Knitting Skeinks

Christmas FOs

2008-01-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

Ha! It's come and gone. Thank you Jesus! ;-) I've been a knitting fool and have finished tons of things and still have things on the needles that I really want to finish (ahem...Tangled Yoke Cardigan!)

I think the biggest hit of the Christmas Knitting was the handtowels for my Aunt. They turned out about half as big as I wanted them too but that was a complicated cable pattern! (I used the Koolhaas pattern) And they were big enough that they would drape nicely to be decorative =D:

They are hanging on full sized towels there. You may be able to see the pattern better in this picture:

I was at my parents and good pictures were hard to get.

The House Hats, weren't as popular as I would have hoped. Well, little boys are little boys, but they did put them on to model for their Auntie Bug:

They all managed to have a funny look on their face in at least one of the pictures I took.

Individually:

Cole (the oldest):

Zack (the middle one):

And Luke (the youngest):
As you can see the two older ones are USC fans and so their hats matched. I have a feeling they may be more thankful after the ski trip they just went on. We'll see =D

I finished off my Holiday Gift Giving by making coffee cup sleeves for the UI Team Holiday Party. We do a White Elephant Gift Exchange every year:

The lucky recipient? Why, Snoop Frog herself.

Still on the needles for me?

The aforementioned Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I'm about 2 inches away from starting the tangled part of the yoke. This is going to be my take somewhere and knit project (like to knit night or knitterday).

The Log Cabin Blanket. This puppie is about half way done and is big enough now that it has to be a stay at home and watch tv sort of project. It's final dimensions will be 36 x 36. Not bad. The baby it's for comes any day now but I don't go to visit until the end of January. I will get it done.

And finally, the Sweetheart Sock for my Mommy. These are just because and have no timeline. They'll be my knit on the train project. The first one is getting a heel as we speak.

And that my friends is my knitting update.

Ah-ha-ha, don't think you're getting away so easily! A self-portrait (mostly) pictorial of my holidays:

Shaun and me:

At my parents (in front of their tree) with our jammies that his parents sent us:

Hiking in the Santa Barbara Hills:

At the beach in Cambria:

Wine tasting in Paso Robles (look at those red teeth!):

Hiking in Carmel (and experimenting with the timer function on the camera):

(still hiking in Carmel and looking a little crazy ^^^ READY TO COME HOME!!!)

Addendum to my last post... and extra startitis

2007-12-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

Bah.

Awesome as the BMPs are, they don't hold a candle to these.

Perhaps I should take the weirdly hugeness as a sign that pirate argyles are better than space invaders.

Post Christmas Startitis

2007-12-28T10:43:00.000-08:00

Phew.

It's over. Christmas, that is, and all the knitting that came with it. I finished everything I had planned to knit (except for one pair of socks, which I'm working on now. It's okay, though. Tobin got a road bike instead), and all of the knits have been given.

I'm such a bad blogger,though. In the fury of knitting and blocking and wrapping and giving, I neglected to photograph just about every single project. I think there's one somewhere of Tobin's grandmother in the shawl I made her, and I posted about Buck's Green Tea Socks way back when I finished them. Everything else, though, has been lost to blog posterity.

Now that all the gifts are done, I'm experiencing a rush of startitis. In the last four or five days, I have started:

FINALLY started the BMPs from Knitty that have been sitting over there in the "Queue" column for months and months. They look weirdly huge, though, so I'm putting them on pause until Tobin returns from his East Coast trip and can try them on.

Blue Sky Alpacas' High Neck Cable, in Rowan Felted Tweed, except that I didn't have time to get the pattern so I was making it up as I went. I tried it on in Tucson and looked like Baron Harkonen, so this is going to be frogged and turned into a version of Rowan's Demi. I'm in a designing mood, though, so I'm going to try and copy this and knit it based on EZ's no-seam saddle shoulder sweater. Heh. We'll see how that goes.

Ogee Lace Shawl. I took the Ogee lace pattern from my Barbara Walker Treasury Vol. 1. I have a ball of Baruffa Cashwool in chocolate brown, and had this crazy idea to make a shawl for my wedding. Eh. I have six months.

Tabi Socks from Veronik Avery's Knitting Classic Style, which K-Bull gave me for my birthday. With the gaw-jus Colinette Jitterbug that K-Bull also gave me for my birthday.

I have the yarn for the Tangled Yoke cardigan -- Rowan Felted Tweed in Treacle, but I want to swatch a variation for it. I loved the original sweater that Eunny posted on her blog. She has horizontal cables winding around the hips of the cardi that echo the tangled yoke. I love the balance this gives the sweater. So, I have plans to see if I can figure out how to do this, based on the charts in IK. (see? Design-y mood).

I know from experience that, when I get into these bouts of startitis, more than half of these projects will fall by the wayside, but that's okay. I'm enjoying them while they last!

Hopefully they'll at least last long enough to post some pictures.

dipping a toe back into the frog pond

2007-12-16T10:00:00.001-08:00

Golly, my knittas have been quiet. I suppose I'm the only *ahem* loquacious one in the bunch. Okay, like, superfluously so.

*triple bonus for using two of my favorite unnecessarily large words in a row!*

Today I'll be picking up my needles for the first time in months. Our December ~~Fatterday~~ Knitterday is upon me, and it's time to knit or perish. And by "perish" I mean do nothing but sit around tittering and stuffing my face with the crack mix MCR always buys. Evil.

Before I can be reborn as a knitter, I feel that I need to confess my sins and renounce the works that have turned me into the knitting blackguard that I am today.

The Sizzle (on needles). You're lovely, and one day I look forward to being annoyed with you (in all your finished glory) for not containing by boobs properly. For now, though, you have no place. It's December, which doesn't lend itself to rust-colored knit tank tops with deep Vs.
The Glee (on needles). So close, and yet, so UFO. You require a lot of stockinette just to repay me with a white, short-sleeved, cropped cardigan in January. You'll just have to be patient.
Mr. and Mrs. Dashing (on needles). Maybe I wasn't ready. Maybe neither of us were. All I know is that your cables are irregular, your thumb looks funny, and I bound you off too soon. I still have hope for us.
Widdershins (in knitting Purgatory, begging forgiveness). *hisses* Maybe one day I'll frog you down to the gusset and take you on again. Don't hold your breath, though.
All my unmade Christmas knits that were never born because of vile Widdershins (in skeins in my closet). Sorry, my lovelies. Maybe next year.

Today, I plan to start fresh. I plan to indulge, and glut myself on an easy pattern and fabulous fiber. I'm going to bust out my unforgivably gorgeous Lorna's Laces Worsted Multi, and I'm going to cast on for Marnie's variation of the One Skein Wonder.

Hoping for redemption,
SnoopFrog

the little skeink that couldn't

2007-11-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

There's been nothing but silence from the Frog House, and for good reason. The Widdershins have broken me. After weeks of knitting, frogging, knitting, tinking, knitting, tinking, and frogging some more, I finally reached the end of my tether. I'm only barely able to talk about it. The wounds are still too fresh. I feel like a jilted lover, and I'd rather be crying into a cup of hot cocoa while watching Sense and Sensibility than reliving my pain.

In spite of all my care and caution (read: lifelines, measuring, and counting stitches like a Gringotts goblin would galleons), I still got bitten. I turned the heel only to find that these socks wouldn't fit my mother unless A) she's been secretly binding her feet for the last ten years, or B) I found a way to travel back in time and give them to her as a gift for her 5th birthday rather than her 50th. How the hell did this happen? I'm flummoxed. I followed that f'in pattern to the letter, and yet somehow things went terribly awry.

And now... I can't even bear to look at them. It took every ounce of my willpower not to set fire to the unfinished socks, needles and working yarn still attached. I might have even tossed in the pattern and Ziploc baggie for good measure.

Ever since the incident, I'm finding it difficult to be enthusiastic about knitting. I've worked a bit on my long-lost Mr. and Mrs. Dashing, but to no avail. My knitting heart is tender, and wonders if it can ever love again.

