Dreams of knitting

I *so* want to do projects like these:

•  Cityscape by Laura Chau - there are so many ways to express your own view! Look at the cool mods by knitters here (below is the original pattern, one knit by Gryhege, and one by foggy - pics found in twist collective article)

•  Celestarium by Audry Nicklin (hmm, also on Twist Collective) (how have so many people knit this?? 585 projects on Ravelry) Northern Hemisphere star chart. After listening to episode 270 of the Knitmore Girls podcast, I now know there are TWO MORE patterns!  You can also knit the Southern Skies shawl or Equatorial Nights, an infinity scarf featuring all the stars around the celestial equator.

• Knits involving beading - I've been listening to a few new podcasts that have been tempting me with new project idea. Chrissy from the Stitched Together podcast talks about the process of beading the Glitz at the Ritz shawl from Knitty, in episode 7 of her podcast. (Can you tell I've been listening to the backlog?). Now, beading in knitting sounds like asking for trouble and opening myself up to the temptation of buying a set of supplies for something new. I'm also trying not to start new projects and instead work on the pile of works in progress I have on my knitting shelf. It just so happens that I have a lace shawl project with an optional lace component. Hard to believe, but I started this project September 5, 2011. If you know me, then you know it's not a stretch for me to have a project this old. I have unfinished projects from 2008 sitting around! I started the Rose Lace stole as a knit-a-long with a friend of mine. (Ravelry link) We both had issues with the simple lace at the start, and I kept putting it down to work on other things so this project keeps lurking in the background. Maybe I can scratch the new project itch by bringing out this project and working the complex lace panel, and with beads?

The Best laid plans…

I’ve been plotting to make the Transatlantic shawl by Stephen West ever since I saw a photo of it on his website. I bought the pattern during a sale in March 2013, and when I headed to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival in May, I armed myself with a stack of patterns and specs for shopping.

[picture from Steven West's pattern]

I bought this lusciously soft yarn expressly for this project because it was marked sport weight and it was in the right tones as natural wool and has a lovely fuzzy halo quality to it..

It turns out that this yarn is more fingering weight than sport. Argh! But, it will still be scrumptious and lovely, though might turn out a bit smaller...not sure I'm cool with that, shawlettes have no purpose for me, and I'd like to knit it to gauge to match the drape of the original. Problems, problems.

For gauge my quest started with a US8 (remember now, I knit *tight* so I usually need to go up two needle sizes) bu...after trying 6s, 5s, then pulling the 7s from my sweater project, 7s are the way to go.

The cast on occurred during the Sochi Olympics opening ceremony, but I realized I wanted to use the 7s, and I had done my difficult cast on with black yarn and a glass of wine. Perhaps not the best way to start. I restarted at home and am about 24 rows in. I think my hope to complete this project for the Ravellenic games is a bit lofty, especially since I keep forgetting to knit when I come home at night!

A note about the pattern: A lot of knitters have left out the lovely asymmetrical holes! That's what drew me to this project, the quirky gaping ovals, ringed with a pop of color. I plan to use my scraps of Valley Yarns Charlemont in Sunset, though that yarn isn't in a scrap state since it's being used for another Steven West pattern, Daybreak. That shawl will take considerably more time to finish, so I'm going to steal some yardage off the project ball and cross my fingers that I won't miss that yarn later.

Knitting Goals for 2014

Earlier in January I was watching the Stockinette Zombies podcast and they were talking about knitting goals. Do you make them? Do they present a welcome challenge, or drive you crazy during the year? Or, like me, do you write them down and promptly forget you made goals in the first place? The SZ created a knitting goals challenge for this year, and I thought it was time to set some for myself (which also caused me to fish out the list 2013 and post them last weekend).

Even though I tried to keep the list small, I easily hit ten items and cried STOP! That's probably enough. I will post updates when I remember and maybe my Babette blanket will come out of deep hibernation...

