finally, some knitting!

For a blog with the word "knitting" in the title, I sure haven't posted much about that lately! Haven't been doing much knitting lately, but there's enough to scrape together for a post to prove that I haven't completely abandoned my needles.

Sooo, let's go back. Waaay back, to shortly after the Christmas Knitting Marathon. As we left off, Jason's big stripy blanket was steadily growing bigger and stripy-er. I've actually kept up a decent amount of momentum on that, and am now more than halfway done with the striped portion of it. Then it'll be relatively fast to use up all the leftovers on a quick and easy dc border around the whole thing. Jason seems to like it so far, and I'm rather pleased with the progress.

New year's resolution re: The Stash is, erm, going. I've been mostly good about not adding to it. There was a point in late January when I did buy a little yarn. I scored two skeins of Dream in Color Baby yarn (in Happy Forest and Blue Lagoon) which I'm very excited about. At 700 yds of laceweight each, I'm pretty sure I can squeeze a pair of lightweight summer cardigans out of them. The third skein I didn't really have an excuse for other than I wanted it. Tosh sock in a lovely bronzy orange colorway aptly named Copper Pennies. I'd been eyeing it since the beginning of December and had heard such lovely things about Madeline Tosh that I had to give it a go. I'm planning to make an Age of Brass and Steam kerchief out of it, and that'll be one of my next projects, right after I finish my current kerchief/shawlette thingy.

I'd wanted to start using the Tosh Sock right away, but it was just before the Super Bowl and I'd already committed to going out to a bar with friends to watch. A bar that allows smoking indoors. So, it's perfectly understandable that I didn't want to take my lovely brand new skein of not-even-wound-into-a-yarn-cake-yet sock yarn into a bar where it would become stinky with cigarette smoke. Instead I rapidly wound up my two skeins of Knitpicks Imagination in Mermaid Lagoon, snagged the easiest pattern I could think of, and ran out the door.

The result is this partially-finished Baktus. Pattern is dead simple and works rather well for showing off the variegation of the yarn. I like how it's coming out, and really need to get it finished up so I can actually wear it.

As you can see, the colors are quite pretty. They're a bit more jewel-toned in person, but this is a decent shot of them. And aside from one patch of fairly unattractive pooling, they're spreading themselves out fairly evenly.

The other thing I've been working on is a hat. You may recall me whinging back in January about a hat. Yes, we're still dealing with that. After starting it over twice, because the designer couldn't be arsed to list a fucking gauge on her fucking pattern, I sat down and did the math on adding another column of cables. The numbers came out right, so I knit the brim, increased the extra 6 stitches to get up to the right number for cabling, and knit on. I didn't bother to try it on because I DID THE MATH. And the numbers I got told me that the hat should fit. SHOULD, of course, being the key word there. When I was halfway through the crown decreases, I went and tried it on.

AND THE HAT DOES NOT FUCKING FIT.

It's still too tight. Not uncomfortably so, but just enough that if I wear it for a little bit it begins to ride up and make me look like I've got the most gigantic oblong head ever. How do I know this? Because I've knit another hat that was just a smidge too tight and I don't wear it any more because I hate having to tug it back down every five minutes. (Also, I botched part of the lace on it, but that's neither here nor there.) I don't want another hat that I don't wear because I don't want to tug it back down every two minutes. And this one will be every two minutes. Why? Because, despite having six stitches less (at my gauge, that's just over an inch) than the body of the hat, the ribbed brim is, quite inexplicably, too loose.

So I give up. That's it. Obviously the universe does not want me to have this hat. So out came the ball winder, and I frogged that sucker with a vengeance.

The yarn is now in timeout so it can think about what it's done.

I'm next going to start on a sweater, since, ya know, I've committed to knitting 11 sweaters this year and (surprise!) haven't even started one. I'm going to take another crack at a top-down raglan and actually try using a pattern this time to see if it helps. And using the Top-Down Raglan Pattern Generator, which makes up a pattern based solely on math, hopefully will end up with a finished project that actually fits.

FOs, WIPs, and plans

So here we are, a little over two weeks into the new year, and so far things are going well. Work is nice, no drama has exploded in my personal life, and I've been pretty productive knitting-wise.

