DK the Nautical Knitter

Thank you so much to my swap partner, Kim.  She sent me such wonderful gifts in my secret swap package.  The dog in the photo is her hound, Albert.  My package included Malabrigo lace weight yarn in black, my favorite un-color, a wonderful washcloth with hand made soap from Lush that smells amazing and a small handbag for knitting accessories.  Probably the best part of the package was the knitted Snoopy ornament and the pretty Godiva chocolates box (I am not sure what happened to the contents….hmmm…).  Thanks Kim!

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A question came up this week, regarding how you pull your yarn from a wound “cake”? This made me think about the way I do it and why.

I am not an expert on yarn, far from it. But, I figure that yarn is wound on a cone with a certain twist and is meant to be used straight off the cone. This means that when I wind some off on my ball winder, into a “cake”, I create a center pull “cake”.

Hanks of yarn, like the hand dyed varieties are another thing altogether. The lace weight yarn I purchase in large hanks and wind using my swift and ball winder doesn’t indicate which way to wind it. So, after winding them, I end up using these “cakes” of yarn as center pull also.

Having said that, if I was to purchase yarn already wound into “cakes” I would probably pull from the center as well. However, not having wound it myself, I would be slightly nervous about knots and such. Believe it or not, I don’t have but a handful of pre-wound yarn “cakes” in my stash, so I haven’t had to face this issue yet.

Conclusion, even though the “cake” of yarn tends to collapse from the outside, the assurance of no knots or bad spots in my yarn makes me a definite Innie. What are you? Why?

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The chart and instructions for the Secret of the Stole KAL knit a long have been posted. If you haven’t joined the fun yet, follow the link and find out what you are missing. Only 31 days until the secret begins to be revealed. Here are my swatches and the details of each.

Both swatches were created with Jaggerspun Super Lamb 2/24 on a cone from Sarah’s Yarns. The color is Khaki. The smaller of the two swatches was knitted on US 2 (2.75 mm) needles and measures 6″ x 4.75″. The larger swatch was knit with US 3 (3.25 mm) needles and measures 7″ x 5.5″. Both were dry blocked for the photo.

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And, so are we. He was so happy to leave the vet doggy camp that he barked all the way home and has not moved from his bed since 9am this morning.

Blazer was at doggy camp because Mr. K and I took a couple of days off to go down to the boat. Blazer turns green on boats so he gets to visit doggy camp instead.

After the Thanksgiving non-event, we were ready to get back down there and hang out, if just for a few days. All of our time was not spent lounging around though. We took advantage of the 80 degree December weather phenomenon to get out to the beach and shoot some video for the upcoming knitting tutorials. We knitted and filmed and enjoyed the completely deserted beach and just as we were finishing up the video recording for the day, the rain started falling. Heavier and heavier it fell, ushering in a cold front that would bring in incredibly strong winds that would rock the boat all night in it’s slip. Temperatures were in the 30’s the next morning when we awoke. Unlike our previous boat, however, this boat is quite watertight and has a heater/air-conditioning unit that works beautifully. We stayed warm and dry inside all night while the wind and rocking waves lulled us to sleep.

Now it is time for us to get ready to head to Dallas, TX for Christmas with my family. We are leaving in three days, which means that Blazer gets to return to doggy camp to visit with all his friends again. Since he does not have Aubie here with him any more he has become quite the cling-on and seems to need company 24/7.

Anyway, we are going to be gone about a week and hopefully we can get in some good knitting video recording while we are gone. The Civil War Shawl KAL and the Secret of the Stole II KAL have to be ready to go in January, so it looks like a working Christmas holiday on the road for us.

Have a wonderful holiday and we will see you on the flip-side.

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Sots was delivered in my mail yesterday and I could not stop giggling every time I looked at him. He was made for me by a member of the Secret of the Stole KAL - Guinevere knit a long group. I was totally surprised at his arrival and just think he is the cutest thing ever. Thank you Deb, I love him!

He is about 6.5 inches tall, his tail is just as long, and he was created from the free pattern Baby Snow Dragon by oldbaglady. The best part is that he is knitting a Guinevere stole! Isn’t he the most adorable thing?

The Secret of the Stole I (Guinevere) knit a long has ended and the group is now open to new members who have purchased the pattern. We decided to keep the group open so that those who wish to continue to share their progress on the stole can have a place to do so.

We are now preparing, fast and furious, for the Secret of the Stole II KAL that officially begins on January 18, 2008. In addition to the pattern creation, test knitting, etc. that goes into a knit a long, we are also working hard to prepare the new web site that will provide a forum, a pod-casting section, a video section for techniques and more. Stay tuned…

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