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!

Playing Catch-up

Oh jeez- almost a month since my last post! I am so sorry.

There actually has been knitting going on around here.

I started & finished a Koolhaas with yarn my mom gave me last year. Handspun from North Carolina! It's single ply, and gives the hat a nice fluffy aura and plenty of comfy squishiness.


I meant to be knitting the hat to donate to an auction I am co-directing at the law school, but I ended up loving it too much to give it away! So, I immediately cast on for another.


This one is in Cascade 220, in the color "straw wheat" (I think). I bought a sweater's worth back in the spring and when it arrived, I decided it was too bright for a whole sweater. So, I made a pair of fingerless mitts for a friend for Christmas (no photos yet, sorry!) and started this hat.

I am planning on knitting a cropped sweater out of this yarn anyway. I have 5 or 6 skeins left, and just have to pick a pattern. And finish up Christmas knitting.

This holiday weekend has been quite relaxing and (mostly) wonderful. We spent Thanksgiving at our house with roomie Liz - 12 pounds of turkey for the three of us!! It was an amazing traditional feast, and a great day. We swore off the internet and computers all day and challenged ourselves to play every single board game we own. We made it through 5 or 6 games- not nearly all we own, but a big chunk anyway!

Friday we decorated our mantle (I love having a fireplace!!) and hung some lights up outside.


Then, yesterday, after a fairly grumpy and cranky morning and a rejuvenating walk through the arboretum, Mike gave me a ring and asked me to marry him!

We've been engaged since July when I asked him, and I've (especially lately) been really wanting a ring from him. It's a gorgeous deep red stone on a sterling silver band. We both expect these rings to be worn only until the wedding (in a year an a half), so the soft metal isn't a problem. His is sterling silver too, and I think they really look lovely together!

Reading period starts next week, so don't expect to hear from me until right around Christmas!

Have a lovely December, everyone!

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.

Let's Play Charades!

One word. Two syllables. Sounds like parades.

Pattern: Charades, from I May Be Knitting a Ranch House.

Cast on: June 17

Finished: July 27

Yarn: Whimzy Pinzy Creations 2 Socks At Once, in Tea Roses. A beautiful combination of pink and lavender, in a wonderfully soft superwash merino.

Needles: Us 2 Addi turbos

Notes: I felt like these took forever, but I think taking a 3 week vacation in the middle of knitting a pair of socks makes it feel like longer.

The Charades pattern is simple, easy, and make a beautiful finished product. I love these socks, and will probably make another Charade at some point, after I get through all the other sock patterns I have on my list!

I finished the first sock while in Europe, and knit the second mostly on the plane on the way home. I forced myself to sit down and work on the other sock last night, and discovered I only really had the toe left! I finished in an hour or so, and did the photo shoot tonight before dinner, in some excellent light.

I love that our mantle makes just about the perfect light box (the first photo was taken there). I'll have to buy some new yarn to take its portrait there!

Embossed Leaves- A Surprise FO!

Pattern: Embossed Leaves, from Interweave Knits Favorite Socks
Yarn: Hazel Knits' Artisan Sock in Beachglass
Needles: Begun on my cantakerous Brittany US 2 dpns, finished on some marvelous Addi Turbo Lace circulars. I love me some magic loop.
Time: Just under a month. Begun before spring break in March, finished before finals in April.

Notes: This is a surprise FO, because as I may have mentioned, finals are right around the corner, and I cannot begin to tell you how unprepared I feel. (I'll give you a hint: REALLY unprepared.)

But, Mike was gone this weekend, visiting a high school friend who was in a pretty serious skateboarding accident, so after a long day of studying, I found myself staying up late, watching The Smartest Guys in the Room, and finishing these socks Saturday night.

I spray-blocked them on my feet Sunday, which was probably not the smartest idea, as we were experiencing a cold snap. Not the best time to be sitting around in wet socks.

The pattern was easy to memorize, which I liked. I changed the heel - the pattern is written for a strange stockinette heel with a garter stitch edge. I knit the first heel that way, then discovered it was super baggy. I ripped it out and knit a nice, tight slipped stitch heel, and all was well.

