February 12, 2008 at 7:42 pm · Filed under knitting
What did everyone else do with their snow day? I knit a TON and got bored out of my mind. I started the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan from the new Interweave. My gauge is off a bit and I had to make a few mods, but it’s looking pretty good. It seems a little on the small side, but the measurements are exactly what they should be. I think it’s my skewed body image that makes me thing I must knit everything 5 sizes too big.
Anyway, I started this sweater last night. Today we were snowed in, so I had plenty of time to work on it. Here’s a pic from earlier today. I’ve added several inches since this was taken. The picture doesn’t very accurately show the color, but it does show my cat trying to lick away his brown spot. (I swear sometimes I really think he’s trying to clean that spot away — He spends way more time cleaning that brown spot than he does the rest of his body.)
February 7, 2008 at 10:01 am · Filed under knitting
It’s been too long since I posted, and I have a lot of catching up to do!
Before I get into the socks, I have to share a really cool link. If you haven’t decided who you want to vote for in the Primaries, this is especially cool. Even if you do have someone in mind, it’s interesting. I thought I knew who I wanted to vote for, and that person was actually quite low on my list. So check out Candidate Calculator.
Once again, I caught startitis. But it seems to be in check already. I had 3 pairs of socks going at once, with 2 socks (not a pair!) completed. It’s taken a lot of willpower, but I haven’t started anything new in over a week. I finished one pair and I’m almost done with another. I’ve bought quite a lot of sock yarn lately, including the new Noro Kuryeon Sock, so it’s been really hard to convince myself to finish up the WIPs. The Blue Bearfoot socks were well worth it, though. The simple Garter Rib pattern worked beautifully and I’m loving these socks. I need to take another picture, because they’re way prettier than they look here. The flash made everything look weird.
I’m almost done with another pair made from Socks that Rock Lightweight, color Lucy. I’m making them toe up, plain stockinette with a PGR short row heel. One is complete, and the other is halfway there.
If I hadn’t started Cookie A.’s Monkey (using TOFUtsies), I would have definitely finished the Lucy socks by now. But I did, and I’m not really loving it. TOFUtsies feels very thin, and I wish I’d used US 0 needles instead of 1s. The yarn is gorgeous and is working up perfectly with this pattern, it just feels a little loose for my taste. I think this pattern might be better suited to a more “wooly” yarn. But I’ve turned a heel and completed a gusset, so there’s no turning back now. It’ll be interesting to see how they look after washing and blocking.
Other things happening in my life… My new car got wrecked. I went to a uniform store to buy new scrub pants, and when I came out the front of my car was all messed up. Naturally, no one left a note, no one saw anything (it’s in a really busy shopping center), and there are no security cameras. Super! Luckily, I have full-coverage insurance so all I had to pay was the deductible. I know the person that hit my car most likely hasn’t lost a minute of sleep over it, but I sure hope they have. I can’t believe how inconsiderate and irresponsible people can be. I’m lucky that the worst part was driving a rental car for a few days and missing a yarn sale (that I ended up not even missing!). What if I was still a single parent? I wouldn’t have been able to pay the deductible, or I really would have suffered for it if I had. It would have had a much greater impact and taken a much greater sacrifice. I’d been saving up some extra cash for the Super Bowl Sunday sale at the Knit Nook, and I had to use that to pay the deductible. So I was really sad and disappointed; I’d been looking forward to this sale for weeks. Husband heard me telling a friend on the phone that I wasn’t going to the sale because it’d just be too depressing, not being able to buy anything. He felt bad and gave me some cash to blow on sale yarn. Best Husband Ever! So I went to the sale after all, and walked away with 4 hanks of Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton, 4 balls of Louisa Harding Grace Silky-Wool, 2 balls Cascade Fixation, and 1 hank of Schaefer Anne. I went 94 cents over budget, and the always kind Heather chipped in and gave me a dollar. My faith in humanity is restored!
January 15, 2008 at 10:39 am · Filed under knitting
First, let’s start off with my first completed project of 2008. Endpaper Mitts II, a belated Christmas gift to Susan. Here she is modeling them.
So, what’s fresh on the needles right now? A new scarf and a new sock!
I’ve never been much of a scarf knitter. Not since the early days of garter stitch scarves on super-chunky yarn and size 15 needles. I’ve come a long way (even though I still love chunky garter stitch scarves), and my taste is definitely small needles and skinny yarn. It’s a pretty daunting task to knit a scarf with dk yarn and size 4 needles, you know? So I just sort of quit knitting scarves. I’ve had a few, but overall it’s not my thing. And then I saw Scarf Style and just had to have it. My first project from this book is Here and There Cables by Norah Gaughan. The cables are reversible, which really interested me. I’m using Rowan Pure Wool Aran, and it’s lovely. I dropped one pattern repeat to make it more narrow, and I’m glad I did as it’s still fairly wide. I’m enjoying this knit, but have the feeling it’s going to take a while. I may not get to sport this until next year.
And finally, yet another sock. It seems I’m always knitting socks, and I usually pick intricate stitch patterns with lace and/or cables. The Duet socks sort of got me back to basics. I really enjoyed the simple stockinette knitting. So when my friend Susan decided she wanted to learn to knit socks, I picked a simple garter rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks for us to knit together. I guess I forgot how much fun it can be to knit something so simple. Even though I obviously made a mistake on this sock (I did a knit row when I should have done a ribbed row), I like it and I’m not going to fix it. I’m using Mountain Colors Bearfoot, a trusted favorite.
So there’s my new 2008 projects! What’s everyone else got going in the new year?
