This is a common misperception, is it not? At this point, a few rows short of halfway, I had 3.5 ounces of knit fabric, and 4 ounces of yarn. I had to rip out project to even get that much, a neckerchief that I never would have worn. I'm pretty sure that I'll have enough to finish, but there is still the question of whether I'll be changing colors in the middle of rows. I also have two untouched skeins leftover from the same sweater as all of the yarn pictured, but as it is a pastel pink it may not be the best match.
With this small sweater I have connected to the Yankee within. Knitting down each tiny skein within an inch of its life and strategizing about when to switch colors has been a true pleasure. I don't think the sweater would have been half as fun if I were working with a bountiful excess of cotton. It feels cleansing to know that there is that much more space left in my showcase box of yarn, although I'm sure some quick rearranging will fill it.
Showing posts with label chugging along. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chugging along. Show all posts
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Surprise!
No matter how shocking the final construction of this garment, the real surprise is that I ever found the pattern again. Sometimes packing up can be a marvelous thing. I've been intending to get this Baby Surprise Jacket started since the end of last summer, and it feels good to be whittling down the yarn in my "use is imminent" box.
That's all for today!
That's all for today!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Stalling
I can't remember exactly how I got this far on the Claudia hat because I haven't been knitting on it for days. I haven't forgotten it but I've definitely been stalling. I'm far enough along to start the decreases for the top, except that I bought my size 6 dpns in January while I was making a concerted effort to control my knitting expenses. My entire purchase that day was within my budget and I was the very embodiment of virtue. I've been paying for it ever since.
I got a set of Susan Bates dpns and they would be perfect except they came in a set of four needles instead of five. Knitting in the round with only four dpns feels awkward, and I have a hard time knitting a few extra stitches onto each needle to move the join. I started doing this when I made my first Odessa, and I've found that moving the join is key to avoiding tension problems in my knitting. I made my first socks on two circulars, and it's fairly clear where one circular ended and the next began. As it was my first attempt with fair-isle, the entirety of the first sock could be said to have some tension issues because I either hadn't heard or didn't take seriously the advise to space out your stitches before changing colors. However, I'm pretty sure that the tightest spots on the sock occur right at the joins because I was overcompensating for the stitches being pulled apart by the weight of the needles. I have one pairs worth of Koigu in my stash from Marylen, and I can guarantee that it will get worked up on five needles if I ever get to it.
I got a set of Susan Bates dpns and they would be perfect except they came in a set of four needles instead of five. Knitting in the round with only four dpns feels awkward, and I have a hard time knitting a few extra stitches onto each needle to move the join. I started doing this when I made my first Odessa, and I've found that moving the join is key to avoiding tension problems in my knitting. I made my first socks on two circulars, and it's fairly clear where one circular ended and the next began. As it was my first attempt with fair-isle, the entirety of the first sock could be said to have some tension issues because I either hadn't heard or didn't take seriously the advise to space out your stitches before changing colors. However, I'm pretty sure that the tightest spots on the sock occur right at the joins because I was overcompensating for the stitches being pulled apart by the weight of the needles. I have one pairs worth of Koigu in my stash from Marylen, and I can guarantee that it will get worked up on five needles if I ever get to it.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Packing up & moving out
Despite the fact that this looks exactly like the back we have come to know and love, this is the front. Mo and I had a crazy busy weekend--I finished my last college paper on Friday morning at 3 am, and three hours later a friend drove us to the Springfield train station for a trip to Philly. I would have accomplished more of the sweater on the way down, but I was understandably exhausted and didn't even get all the way through the ribbing. Packing at three in the morning is never a good idea, especially when there is unpleasant weather on the horizon. Neither of us remembered (or should I say, both remembered and packed) a rain jacket, so we were freezing and soggy on the first day of our visit. We did not find an apartment we liked, but spending time in the area gave us a much better idea of where to look.
