Two more down. One to go.

It's Santa's sweatshop up in here.

Female gifts are done.  Contemplating male gifts.  Males tend to appreciate handmade craftiness, uh... less.  How much ass-busting do I want to put into that?

I would also like to mention that I've been stupid-busy and have had little time for knitting and yet being forced to finish up some projects for Christmas has been really really really therapeutic.  It is my therapy.  Maybe doing male gifts would be more for me than for them.  And isn't that the true meaning of the holiday season?  HA!

In for Fall: bland sweaters & psychedelic hobo gloves. (um, yeah!)

I have emerged from my webmd-diagnosed TB/pneumonia long enough to take pictures of recent projects... well, SOME of them.  Others must remain unrevealed for a few more weeks.  Anyway, here's the Owl sweater (sans button eyes) and and pair or Maine Morning Mitts... which turned out slightly odd.  Because it takes one skein to make these and Noro Kureyon only rotates each color through one time in that skein, you basically end up with different colored gloves.  Unless you want to buy two and have four mitts.  Yeah... no.  A certain someone will just have to appear schizophrenic.  I maintain that this will only benefit all other hobo-related activities.

**Also in for Fall: lung related diseases.  Tres derelict, my friends.  So hot right now.

Yup.

I totally whipped out an Owl sweater over the weekend but do not have the wherewithal to take a photo and then, like, put it {here.}  Sorry.  Apparently Owl sweaters are my kryptonite.

Snappy!

Yeah, another distraction project.  This pattern is called a Snappy Hat.  I had a leftover ball of Nashua Creative Focus Chunky from the modern garden cardigan.  This is such a fast, easy project.  I did run out of yarn and had to dig out the last scrap from the cardigan from the bottom of my stash to finish it.  I recommend omitting a row before starting the decreases if you're cutting it close.  Since your last cable is 2 stitches smaller than the others anyway, it kind of blends in.  I'm thinking this may be a Christmas present for one of my sisters who happens to lurv green.  It's amazing what you can glean from project scraps.

I hate sleeves / Hello, Indian Summer

(To knit.  Not to wear.)

Down to just the sleeves and a buttload of ends to weave in on the Jolly Rancher Sweater.  So, in the name of procrastination, I knit a hat.  This is called "Indian Summer."  I did it in about 2 days but it could be done in 1 if you were focused.  Now it's finished and Jolly Rancher sleeves are waiting again.  I could go ahead and start the Owl sweater but then I would have 4 sleeves to knit instead of 2 and I might lose my mind.

Knitting makes me so ADD sometimes.

Ahhh, Jolly Rancher colors...

Oh, thank God.

I finished the 28thirty.  I forced myself to step away from the double pointed needles and to learn the magic loop method for the sleeves.  If I'd had any clue how much more tolerable magic loop was, I would have tried it a long time ago.  Once I got going on that, I whipped out two full sleeves in about a day and a half and now I can get on with my life!!!  (As soon as I block it and take a picture, that is.)

Next up, I'm doing a pattern called the "Candy Striped Raglan Sweater" but I'm actually naming mine the "Jolly Rancher Sweater."  It will make perfect sense later when you see the colors I'm using.  Going with Ella Rae in "Cactus" for the main color and Noro Kureyon in 256 for the stripes.  This is as close to colorwork as I intend to get for a while. 

I have another gift to do after that (which shall remain unspecified for the moment) then I plan to do the Owl sweater.  Then I will be taking a break for a bit to focus on other things.  Yeah, we'll see about that.

Hats & Sleeve Madness

The sleeves on 28thirty are making me crazy.  I hope this doesn't break my brain and make me want to avoid... stuff.  Neverending rows on double pointed needles is just ridiculous.

SO I stopped to knit two hats.  One as a gift (not to be pictured yet) and one for myself (so I'll talk about THAT one.)  I did a pattern called "Slouchy 2 Way Cabled Hat" which features a horseshoe cable and also standard cables.  It fits like a big, droopy kind of beret.  I used some more of the Misti Alpaca in Ember Melange... which leaves maybe one more skein before it's gone.  Ugh.  I love this yarn but jeeze.  Because of the Misti, the hat is kind of heavy which is not objectionable at all.  The weight of it is strangely comforting.

Back to sleeves.

