Merry Christmas!

I hope you are all spending it the same way I am. That is, at home in your pajama bottoms with nothing compelling you to go outside. Other celebratory details optional.

It's been quite the year for me on many fronts, but it's been eventful in terms of knitting, too. I was inspired to pick up the needles again about year and a half ago by the guy I was dating at the time. (I told him if he picked out the yarn I'd knit him a pair of socks.) What had been a pleasant hobby in college quickly grew into a consuming passion--especially when I got onto Ravelry.

Now, I'm living in a new place, pursuing a different career, dating a different fellow, and have actually published knitting patterns that people want to knit. Seems kind of crazy, but there you have it.

I have lots of thoughts on how knitting builds community and can make life more fulfilling and blah blah blah, but you know what? In lieu of a boring meta-post, I'm going to go knit.

Merry Christmas.

This Married to the Sea cartoon is for Jane. She knows why.

*squee*

So a few months back I designed a scarf for my brother's birthday. I wrote up the pattern all pretty-like, and today I put it up on Ravelry. Since I put a lot of effort into it, I decided to offer it for sale rather than for free.

And people have actually BOUGHT IT. Thrilling! I may never realize this whole yarn store/designing for a living thing, but this is one tiny step closer.

In case you're interested, the pattern is up on Rav as The Manly Scarf.

(Oh, just so you know--the pictures are of my long-suffering friend R3. He's a good egg.)

Awesome hat

I designed and knit this hat over the Thanksgiving holiday. It's based on one sold at Old Navy; I reverse-engineered that hat, but didn't have quite enough yarn to make an identical version. I improvised, and I think it worked out very well.

The yarn was a gift from Superquail when she was living in China; it's 100% acryllic in a super-bulky-weight. Beyond that, I know nothing. I ran short on that, so I rummaged in the stash and came up with leftovers from a hat I made for Aspen a long time ago. I remember that it was 100% wool (very similar to Lambs Pride in the way it knits up) and handpainted, but I got nothing else. I finished the top of the hat in that and then Swiss-embroidered it over all the knit stitches in one row to make it look like I'd done it all on purpose. Here's a shot of the hat in use:


I'm quite pleased with myself. Now to decide whether I want to give it away or wear it myself . . .

Bad blogger, no cookie

I've been terribly busy lately, and in consequence I've neglected not only this blog but the knitting blogosphere in general. With the holidays coming up, however, I should have more time to blog. And I've been knitting! Lots of things! Really I have!

Actually, I've been knitting a lot but I haven't felt that I've gotten much done, which is such a frustrating feeling. So a good part of my holiday relaxing is going to be devoted to finishing up various WIPs and planning knitting to come. Meanwhile, I give you this picture of a kitty:


He loves yarn too!

Shamefully tardy

So I got a new job recently, and it's been kicking my butt in terms of knitting. First, I don't have as much time, and second, I'm often too tired to knit. (Horror!)

I am working on a few things, though--I had a major breakthrough on a scarf project that I should be able to show you soon.

In the meantime, here's a mindless sock. Enjoy.

Birthday loots!

It was my birthday, and I gots presents!


The book, 2-at-a-time Socks, was a gift from my mother. She doesn't knit, but she very much appreciates it that I do. I sense that this is a hint! Since I'm a die-hard DPN fan, I probably won't use the two-at-a-time method, but the patterns are really cute.

The other gifts are from the wonderful Aspen. I've already stowed all my notions in the bag (which is AWESOME), and a beautiful beaded stitch marker (not pictured) is on my latest Mindless Sock. The yarn is a breathtaking silk laceweight from Redfish. (And a little sample skein of sock yarn from Miss Babs *Squee*

Yay birthdays!

Holiday knitting inc

For those of you who don't game, "inc!" is short for "monsters incoming . . . and they don't look friendly." So holiday knitting is definitely inc around here.

Here's the current list, just to keep myself organized:

1) A birthday present for a friend--this is already late. I just hope it's worth it.
2) Socks for my newest cousin (recipient of the Baby's First Tattoo)--and her older brother, of course, so he won't feel left out.
3) Socks for R3's girlfriend, J. I have just the yarn picked out . . .
4) A scarf for R3--he's such a good sport to tolerate my knitting whims, he deserves something in return.
5) Scarves for my housemates. All of them will have to be suitably masculine.