I started packing up my things today. The first box is always the hardest for me, and I tend to start with something easy. When I left for college it was my favorite books, and today it was all the yarn I don't plan on using over the next five days. I found and tried on a second iteration of Green Gables which is much better than the first but still needs some tweaking with the sleeves. We'll have to see what I'm up for once I've finished with this purple beauty. The bursts of colder weather we keep having are taunting me, telling me that if I finished the sweater by Sunday I'd be able to wear it to graduation, but I'm pretty sure that I don't want to spend my last week (almost half over already!) knitting on a deadline.
I started packing up my things today. The first box is always the hardest for me, and I tend to start with something easy. When I left for college it was my favorite books, and today it was all the yarn I don't plan on using over the next five days. I found and tried on a second iteration of Green Gables which is much better than the first but still needs some tweaking with the sleeves. We'll have to see what I'm up for once I've finished with this purple beauty. The bursts of colder weather we keep having are taunting me, telling me that if I finished the sweater by Sunday I'd be able to wear it to graduation, but I'm pretty sure that I don't want to spend my last week (almost half over already!) knitting on a deadline.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Claudia hat
I may or may not have started this hat because I wanted to take a picture of something besides Alouette. This is the Claudia hat by MJ Kim at exartstudent, and it turns out that the chart I was so excited about before is entirely unnecessary. I still think it's a pretty chart and amazing that something so professional looking can be made online, for free, but I digress. This pattern is destined for stardom. I feel it in my bones.
I'm using Malabrigo Merino Worsted, which I first saw in person when Mo's mom Lydia (hi!) gave Mo a gorgeous gray version of the My So Called Scarf. Now I understand why everyone goes nuts for the stuff. It truly is amazingly soft. The colors in the photo look a little more blue than the yarn is in real life, which is slightly more emphatic about being purple than I realized in the store (not that I mind, I'm on a purple kick as well). It's a bit tight doing all the cables on size 4 needles and if I were to start over again I might use a size 5 circular. Then again, I might not. We've probably figured out by now that I am highly attracted to knitting tightly even though I know it isn't good for me.
I just listened to the most recent episode of YKnit, which will be up in the sidebar as soon as I have a spare moment. It was a really interesting episode, they interviewed Lucy Neatby and I highly recommend taking a listen.
I'm using Malabrigo Merino Worsted, which I first saw in person when Mo's mom Lydia (hi!) gave Mo a gorgeous gray version of the My So Called Scarf. Now I understand why everyone goes nuts for the stuff. It truly is amazingly soft. The colors in the photo look a little more blue than the yarn is in real life, which is slightly more emphatic about being purple than I realized in the store (not that I mind, I'm on a purple kick as well). It's a bit tight doing all the cables on size 4 needles and if I were to start over again I might use a size 5 circular. Then again, I might not. We've probably figured out by now that I am highly attracted to knitting tightly even though I know it isn't good for me.
I just listened to the most recent episode of YKnit, which will be up in the sidebar as soon as I have a spare moment. It was a really interesting episode, they interviewed Lucy Neatby and I highly recommend taking a listen.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Progress on Alouette
My goal was to finish the back before taking another picture, but it was suitably overcast this morning and I couldn't resist. Look! Armhole shaping!
Even though I have a long way to go, I'm looking forward to seaming this up. What I am not looking forward to is dealing with all of the ends. Working on the striped Kidsilk Haze scarf reminded me that I can keep some of the yarn running up the side instead of cutting after every color block. In the picture here it may be hard to tell exactly what's going on because the yarn is actually attached to the sweater outside of the frame, but I've just finished the first 2 rows of brown and started knitting with the cream. I've left the brown attached and when I've finished the back-and-forth with the cream I'll pick up the brown again and keep knitting. Besides a few accidental cuts, I've nearly been able to halve the number of ends I'll have to deal with later, which is a huge help.
Even though I have a long way to go, I'm looking forward to seaming this up. What I am not looking forward to is dealing with all of the ends. Working on the striped Kidsilk Haze scarf reminded me that I can keep some of the yarn running up the side instead of cutting after every color block. In the picture here it may be hard to tell exactly what's going on because the yarn is actually attached to the sweater outside of the frame, but I've just finished the first 2 rows of brown and started knitting with the cream. I've left the brown attached and when I've finished the back-and-forth with the cream I'll pick up the brown again and keep knitting. Besides a few accidental cuts, I've nearly been able to halve the number of ends I'll have to deal with later, which is a huge help.