I've even got a FO already!

I got to meet my little brother's girlfriend when I was home for the holidays. I pretty much expected her to be a sweet girl, based on comments from my Nani and parents, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she (like me!) is a great big Harry Potter nerd. We talked a bit about the series, and our favorite characters, and when I found out that her fave is Hermione, I knew I had to make her this hat. Still need to mail it off to her, but I think it'll be a great surprise to get in the mail. I'm looking forward to hearing her reaction to it.

The hat was a quick and easy knit. The pattern actually calls for a DK weight yarn, but I used worsted instead since I do tend to knit a bit tighter than average and I figured it wouldn't affect the finished hat overmuch. The end result is a pretty dense fabric that is very warm. I used Cascade 220 superwash in the colorway Ridge Rock.

In keeping with my New Years resolutions I used up the leftovers from Jon's scarf. Unfortunately, as with most well-intentioned things, it didn't work out quite as planned. I ran out of yarn just shy of the end and had to go buy a second ball to finish it off. So now I've got more grey yarn in the stash than when I started. I'll probably make another hat out of it or something. We'll see.

And speaking of New Years resolutions, I'm working on a lovely blanket for Jason. He liked the zigzag throw blanket for the sofa so much that I'm making him a larger one. Using Lion Brand Homespun (awful, splitty stuff, but it does make a soft squishy blanket -- plus, hey, it's cheap!) for it. I'm crocheting stripes, then will use whatever leftovers that aren't enough to make a full stripe as a border. It's working up pretty quick, and is mindless. Perfect for tv crafting.

Of course, the minute I laid it out on the floor to get a picture, all the cats instantly gravitated to it. Like furry little moths drawn to a warm and fuzzy flame. So, sorry, Jason. It looks like I'm not actually making the blanket for you.

And then just seconds after obligingly lining up for a nice picture, Yarneater (background) tried to make off with the remains of the skein, Kleptocat (center) began a valiant effort at eating the safety pins securing the pieces together for easy sewing, and Nuisance (foreground) flipped out for no discernable reason and rolled over while holding fast to the corner with his claws, thus turning himself into a kitty burrito. The blanket is recovering from this ordeal in its plastic WIP tub.

I've also got a project in the works for me, though it's not going at all as planned. I've been doing quite a lot of crafting for other people. First Christmas knitting, which was followed by the Hermione Hat and the epic stripy catnip blanket. I wanted something for ME. So, I browsed through Rav for a hat pattern, busted out that one lone skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky I've had sitting in the stash forever, and started knitting. What could go wrong? said I. Bulky yarn works up quick and the pattern is easy!

The pattern is indeed easy. However, the designer didn't list a gauge. Meh, I thought to myself, I knit a bit tighter than average so I'll just go up a needle size and it'll be fine! After the first pattern repeat, I thought it was looking a bit small, so I put it on a circ and tried it on. Damned thing wouldn't even fit over my head. Ripped it, increased the number of cast-on stitches and added an extra purl stitch on either side of the cabled columns. That should be fine, right? Yeah. I got up to the decreases and decided that I should probably try it on again just to be on the safe side. Well, it fits. Mostly. But it's pretty snug. Almost uncomfortably so. After some hemming and hawing, I just ripped it out a second time. What's the point of knitting a hat if it's something I won't end up wearing because I don't like the end result?

Quickie project has now taken me three days and a load of frustration. I'm going to reknit it AGAIN because I WANT THIS HAT DAMNIT. I'm probably going to add another cable column instead of more purl stitches, but need to sit down and work the math on it to make sure that I'm not going to be knitting this frigging thing a fourth time. I am irritated that I have to do this. The point of using a pattern to knit something is so I don't have to do the math myself, and all of this could have been avoided if the designer had just taken two frigging seconds to sit down with a ruler and her finished hat, and say "I got X number of stitches to the inch" on her pattern. Because the only way she could have gotten an adult-sized hat out of the numbers she posted is if she's an abnormally loose knitter, which would have also been nice to know.

In the meantime, I'm setting this aside because I can't look at the yarn without wanting to hurl it across the room. Probably later this week I'll go back to it.