And this is for starters . . . I'm sure I'll think of more.

Socks: final destination

Here are the hibiscus socks, complete at last.


Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks from Favorite Socks

Yarn: Great Adirondack Yarn Company Silky Sock (70/20/10 merino/silk/nylon), colorway Hibiscus. Size 0/2mm needles (down from the 2/2.75mm called for in the pattern).

These are now on their way to celebrate a dear friend's birthday--many more, Ms. Wiz!

I have to say, although it made pretty socks, I was disappointed in this yarn. There were tons of silk slubs and those little whatchamacallits where extraneous fibers get wrapped around the strand and have to be cut off--not the quality I expect for the price I paid. I also didn't much care for the way the colors fell against one another in the plain stockinette portions. Fortunately, the leaves broke them up really beautifully--a reason I like lace patterns for some variegated yarns. On the positive side, I think the socks will wear very well, between the fiber content and the really high twist of the yarn.


Thoughts on the pattern: as always with Interweave, the directions were crystal-clear and well-formatted. I always like a nice alternative toe, too. Maybe it's just my crankiness coming out, but I hate fussy cuffs. Twisted rib looks nice, but it doesn't look nice enough to justify how slow and tedious it is to knit, in my humble opinion. (Also, I think the cast-on was stupid. But I think every cast-on besides long-tail is stupid, so I probably shouldn't be listened to on that front.)

I am such a dork

I literally just announced to myself, as I sat down at my computer: "let's knit it ON."

Will the sock madness never stop?

The answer is no.

Here are the latest Mindless Socks.


Yarn: Regia Silk (55/25/20 merino/polyamide/silk--unfortunately discontinued), colorways Nairobi and, um, plain white? The number is something boring like 0002.

Pattern is mindless socks, of course, done with 52 stitches on size 1/2.25mm needles. That creates a very fine, thin sock that could easily be worn with everyday shoes.

I really like this combination of yarns--it satisfies both my frugality and my aesthetics. You'll be seeing similar socks as I work through the remainders of previous projects. I'm also on a yarn diet, so I can't buy any new sock materials for the foreseeable future. *sadface*

Blood, sweater, and tears

The Endless Sweater is complete! *tah-dah* (Please ignore how awful I look in this photo. This was the best picture of the sweater. See how I suffer for my art.)


Pattern: Boyfriend Sweater from Hip to Knit (52" size). Yarn: Bemidji Woolen Mills Original Homespun (225 yds/skein), 4.75 skeins oatmeal heather, 0.5 skein natural, for about 1150 yards total. (Way less than the estimated 1500, by the way; I have two full skeins of the oatmeal leftover.)


These pictures were taken by my friend R3, who was getting a little revenge for the time I forced him to model a scarf. That's sparkling cider, not champagne. That didn't stop us, of course.


Modifications: I moved the cables seven stitches in toward the neck on both sides. They'd have been in my armpits if I'd knit them as written--as it is, I could have moved them a little further still. I omitted the patch pockets over the cables and instead left gaps in the side seams for pockets there.

Here's a close-up I took of the buttons, which are incredible handmade glass I got at my LYS. They remind me of dried apricots, only less edible and more beautiful.


Notes on the pattern: it was a relatively quick and easy knit. Most of the measurements were accurate (I got stitch gauge but not row gauge); however, the sleeves were far too long at the 21" called for. I removed the cuffs, ripped some, and knit shorter cuffs. The sleeves are still a bit oversized, exactly what I wanted.

All in all, a very satisfactory knit. I've been wearing it around all week, and it's just perfect for early fall.

*squee*

So I got a very nice thing in the mail the other day:


The lovely Nyx sent me some beads, some chocolate, a little J. Knits Lace-a-licious (in "Boston") . . . and some of her very own handpainted laceweight.

Seriously, this stuff is so gorgeous. The picture can't do it justice; it's much more subtle and purpley in person. Right now it's on the corner of my desk so I can pet it as desired--I don't remember the fiber content off the top of my head, but I think there's some cashmere in there. Whatever it is, it's wonderful. <3 Nyx.

Erm . . .