NaKniSweMo update from Lil Purl

2007-11-16T20:18:00.000-08:00

I'm very close with my Beau. I have finished the main parts of the front and back and have blocked it to start my seaming. After seaming, I'm working on the neckband, buttonband and attaching the sleeves:

Here are my sleeves. I'm working on them simultaneously to minimize the variation in my gauge.

This knit has gone faster than I thought since I only started a couple of weeks ago. The only problems I've had is some of the laddering that happens when I've switched from knit and purl Some of the Rowan pattern is also confusing. It's fairly simple but some of the written descriptions were not as clear as I would have liked. "Work the same as back until 36 rows less" is a strange instruction. 36 rows less? Wouldn't it be more intuitive to give dimension?

On another note, I finished staining and varnishing my stash's beautiful new home some time back. Here she is:
Isn't she a beauty?

NaKniSweMo

2007-11-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Sure, we're a day or two late in starting, but that's okay -- we have 28 more! Who's in with me? Come on! Knit a sweater in the month of November, with Knitgrrl and the group over on Ravelry.

I'm going to make this one:
It's the Star-Crossed Cardigan, over on Anthropologie. I'm going to make it out of some chocolate brown Cascade Eco Wool from the stash, on size 9 needles, with long sleeves. I haven't cast on, but I've swatched and sketched and I think I've figured out how it works. Sure, I've made sweaters before, and in less than a month, too, but the challenge here for me is to do this sweater and the 3 pairs of socks and the shawl I have lined up for holiday gifts. Woo hoo!

Who's with me? Come on girls! Let's knit sweaters!

Meet Vera

2007-10-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

5 oz of Lorna's Laces superwash merino roving, spun into 280 yards of somewhere between dk and worsted. I'll have to check the wpi after she's all washed. But here she is!

The roving was bright pink, with brown, pale pink and some olive greens. I didn't want it to end up in stripes, because I was afraid of any pooling that would happen (see the ugly Breeze sock fiasco), so instead I plied two singles together, offsetting the colors, to let whatever interactions happen that wanted to happen.

Overall, I'd say the skein wants to be bright pink. The pink is so dominant. But there are these interesting smudges of browns and greens as well. I can't wait to knit this into the shifting sands scarf.

I feel like I'm getting a much better handle on this whole spinning thing. It seems like I'm stuck in a bit of a "somewhere between dk and worsted" rut, though. I'll have to try really hard to spin something... thicker. Or thinner. I suppose either way would be new to me!

My new stash home

2007-10-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

I finally bought a new dresser to house my stash. I can't wait! We bought it at an awesome furniture sale so now all I have to do is stain it and presto, my yarn has a new home! Check it out. Isn't it beuuuuutiful!

Currently, my stash is stored in the sad coffee table so hopefully, I can get it out of there soon!
On another note, here are updates to my current WIPs. First is the shifting sands scarf for my mom, second is the clementine shawlette for my bridesmaids:This weekend, the ladies are knitting ornaments at Snoop's house. I can't wait! =)

Addendum to my previous post

2007-10-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

Augh.

Etsy, DAMN YOU AND YOUR BEAUTIFUL HAND DYED FIBER.

Fiber diet too. Starting now.

:(

But I have 8 oz of merino/tencel winging it's way to me! Yippee!! :)

A Vow

2007-10-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

Let my Knittas be my witnesses.

I hearby swear off buying any new yarn until (at LEAST) January, 2008.

Yes, I'm going on a yarn diet.

I've never really, TRULY felt the need to go on a yarn diet before. I've always just accepted the natural accumulation of yarn that has come from being a fiber-holic, and the natural accumulation of UFOs and WIPs that come from being a process knitter. It's always been about the challenge of a new pattern, the triumph of getting a design out of my head, onto a page, and then onto the needles (even if it never comes OFF of the needles). But I think things are getting a bit out of hand.

See, I have this weird categoric memory -- ask Kid SSK. We rock climb together, and I have this bizarre ability to remember every route she or I have pretty much EVER climbed at the Sunnyvale Planet Granite. It used to be the same with my yarn. I was always able to remember exactly where and when I bought any of the yarn in my stash, and what I had intended to make with it. But I was looking in my stash this past weekend, in preparation for the great Destash and Stash Organization of 2007 (Take 2 -- don't ask), and I came across several skeins that I swear I've never seen before.

This is a problem.

So, the yarn diet. It's time, it must be. Now, I know that two and a half months of yarn dieting may not seem like a lot, but I just don't want to set myself up for failure. Also, please note that we are coming into the height of Holiday Knitting Season, which is historically a period of yarn-buying weakness and knitting insanity for me. I've already gotten a good start on knitting socks for everyone I know, and have a huge stockpile of sock yarn (mostly accumulated within the last month), so I'm thinking I should be okay. Also, with my new found love of spinning, I'm in danger of spending the REST of my income on fiber, so something has to give.

You heard it here first, girls. And I'm really going to need your support on this. NO NEW YARN FOR MCR UNTIL THE NEW YEAR.*

*The only exception is exchanging the second hideous skein of CTH variegated sock yarn that I just bought. This doesn't count as buying new yarn since the money has already been spent. ;)

tales from the frog pond: my first lace

2007-10-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

Harumph.

I frogged my very first toe of which I was so exceedingly proud. I realized once I went to start the main body of the sock that I had somehow completely botched the increases and ended up with too few stitches. Like... "enough to notice" too few.

I was undaunted, and frogged without a moment's hesitation. I was only 14 rows in, after all, and figured it was good practice at working the toe of a toe-up sock.

Well. I re-did my work last night, slightly under the influence of pain killers and High Victorian drama. I realized this morning that everywhere I was supposed to do an M1 increase, I instead did a yarn-over. Note that this is 4 times every round. For 14 or so rounds.

Perhaps third time will be the charm...

regia silk... don't make me cut you

2007-10-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

The one-armed wonder perseveres, despite oppression of the UltraSling II®.

So much to tell, so few arms to do it...

1. I finally got around to casting on Mr. Dashing, which I'm working using some combination of Magic Loop and Side Loop knitting. This is officially my second go on this project. I first cast on around nine months ago with overly-thick, cheap yarn. I know, I know. I was a noob. It was turning out chunky and inelegant, and eventually I frogged it and began summer projects (which are now shamefully hibernating in the closet).

Needless to say, the Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo I'm using this time around is a vast improvement. In fact, this might be my most favoritest yarn thus far. So soft. So snuggly. Yummy yum yum.

I decided that I wanted an elbow-length arm warmer, so I'm working 5 cable rounds instead of 3. Nearly finished with the first one. I need to analyze the sequence and location of my cables... which got a little haphazard... before I work the second one. I was going to do both at once using a super long cable, but I chickened out at the last minute.

2. Amidst a haze of Romantic and High Victorian film adaptations (thanks, MCR!), I realized that mid-October was upon me. Thus blossomed a mild panic about my first pair of socks, Widdershins, which I hope to knit as a birthday present for my mom by November 6th.

I created my first toe last night, and I'm exceedingly proud. I was braced for the worst (recalling LP's sock-induced nervous breakdown last summer), but things seem to be going really well. Despite having never cast on for a toe any other way, I feel that Judy's Magic Cast On is indeed magical.

There is, however, a sour grape in my sweet, sweet bunch. Upon the recommendation of the very knowledgeable MCR, I'm using Regia Silk. The yarn is lovely, and I have every confidence it will knit up beautifully. BUT... when I pulled out the center of my first ball to wind it and prepare it for work, I found a little knot about a yard in. This wasn't a tangle, but rather a place where the yarn had been cut. Annoying.

Not wanting to deal with this nonsense on my very first sock, I dug out the second ball and pulled out the center. Lo and behold, another knot, in almost the exact same place. What the hell?! I paid $8.95 for each of you! Why you gotta play me like that?!

3. I'm pleased to announce that Ravelry will soon feature each and every one of my knitting projects in my relatively short knitting history! It's a bit of a cheat, as I don't have all that rich a history, but I'm tickled pink nonetheless. The only missing link was my very first scarf, which I photographed earlier this week and will be adding to my notebook shortly. It's just a garter stitch scarf with a moss/garter edge (yes... moss stitch. again, I was a noob, and I didn't know any better). It's made with pointedly inclement acrylic, which is unfortunate given the amount of time and effort (see "noob" above). One of the many reasons I love my husband is that he cherishes this scarf, as plain, impractical, and scratchy as it is.

