An Ascot

I finished an ascot! (I wasn't really sure what one was prior to knitting this and reading about it)

Huckleberry Ascot by Kat Coyle
Interweave Knits Holiday 2007
Fleece Artist Kid Silk 3 ply rose, 1 skein
US 7 needles

Not to whine, but I really didn't enjoy knitting the bobbles, at all. I seriously thought about just making a ruffle like in this scarf, but then I already knit that and what fun would that be? They do look nice now that I am done with them. This really is a last minute pattern for those of you making holiday gifts - I pretty much knit it in an afternoon (I am not this year, after the disasterous NaKniSweMo, I just didn't have the confidence to take on multiple projects with a deadline). I love the way it looks with my dressy black coat, but it also looks quite good with just a t-shirt. My second winner from this magazine too (heres the first)! And there is more I want to knit too...

Defeat

Well, I have finally admitted to myself, NaKniSweMo is not going to happen for me. Except for the completely impulsive lone Marigold sock, I have a bit of knitting blah right now, and just haven't been knitting much the past few weeks. I don't know why at all, you would think now that winter is upon us, I would want to knit sweaters, other warm things. But I guess more than anything, I've just been feeling lazy, maybe because I am spending too much time at home with Chief:

My cat, Chief. Very lazy.

Even yesterday, I said to myself, there is still time for Marseilles (my November sweater) (!!!It only took me 3 hours to knit the first cable repeat!) Marseilles is going to be a project. I found it requires A LOT of concentration, frequent use of the crochet hook for fixing mistakes, and I guess I am just slowing down as winter comes on (less sunlight, less time outside=overall less activity) so this isn't the right project for me right now. Its funny, I picked that pattern because I wanted a challenge, but the challenging part of it was what kept me from picking it up. Its going to sit in the basket for a while now, maybe I will do a repeat here and there, but now I really want to crack into my latest Rowan ... lots of bulky yarn projects!! (Right now I am between (warning, Ravelry links): Petersburg, Iceland, and the Alpine Shrug - any opinions out there?)

Procrastination

I have a pitiful start on my Nokniswemo, (Marseilles, if you are curious here it is on my Flickr). Why? I really don't know why I decided to cast on for another pair of socks.

I became involved with these:

Marigold Socks by Pamela Wynne

This is a really fun pattern to knit, part of why it wasn't painful to rip back 3 times! First, I tried to reincarnate my Chevron Scarf, but switching colors every 8th row (the pattern repeat) didn't look right. Then, I tried repeating the colors every other row, but I didn't like this either. Then I tried with a more colorful Koigu (here), but it just looked a little crazy with all of those colors and the ridges of the purl rows in the pattern. So, I re-cast on with the current yarn (Koigu KPPM color P812) and finally I am happy (very happy - these are great socks, I highly recommend impulsively casting on like I did).

Have a nice weekend - I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week already! (It is a week early this year I guess)

November is for sweaters

NaKniSweMo - How fun! And I needed an excuse to cast on for this: Marseilles! OK, I said it, I'm committed now, it has to be done by the end of this month! All of a sudden this seems like a big task for one month. This pattern jumped out at me the first time I flipped through the magazine - early in my knitting adventures. I loved it, but didn't think there was any chance that I could knit it. That was over a year ago, isn't it nice to see yourself getting better at something? There are beautiful FOs on Ravelry. I am so excited to cast on.
I am using Patons Classic Merino in "bright red." It really is, I hope not too much so. I had originally bought it awhile ago for Cheesylove which has fallen out of favor with me, I don't know why.

Speaking of stash ... look what I made from leftovers from my Foilage and Koolhaas hats:

Fetching from Knitty, Summer 2006 in Malabrigro Frosted Grapes and ?Blue Worsted.
I had a hard time getting good pictures of these, and I'm still not happy with the pics. I love these colors together. Maybe the stripes take away from the cables a bit, but in person its not as bad as in the pictures. And so soft. Its a really cute pattern too that can be knit quickly. I didn't make any modifications to the pattern, just alternating colors every other row. I really like these.

I'd better start working on my sweater!

Mmmmm.....Grapes

I couldn't resist....


Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood in Interweave Knits Holiday 2007
Less than one skein of Malabrigo Worsted Frosted Grapes
US 6 (ribbing) and 8 needles

I've never been a part of Fiberlicious before, but I just had to become a member after knitting this. The yarn is so beautiful - the colors really are that of frosted grapes, don't you think? I was a little worried that this was going to pool, or take away from the pattern but I think that it works. Great pattern too. Of course, cabled without a cable needle. (I hated cabling before learning how to do this). I have about 1/3 of a skein left, and I also have about the same left over from my Foilage Hat - This hat is a present for my mom and I was thinking of making some coordinating mitts with the two, maybe these? I'm not sure if I have enough yarn. I could definitely make some fingerless-type mitts.

I also got the new Interweave Knits in the mail ... I'm not so sure about this one. The models are kindof freaking me out a bit ... I was reading the Interweave forum at Ravelry and I guess I am not the only one. There are a few projects that I like, but there aren't as many in previous magazines, I feel like the style of the patterns is much different in this issue. Or maybe I have just really liked the previous magazines (thats definitely true), so this is just a relative let down. Also doesn't look like there is a November Magknits, is there any pattern of which months will have one? I always look forward to checking for one at the beginning of each month.

Happy November!

Its still too hot!

I really had wanted this to be done earlier, so that I could enjoy the cool fall weather in it, but I was sweating taking pictures of this ... and its almost NOVEMBER!

At least the leaves are still pretty. And I'm not complaining about the weather, it was beautiful today, but I love the cool cripsness of fall and it just hasn't really happened yet!

(Ilse and I seriously thinking about jumping in to cool off)
OK, the sweater, here are the details:
Pattern: Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky, in the Fall, 2006 Knitscene magazine
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, a green-blue gray, about 4.5 skeins
Needles: US 8s

Verdict:

hmmm...I guess I look a little stern there, not as happy as I should be looking because I really like the finished sweater and I really enjoyed this knitting. I pretty much followed the pattern exactly, and it worked out just fine, but if I were to do it again I would probably knit it in the round (body and arms). There was a lot of seaming, which I didn't enjoy (mainly, because I suck at it!). Luckily, I got some help from the Ravelry Central Park Hoodie KAL. Darn, I don't mean to be negative - I liked this project! It was fun to knit, went fairly quickly, and the pattern was well written. I love the components: the cables, the hood, that its a cardigan. And it fits (the ultimate sign of a good pattern)! Well, a modification, it fits now - it was a little snug right off the needles, so I soaked it in some soak (I'm a fan of Aquae), then pinned it to the floor (I have carpet now, making blocking much easier!) (and with a clean garbage bag underneath to prevent mildewey eueew) according to the measurements in the pattern and voila:

Now it fits!

Modifications:

The main/only modification was that I didn't seam the hood, I grafted (My favorite Kitchner Stitch link) it. I'm not great at grafting either, as you can tell, but I am getting better! And, this definitely looks neater than a big seam, right?

OK, now confession. I can't pay attention. I had issues with one of the arms and had to rip it out because I wasn't following the increases. And the cables. Remember my back cable mistake early in the project? Well, I didn't fix it and it ended up OK because the hood covered up the nastiness nicely:

But, then I went and did it again, in a noticeable area: the arm. Yes, the same arm that I had already ripped out once. And I was about 20 rows up by the time I noticed this:

Of course, this had to be fixed ... but ripping?
Nope. Someone linked me to this tip from the Yarn Harlot, and I think that the quick and dirty worked out pretty well:

You can tell, but this became less noticeable after washing. And its not a mis-crossed cable now. But I can see how this could bother a person. It just didn't bother me enough to justify ripping out the arm a second time.

One more thing, because buttons really are hard to find and it took me a bit to find these:

Buttons from JoAnn's. Blah, I know, but I got lucky and they were 40% off, randomly, so it was $5.35 for 6 buttons and peanut M+Ms (I don't do that often, I had missed lunch due to all of that seaming!). And, I liked these.

I can't wait to wear this ... I think its going to be in the LOWER 60s later this week, maybe it will be overcast t00 and I really will need a warm sweater! If not, I am sure winter is coming soon enough, I just hope that there is a little bit of autumn in the meantime.

Phew - I hope that you made it to here, and that all of the pictures loaded OK. Thanks for reading!

