It’s Fall!

I keep meaning to post. I take photos, even, and upload them, but then I forget, or life gets in the way. My goal was once a week, and I’ve been falling woefully short of that. I put the wordpress log in thingity at the top of my web browser; I’m hoping that’ll prod me to post more often.

Now, the good stuff.

Pattern: Gilmore Vest Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style, 4.5 balls Needles: US 4, 5, & 6

I had a lot of problems knitting this, and that was mostly because of the pattern. The gauge was spot on, but the coordinating numbers in the pattern were way off, on a lot of accounts. I had to redo the math myself, which is something I wasn’t expecting to do with this. The Vest was supposed to be a breather from the Cluaranach shawl I’d done before.

None of that really matters, because it came out wayyy to large. I’m not worried about it, as it fits a good friend of mine.  She’ll get it for Christmas.

Speaking of gifts, September is the month of birthdays in my small group of friends. One in the beginning [she got the Monkeys, and loves them!], and one a few days before mine [which is the 28th.] I didn’t know what she wanted, so I threw some ideas at Elle, then some patterns. She chose the first one of these, and I chose the latter to use up some of the left over yarn. Over all, a very successful gift pair. I already sent them off, and I hope she likes them.

Pattern: Gretel  Yarn:Naturally Caron Country in Peacock; 1 1/4 balls Needles: US 5, 7

Pattern: Fetching Yarn: Naturally Caron Country in Peacock; 1/4 ball Needles: US 5

The bottom picture shows the color a bit more accurately. Gretel was a fairly quick knit, though I am pining to get rid of my Denise Interchangeables and switch to Knit Picks. [I am selling them, if anyone’s interested.] Ysolda Teague’s pattern was clear, and formatted very nicely. I really enjoyed knitting this, though I think I may need to go down a needle size the next time so that I get a hat that’s a bit less floppy. I knit the largest size here, and if I knit it again out of this yarn, I’d only do 2 repeats of the cable chart.

The Fetching also only took a few hours each. I really could have done them all in one sitting, but I got bored. Cables cables and more cables; I just can’t get enough.

That sums the gift knitting for this year though- almost. I’m going to try and get Matt’s socks done for our anniversary next month. I’m past the gusset decreases on the first sock, and I have about a month to get them done. I think I have time.

I am doing a little bit of knitting for myself, though.

Pattern: Monkey Yarn: Schaefer Anne Sockittome in Northern LIghts Needles: US 1

I dug into the stash for this yarn. It was a thank you for helping my BiL register for college on time. I loved the monkeys I knit for my Florida friend Amanda, and wanted a pair for myself. There’s considerably more yardarge in this skein than what’s required for the pattern, so I’m going to add a few more repeats to the leg, then use the left overs for some very simple fingerless mitts. I’m so addicted to those things, I have three pair already.

I’m so excited that fall is finally here, and it feels like it! I can start bringing out my woolies. YAY!

Hello, Autumn, You’re Almost Here

I unintentionally took a summer break from blogging. I’ve been all over the place this summer, Washington State, Colorado, Virginia Beach, and a lot of my time has been set on getting ready for my trip or recovering. Who knew traveling could take so much out of a person? We didn’t travel much when I was a kid; too expensive and the like. I’m trying to make up for it now that I’m older and in my own house hold.

I have been knitting, a little.

I got the STR in Corbie, for my graduation shawl, and I love it. I wish that I had ordered one more skein to make the shawl longer; it’s a little more squat than what I would have wanted, but other than that I’m charmed. Anne Hanson
designs the most delightful shawls. I actually want to make every single one of them. Her directions, and charts, are clear and well explained. She doesn’t have a lot of extraneous information.

Pattern: Anne Hanson’s Cluaranach
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight in Corbie
Needles: US 6
Modifications: None, really, except the number of repeats of each chart.

It’s really difficult for the camera I have to get an accurate photo of the depth of color this yarn has, and I’m not really proficient in PhotoShop. It’s a base of black, with greens and blues. I absolutely love it, and am anxiously awaiting colder weather so I can wear it out of the house. I meant to get this done before I went to Seattle; that totally didn’t happen. I knit a sweater instead, but I actually don’t have any pictures of that, even though it’s hanging right next to me in the hall closet.

Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina
Yarn:Lana Grossa Meilenweit 100 Multiringel
Needles: US 1
Modifications: I made the heel flap a little longer, as I have a long, narrow heel, as well as a picot top. I saw this somewhere, I don’t remember where, and just loved it.

I think I may be one of the last people on earth to knit Grumperina’s Jaywalker pattern. I thought this would be a good pattern for the yarn- and it turns out I was correct. I’m actually done with these, but they are in my sock drawer, and I’m too lazy to go get them and put them on. I love this pattern, and I’m sure that I’ll knit it again. It’s something nice to do instead of a plain stockinette sock. There has been more, and more articulate, things said about the Jaywalker, so, we’re moving on.

More socks!

Pattern: Monkey Socks by Cookie A
Yarn: Elann Esprit Print, color 9034
Needles: US 1
Mods: none, except for the number of repeats knitted before starting the heel, which was one.

I love this pattern. I swear, I’m like a lemming, but six months after the fact. These are a birthday gift for a friend, but I’m 99% sure she doesn’t read this blog, so I feel safe posting them. I’ve never worked with this yarn before, and I like it. It makes the socks a little bullet-proof feeling, but I’m hoping that’ll just mean that they’ll last longer. She lived in Florida, so I though that short cotton socks would work much better then knee high wool ones- even if I’d rather be knitting those. They go out in the post tomorrow.

And yet more socks!

I always have a pair on the needles, because I’m working towards wearing only handknit socks in the winter. I don’t really wear socks in the summer- I live in flipflops, my Birkies, or I go barefoot. If I have to wear them in the summer, it’s because I’m hiking or walking for exercise and the little white cotton ones I have will suffice. However, the thought of wearing only handknit socks is delightful, and I have the yarn to get me there. I think Christmas knitting is going to get in the way of that, but we’ll see.

Anywho, these are actually for Matt. He can’t wear wool, as he doesn’t like it [on a side note, he is getting to the point where he can tell the difference between wools, and comments on ones that feel nicer than others. There’s hope yet.] on his skin, but loves socks. Most of the Elann Esprit, and wow, do I have a lot of that, is going towards his feet. This is just a plain sock, with different coloured toes, heels, and ribbing. They make nice Autumn socks.

What’s on the needles now? I’m working on the Gilmore Vest, but my pictures of that are shoddy, so I’ll wait to post them, I’m a little over 1/2 way done with the front, and I’ve already knit the back, so I’m hoping to finish it this week. I need the needles to finish swatching for my dad’s sweater. Have I told y’all about that? It’ll have to wait, I think, until next time, because this catch up post is long enough as is.

I am ecstatic about Autumn coming about. It’s already starting to cool off in the nights here outside of DC, and the day’s sun isn’t as blazing hot. I love the season, the change of colour in the Shenandoah, the fact I can bring out my sweaters and jeans and not be looked at funny.

Thundering [and Hailing] Thursday

I did finally manage to get some photos of The Sweater.

I wasn’t planning on knitting a sweater. I had a shawl and socks on the needles, which was more than enough for me. I don’t really care to have more than three things going at once otherwise it feels like too much pressure to get stuff done. But I was wandering about the blogs I normally read and Aija from sockpr0n offered up a sweater’s worth of wool for shipping, saying she was never going to knit that sweater.

I pounced, sending an e-mail and leaving a comment. By the end of the week, 14 balls of Knit Picks Sierra in cranberry were winging their way to me. I was ecstatic. But wait- did I have a pattern I could knit?

Ravelry saved the day. I love their feature where you can search by yarn weight. Pam Allen’s Tailored Scallops popped up, and I just happened to have borrowed the book from the library. Kismet.

I had classes, so I said I would just swatch. Didn’t get gauge with the called for needles, so I went down a size. I got gauge. That never happens. Ok, well maybe I’ll just cast on for the back, and knit a repeat. Maybe another repeat. When I finally put the sweater down that night I was at the arm hole shaping for the back. I considered what work I really had to do that week and decided that only after I had done my reading could I knit on My First Sweater.

