See Jane Knit

A Few Prudent Notes to Myself

2006-04-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

This entry is going to be composed of a few things that I need to remember before I start any new project. Here goes:

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

If it looks awkward in the photo, it will probably look that way in real life.

If it looks awkward on the model, it will probably look akward on me.

If it's not similar to anything I already have in my closet, then I probably won't wear it.

If I have to buy special underwear to wear it, then I probably won't wear it often/won't wear it at all.

If garments of its type usually are reinforced with plenty of elastic and/or boning, then it probably won't stay up.

Phew. I almost feel better.

ALMOST. Behold, the source of my shame.

Looks OK with a tank top underneath ... but what is that odd bulge in the back?

Why am I standing in that odd position with that forlorn look on my face? Because if I wasn't pressing my arms to my sides in that photo, you would all be getting a good look at my bra. That also accounts for the forlorn look.

Yes, it's the Cabled Bandeau, and yes, things are not working out. I deserve 50 lashes for being dumb enough to knit myself a tube top, BUT (and this is a very big but) Veronik Avery deserves 100 lashes for designing a tube top in alpaca, merino, and silk. Alpaca. Silk, for crying out loud. Two of the least elastic fibers out there. Now, my Bandeau is made of 100% merino, and has been knit to a size that allows three inches of negative ease. So if my top won't stay up, then I bet that IK red-head is holding on to her damn top with her very life, because the alpaca and silk sure can't be helping that shit stay put. Now that I think about it, that might account for the look on her face. She looks almost as forlorn as I do in the photos above.

So now I must decide what to with this thing. Like I said in my last entry, I can't really keep it as it is now; it's too obscene for ordinary wear, not kinky enough for any other kind of wear, and I don't think anyone (myself included) needs a kicky tubular throw. I have considered many things. After having eliminated the irrelevant options (such as lighting my hair on fire and stabbing my eyes out with an Addi Turbo like some knit-deranged Oedipus Rex) here are the ones that seem feasible:

1)Add straps. This could mean something like a halter top, i.e. attaching one strap to the left and right front and then tying behind the back of my neck, or possibly two straps on each side that would tie above each shoulder. This would end up being more of a tank top.

2) Adding elastic thread at the top. I already have some, and it would probably take atleast 2 strands in the top ribbing, but it could be done.

3) Some combination of options 1 and 2. This would alleviate the gaping in the back and the general sag.

4) Knit some sleeves. I was thinking of something like Glampyre's One Skein Wonder knit separately and seamed along the top edge of the back of the bandeau. This would give me a shape somewhat like Tubey, but with shorter sleeves.

5) Frog it. I don't want to; those cables look mighty fine, if I do say so myself. But part of me says that this is the best option. Will I ever wear a merino bandeau? A merino halter? A merino tank? A merino short-sleeved sweater? A small voice in the back of my head is saying that the outlook is not good.

Ugh. I hate making decisions. Especially sucky decisions.

There's Something About Clapotis

2006-03-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually much of a joiner. I don't really like to run with the crowd. This is probably due to the fact that I am a) stubborn and b) perverse. If you say, "go right!" then I'm going to go left; it's just the way I am. Neither of these things has ever helped me, but I don't see myself changing any time soon. However, I do occasionally get drawn to the inexorable pull of the majority. This is my relationship to that famous, infamous, beast-of-a-pattern, Clapotis. Everyone and their mother (and for once, that saying isn't actually an exageration, it's a statement of FACT) has knit one. Just for the hell of it, I googled the word "clapotis." Do you all know how many hits I got? Oh, about 400,000. That's beyond popular, that's a damn epidemic. It's true, a few of them are French* sites, but the first ones that you get are all knitting, all the time, baby. And this made me think: perhaps there is something special about Clapotis. I mean, there has to be, if everyone and their mother and their mother's dog and their mother's dogwalker has knit one. All the cool kids are doing it.

So, I jumped on the bandwagon. And it's done. And you know what? I love it. I really do. Picture time! Yay! Pardon the suck-tastic photos: I find that when I ask people to take a picture of me and my handknitted garments for my knitting blog they either point and laugh or just laugh, so I am forced to take them myself.

Traditional wrap:

SCARFED!

I think I should make one of these in cotton, because wouldn't it make a fetching sarong?

I can see why people make more than one of these things. Honestly, there are things that are popular for no discernible reason, and should be mocked as such. Exhibit A: fun fur (anyone of delicate constitution, shield your eyes!). Exhibit B: spelling scarves as "Scarfs." Exhibit C: knitting dishclothes. Sorry, dishcloth-lovers, that's what Bed, Bath, & Beyond is for. Can you tell I never pass up an opportunity to mock something? The point here is that some things are popular because people need someone or something to follow, even if it's only fun-fur "scarfs"/dishclothes (a fun-fur dishcloth -- now doesn't THAT sound hideous). But there's a reason that Clapotis is so popular: it's a great pattern. It's fun to knit, and wearing it doesn't suck either.

Other knitting updates, you ask? The Cabled Bandeau has stalled due to fit issues. I'm currently brainstorming a way to avoid frogging the entire thing again, while still being able to use it as more than a decorative tube-throw. I think I'll have to add sleeves to it (or get used to unexpectedly flashing all my friends, family, acquaintances, the mailman, etc). I have also begun the Lace Leaf sweater. Of course, the State of New York immediately obliged by moving into full-on, balmy Spring mode, so this project may be stalled until winter. Or I may be wearing this sweater in the sweltering heat of July. I also started a pair of socks, and another cotton, short sleeved sweater, because I have to knit SOMETHING that's appropriate to the season. Pictures of all those to come!

*And will someone please tell me what the frak (yes, I am the Dork El Supremo) Clapotis actually means? In French? I'm just saying that I occasionally wonder if it's a word for something odd. Or dirty.

You know, I kind of hope it's something dirty.

Assume crisis positions!

2006-02-26T07:46:00.000-08:00

This is not a drill, people, I repeat: this is NOT a drill!

... Ok, maybe this isn't on the level of the Cuban Missile crisis, or even the possible effects of global warming (a la "The Day After Tomorrow") but dammit, it's a crisis to me. I have been happily knitting away on my Clapotis, getting ever closer to finishing. I was hoping to have it done this weekend, since a)it is still cold enough to wear it and b) I received the yarn for my Lace Leaf sweater in the mail this Friday and I knew that I should finish atleast one thing before starting something else. The Cabled Bandeau has been languishing a bit, since it is definitely too cold to wear that without freezing one's nips off, and I am also stuck in that "finished-waist-shaping-continue-in-pattern-til-the-cows-come-home" stage. BUT, here I am knitting along merrily with my last skein of yarn, only TWO MEASLY DROPPED STITCHES FROM THE END, when what should I discover but ... ?

*insert feral scream here*

EDIT: Because I am chronically lazy about posting, here's the end of the story. I frogged the whole thing.

... Gotcha. Heh heh.

Actually, I posted a plea for help on the Knittyboard, and Tigerlillith came to my rescue! She sent me a full ball of the color I needed all the way from the UK (isn't that nice?) so now that it is in my hot little hands, the finishing can begin anew. Wee! No more crisis positions! As you were! And I have begun my Lace Leaf Sweater ... Look!

It's delightfully warm and smooshy. Of course, I will probably finish it in May, when it's too hot to wear it. I think I'm just going to ignore that thought for now.

I need help, people.

2006-01-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

I think I may have some kind of knitter's version of ADD. I will say it again: I am sick and I need help. I am constantly seduced by a newer project and the newer yarn that goes with it. This has landed me with a total of 1 large shopping bag, 3.5 drawers and a closet shelf full of yarn in my dorm room, not to mention the sundry unfinished projects littered here and there. One might assume that now that I have admitted that I "have a problem," as they say in AA, I will be able to resist temptation and actually finish what I start. But if you assumed that, you'd be wrong.

Never let it be said that I am not, at the very least, a stubborn knitter. I may like to start new things, but if a project tries to get me down I'll do whatever it takes to beat my knitting at it's own game. Yes, I am attributing human emotions to my inanimate knitting; this is because I am more than a little bit crazy. You've been warned. Anyway, everyone knows how that old saying goes: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! Now, normally I'm not much for happy-go-lucky words of wisdom, but I'd say that is a pilar of my knitting philosophy. And right now I'm feeling pretty darn optimistic, because the Cabled Bandeau is lookin' good! I don't really think I need to post a picture of it, since it looks pretty much the same as last time, except it's smaller. Like I was saying, it knocked me off its back, but I got right back on and showed it who's the boss around here. And it feels good to be back in the saddle, folks. The figurative, knitting saddle that is. I'm part way through the increases and sailing along just fine. I must say, Veronik Avery writes a good pattern. All her patterns are elegant, complex, and entertaining to knit. She lets form and function go hand in hand, instead of putting one ahead of the other like so many people do. I think I will have to track down more of her patterns. For whoever asked in the comments, I'm using Karabella Aurora 8.

Since persistance is a part of my knitting philosophy, what are the other parts, one might ask? And that brings us back to the whole knitting ADD thing, or "What the heck will Jane start next?" The obvious choice would be to finish one of the one hundred and one things I have started and not touched for weeks...or months. But that would be the responsible thing to do, so clearly I will do the exact opposite. There's nothing quite like the lure of a brand new project to really get you going. And I am a total sucker for the rose-colored thrill of something new. So, I bought some yarn. *blush* Yes, I have enough yarn to bathe in, all of which is poorly concealed in my afforementioned dorm room (most college guys don't find yarn as attractive as I do). No, I don't need more. So I bought some more. Which makes plenty of sense. Yessirreebob.

I'm hoping to use this yarn that I ordered to finally make the Lace Leaf Pullover from Loop-D-Loop. I've liked this sweater for a long time, and I was reminded of my desire to create one when I saw pictures of the YarnHarlot's version. You'll have to color me envious, because she used the yarn that the pattern calls for, which is both hard to find AND expensive. I'm going to attempt to get around purchasing 500+ yards of polar weight yarn (because that stuff tends to be on the pricey side) by doubling a heavy worsted weight yarn from handpaintedyarn.com in lettuce. I swatched with another yarn I have in my stash that ordinarily knits to 4 sts per inch, and got gauge with the yarn doubled without the slightest hitch. Hopefully, the yarn I ordered will be so obliging. Hopefully, doubling this yarn will create a more blended effect to mute the handpainted color changes. Emphasis on the word "hopefully."

And since we're on the topic of shirking one's responsibilities and starting an umpteenth new project, I give you the Noro Silk Garden...

...which is being turned into a Clapotis by yours truly as we speak!

Anyone who actually thought I was going to solve my terminal case of project-itis, go smack yourself. Everyone else, stay tuned.

'Tis better to have knit and frogged...

2006-01-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

...then never to have knit at all. Or 'tis it? There are times when frogging, even when you know that it has to be done, just hurts like a bee-otch. Anyone who says they don't mind frogging is lying. Anyone who says they really enjoy frogging? Well, they can bite me.

Now that I've got that off my chest, I'll give you three guesses as to what prompted these musing on the nature of The Frog. The first two don't count, of course, because if you're smarter than a rock, you already know that I must have had to frog something. And I did. My Cabled Bandeau by Veronik Avery from the current issue of Interweave Knits is gone. This cable-y goodness here?

It's turned into this pasta-like, frog-tastic mess:

Yup. 400 yards in, and I had to frog. As the French would say, "Quel domage!" That, folks, is fran-cais (pronunciation guide: frahn-SAY!) and translates loosely to "what a crisis!"

However, I honestly can't really complain too much, because, truth be told, it was my own fault. I made a few very stupid mistakes. Now, there are a few people who frequent the Knittyboard who claim that stupid is a four letter word. They would like to banish the word stupid from our everyday lexicon. These are the kind of people who believe that there are no stupid questions.

Well, I respectfully beg to differ. I will say that many people call themselves stupid unnecessarily. Most questions aren't stupid: you don't know how to k2tog? Well two years back, neither did I! Welcome to the club! Many people should give themselves a little more credit for daring to learn and explore. HOWEVER, there are still some very stupid acts, and I myself have definitely perpetrated a few. For instance, I could have avoided frogging if I had done one of the following things:

1) More carefully measured my gauge.
2) Made a larger swatch.
3) Measured a similar knit top that I own to make sure I was knitting the right size.
4) Not tried to delude myself into thinking the top didn't look too big. (If it looks to big, you know what? It probably IS. *gasp!* Quel realization!)
5) Put it on waste yarn and tried it on earlier, if only to prove that it really wasn't as gargantuan as it looked. (See parenthetical remarks above. )

But I, in my infinite intelligence, did none of these things. Yes, that's right. I went on my merry way, assuming that I could somehow overcome my own shoddy and irresponsible planning. It just goes to show you, stupidity isn't about not knowing something; it's about knowing how to do something the right way, and doing it the wrong way. And how wrong I was! I'm going to go now, make an offering the Knitting Gods, and begin the bandeau anew with hopes for better results. Wish me luck.

