By popular acclaim (thanks, blonde knitter), I have started the Lion Suede sweater jacket. A bit of advice: when someone shows you a cool new technique and you want to use it, don't wait a month to do it. Fortunately, I still had the sample I knitted at the NSKO. After 4 tries I finally managed to do it right and was able to cast on.
In my defense, the sample was knit flat, and the cast on was in the round. So I did have to adapt the original instructions a little. But my basic mistake had nothing to do with that, so it doesn't really excuse me.
Anyway, I decided to knit the sleeves first and to knit them both at the same time, so I now have them cast on, the first two rows knitted (the cool braided looking pattern K1Frog2 taught me) and also a couple plain rows to lock it all into place. I stopped there because I have to take some measurements and decide on the increase pattern so the sleeves can taper properly. I'm knitting the sleeves first because I'm making the pattern up as I go along. The length of the body will be determined mainly by how far the yarn I have will go, so I figured get the sleeves out of the way and then I'll know how much yarn I really have for the body.
On a different note, more sock sadness, but also some gladness. The pair of socks I knit on our vacation last summer became a single sock somewhere along the way. For a couple of months now, the single sock has languished, hanging over the edge of my sock box waiting for its mate to reappear. Finally, it did. In the yard. Under the clothesline. Where it has lain for lo these past months since it got too cold to hang laundry out and have it dry in a reasonable time. Peter discovered it while bringing in the clothespins for the winter. Do you know what happens when dyed wool lays out in the sun for a couple of months? Yes! It fades! Now imagine a sock which has lain in the sun with one side up and the other side down for all that time. It is a very interesting two-tone sock now. However, I have determined to go ahead and wear it. I only wore these once or twice, I want to wear them more. Just not anyplace where appearance really matters.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Starting Again
I am happy to report that my mother-in-law is back home and stable now. They don't call her the come-back kid for nothing. The cardiac socks are almost done, just need to bind them off. The yarn is a hand-dyed Peruvian wool in shades of brown/terra cotta/black which was a gift from my sister-in-law a while back. It's a little heavier than most sock weight, but not much, so I knit it up on the same needles I always use. The size is fine, and the socks are just a little extra heavy and warm. With the wintry temperatures we're having this week, I'm happy to have them. Okay, wintry for Maryland, I know you Chicago types would laugh at this.
Sock sadness over the weekend. I put on a pair of lacy socks I knit in a self-striping yarn, and discovered a big hole in them! Yarn breakage, moths, don't know why, but it looks like some of the yarn gave way and then it unraveled a bit. I think I'm going to try darning them. I really like these socks, the combination of the lacy pattern and the stripes did some really cool looking things. The stripes became waves, and as the socks were washed the yarn felted a bit so the lace pattern is more of a visual texture now. So they are textured with funky wavy stripes. I love it.
And now I face the new project dilemma again. Will the next project be the Lion Suede sweater jacket we all helped design at the NSKO? I'm quite excited about the design, I think it will be fun to make. Or will it be the gloves I'm dying to try? On the NSKO trip to the yarn shop, I bought a book because it has good, basic instructions for knitting gloves, which I am eager to try. I also bought some blue/green speckled sock yarn, and when I got home I realized it's the perfect colors to go with my berber fleece jacket that I wear in spring and fall. So now I am dying to knit a pair of gloves with this yarn to go with the jacket. Decisions, decisions!
Of course, neither project is a good traveling project, so there will also be another pair of socks started soon. I have picked out a variegated yarn in muted sunset colors, yellow to peach to salmon sort of shades.
Sock sadness over the weekend. I put on a pair of lacy socks I knit in a self-striping yarn, and discovered a big hole in them! Yarn breakage, moths, don't know why, but it looks like some of the yarn gave way and then it unraveled a bit. I think I'm going to try darning them. I really like these socks, the combination of the lacy pattern and the stripes did some really cool looking things. The stripes became waves, and as the socks were washed the yarn felted a bit so the lace pattern is more of a visual texture now. So they are textured with funky wavy stripes. I love it.
