In all the knitting olympics excitement, I forgot to mention that we had ourselves some fun last weekend ...  my daughter and I made it to the Alpaca Extravaganza! (emphasis mine, only because I'm a dork), and my daughter became good friends with a little cute alpaca:

This little alpaca practically fell asleep while we were petting it, and made little noises that were half-kitten meow and half-baby goat bleats. 

Seriously ... I had a hard time saying no when she asked me if we could buy it.

I also ran into other area knitters ...

It's Erica and Alex!

... and I also saw Meike (okay, pronounced "Micah", right, Meike?) and her husband. (I *almost* talked them into buying an alpaca ranch so I could house some alpacas there ... I mean, so they could get a great tax advantage.)

Upon leaving, I did score just a *little* fiber.  I mean, I know we haven't yet had that whole talk about the "Year of the Stash" -- let's do that next time, shall we? -- but I couldn't escape without fiber.  Alpaca fiber.  Alpaca fiber now that I know how to spin!  Here's Lia, learning how to covet the fiber as I do:

Ahh ... to teach your children about the important things in life ...

I also had more fun last weekend thinking of uses for this ...

One humungo hank of Interlacements "Cable."

Yes, it's one enormous hank of specialty yarn from our local company ... I know it's a specialty yarn, because when I google it I practically only come up with this another blogger's post.  Why do I mention that?  Because that blogger is Joanne, the one whose contest I won, and that's the exact same hank-o-yarn on her page as is now here. 

Thanks again, Joanne!  I just love contests.

So ... I had so much fun on my last little contest ... and because I just won Joanne's contest and feel the need to "pay it forward" .... I propose a new little contest for you ... 

To enter, post your answer to the following question by next Wednesday, March 8, at midnight. 

"Cable" has 800 yards and looks like a chunky-to-heavy-worsted weight yarn (let's just say around 3.5 - 4.5 sts/inch)... so, what patterns do you recommend that I make with it?  Preference will be given to sweaters and shawls, but anything will be considered!  Please either link to the free pattern, or else tell me where the pattern can be purchased.  The winner will be randomly chosen (again, by my precise and technologically advanced random number generator) from amid all the entries.  So, post an entry!  You might win!

Speaking of winning ... this little package just went off to Becky in PA today ... have fun with it, Becky!

Rendiconto della Cosa Finita!  (Yes, that's FO Report in Italian!)

FO Report: Aran Weight Lace Cropped Cardigan
Designers:  Ann Cannon-Brown and Michelle Ciccariello
Pattern Source: Free pattern from Elann.com
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in Silver Sliver
Needle Size:  8, 9, 10
Gauge: varied
Date Completed: Feb 2006

Here it is!  The finishing was luckily extremely minimal ... which means it won't languish in my knitting basket for months.  This was my Knitting Olympics project, even though I didn't really sign up with the Yarn Harlot, and the inspiration from fellow Team Members helped me to get to the cast off during closing ceremonies last night!  (Okay, I'm lying ... I actually cast off during Season 4 of the Gilmore Girls, but it did occur concurrently ... does that count?)

Besides the fact that I really like the fit here, I highly recommend doing this pattern as it was the most interesting sweater to knit.  I've knit bottom-up sweaters before ... I've knit top-down raglans before ... but never a top-down lacey raglan cardigan.  It was really interesting to see how the sweater was put together.  The lace patterns were both fairly easy, and now that I've made this sweater I'm seeing the Horseshoe lace pattern crop up everywhere.

I had a minor issue with the pattern, however ... the pattern itself is rather loosey-goosey and is written for you to decide just what you'd like to fit.  As such, it's a little difficult to decide just what exactly to do when -- and because the lace stretches out considerably when block -- it was difficult to measure as I went, and there was a lot of guesswork involved for me.  The authors didn't even say exactly how many repeats they worked before the next step -- which left me guessing and trying to count the number of repeats based on the dark photos.

