Projects!

Just as I say I'm transitioning into wedding blogging... I knit something!

My cousin is due this week - the first baby of the next generation in the family - and I used the occasion as an excuse to knit an oh so adorable Tomten.



The pattern is an Elizabeth Zimmerman classic. I have her book "Knitting Without Tears" and this is my first project from it.

I used some Shibui sock yarn in Peacock (I think that's the color) that had just not been working out as anything else. It clearly wanted to be this sweater, as it knit up nearly perfectly. The pooling you see on the arms is from the additional skein I had to buy to make it through the arms. Now I have enough leftovers to make a cute pair of booties. Probably not for this baby, but one of the other three that will be born in the next six months!

This patttern is fantastic, and pretty easy. No crazy shaping or stitches - it did take some imagination to figure out how to sew the arm seams to the underarms, but really, it just works.

The next project is not knitting, but making the backyard ready for a wedding (we're into the four week countdown!!). Right now, we're working with this:

While it's pretty green, the bed is full of weeds. We took out everything that was planted there, and nothing we planted grew! So, Roomie Liz and I bought a ton of flowers to plant in there:

Foxgloves, hydrangea (four different colors!), a gorgeous red rose bush (that might go in front actually) and a bunch of shade loving annuals.

I also have these to dress up the plain old fence with:

I'll post some "after" shots when it's all pulled together. Cross your fingers for big improvements!

Did I Promise You Some Buttons?

*Ahem*

Sorry about the recent ridiculously long absence. In my defense, I haven't knit a stitch since we last spoke.

The sweater is the February Lady Sweater, the yarn Brown Sheep Worsted. Needles, size 8.

The verdict... eh. I don't see what all the fuss is about. It looks really good on other people online, but on me, it's more linebacker than hip, swingy cardigan. Perhaps its just too big, but I don't have the time, energy, or inclination to reknit it.

Luckily, I am co-directing a big charity auction for school one month from now, and have a lovely handknit sweater to donate!

PS- I wouldn't hold your breath for more frequent posting. I'm barely staying above water this semester- with the auction, four seminars and two lecture classes, plus all the wedding day-dreaming I'm doing, I have no baking or knitting to share and no time to share it!

Snowed In!

Since I last posted, we've gotten another 14" of snow! Portland hasn't seen this much snow since 1968, or so they say. We're most definitely snowed in. Not even the garbage collectors or the mail carriers have been by in days!
I've started on my second annual Winter Break Sweater. This year, I chose the February Lady Sweater (Rav link), which bears a striking similarity to last year's sweater. Top down, garter stitch raglan with lace bodice. Maybe I'll branch out in 2009 and try something different. But, because I'm the last person on the planet to cast on for the FLS, I'm just running with it.
Lamb's Pride, because I had a gift certificate and a specific gray in mind. Even though I desperately wanted Malabrigo or Dream in Color, the yarn shop didn't have gray Malabrigo and doesn't carry Dream in Color. So I settled for a wool/mohair blend. I think it will work out just fine.

And, lastly, a momentous occassion.
My very first (successful) pair of socks have finally worn through! They got felted (you lie, Lion Brand!), and I think lasted longer than they would have otherwise. Mike got two years of good, hard use out of them and I think this is a man who deserves another pair of socks.

Maybe even a sweater, now that the curse is broken!

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post, the Placed Cable Aran Sweater!

I feel a little guilty now that I didn't post a full FO post on the sweater. Without further ado, the full details. (To see the sweater in question, look to the post below this).

Pattern: Placed Cable Aran, from Interweave Knits, Fall 07
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool, about 5 (maybe?) skeins, in color 4009 (Aporto).
Needles: US 8 / 5 mm circulars
Started: August 19
Finished: October 16

Modifications: I left off the cable design from the back of the sweater (easier to tell front from back, so I won't be afraid of wearing it backwards!), knit in the round, and added some simple waist shaping. I think I did 5 paired decreases and then five paired increases. After blocking, they ended up in just the right place!

I knit the sleeves to the suggested length, 17" I think, but when I tried the sweater on (pre-blocking) the sleeves were about 4" too short! I unpicked the bind-off and knit down four inches. After blocking, the sleeves were too long, but after a few days of wear, they are now just right.

I love this sweater. It was so easy, with minimal finishing. Sew up the sleeves, attach em, and weave in some ends! I highly recommend knitting this in the round, if you're inclined to do such things.

The yarn is great - Cascade 220 wool is a good standby. The color is amazing, a deep bright blue with flashes of green if you're looking at it in the right light.

All in all, a resounding success!