And now I face the new project dilemma again. Will the next project be the Lion Suede sweater jacket we all helped design at the NSKO? I'm quite excited about the design, I think it will be fun to make. Or will it be the gloves I'm dying to try? On the NSKO trip to the yarn shop, I bought a book because it has good, basic instructions for knitting gloves, which I am eager to try. I also bought some blue/green speckled sock yarn, and when I got home I realized it's the perfect colors to go with my berber fleece jacket that I wear in spring and fall. So now I am dying to knit a pair of gloves with this yarn to go with the jacket. Decisions, decisions!
Of course, neither project is a good traveling project, so there will also be another pair of socks started soon. I have picked out a variegated yarn in muted sunset colors, yellow to peach to salmon sort of shades.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Cardiac knitting
Still basking in the afterglow of the North Shore Knit Out. Thanks for everything, ladies, it was an amazing weekend! A real break from everything, and great to see you both again!
When I got home I launched immediately into the preparations for Thanksgiving, since we had the whole family (10 people in all) up to our house for the big day. A nice time, and a nice meal, if I say so myself.
Unfortunately, the afterglow of that was dampened by Peter's mom going to the hospital at 5am Friday morning with chest pains. They say she did have some sort of cardiac event (not the first time). Once she was stable and they determined that inserting a stent was not an option (almost killed her last time they tried), they let her go home. That was Tuesday afternoon. So she's home, she's happy, Peter's sister is taking leave from work to take care of her, no one quite knows what to expect. On the bright side, I got a lot of knitting done last weekend, too.
I finished the Fair Isle socks I worked on at the NSKO. While I was working them I had serious doubts about my color choices, especially the purple, but once I put that final band of the burgundy tweed at the top of the whole thing, it really pulled it all together. I am happy with them. The tension seems fine, I did not have trouble wearing them or getting them on and off. No undue trouble about snagging the yarns being carried on the wrong side. Some of those carries were a bit long, I was a little worried about that. I don't quite know what, if anything, to do with all the ends from the color changes. I may just ignore them and hope they felt up and stick to the inside of the sock eventually. I just washed them for the first time, I ought to inspect them and see whether that sounds plausible.
Finished those up on the day after Thanksgiving, while I was waiting at home to find out what was happening with Peter's mom. By the end of the day she was stable and we knew she'd be in for a while, so I started a plain pair of self-striping socks to work on in the waiting room. Sure enough, spent large parts of Saturday and Sunday in the hospital waiting room, mostly watching stuff while Peter and his brother and sister took turns visiting mom in the critical care unit, talking to doctors, etc. It was important for me to be there, but I'm also really happy I have a hobby that is portable and can keep me occupied for hours.
When I got home I launched immediately into the preparations for Thanksgiving, since we had the whole family (10 people in all) up to our house for the big day. A nice time, and a nice meal, if I say so myself.
Unfortunately, the afterglow of that was dampened by Peter's mom going to the hospital at 5am Friday morning with chest pains. They say she did have some sort of cardiac event (not the first time). Once she was stable and they determined that inserting a stent was not an option (almost killed her last time they tried), they let her go home. That was Tuesday afternoon. So she's home, she's happy, Peter's sister is taking leave from work to take care of her, no one quite knows what to expect. On the bright side, I got a lot of knitting done last weekend, too.
I finished the Fair Isle socks I worked on at the NSKO. While I was working them I had serious doubts about my color choices, especially the purple, but once I put that final band of the burgundy tweed at the top of the whole thing, it really pulled it all together. I am happy with them. The tension seems fine, I did not have trouble wearing them or getting them on and off. No undue trouble about snagging the yarns being carried on the wrong side. Some of those carries were a bit long, I was a little worried about that. I don't quite know what, if anything, to do with all the ends from the color changes. I may just ignore them and hope they felt up and stick to the inside of the sock eventually. I just washed them for the first time, I ought to inspect them and see whether that sounds plausible.