Fresh Moss & 28thirty

So, the knitting portion of the Fresh Moss bag is finished.  Only sewing left.  That pattern was NUTS.  Triple increases on the front end, triple decreases at the back end.  It was strangely difficult.  The piece itself is surprisingly heavy for its size but really cute and puffy looking.

So, now I have the 28thirty to finish and I am not motivated.  Sleeves are no fun.  I want to start my Owl-sweater but I will not allow myself to start anything new until I finish this dang thing.  Uhhhhhhh...

Nerd Alert

I was so excited about the buttons (I have a thing about buttons) that I sewed them on before I knitted the sleeves.  To further cement my place as uber-nerd, I have created a "Button" label for future posts... because there is a high likelihood I will write about them in the future. Riiiiight.

Update

Okay, so 28thirty is more than halfway done.  The body is finished and I just need to go back and finish the sleeves.

I've abandoned the Herringbone Project.  Um, colorwork.  Enough said.  I knitted until my right hand was swollen last night (more on that later.)  Also, I think the Rainbow Shrug broke my brain.  Anything tedious makes me twitch these days.  I just can't.

So anyhoo, to attempt something not unlike Fair Isle in this state of mind and when I have a deadline would just be ridiculous.  This is being replaced by the Fresh Moss bag-- which I can't post about in detail until after October 5th... or whenever it will be gifted.  Maybe sooner.  I made the decision to change so that I would be working with a single color then previously mentioned swelling started.  My hand still hurts.  A row of triple increases nearly breaking my needles from the tension will do that.

Speed knitting???

Okay, this just made me laugh.  I move at about 100x this woman's speed and 1% of her efficiency.  I am so ridiculously slow compared to her!  But I'm tickled all the same-- it looks like the video is sped up but it isn't.  I can't even fathom how fast she must complete projects.

Maybe I should learn continental style.  HA!!!!

28thirty: Part II

Just the neck and the beginning of the shoulder increases.  Good times.

The Emerald Garden Cardigan Finished

Might do hook & eye closures in addition to the buttons.  Haven't decided yet.  Lessons with this project:  Wrap & Turn (to build up the back collar via short rows) and chart reading.

the zenith of laziness (as illustrated by my lack of capitol letters)

just realized I have multiple completed projects on which I never bothered to weave in the ends or block.  woopsie.  pretty lame considering all the real work is done and blocking makes a huge difference.  maybe i'll go back to bed.

28thirty: Part I

The Emerald Garden Cardigan is done as of yesterday.  I just need to weave in the ends, buy and sew on buttons then I can take photos.  It turned out really nice.  The leaf pattern gives it a nice hour-glassy shape-- even through the sleeves.  My elbow sits right in the "butt" of the leaf.

Now that I've completed a fast 100% instant gratification project, I guess it's time to get back to some of the tedious stuff.  I'm really going to miss knitting something chunky.  (Guess I needed a recovery project after the Rainbow Shrug from hell.) 

On deck is a "28thirty" sweater.  I'm still not sure if I'm going to do any mods on this.  As written, I need about 700 yards to make this.  I have about 880.  If I want to do a non-cropped version, long sleeves could be a problem.  So I could do long body/short sleeves or short body/long sleeves.  OR I could buy more yarn.  Er.  I'm about a million 4.5mm stitches away from that decision.  180 extra yards may be JUST enough to do absolutely nothing.  Anyway, using Cascade 220 in 2444 which is a nice heathered red-- like lava or something.  Very pretty.  I don't own anything in red anyway.

So, this makes my seventh sweater (if you count shrugs) since I started knitting in mid-June.  How many am I going to do seeing as I'm knocking them out so fast?  Well, I have yarn for a buttony after this so definitely eight.  After that, I don't know.  Maybe I'll try something more complex.  Or maybe I'll try to make my own pattern.  Or maybe I'll try my hand at sewing.  Who knows.  I'm about a billion stitches from that decision.

Emerald Garden Cardigan: Part I

Started Veera Välimäki's "Modern Garden Cardigan" today. I'm using Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Chunky in Emerald.  This is my first project that involved a chart… Um, knitting charts are apparently not like cross-stitch charts. I don’t know why it took 3 tries at row 3 on chart A and then 5 or 6 on row 5 for me to catch on to that little concept. I kept trying to do that first purl on the leaf pattern one stitch before I should because on the chart it looked that way. Ugh...  Once I got it, it became surprisingly easy.