Also, on a happier note, a picture from back in December of the first snow day of the year!

That's the view out my dorm room window. Unfortunately, the Weather Gods are also against me, as they are not offering up any more of this snowy, class-free goodness. Quel dissapointment.

Crawling out from under my rock...

2006-01-06T15:44:00.000-08:00

A few words up front: No, I am not dead. Yes, I still knit. Yes, I still have a computer. I am just a big slacker.

That's about all I've got for excuses as to why I haven't updated in such a long, long time. I'm sure no one wants to hear any more grovelling, but suffice it to say, I have been rather busy. This is going to be a pretty perfunctory post, but atleast it's new. Now then, on to the knitting, yes?

I have almost finished my Christmas knitting. Dad's hat, long done, has been given to it's intended recipient, who seems very pleased with it. My sister's Mini-Sweater only need to be seamed and have a button sewn on, and then it will be done. My mom's scarf on the other hand, is taking a while. It is also a pain in the but, because what she wants changes by the moment. But I'm still knitting away on that.

Santa, on the other hand, was very good to me, so I have plenty of other things to knit. I recieved a set of Denise needles from my mom, and let me tell you, they are everything they are cracked up to be. I don't know how I survived without them for so long. After Christmas, I went to Oklahoma to visit my grandmother, and discovered a yarn store having a storewide 25%-off sale. Everything was 25% off, except for things that were marked. Those were 40% off. Yeah, I just about died after walking in the door.

So I bought a whole lotta yarn! And I mean alot. Not only at that store, but also at another store in Oklahoma, and a store in Hollywood. The total ran to: 7 balls Karabella Aurora 8 in deep copper, 3 balls Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in fuschia, 6 balls Noro Silk Garden in green-grey-blue-black, and 2 balls Rowan Spray in grey-blue-cream/yellow-sprayed-with-red. Oh, and a pair of sz 6 40" Addi Turbos. The Rowan has already become a simple seed-st scarf (that was on-the-plane knitting). I plan to use the Silk Garden for a Clapotis, because I might as well just swallow my pride and jump on the damn bandwagon. I think the DB might become some kind of scarf, but I'm not really sure. And the Karabella? Well, that's already becoming Veronik Avery's Cabled Bandeau from the current issue of Interweave Knits. I'll show some pictures of that later, as well as some of the stuff I've finished recently.

But for now I think I'm going to go and caress all my lovely yarn. Ohhh the yarn.... I'm almost all yarn-shopped out.

...ALMOST!

If I had a nickel...

2005-11-28T20:31:00.000-08:00

...For every time I wished the semester was over, I'd be freakin rich. And I'd be able to pay someone to do all the work I didn't feel like doing, so I could relax, do my performances, and knit some.

Unfortunately, I don't have those nickels. Damn.

So, not much knitting has been going on at Casa di Jane (that's Italiano for my house, people) mostly because it is hitting that special time of the school year when you wish that there was a fast-forward button on the remote of life. I've got three concerts in the coming two weeks, plus an audition, two papers to write in a foreign language, at least two books to read, and a faux-lesson plan to dream up for my anthropology class. Say it with me people: AHHHHHHHHHH.

So, since I am just too damn tired to knit, how do I relieve stress? Why, I BUY YARN! Of course! This bit of delicious yarn pr0n comes to you by way of Flying Fingers, which I had the good fortune to visit the day after Thanksgiving. I took the train up to Irvington; I actually loved the train ride, because I got to gaze at the beautiful Hudson River both ways. Although it was what I (a weakling Californian) like to call "ass cold" outside.* This yarn pr0n is also generously sponsored by my Mom. Thanks Mom. I loves ya.

Exhibit A: A 40'' pair of Addi Naturas and some Classic Elite Beatrice (100% Merino wool) to go with it. The needles and yarn are currently creating a Moebius scarf, with a bit of help from yours truly.

Exhibit B & C: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in River. Yum. Plus some Blue Sky Alpaca sport weight (I actually have a second skein of this, and the color is actually much brighter and more saturated). Double Yum.

(Not shown: A copy of the First treasury of Magical Knitting. I mean, it's just a book, so it's not really that exciting.)

I was hoping to buy some laceweight yarn while I was there, as I've been craving another shawl, but they didn't have much for lace, atleast not much that I found intriguing. This is not really a problem though, because I can get excellent laceweight for cheap from Knitpicks. Not to mention, I've been thinking about giving some of their heathered laceweight merino a try. Or I could order some Baby Cashmere from Elann.com, or their Baby Silk. Mmm a cashmere and alpaca shawl...See? This is clearly a sign of stress. I need to step away from the computer right now and get working, before I purchase again!

*By the way, the term "ass cold" is not really specific to any kind of weather. Technically, it describes weather that is so cold that your ass actually gets starts to freeze underneath your pants and long coat. This term can be used interchangeably with "freakin cold," "really freaking cold," and "FUCKit'scold!"

Dad's Hat is done!

2005-11-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

Ah, one Christmas gift down, one to go! Here is Dad's hat:

And a close-up to show the decreases.

Vitals
Pattern: My own.
Yarn: One skein of RYC Cashsoft DK, in a deep wine red
Needles: Clover Bamboo Circs, sz 7 16", and Clover Bamboo DPNS, also sz 7
Notes: Nothing too exciting here. After a few false starts due to a lack of adequate attention paid to the math/gauge, this went very smoothly. The pattern is so basic that I pretty much made it up as I went along. I'm hoping this will be the right size for my Dad's large head. I come from a family of large heads, but this thing fits me, so I'm thinking it will fit Dad.

In other knitting news, I turned the heel of the sock, as you can see here:

Not too exciting, but that's not really the point here. I really need to get these socks done, because it is really -I repeat- REALLY FRIKKIN COLD in my house. And other that knitting myself a housewarmer, there's not a lot I can do. You see, the house I live in is actually a dorm; it may be shaped like a house, but it truly is a dorm. My college built these dorms, all house-shaped, when there was a serious need for more student housing on campus. Apparently they were planning to build a new student dorm, so the houses were meant to be more of a temporart solution. Clearly, temporary became permanent. The funny thing is, these houses were actually built from plans based on student housing from a university in Arizona. Clearly, someone forgot the crucial difference between Arizona and New York: snow. Namely, it snows one hell of a lot more here. But I guess no one thought about that here at my school.

So it's cold in my dorm, and it's really not even that cold outside, and I am left hunkering down for a long and chilly winter. I have heard from my other housemates that last year the temperature hovered around 45 degrees Fahrenheit in our common room. And that's with all the windows taped over with plastic, and a space heater going. There is only one way I can think to combat this problem: I've got to knit more socks. And I've got to knit them really fast.

In other life news, I've been pretty much buried under work of all kinds. I'm finally begining to crawl out from underneath it all, which is a big plus. Things are looking up in the larger scheme of things. Breaking up with my boyfriend of 1.5+ years sucked, but it has forced me to make new friends and get to know my other friends better, both of which have turned out to be a lot of fun. I'm glad to be able to widen my social circle a bit.

...While I wrote that last sentence, I realized that my feet are freezing. Time to get back to knitting socks.

Holiday Knitting Tenets

2005-11-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

In lieu of knitting pictures (because honestly, they'd only be more the same - Dad's hat is a little longer, so is the sock) I give you a few thoughts and observations on the holiday season in relation to knitting. Be dazzled by my wit. Or just check back later for more actual knitting.

I believe it was Jen who alerted me to the fact that there are some knitters out there who aren't content knitting just one or two Christmas gifts. Oh no. They won't even stop at 5 or 6. Check out a certain Holiday Knit-A-Long blog. These people plan on knitting -wait for it- 25 SEPARATE GIFTS. Yes. That's for THIS Christmas, people. And woe to the poor knitters who celebrate Hanukkah, which comes before Christmas; they have even less time to finish that gargantuan pile of UFO's. Say it with me friends: There is. NO. Way. To quote my favorite Christmas movie (brownie points to anyone who guesses it) "Halleluia! Holy shit! Where's the tylenol?" I feel like smacking these knitters with a half-frozen/very dry and stringy turkey, because my God, 25 gifts. 25?! I don't even plan on giving gifts to that many of my friends and relatives, let alone knit for all of them.

People, this is wrong. Sick and wrong. This kind of holiday knitting is a disease. We need to stop these knitters before they hurt themselves, or someone near them. You might be asking, dear readers, how can you prevent yourselves from becoming one of these Christmas knitting Godzillas? You must remember and repeat often these 3 very important Holiday Knitting Tenets.

The First Holiday Knitting Tenet: Knitting does not equal love.

No matter how much you'd like to believe the opposite, knitting something for someone is not the same as loving them. It's not the same as caring about them. It's not even the same as giving a bag of steaming llama droppings whether they live or die. It's just knitting something for them. Plain and simple. Knitting cannot validate a relationship, so you shouldn't feel like a sorry excuse for a human being if you don't knit something for every human being you come into contact with on a regular basis. If you don't knit a gift for your cousin's mother's dogwalker's uncle, that doesn't mean you don't like him; you just didn't knit him something. Period. Heck, he might prefer a storebought gift to those handknit socks. Which brings me to...

The Second Holiday Knitting Tenet: Not everyone needs knits, not everyone wants knits.

I know, I have trouble with this one too. Who couldn't love the warm fuzzy goodness of a handknit scarf/pair of socks/etc? Well, here's a tough truth of the world: some people don't actually NEED or WANT your knitting. Sending a pair of merino wool socks to your cousin in the Bahamas is probably a bad idea, because not only is it too darn hot to wear the things, but (in her mind at least) socks are something you buy for yourself, in bulk, at Target. In short, she won't really appreciate it, she'll probably never use it, and when she opens the box on whatever holiday she celebrates, she'll only think, "Socks ... huh." And then you'll be ready to throttle her the next time she comes to visit because she never mentioned your beautiful socks, that bitch! Which brings me to the final salient point here ...

The Third Holiday Knitting Tenet: Before you begin, knitter, heal thyself.

In case you haven't noticed, most of the problems with knitting for the Holidays don't really rest with the receiver of the knitted gifts. The real problem is the great gap between what the misguided knitter feels the appropriate reaction to a knitted gift should be, and what the normal reaction is. Ordinary people, that is to say non-knitters, can not understand the kind of work that goes into a handknitted gift. After all, we live in the age of instant gratification, so most people have a hard time getting their heads around the time and work that goes into a hand made gift. A tepid reception is almost a guarantee. So why don't knitters see this coming? Well, I believe that for a lot of them (not all, but quite a few), hand knitted gifts are more about reassuring their own egos, knitting or not, than about actually making something for someone else. It also seems to be about bragging to their knitting friends that they knit _insert insane number of gifts here_ this year. And then making that really disgusting smug face so you just want to smack them upside their pretty little head. It's about validating their abilities, or perhaps their worth as a human being. The problem here is that giving is not about making yourself happy; it's about making someone ELSE happy. So no matter how many gifts you knit for people, you probably won't feel any better about your knitting or yourself than you did before. (FYI, this is the reason the Boyfriend Sweater curse has some truth in it.) Examine your motives before you knit, people. Let go of the need to be worshiped for your knitting skills. Just enjoy giving someone something. This way, you might be a little more relaxed, and not end up drunkenly scraping the bottom of the eggnog bowl on Christmas eve at 4 am, while trying to knit two baby sweaters at the same time.

In conclusion, dear readers, holiday knitting is a tricksy, obsessive, egotistical beast. It can be tamed, but only if you don't let yourself become the beast. Ride above the raging tides and you will emerge, intact and serene, in January.

And with that rather Zen-like note, I'm going to go meditate, and try not to freak out about all the holiday knitting I have yet to do. Ahah. Ahah. Someone pass the eggnog.

Progress, made and ... not made. Ahem.

2005-11-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

Isn't it funny how when you have something (or two things) that you really should be knitting, all you want to do is knit something else? Why IS that?

I actually haven't wanted to really knit anything lately. This is due to a powerful combination of lots of music to learn, lots of Italian to read, lots of stress to stress about, and my personal life generally going to crap all at once. Being newly single after almost two years in a school full of crazy people (and really, they're crazy, all of them) doesn't do a whole lot to improve your outlook on life, you know? Ah, ain't life grand. At least there's knitting.

In case you couldn't tell, I haven't started on the Christmas knitting yet. The most I've done is swatch for my sister's Minisweater. Just swatched. I haven't even measured the damn thing. I need to get other needles for Dad's hat. I've decided to screw secrecy because if I don't blog about this, I won't be accountable to anyone. And if I'm not accountable to anyone, it's just not going to get done. Not before this Christmas, that is. I'm the type of person who needs someone on my ass to accomplish anything. Well, anything other than music related work; that I manage to get done in a timely fashion all on my own. This is probably the reason I have chosen music as my career. And methinks it is a good reason indeed.

