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Sunday, January 30, 2005
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I got something done!
After lots of procrastinating, I finally finished my final Christmas present, for one of my oldest friends. I had no time to take pictures of the final piece of the puzzle (mittens out of gray Lana d'Oro). To recap, I made a tam, a scarf, and mittens that were way too small and drove me crazy so I ripped them out and did something simpler.
I'm also up to the armpits in my tweedy ribbed sweater.
This productivity is blamed on my foot, which caused me to miss work and keep myself plopped out the couch all day on Thursday.
Wants/needs
I NEED some of that Regia Jubilee in India (PINK!). Yesterday I went to Yarnzilla because they have it. But I got there at 11-ish, thinking they opened at 10, but they don't open 'til noon on Saturdays. *sigh* So no yarn for me. I'd say I'd go next week, but I'll have no money for awhile. Ah, the joys of being a grown-up and having to pay rent!
I want a pair of clogs or sandals just so I have an excuse to buy this book. I <3 socks.
Tipper @ 9:17 AM * link
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Wednesday, January 26, 2005
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The sweater, it is now several inches longer. In another ball or so I'll be able to do the sleeves, then join it all together.
I'd be going faster if I didn't seem to fall asleep every time I sit on something comfortable. The only time I'm getting a lot of knitting done is during the watching of Netflix DVDs (finished Disc 2 of "Dead Like Me" the other night) or when I'm reading knitting blogs (which is so uncomfortable - physically - and interesting that I stay awake).
You'd think that my slipping-on-ice-and-landing-on-foot injury of this morning would give me knitting time, but I got arranged on the couch after work today, fed dinner, knitting placed in hands, and I promptly fell asleep after "Project Runway" (the best reality show EVER). I don't get knitting done at that rate.
In other news, I'm dedicated to my search for a black wool coat. Maybe a peacoat, maybe not. My main reason is that black goes with everything, and I need a coat that will coordinate with all the hats, mittens/gloves, and scarves I make. I love making winter accessories, and I don't want to have to give them all away. But my desire to coordinate my attire is so great that I find it difficult to wear clashing accessories. I love my crazy, funky 1950s fur-trimmed green wool swing coat, but the lining is going so it isn't so warm anymore and, dammit, it just doesn't match anything.
Tipper @ 11:26 PM * link
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Sunday, January 23, 2005
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A sweater is born.
I got The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns the other day, and immediately wanted to put it to work. The copycat sweaters are all very nice (although my favorites - ones I'd like to wear - are the kids' sweaters!), and I've started on the ribbed-sleeve pullover. I'm using that oft-mentioned Berroco Uxbridge Tweed in Cordovan.
As usual, there's a saga.
I started out on size 9 needles, as that's what the ball band recommends. Sure, I got gauge, but didn't think (until 2 inches later) that, hey, ribbing looks awful like this. So I ripped, and cast onto size 7 needles. Ah, much better. Of course, that time around, I twisted the cast-on row. (How do I manage to do that over and over and over again?) So, after two inches, more ripping. Now I have something to show for my work.
I'm sticking with the size 7 needles for the body and sleeves. And, interestingly, I'm still getting gauge. (Plus, the fabric's nicer.) On second thought, my first gauge might've been a little loose, as I tried on the band of stitches before ripping it out, and it was hugely big. Taking it down to size 7's should make it just right (confirmed by trying on THAT band of stitches.)
Oh, I suppose you want to see a picture.
Stash enhancement
As I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by Depth of Field yarns this afternoon. I picked up two balls of Crystal Palace Kid Merino, something brand new, and I think it'll be something great. It feels almost as soft as those silk/mohair blends (like Kidsilk Haze), and you get similar yardage for half the price. I'm thinking of using it for this lacy moebius scarf, though I also have this pattern sitting around. I have the Douceur et Soie to make it, and started it more than once, but that was when I was much less experienced (and rather adventurous, no?). So I might save that yarn for that pattern, as it was meant to be.
Clapotis - or should it be renamed "ARGH"?
After contacting the eBay seller, she's offered to send me two skeins if I send her my ripped-out one. I wonder whether or not I should do this, as I don't want to cut into her profits if it wasn't her fault in the first place (she just dyes the yarn, she doesn't measure it). I could just rip up this and re-knit it, smaller. The ideal solution would be to receive 100 yards or so, just enough to complete it.
Tipper @ 9:11 PM * link
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Thursday, January 20, 2005
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ARGH
Recent Clapotis progress can be described using one word. ARGH.
This is she, after doing one less increase row to begin with (narrower = using less yarn, of course). I got to the final straight repeat and realized that, damn, I wasn't going to have enough yarn. So I ripped, leaving what I thought was enough yarn to finish.
You can guess what happened.
