All Purpose

So I finished Ovaltine on Thursday night (I think I mentioned that).

Pattern: Ovaltine from Big Just Got Bigger (Rowan)
Yarn: Rowan Biggy Print (Thunder) and Rowan Big Wool (Smoky)
Needles: US 19 (body/arms), US 15 (all bands and cuffs), US 13 (collar)
Notes: This wasn’t a bad knit, it went pretty fast because of the yarn’s bulk. I had some mishaps (the felting, the tight collar) and it’s definitely not perfect, but for the 3rd ever sweater and my first using such bulky yarn I think it turned out pretty good.

My next finished item as the Amelia Earhart hat for my step mom. Warning, my pics of this kind of suck.

Pattern: Amelia Earhart Aviator Cap by Flor from Head Huggers
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted (Cuarzo)
Needles: US 7
Notes: Easy knit, would totally recommend it. I’m thinking of doing one for myself. I might go down another needle size though if I do. The finished product seemed a little loose to me, but my step mom says it’ll be great for her since her scalp gets sensitive during chemo.

So 2 down, 2 to go for my march to the finish.

No Comments | In: finished object, knitting | tags: cardigan, finished object, gift, hat. | #

So when I was shopping for gift yarn last week I saw this beautiful sock yarn on Etsy and decided to order it. I thought I’d make socks for my step mom or someone else (since socks might be the present de l’annee for xmas this year), but I got it yesterday and I totally want this yarn for myself. I rationalize this by telling myself I also got 2 more sock yarns that are also very yummy that I am totally making into gifts so 2 for gifts 1 for me is not so bad.

The picture is not the best, it was cloudy yesterday. I’ll try again today when I get home.

I also got some more Manos in Bramble yesterday (a Ravelry purchase I mentioned before) so I think I need like 6 more skeins before I can try a basic bottom up (or top down-haven’t decided) cardigan with it. That’s fine, I think I’m going to try to trade for the rest of the yarn as well because I mean for this cardi to be a comfy home/weekend type garment so I’m not worried about the dye lots being exact, etc. Besides it’s edging toward spring here so I should try doing this project in the fall maybe so I can wear it Fall/Winter 2008.

So speaking of the weather…it was in the 80′s this weekend, but now it’s cold again. It’ll get warm again by Wednesday and then cold Thursday. Yes, it’s spring in Austin so we get weather changes of 20+ degrees at least once a week. Me and my allergies and my head hate this time of year.

But what I was thinking was wouldn’t it be cool to have my Ovaltine finished enough to wear by Thursday since the high is only supposed to be in the 50′s and it’s supposed to be really cold (uh, that’s 30′s for us) on Friday morning. I think that is a good goal, I’m not too sure how realistic it is, but I’m going to try for it anyway.

I managed to get the neck issue sorted out, the shoulders reseamed, the collar done and the buttonband done and attached last night. I estimate I have about 4 hours of work left on the sweater (not including another blocking). I have the buttonhole band, the 2 cuffs and the waistband (which I’m modifying so it won’t be such a pain in the ass) and the rest of the seaming and the buttons (which I just ordered today- but I can wear it without buttons). I could totally finish that by Thursday.

It would be nice to finish the sweater because it would free me to finish the hat (another 2-3 hours work) and my socks (2-3 days, not sure how many hours) and maybe even Ella’s blanket and perhaps swatch for the $1.50 Cardigan. That would be so awesome and would help with the March to the Finish (rav link) thing I’m trying to do (ok I guess I’ve signed up for). So must finish sweater.

2 Comments | In: knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: blanket, finishing, hat, march, socks, stash, sweater, work in progress, yarn. | #

First things first: the hat situation…So I talked with my sis on Friday and she told me that if I made something handwash it wasn’t a big deal. She also said she didn’t think something covering her ears would be practical. I’m still making the Earhart hat anyway though-to give her options. I also made a crochet hat out of some of my Malabrigo Chunky and that was FAST, so it’s ready to go.

The Earhart hat is a little over halfway done (only have a pic of the start of it though).

I went to the sweater workshop yesterday and realized after seaming my shoulders and starting my collar that the neck BO is way too tight. I know I said I was going to fix that last week, but I didn’t and I should have. Ended up unseaming the shoulders and ripping back and redoing the bind off on the back and one side. I’ll do the other side tonight and reseam the shoulders and try the collar again. I’m really shooting to get this done pronto even though I have until March 30th. I really want to start a new sweater (the $1.50 Cardigan) that’s more for the spring. I might even join the Knit Along, we’ll see.