As such, here are my specific notes on the pattern:

1. I worked the pattern from size 8 to size 10 needles -- I'm not sure why I never switched to size 10.5, but I think it had something to do with those needles being occupied on another project.  I was a little overconfident when I made this decision, and then I started worrying that the project wouldn't block out well -- but it all turned out okay in the end.  You, however, should probably go with the 10.5's ... it can't hurt.

2.  The yarn I used worked fairly well -- I guessed at when I was halfway through one skein (half of 190 yds is 90 yds, very close to the original), and then I switched needles.  This is actually my first sweater done in Lamb's Pride -- and man, did this shed!! It was a little difficult to knit, because I was turning the whole sweater around with every sleeve round, and the shedding started to really itch my throat.  In the end, I hope that the yarn wears well for me.

3.  As for the repeats ... I ended up doing 11 total body Horseshoe pattern repeats plus the bind-off pattern, and 7.5 total sleeve Milanese lace repeats.  I had a total of 14 Horseshoe repeats in the width of the sweater -- see #4 below for an explanation.  If I were to do it again, I'd consider doing the sleeves in all-Milanese, rather than switching from Horseshoe to Milanese at the top of the shoulder. 

4.  As for the separation of body and sleeves ... the instructions were very unclear about how to do this, and I just sort of proceeded as it made sense to me.  As it was, I separated the sleeves at the end of a Horseshoe lace pattern (I need closure in my life at times), with several st st stitches outside of the lace pattern.  I ended up with 2 sts on either side of the raglan marker ... so, when I joined the body again, I had 2 sts on either side of the body and I cast on an additional 4 sts to create one more complete 8-st repeat.  Because of this, I had a whole additional repeat of Horseshoe that ran directly under my sleeve.

5.  When I joined the sleeve, I had the same number of extra st st stitches -- 2 on each side (4 sts), and I cast on another 4 sts for 8 sts total between the beg of the round and the end of the round.  I left these sts in st st, and I decreased 2 every 5 rnds (not every 4 rnds -- every 5 just made more sense in the pattern, at the middle and end of the repeat).  So, I only decreased 8 sts total in the sleeve, and all at the top.  This left a very bell-sleeve, which I'm fine with, but you could always decrease more. 

6.  Also, I modified the picot BO on the sleeve ... instead of casting on two stitches, and binding off 4, I cast on one stitch and bound off 3 to make the picot edges a little smaller.  Knowing that I live in my sweaters, I needed the sleeves to be somewhat workable for everyday life.

Visit another helpful post by Step Into My Thimble for more information on how she finished her sweater, as well! 

More photos, just for fun:

Since we moved my stereo cabinet, I no longer have a good place to set the camera on auto for self-portraits of FO's ... that's good, because it means no more goofy poses in front of my closet-door-cum-wreath ... but it also means I'm trying out different corners of my house to see if they'll be a good replacement.  Welcome to the corner of my dining room here!

And welcome to the ugly unnatural-lighting-bathroom shot!  I like the back of this sweater so much, it's worth showing the pose here.

Time will tell if these silver beads were a good choice or not.  Here's my modified picot edge on the sleeve, too.

And here's the button! 

And as for that whole UFOlympics thing ... I didn't quite reach the goal of 16 UFO's turned FO's, but I at least finished 8 ... which makes me feel better, even if I didn't medal in that event.  One UFO every two days is a pretty good average ... if only I could keep those statistics up in the off-season.

Yes, I'm ready to reveal the purchases that I mentioned in last week's little contest ... Here's the fiber loot that I've bought recently, since I made the decision to become a better spinner:

First, from eBay:

2 lbs 2 oz of llama fiber, stored in a handy king-size zippered top pillowcase:

Yes, I'm insane -- this hasn't even been carded yet, so I'm going through it with my two dog brushes -- perhaps I'll be buying carders as well soon?? 
Join me in my insanity if you want.

4 oz. of hand-dyed wool/mohair:

This hasn't arrived yet ... the photo is from the eBay seller.  (I love her photos!)

