All Purpose

So not a lot going on right now. I have managed to get to the foot portion of my first monkey sock (pic hopefully to follow later), but have stalled out the last couple of days. I didn’t get any knitting done this past weekend and I’m sure that this weekend will be any better. I’m hoping to get back into my monkey groove tonight, I would like to finish these for my stepmom, maybe this weekend.

No Comments | In: gifts, knitting, life, work in progress | tags: gifts, knitting, socks, work in progress. | #

So I’m making some progress on the Monkey socks.

I’m liking the pattern, but I’m kind of bummed the colors are clumping up like they are. I have a lot of purple on one side and a lot of green on the other. It’s not terrible though, I mean I don’t care that much about pooling and flashing, I just wish the colors were more evenly distributed on both sides. but it could be worse.

It’s been another rough week. My oldest cat died this week and that has really upset me. I also got more bad news about my stepmom, so I’m not in a good place right now. I am going to Galveston this weekend to see some of my family, and hopefully that will be ok. I guess I don’t have much else to say. I’m knitting, it’s comforting, so hopefully I’ll have some good updates after the weekend.

No Comments | In: gifts, knitting, work in progress | tags: cats, gifts, grief, knitting, pets, socks, work in progress. | #

So wanted to do a real wrap up of the Jitterbug socks.

So here’s all the pics for the project, well all the good pics.

Pattern: Jitterbug Ballband Simple Sock Pattern (Colinette)
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Tapis
Needles: US 1 40″ circular
Notes: Started off doing DPN’s, but decided against and frogged and did socks separate using Magic Loop Method. The pattern is pretty straightforward and I knit the first sock pretty easily (had to look up a few things like the heel turn since it was my first time), but I did goof on where to put the decreases for the toe on the first sock. The second sock was harder because I forgot the heel turn stuff and made it way too complicated before I realized my mistake, but one I got past that it was easy peasy AND I figured out the toe decreases correctly and my Kitchner was better on the second sock. A good first sock experience I’d say. Yay socks!

I will be casting on for my next sock project later today. I’m doing Monkeys in ShibuiKnits Sock for my stepmom, and then I’ll get on with M’s socks.

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Ok, really just one more. I finished my first ever socks! Woot. I finally realized that, yes “working one more stitch each row…” does mean row 1 is p5, row 2 is k6, row 3 is p7, etc. Sheesh. I guess I shouldn’t wait more than a week to cast on my second sock or else I’ll forget everything I figured out about the pattern. I also found that charting this out on graph paper was really helpful too. So socks are done and the second sock turned out GREAT, I figured out the weird toe thing from the Kitchner finish and I got the toe decreases in the right place this time. I don’t think I’ll re-do the first sock, since these were for me, and besides it’ll show my improvement as I move onward with sock knitting.

I got my buttons for Ovaltine AND I sewed them on, so Ovaltine is way done now. I have made a little progress with the trim for Ella’s blanket, but frankly I do not think that is going to get done this month. That trim is some slow ass knitting.

So I’m basically down to 3 WIP’s (ha more on the #3 later), go me. I actually did a gauge swatch for the $1.50 Cardigan last week, but it’s too small so I need to re-do with the prescribed needles. It’s odd because I automatically went down a needle size to do the swatch, but I guess the lace knitting is different. I think I’ll have to do the reverse stockinette in the smaller size though to make it work. Anyway, I’m going to try to swatch for that today.

I also started gauge swatches for 2 sock projects but had to abandon both. The first is for a pair of socks for M. I am using Cascade 220 though and my biggest sock needles are US 1 and I tried a few rows of that and it’s just too stiff. I think I only need to go up maybe 1 size though. I also tried to swatch for Jaywalkers but again my US 1′s are actually too big for this and my US 0′s are in my suitcase which I believe is in Dallas now. Perhaps I’ll get it back today.