I'm also doing one of those yearly challenges that pop up on Rav. Last year I kept seeing the 10 in 2010 shawlette challenge, and wanted to get in on that but didn't find out about it until late spring, by which point it was too late because I'm not that crazy all the time. Well, this year I joined up with the 11 Sweaters in 2011, because I need more sweaters. Of course, I haven't started knitting any sweaters yet, but hey, it's only the third week of the year, I've still got time. I have lots of plans for sweaters, so that's something, yeah?

I'm also planning on doing 52 books in 52 weeks this year. I've always wanted to do it, but back in college I was going through a book to a book and a half per day so 52 books in a year wasn't even remotely a challenge to me, so I never bothered. And then after graduating, I pretty much stopped reading at all (for shame!) so I didn't do it then. Well, this is the year, and I'm actually on track with that so far, so I think I'm going to post them on here just to keep myself motivated. But in separate posts. Yep.

happy post!

So far 2010 is off to a rather good start. Let's review what I've done so far!

--Case for my netbook.


I'm rather pleased with how it turned out. I designed it myself, just by doing a rough gauge swatch and some quick math (which for once I didn't botch!) Big rectangle, with a droste pattern of alternating knits and purls on the front side. I used Lion Brand Hometown USA yarn for it, which is a super bulky acrylic, which is thick and smooshy enough to make an effective case.

--Mittens!

Do you remember a while ago when I went nuts for mittens and queued fifty bajillion patterns for mittens and then proceeded to not knit any of them? Well, this pattern isn't any of those patterns. But it is mittens, so I do feel that's a step in the right direction, at least.

They're actually the mittens that Bella (supposedly) wears in Twilight. I wouldn't know because I refuse to watch it, at least without several sarcastic friends and copious amounts of alcohol. Since that opportunity has yet to present itself, I've managed to abstain from the Robert Pattinson / Twilight mania thus far.

In light of my deep and profound dislike of Twilight, it's not unexpected that I swore to myself that I'd never knit these mittens, no matter how pretty I may think they are. However, I kept seeing them around Ravelry. And then I started seeing them around my LYS. And my obsession grew. Then I came to the horrifying realization that I had yarn sitting in my stash that would be perfect for them. And so here they are. Don't judge me.

--Lastly, I knit a little something for my kitty. See how much she likes it? Squee!



The reason I took the time to knit all these things when I could be working on my Quadrat is that my Quadrat is evil. EVIL.

I know, I know. My sweater is being mean to me. Huge shock. I know.

So. I swatched. Yep, actually swatched, not my usual method of half-assedly knitting a bit and going "eh, close enough!" I knit the ENTIRE square, and then I washed and blocked it, and measured again. Came out bang-on, so I started my sweater.

First off, let me say that the cable cast-on is the devil.

So are sweaters that come with SIX DIFFERENT FRIGGING CHARTS. I knit about thirty rows of the cabling before realizing that I'd switched charts B and D, and the cabling was coming out upside down and generally looked like crap. Before going through the trouble of dropping and reknitting those sections, on a whim I measured....

And.... wait for it....

My fucking gauge is fucking off. It's not coming out smaller, as one would assume with cabling and ribbing. No, it's coming out BIGGER.

So I rip, and start reknitting, and ten rows later I realize I've actually been knitting with one size 7 and one size 8 on my interchangeable circs. Rip, start again. I'm almost done with the sleeve, and I realize that I've made one very made mistake when I ripped. I was so obsessed with not having to cast on 110 stitches with the aforementioned cable cast-on that I didn't rip the nine rows of garter stitch. Which had to be knit in a smaller needle size. Since I went down a needle size, now the cable section and the garter sections are now knit in the same needle size.

Now, the cable section draws in, as cabling/ribbing is wont to do. Which means the garter section is now slightly wider than the cable section, and is now puckery. Which means I get to figure out a way to unravel that section and pick up all 110 stitches and reknit. Because I'm sure as hell not starting this sucker over AGAIN.