So, here's the deal. The sweater was done, complete, finis. And then I decided the sleeves were too long.

I realize that I perhaps should have paid attention to this before I finished knitting them, or before I sewed them into the sweater. But anyway.

This meant I had to remove the cuffs, ravel a few inches of sleeve, and reknit to my satisfaction. I did this, but the doing of this meant that I couldn't get any pictures taken. Furthermore, I haven't been knitting much else because, sweater.

I promise the next post will have not only more content but be substantially more interesting.

Are you bored of socks yet?

I do apologize if so.

The latest plain sock is done:


I'd plotted to keep these for myself, but unfortunately, this one was too short for my ginormafoot. So it'll have to go to someone for Christmas or a birthday--I can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth from here.

The first Hibiscus Sock is also finished:


And its mate is well under way.

Otherwise, the sweater is DONE (!!!). Pictures will be forthcoming when it's all dry and I can finish the seaming and put the buttons on.

I have to get knitting on something else. Maybe a scarf? Or a hat, I haven't knit a hat in awhile. What I really want is to knit another sweater, but unfortunately that's beyond the budget at the moment . . .

Sock it to me

Bad blogger is bad. I've mostly been working on the Endless Sweater this past week, but there's been a fair amount happening on the sock front as well. The first Hibiscus sock is past the heel turn:


It doesn't look like much without a foot inside, but I think it'll be very pretty. This pattern has some odd things happening in the shaping--you break the yarn to start the gussets, which I've never seen before. It works out, though, so I suppose it's just another method to add to the mental list. This shot really shows off the silk in this yarn--see the sheen?


I've also worked some more on the latest Mindless Sock:


I really like the combination of the self-striping yarn with the plain white. I can't wait to wear these. They're so soft.

In other news, the Endless Sweater nears completion. The whole thing is knit and pieced, and I'm on the buttonbands/collar. Anything more will have to wait until Thursday's knit night, though--I want to pick out some buttons before I make the buttonholes! In the meantime, you may visualize a giant blob of oatmeal-covered yarn. (It looked pretty sharp and much less blobby until I picked up all the collar stitches.) And in the meantime, I'm going to knit some more socks.

Sweater thoughts

The cardigan progresses apace--the first sleeve is done (pictured below), and I'm about halfway through the second. Sleeves? Are really boring to knit.

This leads to some thoughts I've been having lately, about sweater design in particular. This is the first sweater I've ever knit for myself. As you may have gathered, I'm a big girl. Sleeves for big-girl sweaters are bigger than sleeves for other people, making them 2485 times more boring to knit. (Scientific measurement.) But you know . . . they don't have to be.

In Borders the other day I was paging through a book of sweaters designed for, shall we say, ladies of size.* I asked my companion (my friend R3, an occasional knitter himself) to tell me what the patterns had in common. When he admitted he couldn't see it, I pointed out that all of the sweaters were shapeless. Baggy. Boring.

Now, there are certainly women (and men) in the world who look good in shapeless, baggy, boring sweaters. Some of these women are even plus-sized. But LOTS of us, if not most, look a thousand times better in something fitted. Whether or not you have curves to flaunt, odds are good you still look better in something that doesn't do its best to drown you. Also, can we talk color for a moment? News flash, my designing friends: FAT PEOPLE CAN LOOK GOOD IN RED. Astonishing, inorite?

So I decided to do something about it. Pictured above along with the sleeve is what came for me in the mail today--The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns.

I have this vision in my head, you see--of a close-fitting, V-neck, fine-gauge sweater (very like one I already own), in a sophisticated black . . . or maybe a bright crimson. And since it doesn't seem to be out there already--I'll have to design it.

*Note: this is not the famous Big Girl Knits, which features very shapely, fitted (and, not coincidentally, beautiful) sweaters. I've been waiting on the softcover edition and am SO EXCITED you have no idea omg.

A few new things

The cardigan is still on Sleeve Island--but at least progressing, however slowly. Maybe by next week I'll have the sleeves done so I can block everything and start putting it together? A girl can dream. (Note: sleeve one is not yet done. This is perhaps an unrealistic goal.)

Meanwhile, I've cast on some new stuff that will probably move at a snail's pace while I continue to focus on the sweater.