For those who asked, the yarn I'm using for my sister's gift is the lovely (and sadly discontinued) Mission Falls 1824 Cotton. I got this from Kaleidoscope Yarns, which seems to have some of the last of this stuff. I really wish they hadn't had to discontinue this yarn, because it's one of the few 100% cotton yarns that has a really nice hand, and a lovely texture when it's knit up. I know that Cottonade from K1C2 is similar, but gosh darn it, it's just not quite the same. I also really need to buy new needles for this, because my other pair of sz 7 circs were in one of the two fateful packages that my school post office LOST last summer. Oh no, I'm not still bitter about that ... not in the slightest ... although I did seriously consider knitting a BadJuju to represent every incompetent employee at the PO. Anyway, the only pair I have left are only 16'' long. And that's just way too damn short to knit a Minisweater on. *sigh* Ordering more needles can only mean ordering yarn, which is a really BAD idea right now ...

I have actually made some progress on Samus though!
(Imagine a picture here, because it looks almost exactly the same as last time, just longer.)
I will be glad to get done with the cabled band, as I'm currently in the mood for zombie-stockinette, not hero-cables. So, to fill my necessary quota of zombie-stockinette, I started a pair of socks! Lookie!

Are these for someone else? For Christmas? Er ... no. Am I putting off my Christmas knitting by knitting these socks? Er ... maybe ... well ... yeah, probably.

Hey! Don't look at me in that tone of voice!

EDIT: I finally put the pedal to the metal, and I'm almost half way through Dad's hat! Woo! Go me!

New things to start

2005-11-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

First order of business: Thanks to all of y'all who offered your praise and compliments on both Kiri and my Firstish Sweater! What can I say, it's nice to bask in the spotlight sometimes. A couple of people asked if I was planning to write out the pattern for the sweater. I guess I'd consider it, but I'd have to tweak it a bit to make it actually come out like mine. The thought of resizing said pattern also makes my brain kind of hurt. So, we'll see where that goes.

Second order of business: I've started on Samus! After finally getting gauge on sz 6 needles (a full 2 sizes smaller than recommended on the ball band - I am the loosey-goosiest knitter, folks), I cast on and started knitting the cabled band at the bottom. I'm using Patons Classic Merino, which I'm actually really enjoying. It ain't the softest merino around, and it does feel a bit dry and lifeless while knitting, but the fabric it produces is softer than I expected. And the way it shows those cables, my goodness! These things are combined with a price so low it forces me to continually check my receipt from Joanne's because such a low price could never be! I feel like the guys in the unfinished episode of Clerks (the animated series, not the movie, mind you) which was sent to a Japanese animation company to be finished (this is best said in a really bad Japanese accent) : "Who is driving?! Bear is driving?! HOW CAN THAT BEEEE?!"

By the way, if you've never seen that show, now's the time to fix that.

Back on the topic of knitting, because that's why we're all here, I've currently finished about 1.5 cable repeats. Take a look-see:

I'm also loving this green color I chose. If I squint my eyes just right, it almost looks tweedy! I may be delusional (may be? who am I kidding...) but still, you've got to admit, it's a nice green!

Third order of business: I will also be begining some Christmas knitting shortly. I'm not sure if I want to talk about that here, since I'm only knitting two things, both for members of my family. As I recently found out, my parents like to read my knitblog. Aside from being both really funny and really sad at the same time, I don't want to spoil the surprise of their presents. I guess this doesn't make any sense since I'm only knitting for my dad and my sister, and they both know what I'm knitting them, AND they picked out the yarn themselves. Oh well, I guess I just want to keep the pretension of a surprise going ... Anyway, here's the beginings of my plans for my sister's gift:

And for my dad's:

Fourth order of business: This one goes into the "WTF" category. If you thought that Noro yarn was expensive, try a Noro feather boa. Don't worry. It'll only set you back, oh say, 150 bucks. For SEVENTY INCHES. Aha. Aha. Oh God.

Kiri is an FO

2005-10-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

I'm really churning things out these days! I'm just as surprised as you are, dear readers, to see 2 FO posts in succession. In this case, it honesly has more to do with the fact that I was getting a little sick of this project, and also needed it of the needles. Now that this is off of my only pair of size 6 needles, I can get to swatching, and hopefully knitting, Samus. The yarn for that has been sitting around for a while now, and I've just been dying to get going on it. I even convinced my dear friend Charlie to fix his sewing machine so that he can help me install the zipper! That's what friends are for, you know. Installing zippers, that is.

Back on track, (I swear, sometimes I pity the people who read this blog) Kiri is a lovely pattern, but at some point, you just start counting the rows until the end. Especially if you're like me, and your favorite part of lace knitting is not the actual knitting of the thing (which is just like knitting anything else, really, but more complex) but the blocking of the thing. Blocking lace is one of the finer pleasures of knitting, because you can mold that shawl like stretchy fuzzy clay in your clammy little hands. Hmm. That sounded disgusting. Anyway, Kiri definitely didn't dissapoint me in the blocking department. It looked nice before blocking, but I am loving it after blocking. It actually makes me want to wear it out somewhere, if it weren't so damn cold outside. I'll probably end up wearing it around my house, and officially scare my housemates once and for all. It is that lovely. This seriously might go into the "Things That Remind Me I Have Some Knitting Skills" hall of fame. That's the one I keep in my head to take a look back at whenever I really screw something up. But enough of me boring you poor people to death! Here are the pictures:

First up, one mid-blocking, with a typical pair of orange craft scissors to show the size of the shawl.

A close up of the lace and edging.

Trying it on!

An artsy picture. Just 'cause.

Vitals-
Pattern: Kiri, a free pattern from All Tangled Up
Yarn: Almost all of 1 skein of Karabella Lace Mohair in some light blue color
Needles: Addi Naturas, Size 6
Stuff I Learned: Don't put a highlighter in a bag with your knitting. Bad things will happen.
Notes: Those darn purling rows get really tedious after a while! Other than that, a nice pattern. I will have to make another one with Kidsilk Haze. That stuff is to die (or kill) for. Don't get me wrong, this Karabella isn't bad, but it just doesn't have that incredibly, disturbingly, so-wrong-it's-right softness that Kidsilk Haze has. It also has a slightly smaller halo, so that I had to go down a needle size from what was recommended in the pattern in order to get a more cohesive fabric. I will also say that Rowan makes some beautiful colors, especially in Kidsilk Haze. I'd like to use fuschia, or maybe deep purple. Or some of that new Kidsilk Night, with the sparkle in it, in black, or grey...hmmmmm....

First(ish) Sweater! happy dance

2005-10-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have done it! I have conquered the evil Sweaterbeast! I battled with it up and down the sharp knitting cliffs, and finally I smote its ruin upon the mountain side! YEAH!

Ok, I'll reign in my Tolkein dork now; bonus points to anyone who can tell me what character actually speaks that line. Minus the knitting bits, of course. So, this is my first(ish) sweater (mostly because the real first sweater was a total disaster) and also the first real garment I have designed myself. And beat this: IT FITS. I know. Go ahead and claim you're dreaming, pinch yourself, but this is really happening, folks. I finally knit something larger than a breadbox. That. Fits. Praise to all the Knitting Gods! And what the heck, all the other Gods too!

Seems like a small accomplishment, but honestly, I've had my fair share of badly fitting disaster-garments, so I am so damn glad that this one worked out. And even better: I really like it! It's really cozy and nice! This was also a pretty easy knit, even with the designing math. It didn't come out the way I had originally planned, mostly because I didn't actually plan very much at all. I tend to do things on the spur of the moment anyway, so a lot of the important design choices got made mid-knit. But I like the way it turned out. Here it is folks (with a brooch):

The front again (in this one I'm wearing it with the hat pin):

Note to self: try not to make wierd faces when pictures are being taken. And a crappy picture of the back (but the only one I have):

Vitals-
Pattern: My own, baby!
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, 11 skeins and just a bit of a 12th for the very last row of ribbing on the button band. The color is named Charcoal, but I like to think of it as Very Ripe Plum Fresh from the Refridgerator. But that's just me.
Needles: Addi Naturas, 6mm - I am a seriously loose knitter, folks.
Other Bits: A vintage hat pin, as well as a cheap brooch from H&M, instead of the button I was originally planning on.
Stuff I Learned: Did I mention the pattern? My own, baby! (I still haven't gotten over how awesomely bad-ass this is.) I also used some top-down-raglan, 1 tablespoon short-rows, and a whole mess of picking-up-and-ass-load-of-stitches. Seriously folks, the 2 by 2 ribbing nearly gave me an ulcer. This was the one part of this sweater that I definitely did NOT enjoy. I originally thought about giving this one a shawl collar, but after knitting 5 rounds of 67 INCHES of 2 by 2 ribbing? Yeah, that idea fell by the wayside. I watched the clock while binding off, and it took me a total of 1 hour and 17 minutes just to bind off the button band. *shakes head* Never again, I tell you.

So, in short, even though it ending up stretching a bit in the wash (and this is not because of the yarn; it is because I am a doofus) I absolutely love it! It is now rather sweater-jacket like, which I am thoroughly enjoying. The hat pin/brooch idea (in place of a button) was an excellent bit of inspiration on my part. That plus the curved back hem and the princess waist shaping remind me a bit of those Victorian riding jackets for women. All in all, I think it's quite cute. Not to mention, this thing is so incredibly warm and cozy. It just got pretty cold here, so it was perfect timing. In short, people, I love this sweater. Go me!

EDIT: I wore the sweater to choir practice today, and got the best compliments EVER. Including, "That pin is so pretty. Did it come with the sweater when you bought it?" (the italics are all mine) and also, "You KNIT that? SHUT UP!" (as in, no way, it's too cute for that!)

*sigh* Bliss!

Yarn Shop Battles

2005-10-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

While my finished sweater is blocking and my landry is finishing up, I thought I might treat you all to a bit of a more philosophical knitting discussion. And then I decided that it was a better idea to just rant a bit about the latest scandal in the online knitting community. I'll probably offend someone, but hey, it was bound to happend sooner or later, so why not now?

So apparently Knit Pixie has changed its name to KPixie. In its FAQ section, it explains that this change was because another craft company thought that their names were too similar, and asked them to change their name. Which they did. After the fact, a few smarty-pants knitters on the LJ knitting group uncovered the secret identity of this mysterious "craft company:" Knit Picks, which is actually a part of Crafts Americana. Plenty of people now have their panties in a twist, claiming that this is a situation where another Wal*Mart-type giant is pushing around the little guy, in order to have their nefarious-business way with things.

*Groan* Someone pass the aspirin, please, because I can feel a raging headache coming on, and it's equal parts irritation and hilarity. With a hearty helping of apathy on the side.

First things first: I can accept people having different views. That's ok by me. If you really think that Knit Picks is the devil incarnate, that's your call, my friend. But for the love of all that is green and good in this world, at least know what you're talking about. This is probably one of my pet peeves. I will gladly proclaim that I have ZERO practical knowledge (re: trademark, etc.) to contribute to this discussion. Reading the thread about this at Live Journal, you'd think that everyone and their mother was an expert in corporate law. I'm going to make an educated guess, and say that that's pretty far from the truth. That said, it's really nice to hear from people who DO know something about this stuff. I just wish there were more of those people. *sigh*

My favorite faulty argument? Knit Picks is evil (EVIL I TELL YOU! *insert evil fist shaking here*) because they use underpaid labor to produce their yarn. Aside from being totally unrelated to the topic at hand, it's also pretty hard to ascertain if that's true or not, what with the great differences between a living wage here and a living wage in Peru. The thing about this that really gets my goat (and this is another pet peeve of mine, one that runs rampant on my college campus) is the following: if this is something that you care about, why is it bothering you just now? Have you thought that plenty of the other yarn that you have bought might have been created by underpaid, third-world laborers? Have you ever stopped to consider that this might be a pretty widespread problem? As far as I'm concerned, it's hypocrytical to call one company on their labor practices. If you really believe in it, you should question everyone. And if you don't, don't. But you have to pick one; you can't just take up a cause and then drop it the moment it suits you.

Second: It is so damn funny how excited people get about this stuff! You'd think that Knitpicks had sent a force of fighting ninja assasins to the very door of the owners of KPixie! And that they had had a battle to the death for their trademark! I love how the comments on this go from "Wow that really sucks" to "Grab your pitchforks and burning torches and meet us at the Crafts Americana headquarters tomorrow!" in about five minutes. I mean, it wasn't pretty, but you know, that's the world. The planet didn't explode, no one died, nobody went out of business, so for goodness sake people, relax!

Third: They are both still selling YARN. I said YARN, people. The exact same yarn they were selling before. I could get up in arms about someone keeping me from buying yarn, but this? Nope. There is still yarn for me to purchase. Plenty of yarn. That's all I need to hear about it.

I guess people just enjoy being on the "good" side on a fight, even when it's much less of a black-white, good-bad thing than it appears. What can I say? It's tempting to want to stick it to the man. As a friend of mine says, "Why don't you stick it to the man? He's very stickable."

Oh yeah, life goes on...

