knits

Baby's first magic cast on!

2012-01-23T12:21:00.006-05:00

Since I am currently obsessed with knitting socks, I decided it's time that I try to knit some toe-up. Yesterday I grabbed some lovely yarn and did my first magic cast on! Yay! Observe:

The CO itself really wasn't that hard, but it was a little challenging to knit the first few rows because the stitches were pretty tight. I followed these instructions from Knitty, as recommended in the pattern I got from an old issue of Interweave Knits - Knotty or Knice Socks.

However, on the sad side, I think I may end up abandoning these socks because the cable pattern is already getting on my nerves and I haven't even made it through one repeat. Maybe I will rip it out, but try to preserve the toe and pick another toe-up pattern. Here is what I have done so far.

It feels like a shame to rip this out, especially since I'm so proud of my cast on. I'm really undecided because the finished socks look so cute and I could really use more experience with cables, but on the other hand, I'm not really in the mood for a "hurts so good" project right now.

FO: Hearts Baby Blanket

2012-01-14T12:17:00.007-05:00

Oh, how I loathe making baby blankets... but I love them so much when they are finished!! I think this is my cutest one yet!

And here is a close up of the trim and heart pattern:

yarn details

Berroco Comfort in Pretty in Pink (9705)

Worsted Weight

50% Nylon, 50% Acrylic

dye lot V1532

Machine wash on gentle cycle in warm water. No bleach. Tumble dry on low heat. Do not over dry. Do not iron.

$?? per 100 g /210 yd ball

project details
pattern: "Lace Heart Chains Baby Blanket" by Regina Fulton, available as a $4 Ravelry download at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lace-heart-chains-baby-blanket
size: one size - measures 39'' long x 34'' wide (with trim)
needles: size 8 knit picks options nickle-plated circulars for blanket, size 7 aluminum straight needles for trim
gauge: 17 st x 27 rows over 4'' in heart chain pattern
yarn used: 4.87 skeins (1022 yards)
time span: June 25, 2011 to November 6, 2011

notes

The lace trim was knit separately and sewn on at the end using whip stitch... what a pain in the ass! But it really looks great - lots better than a knit-on trim would have looked. And it was a good learning experience.
The lace pattern was kind of hard to get the hang of because the stitch counts shift with each repeat so you can't use stitch markers. To keep my sanity, I place a life line every 10 rows... luckily I never had to use them! Twenty-four life lines in a single baby blanket might seem a bit excessive, but it's really easy to throw in a life life when you are knitting with interchangeable circulars because you can just thread a piece of thread or floss into the hole at the base of the needle and then knit the row as usual. So I figure, the more the merrier.

I blame the Wraith

2012-01-08T11:46:00.004-05:00

As we all know, the first rule of Kitchener stitch is that it requires your complete attention. That is why I only have myself to blame for the boo boo I made while grafting up the toe of my latest pair of socks. Observe:

Was I knitting under the influence? In a sense. I happened to be watching a particularly intense episode of Stargate Atlantis and apparently slipped as if to purl when I should have slipped as if to knit. Shame on me for not paying closer attention to what I was doing!

I have decided to leave it as it is, because I'm afraid I'll do more damage than good if I try to rip it out and start over. The rogue purl stitches on my toes will forever serve as a stern reminder to never underestimate the power of the Kitchener and the cardinal rule to turn the TV off before you attempt. Lesson learned.

FO: Mini Mitten Ornaments!

2011-12-10T12:02:00.005-05:00

I made this darling mitten ornament one rainy day this November. My mom gives ornaments to her grandchildren every year and I was originally going to make her some little sweater ornaments for each of the kids but that turned out to be a really bad idea... so I was going to knit up a bunch of other little ornaments like these mini mittens, only to find out that she purchased ornaments this year (somehow she must have sensed I would not follow through on my knitted ornament promise - which is fair, frankly, ha ha).

Here's a pic:

and to give you an idea of what the size of these are, here I am modeling them:

I used Knit Picks Palette yarn in Cyan and Custard and size 1 bamboo dpn needles. The pattern is a free Ravelry download, available at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mini-mitten-ornaments. They only took a few hours to complete and were a very fun knit.

FO: Jaywalker Part Deux

2011-12-10T11:39:00.007-05:00

I loved the Jaywalkers that I made my mom so much that I decided I had to make a pair for myself. Of course, since they were for me I could go pretty wild with the color scheme and chose this awesome rainbow Felici yarn from knit picks. This is the same type of yarn I used on my mom's socks and I'm really happy with it! It's super soft with no breaks or knots so the stripes come out nice and even. Love this pattern too!

yarn details

Knit Picks Felici in Afternoon

Fingering Weight

75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon

dye lot 61610

Machine wash/Tumble dry low

$4.49 per 50 g /218 yd ball

project details
pattern: "Jaywalker" by Grumperina, available as a free Ravelry download http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jaywalker#
size: small (measures 9.5'' from cuff to heel and 8.75'' heel to toe)
needles: size 2 bamboo dpns
gauge: 32 st x 48 rows over 4'' in stockinette
yarn used: 1.62 skeins (about 353 yards)
time span: May 6, 2011 - August 20, 2011

notes

to make the stripes match up I was careful to start each sock at the beginning of the same color repeat - this meant I wasted a few yards of yarn at the beginning of the skeins, but I think it was worth it for the nice matching look. (My mom's stripes didn't match, but I think that looked okay because they were more monochromatic).
I did a longer leg on these than I did on my mom's socks to show off the stripes. (Even though by the measurements it looks like I used less yarn on this one than I did on the other ones. That's because on my mom's socks I measured the amount of yarn left over whereas here I measured the amount of yarn actually used... it makes sense if you think about it.)

I don't heart finishing

2011-10-23T12:00:00.003-04:00

I'm done knitting the edging to the baby blanket! Yay! Now for the dreaded finishing. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate finishing? Ha ha.

Here is a pic. It's gonna take me FOREVER to sew this edging on... but it will look SO cute!!

Milestone!

2011-09-26T07:06:00.001-04:00

I finished knitting the main body of the baby blanket! Yay! Now all that's left is to make the edging and attach it. Not really looking forward to that part, but at least this means no more awful K4tog row 7!

The World's Biggest Socks!

2011-09-09T14:08:00.004-04:00

Behold my giant freak show socks:

(hand included for scale... and to show off my pretty manicure)

So, I keep thinking these socks are going to be way too big, but then I try them on Eric and they aren't too bad. So, I am carrying on with knitting the freakishly large socks. I've never knit men's socks before - maybe they are supposed to look this way?? I'm hoping in the end I won't regret my decision to keep going at this size. But I have gauge! And they do fit! It's definitely a looser fit, but I honestly think Eric will like them better that way.

Wish me luck.

Updates

2011-08-27T10:48:00.004-04:00

Here are a few updates on my projects:

1. I finished up my latest pair of jaywalkers last weekend - FO post to come! (You know, in like 5 months...)

2. I am almost 3/4 of the way through the main body of my baby blanket! Yay! I will be really happy when I am done with this main lace part, though I'm sort of dreading the sew-on border. I suck at that kind of stuff. Nevertheless, I shall be fearless and forge ahead! Here is a pic of my progress (sans Roxy):

3. And here is a picture of what I have done with Eric's socks so far: (Not much)

I was right...

2011-08-18T07:14:00.004-04:00

I was right, those socks were way too big! I finished the top ribbing and had him try it on and there was at least a good inch of slack, even around the widest part of his calf. This is a little frustrating because I took the time to do a gauge swatch and I still had fit problems! Arg! Anyway, I had trouble deciding between going down a needle size or keeping the size 2 needles and going with the pattern instructions for a smaller size. I ultimately decided to keep the needles and knit the next size down. I spent all night reknitting the cuff and had Eric try it on again and it fits much better. It is still just slightly loose but I think he will prefer a looser fitting sock. As much as it sucked to start over, I guess the one good thing is that I got to fix my cast on mistake and do a cable cast on this time. All's well that ends well, I suppose.

The Socks of Love

2011-08-17T06:59:00.003-04:00

Monday night I casted on a fresh pair of socks (more Jaywalkers!). I'm knitting these for Eric, which is kind of funny because there is a well-known hesitancy among knitters to knit something for your significant other because it could lead to the collapse of your entire relationship. (You worked really hard on it + he never wears it = he doesn't appreciate you.... and so on). Anyway, Eric was quite insistent that I make him these socks and I warned him that he'd have to wear them, so we'll see how it goes...

I'm knitting this pair on nickle plated needles instead of bamboo like all the other pairs. There is no particular reason for the switch, other than that I'm just a little bored with the bamboo needles and wanted a change of pace. I swatched it out because I was afraid I'd have a much tighter gauge on the metal needles but there was no difference.

So far I only have a few rows of the ribbing done and these look really big. I've never knit men's socks before so maybe they are really supposed to be that big? I'm going to have Eric try them on after I get a few more rows into it to make sure I'm on the right track. I already made one minor goof in that I used a long-tail cast on instead of a cable cast on, which I usually use for socks because it is a little stretchier. I considered starting over when I realized what I had done but, like I said, these look like they are running on the loose side so I'm not overly concerned about a tight cast on. Also, I might have to start over anyway if they are too big so I'm just going to let it ride for now. Hopefully I won't come to regret that decision down the road!

FO: Classy Socks #2

2011-08-15T16:07:00.007-04:00

These are the socks from hell. I started making them back in December and I thought they were going to be a relatively quick knit. I had worked through this pattern before and didn’t experience too many difficulties. The only difference was that this time I was going to use circular needles and magic loop instead of dpns. Well, I don’t know what my problem was but I had nothing but trouble with these suckers!! Soon after I started, I was overcome with the feeling that I was knitting and knitting but I never seemed to get anywhere. Well, this is because my gauge was SUPER tight and I had to do almost double the pattern repeats as I did on my last version of these socks! The fabric is seriously so thick that they can pretty much stand up by themselves! I think that was the most frustrating thing about these socks – how slow they moved along. Plus, I was making them for my mom but it became rapidly apparent that she was never going to fit in them, so I decided they would be mine and I would give her a different pair I was working on.

I should have given up on these babies when I was ¼ way through the first sock and realized how much I hated them, but I am too stubborn for that. That is one area where I really need to grow as a knitter – to know when it is time to cut my losses. I’m not saying that I shouldn’t take on a challenge, but I often find myself knitting something I hate or that I know won’t fit, just because I’m too stubborn to quit. Lesson learned. Thank you red socks for showing me the way.

yarn details
Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Gypsy
Fingering Weight
75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon
dye lot 9597
Machine Washable/Tumble Dry Low
$9.99 per 100 g /462 yd skein

project details
pattern: "Classy Slip-Up Socks" by Betsy Lee McCarthy in the book Knit Socks!
size: one-size (women's large)
needles: size 1 nickel circulars
yarn used: 356 yards (77% of a skein)
time span: December 14, 2010 – July 29, 2011

notes

IMPORTANT PATTERN MODIFICATION: on rounds 2, 3, and 4 the pattern tells you to start with one knit or purl stitch and then slip the next stitch, etc., etc., then end the round with two knit or purl stitches. This creates an ugly jog. Instead, start the rounds with the slipped stitch and end with three purls/knits. The slipped stitch hides the jog.

