Off the Needles

I suppose it's a good problem when you have a list of finished projects to be blogged. Our perpetually grey skies have been not-so-good for the photo taking and oh-so-good for the sitting on the couch knitting.

At least the cold weather is giving me more opportunity to wear winter gear... like my new scarf.

Pattern: Midnight Purl's Diagonal Lace Scarf

Yarn: Ellen's 1/2 pint; silk/merino blend; 1 skein

Needles: 7 Addis - With this yarn, I'd suggest using a blunt needle to avoid snags on the silk.

Dates: March - April 2007

Notes: Yum... silk and merino in my favorite colors. Easy but interesting pattern that works well with the hand-painted yarn. Overall, a big woo-hoo for a quick one-skein project! Definitely a keeper if you're looking for a fast, pretty present idea (or a new scarf to make the never-ending winter a little brighter).

Pattern: Adapted from an Interweave Pattern from several years ago, taught at the Elmwood Yarn Shop

Yarn: Plymouth Galway, assorted colors

Needles: 10.5 circs

Dates: Fall 2005 - April 2007

Notes: This one sat for a long, long while as I procrastinated about lining it. I kept dreaming up "perfect" schemes for the handles, pockets, drawstring, etc. but finally just said to heck with it, put something in this bag and put it to use. Perfect? Far from it, but so far I've gotten compliments every time I've used it. There's a lesson in there that my perfectionistic/procrastinating self is avoiding. I'll think about that... later. Certainly after I've agonized over a few more unfinished projects!

This was my first fair isle so I'm a little proud of it. Felting helps the pride as it erases all the bumps and lumps in the washing machine. More pics here.

And of course with the finishing of projects comes the starting of projects...

1. The Spring Things Shawl - Definitely more on this when I actually start knitting the lace... but don't worry, I'll spare you all the bad words that will come along.

2. What can I say, I'm a joiner...

We Have Hat!

I’m going to say something completely out of character now. Mom, you better be sitting down for this one.

This finishing thing… it’s kinda fun.

I’ll give you a moment to recover.

I’ve got several more finished objects waiting in the wings but I had to bump this one to talk about today. I finally have a successful hat, just in time for our latest round of snow.

Pattern: Irish Hiking Hat (online pattern) modification of the Basic Cable from Stitch n’ Bitch Nation

Needles: Sz. 8 dpn

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease… I know, I know, I’m hip like that.

Dates: Gulp, years and years… My foggy old-lady memory recalls working on this set in my former apartment (doesn’t everyone mark time by which apartment they were calling home?) so it had to sit around for at least two years. I remember running out of yarn and wanting the needles for something else so I stuck the hat on stitch holders and tossed it aside. Bought the yarn, finished whatever I was using my sz. 8 double points on and totally forgot about the hat. The sad thing is that it took me one evening to actually finish it. I put it off for years and addressed it in one night. That’s something to add to that unfinished post about finishing issues…

Notes: Out of all my fancy pants knitting, guess what scarf gets the most play? And now that I’ve got a full set… I could be sporting the Wool-Ease on a daily basis. My inner snob is cringing at the thought, but you gotta love acrylic. I can wear it after the gym and toss it in the machine when it starts to stink. If it snags on something, which inevitably it will, eh, no biggee. I really have no idea how many skeins it took for the scarf, wrist warmers and hat, but at the most I imagine I’ve got around $10-$15 invested here. Well, hours and hours of my time, but who is counting that, right?

And just to justify my snob, the yarn doesn’t feel the greatest. It’s not extremely itchy or stiff, but it ain’t no Aurora 8 merino. Hmm… I do have a good stash of Aurora 8 though… repeat performance?

Big factor is warmth. This will be a fine hat for some days, but I’m going to need wool for those special Buffalo storms. I suppose the only thing the weather is good for is justifying more yarn purchases!

This is the boring stuff, but I wanted to record it for future hat designs. The quest for the perfect hat continues, after all. This may be the perfect hat for a spring day, but I will not rest until I’m ready for all the crap that the sky throws down on us here.