2005-10-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Not too much to report here. I must admit that I've been in a bit of a "I hate people" mode lately. I have about 3 to 5 friends and acquaintances right now that don't make me want to scream and pull my hair out like a raving lunatic. In short, I need vacation. SOON. Thankfully, October "Study" Days are coming up (the quotes are added because just about no one except me actually studies) so I'll be able to hermit up in my room and just knit for hours and hours. In the words of a song I'm learning: ah, to be all alone. With my knitting.

Speaking of knitting, the sweater is really coming along. I don't have a picture of it just yet, but that's ok. It can be a surprise! And I can have an excuse to be a lazy knitblogger. I've also been knitting a bit on Kiri, because let's face it, it is about time I got that sh*t DONE. I foresee even more knitting time in my future since I have to watch a three hour movie for Italian homework ("Il Gattopardo" by Visconti; Alain Delon! *swoon*) so I'll be able to put in some work on the Chain Link scarf, which has been sorely neglected. I'd love to keep working on Kiri, or the Mystery Sweater, but I just can't do either of those things and read subtitles, you know?

Now for some blogging fluff: a Blogthing.

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to good manners and elegance.

In love, you feel the most alive when everything is uncertain, one moment heaven... the next moment hell.

You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was insecure and in constant need of reassurance.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is low. Even if you're tempted, you'd try hard not to do it.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as something you don't need. You just feel like flirting around and playing right now.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

I snagged this one from Stephy. I only post this because it absolutely creeps me out how accurate it is. Bizarre.

EDIT: Knitty Fall surprises are up! Neither the pumpkins nor the boobs really do much for me (and what the heck is with Knitty and knitted parts of the female anatomy, eh?) but the skull scarf is to die for. That might actually make me a felting convert. If only I had enough time to make one by Halloween...

My first time...

2005-10-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

...knitting socks! Yeah baby! I am no longer a sock virgin. Here they are, in their natural habitat:

I love them. Knitting socks is officially awesome. I wore these babies out today, and they are so soft and warm and cozy it's practically a crime. I finally understand what everyone's talking about when they say that hand-knit socks cannot even be compared with store bought socks. I feel like knitting as many pairs of socks for as many friends and family members as I can, so that they too can know the joy that is a pair of handknit socks. I've already ordered some more sock yarn from Knitpicks, and eventually I think I might even treat myself to some Lorna's Laces, or Koigu (squee!). I can also understand what everyone's talking about when they say that sock knitting is addictive. Danger, Will Robinson. God knows, I need more reasons to buy yarn like fish need reasons to buy Harleys. But lets not think about the danger of yarn addiction! Back to socks! Most of all, I was surprised to see how little yarn these took up, and how darn fast they were to knit. Here are the vital stats, ladies and gents -
Pattern: Started out with Pom Squad from MagKnits, but ended up coming mostly out of my own head
Yarn: One skein of Knitpicks Sock Garden in Geranium
Needles: Addi Naturas, Size 2 36''
Techniques: Short rows, Figure 8 cast on, the Magic Loop
Notes: Man, I learned alot from these socks! And it felt good too! I loved the whole toe-up construction. The figure 8 cast on was a little wierd at first (take a look at the right sock) but I got the hang of it. And the Magic Loop? AWESOME. I am planning to stock up on 40'' needles, because with God as my witness, I will never go double pointed again. The only problem with these socks was that they came out a little large. It's not that big of a deal. They are now my house socks, so bigger is better. Plus, that little bit of extra room enables me to do this:

Good times all around. I also received (finally!) my last package from my SP. It's not her fault it took so long to get to me. No, the fault lies with one of my parental units (sorry, Mom) who decided it was necessary to check and recheck the contents of the boxes she was sending me as though she were planning the invasion of Normandy. But she sent me my yarn, so I can forgive her. Here's the box:

And what's inside?

Loot! A bunch of Cotton Ease (I smell some summer tanktops), a pretty little journal, two silly books of dog wisdom, a kit to build your own kaleidoscope, a kit to grow your own bonsai tree (this is just what I need for my dorm room, I tell you), one delicious skein of Classic Elite Bamboo (gahh.........soft.) and a beautiful hank of a cotton viscose blend that's a swirl of greens, blues, and golds. Awesome package, and well worth the wait. Thanks, SP. :)

And what is this we have here? Plans for a self designed sweater? Preparations for writing a pattern? A teaser for my next project? All of the above!

I rock!

2005-10-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

I did it! I turned a frikkin HEEL! YEAH!

Oh yeah. I'm cool. You know it.

Serious Dirt

2005-09-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

I've got serious dirt (hence the title) to dish to you all about. First order of business: I turned 21! And no one got hurt! Not much happened, actually. Having your birthday on a Wednesday kind of kills the excitement, you know. I mostly celebrated by going to class (woo-hoo.) and calling my parents (double woo-hoo.). I'm having an actual party on Saturday, so I'm saving up the fun for then. In the end it was nice though, because I did get some lovely birthday presents from my DB: a set of Nightmare Before Christmas champagne flutes (yeah, that's how I roll) and the first season of Pete & Pete on DVD (eee!). Excellent swag, but he STILL doesn't believe that I would also have really enjoyed more yarn! From the looks I get when I suggest this to him, I think he sees it as an enabling kind of thing, like giving an alcoholic a big birthday bottle of Jack Daniels. Jeez, non-knitters just don't understand ...

And here's the second bit ... the dirt on the Knitty Anniversary Cruise! Yup, it was this past Sunday, and yup, I did attend. It was so much fun. I wish there was one of these every weekend. Now that would be the best Stitch and Bitch in this world. See how awesome it was?

How can you not love the idea of a whole bunch of knitters on a cruise ship? Anyway, the day of the cruise I rode the train down to Manhattan, obsessing about whether I would be on time (this is what public transportation does to me, folks) and arrived at Grand Central with time to spare. So much for my obsessing and stressing, eh? After getting a little orange juice and a really horrific scone (which I threw out) for breakfast, I decided to really live in the lap of luxury, and hailed a cab to drive over to the pier. The event was being held on a lovely little boat with two floors; I spent most of the cruise on the top deck, enjoying that fresh river air. There was great food, an open bar (didn't avail myself of that one, but it was there), a silent auction, and loads of knitters! I spent the second half of the cruise in the Knittyboard group of people. Here we are:

There you can see (in some semblance of a left to right type order) Karen (Cooknknit), Amy (Creator of Knitty! Squee!), Heather (Hbrogan - My SP), Maryann (Marymac), Valerie (Alerievay), Jen (Bluealvarez), and Tamara (LaBean). I'm lucky I posted about wearing my Branching Out the morning of, because otherwise no one would have found me, since we didn't really know each other by face. I also got to see Karen's divine pictures of Bon Jovi! And see Tamara hold a DPN with only her fabulous hair! As you can tell, it was quite exciting. We got little bags of knitting swag on our way out, with free yarn, coupons (for more yarn - they know what we like!) and a copy of Fall Vogue Knitting. I also was gifted with a circular needle case designed by Jen. Apparently it's a prototype, because she's thinking of making them to sell, and she was planning to give it to some knitter to test out. Lucky me! I've already filled it to the brim with my needles, and am wishing I had a second one. I also got a lovely photo of the Statue of Liberty.

As for actual knitting, uh ... really not too much of that going on. School has been cutting into my knitting time in a serious way, plus I missed a really good knitting opportunity by forgetting to bring my shawl to a required music lecture. Knitting is the only thing that keeps me conscious during those things, so as you can imagine I was pretty miserable. And by miserable, I mean so bored I was practically drooling on myself for kicks. The one knitting thing I did recently: I started my first sock:

The figure-8 cast on is a little wonky, but I'm ok with that. I can see how sock knitting can be addictive. They're just so small and colorful and cute! They play into my bizarre love of matching sets. Some progress has also been made on Kiri, which I am now really getting anxious to finish, so that I can free up those needles to knit Samus, and just to have it out of my hair. Christ alive, can you believe that's ALL the knitting I've done this week? No wonder I feel stressed out. Must ... knit ... must ... knit ...

Movin' on up!

2005-09-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who offered your get-well wishes! I'm feeling a whole lot better, although it would have been hard to feel worse, seeing as last Monday morning I could barely roll out of bed and walk two feet to my computer. I went to the doctor, where they tested me for Strep throat. Thankfully, that test came back negative, which means that I just had a nasty cold. Less thankfully, that also meant there was nothing they could do but treat the symptoms, because there are a myriad of viruses and bacteria that can cause the same symptoms as Strep. So I got a bunch of Tylenol and a prescription strength anthistamine and was sent back to bed. Anyway, it helped a bunch and now I'm on the mend. Woo-hoo! Go immune system, go! I've also pretty much stopped leaving a trail of snot everywhere I go, like some kind of giant human slug. Yeah, that wasn't too sexy. I'm glad it's over.

As for the knitting, well, there's good news and bad news. And more bad news. And also some more good news. It's a mixed bag, ladies and gents.

First off, I started something new! I was trying to unify my giant skein of Karabella Lace Mohair with a project, and decided, what the hey! I'll make a shawl. I don't wear shawls, but I also don't own any shawls. Which caused which? I guess I'll find out once I'm done. I'm making Kiri, from All Tangled Up. It looks pretty damn intimidating at first (whatever made this lady think that a nine page pattern is good for beginners ... ) but once I got started I found it to be pretty easy. I'm already 7+ repeats in to it, and I've got the pattern repeat memorized so I can take it around with me (it's great for required concerts and other music department BS occasions). Since I have roughly 100 yds less that the pattern calls for, I think I'll just do one or two repeats less that the designer did, since she mentioned that the last repeat plus the edging took her almost 1 ball of Kidsilk Haze, which clocks in at 250 yds per ball. Speaking of which, I'm going to have to make another one of these using KSH because that stuff is scarily delicious.

Here's the bad news: in my extreme shortsightedness, I was carrying around the pattern and the shawl in a plastic baggy, so that it wouldn't get all tangled in my purse. I also had in there a bright yellow marker to cross off the lines of the first chart. So, one day this past weekend (on the train to Grand Central - just my luck) I opened up the plastic bag to discover three things: 1) yellow ink all over the paper pattern 2) the offending marker, with its cap off, at the bottom of the bag, and 3) two silver dollar sized blobs of flourescent yellow ON MY HALF FINISHED SHAWL (I am still thanking the Knitting Gods that none ended up on the skein of yarn itself). And just so you know, if you ever encounter a knitting disaster in public, it's pretty hard to keep your cool. Now, I had a hunch that these markers were washable, so I put the thing in the sink (and my needles ... oops.) to soak with some shampoo. I also smeared a little extra shampoo on the particularly yellow spots. And ...

Before... Here's the whole thing ...

Here's the upper spot...

Here's the lower spot ...

(This pic gives you the best idea of the color of the yarn and the spots)

... And after! Oops, I forgot to take an after picture. Anyway, washing it actually worked! The spot near the bottom of the knitting (actually the top of the shawl), which originally seemed to be the worst, ended up coming out almost completely. The upper spot (actually on the side of the shawl) was a little tougher, but I'm thinking it's not too bad. I'm hoping that the second wash for blocking might help. Anyway, I can deal with it. So go me!

Second chunk of mixed news: I finished the body of Simply Marilyn. After knitting a couple inches on one sleeve, my smarter half sent me a message that said, "Hey Jane! Maybe you should try that thing on, so that you won't make another disaster sweater and prove to everyone that you really ARE as sharp as a marble!" I decided to take this advice, so I put it on and pinned the shoulder bits to about where they should be. And I got this: Front

Side

Blehhhhhh. My smarter half was so right. This sweater is doing me NO favors. Hell, I think it might even be giving me backhanded compliments, saying bitchy things behind my back, and spreading salacious rumors about me. That's a fancy way of saying it makes me look, not fat, but shapeless. Potato-like, as I am fond of saying. And let me tell you, I have definitely got some shape on me! So I frogged it. F*** you Marilyn, i've got better things to do. I'm thinking I'll turn it into a sweater of my own design. But I'm glad I caught it now. It shows I'm learning something about this whole knitting thing. Also because frogging the body of a sweater is not so bad. Frogging a completed, seamed sweater? That is a potent cocktail of rage, despair, and self-loathing. It is hell.

Other knitting things on the agenda: I'm planning to knit my first pair of socks. With the Magic Loop technique. Possibly toe-up, too. Am I crazy? Heh ... heh ... heh ... let's not discuss that.

EDIT: Just so you know, there are now only 5 days until yours truly hits the big 2-1 on September 28th! Yay for birthdays! Just thought I should put that out there, in case you were thinking of sending me flowers ... ;)

Blarg.

2005-09-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

This isn't an update. There has been knitting, but I just don't have the energy to share it. It's more of a bulletin, really. The message is as follows:

I bet every knitter has secretly wished to be sick so they could stay home from work/school and knit all day, curled up cozily in bed with a big mug of tea. Who could be blamed for such a wish? It sounds nice, doesn't it?

But I say unto ye: HARK! Be careful what thou doth wish for, for ye may get it! And ye may get it in f'ing spades!

