Trying to Finish things!

While I had the long weekend, I have tried to knock out some projects that have been lingering.  I FINALLY blocked the Foamy Scarf, officially putting it in the "Finished" category.  :D   I also have to note that this is the first proejct I have ever blocked.  (GASP!)  I know, I know. I have been knitting for HOW long without ever blocking anything?  What have I been doing?!  Well, I knit a lot of hats and smaller things that don't need blocking.  I've only knit a few sweaters.... and I just never did anything to them.  Mom unofficially blocks the sweater I made for her when she washes it; you know, lay it out while wet and make sure it dries in the shape you want.  That counts, right?

   

Well, this scarf had some lace, dropped stitches, and "bubble" accents.  I could no longer avoid blocking it.  I just got a set of blocking wires the last time I was home to visit my preferred Yarn Shop, so I bit the bullet and blocked my scarf.  I think it looks pretty good, yeah?   :)

    

The other project I am READY to put into the "Finished" pile is a sun hat I have been wrestling with for a very long time!  I really wanted a "movie star" hat that will keep my nose from burning this summer, but my head is too darn big for commercially bought hats so I decided to whip something up myself.  I couldn't find a pattern that I liked, but I found a "recipe" for a sun hat that sounded good enough.  They called it a recipe because they told you how to turn a doily pattern into a sun hat, but didn't give specifics for sizing or lace patterns or anything.  Well, next time I will use a pattern! I think I have pulled this hat out 400 times trying to get the right amount of brim while still staying true to the lace... THEN came trying to find the right gauge wire to attached to the edge.  18 gauge was too flimsy, the wire from a pop-up hamper was way too rigid.  (John calls it my Goldilocks hat, as I look for a wire that is juuuuust right.) We finally settled on the wire from some car sun shades, you know the kind that can twist back on itself?  I'm not sure it's 100% what I was looking for, but I am sick of trying different things! I want to wear this hat before the summer is over!  I am so tired of fiddling with this hat!!

Yes, observant reader, the hat is not totally complete yet.  I still have to put elastic in the headband and I have to weave in ends.  But I want this hat to be done!  I call it done!  So there!  (I also noticed after the fact that my "no dye lot written on the label" yarn was lying to me, as you can tell by the stripe through the brim.  Grrrr... hat from hell... mutter mutter)

Wall o' Yarn

I decided to finally get organized about my yarn stash and (maybe) motivate myself to knit more projects and buy less yarn.  I have a few under-bed storage boxes that hold all my yarn, but I've never seen the whole stash in one place... and therefore, I've yet to realize exactly HOW MUCH yarn I've got.  :(   Well, I got a bulletin board to shove that reality in my face each day.  I've got it all sorted into "yarn with patterns attached," "projects in some stage of completion," and "good yarn with no pattern."  I also organized the actual piles of yarn to condense and better sort what I've got.  I think I am satisfied with what I've got... I definitely have a lot on my plate!  So, I'm logging off the computer and back to the needles for me!!  :)

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Craftiness!

I finally got Mother to stand still long enough in her sweater so I could take a picture of it.  I made this about 2 years ago, as one of my first "garments that isn't a hat or scarf."  I was determined that it would fit her and be gorgeous... so needless to say, I was not happy at her losing weight while I was knitting!  I ripped this sweater apart so many times it was ridiculous.  So! I am happy to finally post a picture.

Blue Heron Yarns, Egyptian Mercerized Cotton (2,000yds / skein) Color: Canyon

Knitting Pure & Simple #257, Split Neck T-Shirt for Women
Raveled here.

And because they are so easy to make, I've churned out a few more 31 Skirt Purses!  I feel so good about myself that this is working as I envisioned it!  Normally, my craft projects don't go NEARLY so well.

Finished #2!

SQUEEEEEE!  I've finally finished a project!  I've got three others sitting on the coffee table, ranging from 60% to 90% done, but my "Finishing ADHD" is kicking in and I just can't seem to get anything completed!I even pulled out a skein of "gift yarn" the other day and have been staring at it, trying to convince myself to finish old projects before I begin new ones.  I'm such a mess... Though today I put on a determined face and started with the one that needed the least effort to complete it.  Even though I underestimated how much effort was needed to attach the brim and buttons (namely, re-knitting the brim to fit my new PVC insert), it only took me a little while to get everything attached as it needed to be.

This is only my second project finished this year, so I am admittedly behind on my "12 Projects in 12 Months" goal.  But!  Like I said, I have others that are very close to finished, so I am still optimistic about being able to catch up and get 12 projects done this year.