Finished those up on the day after Thanksgiving, while I was waiting at home to find out what was happening with Peter's mom. By the end of the day she was stable and we knew she'd be in for a while, so I started a plain pair of self-striping socks to work on in the waiting room. Sure enough, spent large parts of Saturday and Sunday in the hospital waiting room, mostly watching stuff while Peter and his brother and sister took turns visiting mom in the critical care unit, talking to doctors, etc. It was important for me to be there, but I'm also really happy I have a hobby that is portable and can keep me occupied for hours.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Packing update
Packing for the North Shore Knit-Out is on target. I got a couple inches of the Lion Suede sweater jacket done, enough to get over the ribbing at the beginning. Now it's a good knit-out project, rows and rows of stockinette stitch without too much else going on. So I put that down to be packed.
Last night I finished a pair of traveling socks in a self-striping blue and grey which have been taking up the sock needles. So tonight I'll start the fair isle socks. I'd like to get through the first few rows of the toes, they're the hardest part and require some concentration. Once I get into the swing of the toe cap increase pattern, I'll put them down as well. I want to work on the plain foot part on the flight out. K1Frog2 claims the knit-out starts when I step off the plane on Thursday, but for me it will begin approx. 7 hours earlier when I check in at BWI. I like to get there two hours ahead of the flight, almost all the flights to Milwaukee have a stop, and I like to have at least an hour layover in case I have to change planes. I also don't like really short hops, so I picked flights with stops in places more out of the way than Chicago. So the flight itself is taking 5 hours where a direct flight to Chicago would take 2, but what the heck, I said to myself, it's more time to knit. Let's get into the spirit of this thing. Besides, I gain an hour on the flight west, and I thought arriving later in the afternoon would be less disruptive for my wonderful friends who are going out of their way to pick me up at the airport. Is this making it all too complicated?
Now I need to line up a good project for the flight back. The sweater jacket is too bulky to carry in a purse, and if I'm lucky I'll get into the color work on the fair isle socks before I come back, which means they're also too bulky due to the many balls of different colors that need to be on hand. Another simple pair of socks, what I like to call "traveling socks". Something in a self striping yarn is ideal. Hmm, that means I have to find my second set of sock needles this weekend. Let the hunt begin.
Last night I finished a pair of traveling socks in a self-striping blue and grey which have been taking up the sock needles. So tonight I'll start the fair isle socks. I'd like to get through the first few rows of the toes, they're the hardest part and require some concentration. Once I get into the swing of the toe cap increase pattern, I'll put them down as well. I want to work on the plain foot part on the flight out. K1Frog2 claims the knit-out starts when I step off the plane on Thursday, but for me it will begin approx. 7 hours earlier when I check in at BWI. I like to get there two hours ahead of the flight, almost all the flights to Milwaukee have a stop, and I like to have at least an hour layover in case I have to change planes. I also don't like really short hops, so I picked flights with stops in places more out of the way than Chicago. So the flight itself is taking 5 hours where a direct flight to Chicago would take 2, but what the heck, I said to myself, it's more time to knit. Let's get into the spirit of this thing. Besides, I gain an hour on the flight west, and I thought arriving later in the afternoon would be less disruptive for my wonderful friends who are going out of their way to pick me up at the airport. Is this making it all too complicated?
Now I need to line up a good project for the flight back. The sweater jacket is too bulky to carry in a purse, and if I'm lucky I'll get into the color work on the fair isle socks before I come back, which means they're also too bulky due to the many balls of different colors that need to be on hand. Another simple pair of socks, what I like to call "traveling socks". Something in a self striping yarn is ideal. Hmm, that means I have to find my second set of sock needles this weekend. Let the hunt begin.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Packing List
Okay, the C word is out. Knitting rocks.
NSKW (North Shore Knitting Weekend) - 15 and counting. Preparation of the projects begins. What to take? The Fair Isle socks? The Lion Suede sweater jacket? K1Frog2 says both, but will I have room? My disdain for flying only increases. I am hoping to go with just a carry-on bag. I can fit clothing for a long weekend in a carry-on, but will it leave room for 20 balls of sock yarn (Fair Isle with 10 colors x 2 because I knit them both at once) AND 16 balls of bulky yarn? It's squishable, but really....
Ah, these are the pleasant dilemmas in life. Finished the gauge swatches for the Suede, and I have decided I like the somewhat tight fabric that size 7's give. Almost a wide wale corduroy look. Pleasing in a jacket, in my opinion. Now I am deliberating how best to work the two colors I have. Had to get a second color to get enough yarn for a whole jacket, so now I have to figure out how to combine them, given the relative amount I have of each color. I'll probably just play with this one for a while, not really try to get a lot done before the trip.
