Time on Her Hands

That's more like it

2006-04-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

Well, now that's better:

I reknit the body on smaller needles, finshed the whole sweater, sewed down the neckline, and HATED it!
Too flashdancey, too big, unflattering when worn with anything underneath. SOOOOO..... I unsewed the neckline and ripped back and re-knit, and resewed the neckline.
Fit is much better.
But now it's swaying and biasing a bit, and you know what -- I don't care! I love the sweater and it's staying as is.

Since the last post, I''ve been to France... no one knits in France it seems. The only evidence of knitting I found was a very old woman sitting at the Arles morning market with a folding table holding handknit slipper socks and a couple apples for sale. The socks seemed to be knit with two strands of oddball yarn in glum colors.

Rip off

2006-03-13T13:12:00.000-08:00

I broke my own rules. I didn't double check gauge once I got going on the sweater. I didn't bother to put the sweater on a string and try it on.
And now I'm paying for it.
Not only did I run out of yarn, but my linen Hourglass sweater is too big. See the bagginess under the arms? Where's my waist? And the sleeves are too short. I wanted it to look like this.
Instead it looks like this:

I knit the sleeves on vintagey green plastic double points, and gauge was right on. The body was on a Susan Bates circular (really not bad for a cheap needle), and I just went into mindless knitting land, round and round, and neglected to notice that my stitches were very loose. So out it comes..... sleeves to be lengthened by two inches and the body to be re-knit on smaller needles.

This is a tough knitting lesson. I wanted this sweater DONE (black, beige, white tweed linen -- I'll throw it on every day!) But I'd rather re-knit this thing than have a garment with a fit I do not like.

Am I a Writer?

2006-03-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

I think not. I'm not compelled to post every day, and I thought I would be. I wonder why -- maybe it's because I'm just sending these words into the ether. Is anyone reading this? Alternatively, I have a house full of people and neighborhood outside my door with whom to communicate.

But they don't care too much about the knitting.

Thus, the knitting blog.

I finished the sweater in chocolate Joseph Galler alpaca fine. Did a top-down design, eyelet increases, plain stockinette. The neck edging is lifted from Rowan #35's Audrey pattern, which is a lace piece sewn on. Tricky bit, with reverse yarnovers on the wrong side. BUT I like it a lot.

I'm also revisiting the Psychedelic Squares afghan for my daughter which I started, oh, maybe two and a half soccer seasons ago. I told her I'd work on it at all of her games. Which I did, even at swim meets and softball games until other things came up and maybe I got a bit bored. I'm doing it in Sugar n' Cream craft store cotton, which also explains my disinterest. It's such cheap yarn, and just doesn't call my name like other fibers do. However, it will wash well and comes in a nice variety of colors. The other reason I avoid this thing is because I know it is just the most Epic project. Knitting the squares is merely Phase 1. Phases 2 and 3 (sewing the squares together then picking up a zillion stitches for the edging) will occupy my into retirement. But the girl has inquired after the blanket, and since she is wearing the sweater I knit her, to school no less, I shall work on it.

Working on: another Hourglass in Louet Sales linen Barcelona, sportweight. Loving the look of the fabric.... {but Blogger is not cooperating with the display of the photo!}

Finished: Jaywalker socks in Lorna's Laces Jeans. For Ellen who loves handknitted socks.

More Jaywalking

2006-02-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

Working on a second pair of Jaywalker socks.... this time in Lorna's Laces Denim colorway. It's coming out really nice -- striping. Why don't I want to work on them? Boring somehow, not in the mood. Nice, though. Brown and blue are not my personal faves, maybe that's why I'm not compelled to work on it.
School break this week ---- nutty kids fighting making me nuts!

Felted Hearts

2006-02-06T14:34:00.000-08:00

My valentine this year will be a knit and felted heart..... embroidered prettily (I hope) with a charming message.

The hearts were easy -- I cast on two stitches of Patons worsted on a size 10 needle. Knit one row, purled one row. Then I increased on both sides of each right side row, using a kf&b increase one stitch in from the edge as it grew. When the heart was about 4 inches long, I knit straight for about 2 inches. Then I worked one decrease on each side of the heart before separating in the center to work the two top humps of the heart. Pretty much eye-balled it.... and it felted nicely by hand. I scrunched it in my hands under hot water, then under icy cold, then under hot. Back and forth until I could no longer see the stitches.

Knitted hearts seem to be an apropos valentine this year, since I've become increasingly occupied with the knitting. In addition to teaching classes at my LYS, I'm knitting more than I ever have before. Someone on a blog somewhere (can't find it again!!) made a great observation that we really should thank those who live with us for tolerating the ever-present knitting. How would I feel if my husband took his model-building, whittling, what-have-you hobby everywhere with him?? If he whittled whenever the TV was on, in the car, at soccer games, while on the phone, etc. would I not find him odd? Really cracked me up. I knit during every tv show, every movie, while I'm reading if it's just stockinette.