I'm particularly fond of the buttons.

Cabled Chapeau
Stitch Nation By Debbie Stoller

Bernat Satin (arcylic) 200yds per skein 

color #1101, Plum Mist Heather 

Kevorkian Scarf!

Lara and I are working on a knit-a-long project this month, and to understand why we are so excited about it, you first must watch this video:  (Safe for Work.  There is no truly foul language, just one "jackass.")



Back in college, we were all hooked on this series of web-toons, called Neurotically Yours.  (Beware of following that link; the main character is an extremely foul-mouthed squirrel named Foamy who has no problem telling you what he thinks of you.  Funny, but DEFINITELY not safe for work... unless you work in a biker bar.)  We were all foul-mouthed college kids at the time, so we loved Foamy dishing out his "squirrely wrath" to the unsuspecting public.  Flash forward .... a few.... years and imagine my delight when Lara shows me a scarf named "Foamy!"  (Raveled here.)  Instantly we re-name it The Kevorkian Scarf and decide we have to have it!!  :D

Lara and I both re-arranged the pattern blocks a little to make it suit our tastes more, but it's still pretty much the original pattern.  I used a skein of Tofutsies from the stash, a sea-FOAM green to match the pattern (color #789).  Haha!  For never having done drop stitches before and for not writing down a pattern, I think it's coming along nicely.  It's mostly big blocks of garter stitch, so it knits up quickly.

As John noticed, yes, it is more of a shawl shape than a scarf shape (i.e., triangular vs rectangular), but I will wear it more like a scarf ... neckerchief? bandanna? Around my neck, not my shoulders.  So I think it should remain "The Kevorkian Scarf."  "Kevorkian Shawl" just sounds weird.  :)

Finished Project!

I also finished another project while in Florida!  Yay me!  Nothing big, but a Finished Project nonetheless.  I made a cozy for my mega-huge water bottle.  :)

During Summer Camp, I found that my regular water bottles were simply not enough to keep me hydrated, so I bought a huge (54oz) water bottle.  The only downside to it was a lack of insulation, so it tended to sweat everywhere.  For the summer, I used an unmatched sock of John's as a cozy, but I knew I would need something a little classier to use on a permanent basis.  So, I scrounged up some old wool blend that I had laying about and made a super-quick rib-knit cozy!  Yay!

It was really easy, when all was said and done.  Sizing didn't need to be exact since I wanted it to be a snug fit, and I used the water bottle itself as a guide for length.  Then I just used a drawstring to cinch up the top, and Voila!  I am still deciding if I want to loosely seam the gap around the handle or not.  I don't want the hole to be that big, ya know?  Right now, though, it's working just fine.

2 skeins Berroco "Soft Twist" (41% wool / 59% rayon) -- one in purple and one in magenta, held together.
US 8 needles
Less than 100yds used!



And, yes, this is Finished Project Number Six for the year.  (Remember, 12 projects in 12 months was my goal.)  I know I am a little behind, but I seem to be progressing at a rather nice pace, I think.  I just need to re-adjust to the school schedule and wrap up a few of the half-finished things I have laying about.  Summer Camp really did me in!  I was waaaay too tired to knit anything once I got home, and now I have to catch up! But I think I can do it!  (Determined face)

Weirdness from the Web

Aaaaand, here's one more thing to add to the "Stuff not to Knit" list. The blog I found it on doesn't say anything about it, just that it's machine knit.  My question is which dress is worse: the front one or the one in the back?  (In revisiting the What not to Knit blog, I have discovered that they already found this lovely dress & that it apparently costs a mere $1500! Goodness!)

Maybe that website gave me two things to add to the "Stuff not to Knit" list.  They say this "Compubody Sock" is the way you keep hands & ears warm, as well as ensuring privacy as you watch DVDs on a plane.  Weird.

New Knitting!

I know, I know, I've broken my new-found rule (no more new projects until I finish some old ones), but I have been staring at some new yarn that Lara sent me and reeeeeeeally wanting to make something not meant for winter weather (my two "old projects" are a heavy cardigan and a pair of gloves).  I hate making things and then having to put them away for several months before I can wear them.

Lara's yarn has been staring at me and I have put off making anything with it because I have not found a pattern (that's not a scarf) that only needs around 500yds total.  But then, enter Classic Elite Yarn's Four Season Vine Lace Vest.  Light and summery, and exactly 500 hundred yards!  Yay!  Thus, new yarn plus finding a usable pattern equals Anne not being able to wait to start a new project.  I am so very weak-willed.  :(

         

Look! I can do a mattress stitch without it looking like total butt!  Woohoo!