I feel oddly complete.

Adventures in Sockland or, the good, the good and the ugly

2007-10-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

First, an FO:

Pattern: Highland Schottische Kilt Hose, by Nancy Bush in Folk Socks
Yarn: Regia Silk 4-Ply in Charcoal
Needles: Addi Turbo 32" size 1 1/2 (2.5 mm)

I love these knee-high stockings. They're super comfy and warm, and they fit perfectly. I was a little concerned that they'd make my ginormous calves look ginormous-er, but I don't think they do.

They went super fast, continuing my insane sock knitting frenzy. I started them two weeks ago, the third pair in as many weeks... the second one took about 4 days. I like them with my little mary janes. But I can also wear them to relax in. Ah, Kilt hose. How do I lurve thee...

Next, though comes a sad, sad tale of yarn that tricked me with it's pretty colors and squishness.

Ah, Cherry Tree Hill supersock merino, how I loved your greys and blues and lavenders, how I loved the soft snowiness of your white and the leafiness of your green.

But how you tricked me. Pretty, pretty yarn. Knits up so so ugly.
|
This shot doesn't even do justice to the hideous pooling and flashing on the instep. A big chunk of white next to a triangular pool of purple. Gah. Horror of horrors. KBull described it as an "'80s couch." Totally. I have two other skeins of cherry tree hill supersock that I just added to the stash, and I may just have to return them. I can't stomach another betrayal.

These were supposed to be for my sis for christmas, but the Birch Breezes of Horror have (mercifully) been frogged, and I cast on something to relieve my aching eyeballs.

Pomatomus from Knitty, by Cookie A. In Koigu KPPPM, two skeins of which I bought at Stitches this past February. This yarn started off as Monkeys, but quickly became Elfines (scroll all the way down), but didn't like being either of them. But Pomatomus, I love already. There's something about the texture and direction of this pattern that really takes to variegated yarns in a way that many other patterns don't (eh hem. Breeze?).

So, the Poms and I ride off into the sunset together, leaving birch in a stringy puddle of 80s couch hideousness in the dust.

Knittas in the House

2007-10-07T22:54:00.000-07:00

This lovely Sunday, I hosted a knitting day with my knittas m.c. rib, KBULL, and snoop frog. With lots of lovely munchies and girly movies playing, we had a ball (or should I say skein?).

I finally completed my Mr. Greenjeans and am now in the process of steam blocking the rib band before sewing on the button and officially wet blocking it. Here it is blocking on my new knitter's block:

I'll post pictures of me in it soon!

Oakland knit/crochet show and the 49ers game

2007-10-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Phew that was a busy day! A knit show and football game all in one day! I would normally complain about the "petite" nature of this knit show (Stitches is WAY bigger) but with less than 2 hours to shop, it actually worked out better this time! I hit the Oakland knit and crochet show early Sunday morning and with the recommendations of m.c.rib, went straight to the Article Pract and Red Fish stalls to get my knitter's block and lace yarn! Check them out:

More lace yarn from Terrilyn Needleworks:

Malabrigo lace yarn:

Afterwards, off I went to the 49ers/Seahawks game to accompany my mom. The game sucked (49ers lost 23-3) but the day was beautiful and the knitting totally made up for it!

I made great progress with my Mr. Greenjeans at the game. I am now on the second sleeve and will hopefully be blocking it soon before I do the rib band. I'll hopefully get started on some lace shawls soon to show off this fancy yarn! =)

Wisp

2007-10-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

I started the Wisp yesterday, and this is as far as I got (after ripping half of it out and redoing it). It's nice because I can work on it while watching tv but it's not totally boring. The only problem is that my wrists and elbows are killing me. I think it's because of how I hold the yarn and needles. Something about the super thin yarn makes me change my hand positions to something very bad for me. Hopefully I'll be able to change that so I can get back to this.

hand-spun wonderment

2007-10-01T21:49:00.001-07:00

My lovely friend Rebz, whom I met on the Intrawebs (ain't it the darndest thing), just sent me some beauteous hand spun yarn as a gift. Squeeeeeeeeeee! X-D

The color is a bit hard to describe... it has a little touch of everything depending on how the light hits it (kinda like McR's McAwesome Engagement Ring).

I'm very much looking forward to spending some quality time with it, in the hopes that it will whisper to me what it wants to be.

Thanks, R!!! Lurve it, and lurve you!

What do we think?

2007-10-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Spurred by Nina's experiments with the Urchin, I tried making Ysolda's Gretel pattern out of some Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk from the stash. Now, this yarn is heavenly to knit with. I LURVE it.

Not sure about the hat, though.
What do we think?

Do I look French?

This is my ooh la la face. How does it look?

And then, of course, there's pouty french face. Non?

Eez eet moi?'Cause, I'm about to run out of yarn... and I'm not quite done yet.

Oops.

Should I bother getting another ball of yarn, or consign zeez one to zee etang de grenouille? reebeet?

Pictures of my urchin

2007-09-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

I finally found my camera so here's the pictures of the sad, ugly, little urchin. Ah, urchin in the sunshine...

I do like how it looks from the top. It really is like a sea urchin.

But it looks horrible on me. Adam said it looks like a Muslim prayer cap. I know it's just because it's too small but it's not encouraging me to make a new one. (pay no attention to the pasty face and slightly crazy eyes. Just remember I've been sick for the last 3 days. Be kind, be kind...)

Oakland Knit and Crochet Show

2007-09-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

KBull and I trekked across the Bay to the Oakland Knit and Crochet show yesterday. It's much smaller than Stitches West, but that makes it more manageable, though somehow no less exhausting.

We made one absolutely INGENIOUS find at the Article Pract booth.... the Knitter's Block. How did someone not think of this?
I haven't unwrapped it yet, but it's modular, 12" or so squares that you can put together in different sizes and shapes to block your work! And it comes with t-pins, and a blocking cloth, and this fantastic, handy orange tote bag. LURVE. On the bag are the buttons I bought at Buttons! (More about those below.)

My other great find was this:

800 or so yards of cotton/rayon yarn from Interlacements. It's the perfect yarn to make a nice, sleeveless top for my mother-in-law-to-be for Christmas! I found some equally nice yarn at Nine Rubies the other weekend for three times the price.

And, of course, Buttons!

The last ones are my favorite. They're Victorian glass, late 19th century. No idea what I'm going to do with them, but they sure are purdy! The button woman is amazing -- she knows what all the buttons are made of and what era they come from.

Now all I have to do is find something to put them on.

banana split for my baby

2007-09-29T19:34:00.001-07:00

Spumoni Mary Janes are finished and gifted, and I must say they were very well-received.

These ones knit up super quick, and were insanely easy to make. They're essentailly just the Saartje bootee with no second strap. I didn't end up gifting my original bootees, as the craftsmanship looked pretty shoddy next to these.

Some notes:

After trying it both ways, I have to say that I think using two contrasting colors detracts from the cuteness. I'd recommend going a single color, or at least staying in the same color family.
This works much better with a regular M1 than a lifted M1, which is what I did accidentally on the last pair.
I did a crocheted button loop, which worked out much better than the totally ghetto improvised button loop I tried last time.
I still don't quite understand how you're supposed to cast and work the straps. Whatever I did last time really didn't work out so well. This time I just cut a long tail on the working yarn, cast on the additional stitches off the ball, and continued working with the yarn still attached to the ball. I ended up with lots of tails to weave in, but it looked... well, more attached than whatever nonsense I tried last time.
Still wish there was some seaming guidance. This time I did a combo of mattress-type stitch (though a bit different as it was worked on garter) and just a regular sewn seam on the sole.

Tomorrow's a big day. We're off to the Knit & Crochet Show, and a world of buttons awaits us there...

Ugly urchin...

2007-09-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

I've been lolling on the couch being all sick for the last few days and was struck with an intense attack of knititis. I burrowed through my meager stash looking for yarn and a pattern and, with a little help from Adrienne, settled on the Urchin and a dusty pink skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky yarn that I had left over from making a gift. I got about half-way through the hat when I figured out that I'd been doing it completely WRONG. That's what I get for not consulting with m.c. rib before starting.