Unstretched, the hat measures 8” across, the ribbing is 3” deep, the first decrease is 5” from the top of the ribbing. There are approx. 13 rows after the first decrease, with decreasing on rows 1, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 13. Rows 1 and 8 have multiple decreases to really draw it in quickly.

Ribbing is 2x1 which makes for a nicer look when folded up. The wide brim also allows me to wear it fully folded up in the front but pulled down a bit in the back to cover my ears and part of my neck. (This may not be the best look, but I think I’d look even worse without ears after a severe case of frostbite.)

Hope everyone is in the midst of a wonderful weekend. I'm off to teach a friend to knit. When searching for something to do this afternoon, she politely asked if I would mind teaching her to knit, if it wasn't too much trouble. Little does she know that the cult loves to bring in new members. If only I could find a good yarn store open on Sundays...

As we all know too well, Etsy is open on Sundays and if you're in the market for sock yarn, check out the Lone Knitter's new line. Poetry and pretties, who could ask for anything more?

Why Yes, I Have Been Stockpiling Finished Objects

Actually, I've just been a cruddy blogger lately and have to finally show all the things I've finished since, oh, January.

That and this whole "no casting on until all UFOs are finished" rule may be working. I think I said I was going to do this for February and it's March and I kinda forgot to stop. We won't talk about all the UFOs which still remain. More on that later... you know, when I finish the post about finishing that I've started...and not finished.

I'm not sure what to say about this one. We've all seen it. Many of us have made it. We've probably all got yarn in the stash to make one ourselves.

The One and Only... Clapotis

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb, 3 skeins charcoal. (See notes.)*

Needles: Sz. 8 Addis (I'd definitely suggest something blunt for this kind of yarn, could get very splitty on something like the KnitPicks Options)

Time: early January - 1 Feb 2007; Introduced at the Jan. Buffalo Knitting Guild Meeting and shown off at the Feb. mtg.

Notes: My only mod was to purl the stitch that was going to be dropped, primarily so I could knit without markers (as suggested at the Guild meeting). I had to think every so often on the first and last stitches in some of the rows, but generally this was a low mental engagement project.

That's not to say that it was a low love project. This may be one of my favorite completed projects. It's decadent and practical all at the same time, perfect for my Victorian tastes and my Midwestern roots. I gave it a hard workout on our Windy City weekend, using it as a blanket, pillow, head cover and regular ol' scarf in atmospheres as varied as stuffy airplanes to freakin' cold ice and snow storms. I imagine it may be worn until it falls apart... which I hope is a very long time away.

When I started this project, I wrote about the yarn and the idea of luxury, confessing that this was probably my most expensive knitting object. (Thanks again for all your comments on that post. I've got another of those unfinished blog entries where I put together more thoughts about luxury and blogging, but alas, for another day, month, year...) Anyway, the price tag is absolutely worth it. The silk adds a drape that just couldn't be matched with wool alone and the depth of color in the yarn is deceptively amazing (which my photos don't show at all). In some lights, it really is black, as "charcoal" would suggest, but it also appears grey, blue or even purple at times. It knits up evenly and feels amazing as you're knitting. (Can you tell I want you all to go out and experience Lion and Lamb for yourselves?) It really took all my strength not to buy three more skeins in a variegated colorway for Clapotis 2!

The pattern originally only called for 3 skeins but has been upped to 4, which makes quite a bit of difference when you're talking $30+ skeins. I bought the yarn when the pattern was still in the 3 skein stage and was concerned about having to hunt down more. I took the trouble to weigh my increase section to be sure to save enough for the decrease section, cutting off a repeat or two if necessary, provided three skeins was going to give me enough to have a substantial shawl. I actually ended up with yarn left, probably not enough to do another whole repeat, but enough to save for some little accent on a future project. I'm thinking this has something to do with combination knitting, as I seem to always fall under the requirements. Hmm, perhaps a scientific investigation for Grumperina. Anyway, if you're going to give it a try in the Lion & Lamb, you may want to shop at a store that will take a return if you don't need the four skeins.