FO: Jaywalkers

2011-08-15T15:41:00.009-04:00

The knitters on Ravelry.com have knitted Grumperina’s Jaywalker socks 8,570 times… and I can see why! I love, love, LOVE the pattern. It is super easy to memorize and is no more mentally tasking than just knitting plain stockinette, but the resulting socks are so much more impressive! My favorite thing about this pattern is that it’s easy to find your place when you pick up the project so it’s really something that you can keep in your bag and peck away at a few minutes at a time on the bus, in waiting rooms, on your lunch break, etc.

The only thing that I don’t like about these socks is that I ended up giving them away!! The pair of socks that I was knitting for my mom turned into a painful lesson in swatching and so she got these instead, which I was originally knitting for myself. I thought the striped yarn might be a little wild for her, but she loves it. Speaking of the yarn, I love, love, LOVE it too! It is Knit Pick’s Felici self-striping and it is SO soft and comes in the best colors!

It is always so refreshing when you finish up a knitting project that you love. Not just love for the finished product, but love for the process as well. I really enjoy knitting, but some projects can be a real pain in the ass. Particularly, I have run into quite a few terribly written patterns lately with really confusing instructions. So I want to thank Grumperina for writing a great pattern! She has the perfect level of detail in these instructions – she doesn’t overcomplicate what is really a simple pattern, nor does she give sketchy instructions on the assumption that we can figure out such a simple pattern ourselves.

yarn details

Knit Picks Felici in Green Veggies
Fingering Weight
75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon
dye lot 51897
Machine wash/Tumble dry low
$4.49 per 50 g /218 yd ball

project details
pattern: "Jaywalker" by Grumperina, available as a free Ravelry download http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jaywalker#
szie: small (8’’ foot circumference)
needles: size 2 bamboo dpns
yarn used: 1.7 skeins (about 370 yards)
time span: January 20, 2011 – April 21, 2011

notes

As always, I followed KatAutumn’s instructions for no gusset holes! Yay!
I had a ton of yarn left over, so when I make these again I think I will do a longer leg to really show off all those fun stripes.

Baby Socks FROM HELL!

2011-07-31T10:58:00.003-04:00

Seriously - I hate everything about these baby socks that I'm making. I have been obsessed with them this weekend and they are cursed. The pattern is crazy - it has you doing a short row toe - exactly the same as the short row heel, which is crazy on these teeny tiny socks! Then, the needles I'm using are really long for some reason and I'm afraid I'm going to poke my eyes out. Finally, the yarn SUCKS!! It keeps breaking at random intervals every few rows and the socks are full of weak spots where one ply of the yarn broke but I forged ahead anyway. This yarn thing makes me very sad because it is the prettiest color but just truly awful in every other way. I remember I bought it on a clearance table and I was so sad that it was the only ball they had because I loved the color so much - now I'm glad I didn't stock up on the stuff. Anyway, baby socks = evil. I finished one this morning but I'm not even going to knit the mate. The only reason I finished this one was out of pure stubbornness. I wasn't going to let that lame little baby sock get the best of me!! Anyway, I still want to knit socks for all the babies in my life but I'm going to have to find a new pattern because this one just isn't cutting it (plus new yarn and new needles...).

Baby Socks!

2011-07-30T08:46:00.002-04:00

Started these months ago and picked them up again yesterday. I thought knitting baby socks would be quick and easy, but they are actually kind of a pain in the ass....

My Little Helper

2011-06-30T09:34:00.002-04:00

I hope the baby isn't allergic to kitties!

FO: Monkey Socks

2011-06-29T09:01:00.008-04:00

I love everything about these socks! The pattern is easy and gorgeous (and free!). The yarn has so many pretty colors, it's easy-care, cheap, and all around was great to work with. One of my favorite things about these socks is that the pattern leaves some eyelets that let your feet breathe a bit on warmer days, but it still feels like a nice solid sock, not overly lacey.

Pictures:

yarn details

Berroco Comfort Sock in Southland (1813)
Fingering Weight
50% super fine nylon, 50% super fine acrylic

dye lot V1264
Machine wash on gentle cycle in warm water. No bleach. Tumble dry on low heat. Do not over dry. Do not iron.
$8.99 per 100 g /447 yd ball

project details
pattern: "Monkey" by Cookie A, free in the Winter 2006 issue of Knitty at http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/PATTmonkey.html
szie: women's medium
needles: size 2 bamboo dpns
yarn used: 0.67 skeins (about 300 yards)

time span: November 2010 - January 2011

notes

Followed KatAutumn’s instructions for no gusset holes on second sock - it worked! Yay! Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOI_oXPm1iA

New Project!

2011-06-25T10:45:00.003-04:00

The brother and sister not-in-law are having a baby which means only one thing... baby blanket! Yay! I have been procrastinating a bit on getting started with it, but I bought the yarn on Thursday and did some swatching and casted on this morning. The blanket has a cute heart lace pattern and then a lacey border that is knit separately and sewn on at the end. I originally casted on with a cable cast on because I thought it would be good to have a little stretch, but then I was afraid that such a sturdy cast on would make it hard to sew the edging on later so I started over with a long-tail cast on and I think that's going to be a lot easier to sew. I have a bad habit of making my long tail cast ons too tight but I did my best here to make it nice and loose.

Anyway, without further ado, here is my swatch:

p.s. I'm proud of myself for swatching! I even tried two needle sizes and decided to go with a larger needle than the pattern suggests.

Socks with "Character"

2011-06-13T07:00:00.002-04:00

I have been working on my jaywalker II socks a little this weekend (which means I've made a lot of progress since they knit up so fast!) Anyway, last night I noticed I twisted two stitches the wrong way on row 15-ish and I'm now to row 100-ish. Damn! And I did the same thing to one stitch on row 50-ish! Double damn! The mistakes are in the double decrease column in the pattern so there is no sane way to drop the stitches down to fix it, so my only option is to unravel... and HELL NO to that idea!!

I'm really mad at myself that I didn't notice the mistake sooner, but I guess mistakes like that are just part of the nature of the knitting beast. Some people say that a little twisted stitch is part of the charm of a hand knit item, which I guess is true. Whenever I used to make mistakes in my crafty ventures when I was a kid my mom would always say "that's okay honey, it gives it some character." So, I guess I'm stuck with socks with a charming character, ha ha.

I just need to move on and promise to be more diligent in the future to periodically review my project for mistakes. I'm usually pretty good at catching them and I'm proud to say that I usually have the discipline to unravel to fix the problem, but watching out for mistakes is kind of hard with this pattern because it's so fun to knit and it zooms right along and I really feel like, in this situation, unraveling half a sock is just not worth it. C'est la vie.

Jaywalker Progress Report

2011-05-22T10:32:00.008-04:00

I love the Jaywalker socks I gave to my mom so much that I'm making a pair for myself! The pattern is knitting up so fast - I already have one nearly complete. Yay!

p.s. because I'm behind on FO posts, here are what my mom's socks looked like:

Yarn!

2011-05-09T21:29:00.001-04:00

New sock yarn from Knit Picks!

new sock yarn = new socks!

2011-05-08T09:04:00.003-04:00

Knit Picks sent me a horrible email announcing that a ton of discontinued colors of sock yarn were on sale and blatantly reminded me that sock yarn does not count as stash. Vixens! So, of course I stocked up! Yay!

I loved the Jaywalkers that I gave my mom so much that I bought two more colors of the felici self-striping yarn to make some for myself. I love the pattern because it knits up so quickly. I started knitting on Friday and I already have probably 1/4 of a sock finished. (On the other hand, I am totally neglecting my classy socks #2 because the pattern knits up very slowly!)

Now I'd better stop blogging and go get ready for a mother's day brunch I am attending this morning, hosted by my sister not-in-law who is possibly the world's best cook. Happy day!

FO posts!

2011-05-01T11:38:00.001-04:00

Yay! As you may have noticed, I got two FO posts up this weekend. I'm very proud of myself. I think one of the many things that has kept me from post on the blog recently is the big backlog of FO posts I've had, so - yay for me for getting them done!

FO: Teddy Bear Blankie

2011-05-01T10:12:00.013-04:00

I made this darling blanket for my newest niece Kadyn. I was tempted to knit a lacy heirloom blanket but I thought a more utilitarian blanket would be more fun. No one wants the lovely blanket from Auntie Pepper that you can't use and is a pain to store... forever. ("Saving it for your own baby someday.") This puppy is made from double stranded, acrylic, machine washable, soft yarn. And because I didn't spend 200 hours painstakingly knitting lace, my feelings won't be hurt if it doesn't survive to another generation.

Close up pic of the teddy bear:

yarn details

Berroco Comfort in Raspberry Sorbet (9728)
Worsted Weight
50% super fine nylon, 50% super fine acrylic

dye lots V1884 and V1584
Machine wash on gentle cycle in warm water. No bleach. Tumble dry on low heat. Do not over dry. Do not iron.
$7.00 per 100 g /210 yd ball

project details
pattern: "Teddy Bear Baby Blanket" by Barbara Breiter, available for free at http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns/baby-child/merino5-bear-baby-blankt.html
dimensions: blanket 31.5'' wide and 25.5'' tall; each teddy square is 9.5'' wide and 8.5'' tall, border is 1''
needles: size 10.5, long circular needle, knit flat
yarn used: 5 balls - 1050 yards (double stranded)

time span: October 2010 - December 2010

notes

changed border to 5 rows of seed stitch at top and bottom and five stitches of seed stitch at the sides - meaning I cast on 106 stitches instead of 104
knitted with two strands held together throughout
I did this kind of nifty thing to help me follow along on the chart - I wrote a number in front of each stitch change to tell me how many stitches I had to knit on that part. Observe:

FO: Classy Slip-Up Socks

2011-04-30T07:16:00.014-04:00

These are my first pair of “real” socks – that is, socks made with actual sock yarn and tiny needles. They took me forever to knit because this is kind of a slow-going stitch pattern and I had to unknit and frog and cry a lot, but I love the results! They fit me like a glove and are super warm and cozy.

Here are some pics:

and a close up:

yarn details

Berroco Comfort Sock in Dusk (1731)
Fingering Weight
50% super fine nylon, 50% super fine acrylic
dye lot V1172

Washing Instructions: machine wash, do not bleach, do not iron
$8.00 for 100 g /447 yd ball @ Windsor Button

project details
pattern: "Classy Slip-Up Socks" by Betsy Lee McCarthy in Knit Socks.
size: one-size (women's large)

gauge: 28 stitches and 45 rows over 4'' in stockinette (measured after several wears and washes...)
needles: size 2 dpns (set of 5, bamboo)
yarn used: 0.73 skeins = 326 yards

time span: January 2009 – September 2010 (yikes!)

notes

leg of sock is 5.5'', 18 rounds of ribbing and 15 pattern repeats
I shifted stitches along the needles throughout knitting to avoid ladders. Worked like a charm with this pattern.
on gusset decreases I decreased on rows where you knit the slipped stitch
at first I thought the yarn was a little splitty but I think there was just a learning curve knitting such fine yarn with bamboo needles which aren’t all that pointy
there are holes in the gussets – I need to learn if there is a good post-hoc way to fix these??