2014 GOALS:

1. knit 2 hats for charity knitting
2. finish my first adult size sweater (Pont Neuf for myself)
3. knit a pair of socks two at a time (first pair of socks with sock yarn)
4. organize and cull out stash for donation/swap
5. make progress on my Babette blanket complete at least 2 squares a month)
6. reduce my stash by 10% (starting out with 245 skeins)
7. participate in the Ravellenic games
8. reduce hibernating projects from the current 8 to no more than 5, either through frogging or finishing
9. finish spinning my Tour de Fleece 2013 project during this year's TDF
10. carry knitting with me and work on it during longer commutes and waiting-around times

Also participating in a knitting goals challenge via the Stockinette Zombies podcast. 

Knitting related goals for 2013 - A Review

Here are the Knitting goals I wrote out January 10, 2013:

1. Knit a sweater
2. Sew my own project bags
3. Eliminate all long term hibernation projects (either by bring them back into active rotation or frogging)
4. Reorganize knitting storage area - stash, patterns, projects - this one is tricky, as I still have a few other things mixed in to this area, such as a drawer unit housing felt sheets, cross stitching fabric, and printouts of a now defunct cross stitching magazine. I think I have the magazine on CD, but I'm not sure about all the issues. If I took the time to color print them then, I should hold on to the copies for future use, yes? Or should I sort through them and recycle all the pages that don't have patterns, and reorganize it so that the parts of serial patterns are all together? *Off topic - get back on track!*
5. Take a hard look at my knitting/crochet books and see if I can eliminate any of them, then set those candidates aside for the next yarn swap.

How did I fare over the course of 2013?

1. I started two sweaters for myself and both are about halfway finished. I've been consistently plugging away at Pont Neuf, a top down, seamless, 3/4 length sleeve sweater with a lace front panel. With any luck I'll have it finished by May 1st, when it might be too warm to wear it! I did knit an entire baby sweater.
2. I sewed one project bag for myself! Not sure I want to keep making these, as I find sewing very frustrating. Maybe I will try and make one a year.
3. Hibernating projects, now that's a challenge. I started the year out with more than 10, and now have 7, having eliminated quite a few, but replaced them with other projects...hmm...
4. Reorganize - I've started a few times and never finished. Finding evidence of moths definitely stops me cold, and then I'm not sure how to continue. Still dealing with some moth activity now, but I think *hope* that it's residual evidence and not real live moths.
5. Didn't do this one at all. I did sort out some stash and trade/give it away, but it's time again to look hard at the stash and come up with books, tools, and yarn that are ready to leave.

Knitting accomplishments:

• Taught my little sister how to knit
• Knitted a mother bear for charity
• Gifted multiple well loved knits to friends and family 

Quick projects

I've been fighting off a bad case of startitis for weeks now, and seeing finished projects on a few blogs coupled with a small project finish by a friend pushed me right over the edge. My friend sent me a pic of her mug cozy - so cute, useful, and quick! I decided right then to find a quick project and make it so I could have the satisfaction of finishing something. Easy, right? Just go on to Ravelry and pick out something.

Hold on now, not so fast. After about 5 minutes of browsing I thought to myself, "Self, don't get ahead of yourself. Let's be practical. Pick something based on your stash or your queue. Pick a small project that you've been wanting to make anyway. You must have something." So, I restarted my search and found the Nest Tote, added to my queue back in March 2010. I even ordered yarn from Knit Picks back in 2010 to make it. The pattern says it only takes "a few hours". Yes, I'm a slow knitter. Yes, it's not straight forward garter stitch. It will be fine!

So this weekend I've been working on a "small" project, this market bag, for 4 hours so far. Yes, I made a mistake once and had to tink back two rows but all I have to show for my time is 4 inches of knit mesh. I have to knit 24 inches of mesh. then sew together, then complete the handles. I've finally realized this project is not small at all.  I should have made the Infinity barrette from my queue, or maybe another dishcloth to go with one I made years ago. Or maybe I should be working on that darn knit-a-long shawl!

So much for the quick satisfaction of a weekend project. Maybe I'll weave in the ends on the first and only dishcloth I made 4 years ago this month (is it possible that I've been knitting for that long?) I've never used the dishcloth because of the ends. Maybe now I can use it - I've been thinking of switching from shower puff back to washcloth. This would be just the thing.

Rose Lace Stole Knit-a-long

On September 5, 2011 I started a knit-a-long project with my friend Donna for the Rose Lace Stole from Interweave Knits, Spring 2011. We ordered yarn from KnitPicks, messed about with gauge, and set out to knit.

