01.24.08
Calorimetry! Finished!
I added some ties (might bead them later) and sent Kati to school in it. She thinks it’s pretty and was happy to wear it.
But when I offered to make one for Sera too, and Sera said to make it yellow, Kati decided she wanted a turquoise one. So I’ll get to keep this one. =)
I just hope she can take care of it at school. I’d hate for it to get damaged or lost already! Or at all… I’d prefer to keep it in my collection, as one of my first major knitted pieces. 
But I’m fairly confident she’ll bring it home safe. She’s a pretty responsible fourth-grader. =)
So… here is a quick list of what I have learned from knitting this piece, Calorimetry:
- slip stitch
- short rows using stitch markers
- loose bind-off
- reading a pattern
- adjusting a pattern
- diving in even if you don’t understand yet, ’cause that’s the best way to learn
- knitting is far easier than I ever imagined
01.21.08
Calorimetry WIP, Finishing Up
It worked! Here is my piece a little past the half-way point. It *IS* easy! And fast! I started mid-afternoon and could have finished before bedtime if I hadn’t had to do other things (like travel, eat dinner, and make a character for gaming), and if I hadn’t been sick and needed to go to bed early.
And I think I’ll throw in the shot of it laying out all pretty, waiting for a button. I finished it this morning, but I’m still deciding if I want to find a button or make a beaded tie closure.
I think I’ll give it to my daughters, because it actually did come out petite. Next time I can do the 120 stitches, if I stay with the size 5 needles. Everyone’s blog said to adjust it smaller, but, at least with these size 5 needles, I didn’t really need to. Well, it’s about the right length for closure, so maybe just adjust the math to make it symmetrical.
I think I’m going to be making a lot of these. 
I already have plans to try adding a stripe with a second skein, on the next one. And when I get the size and math right (by following the pattern next time), I can perhaps stock a few of these fast-easies for my shop!
Once I finish this first one with a closure, I’ll have Kati model it and report what I’ve learned from this piece.
01.20.08
Calorimetry WIP
Calorimetry was intimidating me (the pattern didn’t make much sense to me… my first time reading a pattern, actually) but I wanted to do it so bad… so I just dove in, hoping to figure it out as I go along… since everyone says it’s sooo easy.
So after looking up the pattern abbreviations and some terms, like slip stitch, in a glossary, I think I might have it! I have cast on and done the first row. We’ll see if I can get much further!
I’m taking this project with me to a friend’s house this afternoon, and to dinner with the in-laws after that. Maybe someone there is a knitter and can help me if I get stumped. =)
P.S. I didn’t use stretchy yarn, like it says to do, so I hope that doesn’t hurt me too much! I also only cast on 100 sitches, and used smaller needles, like everyone on Ravelry says they had to do to get it to come out right. I hope I can do the math for the reduced stitch-count!
01.19.08
My Knitting Corner
Complete with cat. XD
I just wanted to show off my cute knitting basket that I’ve had for ages, like before I ever tried knitting or had yarn.
But of course Nal had to upstage it with HER cuteness. =^-^=
I love that she nests in my knitting bag! Isn’t she so squishy? I don’t care about stray fur yet, since it’s just my inherited scrap skeins in there.
(Pardon the dirty computer and wandering scrap bunnies on the floor. My headache says no to cleaning and then re-shooting the scene.)
P.S. Yes, I am a victim of ze fugly gray berber carpet. But not to worry! I intend to ditch it soon for the hardwood underneath. But first, sanding and such. It *is* a hundred year-old floor! (But fortunately, the only room in which the hardwood wasn’t painted over.)
01.18.08
Illusion Knitting Sample
Here are the two views of my practice sample for Illusion Knitting. Stripes from above, checks from the side! Pretty cool, huh?!
Unfortunately on this sample, the yellow yarn turned out to be slightly smaller than the red, so the red is really poofy… even though I tried really hard to find two yarns the same size in my stash.
I also bound off too tight, so the edge is too small and curls the piece a bit. I’ll have to watch that. I should have knit one more row before binding off, too, but oh well. Just a practice sampler!
Once I figured out what the instructions were trying to convey, this was pretty easy, and fun! I might even tackle the piano keys illusion scarf, sometime soon. But I’ll have to buy yarn for it… black & white, in the same size, and make sure there is enough of it to do a nice long scarf. And then I’ll have bought my first yarn after joining Ravelry, so I can actually put the info from the un-tossed labels into my Ravelry info! 
I can’t wait to get to the point where I can design my own illusion patterns!
01.17.08
Illusion Knitting
Here is my kitty, Nicolai, showing you my latest project… Illusion knitting!
Illusion knitting is where a piece looks like stripes when you look at it head-on, but when you turn it and look at it from the edge-on, you see something else. In this case, it turns into a checker board pattern.
Here’s where I found the instructions (although they’re kind of confusing and need to be communicated better).
This was just a sample to practice on. It’s just a swatch of knitting. I’ll see about making a scarf or something with the skill, later. =)
P.S. I also learned how to knit with two different yarns at the same time, on this one. I want to do it some more!
Wrist Cuff
Sera again, modeling one of the wrist cuffs I made for her and her sister, Kati.
Kati’s were a dark blue/purple variegated yarn.
Each cuff in a set is the same yarn, but a different texture. One is plain knit 1 purl 1, and the other is a ribbed knit 2 purl 2. Because I like asymmetry. =)
I’ll see about getting close-up pics, soon.
Fluffy Ear Warmer Headbands
My first ever real give-away project (well, besides the bookmark)! I knitted these ear warmer headbands for a couple of my best friends, for holiday gifts.
My daughter Sera is modeling the one I made for Selena, in the picture. Michelle’s was green, blue, and light pink.
On Selena’s, I used my old wrong-way-to-knit stitch (which works fine, but isn’t knitting or purling) with size 5 needles. Then I learned the proper knit and purl stitches, and made Michelle’s with size 8 needles, exclusively with the purl stitch… because I love to purl! Size difference didn’t matter.
Just a simple scarf-like project, where I bound the ends together as I did the bind-off. It only took one skein of the fun fuzzy muppet yarn, which I don’t know the brand of, but I will when I go buy more at the dollar store. =) It’s very easy to use!! You’d think it would be hard to see what you’re doing, in all that fluff, but it wasn’t really a problem.
I might try to figure out how to not bind the ends together, but make a button closure, instead, before trying to sell this product. Then one wouldn’t have to muss one’s hair to put it on.
I’ll have to see if I can get Michelle to pose in hers, to post a pic here. =)
Welcome!
Welcome to Lia’s craft blog – Cascading Purls!
Knitting, though new to me, has become a passion. It fulfills the “fuss over some small pretty, soft, repetetive/meditative thing” part of me, as well as the “create or die” part. And then I have a pretty shiny to keep or give away! (Or sell, in the near future…)
I will also be getting into crochet, and maybe even tatting, as well as all my other craft interests (beading, scrapbooking, paper crafts, sewing, etc.) which I will also post about here.
So I expect my readers to be mainly friends and family, but if there really are random people out there who find my projects interesting, I welcome them with warm soft things and tea. =)