      

I have now officially finished the sweater ("officially" means I actually have woven in all the ends.  Haha!). Go me!  I am excited about finally making something for me that I can wear.  :)  This sweater was pretty easy to make and I was able to whip it up fairly quickly without it having to be one of those "I need to work at least an hour every night or it will never be finished" projects.  I highly recommend the free pattern from Classic Elite.

Yarn:  Araucania "Ruca,"  100% sugar cane  (how cool is sugar yarn?!?!)
     263yds per 100g
     Colorway #6 (pale blue & grey mixed)


In the fairness of full disclosure:
- I used a DK yarn meant for US4-6 needles; the pattern called for US9.  I used US6 on the ribbing like I was told, but dropped to a US8 for the pattern and made the size 40inch to fit my ~37inch self.
- Pattern called for 515yds & I had 526yds.  I still have a handful left over; I haven't measured it yet, but I feel like it is more than 10yds.  But...
- None of the ribbing is as long as it "should" be.  The waist ribbing is shorter because I was worried about  running out of yarn, so it is only 3in long instead of 3.25in, and the neck ribbing is 2.75in rather than 4.25in.  I was planning on doing the neck ribbing until I just ran out of yarn, but John said I should stop there as it looked good.  Thus the left-over yarn, I guess.
- I was not expecting it to be a crop sweater (for some reason, I didn't notice that from the picture), but I really like it.  It hits me right where it should and makes my waist look tiny!  :)
- My sleeves are different lengths!  :(   One side is a row longer in the ribbed cuff than the other side.  I know about it and I was too lazy to fix it.  John promised me that no one would be able to tell while I was wearing it.  (What does Grandma say?  "It'll never be seen on a galloping horse!")

Finished #2! On a Freaking Roll!

Presenting the Koolhaas Headband!  Originally a hat in Interweave Knits a few years ago, I made the hat and love the design.  The other day, I was walking to the gym and nearly lost my ears to frostbite!  It wasn't that cold (my torso was comfortable in just a fleece over my t-shirt), but the wind was whipping so much that my ears almost fell off my head before I made it the 3minute to the gym!!  Brrrr  That got me thinking that I need a warm ear band to stuff in my pocket on chilly days heading to work out.  I didn't want to crack open a new skein of yarn for just a head band, so I went stash-diving (a lot like dumpster-diving, but much more pleasant!)

The finished band.  A little thin (it barely covers my ears), but you have to accept that when you are using remnant yarn.  :)

In the midst of my stash, I stumbled across the Sublime cashmere that I made into the original Koolhaas hat (if you don't remember that episode, look here, here, and here) back a while ago.  I was thinking both 1) how gorgeous the cashmere looked in the hat, and 2) what was I going to do with this snubbin' of yarn leftover?  So, I decided to make a shortened hat, a.k.a. an earband!  I knew that I would be TOTALLY making things up as I went along (how much ribbing for edging? how many pattern repeats? will I still have enough to bind off?  should I hold in some sock yarn for flair/ added thickness?  again, how much yarn do I really have?), but I was okay with that because it really is a quick little project.

This is the test-run.  I knew I would have to knit this thing twice... unless I was going to be touched with Divine Intervention, making my guesswork freakishly accurate.  :)

John is super-cute when I have to pull something apart.  I think it started as a joke:  he would exaggerate my (usual) frustration over having to rip out stitches in order to make me laugh and not be so angry at the knitting.  But I am not sure if he knows that a lot of times it is ok to rip out stitches.  He gets very distressed when I have to start over, even something simple like a long-tailed cast on that is natural to try several times before getting right!  When I ripped out the trial head band, he looked at me like I was crazy.   :)

In case you care, I ended up only doing 2 rows of 2x2 rib on the edges, I used a US6 instead of an 8, and I did 1.5 patterns repeats from the original hat pattern.  Told you I was short on yarn!   :) 

Football FO

It's official: my first Finished Object of 2010, completed in the Super Bowl.  John's NeverEnding Sock-Yarn Scarf is finished!!  Woot Woot!  I only started the thing a year ago (at least)... though, to be fair, I put it down for several... several months.  Picked it back up a month or so ago as a "knitting thoughtlessly" project, the kind where my hands can keep going with no need to consult a pattern.  I am happy that I have finally finished something; it's always a nice boost to actually complete something!  Especially me, who has severe "new project ADHD" and has difficulty focusing on a single project long enough to finish before starting on something new. 