I apologize for not responding to everyone's comments individually - I have not figured out how to get Blogger to give me the email addresses of those who comment. But please know I greatly appreciate each and every comment and compliment! Thank you so much!

A Wool Sweater in Time for Fall

I finished a sweater! And I've been wearing it constantly since I finished it! But, I'm a slacker-blogger and have neglected to share it with you.

I finished it last week (except for two ends I've since discovered I forgot to weave in) and Mike snapped some photos while we were on a walk with our room mate's dog and Mike's aunt and uncle who were visiting for the weekend. (Hi Renee!)


It's the Cable Aran. And I love it. I love the collar, the color, the cables, everything!


I left the cables off the back and had to extend the sleeves by 4" and it is now the perfect sweater! Just in time for fall.

Knitting: Go!

I've been so delinquent in my blogging! I truly apologize. Fall is here, and I've been knitting.

First, the cable aran. I finished both sleeves last night (debate knitting) and am about to pick up the stitches for the neck. Then, it's just finishing!

This isn't the world's most illustrative photo, but I think it shows one important thing: it fits! I think the rolling hem makes it a leeetle too short, but hopefully a good blocking will correct that. I also didn't do the maths to place my waist shaping exactly where my waist is, but at least it isn't an entirely shapeless sweater.

Next, gift knitting!

I sent these out last week, so hopefully they have arrived.

My friend Damaris (check out her awesome cooking blog, Kitchen Corners) asked for a cupcake toy for her two year old back in the beginning of the summer. I finally sat down and cranked this baby out two weeks ago. Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and a cherry on top. Yum!

The booties are good luck booties, as Damaris wants a baby girl when she gets pregnant again.

Funny story: one of my professors has granted me permission to knit in class. The day I brought in the booties was the day we were discussion gender nonconformity and transgender legal issues. I felt so conspicuous, knitting highly gender-conforming and gender-stereotype-enforcing bright pink baby booties. However, hopefully that class just infused the booties withe kick-ass gender nonconformity vibes and the (as yet still wholly potential) baby will wear them, no matter its gender, and will grow up in a gender equal society.

Here's hoping, anyway!

Back in the Saddle

I'm knitting again! It's marvelous, just sitting in my chair, listening to the radio or watching a movie, and knitting away.

I'm working on two new projects, having essentially abandoned the Eliza Bennett until I have the patience to work out the sleeve cap shaping.

Up first, a new sweater! From the Interweave Fall 2007 magazine, the Placed Aran Cable (or, if you'd like, a Ravelry link). A lovely Cascade 220 color, deep blue with flecks of green. This should be a fabulous pullover with a great cowl neck. Lots and lots of stockinette (I'm knitting it in the round), and then some fun cables.
And next, a pair of socks, using Grumperina's Helical Stripes technique. Using the ever-pooling Shibui sock yarn in Peacock and some leftover Shibui in Canary yellow. So far, I love them. I forgot to do all the k2tog I meant to when I switched fromthe ribbing (and size 0 needles) to the stockinette (and size 2 needles), so I'm going to rip back all the stripes you see and start over.

We spent most of the day yesterday working on building a compost bin and a chicken run. (By "we" I mean "Mike with about an hour of help from me") Right as we were starting out, we noticed these little guys in the neighbor's tree.

We know you're getting chickens, and we want your eggs!!

J'ai finis!

Two things: baby booties (just in time- the baby is 9 days old today!) and my first year of law school! Wooohooo! The baby booties are way cuter than law school, so let's cut straight to the chase.

I got the buttons from Bolt, a fabric store in NE Portland. I love them. I hope Allison and her baby Evan love them, too!

The buttons stirred up a bit of controversy in the "boys-don't-wear-pink" crowd, but I think two things: Number One. Who cares? Babies will not be harmed by the color of button they wear. I promise. Number Two. Marching Elephants! Every baby should be adorned in marching elephants. All babies are cute, and all babies deserve cute buttons.

The pattern is Saartje's Bootees (pdf), an incredibly popular pattern. I'm not the world's biggest garter stitch fan, but it's a stretchy stitch, which is good for growing baby feet.

The yarn is Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Beach Glass, leftover from my Embossed Leaves.

I've also been working on my Knitting Law Students Summer Knit-along project, the Mrs. Darcy sweater. I'm calling mine the "Eliza Bennett" because she's not ever called Mrs. Darcy in the book (I don't think) or in the amazing BBC version, just in the Keira Knightley version, which was not that great. So, Eliza Bennett it is!

This is the back.

I know a black wool sweater doesn't seem like a very summery thing to knit, but I'll be working in an air-conditioned office, starting Wednesday, and my current black cardigan is getting quite ratty.