Anyway, I ripped it all out and started it again, this time correctly. Once I finished it, I sadly found out that it was too small and also UGLY. I think I just needed to use size 11 or 11.5 instead of 10.5. I'm not sure if making the hat bigger and with a looser knit would make it necessarily look better though. Still, I may try it again after changing everything.

(side note: I actually looked around for my camera this time to take pictures for the blog, but I can't find it right now. I'll show you all the hat at our next Knit Night)

Mr. Green jeans Update

2007-09-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm finally onto the cable/rib section of my Mr. Greenjeans. When I started my Seamus cardigan, the stockinette stitch is what did me in. The cable and rib section of the Mr. Green jeans is enough repetition and interest to keep me going. I also love that it's practically a one piece top down construction (except for the button band where I have to pick up stitches later) but really that's no biggie since there's no seaming! Yahoo!!!!

Of course, this project has not been completely trouble free. I've had quite a number of stumbles along the way (too many to probably mention). My poor fiance had to endure my colorful language for the last few days. Oh well, it's par for the course. Following the pattern, I made the mistake of using the smaller size needle to start the cable/rib section. Although the pattern calls for this, I should have known this wouldn't work as the needle they recommended for the rib/cable part was too small when I did my initial gauge swatch. Long story short, I had to frog a good 3 inches (start again at the stockinette portion) of cable/rib when I finally had the sense to try it on! That hurt! I know I know, I'm stealing snoop's style. =)

After I fixed that problem, I then realized that somewhere along the way, I was knitting with one size 7 needle and one size 9 needle. This must have happened when I changed needles after my gauge snafu. Such an absent minded dork!! I love love love these knitpicks option needles but this confusion can certainly happen, esp. with me! See if you can tell the difference:

Then, after I fixed that problem, I realized that I had missed TWO cable twists! At this point, I was a little beside myself but decided to buckle down and try to fix it myself! So, I dropped the stitches I had made and tried to retwist the cables. Here's what I did:

Not bad, eh? I apologize for the sideways pic of the final fix. I couldn't figure out how to flip that.

With that, I am go go go! Hopefully, I'll get to the sleeves by Monday. I'm off to the Oakland knit/crochet show with my knittas on Sunday so I'm sure we'll have plenty of stories and yarn to show and tell.

So far:

Happy Birthday!!!

2007-09-27T20:14:00.001-07:00

I mailed them off on Monday to my SIL:

I'm supposed to do another set by Christmas for my Aunt. I don't know if that's going to happen. Maybe with another pattern-I'm a bit tired of this one.

The yarn is stiff and it tangles easily and is a total bitch to roll into a ball. But it washes up quite nicely and knits up nicely.

She'd better like it!

I've cast on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan with Wool Cotton and I'm loving it! Absolutely loving it!! I can't get enough of that yarn. It's amazing!!!

I'm finally online!

2007-09-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

Sooooo...after months of wanting to blog, I'm finally taking the plunge and going online to post! Yes, I am a self confessed ludite and the whole blogging thing scares me a little but I'm finally ready to share my stuff!

After having knit so many baby things recently (sorry I don't have pics of those), I finally started knitting something for myself again. Today was a great day for knitting (really what isn't?) but it was one of those cloudy, cool days where you sit on your couch with some tea and knit and cuddle with the cat. After some yarn tackling with my kitty, Crowe, I finally got to start on the Mr. Greenjeans pattern on knitty. KBULL, m.c.rib and I had a super trip to KBULL's LYS in San Mateo, Nine Rubies, where they were having an awesome sale. After much drooling and coveting over some other yarns that were a little out of the budget, I found some beautiful and more affordable Nature Wool color 50 which is a warm, lightly variegated burgundy. Beautiful! Thanks m.c. rib for finding the color! After a quick swatch check (which I almost skipped with my eagerness to start this project but was a good idea since my gauge was slightly off), knit knit knit I go! Here's my progress so far:

Unfortunately, in my super excitement, I failed to notice that I made a tiny hole which is causing me some distress about possibly frogging quite a bit of work. More likely, I'm just going to "fake it" and see how it looks after I've patched the hole:
I'm going to back to knitting now since my fingers are itching! I'll post back once I've got some sleeve action going.

My Green Teas have been blessed...

2007-09-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

I'm all a-buzz and a-flutter. Only Ravelry could have made such a thing possible... the Yarn Harlot. No, REALLY, the YARN HARLOT said my green tea socks were COOL! I feel like my socks have somehow been blessed. And Lolly said she liked them too!

Woo hoo!

have needles, will travel

2007-09-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Snoop Frog reports live, on location in Windsor.

Mr. Bones is finally finished... It was gifted today to my brother-in-law, who was quick to point out that he looks "awful in hats". Thankfully he is willing to overlook his vanity in order to wear a one-of-a-kind knit cap with skulls all over it. Note that this is not actually Ant, but rather Mr. Pigeon himself. I handed it to him for inspection, and he immediately put it on and said, "Thanks!" I wasn't sure Ant would ever see it.

Generally I'm very pleased with the way it's turned out, though it seems a bit corrugated in spots. Probably a result of my tight pulls in places rather than fair isle in general. Also a bit bummed that the two rows I was forced to tink never quite whipped back into shape (you can see it in the mouth/nose area of the second repeat of skulls).

I was very happy with my mods... both accidental and deliberate. My one regret is that the pressing deadline forced me to do a teeny little lining -- about 1.5 inches instead of the prescribed 2.5 inches. It's just tall enough to tempt you to roll it up, but just short enough that it looks silly if you do. Alas... the imperfections are just going to have to be part of the charm.

Thrilled that Mr. Bones is done and dusted, I happily tucked into my next effort: The Spumoni Mary Janes. Inspired by Saartje's booties, I plan on making some MJs with white soles (vanilla), pink uppers (strawberry), and green buttons (pistachio). These will undoubtedly be even more edible than the originals, which I fear may be facing a frog. Increasingly unhappy with the straps, and discovered that I screwed up my increases, too. Ah, obsession.

There's something deeply satisfying about knitting in England. It might be the crisp weather, or the tea, or the constant threat of rain. Or maybe, as is often the case, I'm just noticing the satisfaction more bathed in the light of this new context.

So here I am in a cafe in Windsor, drinking a so-so overpriced Americano and doing exactly what I'd be doing at home, my indignant husband scoffing at the £10 price of Wifi just out of frame:

I also took the opportunity to check out a local yarn store. I asked my photographically-inclined brother-in-law to take photos of the shop while I browsed. Sadly, the image of the storefront at right was all I got before he got distracted and started snapping closeups of cars and gravel. Boys.

Like everything in England, the shop was too small and too crowded. That said, they had a huge selection of Rowan and Debbie Bliss, as well as a few English brands I'd never seen before. I picked up about 400 yards of a lovely yarn called Baby Bamboo
that's made in Yorkshire. It's oh-so-soft, and might supplant the Rowan Kid Classic when I finally get around to my Dashings.

So here I am, with enough yarn for 5 projects and only enough brain for one. Tomorrow... Oxford, more tea, and the growing disappointment that this feels remarkably unlike anything in an Austen novel.

Green Tea, anyone?

2007-09-21T22:13:00.001-07:00

Quite possibly the fastest socks in the west, I present:

Green Tea Socks
Pattern: Earl Grey by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Yarn: Knitpicks Risata in Grass
Needles: my new favorite Knitpicks fixed circular, nickel plated brass size 2.75mm, 32"
Mods: My gauge was bigger than the gauge in the pattern (to save my sanity), so I cast on 58 and increased to 60 instead of casting on 70 and increasing to 72. Otherwise, knit as written.

They're for the BIL for Christmas (shhhhh), so they're a bit big for me.

I love how the cables split at the heel and continue down the foot. Such a nice detail!