First, the beginning of a Dreams of Madeira scarf in JoJoLand Harmony. (I think it's colorway HC02; I don't have the ball band handy.)


Although the yarn is very, very fine and a little tricky to work with, it's absolutely gorgeous. Aspen knit a beautiful Gail from the same stuff in colorway HC08--go check it out.

That's going to be my knit night project for the near future--the lace pattern (thus far) isn't complicated, so it's a good choice for sitting around gossiping.

I also began (of course) a new pair of Mindless Socks with some Regia leftovers. (Oh, by the way, the pattern is now available as a Rav download.) My hope is to use up all the stripey stuff on heels, toes, and cuffs so I can get three or four pairs out of the white. We'll see.


Anyway, time's a-wastin'--and this sleeve won't knit itself.

Sockses

Once again, I'm rather boring--still plugging away at the cardigan. I finished the other front and I'm now firmly on Sleeve Island. On the bright side, I seem to be looking good gauge-wise, and when I took my first sleeve off the needles to check fit, it was fine. Something I found interesting , too: based on the pattern info, it was going to take about eight skeins of the homespun to make the sweater (seven of the main color, one of contrast). I'm about halfway through the ball of contrast, so that should work perfectly with one more cuff and the neck and front edges to knit. Of the main color, though, I'm only on the fourth skein. Unless the sleeves somehow take twice the yarn the fronts did, I expect I'll have about 450 yards leftover--more than two skeins. Maybe I'll knit a matching scarf.

Otherwise, I've been plotting out Christmas knitting--there are lots of men in my life who'll be needing scarves, I think, and some other folks who rate socks. I don't knit socks for just anyone. Glad I'm getting the jump on it now, though; I think I have rather a lot to do . . .

I did finish these:

Another pair of Mindless Socks, in SWTC's Tofutsies, 50/25/22.5/2.5 wool/soysilk/cotton/chitin, size 0/2mm needles. This is the leftover yarn from the Waving Lace socks I knit for myself last year.

I mentioned it back then, but it's worth mentioning again--I love this yarn. It can be a little awkward to work with, but it knits up beautifully. It's also a great value--$16.50 or so for a 100g skein. This is less than you'd pay for the same yardage of many sock yarns, and I got not one but two pairs out of this skein, making it even more economical. And it's cute!

Said completed socks are now wending their way to a friend who lives far away. I hope she likes them.

I hate to leaf you hanging

I don't have much to show for myself lately. I spent most of the last week immersed in a Sekret Projekt (oooh, exciting) or, failing that, in the Endless Sweater. Which is kind of big and tan and boring, given that the bits all look more or less alike.

I have put in a little work on this, though:


This is the beginning of an Embossed Leaves sock from Favorite Socks in Great Adirondack Yarn Company Silky Sock (70/20/10 merino/silk/nylon), colorway Hibiscus. Yes, the colors really ARE that bright.

And . . . that's all I got. Stayed tuned 'til next time, when I demonstrate that big, tan, boring cardigans continue to be big, tan, and boring.

Almost forgot!

I neglected to mention--I put up the pattern for this little scarf the other day. It can be found as a Ravelry download here. (Those without Ravelry accounts can email me if interested.)

The Endless Sweater, Part Two

I've been giving the sweater a lot of love lately. See? Here's the complete back--

And left front, minus neck and buttonband, of course. (I think maybe I'll attempt steam-blocking everything before I assemble it.)

The light in the backyard was awfully gray when I took these--the real color of the sweater is much more buttery, and it's more accurate in this picture of the skein.

Here's a close-up of the cable, which is a simple front/back cross.


I've made a few modifications to the pattern so far. First, I moved the cables a little closer together. In the pattern as written, they're placed closer to the armscye. Having consulted pictures on Rav, I decided I didn't like the look. (I also thought they would fall oddly across the bust if placed that way.) As it is, if I were to do it over I'd move them even farther toward the neck. Second, I omitted the pockets--I didn't like the look of those, either. I do have a plan for them, though, which I'll get to later.

I will note, though, that these modifications were made because I'm picky, not due to any fault of the patterns. As always, Swartz's instructions are excellent.

Now off to work on the other front . . .