Flashing the world in my flirty skirty!

2011-04-08T09:52:00.006-04:00

We've got some beautiful spring weather in Boston today and I am celebrating by wearing my flirty skirty! Fun! Truth be told, I love all my knitted creations but I don't wear them out as often as I should. I love making them and sharing them with my knitting friends, but sometimes I guess I don't want to put them up for scrutiny to the non-knitting public. I suspect I'm not the only knitter with a closet full of sweaters we rarely wear. (Or, in this case, skirts). Anyway, not today! Whoo hoo!

The only thing is that I'm convinced the skirt is see-through and I'm flashing everyone who looks at me. People keep looking at my lower half more than usual. Maybe they are just admiring the awesome skirt? Or maybe they are thinking - "does she know I can see her underwear?" I was concerned with this when I first knitted the skirt and considered sewing a lining inside, but it turned out to be fine. Today I put it on and didn't worry about the see-through factor, but after I left the house it occurred to me that my hips are a lot wider than they were when I first made the skirt, and hence, the fabric is probably stretched out, pulling the stitches open more and letting light through. Oops!!

p.s. Yes, I know I need to post a million FO posts! Working on it!

FO: Niblet Socks

2011-02-01T08:22:00.007-05:00

Since the Sassy Stripes socks that I gave to my mom keep getting holes in them which I can never seem to fix, I decided to knit her another pair - using worsted weight yarn this time to try to ward off holes! I also had another secret motive: I wanted to try out magic loop on a pair of socks that wouldn't take me forever to knit.

I planned to use the same Starter Stockinette pattern I had used before for my own worsted weight socks but I decided that it might be a good idea to use a pattern specifically written for magic loop since it is my first time. So after a very quick Ravelry search (in a hurry to get started!) I found this pattern and decided to give it a go. The pattern was very easy and produced some very thick & warm socks in a jiffy.

I'm still not sure if I like the magic loop method. I love the fact that it doesn't create any ladders running down the sock leg and traveling with your project is much easier, but it makes for kind of an awkward knitting position for the English-style knitter and I kept getting all tangled up in the cable. I honestly think I work faster on dpns, but maybe I just need more practice?

Anyway, here is a pic of my mom modeling the finished project. (She picked out the yarn and loves it. Frankly, I think it's kind of ugly... ha ha.)

yarn details

Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Woods
80% acrylic, 20% wool
worsted weight
machine wash cold; tumble dry low; do not bleach; do not iron
70 grams/162 yds @ $2.99 each (mom's treat!)

project details
pattern: "Niblet Socks" by Kathleen Taylor; free at http://kathleen-dakotadreams.blogspot.com/2007/09/freebie-friday-niblet-socks.html
needles: size 4, 32'' circular (from knit picks nickel plated options set)
gauge: I didn't bother... naughty Pepper!
yarn used: 248 yards/1.5 skeins
finished size: ladies medium (7-8)
duration: March 27, 2010 - September 19, 2010
cost: about $4.60

notes

The heel/gusset area was created using short rows instead of knitting a heel flap and picking up gusset stitches like I have done with all my socks in the past. The short row method was really fast and easy and ideal for the magic loop needle set up (and produced no holes at the top of the gusset!), but I'm not super happy with the result. The socks just don't have the same fits-like-a-glove feel. It also looks kind of strange, though luckily that's not too obvious in this project because of the thick variegated yarn I used. I think it's worth the extra time to knit a flap and pick up stitches, but if you're in a hurry this might be a good option.
I enjoy that Taylor provided a chart for the stitch pattern - even though the pattern isn't that complicated. I love charts and always make them so I can stay sane while I knit, so she saved me some time by doing it for me! Yay!
On the foot I did five pattern repeats (starting halfway through the pattern) after the heel to measure 5.5'' and then 10 rows of stockinette so the foot measured 6'' and then I started the toe.
I finished off the toe with kitchener, rather than just sewing through all the stitches and tightening as the pattern instructs.

FO: Grandiflora

2011-02-01T07:35:00.006-05:00

It seems like a million years ago when I found that awesome deal on RYC Soft Lux yarn and it was like kizmet because I was currently obsessed with the Cressida pattern in the corresponding Soft Lux Rowan pattern book, Classic Woman. The Grandiflora shawl pattern also caught my eye in that book and I thought it would look fabulous as a throw on my parents' couch but I ruled it out as a possibility since it took up so much yarn... then enter aforementioned sale. The fates aligned to give me the materials to make this shawl/throw/thingie, but it still took me about a year to find the motivation to knit it (and practically another year to write this blog post... ha ha). In the end, it was worth the wait! I'm so happy with the way this turned out. It was my first large-scale lace project, which means it inspired a lot of swearing and lots of frogging (I learned to love the lifeline technique!). And it looks great on my parents' couch, just as I imagined!

Here is a pic of me modeling it in my sexy jammies. You can see that it is like a really long, wide shawl. It's good to cuddle up in and long enough to drape over your legs to stay warm in the AC.

And here is a close-up of the lace pattern when I was blocking it:

Now to the details:

yarn details
Rowan RYC Soft Lux in Camel and Ciel
Dye Lots: 35885 (Ciel), and 63868 & 63869 (Camel)
64% extra fine merino wool, 10% angora, 24% nylon, and 2% metallic fiber
worsted weight
hand wash and lay flat to dry
50 grams/137 yds @ $2.99 each (on sale)

project details
pattern: "Grandiflora" by Martin Storey in the book Rowan Classic Woman
needles: size 8
gauge: I am opposed to attempting to measure gauge in lace...
yarn used: 496 yards/3.6 skeins of blue (Ciel) and 735 yards/5.4 skeins of beige (Camel)
finished size: 21'' wide and 102'' long, plus 4'' tassels on both sides; the beige stripes are 4'' wide and the blue stripes are about 3''
duration: November 7, 2009 - February 28, 2010
cost: about $27

notes

The bad thing about writing your FO post a year after you finish the project is that you can't remember any notes that may have been helpful in the future.... c'est la vie!

Still Not Dead!

2011-01-13T08:48:00.001-05:00

I'm back to the realm of unemployment so perhaps it's time that I post some FO's on here? My "works in progress" sidebar is getting a little crowded...

No, I'm not dead

2010-11-18T07:09:00.005-05:00

My goodness it's been a while since I've posted!! I've been on a semi-knitting hiatus I suppose, as often happens in the summer. Plus, I started a new job with exhausting hours staring at a computer screen so getting home and staring at tiny knitting needles isn't exactly my idea of a good time. When I first started the gig back in April I could knit at work while my computer processed large files but management eventually discovered the big productivity loophole there and created a different system for processing. C'est la vie. I guess I can't really be mad at them for expecting me to actually work when I'm at work.

Anyway, I've been back at it lately since the weather has cooled down. Most notably, I'm making a baby blanket for my brother's newest little one! Yay! It's supposed to be a secret but I don't think they read this blog so my secret is safe with you. I've also really been enjoying my classy socks that I finished up in September. They are perfect on these cold New England mornings in my new place (yes, I moved!) So, I've been obsessively knitting another pair of socks this week so I can have more hand-knit socky goodness. I'm making the Monkey socks from the winter 2006 Knitty. The yarn is just Berroco Comfort Sock again but the colorway is fantastic. Loving them so far! Here's a quick pic then I'm signing off for now:

Peace out homies!

:(

2010-04-19T13:29:00.003-04:00

Ugh! I just had to rip out 2.5 inches from the foot of my sock because I realized I somehow slipped a stitch back there rather than knit it and it left a hole. These puppies are super bulky - they are gonna be warm as hell!

FO: French Press Slippers

2010-04-11T13:59:00.008-04:00

My lovely friend Sarah told me about these darling felted slippers and I simply had to try them! I'm not much of a slipper person myself but I figured my mom would love them. Unfortunately my mom will never see them because they turned out AWFUL!! (Though sweet Sarah still says they're not so bad...)

Why so awful? First, the seaming is a mess. If you look at the pictures you can see the HUGE roll-like seams on the insides of the slippers. This makes them far too uncomfortable to wear!! I blame the pattern here. It said you can seam them up using whatever method you prefer so I just did the standard mattress stitch. Mistake! It turns out you have to use a totally seamless method like the Bickford seam. Had I bothered to read the Ravelry forums before I started the project this would have become immediately apparent. Shame on me for not doing my homework. (Note: 4 days after I finished these monstrosities the designer released an updated pattern directing you to use the Bickford seam!)

Second, the texture of the felted fabric itself is really yucky. I guess the best way to describe it would be that it's kind of furry? I chalk this up to my own inexperience. I used a heathered yarn which I thought would create some lovely dimension in the felt but it turns out that all the heathery bits just kind of did their own thing in the felting process. Now I know: just use a smooth yarn when you're gonna felt. And third, this is 100% my fault but somehow a piece of paper or a tissue or something ended up in the washer while these puppies were felting. This led to random little paper bits embedded in the yarn! Oops!

Still, these slippers are definitely worth a second try. They knit up lightning fast because they are done with doubled/tripled yarn on huge needles and the end product really is very cute based on all the pics on Ravelry.

OK, here are the specs:

yarn details
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Amber Heather
dye lot 87483
100% Peruvian Highland Wool
worsted weight
hand wash in cold water
50 grams/110 yds @ $2.19
purchased 1/10

pattern details
pattern: "French Press Felted Slippers" by Melynda Bernardi (web download - $7)
needles: size 15
size: medium
yarn used: 2.38 skeins
started: January 17, 2010
finished: January 25, 2010
total cost: $12.21 (including pattern purchase)

notes...

As I referenced above - use the Bickford seam. Here are the directions: http://knittsings.com/bickford-seam/ There are also a lot of tutorials posted on YouTube.
There is also a no-sew version of the pattern on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/katec4b/french-press-felted-slippers-4
Finally, errata: http://frenchpressknits.blogspot.com/2010/01/version-21-errata-notice.html

Darn it!

2010-04-11T13:46:00.004-04:00

Knitting Daily posted this helpful nugget of wisdom on Wednesday about how to darn a sock. It's a really cool method - way better than the mess I made trying to fix my mom's sock the "proper" way. Basically you just weave a little patch over the hole. Nice.

http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2010/04/07/darn-there-s-a-hole-in-my-sock.aspx

p.s. Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever posted anything about when I darned my mom's sock. I think I was trying to suppress the memory or something. I basically concluded that knitting a new pair of socks would have been easier! I used this method: http://www.hjsstudio.com/darn.html

Magic Socks

2010-04-02T15:28:00.003-04:00

I started a new pair of socks this weekend and I'm trying out the magic loop technique. I've finished the leg of the sock already and am about to start the heel. So far the magic loop is pretty cool - the only thing that bugs me is that my right hand sometimes gets caught up in the loop when I go to throw my yarn. If I were a continental knitter I think I would totally love the magic loop. (One more reason to learn how to pick!)