I started these last Sunday, September 16 and finished them just a few minutes ago, September 21. No joke. Boy socks. In 6 days. I started the second sock on Wednesday night, while Tobin and I watched Resident Evil, and I finished it today, Friday. I'm a reasonably fast knitter, but this lightening speed is unusual, even for me. It's like I was channeling Eunny Jang or something. I guess it was just a perfect combination of fantastic yarn, perfectly written pattern, and a crappy week at work that made these JUST what I needed to get to the weekend.

Next up? Some Highland Schottische Kilt Hose! (shh. I know I said BMP were next... and I still have the Rose on the needles... but the Kilt Hose are calling to me. And I'm using stash yarn, so it's not like they even count.) :)

Quick Update, No pics, but lots of links to keep you busy!

2007-09-19T14:38:00.001-07:00

So, last year for Christmas, I made my best friend (the other one -- the one that isn't KidSSK) a pair of tabi socks. They were made out of Knitpicks Essential, on size 0 needles, and I vowed I would never, ever, EVER make socks for a boy EVER again. EVER. Not that they weren't cool and fun to knit, but holy crapmonkeys -- that's a lot of tiny stitches and a lot of tiny rows.

It turns out, that knitting boy socks on size 1.75 (2.75mm) needles with squishy, fantabulous yarn (yarn that I don't ever want to stop touching. Yarn I want to eat for lunch. Yarn I want to marry.) makes the process go a lot, lot faster!

I started the first sock Sunday afternoon and, after ripping and reknitting the ribbed cuff four or five times before getting the stitch count, ribbing and pattern right all at the same time, I'm just about to start decreasing the toe.

YAY.

Good thing BMP is lined up after Green Tea, in more Risata!

cheerio, but be back soon!

2007-09-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

I'm very pleased to announce that minus a few more inches of lining, Mr. Bones is finished! YAAAAAAAY!

My sincere hope is that I won't need to line on the plane, but no telling how tomorrow will shape up.

Which leads me nicely to my next main point: I'm off to Blighty tomorrow. Off to eat scones and drink tea and woo Harry Potter! Okay, not really... that's just gross.

I prefer crumpets. X-D

I'll be sure to take more detailed pics of Mr. Bones once he's been gifted, as well as post a few notes about my mods. I'll also try to update with any and all knitting adventures that happen while I'm across the pond.

Be sure to check out my other blog for any non-knitting adventures that happen to happen upon me.

Don't think of this as a goodbye. Think of it as a cheerio!

knitting, knitting everywhere

2007-09-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

Stealthy and subtle though she may be, I can feel Fall creeping up on me -- the slight chill in the air that lingers for the first few hours of morning, the irresistible urge to brew pots of tea and bury myself in books and blankets the moment I get home from work, the pumpkins taking their stations in front of local grocery stores, and, of course, the knitting. I'm desperate to wear all of my nearly-forgotten sweaters, and I'm noticing more and more knitted items hitting the streets.

Exhibit A - The Diner Pirate

My hubby and I were grabbing a late breakfast at our favorite local diner yesterday. As we were shown to our table, I saw a few familiar faces: Clearly there have been a few mods, but I'd recognize that face anywhere. Suffice it to say that I could scarcely contain myself. The folks at this table probably thought I was some kind of freak, as I was openly staring and intermittently grinning and clapping. It was just so cool to see a variation of my current project out in the wild, especially given that so few Californians are donning their knitwares just yet.

As for my own Mr. Bones, I'm just one row shy of starting my decreases. Given that I have the luxury of an exact replica head model (as I mentioned in an earlier post, this gift is for my hubby's identical twin), I managed to avoid making the hat disastrously too tall. I mucked around with the pattern a bit, and am starting my decreases 4 rows early. Normally this would mean losing the charming little bones arranged horizontally across the top, so I'm improvising. I'm going to lose the cutsie diamond pattern at the top and do a simple crossed set of bones instead, which ends up looking oddly like a Cross Fourchee. I think it's actually going to turn out quite cool, but I've been wrong three times before. :0)

I told McR on Friday that I needed to make Mr. Bones my constant companion if I'm to beat my looming deadline. Well, I certainly made good on that.

Exhibit B - Affordable Solutions for Better Knitting

The Pigeon (husband) and I did one of my least favorite things yesterday as well. We went to IKEA. IKEA is barely tolerable any day of the week, but going on a Saturday is absolutely soul-destroying. The normally odd crowd was even odder than usual, complete with a couple prowling around the picture frames section dressed in medieval jester costumes.

The Pigeon was after a desk, so I knew I was in for a good twenty minutes or so of waiting. Nothing to do, I thought, but knit. So I knit. At IKEA. In the Nominell office chair, which is incidentally quite comfortable:

Strangely enough, it was the most natural thing I've ever experienced in an IKEA store. And be warned: they now charge you 5 cents per plastic bag. Or you can spring for their 59 cent plastic tote thing (tarp with handles, really). Note that there is no non-paying bag option anymore. Wish I'd known before I was at the register and woefully without other options.

Loksins, c'est fini!

2007-09-16T11:59:00.001-07:00

The Loksins are finished!

Stats:

Pattern: Loksins by Cassandra Thorseson
Yarn: Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks Superwash Merino/Tencel in "Reds"
Needles: Knitpicks nickel-plated brass fixed circular US 2 (2.75mm), 32"
Started: September 7, 2007 Finished: September 16, 2007
Mods: Used a slightly larger needle than called for (simply because my size 1 was already on another project), did a slip-stitch heel instead of a plain heel, decreased to 24 stitches and grafted the toe, added 3/4" 1X1 ribbing at the cuff.

Notes: These are for my mom, for Christmas. One down... many to go! I LOVED this pattern and would totally knit it again. I added some ribbing to the top because I prefer ribbing on socks to a garter stitch cuff, which looks unfinished to me. I also did a snug, slipped-stitch heel because I like how it wears better than a plain heel. These went really fast, and the pattern was easily memorized. There's just enough of a challenge to the lace bits to keep you from getting bored, but it's only an 8 row repeat, so it's not too taxing on the brain. The first one took almost a week to finish, but the second sock flew off of my needles. I started it last Thursday night around 7 and finished it this morning. Turns out that second sock syndrome wasn't a problem after all.

I'm totally on a sock kick now -- Time to cast on Earl Grey for the BIL!

Finished!

2007-09-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

Finally finished my Dashing and Coachella!! Yeah, I know, it took forever. I still need to block them but they're done! Now it just has to get a bit cooler so I can wear them. The bamboo tape I used for the Coachella is actually pretty warm. While I love the feel of it, I with I used a lighter yarn. Ah well. I'll post pictures eventually.

First Socks-CHECK!

2007-09-12T21:04:00.001-07:00

They're done:
Start Date: July 16, 2007
End Date: September 12, 2007 (with lots of projects in between :) )
Pattern: Sweatpea from Knitty
Method: Magic Loop (I learned ML on these socks!)
Yarn: Regia Silk Sock Yarn

Mods:

I didn't like the toe of the first one, which had me pull the tail through the remaining 12 stitches. So learned how to do Kitchener Stitch for the second one and liked it much better but then I had this:

So I ripped out the toe of the first one and now they match. And oh how do they match!

The first sock took me a good while to do. It was my first sock and we had some heartache. The second one? I started 2 weeks ago at Knitting Group at Nine Rubies, I didn't knit it at all over either weekend, mostly train knitting and I finished in 2 weeks. YAY. Oh and Kitchener stitch is the way to go!!!

Just for fun, here's a picture of me. I was trying to get the socks...I missed:

I've been too busy knitting to blog...

2007-09-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

See?

I'm halfway finished with Autumn Rose's body. Finished the waist decreases, and I'm working on the increases now. Two Rose repeats down, three or four to go... This pattern is really fun to knit but have to say, getting to those intermediate, red stripes is a nice brain break.

I also cast on the Loksins!

I'm using Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks superwash merino/tencel in the colorway "reds" (it's actually a lot mor pink and sort of mauve, but whatever).

I love this pattern. It's easy to memorize, and it moves along with satisfying swiftness, after the agonizing (though addictive) slowness of the Rose. I'm doing these a little differently from most of the socks I knit, as KBull pointed out to me the other day: Top down. One at a time. It's nice not to have balls of yarn tangling hopelessly around each other, but I'm still nervous that I'll fall prey to my terrible case of Second Sock Syndrome, but the fact that these are a Christmas present for my mom will hopefully keep me going.

pardon me... I seem to have misplaced my october?

