2008

Happy New Year - I hope that 2009 is a healthy and happy new year for everyone!

It was a good year for me - I moved to a new city, began a fellowship, and had 2 wonderful vacations with my sister to Israel and Turkey. I got a new car and camera. Maybe its the new setting, or just time, but I feel good - like I am finally coming out of a fog that I have been under for a few years. There are a lot of people who have not been as fortunate this year, and I hope that events in the Middle East do not escalate anymore than they already have, but I am optimistic that come January 20th things will start to get better for everyone.

Knitting-wise, I had a lot of time to knit this year (so, it was a productive year) and ventured into lace knitting. My favorite projects are the Juno Regalia shawl, Gumdrop Socks (they just feel so good on!), and the Montreal socks (I have a suspicion that the next time I come across this yarn I will just buy it and cast on for another pair before I know what happened...). On the needles now are 2 single socks, a vest that needs finishing, the beginnings of a sweater, and the linings of my Fiddlehead mittens. So, those should be the priorities for the start of 2009, but there are a few patterns that I am just smitten with.

(R-L 1. Clapotis 2. Jaywalker Socks 3. Montreal Socks 4. Montego Bay Scarf 5. Serendipity Socks 6. Jules Socks 7. Sock Keychain 8. Blackberry Cover 9. IPod Cover 10. Lace Ribbon Scarf 11. Potamus Socks12. Hourglass Sweater 13. Leafling Socks 14. Marigold Socks 15. Adamas Shawl 16. Jess's Shawl 17. Koolhaas #2 17. Noro Knee-highs 18. Gloria Cowl 19. Juno Regalia 20. Gumdrop Socks 21. Chevron Scarf 22. Twisted Flower Socks 23. Amanda Hat 24. Evangeline Mitts for Judi 25. Salish Sea Socks 26. Iceland Sweater 27. Uptown Boot Socks 28. Cabled Hat 29. Lenore Socks 30. Soltice Slip Socks 31. Picot Monkey Socks)

There are a few projects up there that I just finished, and will blog about soon. Happy New Year!

Vacation Pictures

I just got back from a wonderful holiday with my sister to Turkey (while vacation is probably a more American term, this was a big and wonderful trip and holiday seems more appropriate). I am way behind on the gift knitting, but in case you need a break too, here are some pictures:

Istanbul

Turkish delight!

The art and history there was amazing

Pamukkale

The tile was one of my favorite things there

Aphrodisias

Cappadocia

I highly recommend a trip to Turkey if you get the chance, we had a wonderful time. Now, back to work, I think that I need to have one FO a day to get everything done that I want to ....

If I am going to put so much work into a pair of socks, I better make sure that people notice them!

Hey, those look like interesting socks!

Introducing ... Bright Socks - from a very intricate (but fun) pattern:

Twisted Flower Socks by Cookie A.
Cherry Hill Tree Supersock in Yellow
US 1.5 needles

I enjoyed making these, but they did take a while (I never managed to get the pattern memorized). The pattern is great, and makes some beautiful socks, but they are complicated, even down to the heel!

Cabling/lace on the heel!

I know that the color is really bright, maybe even a bit too so, but I'm happy with it and this pattern for a few reasons: a. flowers! (they can be bright yellow) b. its a solid yarn (necessary for this pattern so as not to obscure anything) and c. its a beautiful pattern, and I guess that I do want people to notice!

I love knitting socks: they are great portable projects, usually fairly quick to knit, handknit socks feel so good on ... but, for me, a large component to it is sock yarn. I love sock yarn. I have a hard time getting solid colorways because the multi-colored skeins are so enticing to me, but the color (although just one) to this yarn caught my eye. Its very bright, but I couldn't resist! I know there are only certain things that I can wear them with, but I think it will be fun when I do!

Chevron Scarf

This took forever! But, the results were worth it:

Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Started 1/2008 - Finished 11/4/2008
Less than one skein of Socks that Rock Mediumweight Lucy and Banded Agate
US 5 needles

It ended up about 90 inches long ... It was longer initially, too long, I had wanted to use all of the yarn. So, after casting off, I ripped back. 90 inches is long enough, I think.

I also made myself a camera strap with some Ikea fabric:

I'm still learning how to use the camera...

Good FOs

I have 2 new FOs to share, both of which I just love.

First, the surprise (for me):

Goody Goody!

These are the 3rd shipment of the Rockin Sock Club and I really did not like the yarn or pattern when I got it. I've been really happy with all of the other packages, and I haven't started a few really beautiful ones, so.. why did I even start these? I'm not really sure, I just felt like I should plow through them, then start on the more exciting ones. And I am so happy with them! They are the most comfortable socks I have knit, I love wearing them! (Pattern: Gumdrop Socks, Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight - Goody Goody, US 1 needles)

Second: Remember this? Juno Regina!