I'm using a worsted weight yarn and size four needles so this project is going really fast. I recently started a temp job and I have some downtime each day while the computer processes the files I work on so I've had some time to do a little knitting every day. It's nice. Of course, right now I'm using my downtime to blog. :)

I'll post pics of the new socks soon!

Update

2010-03-12T07:13:00.003-05:00

Well, I was kind of a knitting machine last week but this week I haven't picked up the needles once due to my NEW JOB! Yay! I'm only temping but it's work=money and I'm happy. :)

Anyway, I'm almost finished with the second sleeve of Tess. After that I've just got the neckband and button bands and then finishing (boo!). I'm on my last ball of yarn and I'm kind of worried that I'll run out. That would majorly suck.

In other news, my mom received the Grandiflora shawl and she loves it! Yay! I'll get an FO post up for that sometime. I have a backlog of those, as usual.

Space Bags to the Rescue!

2010-03-06T14:06:00.002-05:00

I went on a six hour cleaning frenzy yesterday, almost an hour of which was spent reorganizing my stash... The stash resides in a series of four large underbed boxes. Previously only 45 balls of white acrylic yarn were stored in a space bag. Yesterday I ended up using 2 more space bags, thus freeing up an entire box which I needed to accommodate my fabric scrap stash... also in a space bag.

Yes, I'm a packrat and a dork. Thank god for space bags.

Finished!

2010-02-28T20:54:00.004-05:00

Yay! I finished up Grandiflora tonight! That's 22 tassels folks!

And here I am modeling it: (flyaways and all)

More later. :)

Yay!

2010-02-20T15:11:00.003-05:00

I'm done weaving in ends! Woo hoo! I've decided to block this thing one half at a time - I really don't have anywhere big enough to block it all at once (that is, nowhere where it will be safe from miss kitty....)

Unfortunately, I forgot that now I have to make a ton of tassels for the ends... arg! Really, it shouldn't be too bad. I think the worst is over!

Update: here is just slightly under half of it blocked... about 49''!

almost there!

2010-02-18T18:11:00.001-05:00

only 8 to go...

yuck

2010-02-16T17:29:00.001-05:00

38 down, 20 to go. Guess I missed the deadline....

ends!

2010-01-30T21:29:00.002-05:00

28 down, 30 to go.

endless ends....

2010-01-29T15:05:00.001-05:00

20 down, 38 to go...

Why I Hate My Life

2010-01-28T18:51:00.005-05:00

There are many reasons why I could hate my life. There's the six months of unemployment, the ten pounds I've gained since summer, the temp guy who is totally jerking me around, my upsetting credit card balance, my very naughty kitty cat... should I go on? No, there's no need to go on, because if you ask me right now why I hate my life the answer is BECAUSE I HAVE TEN MILLION YARN ENDS TO WEAVE IN ON THIS STUPID SHAWL!!!!

I've been meaning to knit this Grandiflora shawl as a gift for my parents since I bought the yarn in the spring of 2008. I finally casted on at the beginning of this November in hopes of giving it to them as a Christmas gift but I'm still not finished. (Though I have to give myself a pat on the back for knitting it this quickly - it was some pretty detail-oriented stuff). So here's the thing, now I'm finished knitting but I'm just beginning the finishing! ARG!! I hate finishing! Whah!

Here's what I've got:

Do you see all those little bows tied up on it? These:

There are 28 of those little bows. Each of them contains two pieces of yarn that I have to weave in. Then there are the cast on and cast off tails. That's 58 ends to weave in. Into lace. What on earth was I thinking when I chose this project?

So far I have 8 done, 50 to go. I arbitrarily picked February 15 as my deadline for finishing this task. I picked that date 14 days ago and I have only done 8 ends since then... all of them yesterday. Will she do it?? Who knows!

(And I may be getting ahead of myself here, but how in the hell am I going to block this monster?)

FO: Amigurimi Panda

2010-01-28T18:06:00.005-05:00

You know how you just associate some people with a certain animal? For example, if you were playing a word association game with a psychologist you might respond "Pepper" if they said the word "cat." I am a cat person. Well, my brother is a panda bear person. That's why this year for Christmas he got a cute amigurimi panda bear! This is proof of how much I love him because, as we all know, I hate to crochet. I particularly hate to crochet with black yarn, so that's double love.*

yarn details
worsted weight acrylics in black and white

findings
9 mm safety eyes

poly pellets & polyfill stuffing

project details
pattern: "Panda Amigurimi" from Cut Out + Keep (free!). The url was: http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/panda_amigurumi, but the link seems to be broken now. I have the pattern saved as a word document if anyone wants it.

hook: size F
duration: December 16-17, 2009: pretty much a whole day.
yarn used:hardly any
total cost: negligible

notes

I used safety eyes instead of creating crocheted/embroidered eyes.
Remember to put the face on the bear before you stuff the head! :)
The pattern recommends using transparent nylon thread to sew the pieces together, but I just used matching yarn.
The entire body is stuffed with polypellets to keep this little guy grounded even with his massive head!

*In gauging my love for my brother, let's just ignore the fact that I have promised to knit him a hat for Christmas/his birthday for the past three years and have yet to do it. He got a panda instead.

FO: Rusted Root

2010-01-28T17:16:00.007-05:00

OK- I'm way behind on my FO posts!! Here is one for my Rusted Root top, which I finished back in October. You'd think that since I don't have a job I could at least manage to stay on top of my blog, but you would be wrong. Have you ever noticed that the less you have to do the harder it is to get things done? Anyway, I digress.

Rusted Root!

(this is me massively sucking in my gut!)

I was so excited to knit this top based on all the awesome pics on Ravelry but it has really turned out to be a disappointment for me. "But it looks so cute!," you say. I have to admit that it does look pretty good in the picture but if you see it in real life it's pretty blah. (Perhaps all the great sweaters pictured on Ravelry are the same way?) To be fair, I don't totally blame the pattern. A lot of what I don't like about the sweater has to do with my own poor decisions.

First, the yarn I chose was all wrong for this project. (Though, in general, I liked the yarn. The color is to die for!). The pattern calls for a cotton blend but I think the cotton created way too much stitch definition. It looks great on the lace panel, but on the miles of stockinette stitch that make up the rest of the sweater the cotton highlights what would otherwise be barely visible changes in tension, which I think makes the end product look messy and "homemade" (vs. "handmade.")

Second, I made the wrong size. This is my fault, but there are extenuating circumstances: I gained ten pounds while I knit the sweater, during which time I was under extreme stress studying for the bar exam.

Third, the sleeves are a mess. They are insanely tight - and this is a separate problem from the sweater being too small in general because I enlarged these sleeves a few times (even when I was still legitimately an XS) and they were still bad. (Now that I think about it, I had the same issue with Delphine. Maybe I just have big armpits?) Also, the shaping it takes to make the puff sleeves is a mess. Again, if the yarn didn't have such insane stitch definition it might not look so bad.

Finally, my bind off on the hem is ridiculously tight and it makes the sweater pucker a little at the bottom. This is totally my fault. No matter how hard I try I just can't make a freakin' loose bind off!!! I did a tubular BO on the neck and arms which is so much stretchier, but you can't do a tubular BO on this 1X2 ribbing that looks so nice at the bottom of the sweater.

In conclusion: I think if I knit this again I could do better, but I don't think I want to invest all the time and energy in something that still might not work out.

yarn details
Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Seaspray
dye lot 39451A
50 % Cotton 50% Acrylic
aran weight
machine wash
100 grams/207 yds @ $5.50
purchased 5/09

pattern details
pattern: "Rusted Root" by Sarah & Rachel - Zephyr Style ($6)
needles: size 6 and 4 circular
size: XS (28-32" bust)
yarn used: 2.65 skeins
started: May 24, 2009
finished: October 3, 2009
total cost: $20.58 (including pattern)

notes...

did a 1X1 rib on the neckline and the sleeves (mostly just so I could do a tubular BO)
added hip shaping - Don’t forget to make waist shaping decreases match up (K2tog and SSK, not just K2tog).
added two rows of straight stockinette before the ribbing on the sleeves
converted the written lace pattern into a chart - this made life so much easier!

Socks

2009-12-21T10:51:00.005-05:00

I brought my classy socks home to Utah to work on while I'm here for the holidays. When I was on the plane I realized that these are the same socks that I started last year when I was home for Christmas! lol. (I also realized the book I brought along is the same one I brought along last year and never started... man I'm a procrastinator!)

Anyway, I finished the leg and knit the heel flap on the plane, then yesterday morning I turned the heel and started the gusset stitches.... then yesterday afternoon I realized I had made a mistake on the heel flap which led to a large hole in the gusset and I had to rip it all back to about half-way through the heel flap!! ARG!! That was probably two or three hours worth of work I frogged, then it took me a good hour to figure out what the problem was and to rip it all back and get the stitches back on the needles correctly. Anyway, I finally got it done and knitted back to where I was... so, in conclusion, I'm on the start of the gusset again. No matter what I do, I always get a hole on the top of the gusset (only on the right side)!! Frustrating! It must have something to do with the way I pick up those stitches on that side, who knows. I ripped it out a few times and tried all sorts of techniques to avoid it, but to no avail. C'est la vie.

Next time I have my camera out I'll take some pics to post. My goal is to have it finished by the time I get back in Boston. (Which will put me just under the one year anniversary of casting on).

p.s. I brought my cat home and as I was sitting on the plane flying alone with my cat and my knitting I realized what a horrible cliche I have become... (lots of realizations happening on that plane!)

a knitted tree topper

2009-12-12T10:19:00.001-05:00

This is pretty cool. Maybe I'll make one for my little tiny tree. (BTW, I'm still working on the happy reindeer... maybe I'll finish it up today??)

http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2009/12/11/knit-yourself-a-tree-topper-or-a-toy.aspx

FO: enV cozy

2009-11-30T13:32:00.004-05:00

I got a new cell phone for an early Christmas present, so of course I had to knit a nifty cozy for it! It matches the Chinese Charm Bag that I knitted back in 2007. I don't actually have that bag anymore because it was a gift, but I always thought it was cute and I had leftovers so now I've got the matching cozy. :)

Now my shiny new phone won't get all scratched up and void the warranty, lol.

I used size 10.5 dpns and Moda Dea Cache yarn in wink, just like the bag. Began by casting on 19 stitches and just knitted up till I reached the length of the phone, then I casted off half the stitches and knit a little flap. Easy peasy.

p.s. This phone is awesome! I highly recommend it.

FO: Delphine

2009-11-22T11:21:00.004-05:00

I'm writing an FO post for Delphine... finally!! In short, I love this top. I had a lot of frustration while I was knitting it, but it was totally worth it in the end. The top is a little tight so when I make another one I will definitely go a size up. The Knit Picks Comfy yarn was a pleasure to work with. I might also try it out with a lighter weight yarn and see how that goes - the lace is so beautiful I think it will create a lovely texture.

yarn details
Knit Picks Comfy Sport in Silver Sage
dye lot 5151
75 % Pima Cotton 25% Acrylic
sport weight
machine wash
50 grams/136 yds @ $2.79
purchased 4/09

pattern details
pattern: "Delphine" by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes from French Girl Knits, reprinted in Spring '09 Interweave Knits
needles: size 3, 4, and 5 circular
size: small - 27.5'' bust
yarn used: 3 skeins
started: May 1, 2009
finished: August 8, 2009
total cost: $8.37

notes...