I really love the star-toe. I love how it finishes off each petal of the final pattern repeat. It does make my toes look a little flat / square, but I can live with that. I've heard people have concerns that a star-toe won't be comfortable to walk on, but I have no complaints so far.

My one complaint with the pattern is how large the leaves are. I was expected a smaller lace pattern, I guess. Also, I found it really hard to hold the three purl stitches between each pattern repeat tight. I ended up with some laddering, and some fairly large holes where the pattern called for a k1,yo,p1. I found it easier just to lift the stitch below on the next round instead.

All in all, some lovely socks.

Back to the books.

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.

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.

FO: Endpaper Mitts

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts, by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Shibui Knits Sock, in Finch and Midnight
Needles: US o (2.00mm) Brittany white birch dpns and 2 1/2 (3.00 mm) Crystal Palace bamboo dpns

Notes: They fit well, and they're pretty! Success.

The "seam" tends to slide around to the back of my hand, but I think that has to do with my hand shape, and not with the gloves.

It's a great pattern, easy to follow, and with beautiful results.

I don't know how to knit with my left hand, so my colorwork tends to move verrry slowly, as I work both yarns in my right hand. Pick the blue up, knit the stitches, put the blue down, pick the yellow up - whoops, they got twisted! - knit with the yellow... you get the picture. It's actually not too terribly slow, but it'd be faster if I learned Continental knitting. As long as this is working, though, I probably won't take the time to learn.

I like these because they cover my whole wrist, but aren't so long they'll get stuck on my sleeves. I knit another pair of fingerless gloves (in red! acrylic) but they're nearly elbow length, so fairly useless when I'm wearing long sleeves.

I haven't actually played piano since I was about twelve.

I still have about half a skein of the Finch yarn, and a quarter skein of the Midnight... I'm pondering about what I can use these for... maybe someone will have a baby and I can make baby socks!

The rest of today is dedicated to making up for my slacking off this whole week. Step One: go to the public interest career fair. Check. Steps Two-Six: finish scholarship applications, finish trial brief, teach self in personam and quasi in rem jurisdiction, teach self about modifications and changes to contracts, soak sheepy-wool to get the sheepiness out.

Ready, go.

FO: Foliage

Pattern: Foliage, from Knitty Fall 2007
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Merino in Indigo, about half a skein
Needles: US 8 circulars
Started: some time last week, January 2008
Finished: January 6, 2008

Really fast, cute hat. And Malabrigo is amazing. Why anyone would ever make a hat out of anything else, I don't know. However, I don't think I could justify making anything bigger than a hat, since I can only afford one skein at a time.

The pattern is great, but once I got into the lace section (beyond the crown increases) I had a really hard time following the pattern. I made at least one mistake in just about every round. It was very frustrating. However, I was able to go back and fix everything, so the finished project is error-free!

And, I actually followed the pattern exactly as written, which may be a first for me. If I made it again, I'd only do 2 1/2 repeats of the pattern and 5 rounds of ribbing at the end, because this hat is way too deep for my head! I think it's the right circumference, but it covers my eyes when I try it on.

The hat took just under 1 ounce of yarn, leaving just under 1 ounce left. I might be able to squeeze another hat out of the remaining yarn, especially if I make the next one just a little bit smaller.

Now, the only thing I have on the needles is a camera case for the new camera. (I hope you're noticing better pictures!) It'll be my first experiment in felting, so we'll see how it goes. I'm planning on hand-felting as I really don't want to spend the money on using the washer for a little camera case.

I have one skein of ShibuiKnits sock yarn in Finch (a lovely bright yellow color), which I now realize is definitely not going to be enough for a pair of socks. I have a gift certificate to Knit/Purl, where I bought the yarn, and I think I might get a second skein in another color (Peacock, Midnight, or Mulberry are the three I'm considering) and make a pair of Endpaper Mitts.

Also coming up is Danica, which I'm going to make in Paton's SWS (so it will look similar to this one [Ravelry link]). I got two ball winders for Christmas, and exchanged one of them for the yarn. I'm still waiting for it to arrive, and I can't wait to try out entrelac!

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!

