Kitty: What's on the needles

With all the holiday shopping I haven't had much time to knit. But I did start a new project on black friday, and it now measures 7 inches * 110 inches.

So the magical question, what's on the needles.Well I wanted a new winter stole, since my previous poncho adventures have not gone well. So I started a black stole with black ClassicElite La Gran mohair and GedifraBarocco, but my husband really didn't like the textures together so it got vetoed. I ended up with Lambs Pride Lotus Pink as the accent stripe.

To save time I decided to knit it length wise instead of width wise, but I am not to sure how much time I have saved. The weight it a major issues with 275 stitches on the needle my hand get really tired holding it up. The second issue was casting on with long tail method. I read severalsources on how much yarn to leave, but it left me with having to cast on 4 times.

Tip: Take the time to wrap the yarn around the needle for each stitch first then leave 2 yards. 1 yard to sew up your garment at the end. This is the method that seemed to work the best.

Tip2: I also tried Fluffa's tip to place the yarn in the freezer for an hour before knitting to prevent the hair from sticking as badly. It seemed to help a lot during the cast on period, but most of all it is just nice if your hands are usually warm while knitting.

On the other knitting fronts: My mom sent me a new pattern hand out for a hip poncho she picked up. I was really touched that she sent it to me. I must admit that I have really been pestering her about knitting questions since I have been getting back into knitting.

Also I think I may be another KnittyGritty convert. I just caught an eppisode last night with Erika Knight as one of the guest. I know meow.meow has been coveting her SimpleKnits with a Twist: Unique Projects for Creative Knitters. I think meow.meow needs one of her recycled-plastic carryalls. She also had the pink slippers on the show, oh meow.meow you need some pink slippers for your apartment.