What is it about sleeves? Why are they so boring, no matter what?
I'm right on schedule with my Spring Fling - I finished the back last Thursday, and bound off the second front last night. That gives me one week (or less, preferably) to finish the sleeves. I've cast them both on at once, one right after the other, as everything I've ever read has told me to do. It makes perfect sense - when you finish, you have both sleeves done! No Second Sleeve Syndrome! Huzzah! But. I think of sleeves as being relatively small objects. I mean, like, my arm is much smaller than my torso, so no problem, right? Ahem. Sleeves are really wide. I guess I never really thought about how GIANT the circumference to my arm is. Two sleeves does not seem like a difficult thing. 148 stitches, however, seems like the biggest number of stitches in the whole world and I will never finish. Row after row of 2x2 ribbing. And as if it weren't bad enough, you finish a row and then you have to do the exact same row all over again!
On the other hand, I am working Thermal's sleeves one at a time. Remember how cocky I was after I finished that first sleeve? Oh, it went so fast and the pattern was so interesting and it was all so much fun... Right. I have, hmmm, about six rounds of the second sleeve done. Six. And it's taken me days. (Apparently I'm really into italics today...)
Also a major problem: I went to the library. And they had a book there. (I mean, they had lots of books there, but one in particular). It was Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Oh my. As if I weren't distracted enough.
More about that later. Now, dinner. Followed by more sleeves. Hoo Boy.
25 May 2007
23 May 2007
Non-Knitting Related
So I got almost zero knitting done today. I did, however, cross-stitch my little heart out. Regardez!
It's rather small, only 6.5 by 5.5 inches, and the colors in the photo are only as accurate as I could get them, which is to say not particularly. The pattern is a melding of several things, including a border I found on a sampler online, the heart motif is from "Charted Monograms for Cross Stitch and Needlepoint", a booklet printed in 1981; and the letters are a combination of the alphabets found in "Charted Classic Samplers, leaflet 161" from 1979 and "Welcome Dear Baby, by Cherly Hall" also from 1981. All three booklets were my mother's and contain some pretty useful things, so long as the colors are updated from their late-'70s, early-'80s vibe.
I used leftovers for all of it. The lavender is DMC color 316, the pink is 224, and the green will be doomed to remain nameless forever, as I have lost the tag, and there are about 800 different green embroidery floss colors in my Floss Tin.
It's rather small, only 6.5 by 5.5 inches, and the colors in the photo are only as accurate as I could get them, which is to say not particularly. The pattern is a melding of several things, including a border I found on a sampler online, the heart motif is from "Charted Monograms for Cross Stitch and Needlepoint", a booklet printed in 1981; and the letters are a combination of the alphabets found in "Charted Classic Samplers, leaflet 161" from 1979 and "Welcome Dear Baby, by Cherly Hall" also from 1981. All three booklets were my mother's and contain some pretty useful things, so long as the colors are updated from their late-'70s, early-'80s vibe.
I used leftovers for all of it. The lavender is DMC color 316, the pink is 224, and the green will be doomed to remain nameless forever, as I have lost the tag, and there are about 800 different green embroidery floss colors in my Floss Tin.
22 May 2007
Progress
As you can see with my last post, I'm going to try to update all of my finished objects from 2007 so they can be linked in a sidebar. Those updates will probably be pretty sporadic (as though all my posts aren't...)
Today I want to give updates on just about everything. I've been knitting a lot this past week, since I got out of school before all of my friends from home, so no one's been around to distract me from all that yarn yarn yarn. I should get a neon flashing light that says Yarn! Yarn! Yarn! You know, insead of Girls! Girls! Girls! ...Sometimes I'm too weird for my own good...
Anyhow, updates:
Thermal
I have finished the first sleeve!! Pretty exciting, n'est pas? Here, proof that I'm not lying like a pig in mud:
A close-up of the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful waffle stitch:
I am having so much fun working on this project. The stitch pattern is interesting and the fabric it creates is squishy and fun and wonderful. I have cast on for the second sleeve (against every tendency in my body which would compel me to work the body first, I have decided to start with the sleeves) and I have a few rounds of the twisted rib finished. I knit the majority of the first sleeve on US 3 dpns but my new Knitpicks circular was calling out to me so I decided to use the sleeve as an exercise in learning Magic Loop. I worked the first sleeve Magic Loop starting after the increases were complete. I'm going to use Magic Loop to work the second sleeve, I think. That's how I've cast it on, but I (still) am not entirely sure how I feel about the technique. I dislike working ribbing on dpns, so I think this is good for now, but I tend to find a cable flopping around to be just as finicky as dealing with double points. So I'm still up in the air about it.