Monday, April 21, 2008
An armful of yarny goodness.
I have been dutifully working on Alouette, and I've managed to catch up to the length I had before recognizing my mistake with the stripes. I will be much happier finishing the sweater now that it has symmetric color striping, but there was something interesting about the not-quite-as-rigid color changing. I think my next experiment with stripes will be a little more spur of the moment.
In the meantime, here's what I have hiding in my closet (because really, how many pictures of that sweater can you stand in a row?). It's all Dale Baby Ull. I wasn't sure about the orange before I held them all up with the skein of white, but now I'm convinced that the colors will work. I'm still waiting for a circumference measurement on the intended recipient, and I don't mind the short repreive. Having already missed the birthday, any further delay that isn't my fault is fine by me.
In the meantime, here's what I have hiding in my closet (because really, how many pictures of that sweater can you stand in a row?). It's all Dale Baby Ull. I wasn't sure about the orange before I held them all up with the skein of white, but now I'm convinced that the colors will work. I'm still waiting for a circumference measurement on the intended recipient, and I don't mind the short repreive. Having already missed the birthday, any further delay that isn't my fault is fine by me.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Revisiting the Tortoise and the Hare
It wasn't until I saw this picture sized down on Flickr that I realized I've been following the stripe pattern improperly. The second set of brown stripes is supposed to have a total of six oatmeal rows right below it, but right now there are only two. What a bummer. I don't really mind the ripping out, it's just that I now feel like I have thoroughly wasted all the time I spent knitting between taking the photo and actually looking at it.
I was just reveling in how much better I was doing this time around, too. If you ignore the frogging festivities about to take place, I've already caught up with where I was in the fall. The best part about this news is that I haven't been an obsessive maniac this time around. In the fall I was committed to cranking this out, and I spent such long stretches of time knitting that my hands started to hurt. Strangely enough, it wasn't actually the knitting motion that started giving me problems. I keep having to toss around the balls to let out some of the extra twist that gets introduced with every stitch, and all that flipping was making my wrists hurt. I don't know if this overtwisting is a common problem or particular to certain types of yarn, but I can't remember hearing anything about it before. Fortunately there have been no wrist problems so far.
I was just reveling in how much better I was doing this time around, too. If you ignore the frogging festivities about to take place, I've already caught up with where I was in the fall. The best part about this news is that I haven't been an obsessive maniac this time around. In the fall I was committed to cranking this out, and I spent such long stretches of time knitting that my hands started to hurt. Strangely enough, it wasn't actually the knitting motion that started giving me problems. I keep having to toss around the balls to let out some of the extra twist that gets introduced with every stitch, and all that flipping was making my wrists hurt. I don't know if this overtwisting is a common problem or particular to certain types of yarn, but I can't remember hearing anything about it before. Fortunately there have been no wrist problems so far.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Starting over
I was all set to buy yarn this weekend, but Webs doesn't carry Dale Baby Ull in orange, which I really think would be ideal for the whale sweater. I found a ball via Ravelry and I'm waiting for that to show up, but I had to start something in the meantime. I have several sweaters'-worth of yarn, but I'm still trying to work out exactly which yarn belongs to which pattern. It seemed safest to return to Alouette, a long-neglected project which has been hiding in my closet for several months. I don't think I ever gave a proper explanation for why this sweater dropped out of view, but maybe the picture gives you a hint. I swear that I made a large swatch, which I even washed it before measuring. Somehow when I started the actual sweater it grew more than I expected. I was extremely reluctant to notice how large the back was, so I ended up knitting almost all of the way to the armpit before measuring. It's a full two inches wider than intended, which is far outside the range of fudging. I've now started over again in a smaller size, and I'm falling in love with this sweater (and yarn) all over again. I can't wait to wear it and I hope there are a few brisk spring days left by the time I'm done.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Fairy Godmother, part II
The second amazing thing that happened when I visited Marylen was that she let me borrow two of her Denise cables and her size 7 tips. I had finished the body and both sleeves of the sweater, but I was having the hardest time attaching the sleeves to start the yoke. My needles were simply too long and inflexible to go all the way around the diameter of the tiny, baby-sized sleeves. I tried using the two-circulars method, but that didn't work out either. Maybe I was just being impatient, but it was getting incredibly complicated, especially because the pattern has you graft together the underarm stitches at the very end, so there were 2 extra balls of yarn getting tangled in everything. These needles are both shorter and a little bendy, so the yoke is no longer a problem.