So multiple redo’s and unmeasurable anguish later, I’m on my way with no problems at all. Actually, the tears have dried up and I’m really enjoying this pattern. The yarn is fabulous too. I’m liking the jewel-tone color and the fuzzy goodness.  I spent 2 or 3 hours sorting out the chart issue and now, having spent about that much time since the issue is resolved, I'm about halfway done with the body of the garment.  Should be able to finish sometime this weekend between baking Mocha cake and concert on Sunday.  Yay!

Finished: French Press Felted Slippers

Finished: Rainbow Shrug

My hands are killing me.

French Press Felted Slippers

I went to Michael's to buy a needle for the next project on deck and, what do I do?  I buy a ball of Patons Classic Wool so I can indulge a compulsion project: French Press Felted Slippers.  This pattern has been in my ravelry queue for a while and while at Haus of Yarn over the weekend to purchase yarn (for the project I needed that needle for) saw a printout of it.  It got into my head, I guess.

Anyway, 100% compulsion.

I get home with the Patons, print out the pattern and realize it calls for a 10mm needle.  I do not have a 10mm needle.  I am unwilling to go back out and purchase a 10mm needle.  I do, however have a 9mm and decide to go with that.  I don't know what size I would have knitted if I did have a 10 but the 9 definitely cemented my decision to go with a Large (for shoe size 9-10.)

I start knitting.  Now this is a truly "quick" project.  I broke it up over two days but probably only spent a couple of hours knitting if you added it all up.  I did not have the wherewithal to just sit down and do it all at once.  My hands were already sore from working on the Rainbow Shrug and mentally I was getting testy.  Last night I forced myself to do the last of it and assembled everything.

Yarn Logic A: If you are thinking about trying a pattern, you can go through all the projects, get a good look at the good and bad of everyone's work with that single pattern and visually calculate the odds of what you can expect to end up with.  If you look at the project gallery for this pattern on Ravelry, every single one looks amazing. I felt pretty confident that this would be an easy win.

Yarn Logic B:  Felting is tricky. It can start out like a total Frankenstein and come out great or it can be the other way around. Every time I hold that piece over my washing machine I think, “My work is about to be seriously altered.” What you start with really has little to do with what you will end up with.

A + B = I should have a good product when I'm done.

BUT

A+B+crankypants=PANIC!!!!

I have to say, I had no faith for a minute there. These puppies were ridiculously HUGE, even when I checked them in the washing machine. For a sec there I thought, “WHAT!?! Every single photo of this project ever done is adorable but mine are going to be the freak show of shoes?  Did I seriously just flare my carpal tunnel for CLOWN SHOES???”

I was contemplating how I could rate a pattern that would produce such unspeakable results. So I put it through another hot cycle and let it run through the cold rinse, spin etc. I walked away mentally preparing myself to throw them in the trash and to try not to think of the $5 and 3 precious hours of my time I invested in them Sarcasm!!!  When I went back, they were quite tiny. Commence with the eating of words. Hooray!!!

I put the slippers on and let them mold to my feet, as encouraged. The weirdness of some of the shaping was corrected by doing this.  The cupping on the back of the heel that helps them to stay on your feet stretched out some, the bulb that forms at the toe flattened.  Freshly felted pieces can be pretty moldable.  All I have left to do is sew on the tab on the top, sew on the buttons, puffy-paint the soles for traction and take pictures.  And possibly apologize to the creator of the pattern for trash talking my non-clown shoes.  Um, yeah.

Oh, Rainbow Shrug...

This dang thing is like a healthy relationship.  Not exciting but highly functional.

Seriously.  I wish I could enjoy the process of working on this project more because, to be honest, the pattern is kind of badass.  The handful of people who have seen it have LOVED it-- even in it's embryonic state.  It's just so boring to do.  It's a shame because I think I could seriously fill some gaps in my wardrobe with more versions of this.  I could really use a black one but...

Finished the sleeves and am ready to start the ribbing around the neck/body.  Thankfully, I am now working with the Noro and the bright, changing colors are distracting me from the monotony.  Bleeaaaaahhhhh!!!!!

The Rainbow Shrug (or Two-Tone Shrug from "Fitted Knits")

People on ravelry constantly refer to this project as "quick."  Quick?  If you say so.  I started this last month, did about 10 rows and put it down.  In the meantime, I've knitted a cardigan and a full sweater that didn't feel as tedious as this.  I have other projects ready to go but I need to force myself to finish this.  Blerg.