Spring Fling
After casting on May 11, I have, in the past 10 days, completed the back, the left front, and the ribbing of the right front.
As I think I've mentioned before, the yarn is ridiculously soft. It's quite a bit pinker than I thought it would be, but I'm going to consider that a "happy accident." I generally don't wear pink, especially this shade of it, and since I really like the color, I think this will be a good chance for me to branch out. And if I end up hating it/looking jaundiced in it, a good friend of mine looks excellent in pink. Also, it's only a summer cardigan, so I can probably bear to wear it occasionally for the three months of the year it would be useful.
This is my first project with YOs. I tried making the legwarmers from One Skein which have a lace pattern at the tops, but the lace looked like I took my knitting to the garbage disposal, and I decided to frog. The lace pattern on this sweater is very simple, but still interesting enough to keep my from falling asleep.
I'm also altering this pattern to include buttons. I'll be placing three half-inch buttons along the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater. I think it will be a nice touch.
Raglan Sweater
Finally, I talk about the dang raglan that's been sitting over in the sidebar forever. It has, alas, also been sitting over in my knitting bag forever. I picked it up the other night while watching An Inconvienent Truth (excellent film, by the way). The Raglan makes for really excellent movie or tv knitting since it's just stockinette in the round with no shaping at this point, so I can just knitknitknitknitknit without having to look and check my stitches or pattern (ha!). I'm still not through with the body, but it's getting there. Slowly. And then I have the sleeves. Oh god, I may never finish....
(Please excuse the Peter Pan pose, here. I don't know what got into me...)
Okay, well, since this has been the longest post known to mankind, I think I'm finished, now.
I have, as you can see, lots and lots of work left to do. A friend just had a baby last week, so I have a cross-stitch birth sampler to work on as well.
Speaking of babies, congrats to Franklin and especially to his sister, Susan on the birth of Abigail Ann this morning. The 21st of May was my mother's birthday and she was a remarkable woman, so I'm sure that sends miles of good luck vibes to the new baby.
Huzzah!
Today I want to give updates on just about everything. I've been knitting a lot this past week, since I got out of school before all of my friends from home, so no one's been around to distract me from all that yarn yarn yarn. I should get a neon flashing light that says Yarn! Yarn! Yarn! You know, insead of Girls! Girls! Girls! ...Sometimes I'm too weird for my own good...
Anyhow, updates:
Thermal
I have finished the first sleeve!! Pretty exciting, n'est pas? Here, proof that I'm not lying like a pig in mud:
A close-up of the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful waffle stitch:
I am having so much fun working on this project. The stitch pattern is interesting and the fabric it creates is squishy and fun and wonderful. I have cast on for the second sleeve (against every tendency in my body which would compel me to work the body first, I have decided to start with the sleeves) and I have a few rounds of the twisted rib finished. I knit the majority of the first sleeve on US 3 dpns but my new Knitpicks circular was calling out to me so I decided to use the sleeve as an exercise in learning Magic Loop. I worked the first sleeve Magic Loop starting after the increases were complete. I'm going to use Magic Loop to work the second sleeve, I think. That's how I've cast it on, but I (still) am not entirely sure how I feel about the technique. I dislike working ribbing on dpns, so I think this is good for now, but I tend to find a cable flopping around to be just as finicky as dealing with double points. So I'm still up in the air about it.
Spring Fling
After casting on May 11, I have, in the past 10 days, completed the back, the left front, and the ribbing of the right front.
As I think I've mentioned before, the yarn is ridiculously soft. It's quite a bit pinker than I thought it would be, but I'm going to consider that a "happy accident." I generally don't wear pink, especially this shade of it, and since I really like the color, I think this will be a good chance for me to branch out. And if I end up hating it/looking jaundiced in it, a good friend of mine looks excellent in pink. Also, it's only a summer cardigan, so I can probably bear to wear it occasionally for the three months of the year it would be useful.
This is my first project with YOs. I tried making the legwarmers from One Skein which have a lace pattern at the tops, but the lace looked like I took my knitting to the garbage disposal, and I decided to frog. The lace pattern on this sweater is very simple, but still interesting enough to keep my from falling asleep.
I'm also altering this pattern to include buttons. I'll be placing three half-inch buttons along the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater. I think it will be a nice touch.
Raglan Sweater
Finally, I talk about the dang raglan that's been sitting over in the sidebar forever. It has, alas, also been sitting over in my knitting bag forever. I picked it up the other night while watching An Inconvienent Truth (excellent film, by the way). The Raglan makes for really excellent movie or tv knitting since it's just stockinette in the round with no shaping at this point, so I can just knitknitknitknitknit without having to look and check my stitches or pattern (ha!). I'm still not through with the body, but it's getting there. Slowly. And then I have the sleeves. Oh god, I may never finish....