I actually already finished this on Friday, but because I'm figuring out the decreases and short rows as I go along, the first attempt came out looking like a linebacker. It was incredibly depressing. So far this attempt is looking much better (although if my monitor is any indication, flickr is having some issues and you can't tell what the sweater looks like at all. I will try to fix the picture issue later).
I actually already finished this on Friday, but because I'm figuring out the decreases and short rows as I go along, the first attempt came out looking like a linebacker. It was incredibly depressing. So far this attempt is looking much better (although if my monitor is any indication, flickr is having some issues and you can't tell what the sweater looks like at all. I will try to fix the picture issue later).
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Reincarnation
Do you remember seeing that Youtube video a while ago where the knitter was on a cliff, and she ran out of yarn so she started knitting from her sweater, and then she ran out of sweater so she started knitting her own hair? That's what I feel like while I'm working on the sleeve for the toddler-sized Cobblestone. Ordinarily I would have unwound and rinsed the yarn to relax the kinks out of it, but I followed a hunch that it would straighten out on its own, and it's been working better than I expected. I think it's because of the two levels of plying (each ply in the yarn is itself a two ply strand).
Mo and I are in St. Louis because Mo is writing a paper about the construction of the Arch, so I may have a traveling sleeve pic over the next few days. My goal is to completely finish this sweater by the time we get back to Northampton on Sunday, but there's a lot of church happening in the next few days so I'm not sure how much I'll get done before our flight.
After going to the Central Library today (which has an amazing reading room) we picked up Mo's mom Lydia and went to Knitorious, their local knitting shop. I was really impressed with their selection of yarns and I'd love to go back sometime when I don't have a million and six projects on needles. Tomorrow we're going to a bead shop so Lydia can pick out some beads to make Odessa, which should be exciting. I haven't gone looking for beads since elementary school, so this should be a new experience.
Mo and I are in St. Louis because Mo is writing a paper about the construction of the Arch, so I may have a traveling sleeve pic over the next few days. My goal is to completely finish this sweater by the time we get back to Northampton on Sunday, but there's a lot of church happening in the next few days so I'm not sure how much I'll get done before our flight.
After going to the Central Library today (which has an amazing reading room) we picked up Mo's mom Lydia and went to Knitorious, their local knitting shop. I was really impressed with their selection of yarns and I'd love to go back sometime when I don't have a million and six projects on needles. Tomorrow we're going to a bead shop so Lydia can pick out some beads to make Odessa, which should be exciting. I haven't gone looking for beads since elementary school, so this should be a new experience.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Doubts...
I finished up the back of Jordan's sweater yesterday, and I am having second thoughts about several things. The first is sizing; 30" is way too big. This can be easily remedied.
The second is this combination of yarn and pattern. It has definitely been nice (and fast) knitting with worsted weight wool, and the stitches themselves look gorgeous. However, if I'm going to start over with this yarn in a smaller size, I will have fewer stitches, and I really don't want to loose any more detail with the whale on the front.
One thing I'm not having regrets about is this garter stitch border. In fact, I think it may be the only thing I will really miss when I start ripping this out. I started thinking about designs that incorporate an abundance of garter stitch. Everything by Elizabeth Zimmerman came to mind, especially the Baby Surprise Jacket and the Tomtom jacket, although I had a disturbingly difficult time finding anything she has written, despite my absolute certainty that 2 books and 1 pattern sheet are hidden in my bedroom. ("Disturbingly difficult" may be interpreted to mean that I did not actually find any of them) After this brief interlude I thought of Jared Flood's Cobblestone, clearly inspired by Zimmerman, and everything seems to have clicked into place.