2007-09-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

My Pirate is coming along just swimmingly, despite the superfluous rows. Here's the latest pic I have, but I've done a whole skull repeat since it was taken:

Were I making it for myself instead of my large-headed brother-in-law, I'd be able to start my decreases and skip the third skull repeat. Alas, I need to cover the whole of his massive nugget.

Things I'm noticing:

I dig the taller skulls resulting from my accidental repeat.
A lot of my green stitches are hiding, and will need to be fluffed out when I block. Wonder if that means I'm pulling too tightly?

McR and I attended The Singularity Summit this weekend in San Francisco... and by "attended" I mean we accompanied our very geeky men-folk, tuned in and out as we saw fit (some of it was very interesting and some of it made me want to punch people in the throat to stop them from ever uttering another syllable), and got a whole lot of knitting done. Despite two full rows of tinking I managed to accomplish quite a bit, and I even made some progress on my mostly-moribund Sizzle and Glee projects.

Tantalizingly soon, I'll be able to turn my attention to my very first sock: Le Widdershins. My goal is to complete it for my mom's birthday in November. Last night I had a complete freak-out about my ability to finish it in time, because I conveniently forgot about the existence of October.

"Let's see... so I'll work on it while I'm in England... and I get back the 26th... and then I'll have to send it very soon to get it to her by the 6th. Crap, I hope I can wrap it up in a week..." *panic attack*

It wasn't until I got to work today and started grilling Kbull about what she wants for her birthday (also in November) that I worked out my error. Must needs new brainz, pleez.

Didn't get much knitting done...

2007-09-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

But I did transform my kitchen! To completely respect what this means. I moved in to this (September 2005):

We then embarked on painting the cabinets (which took about 6 months) and my kitchen looked like this (November 2006):

And then we got the floors and countertops redone but didn't do the backsplash and it looked like this (January 2007):

And then the microwave broke. We took it down sent it back and got a new one but decided not to put it back up until the backsplash was done. We went through many different revs of what we wanted to do for the backsplash until we (or more like Shaun) decided to do blackboard with a stripe of purple. Which resulted in my kitchen looking like this Sunday night:

Easter Egg:

Yes, it's bad. Our friends Josh and Parish came over and confirmed how bad it was. And then they saved our asses. You see, Josh is an artist and works with colors all day long. Parish is in school for interior design. They had the perfect color for us. Which is when our kitchen turned to this (Yesterday):

I lurve it. It's beautius. We're so close to being done. Next weekend we're going and picking out a tile border for where the wall meets the countertop and then-it's finally fucking done!!!

OH, I did do something knitterly. I organized my stash:

Top drawer is projects I'm either working on or that are in my queue for the near future:

Bottom drawer is yarn that I have no idea what to do with yet or is not going to happen in the next few months:

I also organized my needles:

So this feeling of not getting anything done? Is really stoopid.

I Have a New Love...

2007-09-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

... and her name is Lacy. Here she is:

aww. Isn't she sweet? When I first got her, I wasn't so sure. We had to get to know each other, and it was a bit painful. Our first outing together looked a bit like cat sick.

So I moved on to another love. Her name is Rose. Here's her sleeve:

But then, I thought I should give Lacy another chance. We really hadn't spent very much time together after all. And now, I'm head over heels. Rose has been a bit neglected, but look! I made yarn!

I took the roving that Tobin brought me from Estonia, and spun it into singles. Then, I plied two of the bobbins together, and it made the bottom skein, with the colors of red twisted around each other. The other two bobbins I navajo-plied to preserve the striping of the yarn a bit more.

Now I'm spinning up the pound of grey wool that I got when I bought Lacy. We're getting along famously now! I'm hoping to spin that into enough worsted 2-ply to knit myself a hemlock ring blanket.

Rose goes everywhere with me, and hopefully that time in public together is enough for her for now, because when I'm at home? All I want is to be with Lacy.

One Down, One to Go

2007-08-30T08:28:00.001-07:00

Finished Moss Grid Handtowel

When I dried it, it got all wrinkly. I think I need to dry it with other towels.

Here are close ups:

Un-blocked:

Blocked (and wrinkly):

It did tighten up quite drastically in the wash.

Start Date: August 19, 2007
End Date: August 30, 2007

Yarn: Louet Euroflax Originals-1 100g skein
Needles: Sz 5 Addi Turbos

Mods: I could only do 10 pattern repeats vs. the 12 that the pattern called for with the amount of yarn I had. It turned out long enough though so I'm happy.

Notes: This is a quick knit and the pattern varies enough so that it's not boring to knit a square. The pattern is easy but written horribly. I ripped back at least 5 times because I was confused by the pattern. Now that I have the pattern memorized by heart I could probably whip one of these out in a week. That's a good thing since I'm making this one a mate to give to my sister-in-law for her birthday on September 25th. First I have to finish the mate to this:

which is a birthday present for my sister. Her birthday is on the 17th of September. I cast on last night and I'm on the first part of the pattern. It's going much faster than this one did :)

cap'n! she's run aground!

2007-08-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

Ah, the sea... she's a cruel mistress.

After dinner, I sat down for a little pre-soccer-game knitting. I pulled out the skull-a-riffic chart, gave my marking Post-it note a reinforcing rub, and tucked into the next row. About 10 stitches in I felt that something was amiss. "Woah! This is totally the wrong row! I almost skipped an entire row!"

Glad that I discovered my mistake only 10 stitches into the row of 128, I tinked my way back to the beginning. *phew* After adjusting the Post-it (silly, slippy Post-it!), I tucked in yet again.

... Fast forward to stitch 116.

"Humph. Funny how I'm knitting the same sequence as the previous row, like, almost the whole time. Oh... actually for all of these stitches. And those ones too...? Funny, I didn't really notice that in the chart. And don't really see it in the chart now, either..."

And, uhm, yes. I did not, in fact, almost skip a row. Rather, I almost didn't make the mistake of repeating the last row I'd knit. But instead I did make that mistake. In fact, I made a huge, conscious point of making that mistake. Hooray for me!

Most fortunately, I've thoroughly scrutinized the pattern and think I can get away with repeating this particular row. It'll just make my skulls a bit taller (adding a row between the nose hole and the eyes). It will also turn my diamonds a bit wonky and create an irregular square on the border at a regular interval. I think so long as it's consistent I'll be okay. Plus I'm making it my own. And pirates aren't governed by rules. *additional disclaimers and justifications as well!*

Due to brother-in-law's aforementioned large head, I think the resulting extra three rows will be okay. Oh, did I say extra three rows? I meant extra two rows. Because although the skull pattern repeats three times, I inexplicably left out a solid row of main color knitting early on in the pattern. I think I was just overly excited to get going on all that fair isle goodness.

Lessons learned:

stockinette is rolly, and those stitches on your needles really do count as a row
don't be so excited to start the fun part of a pattern that you forget a crucial boring part (my skulls are growing directly out of an ornamental border now, like some sort of preternatural Viking overlords)
pirates don't need rules

Aaaaaaaaaaaaar!

bootees and photos and pirates, oh my!

2007-08-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

First up, I finished the bootees. Super cute and very easy, but I have two complaints:

button loops are very flimsy (or at least mine were with the Baby Ull).
no advice was given on how to seam... I would have loved to know what technique the designer used.

If I had it all to do over again, I think I'd stop at the right strap and make these into lil' Mary Janes. I'm not thrilled with the criss-cross straps, because I think it puts emphasis on the gaps where I cast on the strap stitches.

All that said, they are still mighty cute:

In other news, I cast on We Call Them Pirates (a Hello Yarn freebie). This is my first fair isle effort, and it's superfun. Observe the fun:

I had to put in an emergency call to McR to learn how to do invisible/provisional cast on. I tried to muddle through with the videos on KnittingHelp.com, but this was the first and only time that lovely Ms. Finlay confuzzled me with her technique. McR suggested the technique described in the unfortunately dated-looking Knitting from the Top she loaned me some months back, and that made a lot more sense to me. It was this nifty little wrist flick movement that went very quickly, and it didn't even result in twisted stitches like the KH.com method. I may have been doing something wrong, as I found the cast-on very loose to work, but I was able to tighten it up as I knit onto it.

