Saving the World One Skein at a time

I recently bought a bunch of Sari Silk from an auction site. I really don't need any more yarn but I found myself compelled to bid on these skeins. Now I HAVE shared them, I gave one to my Mom, sent one to my secret pal and I have kept the rest. I am justifying my purchase because I understand it is created by women's co-ops in Nepal. So you see - I'm really doing a good thing for the world by purchasing this yarn! In addition, I have some Manos de Uruguay yarn. Manos is made by "crafts people working together in Uruguay make this yarn which sustains their community" - once again - I think you can justify the yarn as an attempt to help others in the world. I also often hear about Malabrigo yarn which is made by "a small family owned yarn company in Uruguay working with a cooperative of women." I have never purchased any Malabrigo but I think if I did I could feel good about it. So here I am, changing the world one skein at a time. Save the world - BUY YARN!

Stop and Smell the Yarn

I was exchanging e-mail with my friend Bonnie the other night and we were listing all of the projects we have on the needles. In addition I listed the projects I've finished but not totally FINISHED. Then came the list of projects for which I have purchased yarn and not yet started. My first thought is that I need to knit more, faster, harder and then it dawned on me - isn't knitting supposed to be my relaxation? My release from my normal overly scheduled Type A life? Why is it that we knitters fall in to the trap of wanting to knit more, knit faster, get it done? So I am reminded to stop and smell the yarn. Feel the yarn. Enjoy the yarn. Enjoy the projects I am currently working on (there are plenty to enjoy!) Enjoy the process not just strive for the result. My mother used to always tell me that "patience is a virtue" to which I would respond, "that I don't have!" But I vow to try to be more patient with my knitting, enjoy each row and the growth of the project rather than just counting how many stitches, rows, inches until I'm done. Now I need to go and do some knitting!

Just when I thought it was safe to go in to the Yarn Store

I went to my LYS the other day with definite plans to ONLY look for handles for the Berroco suede knitting tote that I am making (photos of that soon). I have a TON of yarn and I really don't need any more. I have way too many projects on the needles and don't need to start anything new. All was going well, I walked past the wall of Cascade 220 in wonderful colors and ignored it, past the cotton, past the cashmere, past everything. I was feeling good. I got to the rack of handles and unfortunately they didn't have what I needed. Oh well, that's OK. I'm not anywhere close to needing them yet anyway. I was on my way out - feet from the door - when I saw it. A gorgeous scarf in process on the table near the door. It was a combination of the oh so soft Touch Me yarn and some mohair. I don't even like mohair (what is mohair anyway?) But it was simple. It was elegant. It was oh so beautiful. It called to me. It sang to me. I had to have it. Really, truly, I tried to resist but it was of no use. Next thing I knew I was leaving the store with yarn for not one but TWO of these wonderful scarves. I've started the one on the left in a very soft pink Touch Me and a multicolored green mohair. The photo doesn't really do it justice. Why is it that yarn is so appealing? Why is it that we suspend all logic and restraint when it calls to us? I've heard the fables of sirens in the sea that would sing to sailors and enchant them. They would follow the sounds until their ships crash upon the rocks. I think yarn is like that - it sings to us, we can not resist and we follow it - right in to bankruptcy! Next time I will wear ear plugs!

A life of Leisure

I got another great package from my wonderful SP8. She sent me this great gift basket of relaxing bath items. I'm looking forward to taking a long and luxurious bath and enjoying them. Thank you so much Brooke - you are the greatest! I can't wait for the big reveal later this month when I'll find out who she really is. On the knitting front I bought this great 127 yarn at Gossamer in Bend and I just love the color. It is a deep burgundy color with other colors mixed in here and there. I'm making another felted bag. This one has an oval bottom and flares out at the top. They had a sample at the store so I got the pattern and I'm excited to see how it works out. It has a little ridge around the bottom to help it stand up. On the simply glorious front there is this incredible garden down the street. An organic farmer grows flowers and vegetables. He mainly sells them to the local grocery stores but he also sells some on the corner. I just have to share these photos with you - I hope you like them as much as I do.

