Comfort food

I swore I wasn't going to sit on the couch and watch election results as they came in.

I certainly wasn't going to do more than a quick check.

Really.

But then I turned on the t.v. and got hooked. (Although I'm still a little unclear on how the networks can predict a state based on, oh, three percent of districts reporting. Shouldn't they wait until at least half the votes have been counted?)

The anticipation was too much, so I (re) cast on for a cowl with the glamour bunny yarn I bought at Rhinebeck:

Comfort food.

(The details: July is for Quinn pattern, size 7 needles. I've already knit this once (I even wove the ends in), wore it for a little bit, and decided it was too big. The pattern is very clear on the size, but as I've never knit a cowl before, I wasn't entirely clear on what the numbers meant. So I frogged it and cast on again, starting with 90 stitches instead of 111. I've taken out the extra stitch that falls in place of the seam. I've also started the second patterned row two stitches early--the second pattern round straddles the first stitch. Since it's knit in the round, the jog was making the two YOs look uneven, and it was bugging me. Not enough to change it the first time through, but since I was starting over again anyway . . . .)

WIP Wednesday

WIP #1:

Lacy Ribbon Scarf from the Spring 2008 Knitty, in Green Mt. Spinnery Sock-Art Forest yarn. It's a sort of raspberry color--I think this will make a great fall scarf. The yarn is a little stiff, but I think once it's blocked it will loosen up and drape really nicely. The yarn has some tencel in it (the "forest" part) which makes it sort of silky and shiny.


I'm about 2/3 of the way done--this is a good travel project, but I've been home a lot lately, and working on . . .

WIP #2

The ubiquitous Hemlock Ring Blanket, in the equally ubiquitous Cascade Eco-Wool. I love, love, love this project--I started it on Monday, and I'm already 2 repeats into the feather-and-fan section. (And now, for the ubiquitous comment, I will say that BrooklynTweed is a frickin' GENIUS. Love, love, love him, too.)


I'm thinking of making several of these, and giving them for Christmas presents. 'Cause I'm not sure I can stop with just one!

I is for . . .

Ivory silk.
Because H is for Habu--I was in NYC for a conference this past weekend, and managed to get to Habu for a few minutes. (The elevator was out, so I had to walk up the 8 floors. But it was well worth it!) The ivory-colored silk is A-39, which they list as a fingering weight, although I'd call it a very very light fingering, or a very heavy lace. I have almost 1200 yards of it; I think it's destined to become a lace stole for a friend's daughter's wedding. The wedding is over a year off, though, so it's got some time to marinate.


I also bought 2 ounces of A-1, in color 38, which is a lovely tweedy raspberry color. It's a lace-weight, about 530 yards. Nothing planned, but I couldn't resist the color.

The trip down and back offered plenty of knitting time, and I worked on a Flutter Scarf. (I took a Bolt Bus, which is a fairly new service between Boston and NYC. The trip down was great, the one back was okay. But I emailed them with a "here's why I'm not thrilled with the trip back" report, and they were very prompt about getting back to me. So I'd give them another shot.)

I'm using a skein of MamaLlama silken cashmere, in Bella, which is delicious. I got the skein as payment for knitting up a sample scarf for MamaLlama, and I've been waiting to find a good pattern for it.

Flutter is a very easy pattern to memorize (and Miriam was wonderful about helping me decide if the pattern would be suitable. and then with walking me through some technical problems in actually getting the payment to go through!). Rather than knit it as written, which is in two halves, I knit a couple of repeats, then the flutter, and am knitting down from there, with the join at one side rather than in the middle. I weighed the amount of yarn that the first end took, and am now getting close to that point on the other side. The skein I'm using is a little shorter than the skein the pattern calls for, so I'm trying to make the center part as long as possible without worrying about running out of yarn for the second flutter. Right now the scarf is about 45" long, and I'll probably get another 3 or 4 center repeats in before I start the second flutter end.

The scarf is going to be a present for my best friend's mom, who's a darling and going through a rough time right now. She's always been wonderful to me (and lately has taken to sending me knitting-related things, like pattern books and magazines and skeins of sock yarn that she's found when cleaning out a closet!), and I wanted to send her something lush and pretty.