So I pick it up again, reread the pattern and realize that in my previous ignorance of the finer points of raglan, I may have done my increases incorrectly-- and  I'm not positive what row I'd gotten to.  So I frogged the first attempt and started over.  (deep breath.)

I'm now about about halfway through the back and upper sleeves in Brown Sheep - Lamb's Pride worsted in "Oregano."  It is going faster than before but I still wouldn't say "quick."  Next, I work the sleeves then I get to the fun part:  the ribbing around the sleeves and neck which I'm doing in Noro 170.  The self striping will be fun and colorful and (thankfully) very, very gratifying.  Maybe that will be quick.

This isn't going away.

And I'm thinking about the Buttony Sweater again.  Sigh.  I'm thinking gray.  Maybe Malabrigo in Pearl Ten.

I was told once that when I get my hooks into something (or needles, as it were) I get obsessed.  I won't deny.

The October Mug Cozy O Gratitude

Projects just don't get any easier than this.  I finished this in a couple of hours as a thank you gift for a very generous friend.  I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Terracotta (so, washable).  The pattern called for seaming the two ends together but I opted to give it a garter stitch edge, chained loops and buttons so it would be compatible with handle-ridden mugs.  Can you tell I'm full-on romanticizing autumn?  This is not just a mug cozy.  No, this little sweater scrap represents all the hayrides, pumpkin-carving and jumping into piles of orange leaves I will not be doing.  I start getting all misty eyed for October this time every year (symptom of heat stroke???) Next thing I know I'm making sweaters and planning what classic horror novel I'll read for Halloween.  (Ahem... Frankenstein.)  As long as it's less than 75 degrees outside, I can skip jumping in leaves and we can call it even.

The Herringbone Project: just plans for now.

I know what I'm making next and, I have to say, I'm a little excited, a little obsessed.  Lots of color and texture and I think I'm having a mini stroke at the idea of it.  I'm frogging two old projects-- both in Noro, to harvest the yarn to make it happen.  So, TWO Noro colorways and a solid.  More later as the details come together.

Global Warming Sweater

This is my first full sweater. The pattern is called "Global Warming." I knitted it in Cascade 220 Superwash in "Summer Sky Heather" which is a nice robin's egg blue (my favorite color.) I CO last Tuesday and finished late last night. In order to complete this in a week, I knitted a lot but I wouldn't say excessively. Or maybe I did. I don't know that I can accurately judge myself on this so I'll leave it alone for the moment.

Anyway, I love this sweater. It was my first attempt at raglan construction and it was shockingly easy... Not sure what I was expecting. It is much cuter on a body than a hanger. It is somewhat cropped (sits just at the hip) and is slightly fitted. I made the torso bigger than the pattern just for a little extra room, added about 15 extra rows for a little more length and I think it turn out pretty dang perfect. The puff sleeves are adorable! Now if the temp would just drop about 40 degrees so I can wear it!

This is what a twisted cardigan is supposed to look like:

 It's cropped, which I love. I think this is due to the previously mentioned worsted yarn issue.

Hard to believe that chunk I put up here previously contributed to a wearable garment, yes?

Now I'm working on a raglan sweater... Not the buttony. I decided to do a Global Warming sweater instead. I suspect raglan construction will be a real breeze after this-- not that this was hard. It just needed a little finesse during assembly. Matching horizontal seams with vertical can be odd.

The failure of yarn logic & other fiascos

It may not look like anything wearable but this is the embryonic beginnings of a sweater. You're looking at the front left side. The part at the top is the front of the sleeve. It's not a traditional cardigan. Nay! It's a twisted cardigan! (Mwah ha ha ha!!) The front sections are knitted from the center-out so you have horizontal cables giving it a nice twisted appearance. (And you intentionally drop the purl stitch between the cables for the laddering.) The back is done bottom to top then joined later. And not meant to be worn alone... Um, definitely throw something on underneath.

No, seriously. It will be cool when it's finished. I've done both sides of the front and started the back last night. The pattern calls for bulky weight yarn. Did I go buy bulky weight yarn? No. Why would I do that? That would be following instructions. Next you'll be wanting me to check my gauge and read the pattern exactly too.