Cotton good for Pickin'

From the amount of cotton I have purchased on this vacation you would think that California is devoid of cotton. Well to some extent that may be true. The stores near me never have Sugar & Cream or Peaches & Cream and the Lions Brand cotton can't be found in many colors. NOT the case in Oregon however and thus I have gone a little wild. You see I want to make some of those "warsh rags" from the Mason Dixon book. I hear they are addicting and I want to be prepared. Ummmm - maybe I'm a bit too prepared? What you see in the photo isn't even all the cotton I purchased. Hmmmm - anyone got any good patterns using cotton???

Glorious Vacation

We are having a wonderful time here in the Pacific Northwest and I just couldn't resist sharing this photo with you. The kayaks were so colorful and you can see in the corner they also had these adorable ones that look like crocodiles. Master JET really wanted to go in one of those. I have also had some time to do some knitting that requires more attention. I recently came across this Barbara Walker Mosaic Knitting and I found it intriquing. You create all sorts of geometric patterns but rather than having spools or switching yarn often as you do in Fair Isle you instead use only one color for two rows and then the other color for two rows. That way you just carry the yarn up the end and don't have to stop and start yarns all the time. Here is a sample of a very simple pattern. It is fun and fairly easy so I think I will do more mosaic knitting. We'll see though as you really have to pay attention to the chart. Definitely not mindless knitting!

The Joy of a 10 hour car ride

It used to be that the thought of sitting in a car for 10 hours with three children was enough to drive me to drink (or at least to drive me not to drive) but now that I have found knitting I actually see long drives as a unique opportunity to make some serious knitting progress. Such was the case on Monday when we headed up to Oregon for vacation. What you see here is the status of my Runabout bag at the start of our journey. I worked away knitting happily until we got to the Black Bear Diner in Shasta and it looked like this: Then finally we arrived at our destination and I had finished the outside of the Runabout bag. Now mind you I could have knit more except for two things: First - I had to drive part of the way and I make it a strict rule not to knit while driving (I know - silly rule), and second - I ran out of yarn! Yes, I knew I didn't have enough of the skein I was using for the entire purse and I had planned all along to do the inside piece a different color but I didn't think to bring that skein with me in the front of the car. Now thankfully I do have it with me but I didn't think my family would take kindly to my suddenly shouting, "pull over - I'm out of yarn! I need to riffle through ten tons of luggage packed in the back to find a ball of yarn!!" No instead I quietly put aside my Runabout and worked on a baby blanket. One the way home I'll stock more yarn!

Gone Knitting - Make your own Dinner

My daughter went to Granny Camp this week. This is basically where my kids go one at a time to visit my parents and get spoiled rotten. My Mom cooks their favorite foods, they go out to their favorite restaurants, they sew, shop, play tennis - I WANT TO GO TO GRANNY CAMP! Anyway, while she was there my daughter decided to rat me out. She told my folks that (i) I wouldn't let her buy mouthwash because it is too expensive, (ii) she needs a filling but I'm too busy to take her to the dentist, and (iii) that she needs toe surgery but I can't be bothered to make that appointment either! Can you believe it??? Now let me set the record straight - I NEVER EVER told her that either she couldn't have mouthwash or that it was too expensive. Mouthwash? Too expensive? Only if it cuts in to the yarn budget. Now the dentist part - well there is some truth in that. See she had an appointment that I spaced on and missed, and well the receptionist there is very mean and I don't really want to face her after that, and, and, and But the toe surgery is absolutely not true. After the surgery she can't swim for 2 weeks and I sort of thought that it being summer and her being on swim team and all that maybe it should wait a while. I guess now that she's home I should make sure that she knows I have time for her and make some of these appointments. I will - really - right after I'm done knitting.

Clever Girl

My SP8 is Gr8 as I have told you before. I'm so impressed with how she figures out the perfect gift. First and adorable bag that I have to fight my daughters for. Then handmade stitch markers with dragonflies - my favorite. Now a cute dish towel with a hydrangea flower because she noticed one in my photos. Yes I love them and have lots. She also sent the wonderful Wendy Knits book. There are lots of great patterns in there that I can't wait to try. How did she know I didn't have it? Brooke - you are the best! Now a brief update on my bag for the Bag Along, I used Lions Brand Cashmere which I really like and the self lining bag pattern from their site but I didn't follow the striping pattern. I was so busy making up my own stripes that I didn't realize the bag was supposed to get smaller towards the top! So when I got done it was sort of floppy and the handles holes didn't exactly appear in the right place. I also wasn't crazy about the handles in the pattern so made up my own. Then I sort of pulled in the sides to make it better at the top. I like the way the stripes turned out but overall am not thrilled with the bag. Oh well - on to the next project!