In Review

January
Several Cupcakes, gifts for birthdays and Valentines
Verdict: Perfect, and the inspiration for the blog.



Ice Princess Headband, for Laura
Verdict: Great.



February
Squirrel Mittens, for Liz
Verdict: Great. She loves them, and I loved doing the colorwork. I didn't know much about picking up stitches or weaving in ends and left the ends way too short and gaping holes at the base of the thumbs. Oops.

Buttony Sweater, for me
Verdict: Boo. Yucky acrylic yarn, poor fit, worn very infrequently. Not even worth frogging.



March
Unbiased #1, for me
Verdict: Great. Holds my wallet perfectly. The strap stretched out considerably and I'm still thinking about adding a button or some sort of closure.




Long Socks, for Mike
Verdict: Perfect. Mike wears them nearly every night to bed and tells me almost daily how perfect they are.



Red Wool Socks, for me
Verdict: Meh. The heel flap is about an inch and a half long, and the turned heel is about an inch wide. They're very uncomfortable for walking, even just around the house.




April
Birthday Cupcake, for Rachel
Verdict: Perfect. Pink and white birthday party theme, pink and white cupcake. Induced the proclamation by Rachel's boyfriend that he was "an island if pain surrounded by a sea of cute."





Birdie, for Puppy (Liz's best friend, her stuffed dog)
Verdict: Great. Easy, quick, cute.




May
Anastasia Socks, for Emily
Verdict: Great. Wonderful, springy color, and an easy pattern for my first socks out of sock yarn and on small needles. I could have gone even smaller, but I felt like a giant gorilla.




Unbiased #2, for Mom
Verdict: Perfect. She loves it, and says she gets compliments on it all the time.


Baby Booties, for Deborah's baby Faust
Verdict: Great. So cute, so tiny. Sehr gut!




June
Jaywalkers, for me
Verdict: Perfect! I absolutely love them. I wear them when I need to feel extra special (like the first day of law school and the first final)- kind of like wearing your lacy lingerie under a t-shirt, just to feel better about the day.

Lelah, for me
Verdict: Great! Since I knit straps instead of inserting elastic, I could have decreased or added some darts or some kind- it's a little baggy in the boobs. I might go back and shorten the straps and add some elastic in the sides.




August
Rainy Day Socks, for Anne
Verdict: Perfect! I used up some old stash yarn on a fun and interesting, but quick and easy, pattern and gave socks that fit to a wonderful friend. Couldn't ask for anything better.


Swell, for Mike
Verdict: Perfect! Much like his Long Socks, he wears this hat practically every day and tells me just as often how perfect it is.


Ballet Slippers, for Jackie (on commission)
Verdict: Great! Super cute, and super great yarn. I'm not sure how well they actually stay on Jackie's feet, since I've never seen them in action.


September
Ribbed Lace Shrug, for me
Verdict: Great! Exactly what I was imagining when I decided I wanted to knit a silver shrug for a southern California September wedding.




October
Minimalist, for me
Verdict: Perfect! I love it, it fits perfectly, and I love the accidental pouffed sleeves.





Coffee Coozie #1, for Katie
Verdict: Great! The picture is terrible, but the end product was great.





November
Coffee Coozie #2, for Claudia (on commission)
Verdict: Perfect! The picture is better, and the end product was too. Claudia reports from chilly DC that her fingers are cool and her chai are hot.



My So-Called Scarf, for me
Verdict: Boo. Not enough yarn, so the scarf is too short and too skinny. I wear it when I don't feel like wearing my monstrous 7' long acrylic scarf.





Fetching, for Shannon (on commission)
Verdict: Perfect! Used up some stash yarn (Minimalist leftovers) and made a good friend happy!



December
Ribbed Socks, for Keith
Verdict: Perfect! Love them, and my guesses at his foot size were right!


Squishy Earflap Hat, for me
Verdict: Perfect! Love it, and wear it nearly everyday.







Tessellating Socks, for Mom
Verdict: Perfect! Excellent yarn, colors, and pattern. A great distraction from school and a great filler of time in the post-finals lull.






Totals:
Boo- 2; Meh- 1; Great- 10; Perfect- 13
Gifts- 16; Me- 10