So, pretty!

Pattern: Juno Regina by Miriam Felton
Yarn: Dream in Color Baby in visual purple
Needles: US 5

I posted about this a while ago, and its been done for a while too, but it took me a while to block it, and then longer to take pictures (well, pictures that did it justice)

I love this. More than the socks. The yarn is beautiful ... there is the smallest amount of variation in color that makes the purple really pop. I only used 1 skein, and its still pretty big. Its really soft, perfect to wear as a scarf (how I'll probably wear it most), although it would make a nice stole for the winter as well.

I love the way it looks with my go-to coat

One more piece of excitement:

New Camera!

Happy (very)

Just a quick post to share my happiness

Hot off the needles!

1. I finally finished my Chevron Scarf from LMKG. For those familiar with the book, this definitely took more than 8 hours. Its in need of a good blocking, but its turned out beautifully and I'll post more pictures soon.

2. I just had a wonderful bagel that was hand-delivered to me from Cleveland. Can't these come to Indiana, soon?

Oh, yeah, and...

Even Chief knows things are looking up

3. This would be what makes me very happy. And both of my states (Ohio and Indiana) were blue!

Crafty?

I am very happy with knitting ... I find the process of knitting relaxing (great for when I am watching a good sports game) and fun (watching a pattern emerge, multicolored yarn stripe/pool out...). Knitting , or maybe reading other blogs, has peaked my interest into other crafts. I love my handmade sweaters, hats, mittens ... what if I could sew? And fabric seems to be be just as enticing as yarn.

So, with the new apartment, and a limited budget, I made a small foray into the sewing world:

See the headboard? And the pillow?

I bought some pretty fabric and stapled it to 2 canvases, then hung them behind my bed. Obviously, very influenced by Apartment Therapy. Specifically this, alright not influenced, copied!

What to do with that leftover denim when you get your jeans shortened?

I then made a simple pillow using some more pretty fabric and the bottoms of some jeans that I had shortened a long time ago (and have been holding onto, including going through 2 moves because the jeans were expensive, and I couldn't throw away the scraps!). This was also influenced by the internets, I read Sew, Mama, Sew! sometimes, just wondering what if I had a sewing machine...

Afternoons = nap time, Chief was tres annoyed, but not giving up his turf!

Imperfect, yes. But I am happy. I'd love to learn how to sew. Maybe make some lounge wear pants, a new laundry bag, skirts....Right now, there is no time, but hopefully someday....

Late to the party, but just in time...

My first cowl:

Gloria Cowl
Misti International hand-painted sock yarn, held double
US 8 needles

It was a little big, I cast on 99 stitches - so, I did a gentle shrinking in the dryer, and its so nice when mistakes work out! The yarn was beautiful to start out with, but the drying process really enhanced the softness and fuzziness of the yarn from its alpaca content (but just a little, we don't want too much fuzz around our necks - itchy!) . Perfect for fall! I've been enjoying the weather, letting my apartment get a little cold and snuggling up with the cowl and a quilt. Now, if only the grocery weren't out of apple cider (how!) ... I guess other people love fall as much as I do.

So, keeping with the fall/october theme ... I have been a little spooked lately. This is a knitting blog, but I am going to go beyond that now, so don't read on if you just want knitting!


8 years ago, I thought, how much damage can one person do, especially if there is relative incompetence, they just won't know how to do things, so, nothing will get done. Well, we saw and will continue to feel where that went. Now, what about the thought of having someone even more so as the vp, with an above average risk of becoming the president, exhaulting and aiming to emulate a person who has done unmeasurable damage to this country's ideology (and democracy itself), whose job she hopes to have - very, very, scary. The top of the ticket doesn't fall too far from the tree either. If you aren't registered to vote, please do, the deadline is just a few days away, don't be late to the party! Wouldn't it be wonderful to have some optimism?

Just a picture post

Although blurry, Chief hasn't made an appearance on the blog for awhile ...



I am also only working on this project until its finished. This was the status on Saturday afternoon. I'm curious to see how productive I am (in terms of FOs) when I focus. I have 700 yards of yarn I'm hoping to use on this one.

Oh Noro...