The Sun is Up

I awoke Sunday at 7:15 a.m. to the sound of a thundering herd of elephants coming down my hall. How is it possible for a 40 pound child to make so much noise? Next thing I know there is a little face shoved in mine saying, "Mama! The sun is up - it's time to get up!!!" Yes, the son is up so there will be no more rest for the weary. Thus we began the Sunday morning ritual TV watching. However the son surprised me when he asked to watch Dinosaurs. Now you might ask why I would actually be happy to watch The Land Before Time for the umpteenth million time but it turns out it was a nice respite from crocodiles. You see ever since we went to the Camden New Jersey Aquarium he has had nothing but crocodiles on his mind. And then it dawned on me - it's sort of like knitting (isn't everything?) You see first there was his love of sharks - it was all sharks - all the time. It's sort of like when I first started the Irish Hiking Scarf - I loved the pattern, loved the yarn and even bought the yarn in several colors so that I could make IHS for all my friends. I swore to always love the Irish Hiking Shark. But then - the clapotis dinosaur caught my eye. I forgot all about the Irish Hiking Sharks. I was in love with the clapotis and just wanted to knit those. I even bought yarn to make many different clapotis (sounding familiar?) and the Irish Hiking Sharks just lay quitely in my knitting basket. Every now and then I would play with them but not nearly as much as I used to. Then just when my toychest was full of yarn to make clapotis - I learned about the felted crocodile - so many patterns for felted bags, so many yarns . . . well you get the idea!

Flash Frenzy

My SP8 Hostess has asked us to "Flash our knitting bag" so here it is. What's in the bag? Well there is still the Circular Mitred Square blanket as I have a few more ends to tuck in on that puppy. Also there is the navy and light blue knit person I am making for Bag me Along. The turquoise Irish Hiking Scarf - I love this yarn, I love this scarf but for some reason it is taking me forever to finish it. Even longer is the Here and There Cables scarf from the Scarf Style book. I really love this scarf and the yarn - serengeti - but have been working on it for a VERY long time. The colorful scarf at the top is my "Not Entirely Entrelac" scarf in Karaoke which I just started the 4th of July weekend and is knitting up fast. The blue/green is another baby blanket out or Lorna's Laces Worsted superwash and finally at the bottom is my Cozy out of Cherry Tree Hill silk/merino blend in Birch. I love the color on this one and the design but am having a really hard time whenever you have to k2 through the back. I bought some Addi Turbos (never tried them before) which I'm going to switch it to and see if that helps. Also the yarn is thin and it's impossible to memorize the pattern so progress is S L O W! Not pictured (because it's too big for the basket - is my prayer shawl/throw that I am making for Horsey Girl in Lion Brand Homespun Magenta. That's a mindless knit so I take it on car trips but it is getting to big even for that! Now Yarn Yenta has asked us to tell you WHY these items are in the bag. I really don't know how to answer it - they are in there because I am working on them (or hoping to start working on them again) and I love to knit!

Next - my good friend Bonnie (yeah Bonnie - you helped me figure out the hyperlink!) has asked us to FLASH OUR FREEZERS! So here is mine. It is clear looking at this that we live only on frozen junk food and there is no real food in here. From reading what's in Bonnie's freezer vs. what is in mine it is clear she is a good mother who cooks real food for her family and I am a slacker who orders way too much take out! Oldest item - frozen chicken breasts in a ziplock - wonder how old those are! Best surprise - I have LOTs of margerine - don't have to buy that for awhile. Worst surprise - there is nothin but junk in there!
OK - now it's your turn - flash your basket or your freezer and let me know!

Circular Mitred Square Blanket

I have finished the baby blanket and am calling it a "Circular Mitred Square Blanket". I am very happy with how it turned out. I couldn't get the photos to show the colors very well but you can get the general idea. I made it with Lions Brand Microspun and I love this yarn. It drapes really well and is very soft. Plus it can go in the washer and dryer which is a big plus for a baby blanket! I now need to try to block it because the edges are curling up a bit. Several of you have asked for the pattern so I'll give it a shot. I've never written a pattern for others to use so please let me know if you have any questions.