Pi are not square

It embarrasses me to post these photos, it really does. Here's the original pi sock, as photographed last year.


And here it is with its mate, as finished earlier this week.


I have NO idea what happened. Same yarn, same needles, same knitter . . . and yet. One thing that did occur to me is that the yarn stretched when I left it wound in balls for a year. This is certainly possible, especially since I hand-wind my yarn, rather tightly. I'm not sure, though. You'd think I'd get to be a tighter knitter as I knit more and gain more experience, but apparently not.

What I'm going to try to take away from this is that it was an incredibly valuable lesson in a lot of ways. I knit a lot in college, but more or less stopped when I went to grad school. I only picked it up again spring of last year at the encouragement of my then-boyfriend. And then . . . then I was obsessed. All of a sudden I was knitting all the time, reading knit blogs, and getting more ambitious by the second. But I still had a long way to go, and these socks demonstrate that. When I first got the idea to knit pi socks, I wouldn't have dreamed of doing a little swatching and writing my own pattern from scratch. I adapted someone else's. It was awful--the pattern didn't suit the concept, the yarn, or the way I knit, and the results were disastrous. Now I would just make my own pattern. (Which I would then proceed not to follow, but that's neither here nor there.)

The other thing was the yarn. I just pulled what I had from the stash without really thinking through what the pattern demanded or the qualities of the yarn I had (in this case, a cotton blend). Nowadays, I'd try to marry the yarn to the pattern.

Finally, I knew when I finished the first sock that nothing worked. But, stubborn me, I didn't frog it and dispose of it then and there. The stubbornness remains a constant, but now I wouldn't have gotten past the cuff on that first sock. I'm much more flexible and imaginative now . . . I only hope I'll continue to grow as I keep on knitting.

And in the meantime, these socks are pretty comfy.

A plug

I realized the other day (when posting about the last pair of Mindless Socks, in fact) that my beloved Regia Silk had been *ominous music* discontinued. Now, aside from the loss of an excellent--if expensive--sock yarn, this left me with a poser.

You see, I have lots of leftover ends from previous sock projects, and I'd always intended to get some solid-color Regia so I could use up the ends as heels and toes. I am a thrifty knitter. But obviously the discontinuation of the yarn kind of put a wrench in that plan.

I took to the internet, determined to find whatever I could and buy it before it got away. That's how I stumbled across Carodan Farm. I'd never heard of them before, and my only interest in the site was their large supply of plain white Regia Silk. (Also, the price was good.) So I ordered a few skeins and sort of forgot about it for a few days.

But when it came--I was very impressed. The yarn is its nice self, of course. But as well, it shipped within just a few days of my ordering--definitely not always the case with smaller companies--and arrived the day after it was shipped. Also, it came with a prize! This darling little ruler, which is so wee and cute I can hardly stand it.


And the invoice had a hand-written note of thanks, signed by one of the owners. It's these little touches that take the dread out of online ordering--for me, anyway. I urge you to check out the Carodan website and support 'em if you're so inclined. They have a line of yarn spun from their own sheep, which is very reasonably priced (the worsted-weight is $6.95 USD/200 yds) and they're having a sale on sock yarn right now . . .

Maybe sparrow*

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark.


Final dimensions: about 68 x 36", severely blocked. I did 19 repeats of the budding lace (instead of the 14 called for in the pattern).


Yarn: Posh Yarn Miranda (alpaca/silk/cashmere 70/20/10), colorway Mimosa. Size 4/3.5mm needles.



The budding lace is (to borrow a phrase from Aspen) boring as tar to knit, but the pattern in general has plenty of interest. I would say it is fairly advanced--being able to "read" lace is a must, and the nupps are a bit tricky to execute. Clark (and the folks at Interweave) gets two thumbs up for formatting; her instructions and charts are crystal-clear. Any issues I had were of my own making.

*In my "everyday" blog, I always title posts with song lyrics. I don't try to do that here, but this popped into my head and seemed appropriate for a bird shawl. What can I say, I've been on a big Neko Case kick lately.

All you do is lie to me, 'cos you're a liar, liar, liar

Hey, remember how I wasn't going to start anything new until I finished the pi sock?


Don't judge me.