Fiasco part I: I bought Malabrigo worsted in Violettas-- a nice inky periwinkle. I personally don't know how Malabrigo worsted is classified as a worsted at all. I think it's heavy worsted at best-- but maybe bulky. So that was my reasoning that got me on the road to knitting a size small, which I would normally wear. Well, apparently my yarn-logic shouldn't have practical use. It was waaay effing small. (That would be because I should have used BULKY yarn and then checked my gauge. DOH!) So, halfway through the left side, I have an intervention with myself and frog the dang thing, starting again with a medium. Medium looks good.

Fiasco part II: After finishing the left, I went to start the right which is identical to the left but reversed. That was when my brain started to skip. I knitted the first five rows just fine then row six nearly caused me to blackout with rage... six times. I had to redo the entire first six rows six times. Add a third-six and you'll start to understand the feeling. The problem was, row 5 was an increase row and 6 was cables. The stitches were just tight enough from the increases (and my gauge tends to be tight-er anyway) that I would start the first cable and (brain skip) the yarn would be just to the tips of the needles to make everything meet and my hands would jump and I would drop about seven stitches in such a way that there was no way I could just pick them up. It was a start over situation every time. Then I got past it by about a dozen rows only to realize I had skimmed over a part of the pattern that was pretty critical (tends to happen when you've just knitted the same rows over and over.) So I had to frog it AGAIN. I'll stop there. I had to go get a glass of wine. The next morning I completed the right side on the first try without a hitch. I hope to God I can finish this without any additional drama...

Badassery is afoot.

The Dusty Beret

So, I got up this morning and knitted my first hat. It took about five hours. Pretty straightforward stuff. The new skill I learned here was a ssk (slip slip knit) decrease. Basically the same thing as a k2tog but slanting the to the left instead of the right... I think. After using the exact yarn recommended for the pattern (Malabrigo worsted) and needles, I am convinced that my gauge is naturally smaller than average. Mine isn't as slouchy as the pattern photo but wicked cute all the same. I've been wanting something pink but, as a redhead, was hesitant to indulge. The color I chose ("Dusty") is more of a golden pink, like an overripe apricot, and I don't think it does me any disservice. The only mistake I made with this project (besides the zealously tight gauge) is I messed up the first row of cables. I did a c6b (or whatever it is) instead of c6b k3... so there are technically about 33% too many cables on that row. Didn't realize what I had done until waaaay later. Screw it. I suspect I have ADD when it comes to knitting patterns anyway.

I don't like mine

Rethinking this pattern...


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Fresh Bite Scarflet

I still have most of a skein of Havasu left and trying to decide what to do with it. The problem is, I can't get any more of it. I have to be able to work with what I have without adding to my stash. The most logical use of the yarn would be a cowl or neck warmer-- small quantities required and would make a set with the gloves. Which brings me to the second issue: I refuse to invest in another set of needles just to do some stash busting and a cowl would require circular needles in a size I don't already have-- so it needs to be done on straight needles. Soooooo a button-up neck warmer it is. (ahhh the logic.) Rebecca Hill's "Fresh Bite Scarflet" looks to be a good match for what I want. No additional investment, appropriate yarn required, would look damn cute with the fingerless gloves.

Then again, I'm intrigued by the idea of creating my own pattern, imitating the actual glove pattern. That could be damn cute too. We'll see.

One down, one to go

The thumb was a piece of cake! So, I hammered this guy out in about 5 hours or so. All I have left to do is the hemming and to weave in the ends on the thumb. (...and knit another glove.) I think I love my hobo glove.

YYYYY

I'm more or less shocked that I got through this. I was sure I would hit a speedbump so massive I would get discouraged and move on to something else.

Learned today:
*M1 increases
*yo k2tog
*Backwards loop cast on to join in a gap
*Homicide-free pickup sticks... I mean, dpn's.

okay, I frogged the first one

The laddering and cast on didn't bother me nearly as much as the uneven yo k2tog and also the size. I started it as a medium but it looked really, really big. The new one is a small and is looking worlds better already. I've got the lace pattern corrected and I've got a better handle on the whole dpn thing and it seems to have fixed my laddering issues. Almost to the thumb gusset though and that makes me tres nervous.

so far, so good

Except for the laddering. And the inconsistency in the yo k2tog pattern. And the uneven cast on.

All thumbs: for the love of fingerless gloves

I have 1.3 skeins of Havasu alpaca left from the first Gaia shrug and, seeing as I am endlessly enamoured with this yarn, wanted to use it for something endlessly practical. (I stare lovingly at this yarn when I work with it, I love the colors so much. Sad.)

