All Purpose

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.

No Comments | In: finished object, gifts, knitting, work in progress | tags: ballband, finished object, jitterbug, kitchner, magic loop, monkeys, socks, work in progress. | #

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. | #

So I’ve been getting into podcasts a lot lately and I listened to one last night as I finished Ovaltine (DONE!) and I started thinking about how I got started knitting and it made me think that would be a good blog post, probably. I mean how could it be any worse than the normal stuff I put on here.

So I started knitting in 1998. I had quit smoking at the beginning of that year and taken up cross stitch (I know) to keep my hands busy. Then I moved from New Orleans to Missoula, MT and decided that I needed to learn how to knit. I think I was getting bored with cross stitch. So I don’t remember exactly the first think I knit, but I did teach myself using some books + the internet. I made a bunch of people knitted presents that year. I made my first sweater, for my sister, out of some crazy acrylic/mohair Lion’s Brand yarn. She actually still wears it, but recently confessed to me that she’s never been able to actually wear it since the neck opening it so tight it would choke her. She wears it preppy style instead (over the shoulders). I knit most of the time I lived in Montana, but since 1999-2001 included me busting my ass to finish my BA and working as much as possible the knitting tapered off toward my last year there.

Then I moved back to Austin for grad school. You would think grad school would sort of preclude knitting, but I found a lot of would-be librarian’s were getting into knitting so toward the end of my grad school time I started doing more and more knitting. I also discovered better yarn (because really all yarn is intrinsically good right). Then I finished school and I did pretty steady knitting and crocheting (yes I picked up crochet somewhere in there as well, also self-taught) until I got engaged last year. Then I stopped everything. I really didn’t even look at my knitting for 9 months. I never really thought about this until after the fact when I picked it all back up and realized how much I had missed it. Now I am sooooo into it it’s a little scary. Ok, not scary but M. has commented how I’m so into knitting lately, and I am. I think I finally reached the tipping point of seeing myself truely progress as a knitter + starting to understand fundamentals better + Ravelry. Now I’m unstoppable knitting machine.

It’s funny though because I went to a knit class a few weeks ago and most of the people in it were new knitters and I had forgotten how dejected a new knitter can get. It’s really hard at first and it seems like you will never improve, but I’m proof: you will improve it will get easier, it just takes time.

No Comments | In: knitting, ravelry, work in progress | tags: knitting, learning to knit, ovaltine, sweater. | #

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.

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

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. | #

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. | #

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. | #