And by it, I mean laryngitis. Laryngitis AND a fever AND sinuses filled to the brim.

So yes, being sick gives you plenty of time to knit. It also gives you plenty of time to wipe snot off your knitting, as you curse the day you were born, along with every deity you can name.

Take it from me, folks. I know what I'm talking about.

Knitting Personalities

2005-09-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

I've made a significant discovery in the past three days. Not about anything that important (no, I did not discover the cure for cancer) or even anything that unimportant (no, I still don't know how to ride a bicycle) but about myself as a knitter. Let me explain a little further.

I know many knitters who meticulously plan what they're going to knit next. They buy their yarn with something in mind, and they keep a running mental list of what they plan on knitting next. Case in point: many people on the lovely Knittyboard had mentioned that they were holding off starting something new, because they were waiting for the Fall '05 Knitty to come out. They planned on finishing a few FO's so that they could take full advantage of all the brand new patterns in the Fall issue. Now, don't you have to admire these people? That's a lot of planning ahead for a hobby!

So, if you know me, you know that I'm a) a procrastinator, b) lazy, and c) totally indecisive. When these powers combine, instead of getting Captain Planet (tee-hee) you get someone who does just about everything on the spur of the moment, or at the last possible moment, depending on whether there's a deadline. Someone like me. This means I have trouble attempting to plan my knitting. It just doesn't happen. Sure, sure, I make a lot of plans, but I don't necessarily DO anything about them, which is really the most important part. I tend to plan away, and then decide to make something else after I'm swayed in the heat of the moment (usually this part takes place in a yarn store) by something that just calls out to me to be knitted. I've finally figured out that there's really no stopping this; I've just got to go with it. It usually turns out all right.

And on that note, I started something new! ("Thank God," you're all thinking, "this entry DOES have a point!") On Saturday I went in to NYC to buy myself some birthday yarn. My birthday is actually on the 28th of September, but this weekend yarn in New York was tax free, so I decided to strike while the iron was hot (and cheap). I went to Seaport Yarn, which is like a crack den for yarn-a-holics. It's really not even fair to let knitters in there; your wallet practically jumps out of your purse and starts purchasing things for you. I came home with 10 loverly skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky in a charcoal-blue-purple color. It's like that deep black-purple-blue that plums get when they're really, really ripe. I love it. And did I mention it's soft enough to kill for? Normally I'm not a Debbie Bliss fan, because I think a lot of the money you pay for her yarn is just paying for her name on that label, but the Cashmerino line is truly worth it. Here's a pic:

Notice there are only 5 skeins? That's because 5 of them are in use making this.

That's Simply Marilyn from a back issue of IK. Not a great picture, but it was the only one I could find. The pattern is a free PDF on the Interweave Knits website. Just Google "Interweave Knits"+"Simply Marilyn" and you should find it. I actually get the same gauge, even though the pattern is written for Superchunky, probably because I knit pretty loosely. Which is ok, since it keeps the fabric lighter. I am also just 25 yards short of yarn. Yeah. That makes me a little nervous. I've coerced a certain someone (and by someone, I mean my poor boyfriend) into going back to Seaport and getting 2 more skeins of the stuff for me, pus a pair of smaller needles for the collar. I decided it really wasn't safe for me to go myself, that is if I wanted to have money for groceries this winter. I'm really not sure if I'll need the extra yarn, since I converted the body into the round and subtracted a few inches for a smaller, closer fit. I guess safe is better than sorry. Other than that, the pattern is going swimmingly. I'm almost to the armhole shaping, and I took it off the needles and tried it on last night and the thing seemed to fit fine. Here it is so far:

As always, if you want to get up close and personal with that cabling, just click on the picture to see bigger sizes. I might want to make it a little longer than the pattern specifies, because I have a long torso, and the sweater seems to be designed to be somewhat cropped. I'm not too much of a fan of belly baring outfits (having a less than washboard-like stomache will do that to you) and I also would like to be able to wear this to concerts and things, so showing some belly is really out of the question. I'll have more pictures when I'm farther along.

And what's next on my knitting agenda? I'm thinking of trying out some socks, and also perhaps knitting Samus from the current Knitty. Because not only is it a very cute and functional sweater, but because it is named after SAMUS. FROM METROID, PEOPLE! I told my friend Charlie (Dork Extraordinaire -he's awesome) that my favorite online knitting magazine had named a sweater after his favorite videogame character, and he said (I quote), "God, PLEASE knit that for me."
"Charlie," I said, "You know it's a woman's sweater."
"And?"
"And what are you going to do about that?"
"I don't know, I'll grow boobs or something."

And that is why I love my friends. They're crazy, just like me.

EDIT: Now that I look at the pictures a second time, I realize that the color of the Cashmerino is a bit off. It really has a bit more purple in it. Just so you know. :)

Oooooh new Knitty!

2005-09-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

It's here! It's here! Fall Knitty!

I have to say I am so much more excited about this issue than the last one. I don't begrudge patterns to men who knit, because God knows, they've got it way harder than us gals when it comes to knitting! Unless they're into knitting ladies clothing for themselves (whatever floats your boat, my friend) or for others (spread the knitting love) or for their significant others (a boyfriend who would knit me a sweater?! *swoon*). I also don't begrudge patterns to those ladies who like to knit for men. But I don't have any man to knit for, and I don't want one. I've yet to meet a guy who deserved a hand knit sweater that took months for me to lovingly create. I like to knit for ME. Yeah, that's right, I'm selfish and proud of it, so move the hell over, I need some sweaters! RAWR! KONG NEED SWEATERS!!!

... Ahem.

And sweaters there are! An abundance of sweaters! A hardy crop of sweaters! And did I mention (my dork is really showing here *blush*) that there's a sweater named after an awesome, butt-kicking video game heroine? It's also a very nice sweater. I'm definitely going to have to knit a few things from this issue, even though I just recently started something else ... more on that later! ;)

Knitting Wheel of Fortune!

2005-09-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

Or "What the heck should Jane knit next?" I'm asking for your help, dear readers, because I am cronically indecisive. Now, I don't have any trouble with big decisions, like where to go to college, or what career to pursue, but if I don't ask someone's advice on what cereal to eat or what socks to put on in the morning I might be there for hours. You know, green or grey? Frosted Mini Wheats or Total? I also might add that I have a highly developed taste for Old People Cereal (what is Old People Cereal? Anything my grandpa eats. ) but that's a topic for another day.

Back on topic, I'm going to throw out a few things to consider. First off is some troubling stash yarn I've got sitting in my closet and on my conscience.

This blue stuff is Reynold's Allagash. It's all wool except for the nylon binder, and yes it is THAT blue. It's royal blue, or Yves Klein blue, if you're a pretentious liberal arts college student like me. I have 930 yds of this stuff. I purchased it all in a moment of weakness while perusing the Webs site. It was only 40 bucks for the whole bag, and at the time the color appeared to be a light sky blue. I have since learned that my monitor makes colors appear dangerously lighter than they actually are, and that there are no returns on Garage Sale items at Webs. Consider me schooled. So now I'm stuck with it. I don't think I could ever wear a sweater this blue, although it does look rather nice knitted up (at a gauge of 10 sts and 14 rows for 4''). Any ideas, or even any offers to take it off my hands are much appreciated.

Next up, things I can buy yarn to knit - and isn't that always vastly preferrable? I'm thinking it's time to stop being a sissy and take another stab at knitting a sweater. What sweater you ask? Um ... I'm not sure. I want it to be something warm and cabled, and tweedy! I'm having the strangest craving for tweed and heathered yarns. So right now I've got two basic ideas on the plate.

The first is Rogue, found at the Girl from Auntie. The cables are just lovely, and I think it looks like enough stockinette to keep it simple but enough cabling and whatnot to keep me from just getting bored. I do wonder if the hood will actually fit my head; I have a really REALLY big head. I routinely add atleast an inch to every hat pattern. I was thinking I might use one of the Bartlett Yarns, since I saw a fabulous picture on Knitpixie of a Rogue knitted up with one of these yarns. I'm still waiting for people to respond on the Knittyboard to my plea for info on this yarn, since I've never used it before. We'll see what that turns up. It could be so stunning.

The second is a self-designed sweater. I was inspired to do this by an absolutely divine sweater I saw in Barney's Co-op a week ago. It was out of my price range (200+ dollars, but it was 100% cashmere) so I was hoping to recreat it, maybe even improve on it. Now I tried to find a picture of it on the Barney's NY website, but they seem to be denying that they even sell sweaters, so I'll just have to make do with my powers of description. This sweater was knit out of a bulky/chunky yarn, I'm thinking about 3 to 3.5 stitches to an inch. It was a cardigan with set-in sleeves, but the idea of seaming bulky yarn is making me break out into a cold sweat just sitting here at my computer thinking about it, so that's not happening. I'd probably make it a raglan, bottom up or top down, whichever seems more appropriate. It also had this awesome combination of a figure 8 cable and a bobble - the bobble was sortof tucked away just on one side of the cable where it twisted. It's hard to describe, but it was truly lovely. Plus, it had ginormous plastic buttons that were so Marc-Jacobs-esque I nearly cried (well, not really, but they were really cool). Plus it came in a lovely heathery, tweedy shade of purple and another heathery, tweedy shade of grey. (sigh) Fabulous. I was thinking maybe I could use Knitpicks Sierra for this one, although if I had all the money in the world I'd use that yarn that Teva Durham used for the Lace Leaf Pullover. Yes, the insanely expensive, 100% alpaca one. Man, I need to learn to think inside my budget.

So, any opinions are appreciated. Any and all. Try me. See how appreciative I can be. :)

P.S. The chain-link scarf is going quite well, even though it's been too damn hot to knit anything recently. I'll get some pics of it soon.

Oh. My. God.

2005-08-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

"... Becky, look at her shrug. It is so BIG!" This may seem to you, dear reader, like a silly line of that song by Sir Mix-a-lot (twisted into a knitting-related joke) but this could be a scene from my life, IF I am ever so foolish as to wear my latest creation out of my own house. In fact, I don't think I'd even want to wear it INSIDE my own house. It's beyond ugly, beyond fugly: it is SHRUGLY. I've got one thing to say right now, and it is this: F*** THE KNITTING GODS! How dare they mess up my project when I checked the gauge multiple times, measured and remeasured, and even used the recommended yarn?! WHAT WENT WRONG, PEOPLE?! Someone is going to pay for this, and by someone, I mean whoever gets close enough to me to feel my wrath ...

Can you sense that this is a disaster area, folks? Houston, we definitely have a problem. Hell, we've got alot of problems. What caused these problems? Either I screwed up (and I'm refusing to consider that possibility right now) or this pattern was written for people with very. FAT. arms. Elephant arms, I tell you. Now, I'm not hatin' on anyone who does happen to have larger-than-average arms, or even super-ginormous-elephant-sized arms, but I don't really fall into either one of those categories. So instead of looking really cute and flirty and fetching, as was intended, my shrug just makes me look like I recently had an extreme arm-fat-tuck. Seriously, take a look at this thing. "Jenny Craig didn't do s*** for the rest of me, but take a look at my arms!"

Notice my face? That's the "I've spent all day packing for college and this damn thing isn't helping" face. And here's the sleeve:

I've only seamed one side and it's huge. There's an extra 2 inches of fabric just hanging there. It's truly unfortunate. I can't decide what to do with it, other than freak out and curse the day it was born (or written, or knitted, or whatever). It actually sort of works (unseamed) as a weird shawl.

But I don't really wear shawls. I could also throw it in the washing machine on hot and see if it shrinks. But knowing my luck (see the rest of this post and the archives of posts on a certain Zelda if you don't believe me) the damn thing will probably shrink to a third of its length while still being too wide. And yes, I know that I could frog it to make something else, but after knitting all that boring, shoot-me-now, 6-row-repeat lace, that doesn't make me very cheery, if you know what I mean. *insert murderous, lunatic smile here*

OK, I'll take some deep breaths here and talk about something else. In other news, I'm back in New York, at Sarah Lawrence College for my junior year. School is all right so far, even though alot of my bestest friends are abroad. It's odd being back, because I think I grew up alot this summer, and I don't think everyone I know here is really ready to deal with that. In addition to that wierdness, it's unbelievably creepy to think about the fact that I am 2 years away from having a go at life in the Real World! Not the TV show, folks: nope, I mean the real thing, with taxes, and rent, and utility bills, and, and, and I need to stop now before I start hyperventilating. It's a scary thought, especially because I have chosen a profession (Music, namely Opera Singer) that seems to go hand in hand with unemployment. For the begining of your music career, you spend alot of money paying people to LET you play. Yeah, you read that right. It's pretty damn depressing, but I wouldn't want to do anything else, so I guess I've gotta bite that proverbial bullet and get over it. And who am I kidding? Screw you, real world! I'm going to grad school! Take THAT!