FO: Hexacomb Cardigan

Pattern: Hexacomb Cardigan, from Interweave Spring '08
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft, in grey and blue.
Needles: Clover US 6 circular
Size: 35" (M)
Cast On: February 16
Last end sewn in and button sewn on: March 21



Notes: The pattern is great and well-written. When blocking, the sweater looked like it would fit a seven year old, and I bet it would. However, it fits this 24 year old, and I"m going to wear it.

I wore it from the moment I sewed on the final button, and approximately every other day while on spring break.

I only button the top two buttons, as the model in the magazine does, because the fabric is stretchy and the button band bulges and gapes with all the buttons done up.

The bad parts of the sweater are entirely my own fault: different dyelots in the top of the back and one sleeve. I keep pointing it out to people, but I'm sure no one would notice if I didn't. I am also likely the world's worst stitch-picker-upper, resulting in some holes along the neckline and uneven edging. However, I count this among the three wearable sweaters I have made, each with their own quirks.

I also cast on for a pair of Embossed Leaves, in my Hazel Knits yarn in Beachglass. The leaves are a lot bigger than I expected, and the heel in the pattern just seems lazy. I may rip it out and go with a tried and true (and less baggy-saggy) heel instead.
Coming back from spring break (and break itself, spent in the old stomping grounds of Berkeley) makes me detest school all the more. I long for a life of sun, restlessness, walks in the hills and flowers, baking, and time spent knitting, chatting, and giggling with my dearest friends.

No Country for Old Sweaters

I sewed on the sleeves last night while watching "No Country for Old Men." That's a crazy movie. This morning, I finished sewing allllll the ends.

I spray blocked it and it is now pinned out (just the body) and drying on my desk.

We're going to a viewing of a house today - thinking about going in with a friend of ours on a large house for an investment / communal living. It seems a little surreal to be considering this while in the middle of grad school, but everyone else thinks it's a great idea. Also, it's a beautiful house, in our neighborhood, and it'd be so much fun to do.

This afternoon, I plan to head to the button store to finish off the cardigan.

Uh-oh

I finished a sleeve! Stockinette goes so quickly. But... do you see the problem? No? Look closer...
Can you see it now? That faint line right in the middle of the photo... How about if I hold it up to the light?

The dreaded wrong dyelot!! Noooo! (Cue crash symbols and lightning flash!)

I'm not sure what happened, though, as I double checked and I got all the same dyelot! The shoulder of this sleeve is still slightly greyer than the rest of the sleeve and body. Ugh. At least it is only slightly off, right?

Progress

I made a commitment to knitting progress this week, and it got me a cardigan!


Well, an almost cardigan. At least the hexagons are done and it's just stockinette for the sleeves and garter for the border. And then the ends... all the ends!

Mike has also been crafty this week. Our house is quite lacking in the closet department (one in the bedroom and an awkwardly placed small one in the living room) so we've been having trouble with coats and sweatshirts and bags flung willy-nilly about the house.

Solution: stick some assorted knobs, handles, and a sprinklerhead onto a gorgeous old piece of crown molding, and you've got the greatest shelf / coat rack ever.



I also got a set of hooks for the bedroom.

Fresh Like Springtime

Whew! What a month! I don't know what happened in February, exactly, but I seem to have been too busy to post. I haven't been knitting much, but I have been writing my Appellate Brief (a big, semester long paper, that culminates in Oral Arguments in April!), getting a job for the summer, and trying to get funding for that job. Plus, you know, those other four classes I'm taking.

Last night I found myself with a free Friday night- no plans, no pressing schoolwork, nada. So, of course, I made cupcakes and spent three hours knitting on the couch!

I got a gorgeous new cupcake cookbook in the mail from Mike's wonderful mom, and made her basic cupcake recipe, using some frosting that had been languishing in the fridge.

These make me feel like springtime!

Also making me feel like springtime (aside from the gorgeous sun and 60* days we've been having!) is the Hexacomb Cardigan. Due to my lack of knitting time / pure laziness last month, I'm only just now splitting to work on the shoulders. It's a neat pattern, but I'm running into some trouble on the neck shaping - there are 37 stitches, but 8 stitches in the pattern... I'm sure it will work out, but is something I couldn't visualize while watching "Six Feet Under."

Boot Sock & Hexacomb

I also finished one of the Uptown Boot Socks. It will be interesting to see how these come out. I started using stash yarn, two hanks of it. I thought they were the same fiber content, but one is definitively woolier than the other. Then, I went through one and a half of my little balls for the first sock. What to do?