I refuse to buy more yarn to make this sweater before I have used up the Zenith. Pangs of guilt will eat through me like Coke on a car bonnet if I take a trip to Webs before the final blocking. Conveniently enough for me, Jordan is a twin. The Zenith can remain designated as Jordan's yarn, re-purposed for a toddler sized Cobblestone, and his sister Isla will now be the lucky recipient of a whale sweater. Doubly lucky for me, because when I switch to a smaller yarn (I'm thinking Dale Falk or Baby Ull) I'll also be able to make a smaller sweater overall; Jordan is much taller than his sister. If I'm going to switch to a sport or even fingering weight yarn, though, I'm definitely going to take a less cavalier attitude about measurements before casting on. The last fingering weight sweater I cast on was Allouette, and the only appropriate description of its status is...languishing.
(Just a note--there is a fantastic example of a scaled-down Cobblestone here)
The second is this combination of yarn and pattern. It has definitely been nice (and fast) knitting with worsted weight wool, and the stitches themselves look gorgeous. However, if I'm going to start over with this yarn in a smaller size, I will have fewer stitches, and I really don't want to loose any more detail with the whale on the front.
One thing I'm not having regrets about is this garter stitch border. In fact, I think it may be the only thing I will really miss when I start ripping this out. I started thinking about designs that incorporate an abundance of garter stitch. Everything by Elizabeth Zimmerman came to mind, especially the Baby Surprise Jacket and the Tomtom jacket, although I had a disturbingly difficult time finding anything she has written, despite my absolute certainty that 2 books and 1 pattern sheet are hidden in my bedroom. ("Disturbingly difficult" may be interpreted to mean that I did not actually find any of them) After this brief interlude I thought of Jared Flood's Cobblestone, clearly inspired by Zimmerman, and everything seems to have clicked into place.
I refuse to buy more yarn to make this sweater before I have used up the Zenith. Pangs of guilt will eat through me like Coke on a car bonnet if I take a trip to Webs before the final blocking. Conveniently enough for me, Jordan is a twin. The Zenith can remain designated as Jordan's yarn, re-purposed for a toddler sized Cobblestone, and his sister Isla will now be the lucky recipient of a whale sweater. Doubly lucky for me, because when I switch to a smaller yarn (I'm thinking Dale Falk or Baby Ull) I'll also be able to make a smaller sweater overall; Jordan is much taller than his sister. If I'm going to switch to a sport or even fingering weight yarn, though, I'm definitely going to take a less cavalier attitude about measurements before casting on. The last fingering weight sweater I cast on was Allouette, and the only appropriate description of its status is...languishing.
(Just a note--there is a fantastic example of a scaled-down Cobblestone here)
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Jordan's Whale
How cute is this whale? You have no idea how excited I am about knitting this chart. I've been kicking around the idea of a blue sweater with an orange whale since my very first attempt at colorwork (it was this tiny scrap). The orange is an aggressive color, so I've inserted a purple "W" to help bridge the gap between the deep blue and the bright orange. I haven't brought this in to Webs yet, so I'm not sure if the shade will be right, but if it seems off I think I'll go for either a green or a light blue.
I've solicited through Ravelry and found a knitter willing to send me a scrap to use for the eye, which is fantastic because buying an entire ball of yarn for that single stitch would be absolutely ridiculous.
I've already knit the back of the sweater up past the bottom of the sleeve join, and I'm a little concerned that it will be gigantic when it's finished. I'm making the 30" circumference size, and Jordan is only turning two, but he's on the tall side. The family lives in a warm climate so he'll have quite a while before he needs a sweater again. Besides, 3 year olds can wear whales, right?
I've solicited through Ravelry and found a knitter willing to send me a scrap to use for the eye, which is fantastic because buying an entire ball of yarn for that single stitch would be absolutely ridiculous.