Next time I am definitely going to to a picot stitch cast on. I'm surprised the pattern doesn't call for that in the first place since it has you finish off the neck and armholes with a lovely picot crochet edging. In general, my cast on with this piece was way too tight! I think part of the problem is that I used the wrong method, but I also think my cast ons in general are too tight. Maybe I'll start doing it with a larger needle?
The sizing on this pattern is really tight!! Especially at the armholes and across the stomach!
I skipped the buttons on it and just used the ribbon closure. It looks cute with or without the ribbon though.

Happy Crochet....

2009-11-21T17:26:00.004-05:00

I'm excited to start decorating my apartment for Christmas next week! I decided to crochet a cute little Rudolph stuffie to get the holiday season going. (Yes, I realize this is a great use of my time with all I've already got on the needles right now...)

Here is his hot bod (limbs not included):

And here's what I'm aiming for:

I might have gotten the eyes on mine set a little too far apart, but I think it will all come together once I've got the ears and antlers in place. :)

Gifty Gift!

2009-11-18T07:34:00.002-05:00

I decided to put Tess aside for a while and work on a gift project. It is coming along really well - I wish I could post pics for you but that would (a) give away the recipient, and (b) ruin the surprise factor! If you are on Ravelry you can check it out there by clicking on "gifty gift" on my status bar to the right... but only if you are certain I will not be giving you a gift (i.e. stay away mom!).

The best part?? Stashbuster!

Monthly Update

2009-11-08T10:41:00.005-05:00

I feel like my posts to this blog are becoming monthly updates! lol. I've sort of been on a blogging diet lately, but I haven't been on a knitting diet.

I went to six flags on Halloween (yay!) and knit up most of the foot of my classy slip-up socks on the car ride there - so I've finished up sock #1 now. I think it looks really good and it is super comfy. Now I'm on a mission to finish the second sock asap so I can wear them this winter. I love hand knit socks - they are SO cozy! Here's a pic:

I also resurrected the Tess cardigan I was working on last spring and I'm making excellent progress on that. I've got the left front and the back piece finished now and I just have to do the armhole/neck/shoulder shaping on the right front and I'll have the body of the cardigan finished up. Damn - I just remembered I have to do the sleeves too! Arg! I've still got quite a way to go but I want to finish this puppy up as soon as I can too. Here's my progress:

I'm conflicted because I really want to finish up these two projects but it's also not too late to do some gift knitting for Christmas, so I can't decide if I should start on those projects or devote all my attention to these. If I go the gift route I could probably only knit up one or two gifts, and nobody is getting store bought gifts this year due to my extreme unemployment so it might be weird to give only two gifts. Is that just me rationalizing being selfish and working on my own projects?? lol. Who knows what I will do. Tune in next month to find out... j/k, I hope to post some more updates soon. I also still need to do FO posts for Delphine and Rusted Root. As usual, I've waited too long to post them and now I barely remember the details. Oh well.

Fini!

2009-10-07T17:05:00.003-04:00

I finished up Rusted Root! I've got to say - not my favorite project!! I think it's a little too tight and I'm not sure about the purl row on top of these weird puff sleeves. Also, the tight BO on the bottom is driving me crazy! I might rip it out and try again, but I already tried to do it loose the first time - I don't know how to make it any looser.

Post #2!

2009-10-04T13:22:00.001-04:00

Here is a pic of the progress on my tie-back shell. I knit it as long as the pattern suggested, but I have a feeling I'm going to want it longer (yarn supply permitting), so I left the hem stitches on a piece of ribbon just in case.

Whoah!

2009-10-04T10:56:00.003-04:00

Holy crap it's been a long time since my last post!! Honestly, I haven't been knitting a whole lot lately. I don't know why, I've just been in sort of a funk.

Anyway, I finally finished up my Rusted Root yesterday. I've been almost done with it for a long time, but I was pissed off at binding off my ribbing because it was too tight so I gave it the silent treatment for a while. I ended up leaving the tight BO on the bottom edge, but I modified the ribbing on the sleeves and neckline to a 1X1 rib and did a tubular BO to keep it stretchy. (My first tubular BO! Yay!) It's on the blocking board now, we'll see how it turns out. This has certainly not been my favorite project. I think all the negative feelings it has given me has been part of why I haven't been knitting a lot. Too much stress!

Here's a pic:

Hallelujah!

2009-08-18T10:55:00.001-04:00

I finally finished that endless strip of twisted rib for my waistband of the tie back shell! Yay! I also picked up all the stitches to knit up the bottom half. I can't believe I'm actually excited to knit several inches of stockinette in the round... but anything is better than that waistband torture. Lol. My plan is to knit as per the instructions down until the turning ridge on the hem, then transfer the stitches to some scrap yarn and let it hang out there until I finish the rest of the top - that way I can adjust the length if I want it a little longer. (I tend to wear low-cut jeans, so I hate it when a top is too short and it shows my belly sticking out!) Incidentally, this is going to be my first time using a hem in my knitting. I'm a little nervous that it's going to look weird, but the sample looks very nice, so I'm going to trust the pattern.

BTW - picking up the stitches from that waistband for the bottom half wasn't so bad. I think I've finally got the hang of that particular skill. (Yay!) Of course, figuring out the correct ratio for picking them up was kind of a pain, and it turned out that each segment required a slightly different ratio - so I hope that won't cause any weird effects; I don't think it will. So far it looks okay.

OK - less blogging, more knitting!

p.s. I'm going on vacation this week which means a long plane ride to knit! Yay!

new project

2009-08-14T13:23:00.003-04:00

Last week I started a new project - the tie back shell from the latest issue of Knit.1:

Darling, huh? The waist band ties in a bow in the back. You knit the waistband first, and then pick up stitches from it to knit the top and bottom of the shirt. It's a pretty smart design, but it means that for the past week I have been knitting an endless strip of twisted rib and I'm about ready to go nuts with it. I've already gone through one 120 yard skein and I'm only about 2/3 of the way through. Observe:

I can't believe I chose another project that involves picking up mass amounts of stitches, but I feel like after all I've been through in the past few months with the hexacomb cardigan and Delphine, I'm kind of an old pro at it.

The yarn I'm using is absolutely fabulous; Ella Rae Silkience -- 49% Cotton, 39% Modal, 12% Silk, 8% Rayon. So soft! (you all know me and my obsession with modal). The color is also a really pretty aqua - I don't think my photo does it justice. I got it from WEBS online on clearance in May with some of my graduation money. I only paid $2.49 a skein! Whoo hoo! With all the stress of finals and graduation this spring I went on a bit of a naughty yarn shopping spree, but I think I deserved to treat myself. Now that the bar is over I want to treat myself again, but unfortunately I don't have any more sweet graduation gift checks rolling in.

Progress Report: Rusted Root

2009-08-09T15:30:00.004-04:00

To update since my last post on the matter- I did indeed frog my whole Rusted Root sweater and start over to fix the lace pattern (nearly 200 yards frogged!!) I added a few extra increases/rows before I separated the sleeves and the problem with the tight armholes is now much better. They are still pretty snug, but I didn't want to go too crazy because this puppy is cotton, so I know it will stretch itself out.

I've been working extra hard to catch up on this piece and I'm proud to announce that I'm at least 70% done now! Yay! See for yourself:

I think I'm going to add some hip shaping at this point so the sweater doesn't pull quite so snugly across my belly. I didn't do any really dramatic waist shaping, so I don't want to go too crazy with the hip shaping, but I need something in there or I'll feel self conscious and never wear this thing. Which would be a shame, because I think it's really cute!

p.s. Why am I suddenly leaning to one side in all my pictures? Posture, young lady!

Hooray!

2009-08-09T12:19:00.003-04:00

My extreme blocking of Delphine worked! I can actually breathe in it! Sadly, it's still a little tight in the armholes. I'll definitely fix that in the next one. Now I need to find a cute ribbon and decide if I want to add buttons or not. Then I'll actually put on some makeup and take some nice photos.

In the meantime, here is a sneak preview:

The blocking queen

2009-08-08T13:18:00.005-04:00

I finally finished edging the neck and armholes of Delphine yesterday. It was such a bitch picking up all those stitches! Plus - on the armholes I had to single crochet around the whole thing and then pick up the stitches. Ick! Nevertheless, it looks very cute. I wonder why the pattern doesn't have you start off with a picot cast on, since all the edging is picot. If I had been a good little knitter and read ahead I could have realized that before I started knitting and made the adjustment.

Speaking of being a good little knitter, I should have frogged this damn thing the second I realized it was too tight across the belly! I've already blocked it twice throughout this process, hoping it will stretch without too much luck. Right now she is blocking again. I completely saturated her in water and wet blocked- I've got her stretched out as far as humanly possible - 15 inches. (Compare to the shaping the last time she was on the board). If this doesn't do it - I think I'm just going to have to lose 5 pounds. lol.

Despite all the aforementioned headaches my dear Delphine has given me, this is really a gorgeous top! I'm already thinking about knitting another one (perfect this time). I've got some glitzy yarn in my stash that I think would be darling...

Awesome! Techknitting does it again!

2009-07-26T11:30:00.007-04:00

I just ran across this post on TECHknitting about how to avoid that hole at the top of the heel on your sock. This also would have worked out really well for my split neck on Delphine - too bad I didn't read it in time.

Crossing stitches: one way to avoid a hole on a vertical opening in knitwear

The bar exam is in three days and I really shouldn't be surfing random knitting blogs that I haven't read since at least April 11, but my brain is totally fried and this seems like the right thing to do. Now that I have indulged a bit, it's time to get back to the studying. Secured transactions... yay! (ha!)

The Frustrated Knitter

2009-07-17T09:22:00.008-04:00

Frustration #1: Delphine

I took Delphine off the blocking board and it is still pretty skin tight. It's a shame because it's actually a really darling top - something I think I would wear often, but probably not if it is so skintight that it makes me look fat/sloppy. Also, there is one row of the lace where I screwed up that sort of bothers me - but not too bad. It kind of gives it character. Kind of.

What to do? I still need to join the shoulders, then I'm going to try blocking again... and be ruthless with the stretching this time! I made it really long, so I think I can get away with a lot of horizontal stretch without making it too short - the challenge is just going to be getting the yarn to give that much. If this doesn't work - I'm going to have to frog and start over knitting the larger size. This pisses me off - especially given frustrations 2 and 3....

Frustration #2: Rusted Root

I've been knitting the ever popular Rusted Root sweater from Zephyr style - which is a short sleeve raglan top with puffy short sleeves and a lace panel running down the front. The instructions are kind of poorly written, which has made the project kind of frustrating, but I finally got the hang of it and yesterday I reached the the point where I separated the sleeves - so it's easy sailing from here... except...

