Merry (belated) Christmas

I have finally finished the Christmas knitting, as well as a few other things. And I've started working on a new sweater for me--Ramona from Sensual Knits--which I'm very excited about and deserves its own post. It's been on hold for a couple of days; I've been using it as a carrot to finish up my brother's sweater. Now that I'm done with that, though, Ramona it is!

I've also started a new pair of nephew socks. After the success of the red-socks-that-come-up-to-his knees (one of the bind-offs is a little tight, but he won't let them out of his sight long enough to mail them to me so I can fix it--how cute is that?) The nephew has requested orange socks next. Orange is a surprisingly hard color to find--maybe it would be easier in October? Or in a city where team colors include orange, maybe. But I found some funky Regia silk yarn at Webs, and have made it down to the start of the foot on the first sock. I've knit in some scrap yarn to mark an afterthought heel, which will both keep the funky striping going nicely as well as make sure that the socks are as long as possible. I can always make the heels and toes a different color if I need to. Next time I'm going to try toe-up socks with an afterthought heel--the toe-up heel is what's really been giving me pause.

I knit about 2 inches of the ribbing during my first day of classes yesterday--I needed writing samples from everyone, making a portable project important.

Also done recently: basic socks in Claudia Handpainted, blue terra cotta color:

I was a little "meh" about this pair; the yarn is fine (although weirdly thick-and-thin in a few places, as if it weren't spun/plied/twisted tightly enough), but a little splitty and I had some trouble with dropped stitches. I think that I'm going to send them to my bff, who likes hand knit socks almost as much as the nephew. (I've also got some peppermint marshmallows for her--we've been big hot chocolate buddies since college--yum!)

And, most importantly, I've finished my not-so-little-brother's (who shall be, from now on, the NSLB) Christmas present:


It was too big to get the whole thing in. The details: a seamless hybrid sweater, based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's percentages formula, using Plymouth Encore in a heathery green with contrasting tan hems, knit on KnitPicks Harmony interchangables size 6. I bought what I thought was an extra skein of yarn but wound up unpicking my gage swatch so I could sew down the collar hem. 47" chest. Lessons learned: 1) NSLB sweaters take a lot more yarn than I would imagine, and 2) NSLB sweaters need to be started at least two months before they're due to be gifted. Also, count everything. Frequently. And then have someone else count for you, just to be sure.

I started using a Russian join on this one--the yarn is superwash, and has some acrylic in it, so spit-splicing didn't seem like a good option. I really liked doing this--way fewer ends to weave in at the end, which made finishing pretty easy. And I like this sweater recipe a lot--I don't think this will be the last one I make. I'll have to wait for a report on how it fits, though, for a final decision.

In which the knitting gods kick my ass

Only a few days ago, I was feeling quite optimistic about the state of my Christmas knitting.

The SIL shawl was done, the ends were woven in, and--with amazing ease, courtesy of my new blocking wires--it was pinned out to dry:

One major present: done and checked off the list. The only thing left was the wrapping.

The socks-that-come-up-to-his-knees socks for the nephew were well underway; the first one is completely done and clocks in at 9.25 inches, total. And we've got a car ride to NJ--a good four hours of knitting time--for finishing. His knees are about 10" about the ground, so they should be plenty long. I'm making the toes blue (he picked the yarn) so that when his feet grow, which they inevitably will, I can cut them out and make the feet a little longer without any hassle.

Second Christmas knitting project: well underway.


The green blob that was to be the Brother sweater was actually starting to look like a sweater. Both sleeves were attached, and I had knit about 5 inches of the decreases along the shoulders when I realized

(cue scary Jaws music indicating that makes you want to yell: don't go in the water!)

Something was wrong.

(music swells ominously)

I recounted the number of stitches on each sleeve. An EPS sweater is decreased 8 stitches every third round--two on each sleeve, and four on the body. I'd be blithely knitting along, counting the stitches on one of the sleeves, to make sure I was staying on track, but never bothering to check the other sleeve.

(music tempo increases)

I had 54 on one side.

And 64 on the other.

A two-inch difference.