Well, last weekend Mike and I went to a romantic B&B, north of Mt Hood (two years together!). I had noticed a small yarn shop when we were walking the downtown for dinner one night, so the next night we went into town early and made a stop at the yarn shop, Knot Another Hat. I had my sock with me and the woman working helped me look around and find a matching yarn. I got some undyed Licorice Twist, which looks pretty close. The first sock is quite softer (more cotton? more acrylic?) than the second sock, but I don't mind.

I had meant to finish these socks up for an auction tonight to raise money for summer stipends for law clerks (see above, looking for funding for my job), but I didn't feel right about donating socks made out of mismatched yarn. Also, I only have one sock done and the auction is in 3 hours. (See above, no time to knit last month.)

Hopefully, I'm back and will have more regular posts and knitting updates!

Familial Undertakings*

I believe I just contracted with my brother to knit this:
The Dillon family sweater. Apparently, our ancestry traces back to this clan. I've always been skeptical of our Irish / Scottish roots and erred more towards our German ancestry, but my brother's red beard might be enough to convince me. Maybe I'll even get some Irish street cred if I pull this off and knit it before I'm 85.

This company will either sell you a handknit sweater for $200 or the yarn and pattern to make your own for $90. Keith gets more than 50% off the price of the sweater, and I can never again complain that I have nothing on the needles.** I told him I couldn't guarantee finishing this before his 30th birthday (he's 22).

I tried to make a sweater like this once. I bought a boatload of Red Heart Super Saver acrylic yarn and set out. I think I got about 5 rows through the pattern before getting horribly and utterly lost and confused. Hence, all the green, acrylic things I've since knit (Ravelry links), and several still untouched one-pound skeins lining the bottom of my yarn chest.

Just the fact that I intended to make an Aran sweater out of Red Heart should indicate about where I was on my knitting trajectory.

In other familial undertakings, my mom is crazy. Evidence: every year she does what is called the "Penguin Plunge." She and her teammates swim in the Atlantic Ocean in February. Did I mention she lives in New Hampshire? I think those are the prima facie elements for crazy (law school talk, in full force!).

However, I support this crazy. Because it is a fundraiser for the New Hampshire Special Olympics. Her team is a team of doctors and nurses, and they're currently in 4th place for their fundraising. Help a good cause, and encourage the crazy! As my mom says, every $1 counts. Which is good, since that $1 will be coming out of my loans and I'll be paying it back at least until I finish this sweater project.

Click here to donate.

*Apologies for any morbid connotations. Although, it may be just me, since I've been watching Six Feet Under recently.

**Although I reserve the right to complain at any time. And knit sweaters for myself while knitting this beast. J/k Keith- I'm totally excited to take this on.

FO: Tree Jacket

(Excuse the funny look on my face - it was quite cold today!)
Pattern: Tree Jacket, from Zephyr Style
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold, Classic AL in Aged Wine, 8 skeins
Needles: US 8 circulars
Cast On: 12/23/07
Finished: 1/6/08

Notes: I made my goal of finishing this sweater over winter break- and with one week to spare! I raced along on this, at a speed at which I suppose normal people knit when they don't have school all day then piles of homework to do.

I used the lace as written for the neck, then blocked it straight. I used the modified lace pattern, found on Ravelry, of [k2tog, yo, k1, yo, skk] for the body. I also decreased 10 stitches the first ten rows of the sleeves (dec 1 each side of every other row), then followed the sleeve directions as written.

Perhaps because I was knitting so fast, I made a number of silly knitting errors. I kept knitting into the stitch from the row below, and didn't catch all of those mistakes soon enough to drop the stitch and fix it, so there are a few wonky places. Luckily, I think I will likely be the only one who examines this sweater close enough to find the mistakes.

The collar is less cowl-y and more turtle-y than the pictures in the pattern suggest, but it's still loose enough to work. I really like this sweater, and the yarn is a dream. How could you go wrong with baby alpaca and merino?!

I also finished the Foliage hat while the Tree Jacket was blocking. I didn't get pictures of that today, so I'll do a post on that some other day. It's far too big for me, so I hope it fits my mom! I only used about half the skein, so maybe if I modify the pattern to be smaller, I can squeeze another hat out of the same skein for me!

Sweater Update

... aaaand we're blocking! Finally!

We cleaned up all our crap from Christmas and vacation, vacuumed, and I finally had a surface on which to block the Tree Jacket. I laid it out on the table and sprayed it with the spray bottle we use to punish the cat- she was staring at the sweater, wondering what it had done that was so terrible to deserve such a spraying! I didn't want to soak it, because things take FOREVER to dry here.