Stay tuned for further adventures. I'm sure they're coming.

minor update

Onerva is done done done! It's currently pinned out, blocking. It's nearly dry, so hopefully tomorrow there will be some picture-taking before it goes off to its new home with Sarah. I'm so excited over this project -- the pattern is simple but elegant, and the yarn is just gorgeous. Hopefully she likes it as much as I liked making it.

Because I already got my yarn in, and because I'm an impatient little so-and-so, I started my Quadrat.

By which I mean I swatched.

Erm, by which I mean I started to knit my little 4"x4" square, lost interest halfway through, went "eh, I'm not quite getting gauge but the smallest size is going to be slightly too large for me so I'm just going to say it's close enough!" and started to cast on.

However, Quadrat outmaneuvered me. See, I knew I shouldn't be casting on because the reason I bought the yarn for this to knit it NOW is so that I could participate in a KAL for it. And casting on before the KAL begins sort of defeats the point of doing a frigging KAL in the first place. Well, Quadrat told me to cast on 110 stitches using a cable cast on.

The Cable Cast-On, ladies and gents, is the work of the devil at his finest. I thought that casting on in general was a pain in the ass. I thought that knitting lace was a form of torture. I thought that Intarsia was up there with dancing barefoot on hot coals and broken glass. The Cable Cast-On, my friends, puts them all to shame. I think I made it about ten stitches before the whole thing got so tight that I could barely cast on the next stitch, and then I thought about knitting that first row and how horrible that would be if it was already this tight just casting on. Ripped it out, started again.

Rinse and repeat about half a dozen times before I stuffed the whole mess into a bag and shoved the bag under my bed, and sat down to work a few blessedly mind-numbingly simple rounds on the leg Jason's sock.

Maybe in the meantime I'll actually swatch like I should...

buh

I seem to have fallen into another knitting slump. I've got several projects going, but none really seem to be catching my interest. I've recently started a blanket for Jason as well as a pair of socks, but I've been kind of eh on both of them; the blanket is a log cabin pattern done in half-double crochets, and the socks are 3x1 ribbing. Both are pretty mindless, which usually is exactly what I want while I'm watching tv in the evenings. But lately they just end up lying in my lap forgotten. I'm also working on that scarf for my mystery CAL. I love the way it's turning out, but the pattern is a bit to complicated for tv knitting, and I really don't like the way it's written. Urgh.

In other news, I finished my silk garden kerchief, but have yet to block it. I've finished my friend's birthday gift, but have yet to block it and sew the lining and button. I've finished all but the button band on my sweater, but seriously fucked up the seaming on the shoulders despite redoing it several times. I'm hoping a good blocking will fix it, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

(are we sensing a theme here??)

In other OTHER news, my LYS is having a pre-inventory sale. I made the mistake of stopping by last weekend and spent more than I intended to. Mostly sock yarn (whee!) but also some very pretty wool that was clearanced for just $1 a skein. Yeah, I made out like a bandit on that one. Normally buying yarn inspires me to knit, but I don't have a pattern in mind for the clearance yarn, and I really don't feel like starting another pair of socks when I've already got one on the needles that I don't really want to knit on.

I actually sort of feel like knitting a sweater, of all things. Which would be great except for the fact that I don't have a pattern picked out. I also would have to go buy yarn for it, which is normally a nice thing, but I just spent my fun-money for the month on, well, yarn.

I'm hopeless, aren't I?

Keep tuned in, kids, maybe I'll have something to post besides "i feel like knitting but don't feel like knitting anything i have, and I really shouldn't add to my stash even though i just bought more yarn. which i also don't feel like knitting right now." Hell, there might even be pictures.

WIP Wrestle Mania!!

So I'm jumping in on the WIP Wrestle Mania event on Ravelry. It might be nice to have some motivation to finish up old projects that have been lying around unfinished for waaaay too long. God knows I need it. And since this is only for the month of July, maybe I'll actually finish it! Unlike the ill-fated knitalongs I've tried to do.