So, from having nothing to say to rambling on and on, I'm proud to show off Clapotis. It only took me over a year to pull the yarn from my stash and hop on the bandwagon. May you too be infected with the Clap, because oh yes, it really is that great of a pattern!

*Can you tell I've been writing on my diss all week... parenthetical references to other sections on my same darn blog post AND footnotes to boot. I've gotta get a life...

** Cristina, In case you stop by, I wanted to let you know that I've been reading but something's goofy with my MySpace login so I can't comment. I've also managed to lose your email. If you get a chance, could you say "hi" at ldgraff76 at hotmail dot com so I can get in touch?

"Olive" (I luv) Handknit Socks

And now, just in time for spring... may I present my SOCKTOBERFEST project!

Can I fool ya and claim that I finished these puppies just in time for St. Paddy's? (I really don't want to confess that I've had them done since January and only now went to JoAnn's to get the elastic thread needed to finish.)

Yarn: Sunshine Yarns, Black Olive Stripe, 1 skein, received from Kari in the Yarn Aboard exchange. (I saw that she just posted new yarn so if you're in the market, rush right over there.)

Pattern: Frankensocks using the Magic Cast-on for toe-up, short-row heels, improvised increases for those "shapely" calves, 2x2 ribbing at the top, all done two at a time on one long needle, a la Magic Loop.

Needles: Sz. 1 bamboo, one very long circular

Dates: Started in October of '06 and finally wearable in March of '07. Pathetic, I know.

Notes: I had a few goals for these socks and overall, I'm pleased with them. I wanted to use every yard of the yarn and see how high they'd go. They ended up hitting at a rather unflattering location, i.e. the widest part of my calf, so I don't see these being knee socks to show off with cute skirts or anything. (And can any grown-up really pull off that look? I suppose so, but I don't think this grown-up could pull it off. Calves are much too much shapely to go there.) I did hope they'd be tall enough to wear with my trusty winter boots but they missed by an inch or two. Didn't care enough at the end to add some solid yarn and make them higher. I like the fit with the increases, but these definitely needed the elastic thread and even then, I'm not sure they'd stay up if worn on an all-day walking adventure.

I'm not entirely sold on the process of doing two socks at a time using Magic Loop. Yes, it worked and was overall pretty easy, but I did have to stop and detangle every few rows. It did prevent SSS which might have made these an even longer UFO, but note to self, I think the next time I'll use my trusty drug dealer scale and divide the skein to do toe-ups. An additional note for all you OCDers out there, when you work from both the outside and inside of the skein, the striping sequence is different. I personally couldn't care less, but it's been fun noticing who was bothered by this as I was knitting. (Ash, I saw you twitching over Thanksgiving over the thought of mismatched socks.)

The yarn is superwash and it came with the warning to wash separately the first time, although there was no bleeding when I wet blocked them. They have a very slight halo from all the detangling and if you're super sensitive, they may be a touch too "wooly" for you. Think Trekking rather than Koigu. I think they're going to be nice, warm socks for these spring days when you never know what the sky's going to throw at you.

I may have missed wearing these socks on a Socktoberfest outing for wiener schnitzel and weis beer but I'll make up for it with corned beef and Guiness!

Lara

(Excuse the bad pics. It's dark and I'm tired and yeah, well, I'm no model...)

Tonight I had my second Knitter's Guild meeting and of course I had to face the "what to wear" dilemma. I mean, c'mon, a room full of knitters and you best be bustin' out the good stuff. I went for discreet and safe last time. No seams to inspect or stitches to analyze in a pair of handknit socks tucked safely away from discriminating eyes.


But now that I've officially been allowed to join, I figured it was high time to show these ladies (all 200 of 'em) just what level of mediocrity they're letting into the ranks. It's time to wear a handknit sweater in a room full of knitters. This could be bad, bad, bad...

Since it's now gotten rather chilly here, it's time for the wool sweaters. I actually finished this one this summer but I never blogged it because I just couldn't face putting on a wool/mohair blend concoction in the hot weather. Wimp, yes I am. For some reason I also thought I didn't like the fit but I don't think it's so bad as I imagined. In the book, you're supposed to wrap the two sides of the collar over each other, but I like it better loose, perhaps because I'm wearing a loose t-shirt under it today.