 This is him with his hat, gloves, and new matching scarf!  (I apologize for quality, it was taken on my phone because I was too lazy to find my camera and take a real picture)

U is for...

U is for Ungodly desires to knit wedding-ring lace!  So for some reason (as I told Lara, it might be because I am an effing masochist) I have had a recent desire to knit some lace.  And if you are going to knit lace, and you already have a stole that has needed to be blocked for like 2yrs, why not go all out an knit something spectacular?  Aha! wedding-ring lace.

Now, if you are knot familiar with the term, wedding-ring lace (Shetland lace or Orenburg shawls if your lingo is regionally-based) is a huge lace shawl that is so fine that you can pull it through your wedding ring.  Usually you knit lace projects on sock-weight yarn and worsted weight needles.  To get it extra-fine, you usually use cobweb yarn- and no, that term is not made up.  Cobweb yarn looks like sewing thread or hair, no joke.  Yea, this is big-boy lace.  For real.  (sigh)  You can now see why I call myself an effing masochist.

I think this idea has been brewing since I saw the above rose shawl from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker.  Lara saw the thistle design first, but I am torn between the two (thanks, Yarn Rambles for letting me steal your images!).  But seriously! Wouldn't this idea be just the best thing ever?!!?!! Though I really need to start now so it will be finished before my fifth anniversary (and for visitors to my blog, no, I am not even engaged yet!).  :)

BOOK REVIEW: Casting Spells

 

Casting Spells, by Barbara Bretton

Summary:  Chloe Hobbs runs a knitting shop in the bucolic Vermont town of Sugar Maple, a shop where "your yarn never tangles, you always get gauge, and the knitter sitting next to you comes out only after dark."  That's right, Sugar Maple is a secret haven for witches, faeries, vampires, and werewolves.  Chloe holds their entire future in her hands with the need to continue her family line, but a girl can still dream to meet Mr. Right... right?  But what happens when Mr. Right come to Sugar Maple in the form of an ordinary, human cop who's investigating Sugar Maple's first murder in hundreds of years? 

I don't know where I first saw this recommended, probably Interweave Knits or something like that,but hey, they got my three top topics: knitting, magic, and romance.  So it's been sitting on my To Read list for a while now, and I finally got around to it today.  (Don't worry, the romance is not smutty, bodice-buster romance novel quality, but they do do the nasty.)

Overall, it was enjoyable.  I churned through it in one sitting, so that says something for the "immersion" factor.  I found it a bit tricky in the start because Bretton uses first-person narrative (which is never my favorite to begin with) ... but with both her heroine and hero, seriously?!  It was a little rough for me getting used to the switching perspectives, but that wasn't a long-term concern.  I was able to get used to it eventually.  The plot moved along well, but I found myself at the end getting antsy wanting to find out the "will he stay or will he leave her" question that was hanging over the couple since they met.  But it was a cute and happy bit of story.

What was highly enjoyable for the knitter in me was all the references.  Bretton knits herself (Romancing the Yarn) and she used Wendy D. Johnson (Wendy Knits) and Dawn Brocco (DB Knitwear Designs) to help her out even more.  All the big yarn names are dropped in the book: Debby Bliss's Cashmerino, Cascade 220, Koigu, Lopi, Rowan, etc.  And the tone is great.  My favorite part was when Luke (the cop) first enters the shop:

I stepped deeper into the store, past a polished maple worktable piled high with pointed sticks and scissors and things that would never make it past airport security... (blah blah blah, describing the shop) I noticed a ball of something blue and fluffy and picked it up.  I squeezed it and the price tag jumped out, and I quickly put it back down again.  For one ball of yarn? This was worse than crack.  Get addicted to this stuff and you would be living in your minivan.

Sigh. So true, so true.  :)

(Followed in sequel by Laced with Magic that apparently continues Chloe's misadventures in love and magic)

Kuh nitt tang? Wha's dat?

Oh my word, I bet you all are sick and tired of my posting pictures of the new townhouse, Harvey, Harvey in the new townhouse... etc. Well, since Mom took Polly Gizmo away, I have had some free time to knit! Don't even try to knit with a small kitten in the house. It won't end well.

Well, here I go - knitting something for me! and pretty too! I have bitten the bullet and taken the plunge and all those other bold metaphors and started something for myself. :) Gifts can wait.