I'm lurving the Cascade 220. It's so sturdy and forgiving, and it's making my first experience with colorwork a breeze. Let's just hope my brother-in-law's massive head is going to fit (I'm allowed to say that because I'm married to his identical twin, whom I love beyond the measure of his huge head... plus it doesn't look huge... and while I'm still in the parens, I'd like to add that Anthony should under no circumstance go ruining his birthday surprise by snooping around). Otherwise I'll have to shrink it to normal human size and keep it for myself.

*mwaahahaha*

Last but not least, I finally updated Ravelry with all my sexy stash photos. I had way, way too much fun taking those.

Yarn porn. Total yarn porn.

holy complicated clan, batman

2007-08-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

Bwoof. So I had this idea about making my grandmother (Irish-born) an Aran sock for Christmas. Then I had another idea about how neat it would be to somehow fashion it after the Moran clan sweater (Moran is her maiden name).

Well... that was until I saw the damn sweater pattern:

That would be one busy, textured sock!

Gift Update

2007-08-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

Sweatpea socks for my sister-1 done and 1 to go. Her birthday is in a little over 3 weeks, so I'd better get cracking!

Linen Hand Towel fro my SIL-1/4 done of 1, 1 and 3/4 to go. This, I'm hoping, will be a pretty fast knit now that I've deciphered the pattern. The pattern is easy but the way they wrote it up is super confusing! I think I'm done tinking for now.

Modern Log Cabin Baby Blanket for childhood friend-it's going along swimingly. I'm going to have NO troubles finishing this by January. YAY! Or even December as I imagine that Lisa will be here for the holidays (but maybe not since she'll be 3 weeks from her due date...hmmmm)

Anything for me? Well I cast on the stockings again but that's about it. I want to focus on the socks and hand towels before I do anything for me =D

too booteelicious

2007-08-21T23:42:00.000-07:00

i made you a bootee...

...but I eated it.

Seriously. My impulse is to eat this thing rather than to make another. So cute! Off to knit the second one...

I'm in! I'm IN!

2007-08-20T15:53:00.001-07:00

That sounds vaguely dirty. SF will know what I'm talking about. Think "cow tunnel."

Not to rub it in or anything, but I got my Ravelry invitation today! SQUEE! I should really be working since I'm, well, at work, but instead I'm adding books and yarn and projects! *click* *click* *click*

I love the interface so far. It's easy to use (SF and KB can comment on the finer points of the UI very soon!), and is so comprehensive! It's obvious to me already that this site is designed by knitters who are just about as obsessive as me. It's organized in the same way as my knitting brain! Except it's, you know, organized.

I can't wait to go home and start adding all of my projects!

It looks like they're really stepping up the invites, so I KNOW all of the skeinks will be on there in no time, and when you are, look me up! i'm knittingadrienne.

woo hoo!

knitty and the geek

2007-08-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

Bad thing: Despite my near certainty that I had a game tonight, upon my arrival at the soccer arena, fully decked out in uniform, I discovered that I did not . Boo.

Good thing: The Knucks are DONE! Wheeeeeee! As per my geeky husband's request, there are two Lisp commands on the front and a set of parens on the inside of each thumb. Not sure which of us is the bigger loser, really.

This is no small feat, especially given my sentiments earlier this week:

"I swear to the knitting gods, I'm about to retire. These Knucks have
given me nothing but heartache, and it's taking every ounce of my self
control not to burn them, buy new yarn, and start fresh...

My ribbing is way too loose. There is no snug taper whatsoever, and I'm
noticing that this Rowan Wool Cotton doesn't snap back as much as some
other yarns. Even less so post-blocking...

I was contemplating trying to find some very thin elastic and weaving it lightly through the top and bottom of the ribbing. I was also thinking of burning the MOFO. Instead of FOs I get MOFOs. Why is that?"

Things worth sharing:

I'm happy to report that my crazy elastic idea actually worked. I used Stretch-Rite elastic sewing thread, and it pulled the ribbing together very nicely. The gloves are still a bit looser than I'd like, but my husband's reaction to this concern was, "Pish."
I didn't use any of the recommended embroidery techniques. I used this one, which I found very easy and quick: http://community.livejournal.com/weasleysweaters/104527.html. The only step I skipped was the paper printout. It felt more hassle than it was worth given that I was just doing letters. I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised at how fast the letters took shape... it only took me about 2 hours to do. The gloves were ready before his birthday (tomorrow), which was my ultimate goal. You can see that he managed to get them early. :0)

I'm somewhat paralyzed by the freedom to start anything I want now. As luck would have it, the two things I most want to start require needles that are still in the mail: a Widdershins sock for my mom (two of them, even!) and the Saartje's booties that everyone and their sister seems to be knitting at present. Alas.

I feel like this FO in particular is a small step for knitting-kind, but a giant step for Snoop Frog.

I Has a Stocking!

2007-08-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had MOST of a stocking:
and today, I have a WHOLE stocking!

(Sorry it's sideways... can't figure out why or how to turn it around... the original was fine.)

This stocking went lightning fast. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

I'll make a full report when I'm done with the pair, but I have to go cast on the second one now...

LURVE!!

KBULL Tinkerbell Titus

2007-08-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

A middle name has been added. It boosts my street cred, right?

The story behind the new name:

Saturday-I'm done with the snowflake pattern on the Norwegian Stockings and onto the pink colorwork. I was about 8 rows in when it became evident that I had made a mistake and this wasn't a mistake like the first (wrong color stripe) or the second (read the pattern the wrong way and didn't include a stripe) that could each just be my own interpretation of the pattern. Oh no, this was a snowflake that looked like a pile of poo. Tink. Tink. Tink. Oh this yarn isn't easy to get back on the needles. Tink. Tink. Tink. Oh crap it really isn't easy to get back on the needles TINK TINK TINK. Until all I had left was 3 piles of badly tangled yarn and no stocking. It was sad. Adrienne and Elaina both witnessed the horror, they can attest. It was no fun.

Sunday-Working on the log cabin thinking I'm a genius because I figured out a way NOT to do intarsia and still make the blankie look good. OH one problem as I was picking up a stitch (vertically mind you) at the end of the row I didn't take into account that I was adding a stitch every row. Didn't figure it out until the "square" was done. Tink. Tink. Tink.

Monday-Working on the Sweet Pea socks, turning the heel, listening to Adrienne's voice in my head saying "trust the pattern, trust the pattern". Well then how come the pattern is telling me to knit when there's nothing left to knit? OH it seems I mis-read the pattern. Trust the pattern but don't trust your reading skills, right, I forgot. I don't k2tog, tbl, k1. I k2tog tbl (no comma), k1. Tink. Tink. Tink.

The bad news? I tinked alot.
The good news? I know how I messed up and fixed it on everything except the stockings, which I'll tackle after the socks (a gift) are done.
The even better news? I have a new middle name KBULL Tinkerbell Titus.

It has a nice ring to it, no?

It's too good not to post

2007-08-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

KBULL, m.c. rib, and Snoop Frog looking HAWT.

One down...

2007-08-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

I finished the left glove of my pair of Dashing last night while watching the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie! (I must say I preferred the live action movies better. I mean, TMNT 2 had Vanilla Ice in it!!) I fixed my problem of holes around the base of the thumb by picking up stitches in better locations and knitting looser. Feeling somewhat proud of myself, I immediately started the second glove to prevent the one glove syndrome.
Hurray for productivity!

Edit: Oh, the magic loop was great for the thumb too!

magic loop: p0wned

2007-08-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely, I'm beating those Knucks into submission. I even have a grand plan to eradicate the chubby webbing and save the Quasimodo pinkie from certain doom. More on "the plan" once I've utterly failed at executing it. :0b

Last night I finally reached the point where I'm supposed to do my final ribbing on the cuff of each glove (the textured cuff doesn't feel quite manly enough for my hubby). I have a lot of trouble doing continental on double points, and the idea of doing English-style ribbing on two ten-point monsters wasn't all that appealing. As such, I decided to give magic loop a try for the first time. I adopted a "leave no glove behind" attitude, so I decided to transfer both gloves to a 60" circular and do all the rounds together. Part of me thought I was a little mad for being so ambitious, but I am, after all, from the street.