So here's the pattern. This blanket is worked in the round from the outside in so you start with A LOT of stitches on the needles. I wanted my blanket to be about 28 inches wide so using a size 9 circular needle I cast on 128 stitches per side for a total of 512 stitches! Basically you need to do a swatch with your yarn to figure out how many stitches per side and add 3 per side. I cast on 128 stitches, placed a marker and did that 3 more times making the last marker a different color so I knew where each round started. Then you join being careful not to twist (I twisted and you should have heard the explatives!)

Round 1 - *knit 125 stitches, knit 3 together* repeat from * to * to the end of the round
Round 2 - knit
Round 3 - *knit 123 stitches, knit 3 together* repeat from * to * to the end of the round
Round 4 - knit

Keep this going with all of the odd rounds decreasing by 2 stitches.

Then when you get towards the end - for me it was 12 stitches per section - I started decreasing every time I went around. Then when I was really near the end - about 12 stitches total - I cut the yarn long and used a needle to thread through all of the remaining stitches than pulled it tight light a hat but being careful not to let it pucker. At what point you need to start decreasing every round and then pull together will vary depending on how thick your yarn is. The thicker the yarn the sooner you'll need to do it. The thinner the yarn the closer you can get to the end. You just need to watch it so you don't end up with a stem!

A note about stitch markers - I used them and it really helped because I didn't want to have to count each row but on the rows when you knit the 3 together you move the stitch marker one stitch to the right so it will be in the right place the next time. For example - if it is knit 121 then knit 3 tog - you knit 121, slip the marker off, slip one knitted stitch to the left needle, slip the marker on and then slip the knittied stitch back to the right needle and then knit your 3 together. Why only one stitch over when the sections are decreasing by 2 each? Because you are losing a stitch on each end of the section. Hope this is helpful and not confusing!

Thanks to Helen for pointing out I forgot to say how much yarn I used! I used 2 skeins each of 3 colors but I had some of each color left so probably no more than 5 skeins total yarn. A lot will depend on how many colors you choose to use and how you stripe it.

Bury the ends. That's it! You can stripe it however you want. If you want to know the stripe count I used or if you have any questions just send me an e-mail at lahamltAgmailDOTcom. This pattern is copyrighted by me - please use it for your personal enjoyment but not for profit. Have fun and if you do knit one of these I'd love for you to send me a photo.

Mitred Square Bag

I'm so excited - I have finally finished my mitred square tote for my Tote Exchange www.toteexchange.blogspot.com partner. It was a lot of fun to knit the front and back mitred squares. I chose this pattern because I've always wanted to try mitred squares but until now I was afraid they would be too hard. They couldn't be easier! And the fun part is that they get smaller every other row so the knitting goes very quickly. Now the band - well that was another story. You knit two identical squares - one for the front and one for the back. Then you knit "the band" which started with the orange side, went up to become the strap and then became the blue side and the purple bottom. The knitting went on FOREVER! I even shortened the handle from what they said to knit but it still went on and on and on! That is the one modification I'd make if I do this again - I'd make the handle shorter and possibly double the yarn when doing the handle to make it thicker. I think I will make it again because I really like how it turned out. I used Cascade 22o and cast on the 125 stitches the pattern called for but boy was this sucker big! Both of these photos are taken on the same hammock to give you an idea of scale. To bring it back from the Land of the Giants I felted it a lot and it shrunk down nicely. It's still on the large side - more of a tote or knitting bag than a purse - but I like it and hopefully my pal will too. Here it is being modeled by the lovely Miss K. It hits her fairly low but then she's not that tall yet. On me it hits perfectly if you sling the strap across your body and a little on the low side if you just put it over your shoulder. I'm hoping if my pal thinks it's too long maybe she could fold the top and put a cute pin on it to make it shorter. Anyway - I can't wait to see what my secret pal sends to me!

Do Not Agitate!

I just bought some yarn from www.Yarnzilla.com - it's a gorgeous cashmere which I just love. I think I'm going to use it to make something from Scarf Style. When the yarn arrived I quickly opened the package and felt this wonderfully soft yarn. Then I started reading the label. On the back it said, "Hand wash - do not wring or agitate." For some reason that just struck me funny. Don't agitate the yarn? You wouldn't want to piss it off now. Angry yarn is a dangerous thing. But the more I think about it this really explains alot. When you're sure you have followed the pattern exactly but it just doesn't turn out right? You must have agitated the yarn. When it constantly splits? Must be agitated. When the finished product just doesn't look like it should? Serious agitation. I once read that if Abalone is killed in a traumatic way it doesn't taste good and is rubbery to chew. So I wondered - how do you actually kill an Abalone without traumatizing it? Lull it in to a false sense of security and then sneak up behind it? But I digress. So my advice of the day is DO NOT AGITATE YOUR YARN! Speak to your yarn lovingly, stroke it, appreciate it and it will knit good things for you.