Pattern: Plymouth Yarn, Galway Worsted #1574, "Jacket" (more a cabled cardigan, really)
Yarn: Cascade Venezia Worsted, 70/30 merino/ silk blend, color 161 (teal / peacock blue)

The early stages. The left picture is fairly accurate on color.

Look, Ma, I made a vest!

1 - I LOVE THIS YARN! It is so pretty and so nice to work with. The silk adds a little shine to the material and makes it look extra fancy. (Side note: KnitWits had a sample of this in the original Galway wool, and I don't think I am being modest when I say that mine is prettier. The wool made it a rough jacket, and mine is a sleek cardigan.)

2 -I apparently am incapable of knitting a pattern exactly as it says. Is that a bad thing? Well, for this one, I was in-between sizes, so I needed to alter the cable pattern a little as I only needed to add a few stitches and not a whole pattern repeat. Then, I wanted to make it all in one piece (minus the sleeves of course) to minimize seaming at the end. So what does your dorky friend do, but pull out an Excel spreadsheet and "knit" up the sweater on the computer so she can see where to add stitches and how to do the shaping in one piece. I am such an over-achiever, but I REALLY did not want to seam this whole thing together. Afterthought: I might have made it harder for me, but see the previous sentence. :)

Screen-capture of my Excel knitting graph

3 - Sleeve #1 is about to be finished! I am just working on the shoulder cap now. And to go with thought #2, I made the sleeves long-sleeves rather than that weird 3/4 length. I like 1/2 sleeves and long sleeves, but 3/4 always is weird to me. I am hoping that the school's air conditioner goes into overtime shortly so I can wear my new sweater when I am done! Yay!

I is for...

I is for Intolerable Cruelty! Well, it was going to be for Interweave Knits, the only knitting magazine that consistently has enough good patterns for me to subscribe to it... but then I was rethinking the letter, and re-stumbled across knitty.com's Intolerable Cruelty pattern and it was love (re-love? love at second sight?).


Well, if you have met me a time or two, you know that I absolutely LOVE pencil skirts... so what could be better than knitting your own? (and do you see how fabulous her bum looks in it!?)

Reality has always set in though, and told me that it would not keep as well as I think it would, what with that whole "knitted garments stretch and move" thing. So I sigh and look at it... then go buy another pencil skirt from the store to make myself (and my bum!) feel better.

:)

Shamrock Gloves in da Mail!

Well, I mailed off Mom's Shamrock Glove set today. There was yarn enough for the gloves and headband, as well as an extra headband and at least one tiny sock. I think there's another tiny sock as well, but I haven't weighed out the scrap leftover to see for sure.

John's modeling one of the headbands as his head is big enough to fit it. It was a little too loose for my noggin. I love how he has accepted this kind of craziness. :)

Gloves Step 11-12: Thumb & Finishing

11 - THUMB

Place held thumb gusset stitches on needles. Join yarn and pick up one stitch at palm (22 st).

Knit ~20 rows until half-way up your fingernail. Finish with 3-row taper.

As you try the glove on, if it seems like the thumb is too short, the problem often is in the pointer finger. Add a few more rows to the pointer, and suddenly the thumb fits perfectly.


12 - FINISHING

(Do I need to say, "knit another glove" ?)

YAY! Gloves have been made! John calls the result, "Freddie Kreuger Gloves" because of all the strings. So, to finish, just weave in yarns at end of fingers. Use yarns between fingers to mend any gaps or holes.

Now you have a pair of finished, wearable gloves!

Gloves Step 8-10: Ring, Middle & Pointer Fingers

8- RING FINGER

K9, place next 34 on waste yarn (or a circular needle), CO 3 to bridge the gap, K9 (21 st).

Knit ~20-30 rows until half-way up your fingernail. Finish with 3-row taper.

9 - MIDDLE FINGER

K 8, keep next 18 on waste yarn, CO 3 st to bridge gap, K 8, pick up 3 along base of ring finger (22 st).

Tip when picking up from base of next finger: If it says "pick up 3," I pick up four or five, then on the next round, k2tog until I've only added the needed three. That way, there are more stitches joining the fingers together, which will give you less holes between them.

Knit ~20-30 rows until half-way up your fingernail. Finish with 3-row taper.

10 - POINTER FINGER

Place remaining st on needles, join yarn and pick up 3 along edge of middle finger (21 st).

Knit ~20-30 rows until half-way up your fingernail. Finish with 3-row taper.