I decided to make a pair of fingerless gloves a la Susie's Reading Mitts. Such a cute pattern! This will have me learning yo k2tog as part of the lace pattern and then... duh duh DUUUUUUUH!!!! dreaded thumb gussets. I don't think it will be hard but, as with any new skill, maybe odd at first. YouTube, here I come.

I've been playing around with double pointed needles lately and I feel pretty comfortable with them now. What started as a game of pickup sticks from hell has actually become pretty fun.

(I don't expect my gloves to look half as good as the Ravelry photo above... but I'll be so dazzled by the bright, pretty colors and squishy goodness of Misti that I doubt I'll care!)

The Silver Gaia: Finished

(This photo is stupid-bad. Sorry.)

This pattern was ridiculously forgiving and yet gratifying. I will be wearing this.

100% random thoughts on the addition of Kidsilk Haze

I guess I was jonesin for some instant gratification. I went and started a second project, a Gaia Shrug.

Confession: I did this pattern a couple of weeks ago in Misti Alpaca Handpaint Worsted with mixed results. (Too lazy to post at the moment.) The pattern was written for Noro with Rowan Kidsilk Haze and I thought to myself, "Alpaca worsted will have the same effect as worsted weight Noro with a strand of Kidsilk Haze which is no thicker than a cobweb."

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG

So, so WRONG.

The Alpaca shrug is nice, don't get me wrong. I altered a few things: I used 8mm needles instead of 9, I cast on for a size Large instead of a Small and probably should have made it longer. But it's overall much more open, despite the smaller gauge... I can only explain this as being due to not having the Rowan.

So now I'm doing the pattern more as written with 9mm needles and casting on for a Small. I'm using Noro Retro in Steel Blue (did someone say Magnum?) and Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Ghost. I'm nothing short of amazed at how much bulkier this knits up. It's already a bigger piece despite fewer actual stitches. The Rowan, as I said, is very fine and threadlike with little wispy bits but does not look like it would have much impact. No, the whole thing is very fuzzy now and reminds me of an angora sweater I used to have. The two yarns have an unexpected bit of contrast going between them too with the Noro being very gray and the Rowan more white. I think I'm going to really like this second shrug. Who knew???

Awww, blerg.

I decided to stall on the Buttony sweater and try something easier for my first full sweater. You know. Ease into it. RIGHT.

Since I have a ton of this blueberry alpaca and the pattern was free and I already had the needles I needed, I decided to jump into "Cabled" by Hinke. It looked so forgiving. (Unfortunately, there is much to forgive with me.) To the left is what it SHOULD look like which will make my sweater downright comedic.

It's not a hard pattern but it does need a little finesse. I'm getting to practice my cables and I'm also learning to pick up stitches along the side too. My main issue is you do all these sections and you have to keep all the stitches active-- so you rarely bind off. I have multiple areas tied to scrap yarn until I come back to them but I still have to break the yarn... you know, so I can be knitting somewhere else on this thing. Maybe there are standard ways of handling this stuff of which I am just ignorant.

Anyway, I've finished the front bottom, the straps that everything attaches to and most of one sleeve. I'm trying really hard to stay optimistic. I'm concerned that A) it will not fit (the bottom seems small and the sleeves seem big) and B) it will look so homemade I won't wear it.

I'm admittedly not a good knitter as I've only been at it for a couple of months and there are definite trouble spots that I'm hoping to correct later once the whole things is finished. (Got a crash course in fixing a dropped stitch that fell down about 4 rows last night. This is when it's nice to have a crochet hook handy...)

I really hope this is one of those times when the finished product is far better than the process. Ahhh well. Elizabeth Zimmerman's raglan construction (a la buttony) seems far less intimidating at the moment.

next on the agenda: buttony sweater

So the long sleeved version is more how the pattern is originally intended to be done. I have to say though that I am completely inspired by the modifications a lot of ravelers have come up with-- mostly with collars and sleeves. The short sleeved version here is undeniably BADASS. I'd like to do something like that but we'll see. This would be my first knitted garment with, like, sleeves and junk. It will be what it will be.

Going with Cascade Superwash 220 in Summer Sky Heather (1910.)

this is unexpected to say the least

Late this afternoon I went out for circular needles and a cable stitch holder. And I just finished this. It's far from perfect and yet how can I complain*??? I mean... it's finished.