(music stops, screaming begins)

I cannot, it seems, count to 82 with any reliability, even though I checked my counts on both sleeves repeatedly.

Christmas knitting project the third, and my brother's major present: disaster. There's no possible way I can rip back the five inches of the chest, remove the problem sleeve, rip it back six inches, finish the increases, reattach it, redo the chest decreases, finish the chest decreases, and knit the shoulder saddles in the 46 or so hours left until my brother opens his present.

Which, at this point, will be an empty box with a funny note in it. And a story that he'll be able to hold over my head for years to come, which may be more precious than a hand-knit sweater.

The knitting gods are definitely kicking my ass this year.

Finished!

A few details:The collar, because I spent much time looking for and at collar close-ups before knitting this one three times:

And the whole shebang:

Once we're out of the 90 degree forecast, I'll try and take some action shots, if I can get the DH to stand still for long enough.

I spent the weekend in NJ at my parent's house--I went down solo, as DH had too much to do. And besides, that way I could laze around and not feel guilty. :) My aunt's in the hospital, so the main purpose was to go down and visit her. I also got to go to Champions of the Grill at the Sussex County Fair Grounds, right down the street from my folks, and a pig roast. Other weekend highlights included a flea market, where my dad scored 2400 baseball cards for $3--I have fond memories of opening and organizing baseball cards with my dad. It's even more fun with a vodka tonic in hand! I also got to play with the nephew, who was (as always) a charmer, and to hang out with my brother and SIL for a bit.

I got some knitting done, too--a small hat (unphotographed) for a woman my mom knows--done in less than 3 hours--and I've turned the heel and finished the gussets on the SIP (sock-in-progress). No photos of that, either, but since that's still in my possession, there will be some eventually. ETA: The hat was for a baby--a week old--which is why the hat was small. I made an umbilical cord hat from the first Stitch 'n Bitch book.) And knittable in less than 3 hours. (I just re-read this through bloglines and realized that "a small hat" was fairly unclear and lacking in detail.)

All-in-all, a pretty good weekend. I could have done without the 5-hours-each-way drive, though!

Almost There! (Stay on Target!)

The husband sweater has been reknit from the first saddle, the back has been grafted, and all that's left is picking up the stitches on the back and knitting the collar! I'm thrilled with the way it's turning out--and, evidently, so the husband, who looked at it this morning and asked if he could wear it today. Given the pointy ends sticking out, I thought it was better he didn't, but I think it bodes well for the future use this sweater will get.

Elizabeth Zimmerman is a genius--this pattern is fantastic. I can't wait to finish the collar and see what it looks like on--I should be done just in time for the 80 degree weather we're expecting this weekend. Perfect wool-sweater weather, naturally.

The Snicket socks are in a time-out; I knit the cuff of the second sock and then realized that the pattern is purl 2, knit one through back leg and not purl 1, knit two through the back legs. So I frogged them completely and cast on for a new sock. Using new yarn.



I'm using the Harlot's basic sock recipe, from Knitting Rules!, in Socks that Rock lightweight (color: Nodding Violet). I cast on 64 stitches on size 1 needles--so far so good! The yarn is nice and squishy--this is my first time using STR, and I'm starting to see what all the fuss is about.

I'm not terribly fond of DPNs, although I am fond of handknit socks. So I've decided that if I'm going to all the trouble of knitting on the, I should only use great yarn (or a great pattern). STR definitely qualifies. Also--their color names? Awesome.

How I learned to stop worrying and love the spit splice

I finished the husband sweater last night. Well, all except for sewing the collar hem down, and weaving in a few ends.

And then I made him try it on.

And then I realized it was a boatneck sweater. Good for the French Navy, perhaps, but not really the most flattering look with saddle shoulders.

So I ripped it back to the first saddle, and am now adding more rows to that.

That's the bad news.

The good news:

I'm reknitting using these.

The new Knitpicks Harmony Options set. Yum! They arrived yesterday morning, and I immediately started playing. The colors are beautiful--more subdued than they look on the Knitpicks site--and the joins are smooth. The needles are, too--a little bit of grab, which will be nice for lace, but no problems at all with the joins. This is my first set of interchangeable needles--the first set that I thought had everything I wanted in an interchangeable needle. I mainly knit flat, but I'm slowly starting to see the light on knitting in the round. (I'm a bit late to this party, I know!)