Pattern: Lara from the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk collection

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted

Needles: I think I used 8's, but I'm not entirely positive

Dates: February - August, 2006

Recipient: me, me, me

Notes: This is a great pattern and one that I will be making again. It curls a bit at the bottom so I'm considering going back and doing a crochet edge, but it doesn't bother me enough to not wear it as is. My side seams are also wonky where I cast on stitches, but I actually saw another woman wearing this sweater tonight at the meeting and she had the same issue with the side seams.

I really like the Lamb's Pride yarn but I think I'd make this in a different yarn the next time. The mohair content makes it just a little hairy and itchy for me. I tried this with a short sleeve t-shirt and there was no having that nonsense, even though I'm not particularly sensitive to wool.

So I guess I'm a real blogger now. I've made the Lara and done the Rachael pose. And I really be a real blogger soon since I think Clapotis is moving up in my knitting rotation.

Oh, and other big news, I'm going to get to update (or redo) the local Guild's website! I suppose it's a sign of true dorkiness that this makes me inordinately happy.

NaBloPoMo post #2

Mmm, Baby, Baby... Ba-Baby, Baby!

The babies have been appearing at a fast and furious rate around here. Possibly something to do with those cold winter months where future parents are stuck at home in the cold? Anyway, the knitting needles have been trying to keep up.

Baby Set 2.0

Pattern: Quickie Baby Sweater and Bonnet
Yarn: JoAnn's Bellezza Collection Dolcetto 1.5 skeins (wool/nylon/cotton blend) and a bit from a skein of pink & purple mystery yarn
Needles: 10.5 Addis, H crochet hook
Dates: October 2006
Recipient: Baby A in Kansas City
Notes: This pattern is a great little project for a baby set. It's fast, easy and you can easily get cute results, especially with the addition of cutesy little buttons and ribbon. I opted for the wee little twee buttons and shiny translucent ribbon to up the princess factor on the sweater. If you can't be twee when you're a month old, really, when can you get away with pink rose buttons?

This yarn is lighter than baby set 1.0 so the finished project is smaller, but I think/hope it will work for a newborn little princess. I completed the pattern as written for the version with buttons, only changing the ribbing on the sleeves to garter stitch as before. I only used the pink yarn on the garter stitch since color tips at the cuffs and bottom seem to be au courant and our little one must be in the latest trend.

Now to the yarn... This was a Black Friday purchase from last year, I believe, with nothing in mind for it besides curiosity. It's a bit like knitting with cotton candy, provided cotton candy wasn't sticky. It's very, very soft, single-ply, although plied might even be too strong to describe this stuff. It looks like you could just pull it apart and although that never happened, I don't think this is going to hold up for the long haul. It pills rather easily and I felt that the sweater looked "worn" before I even wrapped it up. I'm a bit concerned that even with careful handwashing, it's going to hit the water and come out looking like the matted, gross edges of the cotton candy swirl after everyone and their brother has come along begging for a mouthful of your confection.

It didn't knit up very evenly, which was fine for this project, but if you like the look of even, crisp stitches, avoid this stuff. (Might be interesting to see this on smaller needles too, as the large gauge possibly affected the less-than-stellar outcome.) Although it comes in baby colors, I think the hand-wash in cold factor should really be considered before this becomes anyone's standard baby sweater yarn. This is another case where the Big Box Store brand isn't a savings at all. I got it at serious discount in the pre-dawn hours of Black Friday shopping, but at $6 for 131 yards, it's not really a very good deal. All in all, I think the finished product was acceptable, and I'll probably even use the rest of my stash of this for something for the nephew arriving in Feb., but I wouldn't seek this yarn out for something in the future.