So, I was just stopping into a wonderful LYS, and was completely enamoured by their selection of Noro sock yarns, specifically Noro Silk Garden Sock. The colors were amazing, the texture, and it seemed much softer than their Kureyon sock yarn. I got home and uncharacteristically immediately cast on for some socks. I wanted them to be perfect, basic socks. I wanted the socks to be twins (unlike my previous pair made out of Kureyon). I wanted to use as much of the yarn as possible. Maybe I have a low entertainment threshold and was too entertained by watching the colors change, or that they were knit on US 2 needles, but these flew off the needles and 10 days later (which includes a 4 day weekend in which I did not bring this project), a finished pair:

Noro Knee Highs - Basic toe up socks using this pattern
Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn - s258, and a white sock yarn from the stash held double
US 2 needles

Love them!

As I said above, I loved watching the colors change. I was almost successful with matching the socks, but, Noro, and its knots - sigh. There were 2 knots in my skein - the first came conveniently at the end of the first sock. The second came during the leg of the second (right) sock - it should transition from yellow to purple, but goes from yellow to pink. Its less noticable on the picture, and only threw off the colors a bit, but arg! Oh well.

Will I become a toe up sock knitter? I don't know. I do like the ability to use up all of the yarn without worrying about running out (for socks with yarn that you don't want to waste). And this cast on makes everything a lot less painful (I had been doing a crochet cast on for toe ups). I'm still more comfortable/familiar with the top down, and it seems to go faster (ending with the leg/boring part seems to make the toe up drag on a little more). We'll see! I have some lovely yarn that also will be toe up socks, and after that....

Boo!

Hi. Still here. Been busy.

Well, not that busy. Getting settled into my new job, home, classes (do I remember how to study, or even learn?), and city has been going well, but its exhausting and the blog has suffered. And then the Olympics and all of the political conventions on top of everything. But with all of that TV time, there has been knitting!

Another Koolhaas Hat, I felted my first one. I'm still upset, I don't want to talk about it.
Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood (have you seen his new hat?)
Dream in Color Classy - Beach Fog (leftover from my Hourglass sweater)
US 8 needles

I've also knit a cowl (my first!) and am getting closer to being done with my Chevron scarf (it is taking FOREVER to knit this!), and started some socks. I'll post again soon with those, promise!

Drama

My first real lace project:

Adamas Shawl by Miriam Felon
Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb - Color 307 (turquoise)
US 5 Needles
Mods: 1-2 fewer repeats than in the pattern

I know that this was my first lace project (using real lace yarn, blocking...), so there are bound to be mistakes. But, there were real issues with this one. The pattern was well written, fun to knit, and has made a beautiful shawl. The yarn is very soft, very fine (maybe a bit fragile), and I love the color (I picked this color to go with this orange/red dress - my wedding dress this summer).

So, here is what happened:
I cast off the wrong way - I got excited that I was done with the shawl and just cast off instead of checking the pattern. I thought, no big deal... Well, as I was blocking the shawl, I felt a give and looked and saw that something snapped in the middle of the cast off row area and had unraveled a significant amount already. It would not be easy (or probably possible) to fix this area by picking the stitches up again. I sat there, thought about crying (I've been working on this for a month), and just stared at the wall for a while. I thought about just giving up, but then found the broken ends and tried to rip side to side. That didn't go well, it lead to unraveling in other areas. So, I got out the scissors. And cut. Across the shawl, under the affected areas. I then found the first row unaffected and unravelled that, picking up stitch by stich as I did that.

2-3 hours of my life, but I saved the shawl.

I think I lost 2-3 pattern repeats (really, I was panicking a bit when this happened and I wasn't paying attention at first, or when I cut). I knit one more repeat, then cast off the right way, then blocked it.

Fine, all better, right?

Then, as I was taking pictures with the timer, my camera fell off my counter and the lens was visibly displaced and wouldn't extend/retract. I thought, why did I have to fix the shawl, if I hadn't my camera would be ok! I really like my camera, and don't want a new one. Its about 4 years old, and takes great pictures. It was still making the mechanical noises, so I took the little screws out but couldn't get the camera open (I don't really know what I would have done if I accomplished that, but taking the screws out made me feel like I was at least trying to do something). I checked Kodak's website, and found out I would have to send the camera in and pay $150. Not good. So, I sat on the carpet, and made the camera make the mechanical noise, and jammed the lens back into position. And it worked. The camera seems to be fine (the lens cap doesn't stay on, but thats really nothing). And I was very happy to get out of making this shawl in one piece. Should I really wear it to a wedding, is it cursed?

Good excuses

Yes, its been a while. But, there have been lots of happenings around here! First, this is where I am now:

Indianapolis

So far (one week), so good. Moving is no fun at all but as I get settled in, I feel like I am in a good place now. I and am liking my new job - I can walk (more likely bike) to work and there seems to be excellent knitting stores here... dangerous, I can walk to that last one. I haven't had a chance to explore too much yet, if anyone has any Indianapolis suggestions, please let me know! I moved here for the job, so I am fairly unfamiliar with the city, but its kind of fun and refreshing to start anew.