Before this turns into a blog where I bitch and moan about my real life (and who the f*** wants to hear that? Not even me!) I'd better finish with something knitting related. If you have any idea what I should do with the Shrugulus Hideosus Maximus please let me know. I'd better get a good idea soon, otherwise I'll have to gift it to someone, and I don't know anyone who'd want it. Well, except a few of my strange guy buddies, but they'd just use it to mock me. (sigh) So, do any of you all have a large-armed buddy who'd like a shrug?

A small devil, yarn, Osama, and some showgirls!

2005-08-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have a treat for you readers! If you really do exist, that is. I sometimes get a feeling that my readership is like Big Foot, or the Lochness Monster; things that look like readers are occasionally spotted on the fringes of the blog, but are they really readers? Or is it all a government hoax, designed to keep us unaware of their alliance with the werewolves to blow up the moon? Just so you know, that last bit was actually based on a headline I saw in the National Enquirer. It ranks among my all time favorites, along with "Lincoln Was A Woman!" and "Osama Bin Laden Hides Out in VEGAS! Bombs, Babes and Burquas!!!" That last one was probably the best, since it featured an obviously doctored cover photo of Osama himself surrounded by some seriously slutty looking showgirls. He looked pretty damn pleased with himself too. I'm telling you, I practically peed my pants, right there in line for the cash register!

Anyway, my treat is this: an FO! I whipped out this Lil' Devil hat in just a couple of days. It was a nice breather from other stuff, i.e. the Unending Shrug. It was really easy, really, fast, and a lot of fun. Except for picking up stitches for the horns. That was kind of a pain in the ass. The rest of it was a breeze though. I made this for my mom's co-worker, Michelle, who is still pregnant with this hat's intended recipient. She's also a knitter, so I thought it was appropriate to knit the baby something. And since it is technically also my mom's present to her, Mom bought me the yarn and a nice new pair of Crystal Palace bamboo circs to knit the thing with. Here it is, folks, along with the important stats:

Pattern: Lil' Devil Hat, from Kittyville.
Yarn: Reynolds Something Or Other (I definitely forgot to save the ball band.) It's 60% Acrylic and 40% Wool. I think. But it's definitely machine washable! I remember that!
Notes: It was fun. It's cute too, and easy. And best of all, it's not overly cutesy like most baby stuff, which I detest.

In other news, I got some loverly new yarn! It's actually from an unraveled vintage sweater that I bought for about 20 bucks. This is truly the gold mine of sweater unraveling. This baby is 100% cashmere, in a size extra large (and it's an 80's extra large, so it's really just frikkin' HUGE!) knit in brioche stitch with laceweight yarn. There is so much of this stuff, I'm probably going to have to give some of it away. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to hang them out in the open in the comments section. Here are some pics.

The color is less drab in person. It actually has more blue and green in it and not so much grey. It is desperately soft, as cashmere is wont to be. I think I must go back to the store I found it in, to make sure they're not hiding any other bits of sweater-y goodness from me.

In other OTHER news, I've also finished (FINALLY!) the second sleeve of the shrug. I've got to say: CHRIST ON A HARLEY! That thing was getting so boring I was ready to claw my own eyes out with a crochet hook rather than knit another repeat. Note that I said a crochet hook, people! That's true knitter's desperation! (Joking, joking ... mostly.) Tonight I think I'm going to attempt to graft the two halves together. This will be my first time grafting, and to be honest I'm a little freaked out. Unfortunately, I'm still at home (not at school), so I can't have a stiff drink to calm my nerves. Come to think of it, that's probably not a good idea anyway, given my absurdly low tolerance of alcohol. It's cotton yarn too, so this might be getting very ugly. I guess I'll have to make an offering to St Kitchener, the Patron and Protector of Those Who Graft, and then just go at it. If you hear screaming from far off tonight, don't be alarmed. It's only me.

Meme + Photos = ... Something.

2005-08-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

Warning: Long Post Ahead. I've finally got some more pictures to put up here. But first, I've been tagged by Elizabeth with this meme. Which brings up the question of how to pronounce the word "meme." But I'll leave that to be pondered at a later date.

Idiosyncrasy

Write down 5 of your own personal idiosyncrasies, then, if you want, tag 5 of your friends.

1) I have hated cheese since I was a kid. Really. Parmesan is the worst; I gag just from the smell of it. After all these years I've started eating Mozarella and some Brie, but that's it. My parents still think that someday I'm going to come home and love it as much as they do. Heh. They're going to have to wait a while for that one.

2) I don't give a shit about how messy my room gets, but if my kitchen isn't clean enough to eat off the floor, I will freak out.

3) I often confuse things that have happened to me with dreams I've had. This usually happens because I have a lot of recurring dreams. I literally have the same dream over and over (during the dream I can remember having it previously) or I visit the same place in many different dreams. There are a few dreams I've been having since I was 5 or 6.

4) I usually dislike going out to eat with other people, because a) most people's eating habits disgust me, and b) very few people enjoy eating as much as I do. I don't mean I eat a lot; I mean I enjoy and savor every bite. I have a high appreciation for excellent food, so when I go out to a really nice restaurant, I don't really go to socialize per se. I go to eat. And honestly, if you don't, you really shouldn't join me.

5) I hate to throw out my old toys because part of me still believes they're alive.

I should also let you all know that I am not crazy. At least not since the last time I checked. And since I'm so late on this meme, I doubt there's anyone left to tag. Anyway, on to the photos! I made them all thumbnails because there are quite a few of them. First of all, the progress on the Chainlink Scarf. It's looking ok. I guess if it doesn't live up to my standards I can gift it to someone.

Secondly, the yarn I'm using. I love it.

Thirdly, the little needles! With my hand, for size comparison. Note that I do NOT have abnormally large giant hands (not that I'm hatin' on those who do); the needles really are that small.

Fourthly, one sleeve of the Good Bias Shrug.

Fifthly, the amount of yarn I had left over. I managed to squeak by with only three skeins for one sleeve. The pattern claims that one needs 7 skeins, but since my row gauge seems to be a little off in my favor, I think I'm going to make it with 6.

And one large photo: my arty photo of the vast expanse of the sleeve! With the mountains of my unmade bed on the horizon! Tee hee!

Quick Update

2005-08-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm at school right now, but I just wanted to update my vast readership (is that a word? more importantly, vast? Am I delusional?) on the goings-on in my knitting life.

I've finished one half of the IK Good Bias shrug, and have started the second half. It's stalled a bit because it's frustrating to finish one half of something, pat yourself on the back because you memorized the lace repeat, and then realize "Sweet Lord, I have to make a SECOND one." It just doesn't motivate you to go and knit away on the second half, you know? Plus I'm having a harder time memorizing the lace repeat. I have this bit of dislexia that surfaces every now and then, and oh baby, is it surfacing in this pattern. I keep doing everything in reverse. Blech.

On a more positive front, I started the Chain Link Scarf from Loop-d-Loop! Instead of Classic Elite La Gran, which I had a hell of a time trying to find, I picked out some deliciously fuzzy Plymouth Brushed Baby Alpaca. I'm telling you, it's a match made in heaven. There was an error in the pattern (and a really obvious one too - clearly the editor was out to lunch when this pattern came through) and I had to order a special pair of Clover 12'' sz 10 circs from PurlSoho, but it was worth it. I've already done two links, and it's looking great. I will post pics when I get home and have my camera at hand. The short needles are easy to use (more on this later) once you get past the cast-on row, and the yarn ... words fail me. Its fuzzy lusciousness knows no bounds. And it only cost me SIX. DOLLARS. A SKEIN. For 110 YARDS. Now that is sick. Sick and wrong.

But in a good way.

Time flies ...

2005-07-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

As they say, time flies like an arrow. And fruit flies like a banana. Or something to that effect.

It's been a while since I've posted anything here...ok, make that a loooong while! This entry is going to be short, just plain knitting content. So, without further ado ...

I've decided to trash the mystery tank-top and make it with better yarn, because LB Microspun sucks (I can't write here what I'd actually say in person). I'm thinking I might use Knitpicks Shine, in either green, purple or blue. Or black. Gosh, can you sense a color theme coming through here?

I've also started the "Good Bias" shrug from IK Spring 05, in light limey-green colored Mission Falls 1824 Cotton. It's going swimmingly, and I've already got one sleeve done. The pattern calls for 7 skeins, but I only happen to have 6. However, I made it through one sleeve with some yarn to spare, so I think it should work out fine. Others have told me that they ended up with extra yarn for this pattern, plus I think my row gauge is a bit larger than the given gauge in the pattern. All in all, the Knitting Gods are working with me, not against me. This is probably because I have been placating them with frequent sacrifices from my bank account for more yarn. They are fickle and wrathful gods, dontcha know! So they are smiling on me, for now. Here's hoping it stays that way.

Branching out, up and away!

2005-07-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

Another FO. It might appear that I've been churning out knitted pieces left and right, but that is definitely NOT the case. I actually haven't been knitting very much at all lately, due to an unholy matrimony of work, a visiting boyfriend, and intensive first-year German class. I am so bone-tired I feel like collapsing somewhere. A woman cannot learn German, drive cross town every day, keep a job going, AND entertain a guest on 5 and a half hours of sleep. It is not physically possible. My body has begun a full scale rebellion, and I think my brain is getting in on the action. Soon I will become some kind of zombie ... a knitting zombie perhaps ... or just a regular one ... ANYWAY!

Here's Branching Out, blocking:

And being worn:

Vitals- Pattern: Branching Out from Spring Knitty '05
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft DK in Lime, swapped to me by the Lovely Yarner ;) - I used just about a ball and a half.
Needles: Addi Naturas, Sz 6
Notes: A fun lace pattern, and pretty easy too. Plus it's so pretty.

I'm thinking of making a pair of little fingerless gloves/armwarmers to match, since I do have a ball and a half of yarn left over. I think I'm going to try to incorporate the leaf motif from Teva Durham's Lace Leaf Sweater. We'll see how that goes ... And no status bars yet. See the first paragraph for an explanation.

Oops. Big Oops.

2005-06-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

You might notice that my status bars are gone. Because -I'll be honest- I screwed up.

In my early days of website-dom, I didn't know anything about code. One day I figured out how to view source code for other people's sites. Pretty cool, I thought to myself. So I'd scurry around the net, looking at people's code, and trying things out, mostly by cutting and pasting / trial and error type stuff. I.E. If I do this to the code, the entire thing lines up on one side and turns orange. Cool!

... Er, not so much. Because at some point in my attempts to put some status bars on this page, I took someone else's image URL instead of saving the image myself. Not smart. I didn't know what that meant back then, but I sure do now! I've been eating up this poor gal's bandwidth every time someone looks at my page! So I say: Bad Jane! I prostrate myself before the Web Gods!

Anyway, once she very politely alerted me to this fact, I figured I'd let my stupidity hang out in the wind for all to see. Because that's just the best way to do things. Now, to search for my wayward brain ...

EDIT: I also changed the email adress connected to this page to the one I actually check and keep active, instead of the old one which I now only use for junk mail. I should have done this earlier too ...

Beyootiful Boobholder

2005-06-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

(to the tune of Beautiful Dreamer) Beau-ti-ful Boob-holder, wake unto me! Some-thing...something else...um...forget it.

Anyway, the Boobholder (or Minisweater, for those of you with more delicate sensibilities) is done. I added elastic thread around the bottom edge, right above the garter stitch and at the bottom of the garter stitch band to keep it from flairing out. I have sewn on the button and woven in all the ends. No, hasn't been blocked, but you know what? I don't give a damn. I was so excited about this thing that I wore it around the moment it was done. And with good reason, I might add, because it looks FAB. Truly FAB-U-LOUS. I heart it. Deeply, madly, truly.

In case you haven't noticed, I really like this Boobholder. Here it is, in all its splendor:

Pardon the kind of lame in-the-mirror photography (the color is lighter in person, more like cornflower blue).

And I look good in this next picture too! Yay me!

Yarn: Arucania Nature Cotton
Needles: Addi Naturas Sz 6
Notes: A fun knit. I needed more increase rows than specified in the pattern to create the sleaves. Next time I might start increasing around the neckline sooner to give it more of a straight V neck. I will also start increasing under the arms much sooner, and then decrease accordingly, to give myself some extra booby space (hee hee!) and keep the bottom edge from flairing out. Or I could just do short rows. That's probably a better solution.

Anyway, I wore it out, and got compliments galore. My sister now wants me to make her one. Even my mom thought it was cool (and me and my mom have very DIFFERENT ideas about what is cool). And the best part of all: my voice teacher told me, "That's so cute! Where did you get it?" The bold and the italics are mine, because that's the kind of compliment that I always like to get. Not "did you make that?" but "where did you get that?"

Heh heh. That's right. I rock.

Woop-de-frikkin-do.

2005-06-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Finally another FO post. And it's not one of the things I'm supposed to be working on -test knitting, hint hint- nope, it's just something I started and finished. Now, it was a quick knit, and it was fun, and it used up yarn from my stash, and it was appropriate for the season. But when you've still got things that you SHOULD finish, none of that can appease the Knitting Gods. Which is why I'm now stuck with a less-than-stellar FO. Behold, in all its mediocrity, the Ballet Tank.

