5104.  I'm still trying to handle the yarn itself.  The hardest thing is to get the right tension on the stitches between the needles.  Because of the elastic it tends to stretch rather than pull tight.  So, I'm getting a ladder on each side. I'll figure it out in time.

The needles are bamboo circular by Kinki Amibari size 4 (3.5 mm) 36 " long.  Probably a little too long.  One thing I'm still trying to figure out.  Things I like? I like that the kinks can be worked out with a hair dryer or a dip in warm water.  I like how it catches the knitting just a enough that the stitches don't slip off easily.  It does happen on occasion.  Things I don't like?  Actually the only thing I don't like is the blunt tip.  It becomes very difficult to pick up dropped stitches.  Especially on this particular yarn.  There is a soft kink worked into the cotton on the elastic. The loops when dropped are not as defined as in other yarns.  A small crochet hook is necessary in this case.

So, that is my travel project.

Now for my at home project.





Here is a lovely view of the seam.   Like I said, I still haven't quite figured how to not get ladders.

Socks for Em

The socks are now complete. They aren't perfect but they will keep her feet warm.

This is still the first sock. She wouldn't take the thing off for two days. I completed the second sock and got the heel to work out properly. This one...not so much. I couldn't get a pic of both socks because now that it has cooled off and the air is drying out her skin she won't wear them. "They're itchy Mama!". I really can't win on this one.

As I was contemplating the next project I was hit with a little bit of inspiration.








Leg warmers!

The yarn is Cascade Fixation.  It's a wonderfully soft cotton with a bit of a kink and some elastic. It was given to me by my good friend margaretw. This is the first time working with this yarn and I really want to get this "in the round" thing going

I picked the "Magic Loop Method," heretofore known as magic loop, because when I  first started on Em's socks I used dpn's. They're cheap and I can get them at a discount. When I  started using  them I found that I couldn't keep track of them all.  I am a knitter is frequently interrupted.  Usually every 2 to 5 minutes in the evening when someone (seen above) is demanding attention. Getting the needles co-ordinated in my hands took to long. Or the yarn would just slip off.   And so I went to circular needles and found the magic loop.

There were two places that really made the technique click for me the first is at The Knit Picks tutorial part of their site.  Their Magic Loop photos are very clear and easy to understand.

The next place I went to is you tube and found a video by The Knit Witch.  She sells yarn and these lovely pottery yarn bowls that I covet.  She also has tutorials and this one was really helpful.