I transferred my stitches, wound up two beautifully manageable little center-pull balls, and went in for the kill. And you know what? I did really well. Not only did I find the magic loop thing pretty intuitive, but I've gotten good enough at continental that I'm able to do ribbing pretty quickly (quickly for me, mind you... Glampyre can still knit me into a full-body cocoon in the time it takes me to do one round). Finally! My general aptitude for things has applied to something in the knitting world. w00t!

can't get no satisfaction

2007-08-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Dangit, dangit, dangit.

I spent an hour or so tonight working on the Knucks. Just 18 more rounds per glove before I go into the final ribbing. I'm hoping to dust those off this weekend during our "Knitterday", during which we'll be watching Clueless and Jane Eyre. God, I love my friends.

Just as a gesture, I decided to knit a row on the Sizzle. I don't want the poor thing to languish. At the end of my row, I reached for my handy-dandy kacha kacha. To my horror, it had somehow ticked itself off a row in my knitting bag, thus raping me of the exquisite delight of hearing that "kacha kacha" sound.

I retire this evening feeling wholly and utterly dissatisfied.

my cheating heart

2007-08-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

Madly in love with her though I may be, my little KBull didn't prime me for success. I fear I won't be posting an FO any time soon. I'm trudging ever-so-slowly through my current projects, and feeling a bit mentally defeated by Ye Olde Knucks. I'm about 4/5ths of the way through, but I'm so dreading the embroidery that I've started to drag my feet a bit. Add to that a very keen frustration at dealing with the "gaps between the fingers" that Ms. Grossman talks about so nonchalantly in her pattern. Indeed. Now the gloves have big, fat webbing in-between the fingers... all because of my clumsy stitching efforts. A renewed interest in reading isn't helping matters much.

As such, I decided to cheat and post a picture of my last FO. Mwaaahahahahahahahahaaaaa!

In all fairness, this will be the last stuffed toy I knit for a great long while. And he's lovely, really... isn't he? He needs to have his time to shine, bless his little bunny heart.

Pattern details:

The Bunster's pattern came from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. Note that at two weeks to complete there was nothing last-minute about it, but at least I made my deadline. This was in the 6 to 8 hour gift section of the book (divided by time...genius!), but with the frog factor it took me more along the order of 14 hours to finish.

I substituted the altogether lovely but ridiculously expensive Blue Sky Alpaca sportweight (doubled!) with non-doubled Rowan Calmer that knit up to the same gauge. I used Calm for the main and Sugar for the ears. It wasn't so much the expense that drove me to choose another yarn as the fact that the recipient is an infant. If it turns out that this baby latches onto Bunster (e.g. drools and vomits on, drags around, etc.) I want it to be washable for mom & dad. Also, alpaca can be kinda itchy for some folks.

Other variations: I knit most of this on a set of double-points rather than on two circulars like it suggests. This was only slightly more confusing during the increase and decrease rounds, but not too terrible. I also discovered that something I heard speculated on KnittingHelp.com is true: if one double-point is one size smaller or larger than the rest, it does not show up in the work. Neato, huh?

Lastly, I stuffed the bunny with scrap yarn rather than getting filler. The consistency is great, but you can see the color of the yarn through the work. Keep that in mind if you're thinking of doing something similar. I used a reddish-maroon yarn, and my husband quickly pointed out that it was "like guts". Which he thought was cool.

As a final touch, Bunster's "tatt" is custom-work, too. Cause he's all street.

sytycd, stockings, cats

2007-08-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know I said I'd post fo pics and flash some stash for my girls, but instead, I spent the evening watching So You Think You Can Dance (LOVE that Sabra!!!) and working on this:
I love colorwork! It's going really fast, and it's easier than I thought it would be to keep the tension even.

Here's a slightly closer-up pic:
I'm using the technique described by She Ewe Knits. The pattern color is in my left hand, continental style, and the background color is in my right hand, English style. I tried to do Eunny's way, holding both yarns in my left hand, and that was... um... not pretty.

Oh, and the number one reason to mark the beginning of the round, even though you KNOW you'll never miss it? I only did half of the last round of ribbing before I started the colorwork. Oh well. With something like 8 rows/inch, who's going to notice?

Will flash stash tomorrow... if I can step away from the stockings.

My First Christms FO*

2007-08-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

What: House Hat from Charmed Knits
Cast On: July 19, 2007
Cast Off: August 7, 2007
Mods: None

I'm a Gryfyffindor and PROUD of it!

I'm making three of these beanies for my 3 nephews. The next one will be mainly red with 2 small yellow stripes and the last one will be stripy but starting with yellow instead.

This is a good mindless project. It was my first with any color work (and I know this isn't really color work) but I did have to figure out how to carry the yarn up the back. I had issues at first, it kept coming out the front of the knitting...but I finally figured it out. YAY! Fun to do, easy to do, and quick to do. While this was on the needles I finished the CPH, almost finished my first sock, and started my first log cabin. This is the best kind of Christmas knitting!

Oh and my husband is the biggest ham ever! I asked him to be my model and he agreed BUT only after he got on his robes (read: a black hoodie), he posed with his Nimbus 2000 (read: a broom), and he smiled like a goober:

Hi! I'm a goober!

NO REALLY. A BIG Goober!!!

I actually learned and practiced Continental on this one. I can safely say that it is faster. I can also safely say that I need to work on my grasp on my right hand because it hurts my hand.

It fits well.

I love the detail on the top.

Hello uneven stitches

Can't wait to block it! Now it's off to start my first real colorwork. The Norwegian Stockings!

I also got the Fall Issue of Interweave yesterday. I'm in love. I physically hugged it a few times yesterday!!

*For those non Knitters a FO is a "Finished Object" And this isn't technically a finished object since I still need to weave in the ends and block it but hey-it's August and Christmas is 5 months away!!!

Ma Would Be So Proud

2007-08-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

It's finished! My first sweater, my first cable project is DONE! I'm so excited and proud. I'm wearing the thing even though it's 100% wool and it's like 70 degrees out.

My grandma (who we called Ma) was an amazing knitter. I would sit and watch for hours while she knit. I always wanted to know how to do it but I was a little too uncoordinated as a kid to pick it up. I could crochet but knitting always eluded me. About 2 and half years ago I was given a "Learn to Knit" kit from a friend. I picked it up
Well I screwed the courage up to knit the Central Park Hoodie from the Fall 2006 KnitScene. I used 4 skeins of Araucania Nature Wool in teal. It's a beautiful hand died wool that was great to knit with and showed the cables off nicely.

Start Date: May 2, 2007
End Date: July 29, 2007

CPH and my new cute hair

2 comments

Mods: I knit the button band in one piece and hated it. The natural variegation of the yarn flipped from being horizontal to vertical on the ribbing for button band and it broke the sweater up and made a very flattering piece very unflattering. So I ripped out the button band (ripping 312 bound off stitches IS NOT FUN). Re-Knit the ribbing on the hood and then knit 2 pieces 10 stitches (7 in stockinette, 3 in garter to stop it from rolling). I also knit a one row button hole vs. the 2 row that was called for in the pattern.

CPH Back

I love the cabling and I love the color!

CPH Front

That picture doesn't do it justice-it's really quite slimming.

CPH Back 1

My cables don't look like someone on crack did them (not that I'm on crack)!!! I can really knit! YAY!

During the construction of this sweater I discovered my love of mattress stitch-it's ingenious!!! It lets you seam things together without seeing a seam-SO COOL!

I'm so glad it's done. Now excuse me while I go swelter in this sweater.

The Itty Bitty Knitting Group Blogs!!!

2007-08-09T12:34:00.001-07:00

Knitting posts coming to you soon, from:

-m.c. rib||-||-||
-lil' purl
-Snoop Frog ~~~@
-KBULL ::8::8::
-kidmonkey
-TnQ (Thick 'n Quick)