I knit the two fronts next, attached the shoulders, basted the sides together with some slippery cotton and tried it on. The arm holes were huge! The pattern stretched out A LOT when gravity was actually pulling on it. I wanted a 7 1/2 inch arm hole for a closer fitting sweater. I had something around 11 inches. I put the sweater aside until the next morning where I ripped back and retried. One repeat too many. Finally got it to where I wanted it, and blocked.

I knit the sleeves at the same time so that they would be done. That worked until I got to the shaping for the shoulders, then I knit them separately because I just couldn’t take it anymore. I left out the last decrease for the shaping.

I put everything together, knit the collar, and then realized that the collar was supposed to be GARTER STITCH, not follow the pattern. I looked at it and decided that it wasn’t worth the hassle to fix it. I’m still happy with it.

The only thing that I would have done differently was decrease more for the arm shaping so that the shoulder seam actually hits my shoulder and not just below. I can go back and fix it, but I really don’t want to do that.

I love my sweater. Sierra is 70/30 wool/alpaca, and is so warm. I’ve been wearing that and a windbreaker for the past few weeks and have been quite toasty. The colour is nice, and I know I’m going to get a lot of use out of it. I’m already looking to knit more sweaters, now that I’ve completed one and know they are not That Scary.

Specs:

Pattern: Tailored Scallops by Pam Allen, found in Lace Style by Interweave Press.

Yarn: 9 balls of Knit Picks Sierra, in cranberry

Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm; US 9 / 5.5 mm

Size: 39″ chest, 20″ sleeves, 7 1/2″ arm holes.

Lest ye think I’m a super fast knitter- I’m not. I plod along at my decent pace, but I have large chunks of time where I can just sit and knit/read/do homework, etc. I try to schedule my day so that I get all the things I have to get done FIRST, so that I can sit and knit until I’m done for the day. It’s working out well so far.

I am so happy with this sweater.

Project Spectrum 2008- My first year

This year, Project Spectrum focuses on the elements.

FEBRUARY / MARCH – FIRE– orange, red, pink

APRIL / MAY – EARTH – green, brown, metallics

JUNE / JULY – AIR – gray, white, yellow

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER – WATER – blue, black, purple

This is my first year participating in Project Spectrum. I enjoy the aesthetic aspect of it, and seeing the ways that people [crafters/creators really] interpret the guidelines.

I always have a pair of socks on the needles, and in honor of project spectrum, I’d cast on Cookie A’s Pomatomus socks [On a side note- how are we supposed to pronounce that? I always say is POE-MA-TOE-MUS. I’ve heard it said POE-MOT-OMUS. Is either correct?] in Pagewood Farm Hand Dyed Sock Yarn in Really Red. The yarn was from my birthday yarn, and I have been waiting to get through some gift knitting and finishing up projects to cast on with it.

That didn’t last past the ribbing. Ribbing takes me FOREVER. It was really my fault, because I thought I knew better- anyways, it was P1, K1 tbl, not the other way around. [I’m sighing here. One day I’ll knit those socks. One day.]

But I did cast on for another sock, and this one is almost to the point where I’ll start the heel.

It’s a simple toe up sock, with cables running up either side. I’m not sure how I’m going to work the rest of the sock past the heel. I’m thinking of starting the back cables coming out of the heel and then crossing the front and back cables using increases and decreases. We’ll see. When I’ll figure it up, I’ll write up the pattern, because I really like this pattern.

I’ve also finally finished Matt’s Love Day Socks. I’m so glad they are FINALLY done.

They are big on me, but will fit Matt fine. He’s tried them on a few times just to make sure they fit. I’ve already labeled and wrapped them, and he’ll open them on Love Day. That’s just how we work.

I think these socks count for project spectrum, just because LOOK at the orange. It looks like one colour, but it’s actually three: orange, red-orange, and yellow. I cheated a bit and just carried the colour not in use up the side. It worked really well and you can’t tell from here. Solid plan, and I think I’ll do that again if I make stripey socks for myself.