A real post

It has been awhile since I had a real post. The last 2 were quick-fluffy-"I'm still here" posts. Well, if only it was just that: I feel incredibly guilty about the most recent post in which I gloated about the Indians (who have now been eliminated). Did you even notice the socks in that post? I'm a bad, bad person. What is it about sports, they turn you into a crazy person! In the past, I've forgone watching games, knowing that I was so powerful that me watching the event (I've done this in multiple sports) would cause my team to lose! Not rational. It is fun to really cheer, scream, and analyze the games ... its just losing ... but I guess the highs of watching sports means that there must be lows as well.

So, moving on, I had a lovely dinner tonight that involved therapeutic chopping with my wonderful knife (really, its good). And, since this is moving on, there had to be some excellent beer to help dull the nerves a bit.

Zucchini Pasta from Mark Bittman's Column in the Wednesday New York Times. I used basil instead of thyme (because, I had basil, not thyme).
I actually, was more drawn to the chickpea pasta in this article, but it seemed like more of an autumn recipe. (Internal conversation: But its late October! But its still consistently in the 70s, even 80s last weekend - It feels like summer!) So, I made the Zucchini version. It was quite good, btw. I'll wait until it cools down a bit to make the Chickpea one ... maybe this weekend?

And, since this is a knitting post, this is not second sock syndrome, its a complimentary pair, right?

Jaywalker #1 from Magknits using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock from here and US 1 needles and Roza's Sock #1 from Interweave Knits using US ZERO needles and Cider Moon Icicle, Hocus Crocus.
Really - Look at the neat stripes of both toes, the vertical ribbing stripes in each pattern, and the pink/blue/yellow/white pastel matching colors! Poor Roza #1 has been done for a while now, and #2 has even been cast on, but she is knit on 0s, and the Jaywalker knits on larger needles and has a more flowing pattern, so it will likely still get done first. Does anyone know if Cider Moon is coming back? Its been some time since they posted this on their website. I really like the yarn. Luckily, I have another skein stashed (Glacier - Ravelry link - which will become a pair of Campfire socks - another Ravelry link- this winter, hopefully), but I hope thats not it for my Cider Moon yarn, I love the colors.

p.s. Like the banner? It was pretty easy on blogger (Unlike trying to get this font to be the stated size after making the small font comments under the pictures*), but there was this tutorial that helped with my confidence to even try (I am not a very high tech person!)

*see how the font gets smaller after the first picture? I have spent *forever* trying to get this right, to no avail!

Happy!

The test is over, the Indians are winning, and I have a finished sock! Good reasons, right?

I've had a hard time knitting during the playoffs so far - I've been too tense with all of the good games! It just felt better to sit curled up in a ball rocking during some of the games, even the ones that didn't look as close or were done in a mere 3 hours (Game 2 against Boston went 5+ hrs!), Boston is a good team and very capable! But I'm happy now - we are up 3 games to 1.
Go Tribe!

eek!

Its one week until the boards (that test I have been studying/should have been stuyding for). And as if I'm not distractable enough in the first place ... the Indians are in the playoffs!

So, I'm sorry knitting, you are going to have to suffer. Depending on how bad the post-test convalescence period is, it may be a bit before I get back here again.

Wish me luck!

As I said...

...it wouldn't be long until the Eyelet Cardigan is done, and it is!


Eyelet Cardigan by Allison Williams (Blue Sky Alpaca Pattern)
Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton - Tomato, about 3 1/2 skeins
US 7 Needles
Buttons - plain light wood from AC Moore
No pattern modifications!

Happy! It was fun to knit and well written overall. It was a fairly quick knit - there were 5 pieces (the back, 2 arms, front panels) and, maybe not the back, but all of the other pieces could each be knit in an evening (uninterrupted). And it fits, buttoned and unbuttoned, nicely! I like cropped tops, but I am always a bit weary - you know how they hang off of the curve of your back, making you look much more osteoporotic than you really are? Not this one, the ribbing keeps it snug (not too snug though!). The buttons are a bit plain, but I think that they work. This was my first button project, and is it really hard to find nice buttons? I ended up getting these at a big box store, not excting, they had a pretty meager selection. I looked at 2 yarn stores, and they had a lot of kiddie-swirly-colorful glass buttons - not my style and not for this project, I just wanted a plain, nice, wooden button. Any suggestions for the future?