I've already knit the back of the sweater up past the bottom of the sleeve join, and I'm a little concerned that it will be gigantic when it's finished. I'm making the 30" circumference size, and Jordan is only turning two, but he's on the tall side. The family lives in a warm climate so he'll have quite a while before he needs a sweater again. Besides, 3 year olds can wear whales, right?
Monday, March 03, 2008
Monette update
You may remember a disastrous attempt at casting on for this scarf several months ago. I, on the other hand, have blithely forgotten. It turns out that my blunt needles were indeed to blame. A switch to Addi lace needles has removed all frustration, which bodes well for the chances that this little half scarf will ever be finished. In order to get a lace edge at both ends, Monette is knit in two pieces towards the middle and then grafted together, which explains the bright white line along the edge in the picture. I was so scarred by the cast on process the first time around that I didn't have the guts to rip out even a measly four rows when I realized that my lace had somehow gotten shifted over, so I'm going to be extra attentive with the lace section when I get started again.
It turns out that I am short on needles, having lent Mo the pair I would use to get started on the Claudia hat, so that project may remain on hold for a while. Additionally I can't tell whether the yarn I was going to use smells like sheep or cigarettes. I find this disturbing. The only other worsted I have on hand is a cotton, which I can't justify knitting with in such cold weather.
I feel a bit like the proverbial kid in a candy store; I 'm ready to get started on so many projects that I am completely overwhelmed. I'm guessing that this only increases with stash growth. I have been trying to moderate my yarn acquisition and use up all of my leftovers, but at this point I need more drastic measures. I don't need a yarn diet, I need a cleansing fast. Bring on the carrot juice.
It turns out that I am short on needles, having lent Mo the pair I would use to get started on the Claudia hat, so that project may remain on hold for a while. Additionally I can't tell whether the yarn I was going to use smells like sheep or cigarettes. I find this disturbing. The only other worsted I have on hand is a cotton, which I can't justify knitting with in such cold weather.
I feel a bit like the proverbial kid in a candy store; I 'm ready to get started on so many projects that I am completely overwhelmed. I'm guessing that this only increases with stash growth. I have been trying to moderate my yarn acquisition and use up all of my leftovers, but at this point I need more drastic measures. I don't need a yarn diet, I need a cleansing fast. Bring on the carrot juice.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Another Odessa
I never actually showed you the first Odessa I made, but you'll have to trust me. I made one, and it looked remarkably like this one (same beads, same yarn, same pattern...). I was inspired by the many many iterations of this hat Teresa made, particularly the cream colored hat with contrasting wooden beads (Ravelry link for all six (!)). When I noticed that one of her hats had been made out of Wool Bam Boo, I decided it would be a great way to use up the scraps I had left from the Green Gable I finished this summer. Actually, that's a lie. First I inquired how much yarn it had taken, and then I decided it would be a great way to use up leftovers.
Both hats have been smooth sailing. When I made the first one I had severe problems locating size six needles. For one thing I hadn't yet gotten a set of size 6 dpn's, and for another I didn't realize that a 24" circular needle was A. the right size, and B. hidden in my closet, coincidentally attached to another as-yet-unfinished Green Gable. Since finishing the first hat I have realized both item A and B, so this time I've switched to 6's after finishing the brim, as instructed. I can't really tell the difference (besides the speed issue), although I no longer have the first hat in my possession.
I'm modifying the pattern slightly the second time around and I'm only putting 2 plain rows between each beaded row.
Both hats have been smooth sailing. When I made the first one I had severe problems locating size six needles. For one thing I hadn't yet gotten a set of size 6 dpn's, and for another I didn't realize that a 24" circular needle was A. the right size, and B. hidden in my closet, coincidentally attached to another as-yet-unfinished Green Gable. Since finishing the first hat I have realized both item A and B, so this time I've switched to 6's after finishing the brim, as instructed. I can't really tell the difference (besides the speed issue), although I no longer have the first hat in my possession.