Well, I had a few projects pop up in the fall and into winter. I knit the Pembroke Wrap as a gift for a friend, and a Christmas stocking for my brother-in-law.  I also revived Babette and have been making steady progress on squares. This was through the busy holiday stretch and a lot of overtime at work.

That means that the knit-a-long is moving quite slowly. The lace pattern of the central panels is pretty simple but very easy to screw up if you aren't paying close attention. I think I've finally got the hang of the pattern and good way of working it. I tend to complete 4 rows per knitting session regardless of knitting alone, in a group, before or after dinner, time spent, etc. Now I also check my work after each lace row to make sure I didn't goof it up. It's so much easier to fix the error when it's still on the top!  I'm now at row 60 of the 124 needed before I begin the bottom lace panel. With any luck, I'll knit a few nights a week on this project and get 10-15 rows done a week. At that pace I should be ready to do the complicated lace border by March 5th! Yes, I do sit and make all sorts of calculations about  when I might finish, move to the next step, change yarn balls, etc. What, that's normal isn't it??

a flurry of activity

Random list of successes:

1. Babette squares - 4 done, ahead of goals by 2 squares.
2. Read Frankenstein for book group Sunday on track to finish
3. Completed heel and started gusset on Paul Atwell socks
4. Knit and blocked swatch for Rose Lace Stole from Interweave Knits, Spring 2011
5. Cast on for Rose Lace Stole using a new cast on to me - provisional cast on
6. Knit 4 rows of Rose Lace Stole
7. Worked out five days in a row
8. Do P90 at least twice a week for a month - two weeks done so far...

Cuff-tastic!

 

I'm nearly done with the cuff of my first 'real' pair of socks.* Looks nice, doesn't it? I'm at 5.5 inches. The pattern calls for 6.5 inches, but these are men's socks, so do I have to make the cuff as long for me?

Let's take a look at some sock patterns in my Ravelry queue...Charade calls for a cuff 7-8 inches long,  Thuja and Rivercat recommend 7 inches, and Mr. Pitt's Socks call for 9. It turns out that maybe the cuff length in this pattern might be a bit short to start off with, so maybe I shouldn't

I was also a bit worried that I was running out of yarn. I know that's crazy but I weighed the ball already on the postal scale here at work and it measures up to be 3.3 ounces remaining in the ball. I looked up what the original skein weight and it was 3.53 ounces. So, not running out of yarn!

*Okay, so I have made a pair of socks, in 2008, in worsted weight yarn, as preparation for Sock Wars. But I don't seem to have a post about it. And for some reason I don't consider them real socks.  I do have one about Sock Wars though, right here! The socks I made are really bright and a bit baggy. They are complete, I wear them when it's cold, so they're socks!

Froggy went a courtin' *revised*

Somehow yesterday I hit post instead of save draft, and I posted my entry filled with errors. Here is the revised version with the 3rd frogged project listed.

I've frogged three WIP knits, all garments. Hmmm.

1. Top down Raglan - started 2/6/10
Permanent hibernation - 10/17/10
Frogged - 7/17/11

2. Emmaline - started 4/17/10

Completed 5/1/11
Frogged - 7/17/11

3. Buttercup - started 5/3/11
Frogged - 7/17/11

1. The top down raglan was me trying to make a sweater for myself, and thinking I am the size of a hippo. That sweater would have looked like a clown prop in size if I had finished it. I was only to the 3rd buttonhole from the top down, so there wasn't a lot to frog.

2. I finished Emmaline in May and tried it on. It appeared in the Knitty Summer 2010 issue in bulky weight cotton yarn. A little big in the bust, and too tight in the bind off, and this yarn (Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic Cotton  is just not suited for summer or for this pattern. Plus, this yarn sheds everywhere. I read on some Ravelry boards that the fiber length in this cheap organic cotton is really short, and they skip the step in the manufacturing process where all that fluff  gets separated out to make really nice organic yarn. Hmm.

When I first decided to make this pattern I also bought the Cotlin yarn from Knitpicks in Planetarium to make a dk version of this, but thought I'd make it according to pattern in bulky first. Not sure if that was a smart move or not! Seems I've wasted over a year on this, mainly with the project sitting in a box whispering to me about possible problems from the shelf. So I'm frogging this, but I think I learned a good amount from it.