I've thought the lace looked kind of weird since the beginning, but I kept thinking it would look better once several repeats got going. Now that I've got 4 repeats I finally figured out what my problem it. The problem? In the middle of the second repeat I accidentally created a hole in the wrong place!! Arg!! I can't live with it and I'm going to have to rip it back. Here is an illustration:

You might also notice that the leaves look a little sloppy. That's because I've been slipping the stitches the wrong way! Arg! (I slipped purlwise and it turns out I should have done it knitwise). I discovered this about 10 rows back, but I decided it would be fine as long as I kept doing it throughout. But now that I'm ripping out 20 rows, the logical thing to do is just to rip it all out and START OVER slipping the right way. Yup - after all my struggles getting through the top I've got to do it again! (which, BTW takes FOREVER with a raglan - as you probably know)

Another frustration with rusted root: I tried it on and the underarms are way too tight. This means I'm going to have to make mods, which means I'm going to have to think. Lame.

But, like Delphine, it is going to be a really cute top. Here's what I've got so far:

R.I.P.

Frustration #3: Hexacomb Cardigan

It's too big and I'm pissed and don't know what the hell to do with it. :(

Frustration #4: the bar exam

I'm taking the MA bar in two weeks, which means I have to study all day HARDCORE, but I can't stop thinking about all these stupid knitting problems! I deal with stress by knitting, but now that I need to knit to deal with bar stress, all I'm turning to is knitting stress. Maybe I should just ditch it all and make an old-school garter stitch scarf? lol

Blocking Delphine

2009-07-13T10:43:00.003-04:00

I finished up the back of Delphine and now it's on the blocking board. I was pleased with how much it stretched out -- I think it will be an okay fit. Cross your fingers! I'm joining the tops of the straps and doing the neck edging after blocking -- that's recommended in the pattern and it's a great idea because it means you can add/subtract from the length of the straps.

Here's a pic:

Delphine

2009-07-10T19:17:00.003-04:00

I'm knitting a top called Delphine from the new book French Knits -- but I got the pattern from the Spring IK. I like the name because Delphine was my "french name" in French class in Jr. High. It's also the name of the lead Aqua Ranger, or something like that...

Anyway, I'm almost done. I just need to finish the back and do a quick 3 needle bind off on the shoulders. I think I'm also going to go around the edges with a crochet hook and make some cute picot edging. Here's a progress pic:

It looks (and feels) atrociously skin-tight, but it's going to stretch out a lot in blocking. (Let's all just keep repeating that until it comes true, OK?)

FO: Cashmere Arm Cosies

2009-06-26T20:09:00.004-04:00

Look! I'm finally posting the details about my cashmere arm cosies. Can you even believe it? These are really pretty, super warm, and they were a good learning experience for me to practice cables.

yarn details

Lion Brand Cashmere Blend
72% Merino Wool
14% Cashmere
14% Nylon
aran weight
machine wash cool and lay flat to dry
40 grams/84 yds @ $2.97 each (on deep clearance)

project details
pattern: "Cashmere Arm Cosies" by Lion Brand Yarns - free at http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/60159A.html

needles: size 8 dpns
yarn used: 294 yards (about 3.5 skeins)
finished size: 8.5'' long, 7.75'' circumference at arm
duration: February, 2008 - February, 2009
cost: about $10.30

notes

Oh goodness! I had so many notes, but I waited so long to write this post that I don't remember most of them. I have them written down though. If anyone wants to know the knitty gritty details, let me know. :)
I converted the pattern to knit in the round instead of flat. This was awesome, but I'm not sure I like the way I did the decreases in the round. I did them "gusset style" but thinking back I should have done them all decreasing toward a center line.

Not much of an update....

2009-06-23T23:23:00.003-04:00

I'm still alive. Still knitting, but not as much as I would like to be. I spent about an hour knitting today instead of studying for the bar - yay!

Things are rough my friends. It's a rough life.

not an update

2009-05-25T11:31:00.002-04:00

I've been knitting up a storm and stashing up a storm as well! (naughty!) Unfortunately, I have not been blogging up a storm. I've been uber busy and not on the computer a whole lot. If anyone is on Ravelry you can check out my notebook to see what I've been up to. Otherwise, I'm going to do a ton of back posts in the coming weeks (hopefully!)

On a personal note - I graduated from law school last week! (Yay!) But I start my bar review classes tomorrow. (Boo!)

FYI...

2009-05-10T23:27:00.002-04:00

Cascade 220 is on sale at Webs for $4.89 a hank. AWESOME DEAL! I want to buy some, but my wallet says no. Someone else should stash up and think of me.... *sigh*

necking!

2009-04-24T18:24:00.003-04:00

I finally faced the beast yesterday and did the neckband on my hexacomb cardigan. I've been avoiding looking at it since the fiasco I had with it last time. This time I had the same problem with all the gaps/holes forming and I was starting to get really frustrated. I think one of my problems is that my stitches on this project are really loose or something -- especially near the edges. Anyway, I hopped online and found a few sites that recommend picking up stitches one or two rows from the edge to deal with gaps, so I did that and it looks much better!!

So, the neck band is done. Next up? Button band. Yuck.

The Knitting Law Student

2009-04-21T14:07:00.002-04:00

Today I brought my knitting to school and knitted in class for the very first time! I figured I might as well go for it since I only have two days left here (EVER!! YAY!!). Though, I'm not that much of a rebel: it was in my mediation seminar and we were watching a lame video and the professor wasn't in the room.

Also, last Thursday I attended my very first meeting of the BU knitting circle. It was pretty chill. I found them on Ravelry - there are just a few people who met up and we were all graduate students, so we had a lot in common. It sure beat knitting with Roxy!

Frogging Cressida (finally)

2009-04-19T14:16:00.006-04:00

This morning I finally frogged the pieces I had knit for my Cressida sweater to harvest the yarn for Tess. I had only knit the back panel and about half of a side panel, so it wasn't a whole lot of work to frog it and I recovered a little more than one ball of yarn.

I wasn't exactly sure what method to use to get the kinks out. The yarn is a single ply with a little metallic fiber wrapped around it, so it's not super straight to begin with. Given that, I didn't want to be too aggressive with stretching the kinks out because I didn't want to totally ruin the spring in the yarn. I ended up wrapping it around the back of one of my chairs, tight enough to straighten the kinks, and then I used a spritz bottle to wet the whole thing. I'm hoping that will be enough to work the kinks out.

Here are some pics:

I actually conducted a massive yarn harvesting project a few months ago that I always meant to blog on and still haven't gotten around to it (but I will!). There, I was frogging a project made with wool-ease and it was hell trying to get those kinks out! I tried every trick in the book to stretch the yarn and nothing worked. Finally, I used a garment steamer and that did the trick beautifully, but I don't want to use the steamer here because I'm fairly certain the steam will ruin the yarn.

Wish me luck!

update

2009-04-07T22:32:00.003-04:00

I have been working on a non-fiber crafty project lately so I haven't been knitting like I should. But the alternative project is fun. It involves glitter - which is always a good time. I'll post more details later if anyone is remotely interested (and even if you're not interested - it's my blog and I'll post them anyway!)

Tess Therapy

2009-04-03T10:50:00.005-04:00

I've been really blue lately and unfortunately I'm in that place where I'm afraid to go to bed because as soon as I'm alone in the dark I start to cry. :( Anyway, I've been staying up until like 2 or 3 in the morning this week just watching TV and stuff. Last night I decided I might as well be semi-productive and work on Tess while I was avoiding the inevitable. I got about 10 rows done, which is like amazing since they are pretty damn long! I'm a little over half-way through the increases now, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm really happy with the way the increases are looking. I've been incorporating them into the lace by creating eyelets when I don't have enough stitches to complete the pattern in the increase area. They are blending in very well. If you are closely examining it you can tell that the lace gets a little loose, but I imagine I'm going to be the only person to ever look at it that closely.

I tried it on because I was a little worried about those weird increases but it looks like it's going to be okay. My chest measures about 32'' (which is the size I'm knitting) and it's going to end up being about 34'' when I'm done with the increases, plus the button band is pretty wide. I examined the picture though and it looks like it has a decent about of positive ease, plus I'll be wearing it over a shirt, so I think it will be okay. Also, having it a little bigger will ensure that the buttons don't make gaps across my chest, which is a very good thing.

In other news, I must finish the hexacomb cardigan!! It's getting ridiculous. Maybe I will do that tonight? Though I generally like to do finishing in the daylight. I don't know why, I just think it helps.

Update

2009-03-29T21:35:00.008-04:00

I haven't been blogging a whole lot lately, I haven't been kitting too much either, I guess. I've been kind of bummed out and playing video games instead. Anyway, I have made some progress:

I turned the heel on my classy socks and started the gusset. There is a hole forming at the top of the heel, which I'm not super psyched about, but I think I'll just go back later and reinforce it rather than rip it all out. For some reason, all the stitches I picked up for the gusset were insanely tight! So, I don't want to do it again.

I've also been working on Tess. It's taking a long time because I'm knitting it all in one piece so the rows are really long. I'm a little weirded out because after you knit the ribbing on the hem it has you increasing stitches for several inches, which seems counter intuitive, but I'm blindly following their instructions, so hopefully it will be okay. Anyway, this had been a pretty thought intensive process because I've had to work these increases into the one-piece, since I can't tuck them on the edges like I would have with three separate pieces. I've been hiding them with eyelets and I think it looks okay. Here's a pic of what I have so far:

Finally, I worked on the neckband on my hexacomb cardigan over spring break (2 weeks ago! it's been a long time since I've posted!) After about 10 hours of work I had picked up and ripped out stitches so many times that they started to look a little wonky, so I blocked it and I'm hoping the stitches set back into place a bit. Now I'm scared to work on it because I'm afraid I'll just botch it again. The problem is that I kept getting holes on the corners, but I'm starting to wonder if that has more to do with the way I knit the body than the way I am adding the neckband. I want it to look perfect, but I don't know if I want it bad enough to actually unseam the shoulders and unravel a huge portion of the body. Whatever I do, I need to do it soon because spring is almost here and it's a spring cardigan.

Oh, and here's my cool knitting case/bag that I'm using for Tess. Cute!

It's a good thing she's cute...

2009-03-17T23:16:00.001-04:00

I left my classy socks knitting out and Roxy chewed up one of my bamboo sock needles. Damn.

knot fun

2009-03-11T17:12:00.000-04:00

I spent the whole morning working a massive knot out of my yarn for Tess. Today is just one of those days. All I want to do is go to sleep and wake up when I'm thirty or something.

FO: Kick Pillow II

2009-03-10T20:27:00.007-04:00

Roxy loved her first kick pillow so much that I decided to make her another one - this time with some funky fringe. On the last pillow I used the ugliest yarn in my stash, but this time I picked out the prettiest yarn! I wish it wasn't a scratchy acrylic or I would totally make myself some socks out of it! Roxy doesn't seem to notice a difference...

it's good for biting:and good for kicking:

yarn details
Red Heart Super Saver in Williamsburg Print
worsted weight
100% acrylic
141 grams/244 yds

Lion Brand Fun Fur Solid in Olive
bulky weight
100% polyester
50 grams/64 yards @ $3.00

findings
polyfill
catnip
nylons

project details
pattern: loosely based on the kick pillow by Karen Mortensen in 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders
needles: size 5 dpns
finished size: apprx. 6.5'' x 3''
duration: from January 2 - March 8, 2009 (though really only a few hours of work)
yarn used: very little
total cost: maybe $1-ish

notes
1. CO 58 stitches and worked in the round until it looked pillow-sized, then I cast off. I whip-stitched the seams after stuffing.