I'm modifying the pattern slightly the second time around and I'm only putting 2 plain rows between each beaded row.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Nearly finished tam
What a coy young mannequin! And what a stylish hat she wears! I'm not marking this complete, however, until it has been thoroughly felted and blocked. This is looking less tam and more toque at present. The disadvantage to using a bulky yarn where it isn't called for is that it tends to enlarge the final product (imagine that). I've already tried felting it once by hand in a bucket but this method was clearly met with limited success. I could have sworn that the stitches had begun to loose their definition and become a fuzzy blob of woolen love, and as soon as it dried out the tiniest bit I realized that the only change I had made was to create a slight halo effect. Into the washer it goes!
You can see along the cast on edge that the brim rolls out away from the face; I've now made the same mistake two projects in a row by knitting in the wrong direction after casting on all of my stitches. I noticed fairly early in both projects and decided just to roll with the punches. I'm not sure if one or both of the hats will be for me, so we'll have to see what bothers me more: wearing it myself, or sending it off as a gift knowing it isn't technically my best work.
You can see along the cast on edge that the brim rolls out away from the face; I've now made the same mistake two projects in a row by knitting in the wrong direction after casting on all of my stitches. I noticed fairly early in both projects and decided just to roll with the punches. I'm not sure if one or both of the hats will be for me, so we'll have to see what bothers me more: wearing it myself, or sending it off as a gift knowing it isn't technically my best work.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Fake Fair Isle Tam
I am loving these colors. The main color is Tahki Yarns Bunny in colorway 041, and the contrast colors are from Noro Kureyon colorway 92. These have both been sitting in my little box of stash for over a year. The Noro was one of the very first yarns I ever bought, but I never actually made bag I was planning. Even better than knitting out of the stash, though, is liberating myself from a soul sucking project. I originally bought 3 balls of the Bunny to design a scarf. I managed to knit a little more than a ball's worth of yarn, but the design had a major problem in addition to my whole I-can't-stand-to-knit-scarves attitude. I was trying to make a pattern stand out using just knitting and purling to create a texture. The repeat was just easy enough to make me zone out, but just difficult enough that I would mess up every time. No more!
Check out this and the other two tams in the Winter issue of Knitty.
Check out this and the other two tams in the Winter issue of Knitty.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Alouette progress
I'm nearly done with the first repeat of the stripe pattern, which means I'm done with a bit more than 1/10th of the sweater. It seems so much smaller when I think of it that way. 
So far there haven't been any major mistakes. Two rows into the first color change I realized that four rows earlier I skipped a yarn over right in the middle. I went back to fix it, and then I realized I had used the wrong color when I switched. It looks much better with the brown, the lavender was kind of blah.
I'm taking a class on Landscape Plants & Issues, and for my field guide I've been taking pictures of lots of the plants on campus. Here is one of my favorites:
This is a picture of Liriope spicata, which is used as a groundcover. It is a bulb, and remains green for most of the year. It gets ratty for a few weeks at the end of the winter, but when new growth begins it arches out from the center and covers old growth. It shouldn't be mowed and it is easy to rake. It spreads by lateral rhizomes and tolerates shade to sun as long as it isn't dry.
Knitting may be slow around these parts for a while, so there will probably be a few more plant updates.
So far there haven't been any major mistakes. Two rows into the first color change I realized that four rows earlier I skipped a yarn over right in the middle. I went back to fix it, and then I realized I had used the wrong color when I switched. It looks much better with the brown, the lavender was kind of blah.I'm taking a class on Landscape Plants & Issues, and for my field guide I've been taking pictures of lots of the plants on campus. Here is one of my favorites:
This is a picture of Liriope spicata, which is used as a groundcover. It is a bulb, and remains green for most of the year. It gets ratty for a few weeks at the end of the winter, but when new growth begins it arches out from the center and covers old growth. It shouldn't be mowed and it is easy to rake. It spreads by lateral rhizomes and tolerates shade to sun as long as it isn't dry.Knitting may be slow around these parts for a while, so there will probably be a few more plant updates.