I need to make the bottom of the sleeve cuff a little wider, probably an inch, and do more increases
around the stomach to make the top flare out for more room at the waist/hip area.

Also, make one size for the top to underbust, and a larger size for the stomach  I think I made a L for the whole thing, and added increases 3 times to the stomach/natural waist area for me. I wore the top for about 10 minutes and in that time the bust area expanded enough to be roomy on Dolly Parton!

Next time I should make a Medium in the dk weight?I'd like to make it again in the hempathy I bought for Buttercup, or the Cotlin from Knitpicks. Decisions, decisions.

3. I thought Buttercup would be a good pattern for me since it's similar to Emmaline in style, and have a forgiving flare out at the bottom. I have read about some fit problems with the neckline, and I worry that not having a defined bust section will mean I just look a bit tent-y. In any case, this will not be revisited until I remake Emmaline, and first I have to find the modifed DK version of the pattern that some wonderful Raveler created.

I'm a bit frustrated with all this frogging. It's not my style. But do I want my style to be boxes of unfinished projects and bound energy sitting taking up space? No. Onward!

Emmaline undone?

Finishing Emmaline has been an obsession of mine for the past 6 weeks. Each day, whether it was a knitting day or not, I would check my progress on the garment and the pattern. Would my slight modifications be enough to account for my hourglass but plus-sized build? How will this yarn act once it's on my body and reacting to gravity?

After finishing the written pattern minus 6 rows in the center, I decided to add 17 more rows of length to it and struggled through the last rows. I just want it done already! I measured the remaining yarn to make sure I would have enough for the final purl row and bind off purled edge. I finished, unpicking and redoing the bind off halfway through for a looser edge, and had about 10 yards to spare.

What I hadn't taken into account is that now the edge extended to the top of my hips. Darn! Definitely too tight/too long. I think I will have to unravel a bit and try again. In fact, it looks like I will have to undo all of the added length rows and add some increases. I will not add as many rows for length this time - maybe only 12 additional rows.

The bind off edge I ended up with was unforgiving, but I had tried hard to keep it loose. I don't want to do the sewn edge bind off because it will take forever to pulled that long end through but that might give me a better fit. I have read that a few people did the bind off using a needle one or two sizes up, and that might be an easy solution for this top.

Knowing when to cut and run

Last January I started Wabenschal, a hexagonal lace scarf. I was itchy to start something new for the new year. Against my better judgment, that loud voice in my head that gets pillows thrown at it, I started this instead of plugging away at my ocean waves scarf which is still unfinished at the time of this post. I only worked on Wabenschal while knitting with others, and I think I should have spent some time by myself getting to know the chart and the pattern. It was my first attempt at using a chart for any kind of knitting instead of following the written instructions, or creating written instructions from the chart.

I bought the yarn, Patons Lacette, on clearance for $.50 a skein, and I can see why. In the skein it's very soft - you can feel the mohair content. Knit up it feels like baling twine. Maybe once it's blocked it will soften up and show off the stitch pattern better.I don't know if this yarn and pattern combination is working. I haven't worked on this project in a year, and I can't decide whether to scrap what I've done and put the pattern back in my binder for future use, or to start up again with it. At this point the work I've done is about as large as a swatch. Maybe I'll bind off, block it, and use it as a reference when I start the pattern again. It's another one of those lurker projects, taking up space on my shelf, my Ravelry list, and my mind.

I don't want to abandon my work. It always makes me feel like a bit of a failure, even though it's just a knitting project. I expect myself to start and finish everything with perfection! Is that so difficult? How do I know when it's time to throw in the towel?


My project link Wabenschal in Maroon Mist

P.S. I broke down and bought size 8 straight needles two weeks ago after what I thought was a thorough search of my apartment. I determined that yes, remember, I lent this pair of needles to someone two years ago and never got them back. And didn't buy replacements. So, I picked up another pair at Windsor Button, even though I prefer the Boye straight needles purely for the thumbtack like end. The pair I bought at Windsor are by Susan Bates. They are a lovely blue but have a pinched, flattened end which I don't find aesthetically pleasing. It turns out that this Wabenshal is parked on my size 8 needles!