Anyhow, I rounded up all my old WIPs and entered them into random.org, and the list they came up with is this:

1. binary scarf
2. ocean waves afghan
   
3. simple socks
   
4. beholder
5. granny afghan
6. river tam vest
7. salto socks
8. crochet tank
9. stripey sweater

Obviously, there will be some small amount of fudging this list. I need a big project for home, and a small project for when I'm out and about. So, the scarf and wavy afghan will be my home projects, and I'll just work my way down the rest of the list, starting with 3 and skipping 5 of course. Probably won't finish the afghan, if I even get to it at all. I've done another few rounds of the binary scarf, and all it's done so far is remind me just how much I hate colorwork. Ugh. I remember why I stopped working on it in the first place. But once I got it out again, I saw the way Jason was looking at it so I'll be [hopefully] finishing it before next winter. Fingers crossed on that one!

It's a good thing the River Tam vest has fallen somewhere toward the end of the list. I was working on that, and then realized last night that I've completely neglected to start the armhole shaping. My complete and utter lack of reading comprehension strikes again. So I've ripped out several rounds, and it's in time out until I get around to working on it again.

On a less-whiny note, I'm also participating in my very first swap ever, which I am super excited about. I had the day off work, so I did all my shopping for it while I was running errands today. Then I knit up something small but very awesome for the box. It needs a teeny bit of finishing, but then everything will be all ready to go. I'm fairly sure all the post offices will be closed tomorrow, so I'm aiming to get it sent out early next week. I technically have until the 17th to get it mailed, and it's quite a change to have something finished so far in advance of the deadline. Usually I'm rushing around at the last minute, scrambling to get everything all wrapped up. It's nice. I might have to try it more often. :)

It's been a little quieter lately, now that I'm mostly unpacked. I've actually had time for some amount of knitting recently. Still not nearly as much as I'd like, but more than I'd previously been doing in the midst of crazy packing/moving/unpacking craziness. Glad to be done with that! Also, kittens make knitting a study in patience. Woo.

It's late. I suspect I'm babbling. Should go to bed. Happy 4th of July, all!!

it's that time again...

...when I realize "gee, haven't posted anything in a long while, maybe I should." Because, ya know, the whole point of a blog is to update it? And so far I'm pretty much failing at that.

So. Knitting.

The Stripey Sweater of Intimidation is going. The first sleeve has given me very little trouble, until I reached the end of the armhole shaping instructions and still had twice as many stitches as I should have. After puzzling over it and adding up how many stitches I've got and checking several times for errata, I've just kept decreasing and it seems to have come out more or less the right shape and length. I'm very tired of knitting this thing. It's been one problem after another for me, and I'm ready to have done with it.

I also blame the Stripey Sweater of Intimidation for me buying more yarn even though I shouldn't have. See, even though I obsessively double-checked my yarn amounts when ordering, I still didn't order enough. So I had to order an extra skein. I actually ordered two extra skeins, because with my luck I still won't have figured it correctly and I've got plans for a pair of fingerless gloves. Well, two pairs. And this yarn can go to one of those. And you can't just place an order for two skeins, so I also threw in two pairs of socks' worth of sock yarn. And a cable needle. I know, I fail.

While The Sweater was in time-out, I started another pair of socks. Yep, rather than knitting up the companion to one of the several orphans I've got lying about. I know, I know. I'm using Cascade Fixation. The yarn looked bright and cheerful online, then when I actually received it the skeins looked like garish clownbarf. Then when I started knitting the cuff the colors looked bright and cheerful again. The sky-blue and lilac blended perfectly with the yellow and orangey-red. In a fit of helpless optimism, I named them my Tequila Sunrise Socks. And they were pretty.

Until I hit the leg. Then the colors started doing odd things. They began pooling funny. And unattractively.



And I just let them, because, hell, I don't care anymore. Let them pool. As long as the stitch count is right and the pattern isn't trying to make me scream in frustration, I'm good. Of course, they couldn't pool consistently, oh no, that'd be too much to ask for. Now that I'm on the foot of the sock, they've settled into making stripes. STRIPES. Still, as long as the pattern is correct, I really don't care.

All of my knitting hates me. I have begun to accept this.

And following that line of thought, I'm going to share a conversation I just had with my darling fiance.

Me: I've finally found a pattern for that Araucania Ruca I've had for so long! It took me forever but I've finally found the perfect one, and now I want to cast on!

Him: Shouldn't you finish one of your other projects first?

Me: Yeah, maybe, but I want to make this.