(Please excuse the Peter Pan pose, here. I don't know what got into me...)
Okay, well, since this has been the longest post known to mankind, I think I'm finished, now.
I have, as you can see, lots and lots of work left to do. A friend just had a baby last week, so I have a cross-stitch birth sampler to work on as well.
Speaking of babies, congrats to Franklin and especially to his sister, Susan on the birth of Abigail Ann this morning. The 21st of May was my mother's birthday and she was a remarkable woman, so I'm sure that sends miles of good luck vibes to the new baby.
Huzzah!
16 May 2007
FO: Starsky Cardigan
Pattern: Starsky from Knitty Winter '05
Yarn: Knitpicks Sierra in Leaf
Needles: US 10.5 circular
Started: 24 February 2007
Finished: 16 March 2007
Modifications: Narrower front bands, added buttons/buttonholes, no belt
Notes: This was my first sweater and I had a blast making it. I'm not sure why it got the "extra-spicy" rating at Knitty - once you get used to the cable pattern it was really pretty straight-forward. I learned how to do short-row shaping for the collar, which is cool. I made the sweater in size Medium, which has a chest measurement of 44.5 inches. This gave me the recommended 8 inches of ease, but it was way too big. I looked like Saggy, the Baggy Green Elephant. If you're wondering why it doesn't look like I'm swimming in it, it's because I tried to fix it in the seaming. There are about 2 inches of fabric inside each of the seams, which makes it a tad bulky in the underarms, but it's still baggy enough to not really be bothersome. I'm not sure why it was so big - my gauge was spot-on and I blocked it to the measurements, I think that maybe 8 inches is just plain too much ease for my taste. All in all, a great sweater that I'm pretty proud of.
12 May 2007
Spring Fling
Today has been a lovely, lovely day. I am officially done with my Sophomore year, and am back home (sort of). As I think I mentioned, my dad is getting married soon (three weeks), and so we just moved into his fiancée's house, not far from the house where I grew up. And so I am in a new house, with a new room, and new animals (she has two cats).
To make the transition easier on myself, I bought yarn. And in the past two days, I have gone from this:
to this:
I'm really trying to be good about making swatches, I swear. I usually make about half a swatch, but I almost never save them because I'm convinced that I'll run out of yarn. Always. No matter how much I bought.
to this:
and a close-up of the lace pattern:
It's going along swimingly. I'm really enjoying working with the Knitpicks Shine Sport. It's my first time working with cotton, and I'm finding this yarn to be very soft and nearly as stretchy as wool, thanks to the 40% Model. It sheds a little bit, but only while I'm working - the actual fabric does not seem to be shedding, which is good.
Also ridiculously fabulous - a new episode of Cast On today, and Brenda Dayne mentioned my name!! (hint: my name is not really Amelia) What an exciting day.
Coming soon: Thermal. I joined the KAL today, so I better get started.
To make the transition easier on myself, I bought yarn. And in the past two days, I have gone from this:
to this:
I'm really trying to be good about making swatches, I swear. I usually make about half a swatch, but I almost never save them because I'm convinced that I'll run out of yarn. Always. No matter how much I bought.
to this:
and a close-up of the lace pattern:
It's going along swimingly. I'm really enjoying working with the Knitpicks Shine Sport. It's my first time working with cotton, and I'm finding this yarn to be very soft and nearly as stretchy as wool, thanks to the 40% Model. It sheds a little bit, but only while I'm working - the actual fabric does not seem to be shedding, which is good.
Also ridiculously fabulous - a new episode of Cast On today, and Brenda Dayne mentioned my name!! (hint: my name is not really Amelia) What an exciting day.
Coming soon: Thermal. I joined the KAL today, so I better get started.
08 May 2007
I have the best roommate ever. No lie.
Look! My roommate loves me!
And again!
Eight, count them, eight beautiful skeins of Knitpicks Gloss in the Pumpkin colorway with which to make my very own Thermal! WOOOOOO!
I'm considering this to be a reward for my two finals today (and ignoring the fact that it is a definite temptation from the two finals yet to come...)
Yarn really does make the best present ever.
And again!
Eight, count them, eight beautiful skeins of Knitpicks Gloss in the Pumpkin colorway with which to make my very own Thermal! WOOOOOO!
I'm considering this to be a reward for my two finals today (and ignoring the fact that it is a definite temptation from the two finals yet to come...)
Yarn really does make the best present ever.
07 May 2007
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