The foot part of the Fair Isle socks would make a good travel project for the trip out. The foot will be plain, which is ideal for knitting on the go. K1Frog2 is writing so glowingly of stranded knitting, I'd love to work on these with her!
Hmm, assuming I get into the Fair Isle pattern during the visit, that means I'll need another simple project for the return trip. I'm trying to fly cheaply, the 2 hour flight to Chicago is going to take me 4-5 hours clock time each way, I have to have something to do. I guess I'll throw in stuff for another pair of traveling socks. Not a bad idea anyway; it's too easy to make mistakes on a complicated project when knitting in company. Need a simple project to switch to sometimes.
Okay, this is firming up. If only I can fit it into my bag.
NSKW (North Shore Knitting Weekend) - 15 and counting. Preparation of the projects begins. What to take? The Fair Isle socks? The Lion Suede sweater jacket? K1Frog2 says both, but will I have room? My disdain for flying only increases. I am hoping to go with just a carry-on bag. I can fit clothing for a long weekend in a carry-on, but will it leave room for 20 balls of sock yarn (Fair Isle with 10 colors x 2 because I knit them both at once) AND 16 balls of bulky yarn? It's squishable, but really....
Ah, these are the pleasant dilemmas in life. Finished the gauge swatches for the Suede, and I have decided I like the somewhat tight fabric that size 7's give. Almost a wide wale corduroy look. Pleasing in a jacket, in my opinion. Now I am deliberating how best to work the two colors I have. Had to get a second color to get enough yarn for a whole jacket, so now I have to figure out how to combine them, given the relative amount I have of each color. I'll probably just play with this one for a while, not really try to get a lot done before the trip.
The foot part of the Fair Isle socks would make a good travel project for the trip out. The foot will be plain, which is ideal for knitting on the go. K1Frog2 is writing so glowingly of stranded knitting, I'd love to work on these with her!
Hmm, assuming I get into the Fair Isle pattern during the visit, that means I'll need another simple project for the return trip. I'm trying to fly cheaply, the 2 hour flight to Chicago is going to take me 4-5 hours clock time each way, I have to have something to do. I guess I'll throw in stuff for another pair of traveling socks. Not a bad idea anyway; it's too easy to make mistakes on a complicated project when knitting in company. Need a simple project to switch to sometimes.
Okay, this is firming up. If only I can fit it into my bag.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Dare I say the C-word?
Haven't been posting lately because I have been taking a real lunch break instead. I started teaching one of my coworkers how to knit, and next thing you know, we started dragging each other over to the pub to get out of our offices at lunchtime. It's nice to have a real break instead of eating in front of the computer. Saves on keyboards, too.
The circle vest is done. I haven't had so much fun knitting anything in a long time. Last weekend I blocked it, so it's laying out in the guest room now drying and relaxing into its desired shape. Okay, it's a circle, duh, but it turned out the center of the circle wanted to pouf out, so some blocking was required to flatten it. Tonight I'll unpin it and see whether it's ready to be worn to knitting group tomorrow. Except that the forecast is for temps in the 70's -- hardly the weather to wear a knitted vest of that weight. Well, we'll see.
Now I'm into -- gasp -- a crotchet project! My new lunch partner is a long-time crotcheter. When she learned that I also crotchet, she brought in a book of crotchet patterns she was having some trouble with. Basically the author of the book has come up with one really good technique -- how to use a crotcheted shell stitch and knit a top down, raglan sleeve, seamless garment by increasing the shells a certain way. She has developed the basic technique into about 20 different garments in this book. Because the garments are all variations on each other, though, the instructions go something like "start by following the instructions on pg. x until you have a first row that's 6" long, then follow the directions for garment A through the first 6 rows of the body, then follow the directions for garment C until the body is 10" long, then follow these instructions to shape the bottom" and so on. Then each garment has about 12 sizes, and some of them have entirely different instruction sets for different sizes, and it's just a lot to keep track of.