*I can however complain about the photograph. It looks really brown and it's actually the same yarn as the neverwhere scarf. In real life it's much, much darker and redder. And I still have a TON of this stuff left... what next?

the finished product

This turned out better than I expected and was fast. As usual, I promise to post a photo with it on my actual body-- maybe I will this time. With this project I learned the Elizabeth Zimmerman sewn bind off and mattress stitch seaming.

Next on the agenda: knitting in the round. Not sure if I will attempt a double-pointed needle fiasco (looks like a very stressful game of pickup sticks) or just start on circulars. I also see cables in my future!

The blueberry bolero thus far

Excuse the poor quality of the photo. (It looks really green for some reason.)


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The Blueberry Bolero

So I'm doing a combination of two existing patterns, the Serena Shrug and the Ribbed Lace Bolero. I dug out the Blueberry yarn for this one (Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Blueberry Mix.)

I liked the ribbing around the edges and the short sleeves on the Ribbed Lace Bolero but then I preferred the more solid horizontal ribbing on the body of the Serena Shrug. So I'm doing both. Maybe later I'll do these patterns as written and the Blueberry Shrug will be, like, their funny lovechild.

I LIVE for Fall because of this stuff.

I'm lustily looking at knitting patterns, trying to decide what my current skill set will allow me to create. It's hard to take baby steps. I want to try knitting in the round, lace patterns, crazy shapes-- everything I can do in crochet, but I need to slow my roll.

I have my eye on that Blueberry Alpaca I didn't get too far with. I'm thinking about a shrug before a sweater. Something small and achievable. Hopefully this will not end in tragedy.

I'm going to have to move further north to justify this stuff. It's going to get up to 100 degrees today and I'm fantasizing about sweaters. Good God.

The Neverwhere scarf is coming along nicely.

...and may very well be the SQUISHIEST SCARF OF ALL TIME.

I got about halfway done with the k2p2 version, frogged it (this yarn is going to be destroyed before I'm done!) and started over with the Ribs & Ruffles pattern as written. This was because I realized just how much width you lose with classic ribbing. The purls sink to the back of your work and you have to do twice as many stitches to get it as wide as with Eve's Rib... and almost twice as much yarn. Uh, yeah right. So, Eve's Rib it is. Going much, much faster now and totally worth starting over again. I think I'm going to be happy with this... One of these days.

At any rate, I can KNIT!

Misti rides again

I am being weird about the Misti Alpaca, I know... Again. It started as the Boyfriend Basketweave Scarf. Frogged. Then it was reincarnated as the Cascade Scarf. Frogged again. Now I am knitting it. Yes, KNITTING. Somehow knitting has finally clicked for me and I am loving it!

I started knitting this as the Misti Ribs and Ruffles scarf but I really didn't care for their Eve's Ribbing. It's just not very... ribby. So I've modified this and am just doing a classic k2p2 rib. I'm already really excited about how it's going. I think this may be the Misti's final form.

I'm calling it the Neverwhere Scarf. Even in its early stages, it is already girly (ruffles) and more than a little gothic (color.)

Knitting WIN

I am actually surprising myself.


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It's been a minute

I really do want to learn to knit-- I can do it, I just need practice and a little guidance. Maybe this should be a goal... with, like, steps and rewards and junk.

my lovely, fat-assed rainbow bag

It's nice when an unplanned project = success. This pattern is called the "Fat Bottom Bag." I did the actual crochet after I got home from work last Monday-- barely lost any sleep too. It was about a 4-5 hour project not including the sewing. I randomly picked the yarn online without much thought to what the colors would look like and then randomly picked the fabric at "Textile Fabrics" in Melrose. Good God, I got lucky!

I only put about 3 or so hours of handwork/sewing in. I think my skills are improving. I may actually carry this bag.

Sweater #3 has been started.

Only about 102 more of these to make.

apparently I'm liking alpaca... I didn't really intend for this to happen.

After a short run of Christmas presents (3 scarves, to be exact,) I can go back to making things I've been wanting to do for myself. I bought some yarn and now I'm scheming over its future. I've ordered some lace-weight alpaca in red (sorry no picture) and a sport weight alpaca blend in blue (but I think the color is actually called Blueberry.)

So, I have patterns in mind for this stuff but I'm not 100% positive what's going to happen. I'm thinking sweaters... preferably sweaters that are sleeveless, like the violaine which I love, or very open so they won't burn me up.