I also have to finish Linda’s hat and decide if I want to start her socks or finish mine first. I talked with my sweater teacher and she helped me figure out where I went wrong. She said for Magic Loop and using 2 circulars you basically do the decreases at the beginning and end of each half. I had them messed up because I was following the DPN instructions and so one of them was in the middle. Anyway, I’m going to rip back and try again I think. So I may finish my socks then start a pair for Linda. I’m, I guess, a little nervous that she won’t like the hats. It’s ridiculous really, but I figure I need to finish my socks anyway for the practice so that hers will be even better than mine. Maybe I could be ready to start her socks this weekend while we’re visiting, or maybe not considering how much else I need to do.

The one thing I have totally noticed since I started Ravelry is that my knitting is not only more organized but I really have started taking more of a project management approach to the whole thing. I feel like I definitely work on my knitting more, I definitely think about it more and I’m definitely finishing a lot more. I have even been planning some spring/summer project, which I have never done before. I just realized I could be working on tanks and socks this summer and I could make socks my present de l’année. So anyway, I’ve been combing back through my old mags for tank patterns and bought some newer Spring/Summer issues of IK that I was missing and now my queue is exploding with projects.

But I am not buying yarn (or anything else I don’t absolutely need) for the next 3 months. If I make it then I can buy myself a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk for the Montego Bay scarf to test it. I love the idea of knitting that Cobweb wrap from the new IK in Sea Silk, but it would be very expensive (over $100 I think) so I’d want to try it out first I think.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object, gifts, knitting, ravelry, work in progress | tags: binding off, cardigan, collar, crochet, gifts, hat, interweave knits, knitting, lace, ravelry, sea silk, shoulder seam, socks, sweater, wrap. | #

So I realized yesterday while I was working that even though my stepmom has been battling cancer for almost 2 years I have not made her anything. WTF? I don’t really understand how I didn’t think of this before (ok last year with the wedding it makes sense, but when she first started chemo in 2006?). I guess the diagnosis came very quickly and she did chemo really fast and then everything was ok for a while and by the time they found more tumors I was engaged and trying to plan a wedding.

In any case, she is starting yet another course of chemo (an old school kind I hear) in a couple of weeks and I’m going to see her beforehand next weekend, so I decided it would be nice to present her with some comfort items when I see her next weekend. I am going to make her the Amelia Earhart Earflap hat and a couple of pairs of socks. I looked around for some yarn ideas and found that most people say you should give something machine washable. So hard. So after backing and forthing over it I decided since these are gifts I could buy yarn for them. I went to HCW’s after work and found some great sock yarn that proclaims to be machine wash (gentle/cold).

But finding something for her hat was harder. I did end up picking up some Berroco Comfort, but while it is soft I don’t really like that it’s all non-natural fibers. I found a couple of other possibilities though, but wasn’t crazy about the colors they had, and I was just dithering because I wasn’t sure how well the allegedly machine washable stuff will really hold up, then again it’s not expensive (2 skeins/balls) so I could always make her the hat again if it fell apart. Will dad be doing the laundry? So freakin hard to make a decision.

Anyway, I got home and decided that I wanted to knit her something really great and I began doubting the Berroco purchase. I decided instead to start a hat using my last skein of Malabrigo worsted because it’s so soft I just want her to have it, even if dad ends up machine washing it and ruining it. But I’d still like to make her 1-2 more hats in a more practical, yet natural fiber, and since it’s already hit 90 and will be in the 70-80′s this weekend I wanted to do make the next hat in a lighter yarn, maybe try some bamboo. I’d also like to avoid cotton unless it’s organic since we all suspect that her exposure to cotton pesticides (cotton farming is basically what she grew up around) might be a BIG reason she has cancer. Plus, since the hat covers her whole head I wonder about colors.

So anyway, I bought yarn (about $50 worth) + 3 old Interweave Knits that I was missing. I think when I go for my Sweater Workshop on Sunday I’ll return the Berroco and get a different yarn or if I can find something online I might order it online. The Berroco was cheap (I think $3/ball) so really returning it is silly, but I need to get in the habit of returning thing I know I won’t use.

In other news, I finished the sleeves for my sweater on Wednesday night and ripped back the bad right front so it’s ready to fix. No more progress on my sock or Ella’s blanket, and I think that’ll be on hold until I finish the sweater and L’s gifts.

2 Comments | In: gifts, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: cancer, chemo, cotton, farming, gift knitting, gifts, hat, knitting, natural fibers v. synthetic, pesticides. | #

Ok, sorry for the lapse (for the like 2 people who might read this). I’m all better now and back on track.

So I finished the hat, finally! It turned out pretty good. I could’ve made it a little longer still, but it turned out nice and it’s very cozy. I do have big hair right now so maybe if I cut my hair it wouldn’t creep up so much…anyway, I’m happy with it.