Thanks and Relay For Life Update

My GR8 SP8 sent me another package. Thank you - thank you thank you!!! It is so exciting to get packages in the mail. So first I opened the mailing box and there was a note inside that said to read it after I opened the little box inside. This is the adorable box I found inside the mailing box . You can see by its size next to the flowers it is very tiny. Now my pal doesn't know this but I actually LOVE boxes. I know - it's strange. But I'm always collecting cute or useful boxes with the plan to use them at a later date. This is a box I will DEFINITELY be using again! My husband even made fun of me when we moved because - you guessed it - we moved a box of boxes. They were good boxes though - perfect for this, that or the other! So next with great anticipation I slowly opened my tiny little digidex box and found this - a beautiful light blue silk pouch. And inside it I found these! Aren't they great??!! Brooke made me these really cool stitch markers. Can you believe she said she's never made any before? I think they are so cute. And they even have a dragonfly which I love. She made them a little larger so you can use them on large needles which is perfect. This is going to be such an upgrade for the green and purple plastic thingies I have been using. It makes me want to go find a pattern that calls for lots of stitch markers. Maybe I should start another clapotis!! Also - to show we have even more in common in her letter she mentioned that she is coming down to my town for the Yarn Harlot's visit in September. Brooke we will DEFINITELY have to get together!!! I'm so excited that you will be coming here. It should be lots of fun. Actually the owner of the LYS who is sponsoring that event is the one who set up the Relay for Life chemo cap knitting last weekend. My Mom and I went from 10 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. and had a blast. Together we donated 5 chemo caps (we had started them before that evening) and there was a big pile on the table. What a great idea. Thanks to Holis at Full Thread Ahead!

Knitting for Charity

This weekend is the Relay for Life in our area. For 24 hours people will walk around the High School track to raise money for cancer research. Many groups have formed teams to take turns walking throught he 24 hour period. They have also been selling luminaries which will be used to light the track in the dark and honor cancer survivors and those who have not been so lucky. My LYS - Full Thread Ahead - formed a chem0 cap team. Rather than walking around we will "knit around" and make chemo caps for donation. My Mom and I decided to join the team and after all the dance shows on Saturday we'll be "at the track." My LYS gave me the yarn - some fuzzy fun stuff for the bottom of the cap and some really soft yarn for the hat itself. I decided to get a start because I didn't think I could knit an entire hat in 2 hours or so. Now I had several patterns but no exact pattern for the yarn I have. One pattern said cast on 90 stitches - another 110. Since I have a big head (size not ego) I decided to make my hat on the big side. Since my yarn is thin - I cast on 120 stitches. Well - it's looking EXTREMELY big! Last night I reduced around a few rounds to reduce it to 90 stitches - hmmmmm - we'll see about this. I may have to start over . . . .

The Whirl that was Purl (of SoHo that is)