4 oz of hand-dyed alpaca:

This will become something for my mom ... look -- there's no pinks or purples!

4 oz of hand-dyed mohair:

Perhaps I'll have enough of this to make a Kiri?

Less than an ounce  (20 grams, which thanks to google I know is .7 oz) of silk:

Kristi acquired some silk and had such a convincing post recently about silk caps, how could I resist?  (Last three purchases from this seller.)

And now ... from The Sheep Studio's deals:

One pound of white wool:

For dyeing experiments!

Two pounds of black and white:

Enough for a sweater, perhaps??

One pound of "Grab Bag" specials ... because who I am to say "no" to a surprise?

More creamy white wool ... browns ... and a little bit of red/blacks for fun.

(That seriously looks like more than four pounds of fiber from The Sheep Shed Studio.)

So ... what have I already done with it?

a little black and white roving, which I hope will become a self-striping yarn

a little wool, dyed with Berry and Orange

some of that black-and-white roving, spun and navajo-plied into a chunky weight yarn. 
(Yes, I learned how to navajo-ply!  So much easier than andean plying, I think.)

Phew!  Let's add it all up .... 6 lbs. 14.7 oz of fiber recently accrued.  I felt the need to give a hint about how much fiber I'd purchased when the guesses were ranging from 10 ... to 12 ... to 20 lbs of fiber!  I think I'd need a barn to store that much fiber in.  (Hmmm ... that's something to get the Big Sweetie moving on ...)

Because it's a random number, I'm going to accept guesses that ranged within a lb of the correct answer, or from 5 lbs. 15 oz to 7 lbs. 14 oz.  Those that guessed correctly were:  Tess, Becky, Amanda B of IWK fame (check her out in the latest issue of Spin-Off!  I feel like I know a supermodel), Michele, Erica, Agnes, Ariel, Jennifer, and Lisa.  Thanks for participating in the contest, everyone!

Now, for the winner ... Using my most technologically advanced and precise random number generator ...

The winner is #2 from above, Becky!!  I have your email so I'll be emailing you, Becky!

As for the other question ... what to do in a "Year of the Stash" with all this fiber ... I'll be answering that shortly.  This post is already long enough! 

But first -- gotta go knit like crazy on my Knitting Olympics sweater!  (And just maybe post a few more UFO's?? I don't know if I have the courage for that.)

We've had a slew of messages going on at the Boulder Stitch -n- Bitch! group (take that, Sew Fast Sew Easy!), but I thought it might be worth mentioning on the blog ...

There's an Alpaca Extravaganza going on this weekend!  In Longmont!  Saturday and Sunday!  As my little boy is taking ski lessons this Saturday, I'll be dragging my 3-yr-old along (...though really it's about the stroller and having a place to put extra fiber should I need it).  We'll be in and out early Saturday afternoon, say between 2:00- 3:00-ish!  After, we'll try to hit the Saturday afternoon SnB at Borders on Pearl St.

Who can't resist a little alpaca love? ...

FO Report: UFO #5, Buffs themed baby sweater
Designer: Yarn Girls
Pattern Source: "Mary Mary" from YG Guide to Kid Knits
Yarn: Wool-Ease
Needle Size:  8
Gauge: 4.5 sts
Date Completed: Feb 2006
Recipient:  ??

This sweater just needed the crocheted edging, and a few buttons, and it's now officially an FO.

I made this sweater back in the fall to go with a cute little CU Buffs outfit that I bought for some friends who used to live in Boulder and who moved away ... unfortunately the sweater was WAY too small to go with the outfit.  Since then, all of my efforts to knit for this baby seem to be cursed as I've officially knit 2 sweaters and started 2 others, only to have my efforts foiled for one reason or another.  I'll soon be casting on one more version for this kid ... we'll see how it goes. 

However, despite the rather nontraditional colors used here, I'm thinking I might be able to find a cute newborn outfit with a teddy bear theme that this could go with.  So, until then, this will go off to the dark depths of my son's closet where I stockpile baby gifts ...

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