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Monday, February 27, 2006
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My knitting's acting out.
Dear knitting,
I don't mean to neglect you. Sometimes I've got to work long hours - even those Saturdays that are "our" time - to put a roof over your head. I wish you'd be more understanding.
Do you think I like it when new yarn for Crichton arrives at my door and I can barely knit one row before passing out? Believe me, I don't. I long for a vacation day so that I can fix that. (If you'll let me fix it.)
But when I do have time to knit, I don't feel that it's fair to manipulate that. Just because you miss me, it doesn't mean you should yield things that are too small or too large for my purposes in order to make me spend MORE time with you. Take the latest sock, for example.
Just this Saturday I rushed to the yarn store after work so I could purchase some Naturespun Sport (I've changed my mind about this yarn - my latest balls are soft and not unspinning themselves as previous ones have, so I like it - no, love it - now). I picked out delightful colors and cast on that evening, using Simply Socks by Anna Zilboorg as my guide. The first sock was way, way too small. That's ok - I can rip it out. The second sock, after a false start or two, is gorgeous:
And is also far too large for my Sockapaloooza pal. However, it fits me exactly. (And, yes, knitting, I know the colors aren't accurate above. The green is much more leafy and spring-like. I guess I'll have to have a talk with the camera, too.)
This is the sort of manipulation that is unacceptable: I cannot, in good conscience, rip out a beautiful sock that fits me exactly, and you know this. Instead, I'll add another pair of socks to my ever-growing list of things to knit, forcing me to feel more guilty about not spending enough time with you.
I feel bad enough about it as it is, knitting. I don't mean to neglect you. Please don't take it out on me. Remember - every time you make me run to the yarn store for different yarn (since, of course, I don't have enough to make two pairs of socks in these colors), that's less time I can actually knit. Please, if you must be difficult, be difficult in a way that only uses up stash.
I love you so much. Let's make it work.
Yours,
Tipper
Tipper @ 5:06 AM * link
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Tuesday, February 21, 2006
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Mystery solved!
Thanks for your comments yesterday! I agree that it's the best route to hunt down that yarn and keep on truckin'; it's just hard to want to do that when you're cranky and sick-feeling and frustrated in general.
I sent out some feelers yesterday to folks carrying J&S yarn, searching for that darn elusive clover color.
The first person to respond was Jo-Anne of Four Seasons Knitting, who had an interesting tidbit of information that I can't seem to find in the Sweaters From Camp book: not every yarn used is Jamieson & Smith. Some of it is Jamieson's Spinning of Shetland yarn. It figures; the color I was looking for had a number of "S596," a different format from J&S yarn.
Now, don't you think this info would've been a nice addition to the book?
Although I won't be ordering from Jo-Anne (she only has three balls in stock and I'm too impatient for special ordering), I encourage you to pay a visit to her shop. We oughta buy from such knowledgable people!
I wanted to buy locally, but then I realized that I've never seen Jamieson's yarn in person. Jamieson & Smith, yes - The Yarnery and Yarn Cafe have some of that (and probably Sheepy Yarn Shoppe, but I've only been there once and can't recall). One of the sites that popped up in my original search was Two Swans Yarns, so I placed my order with them. The yarn was quite inexpensive, and I got free shipping (that includes, um, some Lorna's Laces that I threw in - like I need more sock yarn!). Great prices on everything, actually. We'll see how the service is.
So, Crichton is on hold until I can get that clover. In the meantime, I cast on for my Sockapaloooza sock, the retro rib pattern. I tried my own thing, but neither of my ideas worked with the yarn, so I'll go with something simpler. (Too bad it makes me feel really boring!)
Tipper @ 5:47 AM * link
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Monday, February 20, 2006
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I dunno.
I may just be having the "I can't believe I haven't even finished one repeat yet" blues, but there may actually be a problem with my cardigan.