Lots going on in my head

I finished the Swallowtail, blocked it Saturday, and wore it to church yesterday. It's reblocking today, however, for a couple reasons.

As you can see from this first blocking photo, I seriously underestimated the wingspan of the shawl. (And check out the contrast between the checkered sheets and the shawl color--I thought I would go blind.) Anyway, I couldn't stretch it horizontally nearly as much as it wanted to be stretched. And after a day of wear, I felt that the points weren't as pointy as they should be.

So today I washed it, soaked it, and pinned it out the other way 'round on the bed. See? Much better. (Crappy photos though, sorry.)


Points are pointier, stretch has been achieved, and I think this blocking is a keeper. So I'll have pictures of the finished product at some point this week.

In other knitting, at the urging of a Ravelry group (the Mawelucky Love crowd, hooligans that they are), I resurrected the unfinished Pi Sock. It's about a third of the way done, and I've noticed some interesting things about it, having come back after a year of neglect. I'll talk about them later, maybe.

The idea is that I get rid of all my WIPs (or at least the older ones). When I couldn't bear any more sock, I switched to the Endless Sweater. As you can see, I've been trying to work on things in progress in lieu of casting on something more interesting. As it is, I was on the verge of starting something new yesterday, but I managed to stop myself after the yarn was wound. (Some of the Chinese yarn--the purple stuff. I'm thinking a hat/scarf combo; there's probably something like 400 yards of a worsted weight here.)

To be honest, about the only thing keeping me knitting on the pi sock is that I have so MUCH I want to work on. This list is mostly for my own reference, but it'll give you an idea of what's swirling around. I'd like to:

~Finish the Endless Sweater.

~Knit that hat and scarf with the yarn I wound the other day.

~Knit a Carumboa scarf from Knitting New Scarves to use up some stuff in the stash.

~Knit a sample Orenburg shawl a la Gossamer Webs in preparation for . . .

~Design and knit an Orenburg shawl of my own.

~Knit a full-sized version of the Papyrus shawl .

And that's just what I've PLANNED. Better go knit . . .

Mindless, mindless

More mindless socks, destined for my aunt Joanne. (I offered her the choice of my sock-yarn stash, but she wanted these . . . and since the first one was almost finished already, I didn't object.)


Pattern: Mindless Socks. One of the things I like about these socks is how they relax out so beautifully after a first wash. The picture above was taken before washing, the other two after.


Yarn: Regia Silk Color, 55/25/20 wool/polyamide/silk, colorway 0187 "Siena." Size 1/2.25mm needles--I used a set of lovely ebony Lantern Moon needles given to me by a friend, and I highly recommend them.


The next pair of mindless socks is already on the needles--now to finish my swallowtail.

Of ships and nupps and sealing wax

Much knitting has been accomplished of late, but unfortunately nothing photogenic.

Last week, I went to my first knit night at my new LYS. And it was awesome. Everyone there was super-friendly, and I got to hear all about the various projects and events they had going. They also admired the swallowtail-in-progress, even though it's still extremely blobby. The store owner told me on the way out that "your cobweb thing is beautiful!" I laughed, but that's just about right.

The swallowtail is coming along--I'm almost done with the first edge chart and hope to finish it this week. Here, have a blob picture:


Look, you can see the nupps!


I've never made anything with nupps before; they're pretty easy. (Of course, I'm a very loose knitter . . . they'd be fiendishly difficult for a tight knitter, I think.)

In other news, the pattern for the Papyrus shawl is (finally) in the hands of the test knitters. Are you happy now?!

Moving (and shawl) complete

And here I sit in my new house, enjoying the air-conditioning--it's muggy and overcast today.

Anyway, I finished the prototype for my lace shawl about a week ago and managed to block it before moving. I only got the chance to take pictures today, though . . . so here they are!

First, a few blocking shots. I underestimated the wingspan a little . . .



And the finished product. (It's a little rumpled from being packed away, still.)


Yarn: KP Shadow, colorway "Jazz," approximately 30g, size 3/3.25mm needles. Also featured is my new deck.


The shape of the finished shawl won't be quite like this. This is a scaled-down version of half the complete shawl; it'll be a traditional triangle shape with a center stitch.


Pattern is coming, eventually.