So all this sock activity is based on my desire to be in a sock club. I really do see the appeal in socks now and would love to try a club sometime. The problem is that most clubs are closed or if they are about to reopen require payment now and I can’t do that because of my no spending rule. So I realized I had bought 3 skeins of sock yarn recently (before march!) plus I had the socks for M. to make with the gray Cascade I have, so 4 pairs of socks. So I decided to do my own sock club (I totally got this idea off of some Ravelry forum which I can’t remember now). Anyway, this weekend I picked patterns (free ones) for the yarns and printed them out and put each yarn in a bag with the pattern and put those in a little box.

M.’s is supposed to be first, but I’m trying to decide of purchasing new needles is ok on this no spending regime. I think he wants the socks asap, and I do think I can afford to buy them right now so I’m leaning toward yes it’s ok because I also know I’ll do his socks right away if I get the right needles. If I decide to hold off on his socks though I’ll have to wait until I recover my bag to start the Jaywalkers, either way it’ll probably be until at least Thursday before I seriously start either of these.

So back to those WIP’s I have. So Ella’s blanket I should be able to finish maybe in April if I have enough yarn for the trim. I’ve pretty much decided if I run of yarn to finish that’ll have to wait until after my no buying time is over. So if I run out of yarn it won’t be until June or July that I finish.

I’ve also got the Noro throw I’m working on (Cavendish) using Noro Silk Garden. That is a long term project that I have no deadline for and that I do a little at time on, so no rush there.

I also have this crocheted blanket that I just found hidden in my desk when I did a little cleaning last weekend. I should finish this and it might actually make a good Ella blanket too, but not until she’s a bit older maybe. At any rate I have to pull it out to see how much I have left to do, etc.

In other news, I’m doing a bit better than last week, but have not gotten back on track with my 365 project. Will try to start today again. I was supposed to be in Atlanta right now at a conference, but the crazy weather yesterday killed my plans so I’m in Austin waiting for my bag to return from DFW (I never made it to DFW, but the bag did).

Oh, and I’ll be adding pictures to this post later today…

No Comments | In: fever, finished object, gifts, knitting, ravelry, work in progress | tags: blanket, cardigan, finished object, gauge swatching, photos, ravelry, socks, travel, work in progress. | #

So I don’t have any pics, and I don’t really have too much knitting updating to do. I’m depressed, I’ve had a rough week. I have been totally slacking on my 365 project I skipped Sun-Wed of this week. I did manage to take a pic yesterday so if I can repeat that today I may be out of my slump there.

I have been working on my second Jitterbug sock. It is not going well. I have no idea how the first sock could have been so relatively easy and this one is so freakin hard. I think I knit and frogged the heel turn like 5-6 times before feeling like I did it right (maybe?) but when I went to pick up my stitches for the gusset (is that right?) I realized I had the whole thing on the needles all cattywonkas and I had seriously fucked something up. I was so pissed I just frogged the whole thing and started over. My reasoning was that I did make a change for the second sock: doing the small size so I should just redo the whole thing as a medium since that worked so much better last time.

I managed to get Ella’s blanket seamed yesterday and was able to measure that I have about 15″ to finish for my first trim piece.

I got my buttons for Ovaltine, but haven’t put them on yet. Maybe after work today, but maybe not since it’s supposed to be 90 (yes 90) degrees today.

M. came home last night (good) but I also got some bad news about my stepmom (bad). So now I’m trying to decide if I’m really want to go to the free shows at Auditorium Shores tonight with my neighbor/friend or if I want to bail because I’m bummed and don’t feel like dealing with the crowd, etc. I actually don’t feel like I should be out enjoying myself after what I heard last night. That’s probably the wrong attitude to take though.

2 Comments | In: gifts, knitting, work in progress | tags: blanket, depression, knitting, ovaltine, socks, sweater, sxsw, work in progress. | #

Ok, the sweater and I are speaking again. I finished the seaming and did one cuff last night and it’s cute. It’s heavy and a bit bulky but it’s turning out good. So I didn’t make my goal of having it ready for today, but it’ll definitely be ready for tomorrow. The size is fine too though I do think my shoulder/arm seaming is a little off somehow. When I do set in shoulders they always seem a little puffy, but these look fine when I put it on. Maybe I got the cap part a little big and that makes it seem slightly gathered? I think what I really need next is a finishing class.