That is, I don't know if I like the background. See, in the pattern, the "dark lavender" color is used only for a few rows in the motif, at the very center, behind beige and ivory. Now, since clover appears to be discontinued and J&S sent me more dark lavender instead, I decided to just use that for the entire background of the flower motif. Purple heather, which is what I swatched (accidentally) is the background of the lesser motif.
Purple heather is an awesome color - complex and saturated and dark. Dark lavender is kind of dull, and it makes everything look a bit washed out. (This is really hard to photograph well, and I can't even adjust the colors properly, but you get the idea.)
The real problem is that I ordered this from England; returning it would mean, sending it back there, and I don't even know if they'll take returns. Plus, that's hours of work down the tubes, and I've already broke into one each of every skein.
I have three choices:
- stop now, and scrap the whole thing (maybe doing it in entirely different colors, which I wish I would have done in the first place), returning the yarn to J&S
- track down six skeins of clover and rip out that first half of the flower motif (probably the smart thing to do, but it will cost me at least $30 more to do so)
- keep going, at least until I get back to the purple heather section, so I can see how awful the striping is
Any other ideas?
Tipper @ 6:08 AM * link
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Thursday, February 16, 2006
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Growing
Crichton (in the awkward adolescent "please don't take my picture I'm DISGUSTING" phase)
Ignore the funny color (see swatch for a better representation); I tried my darnedest to touch it up, but to no avail. Now I know how photographers of high school seniors feel.
The azalea shawl
This is actually a one ball down! shot, but not because I actually knit the ball. Oh, no. Sophie decided to be helpful and shred the remaining ball. She must've overheard me talking about my next knitting milestones and interpreted "finish this ball" as "kill this ball with my teeth."
My to-knit list
- added today: fingerless gloves on commission for a coworker, possibly two pairs (they will be done in alpaca, fair isle, colors yet to be determined)
- Crichton (of course)
- the shawl (of course)
- the deep-v argyle vest (currently waiting for Eunny to do her size-enlargement calculations so I don't have to)
- this sweater?; I like the back design, anyway, and the sleeves. I am not sold on the bottom ruffle (yes, please, make my hips look 8 inches bigger!), nor am I keen on the front. Maybe I'll borrow the front of this cardigan that I love cause it makes me look adorable and the back/sleeves of the pattern, and create something new. (The latest KnitPicks catalog is full of great patterns and ideas.)
- Sockapaloooza socks (I gotta start on those soon!)
- A million other things, including:
...finishing the Viennese shrug
...ripping out my so-close-to-done Clapotis and turn it into a circular shrug
...two tasteful ponchos from Wrap Style that I've wanted to make for forever
...Annie Modesitt's ribbed silk corset
...ripping out my Lucky Clover Wrap and starting over (this time I even get to make a smaller size! One thing that ain't growing is ME; quite the opposite!)
...a million more other things.
Spring must be getting ready to sproing.
Tipper @ 9:28 PM * link
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Monday, February 13, 2006
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I didn't mean to, really!
My first official I've-started-Crichton picture is a somewhat unfortunate one.
That, my friends, is a picture of successfully surgery (with the surgeon wearing gnome pajamas, as is the style nowadays).
Because, you see, I cannot manage to start a large circular object without twisting the first row, no matter how many times I check and double-check. No matter how many times I check and correct and carefully join, I get at least the first start wrong, usually more. ("Third time's the charm" is sort of my knitting thing.) This was no exception, although I was certain I got it this time. Luckily, it has a steek, so I just cut the steek a little early. (Sidenote: steeks are COOL!)
My progress has moved much beyond that above; I'm almost ready to move to size four needles and the main body of the pattern. I almost hit my goal yesterday (which was to finish that first band), but I got a little overenthusiastic with dinner preparations (as I tend to do) and had very little time to knit yesterday.
I have high hopes of finishing that band and doing the first row of pattern (at least), while transferring my shawl to the larger needle currently knitting said band. It's like a milestone doubleheader!
