All Purpose

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 did indeed cast on that sock last week and after doing about 3 round on Tuesday I decided that DPNs suck ass. I went to HCW’s the next day and got some AddiTurbo’s and spend that next night casting on and ripping back until I had Magic Loop down. I <3 Magic Loop and KnittingHelp.

I worked on that sock until I got to the heel (Monday) and then I was sick yesterday and spent the day in bed knitting that little sock until it was DONE.

It’s not perfect. It is after all, my first sock. So the decreasing at the toe got a little messed up and the Kitchner grafting went pretty well but not perfect so, the toe is a little pointy and the decreasing looks like I put it in the wrong place (it ended up on top of the sock instead of the side-I think it was supposed to go on the side).

Anyway, details are here (Ravelry link). I’m considering ripping back and redoing it to see if I’m right. Ripping back and picking up all those wee stitches doesn’t sound fun though, and I seriously need to get back to my SW sweater (Ovaltine).

So the sweater…I am really psyched to do another sweater project already even though this one has been kind of a nightmare. I blocked my major pieces last week and realized that I totally fucked up the front right side piece. I even knew, on some level, that I had messed up before I did the blocking because I spent one afternoon last week trying to do the short row shaping for the shoulders (could not get that to work at all). While I was looking over my written out instructions though I noticed that the R and L sides seemed to have a lot of the same decreases. Oops. So I have to rip that back and re-do like the last few rows.

I also have to undo my BO for the back and left front so that I do bind off more loosely. I had an epiphany that the reason my first sweater project (a gift for my sister like 8 years ago) had such a tight neck (she seriously has never been able to fit her neck in there) was that I BO too tight then probably picked up stitches for the collar wrong. Soooo, trying to avoid that for me. Though I guess with a cardi maybe this isn’t as big of an issue? I don’t know, better safe than sorry though right?

So I have to fix those things AND I need to finish both sleeves and all the bands (button, waist, collar and sleeves). I’m almost done with one sleeve, but need to finish that like tonight and start the next one so that my major pieces are done for Sunday’s class.

I also had some time to work on Ella’s blanket over last week/weekend. I managed to get the last square blocked and I started and have almost finished the edging for one side. I need to finish all my seaming and then really bust out the edging. Good times. Then I can CO something NEW! How exciting!

No Comments | In: knitting, ravelry, work in progress | tags: blanket, kitchner, magic loop, short row shaping, socks, sweater, tight bind off. | #

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.

No Comments | In: fever, knitting, ravelry, work in progress | tags: gauge, ravelry, socks, work in progress. | #

So, I’m catching back up on the Sweater Workshop sweater (aka Ovaltine). I’m almost done with the 2nd front piece. I’ll be adding pics later today. Woot. I won’t be able to do my sleeves until the yarn reinforcements come though so they better hurry since I think I need them soon.

I’m trying real hard to restrain myself from starting a new project. I want to start some socks….big time. Maybe I should just start them. I mean I have yarn for 2 pairs now I think so I need to break my sock cherry. The problem is that the lady who is doing my SW (Sweater Workshop) at HCW’s said if I really want to learn I could start coming to the Thursday night knitting class (a free for all) and she’d teach me. I would love to because I sat in with them last week to make up my missed SW class and they are a very fun bunch, and I think I might start doing the Thursday thing AFTER I finish the SW. I’d love to be able to afford to pay for the Thursday thing now, and really $40/month is not bad. But I need to get control of myself with the spending. I did exempt my running class and the SW from my goal though, and I’m going to have to drop my running class. The other negative is the fact that it means missing Lost, but I guess we could catch up later. I’m babbling.

I’m also fighting, sometimes successfully sometimes not, the urge to buy/trade yarn on Ravelry. I did sell some yarn last week though (go me). I found 4 skeins of Manos Wool in Bramble for sale so I’m thinking about doing that and using the other 2 skeins I have with it to make a cardi instead of another stinking scarf. I have like 5 scarves hanging by my front door right now. I don’t need another scarf. I really want to try out the Manos though so I don’t want to put the yarn up for swap either. So hard.