****

On a technical note, Blogger and I have not been playing nicely together this week. This post was eaten twice and I've lost countless comments on others' blogs. Grrr... So if you've commented and I've not replied, I'm not trying to be a terribly rude dolt. Seems that I've taken up a rather nasty habit of swearing like a pirate every time I see a blogger malfunction and somehow I don't feel it's appropriate to say "cute scarf, $%#^@^@ computers!" So rudeness prevails but hopefully not for long. I'm having visions of my grandmother pointing her crooked finger at me and informing me in no uncertain terms to get to commenting (with polite words).

Despite these little "issues," I think I may sign up for this, National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo). A post every day in November? Doubt I can post about knitting every day, but I've been wanting to post more frequently anyway. Hmm... anyone else game?

9 Months and You Popped out This?

Last fall I got one of my wild ideas to knit lace for my grandmother's birthday and my aunt's Christmas present. Got a little cocky after the scarf turned out successful and assumed the Christmas stole would as well. I think at one point I even gushed that I thought I might even finish the present on time.

Gush and ye shall be stricken down with the fuglies.

At least I got to play with my new blocking set...

The Christmas Stole

Pattern: Arrowhead Lace from a basic stitch dictionary, with 4 st. of garter edging

Yarn: Knitpicks Shimmer Morning Mist, 1 skein

Needles: Crystal Palace 6, bamboos... my new favorites in this size. One reason I kept starting and stopping this project is because I'd rip out the needles to do something else. I'd usually put the stole on a spare #6 from a set of dpns, but that one time in the Atlanta airport at about 1 a.m., the needle tried to make a run from this fugly thing (do you blame it?) and there was a bit of creative re-knitting to get it all going again.

Dates: Nov. 05 - Sept. 06

Notes: Ugh... I think this is the happiest I've been to do a final cast-off. So why do I dislike this so much? First, the yarn. In my mind, when I was making my plans, I was thinking subtle. There's nothing subtle here. I don't like the abrupt color changes and may overdye it when I visit home again. (I just put the thing in a box and mailed it off today because I didn't want to think about it any longer.) The other colorway that I used for my grandma's scarf is similarly abrupt in its color changes, but there was a certain shine to it after I blocked it. Here, nothing. It was reasonably easy to knit, but it just doesn't have any punch to it. I've got another skein of it too... joy.

Second, the pattern. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the pattern, but I didn't do a very good job executing it here. You really can't see the pattern at all, which I think is due to the size of needle I chose. I did a swatch and really liked it, but final outcome, not so much. I wanted fairly straight-forward lace and looking back, I think I should've stuck with feather and fan or maybe something like several repeats of the Branching Out pattern.

Third, the size. Geez, a stole is a big, honkin' thing. I think I really ended this one too quickly, but it was either bind off, block and mail, or throw the whole thing away and go to Target and buy a new toaster for the gift. I was thinking that it wouldn't be that much more than the scarf and since that went quickly, heck, no problem. Yeah, not so much.

Well, I suppose this was a live and learn kind of project. I enjoyed knitting Branching Out but my other lace endeavors have been a little on the questionable side. For anyone keeping track, I decided to put Sarcelle on hold. I did one repeat of the lace with the fancy butterfly thingys (they look like butterflies until you get them blocked out), and I nearly lost my mind trying to do some of those stitches. As Christina said with the yarn that I was planning to use, it's yarn to grow into. Maybe lace is something I still need to grow into.

Or maybe part of growing is choosing your project wisely. I keep coming back to look at Evelyn Clark's Flower Basket Shawl pattern that I bought. As any horsey person knows, you've got to get back on after you're thrown in the dirt. But this time, I'm using solid yarn in a heavier gauge with the needle size that someone else picked out!

I wanted to apologize for being a little bit grumpy in posts as of late. I've been in one of those fall cleaning modes where I'm trying to wrap up some unfinished objects (or rip them as I did to several blobs of fugly) and I'm discovering why these things languished. I think I may be on to happy knitting for a bit, or more ripping!

And to balance the pics of the fugly stole, here's a bit of Buffalo. Last Friday evening Rachel and I went on a little sailing expedition with the graduate student group on campus. Dorks on a Boat, it's going to be the next greatest hit.