I really, really, really need to spin. I also - still! - need to finish my wheel. I want to spin up allll my fiber and finish my wheel (not necessarily in that order) before the Shepherd's Harvest festival rolls around (it's like Rhinebeck for Minnesotans). After all, there's no point in getting more fiber if I haven't used the old stuff yet, eh? (*wink*)
Tipper @ 6:01 AM * link
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Monday, February 06, 2006
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First order of business: swatch
My yarn and I spent some quality time together yesterday. We created this beautiful swatch:
(Please ignore the wonky side motifs; the swatching method is not conductive to nice edges.)
Of course, halfway through I realized I used the wrong background color. The good news is that I'm spot on for gauge and will be able to use the delightfully large size 4 needles to complete this sweater.
I finished my v-neck sweater. I regret not being able to show you a better picture, but all possible angles made me look like a large cow.
Knits to come
I took Lauren's suggestion and am going with Rowanspun DK for my argyle vest, although I didn't buy the cheap stuff off of eBay. For one, I don't need quite that much yarn, and for another, they didn't have the sort of colors I was looking for. However, Yarn Cafe did, and I bought three skeins each of catkin and eau de nil (bright leaf green with blue flecks/bright turquoise with green flecks), and I hope that's enough. I also found the exact yarn I was thinking of for my Sockapalooza socks - a plain ol' blue-gray. I wanted something neutral, but not boring. I think I'm going to design something with cables.
I also nabbed a good deal: The Best of Knitter's Magazine Shawls and Scarves, found at Half-Price Books for $8. Of course, the shawl I like the most (on page 21, the gray shawl) doesn't have a pattern in the book. I've got some merino/silk fiber that needs to be spun, and I'd like to turn it into a shawl; it'll probably be one from this book.
Tipper @ 9:53 PM * link
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Wednesday, February 01, 2006
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Vast fields of knitting before me
I have miles to go before my alpaca lace thing is shawl-sized. Miles. I can do almost two rows on one leg of my bus trip. Uff da. It is now about a DD-cup (really, I put it on my boob!).
My A.V. v-neck is done drying and is sooooooft. I think I'll even get some seaming in tonight, because I'm hardcore.
The remainder of my yarn for Crichton arrived today. Sorta. I was sent more balls of #133 (purple heather/mauve mix depending upon who you ask), two balls of beige, and NO balls of clover. It appears, from my brief research, that clover is discontinued. It's not on the J&S colorcards I've seen online. So, I guess I'll be dealing with just two background colors. From the picture, it appears that clover and purple heather are not all that different, so maybe I'll do just fine. I'm just glad it's not another problem on J&S's side, although I wish they would've let me know about the switch.
Sockapalooza matches are out, and I'm one of them for the very first time. Thanks to a Livejournaler, I knew when names were being taken, and thanks to a previous sock swap that I organized (but didn't actually successfully swap), I had my measurements on hand in great detail.
The person I'm knitting for appears to want something simple. Wool, and not lacy. I have no idea what patterns that aren't lacy are out there that aren't boring as heck, so if anyone has any to share, bring it on.
As far as I go, I'm up for anything. But knit me awesome colorwork socks (as long as they aren't Lucy Neatby - except maybe these - or these scary creatures) and I'll be yours forever.
Speaking of awesome colorwork, dig Eunny Jang's Deep V Argyle vest! I bought the pattern and am contemplating yarn. Merino Style, maybe? I'd like something springy. Fog + cornflower? Frost + nutmeg? Oh, how I wish I had a colorcard! Or, y'know, I could put my Debbie Bliss Merino DK to work (though I'd have to buy a contrast color), though I think I might have enough for an entire sweater. Can anyone think of any other nice DK-weight yarn that isn't too ungodly expensive or hard to find?
And now - we seam!
Tipper @ 9:56 PM * link
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