I'm giving the seller I purchased it from the benefit of the doubt at this point. Given that I heard that someone made a one-less-increase-row-sized Clapotis with two skeins of Lion & Lamb (that's 510 yards), and this skein was supposed to have "approximately 600 yards," I thought it was a done deal. Let's hope that she'll be able to provide me with a partial skein or something. I don't even think that ripping back farther will provide me with enough yarn; not to mention, it'll be too short to do any good.
Argh.
Tipper @ 8:46 PM * link
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Sunday, January 16, 2005
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Today was spent with Clapotis and Frank McCourt.
I'm about halfway done with one, 2/3 of the way done with the other ('Tis), and I'm still excited about both.
Also excited about: those pink Regia Jubilee socks everyone seems to be knitting. Who can say no to pink socks?
Tipper @ 8:46 PM * link
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Friday, January 14, 2005
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Pictures today, but not much to say.
Last night I pumped myself full of caffeine in order to start Clapotis:
The yarn is incredible - light, smooth, and it doesn't split at all.
Today was a good day for knitful acquisitions. I purchased the Winter Vogue Knitting, and it's incredible. I may make the shawl collar pullover out of the Cascade 220 I originally bought for Rogue. I absolutely love those socks, and the fair isle cardigans.
My order from Red Bird Knits arrived.
Schaefer Yarns Anne, Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Old Rose, and Jaggerspun Zephyr in steel
The Zephyr is delicious. That and my Clapotis yarn have decided that my favorite yarn combination is silk and wool.
Tipper @ 9:29 PM * link
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Thursday, January 13, 2005
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Wavy's done. I could have done another repeat, but I'm sick of ribbing. (For a time, I was working on three ribbed projects at once.) I made a very noticeable mistake, likely when I was having some one-year-anniversary champagne with the boyfriend while watching "The Office." I'm likely giving it away instead of keeping it - not because there's a mistake, but just because.
Now I've started Clapotis, in the hopes that so much stockinette will turn me back onto ribbing. Once that happens, I think I'll start on one of the many cardigans I've been planning, one on size 9 needles with Berroco Uxbridge Tweed.
Joann.com emailed me within the allotted 48 hours. They apologized, and credited my account. So, happy ending, I guess.
Tipper @ 9:52 PM * link
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Tuesday, January 11, 2005
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Joann.com sent me my 10 balls of Patons Classic Merino in peacock and failed to send my Patons Kroy (out of stock, apparently), yet charged me for the whole shebang. They darn well better fix this. They're by far the worst online vendor I've ever dealt with. After sitting on my order for 7 days, they just happen to ship it the evening I complain about not receiving my order (and, of course, they didn't respond to my email). I guess I'm spoiled by places that actually send what I order, charge the correct amount, and ship within a reasonable amount of time.
At the moment, I'm debating whether or not to sign up for Secret Pals 4. Somewhere along the line my SP3 disappeared - I'm concerned, not angry - so I'm a little wary of doing another one, even though last time was great fun. I was Jackie's secret pal, and she seemed to dig everything I sent.
For those of you interested in such things (which, I suppose means "personal things"), I started a job (like, a real, career-type job) yesterday and it's been going very well. I seem to fit right in! I'm going to get a kick out of walking around the Minneapolis skyway system all the time; it's like a little tunnel city.
Tipper @ 7:32 PM * link
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Sunday, January 09, 2005
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Seren-dippity-doo-dah.
A long time ago - November 29, 2003, to be exact - I purchased 11 balls of Debbie Bliss Merino DK, on sale (I still paid a lot, but what the heck - I was on vacation!). It's been sitting around in my stash. It's too good to get rid of (it is my favorite green color, after all), but not enough to make a sweater, which is what I wanted.
Enter Bobby and the Noro Kureyon that arrived on Saturday. They look as if they're meant to be together.
The green of the Debbie Bliss is damn near exactly like the green in the middle of this ball of Kureyon.
So, what to make? I'm seriously considering a Klaralund, using the Noro where it counts (top/arms) and the Debbie Bliss where it doesn't (torso). Me + v-necks = wonderfulness. Any other ideas?
I certainly don't want to pay $16 for that pattern, though. I betcha I could make something very similar simply by using the power of my noggin.
Tipper @ 5:48 PM * link
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Saturday, January 08, 2005
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Very yarny.
Yesterday I got yarn in the mail: this, to make Clapotis. It's even nicer in person, as there's more purple and rose. I think I'll have to go the one-less-repeat route in order to have enough yarn, but the difference (from the pictures I've seen) doesn't seem that significant. I didn't want to make it, until everyone started to, and now I NEED.