Now, onto the Central Park Hoodie, thats coming along quickly too!

Drumroll....

... I've purchased the extra yarn and it won't be long now before the eyelet cardigan is done!

(Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton - Tomato)
And, this weather? I think its going to cooperate for this sweater: I saw this as a perfect cool summer evening sweater, well ... technically, its fall but I am at the shore now and its been in the 80s (upper 80s) all week! I went to the beach yesterday! (Don't be too angry - I had my boards books with me, no leisurely flipping through magazines)

Of course, I didn't work on my WIPs during this yarn procurement time, but it has been premier week on TV so I had to be working on
something...

...the Foilage hat from the current Knitty (in Malabrigo worsted weight, US 7 needles). I love this hat, and the yarn - it is a bit fuzzy, but its so soft and I love the blues - see the white stripes at the bottom of hat/ribbing? I love that too! There is a bit of pooling at the top, but who will see that? The pattern isn't great for mindless knitting, it requires some concentration at the beginning until you get to the body and repeat sections (I had to rip back a few times, premier week=new TV shows and too much paying attention to the TV).

This = weakness - I had seen this pattern when the new knitty came out, but I became compelled after seeing examples of it on ravelry. Thats one of my favorite things about ravelry: you can see examples of everything, and so quickly after its published. I used to google image all the patterns, but that was a bit of a pain (how many pictures of leaves would this have elicited?).

OK, now I am going to focus on CPH while working on the Clap-o-tee during periods requiring concentration, alternating with the Jaywalkers and Soltice slip socks, and of course getting Roza #2 done in the meantime! How does that sound?

I did knit from the stash though!

No one will ever see....

I love fall! Its my favorite season, pumpkin spice latte, the leaves changing colors, the cool weather (I am NOT a heat person). Its the time of year to get the sweaters back out for those cool (not cold enough for a coat yet) evenings, and look what has come out of summer hibernation (who wants to knit with tweedy wool when its 90 out?)

Central Park Hoodie (Back) from KnitScene
Cascade 220 Heathers
US 8 needles
In addition to the lovely weather change, I was inspired by this - and its a first sweater too! Just one thing, see what the needle is pointing at? I think that the hood will cover it up, right? No one will ever see....

Wahhhhhhhh!

Exactly 3 skeins of yarn (the recommended amount - yes, I got gauge first) and....

...THIS! Out of Yarn. Wah! I am decreasing for the shoulder of the second arm of the eyelet cardigan, and then just have the finishing/trim to do. If only I had knit on 6s instead of 7s, or not made the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater 4 1 /2" as recommended (3 or even 4 inches would have been fine, really).
And my car needed all sorts of repairs out of the blue when all that I took it in for was an oil change and its still not done 24 hours later, and its still 90 degrees out, and... WAAAHHHHHH!

Oh well, I guess I will have to go online and order up some more, and I might as well get yarn for the blue version of the Tartan Scarf from Rowan 42, and then I can get buttons, and .... (what else!)

OK. Back on task. Reality - I have too many projects that I am working on now. Here's whats cooking:

Stiches are being dropped on the Clapotis - very exciting!


Salina has been cast on (Chief approves) - its just too hot to knit with felted tweed now


The Jaywalker heel has been turned (Sock #1)

and the Central Park Hoodie has gone past the swatch, finally - I have about 2 inches of ribbing.

and I have a still lonely Roza's Sock #1 (its knit on 0s, so it takes a lot of motivation for me) and a start on the Soltice Slips from last month's Rockin Sock Club.

I guess I'll have to work on one of these in the meantime...I was just so close to being done!

bad blogger

Maybe I can redeem myself with a pretty picture from what was keeping me from blogging?

This is the NJ shore, it was beautiful weather last week and I had a nice time there. Oh, and I'm done with residency! I probably would have had a nice time anywhere knowing that, but it was nice to be at the shore relaxing, watching the US Open ...