January 6, 2008 at 10:00 am · Filed under knitting
So far, 2008 is looking to be a great year for me. I finally got a new car, which thrills me to no end. No more worrying about breaking down, no more 2 door, no more 5-speed. I traded in the old Mustang for a Honda Civic sedan. It’s not a new car, but it’s new to me and that’s what matters. It’s 5 years younger and has 50,000 less miles than my old car, so it’s definitely a step up. She’s so pretty! I already have a U of L Cardinals sticker for her, once it gets dry enough. Oh yeah and it has a sun roof!
I’ve been working on the Duet socks, mostly. One is completed, but I can’t find it right now. I’m hoping I accidentally left it at the Knit Nook yesterday. My mom said, “You don’t think anyone would take it, do you?” Um, nope. I have the rest of the yarn, for one thing, so the first sock would only be useful to an amputee at this point. Anyway. I did a short row heel and toe, a la Pricilla Gibson-Roberts. Instead of wraps and turns, the short rows are made with yarnovers and I really prefer this method now. I didn’t realize until I was almost done, but I wasn’t doing the backwards yarnover correctly which made one side of the heel look a little funky. I did the toe right, and it looks much better. I’m loving this yarn!
December 31, 2007 at 12:15 am · Filed under knitting
Another Christmas has come and past. I’m so proud of myself for being a selfish knitter and not knitting Christmas gifts this year. I made a few, but there was no last minute freak-out. Everything was ready to go and wrapped a full week in advance. Maybe working on Christmas day worked out for the best, since it motivated me to get things ready earlier.
My little family and I had a wonderful, blessed holiday. It was complicated this year, since I worked on Christmas day and the day after. Kid stayed with his dad Christmas Eve (boo), but he brought him home that evening so I could give him my gifts. It was really weird and awkward, because Kid had to go back to his dad’s that night and since I was working the next day… So Kid, Husband, and The Ex and I all hung out and opened presents together. Husband mostly stayed in the computer room in an attempt to make it less awkward, but it really just made it worse. But anyway, Kid got great presents and had tons of people anxious to spoil him. He made sure everyone knew in advance that he was having surgery 2 days after the holiday, so he got some extra sympathy. We are now the proud owners of a Nintendo Wii.
Kid’s tonsillectomy went perfectly fine, and he’s pretty much fully recovered already. He’s not complaining of a sore throat or anything. The only way you can even tell he had anything done is his voice. He sounds like a creepy old man. The surgery was probably harder on me than him. It was so strange seeing him all drugged up and dazed. It’s like seeing your kid drunk or something. He was very brave, and only cried once. It was after he got the first dose of “goofy juice” as the nurse called it. It made him really loopy, but still alert and aware of what was happening, but he couldn’t really control his body or what he was saying. I guess that freaked him out because he froze up and then started crying like a maniac. It was a bad scene. I was so relieved when he got another dose, because then he really didn’t have control but he didn’t care anymore. He was past the buzz and into full-blown drunk. Then before I knew it the surgery was over and he was waking up in recovery. He seemed even more drunk then, but it was funny this time. He remembers nothing after the first dose of “goofy juice” and that’s for the best. I’m so proud of my little guy.
I’ll end with a knitting pic. It’s Skinny Duet Sock Yarn in St. Valentine that my mom gave me for Christmas. This picture doesn’t show the colors very well, but it’s great yarn. The color really is a lot prettier than this picture would have you believe. I can’t wait to get to the contrasting heel!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. See ya next year!
December 13, 2007 at 10:32 am · Filed under knitting
What can I say about these mitts? I love the pattern. Of course I love the yarn I chose, because I love everything made with Alpaca & Silk. This is a great project for someone who wants to try a little fair isle. Very easy, very fast, and they don’t use much yarn. I have quite a bit leftover; probably enough for one more mitt. I’m already planning another pair.
They’re currently blocking, which is a decision I regret. I want to wear them so badly! I wish I’d let myself wear them a few times before blocking. There’s only one problem with my finished pair, and that’s purely my fault. The whole time I was knitting the 2nd mitt, I compulsively put on the 1st a million times. Now the 1st is significantly more stretched out and fuzzy than the 2nd. Hopefully that’ll even out in time.
Christmas is so close, and every single day I dread it a little more. I’m working on Christmas Day 7a-7p, which means Kid will spend his first Christmas morning away from me. As much as his dad and I share him, I’ve never let him go to his dad’s to spend the night on Christmas Eve. I really don’t mind working, because it just happens that way sometimes when you’re a nurse. But I feel so sad and jealous that I won’t be there to see him wake up Christmas morning and tear into all his presents from Santa. I suppose this is how Kid’s dad feels every year. I should be more sympathetic and understanding. After all, despite his shortcomings in other areas, he’s a great dad and Kid is lucky to have him.
December 9, 2007 at 11:33 am · Filed under knitting
It fits!! I had a minor setback Friday night. I was working the final row of Chart B when I realized than a small section of what should have been diagonal blue and white was vertical. I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t noticable. Stood out like a sore thumb is more like it. It took 6 rows of tinking to finally get back to the mistake, but it was worth it. I don’t know how I went so many rows without noticing it.
Anyway, the pattern is well-written and the charts are perfect. I only have one complaint: When you write a pattern using an odd technique, directions, or even a link to directions, for that technique would be helpful. The pattern tells you to cast on 56 stitches using the Italian tubular cast on. WTF? I could’ve gotten online and searched, but I was watching Will & Grace and getting off the couch wasn’t happening. Since I didn’t do a tubular cast on, I didn’t do the tubular bind off either. I’m very pleased with how the first mitt turned out, and the second is already on the needles with ribbing almost complete. And I’m planning my next pair already.
I can actually knit fair isle!
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