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So this sweater hates me. I really, really know deep down that with practice I am going to become a sweater making fiend, but I seriously have no idea what I have done wrong with this sweater. I did the buttonhole band and attached it last night, and then seamed in the sleeves. Great.

Then I slipped it ‘on’ to see how it was fitting and now I’m really worried that it’s too small. The arms seem short, and a bit tight by the shoulder and the body seems shorter and tighter than I thought it would be. Maybe it’s just the fact that I haven’t finished all the seaming. I know the cuffs and waistband will add some length there. But the body and sleeves?? I got gauge. I knit a HUGE size and the sweater has like 4″ of ease built into the numbers. How can this be that small? I am determined to finish it tonight so that I can know for sure if I need to redo anything (mostly worried about the sleeves), so I guess I’ll find out in a few hours if I’m jumping to conclusions. In other news, this sucker is HEAVY so maybe the weight of it will stretch it out.

I started my second sock last night, yippee! I decided I’d try the new technique on the second one and then if it works I’ll rip back the first one and fix it. I also thought I’d make the small size and see if that fit a bit better. And that’s pretty much it.

No Comments | In: knitting, work in progress | tags: finishing, fit, gauge, seaming, socks, sweater, work in progress. | #

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. | #

Ok, so I did the gauge swatch for my first socks last night and I “cast on” in Ravelry all in an attempt to force myself to get over my irrational sock fear. I need to block my swatch before I measure, but I think I actually did get pretty close to gauge (which I hear is very important for the socks). I did indeed start with needles one size down from the recommended size-see learning in action.

So it took me about an hour, maybe a little more, to knit 30 sts over 40 rows on size 1 (SCARY) needles. And the yarn is so darn pretty, that it kind of psyched me up a bit and now I’m feverish to really cast on for those socks. I hope to do that after pilates tonight.

I didn’t really do anything else last night because after I finished my swatch I felt slightly dazed from listening to 2.25 episodes of Stash and Burn and knitting on such wee needles with such teeny yarn.

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So I made decent progress this weekend. I didn’t get a whole lot of knitting time, but I managed to seam the second row of squares on Ella’s blanket and seam the 1st and 2nd rows together. I also seamed 2 squares on the last row, but still need to block my final square so I can seam that and then seam the final row to the rest of the blanket. I also started the trim. I may do the trim with a single strand of yarn so I can try to use the purple Cascade 220 I have. We’ll see, it just seems a bit bulky but maybe the trim needs to be heavy to keep the rest of the squares from losing shape.

I started my first sleeve for Ovaltine. I really wanted to try doing the sleeves at the same time, but I couldn’t wrap my head around how that worked and ended up casting on for one. Then in class someone showed me hers, and it was as I imagined so I don’t know why I freaked out about it. I learned about short row shaping and 3 needle bind off in class yesterday too. I so want to go back and re-do my Ovaltine shoulder shaping using this technique but of course when I got home and tried to convert my pattern I became immediately confused. Drat, and I can’t go to the Thursday night class b/c it’s the only night for a whole week I’ll get to see M.

I also got a wild hair after class yesterday and started a gauge swatch for some socks using the Jitterbug I just got and the ball band pattern for socks. Then I got freaked out by the socks and ripped it out. I have no idea why I’m being such a baby about trying the socks. I guess maybe I should have started with some cheaper sock yarn…then the pressure wouldn’t be so bad? But today I realized I really don’t want knee high socks so I bought extra skiens for no reason, except maybe to practice. Hmmm, I have to get over my sock fear.

2 Comments | In: knitting, work in progress | tags: blanket, socks, sweater, work in progress. | #