2. I put the catnip in the toe of an old nylon and then stuffed that in the pillow along with polyfill. (If you just let the catnip run loose on the inside, it works its way out while kitty plays and then it looks like you have illicit substances spilled all over your floor).

3. I used a crochet hook to attach the fun fur around the edges after it was all stuffed and ready to go. For some reason, this process took me three hours!! Stupid crochet!! Arg!

4. Here is an artsy video of Roxy demolishing this toy.

FO: Penguin of Love

2009-03-10T20:04:00.006-04:00

On the day before Valentine's Day I was inexplicably overcome with the urge to crochet a penguin.

yarn details
worsted weight acrylics:
Lion Brand Wool-Ease in gold and black
Green Oak Acrylic in white

findings
9 mm safety eyes

project details
pattern: Amigurimi Penguin by Lion Brand (free)
hook: size F
finished size: 3'' tall with a 4'' "wingspan"
duration: an evening and a morning, Feb 13-14, 2009
yarn used:hardly any
total cost: negligible

notes
1. This time I actually remembered to make my turning chains! I still hate crochet, but this makes it somewhat more bearable.

2. On all of the pieces except the eyes I used the directions for making a small/invisible hole using a loop of yarn from Happy Hooker on pg. 52.

3. And here are my notes on body part placement:

eyes: inside edges are 6 st apart on black/white line, bottom of eye covers 1 row of the white; 9 mm safety eyes
wings: edge of wing is about 2.5 st from the outside edge of eye on black/white line; top of wing is about 2.5-3 rows of black
beak: spans the 6 stitches b/w the eyes
feet: about 3 rows up from bottom, about 0.5 st apart, stuffed with polypellets

... after I finished this little guy he was so freakin' cute that I knew I had to send him to my friend Erica. He practically begged for it. He wanted me to spread the love. He's the penguin of love.

Voila!

2009-03-10T19:59:00.002-04:00

In case this was bugging anyone else but me: I finally fixed my little drop-down list of FOs so it is alphabetized and current. I certainly hope other people are doing something more exciting for Spring Break...

Another Roxy Video...

2009-03-08T20:50:00.003-04:00

I finished knitting Roxy's second catnip kick pillow today. I took this video for y'all, but then I got a little carried away at the editing stage. Hey - if I can't waste time at the beach over Spring Break, at least I can waste time making silent films.

Tess

2009-03-04T21:20:00.003-05:00

I finally started working on Tess last weekend. Tess is the slayer of Cressida. That is, I'm frogging what I have of Cressida to harvest enough yarn for Tess. I just decided that Cressida was maybe a little too funky and I'd get more use out of Tess. Also, I obviously haven't cared enough about her to pick her up in the past year.

So, here is Tess. The beauty who graces the cover of Martin Storey's Classic Woman.

Martin says I should knit three pieces: two fronts and a back. I say: Nay! I am knitting it in one piece! I will not make a sacrifice to the finishing gods today!

The truth about Scott's hat

2009-03-02T14:51:00.003-05:00

So, I have owed my brother a rasta-style hat for at least two years now, I think it might actually be closer to three. I was really truly going to knit it this December/January, but you may recall that I had serious hat size/gauge/pattern clarity problems, so it never happened. I've been thinking I need to start it again, but it suddenly occurred to me that I don't have nearly enough yarn to make this puppy!!

I remember now that last Spring I ordered two different colors of main line from knit picks as samples to see which one he liked. (By the way, he never responded, so he is also partially responsible for the delay). Now he has chosen the dark brown color (cocoa) so I'm going to have to get more. Which brings me to my dilemma: if I place an order with knit picks, I can't just order two balls of yarn. I just know that I'm going to want something else, then I'm going to end up adding things until I get the free shipping and I'm going to be out $50. The truth is that I would like to buy some lacey yarn to make that Zickzack Tunic in the new issue of Interweave. And I haven't bought any yarn in 58 days, so maybe I deserve some? My other option is to go to the yarn store and pick out a different yarn for him. That's going to be more expensive yarn than knit picks, so I might already be into it like $12, so..... On the other hand, I'm totally broke and the chances that my brother will actually wear this hat are probably slim to none. Reality bites.

SSK

2009-02-20T21:49:00.002-05:00

I used the nifty version of SSK on my cozy and it looks SO MUCH better! Yay ! I wish I'd done this sooner.

decreasing and podcasts

2009-02-16T14:18:00.005-05:00

I used to listen to Kelly Petkun's Knit Picks podcasts all the time while I worked out, but since I sort of dropped the ball on working out over the last 10 months or so (bad!) I haven't really listened to them. I'm not sure if she actually does them anymore because the last one my computer downloaded was in August. Anyhow, today I finally listened to one while I was waiting for the train: episode 21, decreasing.

She had a lot of cool ideas about how to place decreases in your pieces, so I thought I'd make a note of it here so I can go back to the podcast next time I'm in a decreasing bind. One thing I especially want to note is that she suggests making a flatter SSK by slipping the first stitch knitwise and the second purlwise (vs. the traditional instruction of switching them both knitwise.) I'm pretty sure I've heard this before, but I always seem to forget it. Anyway, I'm never really happy with the look of SSK decreases, so I've got to try this. I'm using them in my cashmere arm cosies, so I'll do it next time I pick that up. I still keep meaning to make myself an increase/decrease play swatch to get a feel for all the different methods. One of these days....

p.s. visited iTunes later tonight - it turns out they are still podcasting, but apparently iTunes hasn't been downloading them for me.

Happy Day!

2009-02-14T17:12:00.000-05:00

My Spring issue of Interweave Knits arrived today! YAY!! YAY!! I'm almost sad that I have plans tonight because all I want to do is kick back and bask in its loveliness.

FO: Koolhaas

2009-02-12T18:28:00.003-05:00

Yay for hats! This is by far the most beautiful, awesome hat I have ever knit! I love the texture and it was fun to knit -- not so easy you get bored, but not so complicated that you can't work on it while you watch TV, etc. This is definitely the first of many!

yarn details
Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Dark Rose Heather
20% wool, 80% acrylic
worsted weight
machine wash cool and tumble dry low
85 grams/197 yds @ $2.50 each (on sale)

project details
pattern: "Koolhaas" by Jared Flood, Interweave Knit Gifts 2007, available for purchase online at the Knitting Daily pattern store for $4.50
needles: size 5 and 7 circulars and size 7 dpns
gauge: try as I might, I just can't count out a gauge in the lattice pattern!
yarn used: 132 yards (about 70% of the skein)
finished size: about 15'' in diameter (on brim), 8 inches tall
duration: January 24 - February 11, 2009
cost: about $2.00, plus $4.50 for the pattern

notes

I don't think this was a good yarn for this project. The color is beautiful, but it's a heather and that means it is kind of furry. It's not the kiss of death, but I think a solid colored yarn that gives more stitch definition will really make things pop!
When I joined to knit in the round I did that thing where you switch the places of the first and last stitches. I feel like this made the join less obvious, but it might not have made a difference.
I used the "skimming method" to weave in the ends. Loved it!
I used a random needle tip from my Boye set as a cable needle. This made everything go so much more smoothly. I was hoping to try cabling without a needle on this project, but I think the stitches were pulled too tightly on the circular for it to work - they always unravelled themselves.
The pattern calls for size 6 & 8 needles, I goofed and used 5 & 7. Everything worked out okay, but next time I think I'll go with the recommended needle sizes.
I originally did 4 pattern repeats (for the women's size) but the hat ended up being too short for my liking, so I frogged back and did 5 repeats. Perhaps if I use the correct needle size this won't be necessary.
On all of the knit stitches on this hat you knit through the back loop and I'm pretty sure that I forgot to do that on a bunch of random stitches, just because it is so counter-intuitive. It still looks good, but maybe it isn't as neat as it could have been. Next time I will be more vigilant about it and see if it makes a difference.

FO: Bite Me Pillow

2009-02-12T18:03:00.003-05:00

There's nothing quite like a cynical candy heart pillow to get yourself in the mood for Valentine's Day.

It's a key accessory to make my bed a welcoming place for potential lovers:

yarn details
Lion Brand Chunky USA in Cherry Blossom
100% Acrylic
bulky weight

pattern details
pattern: "Valentine Candy Pillows" by Jennifer Stafford on pg. 105 of Domiknitrix
needles: size 10 straights
size: final dimensions were 7.5'' x 8''
yarn used: 108 yards
time: February 2008 - February 2009

notions
red felt
Unique Stitch fabric glue

notes...

I started this project last year but when it came time to embroider the letters I had massive problems and I got so frustrated that I tossed it in the back of the closet for a year. In that time, I decided to accept the reality that the letters weren't going to happen and made the plan to just make the letters out of felt.
I think did a good job outlining the letters for the embroidery, but it was just impossible for me to fill them in a way that looked remotely nice.
The felt letters are Arial Black, 175 pt. and I glued them down with fabric glue after I already assembled and stuffed the pillow.
In general, I'm pretty unhappy with this project. I think the felt solved my lettering issue, but the heart shapes are just not very pronounced and don't really look good. Also, the way she has you do the seaming is really strange and it looks kind of messy. If I had wanted to spend more time on this project I would have used an attached i-cord to outline the heart shape, at least on the front. But, it's just a fun little decoration to pull out once a year, so I'm not going to lose any (more) sleep over it.

FO: Button-Tab Hat

2009-02-12T17:36:00.004-05:00

It's been a long time since I've knit a hat but I wanted to make one for my friend Christina's birthday this January. I queued this pattern on Ravelry months ago because as soon as I saw it, it reminded me of her. I bought this yarn when I was in SLC for the break. Again, as soon as I saw it, I knew that it was the yarn for this project! I forgot how much fun hats are! Yay! It's too bad Spring is almost over because I want to go on a hat knitting spree.

The hardest part of this project was choosing what buttons to use! I have a huge collection of vintage buttons that I inherited from my grandmother and it was just so hard to decide whether I wanted to do one button, or two, or three, and whether I wanted color or a neutral, size, shape, etc. Oh my! If I had been making the hat for myself I think I would have gone with buttons that were a contrasting color, but I thought Christina is a little more laid back and would like this wood-looking set.