...and knitting! Sun and sand (the beach) aren't conducive to knitting with wool, but I'm not much for sitting in the sun, roasting (I burn and get headaches anyway - wah!), so I had some good porch time enjoying the breezes (aren't ocean breezes the best?). I'll post again soon, there will be knitting pics (all sorts of exciting things have happened: I am almost done with the cardigan, I started dropping Clapotis stiches, and I turned heel #1 on my first Jaywalkers).

Barriers

OMG!

Rowan 42
I know I say this whenever I get a magazine, but really, this one stands out. There is SOOOO much I want to knit (including absolutely non-delusional, doable projects). I just want to cast on!

But then....

Jaywalkers, Sock Club #3s, and Roza's Socks ... and I have 2 sweaters, a third that is swatched for and ....

....oh, darn! Reality:

A major test looming that I really should start studying for, the knitting urges are going to have to suffer a little.

I guess I have something to daydream about now while I am trying to study.

I do have a few projects that I've made progress on while watching my new favorite show, the Shield (note to self again - need to start studying), on Netflix ... I'll post pics soon.

Partial non-knitting post ....

...since my 2 regular readers/commenters are not knitters, and like to cook (hey! Judi - you just got a new stove, and Karen - whats with going to Sur La Table "for fun" and impulse buying a trivet if you don't like to cook!): I cooked the other night: Ricotta Gnocci from the most recent issue of Cooks Illustrated. Karen, for extra enticement: This recipe required using the food processor THREE times (but, I didn't clean it in between because its all going into the same dish anyhoots, right?)?

In knitting news, I finally finished my grasshopper socks and while I don't think that I will knit a second pair ever (the YO P2tog pattern wasn't the most fun for me), I like them. So, now I have to knit a fun pattern: Jaywalkers! This is a great pattern, and I love watching the stripes emerge (I'm using Lornas Laces from here); these are going fast, so there probably will be pics soon.

Summer

Yes! I finished something in the appropriate season!

Blue Sky Fitted Tank by Allison Williams
Blue Skies Dyed Cotton, 3 skeins
US 9 needles

I am very happy with this...now that its finished. There was some strife with the pattern and the newly finished product. I still haven't learned to read the entire pattern BEFORE knitting. For me, there is something semi-exciting about moving to the next part of the pattern (ex. increase rows to arm hole shaping), and I don't want to ruin the surprise by reading ahead. Well, I drove myself nuts with the first neck (its knit in 2 pieces, then sewed at the end) - I couldn't get it to be neat! Then, I figured out to read ahead a bit and, aha!, at the end you pick up stitches along the edge then bind off for a neat border.

Also, when I first tried it on...DESPITE ACTUALLY SWATCHING AND GETTING GAUGE ...well, it was a little big. A-N-G-E-R!
And, the gauge was a little loose, gaps in between the stiches and all. So, I did a google search and Ravelry search, and couldn't find much about shrinking Blue Sky Cotton. I went with a very conservative approach: I soaked the sweater in warm water, then dried it until it was a little more than damp, then took a deep breath and put it in the drier, on medium heat, and checked, and checked, and checked until it was the right size. And the yarn plumped up nicely as well! Y-A-Y! I am, again, quite happy with the Blue Sky Cotton. I used it on my Licorice Whip sweater as well ... I didn't get gauge on that sweater and its a bit small, I was hoping to stretch it by wear, but I think I am going to have to be a little bit more aggressive. I just haven't gotten around to it and now .... this just arrived in the mail, there are a lot of great projects (deciding to highlight those was hard!). I also need to finish sock club socks #2 and cast on for socks #3 because I think another shipment will be arriving soon. And, I am about to start dropping stitches for thE Clap-O-TEE, and I've purchased yarn for my first pair of Jaywalkers (another web classic)

I guess its time to stop blogging and get knitting!

hmmm....

Sometimes I feel like I spend so much time here, oohing over everyone else's FOs ... and I will never have a FO! As if I didn't spend enough time with the plain old blogs! Anyone else feel the same?

Here is the Blue Sky Tank ... I had the front done over a week ago, but then have been distracted by the internet...

...I really love Blue Sky Dyed Cotton, its so soft! I really want to get this done soon .... must - resist - Ravelry .....

Settling in ...

Just some pics I took during a bike ride, I'm really liking my new home so far ...