And today I received a package from my dear friend Bobby. We did a little bit of a trade. I sent him what fiber and spinning literature I had (I've decided that spinning isn't for me; all it does is make me want to knit more, and I end up wishing I was knitting instead of spinning), and he sent me a bag (10 balls) of Noro Kureyon number 95 and a ball of silk/cashmere laceweight in a beautiful steely gray. *drool* With friends like him, how can I complain about anything?
I'm taking suggestions for what to do with my Kureyon. I definitely want a sweater, so I'll either be buying more or combining it with some other yarn.
Knitting progress
I finished the started-many-times Bearfoot sock, but I have no pictures yet, as I might be putting together the pattern to sell/send to some knitting magazine or other. I haven't decided. But it's beautiful, and warm, and fits perfectly.
Wavy is half done.
And that's about it.
Tipper @ 8:03 PM * link
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Wednesday, January 05, 2005
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Yarn tempts me so.
I succumbed to Bearfoot today. I've decided that I need gloves to match my new scarf:
Wavy, in purple heather Cascade 220, after two repeats.
So I bought some Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Thunderhead:
Yes, it's even prettier in person.
This, right after I manage to NOT succumb to Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed at yarnxpress.com, and after I entered a verbal agreement with myself to not buy anymore yarn. I feel especially bad because I'm supposed to be not buying stuff and thinking about what I want vs. what I need, and I'm a failure at that, it seems. (Of course, it all goes on the credit card anyway. I'll definitely be paying for it later - with interest.) Note to self: avoid yarn stores when in a bad mood.
But, y'know, someday I'll have pretty, warm, luscious gloves. Bearfoot, by the way, is my new favorite yarn. It should be yours, too.
A bit about Wavy: I would recommend, should you wish to knit this scarf, to do something about the edges. Do slip stitches or something, because otherwise it's raggedy. (Why did I not think of this?) Also, avoid making a mistake 8 rows into things that you notice once you've done 80 rows. And a fuzzier yarn than Cascade 220 is a good idea, since (as is very visible in the original Knitty pictures), you end up with a weird shadowy effect. I think a bit of halo would obscure this. (Plus, you people deserve to knit with soft, fuzzy yarn. Like Bearfoot, for example.)
Today I went to a stitch 'n' bitch in Eden Prairie, and it was nice to get out. I met four pleasant women and one drooly baby, and drank way too much coffee. Also, I managed to screw up my scarf so I had to rip everything I did at the SnB out as I sat down for my knitting + Law & Order fix.
Also, someday I will purchase The Queensland Collection, and I shall make Piccadilly (I think that's the one I liked). I have Jo Sharp DK Tweed sittin' around, and it wants to be used. It feels very decadent to buy a book for one pattern, and I might just do it, darnit.
Tipper @ 7:22 PM * link
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Sunday, January 02, 2005
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Twists and turns
On New Year's Eve, I began a sock. Using Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Firestorm, size 2 dpns, and Nancy Bush's Whitby pattern from Knitting on the Road, I plugged along. It was going quickly, and I was pleased with the fabric. I wasn't sure about the fit, though.
New Year's Day morning my reservations about the fit were confirmed. It fit, but stretched so much that the pattern just didn't pop. Plus, the purl-stitch diamonds between the two cables, at the front of the leg, looked like mistakes in the more-varigated-than-expected yarn. That got ripped.
So I started again, this time using Michelle's basic sock pattern. I cast on 70 stitches instead of 80, which sounded like far too many, especially considering I was using size 2's. After moving along for awhile, I confirmed what I suspected: the sock was now too big. Yes, it fit, but it wasn't snug enough for the ribbing to do any good. Plus, I was now dissatisfied with the fabric I was getting on 2's.
I ripped again. This time, I used size 1 dpns, and started out with Michelle's pattern. I didn't like the 4x1 ribbing, as it didn't have the grab I was looking for, so I did 3x2. Better. But not good enough. Boring, for one thing. I set it aside last night, saddened. I'd have to rip again!
But this morning, inspiration struck. I changed courses and have come up with something that is not only acceptable, but so good I might find a use for this pattern beyond sticking it on my free patterns page.
Don't you love it when that happens, when continual discouragement suddenly blossoms into something beautiful?
Maybe...
Thinking about my goals for the new year, I'm considering merging two of them: purposeful knitting and doing more to help others. Maybe, this year, I'll intersperse my normal projects with charity knitting. I've yet to find one I'd like to help out with, but browsing this page should give me some good ideas. Feel free to share your favorite knit-worthy charity!
Of course, I feel like I've been hit with the event-organizing bug and might want to start one myself. Or maybe an online knitting magazine that's as well-organized as Knitty. It can't hurt to have more, and it seems that the others leave a lot to be desired. But we'll save that for when I might have some money to invest in it.
Tipper @ 8:53 AM * link
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