Also, second pair of Jaywalkers underway in Lorna's Laces Denim. Not my personal color combo fave (I'm a bright color gal), but these are for a friend who really truly loves handknit socks and who gave me the yarn... and who is beyond deserving.

Another small finished object

2006-02-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Right now I have several sweatery things on the needles, long-winded, epic projects that are taking a long time.
So I whipped out a Strawberry Cap for my niece (Ann Norling pattern).

I used some Patons worsted wool reclaimed from a never-worn scarf. Funny thing is that I followed the pattern, for once, and at the designated gauge of 5 sts/ inch the hat fit ME. It also fit a moon-headed 12 year old. Since it was intended for a pin-headed 3 year old, we had to start over.
Even at the "6 month" size, the hat fit my 6 year old model.

So I threw it in the wash with the whites and shrunk it. And it worked! Not only is the hat smaller, it is denser and fuzzier too. Semi-felted strawberry.

Lurker

2006-01-25T15:01:00.000-08:00

I admit, I am a lurker. I surf and skim and scan knitting blogs and never leave a comment. Part of the reason is that I see no point in leaving a "me too" comment. No one needs to know that "my cat drinks the Christmas tree water, too!".

The main reason for my stealthiness, my anonymity is the thought that if I don't leave a comment, no one will know I was there, and therefore the time spent reading yet more knitting blogs is undocumented. I fool myself into believing that those minutes were spent on productive ventures like housework, job search, or at the very least actually knitting.

Thus the passive silence, which I anticipate breaking more frequently now that I have joined the underground world. Because I actually do have something to say about knitting.

Finished Jaywalkers

2006-01-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

Finished the Jaywalkers from Grumperina. I have to say they may be my favorite socks I've knit so far. Not a fan of the lacy look, I like the texture created by angling the rows of stitches. The socks slip on a bit snugly over the heel, but once on are very comfortable.
Yarn: Meilenweit Multiringel
Needle: size 1 dps. I prefer to work with a set of four rather than 5 since the stitches on the needles form a stable triangle that is easier to handle than the square you get with 4 needles.
Next up: Lorna's Laces Shepard sock in Denim. Working the ribbed cuff on 0's to tighten it up. Will it stripe or pool......

Multi-tasking Knitting

2006-01-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

Most of my knitting is done while I am doing something else, like talking on the phone, supervising homework or at the very least, watching TV. This is "Elfin Lace" from Barbara Walker #1 and is not multi-tasking knitting. I have two skeins of Joseph Galler Alpaca fine in "chocolate" and had grand ambitions for a lace cardigan. Which I would design myself. Which would be possible, except I don't have the non-multitasking time required to focus on the lace, the fit, the fit related to the lace, the curvature of the arm scythes in order to finish in the next year(s) or so.
Thus, the swatch above, tubular cast-on and all, has been scrapped and the sweater has a new incarnation as a top-down raglan ...ala Glampyre's Bad Penny .
And this I know I will finish.

Jaywalking with Meilenweit

2006-01-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

here's the knitting content:

I've completed one Jaywalker sock by Grumperina, as have many others... I'm using Meilenweit Multiringel in pinks and browns (#5030), purchased on a trip to Vienna, but now available at the yarn store down the street. Some souvenir.

I like the colors, excepting the mauvey tones, and love the pattern. The mitered sections create texture when the little stockinette "v's" are viewed from different angles. Love the thoughtfulness of the slipped stitches along the edge of the foot to continue the ridge from leg to the foot. The only change I made was to knit with 4 dpns rather than the 5 specified in the pattern. 4 dpns creates a floppy square that folds in on itself and fidgets and slips. 3 dpns create a very stable triangle. Just combine the stitches for needles 2 and 3 on one. On my next pair, I will do the ribbing on size 0's to tighten it up a bit.

I find that I prefer disorder and unpredictability in my variegated yarn. Thus, I like this yarn better in the skein than in the sock. I like pooling and flashing and what have you. So there.

The first post

2006-01-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

Just what we need, another knitting blog. Why why why….
1. I need something to show for all the time that has been sucked lurking and wandering from knit blog to knit blog, neglecting children, dinner preparations, even my own knitting in favor of "just one more" gaze into someone else's knitting gallery.

2. I want to get a clue about web sites and HTML and CSS and all that stuff. If you can do it, so can I.

3. Before I discovered the online knittng community, I was a solitary knitter, entirely isolated in my thoughts of patterns fibers colors, what to knit next. It was liberating and enlightening to discover scads of you who have the same thoughts. Who might even be more obsessed than I. I'm taking the big step and joining you online.

Ps. I’m a blog beginner, please forgive me for any etiquette violations.