Him: You know how it'll go. By the time you finall finish it you'll be so pissed at it you won't want to wear it.

Me: What?

Him: It happens every time. You'll screw up the pattern, swear a lot, throw it in the time-out corner for a month, rip and reknit a dozen times, and just get angry about the whole thing.


As much as I hate to admit, he really does have a point. Although he was wrong about one thing - it's a time-out basket not a time-out corner.

So, Ruca, you'll just have to wait your turn to drive me round the bend. That is, if there's anything left of my sanity by the time I finish this soul-sucking sanity-eating monster that's masquerading as a sweater...

somehow, i have angered the knitting gods

I swear. I don't know what I've done to piss them off, or why the hell I deserve such punishment, but the knitting gods are smiting me with every possible bit of bad luck they can manage. Let's take a look at my Stripy Sweater of Intimidation!

--The ribbing is 24 rows, 12 in color A and 12 in color B. I knit 12 in color A and 14 in color B. Not a terribly big deal, and I'm replicating that error on all the pieces. Kind of annoying that I cannot frigging count.

--I then realized that the stripes are supposed to be 20 rows wide. I'm knitting them 24 rows wide. Still not a big deal, as I'm just knitting them all 24 now. So my stripes are slightly wider. So what. Still pretty annoying that I cannot frigging count.

--Halfway through the back I realized that I cast on four stitches too few. DESPITE counting and re-counting, and counting again obsessively. I still fucked up, and not by just a stitch or two. By FOUR. How the hell did I miss FOUR stitches??? My inability to count is getting somewhat ridiculous.

--Finished the back, moved on to the left front. I apparently store my brain in my butt when I'm knitting, because I just kept knitting along after finishing the increases, in a happy little fog. Snapped out of it to realize that I've knitted two and a half stripes past where I should have started the armhole shaping. This is what happens when I knit and . . . well, when I just knit, sadly.

--Knit the right front. Realized when I was about to bind off that instead of knitting the right front, I've actually been knitting another LEFT front. Much screaming and swearing occurred, and there may or may not have been a childish temper-tantrum followed by me storming off to the kitchen for a fortifying drink of the alcoholic variety to steel myself to rip back to the armhole.

I'm at somewhat of a loss for how else exactly I can screw this thing up. But I'm sure there's a way.

Last night I just cast on for the first sleeve. Stay tuned for further adventures.

someone kick me out of this slump?

Please? Someone? Anyone?

I don't know what's wrong with me lately, but I've been in kind of a funk , as you may or may not have noticed since I fell off the face of the world internet recently. I wish I could report that I finished my hat, my socks, all six pairs of mittens I queued up, and the Stupid Striped Sweater of Intimidation, as well as saved the city from aliens and developed a cure for the common cold.

But alas, I have not done any of those things. In fact, let's just take a look at all the things I haven't been doing:

• - I have not finished my January KAL socks.
• - I have not cast on for my February KAL socks.
  
• - I have not finished my goofy orange hat.
• - I have not cast on for my Stupid Striped Sweater of Intimidation. Really, the name says it all there...
• - I have not been blogging. (obviously)
• - I have also not been doing most of the other things I normally can be found doing, including but not limited to: reading, writing, laundry, saving the city from aliens, etc.

I jest, I jest. But only that last bit. In fact, the only thing I've been doing recently is poking around Ravelry and queuing patterns like I have until tomorrow to list everything I'll knit in the next five years. In one night alone, I queued 13 different patterns for socks. Thirteen. I don't knit socks that fast. I'll probably never knit anything that fast. Thirteen different sock patterns, and that doesn't even touch all the other sock patterns I've already queued. I'm starting to think I've got some sort of problem. I wonder if there's some sort of help group for this sort of behavior...

And so this post isn't completely boring and whiny, here's a picture of my pink lace socks. Or, rather, my one pink lace sock that I completed over a week and a half ago. The second is languishing in my WIP basket, waiting to have its gusset stitches picked up. Which I've been procrastinating on because I can say with relative certainty that picking up gusset stitches is my least favorite activity, like, ever.




Not bad, eh? Now if I could just be arsed to finished its mate... ::sigh::