So I'm joining the growing chorus of thumbs up for the Harmony Options. My only complaints (and they're very small) echo the ones that Amy Singer mentioned in her review on Knitty (scroll down about a third of the way for the review): the sizes aren't on the tips, so I'll probably get another needle-sizer to keep in the Options bag. The sizes aren't on the bag, either, so I may keep them on the card until I figure out a way to put the sizes on the bag.

I would have also liked it if the length was on the cards that came in the bags with the cables--I know I'll wind up taking them all out, but it would be nice if initially I could have seen that I had all the sizes I'd ordered. (I order the 40", 47", and 60" cables to go with the ones included in the set.)

One thing that I particularly loved: When I ripped the sweater back, I picked up the stitches using a size 4 tip, to make it easier to grab the live stitches. Once they were on the cable, I switched back to the size (7) I'm using for the sweater, and voila! I was good to go.

I know this last is a feature of all interchangeable needles, and not specific to the Harmony Options, but it's a new one for me, and I really really like it.

I think that--now that I'm properly outfitted!--there will be at least one more seamless hybrid on the needles soon; maybe a Christmas sweater for my brother. And I've got the Tangled Yoke sweater from the Fall 07 IK in my queue, and the yarn I need for it in the stash. I've even got some great buttons for it!

A few balls of Knit Picks Shine also came home with me, but I haven't taken a picture yet. Apple Green, and destined to be a baby sweater.

WIP Wednesday

First WIP: the husband sweater. We're coming up on our 8th anniversary in November, so I figure I'm safe from the sweater curse. :) He just tried it on and the fit is fine. Aside from the fact that the underarms and saddle need to be grafted, and it needs a collar, it's a sweater!

This was my first EZ pattern (and my first man sweater), a seamless hybrid inspired by the wonderfulness that is BrooklynTweed. Some time ago, he knit a seamless hybrid, and I've been drooling over it ever since.

The construction is amazing--I had a lot of trouble visualizing it (but got excellent advice and encouragement from some Ravelers--thanks!) until I actually started, when it made so much sense I couldn't believe I didn't understand it earlier. This will not be my last EZ pattern--or my last seamless hybrid!

I'm also making progress on my melon scarf--I finally started the border. I didn't have enough yarn for the border the pattern calls for, so I've substituted the narrow point border on p. 183 (a la Grumperina)
A close-up:
I really like this yarn--Valley Yarns Alpaca/Silk hand-dyed in Camilla. (I prefer to think of it as Watermelon, however, as this is a melon scarf.) The color repeats are short, so I haven't had any pooling at all--just wonderful color mixes. And the yarn feels lovely--soft, but strong enough to handle sharp tips and manipulations.

The narrow point border is moving along pretty quickly--I've rounded two corners and am about a quarter of the way down the second long side. A few more nights of knitting and it should be done.

I've also finished the test knit I was doing for Mama Llama, and mailed it off.

I haven't made any more progress on my Stripes and Torchon lace scarf, though--it's having a time out. The border is fairly complicated, and lately I've wanted knitting that didn't make me think quite so hard. Stockinette and lace with 8-row repeats is more my speed, lately.

And soon--hopefully!--I'll have another couple of checks in the FO column, so I can cast on for something new! I'm thinking about Madli's Shawl (this is a Ravelry link), from IK--I've liked the pattern for a while, but haven't been able to find a copy of it. But I purchased the issue from someone on Ravelry who was destashing, so now it's mine, all mine! I've also purchased Anne Hanson's Honeybee stole pattern, so that's high on the list of possibilities. Or maybe another seamless hybrid. Or a pair of Fetching mitts. Or . . .

I have too many things I want to cast on for now. And lessons to prep for my class, alas, that will put them on hold for at least a little while.

In my fit of "I must have it now," I also caved to the pretty colors of the new Knitpicks Harmony Options set. I'm stalking my account to see when they ship--I don't have any interchangable needles, so really, I needed them. At least, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. :)