No Comments | In: knitting, ravelry, stash, work in progress | tags: knitting, manos, money, socks, stash, sweater, yarn. | #

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. | #

I finished my little glovettes. They came out a little big even though I did the small size, but then again I can barely grasp gauge in knitting, much less crochet.

I finished another blanket square and started a sixth one…

I bought my yarn for the upcoming sweater workshop:

In other news my neck is hurting a lot, not sure if it’s all the knitting, the data entry at work or what but it’s putting a bit of a damper on my knitting fever.

I <3 Ravelry. I’ve found so many cool patterns, forums, blogs, yarn on there that it’s not even funny. Please never leave me Ravelry.

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object, knitting, ravelry, work in progress | tags: crochet, fingerless gloves, finished object, knit, ravlery, work in progress, yarn. | #

Got my Ravelry invite! YES. I am so staying up late playing on this.

2 Comments | In: fever, ravelry | | #

So I’m so getting my ravelry invite either today or tomorrow (less than 600 people ahead of me), I’m psyched! I have been pulling together all my magazines and books, marking all my wishlist projects, gathering all my stash in anticipation.

I’ve finished scarf four and five and I’m almost done with six. Yes, I’m rocking the xmas crochet. I’ll try to do pics of scarf 6 and 7 soon, scarf five is already gone but is like the green scarf I did (#1 I think).

No Comments | In: crochet, finished object, ravelry | tags: crochet, finished object, patagonia, ravelry, scarf, xmas. | #

Ok, so I just checked my Ravelry status and only around 1700 people ahead of me! So maybe in 3-4 days I’ll have my invite, I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. I cannot believe that there are over 4000 people behind me now too, ravelry fever continues I guess.

No Comments | In: fever, ravelry | tags: fever, invite, waiting list. | #

So I have finally shaken loose some of the distractions and obligations that were keeping me so busy this last year. I am ready to knit. I’m ready to crochet. I haven’t picked up sticks or hook for 9 months, that damn wedding planning ate up all my time. But I’m back to it, yay, and wow have I missed a lot the last 9 months.

I can’t believe that I am the last to hear about Ravelry. Almost every knit/crochet blog I read has signed up and received their invite, and most of my stitching friends have too. Where the hell have a I been? I guess my explanation for this is that I not only wasn’t knitting I also wasn’t reading any knitting blogs while I planned the wedding. So I finally heard about it last week and promptly signed up. Only 6000+ people to go before I get my invite (down from 8000+ so there is progress).

I am really fired up about this whole ravelry thing, let me tell you why. Like 2 years ago I was wanting to really get my yarn, wip’s, wish projects, etc. all organized. I am a computer geek so of course I turned to technology to help me and found that not only was there not anything out there for us mac people, but that the pc software for crafting sucked. I really, really wanted to team up with my then boyfriend (M, aka the Italian) to design and build software that would allow knitter’s to list all their stash, wip’s, patterns, etc and then link everything together. Of course, I am lazy so this never happened. That’s ok though because the fine, wonderful people at Ravelry have done it all for me and they had the brains to realize this would be better as a web app with networking/community features. I am so, so excited about this and I really hope I get my invite soon because I’d like to spend my xmas break playing on ravelry.

So enough about ravelry, for now. I’m also pretty fired up to be knitting and crocheting again. I’ve gone on a yarn buying spree and I’ve decided to crochet all the females on my xmas list a scarf (more details later). I have 7 scarves total to make, and I’m 2 down. I’ve ordered yarn for all but one of them, and hopefully I’ll be getting some yarn today so I can start another scarf and stay on schedule. I’ll have pics later today or tomorrow, I need to get some good light for photo taking.

No Comments | In: crochet, fever, knitting, ravelry | tags: crochet, knit, ravelry, work in progress, xmas knitting, yarn. | #