Well, I spent a weekend figuring it all out, and I made a cute little summer cardigan. It's almost done, just a couple inches left on the sleeves. It really works, and it looks good on! Very pleasing.
Clearly it's time to take some more pictures.
Mentally I'm now in that between-project zone which is a nice break sometimes, but I think I'm almost ready to jump into something new. What to choose? What to choose?
The circle vest is done. I haven't had so much fun knitting anything in a long time. Last weekend I blocked it, so it's laying out in the guest room now drying and relaxing into its desired shape. Okay, it's a circle, duh, but it turned out the center of the circle wanted to pouf out, so some blocking was required to flatten it. Tonight I'll unpin it and see whether it's ready to be worn to knitting group tomorrow. Except that the forecast is for temps in the 70's -- hardly the weather to wear a knitted vest of that weight. Well, we'll see.
Now I'm into -- gasp -- a crotchet project! My new lunch partner is a long-time crotcheter. When she learned that I also crotchet, she brought in a book of crotchet patterns she was having some trouble with. Basically the author of the book has come up with one really good technique -- how to use a crotcheted shell stitch and knit a top down, raglan sleeve, seamless garment by increasing the shells a certain way. She has developed the basic technique into about 20 different garments in this book. Because the garments are all variations on each other, though, the instructions go something like "start by following the instructions on pg. x until you have a first row that's 6" long, then follow the directions for garment A through the first 6 rows of the body, then follow the directions for garment C until the body is 10" long, then follow these instructions to shape the bottom" and so on. Then each garment has about 12 sizes, and some of them have entirely different instruction sets for different sizes, and it's just a lot to keep track of.
Well, I spent a weekend figuring it all out, and I made a cute little summer cardigan. It's almost done, just a couple inches left on the sleeves. It really works, and it looks good on! Very pleasing.
Clearly it's time to take some more pictures.
Mentally I'm now in that between-project zone which is a nice break sometimes, but I think I'm almost ready to jump into something new. What to choose? What to choose?
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Going in Circles
Finally went to the Westminster library last weekend and checked out their knitting books. This was prompted by the recent trip to the knitting shop with my gift certificate. When we walked into the shop, my eyeballs were positively grabbed by a sample project hanging up there. If you're on Ravelry, go there and look for the Circle Vest from a book called Silk Knits. It's a big circle with armholes knit with Noro Silk Garden yarns. Striking, fun, and relatively easy. All good things.
Well, I had 3 skeins of Noro at home that were given to me as a going away gift when I left Chicagoland, and with my gift certificate I could buy the other 3 skeins the vest would need, but the pattern was not available online or in the shop. So, off to the library.
What a nice selection of knitting books our library has! I may never have to by another pattern. They had the book I wanted, and I could check it out and take it home. Ideal! With the book due back in 3 weeks, I had the perfect excuse to start yet another project.
I'm now into the third skein, so between 1/3 and 1/2 finished. I've got the pattern down, so no worries about having to return the book. Life is good. I just got past the armholes, so it's about time to move it from the needles to a string and try it on to make sure the size is okay. It's easy to change if I haven't gotten it quite right. I am loving this!
I definitely have to bring this out to show off at the upcoming North Shore Knitting Weekend (the follow-on to last spring's Bell/Lambert Knitting Week). I am soooooooo excited! Can you tell?
Well, I had 3 skeins of Noro at home that were given to me as a going away gift when I left Chicagoland, and with my gift certificate I could buy the other 3 skeins the vest would need, but the pattern was not available online or in the shop. So, off to the library.
What a nice selection of knitting books our library has! I may never have to by another pattern. They had the book I wanted, and I could check it out and take it home. Ideal! With the book due back in 3 weeks, I had the perfect excuse to start yet another project.
I'm now into the third skein, so between 1/3 and 1/2 finished. I've got the pattern down, so no worries about having to return the book. Life is good. I just got past the armholes, so it's about time to move it from the needles to a string and try it on to make sure the size is okay. It's easy to change if I haven't gotten it quite right. I am loving this!
I definitely have to bring this out to show off at the upcoming North Shore Knitting Weekend (the follow-on to last spring's Bell/Lambert Knitting Week). I am soooooooo excited! Can you tell?
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