Its also been fun stalking Apartment Therapy for the past few months getting ideas for my new place. Heres how it looks so far:

(Click to see larger). I know I went a little Ikea overboard, but I like Ikea!)

There also has been knitting, and not without drama. I'll save that for the next post (which should come pretty quickly as I have a FO to report).
Here's a preview:

Summer!

All of a sudden its full blown summer! While I don't really like the 90 degree heat, summer also means its time to bring out the sandals. I love my sandals, I don't know how I can go the rest of the year all cooped up in shoes and socks (regular socks, not handknit socks!). Anyway, here is a pair of my favorite summer shoes with a new FO:

Marigold Socks by Pamela Wynne (I love reading her blog. Have you seen her new pattern? Just beautiful!)
Koigu KPPM
US 1.5 needles

I started these a while ago (November) and got major second sock sydrome ... I'm not sure exactly why, once you get started on these they really seem to knit up fast (the pattern is interesting, yet there is still a good amount of plain knit rows). Probably, part of it was that these are toe-ups, which I'm not as comfortable with and so have to sit down with resources in order to start. I like the concept of toe-ups, that you can use up all of the yarn (which I did), the way the toe is formed, etc. But they seem to be more of a pain - the cast-on is a bit more tricky (I like this explanation of a provisional cast-on). Plus, I'm just not good with short rows, I can never get them to look neat. Maybe I just need to get more familiar with them.

And, because I am pleased with myself for getting a chunk of these WIPs done before my move later this month (including all of my single socks), I allowed myself to cast on another project:

An Adamas Shawl.

I love this blue; its bright, but its so pretty. And the yarn (Lacey Lamb), its so soft and light and just summery! This is my first major lace project, I've knit simple lace projects before, but never so complex and never with this fine of yarn. I think this will look great with a dress I bought for the summer weddings this year: Its orange and red (across the color wheel from blue!). But that means I need to get it done this summer....

And, thank you all for the nice comments on the Hourglass sweater ... its nice to know that I'm not wearing my knitting goggles (you know, everything you make looks wonderful because you have put so much work into it and subconsciously you can't admit it when things don't work out...)

A good knitting week

As pleased as I was with my Pomatamus Socks, I am even happier with this:

(I'm attempting to pose like the model in the book here)

Hourglass Sweater by Joelle Hoversonin Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Dream in Color Classy, Beach Fog - About 3 1/2 skeins (probably less)
US 8 Needles

(I went to a park to take these pictures, and got a little bashful after about 2 mintues of taking pictures of myself with the timer, so wimped out and just took pictures of it on the grass)

The Dream in Color Classy was wonderful to work with. I did this as part of The Loopy Ewe's Dream in Color Sweater Knit-a-long, and before the KAL there were only a few sweaters in this yarn (look now), which surprises me just a bit. It seems like a very good sweater yarn, soft but sturdy, not with a huge fuzz potential, and the colors ... I had a hard time deciding, but blue is my favorite color so it was mainly between the different shades of blue (there are at least 3 different ones, I think). I'm planning my next project in this yarn already, I think a Tree Jacket in Strange Harvest.

I did 3 extra yoke decreases to not have as much of a boat neck, and I added contrasting yarn for the hems (they were a lot of work, so I had to show them off!). I used Malabrigo worsted Frosted Grapes leftovers - Its so nice to have that lovely Malabrigo softness along my neck and wrists! I only cast on 54 stitches for the sleeves, and decreased once to 52 stitches, so the arms don't flare as much as the pattern. I alternated skeins every other row to avoid pooling. Where the yarns switch there is a bit of pull on the stitch (I don't know if this is avoidable or not), but I ran these joins down the insides of the sleeves and along one side (the sweater is knitted in the round, so if anything it just looks like a really neat seam). My favorite thing is definitely the finishing on this, the hems were a pain but there really are what makes this sweater perfect. And I'm really happy with the fit and style (I'm always drawn to the J Crew plain crewneck sweaters, every year I am tempted to buy one, but now I can make a better one!)

I've never done a knit-a-long before, it was a good experience (well, any experience with The Loopy Ewe is, the customer service there is amazing - Sheri really does an unbelievable job leaving little notes with the orders, getting the orders out very quickly, giving free samples of things or a little gift in each order). I don't think I would be done with this sweater now had it not been for the deadline (June 1, I cast off May 31st). I had swatched as soon as I got the yarn in early March, but didn't really get working on it until earlier this month (it was a quick knit, luckily). Of course, now its in the sweater box for the summer, its going to be great to pull it out in the fall (its hard to believe its summer already!).