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.