Lying flat, not bad at all ...

Hmm ... Houston, we just might have a problem.

It's from Loop-d-Loop. The pattern calls for Cotton Fleece, used doubled throughout, but I happened to have a chunkier cotton and acrylic yarn -Navy by Adriafil- mooching mournfully in my stash.It was just begging to be used. "Huzzah!" I thought to myself, "If I use stash yarn to make something so very fetching, surely it will make up for the fact that I am putting off finishing certain other projects!" Wrong! Clearly, the Knitting Gods had other ideas. And yes, I believe in the Knitting Gods. Why else would I now be left with a rather badly fitting top? It's also alarmingly see-through. Ms. Durham sure wasn't kidding when she said this thing would stretch. My gauge is spot on, and somehow the 28.75 inch top looks BIG on my 37 inch bust.

AND I'm pretty damn sure it makes me look fat. I'm not fat. Or it makes me look potato-like. I'm not potato-like either. And I'm not sure which one is worse.

How can I explain this? To quote one of my favorite episodes of Family Guy, "You want an explanation?! GOD. {slap} IS. {slap} PISSED.{slap}"

Must finish bag, must finish bag ...

P.S. Forgot to add that I started Branching Out with my Cashsoft. I am so going to Knitting Hell for this.

Eeee! SP swag!

2005-06-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right. Swag! BOOTY! Booty as in pirates, not butts. Hee hee ... butts. Yes, I am immature.

Anyway here it is, in all its glory:

Ladies and gents, that's FOUR different flavors of Kool-Aid, a cute little card, glow in the dark(!) Spongebob Squarepants Band Aides (I actually WANT to get a boo-boo so I can slap one of these babies on it!), and a Spongebob Squarepants adress book, which is AWESOME.

And I noticed -sneaky person that I am- that my SP is from Tulsa, OK, where my Grandma lives. Hmm ... I know there was someone I met in Knitty chat who was from Tulsa ... if only I wasn't loosing my mind, because then I could actually remember who it was. :)

Look what I got!

2005-06-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

I heard a great quote today:
"Well behaved women hardly ever make history." Can't quite remember who said it, but I love it. Apparently they have it on bumper stickers and stuff as well.

In other news, yes, I finally have some knitting content! First off, here's the copy of Loop-D-Loop and the scrum-diddly-umptious yarn sent to me in a trade by Deb:

The book -do I really need to say it- is amazing. I can't decide what to knit first. And if you look closely, you might notice that this yarn is none other than 450 yds of RYC Cashsoft DK! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, my dream yarn, in a gorgeous shade of lime. I think it's going to become a Branching Out, and a pair of self-designed armwarmers using the leaf motif from Teva Durham's Lace Leaf Pullover. Eee! I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it! ;)

Next, progress on the Minisweater. Those are the two sleeves pointing up and to the right, so you can see the raglan increases and the increases on the front. I'm about four or five inches into the body of the sweater. I've started making some increases under the arms, because otherwise I think I'll have to knit one very long Minisweater just to make the two sides meet in the front. Damn you boobies!

I have to admit, I'm really just trying to get this thing done. It's currently taking up my only pair of size 6 needles (thanks to my college's stellar mail service -and by stellar, I mean, AWFUL) and I desperately want to get working with the Cashsoft.

Finally, here's about half of a work in progress for Amy. This is test knitting business folks, so not too many details here. It's going to be a big felted bag, and I'm using SWTC Karaoke. Notice the subtle striping effect; it's almost like Noro Kureyon, but it has a lighter feeling and a slinkier drape (atleast I think so!). This is probably due to the addition of soysilk. Anyway, I'm interested to see how it's going to felt.

I also finished a lovely little something for my SP, but I certainly can't post that! I'll have to reveal it after the end of this round. Now, it's time to watch some Family Guy and keep knitting.

Tada!

2005-06-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the new template! Yes, I picked dots. I think it's clean, clear, and works well as knitting related, which the others didn't quite do. I still have to do a few tweaky things, change fonts, re-add links, etc. I also have to email the designer of said template and get her to tell me how the heck to add comments to this thing. Even though few people ever comment around here, I'd atleast like to have the option, just in case someone gets the urge to make my day.

But for now, enjoy the new scenery!

Hehehehehe

2005-06-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

Just had to share this with you all:

...as they say on Engrish.com, betcha can't eat just one!

Template wars!

2005-05-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

More non-knitting content ahead. In blogging news, I'm thinking it's time to change the template here. The one I have now is nice, but ... well, it lacks personality. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with knitting. In fact, it evens suggests things other than knitting. I know, I know, it's geometric and abstract, but really! It just makes me think of travelling, or trains, or techno music -what's with the letter T here? Ahem. Like I was saying, this template may remind of many things (all begining with T, but that's not the point) but none of them are knitting, that's for damn sure. I have considered doing my own, but let's face it, the idea just scares me because the possibilities for totally screwing it up are ENDLESS. The other problem? I'm so indecisive, I can barely decide which socks to put on in the morning. Really. To keep my brain (and this page) from exploding, please make your opinion known, dear reader! And the contestants are:

Pretty dots! Simple, but girly. Colorful, but not overwhelming. And it's cheerful! It might be my favorite thus far.

Orange crush! What it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for with its in-your-face orangeness. The question is, how much do I really like orange?

Flowers! But it's not cheesy, like most of the floral web-templates I've looked at. I'm a fan of this one as well, I'm just not sure about how dark it is. Very pretty.

Gossip! Now don't get to excited, 'cause it's just a template. I think this one is so hilariously cute that I just had to put it in. Of course, it has less than nothing to do with knitting. But I love it. It's a serious contender.

So there they are folks! Btw, both of these sites (elementopia and anti-ivy) are excellent. They were far and away the best ones I had found for free web graphics. If you have strong feelings, please post a comment, it'll make my life. So, on that note: hail Caesar, we (templates) who are about to die salute you, and let the games begin! ;)

Come on in, the yarn is fine!

2005-05-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

If you ever wondered if I was crazy, the definitive proof is here:

Today I found the answer to 2 very profound questions. Personal questions that reveal something about my SOUL (or about how much I heart fuzzy yarn). How, you might ask did this happen? My discovery took place after I went to the bookstore (and grabbed At Knits End -a very funny little book! plus a gift for my friend Heather), went to the library (and was dissapointed that some other Pasadena knitter had checked out all the good knitting books before me ... bitch). But it was at my LYS (did I buy more yarn that I don't need? Um, do I really need to ANSWER that?) where these two important things were revealed to me:

1) One of my longterm knitting goals is now to one day have enough money and time and patience (and it's the first one and the last one that are really questionable) to knit myself a sweater out of Rowan Cashsoft. Because it is sooooo fuzzy. It would be the most cuddly thing ever. I'd be like my own walking, talking teddy bear, I'd be so huggable! I'd walk around like a complete nutcase, hugging myself all day!

2) My DB recently asked me to think, if I were disgustingly loaded, rich enough to wipe my butt with $100 bills, what totally frivolous and useless thing would I buy? At the time, I didn't know (other than the vague answer, "a shitload of yarn," which DB apparently considered way too predictable -ha!- so it didn't count). In my LYS, I discovered the answer:

A swimming pool.

And enough Rowan Cashsoft to fill it.

And in case you're wondering, yes. Yes, I would swim in it. Because it is THAT fuzzy.

I am alive, I promise ...

2005-05-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I updated here. Now, I'll admit it, this is mostly because I put the "pro" in procrastinate. Really, I need a button that says: "Procrastinators Unite ... Tomorrow!" That's the kind of person I am. But there were some legitimate reasons for me not updating, namely:
1) I had to finish a shitload of work for the end of my school year.
2) I had to spend time with all my pals who I'm not going to be able to see for three months.
3) I had to figure out some way to pack up all my crap and send it across the country to California (west side! woo-hoo! ... I know, I'm a loser).
It's really the last one that kept me busy. Because I was really looking forward to having summer vacation, and being done with work, and getting the HELL out of school. It's not like I'm not going to miss my friends, or my boyfriend, it's just that ... well, I'm not going to miss them THAT much. I need a periodic change of scenery, otherwise I go stircrazy. I'm a wanderer, like that cheesey 50's song! And to be honest, certain people were just getting on my nerves ... ahem.

Anyway, on to some knitting content, which is why you're all here, yes? ("All"? Who am I kidding?) Unbiased has been put on hold, not out of choice, but because it wouldn't fit in my suitcase, and therefore had to go in a box that is travelling towards me as I speak via UPS. But I"ve got over half of it done, so it can have a little rest. I'm also test knitting for Amy, which is alot of fun. Yes, someone is paying me to KNIT. Someone pinch me!

And I've finally (finally!) started the Minisweater! Finally! I'm almost done with the raglan increases, and it is looking so cute. I can't wait to wear it out and show it off, because I know it's gonna look HOTT. Yes, with 2 t's. I'm using Arucania Nature Cotton in a lovely cornflower blue. Where did I get this yarn, you ask? Mwahaha! Now I can get to the best part! SEX! No, not the "when-a-mommy-and-daddy-love-each-other-very-much" kind of sex. I'm talking about a hot and dirty Stash Enhancement eXpedition! I went into NYC during the last week I was at school, and spent a day in Seaport Yarn. Because, baby, you need a full day to take in this place. It's like a floor of traditional offices, except every corridor and room and available space except the bathroom (and that's only speculation on my part, because I didn't actually go in - the bathroom might be filled with yarn too) is absolutely JAM PACKED WITH YARN. I really had to restrain myself from spending everything I owned there. Plus the owner and her co-worker were beyond helpful and friendly. I came away with 5 skeins of Nature Cotton, 2 skeins of Rowan Kidsilk Haze (which I've been coveting for so long) in a fab hot pink/fushia color, and a lovely pair of size 6 35'' Addi Naturas. It was dreamy. I'll take pictures of it all, including my progress on the Minisweater, ASAP.

Laters!

What a Wonderful W!

2005-05-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

So, in case you couldn't guess by the title of this post, I finished W! I'm very satisfied with this project. It's one of the first wearable things I've knit, and by wearable, I mean "I actually want to wear this thing." I had to block it pretty harshly though. Before it was very ... lumpy. Ew. I put it in some hot water for a little abuse, and the merino shrunk just a bit, so now it looks quite nice and form fitting. Yay!

While you ponder the total impracticality of making a tank top out of merion wool, here are the stats:

Pattern: W from Knitty Spring '05, size Medium
Yarn: Handpaintedyarn.com Worsted Weight Merino, colorway "Azul Profundo," about two or three skeins
Needles: Crystal Palace Bamboo Sz 8 32'' circular

Notes: Be careful not to bind off tightly at the end of the garter band! I had to unravel it the first time, and use a size 10 needle. Also, blocking is most definitely your friend with this pattern. If I make it again, I might consider making the size small for a closer fit. Because, while it's very lovely right now, I could see it being really sexy in the smaller size. Hmmm....plotting away...;)

Even MORE new adventures!

2005-05-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to leave a quick update, before I go and knit some more. I've got the night all to myself, since my boyfriend chose to go and play cards with his buddies and not invite me (rrrr...the less said about that the better).

W has been stalled for a bit, atleast until I canibalize another section of poor Zelda's remains for more yarn. So I've started yet another new project! I just received some lovely recycled sari-silk yarn in a trade with Renee, so I'm making Unbiased, an old Knitty pattern for a purse. It's going to look really good, but I am sortof on the fence about whether it's my style or not. It might be a little too hippy-ish for me, but I think I'll wait until I'm done to decide that. If it isn't something I'll use, I can certainly give it to someone else. I wouldn't feel bad about it, because it's a pretty easy knit, so it wouldn't be as though my hard work was going unappreciated by a non-knitter who thinks that sweaters are made in a day.

In other news, I FINALLY found Kool-aid mix. FINALLY. I looked through 5 different stores. Most of them only had the pre-made stuff, which isn't concentrated enough to dye with. Others only had lemon or orange flavor, and since I want to try and change my brown Eco-Wool to a brick red color, lemon just isn't going to cut it. I'm so glad I got my hands on some (I bought both cherry and grape, just in case the cherry is too bright) so I can get around to dying the yarn and actually starting my Glampyre Mini-Sweater. I'm very excited about both making and wearing this project.

Now, off to knit!

New adventures!

2005-04-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to make a quick post, because I'm starting some new projects. I LOVE starting new things! It's so exciting to embark on something fresh and exciting. It's also a great way to avoid doing a whole bunch of my schoolwork ... heh heh heh ... right ...

I cast on for W from the new Knitty. What yarn am I using for this fun tank top, you ask? Why, all the yarn from poor Zelda, may she rest in peace! I discovered that the (post-washing) gauge is just right for W by accident as I was admiring the pattern. I'll have plenty of yarn left over, so I don't know what I'll do with the rest of it, but I'm glad that it's being put to good use. It was actually pretty cathartic to begin frogging Zelda. Anyway, I'm already 4'' along on W and really loving the pattern. It's going to look great in this yarn.