Several weeks ago I went to New York for some business meetings. I got up at the crack of dawn, flew to JKF, sat in horrible traffic from the airport to Times Square, endured a rain, thunder and lightening storm and arrived for my meetings. The meetings were already underway when I arrived on Thursday, went from 8 a.m. Friday until 11 p.m. and started again at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning. Now I figured that if I was going to fly all the way to New York I at least needed to do one fun thing so I researched yarn stores before I left. I found out that Purl of SoHo was a mere 2.9 miles from my hotel so I figured that was perfect. Now I knew there wouldn't be time to walk so I figured I'd take a cab. I snuck out of my meetings at 11:25 and figured - 15 minute cab ride over (way more time than you should need for 3 miles right???), 15 minute cab ride back and a full hour in the store. I had to meet one of my partners at 1 p.m. to ride to the airport together. Well the ride over went pretty well although it seemed much further than 2.9 miles I must say. SoHo is very cute and we quickly found the store. My first shock was just how TINY it is. But boy do they pack in a lot of yarn! They have some yummy stuff too. I got the Mongolian cashmere that is in my earlier post (the one with the pink and white scarf), the Lorna's Laces washable wool above in teal for a baby blanket - it is sooooo soft, and this adorable silk with sequins - I also got one in pink for my Mom. I think they will become light and airy scarves. There was tons of other stuff but I didn't want to go broke so I left after about 45 minutes (you can shop much quicker in store where you can see all 4 walls at the same time) and caught a cab back to the hotel. I was feeling pretty good about myself. Then I realized my mistake. Apparently there was some parade closing one major atery and an art faire closing another. I sat and sat and sat and watched the time tick away, 12:45, 1:00, 1:15 - I started calling the hotel and e-mail my colleague to tell him to go without me. I just about had a heart attack in the cab as we were moving at the rate of one block every 5 mintues and we were 18 blocks away!!! But bless his heart my cabbie got me back to the hotel, waited while I claimed my luggage and then drove like a frickin maniac to the airport. I caught my plane and collapsed in to my seat. Can you imagine if I had to tell my husband I missed my plane because I went to a yarn store??? I'm thinking alien abduction is a better excuse . . . .

You Can Lead a Horse to Yarn but you can't make him Knit

Have you ever noticed that? No matter how much or how often you expose the horse to knitting and fiber it just shows no interest in it? Now there are always excuses - I have 4 feet and no hands - the yarn would get really dirty in the stable - I don't have opposable thumbs . . . . But I truly believe if the horse really wanted to knit he would figure it out. This is the case with my oldest daughter - who - you guessed it - is a big time equestrian. This photo is of Snickers, the horse she rode in last weekend's show. Well anyway - despite my continuing efforts I can not seem to interest her in knitting. I know that she CAN knit - I've seen the evidence. I know that she has opposable thumbs - I've seen those too. Yet somehow knitting holds no interest for her. I even took her yarn shopping. She spent lots of time in the store, picked out some wonderful Cascade 220 and fun yarn to make an Oregon Tote, I paid for all of it but alas - almost a year later it is still sitting here.


Worse yet - the first skein and some nice size 11 circular bamboo knitting needles which started the project have gone missing! Maybe they are at the stables. Maybe Snickers is knitting when we're not there. Now my Mom who is usually the most selfless person in the world is in love with this yarn. She loves the colors and keeps asking when I'm going to admit that Horsey Girl is never going to use it and let Mom have it. The other day I said, "maybe that's a good idea, I'll give it to you and you can make the bag for her." My Mom looked at me and smiled and said - that's not quite what I had in mind! Mom also has opposable thumbs - maybe I should give it to her!

My SP8 is SP-Gr8!

I am having so much fun with the SP8 exchange. As I've mentioned before - this is my first time doing one and it is great. I have been e-mailing my spoilee and have sent her one package. I'm about to get the second one in the mail. But even more fun is my spoiler. I believe her name is Brooke and she works in the legal field. I THINK she is a paralegal for a Wills and Trusts firm in Sacramento. That's my guess so far. Anyway - she has sent me cards (both paper and e-cards) and several e-mails. It has been fun getting to know a total stranger who shares several common interests. Then on Monday I got this!


It is a gorgeous, glittery hand bag in a beautiful blue-ish yarn. The photo doesn't do the colors justice. The colors in the photo below are closer. Anyway - I just love it. My 10 year old also loves it however so the fight is on! Also the handles are really cool - she crocheted around them and so they are covered with the yarn as well. It looks great! I have no idea how to do that so I'm going to need a tutorial! Anyway - I just love it. Thank you so much Brooke (or whoever you are . . . . .)

Did somebody say New Project??!

As I've mentioned before - I already have WAY too many projects in the works but alas - I needed to start another one. I tell myself it is due to the fact that we were flying back East and I needed something small for the plane. Or perhaps it was the lure of the soft, soft mongolian cashmere I bought when I was in New York a few weeks ago. Whatever it was - I've started a scarf. Just a little scarf. That doesn't really count as a new project does it? This yarn is so wonderful I really love working with it. I had a hard time picking a pattern - I started and frogged it about 5 times before settling in to a simple double seed stitch. I like how it is turning out although the white is pooling oddly. I really couldn't do anything about it on the plane because (a) I only had one skein with me and (b) of course I wasn't allowed to have any scissors but I might splice in from another skein going forward. Any suggestions?