I'm trying to straighten out the lace on the collar, but I don't care too much if it stays twisted. I'm lengthening the body a little, and just trying to even out stitches.

Once it dries, I'll sew up the sleeves and have it finished for my first class on Monday!

Sweater Speedster

I am racing along on this sweater! It's amazing the different between knitting socks on US 0s and knitting a sweater on US 8s! So much faster.

I measured the body of the sweater against a comfy old sweater I have, and it still turned out a bit short. I don't really want to pick out the cast off edge and the ribbing, so I'll try to block it out. The fabric is stretchy like woah, so it should work out.

We skiied all day yesterday, in a fantastic blizzard. On our last two runs at 3:30, we were skiing in fresh, knee deep powder. It was amazing.

The view this morning after the blizzard.

Happy New Year, all!

Vacation's All I Ever Wanted

Mike's mom and my mom both came up to Oregon for a Christmas / New Year's vacation, and we celebrated Christmas with a nice meal and presents on the 28th. In knitting related gifts, I got a swift from my brother, and two ball winders, one of which I will return. I also got a gift certificate for a cute downtown LYS, which I am very excited to use!

In non-knitting presents, I got two vegan cook books and a hamburger cookbook, from Mike's grandparents. It was a strange juxtaposition, especially since I don't eat hamburger! Two other exciting presents were a stove top popcorn popper and a cake decorating kit.

For Christmas dinner we had wonderful brussel sprouts, a beer and almond braised fish, and I made a delicious fudge pecan pie, with homemade whipped cream. (I'll post the recipe links later, when we have a better internet signal.)

I've been diligently working on the Tree Jacket, to meet my goal of finishing by January 14, when classes start. It's going really well. I made a few mistakes on the garter stitch section - the garter stitch section- but hopefully I'll forget and it won't be a problem when I finish.

I used the lace pattern as written for the neck, and it twisted a little, so I'm using the alternate lace pattern for the body. K2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk.

The yarn is a more cranberry-colored than this picture shows, but this is as close as I could get.

We also (as promised) got a new camera, and these are the debut photos! I hope the photography actually gets better around here...

Rewards

It's a good thing I don't have my heart set on beating the curve with my grades this semester. I'm not very good at the whole focus-on-nothing-else-for-nine-hours-straight kind of studying. I can do about two hours before I need to take a break with some mindless yarn-surfing.

Classes ended on Wednesday, and my first final is Tuesday. Then it's a final every third day for two weeks. Yuck-tastic.

I'm plugging away at my brother's socks in my self-prescribed downtime. I'm about to turn the heel on the second sock, and then I can send those off to VT.

I decided that as a reward for myself, I'm going to knit a sweater over break. I picked the Tree Jacket, which is a pattern I had to buy, a first for me. I went to Webs and, after a thorough perusal of all the yarn on sale & clearance, decided on some Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL in a cranberry-color. The yarn for it (and a nice chunky earflap hat, also for me) arrived today, and it's taking all my self-control not to cast on immediately.

I've got finals and Christmas presents to finish!

The Giving Season

I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving break. Let's not talk about the quiz I have to get through in Constitutional Law to actually get to break.

For the past several Thanksgivings, my family of friends has gotten together to camp and celebrate Thanksgiving together. I joined the fray last year in Big Bend, in Texas, and this year we are all traipsing out to Redwoods National Park in northern California. Three friends are flying into Portland this weekend and we're driving down on Wednesday. (Classes? What classes?)

Yesterday, I remembered one of the friends, who is flying in Sunday, asked me to make her a pair of wrist-warmers for the trip. Yikes! I pulled out the devastated skein if Cascade 220 from my Minimalist and deftly untangled it, wound it into a ball and cast on for Fetching. By about 10 pm last night, I had 2" completed.

I worked on it over breakfast this morning, and while waiting for my carpool. When I got home, I raced against the setting sun to try and bind off before the light disappeared for a good picture. Clearly, the sun beat me. But not by much! **ETA: I changed the photo, because this one is better. And more accurate of my life!

I used Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Cast-Off for both the top and the thumb (finished after this picture was taken) for extra stretchiness. I really like these, and I think I may have to make myself a pair. But after I get through my list of gifts.

Also exciting was receiving an Urban Outfitters catalog in the mail. I usually just shop online, in the sale section, because I'm not crazy enough to spend $98 on a t-shirt that looks like it came from Goodwill.

However, they do usually have very cute and hip things, and I do live in Hipster City, USA. What drew my eye tonight was this lovely sweater. It looks simple enough, and I'll be trolling Craftster and Ravelry for a knock-off pattern written by someone far more talented than I. (Than me?)