Friday, August 17, 2007
The Great Reveal
I had a bizarre experience finding out that my mom had cancer. For one thing, biostatistics is all about cancer, that and heart disease, so almost all of the studies we’d looked at or been told about for the past four weeks had involved clinical trials of either a chemo treatment or a beta blocker. Makes me quite glad to be getting back to completing my math degree; I don’t think the risks associated are quite as dangerous. 
Yes, I know there’s a mistake in three quarters of a row of the first repeat. The cables are what I like to describe as a non-event. I think there may be a row of cables crossed in the wrong direction as well, but I couldn’t quite figure it out when I looked earlier. The real issue with the hat is that it isn’t quite a hat yet.
“Hmm, let’s have a picnic!”
“Rachel, I have a set.”
“Of dishes? That’s good.”
“Rachel, I found a ring.”
“Wow, that’s lucky! Is it pretty?”
“Rachel, there’s suddenly a river flowing through the backyard and we need to know the cumulative volume of water flowing through our property over a week.”
“…”
“We have equations.”
See? No problem. Terrible math jokes aside, it was pretty intense coming home two weeks later, because my mom had waited for a few weeks before telling my brother and me. This meant that she had already had surgery before I got home, and was in the midst of a flurry of doctor’s appointments before her first chemo treatment. That first week was pretty much all cancer, all the time.
Well, that’s not exactly true. There’s been quite a lot of knitting.
Yes, I know there’s a mistake in three quarters of a row of the first repeat. The cables are what I like to describe as a non-event. I think there may be a row of cables crossed in the wrong direction as well, but I couldn’t quite figure it out when I looked earlier. The real issue with the hat is that it isn’t quite a hat yet.More of a bowl cozy. I realized somewhere around the beginning of the fourth repeat that I was running out of yarn. You know that point where the center pull ball is no longer a solid object and starts collapsing in on itself? Very scary for that to happen when you aren’t even close to starting the decreases. Especially if you are on a road trip taking your brother to visit colleges and you have no other suitable projects for car knitting. I knit tighter and tighter as the rows went by, but I couldn’t make up for the incredible looseness of those first repeats. Fortunately for all parties involved, there was another ball of Calmer left in Khaki from the same dyelot. In fact, there was only one, so it’s lucky that I got to it first.
(By the way, if anyone is looking to buy Rowan yarns, Richesse Online is having a sale to help clear out there warehouse for a move. Now that I have stocked up for several projects I can let you in on the secret.)
Besides the whole running out of yarn issue, I love this pattern. It’s interesting, each row is easy to remember (although I did clearly make a mistake, so just be careful when you pick it up again after putting it down), it changes frequently, and it keeps you on your toes. Grumperina’s excellent tutorial on ditching the cable needle has been invaluable (I thought that word was right and I checked); I don’t think I would have gotten half as far in twice as much time if I hadn’t finally taught myself the technique. For anyone starting the pattern I would suggest using a sticky note to underline the working row, and crossing out the row numbers as you complete them.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Green Gables
This photo is terribly out of date. It was about at this point that I realized I had knit the first row in the wrong direction. Ridiculous, no? I guess I was just skimming the pattern instead of actually reading it, and I assumed that if you are going to knit something in the round you join it immediately after casting on. Lesson learned, I suppose.This is the first thing that I have frogged completely. I definitely had a hard time with the idea of starting over, so it spent a few months just sitting around. I didn't really have time to be knitting anything, so it wasn't that I was intentionally neglecting it, but it helped me gain perspective.
Knitting this has taught me that the extra time it takes to remove stitches from needles and place them on scrap yarn is worth every precious second. It definitely makes it easier to try something on if you aren't worried about stitches falling off in the back, and isn't the ability to try something on the whole point of knitting from the top down?
I've finished all of the knitting and woven in the ends. One thing that puzzles me, though, is how to block something like this. I can't remember ever coming across information about blocking apiece knit in the round from the top down. I guess a trip to the library once I get home should provide some answers.
For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to bring a camera with me and leave the cable connection at home, so I can't post a current picture for a few weeks.
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