Here's a close-up of the buttons:
yarn details
Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Avacado
20% wool, 80% acrylic
worsted weight
machine wash cool and tumble dry low (however, buttons are not machine washable!)
85 grams/197 yds @ $2.50 each (on sale)

findings
vintage buttons, o.75'' in diameter

project details
pattern: "Button-Tab Hat" by Marcie Nishioka - free at http://i-like-lemons.blogspot.com/2008/01/button-tab-hat-pattern.html
needles: size 8 circulars & dpns
gauge: 19 st and 24 rows in stockinette
yarn used: 112 yards (about 60% of the skein)
finished size: when laid flat - about 8.25” tall and 8.75” wide but 8-8.25” on the ribbed brim
duration: January 6 - January 20, 2009
cost: about $1.50, plus the buttons which are priceless....

notes

I initially tried doing a chain edge on the flap, but it looked way too loose, so I frogged and just did the regular stockinette edge according to the pattern.
The buttons are not functional. In fact, I decided to completely sew the flap down because it was looking a little unruly. It made it look a lot better - definitely worth the extra step!
I had some trouble with the Wool-Ease being splitty. Lame.
FYI: this project was listed as "Mystery" on my projects status bar on the off-chance that the Christina looks at this blog.

More Spring in the air!

2009-02-11T16:24:00.005-05:00

Also in honor of today's lovely weather in Boston, IK has posted the preview of the spring issue! Yay!!! I must knit the Zickzack Tunic the moment the magazine arrives!

Irony

2009-02-11T14:52:00.008-05:00

It's a beautiful Springy day outside! Yay! It's so warm that I didn't even want to zip up my coat! So what did I do? I finished knitting my wool Koolhaas hat! Ha ha. I always do this! I start projects and then by the time I finish them, they are rendered moot by the weather. At least this time I'm pretty sure the heat wave won't last. Sadly, I'm sure Koolhaas will get a chance to make her appearance.

However, on that note: I must finish those arm cosies!!

(p.s. OK - maybe this is only ironic in the eyes of Alanis Morissette...)

Wool-Ease

2009-02-09T16:05:00.002-05:00

I've used Lion Brand's Wool-Ease a few times in the past and I liked it, but I've knit two hats out of it this year and I've found it to be intolerably splitty! What gives? On the plus side, the colors are gorgeous.

Bite Me

2009-02-06T00:53:00.003-05:00

Last year I started making one of the valentine candy pillows from Domiknitrix and I got up to the embroidery part and got so frustrated that I threw it in the back of my closet for a year. So, as Valentine's Day again approaches, I decided it was now or never to finish this thing. Except this time, no embroidery. I'm doing it old school: felt and glue.

So, I spent the whole night seaming up this biotch. Not fun.

Went from this:
To this:

Hooray! Now that I have a fabulously cynical pillow, the real question is: what will my Valentine's Day be like?

A short story about Koolhaas

2009-02-04T13:08:00.004-05:00

I finished my Koolhaas hat on Monday. Whoo hoo! Except, when I tried it on, it was too short. Boo!
It doesn't really look bad, but I like a hat to cover my ears, so it wasn't as functional as I would have liked it to be. I was just going to leave it and remember to make the next one longer, but then I thought, "No, Pepper. There is no point in having an FO that you aren't going to wear." So I decided to undo the bind-off, unravel all the decreases, and add in another pattern repeat.

The decreases are only done over 10 rows, so it seemed silly to live with a hat that I wasn't in love with all for the sake of 10 rows. But let me tell you: unraveling those 10 rows was not easy! Sure, ripping them back was easy (and perversely fun), but it was really hard to find my place in the cable pattern for where I was supposed to start the new repeat. I'm not super familiar with the construction of cables yet, so they still seem a little magic to me - which makes it difficult to understand where I am in the pattern just by looking at the stitches on your my needle. But I learned. Anyway, I finally got it back to where I need to be to start the extra pattern repeat, so I should be finished in no time.

For the record: I did try the hat on before I started decreasing to check the length, I just underestimated how much length the decreases rows would add. Of course, if I had checked my gauge I probably could have made a more precise estimate. I imagine this shortcoming (pun!) was due to my mistake of using smaller needles. Live and learn.

Sore Thumbs

2009-02-01T20:52:00.005-05:00

A long time ago I made myself a cotton headband to hold my hair back while I washed my face at night and I used some iron-on velcro pieces for the closure. I was initially a little worried that the iron-on adhesive wouldn't stick to the yarn, but I was actually pretty pleased with the results. However, as the years have passed, most of the velcro has pulled off or become really loose. It started the first time I washed it and sort of went downhill from there. For probably six months it has been holding on by one little piece of velcro until this morning when I finally decided that enough was enough and I was going to sew the velcro into place.

My thumbs are throbbing from (a) pulling the needle through the thick backing of the velcro and (b) handling the pokey side of the velcro. Even using a thimble and a gribber thing for the needle didn't offer much relief (though they did a good job at slowing me down).

Let me tell you: this took a hell of a lot longer than I ever anticipated!! I was only going to sew down the pieces that had fallen off, but then it became clear that the stronger hold on those pieces was going to pull off the weaker holding pieces on the other side in no time.

So, here is a picture of my handiwork. I used the obnoxious green thread because it was the only heavy duty tapestry thread I has in my kit.

You can see here on the flip side that I did a pretty good job of hiding the stitches, but by about the third hour I started getting much more careless.
Despite my complaining, I'm glad I finally took the time to do this. This is probably the most practical thing I have ever knit - I use it twice a day - so it deserved a little extra care to make it sturdy and happy.

p.s. In the interest of preserving trademarks, let me assure you that this was Velcro brand hook and loop tape. There, now this post counts as studying for my intellectual property class. Sweet!

Koolhaas Progress

2009-01-31T21:34:00.004-05:00

I'm making excellent progress on my koolhaas hat. It's really fun to knit, so I've been cruising through it. I was hoping to try cabling without a needle, but that's not working out. I'm using one of my short little needle tips from the Boye set as a cable needle and it's not slowing me down much.

Two notes: (1) I don't think this was the best yarn for the project. I used a Wool-Ease heather and it's really "hairy" which is competing with the texture of the lattice pattern. (2) I think I need to be knitting this on shorter circs. I'm using the smallest from my set - which is supposedly 20'', but I'm convinced it's closer to 16''. Still, it's pulling the stitches a bit tight. I think those two factors are creating problems for cabling without a needle. No worries because I love the pattern so much that I'll have plenty of chances to try again under more amenable circumstances.

So, here are progress pics. I'm almost ready to start decreasing:

Super close-up!

FO: Sassy Stripes Socks

2009-01-30T21:55:00.003-05:00

These socks were one of those projects which you really hate but you keep knitting it anyway. You know that feeling? Anyway, it turned out that a week before Christmas my mom saw them and loved them. Alas, the poor, ugly, sassy socks found their purpose in life: to be my mom's Christmas present.

yarn details
Moda Dea Sassy Stripes in "Rave"
100% acrylic
DK weight
machine wash cool and tumble dry low
50 grams/152 yds @ $3.95 each

pattern details
pattern: "Knit Socks - LM0131" by Grace Alexander (free)
needles: size 5
size: medium
yarn used: just under 2 skeins, 268 yards
time: Feb. - Dec. 08
total cost: about $8

notes...

I loved the colors in this yarn at first, but the more I kept knitting, the more obnoxious they got. I especially hate the variegated part. Also - the 100% acrylic was just nasty.
The thing I didn't like about these socks was that they made my ankles look fat. I know that sounds silly, but that's how it looked!
In the future I'll avoid knitting all ribbed socks on such large needles - I also think a longer heel flap might have helped a bit. Live and learn.

Mommy's Little Helper

2009-01-30T12:02:00.001-05:00

Fighting the spread of SCD

2009-01-29T11:38:00.000-05:00

Last night I casted on for my second arm cosy to ensure that it wouldn't fall victim to SCD (second cosy disorder). I forgot how amazingly wonderful this cashmere blend yarn is! Yay! It was such a treat to rediscover it.

I had a brief panic because I lost all the notes I made for myself about how to do the decreases (which I said I would post here and never did). Then I found the notes in a stray yellow pad in my magazine stand, so all is right with the world.

Mindful Stitch Markers

2009-01-28T21:00:00.005-05:00

I’ve always wanted to try making my own stitch markers, but it’s one of those things that I just kept putting off. Mostly because I don’t have a whole lot of jewelry making experience and also because I just couldn’t think of a terribly creative idea other than sticking a pretty bead on a headpin.

So, while I was at home I spent a lot of time at all the lovely chain craft stores we have in the burbs and I found some darling charms that weren't too expensive at Michaels that say “Be”, “Here,” and “Now.” (Made by Heart & Soul). They are the perfect size for stitch markers and I love the message because it reminds me to be more mindful while I knit. I bought some small jump rings to attach the charms and some larger rings to use as the actual stitch marker and figured I’d give it a go. (Of course, I knew damn well that all these supplies would probably hang around for a year or so until I got around to making the markers!)

As I was working on my koolhaas hat on Sunday I needed a bunch of stitch markers so I just grabbed the larger rings I bought and started to use them (without the charms) and it turns out that they were absolute hell on my hands! It turns out that I bought split rings instead of smooth jump rings and the little ridges on them hurt my hands since the markers are placed every 8 stitches, so I was always touching one. So, I went back to my standard little set of red and blue markers and they were rough on my hands too – because they aren’t smooth on the edges. (In fact, that's always bugged me about those markers!) I was getting frustrated. So, I decided that I would make my stitch markers there and then just using the charms, the smaller jump rings, and some 26 gauge wire. I even had some pretty beads in my stash so I threw those in as well. I shaped them for a size 10 needle. I suppose necessity is the mother of invention.

I think they turned out really pretty! Here’s a pic.

I ended up making 12 of them… overkill? I don’t know. I like them. I'd like to take a wire wrapping class at the bead store down the street so I can learn how to wrap that wire above and below the bead correctly. I sort of just winged it on these and I think they look fine, they just aren't totally uniform.

my head was cold!

2009-01-26T13:27:00.003-05:00

You may have noticed that I CO'd for the Koolhaas hat over the weekend. I feel kind of guilty because I already have so many WIPs, but it's been really cold here and I need a hat! I keep giving away the ones that I knit. I love the way it's turning out. Here's a pic, I tried it on to make sure it fit, so it looks like a sweatband right now, with really crazy bling (stitch markers)...

I've already screwed up on it twice.

First, I meant to use size 6 needles for the ribbing then move up to size 8 for the pattern, but once I finished the ribbing and went to switch needles I realized that I had used size 5 intead of 6. D'oh! (seriously - how many times do I have to do this before I learn to double check my needles!!). Anyway, I'm forging ahead and using 7's for the lattice part. Luckily, when I tried it on (see above) it fits fine, just a little snug.

Second, I screwed up one of the cable crosses in row 4 and 5 (of 8) and didn't realize it until I started the second pattern repeat. I decided to try dropping the stitches to fix it, but the way the lattice pattern is set up, I ended up having to drop about 16 stitches. As you can guess, I fiddled with it for two hours with a crochet hook, trying to pull up the stitches and then finally ended up frogging it all back to the third row at about 1:00 am. I need to learn that when I screw up that bad to just frog back and not try to just drop the bad stitches!

That link takes you back to the time I did exactly the same thing with my cashmere arm cosies. Speaking of those cosies, I've got second cosy syndrome. I need to CO for the second one soon because it's in danger of being abducted by a UFO. Unfortunately, right now I am totally consumed with this hat.