Chugging along with the blanket, square number 8 is underway:

Disaster strikes on the Sweater Workshop sweater. You know I read yarnharlot‘s blog and she often talks about not mocking the knitting gods. I laugh at these posts because they are well written and funny, but damn she has a point. So I was getting all smug last weekend about being way ahead of the game with the sweater. I had the back and 2 sides of the front done and I was well underway with the sleeves. Then it happened. I decided to block the pieces I’d finished and in a fit of complete laziness and utter stupidity I put the pieces in the washing machine. Hey, in my defense, I tried to felt some stuff in there before and it never worked since it’s a front-loading energy saver. AND I did run it on cold/gentle cycle. It was total carnage. I ruined my finished pieces. They are all felted and shrunk and ALL the weaving in came undone. A total nightmare. Pictures of the horror to come soon. *sigh*

So I reordered some more yarn (that really hurt), and started again with the back. I’m over the initial trauma I guess, though the cost of having to buy more of that pricey yarn is smarting a bit. I’ll post some pics later…

In stash news…

Yeah, I know I am supposed to not be buying things. But I rationalized that if I paid cash for something I’d be allowed. I know. But here’s what I’ve got…

More sock yarn:

More just everyday wool:

And the extra balls of Rowan Biggy Print, which I don’t really have a pic of. Really that’s not too bad. I need to exert more self control. I did get very tempted by some Mountain Colors Mountain Goat in some beautiful colorway, but I did not go back and get it. I was good.

And one last thing…in honor of having discovered Stash and Burn. I knit through 1744.5 yards of yarn in January, but only 1261 yards were truly from my stash. The rest was ordered for the project they went into.

No Comments | In: fever, finished object, knitting, stash, work in progress | tags: finished object, hat, socks, stash, stash burning, sweater, work in progress, yardage, yarn. | #

So I can’t believe this, I get home after work and have some time to kill before pilates. I work on my hat, I leave, I come back and pick it up again. I start the decreases. I try it on and f***ing thing is too big still. Really? I mean this is bulky yarn it seems crazy to go down to size 8 (US) needles. I frogged the whole thing…then realized maybe I should just reduce the CO by 10. Damn it.

So anyway, I started again, with 10 less stitches, but now I’m wondering if I should just try another pattern. Crazy.

I did find a sock pattern that makes sense to me (well after I watched the video here), and I’m thinking I might cast on for some socks soon, real soon.

No Comments | In: knitting, work in progress | tags: hat, help, patterns, socks, work in progress. | #

Ok, no pics right now (I’ll add them later I guess), but here’s what’s going on around these knitting parts.

I started my sweater workshop at HCW’s. There are 8 of us in the class and it seems like it will be pretty good. I realized in class that I am bad at knitting math because when the teacher was trying to explain to me about gauge and needles, etc I just did not get it. Later when I was mulling over my DPN purchase at the front I did finally get it, but now I’ve forgotten again. So does that make me old? Senile? Absent-minded librarian?

Anyway, the workshop is going to be good even though it’s straining my wallet a little right now. I think it will be worth it in the end. I have managed to do all my “homework” already. I knit the entire back of my sweater (not as impressive as it sounds since the needles are BIG and the yarn is super bulky) and did my swatch for buttonhole practice.

Let’s see I also got mad fever to knit a hat (probably because it was so freakin cold last week) and when I saw Malabrigo + hats on Ravlery, well that sealed the deal. So I totally cast on and completed a hat over the weekend only to discover that yes swatching is important. I almost always have to knit 1 needle size down for gauge so why I thought this would not be the case for a hat, I don’t know. I frogged and restarted last night, should be able to finish tonight I hope since it’s getting cold again.

We got new furniture (yippee!) and I have this Noro Kureyon that I have been trying to find a use for, so I made 2 coasters last night. It’s really true that energy efficient front loading washers are not made for felting, but oh well they still turned out pretty well. So my reasoning on this was that the Noro is nice and multi-colored so it’ll go with everything and wool is a wicking fiber. Plus I really hate those particle board coasters because when drinking cold drinks (ie, beer) they stick to your glass. So I think wool coasters are the way to go for the entire house.

I so have sock fever. I am not sure if I’m just attracted to the yarn (there is some gorgeous sock yarn out there) or what, but I really want to give these a try. I accidentally bought 2 skeins of Mountain Colors (made near where I used to live in Montana!) last week and had them balled (so of course I can’t return them now) so I need to make some socks with them I think. I cannot for the life of me find a pattern that freakin makes sense though. I see HCW’s has a sock class in March, I might take it if my wallet has recovered from the sweater workshop, but I don’t know if I can wait that long to learn about socks.

2 Comments | In: fever, finished object, knitting, ravelry, stash, work in progress | tags: coasters, finished object, hat, ravelry, socks, stash, sweater, wool, work in progress. | #