I also just got some yarn (on sale!) to make Glampyre's Minisweater, or Boobholder, as they say over at the Knitty Coffeeshop. Ideally, i would have loved to make it in Rowan Summer Tweed, in one of the blue-y purple-y shades, but that's pretty far from the gauge I need, and is also really far from my current budget. Summer Tweed will have to wait; right now I'll settle for some Cascade Eco Wool that I'm going to overdye with Koolaid to a brick red. I'm having a little trouble getting gauge, but I think I'll be ok, since it is just a mini-sweater. And I am getting even MORE yarn through a swap to make Unbiased, from Knitty (can't remember which issue, but you can check the archive if you're curious) which is a really funky looking purse made with yarn spun from recycled sari silk. I'm excited about this project, since it will combine my powerful love of purses and my powerful love of knitting. Who knows what kind of omnipotent super-powered accesory will be born out of this potent fusion?! Stay tuned ...

-Jane

Woo-hoo! FO's!

2005-04-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

Here they are, baby! First, a shrug of my own design, that I made with size 11 needles and only 200 yds of Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande in a gorgeous red color that I got in a trade from Ali (who is fabulous ;) ). I was thinking I might put the pattern on this site just to try my hand at writing a pattern. If anyone has any strong opinions, please share them.

Next, my lovely little Spiderweb Capelet from SnB Nation! It's so pretty and light and floaty, I could just die (but I won't, because that would kind of spoil things, don't you think?). I used size 15 needles and Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in Peppermint, a very pale pink. This yarn was RAK'd to me by Danielle (who is also fabulous ;) ) and I love the way it turned out in this pattern. I was also glad it stretched out so much in blocking, because others had said their Capelets were on the short side. I officially LOVE KNITTING LACE! Here it is:

I'm so excited about these, especially after the Sweater Fiasco! I've got to figure out what to do with all my leftover Knitpicks lace yarn...hee hee!

-Jane

Zelda is D.O.A.

2005-04-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

D.O.A. = Dead On Arrival

So there is good news and bad news. The good news is, I finished my sweater!

The bad news is, well....it sucks. In short, it is not working, not happening, deceased, passed on, whatever you want to call it. I committed the idiotic mistake of not washing my swatch before checking my gauge. And ofcourse, the yarn expanded when I washed it. What was once a cute, slightly tight-fitting wrap sweater is now a loose, drape-y lump. And even worse, the fabric seems to have only expanded in width, not in length, making the sleeves puff out in a very unfortunate way. Yuck. Zelda is dead. May the knitting gods have mercy on her soul. I will frog her later, but for now I'm going to leave her be so I can have some time to mourn.

On a better note, I cast off for my capelet last night! That provided some consolation for the Sweater Debacle. It is looking just lovely. I'm going to crochet around the edges today to make it a little sturdier, and also make the ties. I've got to find some beads for those ties, because making pom-poms with lace weight yarn would be absolute murder. Maybe I should give it a try anyway....hmmm...we'll see. I am really impressed with how fast this project went (of course, it would have gone faster if I had worked on it more consistenly, but that's besides the point) and how much fun it was to knit! I could definitely do this as a gift project, and I think alot of my girlfriends would really like it. I'll file that note away somewhere so I can remeber that when Christmas comes around.

What's my inner European?

2005-04-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

Your Inner European is Italian!

Passionate and colorful.

You show the world what culture really is.

Who's Your Inner European?

See my view....

2005-04-20T22:52:00.000-07:00

...now ain't that nice?

Knitting updates!

2005-04-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, which is sad. I figured today was the day for some Knitting updates. So here they are:

The Spiderweb Capelet: I am really liking this pattern! It's not too complicated, and has a repeat that's easy to remember for a newbie lace knitter like myself. It's an excellent pattern to use as a break form something bigger (like a certain Sweater ... more on that later). And I've discovered that I really enjoy lace kniting! It's so satisfying to see the pattern appear. It's giving me such a thrill, that I'm already planning for other lace projects. Here it is, stretched out and pinned in all it's glory:

The Zelda Sweater: Or should I say that b**** Zelda? I've had to frog another part of it. I realized half way through the sleeves that they were definitely going to be too large. Apparently I have a large chest and small arms. This means that the back and the ties will probably be the only part of this sweater that I WON'T frog. OI. But the yarn is a dream, and that is some consolation. When I' m done, I swear I'll wear it no matter how hot it is outside.

SP4: It's finally begun! I'm so excited! My SP is Sooper Seekret -no really, that's her name! I'm already enjoying shopping for my SP (the one I get to shower with gifts). I love it!

... for future knitting? I'm thinking a summer tank top. Definitely. : )

P.S. And here's a funny picture of the boyfriend, just because. Silly Greg!

...tee hee!

See that new Knitty!

2005-04-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

Someone hold me. The new Knitty has arrived. I've really got to hold on to something to keep from breaking my self-imposed yarn diet, because the stuff in this issue is sooooooo CUTE! And there are some great articles. How does Amy do it? Secret kNitting magic, I'm sure. If you doubt me, just click on the little Knitty button to the right to see.

...And you will also see the Capelet-To-Be. I've made a little more progress, although the Sweater is taking up most of my attention, since I'm on the sleeves, and inching closed to being done each day. But after I've put that one to rest, the Caplet will move into the front slot, and then it will actually start getting somewhere. Pictures will be coming soon, I promise. This has just been an insanely busy school week, so this weekend I'll get to really update and add more pics. i'll also get to have some fun for a change. Karaoke! Woo-hoo!

See Jane teach that Sweater who's boss!

2005-04-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

I fixed it! Ohhhhh YEEEEEAAAHHH!

...Now that I've gotten that out of my sytem, I just wanted to proclaim from the highest hilltops that I finished the right front of the sweater, and the decreasing is fine, and all is right with the world. I've also started the left front. I'll check in later with a more detailed update on the Sweater, my lovely little Spiderweb Capelet, and the new yarn I got.

Ciao babies!

See Jane frog. AGAIN. ...rrrrrr....

2005-03-24T23:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, I had to frog the Sweater. A third time. I am convinced that the knitting gods are punishing me. Why else would I have to endure this kind of frogging hell? Hey, call me drammatic, but frogging just frustrates me. I've never had to frog something three times. Until now. Gather 'round children, and I will tell you the terrifying story.....

....It was a dark and stormy night. I had already decided to throw my calculations to the hounds (see the last post) and go by the seat of my pants, as it were. I was knitting away happily, only 8cm away from finishing the right front of the luscious Sweater, when suddenly I realized that something was amiss. I looked down. I counted my stitches. The post-it to the left is at the 18 st/10 cm mark, and the post-it on the right is the 20 cm mark.

Holy rusted metal, Batman! I had atleast 35 sts, and I was supposed to be close to 18, the number I should have when I reached 50 cm in length. Dear God! I had twenty or so extra sts to get rid of in only 8 or 10cm of knitting. "How could this be?" I asked myself. So I laid my sweater front out on the floor and did a little unorthodox emperimenting. I laid a piece of string to mark the width of 18 sts, or 10 cm, and placed a post-it where it was 50 cm long (from the hem of the front). Then I stretched out my measuring tape diagonally from that point to the point where I began my increases.

Next, I stretched out my tape measure along the diagonal created by the increases I had made. I marked where this line crossed the 18 sts/10 cm line with another post-it.

I measured from this second point down to the hem, and what did I find? That, if I continued at the present rate of decreases, I would either not be able to finish them before the front was too long (and have a neckline that would have no space for my neck!) or I would finish the increases and have a sweater front that was 62 cm long! What could I do to save it, but ... FROG?! HORRORS! HORRORS!

... I decided to frog down to the end of the first part of the waist shaping. That leaves me about four or five inches from the begining.

So here I am, frogging away.

...Well, you know, they say third time's the charm. I SURE FRIKKIN HOPE SO.

See Jane frog. TWICE.

2005-03-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

CIMG1442
The two different colored balls of yarn, against the back. .

ARG! The sweater has officially begun revolting against my control. I think it's the knitting karma gods, telling me to knit my sister's hat, or else.

This weekend I began the right front for the sweater. I chose my skein of yarn carefully, since there is definitely some color variation between skeins. I knew there was one lighter one and one greener one, as well as two that were similar to the back. So I grabbed one of the two that matched.......oh wait, did I say matched? BECAUSE IT DOESN'T. Somehow, I managed to knit 5'' of sweater-y goodness without noticing that it was definitely a shade lighter than the back. I discovered this unfortunate turn of events when I held them up next to each other. So I frogged that whole thing, and set that skein asside to be used for the ties or something. Or maybe the sleeves, since the color change might be less noticeable that way. I picked up another skein, after carefully checking its color and began to knit away on the right front. Sounds peaceful, no?

Well, the story is about to take a turn for the worse. Because I knit nearly the entire right front. And mean I was reeeeeeeally close to being done. And then I noticed it. Something was very wrong. The left side, the one with the waist and armhole shaping, looked lovely. But the other side.....HORRORS! Instead of a strong diagonal of about 45 degrees from one corner to the other, I had something that was much closer to a straight line. A VERTICAL LINE. Meaning that, if I continued in this way, I would not have a place to stick my head through this sweater. Or the wrap would have such a high neckline that I'd look like a nun. EW. How could I have made such a mistake? I looked at my calculations, and found an error in my use of the magic formula to calculate the decreases. OOPS. So I fixed the error in my math, and came out with numbers that were.....just like the ones I had already. Give or take a few stitches. WTF?! I decided, -in a fit of knitting pique- screw this magic formula BS! I'm gonna decrease every other goddamn row until I like the way it looks! HA!!

...And so I frogged. A second time. :(

See Jane catch sweater-itis

2005-03-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

This sweater is so much fun to knit, I can't stop myself! It's like a disease! "Oh no! Someone, find a doctor! Call 911! She's caught the SWEATER!"

Now, this is only a problem because I do have other things to knit as well, one of them being a Kittyville hat for my sister. I made myself a Kittyville hat as my first real project (real = not a scarf) and my sister liked it so much that she requested one for herself. Below is a picture of the original hat, which I made using Lion Brand Wool-Ease, and also enlarged for my gaint head (seriously, it's giant; the hat is 24.5'' around and fits me SNUGLY).

I was more than happy to make another one since I didn't read the errata for the pattern, and ended up with three times as much yarn as I needed! It's coming along decently (as you can NOT see from the percentage bars on the right- I can't get them to work for the life of me!) and I've finished the actual hat part, which is what took me the longest the first time around. Hopefully I'll be able to tear myself away from the Sweater to finish this hat.

See Jane knit her first sweater!

2005-03-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

Since I've already done a test post, I figured out how to use my mom's digital camera (I still don't posess one of those magical pieces of technology) so that I could try and upload some photos of my favorite WIP: my very first sweater! The pattern is from the Adriafil website; it's called the "Zelda Jacket" but people, it's a sweater. And a lovely wrap sweater to boot. The original pattern called for one of Adriafil's own yarns which was not only nearly impossible to find, and rather expensive, but was also -in my very humble opinion- butt ugly. Tweedy, super-chunky yarn in shades of purple, brown, and olive. Yuck. Clearly, substitution was a must. That's why I used a yarn that is so far from butt ugly, it lives in a different zipcode. I got my hands on some of the very last of the worsted merino -in the azul profundo colorway- from handpaintedyarn.com. I did have to do some crazy math to change the pattern, but it was worth it. I was beyond satisfied with my order and would highly encourage all knitters to take a look at their website. I admit that it took a while for the yarn to get here (a sudden rise in popularity overwhelmed their small, mom&pop operation) but HOO BOY was it worth it! This yarn can actually be described as BUTTERY. and the colors are so beautiful I could CRY. And it was CHEAP, TOO. I love it. Here are some picks of the yummy colors (they're darker in person) of my two remaining hanks and two wound into balls:

CIMG1438
Originally uploaded by fridayschild928

And here's a picture of the finished back:

CIMG1439
Originally uploaded by fridayschild928

See Jane's knitting blog take its maiden voyage!

2005-03-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

Here it is, in all its glory! Another knitting blog. Since this is essentially a test post, I thought I might give the why and wherefore of this spankin' new blog. I decided to start this for three reasons:

1) Seeing so many knitters with blogs showing off their fabulous projects makes me jealous! I too want to show off my mad knitting skizills!

2) Having a knitting blog means that I can use my other blog to actually record the events of my daily life. This means that all my out-of-town friends -and anyone else who might be reading that thing- won't have to wade through all my knitting ranting and raving just to see if I'm still alive. Plus, the more knitting inclined readers won't have to wade through my daily life ranting and raving just to see if I'm still knitting.

3) I can have a place to go on and on about knitting without fearing that I'm boring friends or family to tears. After all, if you're not a knitter, then what the hell are you reading THIS for?!

And here it is! To quote one of my favorite movies, The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers, "...And so it begins."

Tee hee!

-Jane