(Clockwise: American Gothic, Le Veque Tower, North Market, Lily pond at Goodale Park)

I also have a FO

Loop Mitts! (a free pattern from Loop).
This was my first time with Picot - what a bear to cast on with, but I liked casting off with picot, and its so pretty - wearing them makes me feel special. My mom is making a pair as well in complementary colors, she's not done yet but once she is there will be a better picture (hear that mom?)

That little ....

(expletive here - s-head would be a good suggestion)
I was only gone for a few hours and look what I came home to:


Who me? But I'm a sweeeeeeetheart!

I would never do something counterproductive to your knitting like, say, unravel half of the ball and somehow manage to get 1/3 of the stitches off of the circular needles and unravel a *few* rows. (Note the collar ... not a sweetheart collar)

Well, to look at the glass half full (after ripping back 6 rows), at least I have a picture with which to blog about my new project: the Fitted Tank. I am almost done with the front after casting on 3 days ago, I love the Blue Sky Cotton - its so soft! I feel like a real Blue Sky Alpacas groupie with this right after the Clementine, and because I just purchased this, which I can't wait to cast on for with this in shrimp (not yet purchased, I am set on THIS color, don't ask me why - there are so many beautiful colors in this yarn!). Thats enough thisses!

2 Months...

..thats not too late, is it??!!?

I'm talking about ...

Clemetine Shawlette from Spring 2007 IK
Blue Sky Alpaca Silk - less than 3 skeins (and this is long too!)
US 5 Straight Needles
...My 2007 Mother's Day present is finished!

I am pretty happy with the shawl. The yarn is very soft and was nice to work with, and I think the color can go with a lot (black, white, pastels...). I don't like grafting, and I was dumb and did it before my AM coffee today:

knit purl, purl knit...
...it seemed to go on forever (probably because my reward was a cup of coffee, again, bad move). I really don't enjoy grafting, its stressful for some reason and I always at some point zone out and slip stitches off the needles I shouldn't, or start perseverating on the knit purl .. purl knit...purl knit, making mistakes. And I'm not good at it. This time, I thought I had it, I was going to graft on the 4th repeat row, the knit row, so that everything would be even ....

...well, its quite obvious. I thought about ripping it out and redoing it ... but my mom liked it as is, and I was afraid of messing up more (lots of yarn overs, passing stitches, and it took so long to graft!). Morale: Coffee is not a reward, its like toothpaste in the AM, its part of getting ready.

Now I can cast on for something new ... Since its summer and hot, I'm leaning towards some cool cotton for the Blue Sky Alpaca fitted tank, another 3 skein project (hopefully this won't take 2+ months), but I just bought this great yarn for a Clapotis

Sheep Shop 3, 2 skeins

I also swatched a bit before for the Central Park Hoodie too .... that Cascade 220 would be really painful in this heat though....Stay tuned!

Phew!

Sorry about being a bad blogger ... I've been too busy. Some of the busy-ness has been in bad ways (work: 6 weeks of call (working 30 hour shifts) every 4th night and 5 weeks of not having a complete weekend off), and some exciting (I've moved! Well, moving wasn't fun, but setting up/decorating a new apartment was!). I'm also without my precious internet, and I don't know when it is going to be hooked up. Pooooor me!

Hello Columbus!

I now live in Columbus, where I grew up. Its good to be home, the city has changed a lot (in good ways) since the last time I lived here ... eleven years ago! I have an apartment downtown, and it has a washer and dryer in addition to a pool (2 things I didn't have before, I'm getting soft - 4 years ago I didn't even have a garbage disposal in my apartment!). I've been in Cleveland for the past 7 years, and its a great city (lots of culture, character, spirit), but its been a hard 7 years and, so, it feels good to move on. I still have 2 months of residency left, but they are light months so I will be semi-commuting/staying with family in Cleveland and hopefully still make it one Saturday to Phoenix Coffee to knit. I'll miss Cleveland, it will always be a "home" to me.

Anyway, I hope to have a kntting post soon ... I am getting some much deserved relaxation at the New Jersey Shore with family this weekend. Look where I stopped on my way from the airport:
Loop!

(Sheep Shop Yarn 3 - Color G129 - intended for a Clapotis, I haven't made one yet!)
Such a nice store!