I is also for Irony--yesterday, G and I went to the police station to have elimination prints taken. While we were there, the detective in charge of the case said they had a suspect in custody, although no hard evidence linking him to our break-in, and no real hope of recovering any of the items. When we got home, we found an automated message from the town on our machine, saying that there had been a series of break-ins, lately, both home and auto, and everyone should be very careful. A little late for that, but--nicely ironic, none the less!

Startitus

Ramona: Re-started to fix the scallopping at the bottom of the center seam. Since I managed to snip the wrong thread, I ripped back a few rows and added another inch to the length. The knitting's been done for at least a week, but I can't seem to manage to sew the hem down and reseam. Which is too bad, since I'd really like to wear it again before the weather's too warm for angora. Blue socks-that-come-up-to-his-knees for T. One is almost done, and I've cast on for the second, but I haven't had a lot of car knitting time lately.

Cabled baby blanket for the new, not-quite-here-yet nephew. The only problem is I'm not in a cabling kind of mood. But SIL really wanted a cabled blanket, so I'm pushing through a couple of rows a day.

And once I manage that, I turn to my new love:

Swallowtail Shawl, from Interweave Knits Fall 2006 by the oh-so-amazing Evelyn Clark. The yarn is Fearless Fibers superwash sock merino, in Brick House, and the colors are wonderful. Very subtle and interesting. I think it will look wonderful when it's blocked. The yarn was a gift from my sock pal, and I've been saving it to find something that would show off the colors.

I started it on Tuesday, 2/5; I'm done with the first border chart already. So another three days or so and I should be ready to block it. The nupps aren't too bad; I'm using size 6 KnitPicks Harmony needles, and I've been nupp-ing loosely, so the p5tog are going relatively well. (What does "nupp" stand for, anyway? Why nupp? Why not nipp? or nup?)

I started it in part because, having just mailed off my dissertation in its penultimate form, I needed something a little complicated to distract me. I'm thinking about giving it to my (female) head advisor after my defense; I'm not sure if that means I need to knit something for each of my committee members, though. I've got another skein of Fearless Fibers sock yarn, although it's not the superwash version, so the skein has less yardage. Maybe another Swallowtail? Or something slightly less complicated (or at least, less-complicated looking) for my third reader (also female), and a scarf for my second reader (male)?

I'm hoping to schedule the defense for my spring break, which is the first week in March; it would be easier to go down if I don't have to juggle classes at the same time. We'll see what the committee says, though. But at the rate this shawl is moving, I should be able to finish another couple of gifts before then.

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.

Christmas Knitting Countdown

The SIL shawl: Almost done. 95% done. Less than half a border repeat left. So why is it languishing in the basket?

The nephew socks: Not even started. These weren't really planned as Christmas knitting, but it looks like it will be Christmas before he gets them. The yarn is darker red than the photo suggests.
I need to learn how to knit socks toe-up so I can make them as long as possible, which is why they're not started yet.

The Brother Sweater: the body (all 238 stitches of it) is up to the underarms--18 inches. He's tall, and G tells me the husband sweater would be even better with a couple of extra inches of length. I started the hem of the first sleeve last night.
Right now it looks like a big green blob.

The kicker? As I was taking the points off, and putting the end caps on, I pulled one of my size 6 tips out of the collar. Knitpicks is sending me a new set--they do have excellent customer service--but in the meantime? I'm going to try some fishing glue, and see if I can manage to keep going.

There's nothing like a little pressure to make the Christmas Knitting more enjoyable!

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. :)

WIP-ing along

Test knitting, turning this:Mama Llama silk/cashmere laceweight

Into this:
The pattern is fairly simple, but does a nice job of showing off the colors and the yarn, which has a lover-ly drape. It's a little darker than I've managed to capture in the photos--more bronze-y. Tres sophistoque!

I think I've got about three more repeats to go. It's about 7 inches wide by 60 inches long at the moment, pinned out. So it will be a nice length when it's all done.